• Saratoga Spring Water, in its distinct blue glass bottle, was everywhere at the Milken conference.
• The brand went viral earlier this year because of influencer Ashton Hall.
• The CEO of the brand's holding company spoke at the power-player-packed conference.

Last spring, billionaire Michael Arougheti had two light beers in hand and a good reason to celebrate — he had just become the co-owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

Arougheti, the CEO of investment manager Ares, was in Pickles Pub, a popular bar for fans near the team's iconic stadium, offering to buy everyone a beer.

The short video of a joyous Arougheti in Pickles was played Tuesday to the amusement of his fellow panelists, Todd Boehly and Michael Milken, at the latter's namesake global conference. Milken, a big healthcare donor who George Washington University's public health school is named after, had one critique.

"We're going to try and give you more healthy things to hold up," Milken said.

After spending three days traipsing around the ritzy Beverly Hills hotel where the conference is held, it was pretty obvious what that drink would be: Saratoga Spring Water.

The glass blue bottles — a 24-pack of 12-ounce bottles costs more than $40 on Amazon — were omnipresent during the conference, with tables laden with them around every corner. Panelists, including Boehly and Arougheti, sipped them onstage. Hotel employees clearing trash cans in common areas sometimes needed backup to get the glass-filled utility trash bags out of their containers.

The brand, which is a part of the beverage conglomerate Primo Brands, went viral earlier this year thanks to influencer Ashton Hall, whose alleged morning routine includes dunking his face into a bowl filled with several bottles of the distilled spring water. The company's chief marketing officer previously told Business Insider that Hall's use of their product was not an ad, but they were enjoying the attention nonetheless.

Hall's TikToks didn't come up during the conference, but the conglomerate's CEO, Robbert Rietbroek, spoke on a panel at Milken. CNBC anchor Sara Eisen introduced him by noting that "we're all drinking his waters."

Rietbroek said, "Our mission is to hydrate a healthy America," and that the decrease in alcohol consumption has given Saratoga a boost, he said, sitting next to a small side table with several of his "beautiful blue bottles" on it.

"We're seeing an expansion of bottled water through the first quarter of this year," he said, despite economic worries.

He said consumers are on the hunt "for alternate drinks," but at Milken, they were the house pour.

• "Pinterest is where Gen Z goes to shop," CEO Bill Ready said on Pinterest's Q1 earnings call.
• Gen Z has been "raised on an internet of visual content" and likes to search visually, he added.
• Pinterest reported that revenue rose 16% in Q1, sending stock up as much as 18% after hours.

Millennials had the mall. Gen Z has Pinterest.

On its first-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Pinterest's CEO, Bill Ready, said Gen Z users are engaging heavily with the image-sharing platform. Gen Z are those who were born between 1996 and 2010.

"We've made Pinterest a destination for our users, particularly a shopping destination," Ready said on the call. "Pinterest is where Gen Z goes to shop."

Ready said that a key driver of Pinterest's success is its ability to connect users to products and aesthetics "they may not have the words to describe."

"This is especially relevant for Gen Z, our largest and fastest-growing user cohort, who have been raised on an internet of visual content," and like to search visually, the CEO said.

Pinterest execs also touted Gen Z in examples of how advertisers are finding value on their platform.

Chief financial officer Julia Donnelly said advertisers valued Pinterest's insights into consumer behaviour, especially for Gen Z users who are making "significant" decisions such as selecting insurance or a credit card for the first time. The CEO highlighted PacSun, a clothing brand he said was popular with Gen Z, and said the retailer saw a higher return on ad spending with new Pinterest features.

The company's first-quarter revenue grew 16% to $855 million compared to the same period last year. Monthly average users, an important metric for media companies, grew 10% year-on-year.

AI also played a role in the company's strong quarter. Ready said Pinterest has been using AI to personalize user experience and to improve the platform's visual search capabilities.

"It also makes us a highly valuable partner to advertisers that are looking for early signals on how consumer trends may be shifting before it shows up in traditional purchasing data," he said of AI.

Pinterest stock jumped as much as 18% after-hours on Thursday on the heels of encouraging second-quarter guidance.

Pinterest, which is most popular for searching travel, style, and home decor ideas, saw a slowdown in user growth post-pandemic. It has since rebounded due to increased focus on shoppability and engagement from Gen Z users.

Gen Z, most of whom are in their 20s, has a reputation for taking their life and careers slow. Some research shows members of this generation are not drinking, driving, working, or taking risks as much as other age groups did at their age.

In addition to Pinterest, Gen Z is being credited for the revival of the image-blogging platform Tumblr, which reported that 50% of its active monthly users in 2025 are Gen Zers.

When it comes to their shopping habits, Gen Z is often associated with "underconsumption core," a trend that's all about buying less and rejecting influencer marketing.

Pinterest did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

• Magnus Grimeland, the CEO and founder of the VC firm Antler, said demand for software engineers will only grow.
• AI will continue to make errors, and only software engineers will optimize this technology.
• AI will also lead to further specialization among software engineers, he said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Magnus Grimeland, the CEO and founder of Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm. He also cofounded Zalora, a fashion e-commerce platform in Asia. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

There have been a lot of headlines about software engineering being replaced by AI, based on the assumption that anyone can just go in and code any program with natural language. It's actually much more likely that the need and demand for great software engineers will grow in the next couple of decades.

Even the best software engineers today make errors. AI models will also continue to make errors, at least for a very long time, and the only ones who will optimize this technology are software engineers.

At least over the next 20 to 30 years, what you will see is the best software engineers getting a tremendous amount of leverage to be more efficient and deliver better products faster. Software engineers will work in a different way than before.

In the not-too-distant future, we also need to adapt to an entirely new computer ecosystem, and the ones who are going to be able to do that are software engineers. We've already started investing in a few companies that are preparing for that.

Further specialization

AI will also lead to further specialization.

Today, software engineers are grouped a bit more generally. Some work on hardware, some on different types of software languages, and some are great mobile developers.

The complexity of the type of roles that you'll see for software engineers will increase significantly because the way this is being implemented in different industries will require specialized goals.

You'll also see fewer general engineers and more people who are really good at one specific thing.

Software engineers will work closer with businesses. AI will enable business leaders to work better with engineering departments because they can tinker with the early versions of the products themselves.

This should lead to more efficiency in terms of how the technical and less technical parts of the business work together, and that should actually give software engineering an even more important role in the business.

A new era of learning

When we were building Zalora and now at Antler, some of the best engineers we hired in Southeast Asia were self-taught.

They didn't have computer science degrees from universities. They read up on the internet, tinkered, and built their own programs.

AI has made it better than ever to teach people — as long as they have the right drive and basic intrinsics to learn how to become a great software engineer.

You'll see many more self-help people who are just as good as people who've done a full university degree.

• Coach's bet on bag charms is paying off.
• The CEO of Coach's parent, Tapestry, said the brand's bag charms and straps contributed to its success.
• She said Coach's $95 Cherry Bag Charm was a "Gen Z favourite."

Coach is known for its handbags, but its little dangly keychains and trinkets are boosting its business, too.

The CEO of Coach's parent company, Tapestry, Joanne Crevoiserat, spoke in an earnings call on Thursday about the success of bag charms.

"Our bag charms and straps added to our success, providing consumers with further opportunities for self-expression, with the 'Cherry Bag Charm' remaining a Gen Z favorite," Crevoiserat said to investors.

Bag charms vary largely in size and form, from miniature stuffed toys and toy figurines to beaded chains. Style experts BI previously spoke with said charms function as a way to express the wearer's identity and personality.

Coach has a wide selection of charms, ranging from $20 for a simple bow charm to $195 for the spider bag charm. It also sells a collection of metallic chains that can be hooked onto bag straps.

The Cherry Bag Charm, which Crevoiserat called a "Gen Z favorite," retails on Coach's website for $95.

Crevoiserat's comments come as retail brands have been betting big on bag charms to win the support of younger customers. Brands from KFC to Balenciaga have released bag charms — either in the form of limited edition drops or permanent collections.

Crevoiserat said nearly 70% of Coach's 900,000 new customers in North America were Gen Z and millennials.

Representatives for Tapestry did not respond to a query from Business Insider on the amount of sales the bag charms brought in in the latest quarter.

Tapestry reported a 7% revenue increase in its latest quarter earnings compared to the year before, with $1.58 billion in sales.

Coach, in particular, saw a 13% year-on-year growth, with sales of more than $1.29 billion. The brand has 324 stores in the US and 599 internationally.

• A business owner is labeling tariff costs as a separate line on the price tag of his electric bikes.
• Businesses, large and small, are hoping to retain consumer trust by showing how much tariffs increase prices.
• Business experts say consumer awareness of tariffs could spell trouble for Trump's polling rates.

When Jared Fisher found out his major supplier of electric bikes was raising its prices by 10%, he had a choice to make: eat the cost or pass it along to his customers.

"If you cut 10% into a bicycle margin, then you might as well get ready to have your exit strategy for your business because you're not going to be able to operate," Fisher, who owns several bike shops in Nevada and Utah, told Business Insider. "There's no way."

Instead, Fisher decided to be transparent with his customers about why prices were rising on some of his products. He added a new line item directly to the price tags on bikes hanging in his shops. On one bike he sells for $7,999, the price tag now shows an additional $300 "Government Tariff Charge."

"I have no problem labeling where this tax is coming from on my products," he said. "People need to know that so I have a fighting chance on my end."

On April 2, President Donald Trump imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all imports into the US, as well as additional tariffs on dozens of trading partners. Though some of the higher tariffs — with the exception of those on China and some on Mexico and Canada — are on pause, the sweeping 10% tariffs are still in place. And prices are starting to go up.

From brick-and-mortar retailers to online small businesses, many have told Business Insider that the tariffs are forcing them to pass the cost to consumers, and it's not because they want to.

To make matters worse for smaller operations, they do not have the same bargaining power with suppliers or cash flow as larger retailers like Walmart. Suppliers in some manufacturing hubs like China are also seeing ever-shrinking margins to help absorb the tariff shock.

"Small businesses are basically in danger of going out of business because of these high tariffs," Peter Cohan, associate professor of management at Babson College and a venture capitalist, told BI, "And they're trying to preserve the trust of their customers by being very transparent about why they're raising the prices."

"Maybe they're going to lose customers because of the higher rates, but at least being transparent will help reduce the damage," Cohan added.

Larger businesses may also have considered such transparency measures. After reports that Amazon is going to start displaying how much tariffs are contributing to the price of goods on its platform, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the idea a "hostile and political act." The e-commerce giant denied that it planned to display the cost of tariffs, saying its low-price section, Haul, had considered it for some items but then jettisoned the idea.

Chinese fast-fashion giants Shein and Temu — most affected by the 145% tariffs on China and the canceled de minimus exemptions — posted identical customer notices on their websites, saying that that there will be "price adjustments" because their "operating expenses have gone up" under "recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs."

At the end of April, Temu started adding "import charges" at checkout, which can double the price of the item. By May, Temu's main website appeared to have blocked US customers from seeing products shipped from China, and the site is filled with products marked "local" to signify they are at a warehouse in the US.

"Displaying tariff costs directly on product pages can offer strategic advantages for platforms like Temu and Shein," Nasim Mousavi, assistant professor at Georgia State University Robinson College of Business, told BI. "By itemizing tariffs, these platforms frame price increases as the result of external policy rather than their own pricing decisions."

"This transparency can enhance customer trust, reinforce a value-oriented brand image, and foster the perception that the platform is advocating on behalf of the consumer," Mousavi added.

According to a survey of 1,850 US adult citizens conducted between May 2 and 5 by the Economist and YouGov, 75% of those surveyed think that Trump's tariffs will increase their prices, and 61% would like businesses to display how much of a purchase price goes toward paying tariffs.

"The obvious reason why the White House wouldn't want businesses to show tariff costs is because it makes it obvious how much their policy is costing consumers," said Cohan. "It's going to drive down the poll ratings because consumers will be extremely aware of how much more they're paying and who's causing them to pay it."

• Lester V. Ledesma, 50, started backpacking across Southeast Asia in the '90s and never stopped.
• He says that back then, travelers were able to let curiosity, not the internet, lead the way.
• These days, he says smartphones and social media make it harder to connect with locals and discover places on your own.

I began traveling across Southeast Asia in the late '90s. After college, with just a backpack, a camera, and a sense of adventure, I set out to explore the Philippines — my country of birth.

That early journey sparked my career as a travel writer and photographer and led me to move to Singapore a few years later, where the rest of the region was just a flight away from Changi Airport.

Since then, I've collected travel stories that range from simple to sublime and downright strange.

In my 20s, during my first trip to Cambodia, I spent a hilarious evening of "cultural exchange" with a group of tuk-tuk drivers — we taught each other the harshest cuss words that our native languages had to offer.

A decade later, during the Thingyan Festival — Myanmar's New Year celebration — I found myself on a trishaw as it rode through a gauntlet of cheering, cross-dressing revelers who drenched me with water hoses and planted playful, hairy kisses on my cheeks.

The following year in Bali, I stood in the middle of a perang api — a ritual fire war between groups of villagers who hurled glowing hunks of coal at each other.

None of those adventures had been inspired by a TikTok, and I hadn't been led there using GPS on my phone.

Back then, backpacking involved hands-on research — often lugging around a thick copy of "Lonely Planet." I had to make landline phone calls or write emails at internet cafés to reserve rooms. Flights were more expensive, so I often got around by commuting overland (or sea, as the case may be).

I was on the road so much that I would often arrive at a destination without any plans or bookings.

These days, backpacking's a breeze with everything online — Google Maps shows us where to go, and sites like Expedia and Booking.com let us plan every detail beforehand. It's all super convenient — maybe too convenient.

As a salty old road warrior, I'd say we've lost something in this hyper-connected, instant-gratification era. Backpacking in Southeast Asia just isn't what it used to be. Here's what we're missing.

The gains of serendipity

Getting lost to find oneself was part of why backpacking was so much fun. But with navigation apps now available on everyone's phone, does anyone still ever really get lost?

Transformative travel is no longer the norm these days, replaced by must-see, must-eat, and must-do lists that bombard our social media feeds. Indeed, looking at long lines of people waiting to take the exact same photo at so-called selfie spots, you'd think the whole point of traveling is to feed the all-important 'Gram.

For all their game-changing functionality, Google Maps and Street View have diminished the joys of discovery on even the simplest neighborhood walks.

My journeys back then felt raw and unfiltered. Since the world was still largely offline, we old-school backpackers let our curiosity (and our printed maps) show us the way.

Connecting with the locals

There are plenty of crowd-sourced and influencer-approved travel tips on your phone, and they often guarantee the same experience as everyone else.

Of course, some would say that's a modern blessing — especially if you have FOMO — but there's nothing like a touch of kindness from a friendly local to make an experience unique.

Over the years, I've shared impromptu meals, received generous rides, witnessed proud displays of skill, and even been welcomed into intimate occasions. It was all because I dared to reach out and engage with the locals.

The cold efficiency of online booking, navigation, and even ride-hailing apps has lessened the opportunities to make meaningful connections. I remember when all it took me was a smile and a curious question to break the ice.

Getting away from it all

In this day and age, we can still travel solo, but constant connectivity means that we are never alone. Not too long ago, backpacking was all about immersion in a place, and oftentimes, it was easy to just fall off the grid.

Nowadays, travelers are more likely to update their Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok accounts in real time than keep a handwritten journal.

There are also those amusing vloggers who walk around while talking to their streaming, selfie stick-mounted phones. Despite some travelers being physically far from everyone and everything we know, our cellphones are always pinging with text messages, emails, and social media updates.

Being part of a community

Once upon a time, independent travel was a shared experience among a loose community of fellow backpackers. We'd cross paths on the road, and then later meet up in traveler hubs like Bangkok's Khao San Road or Saigon's Pham Ngu Lao Street. Here we would swap travel stories over cheap beer, and trade dog-eared guidebooks at secondhand bookshops.

Occasionally, we'd leave messages for newfound friends at guesthouse bulletin boards, before pushing onward to the next destination. Formerly a source of so much camaraderie, this IRL culture has largely dissolved into the realm of social media.

These days, we might find our travel friends online, but the things that drove our journeys back then — a sense of adventure, a willingness to connect, and curiosity about different cultures — are values today's generation of net-savvy, card-carrying travelers seem to be missing out on.

• I'm a therapist and run a support group for moms.
• I know that even when their kids were going through hard times, they were still good moms.
• My self-worth is separate from my children's development.

As a therapist, I run a support group for mothers with guilt and low self-esteem related to their children's mental health or addiction struggles in young adulthood.

The mothers blame themselves. They express grief and jealousy when happy photos fill their social media feeds or the neighbors eat together next door.

I have celebrated and soothed alongside these mothers, hour by hour, year by year. Like most parents, their children had a variety of moments: power struggles, science fairs, sports achievements, and disappointing mistakes.

From my perspective, their children were navigating hard moments, but they were still good moms. I could easily list these women's parenting strengths. How could I convince them, though?

I don't like to hear 'Good job, Mom'

I was thinking about these themes as I brought my own adolescent daughter to the pediatrician. I thought things were going well, but I know adolescents can mask difficulties. When I was in the waiting room, I felt as vulnerable as the women in my office.

After a private chat, my pediatrician came out with a big smile. She spoke to me about my daughter's growth and confidence and said, "Great job, Mom! Keep doing what you're doing!"

At first, I grinned back. Of course, I am relieved that my daughter is doing well. We have worked hard to help her grow and thrive. I hummed along as I drove away.

But then I thought about other times when I left the pediatrician's office. Sometimes the pediatrician had lots of recommendations for me, because my child needed more care or different supports. No one said "great job" on those visits. In fact, I often felt lightly criticized or inadequate.

When my kids struggle, I'm still working hard behind the scenes

Although today's feedback felt nice to hear, I realized that "great job" is too broad, finite, and not necessarily true. The doctor saw my daughter on a good day at one moment in time.

My child's behavior at an individual snapshot in time does not reflect my parenting skills. Like all children, mine will appear to cope and smile at times when they suffer silently, or they might excel in one domain but struggle in another area.

Sometimes, I am the parent on the family bike ride, and we are flying along, excited and happy. Sometimes, I'm on the phone with a frustrated teacher or get an outraged text from a neighbor.

When my kids struggle, I'm working just as hard, if not harder, but my parenting skills and efforts go unrecognized.

Moms should give themselves compassion

My support group mothers connect well and have a lot of compassion for each other. As we meet each week in the safety of belonging and laughter, real truths start to emerge. The women are not "failing" at parenting. Young adults are not fully grown, and the relationship between parents and children can wind together and apart for many decades.

Young adults are complicated shape-shifters, not packaged products. Their bodies and brains grow for many years into young adulthood.

We cannot force our children to adopt our values or control what they choose to do with their young minds and bodies. For instance, I didn't choose to raise my children during a pandemic. I didn't choose to develop breast cancer. There are unpredictable factors in childhood beyond a parent's power, which can cause children to struggle in life.

From my perspective, skilled mothers are reflective parents who support their children with different supports at different stages. We create healthy boundaries that separate our self-worth from our children's developing identities.

We have to tend to ourselves with the same compassion that we turn toward our children.

• President Donald Trump's deal with Paul Weiss marked a turning point in his war on Big Law.
• But the firms fighting Trump's orders have used the deal as evidence that they're legally flimsy.
• A lawyer for Susman Godfrey argued that it proves the orders were never about national security.

President Donald Trump's deal with Paul Weiss was his first big win in his war against Big Law.

In court, it's coming back to haunt him.

For the law firms choosing to fight Trump's executive orders targeting them, rather than striking deals with the president, the Paul Weiss deal has turned into a potent weapon.

They have cited Trump's quick revocation of the order — just six days after it was initially issued — to argue that they never had any legitimacy in the first place. The order, had it been carried out, would have revoked the security clearances of Paul Weiss lawyers out of "the national interest" and barred them from entering government-owned buildings, potentially including even courthouses and post offices.

The argument emerged again in a Washington, DC, federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon as a lawyer representing the firm Susman Godfrey told a federal judge that Trump's turnabout on the Paul Weiss order was evidence that the White House never really believed the law firms posed a national security risk.

"There was no change in circumstances with respect to the trustworthiness of Paul Weiss between the issuing of that executive order and its rescission a few days later," said Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., a lawyer at Munger Tolles representing Susman Godfrey. "And I think in some ways that tells you all you need to know about whether there's anything legitimate about the suspension."

After Paul Weiss agreed to a deal with Trump, in March, its chairman, Brad Karp, told lawyers at the firm that the agreement resolved an "existential crisis" that "could easily have destroyed our firm."

The decision divided the legal profession. Critics said that by choosing to reach an agreement with Trump instead of fight in court — as Perkins Coie had at the time — Paul Weiss empowered Trump to go after more Big Law firms.

Eight more Big Law firms made deals with Trump, averting altogether possible executive orders targeting them, and pledging a total of nearly $1 billion in pro bono hours toward Trump's political priorities.

For the four law firms fighting executive orders — Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey — the Paul Weiss deal had the opposite effect.

It was a clear indication, they have all argued, that the legal justifications for Trump's orders were baloney.

Under legal precedents, government agencies are required to conduct an "individualized review" to issue and revoke security clearances, judges have ruled in the cases. Reversing the Paul Weiss order in under a week was clearly too short a time to individually weigh whether each person working at the firm posed an actual national security threat, the four law firms have each argued.

Thursday's court hearing, overseen by US District Judge Loren AliKhan, was over whether the judge should permanently block the order targeting Susman Godfrey, a law firm that represents The New York Times in a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, and has represented Dominion Voting Systems in its lawsuit against Fox News.

Richard Lawson — who has been left as the sole Justice Department lawyer defending the government in these cases — said in the hearing that the executive branch has "inherent discretion on security clearances." He has also argued that because each of Trump's executive orders says security clearances should be reviewed "consistent with applicable law," they could not possibly be illegal.

The four judges, overseeing the lawsuits, including AliKhan, have not been persuaded. Each swiftly issued a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of the executive orders.

On Friday, US District Judge Beryl Howell issued the first order permanently blocking one of the executive orders against Perkins Coie.

She wrote in her 102-page opinion that Trump's actions and public statements indicated his executive orders had nothing to do with national security, but were instead motivated by his dislike of specific people working at particular law firms and because he wanted "big numbers" in pro bono pledges from each firm.

"None of these agreed-upon policy or practice changes appear to explain or address how any national security concerns sufficient to warrant the Paul, Weiss EO could have changed so rapidly," Howell wrote of the announced deal between Trump and Paul Weiss. "The speed of the reversal and the rationale provided in the Paul, Weiss Revocation Order, which focused only on agreements to advance policy initiatives of the Trump Administration, further support the conclusion that national security considerations are not a plausible explanation."

Howell also addressed the circumstances of Trump's executive order targeting Susman Godfrey. After signing the order, Trump announced, "We're just starting the process with this one." It was an indication, Howell wrote, that Trump may view the orders as leverage for a negotiation rather than trying to legitimately address national security issues.

"Whether President Trump's focus on 'the process' refers to enforcement of the Susman EO or that this Order was the opening gambit — akin to the Paul, Weiss EO followed by the Paul, Weiss Revocation Order — for deal negotiations, is unclear," Howell wrote.

On Thursday, AliKhan, asked Lawson if he wanted to share a view on how Howell's order might affect the Susman Godfrey case.

Lawson stumbled through a response.

"No, I don't. There's nothing in there that, I mean, obviously we have a big issue with the finding," Lawson said, laughing. "But I don't think there's anything urgent I need to bring to the court's attention."

• Instagram chief Adam Mosseri testified in Meta's antitrust trial on Thursday.
• The FTC claims Meta's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp created an illegal monopoly.
• Regulators want Meta to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp.

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri took the witness stand on Thursday in Meta's landmark antitrust trial in Washington, DC, federal court.

Mosseri, who has been at the helm of Instagram since 2018, is among the more than two dozen witnesses that the Federal Trade Commission has called to testify in the case.

The FTC argues in its case against Meta that the company violated antitrust laws when it "helped cement" an illegal monopoly in the social networking market with its acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and the messaging app WhatsApp two years later.

The case, to be decided by Judge James Boasberg, could be one of the most consequential antitrust trials in years. If FTC regulators have their way, Meta could be forced to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram.

Mosseri began his tenure at Meta, formerly called Facebook, in 2008. Here are five insights and revelations we learned from his more than six hours of testimony:

Mark Zuckerberg's 'strained' relationship with Instagram's founders

Mosseri recalled a 2018 email he sent to Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg while on paternity leave, warning that Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger were increasingly frustrated with strategy changes.

He wrote that it was "hard for me to get a read on what's going on as the relationship was strained."

Mosseri cited two core tensions: Zuckerberg's belief that slowing Instagram's growth would benefit Meta overall.

Mosseri acted as a mediator, relaying concerns between the founders and Facebook leadership.

These tensions foreshadowed a deeper rift that culminated in the cofounders' departure later that year, a turning point that saw Mosseri take over the reins at Instagram.

Worry over TikTok cutting into Instagram's growth

TikTok's meteoric rise was a massive threat to Instagram, Meta has argued.

"TikTok is probably the fiercest competition we have faced during my tenure at the company," Mosseri testified on Thursday.

According to internal Meta documents presented in court, TikTok was a "big concern" in 2019, just as the ByteDance-owned app was taking off. Instagram data scientists presented a "conservative estimate" that 40% of Instagram's year-over-year decline in time spent was due to TikTok. Specifically in the US, Instagram estimated a 23% decline in time spent.

Instagram would go on to launch its own short-form video product, Reels, in 2020.

Mosseri also testified that he briefed Zuckerberg "very often" about the competition with TikTok, adding that there was a monthly dinner with the most senior executives at Meta where this would come up.

"It became kind of a hazing ritual for me to give an update on Reels," Mosseri said.

Mosseri's 'biggest mistake'

On the stand, Mosseri testified that Instagram's first version of Reels was his "biggest mistake," built on the "not a sound foundation" of Stories, which the feature was initially built into.

The feature flopped and was ultimately scrapped after nearly a year. Mosseri said before he joined Instagram that it tried another venture to compete with TikTok called IGTV — that too failed.

Instagram pivoted by relaunching Reels as a dedicated feature in the main feed, a reboot that finally gained traction amid the pandemic and TikTok's rapid rise. Mosseri said that the company "could have and should have been more aggressive" in responding to what he called Meta's fiercest competitor.

Hundreds of millions on content creators

Instagram's fight with TikTok and other apps is just beginning, Mosseri testified.
Mosseri said that one of the biggest fights right now is over future creators, those who are just beginning to make content or who haven't even started. He said TikTok has done a better job allowing small creators to rapidly expand their reach, something Meta is actively trying to cut into.

In terms of overall investment, Mosseri said that Meta has spent "hundreds of millions, maybe a billion or two" during his time at the company supporting the wider creative ecosystem.

That touches everything from incentive payments to the physical infrastructure necessary to power Instagram's AI-backed recommendations.

"We are just seeing more and more power shift from institutions to individuals across the industry," Mosseri testified.

Instagram's struggles around content safety

Susan Musser, the FTC attorney who led Mosseri's questioning, repeatedly questioned the Instagram head over his initial concerns about how the app was ensuring the safety of its content.

Mosser pointed to an email from October 19, 2018, less than a month after Mosseri became head of the app, in which he said that Facebook was not investing enough in Instagram's Well-being team.

"I think we're underinvested in Well-being and were, until recently, the resources we do have are underleveraged," Mosseri wrote to someone whose full name was redacted. The initial email the person wrote was titled, "need to prioritize integrity efforts over growth — we must fight fakes."

An internal Facebook document also showed that Instagram had significantly fewer engineers devoted to well-being than the main app. According to the 2018 summary, Instagram had 40 engineers dedicated to doing such work. Facebook had 900.

Meta lawyer Aaron Panner later asked Mosseri if Meta employees typically received everything they requested.

"Never," Mosseri said.

• A US labor judge has decided against Costco in a matter involving worker confidentiality agreements.
• The case involves a worker who had to agree not to discuss an internal sexual harassment investigation.
• The NLRB argued that Costco's policy "appears to instead protect the harasser."

Costco's policies surrounding internal investigations are under scrutiny for being "overly broad" and in violation of employees' rights.

On Monday, US National Labor Relations Board judge Andrew Gollin decided against Costco in a matter involving the confidentiality agreements that workers are expected to sign when raising issues with management.

The specific case was brought on behalf of Jessica Georg, who in 2022 used Costco's "Open Door" policy to file an internal complaint that she was sexually harassed by a co-worker, according to filings.

As part of the process, Georg was required to sign a confidentiality agreement that barred her from discussing the open matter with coworkers. She later received a letter from Costco that said the employee was fired, the case was closed, and that "we hope and expect" that the information would continue to remain confidential, according to filings.

The NLRB and Georg each declined to comment for this story, and neither Costco nor its attorney responded to Business Insider's request.

In a briefing, Costco's lawyer Paul Galligan argued that the confidentiality rules are intended to protect the integrity of the investigation and are in the shared interest of the company and workers.

"It helps employees to be candid in their statements knowing that their statements will be treated confidentiality. It is probably more critical in an industry like retail where employees work closely together," Galligan said.

He also said in the briefing the rules aren't intended to dissuade employees from discussing things like wages, working conditions, or forming a union.

But Costco's investigation found that the individual about whom Georg complained also had several prior complaints filed against him, and Georg later testified she felt she or her coworkers with similar experiences felt they might be risking their jobs if they shared information about alleged patterns of behavior by an individual employee about whom they had raised concerns.

A more tailored confidentiality agreement could still protect sensitive information while still assuring workers of their rights to protect themselves against harassment, the NLRB attorneys said in a brief.

The NLRB attorneys argued that Costco's policy "appears to instead protect the harasser who has had individual complaints dismissed over and over, because no one outside the investigator is privy to the serial nature of the harassment."

Costco's lawyer argued that the company's employee handbook explains that the confidentiality requirement is not intended to discourage workers from exercising their rights. The NLRB argued, and the judge agreed, that having workers sign a separate form (as was the case here) could reasonably cause confusion for a typical worker and lead them to fear for their job.

Part of Judge Gollin's proposed remedy is that Costco post a notice in the one warehouse where the violation occurred, since the NLRB did not prove conclusively that similar confidentiality forms were used at all of the company's US locations.

The case now heads to the NLRB's board, with exceptions to the decision due by June 2.

Got a tip? Email Dominick or call/text/Signal at 646.768.4750.

Cardinals elected Robert Francis Prevost as pope, making him the first American to hold the title. The 267th pope will be known as Pope Leo XIV.

• Instagram has been throwing cash at content creators for years.
• During the FTC v. Meta antitrust trial, Instagram's top exec, Adam Mosseri, revealed how much.
• Mosseri said Instagram has "invested hundreds of millions" into creators.

Instagram has spent big bucks on wooing content creators.

Adam Mosseri, Instagram's top executive, took the stand on Thursday to testify during the ongoing FTC antitrust trial against Meta. The FTC has accused Meta of acting as a monopoly in personal social networking with its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

Mosseri testified that the company has "invested hundreds of millions, maybe a billion or two, over the course of my tenure" on creators.

Mosseri said the money included both incentives as well as the physical infrastructure that makes it possible for the app to expand a creator's reach.

In 2018, Mosseri took over as head of Instagram after the app's original cofounders stepped down from the company. Since then, creators have gradually become more and more of a core focus for the Meta-owned company.

Instagram has launched (and shut down) a handful of creator monetization programs since 2020 to compete with other platforms like YouTube and TikTok, which also pay creators. Some programs, like Instagram's "Bonuses," that pay creators for content like reels or photos, are limited and invite-only. Earlier this year, Meta had offered some creators between $2,500 to $50,000 a month to post content to Instagram.

"We believe creators are becoming more and more relevant over time," Mosseri said at another point during his testimony. "We are just seeing more and more power shift from institutions to individuals across the industry."

• Rian Johnson's "Poker Face" returns for season 2 on Peacock with Natasha Lyonne solving mysteries.
• Johnson explained to Business Insider how he recruits a star-studded guest cast each season.
• Johnson plans to take on an original movie after the release of Netflix's "Wake Up Dead Man."

When it comes to murder, Rian Johnson knows what elements make up the perfect crime.

The writer-director has spent the last six years immersed in the whodunit genre, surrounding Daniel Craig's Southern dandy detective Benoit Blanc with a cast of quirky suspects in two "Knives Out" movies (a third is out this fall), and refining the procedural format for streaming with Peacock's "Poker Face" starring Natasha Lyonne.

"The murder mystery genre has served me well," Johnson told Business Insider with a giggle in the days leading up to the season two premiere of "Poker Face" on Thursday.

The series, which stars Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a mystery-solving former casino worker on the run from the mob, uses the case-of-the-week format to feature all manner of zany scenarios acted out by a star-studded cast of guest stars. This season, Charlie must do everything from work as an extra on a B-movie set at a mortuary run by Giancarlo Esposito to find the killer among quadruplets all played by Cynthia Erivo.

The series' familiar procedural format helps keep the show grounded, so Johnson can encourage the "Poker Face" writers to come up with outlandish scenarios for each episode.

"To me, having a show like this, it would be sad if you just cranked out a version of the same thing every time," Johnson said. "It's an engine to drive batshit crazy ideas that you might not get made otherwise. That, to me, is the fun part."

Johnson knows the value in keeping things creatively interesting. That's why he plans to take a break from the whodunit genre and start a new project after his latest "Knives Out " installment "Wake Up Dead Man" hits Netflix this fall.

"It's a completely different thing," Johnson told BI of his next idea. (And no, it's not a return to "Star Wars.") "It's a little scary, but in a fun way."

Below, Business Insider spoke with Johnson about turning crazy ideas into "Poker Face" episodes, casting actors via a group chat, and why he hopes "Wake Up Dead Man" gets played in as many movie theaters as possible — despite Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos' calling movie theaters "outdated."

Business Insider: Each "Poker Face" episode this season feels like a mini movie. While watching, I wondered if there's an archivist on the show who has encyclopedic knowledge of everything that's happened, simply just to make sure not to repeat a bit or the way someone was murdered.

Rian Johnson: Yeah, it's me [laughs]. In terms of what we've done in the previous season, I mean, if you talk to someone who has done "Law and Order" where they are on their 89th season and 300 episodes, they would laugh at us. But we have some of the writers' room assistants do research. So that is one element of it.

What does a proposed "Poker Face" story need for you to consider it for an episode?

We definitely have a blue sky day where people just pitch, "What about a baseball episode?" and others, and that's really fun because you also get to know the writers in the room, because everyone is pitching their own pet ideas. And then the reality is you pick a horse at some point and say, "Okay, let's develop this thing," and then the real work happens, which is hashing out the show and the structure.

Charlie is not a cop; it's not her job to do these things. By necessity, you have to find a way in for her with every episode. And that means you have to develop a relationship, you have to have an emotional investment. With "Poker Face," it's something that you actually really need to make the episode tick. So finding ways to do that every week without it feeling like it's repeating itself, finding different relationship dynamics, finding different ways in — the connection Charlie has with the killer or the person killed — that ends up being one of the biggest challenges of the writing. 

A perfect example is the first episode of season two, which you directed. In it, Charlie meets Cynthia Erivo's character while working at an apple orchard. Was that something not used in the last season?

No, the orchard setting was fresh. I think part of it came from we were shooting in New York, and we were like, "What's around there? Oh, an apple orchard. That will be ideal!" But that's also a fun element of it. It harkens back to the "Columbo" thing or more "Quantum Leap," every episode zooming into a microcosm fishbowl of a world. Episode 1 came from the notion of all these false starts. We could have had a "Poker Face" episode set in a haunted house hayride or a parking garage, but those pesky gunmen keep chasing Charlie.

Are you personally involved in selecting the guest stars?

Yeah. The casting process for the main guest stars is a text thread with me, Natasha, Tony Tost, the showrunner, and our casting directors. Sometimes it's just me and Natasha bouncing back and forth ideas of friends that we want to text. So it's a very fun, personal, and chaotic process because we're casting the show week to week. 

So it's a lot of figuring out if schedules are going to fit.

But there's also an element that's also, "I was out the other night at dinner and I ran into so and so. Do you think they'd want to be in this episode that starts shooting on Monday?" There's a bit of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants element to it, which is fun and terrifying. It's amazing to get to the end of the season after that process and look back and see the roster that we've gotten. 

Has an actor you've gone out to for the show ever declined because they're holding out for a role in a "Knives Out" movie?

[Laughs] Not to my knowledge. If that has happened, they have not given that reason to me. But also being in one doesn't preclude you from being in the other. And these are very different processes casting both. We cast as we're shooting with "Poker Face." And we started shooting that halfway into the "Wake Up Dead Man" shoot. 

So someone you cast in a "Knives Out" movie could show up in a "Poker Face" episode, and vice versa?

Absolutely. Most of the people in this season I would cast in a heartbeat in a "Knives Out" movie. 

After "Wake Up Dead Man," have you thought about what you'll do next?

Actually, I have a whole movie in my head that I just have to write, which makes it sound easy, but it won't be. I'm hoping to take the summer and dig into that. It is not a Benoit Blanc movie, it's not a murder mystery, it's a very different genre. It's an original. So, I'm hoping to dive into that.

So, not taking a trip back to a galaxy far, far away?

Not for this next one. 

Recently, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos spoke at the Time100 Summit and said this of the state of theatrical releases: "Folks grew up thinking, 'I want to make movies on a gigantic screen, and have strangers watch them, and play in the theater for two months, and people cry, and sold-out shows.' It just doesn't happen anymore. It's an outdated concept." Do you agree with him?

Obviously I don't, because I love movies. I love going to see movies. But, also, I have a feeling talking to Ted, it would be a different thing than one quote taken and kind of tossed at me in this context. So I don't want to phrase this as I'm having a proxy discussion with Ted right here.

But, I will say, disconnected from that, I think theatrical is not going anywhere. With the success of Ryan [Coogler]'s movie, "Sinners," and the "Minecraft" movie, I think we've seen if you put a movie people want to see in the theaters, they are going to show up for it. That experience of being in a full house and having that experience is so important. It's something that I love and I want more of in the world. 

I'm sure you've had discussions with Ted yourself about theatrical within the Netflix bubble. Daniel Craig has gone on record saying it saddened him how "Glass Onion" was released in so few theaters. Do you hope "Wake Up Dead Man" will be shown on more screens?

We'll see. We're going to push for all we can get. I want this in as many theaters for as long as possible. I love Ted, I love working with Netflix. They have been absolutely wonderful partners. We're going to push for everything we can get in terms of theatrical with it because I want as many people as possible to see it in that form. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

The first three episodes of "Poker Face" are now streaming on Peacock, with new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays.

• Google stock tumbled after Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue said Safari searches had dropped.
• A filing reveals another reason Google watchers worry about search: slowed growth in paid clicks.
• Some analysts are split over whether Google's Search empire is under threat.

Apple senior vice president of services Eddy Cue set alarm bells ringing on Wednesday after dropping a bombshell at Google's antitrust trial: Google searches through Safari dropped in April for the first time ever.

While his comments triggered a frenzied sell-off in Google stock, it might not be the only reason the company's watchers should be concerned about Google's ability to keep full control over the search market.

A little-noticed number in Google's latest financial disclosure may be the realest sign yet that investors have reason to worry.

After reporting blockbuster Q1 earnings last month, Google revealed in a 10-Q filing with the SEC that paid clicks for the quarter grew 2%, down from 5% growth in the same quarter a year ago. That's the slowest growth rate since the company began reporting the metric.

Paid clicks are exactly what they sound like: people click on ads across Google Search and other services such as Google Play and Gmail. Each click translates to money in Google's pocket.

Why those paid clicks are down, exactly, Google hasn't said.

"It's possible macro played a role, or searches with AI overviews delivered better results, requiring fewer 'paid clicks' to get to conversion," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note published Wednesday. "But mostly, it's a worrying KPI."

The analysts said they believe the timing of the dip, combined with Cue's comments and surging numbers of ChatGPT and Meta AI users, suggests that Google's control of the search market may be lower than previously believed.

"Combined, we estimate Google's search share is closer to 65-70% vs. the 90% we often hear," they wrote.

Google declined to comment.

Google's slice of pie

Google insists that it's seeing more searches than ever.

Since the 2000s, the company has managed to harvest vast amounts of searches by paying Apple a fee to make its search engine the default on Apple's Safari web browser. As recently as 2022, Google had paid Apple at least $20 billion —  a massive fee that signals how much value Google sees in having Apple users turn to its search engine for all their queries.

It maintains that this partnership continues to drive growth in searches. Cue's comments were provocative enough to prompt the search giant to issue a public statement stating that it continues to see "overall query growth" in Search, including an increase in total queries coming from Apple.

There's little doubt among industry watchers that the overall search pie is growing — though figures from research firm Statcounter suggest Google's control of the global search has fallen slightly. The big question is whether Google's slice of that pie is shrinking relative to rivals.

According to Statcounter, Google's share of global search traffic fell to 89.71% in March 2025, down from about 91% in March 2024 and about 93% in March 2023.

Meanwhile, competing search products are growing. In April, OpenAI said that around 10% of the world uses ChatGPT, which would be at least 800 million users. Meta also said that about 1 billion people use AI across its various products.

The search market expands with AI as chatbots and generative tools expand the definition of search. Google could reap the rewards here, though this also creates an opening for competitors charging as fast as possible to stay ahead of the search giant.

Bernstein analysts estimated that generative AI queries that run through chatbots such as ChatGPT are reaching volumes close to 15% of the queries processed by Google and other traditional search engines.

Analysts are split

Other analysts are divided on just how much of a threat Google's search business faces.

For instance, longtime Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo took to X on Wednesday to explain why he felt it was a mistake to think generative AI would not affect Google's advertising business.

He said that despite the "continued growth of Google's advertising business," the company hasn't had much competition yet.

"GenAI service providers have not launched advertising businesses, so Google Ads remains the best choice for online advertisers," Kuo wrote.

Kuo likened Google's situation to the one Yahoo faced during the 2000s. The company's advertising business, launched in 1995, only started declining in 2008, despite newfound competition from Google's AdWords business arriving back in 2000.

Analysts at investment bank Jefferies have a different view. In a research note on Wednesday, the analysts had a particular word to describe the roughly $155 billion sell-off in Google's stock following Cue's comments: "overblown."

While they acknowledged that Google's AI-powered "Overviews" feature may act as a headwind right now as it is resulting in "fewer searches," they said Google will "be able to ramp monetization" of its AI summary feature over the long run.

They also don't see a scenario where Apple shifts away from Google and causes as much harm as investors might think.

"While Safari is significant, it does not represent the entirety of search activity; iOS accounts for 18% of operating systems, and Safari holds 17% of the browser market share compared to Chrome's 66%," the analysts wrote.

Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at 628-228-1836. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Gen Z's intrigue with the papal conclave surged because they'd had a juicy primer in the film "Conclave."
• The movie offered a fictional glimpse into the secretive papal selection process.
• "Conclave" became a box-office hit, resonating with Gen Z's love for drama and exclusivity.

I have a confession.

I saw "Conclave," the movie, five times in the theater.

It's shocking, I know, in an era when movie theater attendance has been tanking, but it meant I was well-prepared for this week's real-life event and the inner machinations of the cardinals who ultimately selected Robert Francis Prevost to be the next pope.

It also meant I understood all the Gen Z hype around it.

First, there's "Pope Crave," a play on the popular "Pop Crave" X account, which has transitioned from sharing "Conclave" film memes to reporting live from the event itself.

Then there were TikTok edits and betting pools. Even NBC's Steve Kornacki, another unlikely Gen Z icon, jumped in, breaking down the conclave à la his popular election coverage — signature khakis and all.

So why the huge surge in interest in the real conclave — and the film?

Gen Z loves access, exclusivity, and drama

In an age when social media and direct virtual access have come to dominate politics, the movie gave Gen Zers a fictional glimpse at what might happen behind closed doors — an inroad into a ritual that, by design, is shrouded in secrecy and pomp. When the real event rolled around, anyone who had seen the film could feel like they were already in on the secrets.

Some of the most affecting parts of the film are grounded in the humanity of its holy men: The throughline of Ralph Fiennes' Cardinal Lawrence, the dean of the "Conclave," is his growing detachment from his own faith. Factions snipe at each other, the purest of men are petty and short, and the desire for power and institutional stability is a blinding force for some. Those are certainly themes that are resonant for younger viewers who have often joked about constantly living in unprecedented times.

And those themes resonated with audiences: Conclave also emerged as a surprise box-office hit, a standout in a time when big superhero franchises and reboots are floundering. And, yes, it amassed its own barrage of TikTok edits — another Gen Z hallmark.

The film primed Gen Z for the actual event

It's like knowing Taylor Swift's catalog so well that you can spot the Easter Eggs in her newest music — you're naturally going to be a bigger fan, notice the inside details, and debate what it all means in the group chat.

The actual conclave meant that, unlike dramas such as "Succession" or "Game of Thrones," the movie crossed a little bit into reality; Gen Z came in with an acute, gossipy understanding of what might be happening behind closed doors and was ready to speculate. That offered the opportunity to edit, post, and bet away.

The film, and the actual event, also came at important times for Gen Zers. "Conclave" gained box office steam right around the 2024 election, suggesting an appetite for a contained story about a high-stakes and tumultuous election; the film's box office yields for the Friday and Saturday following the election both came in over $1 million. (I did not pay for five individual viewings. As a sober-curious, subscription-maximizing young person, I'm a member of AMC A-List, which allows me to see four movies a month for just under $30.)

The appointment of a new pope comes at a consequential life stage for many Gen Zers, even as the share of young Catholics in the US shrinks: Many in my age cohort are considering marriage or having their first children. A new pope might dictate how much, if at all, they choose to be involved in their religion or raise a child within it.

Now, ironically, we're in a world with a new pope tailored to the Gen Z age: Folks are already combing through his X account and finding his political takes. Welcome to the official Pope Crave era.

Do you have a story to share about the conclave (real) or "Conclave" the film? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• I made Ina Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake, which she said is perfect for Mother's Day. 
• The cake is light, delicious, and super moist. It's also really easy to make ahead of time.
• "This was superb," my mom declared. "I give it a 10/10." 

I've been whipping up Ina Garten's dishes for years and always love trying her breakfast and dessert recipes.

Whether it's her cacio e pepe scrambled eggs or her famous mocha icebox cake, the "Barefoot Contessa" star is always creating fun twists on classic dishes. 

Garten said this blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake is perfect for Mother's Day, so I knew I had to test it on my own mom.

Let's see what she thought!

Ina Garten's breakfast cake features ricotta, lemon zest, and plenty of blueberries.

To make Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake, which serves eight, you'll need: 

• 2 cups (12 ounces) of fresh blueberries 
• 1 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole-milk ricotta 
• 1 cup of granulated sugar 
• 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) of unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature 
• 2 tablespoons of sour cream 
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract 
• 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest
• Sifted powdered sugar, for dusting

Before I began making Garten's breakfast cake, I needed to do a little prep.

I grated the lemon zest so it would be ready to go once I was mixing the batter. 

I also preheated the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and greased and floured my pan.

Garten recommends using a 9-inch round springform pan for this dish.

Then, it was time to make the batter!

First, I added the butter and sugar to the bowl of my electric mixer, which was fitted with the paddle attachment. 

I beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for three minutes, until the mixture was light and fluffy.

I made sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.  

Then, I added the eggs, ricotta, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest.

I turned the mixer to low and added one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then, I threw the ricotta, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest into the mixture.

Garten notes that your batter will look curdled at this stage, so don't worry if it appears that way!

I mixed my dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.

I added the flour, baking powder, and one teaspoon of salt and gave everything a quick stir. 

Then, I added the dry ingredients to the batter.

I slowly added the dry ingredients with the mixer still on low until they were just incorporated.

Once my batter was ready, I began adding the blueberries.

I folded two-thirds of my two cups of blueberries into the batter using a rubber spatula. 

Then, I transferred the batter into my springform pan.

I made sure to smooth the top of the batter. 

I added the remaining blueberries on top of the cake.

Garten recommends lightly pressing each blueberry into the surface. 

It was time to bake!

Garten recommends baking the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It took about 50 minutes for my cake to bake.

Every oven is different, so keep checking on your cake every couple of minutes after you hit the 45-minute mark.

Once my cake was ready, I transferred it to a wire rack.

Garten says the cake needs to cool in the pan for an additional 15 minutes.

I removed the sides of my springform pan and lightly dusted the top with powdered sugar. The cake looked beautiful.

Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake definitely makes for an impressive centerpiece.

Its warm, golden hue looked so sweet and comforting in my kitchen, and the bright bursts of blueberry added some joyful pops of color.

When I cut a slice, it was clear that the cake would be delightfully fluffy.

I could see a generous amount of blueberries in each slice, and the cake smelled incredible. 

My parents and I loved Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake.

Garten's breakfast cake tastes as light and fluffy as it looks. The ricotta and sour cream keep every bite super moist, just as Garten promised, and the sweet blueberries pair well with the zingy and bright lemon zest, which really shines through.

The cake also had a nice crust on the outside, which added some contrasting texture to the super soft and luscious middle. 

"This was superb," my mom declared. "I give it a 10/10." 

Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake should be on everyone's brunch menu.

Garten's cake was super easy to make, and it tasted just as good the next day. If you want to save yourself some time before hosting a big brunch, you could easily make this ahead the night before. 

Whether you're looking for a special dish to celebrate Mother's Day or just want a fun new dessert, Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the UK to open its markets and benefit both countries, as well as his hopes to make progress with China.

• Google stock tumbled Wednesday after Apple's executive Eddy Cue said AI rivals were cutting into the search giant.
• Google responded by saying that's not the case.
• It's possible that both arguments are correct. The stakes are very high.

Is Google screwed?

That's the $2 trillion question the tech world is trying to understand following Wednesday's blockbuster news: A top Apple executive said search queries on the company's Safari browser were declining because people were using AI engines like ChatGPT instead.

Investors immediately acted as if Google's astonishing run at the top of the tech heap was over, and slashed the company's stock by more than 8%.

But a day later, Google's stock was climbing back up a bit, and there's a healthy debate about what Cue's statement means — as well as why he said it.

Spoiler: I'm not going to solve this one today. But let's at least look at the argument.

The most obvious way to view Cue's comments was the way Wall Street did: that Google search dominance was being eroded by AI competitors.

After all, fear of being usurped by AI is what pushed Google to fast-track its own AI efforts, even when some of those efforts created embarrassing results.

But later on Wednesday, Google put out a statement that basically said Cue was wrong, without actually saying that out loud. Instead, the company said it was continuing to see increasing searches, and "that includes an increase in total queries coming from Apple's devices and platforms."

So that looks like two of the world's most powerful and valuable companies are disagreeing over basic, knowable facts.

But people who pay attention to this stuff are focusing on three key words in Google's statement: "total," "devices," and "platforms." And the absence of another word: "Safari."

And that's leading them to translate Google's statement this way: "Maybe Apple really is seeing fewer searches on Safari, the default web browser on iPhones. But you can use Google in other ways on iPhones — namely, via the Google app, but also via Google's own Chrome browser. And people are using those more — enough to counter any decline elsewhere."

Assuming that this translation is accurate, that should reassure Google and its boosters a bit, though not completely: Cue said the searches on Safari were down for the first time ever, and that's not the kind of signal you can just wave away.

And even if Safari Google searchers are really moving to things like the Google app instead, that also underlines the fact that people who used to just type something into their iPhone browser know now they can get results other ways. And there's no reason they couldn't also be searching on Google competitors like ChatGPT.

A Google rep declined to comment; Apple hasn't responded to my request for comment.

Google investors, by the way, don't seem 100% convinced by Google's statement: The stock is up 3% on Thursday, which means Google is still worth 5% less than it was Wednesday morning, when Cue started testifying in the US vs. Google antitrust trial.

Which brings us to the second question Google and Apple watchers are speculating about: Why did Cue say what he said in court, after all?

I'm an Occam's razor guy, so my first take was that Cue answered the questions he was asked in court.

But there's also a 4D chess argument, put forth by folks like MoffettNathanson's analyst Michael Nathanson. It goes like this: Cue has an incentive to portray Google as a wounded animal.

That's because Google pays Apple at least $20 billion a year to make Google the default search engine on Safari (that's the reason Cue has insight into Google's search activity), and a federal judge has already declared that Google has an illegal monopoly in search.

And one of the remedies the judge could push for would be to prevent Google from paying Apple for that valuable real estate — which would mean Apple could lose all of that high-margin revenue.

So, the theory goes, convincing the judge that Google no longer has a stranglehold on search, because of AI competition, might allow those payments to keep flowing after all.

That theory also helps explain Google's muted response on Wednesday night, where the company tried to walk the line between tooting its own horn (which bucks up investors but could damage its legal argument) and acknowledging that it has real competition (which could help Google in court but hurt it in the market).

Which brings us back to where we started: Is Google really starting to lose out to the ChatGPTs of the world, and entering a permanent decline, just like pay-TV networks a decade ago? Or is it holding its own despite the competition? Depending on where you're asking the question, Google might give you a different answer.

Correction: May 8, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated which company the Safari browser belongs to. It's Apple, not Google.

• Visitors make avoidable mistakes when visiting national parks, a former ranger told Business Insider.
• Tom Haraden spent 37 years protecting visitors and wildlife in nine national parks across the US. 
• From packing water to staying clear of animals, he shares how to avoid the worst mistakes he's seen.

For 37 years, Tom Haraden worked in nine national parks across the US. 

Haraden's self-described "magical" career in the National Park Service started in 1972 as a volunteer in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Since then, he's worked in eight other US national parks.

"I loved every minute," Haraden told Business Insider.

During this time, he spoke to thousands of visitors and saw plenty of mistakes.

During his four-decade career, Haraden said some mistakes were common. Nearly all of them were avoidable.

Haraden's general advice is simple: "Be smart." 

While park rangers are there to support visitors, Haraden said safety is up to the individual. 

"The park service's philosophy on safety is that your safety is your responsibility," he said.

Haraden said the first common mistake is visitors who try to squeeze too much into a single trip. Instead, travel slow.

Haraden said throughout his career, he talked to visitors with overly ambitious itineraries.

They might enter a park with the goal of visiting every viewpoint in a single day. While this is one way to explore, Haraden believes traveling slower gives visitors a chance to soak in the park's natural beauty. 

"I think the biggest mistake I see people make is trying to be too fast," he said. "They go out to a viewpoint at the Grand Canyon and go, 'Been there, done that.'''

He urges visitors to experience a national park instead of checking things off a list. That might mean watching the sunrise, reading a book by a river, or slowing your hiking pace.

"Don't try to do everything," he said. "Enjoy some things to the full depth you can."

Don't expect solitude. If that's the goal, be willing to research and hike farther out.

Haraden said there are plenty of national parks without hordes of people, but it can take time and research to figure out which parks and areas are less crowded.

"Do your homework and stay flexible," he said. "Nowadays, doing your park homework involves knowing what's going to be crowded. If you go to a park like Arches in the middle of summer, it's going to be packed. So go to a place that's less visited, like Canyonlands."

Even then, you're still likely to run into people if you stick to the main viewpoints, Haraden said. The farther you get into the national park, the higher your chance of finding solitude. 

Don't arrive without an itinerary. No matter where you go, research the park and understand what you want to do once you're there.

Beyond looking at how crowded parks are, Haraden suggests researching every park you plan to visit beforehand. This will help you craft an itinerary that meets your wants and needs. 

"Know what you want," he said. "Do you like to hike? If you like the hike, what kind of hikes do you like to do? Do you like flat ones? Do you like vigorous ones?" 

Haraden's best advice for researching national parks is to use the National Park Service's websites. Every national park has a detailed website, which tells visitors about the park, its crowds, and what to expect when visiting. 

While Haraden encourages visitors to have a plan, he also urges them to be flexible.

While Haraden said it's helpful to research and have an itinerary before arriving at a national park, he also advises visitors to be adaptable. 

"Don't get locked into the mindset that 'I must do something,' because you might get there and it's too crowded to do it, or the parking lot is full," he said. 

Variables like weather and crowds can impact how you experience a park, so Haraden recommends coming up with an open plan with backup options in case an activity doesn't work out. 

Don't forget to pack enough water, and don't assume bottled water will be readily available.

"Running out of water is probably one of the worst mistakes you can make," Haraden said. 

The National Park Service warns visitors that there's a higher risk of heat-related illness, especially during the summer months. Part of being prepared is ensuring you pack enough water or a water-filtration system.

The National Park Service encourages visitors to bring their own reusable water bottles to reduce waste. While there are water fountains available across national parks, visitors won't find many places to purchase a bottle of water. 

Make sure you have the proper supplies for the hikes and activities you're embarking on, like a windbreaker or bear mace.

Haraden said that if you do your research, you'll likely know what to expect and what you'll need for a national park trip.

That might mean packing a windbreaker or extra jacket for trails with high elevation or making sure you have bear spray if you're exploring a park like Yellowstone or Grand Teton, which are populated by bears.

"Even if you don't use it, you're ready in case you do need it," Haraden said. 

Never get too close to wildlife. Haraden says visitors could get seriously hurt and get the animal euthanized, too.

"Wildlife, big and little, are not tame," Haraden said. "Squirrels can bite, and bison can toss people in the air. There's not a single animal that can't hurt you if you pester them or threaten them enough. Any time you change an animal's behavior, you're too close."

He said he'd heard stories of people trying to feed bears or placing their children on the backs of bison. 

Those stories often make headlines, and every year, national park visitors are injured or die due to getting too close to wild animals. 

Haraden added that it's a lose-lose scenario since the animals involved sometimes must be euthanized. 

Don't assume that staying in the national park will be more expensive than staying in hotels or cabins outside the park. However, you will likely need to book accommodations far in advance.

Whether it's a campsite, cabin, or hotel, national parks across the country offer a wide range of accommodations for visitors. 

Haraden said many of the accommodations are reasonably priced. For instance, a room at the Lake Crescent Lodge in Olympic National Park in Washington starts at $50 during the offseason.

"Everyone thinks they're more expensive than lodging outside of the park, but that's not necessarily true," he said. "The park service wants to make them available to everybody, but you do have to reserve them way in advance."

Haraden urges visitors to keep elevation in mind when planning their trip.

"Many western parks are high in elevation. Some are obvious, like Rocky Mountain or Glacier, but others are not obvious, like Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon," Haraden said. "Elevation can really affect people who aren't used to it or have medical conditions."

If you're traveling from lower altitudes like Florida, for instance, taking the time to acclimate can help ensure that you'll enjoy your trip and not end up with altitude sickness.

On a similar note, Haraden encourages visitors to consider the heat as summertime approaches.

"It's getting hotter and staying hot longer, and that includes in national parks," Haraden said. "Take all the precautions, but especially don't exert yourself during the hottest part of the day."

That might mean getting to a national park earlier or later in the day to enjoy cooler hours or planning trips during the shoulder seasons when the summer temperatures are gone. 

Don't rely on your phone or GPS for directions. Pack a map and be prepared to lose cell service.

Haraden said guests shouldn't rely on their phones to navigate the national parks since many areas lack full cell coverage.

"GPS will commonly not work in remote areas like national parks. Carry maps and know how to read them," he said.

He also encourages visitors not to blindly follow their GPS if they decide to use it.

"If GPS says to use a road but it looks too rough, use your common sense and don't go there. If GPS says to follow a trail that is not there, don't do it," he said.

Haraden said visitors shouldn't make the mistake of not asking for help or advice from park rangers.

Across any national park, you'll find park rangers who are there to answer questions and help create a positive experience inside each national park.

"The park rangers have all the information you need to make decisions," he said.

They can help point visitors to good hikes, and they know the weather and other important information that might be handy. Haraden said visitors should never hesitate to approach a park ranger with questions. 

Haraden's most important advice is to consider the people who will explore and discover the parks after you.

Haraden isn't referring to the people entering the parks tomorrow or next year. He's referencing the future generations of visitors exploring the otherworldly Arches National Park and the geyser-filled wonderland of Yellowstone. 

He said he hopes national park visitors are doing their part to be stewards of the land, which means modeling behavior like picking up trash, giving animals space, and not packing disposable plastic water bottles. 

• On Thursday, 133 cardinals elected a new pope.
• Cardinal Robert Prevost will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
• Hailing from Chicago, he's the first pope from the US.

On May 8, white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel's chimney, indicating the College of Cardinals had elected a new pope.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, from Chicago, was then introduced as Pope Leo XIV.

He's the first pope from the US and the 267th pope overall.

Here's what you need to know about Pope Leo XIV.

Robert Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955.

He's 69 years old and moved to Peru as a child, the BBC reported.

He's also a citizen of Peru, where he served as Archbishop of Chiclayo. He was 27 when he became ordained in 1982, The New York Times reported.

The new pope has a doctorate and is multilingual.

He studied at Villanova University and the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. In 1987, he received his doctor of canon law degree from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Pope Leo XIV speaks English, Spanish, and Italian.

Pope Francis appointed him to an important position.

In 2023, the then-pope appointed Cardinal Prevost to the role of prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Latin America, which oversees bishop nominations all over the world, the AP reported.

In 2024, Pope Leo said in an interview with Vatican News that a "bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them and to suffer with them."

A group of 133 cardinals elected him.

The process is known as the conclave. It took two days and four rounds of voting for the cardinals to agree on a new pope, per the AP.

Earlier this week, the National Catholic Reporter wrote that it was unlikely the US cardinal would become pope because of political implications. Yet Cardinal Prevost was considered a contender by others, especially as the week went on, ABC News reported.

The new pope gave his first message Thursday.

Speaking from St. Peter's Basilica balcony, Pope Leo XIV said, "Peace be with all you" in his first words in his new role. He spoke in Italian and then Spanish.

Some believe the new pope will continue his long commitment to helping poor communities and immigrants, following a similar course to his predecessor, Pope Francis, per Slate.

"My experience of Cardinal Prevost was that he's not a showboat," Father Mark R. Francis, who worked with Pope Leo in the past, recently told CBS News. "He's very calm, but extremely intelligent, and extremely compassionate."

In February, he posted a story from The National Catholic Reporter on X with the headline "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others."