• When I moved from New Zealand to the US, I didn't realize how much it would actually cost me.
• It's been hard for me to be away from family and to build a community in a new place.
• When I visit my home country, I often experience reverse culture shock.

I moved from New Zealand to California more than 12 years ago after I met and married an American.

Even though I've been in the US for a long time now, I still experience some of the same challenges I did when I first moved here. Plus, I never stopped feeling the pull of home and the family I left behind in New Zealand.

However, visiting home doesn't always bring the same comfort it once did, as it can be hard to readjust to a culture I haven't lived with for over a decade.

Sometimes, it feels like I have my heart in two countries, but I don't completely belong to either.

Here are some of the biggest challenges I've faced as an expat.

Figuring out how to navigate unfamiliar cultural norms has been difficult

When I first moved here, I discovered the US tends to have a much more cutthroat, competitive culture where people can be overlooked or dismissed if they're not prepared to speak loudly and clearly about their accomplishments.

Back in New Zealand, however, I was used to — and raised in — a culture that encourages people to act humble.

As Kiwis, we don't tend to talk up our accomplishments and we try to give credit to others (even if it rightly belongs to us) for fear of being seen as braggarts. Those who are seen as being "too big for their boots" are deliberately knocked down a peg — a phenomenon so popular in Australia and New Zealand that locals have a term for it: "tall poppy syndrome."

Though they may be small, these sorts of cultural differences can feel like a minefield to navigate and have made some social interactions a source of stress for me for many years.

Being far from family has been tough for me, both financially and emotionally

Although my husband is American, we live far from any family — his nearest relatives are four hours away.

It's been tough to raise our daughter without access to a village of family members.

I especially miss having a community at my 10-year-old daughter's soccer games, where I'm often surrounded by many multigenerational families cheering on their kids. I can't help but feel sad that she doesn't get to experience having a ready-made fan club on the sidelines because her family is so far away.

I'd love to visit our family overseas more often, but it's just not possible when flights between San Francisco and Auckland typically cost over $1,000 — even when booking months in advance.

We can only afford to visit New Zealand every two years or so, and I worry how the distance will impact my daughter's relationships with family over time.

My daughter has cousins in New Zealand and Australia ranging in age from 4 to 16. She's often asked me if we can move closer to them, and I feel bad we can't visit more often.

It's also tough for my family overseas to visit the US, in part due to the exchange rate. The New Zealand dollar is worth about 60 cents here, so a USD$1,000 plane ticket would cost them about NZD$1,790. My brother and sister-in-law even cut a planned trip to the US short because of how expensive it was for them.

These travel costs have also made it tough to navigate family emergencies over the past few years — especially when I got a call that my dad was in the ICU after a nasty fall last year.

Any flights home within the next two weeks would've cost well over $2,500 — way over my budget. Instead, I had to get updates from family over the phone and cheer him on from home as he recovered.

I don't feel completely at home in New Zealand anymore, either

Most of my family still lives in New Zealand, but time and distance naturally create a disconnect with everyday life in my home country.

I look forward to my visits back home, but over the past few years, I've experienced reverse culture shock, a phenomenon that can cause expats to feel like tourists in their country of birth.

It can manifest in relatively simple things, such as not understanding local pop-culture references or feeling removed from the everyday issues that concern my fellow Kiwis. Unfortunately, this has meant my old home can feel strikingly unfamiliar, and there's sometimes a disconnect when I visit.

I can cheer on the All Blacks rugby team, hunt down Kiwi-inspired meat pies, and enjoy the company of fellow expats. However, both my home country and my family are inevitably changing and growing — so I don't always feel a sense of belonging in either the US or New Zealand.

Still, I've done my best to adapt to a new culture and accept a new sense of "normal" about people, places, and routines. Despite the challenges, I feel like I'm in a good place in California, and the relationships I've slowly been building with those around me make life worthwhile.

My experience as an expat hasn't felt easy — but at the end of the day, I'm happy I took a chance on myself and followed my heart.

• Exhibiting red flags in a job interview can be an easy way to lose out on advancing to the next stage.
• But on the flip side, there are green flags that can help set you apart and boost your chances.
• We asked 6 recruiting professionals for the green flags they look for in candidates during job interviews.

The start of the year is usually one of the busiest times for hiring as many companies have finalized their new budgets.

If you're brushing up on your interview skills right about now, BI spoke with several current and former recruiters for the traits they say always make a good first impression.

Here are the green flags they like to see in job candidates:

Demonstrating accountability

"Self-reflection, accountability, and confidence in themselves and their work," are green flags to Lauren Monroe, who leads the creative practice group at Aquent, a staffing agency for creative, marketing, and design roles.

A personalized touch also helps. Monroe recalls one candidate who "studied the job description and prepared success stories and examples for every responsibility" to share in the interview. As the cherry on top, the candidate "created a fun animation using the company's logo and added it to their email signature" in their thank-you note.

A clear pitch

Tessa White, a former head HR chief, is the CEO of The Job Doctor and author of "The Unspoken Truths for Career Success."

"When a candidate comes in and is clear on how they can help the company, and why they are a fit, it's refreshing," she says. "I often tell people, if you don't know what your value proposition is, I guarantee you the company won't know."

Mentoring others

Kyle Samuels, who leads executive search agency Creative Talent Endeavors after 20 years in senior-level executive recruiting, looks for candidates with "a history of coaching and mentoring others" because this shows they "want the organization as a whole to operate at a high level."

Enthusiasm for the job

Amri Celeste, a recruitment manager and interview coach, watches for applicants who show passion and enthusiasm for the job.

"When a candidate is particularly enthusiastic or excited about a role, the hiring manager will often be enthusiastic and excited about the candidate," she says. "It's one of the most common pieces of positive feedback I receive from managers about candidates."

Having prepared "clear examples of any achievements and duties mentioned on a résumé" ticks off another box on the candidate checklist, she adds.

Asking thoughtful questions

Marissa Morrison, VP of people at ZipRecruiter, says well-thought-out questions reflect "interest, enthusiasm, and a deeper understanding of the position."

"For example, asking about how they'd be expected to use AI or a certain new technology in the role in a job interview can be a way to demonstrate that you're up to date with current trends and willing to embrace new technologies to creatively solve problems, drive value, and support your work," she says.

An upbeat attitude

"Having a positive attitude, showing enthusiasm for the role, and being engaged during your interview can help set you apart from the competition," Amy Garefis, chief people officer at ZipRecruiter. "In my experience, it is often the tiebreaker for me between candidates with similar skills or professional experience."

• Google cofounder Larry Page made an appearance at a Y Combinator meeting in December.
• He spoke to a group from the Fall 2024 class of startups.
• He talked about the origins of Google and listened to founders talk about their startups.

Google cofounder Larry Page made a rare public appearance during a Y Combinator event for startups held in San Francisco, California in December, Business Insider has learned.

Page showed up at an "office hour" for a group of the Fall 2024 class of startups during the final days of the event, where he listened to founders talk about their business ideas, according to a person who attended. Y Combinator spokesperson Lulu Meservey confirmed Page's attendance at the event.

Y Combinator is a startup incubator that holds seasonal classes — known as "batches" — where budding startup founders can network and get advice from Silicon Valley luminaries.

Page was brought along to the event by Y Combinator group partner Paul Buchheit, the attendee said, adding that Page also shared some anecdotes about the early days of Google. The person asked to remain anonymous because they had not been permitted to speak to the media about the event.

A public sighting of Page is extremely rare these days.

He and cofounder Sergey Brin stepped away from their executive roles at Alphabet in 2019, giving the pair time to pursue other business interests such as flying cars and disaster relief. The pair continue to sit on the Alphabet board and hold shares of a special voting stock that gives them ultimate control of the company.

While Brin has returned to work on AI projects at Google, Page has remained more distant. He continues to financially support Pivotal, a startup working on electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, or eVTOLs.

Got more insight to share? You can reach the reporter Hugh Langley via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-628-228-1836) or email ([email protected]).

• I took my 14-year-old daughter on a trip to India.
• When we arrived, she realized she couldn't access TikTok for our trip.
• At first, she panicked, but then she realized she didn't need TikTok to stay connected.

Recently, I took my 14-year-old daughter on a once-in-lifetime trip to India. When we landed, I was excited to see the Taj Mahal and embark on a safari for a chance to see one of the country's famed Bengal tigers.

My daughter was also elated when we landed in India but for a much different reason. After a long flight, she looked forward to connecting to WiFi to see what she had missed. However, her joy quickly turned to despair when she discovered that TikTok was banned in India due to national security concerns posed by the Chinese-owned app, concerns shared by the United States that may lead to a national ban later this month.

In contrast, I was thrilled. I spent years trying to limit my daughter's access to TikTok. At times, this caused my daughter to crumple in tears, insisting that she was the only one without access to the creator's "everyone" was following. Eventually, I lightened up, but I still question that decision.

I was happy that for the next two weeks, the government of India and I were perfectly aligned on this issue. They could be the bad guys in my teenager's eyes instead of me.

My daughter wasn't convinced she could live without TikTok

After a few minutes without TikTok, my daughter declared, "I can't do this. I am getting on a plane and going home right now." I reminded her that a TikTok ban is looming in the United States and that a world without the app might be her new reality. While challenges are still pending, the app could disappear as soon as January 19th in the United States.

I reasoned that our two weeks in India might be her chance to ease out of using the app and see what life is like without TikTok. That would make the transition easier if the TikTok ban goes through at home, I reasoned. She didn't find my logic compelling, but since I told her she would have to pay for her own ticket home, she decided to make the best of it and stay.

She asked her friend for updates

At first, my daughter brought up how unfair it was that she could not access TikTok several times a day. I gently teased her that skincare and fashion trends wouldn't change before we got home. She was not amused, but I was happy not to be the bad guy in this scenario.

My daughter texted her best friend, who had the good fortune to still have access to TikTok back home, to ask what she was missing. Her friend shared news about some new reels she thought my daughter would like, but nothing earth-shattering. Gradually, my daughter stopped asking and stopped complaining.

She realized she could live without TikTok

After our first week in India, I asked my daughter how her TikTok detox was going. She snapped back that she hadn't been on her phone that much. I gave her a wry smile and asked if she thought there was a connection. My daughter was adamant that the two were unrelated, but I wasn't convinced.

We were busy in India. However, I think that my daughter did not feel as compelled to reach for her phone because the pull of TikTok — which can be harmful to teens, according to the company's documents — was absent.

She found substitutes

A TikTok-less world didn't end my daughter's obsession with her phone. She told me that she started watching Instagram reels instead, which she enjoyed more than she thought she would.

We talked about what she would do if a TikTok ban were enacted in the US. Although my daughter was emphatic that she did not want that to happen, she told me that she would follow her favorite creators on Instagram but would cut some others loose. As a parent, I wonder if it'd make her reassess her relationship with social media, too.

I am not naive. I know that it's unrealistic to expect any teenager to abandon social media entirely. I know that if TikTok is banned in the United States, my daughter will fill the gap with other apps, which is what happened in India. However, I still feel comforted knowing that those apps will not pose the same threats as TikTok.

Nevertheless, I am glad that the two weeks my daughter spent without TikTok showed her that she can survive in a world without TikTok.

• Business Insider spoke to sneakerheads about which pairs to invest in versus styles you can skip.
• Runners like Asics and New Balance are back and have taken advantage of collaborations.
• Nike Dunks are too mass-produced and aren't worth the purchase.

Whether you're buying your second or 20th pair of sneakers, it's important to know what you're spending your money on.

Michael Portone, the founder of Chicago-based shoe business Endless Supply, says sneakers are like stocks. Just as the stock market has peaks and valleys, the sneaker industry uses the laws of supply and demand to determine a shoe's value. That also means designs, colorways, and brands are always coming in and out of style.

Business Insider spoke with three sneaker enthusiasts — also called "sneakerheads" — about which pairs they think are worth investing in and what styles they'd skip right now.

Here's what they said.

Asics is acing the sneaker industry

Portone, who has 14 years of experience in the sneaker industry, told BI that there's been a recent resurgence in running shoes, especially from Asics. Based on past and current trends, he sees the brand as a good investment.

If you want something unique that still has staying power, collaboration lines like GD x Asics are a good place to start.

"Collaboration is really key in today's day and age," Roberto Ansani, a manager at one of Portone's Endless Supply locations who's been in the sneakerhead community for 12 years, said.

However, if you're all about the classics, he said the brand's Gel-Kayano and Gel 1130 lines are rising in popularity — particularly because they have aesthetic similarities to Balenciaga's sneaker but for a far lower price.

New Balance is back in a big way

New Balance has been around since the early 20th century and is a staple in many sneakerheads' closets.

Although it's probably best known for its "dad shoes," the brand has successfully made a name for itself in the modern sneaker game largely thanks to collaborations, like its JJJJound line.

"We're just seeing the demand go up," Ansani told BI.

He named 9060 and 2002r as some of the most high-demand models in New Balance's arsenal.

Reebok's Club C is a flexible design

Kevin Woods, who founded the curated Chicago vintage shop The Pop Up with his wife in 2019, has been invested in sneakers since his adolescence in the 1980s.

If you're looking for a more affordable (under $100) sneaker that pairs well with items across your wardrobe, he recommends Reebok's Club C design.

"That's a shoe where I don't have to baby it," Woods told BI. "I can wear it and wear it and wear it, and then once they get messed up, I can get another pair of C's."

Saucony is keeping its fans happy

Saucony's runners aesthetic attracts a wide base of shoppers.

"Certain brands have really leaned into comfort and stability — things that shoes are meant to do anyway," Woods said of the classic brand.

The sneakerhead highlighted the Starcow X Saucony ProGrid Omni 9 as particularly valuable. The mustard-color sneaker has a retro vibe with all the modern comforts of a running shoe.

If you're looking for a similar style outside of the collab, try the original ProGrid Omni 9, which has the same silhouette in different colorways.

Supreme Air Force 1s remain in high demand

It's hard to ignore Supreme when discussing trends worth investing in. The streetwear brand has become famous for its exclusive releases, minimalist aesthetic, and frequent collaborations, which attract a wide audience of customers.

Ansani said the Supreme Air Force 1 collab is consistently popular, even when the supply of it is high.

The sleek, black design makes them well-suited for a "going out" sneaker — if you're not looking to keep them in pristine condition for your at-home display.

On the other hand, America's Cup by Prada may have been a passing fad

Ansani told BI that some high-end brands are falling behind when it comes to updating their models.

"Certain designer brands are sticking to their heritage too much," he said. "It's them being stuck in their ways and unable to adapt with the market."

One of the best examples may be America's Cup by Prada. The sneaker was once well-loved, but it no longer holds that same value in today's market — especially with its original price hovering close to $1,000 a pair.

This follows the broader theme in the fashion world of high-end brands losing out to the "quiet luxury" aesthetic. Consumers just aren't looking for shoes that scream their price tags with flashy logos and easy-to-spot designs.

Nike Dunks are too mass-produced

Low-top Nike Dunks brought a new aesthetic to the sneaker world in the 1980s. The brand gave its skateboarding clientele — who had been chopping off the top of the brand's Jordan sneakers — exactly what they wanted.

Although Portone said the shoe had been trendy for a few recent years, Nike responded by mass-producing it in almost every color.

Unfortunately, that high supply with a dwindling demand quickly tanked the sneaker.

• Fiber is essential for a healthy gut, and boosts your natural energy levels.
• Federica Amati is the head nutritionist for nutrition app ZOE.
• Amati shared her favorites gut health recipes with probiotics and omega-3 fatty acids.

Eating more gut-healthy foods like beans and nuts not only nurtures your digestive system, it can help you ditch the afternoon slump.

"We know a high fiber diet helps with energy levels," Federica Amati, medical scientist and head nutritionist at the nutrition app ZOE, told Business Insider.

If you often feel a drowsiness or brain fog after eating, you may not be getting the right balance of nutrients like fiber, probiotics, and healthy fats.

For a lasting boost, Amati recommends loading up on complex carbs like beans and veggies, fermented foods, and healthy fats, and swapping other drinks for alcohol, which can be hard on the gut.

Here are her favorite ways to eat for better gut health.

Make crispy potatoes healthier with olive oil and chickpea flour

Potatoes are a starchy staple to round out a meal, but instead of reaching for fries or chips, trying roasting potatoes in the oven for a healthier choice.

Amati makes her roasted potatoes with heart-healthy olive oil and coats them in chickpea flour for extra fiber while making them crispy.

"You're adding a layer of better fat, the taste is delicious, but it's just slightly more nutritious," she said.

Eat more beans

Beans have been called a longevity superfood because they're a good source of fiber as well as protein for healthy, filling side dishes, soups and stews.

In fact, this may soon be a federal recommendation. A recent report from USDA advisors said new dietary guidelines should encourage Americans to eat more beans to reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Amati said she likes to make a side of homemade Boston baked beans for dinner gatherings. Ingredients like apple cider vinegar bring tangy, savory notes to a pot of beans along with a little bit of probiotics — good bacteria that support healthy digestion.

Try fish with olive oil, veggies, and fresh herbs for a high-protein meal

For dinner, Amati said fish is a good protein source that also provides healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids, which support gut health.

She said she makes fish drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with a handful of fresh parsley, a generous portion of lemon juice, and a sprinkle of lemon zest.

This approach is in line with the Mediterranean diet which has been ranked one of the healthiest for the gut and for overall wellness.

Fresh, zesty ingredients like citrus, rosemary, parsley, garlic, and other seasonings can support your metabolism by making you more likely to slow down and appreciate your food and avoid overeating.

"Herbs and spices can be quite revitalizing," Amati said. "You're less likely to just continue to eat mindlessly because it helps you to connect with the food more when it's a good, varied flavor experience."

For fiber at dinner, fill a big portion of your plate with produce. One of Amati's go-to veggie recipes in the winter is cauliflower with a cheese sauce made using milk, Parmesan and chickpea flour, instead of a store-bought sauce which is an ultra-processed food.

"It doesn't have to be high lift, but it reduces the amount of additives that I use," she said.

Sip on sparkling water or kombucha to cut back on alcohol

Drinking to wind down in the evening can be tempting, but there's growing evidence that alcohol can derail gut health and may increase the risk of cancer. The safest approach is to practice drinking in moderation (if at all), such having a glass of wine with dinner.

Amati said refreshing alcohol-free drinks can make it easier to cut back, such as sparkling water flavored with fruit or cucumber.

Kombucha is another healthy alternative with some probiotic benefits — Amati recommends looking for low-sugar varieties.

Snack on olives, nuts, and fermented foods

Between meals, Amati said she often has olives and nuts, both a good source of healthy fats and some fiber.

You don't have to completely give up on your favorite snacks like chips, but mixing in nutritious snacks can help you enjoy them in moderation and improve your gut health at the same time.

"It's more flavor, which is nice, and it means that you have an option to add some foods to your plate that are actually really great for you," Amati said.

Adding in fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut to a snack plate or cheese board offer more flavorful choices as well as probiotics for a healthy gut, she said.

Don't restrict your diet — add more gut-healthy foods instead

Amati's overall approach to healthier eating focuses on positive nutrition, or eating more nutrient-dense foods instead of restricting.

"It's much more about the food you do eat than the food that you avoid," Amati said.

Including more gut-friendly foods like beans to your diet can help you manage your appetite and reduce the amount of room on your plate for less nutritious options like processed foods.

As you work to include more fiber and probiotics in your diet, it's also helpful to be patient and make slow, sustainable changes over time instead of trying to overhaul your diet all at once.

"One of the biggest takeaways is consistency over perfection," Amati said.

• Wall Street jobs pay well, but work-from-home opportunities tend to be slim.
• JPMorgan is considering whether to call all its employees back to the office full time.
• Check out the RTO policies at the biggest financial firms like JPMorgan, Blackstone, and Citadel. 

Every day it seems as if another company is calling its workers back to the office five days a week. Amazon's office staff are back to their seats Monday through Friday, starting this month, as are the employees of telecom giant AT&T. JPMorgan Chase is also considering returning to a five-day workweek, according to Bloomberg News. 

Investment banks like Goldman Sachs and hedge funds like Citadel have been at the forefront of efforts to get employees working in the same place since the pandemic kicked off the work-from-home phenomenon. Goldman's CEO David Solomon famously blasted the work-from-home phenomenon as an "aberration" before most Americans were even vaccinated. Citadel's Ken Griffin said he feared that work-from-home was harming the nation and wished President Joe Biden would do something about it. 

So, which Wall Street firms are still letting employees work from home at least part of the time?  Here is our list of back-to-work mandates at the largest financial services companies.

Goldman Sachs 

Goldman Sachs started calling workers back in June 2021 and was initially once of the few financial firms to buck to remote work trend and demand pretty much everyone return to the office five days a week. 

Goldman started by welcoming employees back with ice cream and food trucks to get there. By 2022, it was actively monitoring attendance via ID badge swipes. In 2023, it cracked down on laggards, reminding staffers that the 5-days-a-week policy is for everyone — even during the dog days of summer. 

JPMorgan 

JPMorgan started calling workers back in July 2021 on a rolling basis and by 2022, had developed a hybrid work policy that was supposed to result in just 50% of the bank's employees returning to the office five days a week, including people who work in bank branches or in investment-banking jobs like sales and trading.

By April 2022, Dimon said that 40% of the bank's employees, which then numbered about 270,000, would be permitted to work a few days at home, while about 10% could work from home full time. Everyone else was expected to be in the office five days a week.

The next April, Dimon called all of the bank's managing directors back to the office five days a week, whether they worked in demanding revenue-producing jobs or led back-office departments like technology and compliance. Everyone else must be in at least three days a week. 

Like Goldman, JPMorgan has also been tracking attendance through ID badge swipes, data that it collects into a dashboard that can churn out reports for managers and other senior leaders.    

A spokesman for JPMorgan, which reported having 316,043 workers at the end of September, declined to comment on Bloomberg's reporting that it may soon revert to a five-day-a-week schedule for everyone. He said that roughly 70% of the bank's employees were already back in the office five days a week, while everyone else was back three or four days a week.

Citigroup 

Citi's CEO Jane Fraser is one of the few Wall Street CEOs who has not participated in the work-from-home bashing. Instead, she's embraced a hybrid work policy that currently allows most employees to work three days from the office and two days at home, depending on the job. Bank branch employees, for example, are still required to go in five days a week. 

Fraser has also not shied away from reminding the troops that working from home is a privilege, not a right. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2023, she said that the bank was calling workers with productivity issues back to their desks. 

"We do measure productivity very carefully," she said, according to Bloomberg. "You can see how productive someone is or isn't, and if they're not being productive we bring them back to the office, or back to the site, and we give them the coaching they need until they bring the productivity back up again."

A spokeswoman for the bank said Citi is "committed to our hybrid work model. She said that the majority of employees still work on a hybrid schedule, or at least three days in the office and up to two days remotely.

Bank of America 

Bank of America's policy has morphed over time. In early 2022, it encouraged employees to work from the office more often but left room for flexibility at the manager's discretion. By May of that year, investment banking employees at all levels were being ordered to return to the office between four and five days a week.

Since 2022, Bank of America has required employees who are client-facing, like bankers and traders, to be in the office or meeting with clients five days a week. Everyone else must be in the office three days a week. A BofA spokesman confirmed that the policy established in 2022 remains in place.  

Early last year, the bank issued "letters of education" to employees who were in violation of the bank's return-to-office policies, BI reported. "Failure to follow the workplace excellence expectations applicable to your role within two weeks of the date of this notification may result in further disciplinary action," one of these letters said.

Morgan Stanley 

Morgan Stanley's new CEO Ted Pick has not commented publicly on the company's remote work policy since taking the role in January 2024. His predecessor, James Gorman, however, was a big proponent of working from the office, telling Bloomberg in 2023 that working from home is "not a choice." 

"They don't get to choose their compensation, they don't get to choose their promotion, they don't get to choose to stay home five days a week," Gorman said in an interview in Davos. 

That said, Morgan Stanley has allowed for some remote work, depending on the job. "At Morgan Stanley, we're kind of business unit by business unit. It's three or four days in the office," Gorman said at the time.

BlackRock

BlackRock's employees have been making use of its new Hudson Yards headquarters in New York City. 

The world's largest asset manager has required its employees to work in the office four days a week starting in September 2023, with the option to work from home one day a week, BI previously reported.   

Citadel 

Citadel's Griffin is a true believer that teams work better and faster when they're in the same room. His $66 billion hedge fund and his market maker, Citadel Securities,  have been full time in the office since June 2021.  

"We make so much money because our competition plays in their pajamas – and that's just been a home run for us," Griffin told Goldman partner Raj Mahajan in an interview for the bank's Talks at GS series in June 2023. 

Blackstone 

Blackstone employees have been back in the office five days a week since June 2021. 

To make its staff more comfortable with the initial return to office, Blackstone spent $20 million on Covid safety and specific precautions, a source told BI in 2021, including covering cab fares for employees' commute.

Bridgewater

Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, has kept to a flexible schedule. Since September 2021, the fund has required staff to be in the office a minimum of two days a week. 

 Managers and department heads, however, can require additional days in the office, according to the firm's website. On days employees are in, the firm focuses on taking "advantage of our shared location," it reads. Department heads and managers can require additional days onsite depending on the employee's role and business needs.

Millennium 

Izzy Englander's Millennium experimented with a hybrid working arrangement in 2021. At that time, the firm required its employees to work in the office at least three days a week.

Since then, most employees have been in the office 5 days a week, according to a person familiar with the firm. 

• I spent most of my life measuring success in grades.
• After graduating from college, it was hard to adjust to a more arbitrary scale of achievement.
• Now, I know that regularly redefining success is a necessary part of a fulfilling life.

When I was 7, I was identified as a "gifted kid." That label of promised potential followed me from elementary school enrichment programs to high school AP classes, eventually earning me a degree from a top university.

It's no surprise that I measured my worth in numbers and letters as (mostly) objective indicators of success. Everyone knows what a 4.0 GPA or an A+ means. From an early age, I knew that I wanted those high marks more than anything.

My constant focus on getting the grade, earning the leadership title, and landing the job didn't come without sacrifice. I said no to social engagements. I treated sleep like it was optional. The gym? Forget it. I figured that when I landed my dream job postgrad, it would all feel worth it. Finally, I would have achieved the ultimate goal.

But when I started my first "real" job, I found myself wondering, "Now what?" For the first time in my life, the next step wasn't obvious— talk about a quarter-life crisis. I knew I had to learn how to measure success in this new environment.

I let go of the metrics of the past

Starting my postgrad job meant accepting feedback on an arbitrary scale—one that I quickly learned is often affected by relationships, tenures, and titles.

My GPA didn't matter anymore, and neither did my obnoxious, eight-line-long college email signature. All of those club memberships and academic affiliations disappeared from relevance. I felt bitter at first. After all, I had worked so hard, and none of it seemed to matter.

But then I reframed my stance: None of it mattered — none of the little things, at least. My not-so-stellar neuroscience grade? Sleeping through three of my 8 a.m. poetry classes in a semester? Submitting a late Spanish essay? None of it prevented me from pursuing my goals.

This realization was incredibly freeing. Now, I know that small mistakes don't outweigh consistency. I don't have to measure my self-worth in the number of corrections on a paper or how many extracurriculars I participate in. I get to decide what success means to me. I can choose what to pursue and when to switch paths. Letting go of the numbers that once defined me meant that I was no longer held to someone else's idea of "good enough."

I learned to part ways with my ego

My first professional projects came with a harsh learning curve. What would have earned me an "A" in my college classes was met with a flurry of edits and comments.

At first, I was upset with my performance. I felt like I had failed. I mentioned my frustrations in passing to a much more experienced colleague, and he gave me some wonderful advice: "Separate your ego from your work," he said, "and you will be amazed at how quickly you improve."

As a creative working in tech, I had to get used to receiving feedback from all kinds of stakeholders. I don't just write essays for a professor anymore. I write blogs and social media posts that are read by customers, partners, and employees. Sometimes, this means my work is reviewed by 20 people or more before it's approved. That doesn't leave a lot of room for an unearned ego.

My current definition of success won't stay the same — and that's a good thing

Success might mean getting promoted — or it might not. Maybe it means discovering a new passion outside work. It might look like a commitment to health, exploring new places, or visiting friends and family. Achieving these goals might not make me better at my job, but I know they will make me a better person, friend, and partner.

My new goals might look hazy compared to old ones, and they will most likely shift as I progress in my career. I wish I had known that life is less structured after school and less linear, too.

Still, in the modern world of social media highlight reels, it can be difficult not to compare myself to my peers. Some days, I feel left out for not pursuing graduate school, and sometimes, I wonder if I picked the right college or even the right city.

Despite all this uncertainty, I'm grateful for one thing I do know: Leading a satisfying life requires redefining success at different stages. Shifting my goals doesn't make me a failure; it makes me human.

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• I got the Discover it® Cash Back credit card this summer to earn up to 5% on everyday expenses.
• I wanted a no-annual-fee credit card that earned cash-back rewards on every dollar I spent.
• Some credit cards earn a fixed amount per dollar spent, while others earn more on certain expenses.

I got a new cash-back credit card this August and have earned more than $100 from it so far.

I specifically chose the Discover it® Cash Back card because it earns 5% cash back on bonus categories that change every three months (from January 1 to March 31, 2025, earn 5% cash back at restaurants, home improvement stores, and select streaming services on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1%).

With dozens of cash back credit card options on the market, I suffered serious analysis paralysis when evaluating the pros and cons of cash-back credit cards. Fortunately, I have reviewed credit cards for more than nine years, so I knew what benefits I was looking for (and what I was willing to forego).

These are the factors I considered in case you're also looking for a new card.

Cash back credit card types

There are two main types of cash back cards: those that earn a fixed rate no matter what you buy, and those that earn extra points on specific expenses.

Flat-rate cash back

If you value the KISS rule of Keeping It Simple, Stupid, you may want to pick a flat-rate credit card to use for all of your purchases.

Good examples of flat-rate cash back credit cards include the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card and the Citi Double Cash Card, both of which appear on our list of the best 2% cash back credit cards.

These cards earn a respectable return on every dollar you spend whether you're paying for daycare, buying dinner, or shopping for a flight.

I personally wanted a higher rate of return, and I was willing to work harder to earn it.

Bonus points on specific categories

If you enjoy urban sports like extreme couponing, you may find yourself more drawn to credit cards that earn bonus rewards on specific spend categories. For example, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is one of the best credit cards for buying groceries because it earns up to 6% on your first $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each year (then 1% back) — but it only earns 1% on most other expenses except for on U.S. gas stations and transit purchases which earn 3% cash back. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.

Most cards in this category earn extra points on common household expenses such as streaming services, drugstores, utilities, and dining out.

Avoid cards that reward purchases you don't often make, since you'll get more value from a credit card that better fits your habits. If you don't eat out very often, for example, you probably shouldn't get a cash back credit card that primarily rewards restaurant expenses.

5% rotating-bonus categories

Rotating-bonus credit cards are a specific subset of cash back cards, where cardholders earn 5% cash back on select expenses that change every three months.

The best-known rotating-bonus credit cards are my new Discover it Cash Back and the Chase Freedom Flex®, which I also have in my wallet. Each of these cards earn 5% back on up to $1,500 on eligible expenses each quarter, so I can earn up to $75 per card, four times a year, on bonus categories (with the Discover it Cash Back I earn 5% cash back at restaurants, home improvement stores, and select streaming services, January 1 to March 31, 2025, on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1%).

In case you were wondering: I keep both cards because they earn 5% back on different categories each quarter (then 1%), doubling my chances to earn extra rewards on everyday expenses. Since they don't have annual fees, it doesn't cost me anything to keep these cards open.

You can find the Discover cash back calendar here, and the Chase Freedom card quarterly bonus categories calendar here.

What I needed from my cash-back credit card

When researching my latest acquisition, I evaluated my primary expenses to see where I needed my card to do the most heavy lifting. Like most people, my biggest living expenses include:

1. Housing such as rent or a mortgage
2. Groceries
3. Transportation such as public transit or gas/EV charging
4. Utilities such as electricity, water, gas, trash, and more
5. Healthcare such as medical copays, prescriptions, drugstore expenses, and more
6. Dining out including restaurants, takeout, food delivery, and more
7. Travel including flights, hotels, rental cars, and more
8. Entertainment such as concerts, sports games, streaming services, and movies

Don't settle for less than 1.5% cash back

No matter which cash-back card you choose, make sure it earns more than 1% back per dollar spent. There are too many valuable cards on the market — even without annual fees — that offer great returns for you to settle on a credit card that doesn't generously reward you for spending with it.

My most important cash-back card benefits

Cash back credit cards can be much more versatile than travel rewards credit cards because they're so straightforward to use.

These common traits that were available on all of the cash-back credit cards I considered:

• No annual fee
• Easy reward redemptions
• 0% intro APR
• Purchase protection and extended warranty benefits

No annual fees

I'm not opposed to paying for credit cards that earn their keep. I have The Business Platinum Card® from American Express which has a whopping $695 annual fee (), but that cost is worth it to me for the benefits I get out of the card.

However, I knew I didn't want a cash back card with annual fees because its core value lies in paying me back a small portion of the money I spend. Therefore, there's no point in paying for a card that's designed to pay me — and that's why most of the best cash-back credit cards do not charge annual fees.

You'll generally find annual fees on good credit cards that offer benefits you'd otherwise pay good money to enjoy. (You'll also find annual fees on mediocre cards that aren't worth their keep.)

Credit cards with airport lounge access, for example, can save you hundreds of dollars on food and drink each year, while the best credit cards with Global Entry and TSA PreCheck statement credits can save you time and hassle when going through airport security.

Pro tip: If you do consider a cash-back credit card with an annual fee, make sure the overall value you'll get from that card greatly exceeds the amount you pay for it.

Easy reward redemptions

I chose the Discover it Cash Back because I liked how easy it is to redeem my rewards. Since each point is worth 1 cent, I can use my cash-back rewards to pay down some of my card's statement balance and know exactly how much value I'm getting from my rewards.

While I'm a fan of the Discover mobile app, this benefit isn't exclusive to my card: Most cash-back credit cards offer the ability to redeem rewards as statement credits. Cash [back] is king, and you shouldn't consider any card that doesn't allow you to pay off what you owe with what you've earned.

Some credit cards also allow you to redeem rewards for gift cards, or use them to pay off Amazon shopping balances. As long as your points are worth at least 1 cent apiece, this isn't a terrible idea as long as the retailers you choose are companies you'd shop from regardless.

Pro tip: Some issuers only allow cardholders to redeem rewards on Amazon at a discounted rate, sometimes for as little as 0.7 cents per point. If you find yourself in this situation, you're better off paying for your Amazon purchase outright and then using your rewards to pay off the charge on your statement at a redemption value of 1 cent per point.

0% interest period

The Discover it Cash Back also stood out to me for its 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then 18.49% - 27.49% variable APR (rates as of 12/12/2024). I generally pay off all of my credit card balances in full, but occasionally take advantage of promotions like this one to let my cash earn some interest in a high-yield savings account for a year before paying off what I owe when my 0% intro APR expires.

Some cash back credit cards offer new cardholders this benefit, which can be really helpful if you have large expenses like furniture, medical bills, or property taxes on the horizon. Whether you need a little extra breathing room to save enough money or just want to invest your spare cash, having a few months of no interest can be really helpful for anyone.

Purchase protection benefits

My Discover it Cash Back credit card actually doesn't offer purchase protection or extended warranty benefits, so I pay for tech gadgets and higher-value products with some of my other credit cards.

My other cash back credit card, the Chase Freedom Flex, does offer generous Chase purchase protection and an extended warranty. When I buy an eligible product with this card, Chase covers my purchase if it gets damaged or stolen within the first 120 days after purchase, for up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.

The Chase Freedom Flex even comes with trip insurance: If I pay for a flight or a hotel room using this card but have to cancel or shorten my trip because of illness or severe weather, I can file a claim for reimbursement on nonrefundable prepaid expenses: up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip.

Other cash back credit card benefits to look for

Instant approval and virtual card number

You can begin using some credit cards within seconds of being approved.

My Discover it Cash Back credit card offered instant approval and a virtual credit card number for immediate use while I waited for the physical card to arrive in the mail.

I didn't need to use the card right away, but this feature can be particularly useful if you have a big expense coming up right away and want to take advantage of a 0% intro APR period (then 18.49% - 27.49% variable APR (rates as of 12/12/2024)) or start earning your welcome bonus a little bit sooner.

Welcome bonus

Speaking of welcome bonuses, these are incentives offered by credit card issuers that make it a little more enjoyable to open a new credit card. Credit card welcome bonuses are offers that typically come in the form of cash back or points earned after spending a certain amount within a number of days or months after opening the new card.

There are a few variations to this formula: With some cards, you can earn the bonus after just a single purchase. And on my new Discover it Cash Back, I'll get the famous Discover Cashback Match™, which effectively doubles the total amount of cash back I earn in my first year of card ownership.

Cashback Match™ is an unlimited benefit for new card members like me in their first year only, where Discover automatically matches all the cash back earned after I reach my one-year card anniversary. Even if I don't earn another dime from today forward, I'll end up with $215.68 next year: my current $107.84 ×2. Not bad at all for a no-annual-fee credit card.

Maximizing rewards with other bank products

We've already discussed the bonus rewards offered on cards like the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card, which rewards cardholders who also invest their money with Bank of America. But there are many other ways to maximize your cash-back credit card rewards.

Cash back credit cards from large issuers often earn rewards that can be combined with premium travel rewards credit cards for even more value.

For example, my Chase Freedom Flex earns cash back in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can only be redeemed for gift cards or cash back on their own. But if I also get a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, I can transfer my cash back rewards to one of these cards, then use my points to book luxury flights or hotel stays with Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer partners.

Chase isn't the only major bank that offers credit cards with reciprocal rewards — American Express, Citi, Capital One, and Wells Fargo all offer multiple credit cards that work well together for additional value.

The cash-back credit cards I considered before choosing the Discover it Cash Back

I consulted our guide to the best cash back credit cards to find an option that worked well with my spending habits and lifestyle. I don't mind doing a little extra legwork for bigger rewards, which is probably why I could earn more than $100 in a few short months.

The other two cash back cards I considered in addition to the Discover it Cash Back are the Wells Fargo Attune℠ Card and the Citi® Double Cash Card.

Wells Fargo Attune

The Attune℠ Card earns 4% on many bonus categories including gyms, pet supplies, and environmentally friendly transit, and 1% on everything else. Like the Discover it Cash Back, the Attune℠ Card also offers new cardholders a 0% interest period. The Attune℠ Card offers 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases followed by a 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable APR.

I ultimately decided against this card because I don't spend enough across the bonus categories to maximize my cash rewards. If I ever get a dog again, however, this card will likely be one of my first post-pet acquisitions.

Citi Double Cash

The Citi Double Cash Card is a classic cash back card that earns exactly what the name suggests. You'll earn 1% back per dollar when you make a purchase, and 1% back per dollar when you pay it off, for a total of 2% cash back on everything. It also comes with a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, then a 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR.

While this no-annual-fee credit card has been popular with millions of people through the years, the Citi Double Cash Card just wasn't what I wanted this time around.

Since I already have a different card I use to earn 2% back on non-bonus purchases, I'm willing to do a little extra legwork to earn a better rate of cash back. That's why I turned down this fan favorite for the Discover it Cash Back.

My Discover it Cash Back's limitations

My new cash back credit card is pretty flexible. Like many of the best credit card issuers, Discover doesn't require me to earn a certain amount of rewards before allowing me to redeem them for statement credits. But some banks do, so make sure your card of choice doesn't limit you to only using your rewards once you've earned a lot of points.

My cash back credit card also isn't great for travel protection. As I mentioned earlier, the Discover it Cash Back doesn't offer travel benefits, so I can't file for reimbursement if my flight gets delayed and I have to buy last-minute toiletries to get me through an unexpected night in the airport. Even my Chase Freedom Flex, which offers generous reimbursement for interrupted travel, doesn't pay me back if my luggage is lost, stolen, or damaged by an airline.

Instead, I rely on my Sapphire Preferred Card for travel protection. While I never want to lose my bags, I feel much better knowing that I might be reimbursed if that happens to me for a covered reason.

The reasons I choose my cash back credit card will differ from why you choose yours. But hopefully my reasoning helps you better understand what you want out of your next card.

• Firefighters in LA have limited options against blazes so huge.
• Common tactics like firebreaks, controlled burns, and dousing vital buildings face big hurdles.
• A wildfire expert told BI that the fire is unlikely to be put out until LA's winds change.

Firefighters confronting the Los Angeles wildfires face hurdles to many tactics in their arsenal as they try to tame some 27,000 burning acres.

As of Thursday, more than 1,400 firefighters were battling several blazes with both ground crews and airdrops.

The firefighters of California "are amongst the best-trained and best-equipped wildfire fighters anywhere in the world," said Stefan Doerr, a professor of wildland fire science at the UK's Swansea University.

But, he told Business Insider, "they are really challenged by the fact that the winds are so extreme, as well as having several large fires burning at the same time."

His conclusion: Until the winds fanning the blazes die down, "putting out a fire like this is essentially impossible."

Numerous California officials gave a similar assessment, saying there was no immediate prospect of containing the fires.

'Not prepared'

Anthony Marrone, the fire chief of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department, told local outlet 6ABC: "LA County and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster."

They could handle one or two major fires, he said, "but not four."

Doerr, who did not have direct information about the LA fire services' plans, walked BI through some tactics generally used for major wildfires, and their limitations in combatting these fires.

1) Attack from the side

"This fire is very complex," said Doerr, pointing to the number of distinct blazes, some expanding in several directions at once.

Most of the fires were being pushed toward the sea by powerful inland air currents known as Santa Ana winds.

Doerr said there it is too dangerous to approach so huge a fire from the front, where it burns most intensely.

"It's usually attacked on the side to basically shrink the overall fire front," he said.

2) Use — or make — firebreaks

Common tactics include removing flammable material with bulldozers, he said. "Removing the vegetation is much more effective than trying to fight a fire like this with water."

The problem is that LA's topography is complex, making it hard to remove vegetation, he said.

"That leaves the firefighting forces with limited opportunities," he said. One option is to take advantage of natural firebreaks, such as roads and rivers, or other spots with no flammable vegetation, he said.

There, firefighters could wet the area or use a fire retardant to slow the fire, he said.

Even that, Doerr said, is "very, very challenging" in this instance.

"Even if they are able to basically stop the flames from moving over, say, a road or something directly, the strong winds often mean that you have embers flying over large distances," he said, adding that in some fires, these can travel miles.

That could, in turn, spark more fires, leapfrogging the barriers.

3) Soak important buildings

"When we see firefighters using water, it's often to protect properties — to stop them burning, rather than stopping the entire fire," Doerr said.

As well as ground crews, Chinook helicopters have been dropping thousands of gallons of water on the fire. "It's like having six fire trucks show up to your house every 10 minutes," Wayne Coulson, CEO of the Coulson Group, told Global News.

The fires have put immense strain on LA's water supply.

Three huge tanks of a million gallons each serving the Pacific Palisades ran dry within hours under "tremendous demand," said Janisse Quiñones, chief engineer and CEO of the LA department of water and power, according to The Guardian.

"We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging," Quiñones said, per the paper.

4) Accept losses and prioritize

So many structures are under threat that it is impossible to protect all of them with water. Here, tough decisions have to be made, with important buildings like hospitals likely to receive priority, Doerr said.

More than 1,000 buildings have been destroyed, including the homes of celebrities like Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal.

Another extreme option would be to bulldoze whole streets to create a firebreak, Doerr said.

It would be a desperate measure against some of the most costly properties in the world — but "it's still cheaper than having it burn down, and burning the next building along the road," he said.

"Whether they take these extreme measures at the moment, I don't know, but they have done this in the past in extreme fires," he added.

Some tactics are likely out of bounds

One option that is likely out of reach is what Doerr called a "tactical burn."

When tackling some seasonal wildfires, firefighters light a smaller, controlled fire in the path of the main flames to burn away the available fuel, he said.

This can be really effective — but with the strong winds in LA, it risks making things even worse, Doerr said.

"Otherwise you're just going to generate a new fire that's going to burn further on," he said.

Waiting for the wind to change

Observers are anxiously keeping tabs on a key metric — the percentage of containment of the fire.

But it's often misunderstood. "'Contained' means that you basically stopped the edges of the fire from moving further," said Doerr. 100% containment means authorities are reasonably sure the fire can no longer spread, he said. From there, it can burn itself out.

According to the fire service, two smaller fires were partially contained as of early Thursday, at 10% and 40% each. The larger ones were at 0%.

For all their efforts, LA's firefighters are largely "at the mercy of the weather," Doerr said.

"In reality, most fires of such extremity tend to be stopped by a change in weather," he added.

Winds, which on Thursday were gusting up to 25 mph, are forecast by the National Weather Service to slow down to a maximum of 15 mph by Friday evening, offering the best opportunity yet to stop the blaze.

Until then, Doerr said, "putting out a fire like this is essentially impossible."

• Melania Trump grew up in Sevnica, Slovenia, a small town of 17,611 people.
• Her father was a car salesman and her mother worked in a local textile factory.
• Sevnica's tourism doubled the year before she became first lady.

Before Melania Trump became a fashion model and first lady of the United States, she was Melanija Knavs, the Slovenian daughter of a car salesman and a textile factory worker.

But Trump's hometown of Sevnica, Slovenia, has become a tourist destination as people have traveled to see where she spent her early years.

Here are some Sevnica landmarks from Trump's childhood.

Melania Trump grew up in Sevnica, Slovenia.

Trump was born in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, on April 26, 1970.

She spent her childhood in Sevnica, a small town 30 miles away.

Sevnica is located along the Sava River in central Slovenia.

It has a population of 17,611, according to data collected by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia in 2022.

When Melania Trump was born, Slovenia was a communist country ruled by President Josip Tito and known as Yugoslavia.

Slovenia became independent in 1991.

Before Trump's rise to fame as a model and then FLOTUS, Sevnica was known for its furniture and clothing factories, as well as its annual salami festival.

Sevnica produces over 150 kinds of salami, a feat celebrated at its annual Salamiada festival.

Now, Sevnica produces a salami named after the first lady.

Sevnica's tourism doubled in the year before Donald Trump took office as interest in Melania Trump grew, a tour guide told Reuters in January 2017.

For 2017 as a whole, the number of foreigners visiting Slovenia jumped 17% when compared to the previous year, with a total of 3.4 million visitors, Reuters reported in January 2018. 

The small town capitalized on its claim to fame as the former FLOTUS' hometown, offering tours, foods, and souvenirs named after her.

As a child, Trump — then known as Melanija Knavs — lived in this block of Communist-era apartments.

Her father, Viktor Knavs, worked as a car salesman. Her mother, Amalija, worked at a local textile factory.

Trump has one sister, Ines Knauss, and a half-brother, Denis Cigelnjak.

Trump attended Sevnica's Savo Kladnik Elementary School.

Mirjana Jelancic, a friend of Trump's who went on to become principal of the school, told ABC News in 2016 that the young Trump was "an angel" and "a very good student."

Her family later moved to a modest house on Ribniki Street.

When Trump and her sister, Ines, were in high school, the Knavs family moved to Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital. There, Trump was scouted by photographer Stane Jerko and signed with a modeling agency when she was 18.

Trump remained connected to her hometown over the years, donating $25,000 to a medical center there in 2005.

Trump made the donation after her wedding in 2005, The New York Times reported.

Residents of Sevnica gathered to celebrate President Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 election.

Trump is the second first lady born outside the US. The first was John Quincy Adams' wife, Louisa Catherine Adams, who was born in London.

American artist Brad Downey commissioned a monument of Trump from Slovenian sculptor Ales "Maxi" Zupevc in 2019 that was erected in a field outside Sevnica.

The wooden statue, modeled after Trump's blue Ralph Lauren inauguration dress, garnered mixed reviews.

A bronze statue replaced the original wood one after it was vandalized and burned in 2020.

A plaque at the site says the new bronze statue is "dedicated to the eternal memory of a monument to Melania which stood in this location from 2019-2020."

• Major fires are burning throughout the Los Angeles area, destroying thousands of buildings.
• Satellite images show flames wreaking havoc on houses and other structures.
• At least five people have died, and more than 100,000 residents were ordered to evacuate Wednesday.

At least five people have died and more than 100,000 have been ordered to evacuate as uncontrolled fires burn through parts of Los Angeles into a third day.

Five separate fires are sweeping through parts of the city and the surrounding areas, with one of the biggest blazes, the Palisades fire, expected to be the costliest in US history.

Satellite images provided to Business Insider by Maxar Technologies show the trail of destruction the fires have left in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, two of the most heavily affected areas.

Houses burned to the ground in Altadena

Satellite images show houses burned down in the Altadena neighborhood of Los Angeles, one of the areas most affected by the Eaton fire.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as of 3 a.m. Thursday local time, the fire had burned 10,600 acres in the area and continued to grow with 0% containment.

Palisades fire burning through western Los Angeles

Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, has also been devastated.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Palisades fire had consumed about 17,234 acres with 0% containment as of 4 a.m. Thursday.

The Palisades fire alone has already become the most destructive fire ever to hit Los Angeles County, CNN reported Wednesday, citing Cal Fire data.

East Altadena Drive

Houses and buildings on East Altadena Drive are almost unrecognizable in the image above from Wednesday.

Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said during a press conference Wednesday evening that residents could receive more evacuation orders as wind conditions continued to be "strong and erratic."

In an X post in the early hours of Thursday, she said firefighters would be working throughout the night to battle the blazes.

Tuna Canyon Road closed until further notice

Tuna Canyon Road, which connects Malibu and Topanga, was covered in smoke Wednesday, and fires burned through nearby buildings.

In an X post on Wednesday night, the California Department of Transportation said highways were fully closed at various locations because of fires or wind-related incidents.

Meanwhile, ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft were offering free rides to evacuation centers.

A historic windstorm

The fires are still burning, and satellite imagery from Wednesday showed the scale of the fires in Altadena.

The National Weather Service called the windstorm "life-threatening and destructive."

Courtney Carpenter, a warning-coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the fires would likely continue over the coming days.

"We're not out of the woods yet," she said, pointing to winds expected to continue through Friday afternoon and dry weather conditions.

Correction: January 9, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of a warning-coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service. She's Courtney Carpenter, not Courtney Carpen.

• I've been using Rent the Runway for two years and love always having a new outfit to wear.
• To get the most out of my membership, I always read the reviews before selecting rental items.
• I also like to choose pieces that would typically be out of my comfort zone.

As a travel writer, I always want to wear new outfits to post during my trips. However, I hate spending money on clothes I quickly tire of after wearing a few times.

Two years ago, a good friend introduced me to Rent the Runway, a clothing-rental subscription service with several membership options. My $144 monthly membership, which gets me access to 10 pieces of clothing each month, has been a game changer.

Here are seven ways I make my Rent the Runway membership worthwhile.

I like to select pieces that would typically be out of my comfort zone

Renting is a great opportunity to try pieces in styles I wouldn't typically wear. This includes things like vibrant colors, bold prints, or funky hemlines.

For example, I adored a bright floral, flouncy dress that gave me 1950s glam-housewife vibes, and received tons of compliments on a fuzzy blue-and-brown cow-print winter coat.

If I don't love it, I'll wear it once and send it back. But sometimes, I end up discovering a whole new look.

When choosing pieces to rent, I always read the reviews first

Before selecting items to add to my shipment, I always check the reviews first. Helpful user reviews include a rating on a scale from 1 to 5, photos, and information about the reviewer like the size they wore, their usual size, age, height, weight, bust size, and body type.

I only rent items that have a 4-star review or higher, as ratings get pulled down by members for reasons like poor fit or quality.

I also seek out reviews and photos of members with a similar size and body type for a more "apples-to-apples" comparison.

Sometimes, I like to rent certain items for a longer period of time

To get the most bang for my buck, I like renting outerwear because it's versatile and often expensive. For example, one year I rented an edgy black-leather jacket that cost $700 retail.

I loved it so much that I kept it for almost two months and even took it on a trip to Japan. Although it meant I got to select one less piece in subsequent shipments, I got a lot of use out of it.

If you find an item you love, I definitely recommend extending the rental period.

Promo codes make it more affordable to purchase items I love

Sure, this subscription service is about renting, but if I fall in love with something, I can purchase it. When I do this, I always check for promo codes, which can offer up to 40% off.

For example, I kept a cute $238 tropical linen Scotch & Soda romper for $60 and a $275 Louna ombre sweater for $40. Since I already rented them, I knew they fit and looked good on my body.

I take advantage of Rent the Runway's collection of accessories

There have been a few times where, for one reason or another, I just couldn't find that last perfect piece to add to my shipment.

Luckily, Rent the Runway offers accessories, too, including jewelry, sunglasses, and handbags.

I've rented a blue-and-white-striped bucket bag, a minimalist leather crossbody, and a mini drawstring black tote. Bags are a great way to add a little pop of color or designer flair to your wardrobe.

I love using Rent the Runway for special occasions

On a recent trip to Marrakesh, Morocco, the itinerary included a white party and a gala — neither of which I had an outfit for.

I rented a white spaghetti-strap dress with neon-yellow piping and a stunning navy silk gown with high slits on each side.

Whether I need something for a wedding, holiday party, vacation, or cruise, the no-obligation aspect is perfect no matter the occasion.

I always use the chat feature when an item isn't quite right

Although rented items should always arrive in good condition and ready to wear, there have been a few times when pieces arrived looking too worn or wrinkled.

Luckily, whenever I've chatted with Rent the Runway, I've been able to speak with a human rep, not a chatbot.

The company has always made the situation right by offering a free rental item right away or in my next shipment. Getting these extra rentals keeps me from "wasting" pieces that I can't wear, allowing me to get more bang for my buck.

• "Squid Game" on Netflix is about a group of people in debt competing in deadly games for money.
• Some of the characters' debts revealed in season two are more than a billion South Korean won.
• When converted into US currency, the highest debt represented is just under $7 million.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Squid Game" season two.

Netflix's biggest show, "Squid Game," is a South Korean thriller series about a group of people who risk their lives in a dangerous competition to pay off their debts.

The largest debts are equal to billions of South Korean won. But in the context of US dollars using the current conversion rates, the largest debt represented is just under $7 million.

The show is set in a dystopian version of the present where people compete in a series of deadly children's games to win 45.6 billion won (roughly $31.2 million). In the show, the prize fund starts at zero and can rise to 45.6 billion won, however the money only increases if a player dies. Each player's death adds 0.1 billion won to the prize pot.

In season one, there can be only one winner, but season two changes the rules. After each game, the contestants can vote to leave, splitting the prize money that's been won so far. If a majority agrees, all the surviving players leave with an equal split of the current prize fund.

By the end of season two, 36.1 billion won (roughly $24.7 million) is in the fund, and 95 players are still alive. If the contestants leave right away, each player would receive 380 million won (roughly $260,000), but this amount is lower than some of the characters' debts.

Viewers unfamiliar with the Korean won may struggle to grasp the level of debt each player is in. These are the fictional debts converted from South Korean won to US dollars based on current conversion rates.

Player 196 owes $31,000

When the contestants first enter the games in season two, the game organizers expose some of the players' debts in an attempt to get them to shut up and play along with the competition.

Player 196, who is the first person to be killed in the first game, has the lowest debt that is revealed in the season.

The organizers say Player 196, who is killed in the first game, "Red Light, Green Light," owed 45 million won, which is roughly $31,000.

Player 007 owes $68,000

In episode five, Player 007, whose real name is Park Yon-sik, shocks his mother by voting to stay in the games.

He later tells her that his debt is higher than she thought it was, and he is being threatened to pay it back.

He says his debt is around 100 million won, which is roughly $68,000.

He is still alive at the end of the season.

Player 120 owes $226,000

Player 120, Cho Hyun-ju, is an ex-military trans woman who needs money to finish paying off her surgical bills and to move to Thailand, where she would be more accepted.

The game organizers say she owes 330 million won, which is roughly $226,000.

She is still alive at the end of the season.

Player 230 owes $814,000

Player 230 is a microcelebrity internet rapper who goes by the name Thanos. He enters the games after losing 500 million won (roughly $342,000) in a crypto scam led by Player 333. Player 333 kills him during a brawl in episode seven.

The organizers say he owes 1.19 billion won, which is roughly $814,000.

Player 198 owes $958,000

Player 198 is a minor character in season two who dies in the second game.

The organizers say he owes 1.4 billion won, which is roughly $958,000.

Player 333 owes $1.2 million

Player 333, Lee Myung-gi, is a former YouTuber who is wanted for fraud and violating telecom and financial investment laws after promoting a crypto coin that turned out to be a scam.

The scammers fled after taking 15.2 billion won (roughly $10.4 million) from those who invested in the coin, including Thanos, Player 222, and Player 124, but Myung-gi seemed to also lose money in the scam and shut down his social media accounts.

In episode three, the organizers expose Lee to the group and say he owes 1.8 billion won, which is roughly $1.2 million.

He is still alive at the end of the season.

Player 226 owes $1.3 million

Player 226 is one of the players who consistently pushes the group to continue playing the games.

The organizers say he owes 1.9 billion won, which is roughly $1.3 million.

He is still alive at the end of the season.

Player 444 owes $1.4 million

Player 444 is a minor character who dies in the first game. A sniper shoots him in the leg, but he makes it to the finish line only to be shot and killed by another sniper.

The organizer says he owes 2.02 billion won, which is roughly $1.4 million.

Player 343 owes $2 million

Player 343 is a minor character who dies during the Mingle game after Player 001 strangles him.

The organizers say he owes 2.89 billion won, which is roughly $2 million.

Player 006 owes $2.1 million

Player 006 is a minor character who becomes part of Player 44's cult.

The organizers say she owes 3.1 billion won, which is roughly $2.1 million.

Player 283 owes $2.7 million

Player 283 is a minor character who is the second character to die in the first game. A sniper kills the player after she panics over Player 196's death.

The organizers say she owes 4.02 billion won, which is roughly $2.7 million.

Player 100 owes $6.8 million

Player 100 is the biggest defender of the games, often inspiring the group to continue with the contest instead of quitting.

The organizers say he owes 10 billion won, which is $6.8 million.

He is still alive at the end of the season.

• The President of Mexico has suggested renaming parts of the US to "América Mexicana."
• Claudia Sheinbaum's sarcastic remark followed Trump's idea of renaming the Gulf of Mexico as "the Gulf of America."
• Sheinbaum added that she believed she would have a good relationship with Trump.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded to President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as "the Gulf of America," suggesting that parts of North America should be renamed "América Mexicana."

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Sheinbaum pointed to a colonial-era 17th-century map showing parts of US territory that were once part of Mexico.

"Why don't we call it América Mexicana? That sounds nice, no?" she said.

Her remarks came after Trump, speaking at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Tuesday, said he planned to rename the Gulf.

"We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America," he said. "What a beautiful name — and it's appropriate."

Following the conference, United States Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X: "I'll be introducing legislation ASAP to officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to its rightful name, the Gulf of America!"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was willing to work with Trump on renaming the Gulf, but only if Trump worked with Democrats on "an actual plan to lower costs for Americans."

"That is what the American people want us to focus on first, not on renaming bodies of water," Schumer said.

In the press briefing, Sheinbaum also hit back at Trump's claim that Mexico was "run by cartels," saying the "people are in charge" of the nation.

The president added that Trump had "his own way of communicating" but that she believed she would still have a good relationship with him.

• Wildfires have torn through Los Angeles, destroying homes and displacing residents.
• Major Hollywood productions have paused shooting.
• They include "Fallout," one Amazon's biggest hits last year, and "Grey's Anatomy."

As the Los Angeles wildfires continue to tear through swathes of the city, Hollywood has responded by pausing multiple TV and film productions.

As of 8 A.M ET, at least five people had died in the wildfires, and 150,000 people had been evacuated from the greater Los Angeles area, including the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Pasadena. The Los Angeles Times reported that around 2,000 buildings had been destroyed, citing the LA Fire Department.

Numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton have lost their homes. The Palisades fire burned over 17,000 acres of land, and a fifth fire, dubbed the Sunset Fire, started in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday evening.

Here are the projects that have paused production.

'Fallout' and 'Grey's Anatomy' are among the TV shows affected

Variety reported on Wednesday that Amazon had postponed restarting filming for "Fallout" season two until Friday.

The show, based on the popular "Fallout" games by Bethesda Softworks, was one of the streamer's biggest hits of 2024.

The outlet also reported that the Warner Bros. studio backlot in Burbank was closed, stopping work on "Abbott Elementary," "The Pitt," "All-American," and "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage."

However, the city of Burbank said on Wednesday that there were no evacuation orders for the area.

NBC Universal stopped production on "Suits: LA," the spinoff to Aaron Korsh's popular legal drama starring Stephen Amell, as well as "Ted," "Hacks," "Loot," and "Happy's Place."

CBS Studios meanwhile paused work on "NCIS," "NCIS: Origins," "After Midnight," "The Neighborhood," and "Poppa's House." And Disney delayed work on "Grey's Anatomy," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," and "Doctor Odyssey."

On Wednesday, FilmLA, which helps coordinate permits for movies and TV shows shooting in the city, said the LA County Fire Department told them to withdraw all permits for Altadena, La Crescenta, La Canada/Flintridge, and Unincorporated Pasadena, and others were possible.

In an update on the same day, the company said that the LA Parks and Recreation Department had canceled all filming permits until January 14.

The disruption from the wildfires comes as Hollywood tries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and actor and writer strikes last year, which both led to numerous production delays for major and smaller studios alike.

Mike Miller, the vice president of the film and TV crew union IATSE, told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday that the organization would support those affected.

He said: "We're going to be there to support them and I'm confident that we'll be able to come through this. But it is absolutely going to add additional burden to many people in our industry that are already struggling."

Representatives for Amazon, NBC Universal, CBS, and Disney did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• I spent time along Florida's 30A in three towns: Seaside, Rosemary Beach, and Alys Beach.
• Each beach town was very different, and the one I liked best felt the most "Florida" to me.
• The 30A beach town I'd recommend for a first-time visitor is Seaside for its great food and vibes.

Florida's 30A area is a stretch of white-sand beaches, Gulf of Mexico views, and quaint beach towns that runs for 24 miles along County Road 30A.

The area, which is in the Florida panhandle between Panama City Beach or Destin, has grown in popularity in recent years and has been nicknamed "the Hamptons of the South" by those who visit.

Recently, I spent a few days in 30A and explored three beach towns there: Rosemary Beach, Seaside, and Alys Beach.

All were charming and had lots to do, but as a Florida native who writes about travel for a living, there was one spot I'd recommend if you're looking to get the full 30A experience while still feeling like you had a distinctly "Florida" vacation.

Alys Beach felt too high-end for what I'd like to experience in Florida.

Alys Beach stood out with its architecture and design. White, stone structures and beautiful landscaping were king in this area, and it's easy to see why it's a popular spot for luxury travel.

With bright, linear buildings set against a cerulean sky, the area feels like something out of the Mediterranean region or, at the very least, a spot where celebrities would buy homes or take vacations in Florida.

I had a yummy lunch here on the outdoor patio of a spot called George's at Alys Beach and shopped for a bit in the public area. Still, it wasn't my favorite.

In my opinion, this area felt the least accessible to vacationers and had the vibe of a private community — not so much an inviting beach town.

Rosemary Beach gave off European vibes, but again, didn't feel like Florida.

I enjoyed my time in Rosemary Beach and found the TikToks I'd seen about the area to be accurate: The whole town has a European vibe, from the architecture of its homes to the design of its main shopping and dining area.

The area felt high-end and pricy, something some people vacationing in Florida may not expect.

Despite being cute and within walking distance of the main area of town, I found myself preferring to drive elsewhere in my rental car.

Of all the 30A beach towns I visited, Seaside was my favorite.

During my visit to 30A, I stayed at an Airbnb between Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach.

A perk of this area is that most of the beach towns are within walking or biking distance, and bike-rental shops are plentiful if a bicycle isn't included with your rental property.

Seaside was about a 15-minute drive from my Airbnb, and I found myself making the trip on two separate occasions to spend time there because I liked the area so much.

Seaside feels like an upscale beach town that's still distinctly "Florida."

As someone who's lived in Florida for the last eight years, I've come to appreciate the state's quirkiness and beauty. I love everything Florida's beach towns have to offer, and walking through Seaside felt very "Florida," while also feeling upscale.

There were gorgeous beach houses and breathtaking views of the blue-green Gulf of Mexico, but the area also had beach bars, souvenir shops, and hole-in-the-wall restaurants that reminded me I was still in my state.

Some of the best meals I had in 30A were in Seaside.

The flavors of Seaside were delightful and I'd absolutely return to the town for meals on future trips to 30A.

One night, I had a wonderful steak dinner on the rooftop of Bud and Alley's, a historic restaurant with famous sunset views.

Another day, I visited Seaside bright and early for breakfast at Pickle's Burger and Shakes, a spot on the beach that serves Southern breakfast fare like biscuits and gravy.

Even the latte I grabbed at Amavida Coffee and Tea was excellent.

The sunsets in Seaside can't be beat.

The sunsets along the Gulf of Mexico are stunning, and the prettiest one I saw was while having dinner on the roof of the aforementioned Bud and Alley's.

The restaurant even rings a bell each time the sun sets.

My dream rental property in Seaside would be right on the gulf with a balcony for viewing the sunset on the days I didn't make it to Bud and Alley's roof.

One of the best parts of my trip was a walking tour of Seaside.

The best thing I did while in Seaside was actually a free self-guided walking tour created by the Seaside Institute that I played on my phone as I explored the town.

It featured recorded audio snippets from architects and town planners who founded Seaside explaining everything from the art and design of each beach entrance to how the local historic post office came to be.

Not only was it great to see the town on foot and learn about its history, but also finding a free vacation activity that's fun is always a win in my book.

Overall, I'd describe Seaside as an upscale Florida beach town with a family-friendly vibe.

I love that Seaside doesn't seem to take itself as seriously as towns like Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach.

Instead, it seems to embrace its Florida roots while still maintaining stunning architecture, beautiful art installations, and vibrant public areas.

It's beautiful enough to feel like a vacation — even to someone from another part of Florida — while not feeling as pretentious as other towns in the area.

My perfect 30A trip would include a stay in Seaside and day trips into the other towns.

I cannot wait to return to 30A for another vacation along the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.

After exploring the area, I'm definitely a Seaside girl, and would choose a rental property right in the heart of the town for my next trip.

I'd still venture into towns like Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach for a meal or some shopping, but I'd recommend a stay in Seaside to a first-time 30A visitor.

• Cherie Rohn, 79, took up fencing at 75. She also works out and does ballroom dancing.
• She shared some of her secrets to staying so active at almost 80.
• These include finding an exercise you love and not trying to be perfect all the time.

Cherie Rohn, 79, has a very structured week when it comes to workouts.

On Sundays, she does a fencing lesson. On Tuesdays, she works out "strenuously." On Wednesday, she does a three-hour fencing session. She takes Thursday for stretching, and on Friday has a ballroom dancing lesson.

The freelance writer and editor based in Fort Myers, Florida, started fencing when she was 75. She stumbled across online fencing lessons during a lockdown in November 2020, and has been doing it ever since.

Rohn has been active all her life and had done ballroom dancing for a decade before she took up the blade. But fencing is "the most strenuous thing I've ever done," she said. "I have to work out constantly just to be able to do the sport."

Factors including genetics, luck, and our environment are thought to play a role in how long we live, as well as lifestyle choices such as regularly exercising.

Here how Rohn stays fit as she approaches 80.

Find an exercise you love

From whitewater rafting and scuba diving to skydiving and ballroom dancing, Rohn has tried lots of different activities.

"Whatever pulls your chain, do that," she said, because if you're not motivated to do something, you won't do it.

Nathan K. LeBrasseur, a physiologist who researches healthy aging, previously told BI that a mixture of cardiovascular exercise and resistance training is best for protecting our health. But the best exercise is one you can do consistently, so pick an activity you enjoy and will do regularly.

A 2018 study on 70 people over six weeks, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, found that those in their 80s who exercised regularly for most of their lives had similar levels of skeletal muscle and enzyme activity to those around 30 years younger than them.

Don't give up

"Don't quit too soon," Rohn said. Instead, think about what you're getting out of exercise.

For Rohn, fencing gives her "immense physical strength" and the ability to "meet the challenges of the day." Plus, the intense concentration it requires provides an escape from worries, she said.

A 2023 study by researchers at Duke Kunshan University, China, using data on 22,463 people found that physically active people over 80 tended to live longer than their inactive peers, even if they took up exercising later in life.

Don't try to be perfect all the time

"You can't be Wonder Woman all of the time," Rohn said. "Sometimes I eat really crappily. I'm not perfect. I screw up."

Lots of dietitians advocate for the 80/20 diet, where you eat healthily 80% of the time and allow yourself to eat what you want for the other 20%. This is because the healthiest way to eat, like exercise, is one you can maintain in the long term.

Making resting part of your workout routine

She also takes multiple rest days a week to help her body recover.

Working out too much and not taking adequate rest can lead to issues such as tiredness, lack of motivation, and increased risk of injuries, Danielle Gray, a personal trainer, previously told BI.

• Air travel is being disrupted by strong winds and wildfires in Los Angeles.
• Several airlines have waived change fees for flights to Los Angeles and Orange County.
• Some flights to Burbank were diverted, while passengers photographed the fires from the skies.

The wildfires devastating Los Angeles and the strong winds intensifying them are also disrupting air travel in and around the city.

After a lengthy dry spell in the region, the Santa Ana winds produced gusts up to nearly 90 mph.

These strong winds and the fires — which have led to five deaths and over 130,000 people being evacuated — have caused knock-on effects, with significant numbers of flights delayed and airlines issuing waivers to allow passengers to amend their flights.

American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines are among the carriers that have issued waivers for change fees. The affected airports are Los Angeles International, Hollywood Burbank, Ontario International, and Santa Ana's John Wayne Airport.

At LAX, the city's main airport, 153 flights, or 18%, were delayed on Wednesday, per data from FlightAware.

The airport says it is open and operating normally, but passengers should check their flight status with their airline.

Hollywood Burbank Airport is also facing some disruption, with 18% of Wednesday's flights canceled, per FlightAware.

On social media, the airport also told travelers to check their flight status before flying.

BBC reporter Ben Derico said his Wednesday flight to Burbank had to turn around and return to Las Vegas.

"After a bumpy attempt at touching down the landing was abandoned," he wrote. "The captain told us the winds were just too strong."

Tai Wright, from North Hollywood, told Newsweek her flight from Dallas to Burbank diverted to LAX.

"The heat inside the aircraft started to rise, and the smoke smell filled the cabin," she said.

"The entire landing was rocky, with the aircraft swaying and turning in all directions right up until touchdown, and everyone on board applauded with good reason after we touched ground."

Santa Monica Airport is the closest to the wildfires, about 3 miles south of an evacuation order resulting from the Palisades fire. It is a general aviation airport, which means commercial flights don't typically operate there.

Aviation is also playing a key role in fighting the wildfires. The Los Angeles Fire Department said 12 helicopters and six fixed-wing aircraft are in operation.

• A woman in Germany was sentenced to life for murdering her doppelgänger in 2022.
• The victim's family in Algeria found out about the verdict three weeks later.
• They say they were kept in the dark through the ordeal.

A woman and her male accomplice were sentenced to life in prison following an 11-month murder trial in Germany that sparked headlines across the world.

The case ended with their convictions for the August 2022 murder of the victim, described as her killer's doppelgänger.

But the family of Khadidja O., the victim, say they were kept in the dark while they were hundreds of miles away in Algeria.

"We didn't know anything," Khadidja's younger sister, Ahlem Boudjemaâ, told Business Insider of the trial.

She learned about the verdict only from BI's reporter getting in touch three weeks after the sentencing.

A language barrier and complex family dynamics contributed to German authorities falling short of their aim to communicate with the murder victim's relatives overseas.

The 'doppelgänger murder'

Khadidja, a 23-year-old beauty influencer who was living in Heilbronn, Germany, was killed two-and-a-half years ago.

While her father was part of the prosecution of her murder, the family she kept in touch with in Algeria found themselves shut out of the case.

Prosecutors said Khadidja was tracked down on Instagram by a woman who looked like her in a plot to fake her own death.

They said a 25-year-old Iraqi-German woman, identified only as Shahraban K., orchestrated the murder.

(In Germany, it is customary to refer to victims and defendants only by their first names and an initial.)

Prosecutors said that, along with an accomplice identified as Sheqir K., she lured Khadidja into a trap by pretending to offer her a free cosmetic treatment.

For a time, authorities indeed believed Shahraban was the one who died.

In August 2022, police discovered a bloodied body with dozens of stab wounds and initially identified it as hers.

However, an autopsy later revealed the body to be that of Khadidja, who police said bore a "striking resemblance" to Shahraban.

This discovery led to Shahraban and, later, Sheqir being named as suspects in the murder. The killing gripped the media, becoming widely known as the "doppelgänger murder."

Mid-way through the trial, prosecutors alleged that Shahraban previously tried to hire someone to murder a relative.

Both defendants were ultimately found guilty of murder, with Shahraban also facing an additional conviction of attempted incitement to murder her brother-in-law.

Thomas Schlappa, a press officer for Ingolstadt's regional court, confirmed that the two defendants were sentenced to life behind bars on December 19.

He said that Shahraban's case was deemed so severe that probation is "not an option."

Left in the dark

The victim's father, who lives in Germany and has had no contact with the Algerian family since a contentious divorce, was represented in court.

The rest of Khadidja's family in Oran, Algeria, had no legal representation and received little information throughout the trial.

They said they only learned about the verdict on January 8, 2025, nearly three weeks later, after Business Insider messaged them.

"I don't know why they did this to us," Boudjemaâ, the younger sister, told BI of the German authorities, who had earlier said the relatives deserved access to that information.

Nonetheless, Khadidja's Algerian family felt consistently left in the dark through the trial.

"I waited every day for news, but nothing was new," Boudjemaâ said.

From the offset, they had felt sidelined — they say even the news of Khadidja's death took 10 days to reach them.

Boudjemaâ says she was contacted by Khadidja's friends on social media, and had to relay the news to her mother.

(Ingolstadt state prosecutor's office disputes this, saying files show that the family in Algeria was informed of the murder.)

The mother, Bouch, told BI last July that she felt German authorities had done little to help her. She said they gave an email address which turned out to be incorrect.

Frustrated by the lack of information, Bouch, who is disabled after a brain hemorrhage several years ago, went on a fact-finding mission to Germany herself but learned little.

Veronika Grieser of the Ingolstadt state prosecutor's office characterized the lack of communication as a misunderstanding in statements to BI at the time.

She said the state prosecutor's office generally seeks to provide information on significant developments in a trial when relatives inquire.

"We very much regret that the victim's mother feels inadequately informed by the authorities," she said. "Of course, the victim's relatives have a right to information about the status of the proceedings and, of course, about the dates of the main hearing."

This week, the state prosecutor's office said that nobody from the Algerian family had contacted their office.

Schlappa of Ingolstadt's regional court told BI in an email that the outcome of the proceedings had been shared in a press release and appeared to suggest that the Algerian family was excluded due to their lack of legal representation.

"The victim's father was a co-plaintiff in the main hearing and was represented by a lawyer appointed by the court," he said. "To what extent the father has or had contact with any relatives in Algeria is not known here."

Once news of the sentencing reached Algeria, Boudjemaâ's reaction to the sentencing was conflicted.

"I don't know if there is justice," she said. "My sister is dead, she is gone, and she will not return."