• "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" sees Tom Cruise's hero fight an evil AI known as the Entity.
• The story is packed with intense action sequences and leaves the door open for more installments.
• Is this really Tom Cruise's last movie in the "M:I" franchise?

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning."

"Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" leaves the door open for future movies despite being a worthy sendoff for Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt.

The sequel follows the agent as he races to save the world from the Entity, an evil AI that has taken control of every nuclear missile on the planet. He also has to fend off Gabriel (Esai Morales), an assassin from his past who wants to control the Entity for himself.

Ethan focuses on trying to disable the AI, and he's forced to retrieve its source code from the Sevastapol, the Russian submarine that sank at the start of 2023's "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning."

Here's how it all plays out. Cue the theme music.

Ethan Hunt saves the world with seconds to spare in "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning."

For audiences who are claustrophobic, a certain scene in "The Final Reckoning" will be a nightmare. Ethan's team discovers that the Sevastopol submarine wreck, which holds the Entity's source code, is at the bottom of the North Pacific, and transmits the location to Ethan, who is in a submarine with Captain Bledsoe (Tramell Tillman).

Ethan dives down to the wreck and eventually retrieves the source code after a painstakingly long sequence in which he has to navigate falling missiles and debris while the sub slowly floods.

The most intense moment sees him escape through a tiny missile tube and float to the surface. He actually drowns in his ascent, but luckily, Grace (Hayley Atwell) is waiting with the inflatable hyperbaric chamber that stops him from dying from decompression sickness.

After that, the gang heads to a secure digital bunker in South Africa, where the Entity is planning to wait out the impending nuclear apocalypse by combining its source code with a piece of tech called the "Poison Pill." This would isolate the AI into a single hard drive and avert the end of the world.

But before they can do so, Gabriel shows up to try to take the Entity for himself. He reveals a smaller nuclear bomb will go off if Ethan doesn't give him the Poison Pill. Predictably, the deal goes south, and Ethan chases Gabriel — even when the villain takes to the sky in a biplane.

Ethan climbs aboard a second plane piloted by Gabriel's henchman, and a jaw-dropping feat of aerial stuntwork ensues, as Ethan moves between the two planes in midair to retrieve the hard drive.

The film cranks up the tension during the climax because while the aerial chase is happening, Benji (Simon Pegg) gets shot and has to talk Grace through rebooting the digital bunker while their enemy-turned-ally Paris (Pom Klementieff) performs an emergency tracheotomy on him.

In true "Mission: Impossible" style, Ethan retrieves the Poison Pill at the last moment as Gabriel falls out of the plane and dies. To make matters worse, the plane catches fire, and Ethan has to leap out of the vehicle and put the source code into the Poison Pill while falling through the air, because nothing is ever easy in this franchise.

Obviously, he manages to pull it off, and Grace uses her quick reflexes to yank a glorified USB stick out of the console in the bunker to permanently trap the Entity. In the film's final moments, the IMF team meets up again in London as Grace gives Ethan the stick containing the Entity for safekeeping. They all share an emotional look at one another before going their separate ways.

That shot doesn't definitively end the franchise, and leaves the door open for the cast to return (should they choose to accept) for another mission.

But that's a little weird, since the film was billed to be an ending to the franchise. Here are the lingering questions we have about "The Final Reckoning" ending.

Was Ethan Hunt supposed to die at the end of "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning?"

Our most pressing question is whether Ethan was originally supposed to die at the end of the film. During the climax on the burning biplane, Gabriel makes a point of telling the hero that he's wearing the only parachute before he falls out and is killed by the plane's fin.

The film perfectly sets up that Ethan might have to sacrifice himself in order to save the world. But no, there's a second parachute tucked away inside the plane that Ethan conveniently finds.

Considering "The Final Reckoning" has been billed as Cruise's swan song and the end of the franchise, it would have made sense for the hero to go out in a blaze of glory. But no, Hunt just puts the two together while falling through the sky and then lands on the ground as if it's just a normal day.

It's a shame, because killing him off would've given the story and its ending more weight.

Why was Luther Stickell hooked up to medical equipment in "The Final Reckoning"?

Tech genius Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) has helped Ethan as part of his team in every "Mission: Impossible" movie. During "The Final Reckoning," Ethan finds Luther in a base underneath King's Cross train station in London, where he develops the Poison Pill.

But during those scenes, it's heavily suggested that Luther may be dying of some kind of disease. He's hooked up to medical equipment, there's a hospital bed, and an IV drip — yet the film strangely never addresses this at all.

Instead, Stickell dies while defusing a bomb left by Gabriel.

Why does "The Final Reckoning" completely ignore Ilsa Faust's death in the previous film?

One of the most devastating moments in "Dead Reckoning" is when Gabriel murders Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) in Venice. Isla was a mysterious MI6 agent with whom Ethan had a "will-they-won't-they" relationship.

Many fans assumed her death was a fakeout as part of a plan to trick the Entity, but Isla does not return in the final installment.

Even without bringing Ferguson's character back, it feels like a bizarre choice that the film does not even mention that Gabriel murdered someone Ethan was close with.

Did "The Final Reckoning" need to be that long?

One of the most obvious questions is: Why did "The Final Reckoning" need to be two hours and 50 minutes long?

The first hour of the sequel is crammed with exposition about where the team is after the previous film, how the Entity has taken hold of the world's nuclear weapons, and why the authorities think Ethan might be working for the opposing side (he isn't).

It could have focused instead on setting up the concept of the Poison Pill and isolating the Entity in the South African bunker. It's understandable though; the early scenes put a variety of different locations from around the world on display and give "The Final Reckoning" the feel of a globe-trotting adventure. If only traveling all that way had led to a more a definitive ending.

• My in-laws asked to stay with us for over a month during a recent vacation.
• They've helped us out financially in the past, so I felt like I couldn't say no.
• I learned that communication and boundaries are crucial for successfully sharing a small space.

When my in-laws needed a place to stay for 38 days during their yearly trip to America from the Netherlands, it felt like we were backed into a corner. They'd been our financial safety net multiple times over the past year, covering our rent and some bills.

We weren't reckless with our finances, but I only made $12.25 an hour, and my husband hadn't been able to work for years due to limitations on his visa that had only recently been lifted. That's why, when they shared the good news they'd save over $1000 if they crashed our one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment for over a month, it felt impossible to turn them down.

Their visit got off to a rocky start

They landed on March 25. Their air mattress was sandwiched between our couch and TV, and we added two folding chairs to the dining table. I was embarrassed that I couldn't offer more.

"It's just like camping!" my mother-in-law remarked, recalling their RV trip in Germany. I wanted to say, "But this isn't a camping ground in Germany; it's our apartment!" but I didn't.

Every morning thereafter began with my mother-in-law's chipper, "Good morning!" as we shared coffee. After that, my husband got ready for his part-time job, and my in-laws made plans to grocery shop or spend the entire day watching reality TV or YouTube. Sometimes, they'd even just tag along and watch me and my husband as we went about our day, because they wanted to maximize our time together.

Sharing space started to affect my work and sleep

I work from home as a freelance writer and typically work from the living room to avoid working in the same room where I sleep. As we entered week two of their vacation, I had to start working from my armchair in the bedroom, as they were staying in the living room, and we all needed our space. My sleep started to suffer; the bedroom became associated with frustration instead of peace.

It also felt exhausting to wake up and immediately have to infuse myself with energy to talk with the family, then try to get into a mindset to work.

I had my breakthrough the day I decided to work out of the apartment's complimentary business center. While I was there, I was extremely productive, and my mind was clear. I thought of my office nook in the living room, overloaded with clutter, dishes, and laundry, and knew something had to change.

Being clearer about boundaries was helpful for everyone

I realized I had to get over my fear of being a rude hostess or ungrateful daughter-in-law. Articulating my needs and boundaries didn't mean I was spurning their love or generosity. In fact, it was more cruel to be passive because it left us all confused.

I learned it's OK to say, "I will have coffee with you this morning — but then, I have to work." By being clearer about what I needed to get my work done instead of just hinting at what I wanted, I ended up more productive and happier. When I worked, I really worked. When I had time to hang out with the family, I was able to be fully present. Gone were the moments where I would be with them but not really with them, silently growing anxious that I was neither truly working nor really relaxing.

In the third week, I also started to ask for help with laundry and dishes. This request became key to our peace, as my in-laws helped with gusto. As soon as I'd set a dish down, they'd wash, dry, and put it away. They delighted in doing the laundry, too. Turns out, they were looking for a way to contribute but didn't know how. So much of the housework got done, I even had time to date my husband and organize family brunches with my parents.

I realized my feelings about money were all in my head

I had told myself I couldn't say no when they asked about staying with us because they had helped us with rent and groceries. I had felt powerless in our dynamic and hadn't allowed myself the grace of remembering our financial situation.

I thought that if my in-laws were going to help us financially, they probably felt entitled to the space. However, they hadn't felt that way at all. They had helped us in earnest; they'd received help themselves when they were just married. The shame was all mine.

By articulating my needs and expectations, their 38-day visit became a memorable and collaborative one. We respected each other's space — even if that space was a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment.

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
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Welcome back to our Saturday edition! Are you headed to the movie theater this weekend to see Tom Cruise's next big flick, "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning"? Find out why he's had such staying power. Hint: It rhymes with punts.

On the agenda:

• Living in the forest for four years shaved a decade off a researcher's biological age.
• Rich Americans are booking fancy vacations. Everyone else is cutting back.
• Morgan Wallen is the man of the moment because of his controversies, not in spite of them.
• A week on Mexico's "Happy Coast," the hidden getaway of the wealthy.

But first: It's cookout time.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

It's time to sizzle and serve

Summer, is that you? :squints:

With Memorial Day on Monday serving as the unofficial kick-off for summer, it's my favorite time of the year — grilling season. Get out the burgers. Get out the hot dogs. And if you'd rather not eat meat, get out the vegetables.

Luckily for you, BI's Lifestyle team has been speaking with various chefs for tips on how to ensure people will be coming back to your grill asking for more.

Chef Alissa Fitzgerald tells BI that a good burger starts with the kind of beef you buy. Try to aim for beef with "80% meat and 20% fat," allow them to thaw completely, and don't season them too early.

"Right before placing it on the grill, take a large pinch of kosher salt and gently cover the outside of the patty with a thin layer," she suggests. "Add the burger salt-side down on the grill and sprinkle some on the other side."

If you're putting other types of meat on the grill, however, like steaks, you'll want to season them "a few hours before you plan on cooking it and let it sit in the fridge," Chef Marcus Jacobs tells BI.

Meanwhile, when grilling chicken, Jacobs suggests creating a "blend of salt, white and black pepper, paprika, coriander, and several different types of chilies."

No matter how you season or what you're throwing on the grill, check out the chefs' other tips to make sure you're not the talk of the neighborhood for the wrong reason.

Touching grass

When David Furman discovered his body was prematurely aging because of stress, he and his family moved to a one-room cabin in the woods to reset. Furman changed what they ate and how he exercised, and scaled back use of electronics.

To his delight, the experiment worked: It dramatically improved his longevity and energy. He continues to reap the benefits now, even after leaving the forest.

Plus, his family loved the lifestyle.

Travel is for the rich now

Almost half of summer travelers this year make over $100,000, according to a Deloitte survey. The wealth gap is growing, and middle-income vacationers are either staying home or opting for more budget-friendly trips.

Even as demand wavers, luxury travel is booming. New accommodations are under construction, and "luxury" short-term rentals are increasing in price faster than other listings.

But the stark divide may not last forever.

Morgan Wallen's country

There's nothing sonically special about Morgan Wallen's music, and he has a habit of attracting controversy. Still, in the wake of scandals involving slurs and disorderly conduct, Wallen is more popular than ever.

That's because Wallen's messiness is a key part of his brand, writes BI's Callie Ahlgrim. Fans see his scandals as proof of his authenticity, and he embodies an idea of freedom.

Why it pays to be the problem.

A Happy Coast hideaway

A 155-mile stretch of Mexico's Pacific coast is a quiet vacation hot spot for the ultrawealthy. Costalegre, Spanish for "Happy Coast," is practically impossible to reach — for those without a private jet, at least.

BI's Monica Humphries spent a week resort-hopping in Costalegre. Each had a different appeal, from the neighborhood feel and star-studded history at Careyes to the ATVs and private beaches at Las Alamandas.

Meet luxury and nature.

What we're watching this weekend

• "Sirens": Julianne Moore, "The White Lotus" actor Meghann Fahy, and "House of the Dragon" standout Milly Alcock all star in Netflix's new dark comedy set in a beachside town.
• "The Last of Us": Season two of HBO's TV show adaptation of the popular video game series ends this weekend.
• "Nine Perfect Strangers": Nicole Kidman returns as a wellness guru in season two of the Hulu series, this time set in the Austrian Alps.

See the full list

Deals we love

• Memorial Day savings: Mattresses are almost always on sale, but our deal experts know that Memorial Day is when we see the steepest discounts. Here are the best mattress deals for the holiday weekend.
• Business (Insider) casual: Our men's style editors are here to help you look sharp at the office without feeling stiff. Check out our brand-new guide to the best men's business casual clothes for work.
• Le Creuset vs. Staub: Our kitchen experts hate to break it to you, but there's a reason the more expensive option is better. Here's why we recommend Le Creuset.

More of this week's top reads:

• I stayed at a luxurious resort in Barbados with my young daughter. From the private pool to the stunning beach, our stay was nearly perfect.
• Keke Palmer said she didn't feel adequately paid in Hollywood until Jordan Peele's 'Nope' — two decades into her career.
• Four sandal trends that are in this summer and four that are out, according to stylists and designers.
• The patent behind a $182 cult-favorite skincare product recently expired. So where are all the dupes?
• I visited the most expensive city in Utah and spotted five signs of over-the-top wealth and luxury.
• Beyoncé and Sabrina Carpenter's choreographer shares how she gets her clients so fit they can sing and dance — in just 12 weeks.
• Five style mistakes a menswear designer wishes you would stop making.
• A 56-year-old personal trainer on how to build muscle after 40 — with rucking, body weight exercises, and short workouts.
• I visited Universal's new theme park, Epic Universe. I see why some people wouldn't like it, but I'd happily go back.

The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York City. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• Americans are getting requests for tips in more and more places, a Morning Consult survey found.
• Some customers are fighting back by avoiding businesses that request tips— or tipping less.
• Many consumers are still willing to tip for good service, the survey found.

Customers say they feel like they are being asked to leave a tip at more places, and some are fighting back.

About 33% of people surveyed by Morning Consult said that they're expected to tip more, either more often or a greater amount, than they were five years ago.

They're not imagining it. From self-checkout kiosks to paying for service on your car at a mechanic's shop, customers are seeing businesses ask for tips in situations where gratuity wasn't previously expected.

Consumers are feeling pressure to tip more from that phenomenon, which a report on the survey from Morning Consult calls "tip creep."

"The biggest change is that the prompt to tip is showing up in places that we didn't expect it," Lindsey Roeschke, a travel and hospitality analyst for Morning Consult, told Business Insider.

Morning Consult surveyed 2,200 adults online in the US between March 14 and 16.

Some customers told Morning Consult that they're fighting back.

More than 25% of respondents said that they use services that require tips less frequently than they previously did. Almost as big a share — 23% — said that they focus on visiting businesses that don't pressure them to tip more than they have historically.

And 16% had another response: Their individual tips are smaller because of all the requests they are getting.

"Perhaps due to the perceived pressure related to growing gratuity expectations, a majority of U.S. adults say they've changed their behaviors in some way to account for tip creep," Morning Consult's report states.

Expectations around tips could change again if an idea that President Donald Trump floated in his last campaign becomes reality.

On Tuesday, the US Senate passed the No Tax on Tips Act, which would create a federal income tax deduction of up to $25,000 a year for workers who receive cash tips. Another version of the proposal is part of Trump's larger budget and immigration bill. The Act would need to pass both houses of Congress and get a sign-off from Trump to become law.

If enacted, a tax-free status for tips could create an incentive for more employers and workers to prompt customers for gratuities, one tax expert told CNBC.

Despite feeling pressure, Americans are still willing to tip in the right moments.

In several situations, from getting a haircut to picking up your car from a valet, more Morning Consult survey respondents said that it was "necessary or expected" to tip than said they felt pressured to tip.

Being brought or served food was a major point of agreement: Sixty-nine percent of respondents said it was necessary to tip when dining out at a local restaurant, while 64% said it was the norm when getting food and drinks delivered to their home.

Pizza chain Domino's has also seen a lift in tips at many of the new locations that the chain has opened in recent quarters, CEO Russell Weiner said on the company's earnings call last month.

Many of the new stores are splitting the service area with existing locations, cutting the time that it takes to get pizzas to customers, he said.

"You get hot, predictable deliveries," which, in turn, make customers more likely to order again and leave a bigger tip, Weiner said.

Morning Consult's survey also showed that many people support paying service workers a fair wage. Forty-four percent of respondents said that service workers should not have to rely on tips for their income.

When asked about whether they would support additional mandatory costs that could support workers, such as businesses adding a fixed service charge between 15% and 20% to their bill, most consumers said that they were opposed.

Instead, a majority — 53% — said that tipping should be optional and depend on the service they receive. At the same time, "they also think that service workers need to be paid a fair living wage," Roeschke told BI.

"It just reflects this overall tension" around tipping, she said.

President Trump has repeatedly shifted his positions on Ukraine to accommodate Russian President Vladimir Putin, even as Putin has given very little in return.

Why it matters: Trump's critics claim he's getting played — that Putin has no intention of making peace and is stringing him along. But White House officials tell Axios they still believe Putin is about to take tangible steps towards a deal.

The big picture: For now, Trump has given Putin much of what the Russian president had hoped for: no ceasefire, no more sanctions, an intra-NATO divide, and a remarkable amount of leeway from a U.S. leader not known for his patience.

• Trump has occasionally acknowledged that Putin might be "tapping me along," and has even threatened sanctions or tariffs if Putin keeps obstructing the peace process.
• But Trump emerged from his call with Putin on Monday showing more deference to Putin than ever — rejecting calls for sanctions, stepping aside as mediator in favor of Putin's preferred format, and heralding Russia's willingness to spell out its demands for peace as a diplomatic coup.

Zoom in: After the call, Trump proposed peace talks in the Vatican, with White House officials saying the Russians would arrive bearing a "peace memo" that laid out Moscow's vision for a ceasefire and a larger deal to end the war.

• But on Friday, Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov — while confirming that Russia was preparing such a document — pushed back on the idea of a meeting in the Vatican, claiming it wouldn't be an appropriate venue for two Orthodox Christian countries to convene.
• For now, Ukrainian officials say they have no information as to when or where the next round of talks will take place, following the first meeting a week ago in Istanbul.

The intrigue: There's a glaring divide between Trump and leaders in Europe on pressure vs. patience with Putin.

• The U.K and EU announced new sanctions on Russia this week after Putin again rebuffed Trump's ceasefire pitch. They'd hoped the U.S. would join, but Trump declined.
• Trump's deference to Putin after Monday's call puzzled allied leaders who joined a conference call with him afterwards.
• With Moscow continuing to slow-walk a peace process Trump initially claimed would be resolved in 24 hours, the U.S. president seemed more inclined to walk away entirely than to come down hard on Putin.

Between the lines: To push Zelensky to the negotiating table, Trump berated him in the Oval Office and temporarily froze intelligence sharing and weapons shipments.

• With Putin, he's used carrots — in particular a promise of sanctions relief and better economic ties — but very few sticks.

What they're saying: "I think that Putin is stringing us along," Bridget Brink, who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine last month to protest Trump's "appeasement," told CNN on Thursday. "This is why it's really important to call a spade a spade and put more pressure on Russia, together with partners and allies in Europe."

The flipside: The White House says Trump's diplomacy with Putin convinced him to produce the forthcoming peace memo, something he was not willing to do before.

• Trump has repeatedly argued that while it would be "easier" politically to go hard on Putin, maintaining friendly ties will be more fruitful.

What to watch: Trump has a bad cop at the ready, with Senate Republicans — led by Trump ally Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — itching to impose 500% tariffs on countries (principally China) that buy Russian oil.

• For now, Trump seems content to let Putin make the next move.

The cost of child care in the U.S. just keeps climbing — a new report finds that prices rose 29% from 2020 to 2024, outpacing overall inflation.

Why it matters: Rising child care costs put a huge financial strain on families, forcing some parents — typically women — to either ratchet back their working hours or leave the labor force entirely.

• For single parents, the calculus can be even more painful.
• It's also a drag on economic growth overall.

By the numbers: The average annual cost of daycare tuition nationwide for two children — one toddler and one infant — rose to $28,168 last year, according to data from Child Care Aware, an advocacy group.

• That's about 35% of median household annual income in the U.S., based on Census data released in 2024.

Zoom in: The percentages are no less brutal in states with higher incomes.

• The cost of care for two children in Massachusetts is $47,012 — 44% of the median household income in that state.

Zoom out: The U.S. doesn't have publicly funded universal childcare.

• However, the federal government does put money into the system for low-income kids through block grants to the states, as well as Head Start, the decades-old federal program that provides childcare, nutrition assistance and other services to the nation's poorest families
• There were worries that the White House would stop funding Head Start, but the administration has said that won't happen.

Yes, but: President Trump's budget proposals look to keep federal funding levels for child care flat next year — that's effectively a cut given inflation, says Anne Hedgepeth, senior vice president of policy and research at Child Care Aware.

• "Level funding in the current environment is essentially a cut, and that is really concerning," she says.

• Women renting their clothing on the app Pickle told BI they can make thousands of dollars each month.
• The lenders use the money for everything from paying bills to reinvesting in their own businesses.
• Keeping up a closet is an "enterprise" for some, who track viral pieces and buy clothes just to rent.

Lane Creatore realized she was sitting on an untapped gold mine: her closet.

Her closet was full of viral pieces, many of them hardly worn and taking up space in her tiny New York City apartment. Instead of letting those clothes collect dust, Creatore turned to renting them out online.

The 31-year-old fashion blogger is one of the thousands of women who rent their clothes on the app Pickle to the city's fashionably desperate — maybe they need a dress for a wedding, or are just itching to wear an item but don't want to pay the full price. In good months, Creatore can make five figures.

"Pickle is honestly the ultimate girl math," Creatore told Business Insider. "Instead of thinking in terms of wears, I think, 'I'm going to make this investment in terms of rentals.'"

Pickle was founded by former Blackstone employees Brian McMahon and Julia O'Mara. After launching its app in 2022, Pickle tapped New York City influencers for growth. In 2023, it opened its first brick-and-mortar store in New York and has since expanded to markets like Los Angeles and Miami. The startup has also raised $20 million to date.

Pickle's top 10 "lenders" earned an average of $3,200 a month in 2024, according to the company, which takes a 20% cut of transactions in the app (and 35% of transactions from their in-person shop).

BI spoke with five women about how much money they've made renting out their clothes on Pickle, how they've built bustling side-hustles, and their strategies for getting the most out of their unworn clothes.

Some are earning thousands

Creatore started renting on Pickle in July and listed only a few items. Less than a year later, she made $12,797 in April alone. She now typically earns between $7,000 and $12,000 each busy month.

BI verified Creatore's and the four other Pickle lenders' earnings with documentation.

Isabella De Murguia, 26 and based in New York City, works in consulting and devotes around four hours a week to her Pickle side-hustle, not including laundry. She opened her closet in 2023 after seeing ads for the app on TikTok, and now makes between $3,000 and $4,000 a month during peak rental seasons.

Jess Work, 26, works full-time in fashion while balancing a part-time job as a content creator. On average, she earns between $3,000 and $4,000 from her rentals. Some months, like around the holidays, she can make about $6,000 from the app, Work told BI.

Work has a total of 229 listings on Pickle, which range from $15 to $215 — the most expensive item being a limited edition silver dress from an H&M collaboration. Work said the dress has been rented a handful of times since she listed it six months ago, dubbing it the "sisterhood of the sparkly dress."

Even those who aren't hitting four and five figures can earn a sizable chunk of change. Andrea Duffield, a 31-year-old entrepreneur in Miami, makes between $600 and $800 each month, which is helpful "especially in this economy."

In Los Angeles, photographer and bartender Kana Kozlowski, 26, has been renting for around a year. She earns between $200 and $500 most months, but saw a bump during Coachella. Across the platform, Pickle has had spikes in rentals around holidays like Halloween, or seasonal categories like skiing gear.

Pickle also helps its lenders price their rentals, which are typically listed at 10% to 20% of the original retail price, McMahon said.

Rentals are paying the bills

For some, Pickle earnings go toward everyday expenses and bills. De Murguia said the app helps her hit savings goals and afford social outings.

"It's really tough to get joy from being a full-time creative when you're worried about money," Creatore said. "This has really given me that peace of mind again to fall back in love with blogging and photography."

Duffield recently founded her own company and said everything she makes from Pickle goes back into the business.

Keeping up a Pickle closet takes work

Unlike most New Yorkers, De Murguia has a lot of storage space — four closets go to herself and her Pickle inventory, and one goes to her boyfriend.

Pickle has changed the way lenders shop. Four of the women BI spoke said they now buy items with the intent of renting them out.

"I can buy something maybe that I wouldn't have bought previously," Work said. "I know that I'll be able to hopefully make more or at least cover the cost of the item."

Creatore said she has a spreadsheet to map out purchase, rental, and maintenance costs, and De Murguia returns anything that doesn't rent within a week.

Keeping inventory flowing also comes at a cost. Work estimated that she spends between $1,000 and $2,000 each month on new items.

Certain items are pretty much guaranteed to do well, the lenders told BI: pieces that are sold out, were seen on a celebrity, or come from certain brands, like Rat & Boa and Frankies Bikinis. Part of being successful is about knowing what's likely to go viral, they said.

"If something starts to get really popular in a particular market or on social media, it's typically on Pickle right away," McMahon said.

As De Murguia put it, the potential success for those with closet savvy is huge: "You could probably call it an enterprise."

About 10 years ago, David Furman realized something had to change.

As a postdoc at Stanford University in 2016, he studied how inflammation and aging are tightly wound together. His life was "pretty stressful," he said, and he feared his body might be aging in hyperdrive.

He could feel it, too. Furman had migraines several times a week and often took ibuprofen to dampen the pain. Mostly, he said, he felt run-down.

One day, he decided to test his hypothesis using a novel blood test he was developing. The lab test, which has since been peer-reviewed, measured inflammatory markers linked to immune dysfunction in his blood and compared it to hundreds of other samples from roughly 1,000 people young and old. The results showed that his 39-year-old body had the "inflammatory age" of a 42-year-old.

"I freaked out," he told Business Insider.

Furman knew, professionally, that these results could be a harbinger of premature aging, chronic disease, and decline — what researchers call "inflammaging." He had an inkling that by changing certain aspects of his lifestyle, ridding it of many of the modern conveniences that our ancestors never had, he might be able to turn the trend around.

"Any species that you put in a new environment will develop inflammation as a response to something foreign; we do not escape that reality," he said.

So he decided to overhaul his life. He and his wife and two young children moved to a two-bedroom cabin in the woods, nestled near a creek in the San Gregorio area of Northern California, about a half-hour drive from Stanford. The move meant they'd be giving up lots of everyday items and modern conveniences.

Our world modernized quickly, and it's constantly assaulting our biology, Furman said. "We haven't evolved looking at a screen and having an electrical light and sitting in a chair."

In their little cabin, there were no chairs, no plastics, and no industrial cleaning products — conveniences that researchers suspect could contribute to muscle degradation, immune dysfunction, and hormonal imbalances.

After his forest-living experiment, Furman said he felt dramatically better, and his blood test suggested that three years of cabin life significantly lowered stress and inflammation in his body — as he'd hoped.

The experiment triggered a cascade of other changes, too, he said. It had long-lasting effects on his daily routine and the products he uses nearly a decade later, even as he's living back in the city.

Life in the forest: pull-ups, fishing, foraging, and bonfires

Furman remembers waking up in the tiny cabin in San Gregorio, where he and his wife slept in a small lofted room above the living room and kitchen. He'd rise, hang from the cabin's rafters, and complete his workout of 10 to 15 pull-ups for the day.

Then, it was off to work at Stanford. On his days off, he played in the dirt with his kids, fished for salmon in the creek, and foraged for berries. His family also kept a garden.

He usually packed lunch, which might include a salmon lettuce wrap with a side of blueberries. It was a veritable nutrient buffet: plenty of magnesium in the lettuce, omega-3s in the salmon, and antioxidants in the berries, all foods consistently linked to better brain health.

He still went grocery shopping sometimes, and if he went out to lunch or dinner with colleagues, he ate whatever was offered.

"I prefer to blend in and not be stressed because I'm the weirdo," he said. "I think that causes more inflammation than the effect of what you're eating that may not fully align with your principles."

Still, he made little changes here and there.

When he did make the occasional trip to the grocery store to pick up items like artichokes or broccoli, he'd park his car at the farthest parking spot he could find to force himself to walk further with the heavy grocery bags.

"All species tend to do the minimum effort for the maximum gain as a way of conserving energy," Furman said. "And I said, 'No, we have to do the opposite! We have to do the maximum effort.'"

He said those small changes weren't time-consuming but made a big impact on his fitness.

"I was looking so good and I was so energetic. I had my six-pack," he said.

Instead of taking supplements, he said he relied on fresh, organic foods like raspberries and broccoli to "feed the microbiome," that diverse constellation of bacteria in the gut thought to have wide-ranging effects across the body.

After 7:30 p.m., he'd turn off all electronics — no more computer or bright overhead lights. He would light candles and start winding down for the night, preparing his body for bed with some gentle stretching.

Forest life lowered his 'age' by 10 years, Furman said

After three years in the woods, Furman did another test. The results were stunning, he said.

His inflammatory age was down to 32 — a reduction of a full decade from his first test, and a full 10 years below his actual age at the time.

This was remarkable to him. In his clinical trials, Furman typically saw people's inflammation age results fluctuate by three to five years after taking supplements or making lifestyle changes. Furman said he felt a sense of accomplishment and agency, and his results suggested he might be changing the way he was aging for the better.

"Also, I was feeling great, very energetic, and no more headaches," he said.

Why would Furman experience such a dramatic change in his biological age score? It's hard to pinpoint.

Without headaches, he wasn't taking ibuprofen, which can have a negative impact on a person's microbiome over time.

He suspects that being in the forest also had a positive effect on his body.

He was exposed to more microbes and fewer plastic chemicals. That might've changed his gut and his mood. Seeing green and sitting around a bonfire could've helped, too — studies suggest that being in touch with nature can curb inflammation.

The forest life was also great for Furman's career. "I was sharp, better than ever," he said. "Just a lot of productivity." He published three papers in a year, tripling his typical output.

What the simple life taught Furman about genetics and environment

In his lab, Furman studies "the exposome."

That's the scientific term for each person's unique combination of genes, environment, diet, metabolism, mood, social life, stressors — everything that influences how you feel and how your body functions.

Research indicates that genetics accounts for only about 10% to 20% of a person's health outcomes. What we eat, the air we breathe, the dirt and chemicals we're exposed to, and the stress we experience day after day also influence our overall health.

This picture — the whole picture — is what Furman wanted to clean up when he headed to the forest. What would happen when he swapped late nights at the office for evening bonfires?

Furman was so fired up by what he learned in the forest, he's eager to share the lessons widely. He wants to write a book with 10 principles for combating "inflammaging" — the inflammatory processes that can creep up on us as we age.

He's also trying to develop a tool that anyone can use to help assess how well their body is aging, for free. There are a lot of tests out there promising to help you calculate your biological age, and many different ways to measure it (some more dubious than others). Furman is interested in using photos of a person's face as an accessible way to gauge their rate of aging, a technique that medical researchers at Mass General Brigham are also trying out for informing cancer treatment.

Blending the forest and the city

Furman doesn't suggest that he's cracked the code to the perfect life. After three years in the forest, it was time to move on. He got a new job in Qatar and then a position in Argentina, where he enjoyed pastries, pizza, and ice cream again.

In fact, by the time he turned 45 in 2021, his inflammation test put his biological age at 54. The headaches were back, and he'd gained weight.

It was time to head home to California, which he considers his "place on Earth." He's back at Stanford, directing the "1,000 immunomes project," a long-term study of immune aging. He also directs the AI platform at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging nearby.

There's no cabin. Furman lives in a quiet neighborhood of San Francisco near the beach and the Golden Gate Bridge, but he tries to incorporate what he learned in the forest into his everyday life.

He still doesn't use plastic, and his mattress is wool. He opts for natural fibers for his clothes and organic food from the farmers market. He uses a wood-burning stove to heat his house, and surfs every week to keep his stress in check.

Keeping electronics off at night is not easy for him or his family. His daughter, who was 3 years old when they went to the forest, is 13 now and texts with friends after dark. Furman, who runs several companies and research projects, including a startup studying how astronauts age in space and a now-commercialized "iAge" inflammation test for clinicians, can't always promise to put his device away in the evening, either.

"I found my way to adjust to this reality and yet continue to have a healthy life and continue to respect those learnings from evolution and from my times in San Gregorio," he said.

Now, at 49, he said his iAge is 43, and he's happy with that result.

"It's not perfect, and nothing will be perfect," he said. "We are in a world that's largely polluted, but within this reality, I think I've managed to do my best to keep inflammation at bay."

• TJ Maxx parent company TJX operates on a different playbook from most retailers.
• In particular, the CEO says it wants to give shoppers a "wow" factor from finding incredible value.
• It's part of a larger strategy that could help the company do well — even in chaotic times.

It's an experience that almost anyone shopping at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Sierra, or Home Goods eventually has: you're browsing items, see a price tag, and think, "that can't be right."

Before you know it, you're a full-blown Maxxinista.

As it happens, TJX CEO Ernie Herrman said the company wants you to feel a little suspicious when you encounter a sharp deal.

"We want a customer to actually say, 'That almost feels too cheap,'" he said in a quarterly earnings call Wednesday. "One out of every 10 hangers I want a customer saying, 'Boy, that that almost feels too inexpensive,' strangely enough."

The playbook has been working for the company, which reported strong sales and traffic gains at its family of brands despite a broader slowdown in apparel and housewares categories in recent years.

Apart from a bad-weather month in February, monthly visits to TJ Maxx and Marshalls were up roughly 6% to 8% in January, March, and April of this year versus last year, according to foot traffic data from Placer.ai. Visits to traditional apparel stores have been basically flat or down for the period.

Placer.ai also found that not only do shoppers visit more often, they spend more time in the stores as they hunt for those surprising deals.

"A significant part of this success may stem from the segment's inherent 'treasure-hunt' experience — off-price shopping cultivates a browsing mentality, encouraging visitors to linger and explore the constantly changing inventory," Placer.ai's Bracha Arnold wrote.

This year so far, Placer.ai found TJ Maxx shoppers spent an average of 40.3 minutes in the store, while shoppers at traditional apparel chains averaged 33.3 minutes — a difference of about 20% more time spent trying to find that suspiciously good deal.

Of course, there's a lot more to the equation than simply offering low prices.

"Value isn't just a function of competitive prices," Global Data retail analyst Neil Saunders said in a note. "It also comes from buying well and meeting customer needs. In our view, TJX merchants are excellent at doing at that and they are one of the key assets that will propel the company forward."

On the earnings call, Herrman said TJX has a team of over 1,300 buyers who have relationships with more than 21,000 vendors across more than 100 countries around the world.

And while the company is not immune from tariff impacts (Herrman said TJX directly imports about 10% of its goods), much of its sourcing is downstream from other brands and retailers that will likely bear a fair amount of the costs, rather than TJX itself.

Global trade chaos now represents a key opportunity for TJX to load up on interesting merchandise, since unexpected inventory surpluses are where off-price retail shines.

Jefferies retail analyst Corey Tarlowe found that retail inventories are on the rise for the first time in two years, reversing a trend of leaner, more disciplined inventory strategies in the post-COVID era.

"Given these trends, the availability for TJX should remain robust. TJX management noted inventory availability in the marketplace is better than usual," Tarlowe wrote.

On the earnings call, Herrman said his buyers aren't tasked with a complex set of price sheets or profit margin targets. Their primary task is finding exciting products they can offer at a compelling discount to the full-price store around the corner.

"Our only contract to the customer is that we will have great value on the goods that we put out there, and it'll be below the out-the-door price of traditional retailers," he said.

• Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis urged teens to lean into learning about AI.
• Hassabis said learning AI tools and maintaining STEM skills can help them in future jobs.
• He predicts that AI advancements will disrupt some jobs and create "more valuable" ones.

Teens should consider learning AI tools now or risk falling behind, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says.

Just as millennials had the internet and personal computers and Gen Z had smartphones and tablets, generative AI is the transformative technology of Gen Alpha's time — and they should embrace it, the AI leader said on a recent episode of "Hard Fork," a podcast about the future of technology.

"Over the next 5 to 10 years, I think we're going to find what normally happens with big new technology shifts, which is that some jobs get disrupted," he told co-hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton.

However, he said, "new, more valuable, usually more interesting jobs get created" in the wake of that kind of disruption.

The generative AI arms race began in earnest with the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022. The technology has advanced rapidly ever since, sparking both excitement and concern for how it will revolutionize the workplace and the world at large.

Google DeepMind is the research lab behind Google's AI projects, including Gemini, the company's chatbot. Hassabis is leading Google's charge toward the AI race's ultimate prize — artificial general intelligence.

There is little agreement on a definition for AGI, but generally, it is considered an AI model that can reason in the same way a human does. Hassabis said Tuesday during a live interview at the Google I/O developer conference that DeepMind is less than 10 years away from creating its own.

"Whatever happens with these AI tools, you'll be better off understanding how they work, and how they function, and what you can do with them," Hassabis said, referring to young people.

He advised those headed to college to "immerse yourself now" and strive to "become a sort of ninja using the latest tools." Hassabis said they should spend time "learning to learn" — the same advice he gave to students at the University of Cambridge.

Other AI leaders have also encouraged teenagers anxious about AI to learn about it. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman told young people to play with the new technology and learn its weaknesses. In higher education, Rice University announced Tuesday that it will join a growing number of colleges offering AI degrees.

That doesn't mean they should abandon the building blocks that make for a good STEM student, Hassabis said. He still recommends getting good at coding and building up fundamental skills for success.

"Creativity skills, adaptability, resilience. I think all of these, sort of meta skills, are what will be important for the next generation," he said on the podcast.

• Blythe Graham-Jones left a career in advertising to renovate and sell homes in the Hamptons full-time.
• Her first project was a home she purchased for $635,000 that Zillow now values at $1.8 million.
• She partners with brands, promoting their products to her Instagram followers, to help defray renovation costs.

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Blythe Graham-Jones, 39, a former advertising executive who now flips and rents out homes in the Hamptons, documenting her projects for 10,200 Instagram followers @Via_Norfolk. Graham-Jones makes money from renovating Hamptons homes, renting them out on Airbnb, consulting on design projects, and various social media revenue streams, including brand partnerships. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I used to work in advertising. I worked with some of the most amazing creative minds, but didn't really consider myself a creative. I was the organized, left-brained person for these amazing talents.

My husband Cody was a real estate agent when we started dating back in 2008. Now, he works in tech sales, but we have both always loved real estate. We used to be the ones who'd organize a Montauk share house for our friends. We loved driving around looking at rentals together.

We never believed that your first purchase had to be your primary home. In 2017, we were still renting in Brooklyn and expecting our first child when we bought a three-bedroom home in East Hampton for $635,000.

It wasn't a hot property. The previous owners were in the middle of a divorce, and it was a bit neglected. People just didn't want to deal with the hassle.

There were boxes everywhere. They hadn't even cleaned out the medicine cabinets. It was a weird layout, too: The refrigerator was in the hallway, the living room was in the back of the house, and there was no primary bedroom.

Renovating my first Hamptons home inspired me to change careers

We had renters that first summer. By September, I was on a mission to fix up the house for cheap. I got white paint and Ikea rattan furniture.

For two years, we continued to rent it out on Airbnb and reinvested every penny back into the house. We started out charging $1,000 per night during peak season.

In 2019, we refinanced and pulled out a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, for $250,000. With that money, I finally got to do a big renovation. I ended up opening up one bedroom to make a living room and an open kitchen. I added a bathroom to make a primary bedroom.

Now, the home is valued at $1.8 million, according to Zillow.

I realized that doing this was my thing. I could see the potential in homes. Managing through the chaos was natural for me from my previous role. At the time, I also wanted to spend more time with my kids, who were 1 and 3. I left my corporate role in 2021 to pursue renovations full-time.

I grew my social-media brand early, and it helped make renovations cheaper

One of the first steps I took was hiring a freelance designer on UpWork to build a brand identity. For $2,000, she created my website, brand identity, logos, colors, and official fonts. I think it really helped me land deals with brands.

For instance, I work with home and kitchen fixtures company Kingston Brass. For three properties, they've gifted me an entire house's worth of products — probably $20,000 worth — for showing them off during my renovation videos on Instagram. It definitely helps for the ROI of the eventual sale.

Now, the goal is to sell one house each year while renting out the other two on Airbnb. Last year, our two properties in the Hamptons brought in $360,000 in Airbnb revenue. Both have five bedrooms and pools.

I only invest in homes in East Hampton because I like its rules regarding short-term rentals. There are minimum two-week stays, but with four exceptions you can use them throughout the year, which I usually time around holidays like Thanksgiving.

There's the profit from flipping, our Airbnb rental income, and the brand partnerships I bring in through Instagram. I also offer design consulting that starts around $1,000 or $5,000 a month to work on retainer. I also generate income from my LTK page, where people can shop the products I use in my renovations.

Instead of one job, I have multiple streams of income now.