• "Squid Game" is finally back, three years after its first season.
• Season two features some familiar faces, but also plenty of new characters.
• Here's a guide to the major characters in season two, and who plays them.

After a three year-long wait, "Squid Game" is finally back.

The Korean-language Netflix series takes place mostly within the confines of a killing game, in which the economically disadvantaged play children's games for money. To participate, they wager their lives.

The show is one of Netflix's biggest hits, prompting the streamer to invest not only in a second and third season from creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, but also in in-person experiences, a reality series, and a video game.

"Squid Game" season two stars Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun, the winner of the games on season one. Unfortunately, the nature of the show means that most characters from season one like Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) and Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) aren't back in season two. While there are a few familiar faces, the majority of the cast are new.

Here's a guide to the major characters in "Squid Game" season two, and who plays them.

Warning: This post contains light spoilers for "Squid Game" season two.

Seong Gi-hun

Gi-hun is a veteran player of the games, and returns as player 456. In the three years since he emerged as the sole survivor of his cycle, he's used his fortune to search for the man who recruited him so he can find a way to shut the games down.

Seong Gi-hun is played by Lee Jung-jae.

Hwang In-ho / The Front Man

Toward the end of season one, Jun-ho discovered that his other brother, In-ho, was the Front Man in charge of the games. Initially, Jun-ho believed that In-ho may have been a player.

Lee Byung-hun plays In-ho.

The Recruiter

The recruiter is a tall, handsome man who recruits people into the games by challenging them to a game of ddakji.

Gong Yoo plays the recruiter.

Kang No-eul

No-eul is a young woman working at a theme park. Originally from North Korea, she hopes to locate her child and bring her to South Korea. Later, she's recruited into the games — not as a player, but as a soldier.

No-eul is played by Park Gyu-young.

Park Jung-bae

Jung-bae (Player 390) is Gi-hun's friend from outside the game — the same one with whom he gambled on horse races in the season one premiere. Unfortunately, this time they meeting inside the game.

Park Jung-bae is played by Lee Seo-hwan.

Hwang Jun-ho

Jun-ho is the detective who followed Gi-hun to the games in season one, infiltrating them by posing as a guard. He's the younger brother of Hwang In-ho, the Front Man. In-ho shot Jun-ho toward the end of season one, but he survived — and at the beginning of season two, he's working as a traffic cop.

Wi Ha-jun plays Hwang Jun-ho.

Mr. Kim

Mr. Kim, referred to as Kim Dae-pyo in the credits, is Gi-hun's former creditor. After winning the game, Gi-hun paid him back, and retained his services to help him find the recruiter.

Mr. Kim is played by Kim Pub-lae.

Woo-seok

Woo-seok is close to Mr. Kim. Now, both Mr. Kim and Woo-seok work for Gi-hun as part of his search for the recruiter.

Woo-seok is played by Jeon Seok-ho.

Dae-ho

Dae-ho (Player 388) is a young man who Gi-hun and Jung-bae befriend in the game. Like Jung-bae, he's also an ex-Marine.

Dae-ho is played by Kang Ha-neul.

Lee Myung-gi

Myung-gi (Player 333) previously worked as a cryptocurrency influencer. However, a poor recommendation led to him, and other players, losing a significant amount of money.

Myung-gi is played by Yim Si-wan.

Kim Jun-hee

Jun-hee (Player 222) is a young woman who entered the games to repay her debt, as a result of losing money on Myung-gi's recommendation. He's also her ex-boyfriend.

Jun-hee is played by Jo Yu-ri, who is a singer and former member of the K-pop group IZ*ONE.

Thanos

Thanos (Player 230) is a rapper who lost money after bying cryptocurrency on Myung-gi's recommendation. In the game, some people recognize him as a celebrity.

Thanos is played by Choi Seung-hyun, a musician also known by his stage name T.O.P.

Nam-gyu

Nam-gyu (Player 124) is one of Thanos' groupies in the games. Previously, he worked at a nightclub, where he first met Thanos.

He's played by Roh Jae-won.

Min-su

Min-su (Player 125) is one of the younger players in the game, and aligns with Thanos. He also befriends Se-mi, a cool young woman.

Min-su is played by Lee David, who described the character in a cast featurette as an "ordinary guy" who is "super timid."

Se-mi

Se-mi (Player 380) is a young woman who befriends Min-su in the games.

Se-mi is played by Won Ji-an, who described the character as "bold and determined."

Park Yong-sik

Yong-sik (Player 007) is a young man who joined the game to pay off his debt. Unfortunately, he also encounters his mother there.

Yong-sik is played by Yang Dong-geun.

Jang Geum-ja

Geum-ja (Player 149) is Yong-sik's mother. She joined the game to help her son pay off his debt.

Geum-ja is played by Kang Ae-sim.

Hyun-ju

Hyun-ju (Player 120) initially faces discrimination in the games because she is a trans woman. She's a former special forces soldier.

Hyun-ju is played by Park Sung-hoon.

Young-mi

Young-mi (Player 095) befriends Hyun-ju in the games, and refers to her as unnie — a term that younger women use to refer to older women they are close to.

Young-mi is played by Kim Si-eun.

Seon-nyeo

Seon-nyeo (Player 044) is a shaman who often behaves melodramatically and unpredictably in the games.

Seon-neyo is played by Chae Kook-hee.

Gyeong-seok

Gyeong-seok's (Player 256) daughter Na-yeon has cancer, and he joins the games to fund her expensive treatment.

Gyeong-seok is played by Lee Jin-uk.

• "Squid Game" season two has two major twists that reframe the story's direction.
• Season three will arrive in 2025, so there won't be as long a wait between seasons.
• Here's what happened in the explosive finale and how it will impact season three.

Warning: major spoilers ahead for "Squid Game" season two.

"Squid Game" season one ended with hope, but the second concluded with death and misery after an electrifying finale.

The global sensation returned for a second season after the first became Netflix's biggest surprise success.

Season two returns to the gritty world where a secret organization runs a gameshow where contestants can win a fortune playing a series of children's games.

If they lose, they are killed, and the prize pot increases with each death.

In season one, Seong Gi-hun is the only survivor of the games, wracked by guilt and grief after watching his friends die one by one for him to win. He decides to take down the organization, but the plan goes awry in season two, landing him back in the competition.

This time, the game makers add a new feature where contestants can vote to leave after every game. But most are so desperate for the prize money that they continue.

Gi-hun leads a revolution that is foiled by a saboteur.

In season two, Gi-hun forms a new crew, including Player 001 — Hwang In-ho, the leader of the games who enters in disguise.

They work together to survive the games and eventually agree that they must end before everyone dies. But other players still want to continue, leading to a tied vote in episode six.

In the finale, the players who want the game to keep going attack and kill other players so they will have the majority in the next vote.

Gi-hun and his allies hide during this massacre, and when the guards come to break it up, the group attacks the guards, steals their weapons, and starts a rebellion.

The rebellion fails, though, due to In-ho's betrayal.

Since his reveal in episode three as a player, it's been clear that In-ho has infiltrated the games to sabotage Gi-hun's plan to stop them. But he doesn't play saboteur fully until the rebellion.

Gi-hun and Park Jung-bae (Player 390), Gi-hun's friend from outside the games, head to the command center, but In-ho stops the rest of the group from following, keeping them divided and easier to defeat.

He splits the group further, sending two on a mission to get ammo, from which neither returns.

He takes two more players to help Gi-hun, but shoots them both in the back. He then sends a radio message pretending to die himself.

The guards overwhelm and kill the remaining rebels, apart from Gi-hun, Jung-bae, and the two players who returned for ammo.

In-ho switches outfits to the signature mask and a black jacket of the games leader and confronts the now-captured Gi-hun and Jung-bae. They don't realize that In-ho has betrayed them because he has changed his voice and appearance.

In-ho then shoots and kills Jung-Bae right in front of Gi-hun.

It's a tragic ending to the season, putting Gi-hun in a difficult position. He is now captured, his rebellion has been crushed, and he has caused the death of his close friend.

This leaves Gi-hun with two possible paths for season three: give up on his plan to destroy the games or be fueled by his loss and rebound with an even better plan. It's likely Gi-hun will also learn that In-ho is the leader of the games in season three.

A second group of characters is also betrayed

Outside the games, Gi-hun recruited a group of people to help him stop the games, including Hwang Jun-ho, In-ho's brother, and Woo-seok, a member of the criminal underworld.

They plant a tracker on Gi-hun, but when that plan fails, they search multiple islands nearby to find the game center. They use a boat run by Captain Park, a fisherman who saved Jun-ho after his brother shot him to protect the games in season one.

In the finale, Captain Park is revealed to be another saboteur working for the organization that runs the games. He kills one of the crewmembers working with Jun-ho and sabotages the team's drone.

The rest of the crew does not know yet, leaving another exciting mystery to be uncovered in season three. Will Gi-hun's allies find out Captain Park's identity and find the game island before he kills them all one by one?

Season three debuts in 2025, so hopefully, fans will soon find out what happens next.

• "Squid Game" season two has an emotional finale followed by a scene interrupting the credits.
• It is the first time the series has tried something like that.
• Here's what it teases for the third season.

Warning: major spoilers ahead for "Squid Game" season two.

The highly anticipated second season of "Squid Game" is out, and it ends with a chaotic and tragic finale.

Season one was a surprise hit for Netflix when in 2021, becoming a global sensation through word-of-mouth and social media trends. Netflix hopes for the same success with the second season, which debuts in the middle of the holiday season.

In season one, a group of people struggling with debt signed up for a competition where they played children's games to win a fortune.

What they realize too late is that the losers of the games are killed, leaving only one survivor, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae), Player 456.

At the end of season one, Gi-hun vows to stop the deadly competition, but his plan is foiled in season two, and he finds himself competing again.

Gi-hun leads a revolution against the guards in the final episode

He tries to unite the contestants against the game, but they mostly insist on playing, enticed by the prize money.

In the finale, this boils over into a massacre when the players who want to continue the games attack those who want to leave.

Gi-hun and his allies use that chaos to overwhelm the guards and start an uprising against the game makers. But the rebels are eventually cornered and defeated. Gi-hun survives, but his best friend, Park Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), Player 390, is killed in front of him by the antagonist, Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), Player 001.

Gi-hun will likely seek revenge in season three, though his spirit may be broken by his failure and the loss of his close friend.

The post-credit scene teases one of the next games

After Jung-bae's death, the credits for the director and cast appear on-screen.

Then, a small scene shows a group of players walking into a new game room. This room includes a train signal stand, a hanging doll resembling the Young-hee doll from "Red Light, Green Light," and a boy doll facing the first.

The boy doll is likely Cheol-su. In June 2022, Hwang Dong-hyuk said in a statement teasing season two that the show will introduce "Young-hee's boyfriend, Cheol-su."

Young-hee and Cheol-su are characters from old South Korean textbooks and are well-known as best friends.

Cheol-su is not assigned to a specific game, but the other signs in the scene may indicate that the game is somehow related to trains.

• The first season of "Squid Game" was extraordinarily good TV, and season two is no exception.
• In the three years since season one aired, "Squid Game" has also become a cultural sensation.
• "Squid Game" season two follows similar patterns as the first — but it works to great effect.

Before "Squid Game" was a cultural phenomenon, it was an astoundingly great television show — and luckily, season two of the Korean-language drama reminds us exactly why.

The South Korean series about a death game for the economically downtrodden exploded after hitting Netflix in September 2021. Not only was it the most significant non-English hit in Netflix history, it quickly became one of Netflix's biggest shows ever.

That popularity spilled from the small screen to myriad even smaller screens, becoming an internet phenomenon whose biggest symbols — the pink-clad guards, green jumpsuits, and even star Lee Jung-jae's beaming face — became inescapable memes eventually divorced from their original meaning.

That's part of why the return to creator Hwang Dong-hyuk's blistering fever dream is so gripping. "Squid Game" season two brings the cultural phenomenon back to Earth and executes the nigh-impossible, continuing what could have been a complete story in a way that's just as cutting as its predecessor.

Back to the game

In its first season, "Squid Game" struck viewers with sheer novelty: its sharp class satire, grounded in childlike aesthetics, was dissonant in a way that was both disturbing and wildly compelling. While there's no way to recreate that shock factor in season two, the series doesn't need to reinvent the wheel to be excellent. In fact, its iterative nature is a thematic strength.

Season two is functionally a torture cycle for Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), the victor of the games. Burdened with a 45.6 million fortune won through the deaths of his companions, Gi-hun puts it to use attempting to shut the games down. This time, he's the one with power, funding a citywide manhunt for the games' ddakji-playing recruiter (a once-again show-stealing Gong Yoo) and incentivizing his employees with a substantial reward. Unfortunately, Gi-hun's crusade puts him back where he started in the games, with his life on the line.

This time, however, he knows exactly who his enemy is: the Front Man, also known as Hwang Jun-ho's (Wi Ha-jun) elder brother, In-ho. This season, the gamesmaster has a much more involved role — one that actor Lee Byung-hun, finally unmasked, handles with grim, enthralling aplomb. He is equal parts Gi-hun's foil and torture master, slowly working to dismantle his still-idealistic worldview by repeatedly exposing him to the horror of human nature.

That makes season two's repetition of familiar games, like "Red Light, Green Light," or character beats, like Gi-hun encountering an old friend in the games, incredibly effective. Even though he's been dealt the same cards — frankly, better ones, given that he's no longer bound by his debts — Gi-hun must struggle against human hubris and avarice.

There are, of course, new challenges. Season two introduces several new games that are just as superlatively designed as their predecessors. This cycle's new mechanic, a chest badge to indicate which players vote to leave or stay in the games, establishes a rote but still compelling division between the players.

New players make an impression

Wisely, Gi-hun takes a backseat for much of season two to make room for the show's captivating cast of new characters.

Choi Seung-hyun (a rapper known by the stage name T.O.P) is an easy standout and sure-to-be fan-favorite as Thanos, a braggadocious rapper burned by a failed crypto investment. Kang Ae-sim is easy to emotionally invest in as Geum-ja, a woman who joined the games to pay off her son's debts, only to discover he agreed to play as well. Former soldier Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon) is the most compelling of the bunch: a transgender woman, she faced discrimination after transitioning, leaving her in debt after she was fired from her job while pursuing gender-affirming surgeries.

Lee shows up once again to work this season, deftly handling the nuances of Gi-hun's plight and changed character. Most striking are the moments where he falls back into Gi-hun's childlike innocence from season one, most frequently due to the actions of his former gambling buddy Jung-bae, played by a painfully endearing Lee Seo-hwan. Still, Lee pulls off the determined, beleaguered savior well.

For the most part, Hwang (who still mostly wrote season two himself, this time with a few assistants) juggles the series' myriad character arcs and plot lines well, though some threads don't hold up as well as others. The weakest of the bunch is Jun-ho's quest outside the games to locate the island where they're held and also, presumably, Gi-hun and his brother. While his arc posing as a guard in season one provided valuable insight into the process of the games, this time, his search is mostly a distraction with little payoff in the confines of the season.

Ultimately, though, "Squid Game" manages to live up not only to its preceding season but the myth of the franchise itself. Success can bring crushing pressure, and with it, an impulse to iterate. In this case, though, the iteration works in service of the show's point: there is no escape: not for the game's players, and certainly not for Gi-hun.

"Squid Game" seasons one and two are now streaming on Netflix.

• KKR and Bain Capital bid over $5 billion for Seven & i's non-core assets.
• Seven & i's non-core assets include superstores, baby stores, and Denny's Japan operations.
• Seven & i also received a $47 billion offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Some of the world's biggest private equity companies have joined the race to own pieces of 7-Eleven's parent company.

Japanese-owned Seven & i Holdings has a sprawling set of businesses, including 85,000 7-Elevens globally and a host of supermarkets. The $39.5 billion company, whose stock is up 30% this year, has been the target of numerous takeover bids in recent months — for all of the business or parts of it.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that US private equity firms KKR and Bain Capital each offered over $5 billion in first-round bids for some assets of the company. Local private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners offered about $4.8 billion, per Reuters.

The firms are reportedly looking to buy York Holdings — Seven and i's non-core businesses, including superstores, baby goods chain Akachan Honpo, and the company that runs Denny's diner chain in Japan. All three firms were successful in the first round of bidding for these assets, according to Reuters, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Private equity firms typically buy companies or subsidiaries they see as struggling and work to make them profitable before selling them as a whole or in parts after a couple of years.

Representatives of KKR, Bain Capital, Japan Industrial Partners, and Seven & i did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Seven & i aims to select the winning bid as early as February, and the decision could be finalized by spring.

Rival convenience store

Besides the three buyout firms, the 7-Eleven parent also received a $47 billion takeover offer from Canadian multinational convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard. Couche-Tard, which has almost 17,000 stores around the world, bid for Seven & i this summer.

Unlike the private equity firms, Couche-Tard appears to want to buy the whole company, including the 7-Eleven stores.

The deal would amount to the largest-ever foreign takeover of a Japanese company and would give the 7-Eleven chain North American ownership again.

The chain partnered with Ito-Yokado, a Japanese supermarket chain founded in 1973, to build franchised locations in Japan. In the 1990s, Ito-Yokado acquired a majority stake in the company and completed a full acquisition in November 2005. That year, Ito-Yokado reorganized, becoming Seven & i Holdings. 7-Eleven had about 25,000 stores globally before the takeover in 2005, per a trade magazine.

Couche-Tard did not respond to a request for comment.

Seven & i family

The company is also contending with a management takeover to fend off the Canadian offer by going private. In November, Seven & I said it received an acquisition proposal from current vice president Junro Ito, his private company, Ito-Kogyo, and the son of founder Masatoshi Ito.

Ito-Kogyo owned 8.2% of Seven & i as of August, making it the second-largest shareholder, according to the company. Master Trust Bank of Japan is the largest shareholder, with a 14.7% stake.

The privatization offer could be worth around $58 billion, Bloomberg reported in November.

Seven & I said in November that it had formed a board of directors committee to consider Ito and Couche-Tard's offers.

• Moving abroad with kids can be challenging.
• BI spoke to parents about how they helped their kids navigate the move.
• Parents suggested telling kids about the move early and involving them in decision-making.

Moving abroad is never straightforward, and with kids in tow, it becomes even more complicated.

Additional factors come into play, from finding the right school and dealing with negative reactions to explaining cultural differences.

"The truth is that as meaningful and life-changing as moving abroad can be, it can be hard, no matter how experienced you feel," Stacy Ennis, who moved her family to Thailand and Portugal, previously wrote for Business Insider.

"When kids are involved, the chances of hardship are even higher," she added.

BI spoke to parents and relocation consultants who uprooted their lives in the US to move to different parts of the world.

Here are their best pieces of advice:

1. Start the conversation early

Genie Doi knew she wanted to leave the US with her family after a shooting near her son's school in Los Angeles. He was 5 years old at the time, and when she told him about the move, he was upset, she said. He worried about leaving his grandparents, friends, and toys behind.

"We tried to prepare him for a year just by talking about how exciting this change is going to be," said Doi, who moved in 2022. Before moving, they also visited his new school in Japan so he could familiarise himself with the environment and try to make some friends.

"It was a really smooth transition for him," said Doi.

2. Plan ahead for school

In 2016, Jackie Baxa relocated from Wyoming to Seville, Spain, with her husband and two sons, who were 9 and 13 at the time. Now, she is a relocation coach for families looking to do the same.

Baxa said that education is a factor that weighs heavily on parents' minds. Things to consider include the language in which classes are being taught and whether their kids have the capacity to pick up a second language.

"Do what you can to foster language development in a way that doesn't feel like you're adding more school to the child," said Baxa, whose sons chose to stay in Europe for college and are now fluent in Spanish.

3. Find a piece of home abroad

Besides packing sentimental items from home, Baxa suggested finding bridging activities to help your kids adapt abroad.

Knowing that her kids were big soccer fans, Baxa and her husband brought them to watch professional games. "We knew that that would be really special for them, and it was special for all of us," she said.

She added that capitalizing on what kids identify with and expanding them into new interests can also create psychological comfort.

"It could open up pathways to friendships and things that will make them feel better about what they've left behind," she said.

4. Involve your kids in the decision-making process

Anna Sosdian, an international relocation consultant at StartAbroad, suggested that parents involve their kids in decision-making.

"Make them feel like they have some control over some of the details," she said, whether that's letting them decide what to do on their first day or choosing which room they will have in the new home.

When Jennifer Kusch told her teenage sons that they were relocating to Dubai for her work, they told her she was "ruining" their lives, she told BI.

But they eventually warmed up to the idea. Kusch moved to Dubai six weeks early to settle into their new home. On trips to Ikea, she video-called her kids so they could choose their bedding and furniture.

"I tried to keep them as involved as possible," she said.

5. Your mood affects your kids

Celia Robbins, who moved to Berlin with her husband and four kids, said she tried to stay positive for her kids. "If you're not happy, it's hard for them to be happy," she said.

To help them better integrate, she and her husband networked and joined communities on Facebook.

They also sent their kids to German language classes and enrolled them in a German American school.

"We are trying hard to be ourselves while also appreciating the community and the culture that we're a part of," she said.

6. Encourage them to ask questions

Despite the stress of moving and potential resistance from their kids, these parents agreed on one thing: Go for it.

Learning to say goodbye to friends and being the new kid is hard, said Katie Miller, who moved from Texas to Dubai with her husband and three young kids earlier this year.

"But I'm watching each of them thrive because they've been stretched in new ways," she said.

She said parents should invite their kids to be curious about the moving process.

"We told the kids there are no silly questions. We are all learning together."

• Netflix streamed NFL games for the first time on Christmas Day.
• Technical problems marred a high-profile boxing match last month, but Netflix learned lessons.
• Many social media users praised Netflix for a smooth broadcast after it beefed up capacity.

After fumbling a high-profile boxing match featuring Mike Tyson and Jake Paul last month that was marred by technical problems, many social media users praised Netflix for a smooth broadcast of its first-ever NFL games on Christmas Day.

Netflix, with more than 280 million subscribers worldwide, is the home of hit shows like "Squid Games" and "Stranger Things," which have different technical requirements than massive live events.

Christmas marked the first time it has streamed America's most popular sport, with the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans followed, featuring a halftime performance by Beyoncé.

More than 60 million users tuned into last month's boxing match, exceeding Netflix and internet service providers' capacity.

Netflix's stream of the event was beset by buffering, poor image quality, and audio problems after Netflix executives greatly underestimated the size of the audience and failed to beef up capacity, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"We were stressing our own technology, we were pushing every ISP in the world right to the limits of their own capacity, we were stressing the limits of the internet itself," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos explained at a conference this month.

It was an embarrassing misstep for Netflix, which is set to broadcast Christmas NFL games through 2026 and recently signed a contract to stream the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2027 and 2031.

For the Christmas NFL event, executives worked ahead of time with internet service providers like Charter's Spectrum, Comcast's Xfinity, and Verizon's FiOS to increase capacity, the Journal reported.

The investment seems to have paid off.

However, not everyone was pleased. Some social media users complained about glitches, and others disliked being forced to subscribe to yet another streaming service to watch football.

• Beyoncé performed live during halftime of the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans game on Wednesday.
• The set list included live debuts of "Cowboy Carter" tracks, including "Texas Hold 'Em" and "Ya Ya."
• She also performed duets with singers Post Malone and Shaboozey.

Beyoncé took the stage at the Ravens vs. Texans game on Christmas Day, delivering a dynamic NFL halftime show that doubled as another test for Netflix's live event strategy.

The 12-minute performance at NRG Stadium in Houston, Beyoncé's hometown, featured live debuts of several tracks from her latest album, "Cowboy Carter," plus multiple duets with special guests — including Beyoncé's 12-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who joined the performance to line dance during the final song.

Here's every song on Beyoncé's Christmas Day setlist, listed below chronologically.

'16 Carriages'

"16 Carriages" was released alongside "Texas Hold 'Em" as the single's B-side. It has been nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 2025 Grammys.

'Blackbiird'

Beyoncé performed "Blackbiird" with Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts — a cover of the 1968 classic by The Beatles, which was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement.

'Ya Ya'

The 20th track on "Cowboy Carter" is a country-rock banger that interpolates two hits from 1966: Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations."

"Ya Ya" was hailed by critics as a standout upon the album's release and will compete for best Americana performance at the Grammys in February.

The song was previously used in a promotional video for the 2024 Paris Olympics on NBC, which featured clips of Beyoncé introducing Team USA athletes like Noah Lyles, Sha'Carri Richardson, Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky, and Simone Biles.

'My House'

"My House'" was released at the end of 2023 as a single ahead of Beyoncé's 2023 film, "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé."

'Spaghettii, 'Riiverdance,' and 'Sweet Honey Buckiin'

Beyoncé brought out Shaboozey to perform a medley of their collaborations on "Cowboy Carter," including "Spaghettii," a Grammy nominee for best melodic rap performance.

Following his featured role on "Cowboy Carter," Shaboozey had a breakout year with his own hit, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)." The country-pop anthem topped the Hot 100 for 19 weeks, tying Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" for the longest streak in history.

'Levii's Jeans'

Beyoncé welcomed Post Malone to the stage for a duet of "Levii's Jeans," the 17th track on "Cowboy Carter," and Grammy nominee for best pop duo/group performance.

Like Beyoncé and Shaboozey, Malone had a big year. He released his own country album, "F-1 Trillion," in August." The tracklist included collaborations with Nashville legends like Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton, and Chris Stapleton.

The album's biggest hit, however, was a duet with Morgan Wallen titled "I Had Some Help," which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and remained atop the chart for six weeks.

Malone also topped the Hot 100 in April by teaming up with Taylor Swift for "Fortnight," the lead single from her record-breaking album "The Tortured Poets Department."

'Jolene'

Beyoncé's version of "Jolene" put a twist on country singer Dolly Parton's popular song about infidelity.

Parton recorded the introduction to Beyoncé's rendition, telling E! News in a May interview that she was "very proud" of the song's success.

"As a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them," Parton said.

'Texas Hold 'Em'

"Texas Hold 'Em" was surprise-released as the lead single for "Cowboy Carter" during the 2024 Super Bowl.

The song shot to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs, making Beyoncé the first Black woman in history to top the chart.

"Texas Hold 'Em" also held No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and earned three more nods — song of the year, record of the year, and best country song — for the most-nominated and most-awarded performer in Grammys history.

• Donald Trump urged Wayne Gretzky to run for prime minister of Canada.
• One of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's coalition partners may force him out of the position.
• Gretzky visited Mar-a-Lago and wore a MAGA hat after Trump's November electoral victory.

In a Christmas Day message, past and future president Donald Trump said he urged Wayne Gretzky to run for prime minister of Canada.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that he talked with the legendary hockey player and Canadian icon, telling Gretzky he could easily win a national election.

He also said Gretzky could become "Governor of Canada" — an apparent reference to his joke that the northern neighbor could become the 51st state in the United States of America.

"I just left Wayne Gretzky, 'The Great One' as he is known in Ice Hockey circles," Trump wrote in a Wednesday afternoon Truth Social post. "I said, 'Wayne, why don't you run for Prime Minister of Canada, soon to be known as the Governor of Canada - You would win easily, you wouldn't even have to campaign.'"

Gretzky wasn't interested in running, Trump said.

"He had no interest, but I think the people of Canada should start a DRAFT WAYNE GRETZKY Movement," Trump wrote. "It would be so much fun to watch!"

A representative for Gretzky didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

In his next presidential term, Trump has said that he would impose tariffs on imported goods from Canada that would make American importers pay 25% more.

Trump's account posted on Truth Social nearly 40 times on Wednesday, mostly articles from conservative media outlets supporting his policies. He also named Kevin Marino Cabrera, a Republican official in Florida who worked for Trump's 2020 campaign, as his choice for ambassador to Panama. Over the past week, Trump has threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal.

The president-elect's support for Gretzky — a dual US-Canadian citizen — comes as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could be on the brink of losing power.

Trudeau's Liberal Party remains in power through a coalition with the New Democratic Party in the country's parliament. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party, said he would call for a "no confidence" vote in January, costing the Liberals their majority and triggering a new election. Canada is also scheduled to have a federal election in October 2025.

Gretzky and his family visited Mar-a-Lago shortly after Trump's November electoral victory. In one photo posted to Instagram by a Trump Organization executive, Gretzky is wearing a white-and-gold "Make America Great Again" cap.

In the past, Gretzky has occasionally supported members of Canada's Conservative party, which polls show is leading Trudeau's Liberal party.

• Sam Altman asked his followers on X for ideas to improve OpenAI in 2025.
• Altman responded to suggestions about creating family accounts and improving video features.
• OpenAI had a rocky year following new litigation from competitor Elon Musk.

Sam Altman wants your suggestions for improving OpenAI in the new year.

On Christmas Eve, OpenAI's CEO opened the floor to his followers on X with a simple question: "what would you like openai to build/fix in 2025?"

Altman's post comes toward the end of a tumultuous year for OpenAI. Elon Musk, who cofounded the company but left the board in 2018, filed a lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI in February. Musk withdrew the lawsuit in June but filed a new lawsuit in August in which he argued that OpenAI executives "deceived" him into cofounding the company.

Amid its legal challenges, OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in funding in October — a record-high funding round for tech in Silicon Valley — pushing the company's valuation to $157 billion.

Now, Altman is looking at what's in store for the new year, and he's crowdsourcing ideas on how to continue advancing and improving not just ChatGPT but all of the company's existing and emerging products.

Here are three ideas Altman appears to be eyeing so far.

Family accounts

One X follower responded to Altman's post with a suggestion to allow OpenAI users to create accounts for families that include guardrails, allowing kids to use the platform safely.

"Let their curiosity take off, but within reasonable limits, as determined by the parent," the user wrote, to which Altman responded: "this is a good idea!"

OpenAI's website states that ChatGPT isn't meant for children under 13 and requires parental consent for children ages 13 to 18 to use the platform, but does not actively verify the consent.

Improvements to voice chats

ChatGPT developed a voice feature that allows users to speak directly to the chatbot. One of Altman's followers suggested that the feature be improved because, as of now, per the user, "you can't just silently think for 5 seconds without being interrupted."

Altman wrote that that's a "good point." Users have struggled with the feature since it was rolled out, with some having reported bugs and misinterpretations from the chatbot.

Better video generation

Multiple users urged Altman to improve Sora, OpenAI's text-to-video model. Sora allows users to describe a video they want the platform to create with a written prompt, which Sora will generate based on the text.

Sora officially launched on December 9 after being piloted to a limited group of creators in February. Rohan Sahai, Sora's product lead, said at the launch that the product would begin more conservatively because its team wants to prevent illegal activity like copyright violations while allowing for creative expression.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Biden signed a bill making the bald eagle the official national bird of the United States.
• The bald eagle, an iconic American symbol, was endangered but has since recovered.
• The bill received bipartisan support and was backed by eagle advocates.

One prominent member of American society received a promotion with bipartisan support this holiday season: The bald eagle is now the official bird of the United States, a proclamation nearly 250 years in the making.

On Christmas Eve, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that amended title 36 of the United States Code and designated the bald eagle as the official national bird. The bill was sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and co-sponsored by fellow Minnesota Democrat Tina Smith, as well as Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. The bill was introduced on June 20, 2024 — which is also National American Eagle Day.

"The bald eagle has long been a symbol of freedom and patriotism for our nation," Senator Mullin said in a statement touting the bill's passage. "It's only fitting we officially designate the bald eagle the national bird of the United States. I was glad to join my colleagues in leading this bipartisan effort and appreciate the House's swift consideration."

Bald eagles have had a long — and somewhat rocky — history in the US. The bird was officially adopted as part of the country's Great Seal in 1782 and has since become synonymous with patriotism and other American values. But bald eagles teetered on the verge of extinction in the 1900s, and the species was designated as endangered in 1967. Since then, the species has soared to recovery; as of 2020, there were 316,700 bald eagles in the US, although over 40 bald eagles succumbed to bird flu in 2022. More recently, bald eagles have made headlines for adopting rocks, stealing pizza, and fostering abandoned chicks.

The move to officially enter the bald eagle into law drew support from eagle advocates, who have been pushing for the measure. A press release from The National Eagle Center crowed "The Bald Eagle Is Ready To Spread It Wings And Soar As The Country's Official Bird."

"This is an exciting day. The Bald Eagle has symbolized American ideals since its placement on the Great Seal in 1782," Preston Cook, the cochair of the National Bird Initiative for the National Eagle Center and author of "American Eagle – A Visual History of Our National Emblem," said in a statement. "With this legislation, we honor its historic role and solidify its place as our national bird and an emblem of our national identity."

• Swiss snowboarder Sophie Hediger died in an avalanche in Arosa, Switzerland.
• Hediger was snowboarding with a companion, who alerted rescue services. She was found buried under the snow.
• She was a rising star, securing World Cup podiums in the 2023-2024 season.

Sophie Hediger, who represented Switzerland in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, died in an avalanche in Arosa, Switzerland on Monday. She was 26.

According to a police report, Hediger was snowboarding with another person on a closed black diamond slope in Arosa, a town and a resort in eastern Switzerland. She left the closed slope and was caught in an avalanche.

Hediger's companion contacted rescue services, who found her buried under the snow about two hours later. Efforts to revive her were unsuccessful, and she died at the scene.

The Zurich native had been making waves in the snowboarding world, securing her first two World Cup podium finishes in the 2023-2024 season. In late January, she placed second in a Word Cup race in her home country. The next month, she earned third at an event in Gudauri in Georgia.

She also represented Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where she competed in snowboard cross.

Walter Reusser, the chief executive of Swiss Ski, said in a statement, "For the Swiss Ski family, the tragic death of Sophie Hediger has cast a dark shadow over the Christmas holidays. We are immeasurably sad. We will honor Sophie's memory."

Tributes from teammates, coaches, and fans poured in following the news of her death.

Hediger's teammate and friend Aline Albrecht wrote on Instagram, "With you I lose my best friend."

Another teammate, Sina Siegenthaler, wrote: "Keep on shredding in the clouds."

The Swiss snowboard cross team mourned the loss of their athlete.

Oxess, who makes the board that Hediger used, wrote, "Her passion for the mountains and her dedication to the sport touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing her."

• Recruiters say Wall Street firms are planning to hire more tech talent next year.
• Jobs at AI companies like Nvidia and OpenAI, or ones that work with their products, are highly sought after.
• Recruiters Ben Hodzic and Matt Stabile outline how jobseekers can stand out in the hiring process.

It's been a tough year for software engineers on the job market, but one bright spot is starting to emerge on Wall Street for technologists looking for a new gig.

Banks, hedge funds, and investment firms bullish on AI are expected to hire more tech talent in the new year, according to two headhunters who recruit engineers and data scientists for finance firms. That's good news for jobseekers in these sectors, which were long considered to be recession-proof careers but were hit this year with waves of layoffs, job freezes, and hiring cutbacks.

Ben Hodzic, a managing director at recruitment firm Selby Jennings who finds talent for hedge funds and investment banks, told Business Insider there's "a lot of optimism" around AI in financial services.

"Financial services institutions are slowly adopting their workflows and they've come to a reality where you need the right talent to actually build and implement and manage those products," he said.

In some cases, the hiring spree is already happening. Jamie Dimon, the boss of America's biggest bank JPMorgan Chase, said earlier this year that he's anticipating adding thousands of jobs related to AI in the next few years. Hedge fund and proprietary-trading firms are shelling out as much as $350,000 in annual salaries for top-tier AI researchers and engineers. Meanwhile, private-equity firms have been "clamoring" to hire AI operating executives to improve their portfolio companies.

Hodzic said the rosier outlook stems from a desire to build AI tools in-house and boost worker productivity in areas like wealth advisory, investment banking, and trading. More clarity on the direction of macroeconomic factors, like inflation and the impacts of the US election, is also providing tailwinds for banks looking to invest in human capital in 2025, he said.

While AI is expected to drive an uptick in tech hiring, the technology is also changing what it takes to get a tech job on Wall Street. BI spoke with recruiters to find out how candidates should adapt and what they need to do to stand out.

They outlined some of the industry's most in-demand skills, explained why having Big Tech experience might not get you that far anymore, and shared the companies that hiring managers want to see on resumes. They declined to disclose specific client activity due to privacy agreements.

Here's what software engineers need to know to get hired on Wall Street

Big Tech experience will only get you so far

A few years ago, Matt Stabile, a tech recruiter who works with buy-side firms including Two Sigma and Susquehanna International Group, could almost guarantee an interview with a hiring manager if a candidate was coming out of a FAANG company.

"Now, due to overhiring and layoffs, those resumes seem to be a dime a dozen," Stabile told BI.

It's true that Big Tech companies have shed thousands of workers this year, flooding the job market with resumes touting the same companies, like Meta and Amazon. And only certain divisions of Big Tech companies on a resume will catch hiring managers' eyes, like Google's DeepMind, for instance, Stabile said.

Nvidia, OpenAI, and Anthropic are all the rage

Finance firms witnessing the AI transformation from the sidelines want to get in on the action and build their own homegrown solutions. That's created demand among hedge-fund clients to ask for technologists specifically from Nvidia, Hodzic told BI.

"There's definitely an inherent need for people to understand the infrastructure side as well, how to actually construct the computer in the right way to be able to process some of this information and what quality of chips are needed in order to actually produce the output they're looking for," Hodzic said.

Stabile is seeing the same, with hiring managers getting excited to see talent coming from the $3.6 trillion chipmaker, AI startup Anthropic, and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. He said these are the resumes that are getting through and being considered over all the others.

Even if you haven't worked at any of these companies, Stabile said experience and exposure to their software tools is still a highly sought after skill. He specifically highlighted the Nvidia Triton Inference Server, an open-source software that's key to deploying and executing AI workloads, Nvidia TensorRT-LLM, used to optimize the performance of large language models, and Nvidia Fleet Command, which is important for scaling AI deployments.

Highlight your migration experience

If you haven't worked at a large AI company, or haven't worked with their latest products, not all hope is lost.

Wall Street banks especially rely heavily on legacy technologies. Some are built on codebases that have likely been around longer than the developer working on it has been alive. To be clear, that hasn't stopped financial firms from building entire businesses and offerings on modern technology.

What that has introduced, however, is the need to ensure that systems old and new can work together and exist in the same environment without introducing bugs or dependency issues. And in the case of firms moving on-premise systems to the public cloud, sometimes entire back-end systems have to be rebuilt.

As a result, hiring managers often light up when candidates can talk about their experience with software migrations, Selby Jennings' Hodzic said. If you've shifted data or software from one system to another, or translated code from one language to another, be sure to bring it up during the interview process.

"People who can demonstrate that engineering skillset of recreating and reconstructing things are really sought after," Hodzic said. "I think what a lot of clients want are people who can come in and show them what's not working well, how to iterate and how to improve, and then actually do it."

• Blake Lively filed a complaint against Justin Baldoni alleging sexual harassment and retaliation.
• Baldoni's ex-publicist Stephanie Jones also sued his current publicists for orchestrating a campaign against Lively.
• Here's a breakdown of everyone involved in the saga.

While the film "It Ends With Us" has already come and gone from theaters — grossing over $350 million globally along the way — the drama is still unfolding.

Speculation over tensions among the film's actors began brewing over the summer, when costars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni did not interact with each other during the press tour. Around the same time, Lively faced online backlash for her lighthearted promotion of the film, which tackles topics like domestic violence, and past controversies, including a resurfaced 2016 interview.

But a recent bombshell legal complaint from Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and using social manipulation to tarnish her reputation. Since the complaint was made public, costars and fellow celebrities have spoken up in support of Lively — including Colleen Hoover, the author of "It Ends With Us."

The complaint's revelations — which include a trove of text messages and emails from Baldoni's publicists — have also sparked their own separate suit. Publicist Stephanie Jones sued Jennifer Abel, a former employee who worked with Baldoni as a publicist, and Melissa Nathan, a crisis communications professional, alleging that the two orchestrated the campaign against Lively without Jones' knowledge and set out to wreck her firm's reputation.

Here's a breakdown of all the key players in this saga.

Blake Lively

Lively is a prominent actor who played florist Lily Bloom in "It Ends With Us," and produced the film. She is suing costar Baldoni, publicists Abel and Nathan, Baldoni's company Wayfarer Studios, Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath, Wayfarer's cofounder Steve Sarowitz, and Jed Wallace, a contractor.

"I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted," Lively said in a statement to The New York Times.

Lively's legal team

Lively's complaint lists legal teams from two firms — Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. The attorneys listed on the complaint are Esra Hudson, Stephanie Roeser, and Catherine Rose Noble of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, and Michael Gottlieb and Kristin Bender of Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

Justin Baldoni

Baldoni played Ryle Kincaid in "It Ends With Us" and directed the film; he's listed as a cofounder of Wayfarer Studios. Bryan Freedman, Baldoni and Wayfarer's attorney, said in a statement that accusations against Baldoni and the studio were false.

"It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation, which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions," the statement said.

Bryan Freedman

Freedman is a heavyweight Hollywood lawyer who's been hired by the likes of Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson. He is representing Baldoni, Nathan, Abel, and their respective companies.

Melissa Nathan

Nathan is a crisis communications professional whose firm, The Agency Group, was brought in by Baldoni and Abel in July, per Lively's complaint. Nathan's past clients have included celebrities like Johnny Depp and Drake.

Jennifer Abel

Abel is Baldoni's publicist, as well as Wayfarer's. She started her own company, RWA Communications, and was previously a partner at Jonesworks, another PR company.

Stephanie Jones

Jones is the founder and CEO of Jonesworks; she's filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, as well as Abel and Nathan, that alleges that Abel and Nathan conducted the campaign against Lively behind her back, used social manipulation tactics against her firm, and stole clients when Abel left Jonesworks.

Abel previously provided BI with a different account of how she left Jonesworks, sharing emails and text messages that show her submitting her resignation in July and planning to launch her own firm.

Kristin Tahler

Tahler, an attorney at Quinn Emanuel, is Jones' lawyer. "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 said of the defendants in Jones' suit.

• Elon Musk went all-in to get Trump elected. Now, he's trying to shake up Washington.
• He's racked up some wins so far. But some of the limits of his influence are coming into view.
• Here's a running list of Musk's wins and losses since Trump was reelected.

Since pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into helping President-elect Donald Trump win the 2024 election, Elon Musk has emerged as a major Washington power player.

Musk has the ear of the incoming president, is set to co-lead a "Department of Government Efficiency" initiative with Vivek Ramaswamy, and has already demonstrated an ability to influence the course of major legislation.

He hasn't won every single time, though. Musk's brash style has clashed at times with how Washington typically works, and he's encountered some losses here and there.

Here's a running list of where Musk has won as he's sought to influence Washington — and where he's lost.

Loss: Trying to get Rick Scott elected as Senate GOP leader

The week after Trump's reelection, Musk made his first major foray into the politics of Washington, enthusiastically backing Sen. Rick Scott of Florida to become the next Senate GOP leader.

Over the course of a dayslong online pressure campaign led by several MAGA-world voices, Musk referred to one of Scott's competitors, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, as the "top choice of Democrats." Senators privately grumbled that they were being bullied by outside figures.

It didn't work.

Scott received just 13 votes, and Thune — a close ally of outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell — won the prize instead.

One key factor in Scott's loss may have been the fact that the vote was conducted via secret ballot, insulating senators from public backlash.

Win, for now: Lawmakers' rapturous embrace of DOGE

Perhaps the biggest win for Musk on Capitol has been lawmakers' outpouring of support for DOGE.

When Musk and Ramaswamy visited Capitol Hill in December, they were greeted like celebrities, with Republicans eyeing the government-efficiency initiative as an opportunity to enact all sorts of spending cuts they've long sought.

Some Democrats are even interested in getting involved, particularly when it comes to defense cuts.

What remains to be seen, however, is what DOGE ends up becoming in practice — and whether Musk and Ramaswamy are able to implement the trillions of dollars in spending cuts they've floated.

Win: Trump appoints a key ally to chair the FCC

Musk is likely to benefit significantly from Trump naming Brendan Carr to chair the Federal Communications Commission.

It's not just that Carr might be generally favorable toward Musk. He's also emerged as a public cheerleader of the billionaire businessman, including posting a photo with him earlier this year on X.

Elon Musk has transformed long-dormant industries, and he’s developed a first principles “production algorithm” to deliver results.

It’s a great blueprint for reforming the Administrative State, driving efficiency in government, and unleashing a new cycle of American innovation. pic.twitter.com/JySzEtCsyj

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) August 26, 2024

Carr has publicly gone to bat for Musk before, including sending a letter to Brazilian regulators excoriating them for enacting a "cascading set of apparently unlawful and partisan political actions" after the country briefly banned X.

Musk may also benefit financially. The FCC oversees the country's broadband systems, and Musk's Starlink could see a windfall under the incoming Trump administration.

When the FCC denied government subsidies to Starlink and another broadband provider in 2022, Carr blasted the decision.

Loss: Trying to get a kids' online safety bill passed at the last minute

In December, Musk threw his support behind the Kids Online Safety Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that would force social media sites to alter their design to protect users under the age of 17.

Versions of the bill have been around since 2022, and online safety has become a bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill in recent years.

While the bill passed the Senate in June, it's been stalled in the House, where some Republicans have raised freedom-of-speech concerns. Musk and X helped negotiated a revised version of the bill in a bid to gain more support.

That effort was shot down by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who told reporters that the bill wouldn't be moving before the end of the year.

Speaker Mike Johnson tells ⁦@mkraju⁩ that it is unlikely KOSA (kids online safety act) gets done this year

Johnson said he thinks the bill needs "a little more tweaking," and that ultimately it will be able to move forward "early next year." pic.twitter.com/mvPV7U8din

— haleytalbotcnn (@haleytalbotcnn) December 12, 2024

Win, sort of: Tanking a government funding bill

Musk's highest-profile flexing of his muscles on Capitol Hill happened in mid-December, when he led an online pressure campaign that resulted in the tanking of a short-term government funding bill.

The billionaire businessman and other conservatives cast the legislation as an example of just the kind of wasteful spending they're hoping to eliminate via DOGE.

In doing so, he got out ahead of Trump, who didn't weigh in on the legislation until well after it became clear that it wouldn't advance. That led Democrats to mockingly refer to Musk as the real leader of the GOP, a notion that Trump's team sought to tamp down.

While Musk succeeded in killing the initial bill, lawmakers didn't end up shutting down the government, as he suggested they should.

And Congress eventually passed a spending bill that, while significantly shorter than the initial bill Musk opposed, did many of the same things.

At one point, Musk publicly wondered if it was a "Republican bill or a Democrat bill."

So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill? 🤔 https://t.co/C54cbLGoGR

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2024

• I'm already getting sad that all of my kids will be out of high school in half a decade.
• I'm also excited about all the things I'll have time to do when I'm an empty nester.
• I'm taking steps now — like building better friendships — to ensure I'm not lost when they leave.

I realized earlier this year that if everything goes according to plan, all four of my kids will be out of high school in just five years.

Even if they don't move out of the house, then I'll have a lot more free time. Right now, I'm still driving some of them around. They have school, practices, classes, and clubs. Our evenings and weekends often revolve around their plans and performances. I love being part of this whirlwind of activity.

But as I think about the fact that I'm close to an empty nest, I oscillate between being excited that I'll have time to pursue other interests and being sad that I won't be spending all that time with my favorite people in the world.

I'm trying to set myself up now so that when this stage is over, I won't be a lonely, empty nester and feel left behind.

I'm working on other relationships

When it first hit me that I could have an empty nest in five years, I realized I'd need some friends. It's going to be strange to go from a rowdy house that once held four noisy children to a quiet home with two middle-aged adults.

I made a conscious decision to strengthen my relationships with my friends about a year ago. I listed a handful of people whom I wanted to know better, and I'm trying to build those relationships. I meet up with them for dinner, drinks, or coffee. I text people when I'm thinking of them. I check up with friends after they return from a trip or something big happens.

These things don't come naturally to me. I'd rather be in my PJs by 5:30 p.m. and curled up on the couch than go to dinner. But I never regret spending time with my friends. We have good, sometimes ridiculous, and sometimes important conversations. We've been friends since our kids were little, but now we have more time to invest in each other. It's also been helpful to have other women in my life who are experiencing the same feelings I am.

I'm also making a deliberate effort to connect with my husband. As the kids have gotten older, we've taken some trips without them. We have date nights or try to do other activities together. Our kids have consumed a lot of our time these past two decades, and I want to make sure we still know each other when those kids move out.

I'm already planning the activities I want to try when the kids leave

I've wanted to volunteer at several places in my community over the years, but our family schedules haven't allowed it. So, I'm looking forward to checking out those opportunities when my schedule opens up.

My husband and I also want to do a lot more traveling, which will be easier when we don't have to consider school schedules. We already have a list of places across the globe that we dream of going. We're already doing research and planning travel budgets, and it's getting me excited about seeing the world.

I'm prioritizing exercise and my body

It's a cruel irony that just when I get some extra time for hiking, travel, and other active things that I love, my body is beginning to slowly fall apart.

It's nothing big — yet. But I have a funny twinge in my knee sometimes. I sneezed, and my back hurt for two days. Lots of small parts that I never thought about before hurt randomly now.

I'm exercising and trying to maintain the mobility I'm lucky enough to have. I'm doing cardio, and I've added weights to strengthen my bones and fight off osteoporosis. I want to climb mountains and walk city streets in far-flung places, so I need to keep my body working as well as I can.

It's time to look inward

I'm also noticing that as my kids get older, I have more time to reflect on myself. It's hard to wrestle with who you want to be at your core when you're in the midst of diapers, spills, and messy faces. Now, I have time to think again.

I'm spending time meditating and focusing more on my spiritual life. I'm thinking about who I want to be as a person in the second half of my time on this planet.

I'm also thinking about career moves now that I can spend more time on my work. Do I need any coaching to advance? Is there somewhere I really want to work? Do I need more education or to make other changes?

I'm also staying open to the idea of therapy or counseling. This stage of life, when we say goodbye to our fledgling children, comes at the same time as a lot of other stressors. Lots of us worry about the next big thing on the horizon — like retirement.

I'm already feeling many emotions about this next chapter in our family. My husband came downstairs the other day to find me having a good cry because our son is graduating … in a year and a half.

I know planning for our empty nest doesn't mean I won't feel sad, nostalgic, or even lonely despite my best efforts. But I think this next phase will also be exciting and fulfilling as all of us in this family continue to grow.

• A report concludes that human error caused the deadly collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in January.
• The pilot of the Japan Coast Guard plane misinterpreted air traffic control instructions.
• Limited visibility and air traffic control oversight were additional factors in the collision.

A report released Wednesday from the Japan Transport Safety Board concluded that human error was the primary cause of a deadly collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

The incident occurred on January 2, 2024, when a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger plane arriving from New Chitose Airport in Sapporo barreled into a Japan Coast Guard plane waiting on the runway.

According to the report, the Coast Guard pilot mistakenly believed he had clearance to enter the runway. The air traffic controller told the coast guard plane that it was "No. 1," meaning it was first in line to take off and meant to stop and wait at a holding point. The pilot misinterpreted the instruction, believing it to be permission to enter the runway for takeoff.

In the final moments before the collision, the Coast Guard pilot ordered his co-pilot to go through a checklist that is typically performed once final takeoff clearance has been granted. The pilot, who survived, told investigators he thought he heard "cleared for takeoff" from the control tower.

The report noted that the pilot said he was in a hurry, which could have contributed to the misinterpretation. The Coast Guard plane was traveling to the city of Niigata to deliver emergency supplies after recent earthquakes on Japan's west coast, and the pilot said he was worried about his crew getting home late from the mission.

The report said that there were other contributing factors to the collision: Air traffic control failed to realize that the Coast Guard plane had entered the runway, despite the runway occupancy alert, and the JAL plane didn't see the other aircraft as it was descending due to limited visibility. The accident occurred around 5:47 p.m., after sunset.

Five of the six people aboard the Coast Guard aircraft died. The pilot survived but was seriously injured.

All 379 passengers and crew on the passenger plane escaped just before the jet erupted into flames.

• My mom made the holidays special.
• The first Christmas without her in 2018 I basically turned into The Grinch.
• I re-found joy in the holidays while also grieving my loss.

My mother had a penchant for making things special.

She knew how to grab joy where she could. She decorated our home for every holiday, donning earrings and sweaters that matched the occasion.

On Christmas, she'd watch with joy while we opened her thoughtful gifts and ate our favorite holiday dishes. I don't remember a lot about the first Christmas without her in 2018. But for the next few years, like The Grinch, I wanted Christmas gone. If I'd had energy that wasn't solely dedicated to staying upright amidst my grief, I might have even taken down a Christmas tree or two in the night.

Nothing could compare to what my mom did

At 20-years-old, I didn't know how to make things special myself. I wasn't really interested in trying, either, or welcoming anyone else's efforts.

Nothing could compare to the holiday scene she'd set. No one else could make the food, decorate the house, or wrap the presents right.

I couldn't accept this truth: that everything would change. So I put a wall up between Christmas and I, white-knuckling my way through December. I didn't want to watch holiday movies or listen to holiday music. I wanted to dismiss it as any other insignificant day.

I'd get together with my family and try to pretend I was happy to be there, but I felt guilty for pretending and resentful of having to. Yet I didn't think not pretending was an option.

The thing about grief, though, is that with each year, the tide rose, washed away more grit, and left me softer.

I had to find beauty in things again

From the spring of 2019 through the spring of 2020, I spent a year living in Denver. I needed to change my surroundings — and make a change that was in my control — to teach my brain that there could be beauty in newness. I needed to learn what the newness would make of me.

When I returned to Michigan at the start of the pandemic, I returned as someone who had made new memories in a new place. It helped me accept that things could look different and still be good. The holidays could still be special if I wanted them to be.

During the Christmas of 2020, my sister and her family had COVID-19, so I stood outside their window in the snow for 15 minutes before going back to my apartment alone. I noticed, with sad poignancy, how much I wanted to be inside with her, my brother-in-law, my nephews, and my dad.

In 2021, I met my now wife, and I had the delicious instinct to make things special together. To create our own traditions. She prioritizes fun, and it rubbed off on me. I came to love taking part in her family's traditions, too. It became clear that there was so much celebration to go around, no matter what it looked like.

I look forward to the holidays now

This year will be the seventh Christmas without my mother, and I look forward to the holiday now.

My wife and I put up our tree on November 3rd. To me, Christmas symbolizes coziness, a focus on joy, an excuse for good food and extra sugar and sitting around a table with people I love.

While there are traditions, new and old, that I cherish, it's less about the specifics and more about the feeling. And, grief is a part of that feeling. It's just not such a sharp ache anymore — more like a familiar smell that reminds me of a warm and nostalgic childhood memory.

Holiday grief (and any grief, for that matter) isn't a thing to be conquered and moved on from, but a thing to accept and learn how to live alongside. In those early years, much of my strife came from wishing I could prevent change and control my feelings. When I don't set rigid expectations of myself, and instead let the tide wash over and soften me, that softness allows space for grief and joy.

I've learned how to appreciate specialness any way it comes and grab joy where I can — even if it means putting the Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving.

• US home sales just ended a 39-month year-over-year decline, signaling the end of the bear market, NDR said.
• Affordability issues, driven by high mortgage rates, drove the 3-year decline in home sales activity.
• Investors could take advantage of the setup by buying the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF, NDR said.

The bear market in US home sales is finally over, according to a recent note from Ned Davis Research.

The firm highlighted that total single-family home sales finally turned positive year-over-year after 39 months of consecutive declines.

The 39-month decline in home sales was only outdone by the 43-month decline during the housing bubble from 2005 through 2009.

"But the recent affordability-driven pandemic bear could not be more different than the credit-driven housing bubble bear," Pat Tschosik, a strategist at Ned Davis Research, said.

The main difference between the two notable declines in home sales is affordability.

Whereas the affordability index rose 53 points from 2005 through 2009, it plunged 39 points from 2021 through 2024, driven by high mortgage rates and ever-rising home prices.

"Homeowners, locked into low rates and unwilling to move, added to low supply and higher prices," Tschosik said.

Additionally, the stocks of homebuilders outperformed over the past three years, compared to them underperforming during the 2005 through 2009 stretch.

The recent rebound in home sales activity suggests to Tschosik that the housing market should thaw in 2025, enabling a rebound in durable and home improvement spending.

For investors, that means the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF could be a worthy addition to portfolios for next year. The ticker symbol is "ITB."

"We are watching ITB for an upgrade. If inflation fears are overblown, the recent ITB correction could be a great buying opportunity," Tschosik said.

The ETF has declined by more than 15% since fears of a rebound in inflation gripped the market in late November.

The top holdings within the Home Construction ETF include home builders D.R. Horton, Lennar Corp, NVR, and Pulte Group, as well as home-improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe's.

• TikTok could be banned come January, but what are the other fascinating creator-economy stories?
• BI's media team rounded up the most intriguing stories for the year ahead.
• Our picks ranged from a battle between Spotify and YouTube to what will happen in "IRL social."

There are many fascinating stories popping up in the creator economy every day. So, which ones have really caught the eye of Business Insider's team of reporters and editors?

We're all closely tracking whether TikTok will be banned in the US in January. But that's not the only story that could shake up the industry.

As we head into 2025, BI's media team rounded up the creator-economy storylines we are most excited to dig into next year.

Dan's storyline to watch: Influencers look to become QVC-style live shopping hosts

Live shopping has really begun to catch on in the US. Next year, I'm watching to see if top influencers embrace live selling and become QVC-style hosts — or if its momentum fades.

US creators have always hawked goods on behalf of brands, but live selling hasn't been a popular approach. It makes sense, as it's much easier for a creator to make a quick sponsored post than to film a 2-hour live sellathon.

TikTok Shop sought to popularize live selling in the US by working with outside partners to train live-selling creators and aggressively promoting the practice. I expect that will continue next year (if TikTok isn't banned), alongside efforts to drive up livestreams among e-commerce competitors like Amazon, Whatnot, and TalkShopLive.

But will creators whose content has nothing to do with e-commerce choose to try out live selling in 2025? Will live shopping replace static brand deals as the predominant way US creators make money, as it has in other regions like Asia? We'll be watching.

-Dan Whateley, senior reporter

Amanda's storyline to watch: Spotify and YouTube battle over video podcasting

Creators are launching their own talk shows in the form of video podcasts.

As this growing trend of serialized long-form content takes over screen times, two tech giants — Spotify and YouTube — will continue to compete to be the best platform.

YouTube is already a strong leader in the creator economy and a go-to creator platform. Spotify has also had a good year, reporting increased profitability in its Q3 earnings.

As video podcasts rise in popularity, these two platforms will have to convince both creators and viewers why they're the best place to earn money, engage with fans, and reach new audiences.

The race has already begun. YouTube took a stand by releasing a suite of tools and features that creators can't get on other podcast platforms — including the ability to go live, respond to comments, and earn revenue from donations.

Meanwhile, Spotify invested heavily in video in 2024, developing its own tools and more ways to pay creators for video podcasts through subscription earnings and ad revenue.

So, how will these platforms compete in 2025, and who will ultimately win in the video podcast race?

-Amanda Perelli, senior reporter

Sydney's storyline to watch: The future of IRL social apps

Social-media platforms are great for entertainment ... but for making new friends and maintaining IRL relationships? Less so.

However, a wave of startups that have either launched or expanded in 2024 plans to fill that gap. From in-person dinners offered by apps (like 222 or Timeleft) to event platforms (like Partiful or Posh), some startup founders are finding product-market-fit amid a loneliness epidemic. The trend extends beyond mobile apps, too, with in-person clubs or groups growing in popularity, like reading groups or running clubs.

While some of these startups are already raising capital and dabbling with monetization, will these solutions to loneliness stick around in 2024? And if they do stick, who will be category winners and what will success be defined by?

-Sydney Bradley, senior reporter

Nathan's storyline to watch: Creators on TV

The walls between the TV and the creator worlds are being torn down brick by brick, particularly by YouTube.

In November, as it has been for a while, YouTube was the top streaming service on TVs in the US, coming in at 10.8% of viewing compared to Netflix's 7.7%, per Nielsen.

With the lines blurring, will we see more streamers and even traditional TV networks look to creator-style content, as ESPN has done with Pat McAfee?

Creator TV shows have had a muddled history, but I'd argue that their struggles often came from networks trying to parachute an influencer into a traditional "TV" format. What about meeting them halfway?

On that point, it's been interesting to see the convergence of podcasts and video. YouTube (hello again) is the top podcasting platform in the US, ahead of Spotify (which is also looking to beef up video) and Apple Podcasts.

What's stopping the likes of Netflix, or even CNN, from licensing podcasts as long as they get the video quality up to snuff? CNN+ wanted to give Scott Galloway a show once upon a time. Maybe they should just put one of his hit podcasts on the air. The cable TV business is in freefall. It's time to get creative.

-Nathan McAlone, deputy editor