• Angelina Jolie is one of the biggest movie stars of the last 40 years.
• She's been nominated for two competitive Oscars, winning one.
• But she's also appeared in some bombs like "The Tourist" and "Alexander."

Jolie is an Oscar-winning actor who has been in dozens of movies over her 43-year career. Some of her films have made hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, including "Kung Fu Panda," "Eternals," and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

But while some of her films have been beloved by critics, others have been panned.

We used Rotten Tomatoes to find the best and worst films of her career, according to critics. Here are the 10 worst — and 11 best films — of Jolie's filmography.

These are the worst films of Jolie's career, according to critics.

Not all of Jolie's films have been highly regarded by critics. Here are some of the worst, according to reviews.

10. "Life or Something Like It" (2002)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 28%

In "Life or Something Like It," Jolie plays Lanie, a Seattle TV reporter who meets Jack (Tony Shalhoub), a man claiming to be a modern-day prophet. When he tells her she only has seven days to live, she begins changing her life.

Rex Reed of The Observer called the film "Formulaic, delusional and about as accurate a depiction of life in television news (or something like it) as a Pillsbury bake-off."

9. "Gone in 60 Seconds" (2000)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 26%

"Gone in 60 Seconds" stars Nicolas Cage as Randall, a former car thief who returns to the game to save his brother's life. In order to do so, he has to steal 50 cars in 72 hours. Jolie plays a mechanic, Sara (or Sway), who is also Randall's ex-girlfriend.

"What's missing from 'Gone in 60 Seconds' is anything new. There's a 'been there, done that' feeling to the enterprise," wrote David Ansen of Newsweek.

8. "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life" (2003)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 24%

Jolie returned to play the famed video-game character Lara Croft for the 2003 sequel, "Cradle of Life." This time, the treasure hunter/archaeologist is hired by MI6 to find the Cradle of Life, an ancient artifact with deadly capabilities.

"This Indiana Jones knockoff goes down smoothly enough, and Jolie isn't bad at all," wrote Chicago Reader's JR Jones.

7. "Taking Lives" (2004)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 22%

"Taking Lives" is a thriller that stars Jolie as an FBI profiler, Ileana, who is called to Montreal to help with a serial killer who takes on the identities of his victims. Ethan Hawke costars as a civilian, James, who helps Ileana crack the case … but all is not what it seems.

"If you can buy the pillow-lipped Angelina Jolie as a psychic FBI agent in Montreal to hunt a serial killer, then you can swallow the other implausibilities in this retread thriller," wrote Peter Travers for Rolling Stone.

5 (tie). "The Tourist" (2010)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 20%

In "The Tourist," Jolie stars as Elise, the lover of famed criminal Alexander Pearce, who has since gone missing and is believed to have altered his appearance with plastic surgery.

When she receives a note from Pearce to pick a random man to give over to the police in place of Pearce, she chooses Frank (Johnny Depp), a mild-mannered math teacher from Wisconsin. But there are many parties interested in finding Pearce, and a chase across Europe ensues.

"Though she's given virtually nothing to do but sashay down train platforms in designer outfits, I will say that I enjoy how much Angelina Jolie enjoys being a movie star," wrote Dana Stevens for Slate.

5 (tie). "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 20%

Lara Croft made it to the big screen in this 2001 action film which stars Jolie as Lara, a British archaeologist/treasure hunter/martial arts expert/tech genius.

In order to keep a mysterious object known as the Triangle out of the wrong hands, she goes on a globe-trotting adventure with fellow treasure hunter Alex West (Daniel Craig) and Manfred Powell (Iain Glen), the leader of the Illuminati.

Time Out said the film was "a jerky, fragmented tale that jumps from one exotic location to the next without any explanation or flow."

4. "Playing God" (1997)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 16%

"Playing God" stars David Duchovny as a surgeon who loses his license after being caught operating under the influence. He's then hired as the personal doctor of a mob boss, Raymond (Timothy Hutton). Jolie has a supporting role as Raymond's girlfriend, Claire.

"What can you say about a time-waster like 'Playing God' with its multiple murders, corrupt FBI agents, obligatory car chase and dumb, self-referential, four-letter-word humor," wrote SF Gate's Edward Guthmann.

3. "Alexander" (2004)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 15%

One of the more ignominious legacies of "Alexander" is that a 29-year-old Jolie was cast to play Queen Olympus, the mother of Alexander, played by the 28-year-old Colin Farrell. Yes, the two are just 11 months apart and played mother and son.

The film depicts the rise and fall of Alexander in the ancient world.

"While it's worth applauding 'Alexander' for not making its legendary hero 100% hetero, there's nothing else to recommend about this stilted, tedious epic," wrote Alonso Duralde for The Advocate.

2. "Beyond Borders" (2003)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 14%

Jolie plays Sarah Beauford, a young socialite who gives up her privileged life to become an aid worker in Ethiopia after meeting the bold doctor Nick Callahan (Clive Owen).

Jen Chaney of The Washington Post called the film "well-intentioned but astonishingly flat."

1. "Original Sin" (2001)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 12%

"Original Sin" is a twisty thriller in which Jolie plays a young woman, Julia, who is chosen by a wealthy Cuban man Luis (Antonio Banderas) to be his mail-order bride. But Julia is not who she says she is, leading Luis to question their entire relationship.

"The only sin committed here is the cardinal one of boring us to tears," wrote Neil Smith for the BBC.

Now for the best work of Jolie's career.

These films were ruled the best of Jolie's career by critics, including multiple "Kung Fu Panda" films and the recent critical darling "Maria."

11. "Those Who Wish Me Dead" (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 63%

"Those Who Wish Me Dead" was directed by the mind behind "Yellowstone," Taylor Sheridan. It stars Jolie as a traumatized firefighter who finds herself involved in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as two assassins trail the son of a forensic accountant who has uncovered shady business dealings.

"The fiery explosions and chase sequences are handsomely shot, but the plot is undeniably absurd and the ominous/rousing soundtrack downright hokey. It's the performances and banter that make the project worth watching," wrote Charlotte O'Sullivan for The London Evening Standard.

8 (tie). "Wanted" (2008)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%

"Wanted" is based on the comics series of the same. It stars James McAvoy, a nervy young man, Wesley, prone to panic attacks who learns that he's actually part of a somewhat supernatural order of assassins called the Fraternity. Jolie plays Fox, a member of the Fraternity and Wesley's mentor.

"Visually stunning and ethically loathsome, for better or worse, 'Wanted' is one of the freshest action movies in years," wrote The New Republic's Christopher Orr.

8 (tie). "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (2004)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%

"Sky Captain" may have been a box-office bomb at the time, but it's since become a cult classic. The film takes place in an alternate, steampunkish New York in 1939. Jolie has a small role as a Navy pilot named Franky, an ally of Joe Sullivan (Jude Law), the titular Sky Captain.

"His nostalgia enabled by technology, [director Kerry] Conran takes the ghosts in his machine seriously, and the results appear at once meltingly lovely and intriguingly inhuman," wrote Ed Park for The Village Voice.

8 (tie). "Beowulf" (2007)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%

"Beowulf" might not have the best reputation now, but at the time it was warmly received by critics. It's an adaptation of the Old English epic poem "Beowulf," and stars Ray Winstone as the titular legendary warrior. Beowulf's archenemy is Grendel (Crispin Glover), a troll and one of Beowulf's enemies. Jolie plays Grendel's mother, a Water Demon.

"The film strives for mythological depth and epic breadth, but it's hard to get below the flat, shallow gloss over every surface," wrote the AV Club's Tasha Robinson.

7. "The One and Only Ivan" (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 72%

"The One and Only Ivan" is based on a real gorilla named Ivan. He grew up in an enclosure in a shopping center in Tacoma, Washington, until a campaign led by the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) led to his transfer to a zoo. Sam Rockwell voices Ivan and Jolie voices one of his friends at the zoo, an elephant named Stella.

"Whether you think of yourself as a marshmallow or believe you have a heart of steel, there's a strong probability that The One and Only Ivan is going to make you cry... or well up, at least," wrote Melanie McFarland for Salon.

6. "Maria" (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 75%

Jolie was nominated for a Golden Globe and is receiving Oscar buzz for her performance as opera singer Maria Callas in "Maria." The film follows the last seven days of Callas' life in 1973 before she died of a heart attack.

"La Diva Eterna lives in Jolie, with a performance as towering as it is understated: sad and soulful and heartbreaking. She has never been better. Brava," wrote John Nugent for Empire Magazine.

5. "A Mighty Heart" (2008)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

"A Mighty Heart" is based on a true story, the search for Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped in Pakistan in 2002. Jolie plays Mariane Pearl, Daniel's wife and fellow journalist.

The film received criticism for Jolie's casting, as in real life, Pearl is of Afro-Cuban descent and Jolie is white, but Pearl herself approved Jolie's casting, per Time.

"Although it is impossible to erase the specter of Brangelina from your mind altogether while watching Jolie inhabit the role of Mariane Pearl, you can manage it for surprisingly long stretches at a time," Sandra Hall of The Sydney Morning Herald.

4. "Kung Fu Panda 2" (2011)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

"Kung Fu Panda 2" sees the return of Po (Jack Black) a lazy kung-fu-loving panda, and the rest of his friends: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), the Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), Crane (David Cross), and Monkey (Jackie Chan). They team up to defeat the evil peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) from taking over China.

"It's a great-looking animation and a nice entertainment, though targeted at a younger audience, without the extra level of adult sophistication," wrote Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian.

2 (tie). "Kung Fu Panda 3" (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

In "Kung Fu Panda 3," Po is named leader of the Furious Five, and discovers a secret village of pandas and reunites with his biological father Li Shan (Bryan Cranston).

"Gaze in wonder at the beautiful woodcut-inspired landscapes, the 2D manga-style flashbacks, and the inventive choreography. Skidoosh, indeed," wrote The Irish Times' Tara Brady.

2 (tie). "Kung Fu Panda" (2008)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

In "Kung Fu Panda," audiences were first introduced to Po, a giant panda who helps his adopted father Mr. Ping (James Hong), a goose, run his noodle restaurant, but his dream is to practice kung fu with the Furious Five, kung fu masters. Po gets his chance to join the team and achieve his dreams when a contest is held.

"The aphorisms creak. The plot's an open book. But all of those clichés are part of the joke in this ebullient ursine coming-of-age tale about a humble panda destined for greatness," wrote the Houston Chronicle's Amy Biancolli.

1. "Gia" (1998)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

"Gia" tells the true story of one of the US' first supermodels, Gia Carangi (Jolie). It begins when Carangi first moves from Philadelphia to New York City and follows her career's rise and fall and her struggles with drug use. Jolie won a Golden Globe for her performance.

"A film about a woman's meteoric rise to fame, made shortly before Jolie's own career went stratospheric, this is a widely overlooked production that shows the incredible breadth of the actor's talent," wrote Kat Halstead for Common Sense Media.

• Business Insider spoke with professional stylists about 2025 jewelry trends.
• They predicted that watches and rings would be the center of attention this year.
• However, the quiet-luxury trend is replacing big, branded pieces.

Jewelry can be just as important as clothing when it comes to curating a personal style.

Although some aspects of the accessory are more personal and subjective — wedding bands, family heirlooms, etc — there are still overarching trends that rotate in and out of style.

Business Insider spoke with three professional stylists to get their take on all the jewelry trends that will be popular and out in 2025.

Curating a collection of comfortable everyday jewelry is the way to go.

Personal and celebrity stylist Kim Appelt predicts a general trend toward convenience, comfort, and ease in 2025.

In other words, jewelry that goes with everything — like stacked gold pieces — offers an effortless way to accessorize.

The stylist emphasized the subjectivity of this trend, saying, "your body and your environment" dictate which pieces are best suited to you.

Have fun with your rings.

If you think you're wearing enough rings, consider adding another.

"Everyone has a million rings on, like rings on every single finger," Ceila "CG" Quarles, who's styled multiple musicians and worked at RSVP Gallery, said.

When following the trend, the stylist suggested leaning toward solid precious metals rather than stones for a more industrial feel.

1990s-inspired bling is back in a big way.

Fashion is cyclical, and '90s ware has been back in style for a few years now. Sandra Okerulu, a celebrity stylist with over 10 years of experience, said it's also time to start experimenting with jewelry trends from the decade.

Whether that means investing in customized nameplate pieces or an initial ring surrounded by encrusted gems, bling is at the forefront of the retro trend.

Play around with minimalism this year.

As "quiet" status symbols become more prevalent in the fashion world, Appelt said minimalism will be big in 2025.

"I see classic, I see luxury, I see dainty," she told BI.

With more inspiration from the '90s, the professional stylist recommends focusing on classic pieces — like a pair of studs or a simple gold chain — for a minimalistic look that exudes luxury.

Don't shy away from mixing metals.

You may have been told that you should never mix gold and silver jewelry, but CQ said that's an antiquated school of thought. What was once considered a fashion faux pas now adds a perfect touch to a stylish look.

"People are not afraid to mix metals anymore," she said. "Having stacked silver and gold? That's hot."

Layering silver and gold pieces can help personalize a look while also making it more modern.

Pearls are still in style.

Appelt said pearls will still be hot in 2025.

Although the jewelry trend has been around for decades, celebrities like Harry Styles have bolstered it and turned pearl necklaces into genderless accessories.

In addition to chokers and other necklaces, Appelt suggested incorporating pearl earring studs into your jewelry box.

A good pair of hoops goes a long way.

There will likely always be a time and place for hoop earrings.

Okerulu said a more modest hoop will complement the overarching trends of simplicity and quiet luxury in 2025.

"Modesty in what you're wearing is definitely in," she said.

It's time to buy a watch.

CQ said watches are popular right now, especially among younger crowds looking for more mature looks.

She credits the shift to social media, telling BI that she's noticed that the pressure to curate an image for yourself on different platforms may have "expedited a lot of people's youth."

Just as blazers and other business-casual clothing have come back in style, adding a watch to an outfit helps exude a more tailored and professional look.

On the other hand, we can leave big gold earrings in the past.

Although 2025 style seems to be taking a lot of inspiration from the '90s, we can leave some looks in the past.

Appelt said the big, gold earrings — à la Princess Diana — that have been popular the past few years are on their way out.

The shift matches the general trend toward luxurious minimalism.

Layering is out, and simplicity is in.

Okerulu said she's seeing more people ditch heavy necklace layering. To follow the quiet-luxury trend, opt for a statement piece instead.

Stacking rings and bracelets will still be in, but Okerulu encourages people to choose one or the other to keep things simple.

Designer labels have almost become a faux pas.

The rise of modesty and quiet luxury has also led to many being less interested in buying accessories with visible designer labels and logos.

In general, Okerulu told BI, that people aren't being as obvious with their luxury jewelry.

Instead of flashy logos or easily recognizable designs, the stylist recommends looking for simple, high-quality pieces that will last forever.

• I'm raising a teenager, and I often feel that none of my choices is right.
• Parenting right now often feels like the "Barbie" monologue where we can't do anything right.
• I wonder what he's going to remember as an adult and what he's going to forget.

My teenage son was about to miss a school deadline. We'd spent the last few days mapping out a plan: breaking down the project into manageable pieces, setting reminders, checking in here and there. But when the final weekend of the due date arrived, Joey wasn't working on it. He wasn't panicking, either. He was on his phone.

I stood in the kitchen with my coffee, frozen in that familiar parenting dance. Should I demand he work on the assignment now, or should I stay quiet, letting him manage his own time?

Neither choice felt right.

If I stepped in, would I be an overbearing helicopter parent hovering too close? But if I let it go, would I be failing him by taking away adult support to guide his follow-through practice?

And then a bigger, deeper question that always surfaces for me: In the grand scheme of parenting and all that's happening in the world, is this even something worthy of such contemplation?

Parenting in today's day and age feels like an impossible task.

Parenting feels like the famous 'Barbie' monologue

The iconic "Barbie" monologue still lingers with me even more than a year after its release — not because it's about parenting (it's not) but because Greta Gerwig gave words to something both deeply personal and undeniably universal. The monologue, powerfully delivered by America Ferrera, calls out the contradictory expectations and impossible standards placed on women.

I think parenting is like that, too.

It is literally impossible to be a parent. You love your child so deeply, and it's heartbreaking to worry that it's not enough. Like, we need to be extraordinary at this difficult thing all the time, no matter what, and somehow, there's always someone saying we're doing it wrong.

You're supposed to raise independent kids, but not so independent that they feel abandoned. You want them to be fully themselves but also protect them from a world that isn't understanding. You have to discipline them, but not too harshly, or you'll damage them. Be patient but not permissive. Cherish every moment, but don't forget to think about and prepare them for the future.

You have to balance being their authority figure and their empathetic listener. You need to stay calm, even when you're completely exhausted. You're supposed to love your career, but never let it interfere with your family. You're supposed to provide them with every opportunity but also don't spoil them.

You can't admit how hard it is because that might make it seem like you don't love them enough. And if they struggle in any way — socially, academically, emotionally — that's your fault. Didn't you read the right parenting books? Take the right classes? Use the right tone?

And, on top of all that, how do we know which moments will matter most?

I wonder what he's going to remember about me as a parent

I wonder what Joey will remember from these years and what he won't.

I think about my own childhood and how certain moments stayed while others quietly fell away. I remember an afternoon when the kids in my neighborhood made fun of me for not knowing how to ride my bike without training wheels. My dad shooed them away, and even though I didn't magically learn to ride that day, I felt protected and watched over.

Years later, I was in a minor fender bender on my way to high school. Still a bit rattled after exchanging insurance information, I drove home instead of heading to school and called my dad. He explained that this wasn't a time to retreat but a time to keep going. So, to school I went.

Or the night my mom stayed up late helping me clean my room, even though I was the one who made the mess. I was so overwhelmed I couldn't start, and instead of lecturing me, she sat on the floor and helped. On the flip side, I knew better than to call her at work if I forgot a school assignment at home; those consequences were mine to handle.

I will always wonder if I've done enough as a parent

The truth is, I don't think I'll ever stop second-guessing myself as a parent. I'll always wonder if I should have done more or less, if I should have stepped in earlier or held back longer. Or is my perspective too insular in proportion to the external happenings in the world?

What I'm trying to hold onto is that raising a perfect kid in an imperfect world surely can't be the goal.

My parents' style was both hands-on and hands-off. Now that I'm a parent, I understand the seemingly infinite number of factors that influence parenting choices. I have a hunch my parents didn't have a precise formula for when to use which approach. What I am certain about is that my parents did their best with each decision.

That's what we're all doing, right? Our best at any given moment. That's what I can commit to: showing up every day, doing my best in each particular moment, warts and all. I hope that's enough.

• I visited Lapland, Finland's northernmost region, and stayed in an igloo for $150 a night.
• It was much cheaper than other similar accommodations I found in the area.
• The outside temperature was below freezing, but I slept extremely well and had a blast.

I've always dreamed of staying in an igloo. The novelty experience just seems perfectly nostalgic to me — the sort of thing you conjure up in childhood but forget to tick off your list as an adult.

When I booked a trip to Lapland in December, I knew I wanted to make it happen.

Unfortunately, most igloo stays are out of my budget, especially in December, when prices tend to go up due to higher demand. Everything I saw was either close to $800 a night or booked out months in advance.

I almost resigned myself to failure until I stumbled across Lucky Ranch, a family-owned lodge just outside Pyhä-Luosto National Park on the shores of the serene Lake Pyhäjärvi.

Stays in its elaborately carved igloos were available for just $150 a night — and they included breakfast. I couldn't believe my luck.

I arrived early and familiarized myself with the property.

I arrived a little early at "base camp" (a toasty wooden cabin with washroom facilities and a restaurant), where reception staff immediately offered me a hot drink.

A kind employee then offered to take me on a guided tour to get the lay of the land.

Stepping out the back door, I was giddy at the sight of four igloos surrounded by pine trees and strung-up fairy lights. The backdrop of the frozen lake made the novelty accommodation even more impressive.

As the first igloo guest to arrive for the day, I had the pick of the bunch.

The igloos are really just made of snow.

The igloos were a remarkable feat of architecture, a true winter wonderland.

A staff member told me that the lodge savvily creates them by inflating a huge balloon and dumping tons of snow on top. Once the walls are intact, a local artist begins carving unique decorations in each room.

The whole building process takes about a day, and the igloo I stayed in was built only a week before my trip.

It was beautiful inside.

Once I selected my igloo, I got settled in.

There were no doors — I entered my lodging by pulling aside a heavy cloth curtain. Inside, a double bed topped with reindeer pelts sat underneath an ice carving of a horse head, illuminated by delicately hung lights.

Getting ready for bed took a little extra prep work.

Back inside the base camp, I lined my stomach with a hearty Margherita pizza and charged my phone to prepare for my night in the igloo.

Then, I started layering up.

The staff emphasized the risk of frostbite, saying it was vital that I dress appropriately and remain in the sleeping bag overnight. However, the base camp would remain open for anyone who got too cold or needed a complimentary hot drink.

I went with a full-body merino base layer, thermal waterproof trousers, woolen sweaters, and woolly socks. It was hardly my trendiest look, but it was definitely comfortable.

I tested its warmth with regular dashes outside onto the frozen lake, gazing up at the stars and trying to see the northern lights.

It was chilly, but I was surprisingly comfortable.

By 9:30 p.m., it was bedtime. Staff members handed out pillows and sleeping bags with liners, provided a short safety briefing, and offered us hot water bottles.

Once I was tucked in, all my nerves drifted away. Although it was -12 degrees Celsius, or about 10 degrees Fahrenheit, outside, the temperature gauge inside the igloo hovered closer to 3 C.

The cold had a calming effect, and I was surprised at how comfortable I felt.

Scandinavian parents famously let their babies nap outside in prams in freezing temperatures to improve their sleep quality. Over 10 hours of blissful sleep later, bundled in my multiple layers, I could see why.

I woke up feeling refreshed and rested.

The nearby activities were worth getting up for.

Since the igloo was relatively affordable, I had the dispensable budget to treat myself to an optional add-on activity.

After a complimentary breakfast of toast, eggs, and salad, I stored my bags at reception and waited to be picked up for a $60 tour of a husky farm.

I met the dogs and watched training demonstrations while drinking hot berry juice to warm up. Then, I set off on a quick self-guided hike up the Soutaja Fell.

I can't image any of the pricier options being better than my igloo stay.

Lucky Ranch's location was a dream for adventurous tourists like me. The rural setting was a far cry from the urban bustle of Rovaniemi — where much of Lapland's winter tourism takes place.

I found the experience priceless, which is ironic considering it was one of the most budget-friendly options.

Between the beautiful property and the great night's sleep, I can't wait to come back. Next time, I'd definitely book a longer stay.

• Dana Bull plans to optimize her real estate portfolio in 2025 rather than acquiring more properties.
• She aims to increase revenue by focusing on insurance, taxes, and renovation costs.
• With insurance costs on the rise, any investor can benefit from shopping around.

Dana Bull isn't looking to acquire any more properties in 2025.

The experienced investor built wealth by buying primarily multi-family properties in Massachusetts. She's also a real-estate agent and consultant, and a mother of four. Between her various work projects and renovating her primary residence, she says she has plenty to keep her busy in 2025.

While she's not expanding her doors, she still expects to grow her revenue in the new year.

Any investor can benefit from optimizing what they already own, said Bull: "If you're not going to buy right now — for personal reasons or you just don't like the interest rates or whatever is going on — this could be a good year to just focus on your business, your expenses, and tighten up what you already have."

Specifically, she's looking to optimize in three categories, which could improve her returns significantly.

1. Insurance

Like many investors and homeowners, Bull has seen her insurance rates rise over the past couple of years.

The general trend is that "insurance is harder to get and it's more expensive," she said. "That cost for me has just jumped. It's a big line item. I have had the same provider for the past 10 years, and I need to just go out there and procure quotes and make sure that I'm not getting overcharged for what's being covered."

It can be time-consuming to keep track of each policy and its changes, especially if you own a lot of properties.

"I feel like it's the wild, wild west," said Bull of navigating the insurance world. "Many times, a program that we have a property covered by will just be dropped, or they'll no longer cover that property for reason X, Y, or Z, so it's like this revolving door of making sure that the properties all have coverage — and the right coverage."

She says she's been more "passive" about optimizing insurance in the past, but now that prices are soaring, she plans to shop around and do her due diligence in 2025.

2. Taxes

In addition to insurance, her property taxes have gone up.

"The tax rate has not gone up, but the value of the properties has gone up so significantly that you're just paying thousands more a year for taxes," explained Bull. One of her properties, for example, will cost an extra $2,000 a year. "If I multiply that across my whole portfolio, that's a lot of money."

If you think your property is overvalued, you can appeal your property assessment.

"I think I have a few properties that are overvalued," said Bull. "Some aren't, so obviously there's nothing to do there. But if I can make a case and bring in comps and show them this is an overvaluation and now I'm being taxed higher than I probably should, I have found in the past that if you're just a squeaky wheel, they'll work with you."

3. Renovation costs

Bull has seen the availability and cost of hiring contractors vary dramatically over her investing career.

"When I first started in real estate, which was at the tail end of the recession, contractors were out of work, and they needed work, so the pricing was way different 10 years ago than it is today," she said. "And then during the pandemic, everybody was renovating their home and contractors had such a surplus of work that they could basically charge whatever they wanted, and you were going to pay it because you were desperate."

Heading into 2025, "the tides are kind of turning," she said, in that contractors won't be able to pick their price.

It's worth it to shop around, said Bull, adding that you may be surprised by the varying prices you receive. For example, she had to replace three roofs for one of her multi-family properties: "One quote came in at $30,000, another came in at $21,000, and then another came in at $12,000. And I'm reviewing the quotes and pretty much everything is the same. The product is the same."

While meeting with multiple contractors can be "a pain in the butt," she acknowledged, it could mean tens of thousands of dollars in savings.

• The war in Ukraine has given rise to explosive-packed drones modified with fiber-optic cables.
• These drones are dangerous, as they can't be jammed with electronic warfare and are harder to detect.
• But one Ukrainian company is developing a solution so front-line soldiers can find the drones.

Russian forces are using explosive-packed drones connected to their operators by fiber-optic cables to deliver unjammable precision strikes on Ukrainian troops and military equipment, and Kyiv is looking for a fix to fight back.

Fiber-optic drones have been increasingly appearing in combat over about the last year, and they're a challenge. These drones are dangerous because they can't be jammed with traditional electronic warfare and are difficult to defend against, highlighting the need for a solution.

The drones are "a real problem" because "we cannot detect and intercept them" electronically, Yuriy, a major in an electronic-warfare unit of the Ukrainian National Guard, told Business Insider. "If we can see, we can fight."

The problem is one that the defense industry is looking into closely. Kara Dag, for instance, is an American-Ukrainian technology company that's developing software and hardware to defend against Russian drones for the military and working on a solution, but it's still early days.

The company's chief technology officer, who goes by the pseudonym John for security purposes, said the ongoing conflict is a "war of drones." He told BI Ukraine had managed this fight well with jamming techniques, but Russia has found ways to slip past some of its defenses.

Fiber-optic drones, which Russia appears to have started flying into battle last spring, are first-person view, or FPV, drones, but rather than rely on a signal connection, they are wired with cables that preserve a stable connection. As a result, these drones are resistant to electronic warfare, like radio frequency jammers, and produce high-quality video transmissions.

In August, combat footage from Russian fiber-optic drones began to circulate, indicating a more lasting presence on the battlefield. Now, both militaries are using these drones.

Fiber-optic drones are highly dangerous, John said, as they can fly in tunnels, close to the ground, through valleys, and in other areas where other drones might lose connection with their operators. They are also tough to detect because they don't emit any radio signals.

Russia can use these drones to destroy Ukrainian armored vehicles and study its defensive positions, he said. Since they don't have bandwidth problems, these drones "can transmit very high-quality picture and they literally see everything."

The drones aren't without their disadvantages, though. Yuriy shared that the fiber-optic drones are slower than the untethered FPV drones and unable to make sharp changes in direction. He said that Russia does not have too many of these drones, either, nor does it use them in every direction of the front lines. But where they are used, they're a problem.

Because jamming doesn't work on fiber-optic drones, there are efforts underway to explore other options for stopping these systems, such as audio and visual detection. But this kind of technology can be expensive and hard to manufacture.

John said that the company has developed a low-cost solution to find fiber-optic drones. One element of this system is an array of dozens of microphones that can be focused on one point in the sky to listen for any nearby drones. The second element is an unfocused infrared laser that highlights any object in a certain area of the sky while a camera records any reflected light coming back.

It's a single device that can be placed around a kilometer from troop positions. John said the device is in lab testing, and the next step is to deploy it in real combat conditions on the front lines next month. The plan is to eventually produce several thousand of these devices every month.

The introduction of fiber-optic drones into battle — and Ukraine's subsequent efforts to counter them — underscores how both Moscow and Kyiv are constantly trying to innovate with uncrewed systems before the enemy can adapt, a trend that has been evident throughout the war.

In a previous interview with BI, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, described the technology and drone race playing out in this fight as a "cat-and-mouse game." He said that Kyiv is trying to stay several steps ahead of Moscow at all times.

The Ukrainian military said last month that it was testing fiber-optic drones, adding that "FPV drones with this technology are becoming a big problem for the enemy on the front line."

On Tuesday, a Ukrainian government platform that facilitates innovation within the country's defense industry shared new footage of fiber-optic drone demonstrations on social media. Russia, if it's not already, may soon find itself working to counter these new drones as well.

• While struggling with parenting duties, Babette Lockefeer considered quitting her business.
• Her husband didn't agree with her decision to stop work and be a stay-at-home mom.
• Lockefeer was angry at first but later realized she wouldn't be happy if she wasn't working.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Babette Lockefeer, 35, from the Netherlands, about navigating motherhood alongside her career. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Four months after my second child was born, I wasn't living life as I'd envisioned it.

I was in the midst of a big project for my business as a leadership and team facilitator and struggling to balance my career and motherhood. I felt overwhelmed, stressed, and sleep-deprived.

In the summer of 2021, I told my husband I wanted to quit the business. He immediately said no.

At first, I was angry. I'd always valued doing important work and my career, and I was willing to stop doing that for our family, but felt he wasn't letting me.

Over time, I realized he was right: I wouldn't have been happy as a stay-at-home mom. Talking with my husband and processing my feelings helped me realize that being a mother wasn't a detriment to my career. I had to deal with some insecurities and make some changes at home to understand I could do both.

I was always a high achiever at work

I started my career in 2014 as a consultant at McKinsey. I spent two and a half years there, but in 2016, I joined Alibaba as a global leadership associate. I spent around half a year in their Dutch office, helping Dutch e-commerce players connect to the Chinese market.

In the summer of 2017, my husband, who I'd met as a student, and I moved to China, and I worked for Alibaba in Hangzhou.

I really enjoyed it. We had monthly trainings where we learned more about China, e-commerce, and leadership. The training made me realize that my real interests lay in leadership development. In 2018, I left Alibaba and started my own business in the leadership space, TheoryY.

I was also pregnant with my first child at that time. Five months after his birth, in December 2019, we decided to leave China and move back to the Netherlands.

Soon after we returned, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I got pregnant again and had a second child in February 2021. Because of the pandemic, it was difficult to have family assistance with childcare or access to day care.

Around 10 weeks after giving birth, I started a new project with my business after being referred to a new client. Our newborn wasn't fond of sleeping, so we had a lot of broken nights.

For me, motherhood was about having a healthy attachment with my children, being present, and attending to all of their needs.

This was impossible to achieve all the time. I was too tired, overwhelmed, and full of doubt. With hindsight, I still did a good job as a mother, but I'd internalized the perfect mother myth.

Society's picture of an ideal mother is in direct conflict with that of an ideal employee. The employee is always available and wants to go the extra mile, but the mom also needs to be fully committed and always have the space to attend to her children's needs.

I was always a high achiever at work, but now, I had less time and energy to go the extra mile. I was working fewer hours than before having children, but when I was with my kids I wasn't always present because I was thinking about work. I felt like I wasn't doing a good job on the work front or the motherhood front.

My husband didn't think quitting would make me happy

My husband worked full-time. He was very involved as a dad. When our second child was born, he took some parental leave, spread across the year, plus six weeks of birth leave. But because I was self-employed and had more flexibility, I was always picking up things that fell off the wagon — which was a lot of the time during COVID.

I would spread my hours around, sometimes working in the evenings so I could still do the tasks I was hired to do. We never had a consistent schedule, and I felt like I was firefighting. Whenever a child was ill or had a doctor's appointment, the mental load was predominantly on my shoulders.

When I spoke to my husband about quitting, he said he didn't think it was the right decision. He also wanted to spend time with our kids and thought it wasn't fair if he was the sole breadwinning parent.

He also said he didn't think I'd be happy as a stay-at-home mom. I disagreed, saying I wasn't happy as it stood.

I spoke with my husband, processed my feelings and decided to continue working

From our first conversation, it was clear we weren't aligned, so we continued to discuss it.

I shared that I felt I was undervalued and wasn't appreciated by him unless I was achieving something professionally. He told me he still appreciated me now that I was a mom and wasn't on a steep career trajectory at the time.

I decided to continue working, but we also changed some practical things about our household. When our third child was born in July 2023, my husband was granted 26 weeks of parental leave by his new company, and he took all of it, taking full end-to-end responsibility for the household for the first time.

It allowed me to trust him fully with the kids and family chores going forward, so our dynamic has become more equal. We don't split things 50-50 all the time, but regularly discuss how best to divide responsibilities between us.

Looking back, I'm grateful that my husband could see that, in the long term, it wasn't a good idea for me to quit working. I need the intellectual stimulation that comes from a job, and my work fills me with the energy to show up as the mom and partner I want to be.

Do you have a story about balancing parenting with your career? Email Charissa Cheong at [email protected]

• Ultra-processed foods are associated with all kinds of poor health outcomes.
• But they're probably not all equally bad.
• An ongoing study suggests adding more high-volume foods into your ultra-processed diet could help.

It's no secret that ultra-processed foods aren't the greatest for our health.

"What we're trying to figure out is, very specifically, what is it about ultra-processed foods that seems to drive over-consumption and weight gain?" metabolism researcher Kevin Hall recently told Business Insider.

Hall works at the National Institutes of Health, where he is conducting an unusual experiment. He brings people into a tightly controlled food lab for one month, and tests out how four different diets — one unprocessed, and three ultra-processed, but all with the same levels of key nutrients — impact people's hunger, fullness, calorie consumption, weight gain, and fat loss.

While his study is still ongoing, he's been sharing some initial results with colleagues in the US and in Europe.

The early findings offer some hints about why UPFs can not only lead to weight gain but also make it hard to dump fat. The study is also showing that simple tweaks could make a huge difference. Perhaps, Hall says, you don't need to cut out ultra-processed products to have a satisfying, relatively healthy plate of food.

On an ultra-processed diet, patients gained 2 lbs a week

When Hall's patients switched diets, their calorie intake shifted dramatically.

During their week of unprocessed meals, full of fresh vegetables, beans, legumes, and whole grains, participants ate an average of 2,700 calories per day. They also tended to lose a little weight, about a pound of fat.

That changed when they switched to an 80% ultra-processed diet. Same amount of food offered, same levels of sugar, salt, fat, carbs, protein, and fiber on the plate.

The patients ended up consuming more food to achieve the same level of fullness — ingesting about 3,700 calories per day on average. On ultra-processed foods, the patients' weight shot up by over two pounds in a single week.

The results, while still preliminary, are even more striking than the last experiment Hall did like this, when patients ate 500 extra calories per day on ultra-processed diets.

People might not even feel like they're eating more when they consume those ultra-processed meals. Generally speaking, each bite of ultra-processed food is far more calorie-dense than a homemade meal.

Adding moisture made ultra-processed meals 'healthier'

Cutting out ultra-processed foods isn't realistic in the US, Hall said. But what if you could make a Western diet less bad?

Hoping to reduce people's weight gain and improve satiety with fewer calories, Hall (and his team of clinical chefs) devised two new diets to test this time.

Both diets were 80% ultra-processed but with some crucial adjustments.

In the first new diet, researchers lowered the amount of what are called "hyper-palatable foods" — foods that combine sugar, salt, and fat in ways that aren't typically seen in nature (think: rich, salty ice cream, a donut, or veggies in cream sauce).

Addiction researcher Tera Fazzino coined the term "hyper-palatable" as a way to collect data on the irresistibility of junk food. She hypothesizes that hyper-palatable ultra-processed foods might mess with our minds, and drive people to eat more than they would otherwise.

But that didn't ring true in Hall's new study. The patients who cut out hyper-palatable foods only saved themselves 200 calories a day, and gained over 1 lb in a week.

In the second diet, the chefs lowered the amount of hyper-palatable foods again, but also upped the moisture of people's ultra-processed meals, making them less energy-dense. Often, this meant adding more high-volume, non-starchy vegetables like a side salad to the ultra-processed plate.

"Basically, add very low-calorie mass," Hall told BI. "That typically is non-starchy vegetables."

On an ultra-processed diet with fewer energy-dense foods and less hyper-palatable items, people lost about a pound in one week — just like on the unprocessed diet. They also consumed about 830 fewer calories per day, very close to the 1,000 fewer calories consumed on the unprocessed diet.

"I thought, OK, gosh, we've solved this problem, this is great," Hall said during a presentation at Imperial College London in November, when he first revealed the new results.

There was a catch, though.

"A little bit of a monkey wrench was thrown in because we decided to look at the body composition changes," Hall said.

The nut we haven't cracked: Achieving the right kind of weight-loss

Only people on the 100% unprocessed diet lost body fat.

On the "healthier" ultra-processed diet, people lost about a pound of weight in a week, but it was coming from fat-free mass. That means muscle, bone, tissue, or maybe just water weight.

Hall is not yet sure why this is happening, but he says it could have to do with the "digestability" of the ultra-processed foods — in other words, how they are handled inside our bodies, compared to whole foods.

"If we can learn what those mechanisms are, then the really smart people who are ingenious food technologists and scientists can maybe re-engineer some of these foods," he told BI.

"There's so many narratives and hypotheses that sound reasonable, but until you actually do the studies to test that, then you don't know."

5 simple ways to make your meals healthier today

While it's still too early to say for sure exactly why people eat more calories and store more fat on ultra-processed diets, Hall says we can already begin to use his early findings to make some educated guesses.

Here are some tips:

• Bulk up a meal, any meal, by adding some vegetables to your plate. Could be salad. Could be a side of cooked broccoli or some carrots. They don't have to be fresh. Frozen is also just fine.

• Try some beans. You could whip up a hearty longevity-friendly minestrone soup, but if you don't have the time even ultra-processed refried beans are a decent option.

• Pick out whole grains, like oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa.

• Pay attention to how much added sugar is in items like yogurt, granola, and salad dressing, and try to limit how much of it you consume. (Olive oil makes a great dressing, and it's filled with healthy fats and beneficial plant compounds.)

• Prioritize the satiating, nutrient-rich foods we know are associated with good health, like eggs (even the ultra-processed liquid kind might be fine).

"It's possible that there's some weird additive or some ingredient in that food that is not good for you," Hall said. "We don't have the science on that yet, but applying what we do know, I think you can still make educated choices."

• My son's principal told me he called a girl ugly on several occasions.
• As a mother and leadership coach, I worried I failed my son.
• Instead of judging him and myself, I taught him the power of words.

"Your son has been calling a girl ugly — repeatedly."

I froze. My stomach dropped. The words from the school principal felt surreal. My 13-year-old had called someone ugly. And not just once, but repeatedly?

I was shocked, but more than that, I was terrified. I felt like a failure.

I'm a leadership coach. I work with executives on empathy, accountability, and understanding, yet here I was, faced with the reality that I might have failed my own child.

The questions swirled. How did this happen? Did I not teach him better than this? Where did I go wrong?

At that moment, something clicked: leadership principles aren't just for the boardroom; they're for everyday life. Parenting is leadership, too. I had to approach this challenge with the same mindset I used to guide executives.

I decided not to judge my son, so I asked him questions instead

At first, my emotions boiled over. I wanted to tell my son how disappointed I was and to remind him of all the lessons we've discussed: kindness, respect, empathy. But I knew that simply reacting emotionally wouldn't help him grow.

Effective leaders don't react with anger or judgment. Instead, they choose a path of inquiry and growth. It's about creating a space where accountability happens without shame.

So, instead of scolding him, I asked him questions like: "Why do you think that happened?" and "What do you think the impact was?"

My son's answer surprised me. He wasn't trying to hurt anyone on purpose. "I was just trying to be funny," he said. "I wanted to fit in with my friends."

This moment hit me hard. I realized that he wasn't trying to be cruel; he was trying to make his friends laugh, to impress them.

When I took a step back to collect myself, a memory surfaced: I called a girl ugly in the eighth grade. I hadn't thought about that moment in years, but there it was — sharp, vivid, and undeniable. I didn't say it because I believed it. I said it to fit in, to feel better about myself, and to cave to the pressure around me.

Instead of scolding, I told him about the time I called a girl ugly. I used my vulnerability to help him see that everyone makes mistakes. This wasn't about labeling him a bad person but about helping him understand the harm in his actions.

"I know you're not a mean person," I said gently, "but you did a mean thing."

This conversation was about making him think, making him feel what the other person felt. I wanted him to understand the power of his words and begin to reflect on how to repair the situation.

I then encouraged my son to apologize — not just with words, but with sincerity. We practiced it together. I asked him to think about how the girl might have felt and what she might have been thinking when he said those words.

My son learned his lesson once he apologized

When the time came, his apology was heartfelt. But the girl's response was even more powerful.

"I'm OK with jokes," she said, "but I'm not OK when they're about my body or my looks."

It was a moment of leadership — on her part, on his part, and on mine.

At that moment, I felt something shift in my son. He understood that words have power — not just in the moment they're spoken, but in their lasting impact on someone's self-worth.

I've been a leadership coach long enough to know that people don't always behave as expected. Sometimes, good people do bad things, and even the most well-intentioned individuals make mistakes.

It's easy to react with judgment, to label someone's behavior as unforgivable. But true leadership is about offering grace and space for growth.

The key to this experience was replacing judgment with curiosity

When I first heard what my son had done, my first instinct was to judge him harshly. But judgment doesn't foster growth; it stifles it.

By embracing curiosity, I was able to ask the right questions — questions that led to reflection rather than defensiveness. By doing so, we had a real conversation about empathy, self-awareness, and becoming a better person.

This experience reminded me that we parents are not raising our children to avoid mistakes. We're raising them to learn from those mistakes and grow our understanding of ourselves and others.

Parenting is no different from leadership. The same principles we use to guide executives, employees, and teams can — and should — be applied to how we raise our children. By embracing curiosity, modeling accountability, and leading with compassion, we teach not just by our words but by our actions.

• When I saw the Los Angeles fires creep toward my house, I knew I had to pack an emergency bag fast.
• I grabbed the essentials, but then I remembered I needed to take photos of my birth mother with me.
• That's when I learned nothing I've ever purchased is as important to me as I thought.

It's amazing what you pack when a fire rages five blocks from the home you've lived in for 24 years and raised your kids in. It's amazing what you decide — in those panicked moments — is most valuable.

My daughter, 26, lives at home, and her friends, who evacuated from the latest fire in Hollywood, came to stay with us. We live in the flats of the San Fernando Valley. Wildfire danger is rare, and the same goes for floods and mudslides. That's why, 24 years ago, we chose this leafy cul-de-sac.

Like all Angelenos, I've spent the last few days scared and anxious, checking in with friends and watching communities and beloved institutions burn to the ground. I've heard from friends who've lost everything. A lifetime turned to ash.

At least everyone is safe, I kept telling myself. I've been coping as best I can, alternating between watching the news and attempting to dissociate with "Downton Abbey."

But one night this week, my daughter ran into my room and told me to turn on the news. There was a fire just blocks away. We grabbed our coats, ran outside, walked a block, and saw the flames on the nearby hillside. Families emerged from houses and buildings, carrying all they could manage, and rushed to their cars.

"What should we do?" my daughter asked.

I stood nearly catatonic. "I don't know. I just don't know."

We watched the Los Angeles fire department make water drops and watched more neighbors, stricken with fear, run to their cars. We decided to get back home and quickly pack the car.

I first struggled to find what was most valuable to me

I grabbed jewelry, passports, jugs of water, and the emergency earthquake kit my husband insists we keep updated. I packed underwear, toothpaste, and random toiletries as if hyaluronic acid was essential to my survival. My daughter carried bags of dog food and her favorite clothes. I then watched her take a giant plastic bin from the garage.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Pictures," she replied.

Suddenly, everything stopped — the noise, the fear, the rushing. Only one thing mattered: finding the photographs of my birth mother.

My birth mother and I never met, but I needed her in this emergency

I was adopted at three months old, and my records were sealed. At 31, after the birth of my daughter, I found my birth mother via a copy of my original birth certificate held in the New York Public Library. She had already died — in 1995, one day before my 27th birthday, before I found her, before I could tell I was OK, and before I could tell her that I understood.

After a decadeslong search, I found her husband (not my father), Andrew. In 2022, I met Andrew in Paris. After lunch and wine, he handed me a canvas bag and said, "This is for you."

Slowly, meticulously, I took out photograph after photograph — aged and loved — and contemplated the face, expression, and fabulous style of my first mother.

When I came home from Paris, I carefully laid out each picture on my hotel bed — some more than 40 years old — and snapped photos of them with my phone. I knew I needed a digital archive, but nothing could replace holding the images in my hand, touching her in the only way allowed. I then put the bag of photos in a box I kept under my bed.

I took the photos of Gloria with me, not fully knowing how much I valued them

My daughter shouted to me, "Everything I want is in my car!"

I let her know I was almost ready. Frantic to find the pictures of Gloria, I rifled through storage bags, and then I remembered the box. It was right there under the bed — below where my head rests each night.

I reached, retrieved it, and opened it. The bag of Gloria's photographs was safely inside. Hurry. I rushed to my car, placed the box beside my go bag, and hugged my daughter. We were ready. We were safe. And my first mother was with me — like she always is.

In the end, thanks to brave firefighters and water drops, we didn't need to evacuate. But the lesson of those frenzied moments will stay with me forever. Nothing I've ever purchased is as important to me as I thought.

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy Saturday! Trying to pick a diet for 2025? Sometimes, it's best to keep it simple. That's what Jennifer Aniston does with her 80/20 rule, which is about eating healthy most of the time with some room for leniency.

On the agenda:

• The year's must-attend events for the world's wealthiest people.
• Netflix could finally win a best picture Oscar — right when it doesn't need one.
• A top nutrition scientist shares how to increase your fiber intake while still meeting your protein goals.
• The pressure to be a perfect parent now extends to childbirth.

But first: Throw it away. Seriously.

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

This week's dispatch

The art of decluttering

It's my favorite time of year: After Santa drops off all his presents, my house is no longer recognizable — but I have a plan for that. It's time to harness my inner Marie Kondo and attempt to reorganize my home.

Before the holidays, I had already started intentionally throwing away items I hadn't used for months. Even the kids' toy basket (OK, fine, baskets) was touched by my decluttering bug. If anything was broken, it went into the trash bag. Don't worry; my 2- and 5-year-old didn't shed a tear.

I'm now moving my way from forgotten closet to forgotten closet, finding things I need and throwing away things that are no longer useful to me and my family.

Even though millennials have a reputation for being minimalists, the truth is we've also bought into the consumerism that makes America what it is, writes journalist Kelli María Korducki. "Millennials haven't been minimalists in years. In fact, we may have never been minimalists at all," she says.

For some, decluttering their physical space may not be enough; their digital lives may also need some tidying up. That's what writer Theresa Sam Houghton did after she realized bookmarking apps and unplayed podcast episodes were clogging up her smartphone. She writes that she's now "developed a weekly routine that helps me reign in digital clutter on a regular basis."

Are you convinced yet? If not, read this to see how decluttering helped one couple eliminate clutter and $32,000 worth of credit-card debt.

Billionaires' busy social calendar

The billionaire population is sparse, but birds of a feather tend to flock their private jets together. That is, you can typically find them all in the same place.

At the beginning of the year, they descend en masse to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. In February, you can spot them at the Super Bowl. Every July they head to a small town in Idaho for the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, also known as billionaire summer camp.

Where the wealthy mingle.

Netflix on top

If the streamer's success at the Golden Globes is any indication, 2025 could be the year that Netflix finally wins best picture at the Academy Awards. But it doesn't need to.

After spending millions of dollars on best picture campaigns in past years, Netflix has cemented its place in Hollywood as the definitive leader in the streaming wars. With its attention in other areas — like its live sports push — a best picture nod for "Emilia Perez" would be a nice addition, but not a necessary one.

The Oscars extra credit.

Also read:

• The best-dressed celebrities at the 2025 Golden Globes
• Timothée Chalamet and Glen Powell took their lookalikes to the Golden Globes. Fans hope it's the end of doppelganger contests.

You probably aren't eating enough fiber

Grocery stores are filling shelves with high-protein versions of food, but top nutrition scientist Tim Spector said people who want to improve their diet should focus on consuming more fiber than protein. It's great for gut health and can ease constipation, among many other things.

The US Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2020 to 2025 found that more than 90% of women and 97% of men in the US don't meet the recommended intake of dietary fiber. Spector shared tips for eating enough fiber while also hitting your daily protein target.

More fiber, please.

Also read:

• A dietitian said eating high-fiber and fermented foods can improve gut health and boost energy in the winter. Here are her favorite recipes.

Everyone is suddenly obsessed with optimizing childbirth

When scrolling through social media as a pregnant person, you're often inundated with a million ways you can make the most of the birth experience. Plus, there's a growing industry of birthing influencers marketing their preferred birthing styles — from natural to ecstatic births — through sponsored posts, consulting services, and online courses.

While much of the talk centered on optimizing birth is well-meaning, how we give birth — or rather, how we think we'll give birth — has become the latest way we define, and judge, ourselves as parents.

The 'good birth' myth.

Also read:

• I wanted my child to be happy. To do so, I need to let go of my perfectionism.

What we're watching this weekend

• "The Traitors": Season 3 of the Emmy-winning competition series premieres on Peacock this week, with Britney Spears' ex-husband, Zac Efron's brother, and a former "Bachelorette" star among the new cast.
• "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace": Max is now streaming the final chapter of the ID docuseries about a Ukrainian orphan whose adoptive parents accused her of being an adult secretly posing as a child.
• "American Primeval": "Friday Night Lights" star Taylor Kitsch is a standout in Netflix's answer to "Yellowstone," a bloody and violent new drama set in the early days of the American West.

See the full list

What to shop

• Beat the cold: There's nothing like a bone-chilling gust of wind to remind you that your jacket needs replacing. Check out our guides to the best men's parkas for extreme cold and the best winter coats and jackets for men.
• Skill building: Get a leg up at work and learn new skills with a Coursera Plus annual subscription, which is 50% off right now. The deal offers access to thousands of classes from verified providers like Google, Microsoft, and IBM.
• RTO, but make it comfy: Just because you're back in the office doesn't mean you have to be uncomfortable. These are our favorite stretchy work pants for women that feel like sweatpants but look professional.

More of this week's top reads:

• 2025 TV shows we're most excited about, from the return of 'Stranger Things' to the new 'Game of Thrones' prequel.
• Norovirus cases are spiking across the US this winter. Here's why — and what you need to know to protect yourself.
• Why are mocktails so expensive?
• Review: I ate at Louis Vuitton's new café and while I enjoyed 'luxury snacking,' it's not a place I'm rushing to revisit.
• Brooke Shields says she's happier than ever with herself at 59. Here are 3 lessons she's learned about aging well.
• A glass of milk's worth of calcium has been linked to lower colorectal cancer risk. Here are 6 foods you might not know contain the mineral.
• 9 luxurious status symbols you might be tempted to buy in 2025.

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.

• Zenia Olivares has been customizing her New Jersey home for the last two years.
• She decided to add a partial wall to her open-concept living room to break up the space.
• Olivares said the new wall made the area more functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Zenia Olivares wasn't a fan of the shape of her living room when she bought her home two years ago.

Olivares, 34, lives in a 1935 bungalow in New Jersey with her husband and their two dogs. She's a full-time content creator, documenting how she has transformed her 2,800-square-foot house into the perfect home for her family on her social media pages.

"It's got a lot of original charm," Olivares said of her six-bedroom, three-bathroom house. "We've got the original Douglas fir floors and some of the original baseboard and trim, but there has evidently been a lot of stuff done to the house."

"It was updated in the '70s and the '80s and in the '90s, so there are layers upon layers of things that I've found just working on the house itself," she said. "It's like an onion."

Olivares' goal has been to make her home feel comfortable with vintage and transitional influences. She described her decor style as "real cozy," saying it "feels like a hug."

She's transformed nearly every space of her house, telling Business Insider she knew there was one room she definitely wanted to change when they bought the house: her open-concept living room.

The open-concept living room didn't feel right

When you enter Olivares' home, you're greeted by the living room, which was initially a large rectangular space. All of the other rooms in the house are nearly perfect squares, so the length of the space felt out of place to Olivares.

"The living room was too long, and it didn't quite make sense with the layout of the house and how everything else was," Olivares said. "It felt disconnected."

"I thought, 'What if I built something to separate the spaces?'" Olivares said.

She told BI she went back and forth about the idea as she and her husband continued to work on their home, as she wasn't sure a wall would work as the house changed.

Olivares revamped her fireplace and added columns to the ceiling, but she still felt like the living room was the wrong shape.

"I tried doing furniture as a divider, but it didn't quite work with the positioning of the door," she said. "I couldn't let the idea of a wall go."

Olivares isn't alone in her desire for separation in her home. The trend of open-concept living has become less popular in recent years, and realtors are seeing more and more people find ways to enclose rooms in their homes.

In mid-2024, Olivares decided to make her dream a reality, working with a contractor friend to build a partial wall in the middle of the living room.

Olivares used a partial wall to break the space up

Olivares knew she didn't want to fully close off the space to the right of her front door. Instead, she decided to add a partial wall, often called a pony wall, with columns.

She told BI she wanted to keep the "open feeling" of the large room but hoped the partial wall would create division.

"I also like the idea of being able to visually frame the stairs," she said.

Olivares and her friend worked together to add a large beam to the ceiling, to which they attached tapered columns connected to a pony wall below.

They made all the pieces themselves, also creating molding and staining the wood a darker hue that fit Olivares' vision.

Olivares also mocked up the new wall using cardboard boxes before they started any work to ensure she liked the look, which she recommends to anyone doing a similar project.

Because she didn't hire someone to work on her home, Olivares said adding the wall and columns only cost around $830. It also wasn't too time-consuming; building, installing, and staining the wood took just over a week.

She said adding the column to the ceiling was the most challenging aspect of the project.

"The ceiling is original plaster, and it is not in any way level whatsoever," Olivares said. "And it's overhead work, so that's going to hurt your shoulders and your back."

"It took me and my contractor friend an entire day to get that up there and for it to look as good as we could get it," she added.

The hard work was worth it for the final look.

Olivares loves the separate spaces

Olivares told BI she was able to bring her exact vision to life.

"I love it," she said of the pony wall. "I smile every time I walk through the living room, and everybody has to walk through the living room to get to one side of the house or the other. It's beautiful to look at, and it makes the spaces make sense."

"It makes it flow," she added. "It makes it function, and it looks right."

The functionality the new wall brought to Olivares' home has been a huge benefit of the addition. For instance, the wall created an area for Olivares to put her keys down when she walks through the front door.

Likewise, she placed her Christmas tree for 2024 in the corner next to her staircase, and the new wall helped to make it feel like a dedicated space.

She also plans to add a buffet bookshelf to the wall next to the stairs to make the new room feel even more intentional down the road. Looking at the wall, Olivares knows adding the barrier was the perfect choice for her home.

"Sometimes open-concept is a little too open," she said.

• Growing up, I didn't think I'd change my last name when I got married.
• But when I came out as a lesbian and met my now-wife, I changed my mind.
• Rather than choosing one of our existing last names or hyphenating, we created something new.

Before I came out as a lesbian, I was sure I wouldn't adopt the last name of my future husband. I knew I was going to be a writer and felt that I wanted to have a name that I could build a brand around, and like many closeted lesbians, I was sure I wouldn't be getting married until well into my career and my 40s. Thankfully, I made a lot of realizations six years ago when I met my now-wife. It also meant I had to revisit my previous stance on name changes. Since I found my forever partner, I actually wanted us to be tied together in name and in life.

But choosing whose name to pick became more challenging as we stripped away traditional gender roles. I could have pushed for us to use my name if I really wanted to keep the name attached to my bylines, but again, since we weren't relying on heteronormative practices telling us what to do, giving Taryn my last name didn't feel very symbolic. It became a transformative choice to decide upon a new married name for ourselves and our future children.

We looked at other last names, but nothing felt quite right

One thing remained true: I am a writer, and my other half is an artist. We both needed a name that could represent us in our aspiring careers. It felt silly to go on a last-name generator website, but it seemed like a good start to find some different options and see if anything sparked inspiration. It gave us a list — Cooper, Gardner, Baker, Stewart — but none of these last names felt right with either or both of our names.

I started to feel like I was undergoing a small identity crisis. This name was going to define me for the rest of my life. At least with my maiden name, I had 25 years to get attached to it. I might not have picked it myself, but it was the only thing I had ever known.

We decided to create a new name for ourselves

But then there was this moment where Taryn and I thought about creating a new name that tied us to our past and future. We tried different ways of combining our names phonetically. My last name was Ruffino, and hers was Smith. What we got was Suffino. It was the easiest combination that felt good on the ears. I looked up the name, and it had no origins at all. It also didn't quite look right to us, like a cheesy ship name.

That's when I really got to work researching different prefixes and suffixes. I knew "ino" from my last name meant little. When I looked at other ways to get that same "suff" or "saff" sound, I was reminded of the word sapphire, which also happened to be the stones we chose for our engagement rings.

Not to totally geek out, but the root origin of the word sapphire comes from the Greek word sappheiros, which means "blue gemstone." If we spelled our name Sapphino, we would get the meaning "little blue."

Another hidden meaning in the name is the origin of sapphic. Yes, the word that relates to lesbians. Sappho was the name of a famous Greek poet who wrote about her love of women. Long story short, our name can also be interpreted as "little lesbian" (my personal favorite).

And thus, the Sapphinos were born. It didn't take long to get used to at all. It felt right and the perfect way to share our identity with each other and the world. I'm just as excited to see where the name Kylie Sapphino takes me as I am to pass it down to my own family, knowing that it has such a special meaning to us and our story.

• Having a third child brought unexpected challenges and joys to our family life.
• Parenting each child requires unique approaches, as no two children are the same.
• Balancing time with a partner becomes challenging, requiring conscious effort to connect.

Becoming a parent is one of the most insane transitions in life. One day you're worrying about feeding and bathing yourself and the next your feeding and bathing responsibilities have doubled. As it goes, the more children you have, the more responsibilities you accrue. By the time my husband and I were settled in with two daughters, 2 years and 8 months apart, we felt our plates were full and our family was complete. But then the pandemic happened and we decided to have a third.

After the arrival of our third daughter, I discovered an assemblage of unexpected surprises — many of which caught me off guard, even as an experienced parent. At first it was more noise and a messier house. The washing machine literally never rests and the floors are always covered in crumbs. But then, there was more. Here are seven ways having a third child changed our lives in ways we didn't expect — some good, some a little tricky.

Experience means nothing

Even if you already have children, nothing will prepare you for the new newborn phase — especially after a five-year hiatus. I remember thinking the first few months would be like riding a bike; I would hop on the momcycle and take off without any wobbling. However, the way a newborn cries, eats, sleeps, poops, blinks will never be the same as your previous babies. Parents have to learn a whole new language of baby communication with each child. And it doesn't get easier; while newborns are a mystery, toddlers all seem to be a mystical unsolvable puzzle, too. Every child is unique, and parenting them will be unique, too.

You will be overstimulated

Have you ever tried making scrambled eggs while breastfeeding a newborn, quizzing an 8-year-old on their spelling words and watching a 10-year-old practice her ballet turns at the same time? That is what life with three is like on many days in our household.

Every child will need a new parenting style

My oldest never played in the bathroom. The second liked to throw things in the toilet. The third? Let's just say she knows exactly what toilet water tastes like.

Our youngest daughter is the most active, most curious, and the fastest child we have ever made. She doesn't subscribe to time out and she questions the majority of our rules (especially when it doesn't apply to her older sisters). Let it be known, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to parenting multiple children.

You and your partner may not see one another as much

It's all hands on deck with three kids in the house — and sometimes that means everyone is doing different things in different places. I never anticipated how little I would see my husband once our third was born. But once she was here, I finally understood how parents can say they start to feel more like roommates rather than a couple. Three children mean three different sets of appointments, extracurriculars, bathtimes, and bedtimes. To combat this, my husband and I have to make a conscious effort to schedule time to talk, let alone hang out without an offspring present.

You don't have to be the perfect mom

I really wish someone told me mom-perfection is pointless when I was pregnant the first time around. Perhaps it would have spared me the silly thought that I could try to "get it right" with my third. The truth is the best moms don't get it right. Mistakes are normal when you're a parent. If you set the bar too high with unattainable goals and expectations, you'll ultimately feel horrible every time you don't meet them. Instead of being perfect, just be regular — be loving, be funny, show your kids you're human with real feelings and admit that you sometimes make mistakes. In the end, as long as you don't give up, you'll be the best mom no matter what.

Lower your expectations, then lower them again

When I had just one or two kids, I was able to be on time for parties with a perfectly wrapped gift or warm delicious appetizer in hand. My girls were by my side, dressed in clean clothes with matching socks and a bow. Nowadays, I am lucky if I remember to change out of my slippers before I leave the house. And you know what — it's fine. You get used to things not being exactly how you used to like them and learn quickly that having low expectations is the way to live. After all, having low expectations isn't such a bad thing. Your family and friends will forgive you for being late and accept the chaos (as they're probably in a state of chaos on their own).

Your heart may feel like it's going to explode

I'm not talking from stress — I'm referring to the overwhelming sense of love, pride, and joy you will experience when you see your three children together.

I don't recall when I had the epiphany that having a third child is worth every challenge and bump in the road — but it happened. One day I looked around and knew I was right where I am supposed to be. Even though you feel three times as exhausted and three times as busy when you have your third child, you will also undoubtedly feel three times in love.

• Walgreens' CEO said the company is taking "creative" steps to address shoplifting and shrink.
• While anti-theft measures can be effective, they can also hurt a store's sales, CEO Tim Wentworth said.
• The pharmacy chain is in the midst of a multi-year turnaround effort to revive its retail business.

When it comes to its retail business, Walgreens faces a tradeoff when it comes to locking up items behind anti-shoplifting displays.

The Illinois-based pharmacy chain has long been one of the more vocal companies raising concerns about shoplifting in its stores — and its CEO said that the challenges continue.

In prior quarterly earnings calls, Walgreens executives mentioned "higher shrink" — or missing inventory — as a drag on profitability.

While the term didn't garner a mention in prepared remarks for Walgreens' fiscal first-quarter earnings call on Friday, CEO Tim Wentworth said in a call with analysts that the work to minimize shoplifting "is a hand-to-hand combat battle still, unfortunately."

The CEO also said the company's asset protection team is taking "creative" steps to address the issue in an effort to better avoid negative customer experiences.

"When you lock things up, for example, you don't sell as many of them," he said. "We've kind of proven that pretty conclusively."

Other companies are exploring additional ways to combat retail theft.

Walmart, for example, is testing technology with employees that allows them to use an app to unlock items protected behind anti-shoplifting displays. The retail giant is also piloting body cameras for front-line store workers at some Texas locations. T.J. Maxx has implemented body cameras for some employees as well.

Meanwhile, Walgreens is in the midst of a multi-year turnaround effort to revive its retail business.

American drugstores in general are in a tough spot as customers increasingly turn to options that have lower prices, better choices, and more convenience.

With Walgreens continuing to close underperforming stores and reinvest in successful locations, Wentworth said the company is testing out new systems to improve the in-store customer experience, like a digital check-in for prescription pick-up.

The CEO said the company is working on "getting to the right number of stores so that we can invest in them properly for the customer experience that needs to be — frankly, in too many of our stores — improved."

Walgreens delivered a big earnings beat on Friday, and its stock closed up over 27%.

Wentworth said the results reflect the company's "disciplined execution."

"While our turnaround will take time, our early progress reinforces our belief in a sustainable, retail pharmacy-led operating model," he said.

• Fight attendant salaries vary widely depending on seniority and number of hours worked.
• American Airlines pays the highest hourly rates for flight attendants, though pay at the Big 3 is fairly similar.
• United Airlines' flight attendant pay has been the same since 2021 as they negotiate a new contract.

Flight attendants at American, Delta, and United don't make nearly as much as their pilot colleagues, but the highest-paid cabin crew can take home a base salary of more than $70,000 a year — with some making six figures.

But the job is a far cry from your typical 9-5. It takes years of working grueling schedules and meeting high customer service and safety standards to reach the upper echelons of seniority at the US' Big 3 airlines.

Flight attendants are paid a base hourly rate, plus a per diem bonus if they are away from the airport where they are based. Some are paid for boarding. They can also earn more money by working holidays, flying at night, or holding a specialized position. Airlines also typically pay profit-sharing bonuses.

Pay increases with each year of service up to the 13th year.

Most flight attendants are guaranteed a monthly minimum, which varies by airline — meaning they will be paid for at least a certain number of hours each month whether or not they fly it, minus certain circumstances. Many work more than the guarantee.

Pay scales obtained and verified by Business Insider show American offers the highest hourly rates, followed closely by Delta. United's pay rates have been frozen since 2021 as the airline and union negotiate a new contract.

American Airlines

• First-year: $35.82
• 13th-year: $82.24

American offers the highest hourly rates thanks to a new contract ratified in September with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants.

The deal, which took five years of negotiations partly due to the pandemic, increased pay by up to 20.5% at the date of signing. First-years start at about $36 an hour, while 13-year flight attendants make about $82 an hour.

American guarantees 71 hours of pay a month for those with a pre-planned "line" schedule. "Reserve" crew, or those on call, have a minimum of 75 hours.

This translates to at least $30,500 for first-year crew and $70,000 for thirteen-year veterans before taxes and other earnings.

As part of the new contract, pay will increase in October 2025 and again each year through 2029. By then, hourly rates will increase to a starting base pay of about $40 per hour

American added boarding pay to its latest contract at 50% of a flight attendant's hourly rate, which is expected to go into effect in March. This will further up the cabin crew's annual salary. Historically, crew were not paid for boarding time.

American has historically not paid a high profit-sharing bonus. In 2023, it was just 1.1%. The new contract increased that profit-sharing formula to match Delta's, but the final amount will depend on American's year-end earnings. For 2023, the airline was the least profitable of the Big 3.

Delta Air Lines

• First-year: $35.50
• 13th-year: $79.80

Delta's flight attendants are not unionized. Their most recent pay bump was in June, which increased cabin crew salaries by about 5%.

First-year Delta flight attendants earn a base pay of $35.50 an hour, while 13-year crew members earn about $80 an hour.

Like American, Delta cabin crew get boarding pay equal to half of their hourly rate. In 2022, Delta became the first major US airline to offer the extra pay.

Flight attendant salaries at Delta vary based on hours worked a month and there is no contractual minimum.

Some Delta flight attendants who are trying to unionize say the lack of guaranteed hours could lead to lower pay than competitors.

A Delta spokesperson said flight attendants typically get 80 hours a month. This means first-year and 13-year flight attendants earn about $34,000 and $76,600 annually, before taxes and other earnings.

He added cabin crew can earn up to $1,200 extra annually for meeting monthly operating metrics.

Delta also consistently distributes the highest annual profit-sharing. It paid $1.4 billion to employees in 2023, which amounted to a bonus of 10.4% of employees' eligible earnings.

United Airlines

• First-year: $28.88
• 13th-year: $67.11

United has the lowest first-year base pay at about $29 an hour. Thirteen-year flight attendants make about $67 an hour.

United guarantees 71 hours of pay a month for those with a line schedule, while a reserve crew member gets a minimum of 78 hours. United does not currently offer boarding pay.

That amounts to United first-years making at least $24,600 a year and 13-year flight attendants making at least $57,000 annually before taxes and other earnings.

Failed negotiations between United and its labor union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, have prevented pay increases, which is why the airline's wages are comparatively lower. Mediation of a new contract has been paused until at least early this year, so United cabin crew are still being paid 2021 rates.

A United spokesperson told BI half of the airline's cabin crew are at the top of the seniority pay scale, with average annual pay in that group hitting nearly $80,000.

That likely accounts for hours worked above the guarantee, as United said the crews have flexible schedules and can work when they want, or other ways to earn extra pay.

United said it has proposed a 22.5% raise and new boarding pay, among other offerings, as part of its contract negotiations.

The union told BI it wants industry-leading pay and better work rules and scheduling.

Despite lower comparative base pay, United flight attendants have earned high profit-sharing bonuses. In 2023, that was about 9.2% of their eligible annual salary.

Other ways flight attendants earn money

Extra pay opportunities can add tens of thousands of dollars to flight attendants' base rates and put the most senior crew members well into the six figures.

This includes working overtime, flying on holidays or during nighttime, or if they hold a skilled position. Airlines also offer flight attendants free flights for personal use as part of their employment benefits.

Skilled positions can include being the in-charge "lead" or purser, working in the galley, or speaking a second language. The premium pay ranges from $1 to $7.50 extra per hour, depending on the aircraft and whether the flight is domestic or international.

Flight attendants also get per diem pay, typically $2 to $4 for each hour on duty away from home, to cover work-related expenses like meals, laundry, and transportation.

Senior flight attendants can gross $100,000 or more annually, depending on how many hours they work. Premium and special skills pay help boost that. They can fly more hours by bidding for more than their monthly minimum or picking up trips dropped by other crew members.

• The growing population of older Americans is facing unaffordable long-term care.
• These costs will also burden many younger people caring for older relatives and kin.
• Government incentives and public insurance could help address care affordability, experts say.

As the population of older Americans balloons, the financial costs associated with aging are, too.

Many millennials and Gen Xers are facing a stark reality: their parents and grandparents don't have the means to pay for long-term care — and they'll need to help foot the bill, especially since government aid often doesn't cover large parts of this care.

Many younger people end up leaving their jobs or working less in order to care for their aging family members — and that sacrifice can hurt them financially both today and in the future, including by shrinking their income and Social Security benefits, experts say.

"The bigger issue is you can create almost a cycle of poverty," Marc Cohen, a professor of gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, told Business Insider. "It's not something that just sticks with one generation. The costs are borne communally."

Unprepared for a predictable crisis

Much like other forms of care — from emergency rooms to daycares — the labor and facilities needed for long-term care don't come cheap. A shortage of long-term care workers, coupled with inflation, has sent prices up in recent years. As the oldest members of the baby boomer generation near 80, the demand for these services is expected to rise sharply — putting upward pressure on costs.

Privately-provided long-term care — including assisted living communities and home healthcare — is largely out of reach for the broad middle class. Fewer than 15% of people 75 and over living alone in major US cities could afford to pay for assisted living or daily home health aide visits without dipping into their assets, per a 2023 report from Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

"It's the affordability issue, particularly in the middle market, that concerns us the most," Lisa McCracken, head of research and analytics at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care told Business Insider.

Retirees and their families may not be able to rely on the government to help. Medicare, the government's health insurance program for older people, doesn't cover most long-term care, including assisted living, home healthcare, and nursing homes. Medicaid largely doesn't cover assisted living and home healthcare, and there are often long waitlists for the nursing home care it does cover. Some assisted living residents have been evicted after they spent down their savings and were forced to rely on Medicaid.

"A lot of people thought, 'Oh, well, doesn't Medicare pay for this?' and it does not," Cohen said. "And so people find out late in life that they don't have any protection against these costs."

That's what happened to Erika Gilles and her family. After Gilles' 78-year-old mother, Karen Proctor, was hospitalized for her chronic kidney disease last year, she quickly realized her mother's Medicare coverage wouldn't be enough to cover her long-term care. Overnight, her mother went from living independently in the house she's long owned to requiring dialysis treatment and constant care. But Gilles couldn't purchase private long-term care insurance because of her mother's pre-existing conditions.

Gilles, 57, found a group assisted living facility for her mother, who applied for a state subsidy to help cover the cost. If the subsidy doesn't come through, Gilles is worried they'll have to sell her mother's house in Sun City, Arizona.

"It's totally turned my life upside down. It's absorbed all of my time," Gilles said. "I don't think I'm ever going to retire."

It's not just a boomer problem

Gen X, many of whom are sandwiched between caring for their aging parents and dependent children, has fallen behind in their financial savings. A study conducted by Nationwide showed that 56% of Gen Xers were financially supporting either their parents or their kids. About a fifth of Gen Xers taking care of a parent said they had a significant amount of debt, and a similar portion said they were unable to save for retirement, the study found.

The number of US adults who care for a spouse, older parent or relative, or child with special needs has grown from 43.5 million in 2015 to 53 million in 2021, per a report from the insurance provider Guardian.

A separate survey of 35- to 60-year-olds conducted by Carewell found that 75% of those taking care of both a parent and a child said they struggled to save for retirement, while 63% said they lived paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, adult caregivers provided around $600 billion worth of unpaid labor last year, noted a separate report from the AARP.

Brandon Goldstein, a financial planner at Prudential, said he frequently works with clients struggling to care for their parents as they get older. In some cases, his clients are experiencing financial stress as a result of caretaking and have been forced to cut back on saving.

Some of them may need to bank on their own children taking care of them in the future, he suggested, given how much they've sacrificed in their own retirement savings.

"Having to reduce what you put towards retirement is going to put you in a situation where you might not have assets now, and you could — I don't want to call it a burden — but you might become this responsibility if you don't have assets to cover a facility," he told BI, adding that some may need to consider working for longer than they originally expected.

Ultimately, through ballooning Medicaid costs, taxpayers may be on the hook for the growing long-term care crisis. An increasing number of older people don't have kids or spouses to take care of them as they age, and those that end up needing long-term care may have to rely on Medicaid. About a fifth of baby boomer women don't have any children, and those who do have kids have fewer, on average, than previous generations.

A government-aided solution for long-term care?

Cohen argues that the private long-term insurance market is suffering from "a clear market failure" and policymakers need to step in to create a public option for middle-income people and their families.

McCracken said that in order to scale some of the most effective models of assisted living and other long-term care, private providers will need more government incentives and partnerships.

Cohen argued that public long-term care insurance would work well if most people paid into it because a relatively small number of older people require the most expensive care, like 24/7 nursing.

That option could resemble an earned benefit, like Social Security and Medicare, funded by a mandatory tax that people pay throughout their lives and collect when they retire. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a New York Democrat, has proposed legislation that would create a public insurance program for catastrophic long-term care funded by a payroll tax.

Some states have begun to address the issue. Washington State recently passed a 0.6% payroll tax to fund a new universal long-term care insurance program called WA Cares, which provides $36,500 in care per person, and will increase with inflation in future years.

Gilles said she wants to see the government or care providers figure out a way to lower costs.

"They've got to provide more support to families going through this," she said. "They've got to either make it more affordable, or they need to provide more resources, or not make it so expensive so that it's attainable for anybody at any income level."

Are you or someone you care for struggling with long-term care costs? Email this reporter to share your story: [email protected].

• Apple has yet to capitalize on the initial hype of Apple Intelligence.
• Analysts have adjusted their expectations of a "super cycle upgrade " for iPhones.
• This month, Apple will report its first earnings since launching Apple Intelligence.

Apple bet big on Apple Intelligence, but the iPhone upgrade cycle that some analysts predicted it would spark doesn't look like it's happened yet.

Apple introduced its AI venture in June last year during its Worldwide Developers Conference, and Apple Intelligence launched to eligible iPhones in October. Its availability is limited to iPhone 15 Pro models or later, which Wedbush analyst Dan Ives had said could drive a "golden upgrade cycle" among iPhone holders — and which would be a big sales boon for Apple.

Yet the tech giant got a rare downgrade to "sell" on Tuesday. Craig Moffett, senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, said the move was partly due to a lack of consumer excitement around AI, according to Bloomberg.

"Not only have we not seen any sign of an upgrade cycle, something that would be concerning enough on its own, but we have seen growing evidence that consumers are unmoved by AI functionality," Moffett said.

Apple had touted the iPhone 16, which went on sale in September, as the first iPhone built from the ground up for AI. William Kerwin, tech analyst at Morningstar, previously told BI that AI was Apple's "biggest story" of 2024.

Although there was a lot of hype around Apple Intelligence when it was first announced, analysts have had to adjust their expectations.

"The initial excitement from the announcement" has moved to "actually becoming expectations for a tepid growth cycle in the first year, and more aggressive expectations for year two," Morningstar's Kerwin said.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst in Taiwan known for his Apple predictions, wrote in a blog post that the iPhone 16 series sold about 37 million units during its first preorder weekend — a 12.7% drop year-over-year from the iPhone 15's release weekend, according to Kuo.

Wall Street was bullish on Apple stock following WWDC's AI announcements, but the full capabilities of Apple Intelligence are yet to come.

Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, told BI that the upgrade super cycle isn't completely off the table, but it may not happen in 2025.

Munster said he believes Apple Intelligence will "play a big role" in a super cycle that could take place in the last half of fiscal 2025 or in fiscal 2026.

"They still haven't put all the pieces in place yet," Munster said.

He added that there's "a lot of work to do" to get to a super cycle of iPhone upgrades.

Its fiscal fourth-quarter 2024 earnings period ended less than two weeks after the iPhone 16 came out, so it was too early to tell how revenue would be impacted by Apple Intelligence. Still, investors will get a better view with it reports Q1 2025 data on January 30.

• Ukraine added a modern German combat vehicle to its arsenal, poised to enhance its ground strategy.
• German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall delivered the first KF41 Lynx fighting vehicle late last year.
• The KF41 will undergo testing with hopes of starting domestic mass production of the IFV in Ukraine.

Ukraine received its first high-tech combat vehicle for testing and is expected to strengthen the country's frontline strategy and boost its defense industry.

Produced by the largest German arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall, the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle has a modular design that allows it to adapt to a range of combat scenarios, including command and control, reconnaissance, and medical evacuation.

Considered one of the most advanced IFVs in the world, the Lynx is known for its scalable protection, firepower, and high mobility, all while prioritizing its compatibility with future upgrades to adapt to modern combat.

The first Lynx vehicles delivered to Ukraine will be used to determine what modules may be needed — they can carry drones, electronic warfare systems, or anti-tank missiles — and then prepare a bigger order.

Future-proof combat vehicle

First unveiled at the Eurosatory Defense exhibition in Paris in 2018, it didn't take long for the Lynx KF41 to make waves due to its future-proof design.

The KF41, which stands for "Kettenfahrzeug," meaning "tracked vehicle" in German, is the successor of the KF31. With a more spacious interior than its predecessor, the KF41 can accommodate a crew of a commander, gunner, and driver, as well as up to nine fully equipped soldiers. It is designed to carry infantry to key objectives and with tailored firepower like autocannons to destroy enemy vehicles or strong points in the process.

The KF41 also features a more powerful diesel engine, allowing it to reach speeds of up to 43 mph. The tracked vehicle can also operate across various terrain and on long missions with a range of over 300 miles.

Depending on the armament and passengers, the combat vehicle can weigh over 40 tons, but it has a flexible suspension system to protect troops and payload without compromising mobility.

A lethal and formidable platform

The KF41 is equipped with a 35mm Wotan cannon that can fire 200 rounds a minute at targets nearly two miles away using an advanced 360-degree weapon sight system. The IFV can also be configured to launch anti-tank guided missiles, loitering munitions, drones, or other electronic warfare packages.

Not only is the German light tank armed to the teeth, it can counter a range of threats, from rocket-propelled grenades to anti-tank missiles. Its formidable modular armor can be equipped with active hard-kill weapon systems to destroy incoming missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, or it can take on a more passive defense by deploying smoke cartridges to conceal its location.

Germany's largest arms manufacturer

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger announced the delivery of Lynx IFVs at the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Berlin last June, adding that the company hopes to start "manufacturing these systems in Ukraine in the near future."

"It is now being tested by the armed forces so that a mass order may be placed as soon as possible," Papperger told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The delivery and production of Lynx IFVs in Ukraine is part of a larger effort by Rheinmetall to build "closer cooperation" with the country and bolster its waning defense industry. The Düsseldorf-based contractor also plans to open facilities in Ukraine to domestically produce munitions and repair armored systems. The publicly traded Rheinmetall, Germany's largest arms maker, reported €6.3 billion in group sales during the first nine months of 2024, a 36% increase.

After opening its first manufacturing facility in Ukraine last summer, Papperger recognized the vital role that ramped-up arms and ammunition production play in Ukraine's "re-industrialization and in strengthening its defense capability."

However, the Rheinmetall CEO added that more government support from other countries is needed in the long term, with the current industrial strategy likely lasting only six to 12 months.

"This is not enough if you are waging a war against Russia, a very dangerous counterpart," Papperger said at the June conference. "I really hope that this will not happen, but if Ukraine loses, Europe will have a very large-scale problem."

Aiding Ukraine in the fight against Russia

Ukrainian forces have suffered heavy losses in their mechanized forces, which include US-made Bradleys and outdated Soviet-era vehicles, heightening the growing need for fighting vehicles like the Lynx against advancing Russian forces.

"Why the Lynx? This is one of the most modern infantry fighting vehicle platforms," Oleksandr Kamyshin, then the head of Ukraine's strategic industries, said at the June conference in Berlin. "For our European partners, this is a good opportunity to test it in battle and make it better. And for our soldiers today, we need every additional vehicle that will help them stand at the front."

The domestic production of Lynx IFVs is also aimed at creating a more self-reliant defense industry in Ukraine while sustaining efforts to maintain and repair its fleet locally.

Rheinmetall isn't the only defense company setting up operations on Ukrainian soil. American defense contractor AeroVironment partnered with a Ukrainian company to locally manufacture its loitering munition, Switchblade 600.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 30% of the military equipment used by Ukrainian forces was domestically made, including sea drones, howitzers, glide bombs, and even its own missiles.

"The Ukrainian defense industry has been in decline for decades," Kamyshin said in June. "But today, it is reviving and making a significant contribution to Ukraine's economic recovery — also thanks to partners like Rheinmetall."

Zelenskyy said the efforts and support from the US and other European allies "have made us stronger." But defense experts have criticized Western governments for being too slow to provide essential military aid to Ukraine, forcing the country to become more reliant on its own supply.

President-elect Donald Trump's second term has also raised international concern about the US' role in providing assistance to Ukraine. On the campaign trail last year, the former president proposed his intention to cease support to Ukraine and negotiate a peace deal with Russia that would likely cede much of the territory it lost since the war began.

Ahead of his return to the White House, NATO officials are bracing for US support to diminish during his administration, sparking discussions to "Trump-proof" future aid packages to Ukraine.

• After months of delays, Donald Trump was sentenced Friday in his hush-money case.
• Now that his felony status is finalized, he can appeal the conviction and the prosecution itself.
• In the meantime, the liquor licenses at two of his New Jersey golf clubs could be revoked.

Donald Trump received no punishment for the 34-count conviction handed down by a jury in his New York hush-money case.

The president-elect's sentencing, though, finalizes his status as a felon, heralding a new chapter of legal proceedings.

Trump, who is scheduled to be sworn in as president again on January 20, can now begin an appeal of his criminal conviction.

In the meantime, his business interests could face legal challenges, and the liquor licenses at his New Jersey golf resorts could be revoked.

Here's what comes next now that Trump is the first president in US history with a felony sentence on his record.

Trump's liquor licenses

The liquor licenses for two of Trump's New Jersey golf courses, the Trump National Golf Club in Colts Neck and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, may be in jeopardy.

"With the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) will proceed in determining whether President-elect Trump is qualified to continue to hold an interest in the licenses," said a spokeswoman for the New Jersey attorney general's office, of which the ABC is a division.

This past summer, New Jersey's Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control set and then postponed a liquor-license-revocation hearing for the two clubs, saying it was waiting for Trump's sentencing to be finalized.

Since then, both clubs have been operating with interim licenses that expire in February. Those licenses have remained in effect, "allowing the facilities to continue serving alcohol until a hearing on the renewals is held," the spokesperson said Wednesday.

Trump has a third New Jersey club in Pine Hill, the Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia. Its liquor license is up for renewal by borough authorities in June. Borough officials did not respond to a request for comment on their plans for that license.

The liquor licenses for all three New Jersey clubs are in Donald Trump Jr.'s name — but that does not protect them from Trump's new status as an adjudicated felon, New Jersey officials said.

State law requires revocation if anyone who either holds or is the primary beneficiary of a liquor license has a finalized felony conviction.

The AG spokesperson said this week that the agency's previous review, which found Trump benefits from the licenses, has not changed.

"There has been no change to ABC's review that indicates that the president-elect maintains a direct beneficial interest in the three liquor licenses through the receipt of revenues and profits from them, as the sole beneficiary of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust," the AG spokesperson said this week.

A criminal appeal

Trump can now appeal his indictment and conviction to New York's Appellate Division, which serves as a first-tier appellate court in the state.

If that fails, he could file with the New York State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.

If the state courts uphold his conviction, Trump could ask the US Supreme Court to overturn it.

The Supreme Court ruled by a narrow 5-4 margin to allow Trump's sentencing to proceed Friday.

Two of the Republican-appointed justices, John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett, sided with the Democratic appointees to allow the hearing to happen.

In post-trial legal arguments, Trump's lawyers have cited a July Supreme Court decision that found a president is immune from criminal prosecution. The ruling offers broad immunity, so evidence involving a president's "official acts" cannot be used in a prosecution, even for nonofficial actions.

The Justice Department frequently intervenes on behalf of members of the executive branch to argue that its members are immune from certain kinds of civil lawsuits.

The department could do the same for Trump as he appeals his criminal case, Michel Paradis, a professor of constitutional law at Columbia University, told Business Insider.

"They would basically file a motion in the Appellate Division to assert the interests of the United States, which would entitle them to file a brief and argue," Paradis told BI.

Trump has nominated Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, the lead lawyers in his Manhattan criminal case, to serve in top roles in the Justice Department for his second term.

Trump has also named John Sauer — who successfully argued the criminal immunity case on his behalf last year — as his pick for solicitor general, who presents arguments before the Supreme Court.

Other legal issues

The two federal criminal cases against Trump — over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and for taking government documents with him to Mar-a-Lago post-presidency — were dismissed after Trump won reelection in November.

He still faces an array of civil lawsuits stemming from his actions during the January 6, 2021, riot, but those will likely continue to move slowly through the courts.

A fourth criminal case, in Atlanta, over Trump's efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results, has been mired in delays. The case is effectively frozen as Fani Willis, the district attorney who brought the indictment against Trump and more than a dozen codefendants, appeals a decision to have her removed from the case over an inappropriate relationship with its special prosecutor.

The greatest consequences for Trump may be the judgments against him in civil cases brought by the New York Attorney General's office and by the writer E. Jean Carroll.

In February, a New York judge found Trump and his companies liable for fraud, ordering them to pay penalties that, with interest, have ballooned to nearly a half-billion dollars. An appeal of that case is pending.

Two juries have ordered Trump to pay a total of nearly $90 million after he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. Those cases, too, are being appealed.