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  • A software engineer shares the rsum that got him onsite interviews at Meta, Amazon, and Dropbox — and hired at Microsoft
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    Akshay Phadk has spent the past decade in tech, from Big Tech to startups.He faced countless rejections before four rsum strategies helped him land a job at Microsoft.He focused on technical strengths, concise content, visual appeal, and clear communication to stand out.Akshay Phadk, 32, has spent the last decade climbing the ranks in both Big Tech and startups."I aspired to work at such places alongside people who were curious to learn new things, looked at the way things were and thought they could be made better, and wanted to make a difference in people's lives with their work," Phadk told Business Insider.The Seattle-based senior software engineer at Webflow started his career in tech by landing two consecutive internships at Ericsson while pursuing his master's degree in electrical and computer engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.After graduating from his master's program in 2016, Phadk was hired full-time at Ericsson before working at Microsoft, B2B SAAS fintech startup Vareto, and Webflow.In addition to landing his offer from Microsoft, Phadk also secured final onsite interview rounds at Meta, Amazon, Dropbox, and Yelp, as well as job offers from 23andMe and Wayfair.The offers didn't come easily, though.He said he had "countless interviews" where the outcome wasn't in his favor, and each rejection stung, especially in cases where he'd reached the final stage of the interview loop. When Phadk got the good news of his job offers, he felt "shock mixed with half-disbelief and relief, like I'd just run a marathon."Four ways to make your rsum stand outHere's the exact rsum that helped Phadk score these victories, and the four choices he made that he feels helped him stand out from other candidates. Courtesy of Akshay Phadk 1. Keep a narrow focus on technical strengths"Listing a lot of technologies even if someone has used all of them can hurt more than help," he said, as it could be perceived by hiring teams as inflating your capabilities."New grads or early-in-career candidates may feel tempted to include more technologies to make their rsum more competitive, but it only opens them up to more scrutiny," he said. "Tech companies are looking for engineers who've solved meaningful problems at scale. These opportunities require time and effort to build, so for someone with five to seven years of experience, the number of such projects will usually be in the single digits."Listing too many technologies can also backfire when interviewers probe the candidate's capabilities, Phadk explained."A less-than-satisfactory response to a question about a technology one hasn't used recently even if they're familiar with it may mean a rejection, especially if a lot of candidates are competing for the same role," he said.On his rsum, Phadk mentioned only the top technologies the ones he'd used the most and had the most technical knowledge of with each role, and rated his own expertise with each technology with a graphic showing his self-assessed skill level between one and five."This was an attempt to show my confidence in certain skills rated higher by me, and acknowledge that I had more learning left in other skills rated lower," he said. "I wanted to make it clear that I wasn't claiming expert-level competence in all the skills listed on my resume."Phadk highlighted his Apache Spark expertise prominently in the description of his last role, which he feels helped him stand out in his Microsoft application, as it was one of the technologies the team was investing in.When the hiring team asked him deep probing questions about technologies that he had less experience with, Phadk was upfront and honest if he didn't know the answer. "It isn't possible to be an expert in everything, and being honest about not knowing the answer is better, in my opinion, than guesswork," he said.2. Be concise in all rsum elementsThis same "less is more" strategy served Phadk in his overall rsum, which he kept to a lean one-pager."Hiring managers dedicate 30 seconds to a minute to review each rsum," Phadk said. "I wanted to ensure that my rsum communicated the most important pieces of information in that timeframe, while also creating a strong hook."To achieve these goals, in addition to ensuring he didn't add too many technical details, he served up a hook by dedicating two to three lines to describe each of his key projects."Because of this, I was able to create a sense of curiosity, and I was consistently able to secure a hiring manager technical screening interview in which the hiring manager wanted to know more about my work," Phadk said.3. Stand out visuallyEven for people without graphic design skills, you can still take steps to make your rsum visually pleasing.Phadk included company and university logos from his past roles and schools on his rsum to create a strong brand association. He also used a custom sans-serif font over a serif font to create a polished and professional feel and adopted a grayscale color palette instead of a black one for a softer reading experience."I've never used Microsoft Word or text editing software to create my rsums," Phadk said. "I feel rsums created this way end up looking generic especially if you use templates, which almost everyone else does too."Instead, he's experimented with a few software programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, LaTeX, and Figma to create his rsum.4. Clearly communicate responsibilities and outcomesCandidates sometimes blend their own achievements with team achievements on their rsums, which can make it harder for recruiters and hiring teams to determine what work they really did.To avoid this, Phadk listed only the work he did as an individual not what his team did collectively and did so in simple terms without jargon."Hiring managers are looking for engineers who can communicate their achievements objectively and clearly understand how their work adds value," he said.To reveal the full scope of his project areas, Phadk ensured that his rsum emphasized projects in different areas of software engineering, spanning systems engineering, backend web development, and data engineering.Phadk stressed that demonstrating the ability to adapt to new paradigms and technologies gives hiring managers confidence that they can trust you with projects that are out of your comfort zone."The takeaway for the hiring manager was my ability to pick up new technologies and be successful with them," Phadk said.If you landed a job in Big Tech and would like to share your story, email Jane Zhang at janezhang@businessinsider.com.
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  • A tech exec ate lots of ultra-processed foods. He became CEO of a nutrition company and took 5 steps to improve his diet.
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    Jonathan Wolf was a tech exec who ate a lot of ultra-processed foods before cofounding a nutrition company.Wolf improved his diet by making small changes over a few years.They include eating fewer UPFs and switching from milk to dark chocolate.When Jonathan Wolf co-founded the nutrition company ZOE eight years ago, his diet was "not great." He was eating lots of ultra-processed food and tons of sugar, he told Business Insider.But he began making incremental changes to his diet in 2017,after he met ZOE co-founderTim Spector, an epidemiologistwho studies nutrition and gut health at Kings College London.Wolf was previously the chief product officer at an advertising tech company. Spector made him aware of how he could improve his diet, including by caring for his gut microbiome, or the microorganisms that live in the gastrointestinal tract. Evidence suggests that a diverse gut microbiome, partly achieved by eating fibrous and fermented foods, is linked to better physical and mental health.Here are the positive steps Wolf took.1) Eating fewer ultra-processed foods Ultra-processed food is made using industrial processes. MJ_Prototype/ Getty In the last 18 months, Wolf has become more aware of and reluctant to eat ultra-processed foods, he said. UPFs are made using industrial processes, and can contain additives such as preservatives and emulsifiers. They were linked to 32 health problems in a recent study, but the authors said further research is needed to confirm there is a link between UPFs and poor health.Wolf tries to eat fewer UPFs, including by avoiding artificial sweeteners or foods at restaurants that are likely to be ultra-processed."We're eating these foods that are made with ingredients that have never been available in the kitchen, that our bodies have never been exposed to before. Whereas our grandparents were eating zero ultra-processed foods," he said. "I suspect it's going to turn out to be a huge part of the health crisis that we're having."It can be hard to cut out UPFs entirely because they are ubiquitous, particularly in Western countries. Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a dietitian, previously told BI how they can be incorporated into a healthy diet.2) Shifting focus from excluding to adding foods to his dietWolf had stopped eating foods that he was led to believe weren't healthy, such as gluten.But research on the gut microbiome published in 2021, which ZOE was involved with, showed that a more diverse gut microbiome was associated with better markers of health, including lower blood pressure and a lower chance of having a fatty liver.Participants who ate a variety of healthy, plant-based foods had more diverse gut microbiomes, the study found.Wolf realized he needed to eat more whole foods to increase the diversity of his diet and, therefore, his gut microbiome.3) Working up to eating 30 plants a weekSpector was part of a 2018 American Gut Project study into how many types of dietary fiber, found in plants, are needed for a diverse microbiome. Fruits and vegetables were factored in, as well as other plant-based items such as spices.It concluded that 30 plants a week appeared to provide enough, which Wolf tries to aim for. Wolf tries to eat 30 plants a week to improve his gut microbiome diversity. istetiana/Getty Images "I did not get there in one step. In fact, it took me years to increase to 30. But I did it steadily, and I think the biggest thing that helped was the realization that tinned food and frozen food can actually be really healthy," he said.He tries to keep nutritious foods on hand, such as frozen spinach, canned beans, and nuts, so he can easily throw together a meal that contains at least a few plants.4) Gradually switching from milk to dark chocolateWolf was pleased to discover that he could still eat chocolate every day as part of a healthy diet."If you're eating a really high-quality dark chocolate, there's a lot of science that says that's actually good for you," he said, partly because it counts as one of your 30 plants a week, contains fiber, and is fermented.He slowly transitioned from eating milk chocolate, to 50% cocoa, to 60%, and all the way up to 90%. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants, fiber, and polyphenols.5) Eating fewer foods that spike his blood sugarWolf cut down on foods that spiked his blood sugar particularly high, specifically white bread and tea with lots of sugar.Blood sugar spikes are a safe and necessary part of digesting food. But having consistently high or low blood sugar can lead to a higher risk of chronic diseases, Sarah Berry, professor of nutritional sciences at King's College London, previously told BI.Wolf replaced white bread with rye bread because itZOE sells continuous glucose monitors, which were originally developed for people with diabetes to track their blood sugar levels. However, experts are split on whether they are useful for non-diabetics, and fear they may lead to people avoiding certain foods unnecessarily.
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  • Google's AI lab CEO said DeepSeek is China's 'best work' he's seen so far but that it showed 'no actual new scientific advance'
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    DeepMind's Demis Hassabis said DeepSeek's new model is "impressive" but overhyped.Hassabis said it brought "no actual new scientific advance," as firms like his race to develop AGI.He also said many of the techniques used by DeepSeek were pioneered by his team.Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google's DeepMind, said he's impressed by DeepSeek's new AI model but thinks the hype around the Chinese tech is exaggerated."I mean, just briefly, on DeepSeek, it's an impressive piece of work, and I think it's probably the best work I've seen come out of China," Hassabis said on Sunday in Paris, where he's set to attend the AI Action Summit."But it's important to understand that despite the hype, there's no actual new scientific advance there. It's using known techniques," added Hassabis. "Actually many of the techniques we invented at Google and at DeepMind."He cited Alpha Zero, DeepMind's learning system that taught itself chess, go, and shogi to the point where it could beat world champions.Still, Hassabis acknowledged that DeepSeek's new model could make a difference on the "geopolitical scale."The Chinese AI product sent shockwaves through the tech industry last month when it showed that it could rival American models like OpenAI's ChatGPT, threatening to overturn what the markets had believed was a substantial lead held by US firms.DeepSeek also said that it spent a fraction of what American firms were investing in their AI models, shaking perceptions of how much it truly costs to develop and improve advanced machine learning. The model's debut eventually sparked a $1 trillion sell-off in the US market.Meanwhile, Google also said in its earnings on Tuesday that it's planning to spend $75 billion on capital expenditure this year.His team and those at AI powerhouses like OpenAI and Microsoft have been focused on a race to achieve artificial general intelligence, or the point when an AI model can reach or surpass human reasoning.DeepMind, DeepSeek, and Highflyer, the Chinese hedge fund that backs DeepSeek, did not respond to requests for comment sent by Business Insider.
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  • The CEO of a $282 billion chip machine producer takes one easy step to stay calm at the start of a big presentation
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    ASML's CEO advises people focus on breathing before a big presentation.Other executives, including Marc Benioff and Ray Dalio, have long evangelized about meditation.ASML, a key player in semiconductor manufacturing, is facing geopolitical challenges in China.Dutch semiconductor giant ASML's CEO has a simple piece of advice for anyone going into a big presentation: inhale and exhale."Watch the way you are going to breathe for the first 30 seconds," Christophe Fouquet said on a Norges Bank podcast posted on Wednesday. "If you breathe too fast, then your presentation will go wrong very quickly."The CEO most recently spoke at a series of interviews at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January.Fouquet highlighted some activities that help him avoid stress: listening to music, playing sports, and spending time with his kids.Salesforce's CEO Marc Benioff and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio are among other executive-level advocates for mindfulness and meditation. Benioff has said that he starts each day by meditating for 30 to 60 minutes."I'm grateful to have learned how to meditate 30 years ago because I learned how to stop the inner critic," Benioff wrote on X in 2019.Dalio has called his meditation practice which he started in 1969, even before founding his hedge fund "the single most important reason for whatever success I've had."ASML, Europe's second-largest tech company, is known for making large lithography machines needed to produce some high-end chips. Its biggest customers are chip manufacturers TSMC, Samsung, and Intel.Fouquet, who has been the CEO since April 2024, is leading ASML through the artificial intelligence boom and a period plagued by uncertainty over geopolitical tensions between the US and China. He has worked at ASML since 2008.The $282 billion company has been under pressure from the Dutch and US governments to further restrict sales of its technology to China one of its biggest markets over security concerns about AI and other technologies.ASML's shares are down nearly 20% in the past year, due to weakening demand from chipmakers.
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  • Russian troops are turning to donkeys for battlefield transport as the war approaches its 3-year mark
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    Several Russian officials are defending military use of donkeys after images of the pack animals went viral.Pro-war bloggers said the donkeys are being used to transport ammo and supplies to front-line units.One parliament official said Russia is experiencing "very significant difficulties" with logistics.Donkeys are starting to appear among the Kremlin's invasion forces, with Russian media and war commentators reporting that the animals are used to ferry ammunition and supplies.The spotlight on the pack animals comes as the Ukraine war continues to strain resources on both sides, and as Russia's ability to sustain its cornered economy now increasingly reliant on defense manufacturing remains in question. Its full-scale invasion is set to enter its fourth year on February 24.Pro-Kremlin military bloggers published footage last week of soldiers interacting with donkeys, saying they were deployed as pack transport. Business Insider could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage."The guys in one of the directions were given a donkey for logistics. A real donkey," wrote one military blogger who posted a photo of a donkey standing next to a uniformed man."What did you expect? Vehicles are in short supply these days!" wrote another Russian commentator, Kirill Federov.A widely circulated voice note, which Russian bloggers said was from a soldier on the front lines, said the donkeys were not provided by volunteers but by Russia's Defense Ministry. However, the ministry has not publicly addressed the claim.Federov and several other bloggers also posted an image of three armed people in uniform posing with a camel.It's unclear how widely the donkeys are being deployed, but several Russian officials publicly defended the practice when the images went viral among military bloggers."There's nothing wrong with this," Viktor Sobolev, a member of the State Duma's defense committee, told the Russian outlet Gazeta. The State Duma is the lower house of Russia's national legislature.Sobolev, a retired lieutenant general of the Russian army, cited " very significant difficulties in supplying units and subdivisions" with ammo and food. He said pack-animal transport was a valid solution, and that losing a donkey would be better for the Russian military than losing troops or transport vehicles."During the Great Patriotic War, part of our artillery was horse-drawn," Sobolev added, referring to World War II.Another member of the State Duma defense committee, Viktor Zavarin, told the Russian TV network RTVI: "Let it work, let the donkeys help the victory."The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by BI.Meanwhile, the appearance of the donkeys has triggered a deluge of satirical memes in both Russia and Ukraine, such as a comic panel about aSoviet version of the donkey character Eeyorefrom the cartoon "Winnie the Pooh" being mobilized for the war.Two Majors, a popular pro-war Russian military blogger, asked on Telegram if donkeys that gave birth in service would have their offspring considered state-owned property."If one is captured by an enemy sabotage group, will it be considered missing in action or a prisoner of war?" they wrote.
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  • Dunkin's Super Bowl ad hits Starbucks where it's already hurting
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    Dunkin' roasted Starbucks in its Super Bowl advertisement.The ad, starring Ben and Casey Affleck, took shots at Starbucks' long wait times and over-customization.The ad ended with the bold slogan, "America runs on Dunkin'."Dunkin' used the biggest ad space of the year to take shots at Starbucks.The Super Bowl advertisement, which featured actor-siblings duo Ben and Casey Affleck and NFL coach Bill Belichick decked out in Dunkin' merch, depicted a competition among coffee brands.The Affleck brothers and Belichick took turns roasting a group of baristas dressed in green jackets, which resembled Starbucks' signature green aprons and uniforms.Although the trio did not explicitly mention Starbucks, they targeted some of the chain's widely publicizedproblems, such as long wait times and over-customization.When one of the green-clad baristas said, "Dunkin'! About to get roasted! Like a dark seasonal roast with coriander and slight balsamic drizzle," Belichick replied, "Sounds like what's in my garbage disposal."Ben Affleck took a jab at Starbucks, asking, "How much to wait a half hour to get my name spelled wrong in the cup?"His brother Casey followed up with "Nobody wants a goat milk double half-caf soy milk cap. You could just brew it it's beans and water."In the extended six-minute-long video, they also targeted fast-food brands like McDonald's coffee and breakfast are an increasingly important part of its menu.The ad comes as Starbucks' new CEO, Brian Niccol, has been working to simplify the chain's offerings and eliminate long wait times by streamlining its mobile ordering system.On the January 28 earnings call, Niccol and Starbucks' finance chief said the chain would also cut 30% of the menu items to streamline service.Niccol, who said that mobile orderings had "chipped away" at the company's "soul," is trying to make Starbucks a cozy coffeehouse where customers can hang out. Dunkin', meanwhile, has long been known as a cheaper to-go coffee shop with little comfortable seating.To reduce long wait times, Starbucks' CEO introduced a new algorithm for mobile orders in the earnings call in an effort to make mobile ordering a lot smoother.A Starbucks representative confirmed to BI on Wednesday that it would lower the cap on the number of drinks customers can buy in one mobile order from 15 to 12 and remove some customization options for its mobile orders.Representatives for Dunkin and Starbucks did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.
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  • Sam Altman says the cost of using AI will drop by 10 times every year
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    AI is going to become cheaper to use, says Sam Altman.The CEO of OpenAI said in a blog post that the cost of using AI will drop by 10 times every year.OpenAI announced Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure investment project, in January.Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, says AI will be used more frequently as its costs continue to plummet."The cost to use a given level of AI falls about 10x every 12 months, and lower prices lead to much more use," Altman wrote in a blog post on Sunday."You can see this in the token cost from GPT-4 in early 2023 to GPT-4o in mid-2024, where the price per token dropped about 150x in that time period," he added. "Moore's law changed the world at 2x every 18 months; this is unbelievably stronger." That was one of the three observations Altman made in his post, which focused on the development of AI.Besides cost, Altman said that an AI model's intelligence is equal to the amount of resources used to develop it."It appears that you can spend arbitrary amounts of money and get continuous and predictable gains; the scaling laws that predict this are accurate over many orders of magnitude," Altman wrote.Altman also said that there would be "no reason for exponentially increasing investment to stop in the near future" since the intelligence of AI models is growing at a "super-exponential" rate."If these three observations continue to hold true, the impacts on society will be significant," Altman wrote."The price of many goods will eventually fall dramatically (right now, the cost of intelligence and the cost of energy constrain a lot of things), and the price of luxury goods and a few inherently limited resources like land may rise even more dramatically," he added.Representatives for Altman at OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Altman's post comes just weeks after a massive sell-off in AI-linked stocks in January.The sell-off was triggered by the runaway success of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. DeepSeek's high-performing but cheaper models raised concerns that demand for AI hardware like Nvidia's chips may fall.Meanwhile, tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta, are doubling down on the AI race. Executives from these companies said in recent earnings reports that they are ramping up their investments on AI.The combined capital expenditures of the four companies are set to surpass $320 billion this year.Last month, Altman was at the White House when President Donald Trump announced Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure investment project. Stargate is a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and Emirati investor MGX."This means we can create AI and AGI in the United States of America," Altman said of Stargate during an interview on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" on January 21.
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  • Trump is instructing the Treasury to stop making new pennies
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    2025-02-10T04:29:16Z Read in app Trump on Sunday said he'd ordered the Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Reuters/Christian Charisius This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Trump said on Sunday that he's ordered the Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Trump, in his post on Truth Social, called the production of pennies "wasteful." "Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time," he wrote.President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt the production of new pennies."For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post."Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time," he added.Trump's announcement comes weeks after Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, criticized the costs of making pennies.DOGE said in an X post on January 22 that producing pennies "cost US taxpayers over $179 million" in fiscal year 2023.
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  • Every song on Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show setlist
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    2025-02-10T01:56:32Z Read in app Kendrick Lamar performs at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. Cindy Ord/Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Kendrick Lamar headlined the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday.He kicked off the set list with "Squabble Up," "Humble," and "DNA."SZA joined Lamar for "Luther" and "All the Stars." He closed with "Not Like Us" and "TV Off."Kendrick Lamar took the field at Super Bowl LIX on Sunday to cap a watershed year in his career, which has yielded three No. 1 songs, a No. 1 album, five Grammy Awards, and a decisive victory in his rap beef with Drake.Lamar was joined onstage by SZA, his longtime collaborator and Top Dawg labelmate, as well as his "Not Like Us" producer, DJ Mustard. The performance was narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, who satirically teased Lamar for being "too loud, too reckless, too ghetto" while dressed as Uncle Sam.Jackson's role underscored the performance's red, white, and blue motifs and American flag iconography, suggesting a deeper commentary on what constitutes "American" music, especially when it's made by Black artists.Below is every song in Lamar's halftime show setlist, listed in chronological order. "Squabble Up""Squabble Up" was released in 2024. Kendrick Lamar/YouTube Lamar opened his performance with a teaser from an unreleased song, which fans have tentatively dubbed "Bodies," before transitioning into "Squabble Up.""Squabble Up" was released as the second track on Lamar's latest album, "GNX," and promoted as the lead single.It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Lamar the first solo male artist to have three instant chart-toppers in a single year."Humble"Kendrick Lamar in "Humble." Kendrick Lamar/YouTube "Humble" was released as the lead single from Lamar's fourth studio album, "Damn.," which won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Music."DNA"Kendrick Lamar in "DNA." Kendrick Lamar/YouTube "DNA" is the second track on "Damn." The song famously includes a clip of Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera discussing Lamar's lyrics in "Alright" ("This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years")."Euphoria"Kendrick Lamar performs at the 2025 Super Bowl. Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images "Euphoria" was released amid Lamar's recent showdown with Drake, in which the rappers swapped eight diss tracks back and forth."Man at the Garden"Kendrick Lamar in a press photo for "GNX." Courtesy of pgLang "Man at the Garden" is the fourth track on "GNX.""Peekaboo"Kendrick Lamar in a press photo for "GNX." Courtesy of pgLang "Peekaboo" is the ninth track on "GNX." The studio version features AzChike."Luther" featuring SZAKendrick Lamar and SZA perform at the 2025 Super Bowl. Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images "Luther" is the third track on "GNX." It's one of Lamar's many duets with SZA, following "Babylon" (2014), "Easy Bake" (2015), and "Doves in the Wind" (2017).The pair will embark on a co-headlining tour later this year, dubbed the Grand National Tour."All the Stars" featuring SZASZA in "All The Stars." Kendrick Lamar/YouTube "All the Stars" was released as the lead single from the "Black Panther" soundtrack, which Lamar curated and executive produced. The song was nominated for best original song at the 2019 Oscars."Not Like Us"Kendrick Lamar in "Not Like Us." Kendrick Lamar/YouTube Lamar's "Not Like Us" was the centerpiece of his beef with Drake. It topped the Hot 100 for two weeks and won five Grammys, including song and record of the year.During Lamar's performance of the song, he omitted the word "pedophile" but kept other lyrics that directly reference their beef, including "Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young / You better not ever go to cell block one," and "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor.""TV Off"Mustard joined Kendrick Lamar for his performance of "TV Off" at the 2025 Super Bowl. Jamie Squire/Getty Images "TV Off" is the seventh track on "GNX." The studio version features Lefty Gunplay, a fellow rapper from Los Angeles.
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  • Nike made a surprise comeback at the Super Bowl — and JPMorgan analysts broke the news
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    Nike aired its first ad in the Super Bowl in 27 years on Sunday.The brand's return to the big game comes as its new CEO looks to reverse a sales slump.It has shaken up its marketing division and wants to create cultural moments to elevate its brands.Nike made a surprise return as a Super Bowl advertiser for the first time in 27 years.JPMorgan analysts stole Nike's thunder by sharing the news in a research note published Thursday following a meeting with the brand's CEO and CFO.Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The ad featured a who's who of women in sports, including track and field star Sha'Carri Richardson and WNBA player Caitlin Clark, over narration by Grammy-Award-winning rapper Doechii."You can't be demanding. You can't be relentless. You can't put yourself first," Doechii can be heard saying. "So put yourself first."Nike said in a statement that the company "has a starkly different perspective, offering a call to athletes across the globe: Do it anyway and redefine the expectations of sport along the way."The marketing push comes at a high-stakes moment for Nike, which has been struggling to reviveSuper Bowl advertisers have spent more than $8 million to secure 30 seconds of airtime.Nike has not yet revealed the commercial. While some advertisers release creative ahead of the game, there are always a few surprises.Nike's new CEO, Elliott Hill, detailed a turnaround plan in December. Hill rejoined Nike in October after a four-year hiatus. He was formerly the company's president of marketplace and consumer.Since taking the helm, Hill has called out Nike for certain missteps, such as offering too many discounts and shifting attention away from its relationships with wholesalers.The company is also trying to make iconic sneaker brands like Jordans and Air Force 1s hot again by pulling back on supply to boost demand.Nike's revenue slid 8% year over year to $12.4 billion during the three months ending November 30, the company said in December. Nike shares are down roughly 30% over the last 12 months.Nike has also shaken up its marketing department in recent months to elevate its brand storytelling, as Adweek previously reported. Several company veterans returned to or were elevated in the marketing organization over the last year, including former vice president Nicole Hubbard Graham who was named marketing chief.Nike seems to be banking on big cultural moments to get its brand back on track.The company debuted a new ad timed around this month's Grammy Awards that highlighted the legacy of its 40-year-old Jordan Brand.JPMorgan analysts met with Hill and Nike financial chief Matthew Friend at an event on Thursday morning. In a research note recapping the meet and greet, the analysts said Nike execs cited "excitement" around Hubbard's return and the brand's representation at "large consumer moments," including the Jordan campaign and a planned Super Bowl ad.Hill told investors in December that Nike had to "get back to putting sport at the center of everything that we do." He said the company would invest in "big, bold brand marketing efforts" and important sports moments.
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  • Elon Musk's private jet left the Washington, DC area for the first time since Trump's inauguration
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    Elon Musk's work with DOGE has dominated political discourse in recent weeks.Early in Trump's second term, Musk has become a fixture in Washington.One of Musk's private jets recently left the DC area for the first time in weeks.A Gulfstream jet owned by Elon Musk, who is these days mostly busy with his work at the Department of Government Efficiency, has left the Washington, DC area for the first time since President Donald Trump's January inauguration.That's according to data provided by Jack Sweeney, who tracks the private planes of high-profile figures like Musk and music megastar Taylor Swift.Flight information shows one of Musk's jets leaving Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Friday and traveling to Austin. In recent years, Texas has become the home base for the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive. It's unclear if Musk himself was on the jet that left the Washington area.Business Insider has reached out to Musk for comment.Sweeney told Business Insider that it's unusual for Musk's jet to be in one place for such a long period."It might be possible that he left DC and flew on someone else's plane, which I don't know," Sweeney said. "But, obviously, he's been focused on the government."Musk has become the face of Trump's efforts to shrink or eliminate government departments and agencies by focusing on their spending and finding efficiencies that could save taxpayer dollars.The tech mogul has set his sights on the United States Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Education, among other departments, as he aims to reduce spending across the board.Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether Musk has aconflict of interestgiven federal contracts that his company, SpaceX, has previously received.Others have raised concerns about the young DOGE staffers who largely lack government experience. Last week, 19 Democratic state attorneys general sued Trump for giving DOGE access to sensitive, personal information at the Treasury Department.Musk hopes to cut at least $1 trillion in spending and has said that cutting $2 trillion in spending is the "best-case outcome."
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  • I wanted to blame my husband for leaving me. I realized he saved my life.
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    My ex and I married in 2004, and he asked for a divorce in 2017. I was angry at him because he had fallen in love with someone else. Looking back, he saved my life by leaving me. In 2017, my now ex-husband fell in love with another woman and asked for a divorce. We had two young children, I was a stay-at-home wife, and I fell apart. I was in therapy, I stopped drinking, I was looking inward, but I vowed to cling to this trauma to keep the blame on him. Until one day I looked around and realized he actually saved my life.I grew up with alcoholism in my homeI had grown up in a house with love and laughter and alcoholism, and I was happy, but there was sadness there. I had parents who loved me and a brother who "brothered" me, but there was dysfunction like there is in many homes. I didn't recognize anything as off when I was young, but I've learned in therapy how it has shaped my life. I'd just turned 16 in 1993 when my brother died suddenly, and the crack in my family became a crevice. We tried to fill the crevices with what we could to survive; we all changed forever.At 17, I began drinking and using drugs to numb, and those things led to more impulsive, riskier choices. I disguised my recklessness as having a good time, just like everyone else was. I was promiscuous; I made bad choices and lived with the consequences. Along the way, I grew up, adding to the invisible weight of all the traumas I didn't know I had.I got married and had a seemingly normal lifeIn 1999, I met my ex-husband while finishing up my B.A. in Writing and running the literary magazine at our college. I looked forward to finding an internship in Manhattan to complete my degree. He was completing his Master's in Education and planned on going back to his native Long Island to teach science. We fell in love, we grew up and got jobs. And then, in 2004, we got married.In 2010, I left my publishing career and became a stay-at-home mom to a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old. Even in all the chaos and joy of raising my kids, I was lonely. I started my blog, "The Mother Octopus," in 2016 to revive my writing passion. I wrote a lot: funny blog posts, true stories about kids roasting me, and other nonsense. Things were taking off. But I was using humor to mask a dark clinical depression I didn't know I was suffering from.I drank socially, like everyone else, but I drank to hide the fact that I didn't know myself and I didn't like myself. I was drinking to disappear.My husband was deeply unhappy. The lack of connection in our relationship had driven him away. I knew this in my heart, but in my head, I convinced myself this was just us. When he announced he wanted a divorce because he was in love with someone else, I was devastated. But also, this was where the magic happened.I was angryI stopped drinking a little over a year after my ex left. I knew it was finally time to get myself out of that neverending cycle of numbing, self-loathing, and shame that I felt when drinking. But just as I pulled myself out of that cycle, I entered a new one.Among the alleged stages of grief denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance are most common. My grief did not go in that order.My grief went like this: denial, ANGER, ANGER, ANGER, ANGER, ANGER, a LOT more ANGER. I was stuck there until my father died in December of 2023, and that cycle ended. My perspective on life, love, and marriage changed, and it finally brought me to acceptance. That acceptance led me to do the one thing I promised myself I'd never do. I forgave him. And I forgave myself.When my husband left, I chose to be the victim, and by holding onto my anger, he stayed the one to blame. I stayed angry for a lot of years. But luckily, I was getting to know myself in therapy, I got honest about my parts in the problem. Of course, I was hard to live with. I could no longer lie to myself. I had to take accountability and stop treating myself like a victim.I'm at peace with not having the perfect familyMy life looks different now. The perfect family I planned for is gone now we're two families, and sometimes four families, navigating many lives and ups and downs and finding our way. But I'm at peace. My ex and I get along much better now. It's better for us, and it's best for our kids.I know I can't get back the years I spent choosing anger, but I can do my best to remember that it was all on my own path to finding peace. I'll always be grateful to my ex-husband for choosing that path for me.
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  • I have celiac disease, which can make eating with friends and family difficult. I've learned to stand up for myself and my needs.
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    A celiac disease diagnosis requires lifelong gluten avoidance for me to stay healthy and feel my best.At times, it has been tricky to navigate dining with family and friends.Clear communication is key, but it's also important to set boundaries and stand up for myself."I'm sorry, but if you go to that restaurant, I cannot join you," I said to my aunt over the phone. At the time, I knew the restaurant my aunt and the group she was with was planning to dine at wasn't going to work for me. I had previously contacted the restaurant and someone on staff informed me that they couldn't guarantee that my food would be free of gluten. For me, it was a hard no.I have celiac disease, which is a chronic autoimmune condition that affects the small intestine, which can be damaged when it comes into contact with gluten. I was diagnosed a few weeks before I turned 18. While it wasn't a desired birthday gift, over the last eight years I've learned to live with this issue comfortably.The treatment for this condition is straightforward: avoid eating gluten for all your life. While this might sound drastic, it is feasible. Most foods, like veggies and fruit, as well as protein and healthy fat sources, naturally don't contain gluten. There are a good number of gluten-free options among cereals and pseudocereals too, such as rice, corn, buckwheat, and amaranth. I just have to be proactive and know what I'm putting into my body.Still, when dining out with other people or in other people's homes, celiac disease can be psychologically challenging. Here's how I've learned to manage some common scenarios.When dining out I research and ask for informationWhere I live in Italy, the AIC (Italian Celiac Society) maintains a list of certified venues that I know will have gluten-free options. However, I often want to dine somewhere else or I am not the one deciding the location. While AIC-certified venues are safer choices for people with celiac disease, I have become quite comfortable going to non-certified restaurants, provided that I check in with them beforehand.When dining out somewhere I haven't been before, I usually call ahead to inform them I have celiac disease and inquire about gluten-free options. I also look at the restaurant's website to explore its menu, which sometimes it indicates potential allergens or states that the restaurant's staff is trained to help customers with intolerances.Some months ago I was invited to a friend's birthday party. When I called the restaurant we'd be attending, the staff seemed knowledgeable about celiac disease, which was a good sign. At the dinner party, I reminded them of my condition when ordering a seafood dish. They told me there was an element with gluten but they would tell the chef to prepare the dish without it and to take special care. This made me feel cared for, which is always a pleasant experience.When eating at someone else's house I explain my dietary needs When dining at a friend's home, I often call to discuss the menu ahead of time. If other guests are having food with gluten, like pasta, I either plan to skip that course, ask for an alternative, or offer to bring something . If I have any doubts about a dish, I know to ask the host for clarification. If they are uncertain about the ingredients, I ask them if they checked if it contains gluten when they bought it. Based on their answer, I make my choice.Now, my friends and family know that I have celiac disease, so I don't have to explain my dietary needs in-depth anymore. Still, I sometimes should be more thorough, specifically telling them that clean cookware is needed and that they should wash their hands if they have touched food with gluten.I'm not afraid to stand up for myselfDuring that call with my aunt, we decided to change the venue and go to one of my favorite restaurants, an AIC-certified venue where almost all dishes have a gluten-free version (even pizza!). She assured me it wasn't an issue if this made me feel safer, so I enjoyed a delightful dinner with my cousin, my aunt, and a friend.
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  • Sam Altman's World Network says 1 in 4 people are flirting with chatbots online
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    Romanticizing a chatbot might be more common than you think.WorldcoinSam Altman's World Network surveyed over 90,000 users on AI and dating.It found that 26% of people flirt with chatbots, knowingly or not.World Network's new product, World ID Deep Face, aims to verify humans on dating apps and platforms.When the movie Her debuted in 2013, its plot about a man falling in love with an AI operating system seemed, if not wholly original, a vision of the distant future.About a decade later, though, relationships between AI chatbots and humans are becoming more commonplace.Take Replika, a dating app launched in 2017 that lets users create customized romantic chatbots. By 2023, it had about 676,000 daily active users, with the average user spending two hours a day on the app, according to figures from Apptopia.It's not only Replika users. Romanticizing a chatbot is becoming a global phenomenon.One in four people admitted to flirting with a chatbot either knowingly or unknowingly, according to a survey conducted by Sam Altman's futuristic project, World, formerly known as Worldcoin. The company surveyed 90,000 of the 25 million people on its network about their feelings on love in the age of AI.The majority of respondents said they are still wary of interacting with bots. About 90% said they want dating apps to have a system for verifying real humans. About 60% of users said they have either suspected or discovered that they matched with a bot.To help users combat deepfakes, World launched a product called World ID Deep Face. It relies on the World's existing verification system whichtakes pictures of humans' iriseswith a melon-sized orb to verify on platforms like Google Meet, Zoom, or dating apps that users are communicating with real humans in real-time video or chat interactions. World is in the process of rolling out the system in beta."As someone that uses dating apps, all the time I get catfished," Tiago Sada, the chief product officer of Tools for Humanity, the company building World's technology, told Business Insider. "You see profiles that they're just too good to be true. Or you realize this person has six fingers. Why do they have six fingers? Turns out it's AI."Read the original article on Business Insider
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  • The billionaires and tech execs pumping millions into cricket
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    Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO Jason Redmond / AFP/ Getty Images The Microsoft CEO was part of a consortium of 11 tech executives who agreed to a reported 145 million (roughly $180 million) deal for a 49% stake in The Hundred's London Spirit team.It's not the first time Nadella has put money into the sport. He was among the lead investors in the US's Major League Cricket and co-owns the league's Seattle Orcas team.Speaking ahead of the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup, Nadella told Bloomberg that cricket was a "big deal" for him."I love the sport, and I'm glad that it's now being played even in the United States," he said.Sundar Pichai, Google CEO Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Pichai was another member of the elite consortium that made headlines with its investment in the Spirit.The Google exec is also a long-time fan of the sport and has said he dreamed of being a cricketer when he was growing up. In an interview with the BBC in 2021, he put his skills to the test and took up both bat and ball against the outlet's Amol Rajan on the Google campus.Shantanu Narayen, Adobe CEO Brendan McDermid/Reuters Like Nadella, Narayen was a member of the tech consortium and also previously invested in Major League Cricket. He is part of the MLC's San Francisco Unicorn team, which is owned by Rocketship.vc partners Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman.Speaking with CNBC-TV18 in June, Narayen said he was continuing to try to build the sport in the US."The question is how do you encourage that farm system?" he said. "Whether it's Satya or me, we love cricket, and we'll continue to champion it."Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images Arora led the group that purchased the Spirit.In a post on LinkedIn following the deal, the CEO said he was excited to partner with Lord's known as "The Home of Cricket" and his fellow techies to support The Hundred."A strong passion for sports brings us all together, Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. Time to put the hundreds on the map," he wrote.In an interview with The Times of London, Arora called it a "one-of-a-kind asset.""We might have paid higher than we thought but we were keen to get the asset and I talked to many of my passionate consortium members and we all figured we'd keep stretching until it became uncomfortable," he added.The consortium also includes Indian media tycoon Satyan Gajwani and Sequoia's Jim Goetz, per Arora.India's billionaire Ambani familyMukesh Ambani with his wife Nita Ambani and their son Anant Ambani. Reliance Industries/Handout via REUTERS Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of the multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, is India's richest person, with a net worth of nearly $90 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.His company reportedly purchased a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles team worth 60 million (around $74 million).Reliance Industries also owns the Indian Premier League's Mumbai Indians, one of the league's most successful franchises.The Ambani's cricket empire also includes the MLC's MI New York team, which won the first edition of the competition.Egon Durban, co-CEO of Silver Lake Partners Silver Lake Durban, co-CEO of the tech-focused private equity firm Silver Lake, was also part of Arora's tech consortium.It's not Silver Lake's first foray into sports. In 2022, the company invested NZ$200 million (around $113 million as of today) in New Zealand Rugby Commercial, an entity that manages the commercial aspects of the All Blacks. Silver Lake increased its stake in NZR Commercial from 5.71% to 7.5% in 2023.NFL legend Tom Brady Nic Antaya/UFL/Getty Outside tech execs and billionaires, Tom Brady-backed investment firm Knighthead Capital Management was announced this week as the preferred private investor for a minority stake in another Hundred team, the Birmingham Phoenix.Subject to the deal's completion, Knighthead will acquire a 49% stake in the team, at a reported value of 40 million (almost $50 million).The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback entered into a partnership with the company in 2023 to become a minority owner of Birmingham City Football Club.
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  • The CFPB says it's shutting down its DC headquarters and has instructed employees to work remotely
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    CFPB employees received an email on Sunday telling them not to come into the office next week.Workers in DC were instructed to work remotely until further notice.CFPB's new acting director, Russell Vought, halted the agency's work on Saturday.A key federal consumer watchdog might be the next target of President Donald Trump's cost-cutting agenda.On Sunday, employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received an email from Adam Martinez, the agency's chief operating officer, telling DC-based employees to work remotely next week."The DC Headquarters Building will be closed this week (2/10-2/14). Employees and contractors are to work remotely unless instructed otherwise from our Acting Director or his designee," the email, viewed by Business Insider, said.It's unclear when, if at all, the DC headquarters will reopen. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.Trump fired Rohit Chopra, the CFPB director under former President Joe Biden, on February 1. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took on the role of acting director of the agency up until Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought took over the role on Saturday night.The CFPB was established in 2011 to protect consumers from financial crises. It's taken enforcement and oversight actions on big banks and lenders, returning billions of dollars to consumers. Vought ordered employees to stop nearly all of the agency's work in an email on Saturday, including its supervisory activities that ensure companies are complying with the law.A CFPB employee told BI that the order caused nearly all of the agency's ongoing work to stop.Vought also wrote in a post on X on Saturday that the CFPB "will not be taking its next draw of unappropriated funding because it is not 'reasonably necessary' to carry out its duties."The CFPB receives its funding from the Federal Reserve rather than through Congress' annual appropriations process, which has been criticized by many GOP lawmakers who have said Congress should oversee the agency's funding."This spigot, long contributing to CFPB's unaccountability, is now being turned off," Vought said.Adam Rust, director of financial services at the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America, previously told BI that shutting down the CFPB would have "real ramifications for people's pocketbooks." The agency had rules to cap overdraft fees and remove medical debt from credit reports, which are now suspended.Elon Musk, the leader of Trump's DOGE commission tasked with slashing government waste, has targeted a range of agencies over the past two weeks. A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's administration from placing over 2,000 USAID workers on paid leave as the administration took steps to shut down the agency."CFPB RIP," Musk wrote on X last week.Got a tip? Contact this reporter securely on Signal at asheffey.97 or email her at asheffey@businessinsider.com.
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  • 20 of the most iconic Super Bowl commercials of all time
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    Coca-Cola: "Mean Joe Greene" (1980)'Mean' Joe Greene drank a bottle of Coca-Cola in this ad from 1980. Coca Cola This ad, in which the Pittsburgh Steelers' Joe Greene drinks a little boy's Coke, became so popular that it spurred an NBC TV movie based on the ad and international versions, such as some featuring soccer star Diego Maradona.Wendy's: "Where's the beef?" (1984)Wendy's wanted to know "Where's the beef?" Wendy's Wendy's has been taking potshots at McDonald's since 1984, but this jab was perhaps one of its most successful, helping the fast-food brand boost its revenue by 31% that year, the Associated Press reported in 1987, according to The New York Times.Apple: "1984" (1984)1984 was the year of Apple's first viral ad. Apple Apple's much-hailed yet very bizarre commercial from 1984 was technically the very first viral ad, making Super Bowl commercials a true phenomenon Forbes called it "The Ad That Changed The Super Bowl."The ad aired only once, but it was replayed on news channels across the world for weeks and contributed to the sale of about $150 million worth of Macintoshes in barely three months.Talk about a return on investment.Pepsi: "Two Kids" (1992)Cindy Crawford enjoyed a can of Pepsi in this iconic ad from 1992. Pepsi This 1992 ad worked so well that Pepsi brought Crawford back for 2018's Super Bowl.It capitalized on the supermodel's popularity while turning viewers' attention to Pepsi's newly redesigned can.McDonald's: "The Showdown" (1993)Larry Bird and Michael Jordan competed for McDonald's in this ad from 1993. McDonald's This 1993 ad while ludicrous pitted rivals Larry Bird and Michael Jordan against each other for a Big Mac and became an instant hit.It not only popularized the basketball saying "nothing but net" during the biggest football game of the year, but also led to many a remake.Monster.com: "When I Grow Up" (1999)Monster.com reminded us that no child wants to be an unhappy employee when they grow up. Monster.com This hard-hitting ad by agency MullenLowe in 1999 featured children sharing the gripes of unhappy employees.It instantly struck a chord andcemented Monster.com's position as a job-search player.E-Trade: "Wasted" (2000)E-Trade said they wasted $2 million on this ad in 2000. E-Trade Trading platform E-Trade's 2000 spot featuring a dancing monkey was a lesson in subversive advertising and ridiculed the insane cost of running a Super Bowl ad while simultaneously driving home the brand's premise of helping users make the most of their money.Doritos: "Live the Flavor" (2007)In 2007, Doritos encouraged everyone to "Live the Flavor." Doritos This 2007 spot was the first-ever crowdsourced Super Bowl ad, AdAge reported, and it let Doritos cut costs while engaging some of its most loyal customers.Snickers: Betty White (2010)Betty White and Snickers showed everyone "You're not you when you're hungry" in 2010. Snickers This 2010 spotfeaturing a then-88-year-old Betty White was where Snickers' now-familiar "You're not you when you're hungry" tagline was born.It became a viral hit. More major stars, like Robin Williams, appeared in later versions.Volkswagen: "The Force" (2011)Volkswagen channeled "The Force" in this 2011 Super Bowl commercial. Volkswagen This endearing spot by Volkswagen features a kid reprising the role of Darth Vader.It went viral right after being released and has received tens of millions of views since.Budweiser: "Puppy Love" (2014)Budweiser aired the ad "Puppy Love" in 2014. Budweiser What do you get when you put an adorable golden retriever puppy and a majestic Clydesdale horse in one frame? A heartwarming romance.Budweiser is a brand that has always aced the Super Bowl, but this iconic ad from 2014 was perhaps its crowning glory.Set to the tune of Passenger's "Let Her Go," this cute story spotlighting the friendship between the two animals racked up tens of millions of views online and became instantly memorable.Always: "#LikeAGirl" (2015)Always' "Like a Girl" campaign for Super Bowl XLIX stands out years later. Always By recasting a phrase often used as an insult as an empowering message, the award-winning Procter and Gamble ad won hearts everywhere.Although a continuation of a campaign that began the previous summer, the spot stood out among a sea of hyper-masculine ads and won praise for changing the conversation about what it means to run, throw, and do pretty much anything "like a girl."Since then, P&G has continued to take stands on important issues, with its Gillette "We Believe" ad being another example.Honda: "Yearbooks" (2017)A young Magic Johnson's yearbook photo was featured in Honda's 2017 Super Bowl ad. Honda In 2017, Honda's unforgettable ad brought Super Bowl viewers a blast from the past with animated yearbook photos of celebrities like Amy Adams, Missy Elliott, Jimmy Kimmel, and Viola Davis to remind everyone of the value of chasing their dreams and believing in themselves.Amazon: "Alexa Loses Her Voice" (2018)Rebel Wilson made a cameo as Alexa's new voice in Amazon's Super Bowl LII ad. Amazon Amazon's star-studded 90-second spot in the 2018 Super Bowl had people buzzing days before the big game and was an instant recipe for success.It featured a host of celebrities, including Rebel Wilson, Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Hopkins, and even Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos.HBO's Game of Thrones X Bud Light: "Joust" (2019)Bud Light's "The Bud Knight" was featured in a crossover ad with HBO's Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones X Bud Light In what turned out to be one of the biggest Super Bowl surprises ever, HBO hijacked Bud Light's Super Bowl ad in 2019 to tout the final season of Game of Thrones, giving fans a weird crossover of the hit show and Dilly Dilly.Fans were caught off guard, social media went crazy, and the two brands clocked one of the biggest Super Bowl successes.Cheetos: "Can't Touch This" (2020)MC Hammer was featured in Cheetos' Super Bowl LIV commercial. Cheetos MC Hammer leaned on his 1990 classic "U Can't Touch This" to sell Cheetos Popcorn in an ad that played on the common experience of "Cheetos fingers."The appeal to nostalgia definitely worked, as the ad ranked 10th overall in 2020's USA Today Ad Meter contest, in which panelists rate and rank Super Bowl commercials.State Farm: "Drake From State Farm" (2021)Jake from State Farm and Drake were featured in State Farm's Super Bowl LV commercial. State Farm Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Jake from State Farm compared stand-ins in this 2021 spot from State Farm Insurance. The hilarious ad made a pretty convincing case that if Drake ever needs a break from music which he might need after Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance returning to his acting roots to star as "Drake from State Farm" could be a great backup option.Even Hulu had to get in on the action, commenting on X, "started with khaki bottoms now we're here," in reference to Drake's hit song "Started From the Bottom."Bud Light: "Land of Loud Flavors" (2022)Guy Fieri starred in Bud Light's Super Bowl LVI commercial. Bud Light Guy Fieri teamed up with Bud Light for his first Super Bowl ad appearance to bring viewers to "The Land of Loud Flavors." The celebrity chef boasted about the taste of Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda, declaring the drink had "the loudest flavors of all time."The Farmer's Dog: "Forever" (2023)The Farmer's Dog's Super Bowl LVII commercial won USA Today's Ad Meter competition. The Farmer's Dog In 2023, the Farmer's Dog told the heartwarming story of a girl, Ava, growing up with her dog, Bear. As adult Ava croons "I'm gonna love you forever" from Lee Fields' song "Forever" to an aging Bear, the company reminds us that "Nothing matters more than more years together."The ad resonated with Super Bowl audiences, winning USA Today's 35th Ad Meter competition.State Farm: "Like a Good Neighbaaa" (2024)Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in State Farm's Super Bowl ad in 2024. State Farm In 2024, State Farm capitalized on its "Like a good neighbor" tagline with the help of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who endearingly repeated the line as "Like a good neighbaaa," much to his fictional director's dismay.The ad won Ad Meter's top spot.
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  • I got a $31 'Bargain Bucket' from KFC. With a bit of creativity, I turned it into multiple meals for my family of 4.
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    2025-02-09T15:02:02Z Read in app I decided to see how many tasty meals I could make for my family using a KFC chicken bucket. Catherine Smith This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? As a working mom, I find it tough to get budget-friendly meals on the table for my family of four. So, I got a KFC "Bargain Bucket" with 10 pieces of chicken and four packs of fries for 25 pounds.By using pantry staples and creativity, I turned the chicken into four meals for four people. I'm a busy working parent, and sometimes it feels like a second job to think about what to cook for dinner for our family of four.Factor in the cost-of-living crisis and rising grocery prices, and it's no wonder so many of us are searching for creative, economical ways to feed our families.So, when I saw an ad for the Kentucky Fried Chicken "Bargain Bucket" deal that comes with 10 pieces of fried chicken and four servings of fries for 25 pounds (about $31), I had an idea. My family isn't big on takeout, but I knew I could make multiple meals out of one bucket of chicken. Plus, it's conveniently already seasoned and cooked I was sold!Here's how I turned my order into multiple meals for my family of four. By using pantry staples, I was able to make several meals with the chicken. The meal could easily be dressed up with different sauces or dressing. Catherine Smith The next day, I put together a tasty lunch with another four pieces of fried chicken, this time pairing each with vegetable rice and another side salad. It was filling, tasty, and easy to prepare since I was just using items we had on hand. Even if I'd had to pick up extra ingredients, vegetable rice is affordable to prepare. Rice is fairly inexpensive and you can add whatever vegetables are on sale that week to it even frozen ones work. The chicken went a bit further when I tore it off the bone. I was able to make a few burritos using one piece of chicken. Catherine Smith For the third meal, I stripped some of the chicken off the bone and used it to make burritos.I kept mine simple with just chicken and cheese, but to make them more filling, I could've added beans, corn, potatoes, or rice. For a more complete meal, I paired the burritos with tortilla chips and another side salad. Again, it was cheap and easy to prepare. Finally, I used the chicken for a filling breakfast. Vegetables helped make the omelet more satisfying. Catherine Smith For the last meal, I tore up a piece of chicken to use as a mix-in for a large vegetable omelet for the whole family. It was a good and hearty breakfast.I may have been able to stretch the chicken even further by freezing the bones from throughout the week to make a homemade stock at a later date.Overall, the convenience, flavor, and price of the chicken impressed me. You might just be surprised at how far you can make one bucket of chicken stretch. Catherine Smith I made four meals for four people for about 25 pounds. I'm in the UK, but KFC offers similar deals in other countries, including the US, where an eight-piece bucket of chicken is about $25.I still prefer fully home-cooked meals, but I think KFC's "Bargain Bucket" is an excellent value especially when I'm short on time.Although a rotisserie chicken could serve a similar purpose, I appreciated the flavorful KFC breading and not having to pick apart a larger bird.I'd consider buying the bucket for my family once a month or so, especially during an extra busy week.
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  • New Zealand relaxes 'golden visa' rules in bid to attract wealthy investors amid struggling economy
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    New Zealand is relaxing its "golden visa" rules in an effort to lure investors, its government said on Sunday.The visa is set to become "simpler and more flexible," Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said.New Zealand's economy has struggled in recent years, with a recession and rising unemployment in 2024.New Zealand's government announced Sunday that it would be making changes to its so-called "golden visa" in an attempt to lure more wealthy migrants to its shores.Erica Stanford, the country's Immigration Minister, said the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa would become "simpler and more flexible" to encourage investors to choose New Zealand for their "capital, skills, and international connections" and as a place to "build a life."Following the changes, which are set to take effect from April 1, two new investment categories "Growth" and "Balanced" will replace the "current complex weighting system for the AIP."The "Growth" category will apply to those making "higher-risk investments" such as direct investments in local businesses. It will require a minimum investment of NZ$5 million (around $2.8 million) for a minimum of three years.The "Balanced" category will focus on mixed investments and will require a minimum investment of NZ$10 million (roughly $5.7 million) over five years.The new rules will also see the removal of the English language requirement."Incentivising, simplifying and broadening the investment offerings will make New Zealand more attractive and accessible to more foreign high-value investors," Stanford said. "These changes will turbocharge our economic growth, bringing brighter days ahead for all Kiwis."Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis added: "We should be rolling out the welcome mat and encouraging investor migrants to choose New Zealand as a destination for their capital."New Zealand's economy has struggled in recent years, slipping into a technical recession in the third quarter of 2024 and seeing rising unemployment.HSBC's chief economist for New Zealand and Australia, Paul Bloxham, said in January that the bank's estimates suggested New Zealand's economy had the largest contraction in GDP among developed nations in 2024, per RNZ.It's not the first time New Zealand has tweaked its visa policies to try to aid its embattled economy.In late January, the country announced a new"digital nomad" initiativeallowing tourists to work remotely for a foreign employer while vacationing."Making the country more attractive to 'digital nomads' people who work remotely while travelling will boost New Zealand's attractiveness as a destination," Willis said in a statement at the time.
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  • I've never been good at making friends. I do these 5 things now that I'm in my late 20s.
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    I had a hard time making friends when I was in school and college. I turned to books instead and would read about how to make friends to see if I could learn something.I finally learned how to make friends, and here are my tips for doing so. Making friends never came easily to me. I had the social disaster trifecta: introverted, shy, and relatively awkward.Throughout school and college, I always envied people who could befriend everyone around them. And while I'd much rather read a book on the train than get stuck talking to the stranger next to me, I always wondered if I lacked something needed to form the lasting friendships I craved.Books had always provided a form of friendship to me, so of course I turned to the many dedicated to this exact subject: how to make friends. I would consult them for hours, reading them more than once and taking notes on the steps they guaranteed would help me find friends. But a lot of the advice seemed more geared toward extroverts. While the advice books gave me made sense, I realized I had to do that in a way that still stayed true to who I am. Here's how I did that.Start with common interestsThe key to this is not giving up if you don't click with one group immediately. I tried several Bible studies, for example, before finding the right one. While it's frustrating to try multiple groups and put yourself out there, it's definitely worth it when you finally click with people and realize you don't have to look anymore.Put in the time and effortWhile it sounds obvious, I feel comfortable around my friends because I've spent time with them and know they care about me like I care about them. But this didn't happen overnight. When I first joined the Bible study, where I found most of my friends, I felt shy and hesitant to share much about myself. Now, I count these women as some of my best friends. But in the time in between, we all put in the effort to create the relationships we treasure now. Be the first to reach outPutting in effort isn't always a mutual endeavor in any relationship, there are times when one person just doesn't have as much bandwidth. While this used to offend me, I now know it usually has nothing to do with the friendship itself but more one person's ability to be present in the relationship. With my friends now, I'm incredibly fortunate that when I'm stressed or overwhelmed, they show grace to me and step up where I can't. Many of my past friendships didn't work out because we both stopped putting in the effort and now I know that even if the other person stops, I need to maintain my side for the relationship to survive. I'd pull away in the past, thinking the other person didn't care. But sometimes, it just means the one not drowning helps us stay afloat.Be quick to forgive and ask for forgivenessI used to hold on to old slights, thinking I was protecting myself from feeling wronged again. But I was really just blocking myself from developing meaningful connections. It's amazing what happens when you let the walls down and just admit when you're wrong. Recently, I had a disagreement with a friend, and instead of letting myself feel resentful (which would have been my natural reaction years ago), I reached out to him to apologize, and we worked it out. For a friendship to last, the other person must matter more than our pride.Go out of your comfort zone when it makes senseSometimes, developing a deeper relationship with others means doing something you'd usually say no to. This year, my Bible study went to the mountains for one of our friend's birthday, and while I'm usually terrified of traveling, I said yes anyway. I'll never regret hanging out on the deck of our cabin with my friends late at night, hiking the Smoky Mountains, wondering if we'd see a bear, and ordering what I wanted for breakfast because I felt comfortable enough around the people I was with.I'm beyond grateful to have found several beautiful friendships over the last few years. Together, we've tried new things (like line dancing something I would have never imagined myself doing even a year ago) and experienced the joy of spending so much time with people you pick up on each other's catchphrases and adopt them as your own. While I'm glad there are books on how to make friends, I'm grateful I no longer need to consult them I've found my people.
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  • I wasn't prepared for the loneliness I felt when my ex and I separated. When my son isn't here, the silence in my house is overwhelming.
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    My soon-to-be ex-husband and I separated last year, and adjusting to an empty house has been hard.When my son isn't with me, the silence in the house is nearly unbearable.I'm learning to cope with the silence and the loneliness that comes along with it.No one warns you about the silence. The kind that seeps into the spaces you didn't expect between the couch cushions, in the scattered toys left on the floor, in the glass of wine you poured because it felt like something you should do. The one that's still there the next morning, stale and untouched a quiet reminder that you don't even know what you want, what you need.It's there because your 3-year-old is at his dad's, his half-empty juice still sitting on the table like he'll be right back for it. But it's not just the absence of noise it's the unbearable weight of it. A relentless, invisible kind of torture that makes you hear things you'd rather ignore doubts, regrets, and the debilitating ache of wondering who the hell you are now.I didn't know what to expect when my ex and I separatedWhen my soon-to-be ex-husband and I separated in June of last year, I expected challenges, of course, but nothing prepared me for the deafening quiet of a half-empty home. In the beginning, I tried to avoid it. I made plans on the nights I didn't have Joey, surrounding myself with the friends who stuck around the ones who didn't scatter when my life got messy. The others? They didn't just disappear they turned my painful reality into a high school drama, piecing together their version of my situation without ever asking me for mine. Their absence had a weight of its own.When no one was around, likely busy with their spouses or less-depressing lives, I'd ask my best friend, who lives in Maine, for binge-worthy show recommendations. Whether it was Yellowjackets or a true-crime documentary, I appreciated the opportunity to get lost in someone else's misery because mine was too much to bear.When Joey is with his dad, his things become both a source of comfort and a sharp reminder of his absence. I say the names of his monster trucks aloud as I tidy up Boneshaker, Mega Wrex, Gravedigger, El Toro Loco, Tiger Shark hearing Joey's voice in my mind, the way he announces each one with wild enthusiasm.I pick up his Batman cape, crusted with who-knows-what, and toss it in the laundry so it'll be clean when he comes back. I throw out hardened Play-Doh blobs, disassemble the Magna Tiles castle he built for me, fold his Paw Patrol underwear, make his bed. But these tasks they aren't chores. They're how I hold onto him when he's not here.The silence is difficult to deal with, but it's getting easierSometimes, the silence feels like my worst enemy. I run the dishwasher with barely a few plates inside, just to fill the quiet. I do laundry, not because it's piling up, but because the sound offers a strange comfort. Or, I write pouring my pain onto the page because it feels like the only productive thing I can possibly do. I write about regret, about the choices that led me here, about loneliness and its many forms. But I also write about hope for Joey, for myself.In therapy, I once confessed that I didn't know what to do with myself when I was alone. My therapist, Meaghan, said, "No one ever taught you how to be sad." And she was right. My life was filled with distractions, solutions to sadness rather than space for it. If I felt pain, I fled. If discomfort crept in, I'd find a way to replace it. But now, avoidance isn't an option. I know I must learn to sit with my sadness not as an enemy to defeat, but as a reality to accept.And I seem to be getting closer.One night recently, I was alone in the kitchen when Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" came on, and before I knew it, I was twirling. I spun in circles, arms outstretched, belting, "But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness in the stillness of remembering what you hadand what you lost..." And there I was singing, swaying, smiling in a space of my own. A space I could fill with whatever the hell I wanted. And I wasn't scared.The silence isn't nearly as suffocating as it was. It feels different now less like an empty void and more like a new territory I'm slowly learning to fill with my own voice a voice I'm finally listening to without someone telling me it's too dramatic, too needy, too much. And in this quiet, I'm discovering not just how to be alone, but how to be me. And maybe, for the first time in my life, I'm starting to understand who that really is.
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  • I moved my family from mainland US to Puerto Rico for a dream job. The island life wasn't what we expected.
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    When I was offered a dream job, I moved my family from the mainland US to Puerto Rico in 2015.On the island, we sometimes had no running water, struggled to get around, and items were costly.Though we struggled to adapt, we loved island life and didn't regret the move.In 2015, I moved my family of four from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico to pursue my dream job. Although I had lived on the island when I was young and vacationed there, I had never worked professionally or lived there as an adult.When I accepted the job as a service manager at a MedTech company, I fell in love with the idea of warm weather and being near the beach year-round. Plus, the job offered me international experience, which I was looking for.The thought of living, working, and maybe even retiring in Puerto Rico motivated me the most. But the reality of the island life wasn't what I expected.A struggling economy made daily life costlyDuring one of my first days, an employee quipped, "I was wondering if you knew what was going on on the island. Everyone is leaving, but you took a job here."I was unaware that people were leaving the island for the US mainland for better job opportunities. The decline was due to a struggling economy and a rising unemployment rate.Since my company paid for everything at first including food while we were in a hotel I didn't notice how expensive everyday items were. That was until I had to pay for them out of my own pocket.Workplace norms were different on the islandHaving worked most of my career on the US mainland, I was used to living life on a strict schedule. Meetings started when they were meant to and ended at the appropriate time.But there was a more lax culture around timeliness at my new job. Meetings that didn't start or end on time were almost a daily work frustration.On several occasions, trying to impose my US-bred management style, I would call an employee who was late to a meeting but was unable to reach them, only for them to walk in 15 minutes late with Starbucks in their hands.Water shortage was a harsh realityWhen my family and I moved into our rented home in Catao, we were surprised to find that there was no running water.Puerto Rico was in a drought for the first time in almost two decades. Water was rationed, and we had to store it for the days when the water was turned off.I was used to having access to water when I needed it on the mainland, so it was a struggle for my family to adapt. In the US, we never had the local water department ration water because of a drought.Getting around the island was a challengeI often drove around the island. For a distance that would typically take me an hour in the US, even with some traffic, in Puerto Rico, it took 30 to 45 minutes longer.Driving on the island highway system was nothing like my normal drive on the I-76 in Pennsylvania, which stretches from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. The only thing that would stop me in Pennsylvania was the need to get gas not a traffic light in a small town in the middle of the interstate.In the US, I was used to highways that were clearly marked with white lines. That was not always the case in Puerto Rico.Also, traffic norms are not the same. In Puerto Rico, it's common for drivers to stop at a red light, look both ways and then just keep going. On one occasion, as I waited at a red light with my family, another driver behind me got out of his car to tell me to run the red light. When I refused, he simply drove around me.Puerto Rico is still a paradise to enjoyDespite my challenges living in Puerto Rico, we enjoyed the warm weather, beaches, sightseeing, and food.We took the ferry from Catao across the bay to Old San Juan to go sightseeing. As a family, we went to the beach on Isla Verde, which was only 30 minutes away from us and one of the most beautiful beaches on the island. Going a little further down from Isla Verde beach, we often stopped at the kiosks on the side of the highway to buy many of the island's popular food dishes.After just over a year, we eventually returned to the mainland when I landed another job. My time in Puerto Rico was memorable, and I do not regret it.But if I had to do it all over again, I would research the island more to ensure I was ready for the move and better plan to adjust to the difference between living on an island and the US mainland. I wrongly assumed that since Puerto Rico is part of the US, the infrastructure and the ways of living would be the same, but that was not the case.
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  • I was almost a helicopter parent, but slowly giving my kids more independence is working wonders for their self-reliance
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    As a dad of two kids, ages 5 years and 18 months, helicopter parenting can be easy to fall into.I catch myself constantly trying to protect them from hypothetical dangers.However, I'm learning to let the kids figure out and do things for themselves.You know those Terminator movies, when Arnold Schwarzenegger walks into a room and starts immediately assessing potential threats with his cybernetic vision and AI? As a parent of two young kids, ages 5 years and 18 months, I'm exactly like that.I walk into a restaurant, and my "danger radar" kicks into overdrive. Sharp knife here. Teapot of scalding beverage there. Go to a friend's house, and I can see nothing but finger-teasing electrical outlets, acute, head-splitting corners, and breakable objects full of artery-severing shards within easy reach.My life is full of child-endangering worries. Like if we're eating grapes, my intrusive thoughts ponder an uncut grape that manages to roll onto the floor and later find itself clogging the throat of my 18-month-old son. Or when my eldest walks around with a pencil in hand, and I imagine her slipping and impaling herself.I didn't worry like this when I was youngerThese safety-obsessive thoughts once felt so alien to me. When I was younger, I threw caution to the wind by subjecting my body to all sorts of risky activities, bequeathing me with various scars and unresolved funny noises in my bones. Now, however, as a parent, and with a fully matured fear response, the palpable tension I get when I see a toy car left on a hallway floor or a knife that's placed precariously close to a countertop edge can be almost unbearable.It's so easy to want to shield our children from danger and harm that's the most natural instinct as a parent. I certainly don't want them covered in the same scars I grew up with.But we're in an age when we can access so many studies on parenting, and championing well-being and mental health has never been so in the limelight as it is right now. Some studies have shown that over-parenting, also known as helicopter parenting, may have links to child anxiety and depression, and children generally develop problems with coping when they hit unexpected hurdles or things don't go the way they want.This style of parenting also has links to lower self-esteem and confidence. After all, how can children cope with future failures and setbacks when their parents are no longer in the picture, influencing things at every angle in the background and foreground for the sake of short-term safety?As a middle child growing up in an Asian family, I certainly experienced a fair dose of helicopter parenting at least until my younger sister was born, anyway. I was 10 at the time, and she was the first girl in the family, so all the attention was suddenly focused on her after being on me for a decade. After that, it gave me the space to learn things on my own and be independent and adaptable.I believe that if we, as parents, can train and nurture our kids to be just that little bit "better" than we are or at least let them figure that bit for themselves we're on the right track.I'm trying to course-correct and give my kids more independenceSo instead, I'm giving my eldest more independence. She's even helped me with meal prep using plastic knives, and we're going to start cooking, with her helping stir meals on the stove. I'll let my youngest navigate the stairs on his own, with me half a dozen steps below, offering encouragement. He's also getting fairly adept with using tools like forks and pencils.I still catch myself directing or micromanaging my kids or doing things for them that they can do independently, particularly when time is against us. But being aware of my own attitudes and behaviors is half the battle, and I'm slowly giving them more tasks to make them more self-reliant while offering the time and patience to answer their many questions.It'll be hard, and there will no doubt be temper tantrums and tears when things don't go my kids' way, but my partner and I will be there to help support them and build those crucial resilience and critical thinking skills that'll set them up for life.
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  • Everything you need to know about the 2025 Academy Awards
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    The 97th Academy Awards will be held on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.Conan O'Brien will host the ceremony for the first time, taking over from Jimmy Kimmel.There will be a few other changes this year, including no best original song performances.The Academy Awards ceremony is Hollywood's biggest night of the year.This year's ceremony will see a number of changes, with Conan O'Brien set to host for the first time and no best original song performances.Here's everything you need to know about the 97th Oscars ceremony.The 97th Academy Awards is set to take place on Sunday, March 2, 2025The ceremony is scheduled to take place on the first Sunday in March at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Cillian Murphy won the best actor award at the 96th Academy Awards. Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images The ceremony will be broadcast on ABC and be available to streamThe Awards will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories around the world, according to a press release.Audiences will be able to tune in live to watch from 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and the ABC App.The official live red carpet show will begin airing at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.The ceremony will also be streamed live on Hulu, as well as Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.The acting awards will be presented by last year's winners Robert Downey Jr., Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Emma Stone, and Cillian Murphy at the 2024 Academy Awards. Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images The Academy has announced that 2024's acting winners will present this year's acting awards, meaning that audiences can expect to see the likes of Emma Stone and Cillian Murphy back on stage.Original song nominees will not be performed during the ceremonyWhile one of the highlights of the 2024 Oscars was Ryan Gosling's rendition of "I'm Just Ken," the Academy has announced that none of the songs up for best original song will be performed during this year's ceremony.Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in an email to members that instead, the show would "celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life."Conan O'Brien will host for the first timeThe Emmy Award-winning TV host, best known for his eponymous late-night talk show on NBC, is set to host the prestigious ceremony for the first time.He takes over from Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the ceremony for the last two years.In a joint statement, Kramer and Yang said they were "thrilled and honored to have the incomparable Conan O'Brien host the Oscars this year.""He is the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, his love of movies and his live TV expertise," they said. "His remarkable ability to connect with audiences will bring viewers together to do what the Oscars do best honor the spectacular films and filmmakers of this year."O'Brien responded to the announcement with his typical dry humor, saying: "America demanded it and now it's happening: Taco Bell's new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I'm hosting the Oscars."Netflix's "Emilia Prez" has received the most nominations Zoe Saldana as Rita Moro Castro and Karla Sofia Gascon as Emilia Perez in "Emilia Perez." Netflix The Spanish-language musical starring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofa Gascn, and Selena Gomez received 13 nominations.The award-season favorites "Wicked" and "The Brutalist" received 10 nominations each.The nominations did see some surprises, including Sebastian Stan earning a best-actor nod for his portrayal of Donald Trump in "The Apprentice" and Pamela Anderson missing out in the best actress category for her critically acclaimed work in "The Last Showgirl."
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  • A 29-year-old small-business owner says entrepreneurship shouldn't be 'the ultimate goal for everyone' and describes the challenges, including professional loneliness
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    Jack Schrupp left teaching and coaching to grow his protein powder company, Drink Wholesome.The business, which began as a side project to address his own dietary needs, brought in seven figures in 2024.Schrupp likes that entrepreneurship offers freedom, but it can feel isolating and lonely at times.Jack Schrupp fell into entrepreneurship more so than he sought it out."I had this plan to teach for a while and then become an administrator and possibly even head of a school. That was a dream of mine," the former French teacher told Business Insider.But when his side project making and selling protein powder for sensitive stomachs started to take off, juggling the business with life as a boarding school teacher and coach became impossible."It turned me into a fried human that didn't have enough time to brush his teeth," said Schrupp, who started making his own protein powder in college when he couldn't find a product that agreed with his stomach. He blended his early concoctions on top of the mini-fridge in his dorm room and, eventually, partnered with a granola company to produce his recipe in bulk. Schrupp, center, spent years teaching and coaching before transitioning to running his business full-time. Courtesy of Jack Schrupp It turned out that other people were interested in an easy-to-digest protein powder. He sold through his first batch of inventory, which cost him $20,000, and started offering more flavors and products.As the company grew, so did his stress levels."I was doing too much, and I felt like I wasn't doing anything well or, as well as I could have and that was discouraging," he said. "I felt like I was just spread too thin. My life was very rich and rewarding, but I wasn't sleeping enough. I was very stressed."Schrupp, 27 at the time, had to decide between the two career paths. He chose his company, Drink Wholesome, and quit teaching at the end of the 2023 school year. Sometimes, he wonders if it was the right call.The challenges that come with entrepreneurship that not everyone talks aboutSchrupp says that life as an entrepreneur versus life as a boarding school teacher "couldn't look more different."As a "dorm parent," he lived in the same building as students. He didn't have "a whole lot of privacy," he said, but, at the same time, being surrounded by students and other teachers was energizing. "I loved teaching. That was my life, that was my community, that's what grounded me and made sense to me." Schrupp's sister, Tessa, joined Drink Wholesome in 2023. Courtesy of Jack Schrupp As the owner of a small business with one employee his sister, who works remotely from the opposite side of the country he now spends most days by himself.He lives and works from his home in Hanover. It's a productive setup, and he considers himself "pretty relaxed," he said. "But it's professionally lonely."Running your own business can feel isolating, "especially if it's a hard journey, which it often is," said Schrupp. "You feel like you are doing it alone with no one to turn to for help or advice. So, I wouldn't say that entrepreneurship is like a hack or should be the ultimate goal for everyone. If you're ever considering it, you should definitely take into account the loneliness that comes along with being an entrepreneur."It's also harder to set boundaries when you're building a company versus working for an employer."I have the potential to work way more. I could probably work all day, every single day," he said. "There's no end to growing a business because, it's growing, right? It's ever-evolving. And if you're someone like me who is constantly looking at it with a critical eye and looking for ways to improve it, then you'll never finish your workday."That said, he recognizes the perks, such as the freedom that comes with being your own boss: "I will say, it would be hard for me to start working for someone else, just because I do have almost unadulterated freedom. I'm accountable to no one."For now, at 29, Schrupp is committed to continuing to grow his brand. He feels obligated to provide a good product to his customer base."I am motivated now more than ever to create a robust and long-term business because Drink Wholesome really helps people. We're pretty involved in a lot of people's health and well-being," he said. "But I don't know if the current iteration of the business is a great fit for me in the long term, and that is something that I wrestle with often."He's learned the importance of consistently evaluating his relationship to his business."You have to ask yourself, as an entrepreneur, what you want to get out of the business. Because if you're not happy and you're not fulfilled, the business probably isn't going to do well," said Schrupp. "Having that conversation often and then making changes as needed is a really important part of the process. There's no playbook. You can't watch a YouTube tutorial on that. It's something you have to learn."
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  • I started an emergency fund for friends who need financial help. It's now a permanent part of my life.
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    I always say that money is a tool we use to shape our lives and the world around us.And I'm not afraid to put some of it toward helping my friends when they're in need.There is no sacred rule that says you can't pay your friend's light bill. I did.During the pandemic, many of my friends hit hard times. One of my oldest friend's mother fell down the stairs and was hospitalized in February 2020. A few months later, another friend broke up with their partner of three years.Because of lockdowns, I was unable to see my friends and offer support in person, which was difficult. It pushed me to search for another solution, and in Spring 2020, I started my "Friend Emergency Fund" savings account.I wanted to help my friends when I couldn't be there in personI work from home as a financial educator and talk about money all day, every day. Even if I couldn't be with my friends physically to comfort them, that didn't mean I couldn't use my money to help them get through these days.For my "Friends Emergency Fund," I transferred about $300 to a new high-yield savings account. My idea was simple: This money would be dedicated to helping my friends and loved ones when they were at their lowest.I spent $80 to send a ham and several side dishes to my friend whose mother was hospitalized, so she didn't have to think about food for a week. I sent $20 to buy pizza one night for my friend going through that breakup.Five years later, I still have this savings account and maintain the balance at $300. It's become a permanent part of my financial life.I've used it off and on throughout the years. Most recently, in January, I used it to send my best friend from college $60 to pay her share of the electric bill. She's recently made a big move to open her own business, and I know money is a stressor.As a financial educator, I teach that money is a tool we use to shape our lives and the world around us. There is no sacred rule that says you can't pay your friend's light bill or use your money to make your loved ones' lives easier where and when you can.I help pay for my friends because I know what money struggles are likeIn my 20s, I lived at the poverty line for a couple of years while struggling to pay off my student loan debt.I'm 36, but I have never had a full-time salaried job. Instead, I strung together part-time roles before starting my own business. This has meant that, for most of my life, money was something that was painful in my life. I know what it feels like to not have enough of it to feel secure.Now that I am finally secure, I want to use my money to smooth other people's paths. This account has helped me do that and had a surprising reach.When I first shared that I had started this account in 2020, my social media followers were enthusiastic about it, with several sharing that they would start doing the same thing. And when I shared about it again more recently many people said that this was how money was meant to be used.I've been touched by the positive response it's gotten online, and I hope more people will consider creating one of their own.
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  • PlayStation's daylong global outage disrupted the online gaming economy and knocked Sony's stock
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    A nearly 24-hour outage disrupted Sony's PlayStation Network starting on Friday.The outage prevented gamers from playing or purchasing games online, disrupting the digital economy.PlayStation returned online, but not before Sony's stock took a 2% dip in after-hours trading.Sony's PlayStation Network went down on Friday, starting a daylong outage that outraged gamers, disrupted the digital economy surrounding the system, and knocked Sony's stock. "PSN has been restored. You should be able to access online features without any problems now," a PlayStation account posted on X late Saturday afternoon. "Sorry for the inconvenience!"Representatives for PlayStation did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.At the time of publication, the PlayStation's server status page indicates service has been restored to the network about 24 hours after the initial disruption started.Some users were still reporting issues on social media when PlayStation's server status showed the problems had resolved, though reports of disruption on sites like DownDetector had largely subsided. While the exact economic impact of the outage remains unclear, the PlayStation Network has an estimated 116 million monthly users, according to the company's estimates from September 30, 2024.Users were prevented from playing and purchasing games online for a full day, disrupting the digital economy that has grown around the top-selling gaming system in the US.Sony's stock dipped in after-hours trading as news of the outage circulated, falling nearly 2% at publication time.The outage drew ire from diehard gamers, who chronicled their disappointment in posts on Reddit and X, as well as snark from corporate entities responding to the news."Well, I'm tired of waiting. Off to buy a STEAM deck. Guess my Playstation is no longer my main system," one Reddit user wrote.Krispy Kreme posted on X an offer to displaced gamers for a free glazed doughnut on Friday evening, writing: "Calling all gamers: this play station still works.""Bet y'all want physical copies now," GameStop's official account posted as a joke after the outage had dragged on over 14 hours.
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  • The fight for the $150 million emerald industry in Colombia
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    Colombia produces the world's most expensive emeralds. The highest-quality stones can be worth tens of thousands of dollars per carat. Miners have fought over these treasures for centuries, but in the past decade, foreign investors have modernized and consolidated the industry. The newcomers have brought safety and new jobs to the area, but there's little left over for the communities around the mines. So what happens when foreign investors take over a $150 million industry? And can local miners gain a piece of it back?Show more
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  • We met on a plane and married 9 months later. Ten years later, we are still together.
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    Christine Cole is a 50-year-old in Maryland who met her now husband on an airplane 10 years ago.She and her husband Jesse were married nine months after meeting.They recently reflected on their relationship as they walked through the same airport where they met.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Christine Cole. It has been edited for length and clarity. Following the Christmas of 2014, I was heading back to Washington, D.C., after visiting my family in Idaho. I remember wanting to look cute for no particular reason for the trip home. I sat on the plane in my assigned seat, and this guy put his backpack in the overhead bin. He fumbled as he sat down next to me, accidentally elbowing me. He was overly apologetic, which turned into a conversation that lasted until my layover in Denver.My first impression of him was what a good smile he had.He openly shared about a lot that was going on in his life at the time, including finalizing a divorce. It seemed like a relief for him to have someone to talk to, to ask him questions.A little voice inside me said that this was a good guy. Turns out I wasn't wrong.I gave him my business card Before we got off the plane, I gave him my business card because I thought he could use a friend. As we waited to get off the plane, he asked where my next gate was, offering to walk with me through the airport to my gate. That's what he did, and it didn't feel at all weird to walk with this stranger through an airport.Before going to our separate gates, I gave him a quick hug. He said he would reach out.A couple of days later, I had an email from him reintroducing himself to make sure I had remembered him. I knew exactly who he was. He told me how he appreciated our conversation and how I had treated him with respect. He felt I had really listened to him. He wrote that he wanted to talk to me more but didn't want to disrupt my life.I remember thinking: "Oh you silly man. Don't you know that I want my life to be disrupted?"The first time we talked on the phone, we were on for 11 hoursI emailed him back, and we scheduled a time to talk on New Year's evening. We talked for 11 hours, never running out of things to discuss. We decided to continue to get to know one another through texting, emailing, and messaging that we wouldn't talk on the phone again or flirt until his divorce was finalized. We wanted to build a friendship.After his divorce was finalized in February 2014, he asked if we could video chat. When we did, he was at one of his favorite places on the Idaho Falls River. He asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes.Over the next weeks, we continued to get to know one another long-distance. I had fallen in love with him and wanted to marry him, something we were discussing at the time.He proposed and I proposed backWhen he visited me in March 2014, the first time seeing him since we'd first met, I introduced him to friends and family everyone liked him. He just kept showing me who he was. By the end of that trip, we were engaged.Not only did he propose to me, but I proposed back to him with a ring. That turned out to be really important to both of us. We both had an equal say in the relationship. It was the first time I felt on equal ground in a relationship.He went back to his job, which involved lots of travel.Three weeks later, he phoned to say he had been laid off par for the course in contracted work. He could either stay where he was or visit me in between jobs. I told him to come to me.While he was still with me, I got pneumonia. I was in hospital for nearly two weeks. Jesse rarely left the hospital, became a caretaker, and communicated with my parents twice daily. He showed his true colors.I left the hospital with a PICC line, unable to walk on my own. If he hadn't been there, I would have had to go into a rehabilitation center.During this time, we started planning a life together. He looked for jobs and found one in Maryland. We got an apartment in Calvert County. I was still weak, so Jesse organized everything with the house move. I only had energy for work and getting healthy again.We got married 9 months after meetingWe were married in September 2015, about nine months after meeting.Ten years after meeting, we are still married. Everything he said about who he was in those early days was true. He had been totally honest.We were just visiting my parents in Utah for Christmas. He was going on to work in Texas for a job while I headed back to Maryland. We were back at Denver airport again, 10 years later, walking through the same concourse together and remembering how special it felt when we first met and fell in love.No marriage is perfect. We all have our ups and downs. We work hard to treat each other with respect and have discussions instead of fights. I know some people say you shouldn't have to work on relationships. You absolutely should have to work at it, but I guess it doesn't necessarily have to feel like work if it's something you want to do.
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  • Elon Musk says he has not bid on TikTok: 'I usually build companies from scratch'
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    Elon Musk says he has no plans to acquire TikTok in the United States.A law passed last year requires TikTok to sell to a US company or face a ban from app stores.TikTok still faces uncertainty in the United States, even after Trump's 75-day extension.Elon Musk says he does not plan to be TikTok's savior in the United States."I have not actually put in a bid for TikTok and I don't have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok," Musk said during a virtual appearance at a recent business conference in Germany.Former President Joe Biden signed a law last year that requires ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to divest from the popular social media app or face a ban from US app stores. The US government worries TikTok's Chinese ownership presents a security risk.The Supreme Court upheld the law in January before President Donald Trump signed an executive order giving ByteDance another 75 days to find a buyer.Several investors have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok, including "Shark Tank" mogul Kevin O'Leary and former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Some have also wondered if Musk, who bought Twitter in 2022 and rebranded it X, might also throw up his hand.Musk's first public comments on the matter came via video call at the WELT Economic Summit in Berlin, a gathering of politicians and CEOs hosted by Axel Springer, on January 28. Axel Springer is Business Insider's parent company.Musk told the summit's guests he does not personally use TikTok and that he is "not chomping at the bit" to acquire the app.He said his acquisition of Twitter was a "rare" and "highly unusual" purchase. He said the acquisition has been "difficult" and "quite painful," but that he bought the company because he thought it was important to "preserve freedom of speech in America.""I usually build companies from scratch," Musk added.Lawyers for TikTok argued at the Supreme Court that banning the app in the United States would infringe on its users' right to free speech.Musk, however, said he only sees monetary reasons to buy the app."I don't know if the same logic applies to TikTok," He said, referring to the reasons he purchased Twitter. "I don't acquire things just for economic reasons. So it's not clear to me what the purpose of acquiring TikTok would be apart from economics."ByteDance has said it does not plan to sell TikTok, which means that if Trump does not intervene, TikTok could go dark in the United States by April.
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