• Netflix's 'Running Point' is a fictional comedy about a woman who becomes the owner of a basketball team.
• The series is based on the life of Jeanie Buss, owner of the LA Lakers.
• Mindy Kaling, the show's creator, said Buss came up with the idea for a comedy show about her life.

Netflix's "Running Point," a sports comedy about a woman who becomes the owner of an LA-based basketball team, may seem familiar to fans of the Los Angeles Lakers.

That's because the show is loosely based on the life of Jeanie Buss, the team's president.

"Running Point" is the latest series to examine the legacy of the LA Lakers, the second-most successful team in the NBA.

In 2022, Max produced a biopic series about the lives of key players and executives at the NBA team in the 1980s, and Hulu released a 10-episode documentary about the team's rise.

Netflix takes a new approach to portraying the team's history, focusing on Buss' life and her journey to being taken seriously in a male-dominated sport.

Mindy Kaling, the show's creator, told ExtraTV in an interview published on Tuesday that Buss asked her to make a show about her life.

"She approached me like five years ago to want to do this show," Kaling said. "She loved 'The Office' and so she's someone who has a very serious job but doesn't take herself seriously.

"She could have said like, 'I want the show to be a drama, and I want my character to be like hugely important, and everyone admires them.' But she's like, 'No, I want it to be funny.'"

Kaling added that Buss gave her and the writing team full access to her life and allowed them to interview her at any point to make "Running Point."

"Running Point" is still a fictional show, so many elements of Buss' life have likely been changed.

In real life, Buss took over the LA Lakers from her father, not her brother

The character based on Buss, played by Kate Hudson, is called Isla Gordon and runs a team called the Los Angeles Waves. Isla has three brothers who are part of the team's executive branch, while Buss' has five brothers and a sister who work in multiple sectors within the Lakers.

Buss became the owner of the Lakers in 2013 after the death of her father, Jerry Buss, the former owner. But in the show, Gordon takes on the role after her older is in a car accident.

Gordon is not the only character directly inspired by a real-life person in the show.

Brenda Song plays Gordon's friend, Ali Lee, who is based on Linda Rambis, the manager of special projects at the Lakers and a long-term friend of Buss.

Both Buss and Rambis are executive producers on "Running Point."

"Some of the situations seem outlandish but nothing surprises me that happens in the world of professional basketball," Buss told The Associated Press at the series' premiere event in LA on February 13. "We've seen everything."

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

• My husband and I used to love having Premier status on United, but we don't qualify anymore.
• The airline offers one credit card that gives automatic Premier status, but it has a $525 annual fee.
• It has great perks, but I realized a United card with a lower annual fee was a better value for us.

For years, my husband and I regularly traveled for work enough to earn Premier status on United Airlines. We loved it — the Premier security lanes at some airports literally saved us hours of travel time.

However, to reach Premier status, you need to fly a minimum of four United flights a year and earn at least 6,000 Premier qualifying points. We've both been traveling less lately and sadly don't qualify anymore.

We miss it so much that I've been looking into getting a United credit card in hopes of replacing those Premier-status perks.

I found a few options: the $0-annual-fee United Gateway℠ Card, the $0 intro for the first year, then $95-annual-fee United℠ Explorer Card, the $250-annual-fee United Quest℠ Card, and the $525-annual-fee United Club℠ Infinite Card.

All of them offer bonus miles, extra points when making United and everyday purchases, and no foreign transaction fees. However, only the United Club℠ Infinite Card comes with automatic Premier status.

Before signing up for it, though, I wanted to see if the hefty annual fee would be worth it for me.

I felt confident we'd make up the fee by utilizing all the perks, but I still wasn't sold

Automatic Premier status is the card's big selling point for me.

Beyond Priority security lanes, one of the reasons I love the status is earlier boarding. The highest Premier 1K level automatically gets you pre-boarding, Premier Gold and Premier Platinum board in Group 1, and Premier Silver boards in Group 2.

The United Club Infinite Card itself also gives you access to priority boarding in Group 2.

In my experience, your carry-on bag isn't getting in the overhead bin if you're in any boarding group after Group 3 on a full United flight. The most basic priority boarding typically costs at least $24 a person per flight, so the savings can add up.

Some of the card's other big perks are the high earning rates for points and miles and United Club access.

The Club is an exclusive airport lounge where members can grab snacks, work before flights with free WiFi, and chat with customer service about flight delays or cancellations.

That membership alone usually costs about $650 a year — that's already higher than the card's annual fee.

With or without Premier status, the card also gives you two free checked bags on every flight. However, if I make it to Premier Platinum or Premier 1K, I could get up to three bags for free.

I recently checked two bags on a United flight from Vancouver to Chicago that cost me $70 each way, so it would only take a few flights to get to the card's annual fee amount.

Additionally, the card gives holders $120 toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS — which I think of as a bonus security-skipping credit.

Overall, the United Club℠ Infinite Card sounded great, but I was still hesitant.

Eventually, I realized the Quest and Explorer cards offer similar benefits

Despite the compelling case I just made for the United Club℠ Infinite Card, we aren't going to sign up for it.

I'm sure it's of excellent value for some frequent travelers, but we can't financially justify the upfront cost of the annual fee — even if we'd eventually "make all the money back."

Fancy perks, like the Club membership, distracted me a bit at first. However, that membership isn't something we would've otherwise purchased, so I can't say we'd actually be saving that money by getting it for free.

Instead, we sat down and really thought about our travel priorities: faster security, priority boarding, and free checked bags.

The United Quest Card has a $250 annual fee, which can be partially offset the first year by its perk of a $125 United purchase credit.

It doesn't come with Premier status, but I would get 500 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) for signing up and earn one additional point for every $20 spent. Premier Silver status — the lowest level — costs 6,000 PQPs. That's a lot of credit card purchases to get Premier status, but it's possible.

Even if I can't make it to Premier status, the United Quest℠ Card offers free priority boarding, two free checked bags, and many of the other smaller perks the United Club℠ Infinite Card offers — including the $120 security-skipping credit.

If I wanted an even less expensive card, I could try the United Explorer Card. Its annual fee is actually waived the first year — a great upfront win.

I'd earn fewer miles and could only earn up to 1,000 PQPs through spending on the card. But I'd still get priority boarding, one free checked bag, the $120 security-skipping credit, and other basic perks.

Additionally, the United Explorer Card comes with two free United Club passes a year, so my husband and I could have an annual luxurious airport experience.

Letting go of my obsession with Premier status saves me money

I was originally dead set on getting a United credit card that guaranteed us the Premier status we love so much.

Although the card that offers it isn't a perfect match for us, I'm glad I did more research before applying for the card.

This process helped me narrow down the perks that can actually save us money while still improving our travel experience.

By going with the United Quest℠ Card or United℠ Explorer Card cards, we can still access priority boarding in Group 2 — meaning we likely wouldn't have to worry about our carry-ons making it on the plane — and check one or two bags for free.

We could also use the $120 credit that comes with the cards to sign up for something like TSA PreCheck® to get through security faster.

Plus, we won't have to spend $525 every year to get those perks.

Leading a federal agency is an around-the-clock, full-time job, but several top Trump administration officials have picked up side hustles: leading other federal agencies at the same time.

Why it matters: At least four officials have juggled leadership posts at multiple agencies or organizations at once. Several of those have also been targeted for deep budget and staffing cuts at the direction of the White House and its Department of Government Efficiency.

• The trend serves as another example of how Trump 2.0 has re-shuffled the federal bureaucracy.

State of play: While it's not rare for acting officials to fill posts during the Senate confirmation process, Trump's approach has broken with past precedent, said Jenny Mattingley, the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service's vice president of government affairs.

• "Dual-hatting," as she calls it, does sometimes occur in presidential administrations, Mattingley told Axios.

Yes, but: "Particularly at the beginning of an administration, you have acting officials who are in that agency — not across multiple heads of agencies," she said.

• "Being triple-hatted makes it really hard to get in and actually see the nuts and bolts" of what an agency does, Mattingley said.
• Trump's nominees have moved "fairly quickly" through the Senate, underlining the fact that the arrangements "appears to be more of an intentional choice," she added.

Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, National Archivist and head of USAID

Marco Rubio is balancing three different posts:

• He was easily confirmed as the Secretary of State, a role that's seen him travel across Latin America, engage in talks over ending the Russia-Ukraine war and navigate a fragile Middle East ceasefire.
• At the same time, he also took on the title of acting director of the U.S. Agency for International Development. That change coincided with the dramatic DOGE-led dissection of the humanitarian aid organization. Rubio said at the time that the administration had "no choice but to bring this thing under control."
• While traversing the globe, Rubio is also serving as the acting archivist of the National Archives and Records Administration, an independent agency Trump has long disliked after it alerted to the Justice Department of his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Trump fired the previous head archivist this month.
• Trump did, however, appoint Jim Byron, the the president and CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation, to handle the "day-to-day" needs at the National Archives.

One stunning stat: Based on historical staffing levels, that would mean Rubio is overseeing a combined 90,000 employees across three agencies before factoring in DOGE's mass layoffs.

Kash Patel, running the FBI and ATF

FBI Director Kash Patel, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate in late February, is to many experts and critics a controversial pick for the main job he was nominated to do.

• But he was also tapped to lead another federal law enforcement agency: He sworn in Monday as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Associated Press reported.
• The White House, in a fact sheet on Trump's executive order directing a review of second amendment infringements, argued the Biden administration had "weaponized" the ATF through regulations.
• That means Patel would concurrently be overseeing the 5,000-plus-person ATF workforce and the 38,000 people who work for the FBI.
• It's unclear what the administration plans to do with the agency after the unprecedented move of placing the FBI director at its helm.

Russ Vought, Trump's budget chief and consumer protection head

Russ Vought, Trump's budget chief, is leading several of the White House's key initiatives chipping away at the federal government.

• In doing so, he also reportedly took over as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the financial watchdog that the White House railed against as a "woke, weaponized arm of the bureaucracy."
• Trump fired former CFPB leader Rohit Chopra, cutting short his term that was not supposed to end until next year.
• As acting director, Vought issued directives earlier this month freezing much of the agency's work — though the administration said in a court filing Monday that there "will continue to be a CFPB."

Zoom out: Trump earlier this month nominated Jonathan McKernan to take the reins from Vought, so his tenure at the agency may be short-lived.

• McKernan is set to testify Thursday before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Counting Chopra, McKernan —if confirmed — would be the fourth person in the post since Trump took office: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was first designated as acting CFPB director before Vought filled the slot.
• CFPB's website, which on its homepage displays an error code, still has Bessent listed as acting director.

Go deeper: Behind the Curtain: Trump's boundary-busting provocations

• The "Shrek" franchise is returning with another sequel starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Zendaya.
• "Shrek 5" will premiere in December 2026.
• Here's what to know about the long-awaited movie. 

"Shrek 5" is heading to theaters in 2026 with a new cast member — Zendaya.

On Thursday, DreamWorks shared the first teaser for the movie, with new designs for Shrek and the main characters.

The teaser said that Zendaya is starring in the film, seemingly playing one of Shrek's daughters.

It has been 15 years since the last sequel to "Shrek," the pop culture juggernaut that turned DreamWorks into a leading film studio.

The first film won an Oscar, and the franchise made nearly $3 billion across the first four films. The "Puss In Boots" spinoff movies, released in 2011 and 2022, also made an extra billion dollars.

A "Shrek" sequel has been rumored for years, but fans were beginning to lose hope after "Shrek Forever After" provided a neat finish to the story. The decision to restart the "Shrek" franchise may be due to the surprise success of "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish," which had a slow opening but eventually made $481 million.

"The Last Wish" arrived 11 years after "Shrek," proving that there is still an audience for the films.

Here's what we know so far about "Shrek 5."

Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, and Cameron Diaz are returning for "Shrek 5."

Eddie Murphy, who plays Donkey, told Collider in June 2024 that he had started recording his lines for "Shrek 5" and said that DreamWorks plans to release a spinoff about his character.

A month later, DreamWorks Animation finally confirmed that "Shrek 5" is in the works. It also announced that Mike Myers will return as Shrek, with Cameron Diaz as Fiona.

No word yet on Antonio Banderas, who joined the franchise in "Shrek 2" as the outlaw Puss in Boots. Banderas voiced Puss in Boots in both of the spinoff movies (the first is set before "Shrek" and the second is set after "Shrek Forever After") and has made no announcement about stepping down from the role.

This could mean that the fan-favorite feline won't show up, or Banderas hasn't been able to finalize his deal with DreamWorks yet.

Walt Dohrn will co-direct "Shrek 5" with Brad Ableson, the director of "Minions: The Rise of Gru." Dohrn was a writer and artist on "Shrek 2" and "Shrek the Third," was the head of the story on "Shrek Forever After," and the voice of Rumpelstiltskin in the latter film.

The movie's producers are Gina Shay, who produced "Shrek Forever After," and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri.

"Shrek 5" will premiere in December 2026.

There are no details yet on the plot or how it will follow "Shrek Forever After."

The last movie ended with Shrek and Fiona happily raising their three triplets after Shrek learns to appreciate his life as a father.

DreamWorks initially announced that "Shrek 5" would premiere on July 1, 2026, but in their new teaser, the release date has changed to Christmas 2026.

• Elon Musk says it "might make sense" to increase pay for members of Congress.
• He said it could help safeguard against corruption — an argument Democrats like AOC have long made.
• It's a reversal from December, when he helped tank a funding bill over a modest lawmaker pay raise.

Elon Musk seems to be changing his mind about whether members of Congress should get a raise.

"It might make sense to increase compensation for Congress and senior government employees to reduce the forcing function for corruption," the Department of Government Efficiency head wrote on X on Thursday. "The latter might be as much as 1000 times more expensive to the public."

It's a far cry from December, when Musk helped tank a bipartisan government funding bill in part because it included a modest pay increase for members of Congress.

Musk's comment on congressional and government salaries came in response to a video claiming that members of Congress are enriching themselves by steering congressional funds toward non-government organizations that they're affiliated with.

Members of Congress are already prohibited by law from using their official positions for personal gain, and outside income often comes in the form of book proceeds.

Nonetheless, the argument Musk is making about corruption and salaries echoes those made by Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and good-government experts, who have warned that members of Congress may be tempted to trade stocks or be lured into employment in the private sector due to their stagnant salaries.

Rank-and-file members of the House and Senate currently make $174,000 — a figure that hasn't changed since 2009, since lawmakers have proactively blocked a cost of living adjustment every year since then.

If their salaries had kept pace with inflation since 2009, they would have been paid $217,900 last year, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Though that $174,000 salary is far higher than what most Americans make, lawmakers and experts have pointed to the cost of maintaining two residences, as well as the importance of the job, as a reason why the salary should be increased.