• I took a red-eye flight from NYC to Berlin with Norse Atlantic Airways in October 2022.
• For $180, I traveled through the night on a nonstop economy flight with a row of seats to myself.
• Although I thought the flight itself was ideal for a red-eye, I started my trip feeling exhausted.

In October 2022, I took an eight-hour red-eye flight with Norse Atlantic Airways, an airline I'd never heard of.

Norse Atlantic Airways is a budget airline that started flying in 2022 with nonstop trips from the US to Germany, Norway, the UK, France, Greece, and Italy.

The flight from my home in NYC to Berlin kicked off a two-week train trip through Europe. I booked my travels with the lesser-known airline because it was the cheapest nonstop flight leaving from my local airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). 

I selected an economy-light ticket, the lowest tier available, for $88. The booking included a seat and storage space under the seat in front of me. I also spent $75 for advanced seat selection, and there was a $20 airport check-in fee. The trip cost a total of $183.

In the past, I've appreciated domestic red-eye flights because they give me an extra day at my destination.

But this was my first international red-eye flight, and the long-haul journey through the night left me exhausted at the beginning of my trip. To me, it wasn't worth the day I saved.

I arrived at JFK at 9:30 p.m. for my 12:30 a.m. flight.

I could have checked in online for free, but I wanted to print my boarding pass at the airport.

On a late Sunday evening, the terminal at JFK felt quite empty.

Aside from people in line to board an aircraft, I hardly saw anyone.

My flight began boarding at 11:30 p.m.

I was among the last to board and got situated in my seat right around midnight.

The flight's seating arrangement was three columns with three seats in each row.

I paid extra to select a window seat before the flight so that I could lean against the window to rest.

A representative from Norse told Business Insider that economy-light seats are 17.2 inches wide with a 3-inch recline.

It felt like a standard plane seat to me.

I thought I had enough legroom, even with my backpack shoved underneath the seat.

The seat pitch was between 27 and 32 inches, according to the representative.

In front of me, there was an entertainment screen with movies, TV shows, and information about my flight.

Although I spent most of the time trying to sleep, I appreciated having the screen.

As the plane prepared for takeoff, I was thrilled that I had a whole row to myself.

In fact, I noticed many of the seats were empty.

My seat back pocket contained a menu of amenities, including earbuds, blankets, neck pillows, and sleep masks, although I didn't buy any.

Amenity prices ranged from $3.50 to $6.50.

After takeoff, the plane was quiet and dimly lit. But I hardly ever sleep well on planes, and this was no exception.

I woke several times through the night.

At one point in the night, I went to the bathroom and found it cleaner than most aircraft bathrooms I've been in.

Unlike most economy aircraft bathrooms I've used, the floor wasn't sticky and the trash can wasn't overflowing. 

In the morning, flight attendants came around with food and beverage service. So I looked at the menu in my seat back pocket.

I found that food and beverages weren't included in the price of my ticket, so I decided to skip it.

I landed in Berlin nearly an hour earlier than scheduled, so I was only in the air for seven hours.

Still, when I got off the plane, I felt completely exhausted due to a lack of sleep.

Despite feeling tired, as I would after any red-eye flight, I was impressed by the budget airline and would definitely book with Norse again.

The flight was comfortable and clean, and landing early was a nice bonus.

Once in Berlin, I still had a two-hour train journey to my Airbnb outside the city, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

Even after a night of sleep, I found that the exhaustion from the overnight flight — combined with jet lag — lasted for days. This wasn't ideal at the start of a two-week adventure.

My exhaustion wore off within a couple of days of my trip, but I had a lingering thought — next time I fly internationally, I won't mind spending a little more money and a little less time at my destination for a day flight.

• I'm midway through my 'e-comm experiment' and have 500 pickleball paddles in production.
• I spoke to an expert about how to most effectively sell my product.
• He suggested a hybrid Shopify-Amazon model and said ads are essential.

Years of writing about individuals who make money selling products online sparked my curiosity: Is this something I can do? What would startup costs look like? Is it time-consuming? Difficult?

To answer those questions, I teamed up with a friend to develop a product (pickleball paddles) to sell online.

Product selection and development — phase one, if you may — has been time-consuming, challenging, and expensive. But we made a paddle we're proud of, the Peak Pro, and 500 of them are headed from a factory in Asia to my studio apartment in Los Angeles.

Phase two — actually selling the product — is officially underway, and my first observation is that it's going to present more challenges than phase one. Luckily, I've interviewed smart people who have done it before, and I have no problem asking for advice.

I reached out to Tyler Walter, cofounder of the product-sourcing company 330 Trading, which I'm also working with to manufacture my paddles. He's based in Taiwan and works closely with US e-commerce businesses, advising them on everything from initial product development to creating diverse supply chains.

I asked him selling-specific questions: How can I get consumers to buy from Peak Pickleball when they have endless options? He told me he'd tailor his answers specifically to my company, as every brand is a bit different.

Two pieces of advice stood out.

1. Build a Shopify and Amazon store

Walter advised me to start with a hybrid Shopify-Amazon model. In general, I'll get better margins with Shopify, as there are fewer costs associated with selling on that platform, but I need Amazon for traffic, especially when I'm first establishing the brand.

"Amazon is guaranteed traffic. There's a guaranteed flow of people who are going to see your product every single day," he said. And, using tools like Helium 10, I can estimate what that traffic is going to look like. "You can see exactly how many people are searching for pickleball paddles on Amazon every day, or pickleball-related items or even racket-related sports, so you can drill down into those details before you ever go live."

With Shopify, on the other hand, I'd have to generate my own traffic through things like social media campaigns, ads, and word of mouth.

Walter told me it's smart to start with the hybrid model since I haven't yet nailed down my typical customer.

Amazon will work well for the customer who is newer to pickleball and not yet intertwined in the community. They may come across my product while searching for a medium- to high-grade paddle online. "Amazon is amazing for that, the best in the world," he explained, especially if I can optimize my listing page, rack up good reviews, and rank well on the marketplace. "If there's enough traffic on Amazon every day for pickleball paddles, which we've already determined there is, then you're going to get people that you would never otherwise get who are just searching for pickleball in general."

Shopify, on the other hand, may serve a different customer: Someone who is more engaged in the pickleball community or cares more about the brand of paddle they're playing with. The customer who buys into our image, feel, and the technical aspects of our product will likely go directly to our website.

A Shopify sale is going to mean more profit, "but you have to be able to do the work to tell that brand story," Walter said.

That raises the question: What customer am I after?

If I can't definitively answer that yet, Walter told me a hybrid approach allowing me to test both types of customers is a smart strategy.

"You can test out the first 500 paddles and see where you get more traction and where you have better profit margins, and then invest more resources into that channel moving forward," he said. "But there's a good chance that you guys run this for the next five years and you might always be a hybrid model. It might always be both."

2. The key to standing out on Amazon: SEO, reviews, and ads

Walter sold me on setting up an Amazon store in addition to the Shopify one, but I had a follow-up question: Sure, millions of people log into Amazon every day, and hundreds of thousands may be searching for pickleball paddles, but how are they going to find mine? How do I avoid getting lost in the Amazon beast?

A variety of factors contribute to a product's rank on Amazon, but Walter pointed to two: search engine optimization, also known as SEO, and reviews.

SEO is essentially what you do to rank higher and generate more traffic — and a lot goes into it. For me, creating a listing page with relevant keywords and quality images is going to be important, especially the keywords.

Walter told me to use Helium 10 to know what keywords I should be using, whether it's paddle sports, pickleball, pickleball paddle, or carbon fiber paddle — and, if I have the resources, pay an SEO expert to optimize my listing page.

Reviews are also key to ranking well on Amazon, and he said I should always encourage customers to leave reviews. One idea is to include a blurb in the thank you email customers receive after placing an order reminding them to share their feedback.

Additionally, he told me that paid ads are essentially necessary.

"Ads are going to give you the best fighting chance of selling through all of your inventory profitably," he said. "If you're doing it right, a dollar into advertising should come back as $2 to $3 of revenue."

He acknowledged that it may feel nervewracking at first to pay for ads without knowing exactly what's going to come from them but assured me I could test ads on a budget of a couple of hundred dollars. Amazon ads are affordable compared to Google or Meta or TikTok ads since Amazon already has so much traffic, he explained, "so you can test it out with a very small budget."

He told me to keep in mind that because reviews are so important, even if we initially just break even from ads, it's worth it if they drive sales that lead to product reviews.

I shouldn't tackle ads on my own, though. He said it's worth it to hire a professional. There are two main fee structures: a flat fee or a percentage of sales. As a new business, the second option probably makes more sense so that I'm not spending too much cash up front. However, if I start selling a lot of paddles, the percentage of sales model might become more expensive, at which point I might want to consider switching to the flat-rate model.

I have no problem with outsourcing and have already done quite a bit of it. It's saving me time, and headaches — and, ultimately, helping me create a better product.

More from "The E-commerce Experiment":

• I started an e-commerce business with $5,000 up front after writing about financially independent Amazon sellers. Here's how I doubled my budget.
• My friend and I pooled $10,000 to start an e-commerce company. After months of brainstorming products, we chose pickleball paddles.
• Months into launching a pickleball e-commerce company with $10,000, I'm already over budget. Here are all of my startup costs, including a surprise $2,095 expense.
• I launched an e-commerce company with a $10,000 budget after interviewing top Amazon sellers. Here's everything I outsourced to save time, including a $250 task that was the best money I spent.

• A survey shows Bluesky users are more Democratic and politically engaged than Threads users.
• Threads has 300 million monthly users, surpassing Bluesky's 24 million.
• Bluesky allows users to add their own moderation policies.

A new survey revealed stark political and behavioral differences between users of rival social media platforms Bluesky and Meta-owned Threads.

Bluesky's user base skews heavily Democratic, with nearly half of its users identifying with the party, according to findings published earlier this month by CivicScience, a research and survey company. In contrast, only 34% of Threads users identified as either Democrat or Independent.

The study also found that Bluesky users are more politically engaged overall. And nearly three-quarters of them said that they experienced higher levels of stress postelection. In contrast, 33% of people who used Threads daily said that their stress levels decreased after Donald Trump's victory on November 5.

"With the surge of Bluesky coming so directly in the wake of the presidential election, it's not surprising that the user base is disproportionately more left-leaning than the user base of Threads," John Dick, CivicScience CEO and founder, told Business Insider.

The survey included 12,188 Threads users and 5,431 Bluesky users. This roughly mirrors the ratio of both platforms' user bases in the adult US population, as 18% of respondents reported using Threads daily, compared to 8% for Bluesky, CivicScience data found.

Both social networks experienced significant user growth following the US election, particularly as billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X, threw his weight behind Trump and actively promoted misinformation that reportedly garnered over 2 billion views.

Still, Threads seems to be eating Bluesky's lunch. Earlier this month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the platform had more than 300 million monthly active users, compared to Bluesky's 24 million users at the beginning of this month.

Bluesky began life inside Twitter in 2019 as a project started under the company's former CEO, Jack Dorsey. Its goal was to give users more control over moderation. Bluesky has been an independent company since 2021 and is a decentralized social network.

Bluesky is powered by the "AT Protocol" (Authenticated Transfer Protocol), which means that while Bluesky operates the main server, anyone can create and run their own server that can work with Bluesky. This allows users to choose different providers while maintaining a unified social network experience. Crucially, this also means that users can add their own moderation policies on top of Bluesky's built-in moderation systems.

"The decentralized moderation policies of Bluesky, which allow for more proliferation of political content on the platform, could be exacerbating this phenomenon," said Dick of Bluesky's left-leaning user base, "as Democrats and liberals create a sort of tribal safe space for their views and conversations."

Beyond politics, the survey revealed an optimism gap between the two platforms regarding AI. Bluesky users appear to be significantly more bullish on the technology, with 62% believing that AI will have at least a somewhat positive impact on the quality of their lives over the next decade, compared to 51% of Threads users.

Overall, More Bluesky users are likely to use platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and X every day compared to Threads users who gravitate toward Facebook and Instagram, which are both owned by Meta.

• Beyoncé performed at halftime during the Christmas Day game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.
• The performance paid homage to Texas and Mexican cultures through costumes and cameos.
• Beyoncé also wore a custom look designed by Lindsey James Show Clothing, styled by Shiona Turini.

Beyoncé took over the field at halftime during the Christmas Day game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans, which streamed live on Netflix. And it was such a visual and musical spectacle that you might've missed some things.

The Houston native performed eight songs from her "Cowboy Carter" album during her 12-minute performance at NRG Stadium in Houston. The spectacle fittingly included several nods to Texas, Mexican, and rodeo culture and an appearance from her daughter, Blue Ivy.

Since you might have missed some easter eggs, cameos, references, and details, we rounded them up:

Beyoncé's performance included several nods to her hometown culture of Houston.

During her performance, Beyoncé included several nods to Texas and Houston culture, superficially Western and rodeo culture.

She began the sprawling show singing "16 Carraiges" while sitting on a white horse. She wore a custom white cowboy hat designed by ASN Hats, a Cowboy Carter sash, and a Roberto Cavalli coat from the designer's archive.

The horse was pulled by a man always wearing a cowboy hat, wide belt buckle, and cowboy boots.

As the horse walked into the stadium, it passed several low-rider cars, popular in Houston, that sat in front of an American flag seemingly wrapped in plastic.

Later in the performance, Beyoncé performed a line dance, another nod to Texas and rodeo culture.

Cameos in the performance also made clear that Bey wanted to celebrate rodeo culture, such as the inclusion of bull-riding icon Myrtis Dightman, Jr. and the first Black Rodeo Queen in Arkansas, Ja'Dayia Kursh.

Beyoncé also paid tribute to Mexican culture.

During her performance on the field, Beyoncé said, "One, two, tres!" It seems as if the pop star was attempting to include the 2.7 million Spanish speakers in the city of Houston.

One of her outfits also resembled the pattern of a mariachi singer.

Lastly, Mexican Cowgirl Melanie Rivera was spotted among the crowd of performers.

Beyoncé performed with her daughter, Blue Ivy.

Beyoncé has collaborated with her firstborn, Blue Ivy, many times over her career, and Christmas Day was the latest. It marked the first time the 12-year-old performed onstage with her mom since 2023's Renaissance World Tour.

While Blue Ivy performed choreography behind and beside Beyoncé, she notably appeared to be the only dancer on the field who didn't wear a platinum blonde wig.

Beyoncé's longtime dance captain, Ashley Everett, returned.

The biggest Beyhive fans spotted Beyoncé's longtime dance captain, Ashley Everett, was among the hundreds of dancers on the field. Her appearance comes after she was absent from Bey's Renassaince World Tour.

Everett became famous as one of two dancers in Beyoncé's iconic "Single Ladies" music video.

Even the Houston Texans owners got in on the fun.

During the performance, Beyoncé recreated a traditional homecoming parade, complete with a car caravan and the appearance of two "homecoming" queens — Miss Rodeo Texas Princess 2004 and Miss Rodeo Texas 2015.

In one of the cars was also Texans owner Cal McNair and his wife Hannah — another nod to Houston.

The performance had a homecoming feel.

Beyoncé had her own homecoming, as the Houston native returned to perform during this Christmas Day performance. She made that plain by bringing a Texas homecoming game vibe to her performance, complete with drum majors, line dancing, and performers sporting sashes. She also featured 200 members of Texas Southern University's Ocean of Soul Marching Band.

• "A Complete Unknown" stars Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan during his rise to fame in the '60s.
• The movie's climax is Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
• Dylan performed with an electric band, causing him to be ostracized from the folk scene.

James Mangold's new film "A Complete Unknown" reaches its climax when Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) takes the stage at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, drawing boos from the crowd and disgust from his peers.

But out of all the performances Dylan gave in the '60s, what made this one so controversial? To understand its outsize significance in Dylan's career, as well as music history at large, it's important first to rewind.

The Newport Folk Festival was cofounded in 1959 by jazz promoter George Wein and music manager Albert Grossman. (The latter is best known for representing Dylan between 1962 and 1970.)

Dylan made his debut at the annual event in 1963 alongside Joan Baez, a close collaborator who was already a folk superstar. He returned the following year for a solo set in his typically sparse style — guitar, harmonica, raw vocals — and sang now-beloved tracks like "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Chimes of Freedom."

Dylan amassed an adoring crowd in 1964 and became known as one of the festival's biggest draws. He was expected to return for the 1965 edition, alongside friends and folk staples like Baez and Pete Seeger.

It was also expected that Dylan would deliver another solo acoustic performance. Instead, the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is better known as the night Dyan went electric.

'An artist can't be made to serve a theory'

The original script for "A Complete Unknown" was based on Elijah Wald's 2015 book "Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties."

Wald recounts how a 24-year-old Dylan took the stage with an electric guitar, breaking with convention and shocking — even enraging — the crowd who gathered to hear traditional finger-picked tunes.

Instead, Dylan opened with "Maggie's Farm" ("Well, I try my best to be just like I am / But everybody wants you to be just like them / They say 'Sing while you slave' and I just get bored") and "Like a Rolling Stone" ("When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose / You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal"), backed by a full band.

Before the performance, Dylan had been growing agitated with the expectations placed on him by fans and the media, who were hailing him as the bastion of protest music. However, according to Baez, Dylan wasn't particularly interested in politics beyond its service to his songwriting. His music leaned more toward commentary than activism.

"I think what happened with Bobby is the same as with The Beatles. They are really talented, but they don't want to accept responsibility for what's going on," Baez said in 1967. "And the minute they write a song that was sort of saying, 'I'm on this side or that,' then everybody's going to jump all over them for being part of a cause, and they don't want it."

At the time, the folk scene was all about social awareness and advocacy. Baez was a fixture at protests and civil rights marches, for example, while Seeger was avidly pro-worker and tracked by the FBI for suspected ties to communism. By contrast, Dylan avoided political events throughout the '60s and even declined to denounce the Vietnam War, a cause that united many of his contemporaries. (When asked to do so by Sing Out! in 1968, he replied, "How do you know that I'm not, as you say, for the war?")

Dylan's girlfriend in the early '60s, Suze Rotolo, said he balked at the idea of getting boxed in — as a person or a musician — in her 2008 memoir "A Freewheelin' Time."

"The old-left wanted to school him so he would understand well and continue on the road they had paved, the one that Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and others had traveled before him. They explained the way of the road and its borders," she wrote. "Bob listened, absorbed, honored them, and then walked away. An artist can't be made to serve a theory."

In short, Dylan didn't feel beholden to the folk tradition. So, on that pivotal day in Newport, he decided to swap his acoustic guitar for the famed Sunburst Fender Stratocaster.

"When Dylan took the stage with that unprecedented amped-in performance, he fatefully intertwined folk with rock 'n' roll," Rolling Stone reported. "But more immediately, he was harassed by the audience, who booed him loudly and called him a traitor to the folk genre."

The dissenters included Seeger, who had supported Dylan's career since they met years prior in Greenwich Village. Seeger was also a prominent member of the festival's board of directors and has been credited with booking Dylan for the lineup.

It's been widely reported that Seeger, watching Dylan's performance from the wings, told the audio technicians he wanted to chop the cables with an ax. (It's unlikely that Seeger actually tried to cut Dylan's sound, as he's depicted attempting in "A Complete Unknown," but rumors about that day can be hard to separate from reality. Seeger later said he was only upset because the sound was distorted.)

Not everyone was horrified. Johnny Cash was famously supportive of his friend's shift toward rock, while Baez later told Rolling Stone, "I just thought he was very brave to do it, even though I didn't like the sound of it. But I learned to like it, because he was still writing wonderful stuff."

Still, Dylan was shouted off the stage in Newport after just three songs. After a brief intermission, he returned with his acoustic guitar to play "Mr. Tambourine Man" and, fittingly, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." The crowd cheered for these songs, but bootleg videos show Dylan looking stoic.

'Judas!'

In the following years, Dylan was ostracized from the folk community. Fans thought electric Dylan was an out-of-touch sell-out, less authentic than acoustic Dylan, and they weren't afraid to let him know.

"A Complete Unknown" shows a furious concertgoer screaming "Judas!" at Dylan in Newport, which actually did happen — only it happened several months later in Manchester, England, during Dylan's 1966 world tour. (He'd just released "Blonde on Blonde," which has since been vindicated by fans and critics as one of his best albums.)

One fan identified as Lonnie, who attended the Manchester show in question, is quoted in C.P. Lee's 1998 biography "Bob Dylan: Like the Night."

Lonnie told Lee he doesn't regret how the crowd treated their one-time hero: "It was like, as if, everything that we held dear had been betrayed," he said, adding, "We made him and he betrayed the cause."

Ironically, the immediate backlash seemed to reinforce the very reason Dylan stepped back from folk music in the first place.

In his 2004 memoir, "Chronicles: Volume One," Dylan said his admirers had been acting increasingly possessive. "Screw that," he wrote. "As far as I knew, I didn't belong to anybody then or now."

Dylan's rebellious streak made him perfectly suited for the rock world, which embraced him with open arms.

Dylan refused to play at the Newport Folk Festival for another 37 years before he finally returned in 2002. By that time, change and genre-hopping had become not a sticking point for Dylan's fans but a key part of his allure.

Once again, he sang "Like a Rolling Stone." This time, it was met with applause.

• Elon Musk is the world's first $400 billion person.
• It's not just his wealth that increased in 2024.
• Thanks to Donald Trump, Musk will enter 2025 with unprecedented power.

Elon Musk is more than just the world's richest person.

He's also the self-proclaimed "First Buddy" of President-elect Donald Trump, who will soon return to his position as leader of the free world. Trump has named Musk as co-leader of "The Department of Government Efficiency," giving the tech titan major sway over federal spending.

Like many moments in Musk's life, it's a remarkable turnaround story.

2024 began with Musk briefly relinquishing his wealthiest title, first to French luxury titan Bernard Arnault and then to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Musk's rival in space travel.

Musk had also backed the wrong candidate. In early 2024, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who Musk had aligned himself with, abruptly ended his campaign after Trump blew him out in the Iowa Republican caucuses. By March, Trump, trying to orchestrate his own comeback, privately met with Musk to ask for his financial support. In response, Musk said his checkbook was closed.

He changed his mind, spending over $277 million backing Trump and the GOP. Musk even campaigned for Trump in Pennsylvania, the biggest swing state.

Musk's wealth surged after the 2024 election election. His big bet is still paying off.

January: Musk visited Auschwitz amid an uproar

Musk ended 2023 under siege. In what he later called his "dumbest" tweet ever, the billionaire promoted an antisemitic post. Media Matters, a liberal nonprofit, accused X of placing ads next to pro-Nazi content, allegations that sent advertisers fleeing the platform.

He apologized for the post but lashed out at advertisers, including Disney CEO Bob Iger, telling them "to go fuck" themselves.

In late January, Musk accepted an invitation to visit the site of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Afterward, he said he had been "naive" about the Holocaust.

February: Musk returned to the Super Bowl

Musk had a prime seat to watch the Kansas City Chiefs win their second-straight Super Bowl.

This was Musk's first big game since reports surfaced that he spent the 2023 Super Bowl frustrated that President Joe Biden's tweet received more engagement than his own. According to Platformer, Musk pressured Twitter engineers to begin working on ensuring that his future posts would get much larger exposure.

March: X abruptly ended a deal with Don Lemon after a testy interview

X is a platform that champions free speech, and we’re proud to provide an open environment for diverse voices and perspectives. The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work…

— Business (@XBusiness) March 13, 2024

Musk's X has become a new home for many commentators, including conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon inked a deal with the platform for similar support, but those plans were scrapped after Lemon's interview with Musk.

Lemon, who later sued Musk, questioned the CEO's commitment to welcoming "diverse voices" on X in the wake of the abrupt cancellation.

"His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me," Lemon wrote in a since-deleted post.

April: Musk made a surprise visit to China

Musk sent Tesla shares higher in April amid a previously unannounced visit to China. According to Reuters, the Tesla CEO was there to soothe tensions over the automaker's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, which has long been hoped to launch in its second-biggest market.

The entry of Tesla's technology into China continues to be delayed.

Musk's ties to China are receiving renewed attention given the powerful post he will occupy outside the Trump administration. Multiple House Democrats accused Musk of helping kill an initial bipartisan year-end spending bill due to including a provision that would regulate US investments in China. Congress eventually averted a government shutdown, but the final legislation did not include the investment restrictions.

"This awful creature needs to be expelled from Congress! Ugh …," Musk wrote on X, in response to Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, calling him out for tanking the deal.

May: Musk welcomed Indonesia to SpaceX's Starlink

SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service exploded in popularity over the year.

In May, Musk headed to the resort island of Bali to welcome Indonesia to Starlink, making it the third Southeast Asian country to receive the service.

Even bigger announcements came later in the year. In September, United Airlines announced it would launch Starlink service early next year. Several major cruise ship companies now offer Starlink as well.

Global internet traffic from Starlink more than tripled in 2024, as Business Insider previously reported.

July: Musk 'fully' endorsed Trump

I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery pic.twitter.com/ZdxkF63EqF

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 13, 2024

Musk came off the sidelines in a major way by endorsing Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt. Like others in Silicon Valley, the billionaire later said admired Trump's courage.

With blood across his face, Trump held up his fist and yelled "Fight" as Secret Service agents ushered him off the stage to safety.

It wasn't fully clear at the time, but Musk had already been working to support Trump. Just a day before shots rang out, Bloomberg News reported that the Tesla CEO had donated to a pro-Trump super PAC.

October: Musk joined Trump on the campaign trail

Musk soon became one of the biggest megadonors of the entire 2024 cycle. He wasn't done trying to influence the presidential race.

In October, Musk joined Trump as the former president returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, at the exact location of the July assassination attempt.

"As you can see, I am not just MAGA, I'm dark MAGA," Musk said while wearing an all-black Make American Great Again hat.

Trump's campaign seized on Musk's attire and used it to fuel further fundraising.

SpaceX showed it can catch a rocket in midair

It wasn't all politics. In mid-October, Musk's SpaceX conducted its fifth test flight of its Starship rocket.

The company made history and pulled off an engineering marvel when it demonstrated its ability to catch a 233-foot-tall Super Heavy booster as it descended back toward the launchpad.

The spectacle moved Musk's vision for reusable rockets and, thus, cheaper space travel one step closer to reality.

Musk started $1 million giveaways to voters

Musk didn't stop at donating hundreds of millions to help Trump. He hit the campaign trail, focusing on Pennsylvania, widely viewed as the 2024 election's most important state.

The billionaire went even further in a controversial step, giving away $1 million to voters in swing states. The Trump ally's attorneys later admitted that the checks weren't the result of a true lottery.

Philadelphia's district attorney, Larry Krasner, filed a lawsuit in October attempting to stop the effort. Just before Election Day, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that the checks could go on.

November: The Trump-Musk bromance simmered at Mar-a-Lago

The whole squad pic.twitter.com/5yQVkFiney

— Kai Trump (@kaitrump) November 6, 2024

Late on November 5, it became clear that Trump's political comeback would be successful. Musk was at Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club to watch the results unfold.

Trump thanked Musk by name in his victory speech early the next morning.

"We have a new star, a star is born," Trump told boisterous supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, a few hours before the election was called in his favor. "Elon. He is an amazing guy."

Kai Trump, one of the president-elect's granddaughters, went even further, declaring Musk part of the family's "squad" in a photo that showed over a dozen Trumps next to Musk holding his son, X Æ A-12.

Musk, Trump, and some cabinet picks enjoyed a night out

Musk and Trump remained virtually inseparable after the election. The billionaire maintained a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago.

When the president-elect left his club, Musk would often join him. On November 16, Musk joined Trump's sprawling entourage to watch UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department, and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who Trump nominated to be director of national intelligence, were among those who sat nearby.

December: DOGE took over Capitol Hill

Musk wasted little time working on DOGE, the outside advisory panel that Musk and Ramaswamy have said will cut $2 trillion from the federal budget.

In December, Musk and Ramaswamy visited Capitol Hill to discuss their plans with GOP lawmakers. Musk even brought his son along.

Musk sent GOP lawmakers into chaos

Ever seen a bigger piece of pork? pic.twitter.com/ZesFCNSNKp

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024

Musk wasn't done disrupting Washington.

In mid-December, House lawmakers finally reached a deal to avoid a government shutdown just before the Christmas holiday. As was often the case, lawmakers loaded the legislation full of unrelated provisions, stretching the bill to over 1,500 pages long.

Trump's "First Buddy" soon joined a handful of conservative activists in fomenting an effort to kill the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who helped break the deal with House Democrats, had to scrap it.

There was brief concern that Musk's actions might lead to a government shutdown, an occurrence he and Trump encouraged if the final deal didn't give them what they wanted.

Ultimately, Trump didn't get his wish for lawmakers to increase the debt ceiling. Musk declared he was satisfied with the final product, which trimmed the deal down which funded the federal government through March 14, included $100 billion in disaster relief, and extended farm policies for a year.

Trump said Musk can't be president

Democrats pounced on the opportunity to blame Musk for the funding bill's death. Some even called him President Musk.

Musk responded by lashing out at Democrats. He said on X the statements were a ploy designed to drive a wedge between him and Trump.

Trump addressed the fracas just before Christmas, joking to a conservative conference that he wasn't worried about the Tesla CEO who can't be president.

"No, he's not gonna be president, that I can tell you," Trump said. "And I'm safe, you know why? He can't be, he wasn't born in this country."

• AWS plans to reduce spending on ZT Systems as it designs more data center gear in-house.
• AWS has been designing more data center components itself to improve efficiency.
• AWS remains the largest cloud provider, with significant capital expenditures planned for 2025.

Amazon Web Services plans to cut back on one key supplier as it designs more data center components in-house.

AWS is scaling down its spending with ZT Systems, an AI infrastructure company that AMD agreed to acquire for $4.9 billion earlier this year, Business Insider has learned.

AWS spent almost $2 billion last year on ZT Systems, which designs and manufactures server and networking products, according to one internal estimate in a confidential Amazon document from late last year, obtained by BI.

The document said some of AWS's "server and networking racks" were "transitioning" to a custom hardware approach where it designs this equipment itself. This change has the "potential to impact spend" with ZT Systems, the document explained.

Two current AWS employees familiar with the relationship also told BI recently that AWS is reducing spending on ZT Systems. One of the people said the cutback could happen in phases over a long period because ZT Systems is tightly integrated with AWS servers. They asked not to be identified due to confidential agreements.

An AWS spokesperson told BI that the company continues to have a business relationship with ZT Systems.

"Across AWS, we are relentless in our pursuit of lower costs and improved performance for customers, and our approach to our infrastructure is no different," the spokesperson told BI in an email statement. Spokespeople for AMD and ZT Systems didn't respond to requests for comment.

AWS has been using more homegrown data center components in recent years, where it sees the opportunity to save costs and improve efficiency. This helps AWS because it doesn't have to buy as much from outside suppliers that mark up their offerings to make a profit. In turn, AWS is able to reduce prices for cloud customers. AWS now uses various custom data center components, including routers and chips.

AWS is the world's largest cloud computing provider, so any change in its spending behavior is closely followed by the tech industry. AWS's spending on individual suppliers can fluctuate over time, and any one change doesn't mean AWS is pulling back on its data center investments. In fact, Amazon is expected to spend $75 billion in capex this year, and even more in 2025, mostly on AWS data centers.

AMD agreed to acquire ZT Systems in August for $4.9 billion. The company is best-known for designing and manufacturing server racks and other gear that help run data centers.

AWS could still send in-house designs to ZT to be manufactured. AMD previously said it plans to sell ZT Systems's manufacturing business after the acquisition closes.

In recent months, some AWS employees have discussed concerns about working too closely with ZT Systems since AWS and AMD offer similar products in the AI chips space, one of the people said.

For years, AWS has been a close partner of AMD. The cloud giant sells cloud access to AMD CPUs but hasn't made AMD's new AI chips available on its cloud servers yet, partly due to low demand, according to one AWS executive who spoke with BI recently.

It's relatively common these days for big tech companies to design custom hardware. Nvidia, for example, acquired Mellanox for $6.9 billion in 2019 to offer its own data center networking infrastructure. Other cloud giants, including Google, also design their own chips and networking gear.

AMD said in August that ZT Systems will help "deliver end-to-end data center AI infrastructure at scale."

"AWS and AMD work together closely, as we continue to make AWS the best place to run AMD silicon," AWS's spokesperson told BI.

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• Multiple celebrities got engaged and flaunted their diamond rings in 2024.
• Stars like Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez received some of the most luxurious pieces.
• Pear-cut diamonds were especially popular among stars this year.

For some celebrities, the past year has been all about diamonds.

Just look at Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, and Emma Roberts. They're just a handful of the Hollywood stars who recently got engaged and showed off their massive rings in 2024.

Here's a look at their stunning new jewelry pieces and some other luxurious engagement rings out there.

Lady Gaga's new engagement ring is truly massive.

The "Joker: Folie à Deux" star got engaged in April and began wearing her engagement ring publicly in September. It was one of her main accessories while promoting the DC Comics movie at the Venice Film Festival.

The statement piece features an oval-shaped stone atop a raised, diamond-encrusted band.

Selena Gomez got her dream diamond and showed it off on Instagram.

When Gomez released her 2015 album "Revival," she sang the line "I'm a marquise diamond" on a single called "Good For You."

Nearly 10 years later, the Rare Beauty founder has that exact stone on her ring finger.

Gomez revealed her diamond engagement ring from her now-fiancé, Benny Blanco, in a December Instagram post.

The large diamond is on a gold pavé band decorated with smaller diamonds.

Paris Jackson's ring features a diamond that's so clear it's see-through.

Jackson revealed her engagement in December with an Instagram post celebrating her fiancé's birthday. She also later shared photos of her ring on her Instagram Story.

Designed by Jean Dousset, the piece of jewelry features a lab-grown, emerald-cut stone that's crystal clear. It sits atop a thin, diamond-encrusted band.

Nina Dobrev accepted a large, pear-shaped jewel in the fall.

Vogue reported that "The Vampire Diaries" star was told in late October that she'd been invited to dinner with the publication's editor in chief Anna Wintour.

She dressed for the occasion and arrived a few minutes late — but quickly realized that she was actually attending her surprise proposal.

White got down on one knee that night and presented her with a Lorraine Schwartz ring.

It features a five-carat, pear-shaped diamond that's completely clear atop a gold band.

Justin Theroux proposed to Nicole Brydon Bloom with a chic emerald-cut diamond.

The actor flashed her sparkling ring — a four-carat creation from Stephanie Gottlieb Fine Jewelry — on the "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" red carpet at the Venice Film Festival.

Theroux asked for her hand in marriage while in Italy for the event, according to People.

The publication also reported that the large diamond was set in a platinum and 18-carat yellow-gold band that had Bloom's and Theroux's birthstones hidden inside.

Huma Abedin's new engagement jewelry is larger than life.

The author and political staffer had her ring on display while speaking at the Forbes 50 Over 50 event in New York City in October.

Its massive emerald-cut diamond sat atop a thick, dazzling band crafted with smaller stones.

She and her fiancé, Alex Soros, the heir to George Soros' multibillion-dollar fortune, previously announced their engagement in July.

Christian Serratos received a statement ring with two unique features.

Serratos, who previously starred in "The Walking Dead" and "Twilight," became engaged to musician David Boyd in August and shared close-up shots of her ring on Instagram.

Her custom Brilliant Earth design features a vibrant red band, rose-gold prongs, and a pink, pear-shaped diamond.

People reported that the latter piece is over 11.66 carats.

You could describe Emma Roberts' engagement ring as old-school chic.

The actor first announced her engagement to actor Cody John with an Instagram post in July.

However, it wasn't until a few weeks later that the "American Horror Story" star posted a closer shot of the dazzling jewelry piece she received that day.

Her vintage-looking ring has a large, round stone set on a striped gold band.

• Steve Davis, an Elon Musk loyalist, is ready to help out at the Department of Government Efficiency.
• Davis has worked at Musk's companies for over 20 years, having first joined SpaceX in 2003.
• Since then he has become a close advisor to the world's richest man.

Steve Davis has been a vital point person for Elon Musk. His next act is to help the billionaire sort out the government.

Davis, a longtime Musk loyalist, has been enlisted to recruit staff for the Department of Government Efficiency, Bloomberg reported. Donald Trump has tasked Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with overseeing the new department, whose authority and jurisdiction is still unclear.

Davis's appearance in operational planning at DOGE, a project proposed to cut federal spending by $2 trillion, isn't surprising. Davis and Musk's working relationship stretches back more than two decades.

Davis entered Musk's sphere in 2003, when he joined his rocket company, SpaceX, a year after its founding. A 2019 Bloomberg report said that while working for the company in Washington, DC, Davis launched a dessert shop called Mr. Yogato.

Davis' ties with Musk have only deepened since then. Davis, a Stanford University-educated aerospace engineer, helped Musk launch the Boring Company, a tunneling and construction business, in 2016. He was later appointed president and CEO.

He was also said to have advised the billionaire in the early days of Musk's Twitter takeover, where Musk initiated a sweeping layoff plan that reduced head count by almost 90% in six months.

Bloomberg reported that Davis was so willing to help Musk during the takeover in October 2022 that he slept at Twitter's offices with his partner and newborn baby.

It's unclear how Davis will help steer Musk's cost-cutting ambitions when Trump's second term in the White House begins, though Bloomberg's report offers some clues based on Davis' activities at Musk's other companies.

It said Davis' leadership responsibilities at the Boring Company involved "signing off on costs as low as a few hundred dollars," adding that he "drives hard bargains with suppliers."

During his stint at SpaceX, Davis was said to have helped Musk find a $3,900 alternative to a part that cost $120,000.

• My husband and I lived in Canada in our 20s, and we brought our young kids there a decade later.
• Our children were 4 years old and 8 months old, so they don't remember any of the overseas trip.
• With two young kids, we had to skip or adjust a lot of the activities we'd planned or hoped to do.

My husband and I lived in Canada in our 20s, and couldn't wait to return a decade later.

Some of our happiest memories were of living in Banff in the Rockies, meeting other young people, going on epic outdoors adventures, and exploring Canada's national parks.

This time around, though, we had our 4-year-old and 8-month-old kids to take with us. On our overseas adventure, we planned to visit my brother in Vancouver for his 50th birthday and road trip across British Columbia and Alberta.

After our grueling 17-hour flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Vancouver, we hit the ground running. In total, we spent 10 days exploring Banff National Park in an RV and went on a road trip throughout Hope and other parts of Canada.

We had great moments along the way but we learned some tough lessons, too.

We couldn't do the same things we used to

On our first trip to Banff, we had zero responsibility. This time, we had two little people to care for — and they came first.

I realized pretty quickly that having young children hindered us from doing some of the things we used to love in the area.

Before we arrived, I had naïve visions of being able to go on epic hikes with the kids strapped to our backs. In reality, they didn't want to traipse up a mountain (on my back or otherwise).

Instead, we took short walks with a stroller and made lots of stops along the way to look at butterflies, pick flowers, and eat snacks.

One night, our housemates kindly offered to look after the kids, so my husband and I snuck away for a cocktail at the restaurant I'd worked at a decade earlier.

Two sips in, they called to say our baby girl wouldn't stop crying, so we rushed back to their place as fast as we could. All in all, having young kids meant we had a very different kind of travel experience.

Next time, we'll wait until our kids are older to travel overseas

Banff wasn't quite the same the second time around, largely because we were in a new stage in life with different priorities: our young kids.

Looking back, it would've been better to wait until our children were both older to take them overseas.

I'd hoped that our 4-year-old son would at least remember this trip, but he's now 9 and a lot of those memories have faded. Sometimes I'll ask him about Vancouver or a particular lake we visited in Canada, and he'll just give me a blank stare.

He was just a little too young to appreciate the privilege (and expense) of traveling to another country. I'm confident if we took him overseas today, he'd remember it far better, as I still recall trips I took abroad with my family when I was around his age.

We now have three children and our youngest is a toddler. So, at this time, we're just focusing on exploring our backyard and taking domestic vacations in Australia.

In a few years, though, we'd like to take the kids on another overseas expedition — ideally one they'll remember.

• An Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.
• Analysts said Russian air defenses, not a bird strike, may have caused the plane to go down.
• An aviation safety firm plans to raise its risk rating for the nearby airspace after the incident.

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight crash-landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, with Russia's civil aviation authority quickly pointing to a bird strike as a possible cause.

However, analysts said that Russian air defenses may have been behind the incident, which killed 38 of the 67 people on board, including both pilots.

Ukraine was quick to put the blame on Russia.

On Wednesday, Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, said in an X post that the plane was "shot down by a Russian air defense system."

But others have also suggested that Russian air defenses may have played a role.

Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm, said in a critical alert sent to its clients and shared with Business Insider that the flight was "likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense system of unspecified type/variant over the North Caucasus Federal District."

The firm cited video of the wreckage, Ukraine's official statement, and the "circumstances around the airspace security environment in southwest Russia."

It also said that "incidents of civilian airliners being misidentified and shot down by air-defence systems are not unprecedented in the region."

It pointed to examples such as Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in eastern Ukraine in 2014 after reportedly being hit by a Russian-made missile.

Matthew Borie, Osprey's chief intelligence officer, told BI that the firm was in the process of raising its risk ratings for that portion of Russian airspace to its highest level.

"We have a portion of Russian airspace within 300 kilometers of the Ukrainian border, we have at extreme, we'll be expanding that out to about 600 kilometers from the Russian border now," he said, equivalent to 373 miles.

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was en route to Grozny, which Ukrainian drones have targeted in recent attacks.

The governor of the Russian region of North Ossetia said in a Telegram post that there were Ukrainian drone attacks carried out on Wednesday in a number of regions of the North Caucasus Federal District, which includes Grozny and the surrounding area.

The governor's post specifically mentioned a drone being taken down in Vladikavkas, which is about 70 miles away from Grozny.

Oliver Alexander, an independent OSINT analyst, told BI that "all the evidence I have seen points to the aircraft being hit by shrapnel from an air defense missile, which severely damaged the elevator and rudder controls."

In a thread on X, which cited post-crash footage, he wrote that "every single piece of debris that hit the aircraft had enough kinetic to punch through the skin and not just dent it."

Alexander also dismissed the preliminary information from Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, which suggested that the plane diverted after a bird strike, causing an onboard emergency.

He told BI that a bird strike would produce "a lot of blood" and "a lot of denting," neither of which seemed apparent in footage and images from the crash site.

"The location of the damage is all focused around the tail section," he added, "which would be very unlikely for a bird strike."

Russia has cautioned against drawing conclusions.

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it "would be wrong to put forward any hypotheses" until the investigation into the crash is concluded.

"We, of course, will not do this, and no-one should do this," he added, per a translation by the BBC.

Azerbaijan Airline's president, Samir Rzayev, told reporters Wednesday that the plane's black box had been recovered and its analysis was being "conducted in line with international aviation standards."

The country's president, Ilham Aliyev, said in a statement that while there are videos of the crash online, the cause was still unknown.

However, on Thursday, unnamed Azerbaijani government sources told Euronews that a preliminary investigation had found that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the crash.

According to Euronews, the sources said that shrapnel from the missile hit the plane after it exploded during drone activity above Grozny.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Affairs department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Elon Musk had some criticism for former Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun on Christmas Day.
• "Boeing is on a much better track with the new CEO," Musk wrote on X.
• Musk said Calhoun, an accounting graduate, "had no idea how airplanes or rockets worked."

Boeing is "on a much better track" after changing CEOs, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday.

Musk was talking about America's shortage of engineering talent on X when he was asked about the embattled aerospace manufacturer.

"That said, talking in terms of specific companies, Boeing is on a much better track with the new CEO. The prior guy had no idea how airplanes or rockets worked. Just zero," Musk wrote in his post.

Boeing was previously led by Dave Calhoun, who served as the company's CEO from January 2020 to July 2024.

The Virginia Tech accounting graduate was succeeded by former Rockwell Collins CEO Kelly Ortberg in August. Ortberg holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.

When Boeing announced Calhoun's resignation in March, Calhoun said the decision was 100% his own.

"I've entered my fifth year. At the end of this year, I'll be close to 68 years old," Calhoun said in an interview with CNBC.

This isn't the first time Musk has criticized Calhoun's academic background. Back in June, Musk said that Boeing had lost touch with its engineering roots.

"The CEO of an aircraft company should know how to design aircraft, not spreadsheets," Musk wrote in an X post on June 25.

Representatives for Calhoun and Ortberg at Boeing did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Musk also did not respond to a request for comment.

Calhoun's departure came amid a deepening quality-control crisis at Boeing.

The aerospace company faced intense scrutiny in January after a door plug flew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 during an Alaskan Airlines flight from Oregon to California.

The incident resulted in a series of investigations from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Justice, and the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to a Senate subcommittee report on Boeing's safety and quality practices that was published in June, several whistleblowers came forward to express concerns about how Boeing handles faulty plane parts.

Calhoun's predecessor, Dennis Muilenburg, was fired after two crashes involving a different Max variant, the Max 8, killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.

Calhoun publicly apologized to the families of the crash victims during a Senate hearing in June, but defended Boeing's safety record when he was grilled by lawmakers.

"You're proud of the safety record?" Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri asked Calhoun.

"I am proud of every action we've taken," Calhoun said.

In October, Ortberg shared his four-part turnaround plan for Boeing in a memo to employees.

Ortberg's plan called for a fundamental change in the company's culture, a stabilization of its business, an improvement in execution discipline, and the building of a new future for the planemaker.

"We need to be on the factory floors, in the back shops and in our engineering labs. We need to know what's going on, not only with our products, but with our people," Ortberg wrote.

"And most importantly, we need to prevent the festering of issues and work better together to identify, fix, and understand root cause," he added.

Boeing reported a net loss of $6.1 billion in the third quarter of 2024 in the same month. The company recorded a loss of more than $1.4 billion in the previous quarter.

Boeing's shares are down by over 31% this year.

"It will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy, but with the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again," Ortberg said in his October memo.

• Jimmy Donaldson, who goes by MrBeast online, has become a household name.
• Donaldson started his YouTube channel in 2012 and now has over 338 million subscribers.
• Beyond YouTube, Donaldson owns a sprawling business including products and a show on Amazon.

If you've been online, then it's nearly impossible you've avoided the internet's biggest star: MrBeast.

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has an enormous audience online, including over 338 million YouTube subscribers. That makes him the top creator on the platform.

Read: What it's like to work for MrBeast, according to former employees

He posted his first video in 2012 and has dozens of viral videos, including his recreation of Netflix's "Squid Games," which has over 670 million views. He runs several YouTube channels, from MrBeast Gaming to channels dubbed in other languages like Spanish, French, Russian, and Arabic.

Read: MrBeast quietly tested the ability to add multiple audio tracks in different languages to his YouTube videos

Donaldson earns money through brand sponsorships, YouTube ad revenue, merchandise, content licensing, syndication, and more. Documents filed in court in October revealed 163 slides of MrBeast's pitches for brands, including Ford, CarMax, and Walmart.

Read: Court documents reveal how MrBeast pitches brands on sponsoring his YouTube empire

Donaldson's massive business also includes a chocolate and snack brand called Feastables and a charity organization.

Read: YouTube star MrBeast expects to earn 700 million in revenue this year

Instead of packing up and moving to Hollywood when he made it big, Donaldson decided to grow his business from his hometown in Greenville, North Carolina.

Read: In Greenville, North Carolina, everyone has a MrBeast story

Amazon Prime Video took a chance on the YouTuber with a 10-episode show

Donaldson's latest venture is a 10-episode physical competition show on Amazon Prime Video in which contestants compete for a $5 million prize. Earlier this year, discourse and controversy arose around production for the show, which is called "Beast Games."

Read: The Internet's love affair with YouTube's biggest star is showing cracks

Business Insider previously spoke with two Amazon insiders who said that the show faced risks from the start and that Amazon agreed to give Donaldson creative control and approval over ad sponsors.

Read: How Amazon's massive TV deal with YouTube's top star turned sour

BI also viewed documents that contestants of the show's preliminary round were asked to agree to. The terms prohibit contestants from disclosing information about the show, and those who break the agreement before the last episode airs must pay the producer and network $500,000 for each breach, the documents said.

Read: Leaked MrBeast docs reveal "Beast Games" contestant terms

Read more about Donaldson's success, controversies, and business:

• MrBeast acquired a startup that aims to be the LinkedIn for the creator economy
• MrBeast shares his thumbnail strategy and advice to creators
• MrBeast cut ties with his talent management firm Night Media

• I struggled to make friends with other adults when I became a mother.
• I met a woman at a workout class, and we became close, so I opened up to her.
• She decided to end our friendship, and I'm struggling to let anyone else in.

I moved to a small Florida town after growing up in Miami and have been here for over 10 years. I still find it difficult to make friends in the area — whether it's because of cultural differences or just because it's more difficult to connect to others as an adult.

But a few years ago, I met another mom after a workout class. She approached me and initiated a conversation. We immediately found that we had a lot in common. We were the same age and each had a child the same age.

I was initially skeptical of her motives. As an adult, I had never become friendly with other people my age outside work. I hadn't realized until then how much I had shut myself off from the possibility of making new friends.

Since my son was about 3 at the time, and I hadn't successfully made any other mom friends even though I had tried and wanted to when he was younger, it felt like I should let myself open up to her. I had to allow myself to trust that she was simply interested in becoming friends. When I put myself in her position, I thought it was brave of her to approach me without knowing how I would react. I admired her for that.

She became the first adult friend I ever made, but it wasn't a happy ending.

I opened up to my new friend

We became friends quickly. She wasn't shy about calling me just to talk or inviting my son and me over for visits. She was so candid that it made me feel like I could be the same as her. Soon, we weren't just acquaintances but friends who were more like family.

After living away from home for so many years, I had forgotten how nice it was to have a friend like her nearby. She listened to me when I opened up — something I rarely do.

Since all of my best friends live three hours away, I became increasingly grateful to have her in my life and so close by. I don't think long-distance friends are less true friends than the ones you can see every day, but it's definitely different. In times of need, we could literally be there for each other right away.

She wanted to end our friendship

One day, with what felt like no warning, she told me that she didn't want to talk anymore. I could tell by her tone that she had given this decision a lot of thought. She didn't give me a clear reason. Out of respect for her and maybe my own pride, I didn't try to talk her out of it. I said OK, accepting that she no longer wanted to be friends.

I was devastated.

I had endured painful friendship breakups when I was younger, but I had never been through one as an adult. Beyond college friendships and romantic relationships, I had never opened myself up to anyone as much as I had with her.

The end of our friendship felt different from the end of one with a significant other because I viewed dating with the realism that it may not last forever. When it came to friendship, I saw it as something more enduring.

I'm even more closed off than I was before

I don't regret allowing myself to be vulnerable with her. I'm glad we each opened ourselves up to each other. When I look back at everything that was going on in my life at the time, I am so thankful to have had a friend like her to count on.

But since I was already so closed off to the possibility of making any more true friends past my college years when I met her, the way our friendship ended was traumatic for me.

Since then, I have found myself talking to new people less and being much more closed off in social situations. While it's been almost five years since we stopped talking, I still miss her. I'm glad I was able to experience an adult friendship to the degree of closeness that we shared. But the way it ended has made it even more difficult for me to believe in making any more new friends as an adult.

These days, I'm working on not closing myself off completely.

• Tan Hong Kai, 24, from Singapore, is a senior butler at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
• Kai looks after guests in the hotel's most luxurious suites, some of which are invite-only.
• He said he enjoys interacting with famous guests, but last-minute requests can be stressful.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tan Hong Kai, senior butler for Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It has been edited for length and clarity

My first memory of Marina Bay Sands is standing with the crowds around Marina Bay and watching the New Year's Eve fireworks. Now, I'm proud to say I work in this iconic Singaporean hotel.

I left school at 18 and got a job with the Singapore Tourism Board. After the pandemic, they had a scheme called the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers to promote local tourism. I taught Singaporeans how to use the vouchers and suggest places they might visit. When my contract was coming to an end, I saw a position for a butler at Marina Bay Sands on a local job site.

I read through the job description and was hooked. I loved the idea that the job could change from day to day, so I decided to apply. I passed the interview, and I joined the hotel as a butler in October 2021. The starting wage for a junior butler is SGD3,000 a month, around $2,237.

My training period lasted for three months. I learned basic butler skills, trained with other departments such as housekeeping, and shadowed my mentor, a senior butler.

What surprised me most during my training was how much a butler is encouraged to go that extra mile for a guest, like getting a cake for their birthday or arranging a light meal if they have an early flight.

What I do in Marina Bay Sands

The hotel has 160 butlers, 10 of which look after the VVIP suites, which are called the Paiza Royal Collection. The VVIP suites are located on the highest floors of the hotel and frequented by celebrity guests.

This is where I started working in February 2022. I'm assigned to specific guests rather than the suite, so I work across the VIP and VVIP suites depending upon which room they choose.

My mentor had a lot of experience working with celebrities and taught me tips like if they're going to the restaurant, I need to try to get a private room or a corner table and I should highlight a discreet path they can use to get there.

Two of the suites in the Paiza Royal Collection are invite-only suites. The 630 square meter Chairman Suite has four bedrooms, a private gym, a grand piano, a karaoke room, and a spa.

You can book The Presidential Suite online which costs SGD$35,000, around $26,101, a night. It comes in various configurations, and can include a state-of-the-art golf simulator or karaoke room.

Day-to-day of a luxury hotel butler

I was promoted to a senior butler in September 2023. I plan to stay on the frontline meeting guests and making their stays memorable. I'm uniquely trained to manage celebrities and I'd like to mentor our junior butlers.

We offer a 24-hour butler service, so we are split into three shifts. If I'm working the morning shift, I will start at 7:35 a.m. We will serve the guests breakfast if they've requested it in their suite, collect the laundry, and make sure their mini-bar is replenished.

We create a preference sheet for all our guests, which we leave in our pantry so that all butlers are aware of the guests' likes and dislikes. We will ask the guests if they enjoy nature, adventure, or food and create an itinerary for them.

During the afternoon, the butlers are sometimes invited to the restaurants and the Marina Bay Sands Mall to find out what the latest menus or events are so we can share this with our guests.

If I'm working in the evening, I'll do the turndown service. We will prepare a tea and draw the guest a bath. There are times when our guests want to hold a party so we help them organize drinks, food and decor.

My favorite part of being a butler is the guests' compliment my work

My favorite part of my job is when the guest compliments my work. I had the privilege of taking care of the two Ferrari Formula 1 drivers. They were staying at the hotel during the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023 and 2024. We are usually assigned the same guests when they stay with us again as rapport has already been built.

They were following European time, so they'd wake up late. I'd try to make everything seamless for them, such as keeping the buffet open. During an interview, the drivers said they enjoyed their stay in Singapore because of me. I was really pleased to hear that.

I get a lot of last-minute requests. I've had a guest text me to say they're in the adjacent mall and have shopping they'd like us to collect. I've also had a guest say they've got lost in the mall and ask me to come and find them.

One of my most challenging moments as a butler was when a guest messaged me at 9 p.m. to say their family wanted to go for a bike ride that night. The rental shops had closed, so I managed to find a sports store that was still open where I could buy five bikes. We now have them in storage if another family wants to use them.

Some requests are more challenging than others

We try not to say no to any of our guests' requests. If we can't fulfil a particular request, we always offer alternatives. There are requests that are easy to manage and others that are more challenging, but at the end of the day the butler's role is to ensure our guests have the best experience possible.

The only time I have to say no is when someone wants to purchase medication. That's for safety reasons, but I will arrange for a car to take them to the pharmacy.

I work five days a week. During my downtime I like to just chill out. I may also enjoy a meal with friends, watch Korean dramas or play with my nephews.

I feel really privileged to be working at Marina Bay Sands. Watching the fireworks on New Year's Eve is still one of my favorite times of the year. As the butlers have access to all the floors, we can watch the fireworks from floor 54, the highest floor in the hotel. It's a big perk.

• Business Insider spoke to two professional organizers about what to get rid of before the new year.
• The end of the year is a good time to go through your holiday decor and outdated clothing.
• Expired food and beauty products shouldn't make their way into the new year.

The end of the year is a great time to do some decluttering. However, it can be difficult to decide what should stay and what should go.

To make things easier, Business Insider asked professional organizers about the best things to get rid of before the new year. Here's what they said.

Get rid of expired items.

The end of the year is a great time to toss expired items, from food and beverages to old beauty products.

Ashley Coleman, founder of home organization company Done Neatly, told BI that starting with bathroom products is a great way to jump-start your decluttering journey.

She also said to go through your kitchen cupboards and pantry for expired canned goods and toss what can't be kept.

The end of the year is a good time to go through your holiday decor.

Styles and preferences naturally change throughout the year, so December can be a good time to get rid of old holiday decor, broken ornaments, and other items that have remained in your holiday-decoration bins and boxes.

Nikki Bell, founder of Just Us Organizing, suggests taking note of what items you didn't decorate with this holiday season and getting rid of them.

Kids' spaces should be decluttered during the holiday season.

Bell said December is a good time to go through kids' toys and clothes since they are likely to receive an influx of new items at the end of the year.

She said it's a good idea to get rid of these items while kids are enamored by their new gifts and will likely have an easier time parting with some of their old things.

Sort through your outdated and worn clothing.

As the year draws to a close, the experts suggest going through your closets and looking for outdated, worn clothing.

Bell said it can be freeing to get rid of the sizes that no longer fit or feel good to wear.

Jamie Hord, cofounder of Horderly, said getting rid of one item for every new item you bring into the home is a good way to maintain order when accumulating new clothes throughout the holiday season.

It's time to go through your kitchen gadgets.

Coleman told BI it's important to look in your kitchen drawers and get rid of items that you don't use or have multiples of.

She said it's easy to develop a small stockpile of niche kitchen gadgets, but you shouldn't hold onto items "just in case" you may need them later.

Bell also said to purge old kitchen tools that have been replaced by newer ones.

Empty boxes take up valuable space.

Having a stash of empty boxes in the house is an easy way to collect dust.

Bell said unless someone is actively using the box to store their item or moving within the next few months, unused boxes from small appliances take up too much space in a room.

Keep sentimental items to a minimum.

Nostalgic items are hard to part with, but all three organizers emphasized the importance of scaling down your collection to only the most beloved items.

After all, a collection of old concert t-shirts or sports trophies can take up a lot of space in the closet, basement, or garage.

In addition to these mementos, Bell said to look through your trinkets and gifts from friends and relatives. After taking a closer look, you might just find some of the items aren't as sentimental as you thought they would be when you first received them.

"I try to keep one thing a year. And that makes that thing even more special and important to me," she told BI.

• Marlo Lyons is a career coach focusing on professional transitions and executive training.
• She told Business Insider the holiday season is the perfect time to reassess your career path.
• Lyons says reflecting now on your goals and boundaries and celebrating your wins can start 2025 on the right foot.

After a year of crushing layoffs and a cool labor market, career coach Marlo Lyons knows job seekers are downright exhausted.

Lyons said the tech and automotive industries have slowed hiring, and there are fewer entry-level jobs available due to advances in automation. However, she sees the end of 2024 as an opportunity for people to reassess their career paths to start 2025 on the right foot.

Here are her top tips for jumpstarting your career in 2025 with a few easy steps before the end of the year.

Reset your mindset

The holiday period is an ideal time to reflect on the past year, Lyons said. Consider — and write down — what went well, what challenges you faced, what you learned, and identify any limiting beliefs that you may have about what you can and can't achieve in the next year.

Do the things that work for you to take stock, she said. Some people like to journal, some meditate, and others choose self-development activities like attending workshops or seminars. Still, Lyons said it's important to take the time to mindfully set your goals and write them down "because people don't write them down, then they wonder why they didn't achieve them."

She recommended identifying what you hope to accomplish each quarter and setting an action plan to help you achieve your goals, breaking your goals into small steps, and celebrating your progress as you go.

Also important is to find your why: Why are you motivated to accomplish this goal? Because without your "why," you have nothing to anchor your goals to, she said.

Set boundaries to reach your goals

Once you know your goals and your reasons for achieving them, Lyons said the best way to accomplish them is to set boundaries and a daily schedule ahead of time.

"Because if you don't set boundaries, your goal becomes the last thing on the priority list," Lyons said.

Write down your ideal daily schedule, and then do your best to stick to it — even if your plans get derailed, practicing adhering to your dream routine gets you in the habit of doing it all the time.

Block off your calendar now for important events. If you want to take a walk every day at lunch, take a moment now to block your calendar so meetings don't creep in. If you want to save time for career coaching or other self-development, prioritize it by blocking it off.

"And get rid of the negative thoughts if you don't achieve it all in one day, or you don't do it the whole week, because boundaries are also mental boundaries with yourself," Lyons said.

Reconnect with your network

The holiday season is the perfect excuse to refresh your connections with your network, Lyons said.

"Whether you're looking to advance your career, grow your business, or just maintain meaningful relationships, you need to have a strong network," Lyons said. "You can deepen those bonds with people through casual conversation, but also in the new year, it's a great time to wish somebody a happy new year you haven't spoken to a while and ask to reconnect."

Your network is where you get job offers, develop partnerships, and start collaborations, Lyons said. And since the beginning of the year begins slow for many companies, the holiday season is a great opportunity to catch up with people you may have lost touch with over the years.

With a tight job market and HR professionals increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to weed out candidates, Lyons said there's an increasing advantage in having a personal referral when you're looking for a new job.

"With those relationships, candidates are going to really stand out and bring unique value," Lyons said.

• Netflix's hit drama "Virgin River" released its latest batch of episodes in December 2024.
• The streamer announced in October that a seventh season had been greenlit.
• Here's what we know about season seven of the show.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the season six finale of "Virgin River."

The latest season of Netflix's romantic drama "Virgin River" saw nurse practitioner Melinda Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) and restaurateur Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson) finally walk down the aisle together.

It was a long time coming for the couple, who have faced no end of ups and downs since their meet-cute in the show's first season.

Elsewhere, Lizzie (Sarah Dugdale) and Denny (Kai Bradbury) prepared for the arrival of their baby, while Hope (Annette O'Toole) and Doc (Tim Matheson) faced a new threat.

The new episodes also used flashbacks to introduce viewers to younger versions of Mel's parents, Sarah (Jessica Rothe) and Everett (Callum Kerr), giving a glimpse at how their own love story unfolded. The characters are set to be the focus of an upcoming spinoff series.

As for what's next for Mel, Jack, and the rest of the residents of the fictional Northern Californian town, keep reading for everything we know so far about season seven.

'Virgin River' was renewed for season 7 before season 6 aired

The cast of "Virgin River" announced the show's renewal on the series' official Instagram in October.

"Good news, Virgin River is confirmed to come back for Season 7! More love, drama, and small-town charm coming your way. You're very welcome," the caption read.

The series is now Netflix's longest-running original scripted series. The comedy dramas "Orange Is the New Black" and "Grace and Frankie," both ran for seven seasons before ending in 2019 and 2022, respectively.

'Virgin River' season 7 will explore Jack and Mel's 'honeymoon phase'

Speaking to Netflix fan site Tudum, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith teased what fans could expect from the coming season.

"I think we've only just begun to see Mel and Jack function as a married couple, which is exciting," he said, adding that season seven would likely "explore the honeymoon phase for them as they're building their lives on the farm, which can come with its own obstacles."

For those wondering whether those obstacles may include splitting the couple up again, Smith said that wasn't on the cards.

"I can't imagine creating a scenario where you think Mel and Jack are going to break up," he said. "It forces you to dig a little bit deeper into, well, what other issues can they have in their relationship? Especially when you want to keep it through the romance lens. I think Alex and Martin play all of those [moments so well], it's just resting on emotional stakes as opposed to will they, won't they."

There is no release date for season 7 just yet

With season six released earlier this month, it's unlikely that fans will see season seven drop on Netflix any time soon.

In fact, season seven hasn't even begun filming yet. The cast and crew are scheduled to return to set in British Columbia in the Spring of 2025, Smith said, per Deadline.

The show may go on

Netflix hasn't officially confirmed an eighth season, but Smith said that there were "no plans" for the show to end anytime soon.

"No plans to wrap up the series anytime soon, and as long as people keep coming back for it, we're proud and happy to keep telling these stories," he told Deadline in December.

• Bob Dylan and Joan Baez are played by Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro in "A Complete Unknown."
• The two folk singers met in the early '60s and quickly became close collaborators.
• They dated briefly in the '60s and continued to perform together over the years, despite friction.

James Mangold's new biopic, "A Complete Unknown," opens with 19-year-old Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) arriving in New York City, essentially homeless yet armed with his guitar.

It's not long before viewers are introduced to 20-year-old Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), an already-established performer in the Greenwich Village folk scene. In her first scene, Baez takes the stage at Gerde's Folk City and sings "House of the Rising Sun," the fourth track on her self-titled debut album, released in 1960.

"Joanie was at the forefront of a new dynamic in American music," Dylan recalled in the 2009 documentary "Joan Baez: How Sweet the Sound."

"She had a record out, circulating among the folk circles," he continued, "and everybody was listening to it, me included. I listened to it a lot."

In "A Complete Unknown," Baez's performance at Gerde's is followed by Dylan's. He sings "I Was Young When I Left Home," leaving the movie version of Baez awestruck.

The star-crossed encounter kicks off a fruitful collaboration and passionate romance, despite Dylan's existing relationship with Sylvia Russo (Elle Fanning).

In real life, however, Baez had gone to Gerde's specifically to see Dylan.

"Somebody said, 'Oh, you've gotta come down and hear this guy, he's terrific,'" Baez told Rolling Stone in 1983. "And so I went down with my very, very jealous boyfriend, and we saw this scruffy little pale-faced dirty human being get up in front of the crowd and start singing his 'Song to Woody.'"

"I, of course, internally went completely to shreds, 'cause it was so beautiful," she continued. "But I couldn't say anything, 'cause I was next to my very, very jealous boyfriend, who was watching me out of the corner of his eye and trying to mentally slaughter Dylan, I think. And then Bob came over and said, 'Uhhh, hi' — one of those eloquent greetings — and I just thought he was brilliant and superb and so on."

The movie depicts Dylan and Baez starting a sexual relationship after another chance encounter, when Baez stumbles upon Dylan performing "Masters of War" in a coffee shop. Notably, this takes place in the throes of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, when the world seemed on the brink of nuclear armageddon. After kissing at the coffee shop, the pair return to Dylan's apartment.

Again, this doesn't seem to be quite accurate. Dylan and Baez did meet again, but it would've been years before they began their ill-fated fling.

In real life, Baez was instrumental in introducing Dylan to a larger crowd

Dylan and Baez became an unofficial musical duo in the early '60s, encouraging each other to refine their songcraft (she as a singer, he as a writer) and regularly performing duets at Baez's concerts.

In the 2009 Baez doc, one friend described the pair as "quite a force at that time," adding, "I think she had a crush on him. I know he had a crush on her."

The details of Dylan's life can be difficult for historians to confirm, given his penchant for myth-making and obfuscation. (He even asked Mangold to include an inaccurate scene in "A Complete Unknown," according to actor Edward Norton, apparently just for kicks.) So, it's unclear exactly when Dylan and Baez's relationship became romantic.

When Rolling Stone asked Baez how long they'd been involved, she replied, "You mean what period of three months was it? Um, Bob and I spent some time together. I honestly don't know what the year was."

Baez wasn't interested in drugs, which she said caused her to feel disconnected from other musicians, including Dylan. She also wanted Dylan to be more politically active outside his music, leading to a rift between them.

In 1965, a few months before the famous Newport Film Festival that saw Dylan "go electric," he invited Baez to join him on tour in England — but neglected to invite her onstage for any show. This trip is scrubbed from the timeline in "A Complete Unknown," but by all accounts, it was the death blow to their relationship.

"I just sort of trotted around, wondering why Bob wouldn't invite me onstage, feeling very sorry for myself, getting very neurotic and not having the brains to leave and go home," Baez told Rolling Stone. "That would be the best way to describe that tour. It was sort of just wasted time."

Dylan also traced their split back to 1965 and, more specifically, the frenzy of his newfound fame.

"I was just trying to deal with the madness that had become my career, and unfortunately she got swept along, and I felt very bad about it," he said in the Baez doc. "I was sorry to see our relationship end."

"A Complete Unknown" depicts Dylan and Baez duetting at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, but this didn't happen in real life; they were on the outs by then. (They did sing at the festival together in 1963 and 1964.)

Baez later said that Dylan broke her heart.

Even after their relationship deteriorated, their connection fueled their art

Many fans believe Baez inspired notable Dylan songs, like the iconic 1965 hit "Like a Rolling Stone" and 1966 song "Visions of Johanna," though he's never confirmed either theory.

In 1968, Baez released her ninth album, "Any Day Now," comprised entirely of Dylan songs. Her 1970 compilation album, "The First Ten Years," includes six Dylan covers, including her much-loved version of "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." She also released the 1972 song "To Bobby" as an open letter to Dylan, begging him to engage with the protest movement.

A few years later, Baez wrote the heart-wrenching ballad "Diamonds & Rust," which was shaped by an emotional phone call with Dylan.

"Well you burst on the scene / Already a legend / The unwashed phenomenon / The original vagabond," she sings. "You strayed into my arms / And there you stayed / Temporarily lost at sea / The Madonna was yours for free."

Baez later described "Diamonds & Rust" as "the best song of my life."

"The really, really good stuff comes from down deep," she told Rolling Stone in 2017, "and that was how strongly I was affected by Bob in the relationship and everything. It'd be stupid to pretend otherwise."

"I love that song 'Diamonds & Rust,'" Dylan said in the 2009 documentary. "To be included in something that Joan had written — ooh. I mean, to this day, it still impresses me."

"Diamonds & Rust" was released in 1975 on Baez's album of the same name. Later that year, Dylan invited her to join the Rolling Thunder Revue tour alongside a wide cast of their contemporaries, including Joni Mitchell and the Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn.

In the Baez doc, Dylan said he remembers her as "completely in her element" during that time, while Baez characterized the tour as fun and carefree — a departure from her typical activities as a social activist. The experience seemed to mend a bridge between them, however temporarily.

Dylan and Baez performed a few more duets before cutting ties for good

The pair reunited at a 1982 Peace Week concert at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, performing a three-song set together: "With God On Our Side," a cover of Jimmy Buffett's "A Pirate Looks at Forty," and "Blowin' in the Wind," which Dylan had written shortly after they met.

Dylan's guest appearance at the anti-nuke event came as a shock to the crowd, given that he'd declined to denounce the Vietnam War and generally avoided political events.

The following year, when Rolling Stone asked Baez about Dylan's state of mind at the show, she demurred.

"I really have no idea. But I love singing with him," she replied. "He isn't in tune, the phrasing is nuts, and he always wants to do a song I've never heard before."

The magazine also asked if the couple would ever get back together, "when they're both 60 or something." Baez replied, "Spare us, please. Both of us."

In fact, the very next year, they reunited again for a 1984 European stadium tour with Carlos Santana.

Baez came to discover she'd only been added to the bill because the promoter thought it would boost sales. In her 1987 memoir, "And a Voice to Sing With," Baez said she wasn't treated as an equal performer and was largely ignored by Dylan backstage.

After a few haphazard duets in Germany, Dylan stopped inviting her to share the stage with him, so she decided to quit the tour. In her book, Baez described Dylan as tired and disoriented when she said goodbye in his dressing room. She told him their touring together didn't work out, and he said, "That's too bad." She also wrote that he ran his hand up her skirt.

"Goodbye, Bob," Baez wrote. "I thought maybe I shouldn't write all this stuff about you, but as it turns out, it's really about me anyway, isn't it? It won't affect you. The death of Elvis affected you. I didn't relate to that, either."

The two musicians haven't been seen together since. While they did cross paths at a 2010 White House event to celebrate civil rights-era music, Baez said she didn't try to greet him.

"The chances of him just walking past me would be too awful a scenario," Baez told Rolling Stone. "It would just bring up feelings that aren't necessary."

In 2015, Dylan praised Baez when he was named Person of the Year by MusiCares.

"I learned a lot of things from her," he said during his acceptance speech. "A woman with devastating honesty. And for her kind of love and devotion, I could never pay that back."

Last year, Baez told Variety that she was not in touch with Dylan, though she didn't harbor any resentment. "I may never see him again," she said, "and that's OK too."

• Whenever my son comes home with an invitation to a big birthday party, I'm filled with dread.
• The birthday kid can't connect with everyone, and making small talk with parents is awkward.
• I prefer our tradition of small family pizza parties.

My son is turning 11 this year, and it's the first time he has asked me if he could invite some of his friends from school to his birthday dinner. I told him that I wanted to maintain our tradition of having just our family over to celebrate his birthday, but that next year, we could plan something additional for him to do with a few of his closest friends.

However, no matter what, we'll still keep doing our traditional small family party, and I can't imagine that will change anytime soon.

My son's pizza parties have become a family tradition

Since my son was born, we have invited our close family members for a pizza party to celebrate his birthday. There ends up being about 10 of us, and since it's just family, it almost has the feel of a holiday get together. After pizza, we have cake and then he opens his presents. The entire time, my son is the center of attention, but I'm glad, because I want him to feel loved on his birthday.

Since we keep the guest list small, everyone knows each other, and my son has time to truly visit with everyone. Plus, the fact that it's the same group of people that come every year makes it more special. It feels like everyone there is partly raising him and has the privilege of getting to watch him grow up.

Even though it's not a big party, I still decorate so that it doesn't feel like just another day. Plus, because my son has a December birthday, the Christmas decor has always doubled as party decor. When my son was really little, I think he thought Christmas was for him, so the time of year has always been on my side.

While my son likes going to big parties, I do not

I am filled with dread whenever my son comes home from school with a birthday invitation. While he has fun at these parties, I do not. I have always disliked the large kids' birthday party, as I find myself wandering around and trying to supervise my son and his friends or awkwardly trying to make small talk with other parents.

These large gatherings always make me question my own decision to keep my son's parties small, so I've always paid attention to the child whose birthday it is. I have noticed that there isn't enough time for them to visit with everyone that comes and that their family members get the least of their attention.

These children want to play with their friends, just as my son would if he had a big party like that. The events remind me of my own childhood parties, which were large, or of my wedding as an adult, where the party is a whirlwind, and I'm left feeling like I missed out on seeing everyone.

I feel I've made the right decision in keeping our celebrations simple

While my son is getting older and his birthdays will change to a degree, I'm glad I've kept them small. I know he has a great time. This year when everyone left, he said he didn't want his birthday party to be over, and I knew it was because he loves to spend time with everyone that came over.

His relationship with his friends is different, so as he gets older, he can celebrate with them as well, but separately and in a different way. What I have always wanted for my son on his birthday is just for him to know he is loved, and I think the smaller, more intimate gatherings achieve that best.