Go low-tech: Over the last few years, Volkswagen has removed physical buttons in its vehicles, choosing to bake control settings into its infotainment panel. Now, the company is backtracking. It's a controversial trend that has stirred monumental debate within the auto industry between customers who hate it and carmakers loving the advertising opportunities. Volkswagen will bring back physical controls for some of its vehicles' most essential cabin controls. According to Andreas Mindt, head of design for the German carmaker, replacing buttons with touchscreen controls was a mistake. A mistake the designer promised never to repeat.Mindt confirmed the change during a recent interview. The first car the controls will return to is the Volkswagen ID 2all model, a budget electric car set to arrive in 2026 in Europe. The knobs and switches include sound system volume, heating on each side of the car, fans, and hazard light.Volkswagon will continue applying the changes to every new car from assembly lines. The physical buttons are not limited to the center console, either. Drivers can enjoy limited driving distractions from added steering-wheel controls. Trying to tap non-tactile buttons on a touchscreen has never been the best solution, no matter the carmaker. Mindt noted that physical buttons provide tangible feedback that does not require drivers to take their eyes off the road.Mindt mentioned that customers and reviewers criticized Volkswagen's design team when it went all-in the infotainment center controls. Touch interfaces will continue to play an increasingly important role in Volkswagen's center consoles, with bigger screens and more human-machine interfaces. However, the physical functions will remain accessible through the car's physical interface layer.The automotive industry has debated touchscreen-based infotainment platforms for a few years now. Touch controls are cheaper to produce and more in line with today's digital ecosystem, but they aren't necessarily the best choice from a safety standpoint. // Related StoriesA few years ago, a Swedish magazine tested drivers' ability to control cabin functions using the touchscreen with a control group with physical controls. Unsurprisingly, drivers in the car with physical buttons (Volvo V70) performed better than models that only had a touchscreen. More recently, the European New Car Assessment Programme said that vehicles need physical controls for at least five cabin functions to earn the organization's highest safety rating.

James Gunn always believed that Jason Momoa was born to play Lobo.After nearly a decade of playing Aquaman, Momoa will get the chance to star as the cigar-loving antihero in Gunns DC Universe. Momoa will first appear as Lobo in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.Recommended VideosOn X, Gunn shared a text exchange with Momoa from October 2022, when the Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker was named co-CEO of DC Studios with Peter Safran. Momoa texted Gunn, F****** Lobo, to which Gunn replied, Dude, Ive said you should be Lobo for years. No lie. Gunn posted the texts along with a photo of Lobo.Please enable Javascript to view this contentOn the anniversary of Lobo, I cant help but think of a text I received from Jason Momoa on the morning it was announced Peter & I were the heads of DC Studios the day Jason & I first discussed him joining the DCU as Lobo, Gunn wrote. Ive loved watching Jason bring him to life & cant wait to share that with all of you.On the anniversary of Lobo, I can't help but think of a text I received fromJason Momoa on the morning it was announced Peter & I were the heads of DC Studios the day Jason & I first discussed him joining the DCU as Lobo. Ive loved watching Jason bring him to life & cant pic.twitter.com/8qvmIHOMho James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 10, 2025Momoa was officially cast as Lobo in December. To confirm the casting, Momoa shared a quote from an old interview he did in which he praised Lobo. Momoa said, If they call and ask me to play him, its a f** yeah. I havent received that call, so I dont want to put any fake news out there, but if they ever call me and ask me to play, or ask me to audition, Im there.Gunn called, and Momoa listened. Production on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrowis about halfway done. Milly Alcock stars as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, the cousin of Superman. The ensemble includes Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem of the Yellow Hills, Eve Ridley as Ruthye Marye Knoll, David Krumholtz as Supergirls father, and Emily Beecham as Supergirls mother.Directed by Craig Gillespie, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrowopens in theaters on June 26, 2026.Editors Recommendations

The Alienware Area-51 gaming desktop was just resurrected, and its already available with Alienware deals at Dell. This particular configuration, which originally sells for $5,050, is down to $4,650, and while the $400 in savings may not look like much in comparison to the final price, you might as well take advantage of it if youve decided to purchase this top-of-the line machine. Were not sure how much time is remaining until this discount gets taken down, so you should finish your purchase of this gaming PC immediately.Alienware, which tops our list of the best gaming PCs, just brought back the Alienware Area-51 gaming desktop at CES 2025. The line was dormant for a few years, but its back with a complete redesign thats simply gorgeous, with steel and glass components, the AlienFX light bar at the side, and an all-silver front panel. Alienware also made the gaming PCs internals easily accessible, so it will be easy to make upgrades in the future.You wont be needing to upgrade the specifications of the Alienware Area-51 gaming PC anytime soon though. Its powered by the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card, and a massive 64GB of RAM thatd double the sweet spot for high-end gamers, according to our guide on how much RAM do you need. Youll be able to play the best PC games that their highest settings and be prepared for the upcoming PC games of the next few years with the Alienware Area-51 gaming PC. It also comes with Windows 11 Home pre-loaded in a 4TB SSD, for ample storage space to install a massive library of your favorite titles.RelatedFor those who want the most powerful machine that they can get from gaming PC deals, you wont have to look any further than Dells offer for the Alienware Area-51 gaming desktop. Theres a $400 discount on this configuration thats originally priced at $5,050, which means youll only have to pay $4,650. Its still pretty expensive, but if youre willing to make this investment, you wont regret going for the Alienware Area-51 gaming PC. The savings are a nice bonus with this purchase, but you need to act fast to make sure that you get them.Editors Recommendations

Trust but verify Gmail gains Gemini-powered Add to calendar button The latest Gemini integration starts rolling out today for premium AI subscribers. Ryan Whitwam Mar 10, 2025 3:49 pm | 18 Credit: Google Credit: Google Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreGoogle has a new mission in the AI era: to add Gemini to as many of the company's products as possible. We've already seen Gemini appear in search results, text messages, and more. In Google's latest update to Workspace, Gemini will be able to add calendar appointments from Gmail with a single click. Well, assuming Gemini gets it right the first time, which is far from certain.The new calendar button will appear at the top of emails, right next to the summarize button that arrived last year. The calendar option will show up in Gmail threads with actionable meeting chit-chat, allowing you to mash that button to create an appointment in one step. The Gemini sidebar will open to confirm the appointment was made, which is a good opportunity to double-check the robot. There will be a handy edit button in the Gemini window in the event it makes a mistake. However, the robot can't invite people to these events yet.The effect of using the button is the same as opening the Gemini panel and asking it to create an appointment. The new functionality is simply detecting events and offering the button as a shortcut of sorts. You should not expect to see this button appear on messages that already have calendar integration, like dining reservations and flights. Those already pop up in Google Calendar without AI. The new button opens Gemini in Gmail and requests a calendar appointment, which can save you some keystrokes. Credit: Google The new button opens Gemini in Gmail and requests a calendar appointment, which can save you some keystrokes. Credit: Google Gemini is a generative AI system like ChatGPT and Claude, which means it can hallucinate details and fail to account for context. This can make scheduling appointments particularly vexing. In our experience, Gemini often gets confused with dates, particularly if your email thread includes people discussing multiple possible meeting times. And making a calendar appointment incorrectly can have real-world consequencesyou don't want to be the person who missed an event because you trusted AI.Google says this feature will begin rolling out today, but it could take upward of two weeks to reach all users. It's also limited to English and the Gmail web interface at this time. You won't see it at all if you're using a Google account without premium AI access. Like many of Google's Gemini integrations, this one is only available to those paying for AI tools (whether they wanted to or not). However, even the cheapest AI-enabled plans, like Business Starter, are eligible. Individual users with Google One AI Premium will also get the new calendar button.Ryan WhitwamSenior Technology ReporterRyan WhitwamSenior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he's written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards. 18 Comments

"My Twitter" Elon Musk blames X outages on massive cyberattack Will users ever abandon the Twitter brand? X outages suggest the answer is no. Ashley Belanger Mar 10, 2025 3:23 pm | 101 Credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / Contributor | AFP Credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / Contributor | AFP Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAfter DownDetector reported that tens of thousands of users globally experienced repeated X (formerly Twitter) outages, Elon Musk confirmed the issues are due to an ongoing cyberattack on the platform."There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X," Musk wrote on X. "We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved."Details remain vague beyond Musk's post, but rumors were circulating that X was under a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack.X's official support channel, which has been dormant since August, has so far remained silent on the outage, but one user asked GrokX's chatbot that provides AI summaries of newswhat was going on, and the chatbot echoed suspicions about the DDOS attack while raising other theories."Over 40,000 users reported issues, with the platform struggling to load globally," Grok said. "No clear motive yet, but some speculate its political since X is the only target. Outages hit hard in the US, Switzerland, and beyond."As X goes down, users cry for TwitterIt has been almost two years since Elon Musk declared that Twitter "no longer exists," haphazardly rushing to rebrand his social media company as X despite critics warning that users wouldn't easily abandon the Twitter brand.Fast-forward to today, and Musk got a reminder that his efforts to kill off the Twitter brand never really caught on with a large chunk of his platform.While #MyX began trending on the platform alongside "My Twitter," the latter had much higher engagement, suggesting that many users still default to thinking of the service as Twitter. About 360,000 users posted about "my X," as more than a million panic-posted about "My Twitter.""Has anyone noticed that people are saying 'My Twitter' instead of 'My X'?" one X user, @VulFuru47, wrote, joking, "Did we just go through a great reset?"Musk began his Twitter rebrand in April 2023, confirming in a court filing that Twitter had merged with X Corp. and would no longer be known by its former name. But efforts to rebrand the social platform were not smooth, with the Twitter name remaining confusingly intermixed with X branding throughout the platform. It took more than a year, for example, to even redirect twitter.com URLs to x.com.In the years since, analysts called the rebrand a mistake, seemingly instantly harming brand loyalty. And users have debated in Reddit threads and blogs whether they'll ever refer to the platform as X, leading Musk to demand last year that users respect the rebrand. There have also been several reported exoduses of users since Musk's takeover, most recently after the US presidential election results in November pushed users in "droves" to ad-free X rival Bluesky, Forbes reported.For thousands of users who stuck with X or joined the platform through the rebrand, X failed to load Monday. In the past, X's Support channel has posted messaging explaining platform-wide issues, so it's possible more information will be posted there once the issues are resolved.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 101 Comments

An experiment tests how holes from tree-killing beetles affect carbon emissions when wood burnsShudong Zhang et al. 2025Beetle attacks on dead wood could boost the amount of carbon released during wildfires.The beetles do make a difference, says Hans Cornelissen at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.Researchers already knew that, by killing trees, insect infestations in forests can alter the risk of wildfires. Many species of beetles and other insects also eat downed trees on the forest floor, leaving tracks and holes in

PhysicsQuantum fridges, batteries and clocks are brilliant inventions but still limited in power. Now physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern is charting a path to take them to the next level 10 March 2025 Natalie FossThe French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson is remembered for, among other things, producing three curious automata in the 18th century. A poster from the time advertised them all side by side: a figure that played a real flute, another that banged a tambourine and a duck that gobbled up corn and seemingly turned it into pellets of well, use your imagination.For physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern, based at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland, these antiquated automata have a resonance with some of todays most cutting-edge technology. Vaucansons inventions prefigured the industrial revolution, during which mechanisation went from being a quirky curiosity to a force that reshaped the globe. We may be at an analogous turning point today when it comes to quantum technology, says Yunger Halpern.The steam-powered world of the industrial revolution may seem far removed from the quantum realm. But this period of dramatic change was bolstered by thermodynamics, which deals with heat, work and energy. And, recently, physicists have been applying its ideas to the subatomic realm to devise the new field of quantum thermodynamics. This has seen the development of machines like quantum fridges, batteries and clocks.However, these are just the start of the quantum technology revolution, says Yunger Halpern. She was a co-author of a recent manifesto aiming to chart a path towards greater things. She spoke to New Scientist about what advanced quantum machines might look like, the astounding benefits they could bring and how we can work towards making them a reality.Thomas

Lauren Graham is still well-known for playing determined young mother Lorelai Gilmore.Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore. Warner Bros./Online USA via Getty Images Before taking on the fast-talking, coffee-guzzling role of Lorelei in "Gilmore Girls," Graham started acting in commercials for Lean Cuisine, Cascade dishwasher detergent, and other products.In the 1990s, she had bit parts on several popular TV shows, including NBC's "Law and Order" and "Seinfeld." The actor also had larger roles on ABC's "Townies" and NBC's "Conrad Bloom."While starring on the show, Graham also appeared in films including "Bad Santa" (2001) and "Evan Almighty" (2007).Graham has continued her acting career, and she's become a published author.Lauren Graham in 2025. Steve Eichner/Variety via Getty Images Graham's largest role after "Gilmore Girls" was Sarah Braverman on NBC's "Parenthood."The actor also appeared as herself on Bravo's "Project Runway," worked on Disney Junior's "Vampirina," and was featured on NBC's "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." A few of Graham's movies include "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" (2009) and "Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life" (2016).In 2016, she reprised her role as Lorelai for Netflix's "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" miniseries.In addition to acting, Graham wrote four books in the span of a decade: "Someday, Someday, Maybe," "Talking as Fast as I Can," "In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It," and "Have I Told You This Already?"More recently, she starred in the Tubi original series "The Z-Suite" and the 2024 movie "Twinless."Alexis Bledel played Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore, a bright and ambitious teenager with a strong relationship with her young mother.Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore. Warner Bros./Online USA via Getty Images Book-loving, Yale-bound Rory Gilmore was Bledel's first major acting role. Before the show, she'd only had an uncredited role in "Rushmore" (1998).While starring in "Gilmore Girls," Bledel also appeared in movies such as "Tuck Everlasting" (2002) and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (2005).Bledel has continued acting and has even won an Emmy.Alexis Bledel in 2024. Dia Dipasupil/WireImage/Getty Images After "Gilmore Girls," Bledel went on to star in several movies, including "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" (2008), "Post Grad" (2009), "Violet and Daisy" (2011), and "Crypto" (2019).In addition to playing an older (if not wiser) Rory in Netflix's "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," Bledel appeared on other hit series, including AMC's "Mad Men" and Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale."Bledel's work on "The Handmaid's Tale" earned her an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress on a Drama Series in 2017.Scott Patterson played Luke Danes, Star Hollow's grouchy diner owner.Scott Patterson played Luke Danes on "Gilmore Girls." Nina Prommer/Getty Images Before playing Lorelai's will-they, won't-they love interest, Luke, Patterson had a professional baseball career.He got his start acting in movies like "Little Big League" (1994) and "Three Wishes" (1995). On NBC's "Seinfeld," he played Elaine's "sponge-worthy" boyfriend, and he portrayed Grace's high-school crush on "Will & Grace."During his years playing Luke, Patterson also worked on Cartoon Network's "Justice League Unlimited" and "Her Best Move" (2007).Patterson still acts but also hosts a "Gilmore Girls" podcast.Scott Patterson in 2024. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Patterson has played several leading characters since turning in his backward baseball cap on "Gilmore Girls."He worked on three movies in the "Saw" franchise, as well as "Other People's Children" (2015), "Batman: Gotham by Gaslight" (2018), and "Con Man" (2018).The actor has also continued to find success on TV shows like The CW's "Aliens in America," Fox's "90210," and NBC's "The Event."Patterson found his way back to Stars Hollow for Netflix's "Gilmore Girls" reboot.Most recently, he appeared on CTV's "Sullivan's Crossing" alongside fellow "Gilmore Girls" alum Chad Michael Murray.In 2021, Patterson also started hosting a "Gilmore Girls" rewatch podcast, "I Am All in With Scott Patterson," which is still running.Kelly Bishop portrayed Lorelai's mother and Rory's grandmother, Emily Gilmore.Kelly Bishop played matriarch Emily Gilmore. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images As Emily Gilmore, Bishop wore a lot of skirt suits and delivered devastating insults to anyone who crossed her or her family. In a 2018 "Q with Tom Power" interview, the actor said she based her interpretation of Emily on her own grandmother.Before that iconic role, Bishop had a successful background in theater, film, and television.In Hollywood, she was well known as Baby's mother in "Dirty Dancing" (1987) and also appeared in "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993) and "Wonder Boys" (2000).Much of her success also came from theater, with roles in "On the Town" (1971), "Six Degrees of Separation" (1990), and "Bus Stop" (1996).She won a Tony award in 1976 for playing Shelia in "A Chorus Line."Bishop has reunited with showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino several times.Kelly Bishop has had a widely celebrated career. Hatnim Lee/Getty Images After playing Emily Gilmore, Bishop reunited with "Gilmore Girls" showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino to star on ABC Family's "Bunheads" and appeared on "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."The actor also continued her theater career, starring in the 2011 revival of "Anything Goes" alongside her future "Bunheads" costar Sutton Foster.More recently, Bishop appeared in "The Salzburg Story" (2018), "Art of Falling in Love" (2019), and "The Watchful Eye" (2023). The actor also had a supporting role as matchmaker Benedetta on Amazon Prime's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," another Sherman-Palladino show.In 2024, she wrote about her storied career in her memoir, "The Third Gilmore Girl."Edward Herrmann played Richard Gilmore, Lorelai's father and Rory's grandfather.Edward Herrmann portrayed Richard Gilmore for seven seasons. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Herrmann acted in dozens of roles and narrated several documentary series, such as PBS' "Nova" before donning a bow tie and hiding behind a newspaper as Richard on "Gilmore Girls."In 1976, Herrmann won a Tony the same year as Kelly Bishop for his role in "Mrs. Warren's Profession."He also earned Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the made-for-TV films "Eleanor and Franklin" (1976) and "Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years" (1977). In the 1982 movie adaptation of "Annie," he was again cast as the 32nd president.Often, he was cast as wealthy characters, as in "Overboard" (1987), "Richie Rich" (1994), and "Nixon" (1995).During his run on "Gilmore Girls," he also worked on ABC's "The Practice," "Oz," and several documentaries.Herrmann's acting career continued until his death in 2014.Edward Herrmann died in 2014. AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File After "Gilmore Girls," Herrmann remained an actor and narrator.He appeared on popular shows like ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," NBC's "30 Rock," and CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Good Wife." He also had a small voice role in "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013).In addition to narrating films and series such as "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies" and "The Roosevelts; An Intimate History," he lent his signature voice to many audiobooks, including Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken," Daniel James Brown's "The Boys in the Boat," and Doris Kearns Goodwin's "The Bully Pulpit."In 2014, the actor died from brain cancer at the age of 71, leaving behind a wife and three children.The "Gilmore Girls" reboot featured the death of his beloved character Richard.Before Melissa McCarthy played Sookie St. James, she had minor credits on other television shows.Melissa McCarthy played Sookie St. James on "Gilmore Girls." Mark Sullivan/WireImage via Getty Images McCarthy had just started working in the entertainment industry as a comedian and actor before she joined the cast as bubbly chef Sookie St. James.She appeared in a single episode of "Jenny," a 1997 NBC sitcom starring her cousin Jenny McCarthy. In 1999, she had a small part in the movie "Go."While starring in "Gilmore Girls," she worked on movies like "The Kid" (2000), "Charlie's Angels" (2000), and "The Life of David Gale" (2003).McCarthy has found incredible success in comedy since her time as Sookie.Melissa McCarthy at the 2025 Golden Globes. John Nacion/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images After "Gilmore Girls," McCarthy continued working on television, starring on ABC's "Samantha Who?" and CBS' "Mike and Molly." She also returned with much of the rest of the cast for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."While known for some of these earlier roles, the comedic actor became a breakout star thanks to 2011's "Bridesmaids." She followed it up with a string of other funny roles in "Identity Thief" (2013), "The Heat" (2013), "Tammy" (2014), "Spy" (2015), "Ghostbusters" (2016), "Life of the Party" (2018), and "Thunder Force" (2021) several of which she also produced.McCarthy has also stepped into dramatic roles in "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" (2018), "The Kitchen" (2019), and Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers."More recently, she appeared in "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022), "The Little Mermaid" (2023), and "Unfrosted" (2024). In 2024, she played Doreen, Charles-Haden Savage's sister, in an episode of Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building."Keiko Agena's career was gaining momentum when she was cast as Rory's best friend, Lane Kim.Keiko Agena played Lane Kim on "Gilmore Girls." Jimi Celeste/Getty Images Before picking up a pair of drumsticks as rocker Lane, Agena had a few roles in film and on television, including parts on ABC/The WB's "Sister, Sister," Fox's "Beverly Hills, 90210," NBC's "ER," and The WB's "Felicity."When she wasn't playing Lane in the early '00s, Agena had roles on Lifetime's "Strong Medicine," Disney Channel's "Kim Possible," and CBS' "Without a Trace."Agena has continued to act and star in podcasts.Keiko Agena in 2023. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images Since "Gilmore Girls," Agena has kept busy in her career.She appeared in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (2011) and showed up on ABC's "Castle" and "Scandal," Fox's "House," and Showtime's "Shameless" before reprising her role as Lane on "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."Agena also acted on Netflix's "13 Reasons Why," AMC's "Better Call Saul," Fox's "Prodigal Son," and Apple TV+'s "Central Park."After hosting her own podcast, "Drunk Monk," a "Monk" rewatch show, she began appearing in fiction podcasts, including "Trap Street."Jared Padalecki played Rory's first boyfriend, Dean Forester.Jared Padalecki played "Gilmore Girls'" Dean Forester. Albert L. Ortega/WireImage via Getty Images Padalecki was a relative newcomer to Hollywood when he was cast as Dean, the floppy-haired grocery store worker who struggled to get over Rory after their breakup.While on "Gilmore Girls," he acted in movies such as "Cheaper by the Dozen" (2003) and "New York Minute" (2004).Post "Gilmore," Padalecki found fame during his time on "Supernatural."Jared Padalecki in 2024. Rick Kern/Getty Images While still on "Gilmore Girls," Padalecki landed one of the lead roles on The CW's "Supernatural," which ran for 15 years. The show aired its final episode in November 2020.Padalecki also continued acting in films like "House of Wax" (2005) and "Friday the 13th" (2009), and he returned as Dean on "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."For four seasons, he had the titular role in The CW's "Walker." He also guested on CBS' "Fire Country" and will reunite with his "Supernatural" costars Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins in season five of Amazon Prime's "The Boys."Milo Ventimiglia portrayed Jess Mariano, Luke's nephew and one of Rory's boyfriends.Milo Ventimiglia brought drama to Stars Hollow as Jess Mariano. Ron Davis/Getty Images With small roles on NBC's "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," ABC/The WB's "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and NBC's "Saved by the Bell: The New Class," Ventimiglia wasn't yet a big star when he appeared on "Gilmore Girls."He played Jess, Luke's sarcastic, Jack Kerouac-loving nephew who fell for Rory. The character nearly got his own spinoff set in Venice, California, but it never materialized.While playing Jess, Ventimiglia also appeared on NBC's "American Dreams."Ventimiglia had big roles in "Heroes" and "This Is Us."Milo Ventimiglia in 2024. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Ventimiglia continued his successful acting career after playing Jess.He's had starring roles on NBC's "Heroes," ABC's "The Whispers," and NBC's "This Is Us," which earned him three Emmy nominations.He's also acted in "That's My Boy" (2012), "Grown Ups 2" (2013), "Creed II" (2018), and "The Art of Racing in the Rain" (2019). In between, he appeared in "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" to give some hope to "Team Jess" fans.In more recent years, Ventimiglia joined season four of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," starred in ABC's "The Company You Keep," and appeared in "Land of Bad" (2024).Matt Czuchry played Logan Huntzberger, Rory's love interest at Yale.Matt Czuchry's "Gilmore Girls" character Logan loved calling Rory "Ace." E. Charbonneau/WireImage for Fusion PR _LA via Getty Images Czuchry had a handful of acting roles on his resum before being cast as trust-fund troublemaker Logan Huntzberger.Most notably, he'd appeared on other teen shows, such as Fox's "Freaks and Geeks," The WB's "Young Americans," and The WB/The CW's "7th Heaven."In 2006, in the midst of his role on "Gilmore Girls," he appeared on an episode of UPN/The CW's "Veronica Mars."Czuchry has had long-running roles on "The Good Wife" and "The Resident."Matt Czuchry has had a successful TV career. JC Olivera/FilmMagic/Getty Images In 2016, Czuchry returned as Logan to pursue a complicated relationship with Rory in "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."He also had recurring roles in TV shows such as NBC's "Friday Night Lights," CBS's "The Good Wife," and Fox's "The Resident."On "The Resident," Czuchry worked alongside Tanc Sade, who played Logan's best friend, Finn, on "Gilmore Girls."Most recently, the actor joined the cast of FX's "American Horror Story: Delicate."Paris Geller, Rory's academic rival and eventual friend, was played by Liza Weil.Liza Weil played Paris Geller on "Gilmore Girls." Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage via Getty Images Weil originally auditioned for the role of Rory. Instead, Sherman-Palladino wrote the part of studious, intense Paris specifically for her.Prior to "Gilmore Girls," Weil had small parts in a few movies and on TV shows, including Nickelodeon's "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" and "Stir of Echoes," so she's only one degree of separation from Kevin Bacon.Weil has spent a fair amount of time in Shondaland.Liza Weil on "The Cleaning Lady" in 2024. FOX via Getty Images Weil was one of the returning characters in "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life." Sherman-Palladino also brought her on for several episodes of ABC Family's "Bunheads."But her largest roles since playing Paris were in Shonda Rhimes shows, as Amanda Tanner on "Scandal" and Bonnie Winterbottom on "How to Get Away With Murder."Some of her more recent projects include "Women Is Losers" (2021), Fox's "The Cleaning Lady," and "The Passenger" (2023).Chad Michael Murray was cast as Rory's cocky classmate Tristin Dugray.Chad Michael Murray played Tristin Dugray on "Gilmore Girls." Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images In the 1990s, Murray spent time modeling for brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Skechers. In 2000, he guested on MTV's "Undressed."Not long after, he scored the role of Tristin Dugray, Chilton Academy's prankster who teased Rory. He left during the show's second season.After leaving "Gilmore Girls," Murray spent years on "One Tree Hill."

2025-03-10T20:16:23Z Read in app Alyssa Powell, Isabel Fernandez-Pujol/ BI This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? High-end cruise suites often include amenities like private hot tubs, butlers, and pillow "menus."See eight of the most luxurious suites on cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Disney, and Celebrity.This article is part of "Well Charted," a series for travelers planning cruise adventures.Forget windowless interior cabins. Wealthy cruisers prefer apartment-like suites with butlers, original Pablo Picasso prints, and pillow "menus."Travelers have been increasingly spending big on their at-sea vacations so much so that Four Seasons plans to charge $350,000 a week for its coming ship's palatial four-floor, 9,975-square-foot suite.If you, too, have the ultraluxe-cruise itch but don't want to wait until Four Seasons' yacht sails in 2026, here are eight other lavish cabin options.They won't cost as much as a new house, but they'll still have deluxe perks like butlers and welcome bottles of bubbly.Silversea's Otium Suite Silver Ray's Otium Suite has a king-size bed. Brittany Chang/Business Insider Silversea is known for its all-inclusive luxury cruises. If you want a step above the basics, book the Otium Suite. It's available on Silver Ray and Silver Nova, starting at $17,000 a person for a weeklong 2025 voyage.On Silver Ray, the 1,324-square-foot cabin's balcony is larger than the ship's smallest suites. More space means more amenities the outdoor area has a hot tub, lounge chairs, and a dining table. The Otium Suite, Silver Ray's largest, has a library, dining table, bar, living room, walk-in closet, and private outdoor lounge. Brittany Chang/Business Insider If you prefer eating inside (perhaps the complimentary caviar delivered by your butler), head to the living room, which has a library, dining table, and stocked bar.The couch can be converted into a bed. For a cozier slumber, you'll want the bedroom, which has a walk-in closet and a dual-vanity marble-tiled bathroom.Royal Caribbean International's Ultimate Family Townhouse The Ultimate Family Townhouse on Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas can sleep up to eight guests. Brittany Chang/Business Insider Icon of the Seas' 2,523-square-foot Ultimate Family Townhouse is an unconventional take on luxury, designed more for children than adults.That doesn't mean it'll be affordable two travelers should expect to each pay more than $34,220 for a seven-night voyage in 2025.Guests can play ping-pong on the white-picket-fence-lined patio. Up the curved staircase, they can lounge in the multipart living room, which includes a hot tub on the balcony and a movie theater lounge with karaoke. Look up the children's bedroom has tiny starlike lights. Brittany Chang/Business Insider Take the second set of stairs and pass the mesh-floor lounge to find the two bedrooms. The primary room has a private balcony and an en-suite dual-vanity bathroom, while the kids' room has bunk beds, a couch, and another restroom.Need to get back to the living room? Take the tube slide down.Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Regent Suite The Regent Suite is available on three Regent Seven Seas ships. RSSC Seven Seas Grandeur's 4,443-square-foot Regent Suite features two bedrooms and balconies, 2 bathrooms, a parlor, and a living and dining room. It's also atop the ship's bow, offering sweeping views.Expect homelike touches such as walk-in closets, laundry service, and a personalized bar as well as ultraluxe niceties like a butler, two original Picasso prints, and a variety of sheets and pillows to choose from. The Regent Suite can accommodate six people. RSSC The ship's spa facilities, including the sauna, are complimentary. But if you prefer a private sweat, the Regent Suite has its own wellness amenities, such as a steam room, a heated mini pool, and complimentary treatments.At ports, guests receive a personal car and guide. On board, they get priority dining and spa reservations.In 2025, the all-inclusive Seven Seas Grandeur's weeklong roundtrip Miami voyages start at $4,500 a person. If you opt for the glitzy Regent Suite, expect to pay $42,000 each (if you can get off the waitlist).The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection's Owner's Suite The Owner's Suite is available on both of Ritz-Carlton's cruise ships. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection The 1,754-square-foot Owner's Suite on Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection's Ilma has plenty of space for entertaining from the personalized living room bar to the furnished terrace with a hot tub.Host light bites at the dining table or drinks on the outdoor couch. If guests are spending the night, convert the sofa into a bed.Keep the bedroom to yourself there, you'll have a walk-in closet and a marble bathroom with a bathtub and shower.In 2025, the all-inclusive suite starts at $36,400 a person for a weeklong voyage.Disney Cruise Line's Tomorrow Tower Suite The Tomorrow Tower Suite is Disney Treasure's largest cabin. Caralynn Matassa/Business Insider Disney Treasure's Epcot-inspired Tomorrow Tower Suite could be the happiest cabin on earth and starts at about $46,820 a guest for a weeklong sailing for two.To access the 1,966-square-foot suite, you'll have to take a private elevator.Downstairs, the two-story floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the living room, dining table, and bar in light. There, you'll also find a library turned bedroom. The library's sofa can be turned into a bed. Kent Phillips/Disney Head upstairs for the children's bunk room and two primary sleeping quarters, each with walk-in closets, and the children's room with a bunk bed.Don't fight for the bathroom the suite has 4 of them, and the two largest have dual sinks, bathtubs, and showers.Feeling peckish? Grab snacks from the pantry refrigerator and a beverage from the wine cooler. Need help booking the nursery? Call your concierge.Virgin Voyages' Massive Suite The Massive Suite has a music room with a sofa that can be converted into a bed. Virgin Voyages Virgin's aptly named 2,147-square-foot Massive Suite is fit for a rock star with a music room stocked with electric guitars.The suite has two circular couches: one in the living room and the other on the terrace.There's no need to visit the pool deck when your open-air lounge has a hot tub and hammocks. The terrace is furnished with lounge seating and a dining table. Virgin Voyages Guests can use the bedside tablet to personalize their bedroom's smart curtains and mood lighting. The en-suite marble bathroom is just as flashy, featuring a bathtub and a separate shower overlooking the bedroom.The accommodation includes priority reservations, a daily spa pass, and a voucher for some drinks at the bar, though the in-suite bar is bottomless.Drink up the Massive Suite starts at $8,540 a person for a weeklong 2025 cruise.Celebrity Cruises' Iconic Suite The Iconic Suite on the Celebrity Apex cruise ship. Brittany Chang/Business Insider Expect unobstructed views in Celebrity's two-bedroom, two-bathroom Iconic Suite. After all, the cabin is perched above the ship's bridge and surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows.If you don't mind blocking the primary bedroom's view, you can lower the ceiling-mounted TV. Its en-suite bathroom is just as luxe, with two vanities, a shower, and a bathtub. The suite includes multiple TVs, complimentary spa amenities, laundry, gym classes, drinks, and free dining at all onboard restaurants. Brittany Chang/Business Insider The terrace has a hot tub and plenty of lounge seating, complementing the living room's sectional and dining table. Guests also have a butler's pantry and a butler on call to help pack or make dinner reservations.Expect to pay at least $17,406 a person for a seven-night 2025 cruise.Seabourn's Grand Wintergarden Suite The Grand Wintergarden Suites are available on several Seabourn ships. Seabourn What's better than one suite? How about two aboard a luxury Seabourn ship?Seabourn combines its Wintergarden and Veranda cabins into larger two-deck, apartmentlike Grand Wintergarden Suites.The luxe mansion cabins have a lounge with a dining table, a pantry, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Upstairs, travelers will find another bedroom, with a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a tub and shower. The luxurious suites span two floors. Seabourn For a relaxing evening, call your suite host to help draw a bath.Or grab a glass of whiskey from the pantry bar and use the Swarovski-branded spotting scope for an afternoon of wildlife peeping from one of two balconies.A weeklong 2025 vacation in the giant suite starts at $17,509 a person on Seabourn Quest.

The past few years have violated many of my assumptions about human progress. Twenty-year-olds are going MAGA. More and more Americans say that women should return to their traditional roles in society. For some reason, we have decided to gamble with bringing back once-eradicated deadly diseases. And now, add to the list: Cows milk is back. Sort of.Last year, US dairy producers sold about 0.8 percent more milk than in 2023, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics, the first year-over-year increase since 2009, when milk prices were historically low. That may not sound like much, but its a big deal for the dairy industry, which has seen a sustained drop in both per capita and total US milk consumption over the last few decades. Raw milk, which has not been pasteurized to kill pathogens, has seen double-digit growth, a concerning trend given its potential to spread life-threatening infections, though it still makes up a very small share of overall milk sales. Meanwhile, non-dairy milks the kind made from soybeans, oats, almonds, and other plants have stumbled, declining by about 5 percent in both dollar and unit sales over approximately the last year, according to data shared with Vox by NielsenIQ and data reported elsewhere from the market research firm Circana.A small uptick in cows milk intake is, obviously, not tantamount to the calamities that have been unleashed over the last six weeks in American politics. But it does likely sprout, at least in part, from the same vibe shift thats given us butter-churning, homestead-tending tradwives, an unscientific turn against plant-based foods, and a movement to destroy public trust in vaccines.After achieving ubiquity in the 2010s and early 2020s, plant-based milks may have lost their cool, nonconformist quality much like how, after more than a decade of liberal cultural supremacy, embracing authoritarian revanchism now feels like countercultural rebellion. The problem is that cows milk is not, unfortunately, just a harmless dietary preference its land-intensive, water-intensive, climate-warming, and incredibly cruel to cows. Dairy cows contribute more than 10 percent of US methane emissions, a super-potent greenhouse gas, and their land use, while not nearly as great as that of beef farming, is still high, occupying land that could otherwise be freed up for carbon-sequestering ecosystems. To mitigate climate change, our dairy consumption needs to go down, not up. Its too early to tell whether the growth in milk sales is a temporary blip or a genuine turning point; Dotsie Bausch, executive director of Switch4Good, a group that advocates for moving away from dairy consumption, told me shes optimistic its the former. And all this comes amid another important shift: Americas top coffee chains, including Starbucks, Dunkin, Dutch Bros, Tim Hortons, and Scooters very large buyers of milk have all in recent months dropped their extra charges for adding plant-based milks to drinks, a change that animal rights groups, led by Switch4Good, had demanded for years. That change makes it anywhere from 50 cents to $2 less expensive to choose plant milks over cows milk, and will likely nudge some customers to choose more planet-friendly plant-based options. Still, while economic incentives do matter for milk consumption, as were increasingly seeing, theyre not the whole story. Why dairy milk is becoming more popularIf you really think about it, its weird that we drink dairy milk the milk that cows, like all mammals, make for their babies. Theres no compelling reason to think humans need to drink milk after infancy, much less the milk of another species. Nevertheless, thanks to many years of pseudo-scientific theories that exalted drinking-milk to permanent and unquestioned superfood status, as culinary historian Anne Mendelson put it in her book Spoiled: The Myth of Milk as Superfood, cows milk consumption became practically compulsory in the US, peaking in 1945 at 45 gallons per person, or about two cups per day. And thats only counting straight cows milk, not other dairy products made from it like cheese, butter, or ice cream, which added a lot more ice cream consumption peaked in 1946, at 23 pounds per person. After World War II, fluid milk intake plummeted, falling to less than half a cup per person per day on average in 2019. Its important to keep these trends in perspective, however: More than 90 percent of US households still buy cows milk, while less than half buy plant-based milk; plant milk sales are still way lower than sales of cows milk. And even as cows milk in fluid form became less popular, overall dairy intake in the US has only increased since the 1970s, driven by growing consumption of cheese, butter, and yogurt. So why might drinking cows milk be coming back? The most persuasive hypotheses boil down to three things: price, perception, and protein. The first one is pretty obvious: Consumers are angry about inflation, struggling with high grocery bills, and switching to lower-cost options. Conventional dairy milk the kind that makes up more than 90 percent of the cows milk market and comes in clear, hard-plastic jugs with brightly colored caps is generally cheaper than any plant-based milk you can get. The cheap soy milk I buy is still more than twice the cost by volume of the cheapest cows milk at my grocery store. If you know anything about how resource-intensive cows milk is to produce, its low cost might seem counterintuitive. Part of that is because the costs are externalized elsewhere: Cows have been bred to produce immense volumes of milk over the last century, which has brought down the cost while taking a heavy toll on their welfare. Most milk today comes from mega dairies, which benefit from economies of scale by confining thousands or even tens of thousands of cows in one place, but these operations are known for spreading pollution and foul odors to nearby communities. Dairy is also much higher in greenhouse emissions than plant-based foods with comparable nutrition, and much more water-intensive, contributing to water scarcity in arid Western states like California, the nations top dairy producer. But the dairy industry, as well as those that grow crops to feed cows, gets to use all that water at low cost, a classic tragedy of the commons, UC Davis agricultural economist Richard Sexton told me.Soy milk, while far less resource-intensive than dairy, has higher manufacturing costs, and hasnt benefited from the decades of US government-subsidized R&D that have lowered the cost of cows milk, nor from the dairy industrys scale efficiencies. The cost of the soy used to make soy milk is also shaped by competition with other, much larger, uses of soybeans, Sexton said. Most soy grown in the US is fed to farmed animals, while another chunk is used to make subsidized biofuels. Why soy milk rulesSoy milk, which has been consumed in East Asia for centuries, is almost too good to be true but at just 1 percent of the US milk market, it doesnt get enough credit. Its packed with protein and (assuming you get a fortified variety) essential nutrients, low in saturated fat, and much lower in sugar than milk.The federal governments Dietary Guidelines for Americans recognize fortified soy milk as an appropriate substitute for cows milk. I think its an even better choice, kinder to both the planet and to cows. If you havent had it before, soy milk might taste different from what youre used to, but it has a satisfying, full-bodied texture and nutty flavor. And dont worry about whatever you may have heard about the supposed dangers of soy its been debunked. Its literally a bean, and we can all use more of that in our diets.But look closer at the data, and the price explanation for dairy milks rebound becomes a lot more complicated. Organic milk sales grew by 7 percent by volume from 2023 to 2024 about 19 times faster than conventional milk did over the same period. And organic cows milk is significantly pricier than conventional; often, its more expensive than plant-based milks. Lactose-free milk, which is also costlier than regular milk, saw huge gains, too, with many new buyers switching from less-expensive plant-based milks. One factor might simply be taste and feel, Chris Costagli, vice president for food insights at NielsenIQ, told me. Consumers seem to be trying to incorporate more fats in their diets: Rich, full-bodied whole milk, which has been rising in popularity as low-fat milks decline, may be gaining appeal compared to almond milk, the most popular plant milk, which is runny and low in calories.And then theres the hazier but crucial element of consumer perceptions in other words, vibes. Americans are increasingly skeptical of so-called ultra-processed foods, an ill-defined, unrigorous concept that I covered back in December. Most plant-based milks fall into that category, putting them on the wrong side of todays culture war, which has swung toward the regressive and anti-modern. Consumers find the ingredient lists of cows milk which is often just milk and added vitamins simpler and easier to understand than those of plant milks, Costagli said, and they also might feel that theyre getting a better value. The first ingredient on dairy milk is milk. The first ingredient on plant-based is water, he said. Thats true but cows milk is also overwhelmingly comprised of water. A more detailed ingredient list might look like this: Water, milk fat, casein, whey, lactose, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, estrogen, progesterone, Insulin-like Growth Factor 1. Novel foods suffer from the perception of being unnatural and mechanized regardless of their actual health impacts.Im reminded of what 20th-century philosopher Walter Benjamin wrote in his essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, arguing that in an era of mass production, objects lose their aura, or uniqueness and authenticity. Cows milk, particularly the kind thats marketed as unadulterated and close to the source, like organic, appeals to a sense of lost aura by promising to reconnect consumers with something ancient and primal a living, breathing animal, the very opposite of a machine. But this fatally misunderstands the nature of modern dairy farming, which one could reasonably define as the process of turning an animal into a milk-making machine. Organic dairy does have some standards that are better for animal welfare, including a requirement for cows to have access to pasture for at least 120 days per year, although organic dairy has been gamed and industrialized to such an extent that it often resembles conventional mega dairies. More fundamentally, though, theres no guarantee that organic dairy cows are treated humanely because both organic farms and conventional mega dairies rely on the same business model: Putting cows through repeated, taxing cycles of insemination, pregnancy, and lactation, separating them from their calves so that humans can take their milk, and then sending them to slaughter at a young age when their health and productivity decline. Organic dairy is not meaningfully better for the environment, either. Got soy milk?Theres one more factor we need to consider to understand whats happening in the cows milk market: Americas obsession with protein. Most types of plant milk, including oat, almond, and coconut, are significantly lower in protein than cows milk. That might explain why sales of soy milk which is higher in protein as a share of calories than either whole, reduced fat, or low-fat cows milk have remained stable, while low-protein almond milk has seen the steepest declines. Some companies have even introduced ultra-filtered cows milk thats higher in protein than regular milk. The Coca-Cola-owned milk brand Fairlife, which has seen massive growth in recent years thanks to the popularity of its high-protein products, was recently the subject of an undercover investigation by the animal advocacy group Animal Rescue Mission. The group found appalling animal abuse at two Fairlife supplier farms in Arizona, including cows and calves being beaten, dragged, chained, and shot. A 2019 investigation found similar abuse at another Fairlife supplier, and Coca-Cola in 2022 settled lawsuits alleging that it falsely advertised Fairlife milk as coming from humanely raised cows. The mistreatment of animals depicted in the recent videos is unacceptable. Effective immediately, our supplier, United Dairymen of Arizona (UDA), has suspended delivery of milk from these facilities to all UDA customers, Fairlife told Vox in a statement. We have zero tolerance for animal abuse. Although we operate as milk processors and do not own farms or cows, we mandate that all our milk suppliers adhere to stringent animal welfare standards, and we expect nothing less.So what kind of milk should people drink if they care about nutrition and animal welfare? The perfect milk for most people is made of soybeans. Soy milk is not just high-protein, but also lower in saturated fat than any type of cows milk except skim, much lower in sugar (make sure you get an unsweetened variety), and even has fiber, which, unlike protein, Americans are actually deficient in. If you get a fortified variety, like the leading soy milk brand Silk, you also get calcium, vitamin D, and other essential nutrients. If youre accustomed to cows milk, soy might just taste different. Myths about adverse health effects from soy have been debunked; unless you have an allergy, theres no reason to be afraid of it. To the contrary, soy is simply a bean, and one of the best sources of protein out there. Soy milk is also unequivocally better for the environment than dairy, isnt made with animal abuse, and as a plus, wont help start the next pandemic. The US federal dietary guidelines recognize fortified soy milk as an appropriate substitute for cows milk. Despite this, it is, strangely, the official policy of the US government to promote cows milk consumption and protect it from changing consumer preferences an outdated vestige of 20th-century agricultural policy that punishes plant-based foods at a time when we most need them. Seen in this light, the perceived resurgence of cows milk may really just be one more example of the re-entrenchment of the status quo. Although its seeing a bit of a renaissance, cows milk has never not been mainstream. The truest form of cultural rebellion has always been to simply avoid it. And please, whatever you do, dont drink raw milk. This story originally appeared in the Processing Meat newsletter. Sign up here!Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More: