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- A man couldn't find a tiny home he loved, so he built one. Now almost anyone can buy one of his sleek ADUs from $59,000.
A man couldn't find a tiny home he loved, so he built one. Now almost anyone can buy one of his sleek ADUs from $59,000.
- MyCabin started building prefab homes for European customers from a base in Latvia in 2020.Β
- Illinois-based PrefabPads licensed MyCabin's minimalist designs, making them available in the US.
- Take a look inside some of the units, which cost as little as $59,000 and can run up to $175,000.
MyCabin, a Latvia-based startup, began building and selling minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired tiny homes to European customers in 2020.
MyCabin founder Girts Draugs initially built a collection of tiny abodes for himself after he couldn't find a vacation home that lived up to his vision. He then began selling and distributing his designs in Europe and the US.
In 2022, the company licensed its designs for structures also called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to Illinois-based firmΒ PrefabPads, which launched MyCabin US. The tiny home builder offers four unit options, ranging from a 132-square-foot sauna to a 682-square-foot home with two bedrooms and one bathroom.
Prices range from $59,000 to $175,000, but customization and upgrades can increase overall costs.
Clients pay for the ADU plans but are individually responsible for obtaining permits and hiring contractors for groundwork and installation. MyCabin US builds each unit at its factory in Waukegan, Illinois, outside Chicago, and then delivers it fully constructed to the customer.
As of January 2024, MyCabin US has delivered about 43 tiny homes to customers in Connecticut, New York, Maine, Utah, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
For many Americans,Β tiny homes are a sustainable, budget-friendlyΒ housing alternative or a way toΒ generate extra income. As demand grows, many states have passed zoning laws to permit their construction, with some even offering incentives to encourage development.
"First and foremost, land is expensive, andΒ mortgage ratesΒ are terrible, so people are trying to expand their property instead of moving to bigger footprints," Anisha Seltenright, chief marketing officer of MyCabin US, told Business Insider. She said new regulations in states likeΒ California and Colorado that make building ADUsΒ easier have helped the company expand.
Take a look inside the factory where MyCabin US builds its homes as well as five of its tiny home options.
Each tiny home is fully finished at the factory, with plumbing, electrical systems, appliances, and interior and exterior lighting installed.
The company can produce seven to 20 homes at a time in its factory, according to its website.
This process makes the homes more resistant to bugs and rot. Afterward, the walls are stained a sleek, dark color.
The Milla has a joint living room, kitchen, and bathroom. It has 270 square feet of living space and 78 square feet of loft space. The initial deposit is $4,000, and the total cost is about $98,500.
It is 528 square feet, and includes a bedroom, loft, full kitchen, living room, and bathroom.
It costs around $149,500 and requires a deposit between $4,500 and $5,500. The company said on its website that it can be built and shipped in two months
This 682-square-foot tiny home requires an initial deposit of $5,500 and costs about $175,000.
The private at-home spa is waterproof, featuring a tile floor and vapor barrier film. It requires an initial deposit of $2,500 and is priced at $37,500.
Anisha Seltenright said the Galia has become more popular with homeowners as wellness culture shapes home design.
"The Galia has a lot of interest," she said. "People love the idea of using it as an option for an Airbnb-style property."
The 245-square-foot tiny home β which can serve as a guest house or office β features a dining area and a loft that can be used for sleeping or storage. A bathroom is optional for the Kalmus unit.
The initial deposit for the Kalmus is $3,000 without a bathroom, but $3,500 with one. The final price β excluding upgrades βΒ is about $59,000 without a bathroom or $67,000 with one.
The initial deposit for the Kalmus is $3,000 without a bathroom but $3,500 with one. The final price β excluding upgrades βΒ is about $59,000 without a bathroom or $67,000 with one.
Diddy sues a man who he says lied in news interviews about having 'freak off' videos
- Sean Combs has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against a man he says lied in news interviews.
- The lawsuit names Courtney Burgess, his lawyer, and the company that owns NewsNation as defendants.
- Burgess has alleged in interviews that he has videos involving Combs that show sexual assault.
Sean "Diddy" Combs has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against a man who said he testified before a New York grand jury as part of the federal criminal sex trafficking case against the hip-hop music mogul.
That man, Courtney Burgess, has said in news interviews and on podcasts that he was in possession of several videos involving Combs that show the sexual assault of celebrities and apparent minors.
Combs' lawsuit β which names Burgess, his lawyer, and the media company that owns the network NewsNation as defendants β says that Burgess lied in a bid to raise his public profile and destroy Combs' reputation.
The lawsuit says Burgess and his Florida-based attorney, Ariel Mitchell, have engaged in a "willful scheme to fabricate and broadcast outrageous lies concerning Mr. Combs and then to leverage those falsehoods to gain social media fame, enrich themselves, and strip Mr. Combs of his reputation, livelihood, and right to a fair trial."
The pair has for months fueled "a media frenzy, fabricating outlandish claims and stirring up baseless speculation about Mr. Combs, vying to outdo each other in a shameless competition to draw attention to themselves, with no regard for the truth," Combs alleges in the lawsuit which was filed Wednesday night in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Burgess, Mitchell, and NewsNation owner Nexstar Media Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Business Insider.
Combs' attorney Erica Wolff said in a statement that her high-profile client β who has been locked up pretrial at a federal Brooklyn jail since his September 2024 arrest and indictment β "is taking a stand against the malicious falsehoods that have been fabricated and amplified by individuals seeking to profit at his expense."
The defendants' "falsehoods have poisoned public perception and contaminated the jury pool," Wolff said, adding, "This complaint should serve as a warning that such intentional falsehoods, which undermine Mr. Combs's right to a fair trial, will no longer be tolerated."
Combs' lawsuit says that the recordings Burgess says he saw do not exist.
"Burgess repeated this false claim many times to anyone who would listen, including reporters for major news outlets (including NewsNation, which recklessly repeated and amplified his lies as if they were true)," Combs said in the lawsuit.
Combs alleges in the lawsuit that NewsNation did not conduct any investigation before broadcasting the allegations "though it easily could have done so."
Burgess, Mitchell, and NewsNation, the lawsuit alleges, "have caused profound reputational and economic injury and severe prejudice to Mr. Combs."
Combs' lawsuit says that Burgess has never met Combs or had any relationship with anyone in his family, yet Burgess has said that Combs' late ex and mother of four of his children, Kim Porter, gave him a copy of her alleged memoir and videos showing the alleged sexual assault of intoxicated celebrities and minors.
"Those close to Ms. Porter, including her children and her roommate for over twenty years, had never heard of Mr. Burgess before he made this utterly implausible and completely false claim," says the lawsuit.
Combs says the claims made by Burgess prompted investigators to issue a subpoena for him to testify before a grand jury that convened in Manhattan in October.
"In this pitiful spectacle, all pretense of objectivity has been abandoned, as a global audience feasts at the all-you-can-eat buffet of wild lies and conspiracy theories," the lawsuit says.
At the center of the indictment against Combs are accusations he orchestrated "freak offs," which prosecutors describe in court papers as "elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded."
In these alleged drug-fueled sex sessions, prosecutors say Combs "used force, threats of force, and coercion" to get female victims to engage in sex acts with male commercial sex workers.
Combs' attorneys have argued in court papers that the video evidence prosecutors have of the so-called "freak offs" will vindicate the "I'll Be Missing You" rapper at trial.
Combs has vehemently denied the federal charges against him, as well as all accusations of sexual abuse made in a flood of civil lawsuits against him.
- Latest News
- The CEO of Texas' only cruise port explains how floating resorts saved it from bankruptcy
The CEO of Texas' only cruise port explains how floating resorts saved it from bankruptcy
- The Port of Galveston, Texas' only cruise port, expects to accommodate 419 cruise ships in 2025.
- The port had previously exclusively handled cargo and almost filed for bankruptcy in the 1990s.
- Its CEO explains how the influx of cruises spurred an economic turnaround.
In the 1990s, the 200-year-old Port of Galveston almost filed for bankruptcy.
It expects to earn $84 million in 2025, a 6.4% increase from the previous year.
It's an incredible turnaround. And the port's director and CEO says it's all thanks to cruises, which began to spike in popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic
The Texas port spent $53 million expanding Carnival's cruise terminal in 2023, a year after Royal Caribbean opened a $125 million terminal. A fourth new, $156 million terminal is set to open for Norwegian and MSC's ship in November.
Galveston expects to accommodate 419 cruises in 2025, a more than 25% increase from three years prior β making it the fourth busiest cruise port in America.
"There was a time we didn't have enough money to make payroll," the CEO, Rodger Rees, told Business Insider. "Luckily, the money came in, but they were that tight at times."
Prior to the turn of the century, Galveston had exclusively been a cargo port. By the 1990s, its decades-old (in some cases, century-old) infrastructure had been in dire need of repair β with money that cargo alone wasn't generating.
"The port really didn't have anything going on 25, 30 years ago," Rees said. "It was like a ghost town out there."
That is until it began pursuing vacation-at-sea companies, which subsequently spurred a much-needed economic windfall.
"I've been selling Galveston to MSC for five years at least," Rees said. "Becoming a cruise port turned this port around."
In the shadows of the cruising limelight, the port still continues to receive cargo (primarily vehicles and parts for New Mexico's coming wind farm, set to become the largest in the US).
However, crucial infrastructure still needs a makeover. For example, the slips have become too small for today's larger cargo ships and were damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008.
To address this, the port is now using money from its flourishing cruise business β which accounts for 65% of its revenue β to finance its cargo-related renovations, set to be completed in early 2026.
It's a $100 million project, about $60 million of which is coming from its cruise revenue.
"Our best year that I've been here, we made $10 million in cargo business and $50 million in cruises," Rees said. "The cargo business has to really grow in order to keep up with the growth of the cruise business."
- Latest News
- Elizabeth Warren tells Elon Musk she's 'happy' to work with him on DOGE's goals to slash government waste. She has 30 recommendations.
Elizabeth Warren tells Elon Musk she's 'happy' to work with him on DOGE's goals to slash government waste. She has 30 recommendations.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Elon Musk she will work with DOGE to slash wasteful federal spending.
- Her recommendations to cut spending included reducing the defense budget and fraud in federal programs.
- There's growing bipartisan support to work with DOGE on achieving its spending cut goals.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she's "happy" to work with her sometimes sparring partner, Elon Musk, to cut wasteful federal spending.
On Thursday, Warren sent a letter to Musk β who is leading President Donald Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE β detailing 30 recommendations to reduce government spending, including taking aim at the Department of Defense budget, fraud in Medicare programs, and education funding for for-profit schools.
Musk and his former DOGE co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy originally proposed slashing $2 trillion in federal spending, but Musk later walked back that goal and said during an interview in early January that DOGE has "got a good shot" of reaching $1 trillion in cuts.
While Warren said that she disagrees with some of Musk's initial proposals to cut spending, like reducing veterans' benefits, she said that she agrees with Musk that there is too much wasteful federal spending.
"If you are serious about working together in good faith to cut government spending β in a way that does not harm the middle class β I have proposals for your consideration," Warren said.
One of Warren's recommendations included cutting spending at the Department of Defense, which makes up 14% of total government spending, per year-to-date Treasury data. It's an idea that's already gained bipartisan support β Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna called out contractors overcharging the department in a December opinion piece and said he would work with DOGE, while GOP Sen. Joni Ernst also expressed her support for cutting defense spending in a November letter.
Musk has also previously been critical of defense spending and said it's "not sustainable" during a November speech.
One of Warren's other recommendations was to crack down on fraud in healthcare programs. Some policy experts previously told BI that rooting out fraud in programs like Medicare could be an area for a quick DOGE win, as Musk can leverage his Silicon Valley tech experience to help root out fraudulent and improper payments in federal programs.
Warren's letter to Musk comes amid their long-running public disputes, and her recommendations contain many of her signature positions that Musk and some GOP lawmakers are unlikely to support. They include eliminating charter school funding, restricting federal grants to for-profit universities, and closing tax loopholes for the wealthy. Warren previously singled out Musk as one of many billionaires who should pay more in taxes.
Musk and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Other recommendations for DOGE cuts
Trump officially established DOGE as an office within the White House in a Monday executive order. DOGE's mission in the order is narrower than originally proposed β it would focus on modernizing IT systems β and it's unclear how exactly the agency will initiate spending cuts.
Still, economic experts and policymakers have continued to outline areas Musk should target. William Gale, a senior fellow at the progressive Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, wrote in a Wednesday opinion piece that DOGE should scrutinize tax expenditures, which can take the form of tax credits and deductions, and "they can go on for years with no public attention or review," Gale wrote.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers also have ideas. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz previously told BI that he wants to target reorganizing the Department of Homeland Security to allow FEMA and the Secret Service to report directly to the president, simplifying the chain of command.
"If this is where that conversation is going to happen, I'm happy to be at the table," Moskowitz said. "And if they want to do stupid stuff, I'll call it out, and I'll vote against it."
Ernst's November spending cut recommendations also included eliminating vacant federal buildings, auditing the Internal Revenue Service, and reducing fraud in SNAP benefits.
- Latest News
- The CEO of Texas' only cruise port explains how floating resorts saved it from bankruptcy
The CEO of Texas' only cruise port explains how floating resorts saved it from bankruptcy
- The Port of Galveston, Texas' only cruise port, expects to accommodate 419 cruise ships in 2025.
- The port had previously exclusively handled cargo and almost filed for bankruptcy in the 1990s.
- Its CEO explains how the influx of cruises spurred an economic turnaround.
In the 1990s, the 200-year-old Port of Galveston almost filed for bankruptcy.
It expects to earn $84 million in 2025, a 6.4% increase from the previous year.
It's an incredible turnaround. And the port's director and CEO says it's all thanks to cruises, which began to spike in popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic
The Texas port spent $53 million expanding Carnival's cruise terminal in 2023, a year after Royal Caribbean opened a $125 million terminal. A fourth new, $156 million terminal is set to open for Norwegian and MSC's ship in November.
Galveston expects to accommodate 419 cruises in 2025, a more than 25% increase from three years prior β making it the fourth busiest cruise port in America.
"There was a time we didn't have enough money to make payroll," the CEO, Rodger Rees, told Business Insider. "Luckily, the money came in, but they were that tight at times."
Prior to the turn of the century, Galveston had exclusively been a cargo port. By the 1990s, its decades-old (in some cases, century-old) infrastructure had been in dire need of repair β with money that cargo alone wasn't generating.
"The port really didn't have anything going on 25, 30 years ago," Rees said. "It was like a ghost town out there."
That is until it began pursuing vacation-at-sea companies, which subsequently spurred a much-needed economic windfall.
"I've been selling Galveston to MSC for five years at least," Rees said. "Becoming a cruise port turned this port around."
In the shadows of the cruising limelight, the port still continues to receive cargo (primarily vehicles and parts for New Mexico's coming wind farm, set to become the largest in the US).
However, crucial infrastructure still needs a makeover. For example, the slips have become too small for today's larger cargo ships and were damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008.
To address this, the port is now using money from its flourishing cruise business β which accounts for 65% of its revenue β to finance its cargo-related renovations, set to be completed in early 2026.
It's a $100 million project, about $60 million of which is coming from its cruise revenue.
"Our best year that I've been here, we made $10 million in cargo business and $50 million in cruises," Rees said. "The cargo business has to really grow in order to keep up with the growth of the cruise business."
- Latest News
- I spent $50 to sleep in a capsule pod at a Tokyo airport. It wasn't restful, but it was worth it for the convenience.
I spent $50 to sleep in a capsule pod at a Tokyo airport. It wasn't restful, but it was worth it for the convenience.
- I ended a trip to Tokyo with an experience on my Japan bucket list β a night in a capsule hotel.
- For $50, I slept at the Nine Hours Narita Airport, a pod hotel inside the airport.Β
- The sleep wasn't great, but I thought it was convenient for travelers with early flights.Β
In April 2023, I spent 12 days wandering around Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan. As the days passed, I wanted to end my trip with a few experiences that were high on my travel bucket list.
I made sure to spend my morning slurping shio ramen and my afternoon exploring Shinjuku City, a popular Tokyo neighborhood known for its skyscrapers and stores.
For my last night, I wanted to stay in a capsule hotel.
Capsule hotels, often called pod hotels, originated in Japan.Β I've stayed in a capsule hotel in Australia and think it's best described as a cross between a hotel and a hostel β you don't have much space, but you do get a bit of privacy.
Since the concept originated in Japan, I wanted to end my trip with the quintessential experience. I booked a night at the Nine Hours Capsule Hotel at the Narita International Airport, where I was flying out the next day to go home. Here's what it was like.
People with ADHD are more likely to die early, according to a new study
- A new study found that people with ADHD likely have a shorter life expectancy.
- Men died about seven years earlier and women died nine years sooner than their peers.
- ADHD is linked to more impulsive or disorganized behavior, leading to worse health outcomes.
A new study of more than 9 million British adults found that people with ADHD died earlier than their peers without the disorder.
On average, men with ADHD died about seven years earlier while women died nine years sooner than their cohorts without ADHD, according to the research.
Published by the British Journal of Psychiatry, the study looked at data on 30,000 people diagnosed with ADHD, and compared it to data from around 300,000 people without β all around the same age and general health status.
While the study didn't explore the causes of death, the researchers say ADHD symptoms like impulsivity, hyperactivity, and forgetfulness can lead to "modifiable risk factors."
ADHD is a neurological disorder that can be linked to other health issues, like substance abuse, or other disorders, like autism.
"To me, the best analog is diabetes," Dr. Russell Barkley, the lead author of a 2019 study on ADHD and shorter estimated life expectancy, told the New York Times. "This is a disorder that you've got to manage, like high blood pressure, like cholesterol and diabetes. You've got to treat this for life."
ADHD can heighten impulsive behavior
The study is observational, which means it does not definitively show a causal relationship between ADHD and early death. It also leaves unanswered questions about what could be driving a connection.
Previous studies found a link between ADHD and risky behaviors like substance abuse. In a press release, Philip Asherson, a professor of molecular psychiatry at King's College London, said that adults with ADHD are more likely to engage in unhealthy habits like smoking or binge eating.
Over time, this can lead to health risks. "We know that ADHD is associated with higher rates of smoking, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer among other health problems," he said.
Early intervention can help
The British study noted that many people are undiagnosed in the UK.
Given that less than 1% of the study's participants were diagnosed with ADHD, it's "also striking in showing how few people with ADHD get a diagnosis," Oliver Howes, a professor of molecular psychiatry at King's College London, who was not involved in the research, said in a statement to reporters.
The study researchers said that "unmet support and treatment needs" could be one of the causes of earlier death in people with ADHD.
Getting a diagnosis can help a person with ADHD find ways to manage their symptoms, be it from medication or adjustments in how they work or stay organized.
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- Jack Della Maddalena Plans To 'Prove a Point' With Emphatic Win Over Leon Edwards at UFC London