• The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to $1 billion ahead of a Christmas Eve drawing.
• If someone wins on Tuesday, they will score the seventh-largest prize in the game's history.
• The lump sum cash option is about $448.8 million, according to the Mega Millions website.

One lucky lotto player could wake up to a billion-dollar Christmas morning this year.

The Mega Millions jackpot hit an estimated $1 billion on Tuesday ahead of the Christmas Eve drawing, according to the Mega Millions website.

If someone does score a six-number winning ticket on Tuesday, the jackpot would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh-largest in the game's history.

Choosing the lump sum cash option would cut the prize money in half to about $448.8 million, according to the Mega Millions website. Winners can also choose annual payments over time. Mega Millions winnings are subject to state and federal income taxes.

Nobody has won the jackpot since September, when a Texan nabbed $810 million. The pot has continued to climb in the previous 29 drawings.

Several of the largest-ever lotto jackpots have happened in recent years.

A California man won a whopping $2.04 billion Powerball — the largest-ever lotto prize — in 2022. Earlier this year, a different California man claimed a $1.7 billion Powerball prize.

The largest Mega Millions prize, meanwhile, went to a Florida winner last year who won a $1.6 billion jackpot.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are about one in 302,575,350, according to the Lotto website.

If someone wins on Tuesday, they wouldn't be the first Christmas Eve Mega Millions winner. A $68 million jackpot was won in 2022, but nobody ever claimed the prize, ABC News reported.

• A new lawsuit filed Tuesday by publicist Stephanie Jones alleges that Justin Baldoni and his PR reps tried to smear Blake Lively.
• Jones, a former employer of Baldoni's PR rep Jennifer Abel, alleges in the suit that Abel ran an operation in secret while she was working for Jones.
• Abel disparaged Jones and tried to steal clients for a competing firm, the lawsuit alleges.

A publicist who previously represented Justin Baldoni says one of her former employees orchestrated a smear campaign against Blake Lively without the public relations firm's knowledge — and then stole Baldoni and other celebrities as clients.

In a civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan state court Tuesday, Stephanie Jones said the ex-employee, Jennifer Abel, ran a secret operation with Melissa Nathan, a communications professional with her own firm.

The lawsuit alleges that the goal was to "destroy" Lively, Baldoni's co-star in "It Ends With Us," to cover up Baldoni's own misconduct on set.

"Their plan was covert, deliberately concealed from Jones, and went far beyond the legitimate scope of Abel's employment," Tuesday's lawsuit says.

Abel and Nathan used the same tactics to wreck Jones's own reputation in order to siphon clients from her public relations company, Jonesworks, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit from Jones — a powerful Hollywood publicist who has represented Jeff Bezos, Tom Brady, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson — is the second legal salvo against Baldoni, Abel, and Nathan this past week.

On Friday, Lively filed a complaint against the same group with the California Civil Rights Department, a possible precursor to a lawsuit.

Lively alleges in the complaint that Baldoni — who also directed "It Ends With Us" — created a hostile workplace by frequently talking about pornography, adding sexually explicit scenes between their characters into the script, pressuring her to lose weight, and walking into her trailer unannounced while she was undressed and breastfeeding, among other offenses.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldini, Abel, Nathan, and their companies, previously called Lively's allegations "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious." Freedman didn't respond to Business Insider's request for comment Tuesday.

Lively's complaint — wielding numerous text messages and emails her lawyers obtained — also alleged Baldoni worked with Abel and Nathan on a sophisticated public relations campaign through manipulated social media activity and stories published in tabloids.

"You know we can bury anyone," Nathan wrote to Abel in a February text message included in Lively's complaint as they discussed how to propose the communications strategy to Baldoni.

Lively's complaint alleges the campaign on behalf of Baldoni unfolded in secret alongside the public relations campaign for the movie, which was released in theaters in August and grossed over $350 million worldwide.

Jones said in her lawsuit she fired Abel in August after she had "stolen more than 70 proprietary and sensitive business documents" as well as client information. Abel also tried to poach employees for a competing public relations firm, RWA Communications, the lawsuit alleges.

Nathan didn't respond to Business Insider's request for comment Tuesday.

In an email Tuesday, Abel provided a different account of how she left Jonesworks. She sent BI an email and text messages showing she submitted her resignation in July with plans to start her own public relations firm.

Jones's attorney Kristin Tahler said she filed the lawsuit "to stop defendants' continuing misconduct and for Steph to recover the reputation."

"For months, this group has gaslit and disparaged Stephanie Jones and her company for financial gain, to settle personal scores and most recently to distract from their disgraceful smearing of Blake Lively," Tahler, an attorney at Quinn, Emmanuel, said in a statement Tuesday.

Lively's complaint doesn't indicate how her lawyers obtained the purported campaign plan or the texts between Abel and Nathan.

Jones's lawsuit offers a possible explanation: It says Abel's company-issued phone from Jonesworks was forensically preserved and examined after Jonesworks received a subpoena. On the phone, "Abel and Nathan's covert take down and smear campaigns were revealed in black and white," Jones alleges.

"Jones discovered the breadth and intensity of Abel and Nathan's duplicity from these records, including that Abel was actively encouraging other Jonesworks clients and employees to leave Jonesworks while Abel was still employed there," Jones's lawsuit alleges.

On her way out the door from Jonesworks, Abel tried to turn Jones's clients against her so she and Nathan could steal them for her own firms, Jones's lawsuit says.

Jones's lawsuit alleges that, as part of a smear campaign, the two spoke with a reporter at Business Insider, which published an article in August about Jones and the workplace culture at Jonesworks.

While Abel waged an intense publicity campaign on Baldoni's behalf, text messages show she held him in "extremely low regard," Jones's lawsuit alleges.

"He may fire us because even if we put together an amazing campaign, it's not going to change the fact that he's so unlikable and unrealistic as a leading man," Abel wrote in one text message included in the lawsuit. "there's no chemistry with him and Blake."

• A luxury jewelry authenticator said there are some telltale signs of a fake Van Cleef & Arpels piece.
• The real deal is made with precision and quality, and counterfeiters often miss the small details.
• Here's what to look out for, from thickness to shape.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ng Yong Shen, the vice president of Re-Loved Luxury, a Dubai-based secondhand luxury retailer. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I got into the business of authenticating luxury goods during the pandemic when I was hired as a purchaser for a secondhand luxury goods company.

In that role, I was exposed to a large volume of luxury items on a daily basis. Bags, watches, and jewelry have become my strong suits when it comes to authentication.

I went on to pursue similar roles, first as an authenticator for Carousell Group, an online marketplace similar to Craigslist, and later as a commercial manager at Luxehouze, a marketplace focused on pre-owned luxury goods.

Now, after four years in the industry, my day involves procuring secondhand pieces from online marketplaces or vintage shops, authenticating pieces for corporate clients at midday, and then working as Re-Loved Luxury's vice president, trying to scale up its business.

I also buy and trade vintage luxury pieces for my personal collection.

One question I get asked a lot as an authenticator is: How can I distinguish a real Van Cleef & Arpels piece from a fake?

For me, the fakes are easy to spot. A friend recently asked me to look at a piece, and just eyeballing it was enough to tell it wasn't authentic.

But to the untrained eye, I can see how it wouldn't be so straightforward. So here are four things to look out for when checking if the Van Cleef piece you're interested in is the real deal.

1. Shape of the clover prongs

The first thing to check is the shape of the four prongs.

The prongs that make up the clover pattern of Van Cleef & Arpels' pieces are very distinct and round, but the fake ones have a more elongated shape.

The fake ones often look almost teardrop-shaped, while an authentic piece has a more even and rounded profile.

2. The spheres surrounding the center stone

Then, look at the small spheres that outline the clover stone.

If you look closely at the fake ones, you can see that the spheres surrounding the stone are not very uniform.

Van Cleef & Arpels is a high-end jewelry brand, so the workmanship is premium. But with replicas, counterfeiters often work faster and may skimp on these small details.

The spheres are often either too big or too small on fakes. Whereas on the real ones, you can see that they are very fine, and very easy on the eyes.

3. Hallmark on the jump ring

One crucial telltale sign is the clasp. You can open and close the clasp, and then you loop it into the jump ring.

Look at the jump ring closely. It has a small dent in it. If you flip it around and look under the loop, you will find that the dent on an authentic piece has a very small hallmark pressed into it.

Upon closer inspection, you will see that the jump ring is imprinted with an eagle's head, the French hallmark for 18-karat gold jewelry.

That's a detail that a lot of counterfeiters tend to miss out on.

4. Neatness of the side profile

Finally, turn the piece to examine its side profile. The rounded area on a fake bracelet is often messier compared to a real one, which is a lot crisper and sharper.

There is also a certain thickness to the center stone itself. You will notice that the fake ones are often thin, which can be another dead giveaway.

• China has been trying to get its people to be more vigilant for foreign spies this year.
• The government has pushed warnings for things to beware of, like weird pens and strangers.
• Xi urged officials last year to adopt "worst-case-scenario thinking" for national security.

It's been a busy year for the front-facing team of China's State Security Ministry.

They've been following up on a nationwide push by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to maximize public awareness of foreign espionage.

Xi told officials in June 2023 that the country's national security issues had risen significantly, and that they should adopt "worst-case-scenario thinking" to prepare for potential "perilous, stormy seas" ahead.

That mandate has, in part, taken shape in 2024 through a series of posts on government accounts on WeChat, or China's version of Facebook.

Those include cautionary anecdotes of military documents being found in recycling plants, tour guides uncovering spies, and students getting duped by agencies promising entry into good colleges.

But they also contain clear warnings for things that could seem innocent, such as beautiful women offering "love traps" or drones disguised as dragonflies.

Funny-looking lighters, pens, and dragonflies

Spy gadgets aren't just a movie concept, the State Security Ministry said in August.

"In real life, some inconspicuous daily necessities around us may also contain mysteries," it wrote in a post about "hidden gadgets."

It told the story of an unnamed businessman bidding on an overseas project who discovered microphones in a box of napkins.

The ministry added that pens can be cameras, lighters can be listening devices, and insect-like drones could be used to gather intelligence.

'Good-hearted people' with cash to spare

The same month, the ministry told the tale of Little Wei, a senior university student who grew up orphaned in a poor mountainous region.

It warned that Wei, a budding, top-scoring student, had come across a generous donor named "Teacher L" who offered to subsidize him until he graduated from college. In return, Wei would have to help with research projects and field surveys, for which he would be paid even more money.

The ministry said Wei later found a job that gave him access to confidential information, which he passed to Teacher L at the latter's behest.

The ministry dubbed such people "wolves in sheep's clothing."

"Their methods are despicable and have no bottom line. They often disguise themselves as 'good-hearted people,' 'passionate people,' and 'caring people' around young people," it added.

Job offers

Young students have been a recurring concern in the ministry's messaging this year.

It wrote in September that it had found foreign spy agencies trying to recruit students with market research or science-related jobs touting "small efforts and high returns."

Officials said that eventually, the spies would ask the students to start "collecting and compiling internal scientific research and academic materials, photographing military sensitive areas."

'Handsome men or beautiful women'

Online dating could also be teeming with danger, the ministry warned in the same September post.

Foreign spies may "even disguise themselves as 'handsome men' or 'beautiful women' and pretend to be close friends and drag young students into a false 'love' trap," it wrote.

The ministry urged young people making friends online to be "highly vigilant and clear-headed."

Express delivery

Authorities have also released statements about courier deliveries, which are especially cheap and widely used in China.

"In recent years, foreign espionage and intelligence agencies have been increasingly rampant in stealing secrets through delivery channels," the ministry wrote in August.

It said it had found a case where a "foreign institution" had sent a hazardous powder to a Chinese research center. The ministry also said it had uncovered shipments of non-native animal species, sent to disrupt the local ecology, like "red-eared sliders, alligator snapping turtles, American bullfrogs, fall armyworms, and red fire ants."

Telling your date you work in the military

In November, the Chinese navy told its personnel in the "internet generation" — or millennials and Gen Z sailors — not to post their military status online.

"A military profession is of a political, confidential, and disciplinary nature. Resolve not to reveal your military identity online," the navy said in its post.

It warned especially of young officers and seamen who are "eager for love" and might try to snag dates by displaying their military status.

"If you expose your military identity to gain attention, it's very easy to become the focus of criminals," the navy wrote.

Rock music

The South China Morning Post reported in September that a new foundational textbook for college students warned of rock music and pop culture as "covers" for color revolutions.

Color revolutions generally refer to the Arab Spring and anti-government protests in post-Soviet states. For years, Beijing has accused the US of orchestrating them.

The textbook is likely to be made mandatory reading in at least some schools. State media has called it the "first unified textbook" of all of the principles and ideals that a core committee answering to Xi has tried to promote in the last 10 years.

The part left unsaid

Notably, China rarely says who these "foreign spies" work for, though these messages have come against the backdrop of frosty tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The US Justice Department, on its part, has been regularly charging people this year accused of spying for China and trying to manipulate local politics in Beijing's favor.

"Part of this is inevitable," Dylan Loh, a professor at the Public Policy and Global Affairs program at Singapore's National Technological University, told Business Insider. "As China grows, the amount of national security concerns and interests will certainly increase."

"The other part is reflective of geopolitics today, especially in the context of US-China competition," he said.

Overall, Loh said, it's indicative of a bigger push by China to group more issues into the domain of national security.

Ian Ja Chong, a professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said it's not clear how effective China's messaging is, but that its strategy seems to rely on repetition.

"Even if a vast majority of people ignore or become desensitized to such claims, there may be some among the public for whom these ideas of danger become a source of motivation," he said.

The danger could lie in this suspicion growing into nationalism, he said.

"There remain allegations that attacks on Japanese schools in Suzhou and Shenzhen earlier this year, as well as an attack on US teachers in Jilin, resulted from a growing sense of foreign threat in the PRC," Chong said, referring to China by its formal name.

Xi's drive goes beyond social media messaging. BI's Huileng Tan reported in May 2023 about China's sweeping updates to its anti-espionage law that broadened the definition of spying and the transfer of important information.

Since the original law passed in 2014, China has detained and charged dozens of foreign businesspeople with espionage. One of the most recent cases involves a Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma, a Tokyo-based pharmaceutical firm, accused by China of spying. According to Japanese media, he was the 17th Japanese citizen to be detained under suspicion of espionage in China, and his trial opened in November.

American Airlines grounded all its US flights for an hour on Christmas Eve because of a technical issue.

• Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro, is no longer in short supply, the FDA says.
• Cheaper versions of the drug, known as compounded tirzepatide, might be restricted in 2025.
• Patients could face higher costs and tougher access, and telehealth is racing to adapt.

The FDA has announced that popular weight loss medication tirzepatide is no longer in shortage, potentially removing cheaper versions of the drug from the market by early 2025.

Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Eli Lilly's drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, branded to treat diabetes and obesity, respectively.

They're part of a class of medications called GLP-1 agonists, including semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy), which have transformed obesity treatment in recent years. These injections work by mimicking hormones in the body that regulate appetite and blood sugar, helping patients lose as much as 25% of their body weight.

Manufacturers have struggled to meet the intense demand for these drugs. This opened the door for pharmacies to offer custom-made versions with the same active ingredient, known as compounded GLP-1 medication, at a significantly lower cost — around $250 to $350 per month for tirzepatide, compared to Zepbound's list price of $1,059.

With the official shortage over, the FDA has signaled it will crack down on compounded tirzepatide, affecting patients who've relied on the lower-priced medication.

"People are concerned. They're saying, 'This has been life changing but I don't have $1000 to pay out of pocket and my insurance isn't going to cover it," Ted Kyle, a health professional with decades of experience in policy, marketing, and obesity care, told Business Insider.

Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Most compounded versions of tirzepatide won't be allowed without an official shortage

The FDA's annoucement on December 19 to officially remove tirzepatide from the shortage list means compounding pharmacies will be restricted from making what are essentially copies of the brand-name version. These copies use the same active ingredient — in this case tirzepatide — but are not FDA-approved, although the manufacturers are held to other regulatory standards.

Compounding pharmacies have staunchly disagreed with the decision.

"The drugs they are advertising are not yet available in quantities to meet demand. Until they are, state-licensed pharmacies will continue to prepare compounded copies, operating within FDA guidance to provide patients access to life-changing medications during this period when the drugmakers cannot," Scott Brunner, CEO of the industry trade group Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, wrote in a statement on LinkedIn.

The FDA had previously moved to end the shortage in October, but delayed the decision after a compounding industry organization filed a lawsuit alleged it hadn't given proper notice. An update on that case is expected in early January 2025.

As it stands now, the FDA's decision will give makers of compounded tirzepatide up to 90 days before enforcement to "avoid unnecessary disruption to patient treatment," per the announcement.

Companies are racing to adapt

The FDA decision also raises questions for the booming telehealth industry that connects patients with weight loss drugs, as companies like Henry Meds and Hims offer compounded GLP-1s — some have removed compounded tirzepatide from their websites.

For now, businesses will still be able to offer some lower-cost medications for weight loss since semaglutide, better known as Wegovy and Ozempic, is still considered to be in shortage.

In some cases, telehealth execs are pivoting to strike a deal with pharmaceutical companies.

Earlier in December, telehealth company Ro announced a partnership with Eli Lilly to offer a half-price version of Zepbound, Lilly's brand-name tirzepatide product. The cheaper option is sold in vials in an effort to sidestep supply-chain issues with the prefilled pens and compete with compounded drugs.

More brand-name GLP-1 drugs are on the horizon

More FDA news could continue to change the trajectory of GLP-1 drugs in the coming months.

The FDA also announced the approval of the first generic version of a once-daily GLP-1 injection for Type 2 diabetes on December 24. It could pave the way for similar generic medications, including those for weight loss.

And more brand name GLP-1s are in the works as biotech startups and pharmaceutical companies race to find the next blockbuster medication.

For now, access to weight loss drugs is out of reach for many people who could benefit from them.

"This is going to be a continuing tension for years to come," Kyle said. "Maybe compounding will go away but the issue won't go away because the pricing does not match the scale of need."

• "Quiet vacationing," "coffee badging," and "ghost jobs" were part of the corporate lexicon in 2024.
• These are just some of the trends that came to dominate our conversations around work.
• Here's a look back at work in 2024.

Ghost jobs. Coffee badging. Quiet firing. Quiet vacationing.

The buzziest workplace trends this year didn't just become well-known tropes but also highlighted an ongoing power struggle between workers and bosses after the pandemic shook up the way people do their jobs.

The year's biggest movements reflect "shifts in work models, technological integration, and employee expectations," says Lauren Winans, CEO and HR consultant at Next Level Benefits.

While some of these are by no means new fads, they all featured prominently in the discourse around work this year. Here are the trends that dominated the cultural conversation in 2024:

Ghost jobs

Ghost jobs are nothing new but got a lot of attention this year.

These are roles which employers claim to be looking to fill even though they may not actually be hiring for such positions.

Employers may list ghost jobs for a few reasons. They might want to suggest they're doing well and growing; they could be trying to ready a talent pool for actual positions opening in the future; or they may want to imply to overworked employees that they'll get some additional help soon.

Quiet vacationing

This one pretty much explains itself, but just in case: When employees go on vacation without using any time off or telling their bosses, they're said to be quiet vacationing.

RTO

Return-to-office mandates continued rolling out at big firms this year. Amazon, one of the country's biggest employers, became one of the highest-profile companies to announce a full 5-day-a-week return to the office. (Its implementation has been delayed for some employees though, due to a lack of space.)

Hushed hybrid

As employers tightened the reins on remote work, some employees started carving out a new working arrangement under the table.

Enter the hushed hybrid schedule, in which employees skirt RTO mandates by getting their manager's approval to continue working from home on days they're technically required to be in the office.

Managers, for their part, might agree to do this to keep their employees happy (or to keep them, period). They also probably have a more personal connection with the workers affected by a mandate than the executives enforcing it. And of course, managers who are themselves opposed to RTO plans might also cut employees some slack out of sympathy.

Coffee badging

Another method of evading RTO is coffee badging — though it still technically requires that an employee return to the office.

The practice involves going to work to swipe your badge so your attendance is logged. But instead of spending the rest of the workday there, you kill some time by grabbing a coffee, or showing face with a quick lap around the office, before returning home to do most of your actual work there.

PIPs

Performance improvement plans, or PIPs, usually consist of a series of goals set for an employee to improve in areas where a boss says they're underperforming. If they're not completed in the allotted time, usually a few months or less, the employee will face termination.

PIPs are certainly not unique this year but statistically have been more frequently issued in recent years. They got renewed attention in 2024 as part of the discussion around ways employers trim headcount unannounced.

Quiet firing, silent layoffs, and stealth sackings

Yes, these are all somehow different things.

Between RTO mandates and PIPs, "quiet firing," which gained a lot of buzz in recent years, stayed in the spotlight in 2024. It refers to a boss or employer's unspoken attempt to encourage employees to quit by making the role more uncomfortable, as opposed to facing the monetary and reputational costs associated with explicitly laying them off.

Related phrases include "silent layoffs," which refers to giving employees severance packages but asking them to be discreet about their exiting the firm.

There's also "stealth sackings," coined by the Financial Times to describe firing employees over minor offenses. The newspaper cited Meta's dismissal of two dozen staff for using $25 GrubHub meal credits to buy non-food items as an example, and EY's firing of dozens of staffers for watching multiple online training courses simultaneously.

Other key trends

There were also other trends that, though they lack flashy names, also shaped how we worked in 2024.

The main one, of course, was the growing adoption of AI in the workplace, the "standout trend" of the year, according to Amy Schabacker Dufrane, CEO of the Human Resource Certification Institute and the Human Resource Standards Institute.

Winans says other trends included an emphasis on upskilling and reskilling to keep up with technological advancements and changing job requirements, as well as increased labor organizing efforts.

What can we expect in 2025?

Next year, the integration of AI at work will no doubt continue.

"Employees expect training and transparency about AI's role, while employers navigate concerns about job security and ethics," says Dufrane.

Other themes to watch include an emphasis on skills-based hiring and employee wellness programs, as well as ongoing changes to companies' ESG and DEI strategies.

Employee engagement in the US hitting an 11-year low in 2024, coupled with the possibility it may be easier to change jobs in 2025 mean that revenge quitting may also be the next big thing in workplace trends come next year, according to a Glassdoor report.

The phrase refers to dissatisfied employees being vocal with their discontent and resigning, often with little or no notice, knowing it could negatively impact their employer.

Heading into 2025, "monitoring employee satisfaction will be more important than ever," says Dufrane.

"We may see an increase in trends like bare-minimum attendance or revenge quitting as return-to-work mandates require employees to be on-site more than the post-COVID norm," she adds. "Prioritizing open communication, as well as autonomy, fairness, and a high-trust environment, will be critical for organizations to succeed."

• The beloved holiday movie "Elf" was released in 2003.
• Will Ferrell has been in other projects like "Step Brothers" and "Will & Harper."
• Zooey Deschanel starred in the series "New Girl" shortly after "Elf" debuted. 

It's been over 20 years since the modern holiday classic "Elf" hit theaters. 

The film follows Buddy (Will Ferrell), a human raised by elves working in Santa's workshop, as he journeys to New York City to find his biological father.

Here's what the stars of the movie have been up to since their roles in "Elf."

Ferrell starred in "Elf" the same year "Old School" premiered.

In 2002, Ferrell ended his run on "Saturday Night Live" to prepare to make a name for himself in film.

In 2003, Ferrell starred in "Elf" and the R-rated comedy "Old School."

Ferrell told Entertainment Weekly in 2007 that before taking on the role of Buddy the Elf, he requested that the movie remain lighthearted and took cues from the Tom Hanks film "Big" in creating his character's childlike persona.

Ferrell's career has seen lots of success post-"Elf."

Since bringing Buddy to life, Ferrell has gone on to act in over 20 full-length feature films, including "Anchorman," "Kicking and Screaming," "Step Brothers," and "Get Hard."

He's also gone behind-the-scenes as an executive producer, working on hit shows like Netflix's "Dead to Me" and HBO's "Succession," as well as top-rated films like "Booksmart."

He also starred in "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" (2020) and has continued down his producing path, with some of his most recent projects including "Will & Harper" (2024) and Netflix's "No Good Deed."

Deschanel wasn't the first choice to play Jovie.

"Elf" was the ninth feature-length film that Deschanel had appeared in since launching her acting career in 1998.

At the time "Elf" debuted, Deschanel was a relatively new actress in Hollywood with a few films under her belt, including  "All the Real Girls" and "Almost Famous." 

In a 2018 interview with Variety, Deschanel said that she was the second choice for the role and ultimately starred in the movie as Jovie when the film's first choice dropped out.

And in 2003, she told liveabout.com that she believed she mostly got the part because she could sing. 

Deschanel became the star of a popular TV show a few years later.

Post-"Elf," the actress starred in several major movies, including "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," "500 Days of Summer," and "Trolls."

In 2006, she formed a two-person indie band with M. Ward called She and Him. The pair has released multiple studio albums together.

Deschanel landed her most notable role as Jessica Day on the Fox show "New Girl" in 2011. The series ended in 2018 after seven seasons. 

She appeared in the short "Katy Perry: Not the End of the World" as a lookalike of the pop star in 2020. Some of her most recent projects include lending her voice to the character Bridget in "Trolls World Tour" (2020) and "Trolls Band Together" (2023).

James Caan was a seasoned actor before joining the cast of "Elf."

Caan wasn't a Hollywood newbie when he joined the "Elf" cast as Buddy's father, Walter.

The seasoned actor had previously starred in films like "Misery," "The Godfather," and "Funny Lady."

 

Caan died in 2022 at age 82 after a long and successful career.

In 2013, Caan told the AV Club that he remembered "Elf" as one of his favorite comedy productions.

After starring in the holiday flick, he worked on TV series like NBC's "Las Vegas," and continued to star in popular movies like "Undercover Grandpa."

He also went on to voice a character in "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" and several "Godfather" video-game characters.

On July 6, 2022, Caan died of a heart attack and coronary artery disease at the age of 82. His final films were "Queen Bees" (2021) and the upcoming thriller, "Dark Harvest."

Bob Newhart was also a well-known actor when "Elf" was released.

Having voiced Bernard in Disney's "The Rescuers" and "The Rescuers: Down Under" and appearing in popular films like "In and Out" and "Legally Blonde 2," Newhart was a well-known actor before joining the cast of "Elf."

He even had his own CBS TV series in the 1970s titled "The Bob Newhart Show," which ran for six years. 

Starring as Papa Elf in the 2003 film, Newhart had to appear much shorter than his adoptive son, Buddy, which entailed standing several feet away from Ferrell while acting, according to Variety.

Newhart died in 2024 after years of acting in movies and TV shows.

Although he has continued his work on TV, Newhart has only appeared in one feature-length film since the release of "Elf" — the 2011 movie "Horrible Bosses" starring Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman.

Newhart has also made frequent appearances on shows like TNT's "The Librarians" and CBS' "The Big Bang Theory."

In 2017, he reprised his role as Papa Elf for a local TV commercial.

On July 18, 2024, Newhart died at age 94. His final role was Professor Proton on the CBS "Big Bang" spin-off "Young Sheldon."

Mary Steenburgen was an Academy Award winner prior to "Elf."

Steenburgen had made her mark on Hollywood long before the release of "Elf," with roles in films like "Back to the Future III" and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."

She won an Academy Award for best actress in a supporting role in 1981 for her performance as Lynda Dummar in "Melvin and Howard."

The Oscar-winning actress took her talents to the big screen once again when she appeared as Buddy's stepmom Emily in the film "Elf."

Steenburgen would star alongside Ferrell again in 2008.

"Elf" wouldn't be the last time Steenburgen would appear in a film with Ferrell. In 2008, the duo reunited in the comedy "Step Brothers," with Steenburgen playing Ferrell's mom once again.

Steenburgen has appeared on TV series like CBS' "Joan of Arcadia" and Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black." 

She was also in the films "Four Christmases," "The Proposal,"  "The Help,"  and "A Walk in the Woods," among many others.

In 2020, she appeared in the much-anticipated holiday movie "Happiest Season," and has since been on recent seasons of several series, like "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist."

Most recently, she appeared in the film "Book Club: The Next Chapter" (2023).

"Elf" was Daniel Tay's second movie.

Starring as Michael, Buddy's half-brother, in the film, Tay's first major role was in "Elf."

The only acting credit he had prior was in the 2003 film "American Splendor" as young Harvey.

Tay hasn't appeared in any films since 2007.

Post-"Elf" success, the child actor voiced Doogal in the 2006 film of the same name. He also appeared in the movies "Beer League" in 2006 and "Brooklyn Rules" in 2007.

His last project was providing the voice of Bill Blue in "Grand Theft Auto IV," which was released in 2009.

In the years since "Elf" premiered, Tay graduated from Yale University, according to The Mirror.

Dinklage wasn't too well-known before "Elf."

With the exception of "The Station Agent" in 2003, Dinklage was a relatively unknown actor prior to his role in "Elf."

In the film, Dinklage appears as Miles Finch, the seemingly grumpy best-selling author who doesn't take kindly to Buddy.

Dinklage went on to star on the hit HBO show "Game of Thrones."

After "Elf," Dinklage would go on to appear in several popular movies, including "Death at a Funeral," "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," and "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

Most notably, Dinklage played the complex and well-loved character Tyrion Lannister on "Game of Thrones."

He also appeared in "Avengers: Infinity War" and lent his voice to animated films like "The Angry Birds Movie 2" and "The Croods: A New Age." He starred in the film "Cyrano" in 2021 and lent his voice to Dr. Dillamond in "Wicked" in 2024.

Ed Asner had an impressive career before "Elf."

Starring as Santa in "Elf" might not have been a defining moment for Asner's career, but for a generation of kids, it's one of his most memorable roles.

Asner's acting career stretches back to 1957 when he appeared on the CBS TV series "Studio One in Hollywood."

He starred in upwards of 50 projects before joining the "Elf" cast in 2003.

Even years later, Asner didn't slow down.

Asner has kept his Hollywood career thriving. Since 2003, Asner has been credited with over 60 roles, including the TV short "Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas."

He appeared on Netflix's "Dead to Me" and Super Channel's "Forgive Me." 

Recently, he was in the movies "Tiger Within" and "Rain Beau's End."

In August 2021, Asner died of natural causes at the age of 91.

This story was originally published in December 2018 and most recently updated on December 24, 2024.

• In less than a month, TikTok could be pulled from US app stores due to a federal divest-or-ban law.
• Merchants who sell on TikTok Shop may struggle to find an alternative if the ban goes through.
• TikTok Shop offers a unique blend of social tools, e-commerce tech, and a large audience.

If TikTok is pulled from US app stores in January due to a divest-or-ban law, many of its creators will be fine. However, its e-commerce sellers may have a rougher road ahead.

Many TikTok creators have spent years building up audiences on similar apps using features like YouTube shorts and Instagram reels. For some merchants who sell goods on TikTok Shop, there isn't an obvious alternative.

"With TikTok, we've had the first real foray into building an ecosystem that ties in entertainment and live shopping together; a full-service ecosystem that brings in the creators, the affiliates, the products, and the brands altogether," Julian Reis, CEO of the social-commerce agency SuperOrdinary, told Business Insider. "Previously we had a lot of smaller platforms and smaller surface layer applications that were enabling live shopping on other people's platforms."

Other platforms, like the live-shopping app Whatnot or affiliate-marketing platform LTK, offer robust tools for social commerce. Flip built an app that's basically a shopping-only version of TikTok. Shopify offers a variety of tools for merchants to integrate into social apps, and Meta made a deal with Amazon in 2023 to make Instagram and Facebook posts more shoppable.

But none of these products offers the same breadth of services in one place as TikTok. TikTok Shop even has its own app store, bringing it closer to super-app status.

TikTok invested heavily in social-shopping tech before it was obvious the move would pay off in the US. TikTok's push into e-commerce initially angered many users, but the company continued to lean into the initiative as it sought to train its audience to buy in a social feed. It also built out infrastructure, such as adding six warehouses in the US to support order fulfillment and logistics, its head of US operations Nico Le Bourgeois told BI in October. That level of investment and boldness is tough to replicate.

"We are on every platform, but TikTok is the primary platform because they're by far the most advanced social commerce marketplace that we have in the US today," Max Benator, the CEO of the social-shopping firm Orca, told BI.

TikTok has shown a unique commitment to making social commerce grow in the US. While some of its peers have pulled back on shopping features, TikTok has charged forward. Its drive to make social shopping take off was likely influenced by the success of its Chinese sister app Douyin, which drives billions in annual sales. The effort appears to have turned a corner, and TikTok is now pulling in billions in sales, including over $100 million on Black Friday alone.

Right now, TikTok is central to the social-shopping marketplace in the US. But if the app is banned next month — an outcome it's challenging before the Supreme Court — a competitor app like Instagram or YouTube might try to replicate some of its efforts to fill the void.

"Once the consumer habit is to buy through livestreams, it really doesn't matter what platform they use," William August, CEO of Outlandish, a company that works with TikTok Shop brands and others on livestream selling, told BI in November. "If TikTok does get banned, I don't think these people are just going to stop shopping through livestreams. I think they're going to move to another platform."

• Big Lots, Party City, and The Container Store reported either bankruptcy or store closures recently.
• It's a cap on a tough year for many retailers.
• Shoppers of almost all income levels have been watching their spending in 2024.

Trouble for a trio of retailers at the tail end of 2024 is a sadly fitting end to a tough year for retailers.

Home storage chain The Container Store filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday. The retailer plans to reorganize and its CEO said that the company "is here to stay," but it said in May its full-year consolidated net sales dropped almost 20% year-on-year, and in October that second-quarter sales on the same basis fell 10.5%.

A day earlier, Party City said it would wind down operations and close all of its stores. That's on top of Big Lots, which said last Thursday it would start store-closing sales at all of its locations after its planned sale to a private equity firm fell through.

The few days of bad news caps a rough year for many retailers. Over 2,000 stores have closed this year in the US, by Business Insider's count.

Among the companies that have shuttered stores are drugstore chains CVS and Rite Aid, Family Dollar, and convenience store chain 7-Eleven.

Even some big-name chains that aren't closing stores are still having trouble. Starbucks' sales fell in the latest quarter, showing that new CEO Brian Niccol — brought in abruptly to help revitalize the company — has plenty to address at the chain in 2025.

Starbucks store employees have told BI that the coffee chain has operational issues to work out, from not scheduling enough workers at busy times to finding a better way to fill mobile orders.

Big Lots, Party City, and The Container Store all have pointed to recent economic factors, namely inflation and consumers who are less willing to spend.

In its statement on Saturday, for instance, Party City cited "an immensely challenging environment driven by inflationary pressures on costs and consumer spending, among other factors" in explaining the decision to wind down operations.

Satish Malhotra, CEO of The Container Store, referenced a "challenging macro-economic environment" in an email to customers this week.

Big Lots, meanwhile, has been saying for months that consumers were buying fewer couches, dining room sets, and other high-priced home furnishings. The chain saw "a significant consumer pullback in big-ticket items, particularly within the furniture and patio furniture categories," CEO Bruce Thorn said during an earnings call in June — the last one that the company hosted before announcing its now-scrapped deal to sell itself to Nexus Capital Management.

Inflation has decelerated this year for many items, yet shoppers are still cautious about what they buy, and prices for many items are still proportionally higher than before the pandemic. Many low-income consumers are having trouble stretching their paychecks to cover expenses, a development that has hurt Dollar General and other dollar stores.

More affluent consumers have also slowed their spending, turning away from stores where they have to pay full price and toward off-price chains like Nordstrom Rack as well as store-brand groceries at Walmart.

Even Target reported last month that many of its customers were sticking to buying essentials and shying away from impulse buys and more expensive items, leading the big box chain to cut its forecast.

So far, the outlook for 2025 isn't great. Advance Auto Parts and Walgreens have plans to shut 1,200 stores between the two chains, for example.

To be sure, all three retailers who reported bad news over the last few days faced challenges well before this month or even this year. Big Lots has been closing stores since last year. Party City filed for bankruptcy in January 2023. And The Container Store has reported quarterly drops in same-store sales for several consecutive quarters.

But if shoppers remain value-conscious and stick to stores they perceive as offering the best deals going into 2025, retailers could continue to have a tough time in the new year.

Do you work at a major retailer and have a story idea? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected]

• When I first moved to Colorado, I tried skiing and snowboarding for the first time.
• After attempting the two sports, I realized they have major differences. 
• Stopping on a snowboard was easier, but I loved having ski poles to propel me across flat surfaces.

Growing up in Florida, my winters involved ocean plunges in bathing suits, not skiing in snowsuits.

When I moved to Denver in 2021, I had never clipped into skis or strapped into a snowboard. Meanwhile, it seemed like a sport everyone did and loved. 

As my first Colorado summer turned into my first Colorado winter, I was ready to give these winter hobbies a shot.

In 2022, I headed to my first ski lodge, where I attempted a few beginner runs on a snowboard.

To kick off 2022, I planned a trip to a Colorado ski resort with friends. 

In the weeks before the trip, I debated skiing versus snowboarding. I was unfamiliar with both and determined to take a class. Procrastination got the best of me, and by the time I signed up, all the ski lessons were full. 

Snowboarding classes were still available, so the decision was made for me.

My first day on the slopes was a hilarious disaster. My friends and I didn't pick up the sport as naturally as we had hoped. The day ended up with us walking down a run instead of snowboarding down it.

Even though I didn't finish my first day as a snowboarding pro, I did understand the appeal. It was fun to be challenged by something new and spend the day outdoors. 

The next year, I decided to give skiing a shot.

The following winter, I headed to Colorado's Winter Park Resort for a work trip.

I planned to take Amtrak's Winter Park Express train to the resort. Once there, I'd spend two days on the slopes. I was itching for another new experience, so I booked a ski lesson one day and tried snowboarding the next day. 

This time, I didn't procrastinate. I booked the ski lesson a few weeks in advance and was eager to compare the two sports. Here are the major differences I noticed.

Let's start with the gear. Snowboard boots were much more comfortable than ski boots.

My first time snowboarding was with a friend who grew up skiing.

As we each stepped into the massive snowboard boots, she exclaimed how comfortable they were. To me, they felt awkward and bulky, but she promised that they were far more comfortable than any pair of ski boots she ever wore.

A year later, I finally understood what she meant. 

The ski boots I wore were coated in a hard plastic shell, which meant my feet didn't have much flexibility inside the shoe. They also had two awkward bumps at the front and back of each boot for ski clips, making it feel like I was never walking on a flat surface. 

Simple tasks like walking downstairs were challenging. Meanwhile, my snowboard boots had a softer and cushier interior and the bottoms were completely flat.

I didn't mind wearing the snowboard boots all day, but I couldn't wait to get out of the ski boots.

On skis, you face down the mountain. On a snowboard, you're perpendicular.

One of the biggest differences between the two sports is where your hips and chest face the mountain while you're skiing or snowboarding.

I knew there would be a difference, and I was curious which way I would prefer to face — either straight downward on skis or perpendicular on a snowboard. 

While skiing, my hips and chest were directly facing forward. This allowed me to use my peripheral vision. I could tell if anyone else was coming down the mountain on my left or right.

On the snowboard, however, my hips were perpendicular to the slope. This made looking behind me slightly easier, but I had a larger blind spot on my snowboard that made peripheral sight more uncomfortable.

Of course, neither skiing nor snowboarding gives you complete 360-degree views, but I felt like my vision was overall better on skis — especially as a beginner. 

Navigating on flat surfaces is exhausting on a snowboard.

Between lift lines and catwalks on runs, I had to learn to navigate on flat surfaces while snowboarding and skiing. 

After trying the two, I learned skiers have it way easier.

That's because most skiers, myself included, use poles. With my poles, I could push myself on flat patches and propel myself forward. 

Snowboarders, on the other hand, don't have poles. I needed to prioritize momentum during any flat area, and if I ended up coming to a stop, I needed to unclip my back foot and skate around. 

Skating on a snowboard was utterly exhausting, and after trying skiing, I longed for the ease of poles. 

I fell a lot more learning to snowboard.

Before my first snowboarding lesson, I crowdsourced advice and tips.

Every single person told me to prepare to fall. A lot. 

I went into the class expecting my fair share of topples, but I had no idea just how often I would find myself on the ground.

During the four-hour snowboarding class, I fell dozens of times. When I hit the slopes, I was on the ground more than I was standing.

When I went into my skiing lesson, I expected the same number of falls. During the four-house lesson, I didn't fall a single time.

I did attempt a green run later that day and fell a few times, but it still didn't come close to the number of falls I took during my first day of snowboarding.

Getting on and off lifts was easier on skis.

Another place where I struggled as a beginner snowboarder was getting on and off the ski lifts.

When the lift ends, it doesn't stop moving. Instead, skiers and snowboarders must hop off their seats and ski or snowboard down a slight decline to the start of their run.

Again, ski poles were a major advantage in this situation. When I got off a lift on skis, I felt sturdy and confident. I never fell.

Getting off a lift on a snowboard, however, seemed like a skill within itself. I had to keep my balance while pushing off the lift. The result was fall after fall.

On my first day of snowboarding, I didn't successfully get off one single lift without falling. Meanwhile, I navigated lifts easily on my first day of skiing. 

Different parts of my body ached after both skiing and snowboarding.

Before trying skiing and snowboarding, I didn't realize how hard the sports would be on my body.

After snowboarding, my wrists were aching from falling forward onto my hands all day.

My calves were also not prepared for snowboarding. While on a snowboard, you use the toeside and heelside edge of the board to turn. After many toeside turns, my calves burned.

Skiing was also a hard workout. "Pizza-ing," which is when you point your skis into a triangle to stop, can strain your knees. That's the technique I was taught, and by the end of my first day on skis, my knees were sore from all the "pizza-ing."

Either way, my body was exhausted by the end of my first day on both a snowboard and skis.

The biggest difference I spotted between the two was learning how to stop.

My biggest concern with learning how to ski and snowboard was learning how to stop.

If I wanted to do either of the sports safely and comfortably, I knew I needed to be confident in my ability to brake quickly and effectively.

Luckily, this skill took little time to learn on a snowboard. With my board perpendicular to the slope, I could put downward pressure on my heels and immediately stop. While I wasn't able to get down mountains on my first snowboarding day, I was able to feel comfortable stopping.

This wasn't the case for skiing. Anytime I picked up any speed, my "pizza-ing" maneuver wasn't strong enough to slow me down. Instead, I spent my first day stopping by intentionally falling over. 

I'm sure it's a skill I could learn on skis, but the confidence I had with stopping on snowboards was enough to stick with that sport instead. 

Everyone told me that "snowboarding is harder to learn but easier to master, while skiing is easier to learn and harder to master." So far, I think the saying rings true.

After two winters in Colorado, I imagine I've heard the phrase close to a hundred times from friends. And I've recited it nearly as much to others.

That's because after trying both, I'm starting to understand why it's said so often.

While my first day on a snowboard last year was disastrous, my second day went much smoother. By the end of day two, I could get down blue runs, and after about five days, I felt confident navigating on the heelside and toeside edges of the board.

I'm not quite as confident yet with skiing. I've skied only one day, and although I fell far less than I did snowboarding, keeping my feet perfectly parallel seems like a skill that would take months, if not years, to master.

After trying both, I think there's nothing like gliding down a snowy mountain on a sunny day — regardless of whether you're on skis or a snowboard.

The two sports have their pros and cons.

Since I've spent more time on a snowboard overall, I'm sticking with that for now. I'm aiming to master using my toeside edge, and my fingers are crossed that I'll be on black runs sooner rather than later.

• My son is 6, and my daughter is 9 and they can't agree on whether Santa is real
• At a mall, they both asked me which one was true, whether Santa was real or not.
• I told them he lives in your hearts because I didn't want to tell her the truth.

Walking past yet another mall Santa during the Christmas shopping season, my 6-year-old son wondered aloud, "I don't think that is actually Santa. How could he be in so many places at once?"

My 9-year-old daughter, without missing a beat, announced, "That's him. That's Santa. I know it is."

I could see what their brains were doing. My son was growing up, piecing something together, and standing on the cusp of an older version of childhood, and seemed moments away from figuring it out. My daughter, however, was fighting a very different battle: a desire to stay young.

I knew this day would come

Both of my children have tender hearts — crying if the wind blows too hard or at a particularly moving scene in a "PAW Patrol" movie — but my daughter has always been acutely aware that she is aging. When she was a toddler, she would tear up at pictures of herself as a baby, nostalgic for a time she didn't even remember.

I knew this day would come, but I couldn't have been more wrong about how it would play out. I have learned, though, that the vast majority of the time, when I plan or worry about something, I am usually wildly off-base. So, I try to exercise the kind of mindfulness I have learned as a mother: to take in the growth of my children one day at a time. Do not make plans, I tell myself, for what might not even happen.

I could sense, though, walking through the mall, my children wanted only to intensify this conversation. My son pointed out all of the Santas we have seen, while my daughter, in her increasing frustration, kept saying, "Well yeah, that's how Santa works!" By the time we got to the car, they were practically screaming at each other, and when they both turned to look at me, I knew what was coming.

"Santa's not real, right Mommy?" my son asked.

"Yes, he is. Tell him he is real, Mommy," my daughter said, tears in her eyes.

She's such a sensitive child

I know when my daughter and I go for walks every night with our dog in our neighborhood to steer her away from the litter of kittens we have seen frolicking in the doorway of an old barn. She is worried they don't have a mother and no one will take care of them in the winter.

She is so sensitive she used to cry when we took the books back to the library. She is also a straight-A student, tests off the charts, and is enrolled in the gifted class for language arts at her school.

When we play board games, checkers, or Mario Party, I no longer go easy on her since she is so strategic she usually beats me. Her mind is a whirling dreamscape that allows her to write stories full of far-fetched ideas interlaced with similes, metaphors, and unique perspectives I would kill to have in my own writing. For most of her life, she thought IHOP was a chain of trampoline parks.

I think she knows the truth

"Santa lives in your hearts," I said.

They looked at me, a little stunned, taking this in, but they seemed satisfied. My son literally shrugged, and my daughter looked visibly relieved. We got in the car, and the conversation drifted elsewhere. We discussed dinner plans, what characters we were going to be in Mario Party, and whether it really was essential for them to bathe as often as I requested.

I suspect she knows the truth, the same way she knew COVID-19 was happening. I hadn't told her, but I gathered she figured it out a few nights into the first lockdown when she looked up at me and whispered, "I feel like there's a monster outside." I didn't tell her the truth then either: it's not one, but many, and there will come times when you have to fight so hard, harder than you ever possible, for what you believe is right in your heart.

• James Mangold's new film "A Complete Unknown" is a Bob Dylan biopic.
• Timothée Chalamet stars as Dylan, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo.
• "A Complete Unknown" arrives in theaters on December 25.

James Mangold's highly anticipated film "A Complete Unknown" follows Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan during his rise to renown in the early '60s.

The movie, which hits theaters on Christmas Day, also stars Monica Barbaro as the legendary folk singer Joan Baez and Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, a renamed version of Dylan's girlfriend at the time, Suze Rotolo.

Here's how the cast compares to the real-life people they're playing in "A Complete Unknown."

Timothée Chalamet stars as Bob Dylan in his early days as a musician in New York City.

Chalamet is an Oscar-nominated movie star known for a slew of acclaimed films, including "Call Me By Your Name," "Lady Bird," "Beautiful Boy," "Little Women," "The French Dispatch," "Dune," and "Dune: Part Two."

And yet, Chalamet recently told Stephen Colbert that "A Complete Unknown" is "the movie I'm proudest of in my career."

Chalamet learned to play guitar for the lead role and sang live during many of the film's musical performances. He said he spent five years familiarizing himself with Dylan's life, discography, and vocal style.

"A Complete Unknown" begins in 1961, when Dylan moved to New York City as a teenager. He released his self-titled debut album in 1962 and quickly became a fixture in the Greenwich Village folk scene, leading many critics to label him "the voice of a generation."

After releasing a few beloved folk albums, Dylan made a divisive pivot toward rock 'n' roll, punctuated with his electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. The controversy was documented by Elijah Wald in his 2015 book "Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties," on which the movie's script is based.

Today, at 83, Dylan is known as one of the most influential and prolific singer-songwriters of all time. He has won 10 Grammys out of 38 nominations, as well as the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award, which he accepted in 1991.

Monica Barbaro plays Joan Baez, another prominent folk singer and activist.

Barbaro got her start in TV, landing recurring roles in shows like Lifetime's "Unreal," NBC's "Chicago P.D.," and ABC's "Splitting Up Together." She earned her breakthrough movie role as Lt. Natasha "Phoenix" Trace in 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick."

Like Chalamet, Barbaro was not trained as a singer or guitarist before being cast as Joan Baez, who helped Dylan lead the '60s folk revival. She worked with vocal coach Eric Vetro to approximate Baez's famous soprano.

When Barbaro had a chance to speak with Baez over the phone, she said she reassured the musician, "This is all done out of respect."

"She's just like, 'I'm just outside listening to the birds.' She is Joan. She's not so concerned with protecting [her legacy] or hovering over it," Barbaro told The Hollywood Reporter. "She signed over her songs [to the film], all her arrangements. She and Bob are sort of similar, in that they're not so obsessed with dictating this idea of who they are and who they were. They've been in the public eye for so long."

Baez, 83, also received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

Elle Fanning plays Sylvie Russo, aka Suze Rotolo, Dylan's girlfriend at the time.

Fanning, who originally costarred with Chalamet in 2019's "A Rainy Day in New York," was a huge Dylan fan before she was cast in "A Complete Unknown."

"I had posters of him on my wall and wrote his name on my hand every day, partly to be cool," Fanning told The Hollywood Reporter. "I worked with ['We Bought a Zoo' director] Cameron Crowe when I was 13, and he played Bob Dylan a lot. He would play 'Buckets of Rain' over and over again. That's when it started."

Fanning's character Sylvie Russo is based on Suze Rotolo, Dylan's girlfriend in the early '60s. She died in 2011.

Rotolo was cemented in music history when she posed arm-in-arm with Dylan for the cover of his sophomore album, 1963's "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan." She also influenced Dylan's left-wing politics and inspired the song "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," among others.

According to Fanning, Dylan asked the filmmakers to avoid using Rotolo's real name because she was "a very private person and didn't ask for this life."

"She was obviously someone that was very special and sacred to Bob," Fanning told Rolling Stone.

Edward Norton plays Pete Seeger, a fellow musician and early mentor for Dylan.

After Benedict Cumberbatch dropped out of the movie, Norton — renowned for movies like "Fight Club," "Moonrise Kingdom," "Birdman," and "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" — was hired to portray folk pioneer Pete Seeger.

Seeger's expansive catalog includes the labor-movement anthem "The Hammer Song" and the crossover hit "Goodnight, Irene," both of which Seeger recorded with his folk quartet The Weavers in 1950. He also wrote the patriotic classic "This Land Is Your Land."

Seeger met Dylan in Greenwich Village shortly after the younger singer arrived in town. He is known as one of Dylan's earliest supporters, credited with getting Dylan on the lineup for the Newport Folk Festival. However, according to legend, Seeger was disturbed by Dylan's electric performance at the 1965 edition. Some claim he even tried to cut the sound while Dylan was onstage.

Throughout his life, Seeger was outspoken in support of civil rights, workers' rights, and anti-war efforts, among other causes. He died in 2014 at age 94.

"Narcos" star Boyd Holbrook plays the country-rock icon Johnny Cash.

Holbrook is being hailed as a scene-stealer for his performance as Johnny Cash in "A Complete Unknown."

Cash and Dylan officially met at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, but they had already been exchanging letters as fans of each other's work.

"I had a portable record player that I'd take along on the road, and I'd put on 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' backstage, then go out and do my show, then listen again as soon as I came off," Cash wrote in his autobiography, per Far Out magazine.

"After a while at that, I wrote Bob a letter telling him how much of a fan I was," Cash continued. "He wrote back almost immediately, saying he'd been following my music since 'I Walk the Line,' and so we began a correspondence."

Dylan's manager, Jeff Rosen, gave Mangold, the director, access to letters that Cash and Dylan exchanged in this era. He told Rolling Stone they became "an instrumental voice in the movie."

The two musicians maintained a close friendship until Cash died from complications of diabetes in 2003. He was 71.

Scoot McNairy plays Woody Guthrie, the legendary folk singer who influenced Dylan.

You may recognize McNairy from "Argo," "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," or one of two other films released in 2024: "Speak No Evil" and "Nightbitch."

Before the year ends, McNairy will return to the silver screen as Woody Guthrie, widely known as Dylan's personal hero. Guthrie rose to fame in 1940 with his topical album "Dust Bowl Ballads," which chronicles the Great Depression's effects on American Midwesterners. He continued to sing about anti-capitalist and anti-fascist themes throughout his career.

By the time Dylan arrived in New York, Guthrie was being treated in New Jersey for Huntington's disease.

The movie dramatizes their first encounter, including an emotional performance of Dylan's "Song to Woody," with which he serenades Guthrie in the hospital. Chalamet told Rolling Stone that after filming the scene, he went home and "wept." (In reality, Dylan wrote the song after he and Guthrie had already met, per the magazine.)

Guthrie died in 1967 at age 55.

Dan Fogler plays Albert Grossman, Dylan's manager.

Dan Fogler is best known for the "Harry Potter" spinoff franchise "Fantastic Beasts," in which he played the no-maj character Jacob Kowalski.

In "A Complete Unknown," Fogler portrays Albert Grossman, Dylan's manager from 1962 to 1970. Grossman helped Dylan become an influential figure in the era's folk revival, but his aggressive and intimidating business tactics also earned him a controversial reputation, according to TeachRock.org.

Grossman died in 1986 of a heart attack. He was 59.

• Netflix has grown into the world's largest streaming service with more than 280 million subscribers worldwide.
• It came out on top in 2024's streaming wars.
• Here's a look at Netflix's rise and what's next.

1997: Netflix is founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph.

1998: Netflix launches a DVD-by-mail rental service. That same year, Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos offers to buy the company.

In his book "That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea," Randolph wrote that he and Hastings met with Bezos in 1998, who offered them "probably something between $14 million and $16 million," Randolph wrote. But they turned down the offer.

1999: Netflix begins offering a subscription-based model, in which customers could choose movies to rent-by-mail for a monthly fee.

Netflix gained 239,000 subscribers in its first year, according to Inc.

2002: Netflix goes public. Randolph exits the company soon after.

"As you get older, if you're lucky, you realize two things: what you like, but also what you're good at," Randolph told Forbes in 2019 on why he left Netflix. "The answer to both of them [for me] is early-stage companies. I like the chaos. I like the fact that you're working on hundreds of things at once."

2007: Netflix launches a video streaming service, free for its already-existing DVD-rental subscribers.

Netflix ended 2006 with over 6 million subscribers for its DVD-rental service.

But a New York Times story at the time highlighted how the company still faced doubts about its streaming plans, noting that it would cost Netflix $40 million to implement it. The company's stock dropped 6% with the announcement. But Hastings, who was CEO at the time, said that he had "gotten used to" reservations.

 

 

2012: Netflix debuts "Lilyhammer," its first original series. The show was originally broadcast in Norway, but Netflix acquired the rights. It laid the foundation for Netflix's binge-release model and its surge in original programming, including expanding into international markets.

"This was the first time we streamed a show across multiple countries and languages … and it worked," Netflix's current co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in a blog post in February 2022.

"It worked because it was a deeply local story that we could share with the world," Sarandos added.

2013: Netflix ramps up its original programming with "House of Cards" and "Orange Is the New Black," which gain critical acclaim and Emmys recognition.

2015: Netflix releases its first original feature film, "Beasts of No Nation."

2017: Netflix surpasses 100 million subscribers, a crucial milestone, 10 years after it launched its streaming option.

2018: Netflix wins its first feature-film Oscar: best documentary feature for "Icarus." Later this year, it releases "Roma," which becomes Netflix's first best-picture nominee the following year.

Netflix has yet to nab the Oscars' top prize, though, despite elaborate campaign spending. Apple TV+ won best picture last year for "CODA," becoming the first streaming platform to do so.

2020: Netflix names Ted Sarandos, its creative chief, as co-CEO with Hastings. The two have known each other since 1999.

January, 2021: Netflix announces that it surpassed 200 million subscribers, another milestone.

September, 2021: Netflix wins more Emmys than any network or streaming service for the first time, and nabs best-series wins for the first time with "The Crown" (drama) and "The Queen's Gambit" (limited).

October, 2021: Netflix faces its most public controversy yet, after some employees speak out against Dave Chappelle's Netflix special, "The Closer," in which he makes comments many criticized as transphobic.

Chappelle said in the special that "gender is a fact" and defended "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, who came under fire for past transphobic comments.

Sarandos defended Chappelle in a memo to employees, saying in part: "Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him. His last special, 'Sticks & Stones,' also controversial, is our most watched, stickiest, and most award winning stand-up special to date."

Netflix trans employees planned a walkout in response to the special and Sarandos' comments.

November, 2021: Netflix launches its first video games around the world, free as part of a user's subscription.

April, 2022: Netflix reports that it lost subscribers for the first time in a decade in the first quarter of 2022. It lost 200,000 subscribers and said it was expecting to lose 2 million more in Q2.

Aside from the economic strains of the coronavirus pandemic, Netflix blamed the subscriber loss partly on password sharing. It said that it estimated that an additional 100 million people use Netflix with a shared password. 

It also acknowledged increased competition. Over the last few years, new streaming services like Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, and more have entered the space on top of already existing rivals like Hulu and Prime Video.

April, 2022: Hastings confirms that an ad-supported tier is coming to Netflix.

Hastings confirmed during Netflix's April 2022 earnings call that the company plans to roll out an ad-supported plan — something it has pushed back against in the past — as the streaming service faced slowing revenue growth and lost subscribers.

Other streamers have, like HBO Max and Paramount+, have embraced ads. Disney+, Netflix's biggest rival, has also launched an ad-supported option.

Netflix's standard HD plan (its most popular plan) is $15.49 per month after the company recently raised prices. 

May and June, 2022: Netflix conducts layoffs amid slowing revenue growth.

Netflix laid off 150 staffers in May 2022 and then 300 more in June.

"While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth," a Netflix spokesperson said of the most recent round of layoffs.

 

July 2022: Netflix loses subscribers for the second quarter in a row, a first for the company.

In Q2 2022, Netflix said it lost 970,000 subscribers. It had forecasted losing 2 million subscribers in the quarter, so it beat expectations — but it was still a sign of company's struggles, proving why it is introducing an ad-based plan and cracking down on password sharing. 

Netflix is optimistic about Q3, though, and forecasted adding 1 million subscribers.

November 2022: Netflix officially launches its ad-supported plan.

When the ad program launched, the streamer said it was nearly sold out of inventory.

December 2022: Netflix ended 2022 strong, breaking Q4 targets.

The end of 2022 represented a bit of a bounce back for Netflix, as the entertainment company outpaced subscriber growth in Q4 by around 3.1 million, adding 7.66 new subscribers despite its own estimates of 4.5 million, per Variety.

In total the streaming giant amassed 230.75 million subscribers by the end of 2022, compared to its target figure of 227.59 million.

Netflix noted that after a decade into making original content, it was "past the most cash-intensive phase of this buildout," per Variety. Accordingly, money spent on content was $16.84 billion in 2022 — about a 5% less than its 2021 spend.

January 2023: Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings steps down as co-CEO and is replaced by Greg Peters, who was serving as COO.

April 2023: Netflix announces its final red envelope DVDs will be shipped out in September of this year

Netflix announced it will end its DVD-rental services on September 29, 2023, according to an official Twitter account dedicated to the DVD-side of the business. It will mark the end of a 25-year chapter for the business, which became known for its red envelopes.

Users will have until October 27, 2023 to return their DVDs. Those still subscribed to the DVD service or whose subscription was cancelled in the last nine months will be able to download their queue, rental history, ratings, and reviews via this link.

January 2024: Subscriptions soar amid password crackdown.

Netflix began cracking down on password sharing in 2023, a move that – along with offering a cheaper, ad-supported subscription tier – helped it add new subscribers and deliver blowout earnings throughout 2024, quarter after quarter.

That said, Netflix will stop reporting quarterly subscriber figures in 2025, and some analysts expect the returns on its password crackdown to diminish in the future.  

January 2024: Netflix pushes into live sports with massive WWE deal.

Netflix made a costly push into live sports content with a $5 billion deal for a weekly WWE show in the US, and to air other one-off pro wrestling events globally. The content will start rolling out in early 2025.

April 2024: Longtime film chief Scott Stuber is succeeded by Dan Lin.

Netflix's former firm chief Scott Stuber left the company in January. He was later replaced by Dan Lin, who has reportedly sought to implement a new strategy that shifts away from big-budget action films fronted by marquee stars. 

Lin's plan also involves diversifying Netflix's offerings, prioritizing in-house producers, and skipping theatrical releases.

February 2024: Netflix signs on to produce its first Broadway show.

In February, Netflix signed on to produce its first Broadway show – a stage play about a Russian oligarch in partnership with "The Crown" creator Peter Morgan. The show started previews in April and closed in June.  

Netflix is also working on a "Stranger Things" prequel play in London, but not as a producer, according to The New York Times. That show, dubbed "Stranger Things: The First Shadow," premiered in the West End this month, and is expected to arrive on Broadway in the spring. 

June 2024: Experiential 'Netflix Houses' announced in Dallas and Philadelphia.

Netflix announced a new venture dubbed Netflix House in June – or "experiential entertainment venues" that are slated to arrive in shopping malls in Dallas and Philadelphia next year.

The locations will include Netflix-themed attractions, games, restaurants, and merch as Netflix looks to hone a model pioneered by Disney.

November 2024: Netflix shares stellar growth stats for ad-supported subscriptions.

In November 2024, Netflix's ad business turned two years old. It announced it had 70 million ad-supported subscribers – up from 40 million the previous May – and said that more than half of new sign-ups were for ad-supported plans in countries where the option is available.

November 2024: Netflix's Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing stream attracts masses despite technical mishaps.

Netflix made another massive foray into live sports content in November, streaming a highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which drew a record-breaking 65 million concurrent viewers globally.

That said, the stream was beset by technical difficulties, with some viewers reporting buffering and audio problems. 

December 2024: Netflix streams its first-ever NFL games, with some help from Beyoncé.

Netflix closed out the year by streaming its first-ever Christmas Day NFL games, following a pact it announced in May with the NFL to carry holiday games through 2026. This year's spectacle also featured Beyoncé performing at halftime as the Houston Texans faced off against the Baltimore Ravens. 

• Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "The Brutalist."
• Guy Pearce told BI that the ending and how his character exits the movie is "brilliant."
• "It's important what the audience imagines," he said.

Brady Corbet's three-and-a-half-hour epic "The Brutalist" is filled with eye-popping visuals and moving sequences as it chronicles the life of László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian Jew who survives the Holocaust and emigrates to post-World War II America. It all leads to a shocking end centered around Guy Pearce's character, the bombastic wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren.

The bulk of the movie focuses on Van Buren commissioning Tóth, an architect, to create a massive community center. The endeavor stretches Tóth's talents and patience for most who work with him, but he seems to always have Van Buren's support. Van Buren even helps Tóth get his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) to the US and allows them to live on his estate during the center's construction.

Years into the project, Tóth and Van Buren travel to Italy to order the marble needed to complete the community center. The two enjoy a party there one evening, and Van Buren rapes Tóth. Tóth returns home a changed man, filled with anger towards everyone.

By the end of the movie, Tóth tells his wife what happened in Italy. She then barges in on Van Buren and his family having dinner with guests. Erzsébet calls Van Buren a rapist in front of everyone, which leads to an argument, and Van Buren's son Harry (Joe Alwyn) forces Erzsébet from the room.

Once things calm down, Van Buren has disappeared. Harry begins to search the house for his father while also seemingly having a panic attack. When no one can find Van Buren in the house, they expand their search around the estate and through the unfinished community center.

He is never found.

Pearce doesn't know what happened to Van Buren — but that's not the point

Pearce told Business Insider he didn't have much discussion with Corbet, who cowrote the screenplay with his wife Mona Fastvold, about Van Buren's dramatic exit.

"That was on the page," Pearce said. "It was pretty clear in the script that we go out of the room, we come back, and the dinner guests say, 'He's gone to bed,' and then Joe goes looking for me, and I'm not in bed, and we just don't know where he's at. He's become nothing."

Pearce said looking for answers to what really happened to Van Buren isn't the point. "It's not important even to know what happened to him, it's important what the audience imagines," he said.

"I think the unsatisfactory nature of a character who is so present and so dominant and so controlling then just evaporates — I thought it was brilliant."

After watching the movie, Pearce said what struck him about the scene was how it raised the question of if this was the first time Van Buren sexually assaulted someone.

"Watching how that scene played out — while I was busy hiding behind a chest of drawers in that dining room so I wasn't caught on camera — watching Joe run around as desperate as he was looking for me, there was something there that tells us that there's more to this," Pearce said. "It was harrowing stuff." 

"The Brutalist" is now playing in theaters.

• Sales at Kohl's fell in Q3, which CEO Tom Kingsbury called "frankly disappointing."
• I visited a Kohl's store in New Jersey to see how the chain plans to bounce back.
• The store's layout showed how Kohl's is centering its partnership with Sephora to boost sales.

In 2018, Kohl's was hailed as a "winner of the retail apocalypse," boasting strong sales over its struggling counterparts like Sears and JCPenney.

Now, Kohl's is feeling the strain. Its third-quarter earnings report found that net sales decreased 8.8% and comparable sales fell 9.3%.

"We are not satisfied with our performance in 2024 and are taking aggressive action to reverse the sales declines," CEO Tom Kingsbury said in the report.

Kingsbury also announced that he would step down as CEO effective January 15 and will be replaced by Ashley Buchanan, a Kohl's board member and CEO of Michael's.

I visited a Kohl's store ahead of the holidays in December, one of the busiest shopping seasons, to see what kind of "aggressive action" Kohl's was taking to boost sales.

Representatives for Kohl's did not respond to a request for comment.

At the Kohl's store I visited in Clifton, New Jersey, Sephora was prominently advertised with its own branded entrance.

Kohl's has more than 1,100 locations in 49 states. While there are Kohl's stores in the greater New York City area, including in Brooklyn and Yonkers, there aren't any in Manhattan.

Kohl's announced its partnership with Sephora in 2020. By 2023, 910 Kohl's locations had added Sephora stores, and the retail chain built 140 more Sephora stores at Kohl's in 2024.

In 2023, Sephora sales at Kohl's totaled $1.4 billion, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Sales are projected to hit $2 billion by 2025.

A sign advertised an ongoing customer appreciation event with extra sales.

Kohl's Rewards members and Kohl's cardholders received extra discounts.

The entrance I chose led me into the juniors section, which was strategically located right in front of Sephora.

The juniors section sold flared leggings, bralettes, and other styles popular with Gen Z.

Sephora seemed to serve as the centerpiece of the store with prominent placement in the middle of the aisles.

The Sephora was constructed like a store within a store, similar to smaller shops located in a mall.

With celebrity beauty brands laid out in colorful displays under bright lighting, I felt drawn into the small-format Sephora like a moth to a flame.

The aisles were full of makeup brands like Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Fenty Beauty by Rihanna.

An assortment of fine jewelry with lab-grown diamonds was displayed around the corner from Sephora.

On a June earnings call, Kingsbury said the retailer had removed some jewelry from stores to make room for Sephora locations since jewelry sales had been steadily declining.

He said Kohl's planned to add more accessories like jewelry back into stores in time for the holidays and place them near Sephora in an effort to boost sales.

There were also cheaper jewelry options nearby, such as Lauren Conrad's LC line.

The items ranged between $7 and $15, while most of the fine jewelry items displayed nearby cost around $100.

I was impressed by the wide selection of dresses at Kohl's, ranging from office looks to black-tie gowns.

Kingsbury told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in September that Kohl's locations with more space for dresses were "performing better" than other locations.

To me, the black-tie dresses in particular made Kohl's feel more like a department store than a big-box retailer.

Kohl's featured inclusive sizing, with sections for women's plus size, women's petite, and men's big and tall.

Kohl's also carries a line of adaptive clothing designed for accessibility. I appreciated how the store catered to a wide customer base.

However, much of the store felt understated in comparison to Sephora.

Women's flannel shirts were on sale for $24.99 — the same as they cost at Target, but more expensive than Walmart, where similar shirts cost between $5 and $15. I also didn't find the clothing displays particularly engaging compared to Sephora's luminous shelves and eye-catching photos.

The selection of home decor at Kohl's didn't seem as large as I've seen at big-box retailers like Walmart and Target.

The items were organized by color, which I found visually appealing. I also enjoyed the wooden roof displayed over the home decor section, which made it easy to spot and identify from a distance.

Kohl's Q3 earnings report found that home decor was a "key growth area" that experienced a "strong collective performance" despite the overall slump.

I was puzzled by a housewares section that featured aisles of slow cookers, vacuums, and suitcases next to each other.

Centering the juniors and jewelry sections around Sephora's beauty products made sense to me, but these items all seemed like they belonged in different parts of the store. Perhaps it was a space issue, or maybe Kohl's is still playing around with store layouts that drive more sales.

Kohl's hopes to replicate the success of its Sephora partnership through another partnership with Babies "R" Us.

In October, Kohl's launched a digital baby registry service through Babies "R" Us to boost sales of baby gear, which has been a top seller.

On the Q3 earnings call, Kingsbury said that while Kohl's had "benefited" from opening Babies "R" Us shops in 200 stores, these additions were still "unable to offset the declines in our core business."

In a section titled "The Toy Box," boxes of Hot Wheels tracks, Lego sets, and Mr. Potato Heads were piled on the floor.

This could have been a stylistic choice, but it did make me think of Business Insider senior correspondent Emily Stewart's piece about how store aisles crowded with boxes are a sign of the retail apocalypse.

As I headed toward the checkout counters, I saw a self-pickup section full of orders — another method of increasing sales.

Kohl's launched self-pickup in all of its locations in 2022.

The line for staffed checkout counters was about 10 customers deep, but there was no line for self-checkout.

The staffed checkout counters may have had a longer line because of people making returns.

It remains to be seen if Kohl's strategies will help the brand avoid further decline.

By leaning into partnerships with Sephora and Babies "R" Us and thinking strategically about store layouts, Kohl's hopes to drive enough business to sustain its core brand and reverse its sales slump.

• HomeGoods is a favorite of both interior designers and consumers alike.
• It's also a great place to do some last-minute holiday shopping.
• I went on December 23 and was surprised to see how much inventory was left.

In addition to being a fan of HomeGoods, I'm also a bit of a procrastinator.

With traffic at my local mall reaching Black Friday levels this week, I decided to skip that chaos. Instead, I stopped by HomeGoods, the successful home decor chain with over 900 locations across the US, to see what it was like two days before Christmas.

Yes, it was crowded, but it wasn't stifling. And there were no empty, picked-over shelves. I was pleasantly surprised by how much inventory and last-minute gift options the store had— if not a bit overwhelmed.

Here's what it was like to get some last-minute gifts at HomeGoods.

I went to a HomeGoods in my hometown on Long Island.

The store advertised same-day delivery and a special holiday return policy when you walked in.

The first display was a table filled with reindeer, snowmen, penguins, and wrapping paper.

If you want to shop at HomeGoods, you have to be OK with digging through tables of seemingly random items.

Sometimes, displays are organized. For example, this table was labeled "For the chef."

It had items like this basil-dip tasting set for $19.99.

This Modelo goodie-filled tub, which cost $59.99, included glasses, coasters, a bottle opener, pretzels, and chips.

This table was piled high with "baking essentials."

No one would be mad to open chocolates on Christmas morning.

I was particularly drawn to this "wine" bottle filled with truffles.

There was an entire aisle dedicated to peppermint snacks.

There were multiple shelves filled with just hot chocolate — gourmet hot chocolate is a great grab-bag gift.

I bought these chocolate-covered spoons for $7.99. They turn any cup of milk into hot chocolate, and they'll be a hit in my home on Christmas morning.

Even when you go into the store, past the gift displays, some items would make good presents.

Of course, HomeGoods is known for decor. Many teenage girls would be excited to get one of these disco-ball gifts.

Or for the coquette-obsessed, any of these Hello Kitty gifts would do.

Source: Business Insider

I was into these pink cowboy boot vases — I definitely have some younger cousins who would love one.

Board games and puzzles are tried-and-true gifts. There's no shortage of them at HomeGoods.

The candle section can be overwhelming — this is one small part — but candles are a solid gift for almost anyone in your life.

If all else fails — try a gift card.

Christmas wasn't the only holiday represented. There was a Hanukkah table, as well.

And there were already tons of Valentine's Day items on display.

Pink was everywhere.

Even if these are technically for Valentine's Day, I wouldn't be mad to find that ceramic bulldog under my tree.

If you somehow made it through the store without finding anything, there's winter-themed candy at the register.

HomeGoods is a lifesaver if you're like me and put off holiday shopping until the last minute.

• Members of Congress were set to make a few thousand extra bucks under a government funding bill.
• Then Elon Musk helped tank it.
• That's despite growing concern that it's becoming unaffordable to serve in Congress.

One of the most controversial pieces of the short-term government funding bill that Elon Musk helped tank last week was a provision that would have allowed members of Congress to receive a modest salary increase.

As Musk argued against the so-called continuing resolution in a stream of posts on X, he said lawmakers were set to receive a 40% salary increase if the bill passed.

In reality, rank-and-file members of the House and the Senate would have gotten at most a pay bump of $6,600, or 3.8% of their $174,000 annual salary, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Nonetheless, that provision wasn't included in the bill that emerged — and was signed into law — after two days of chaos on Capitol Hill.

That's despite growing sentiment from lawmakers in both parties that even if the optics are poor, increasing the congressional salary is necessary to ensure that less-wealthy people are able to serve and aren't lured away by higher salaries in the private sector.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican and staunch supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, told reporters last week that the demands and responsibilities of the job made serving in Congress "not affordable" for those who weren't already wealthy like him.

"If we're not careful, you're only going to get the individuals that are millionaires-plus that's able to serve in Congress, and that's not what it's supposed to be," Mullin said. "It's supposed to be the people's house."

A $174,000 salary is far more than the average household income, but it hasn't budged since 2009. Accounting for inflation, lawmakers' salaries have essentially decreased by more than 30% in the past 15 years.

Members of Congress also face unique demands, including the need to maintain two residences: one in Washington, DC, the other in their home district. Those who can't afford it often opt to sleep in their offices. Experts have also said it's simply a matter of good governance: If lawmakers are paid well, they're less incentivized to cash out by becoming lobbyists after their tenure.

"I tell people the worst financial decision I ever made was running for Congress," Mullin said jokingly.

The provision tucked into the original funding bill technically was not a raise but rather allowed for an automatic cost-of-living increase originally established by the 1989 Ethics Reform Act. Those annual adjustments, which are typically single-digit-percentage salary increases, are designed to avoid the optics of lawmakers voting to increase their own pay.

Rep. Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, sought to downplay the notion that members were receiving a raise. "It just complies with existing law," Morelle told BI last week. "There's nothing extraordinary about it."

Congress has nonetheless chosen to block those adjustments every year since 2009, owing to both inertia and the political unpopularity of increasing lawmakers' salaries. In March, a cohort of current and former lawmakers filed a class-action lawsuit over those denials, arguing that their wages had been "unconstitutionally suppressed."

The politics of raising wages on Capitol Hill remains toxic, however. As word spread on Wednesday about the cost-of-living adjustment in the bill, lawmakers in both parties came out against it.

"I cannot and will not vote to give myself more money when my constituents are feeling unbelievable financial pressure," Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat who represents a New York swing seat, said in a statement that day. "Congress should be focused on lowering costs for the American people, not giving ourselves a raise. If this provision isn't removed, I will be voting against the continuing resolution."

Ultimately, the cost-of-living adjustment was blocked once more.

Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

• I lived in NYC for three years and visited many of the spots featured in "Home Alone 2."
• Scenes from the 1992 movie look similar to NYC today. Some places, though, closed or never existed.
• Here's a look at how the movie holds up to reality. 

Early every holiday season, I make a cup of hot cocoa and watch one of the "Home Alone" movies.

For me, the Christmas season means endless holiday movies. A worldwide favorite is the "Home Alone" franchise.

The series comprises five films created by John Hughes and directed by a slew of famous directors, like Chris Columbus. 

Each film has all the essential elements a winter movie needs: the holiday season, great characters, funny bad guys, surprising cameos, and a plot full of twists and turns. 

After living in the city where "Home Alone 2: Lost In New York" was shot, it quickly became my favorite film from the series.

"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" is a John Hughes and Chris Columbus collaboration following the first "Home Alone" movie, which took place in the Chicago suburbs. 

In "Home Alone 2," Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, is heading out for the holidays with his family. After a series of mistakes, McCallister ends up on the wrong plane — it's flying to NYC instead of Miami, where the rest of his family is headed.

Once he lands, McCallister explores the city solo and eventually runs into Harry and Marv, the same bad guys from the first movie, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.

The movie was released in 1992. More than 30 years later, many of the scenes look similar to NYC today.

I enjoyed reliving scenes and touring some of the real-life locations from the film while living in NYC.

"Home Alone 2" is filled with plenty of famous — and not so famous — New York destinations. 

I rewatched the classic Christmas movie to see how the film holds up to reality. 

The opening plot involves McCallister landing in an unfamiliar airport with views of New York.

After mistaking a man in a tan jacket for his father, McCallister arrives in NYC with the cityscape on full display in the background.

Initially feeling defeated, McCallister quickly realizes that a solo trip to New York City could be a fun adventure.

Let's just say I haven't seen views like that in real life at LaGuardia Airport.

Maybe it's because I'm always in a frantic rush to get to the airport on time, but the views from LaGuardia Airport's windows have yet to impress me as they did in the movie. 

McCallister then catches a taxi and heads into Manhattan on the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.

After the shock and worry of what just happened, McCallister decides to make the most of his stay in NYC.

Fortunately, he has his father's carry-on bag, complete with his dad's credit card, cash, and a Polaroid camera.

He hails a cab and crosses into Manhattan, where his adventure begins. 

The bridge is the same one that similarly marked the start or end of any adventure of mine in New York, and it looks like not much has changed since 1992.

In the movie, McCallister rides in a now-outdated taxi. Today, most taxis are modern cars, although they've kept their iconic yellow color. 

When it comes to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, it hasn't changed. The only difference I spotted is that in 2010, "Ed Koch" was added to the front of the bridge's title after former Mayor Edward I. Koch.

Once he arrives in Manhattan, McCallister goes on a grand tour. A couple of quick shots feature him across the city. The first destination is Radio City Music Hall.

These scenes go by quickly as McCallister visits neighborhoods and iconic spots sprinkled across the entire island.

While the exterior of the music hall hasn't changed much since the film, it's missing the hordes of people I see swarming the destination.

The movie takes place during the holiday season. I was surprised there weren't more people in the background of this scene, which takes place in Midtown Manhattan, a neighborhood that is typically bustling with tourist activity.

Come wintertime, Radio City Music Hall typically teems with people eager to spot a Rockettes performance. 

Viewers also spot McCallister in front of Empire Diner, a classic, all-American establishment.

The short scene features McCallister crossing paths with a Santa on stilts outside the Empire Diner.

Today, the diner has a fresh look with a mural called "Mount Rushmore of Art."

The diner at 210 10th Avenue in New York's Chelsea neighborhood opened in 1976. 

Since then, the diner has closed and reopened a few times with new owners. Today, it's led by executive chef Jestin Feggan. 

The diner looks the same as it did in the movie, but behind it is a colorful mural painted by Eduardo Kobra. The mural features Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

 

After passing the diner, McCallister stops at Quong Yuen Shing & Co in Chinatown, which closed in 2003.

Quong Yuen Shing & Co. on Mott Street opened in 1891 in the heart of Chinatown and sold everything from salted duck eggs to medicinal herbs.

In the "Home Alone 2" script, it also sold firecrackers, which McCallister stuffs into his backpack as he exits the store. 

In the mid-1980s, the store received a new name, 32 Mott Street General Store, and in 2003, it closed in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, The New York Times reported.

While visitors can no longer stop at this specific spot, they can head to Chinatown in Lower Manhattan to explore its history and discover delicious eats.

Next, McCallister treks to the bottom of Manhattan for a view of the Statue of Liberty through coin-operated binoculars.

McCallister looks out into the water and spots the Statue of Liberty. Surprisingly, this will be the only time we see this iconic landmark in the two-hour movie. 

The binoculars are no longer there, but the park is still the best place in Manhattan to spot Lady Liberty.

The Battery, a 22-acre public park, is one of my favorite parks in Manhattan thanks to its water and greenery. 

For the most part, I think the movie gets it right. By that, I mean that the Statue of Liberty is far enough to need binoculars for a close-up view. However, you'll have to bring your own since the coin-operated ones no longer exist in the park.

McCallister manages to make his way to the top of one of the Twin Towers next.

The World Trade Center was comprised of seven buildings. McCallister makes his way up 110 stories to view the city from one of the Twin Towers.

 

While you can't head to the same observation deck, the One World Observatory offers a similar bird's-eye view of the city.

On September 11, 2001, both Twin Towers collapsed in a terrorist attack, destroying the observation deck McCallister visits.

The closest thing to McCallister's view today is the One World Observatory.

The experience is 102 stories high, compared to McCallister's 110 stories. It's also enclosed, unlike the Twin Towers' outdoor observation deck.

We spot McCallister at the Fulton Fish Market. He barely misses some familiar faces we haven't seen in "Home Alone 2" yet, Harry and Marv.

This scene is Harry and Marv's entrance to the movie. The two have escaped from prison and are spotted in New York in the back of a fish delivery truck. They've traveled to NYC to steal money. 

The fish market is portrayed as a bustling place in the movie. 

Visitors won't find the Fulton Fish Market at the same location anymore. In 2005, the fish market moved to Hunt's Point in the Bronx.

Today, the fish market is entirely different than the one pictured in "Home Alone 2."

Opened in 1822, the market existed at South Street Seaport for over a hundred years. In 2005, it moved to an enclosed space in the Bronx.

Tourists and buyers arrive early — the market opens at 2 a.m. on most days.

While it might look drastically different from the movie, I can guarantee it has the same smell.

After walking through the fish market, McCallister heads to Central Park. There, he sees The Plaza Hotel and has a run-in with the Pigeon Lady.

The Pigeon Lady will become an essential character later in the movie, but upon their first encounter, she scares McCallister.

McCallister runs away and heads to The Plaza Hotel, aka "New York's most exciting hotel experience," which is how McCallister refers to it while reciting a commercial he watched in the movie.

While I can't say if the hotel is New York City's most exciting from its exterior, it is real, and I've admired it from the same location McCallister did in this scene.

Standing in the southeast corner of Central Park, visitors can get a complete picture of the famous building. 

Its exterior hasn't changed much. The iconic hotel is still one of New York's most famous hotels. It was built in 1907, and in 1969, it was designated an official landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

On the way to the Plaza, he runs past a statue of Argentine general José de San Martín.

The statue points McCallister in the direction of the hotel.

The statue can be spotted in Central Park South.

The general is known for helping Argentina, Chile, and Peru gain independence from the Spanish, according to NYC Parks.

Today, it looks the same as it did in the movie and can be spotted at Central Park South and Avenue of the Americas.

When McCallister finally makes it inside The Plaza Hotel, he has the guts to stage a fake hotel reservation — and meets a famous face.

Once McCallister finally makes it to the hotel, he explores the extravagant lobby. It's decorated for the holiday season, and pots are filled with poinsettias.

In the lobby, McCallister runs into Donald Trump, who is playing himself — the owner of The Plaza Hotel. As Business Insider previously reported, Trump, who no longer owns the hotel, insisted on having a cameo in the film. 

Later in the scene, McCallister uses a fake voice to call and make a reservation for a suite. 

While I haven't stayed in The Plaza Hotel, present-day images from the inside depict the same luxury created in the film.

McCallister enjoys the hotel's pool and orders an ultimate room service experience.

Since 1992, the hotel has updated some of its interior and offerings, but the essence and luxury of the experience remain the same.

My guess is that it's much more expensive compared to when McCallister would've stayed. According to the hotel's website, rooms are priced between $1,000 and $33,000 for a night this January. 

While McCallister enjoys the hotel's pool, Marv is ice skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park.

This scene is where the duo gets the idea to rob a toy store. 

Wollman Rink is a real ice skating rink and hasn't changed much since the 1990s.

I've watched plenty of children — and adults — take a tumble at Wollman Rink.

The ice skating rink opened in 1950. Each November, it opens to the public for skating. In the summer, the area is a popular pickball court location.  

Later, McCallister is ready to explore the city again, but this time, he hires a limousine to take him to Duncan's Toy Chest.

Here, McCallister sets foot into a store brimming with stuffed animals, musical instruments, and toys for all ages.

Duncan's Toy Chest doesn't exist in real life, but it is based on the actual toy store, FAO Schwarz.

Lonely Planet said that Duncan's Toy Chest is based on the real New York City toy store, FAO Schwarz.

The actual store wasn't used for filming. Instead, filming took place in Chicago, with exterior shots from Chicago's historic The Rookery and interior scenes filmed in The Uptown Theater, The Sun reported.

I've stopped at FAO Schwarz once or twice and spotted the same joy and excitement depicted in the film.

However, many physical elements have changed. The store temporarily closed in 2015 and moved locations, and in 2018, it reopened at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. 

In the time since the movie came out, many of the store's current toys are different from the ones seen in the movie.  

McCallister runs into Harry and Marv at the toy store and quickly darts into Central Park for his getaway.

As McCallister hops into the back of a horse-drawn carriage to escape Harry and Marv, the audience learns that this isn't the first, and likely won't be the last time McCallister visits the famous park.

In fact, McCallister wanders through Central Park a handful of times throughout the film. It's where McCallister spots the Plaza Hotel, stows away in a horse-drawn carriage, and befriends the Pigeon Lady. 

 

 

Central Park pops up in a few places throughout the movie, and I think it looks the same.

Throughout the film, McCallister is spotted across Manhattan's largest park. 

Yes, people still feed pigeons, and horse-drawn carriages still exist. 

As with any film shot decades ago, things will look different, but the crowds, and lack thereof, remain true.

I've explored areas of the 840-acre park that are both eerily quiet and swarmed with people. Overall, the film's depiction of the park is pretty accurate, based on my experience. 

No movie set in New York would be complete without a stop at Times Square.

McCallister makes his way to Times Square, which has some of the heaviest foot traffic in all of NYC.

The movie depicts Times Square as being relatively spacious and empty, which isn't the case today.

I find Times Square to typically be pure chaos with crowds of tourists, business people, and performers filling the streets.

I was surprised to see it so empty in the movie. 

One of the final scenes in the city features McCallister admiring the giant Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza.

At the end of the movie, McCallister reunites with his mother in the plaza, who flew to New York to search for her son.

In the movie, the plaza is entirely empty. 

In reality, Rockefeller Plaza would never be that empty during the holidays.

During my first winter in New York, I thought it would be fun to celebrate the holiday season by admiring the city's lights, window displays, and music, but I instantly regretted visiting Rockefeller Plaza.

The plaza was packed, and I remember having to push my way through the crowds to catch a glimpse of the tree. 

In fact, I doubt the plaza is ever as empty as it is in "Home Alone 2." 

While I'm glad I checked it off my bucket list, I have no desire to go back.

There are plenty of places I cherish from "Home Alone 2," and I'm happy to report that the movie's depiction of NYC still rings true today.

There's no place like NYC, especially during the holidays.

Watching "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" is still a reminder of the magic the city has each winter, no matter how much has changed since the movie came out. 

• A Ukrainian tank crew survived multiple Russian drone strikes on their Abrams tank.
• Abrams tanks have better crew protection than Soviet-style tanks.
• But Ukrainian forces are also enhancing Abrams with additional armor to counter emerging threats.

A Ukrainian tank crew survived around half a dozen direct Russian drone strikes on their Abrams tank, a feat a tank commander told researchers wouldn't have been possible in a Soviet-style tank like a T-72.

As footage of the engagement circulated on Russian Telegram channels, war analysts Rob Lee and Michael Kofman, experts at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, connected with the Ukrainian tank commander from the 47th Mechanized Brigade who shared how that bad situation in Russia's Kursk region ultimately played out.

"That's our tank," he told them. "There were 4-6 direct hits. The crew survived, and even without injuries. God bless America."

The American-made tank was disabled and taking repeated hits from fiber-optic first-person-view, or FPV, drones, which are not as vulnerable to electronic warfare countermeasures as other systems in use in Ukraine because the connection comes from a cable linking the drone and the operator.

"The Abrams is a great tank," the Ukrainian commander said in a string of remarks Lee shared on X. "Thanks to the fact that the ammo is completely separated from the crew, the crew has a chance to survive." The Russians were unable to penetrate the hull or the turret while the crew was inside. Ukrainian forces have repeatedly celebrated Western tanks for their survivability.

Unlike the T-series tanks, where ammunition is stored on racks in the turret, the Abrams is equipped with blast doors and vents that protect the crew in the event the ammunition is ignited. On Soviet-style tanks, which were not built with crew survivability as a top priority, if the ammunition in the turret is ignited, it can cause a major explosion inside the tank. The serious overpressure kills the crew and launches the turret into the air.

The tank commander told Lee and Kofman that the crew likely wouldn't have survived the fight if they'd relied on the Abrams armor alone, though.

The American-made M1 Abrams tank is powerful, with greater range, firepower, and armor than the Russian T-series tanks, which were built for mobility and massed armored assaults, but the M1s that the Ukrainians received are older export variants that lack the top armor upgrades of US Army tanks, such as depleted-uranium armor.

The commander said that "without the additional ERA and 'cope netting' on top of the turret," the crew "would have been smashed and surely dead by now without any chance. The tank's armor is weak, and it is vulnerable (as any other tank) to FPV drones."

Ukrainian troops have been analyzing Abrams losses and equipping tanks with explosive reactive armor made to explosively repel projectiles, and cages and netting designed to catch incoming drones before they can strike the tank, especially around the vulnerable turret. The Ukrainians sometimes add two to three tons of additional Kontakt-1 ERA.

The tank commander said that the Abrams armor combined with the add-ons, as well as the tank features specifically built for crew survivability, "saves human lives, even in DIRE conditions."

The crew was able to get out of the tank and fall back to friendly lines. The Russians struck the tank several more times after they abandoned it. The commander said it might still be salvageable. With better crew survivability, trained tankers live to fight another day, but a key challenge for Ukraine is that it only has a limited number of Abrams. The US only sent 31 tanks. It did, however, provide hundreds of armored Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

The Ukrainian tank commander who spoke to Lee and Kofman expressed concerns about American preparation for future wars. For instance, he called attention to the training he received. He said that the US instructors "were completely unaware of the modern battlefield threats."

"They do not understand at all the threat posed by the FPVs," the commander said.

There's a growing awareness in the US military that these systems are threats, but having not experienced these challenges the way the Ukrainians have in a war that is being dominated by deadly uncrewed systems, developing sufficient training programs and necessary tactics, techniques, and procedures remains a work in progress.

But important to note is that the US military fights with more capabilities than Ukraine as a combined force that offers it greater lethality. Still, there are lessons to be learned from this war and the way the Ukrainians are fighting it.

"American tankers should act promptly," the commander said. "Protect your tanks urgently to avoid losses in potential near-future conflicts, taking into account our experience."

The US Army is monitoring developments in Ukraine closely and working to apply lessons from the conflict. The Pentagon, likewise, is increasingly recognizing the threat that drones can play, from the high-end systems to the cheap, off-the-shelf capabilities, and recently released its counter-drone strategy to prepare the joint force for future battlefields where drones are likely to pose a significant challenge.