• Sue and Ken Allen's Palo Alto home, bought for $63,000 in 1975, is likely worth $3-4 million.
• The threat of capital gains taxes and higher property taxes discourages them from selling.
• Instead, they're planning to downsize to a tiny home accessory dwelling unit in their backyard and rent out the main house.

Sue Allen and her husband, Ken, moved to Palo Alto in the 1970s, just as the South Bay was beginning to be known as Silicon Valley.

Allen, 75, and her husband, 77, bought their home in South Palo Alto for about $63,000 in 1975. These days, surrounded by Stanford University and the headquarters of a slew of the biggest tech companies in the world, the home is likely worth close to $4 million.

The home is large — in the mid-1980s the couple added a second story to the house to accommodate four additional bedrooms and two bathrooms as their family grew.

In the early 2000s, they rebuilt the single-story cottage in their backyard — also known as an accessory dwelling unit — to include a bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. They've rented out the cottage ever since.

But the Allens have no plans to sell their home, despite the fact that it's larger than what they need. That's because they plan to eventually downsize to their backyard cottage and rent out the main house.

The Allens aren't alone in relying on an ADU for housing in their older age. Backyard tiny homes — or other accessory units in basements or attics — are an increasingly common way for homeowners to add living space, boost the value of their property and earn extra income through rent, and even create a place to age in. California is one of 14 states that have broadly legalized ADUs and more than 60,000 have been permitted in the state since 2016.

When selling will cost you

In addition to having a backyard home to downsize to, it doesn't make much financial sense for the Allens to sell their property and buy a smaller home to age in.

If they sold the property, they'd be on the hook for hefty capital gains taxes, which apply to couples who make more than $500,000 in profit and individuals who make more than $250,000. They'd also likely have to pay significantly higher property taxes if they purchased a new home, not to mention a relatively high interest rate on any new mortgage.

Like other California homeowners who purchased their properties decades ago, the Allens benefit from exceedingly low property taxes as a result of Proposition 13, which mandates that property taxes are just one percent of the home's purchase price and can't rise by more than two percent each year until the next sale.

The California law has contributed to the so-called homeownership "lock-in effect," which intensifies over time as home values rise and the property taxes someone would have to pay on a newly purchased home rise.

"We're living in this $4 million house, and we don't downsize because it's kind of not worth it," Allen said. "We'd have to pay so much in taxes."

Allen's story reflects a broader trend of boomer homeowners who've grown significant wealth through their home equity. And she's quick to acknowledge that she's both benefited from and perpetuated "generational wealth" through homeownership. She could afford her own $12,500 downpayment only with help from her mother. In turn, she's helped her five adult children with their down payments. But the Allens' kids have all left California to live in other states — Texas, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada — where housing is more affordable.

Zillow estimates the Allens' property is worth about $3.1 million, while Redfin puts it at nearly $3.5 million. Allen thinks it could be sold for closer to $4 million, based on what similar homes in her neighborhood have fetched in recent months. A much smaller home down the street from the Allens' house sold for $3.6 million in August.

"People spend three to $4 million for a house, knock it flat, and build a big new house on the lot," she said.

Allen still works part-time for the East Palo Alto school district doing tech support, but her husband, a former patent attorney, is fully retired.

If Allen's husband, who has Parkinson's disease, develops dementia and she can no longer take care of him, they plan to move into assisted living in Utah, where two of their kids live and where long-term care is cheaper than in California. But they hope to stay in their neighborhood, where they have strong ties with neighbors and friends, for as long as they can.

"Our support system, our friends — we have a really strong church community here," Allen said. "We really want to stay here."

• Trump has indicated he wants to put tariffs in place on his first day in office.
• Trade policy experts told BI he could do so using a national emergency trade law.
• While it'll take time for tariffs to actually go into effect, Americans could see price increases quickly.

New tariffs are looming with President-elect Donald Trump about to take office — and Americans could see the impacts soon after.

Over the past few months, Trump has suggested a range of tariff proposals related to key trading partners with the US, including China, Mexico, Canada, and the BRICS nations. Trump's largest target has been China, with a 60% tariff proposal, along with a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico.

Trump has not specified which authorities he will use for tariff implementation, and it's possible that he could choose to roll them out at a smaller scale than he had initially proposed. However, he has previously said he wants to begin the process of putting tariffs in place on his first day in office, saying that he'll use his executive authority to roll them out at the beginning of his term.

"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders," Trump wrote in a November post on Truth Social.

Some reports have suggested that Trump might use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which would allow a president to impose tariffs in the event of a national emergency. Some trade policy experts told Business Insider that Trump could use emergency powers to begin rolling out his tariff plans on day one.

While they would take time to actually go into effect, Americans could still quickly begin to see price increases on impacted goods.

Inu Manak, a trade policy fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told BI that the US would likely see an economic impact "fairly soon" after Trump makes a tariff announcement because markets could react to it before any plans actually go into effect.

"You're going to also have firms shift a lot of their production where they can, they're going to stockpile, they're going to move things around, they're going to raise prices," Manak said. "So the effect of the tariff could actually take place before the tariffs are even there."

Trump has previously denied that his tariff plans will raise prices for Americans. Brian Hughes, a Trump-Vance transition spokesperson, told BI in a statement that Trump "has promised tariff policies that protect the American manufacturers and working men and women from the unfair practices of foreign companies and foreign markets."

"As he did in his first term, he will implement economic and trade policies to make life affordable and more prosperous for our nation," Hughes said.

How Trump can roll out his tariffs on day one

There are a range of existing avenues within federal trade law that Trump could pursue to implement his tariffs. One route — which has never been used before for tariff implementation — is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Manak said that under this act, all Trump would have to do is declare a threat outside the US that threatens national security, foreign policy, or the economy. Once he declares his intent to use tariffs to address that threat, Congress would have the ability to push back on the executive order — but Manak said that's unlikely to happen under a Republican-controlled Congress.

Even under that law, it would still take some time for tariffs to come into effect. "There are a lot of moving parts. It's not like the tariffs would be charged on the first day that he comes into office," Manak said, adding that there's also the possibility of legal challenges from companies who the tariffs would impact. "But in the meantime, we'll probably have some sort of implementation occur in the first few months that he's in office if he chooses to do that route."

Some Democratic lawmakers have already introduced legislation to prevent Trump from implementing tariffs using IEEPA. On January 15, Reps. Suzan DelBene and Don Beyer introduced the Prevent Tariff Abuse Act, which would prohibit Trump from imposing tariffs using IEEPA without congressional approval.

"It's outrageous that without congressional approval, one of President Trump's first actions upon taking office could be creating what is effectively a nationwide sales tax on foreign goods that saddles working families with higher prices at the grocery store, the gas pump, and the pharmacy counter," DelBene told reporters on a press call.

Alan Wolff, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, told BI that along with IEEPA, he could see two other trade laws — Section 338 of the Tariff Act and Section 301 of the Trade Act — as viable alternatives Trump could use to implement tariffs. They would allow Trump to impose tariffs if finds there are unfair trade practices from foreign countries.

Multiple routes are available — but Wolff said it's likely Trump is threatening tariffs as a negotiation tactic to achieve policy goals, and the scale of the tariffs may end up not being as broad as initially proposed. Trump said when proposing the tariffs on Mexico and Canada that he wanted the countries to strengthen border policy.

"My guess is he favors using tariffs as a hammer to get results that he likes," Wolff said.

The impact of tariffs on Americans

While inflation did not increase significantly under the tariffs during Trump's first term, some economists and trade experts expect the broader scope of Trump's proposals this time around to have a greater impact.

Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, told BI that she expects consumers will see the impact of proposed tariffs "rather quickly this time."

"We'll see businesses deciding whether they're going to absorb those extra costs or they're going to pass them through to consumers," Lovely said. "Given that consumer spending has been fairly buoyant and that the economy is doing well, we would expect them to pass a lot of it through to consumers."

Some businesses have already warned of price increases should Trump implement broad tariffs. Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC in November that if Trump's tariff proposals go into effect, "there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers."

Manak said that some businesses might try to stockpile products before the tariffs are implemented, and larger firms would have an advantage because they likely have more warehouses and the ability to move things around faster.

"For smaller firms and small businesses, midsize businesses, it's much more challenging," Manak said. "So for a lot of those folks, it might make sense for them just to increase prices right away because they're going to have to make up that cost."

• Increasingly, young people with clean diets and healthy lifestyles are getting colon cancer.
• Doctors say diet plays a role in the rising risk, but doesn't tell the whole story.
• We are learning more about ways microplastics, sleep cycles, and our environment may play a role.

At 30, Chris Lopez was hitting his stride. He was attending culinary arts school in Dallas. He was meal prepping and hitting the gym regularly, focused on getting a degree and setting up his life right.

His symptoms were easy to dismiss, at least at first. "I had a real bad stomach ache that was going on for about a month," he told Business Insider. "I thought, 'Oh, maybe I ate some sushi, some fish or something that was undercooked.'"

Except food poisoning doesn't typically last for weeks on end, and doesn't leave blood in your stool. He rapidly lost weight, from 175 pounds to 145 in a single summer — without eating less. "I was pretty much like a skeleton," he said.

Lopez went to his doctor, who eventually decided to do a colonoscopy to learn more. That's when they discovered a "grapefruit-sized" tumor in his colon, he said. Lopez saw the scan and couldn't believe his eyes. Colon cancer? He was so young, healthy, and fit.

Stories like Lopez's are increasingly common. Colon cancer rates are rocketing among athletic young people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, and survival rates are dropping.

Take Chris Rodriguez, a 37-year-old improv actor and CrossFit enthusiast who adheres to a high-fiber, high-protein diet, with plenty of veggies. He was 35 when he was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer.

"The question pops in your mind, 'What else was I supposed to do?'," Rodriguez told BI. "That's really the unfortunate thing with a diagnosis like this, is there isn't really much else that you're supposed to do, outside of looking for symptoms."

The most convenient explanations for the rise in young colon cancer are diet and weight. We know diet can influence colorectal cancer risk, and it's something people can fix, to a degree. Plus, our diets have changed. These days we all consume more sugar, more ultra-processed foods, more oil and butter, while moving less.

Still, doctors say the trend we're seeing now defies neat categories of genetics or lifestyle, and it's baffling. Other factors are clearly messing with our digestive systems, but they're tough to pinpoint. Pollution, microplastics, and artificial light — all are pervasive in society, yet very tricky to study.

Thanks to recent research, we are starting to get a better picture of why young colon cancer cases are rising, and we're on the cusp of some pretty big results that may uncover better ways to prevent and treat it.

Young colon cancer is getting deadlier and more common

Something shifted in the 1960s. Everyone born after 1960 has a higher colon cancer risk than previous generations. This phenomenon is known as the "birth cohort effect."

"The rise that we're seeing cannot just be accounted for by inherited differences," Dana Farber colon cancer researcher Dr. Marios Giannakis told BI.

In the US, young colon cancer rates have been rising about 3% every year since the early 1990s, according to National Cancer Institute data.

"We do think since genetics haven't changed, the cancers that are increasing are environmentally based," Dr. William Dahut, the chief science officer at the American Cancer Society, said during a recent briefing to reporters. "Exactly what's doing it is really — more research is needed."

The biggest cancer centers in the US are opening units to investigate this trend. In 2018, Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York opened a first-of-its-kind center for "young-onset" colorectal cancer patients. Dana Farber in Boston, Mass General, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Columbia University Irving Medical Center followed close behind, all opening special programs for young colon cancer cases.

In 2021, the CDC took action, lowering the age of recommended colon cancer screening from 50 to 45. It's an effort to catch more young colon cancer cases sooner, upping the odds of people surviving.

It isn't a uniquely American issue. Wealthy countries, in particular, are seeing similar spikes. New Zealand, Chile, Norway, and Turkey are among 27 countries recording record-high rates of young colon cancer.

Diets matter — to an extent

It's hard to dismiss the role our changing food landscape has played. We are undoubtedly eating worse than our grandparents did 100 years ago.

Take fiber, for example. Found in abundance in whole plant foods like beans, it is a nutrient clearly associated with lower risk of cancer.

Some of the most popular foods in US supermarkets — prepackaged for our convenience — tend to have fiber stripped out during processing, and extra salt, sugar, and oils added in to make them more palatable and shelf-stable.

It started in the aftermath of World War II, when industrial processing and factory farming took hold nationwide.

"Essentially we redeployed what had allowed the United States and allies to prevail in that war to non-military applications, and it completely transformed agriculture," Dr. David Katz, a leading expert in chronic disease prevention and nutrition, told BI.

"You only have a certain total number of calories you can eat per day, and if a higher percentage of those is made up of hamburgers and Pop-Tarts, then a lower percentage ipso facto is made up of lentils and all the other good stuff."

Ultra-processed foods now account for a significant proportion of what we eat. Excess sugar, salt, and chemicals lurk in pasta sauce, breakfast cereals, and salad dressing. Brown bread labeled "heart healthy" can have a higher sugar content than white Wonderbread.

Upsetting the balance of nutrients in our guts has consequences. Compounds that aren't necessarily harmful in moderation, like omega-6 fatty acids from seed oils, take up a disproportionate part of our diets. That can lead to inflammation, infection, and diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and, yes, colon cancer.

Your microbiome is not just about what you eat. It's influenced by myriad factors, from how you were born to your work schedule.

What else is going on?

Doctors and lab scientists who spoke to BI for this story all said the rise in millennials getting colon cancer likely won't be attributed to one single thing.

Shuji Ogino, an epidemiology professor at Harvard Medical School, has been studying young colon cancer cases across the world. He published a study in Nature that showed the early life "exposome" — diet, lifestyle, environment, exposures — has changed dramatically, becoming conducive to cancer.

We've introduced lots of new things to our environment without knowing the ramifications. Now, we're starting to see the long-term effects.

Something as simple as artificial light could play a role. "That's something no human being experienced 200 years ago," Ogino said. Lights allow us to work and socialize at all hours, impacting how our body clocks regulate hormones and metabolism.

Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz, co-lead of the gastrointestinal cancer program at the University of Southern California cancer center, is also studying how the environment may be damaging our DNA in ways we don't yet understand.

His data so far suggests the trend of more younger folks developing colon cancer isn't genetic, but our genes may affect how we respond to our exposures — the processed food we eat, the antibiotics we take, and the polluted air we breathe.

"When you are 16 years old or 20 years old, you cannot blame it on diet or exercise or obesity — it's just too short," he said. "We're just scratching the surface on better understanding the impact of the parents, particularly in the young onset: was their exposure part of it, or not?"

Here are five things we're learning:

1. Sleep cycle

We can't separate gut health from our internal clock.

Gut bacteria help regulate sleep, which cuts cancer risk.

Emerging evidence suggests that disrupting the circadian rhythm creates problems in the gut that can contribute to colon cancer, according to studies in mice and data in humans. Our sleep can be derailed by late schedules and artificial light from our homes and phones, which may be one factor in rising colon cancer cases.

2. Microplastics in air and water

Increasingly, researchers are finding evidence that microplastics play a negative role in fertility.

They can also be pro-inflammatory, driving diseases like cancer and obesity, hurting lungs, and possibly helping cancer to thrive in the body.

A new evidence roundup from researchers at UCSF analyzed 22 studies that compared microplastic exposure to health problems in mice and people, and found that all of them showed some harm.

"We basically saw this continuous effect that the more you get exposed to it, so in our environment, the more it gets produced, the greater the health harm," Nicholas Chartres, one of the study's authors and a former head of the science and policy team at UCSF's program on reproductive health and the environment, told BI.

Chartres says the time is now to act to reduce our microplastic exposure, and it must be done at a policy level. At home, Chartres runs around the house throwing out his kids' plastic toys, but he knows he's playing a losing game of environmental whack-a-mole.

"We don't need to have specific quantification of the level of harm, there's enough here to show that they're certainly contributing," he said.

3. What your parents were exposed to

Lenz is conducting research that aims to unravel why so many Hispanic patients in Southern California seem to be especially at risk of developing early colon cancer.

His team is studying cancer patients' blood, DNA damage, lifestyles, and ZIP codes to pinpoint where their exposure risks might be coming from, whether it be overuse of antibiotics, pollution that families are exposed to, or something else.

"It could be an epigenetic event, not only from the patient itself but from the family, from the parents and their exposure," he said. "Epigenetics can be influenced by lifestyle and by exposure to chemicals, or whatever it is that will actually react."

4. Antibiotics

It is well established that antibiotics disrupt the gut microbiome, killing off some beneficial bacteria. And humans aren't the only antibiotic consumers.

Most of the antibiotics (73%) in use worldwide are for meat production, recent research suggests. Some meat advertised as antibiotic-free has failed independent testing.

Red meat consumption ups a person's colon cancer risk, and so does antibiotic use, but these two factors aren't necessarily separate.

5. C-section

Newborns are exposed to trillions of their mother's microbes as they travel through the birth canal, giving an infant's microbiome an initial boost. Kids who are delivered through the abdomen via cesarean section don't get those same health benefits.

Recent research from Sweden suggests girls who are born via c-section have a higher risk of developing young colon cancer than those born vaginally.

Major colon cancer discoveries coming in 2025-2026

In 2024, a group of international researchers mapped 1.6 million cells in the gut to create the most comprehensive picture to date — the "gut atlas."

"It's rare that any one study squeezes out all the relevant biological insights," Ivan Vujkovic-Cvijin, a professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, told Business Insider.

"By identifying which components of tissue function are dysregulated in disease, the scientific community can design drugs to restore those functions," he said.

There's more to come. Multiple big, well-funded multinational studies are underway, including a US-UK collaboration that's giving out interdisciplinary cancer grants to teams around the world. The studies are expected to release results this year and next.

2 ways to reduce your risk today

Until we know better what's going on, researchers and clinicians say there are two steps you can take to reduce colon cancer risk.

First, control what you can control.

"Let's focus on the stuff we can change," Dr. Cassandra Fritz, a gastroenterologist and colon cancer researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, tells her patients.

That means no smoking, regular exercise, less alcohol, reducing your intake of ultra-processed snacks and processed meats, and no sugary beverages — factors directly linked with colon cancer risk. You could also consider microwaving food in glass or ceramic instead of plastic.

Second, know the signs of colon cancer and do not be complacent about them. Many young cases are diagnosed too late, making treatment complicated.

These four symptoms can occur up to 18 months before a colon cancer diagnosis:

• Abnormal diarrhea that lasts for weeks
• Persistent abdominal pain
• Bloody stool (red, magenta, or black)
• Iron deficiency anemia (determined by a blood test)

Don't fear the process of getting checked, experts told BI. Anyone dealing with these persistent symptoms can ask their doctor for a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) that is noninvasive and costs just a few dollars.

"If there are symptoms which could be associated with colon cancer, make sure you get the screening and don't just accept that they're saying 'It's unlikely' or 'I've never seen it,'" Lenz said.

When it's spotted early, colon cancer is a very survivable disease.

In 1999, Donald Trump hosted a party at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, featuring a concert with Celine Dion. The New York Post described it as "a huge bash" that snarled traffic and had neighbors calling the police to complain that they were "trapped in their mansions." Not long after, neighbors demanded the town council rein in beach parties and other social gatherings at the estate, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Fast-forward 26 years, and the wealthy resort town is experiencing another round of grueling traffic and high-profile hobnobbing as Trump prepares to take the White House on Monday as the nation's 47th president.

Trump has been conducting his transition plan from Mar-a-Lago, reportedly drawing a dizzying array of business and political leaders to Palm Beach including Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas; and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The rush of people with power (and often money) has ignited what some have described as a heightened party atmosphere in and around Palm Beach, transforming the wealthy but subdued seaside resort into a political hub by day and a social hot spot at night.

While many of the festivities appear to be taking place at Mar-a-Lago, residents and business owners told Business Insider that celebrations were breaking out in other parts of Palm Beach County, where the population is younger and more middle class. Bar owners and an exotic dancer, for example, said they were seeing more business from people in MAGA hats.

It's also led to complaints. Some residents told BI they'd been locked out of their favorite restaurants and were being driven mad by the traffic, which has been complicated by Trump's security needs.

Young conservatives and businesspeople, however, seem to be welcoming the influx of newcomers — a trend they hope will continue throughout Trump's term. They say it's contributed to a livelier atmosphere on an island still dominated by the over-65 set, generating more business and opportunities.

Jay Parker, a real-estate agent who's the CEO of brokerage for the Florida region at Douglas Elliman, told BI that Palm Beach home sales exploded in the wake of the election.

"The activity in some of our new developments has just been unprecedented," Parker said, adding, "All the eyeballs on the White House being in Palm Beach — essentially, it's the greatest publicity we could ever ask for."

Much of the migration to Palm Beach since the election has centered on Mar-a-Lago, an ornate villa-style estate squeezed between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth Lagoon. Trump bought the 62,500-square-foot estate, built by the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, in 1985 and turned it into a private club a decade later.

Lexye Aversa, an event planner who's a member of Mar-a-Lago, said Palm Beach's social scene had been "like a dam bursting" since the election. She recalled meeting Musk and Jeff Bezos in December at a dinner on Mar-a-Lago's patio.

"The executive that maybe you could never get on the phone up in the tristate area because you have to go through hurdles and sort of give your credentials — well, here they're sitting right next to you at lunch, whether it's at Mar-a-Lago or at the Civic Association meeting or in a restaurant," Aversa said.

Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek last year that Mar-a-Lago membership fees were as low as $25,000 when it opened. Today membership costs $1 million, up from about $200,000 in 2017. Members have access to club events, like Trump's annual star-studded New Year's Eve party, though they often have to pay for themseleves and their guests.

A longtime Palm Beach resident who asked not to be named to preserve relationships with the island's society set said her social calendar had ballooned since the election. While many of the events she's attended, including charitable galas, have been held at Mar-a-Lago, she said other nearby clubs, including The Breakers, were also in on the action.

The downside, she said, was the traffic.

"It's like nothing I've ever seen before. I've been here for 21 years," the resident said. "It's madness, and it's daily. The people here, the residents of the island, are griping that it's taking them 45 minutes to go down the street."

It's always busy on Palm Beach Island during what's known as "the season": the winter months when Northerners flock to sunny Florida. Some locals, however, say that competing for tables at popular restaurants such as Le Bilboquet, La Goulue, and Buccan has become especially onerous this year. Most of the hottest venues are 10 to 15 minutes north of Mar-a-Lago, on or around Worth Avenue.

Bobby Zeitler, a nightlife producer who lives just north of Palm Beach Island in the city of Jupiter, said it had become tough for even well-connected locals to score reservations. He said he recently had to help a close friend of his, a club owner from Miami, score a table at Le Bilboquet, the Palm Beach outpost of the chic French restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

"I'm meeting lots of people from DC stepping out on the town, which certainly impacts restaurants," he said, adding, "You've got to make a reservation a month or two months in advance for a Thursday or Friday or Saturday night."

Doug Evans, the CEO of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, said shop owners along posh Worth Avenue had reported that "global leaders" flanked by "their entourages" were dropping big sums in their stores.

"They're here on government business, and they're spending a lot of money in the stores," he said.

James Koutoulas, a Republican lawyer based in South Florida, said he was seeing more people from the Miami-Dade area travel the roughly two hours to Palm Beach in hopes of catching a glimpse of Musk or to attend events connected to Trump, whether at Mar-a-Lago or other sites around Palm Beach. Some people, Koutoulas said, are visiting Palm Beach just for the day, as scoring a last-minute hotel room can cost a pretty penny — accommodations at some of the island's more popular hotels were $1,000 to $2,000 a night in mid-January.

"They're all day-tripping on Uber or the Brightline," he said, referring to the train linking several cities in South Florida, including West Palm Beach and Miami. "I've seen a huge influx of that."

Whether the spending at Mar-a-Lago and the surrounding area will continue once Trump takes office remains to be seen. Some have suggested that Trump could spend more time at the club this term than he did in his first term, spurring more Washington, DC, lobbyists to set up shop in the area.

"Florida is becoming the power nexus for the country," Bill Helmich, a lobbyist and close Trump ally, recently told BI. "It's where decisions will get made."

If you cross the bridge from Palm Beach Island to the mainland, you'll hit West Palm Beach and then the rest of Palm Beach County. Census data suggests this area is far younger and more middle class than the wealthy resort town where Mar-a-Lago is.

Business owners and hospitality workers in mainland Palm Beach County say they, too, are seeing more customers with MAGA hats or otherwise looking to celebrate Trump's White House victory.

The owner of a nightlife venue about 20 minutes south of Palm Beach said he'd seen an influx of 20- and 30-somethings ordering pricey bottles to snag an Instagram-friendly sign the bar reserves for big spenders. Patrons who spend at least $650 can request special messages on the sign — proposing marriage or wishing someone a happy birthday. The sign is then presented to the customer by staffers with sparklers, along with their bottles of vodka or tequila.

Recent messages have centered on Trump, including "TRUMP 2024," "MAGA," and "Make America Great Again," said the owner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid identifying his customers.

While he welcomes the business, he conceded that the pro-Trump vibe had led to some tense moments. He recounted, for example, the time leading up to the election when a client ordered a sign reading "FUCK KAMALA." He permitted it to be shown for just 30 seconds because he worried it could unsettle other guests.

A woman who danced at Monroe's, a popular strip club in West Palm Beach, told BI that she, too, noticed more customers with MAGA hats until she quit a few weeks ago.

"When I start talking about Trump, they tip more," she said, requesting anonymity because she was not authorized by her former employer to speak about its clientele.

One reason may be that Trump supporters in the area feel they can be more open about their political leanings since his reelection. Alexis Vetter, 29, a stylist who runs the luxury fashion boutique LOVE Binetti on Palm Beach Island, told BI over lunch at the Palm Beach restaurant BiCE that she previously felt it was taboo, even during Trump's first term, to express support for the former reality-TV star. But she said that after Trump won the popular vote, the vibe changed — at least in Palm Beach.

Ashton Munholland, 30, the president of the Palm Beach Young Republicans, agreed. She said the club had grown to 300 members from the low double-digits since she took over in 2023. She attributed this in part to the influx of conservative-minded people moving to Florida in the wake of the pandemic.

"I would say probably 75% of our members are from out of state," she told BI.

Now, with Trump back in the White House, these young conservatives feel increasingly comfortable wearing their political allegiance on their sleeve. It's evident as they swarm nightlife spots like Cucina, a restaurant on the island that transforms at 10 p.m. on weekends into a popular nightclub serving Palm Beach's party people.

Accompanied by bottles and sparklers, big club signs with phrases like "TRUMP 2024" and "FUCK OBAMA" have been spotted at Cucina as Trump's young supporters dance beneath disco balls to a DJ blaring music through the speakers.

"I will say that this is a little different from a year ago, two years ago," Munholland said. Now, when people walk into Cucina wearing Trump's signature red hats, she said, "crowds are cheering."

Reed Alexander is a correspondent at Business Insider. He can be reached via email at [email protected], or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.

• TikTok is veering toward a US shutdown after the Supreme Court upheld a divest-or-ban law.
• The app is set to leave app stores and may go dark on Sunday if its owner, ByteDance, doesn't divest.
• TikTok creators and their teams are tired from months of uncertainty, but cautiously hopeful too.

TikTok is in trouble.

The company is set to disappear from US app stores on Sunday due to a divest-or-ban law that requires its owner, ByteDance, to sell the app by January 19 or essentially cease operating in the country. TikTok may stop showing content in the US and "go dark" over the weekend.

For TikTok creators and their teams, ongoing uncertainty around the app's US future has sparked frustration and fatigue.

"We've been dealing with this for months," said Julian Andrews, founder of talent management firm Talentiish. "I just sort of want the situation to be over so we know how to move on."

Some in the talent community are cautiously optimistic that a solution will emerge to save TikTok. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to try to rescue the app once in office, though his options could be limited.

"So many of us are still holding out hope that it will work out," Barbara Jones, CEO of Outshine Talent, said.

Others aren't holding their breath and are instead focusing on established alternatives, such as Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, as well as challenger apps like Clapper, Flip, and RedNote.

"Many of our clients are making accounts on RedNote and Flip as well as downloading their data from the TikTok app," Jones said. "They are trying to be as prepared as possible."

Creators may be hesitant to commit to new platforms, however, when the advertising dollars are much more reliable on major players like Instagram.

Instagram is, for the most part, the platform of choice among those Business Insider spoke to who are pivoting from TikTok.

Fallen Media, which runs TikTok shows like "What's Poppin? With Davis!" said it will be heavily investing in Instagram reels, for example.

"I have suggested to my clients not to focus on any new platforms and focus on the tried and true," Andrews at Talentiish said.

In the meantime, there's still no clear answer as to what happens this weekend.

"The truth is we don't really know what's going to happen on Sunday, which I think is the crazy part," said Fallen Media CEO Sol Betesh.

Creators are exhausted and devastated to say goodbye to TikTok

As news stories around a TikTok ban swing between good news and legal defeats, some creators have sunk into despair. The Supreme Court loss on Friday hit particularly hard for those whose businesses depend on the app.

"The ruling is truly devastating for me as someone who built their platform starting on TikTok," said Sofia Bella, a TikTok creator with 4.8 million followers. "Losing the majority of my audience is a difficult reality to face, and while I'm doing everything I can to prepare, it's hard not to feel like I'm starting over."

Andrews said the job of talent manager has teetered between acting as a therapist and strategist for the creators they manage.

Some creators are actively fighting against a TikTok ban, including Vitus Spehar, who runs the news account @underthedesknews. Spehar has been covering breaking news and political developments around the divestment. They said Americans should call their senators and other representatives to demand action against the law.

Still, other creators who have experienced burnout from TikTok are welcoming a possible shift if the app goes down.

"Generally, the tone from most internet creators I've spoken to has been entirely apathetic," said Tati Bruening, a TikTok creator with 2.4 million followers. "The pacing of content creation for TikTok was a recipe for burnout."

Building a strategy for doomsday

Even as the creator economy braces for the loss of its favorite corner of the internet, this moment is a lesson for many.

"Stop building brands on social media that other people own," Jennifer Powell, a talent manager who works with creators like Tezza and Ty French, told BI. "This can and will happen again. Start your website, get newsletters going, blogs, use affiliates, turn it into a brand, and own your own little place on the web."

A TikTok ban could also be a gold rush for social media startups as they race to fill the void.

"There's never been a better time to start a creation or curation company," said Em Herrera, a former investor at Slow Ventures who recently founded a firm called Creator Venture Accelerator.

• Alex Ruani used to overeat snacks that weren't nutritious.
• A few changes transformed her relationship with snacking.
• She started eating her meals at the same time each day and getting more sleep.

A nutrition scientist who was hooked on snacks like cookies and potato chips shared how she transformed her relationship with snacking.

Alex Ruani, a diet misinformation researcher at University College London, used to reach for high-fat, high-sugar foods like white chocolate and sugary iced coffees throughout the day.

Once she started, she struggled to stop eating. "Those of us who have this tendency to snack, we cannot stop until the entire pack is empty," she told Business Insider.

Now, Ruani said her relationship with snacks is healthier. She rarely snacks anymore, but when she does feel hungry between meals, she chooses something nutritious.

"It's a great opportunity for you to include more nutrients in your diet, more polyphenols, more fiber," she said.

"Snacking is not a bad thing, just keep an eye on what those snacks are," she said.

Ruani shared the three changes she made that helped.

Redesign your food environment

The first thing Ruani did was remove foods she wanted to stop snacking on. That way, she didn't have to rely on just willpower to resist the temptation.

"Redesign your food environments so they serve you, and they're not against you," she said.

In practice, this meant not buying chocolates and chips, removing them from the suggested items on her online grocery order, and avoiding the tempting aisle at the grocery store.

"I cannot be trusted near those things, so I just let my environment make those decisions for me," Ruani said.

Instead, she kept nutritious snacks such as fruit and nuts in her fridge or on her desk at work.

You're much more likely to eat what's immediately accessible to you, she said.

In a 2015 study published in the journal Society for Public Health Education, 710 households were asked which foods, if any, were displayed on their kitchen counters and what the occupants' heights and weights were. Researchers found that having fruit on display was associated with a lower BMI. While counters that displayed candy, cereal, or soft drinks were associated with higher BMIs.

Eat your meals around the same time every day

In the early part of her career, Ruani would eat at random times. "Some days at 8 p.m., some days at seven, some days at midnight, it was a disaster," she said. Once she started eating at more consistent times, she found that her cravings started to naturally subside.

Whether you stick to three meals a day or another setup, eating them at the same time each day can help regulate your hunger hormones, Ruani said. This, in turn, means you are less likely to crave food between meals.

There's a sector of nutrition science that studies how the circadian rhythm, which is our sleep and awake cycles, appetite signals, and food consumption are all correlated, she said. The body loves routine and predictability, she said, so when these elements are synchronized, it can run more efficiently.

"Let's say your dinner on Monday is at 9 p.m., then on Tuesday at 8 p.m., and then on Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. Your body is a little bit more confused, and that can also influence your hunger hormones, their production, and how they signal satiation to the brain," she said.

Get enough sleep

Going to sleep and waking up around the same time every day also helped Ruani to stop overeating.

"Consistent sleeping hours across the week have been associated with better hunger regulation," she said.

Research suggests that getting poor quality or not enough sleep leads people to consume more calories, mainly from snacking, especially in foods rich in fat and carbs, according to a 2022 review published in Nutrients.

A 2022 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that when a group of overweight adults slept 8.5 hours a night instead of their usual 6.5 hours, they ate an average of 270 fewer calories a day than a control group.

• Destanee Aiava wore vintage tennis outfits she found on eBay at the 2025 Australian Open.
• She sported replicas of dresses worn by past champions, including Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic.
• Aiava made it through three rounds of qualifying to earn a spot in the main draw.

If you've been following Week 1 of the 2025 Australian Open, you've probably noticed a lot of the same outfits.

Adidas has its players kitted out in bold red for the first major of the year, known as "The Happy Slam." Many of Nike's athletes, including Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz, are wearing green and yellow.

It's not uncommon for tennis players to wear the same kit throughout the entirety of a tournament due to their endorsement contracts.

But for qualifier Destanee Aiava, who doesn't have a clothing sponsor, her on-court styles were completely up to her — and she chose to pay homage to past champions Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki, and Ana Ivanovic by wearing their iconic looks from the late 2000s and early 2010s.

She couldn't get the gear through Nike or Adidas, though. Aiava bought the dresses secondhand online.

"I've found them on eBay — for double the price that they were originally for," she told tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg. "But yeah, I just like looking on Depop, Facebook Marketplace, eBay to find the old, vintage outfits that I loved when I was little."

Ranked just inside the top 200, the 24-year-old Australian-Samoan had to battle through three rounds of qualifying rounds to earn a slot in the main draw.

For her first match in qualies, she wore a light pink Nike dress that Sharapova sported at the 2012 US Open.

For round two, Aiava got her hands on a pink and purple number worn by Ana Ivanovic at the 2010 US Open.

She wore a different pink Ivanovic dress for her third-round match, which propelled her into the main draw of the AO.

Heading into the first round of the main draw match, BBC asked Aiava about her outfit choice. She said she'd found one of Facebook: "I might go pick that up. It's only $35, which is a steal."

BBC didn't confirm whether she purchased it. Aiava walked on court in a sky blue Adidas dress previously worn by Caroline Wozniacki at the 2013 US Open, and earned her very first Grand Slam main-draw win. Advancing to the round of 64 earned her $200,000 AUD ($124,280 USD).

"It means that I can bring someone to travel with this year, and I can afford to actually go to all the tournaments that I want to," Aiava said after the comeback victory. "I struggle traveling on my own. The fact that I get to bring my fiancé with me and hopefully one of my family members to the big ones, it makes a world of a difference."

In what would be her last match at the 2025 Australian Open, Aiava wore another Sharapova number while battling American Danielle Collins, who eventually prevailed in three sets.

"It was actually from one of the girls that I used to play tennis with when I was little," Aiava told 9News of the fit. "She reached out and offered to lend me a dress and I actually ran out of options as well, so I'm so lucky."

Aiava told BBC that she's "hoping to get a sponsor." But in the meantime, "I'm loving picking whatever I want to wear and buying whatever I want."

She told 9News that if she continues the tradition, she'd like to eventually bring back a Serena Williams piece. However, it was out of her budget for this event: "They are quite hard to find and quite expensive."

• TikTok may go dark Sunday unless Biden ensures the ban won't be enforced.
• The Supreme Court upheld a law requiring TikTok's US operations to be sold by Jan. 19 or face a ban.
• Biden's administration doesn't plan to enforce the ban before Trump takes office.

TikTok said Friday it would be forced to go dark on Sunday, the day the platform ban is set to take effect, unless the Biden administration takes further action to ensure it will not be enforced.

"The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok's availability to over 170 million Americans," TikTok said in a statement posted on X.

"Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19," the statement continued.

The statement came after the Supreme Court earlier on Friday upheld the law banning TikTok.

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The law, which was passed by Congress and signed by Biden last spring, required TikTok to be banned unless ByteDance, its China-based parent company, sells the app's US operations by January 19.

The law specifically bans US app stores, like Apple's and Google's, from carrying or updating the app. Companies that violate the law could face fines of up to $5,000 per user who accesses TikTok.

The Biden administration said this week it does not plan to enforce the ban since it is set to take effect one day before President Joe Biden leaves office and President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in.

"President Biden's position on TikTok has been clear for months, including since Congress sent a bill in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to the President's desk: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The Justice Department issued a statement on Friday supporting the Supreme Court's decision, adding: "The next phase of this effort — implementing and ensuring compliance with the law after it goes into effect on January 19 — will be a process that plays out over time."

Trump has said he does not support banning TikTok and will work on finding a solution. In a video on Friday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew thanked Trump for his commitment to saving the app.

On Truth Social, Trump said he had spoken with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the phone and said the call was a "very good one" and that they discussed "balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects."

It's unclear what TikTok will look like on users' phones come Sunday if the app goes "dark" and whether the video platform's fate in the US will be permanent.

Some workarounds could bring the app back to life, including brokering a deal to sell it to a US buyer.

Figures from Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank to YouTuber MrBeast have expressed interest in buying the app.

BI's Peter Kafka reported that Bytedance hasn't publicly shown interest in selling TikTok or indicated any progress in a deal with a non-Chinese buyer so far.

There's also the possibility that the Trump administration could issue an executive order reversing the ban under the argument that the move is related to foreign affairs and national security interests.

A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.

• Many modern and popular parenting techniques place a high emphasis on attending to our kids' emotions.
• I give my daughter space when she experiences big emotional outbursts.
• I want her to learn that emotions are passing sensations.

I could see the emotional monsoon coming from a mile away. That's why, as we approached the house, I gently warned my daughter that we would need to take her rainboots off before going inside. She continued splashing through the puddles in our driveway, either unable or unwilling to hear me. Sure enough, when we entered the garage and sat down to take off our shoes, a torrent of tears erupted.

"No, you're NOT taking my boots off!" she screamed. Days earlier, her daycare teacher informed me that she even refused to remove them during naptime.

I briefly considered allowing her to wear the boots inside just to avoid the fight. But glancing down at our muddy footprints only strengthened my resolve.

I breathed in, took her tear-streaked face in my hands, and explained why the boots needed to stay outside. More shrieks. I slipped off her shoes (narrowly avoiding a kick to the face) and carried her thrashing body into the kitchen, where I placed her on the ground. She curled into a ball, threatening to explode again at any moment.

"I love you," I reassured her, patting her back. "I'm sorry we had to take off the boots. We can put them back on later. Right now, I need to cook dinner. Can I give you a hug?"

"NO!" She spat. "I want my boots!" She scrambled back toward the door, slamming her tiny fists against it. "Give me my boots!" she wailed.

Her outburst continued to escalate, but I started making dinner anyway.

I ignored her and carried on with the evening to-dos

Modern parenting philosophies (like gentle parenting) would advise me not to leave her side. These "big emotions" deserve our utmost attention and investigation, according to gentle parenting experts.

Many millennial parents have fallen into this "pendulum parenting" trap. We were raised to suppress our own emotions, so now we're over-correcting that mistake by giving our kids' emotions all the power.

But here's the mistake I think we're making as parents in this gentle parenting era: we need to go beyond identifying the emotion and teach our kids how to move past it.

We need to teach our kids how to move past their emotions

Stopping everything to comfort a child for 45 minutes over something like rainboots or rice crackers does not increase their emotional competence. It's communicating that, despite whatever else is going on, their emotions reign supreme. Nothing and no one else matters; plans get lost in the wake.

Oftentimes (especially when it comes to toddlers), emotions do not represent reality. So, instead of validating our kids' emotions, we validate their outsize reactions to trivial matters. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Havard-trained neuroscientist, explains that the physical sensations of emotions pass after 90 seconds. Our feelings persist because we choose to dwell on whatever caused them in the first place. The solution is to acknowledge the emotions and allow them to move through us without continuing to react.

All emotions will pass once I stop giving them my attention

I don't expect my daughter to understand or comprehend what took me years of therapy and practice to figure out. She's only 2, after all. But if I can show her that our emotions don't have all the control, I think it will save her a lot of heartache in the future.

So when a toddler tornado hits, I get out of the way.

After labeling her feelings and offering comfort (if she wants it), I give her time and space to express her emotions in a safe environment. But I don't add fuel to an already-raging fire by giving it more of my own energy and attention. Even the worst storms will eventually pass.

Emotions are a sometimes delightful and sometimes distressing part of the human experience. But they are only one part — there's so much more to life, and the actions that we take in response to our circumstances (and feelings) matter more than anything else.

• TikTok faces a likely US shutdown after the Supreme Court rejected its appeal.
• Brands and marketers are preparing contingency plans to shift content from TikTok.
• Managers shared their plans, including new clauses in their campaign contracts.

Creators are finalizing their post-TikTok plans.

TikTok is hurtling toward a US shutdown after the Supreme Court rejected its appeal of a divest-or-ban law. The app may "go dark" entirely on Sunday.

Ahead of a likely ban, TikTok influencers and their teams are offering contingency plans to assure brands and marketers that sponsored posts can move elsewhere if TikTok abruptly closes.

"We haven't seen anybody try to kill a contract, thank goodness," said Jennifer Powell, a talent manager who works with creators like Tezza and Ty French. "The good news is that most of the brands came into this year cautious about putting all their eggs into the TikTok basket, knowing that this judgment was looming."

Songfluencer, a platform that facilitates influencer campaigns for music marketers, has a "platform uncertainty" guarantee that promises marketers that creators will automatically repost TikTok content to Instagram or YouTube shorts if TikTok goes down.

"We want to make sure clients are not scared to run campaigns on TikTok," Songfluencer's CEO Johnny Cloherty said. "All of the creators in our network must agree to this new policy during this uncertain season."

Talent-management firm CFG has also been proactive in including clauses in its contracts with brands that ensure campaigns can migrate to a creator's "next highest-engaged" platform.

Powell, similarly, said her team has offered to move content to an "equal value" social platform if a sponsored TikTok post disappears.

Some of these preparations began months ago.

Gregory Littley, a freelance creative director and content producer, has been working with brand partners and clients on campaigns that aren't so tied to TikTok since November, he said.

"The language has shifted," Littley said about campaign deliverables. "It starts to really focus on the content as opposed to where you're posting it."

"Many of our current campaigns in progress that involve TikTok are preparing contingency plans for changing deliverables to different platforms," said Barbara Jones, founder of Outshine Talent.

• "Back in Action" is Cameron Diaz's first film role in over a decade.
• Unfortunately, it's a poor comeback vehicle with rough dialogue and a thin plot.
• The film works fine as a casual watch, but not much else.

"Back in Action" is Cameron Diaz's first film role in over a decade. She should have made a better choice for a comeback.

The film, directed by Seth Gordon, is capital-F "Fine" at best and mediocre background watching at worst. Given that this is the movie Jamie Foxx miraculously recovered from a stroke to complete, one would hope the end product inspired stronger enthusiasm.

The aptly titled film stars Diaz and Foxx as Emily and Matt, suburban parents who were elite spies before having their first child and pivoting to coaching soccer and selling puzzles on Etsy. "Back in Action" kicks off 15 years in the past during their last mission together to steal an Industrial Control Systems key (don't worry about it) from a Eastern European crime lord. They succeed, but terrorists attack them on the plane back to safety. Presumed dead, Matt and Emily use the plane crash to disappear and raise the child that Emily has just learned she's carrying.

This opening sequence does little to establish Matt and Emily's relationship, or even their individual characters, past a few entertaining punches, quippy one-liners, and saccharine expressions of sincerity. "My favorite person is about to create my new favorite person," Matt tells Emily, despite having to clarify moments before that they were exclusive.

Their extremely normal life only gets blown up because Matt and Emily are caught on tape beating up a few guys ("BOOMERS WRECK DANCE PARTY") while picking their underage daughter Alice (McKenna Roberts) up from the club. With Alice and their son Leo (Rylan Jackson) in tow, they go on a quest to pick up the ICS key from Emily's mother Ginny (Glenn Close — why not?) and unite their family through espionage. Andrew Scott and Kyle Chandler are also in this film, for some reason, and are mostly wasted in their roles.

Aside from one tepid but somewhat surprising twist, "Back in Action" is a mélange of spy tropes, embarrassingly bad and self-explanatory dialogue, and trite familial conflicts. The film's emotional appeal hinges on Emily's relationships with Alice, who rebels against her for standard Teenage Girl Reasons, and her mother Ginny, whom she hates for being absent in her childhood. Simple friction leads to simple payoffs.

The film's fight sequences slightly redeem it, mostly because it's fun to watch Diaz and Foxx beat up some classic goons in tandem. However, the movie insists on soundtracking those fights to classic hits like Nat King Cole's "L.O.V.E." and Etta James' "At Last," seemingly in a bid to create a romantic, nostalgic atmosphere for its leads. To be fair, they have more chemistry in those moments than literally anywhere else in the film.

In the end, "Back in Action" is an unfortunate comeback choice for Diaz, and its script gives her and Foxx little to stand on through the film's nearly two-hour runtime. For audiences, it's a passable enough choice for a Friday night flick or folding laundry, but not much else.

"Back in Action" is streaming now on Netflix.

• YouTubers Myka and James Stauffer adopted a boy named Huxley from China in 2017 and documented it online.
• In 2020, the Stuaffers were criticized after revealing they placed him in a new home.
• In a since-deleted video, the couple said that Huxley was "thriving," and "happy" in his new forever home.

Almost five years after YouTubers Myka and James Stauffer faced waves of backlash for their decision to place their adopted son Huxley in a new home, plenty of questions still linger about the family.

The Stauffers' controversial decision gets renewed attention in the HBO original documentary series "An Update On Our Family," whose title is taken from the couple's infamous since-deleted video of the same name. The three-part docuseries is also inspired by a New York magazine article by Caitlin Moscatello.

The Ohio-based vlogger parents didn't participate in the docuseries, but James regularly posts about his car detailing business on his Stauffer Garage YouTube channel and Instagram account.

Here's what we know about where Huxley is now.

Myka and James Stauffer adopted Huxley, then 2 and a half years old, from China in 2017

The parents of four other children kept their followers updated on their adoption process through YouTube vlogs. After welcoming Huxley into their home, the Stauffers shared his progress as he adjusted to his new life and family.

Their channel swelled to 700,000 subscribers, videos about Huxley were monetized, and they maintained sponsorship deals with brands.

But in 2020, fans noticed that Huxley was absent from their social media content, prompting questions and concerns about what happened to him.

In May of that year, Myka and James revealed that they had placed Huxley in a new home to better support his needs.

Little is known about Huxley's life since he was placed in a new home in 2020

In the since-deleted video that sparked backlash, the couple said that they only learned after bringing Huxley home that he had special needs that they hadn't been told about.

The Stauffers said that Huxley received multiple assessments and evaluations from medical professionals who agreed that he needed a home better equipped to support him.

The couple also said that they were intentionally vague about Huxley's situation because they "didn't want to mess up anything" as he was meeting and spending time with new people so he could find his "forever family."

Myka said that the adoption agency had placed Huxley with a family it thought was "the perfect match." People magazine reported that Huxley has since been renamed.

"He is thriving," Myka said in the video. "He is very happy. He's doing really well. And his new mommy has medical-professional training, and it is a very good fit."

In an Instagram post shared in June 2020, Myka apologized for the "confusion" and "pain" she caused and admitted she was unprepared to properly parent Huxley.

"We love Huxley and know that this was the right decision for him and his future. Praying that Huxley only has the best future in the entire world," she wrote.

The first episode of "An Update On Our Family" is streaming on Max. The remaining episodes will be released weekly through January 29.

• The Biden administration will leave it to Trump to enforce the TikTok ban.
• Congress ruled last year that Chinese firm ByteDance should sell TikTok or see it banned.
• Trump takes office on January 20, the day after the deadline for ByteDance to sell.

President Joe Biden's administration is not planning to implement the TikTok ban set to take effect on Sunday.

That would leave it to President-elect Donald Trump and his officials to act after they take office on January 20.

The law, which was passed by Congress and signed by Biden in April of last year, requires TikTok to be banned unless ByteDance, its China-based parent company, sells the app's US operations by January 19.

"Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

"President Biden's position on TikTok has been clear for months, including since Congress sent a bill in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to the President's desk: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law," she added.

The bill that would ban TikTok from US app stores also gave Biden the ability to grant ByteDance a 90-day extension if several conditions were met, including if there was "evidence of significant progress" made toward selling TikTok's US operations.

Trump has defended the app, which was banned amid concerns user data could be accessed by the Chinese government.

Mike Waltz, Trump's incoming national security advisor, told Fox News on Wednesday that Trump would seek to preserve the app, used by around 170 million Americans.

"We're going to find a way to preserve it but protect people's data. And that's the deal that will be in front of us," Waltz said.

He suggested an executive order could be used to protect it, but offered few details on how this might work in practice.

Last month, Trump called on the US Supreme Court to pause the ban. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the ban on Friday.

Following the ruling, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew posted a video to TikTok thanking Trump for his commitment to working with TikTok to keep the app running in the US. 

There have been several potential TikTok buyers, but it's unclear if or to what extent ByteDance has sought to divest. ByteDance and TikTok have not publicly shown any interest in a sale.

Democratic former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday that more time was needed to find a US buyer.

"It's clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers," Schumer said.

It's also unclear what will happen to the app on Sunday if Biden, Trump, or the Supreme Court do not step in before then to save it.

The legislation passed last year requires platforms in the US such as Apple or Google to stop offering the app or updating it when the sale deadline passes, meaning it'd effectively "go dark" or be unavailable.

• Democrats may need to help Republicans raise the debt ceiling this year.
• If that happens, Democrats aren't going to do it for free. They'll likely demand concessions.
• Rep. Ro Khanna, a Silicon Valley Democrat, says his party should demand a federal minimum wage hike.

At some point in the next few months, Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling.

For now, Republicans are planning to do it on their own. But if past is prologue, they'll probably need votes from across the aisle — and Democrats are likely to demand something in return.

Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat who represents Silicon Valley, told Business Insider this week that he believes the price should be an increase in the federal minimum wage.

"We should force Republicans to vote on it," the California Democrat told BI.

Khanna did not specify a particular level at which he'd like to raise the wage, but Democrats generally support a $15 per hour federal minimum wage. Some, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, have proposed pushing it even higher, to $17 per hour.

President-elect Donald Trump said in December that he would "consider" raising the minimum wage, but several Republican lawmakers later told BI that they opposed the idea.

Scott Bessent, Trump's nominee for secretary of the treasury, said at a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday that he does not believe the current $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage should change.

It's not clear if Democrats will follow Khanna's lead, though he told BI that he would "make the case to the caucus."

Minimum wage increases tend to be popular among both Democratic and Republican voters — in November, several Republican-leaning states passed minimum wage hikes via ballot measures.

Democrats still have to figure out their price for helping Republicans

As of now, Republicans want to avoid handing any leverage to Democrats in the first few months of Trump's presidency. They plan to include a debt ceiling hike in a broader party-line "reconciliation" bill containing a smattering of Trump's priorities on energy, immigration, border security, and taxes.

But there's a good chance that won't work, given some hardline Republicans' deep reservations about raising the debt ceiling without dramatic spending cuts. Some Republicans have never voted to raise the debt ceiling before, and in December, dozens of them openly defied Trump's call to raise the debt ceiling after Elon Musk helped tank a government funding bill.

If Republicans can't do it themselves, Democrats will have the chance to make demands, lest the country breach the debt ceiling and trigger a fiscal crisis.

"I'm not a cheap date," Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts told BI. "The idea that we're just going to help them out when they can't get their own members to cooperate, those days are gone."

Of the several House Democrats that BI spoke to, only Khanna was willing to name a specific price. Others demurred, saying they were waiting to see what negotiations would look like in the coming months, and underscoring that Democrats would have to decide on their approach collectively.

"The sentiment from our caucus is: If you need our help on anything, you're going to have to help us," Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York told BI. "All of this, I think, is subject to many of our internal conversations."

Democrats could also use their leverage to try to halt the deep cuts to federal government spending that Republicans may pursue in the coming months, rather than making an affirmative policy demand.

"There's clearly a whole host of things that I think the caucus would have as priorities," Democratic Rep. Joe Morelle of New York told BI.

• AMC's "Breaking Bad" ended over 10 years ago, but its popularity and impact endure.
• The show's iconic characters resulted in spinoffs, and it still has an enthusiastic fan base.
• From a character's brush with death to flying pizzas, here are some surprising "Breaking Bad" facts.

When "Breaking Bad" debuted in 2008 on AMC, the gritty drama stunned viewers, especially those who knew Bryan Cranston as the goofy father from "Malcolm in the Middle." His chemistry-teacher-turned-meth-maker character, Walter White, became increasingly ruthless as the series continued. 

That wasn't the show's only surprise. Gruesome deaths, twisty plots, and memorable characters all made the show iconic, a legacy that continues over a decade after its end. "Better Call Saul" and a movie, "El Camino," followed, continuing the interest and accolades for "Breaking Bad." 

Here are some fun facts about "Breaking Bad" you may not have known. 

The show was originally set in California instead of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the show used the stark, lonesome desert as the perfect place for hiding secrets — and stacks of cash. That wasn't always the plan, though. 

In a 2010 interview with Slant magazine, Vince Gilligan, the show's creator, said he had originally planned for "Breaking Bad" to be set in Riverside, California.

Then Sony approached him with the idea of moving it to New Mexico because of financial incentives. The state offered tax credits for film and television production, Gilligan said.

They chose to film the show there "for strictly financial reasons," he added.

However, the city's proximity to the Mexico border ended up influencing storylines in later seasons. "I feel like I got very lucky that we wound up there, although it was not originally my decision," Gilligan said. 

"Breaking Bad" boosted Albuquerque's economy and tourism business.

It wasn't just the plot that benefited from setting the show in New Mexico. Albuquerque saw a spike in visitors eager to explore Walter White's haunts. 

The show's now-famous shooting locations continue to be a major draw for tourists from all over the world. Local souvenir shops sell "blue meth" rock candy, "Breaking Bad" t-shirts, and much more. 

A website listing every known filming location in Albuquerque makes it easy for travelers to plan their "Breaking Bad" sightseeing trips.

Top sites include Walter White's house; Saul's office; and Twisters, the restaurant that served as the set for villain Gustavo Fring's Los Pollos Hermanos.  

The real-life house that Walter White lived in is for sale, but the new owners might have to deal with nosy fans.

The filming location for Walter White's house in "Breaking Bad" became a must-see for tourists. For the occupants, the sensation around their modest three-bedroom home became so frustrating that they recently put it up for sale for $4 million. 

For years, the family dealt with tourists taking rocks from the yard or tossing pizzas on the roof, just like Walter White did in a now-iconic scene from the show. 

The owners hope whoever buys the house will embrace the show and its enthusiastic visitors. "I hope they make it what the fans want," owner Joanna Quintana told KOB4, a local NBC affiliate, earlier this month. "They want a B&B. They want a museum. They want access to it. Go for it." 

The iconic shot of Walter White tossing the pizza on the roof of his house was shot in a single take.

During the second season of "Breaking Bad," Walter White famously threw a pizza onto the roof of his home.

While the production team had set aside hours to get the shot, Cranston did it in a single take, he said in a 2012 interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

When fans saw an unsliced pizza swirl into the air and land perfectly on the roof, they wondered what pizza place sells uncut pizza.

In a 2017 Reddit AMA, Gilligan explained that he and the production team knew eagle-eyed fans would catch this, so they added a scene to explain the situation. 

Badger and Skinny Pete show up at Jesse's apartment with a pile of unsliced pizzas. "That's the gimmick," Badger said. "They don't cut the pizza, and they pass the savings on to you."

The DEA consulted on the show, and Cranston shadowed a chemistry professor to get the lingo right.

The show reached out to the US Drug Enforcement Agency to get their input on the show. "But they saw that it might be in their best interest to make sure that we do it correctly," Cranston told High Times in 2012. "So DEA chemists came on board as consultants and taught Aaron Paul and me how to make crystal meth." 

To become even more familiar with the science, Cranston met with the head of the University of Southern California chemistry department. The professor let the actor know they were using some equipment incorrectly, and Gilligan made the changes.

However, the show won't accurately teach you how to make meth.

Walt and Jesse are shown throughout the series making methamphetamine in great detail. However, it's not exactly a step-by-step recipe for viewers.  

In a 2011 interview with NPR, Donna Nelson, an organic chemist and a science advisor to the show, said they eliminated key elements from the process to keep people from attempting to make meth at home. 

"That was actually one of the concerns of a lot of people, but Vince Gilligan has been very clever," Nelson said. "If you just simply followed the one synthesis as it's presented, you wouldn't come out with methamphetamine."

 

 

The bathtub scene didn't pass the "Mythbusters'" tests.

In one of the first season's most memorable scenes, Walt and Jesse used hydrofluoric acid to dissolve a body in a bathtub. In addition to dissolving the body, the acid ate through the tub and ceiling, cascading a massive, disgusting, gloopy mess onto the first floor. 

"Mythbusters" tested the method on pig flesh in 2013. Although hydrofluoric acid broke down the tissue, it didn't liquify it as thoroughly as the episode showed.

Meanwhile, the bathtub and drywall were relatively unaffected by the acid in the "Mythbusters" demonstration. 

Bryan Cranston was not the first choice for the role of Walter White.

Initially, executives offered the role of Walter White to actors Matthew Broderick and John Cusack, The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2012.

Both declined, much to the dismay of executives at AMC and Sony Pictures Television who couldn't get past Cranston's history of comedic roles. 

Gilligan pushed for casting Cranston as the antihero because he had witnessed the actor's range in an episode of "The X-Files." The role was very different from Cranston's work on "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Seinfeld," and his performance left a positive impression on Gilligan. 

"We needed somebody who could be dramatic and scary yet have an underlying humanity so when he dies, you felt sorry for him," Gilligan said of Cranston's part on "The X-Files." "Bryan nailed it."

Gilligan showed executives the tapes of Cranston's performance on the 1990s series, and the rest was history. 

A news story helped inspire the premise for "Breaking Bad."

While most aspects of the show are fictional, the creators took a few elements from real life. 

Gilligan was talking to another writer, Tom Schnauz, who jokingly pitched an idea based on a news article he'd recently read about a man cooking meth in an RV, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gilligan couldn't get the image out of his head, he told Vanity Fair in 2010. 

"The idea of it suddenly struck me as wonderful for a TV show because who would do such a thing?" he told The Hollywood Reporter. "And if he were indeed someone like us — meaning a couple of dopey middle-aged white guys — what would that look like?"

From there, Gilligan took inspiration from the Japanese movie "Ikiru," a fictional story about a man diagnosed with cancer, he told NPR in 2019. 

The name Heisenberg, Walt's alias in the show, does come from real life, though. It's a nod to German physicist and Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg. 

Networks including HBO, Showtime, and FX all passed on "Breaking Bad."

Before the multi-Emmy-award-winning series found a home on AMC, some of the biggest networks passed on the show. 

Reportedly, FX was afraid the show was too similar to its other series featuring male antiheroes. Another exec said the concept sounded a lot like Showtime's "Weeds," which was about a suburban woman who secretly grows and sells marijuana, according to Vanity Fair. 

In 2011, Gilligan called his pitch meeting with HBO one of "the worst" he ever experienced. 

"The woman we're pitching to could not have been less interested — not even in my story, but about whether I actually lived or died," he said. 

"My agents could never even get her on the phone afterward to even say no," he added. 

"Breaking Bad" borrowed some makeup and special effects magic from "The Walking Dead."

For the character Gus Fring's final scene, the makeup department and special-effects team had to create a realistic, half-blown-off face for actor Giancarlo Esposito.

To do so, the crew members from another hit AMC show, "The Walking Dead," helped out.  

"We did have great help from the prosthetic effects folks at 'The Walking Dead'" Gilligan told The New York Times in 2011. "It's a combination of great makeup and great visual effects. And it took months to do."

 

 

"Breaking Bad" producers vetoed a Marvel cameo in their series.

While filming "The Avengers" in New Mexico, Samuel L. Jackson hoped to make a cameo as his Marvel character. Nick Fury would casually enter Los Pollos Hermanos in costume, order food, and leave. 

"I just wanted to order a three-piece and really freak people out," Jackson told IndieWire in 2012. "Then people would be going, 'Wow, was that him?'"

He said the producers of "Breaking Bad" weren't interested.

Walter Jr.'s website SaveWalterWhite.com is real.

During the show's first season Walter White's son, Walt Jr., created a fundraising website called SaveWalterWhite.com to help pay for his dad's cancer treatment.

Walter Sr. then used the website as a way to launder the money he made from selling meth by making consistent, anonymous donations to himself. 

AMC runs the site, which you can still visit. Its "Click Here to Donate" button links to AMC's own website.

Jesse Pinkman was originally going to die in the first season.

Fans may have heard that Gilligan planned to kill off Aaron Paul's character Jesse Pinkman on the ninth episode of the show's first season, but the 2007 writers' strike meant only seven episodes ran.

As a result, Gilligan had time to reconsider killing off Jesse and ultimately keep him on the show. That isn't quite the full story, Gilligan said on a panel in 2011. 

"The writers' strike, in a sense, didn't save him," he said. By episode two, he and the producers and directors all knew Aaron Paul was a great actor and that it "would be a huge, colossal mistake to kill off Jesse." 

Pinkman remained an integral part of all five seasons of the series.

 

Aaron Paul was actually injured while filming a fight scene.

In a 2013 Reddit AMA, Paul shared that he was knocked unconscious, got a concussion, and went to the hospital after a fight scene. 

"Raymond Cruz who played Tuco gave me a concussion," Paul wrote in the AMA. "Tuco takes Jesse and he throws him through the screen door outside, and if you watch it back you'll notice that my head gets caught inside the wooden screen door and it flips me around and lands me on my stomach."

Cruz continued the scene, thinking Paul was acting, kicking his costar then picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder. In reality, "I was pretty much unconscious," Paul wrote. 

In 2023, Cruz told The Mirror that Paul had some of the details wrong. "I'm actually the one who stopped it," he said, explaining that he quickly realized the actor was hurt. 

Viewers can see the moment that Paul was injured because that's the shot featured in the show. 

"It's a crazy take because it's so violent," Cruz said. "The door ripped off its hinges."

Cranston said filming one scene turned him into a "weeping mess."

The season-two scene where Walt purposely watches Jesse's girlfriend, Jane, die was the hardest moment for Cranston to film, he told IndieWire in 2018. 

He said he pictured his own daughter choking as he watched Krysten Ritter act out her character's death.

Once the director cut, Cranston said he was a "weeping mess." He turned to the actor who played Skyler White, his TV wife, for comfort. "Fortunately, you have your family around you, and I went to Anna Gunn, and she held me," he said. 

There's a reason Skyler's sister, Marie, wears so much purple.

Skyler's sister, Marie Schrader, wears and owns a lot of purple items. Her go-to color was no accident, Gilligan told Vulture in 2011. 

"Well, Marie would say purple is the color of royalty," he said. The show often used color to portray certain energies and foreshadow certain fates. 

"We always try to think of the color that a character is dressed in, in the sense that it represents on some level their state of mind," he told the publication. 

For example, Gilligan said Walter's last name is White because it "is the color of vanilla, of blandness."

Cranston has a permanent reminder of the show on his body.

On the final day of filming "Breaking Bad," Cranston got a tattoo of the show's iconic Br/Ba logo.

"We were having a couple of drinks at a bar, and they brought in a tattoo artist and we thought, 'Why not? This is the time to do it,'" he told The Wrap in 2013.

The tattoo is hidden on the inside of his right ring finger. "So every once in a while I catch a glimpse of it and I see that logo from 'Breaking Bad,' and it makes me smile," Cranston told E! News in 2013.

 

 

Aaron Paul also has some mementos from the show.

During a 2016 interview with Seth Meyers, Paul said he took everything he could from the set of "Breaking Bad."

One of the items was the faux severed head of Gus Fring, which Paul said he keeps in his media room. 

The actor also took the license plate from Jesse Pinkman's first car, and he has an iconic Heisenberg hat, he said in a 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly.

This story was originally published on September 16, 2019, and most recently updated on January 17, 2025.

• When I tried a variety of hacks for perfect scrambled eggs, I was impressed by the whirlpool trick.
• My new go-to method involves placing raw eggs in a boiling vortex of water and then straining them.
• The finished scrambled eggs come out super fluffy, creamy, and perfectly cooked every time.

Scrambled eggs are simple to make, but they aren't always easy to get right. They can be rubbery if they're cooked over heat that's even a skosh too high, but they can be goopy and runny with too low of a temperature.

I've tried many different methods for making scrambled eggs just how I like them — light yellow and fluffy with no rubbery or dry texture — but my favorite involves a boiling vortex of water.

It sounds weird, and I was pretty reluctant when I came across this egg-cooking hack online. But once I tried it, I was converted.

All you need is eggs, salt, and boiling water for this relatively simple process

I start the process by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil, as if I was making pasta. Just as the water begins to boil, I crack some eggs into a separate bowl and whisk vigorously for about 30 seconds.

Then, it's time to make a whirlpool. I stir the water clockwise until it's swirling. While the water is still circling the pot, I pour in the whisked eggs and place a lid over them.

I use a glass lid to cover the pot so I can watch the action unfold as the eggs quickly turn stringy.

When I initially tried this method, I thought it was interesting to watch them cook this way, but I was worried — I didn't think eating long strands of eggs sounded particularly appealing.

After straining, these eggs come out light and fluffy with no rubbery texture

After about 20 seconds, I use a strainer to lift the eggs out of the water and into a bowl.

I might have to blot a little extra water out of the eggs, but otherwise, they no longer look stringy and are actually light and fluffy.

I like to add butter, salt, and pepper to the eggs or put them on top of toast. They're creamy, they're not runny, and impressively, they don't make the bread soggy.

Even better, the clean-up process with the whirlpool trick is minimal

Not only do the eggs come out just to my liking and cook quickly, but the cleanup is pretty easy. There's no need to soak and scrape away caked-on scrambled eggs from a pan.

Instead, you're just cleaning up a pan that held mostly water and a strainer — I like to spray mine down immediately after using it to prevent the eggs from sticking.

Perfect eggs and no-fuss dishwashing? I'll be boiling my scrambled eggs with the whirlpool trick from here on out.

This story was originally published on June 2, 2022, and most recently updated on January 17, 2025.

• TikTok might go away. (Or not? Probably not? Who knows!)
• Whatever its fate, TikTok changed how people consume and post to social media.
• The TikTokification of American life isn't going anywhere — even if the app disappears.

Even if TikTok goes away, part of it will be with us forever: It's impossible to erase the TikTokification of the entire internet — or the effect the app has had on, well, everything.

Sure, there are several possibilities now that the Supreme Court has upheld the TikTok ban: One possibility is that TikTok actually goes away in the US on Sunday, existing in history as a strange several-year blip — replaced by either incumbent apps like Instagram and YouTube Shorts, or something new. (RedNote? Probably not, but who knows!)

In the last week, when things were looking pretty dire for TikTok, I started talking to colleagues about what TikTok actually meant — what its legacy meant. And we all realized that, essentially, there were almost no aspects of American life that had been untouched by TikTok. OK, well maybe not EVERYTHING — I'm being a little dramatic here, but it's very easy to rattle off a bunch of industries and corners of culture that were massively changed by TikTok.

Book publishing is one of the perfect examples of a fusty old thing — an industry that's existed for centuries and one that you'd think would be threatened by people's free time being sucked up by a video app. But instead, BookTok became this juggernaut force for selling and marketing books.

The beauty industry, homebuying, restaurants, the customization of Starbucks drinks, the music industry, sorority recruitment — all changed by TikTok.

Still, those various activities had already been disrupted by social media platforms that came before TikTok: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter — even MySpace. But TikTok represented something even more — an entire cultural shift.

TikTok changed us to the online core

As someone who has spent most of my career trying to observe how people act online, I've come to believe there are a few things about TikTok that have changed humans on an almost molecular level. It's changed the way we interact online — which is much bigger than just how lipstick is marketed.

TikTok's algorithmic feed upended all that we had previously understood or enjoyed about social media.

Social media has long been about followers and a direct relationship with the person whose content you're viewing. Before TikTok, follower count was important — and it was rare that a single post would go viral on its own.

TikTok flipped this completely.

It's almost hard to remember now that most other social apps have copied TikTok's "For you page," but this way of organizing your feed was new and almost confusing at first.

Sure, there were still some big creators who had massive followings, but there was a democratization of virality: Suddenly, every high school had a kid who had gone viral at least once on TikTok.

As TikTok grew to be more than just teens dancing, it became understood to everyone using it that if you posted, there was a chance lots of strangers might see your content — even if you weren't a big influencer or famous person. Almost Warholian — in the future, everyone will get 10,000 views on a random TikTok post. "I didn't expect my last post to blow up," is one of the most common intros to a TikTok you'll see.

As people accepted the idea that you might actually be perceived by others on the app, something strange happened. Instead of an Instagram effect where people felt pressure to look their best and put forth an idealized version of their life, people — especially young women — were more willing than I'd ever seen before on social media to post images of themselves looking, uh, not-so-perfect. Lying in bed with unbrushed hair, no makeup, unflattering angles — things you'd never, ever see on Pinterest or Instagram. As a millennial woman raised on Instagram, I admired Gen Z's daring to look like crap on the internet — it was refreshing and honest.

Those changes are here to stay, no matter whether TikTok shuts down for a day, or forever, or is saved by some executive order.

TikTok uncorked something in the way we consume and the way we post — and that's not going back in the bottle.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor didn't intend to find her niche as an actor starring in movies and TV shows about race. But with a long list of credits punctuated by acclaimed projects that tackle the topic head-on, like "When They See Us," "Origin," "The Birth of a Nation," "If Beale Street Could Talk," and the 2023 remake of "The Color Purple," she acknowledges the trend.

"I didn't seek them out," Ellis-Taylor told Business Insider of these types of roles. "But I always sort of end up in them, and I think I've been trying to figure that out, too."

Ellis-Taylor's latest movie, "Nickel Boys," technically fits into this category, putting a warm and empathetic lens on a real-life tragedy. RaMell Ross' film adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel of the same name tells the story of Elwood (Ethan Herisse), a Black boy who's sent to an infamously abusive reform school in 1960s Florida.

Told largely through the eyes of both Elwood and his reform school friend Turner (Brandon Wilson) in a groundbreaking first-person perspective, the film is an intimate and often devastating look at the boys' coming-of-age against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South.

As Elwood's devoted grandmother Hattie, Ellis-Taylor radiates warmth and determination, even when she knows the odds are stacked against her grandson.

Ellis-Taylor suspects that her tendency to get cast in heavy projects like "Nickel Boys" that chronicle racial injustice has something to do with how she spends her time off — a case of art echoing life.

"I'm from Mississippi, and so a lot of what I've done when I'm not acting has been fighting what is essentially a Confederacy that didn't die," said Ellis-Taylor, who spent years advocating for the removal of the Confederate emblem from the Mississippi state flag (it was officially changed in 2021).

"I don't hold my tongue when I see things that I feel are wrong and wrong in a way that the foundation of that wrong is race or caste-related or misogyny-related."

If speaking up has given her a reputation, she's glad for it.

"I think who I am when I'm not working, maybe there are rumors about that," Ellis-Taylor continued. "And that gets to people and they think, 'Okay, maybe we need to hire this crazy lady.'"

For BI's latest Role Play interview, Ellis-Taylor explains why the "Origin" awards-season snub still stings, her decision to criticize queer erasure in "The Color Purple," and the project she's hoping to get off the ground next.

On the disappointing reception to 'Origin' and the burden on Black creatives

Business Insider: Many of your recent films, especially "Nickel Boys" and "Origin," deal with heavy topics, and talking about those subjects invariably comes up on the press tour. How do you navigate that? Does it ever weigh on you?

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: Sometimes it does. I find myself having to be really vigilant about how I respond to things. For example, with both "Origin" and something like "Nickel Boys," you hear things like, "Where is the hope in this?" Because there is a burden on Black makers to provide hope for people.

So when I get questions like that, I have to be really vigilant in saying, "Why are you asking me that? We're talking about a film here. Why is that uniquely the responsibility of a Black filmmaker to provide hope? Why? You're not asking our contemporaries to do that, but it's our responsibility to do that kind of work."

So that can weigh on me, because that's time that I could be answering something else.

Much has been made of "Origin" being snubbed during awards season last year and why that might have happened. I know you and director Ava DuVernay have both spoken before about how frustrating it was for that film to not get the reception it deserved. Is that something that still bothers you?

Yeah, it does. The lovely people that I'm working with on "Nickel Boys," it's hard for me to say to them, "Look, guys, I got a little PTSD going on." You know? Because I was going through this less than a year ago, nine months ago, really, and it still hurts.

A lot of what hurt me is that I know what Ava wanted. She wanted this book, and her film that's based on the book, to be a part of our national discussion about race and caste in this country. And the reality is, films getting awards, it helps it saturate culture. Not just culture, it helps it saturate our political discussions. She wanted "Origin" to be at the center of that.

Not having that kind of result was very disappointing. Not just disappointing for everyone who worked on the film, but I feel that I'm personally disappointed. My disappointment is not just my own personal disappointment, but I feel that to have a conversation, to be able to have the language for the conversation that would've been so beneficial in these last few months, and not to be able to have that because folks didn't know. And folks don't know because folks didn't see it, and folks didn't see it because it wasn't in the awards discussion. It still stings a bit, yeah.

On calling out queer erasure in 'The Color Purple' remake after appearing in the film

After "The Color Purple" remake came out, you criticized how both the 2023 version and the 1985 film downplayed that this is a story about Black lesbians. Why was it important to you to speak out on that?

It's important for me to say that because Alice Walker is a queer woman, and she wrote that. She was writing herself into existence when she wrote "The Color Purple." And I feel that it is a dishonoring of that writing into existence if that is not a priority in any iteration of it.

When we say things like, "It is about Black sisterhood"... that's lovely and wonderful, but it is also about Black women who fall in love with other women, who have sex with other Black women.

And when we're not honest about that and we don't meet that, when we cower and say it's about something else because we don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable, that's homophobic. That's homophobia at its core, and I'm tired of that.

I feel like we have a lot of well-intentioned people who want to do the right thing, who would never claim to be homophobic or bigoted in any sort of way, but if we are like that, we have to be like that in the art that we make. And that is why I have to say that.

And I'm queer. I'm a queer woman. I'm bi, so when I read "The Color Purple," I saw myself. I feel like we're quiet and silent about queer erasure. I just won't do that.

Do you feel like for the story to be told properly, it needs to be told by a Black queer woman?

I think that would be beneficial. I believe that queer people should play queer people. I think too often we have straight people playing queer characters. And I think that queer people can play themselves and should play themselves. I think it's not going to change until we start insisting, until queer folks start insisting on something better.

Did anyone give you a hard time for being critical of the movie after having been in it?

Nobody said anything to me. I don't think people really try to say anything to me too much.

And I'm going to be honest, my critique of the film was about its erasure of queerness, solely. It wasn't about its artistic merits. It wasn't about Ms. Winfrey personally or how I felt I was treated on the film. It didn't have anything to do with that. And I made sure that when I said what I said, the film was out already, all the awards had been announced.

There was nothing that I was going to say that was going to affect the box office or affect its chances. I waited until all of that was over, because the reality is when you do say critical things like that, it affects how the film is seen in the world.

I feel that I owed it to those young women who were in that movie, for them to have the fullness of the experience, the joy of being in "The Color Purple," and I didn't want to shed any sort of negative light on that at all. So I waited until all of that was over, and then I had to say that because it was important to say that. And I hope my queer community joins me, and when they see that, that they speak up as well. It's not going to be different until we do.

On her first Oscar nomination and writing her own stories

You got your first Oscar nomination in 2022 for "King Richard." In 2024, you had four films released. Do you feel like the nomination changed the types of roles you were being offered, or boosted your career?

Well, I think 2022 and the end of 2021, yeah, things changed. Things changed quite a bit. It was like a five-year period leading up, a couple years leading up to that, things started changing. I was doing some stuff that I had never really done before.

As far as the types of roles, I think it's consistent. I don't have people that are knocking on my door throwing scripts at me. I just think that the diversity of the kind of work that I would choose to do, I would like to do, it's not as varied as I would want in terms of what is being offered to me.

But my response to that is I have to write that into existence, and so that's what I'm trying to do now.

What types of projects are you writing now?

Well, one of the things is writing a story about Rosetta Tharpe. It feels like every other year there's a story about Elvis or Bob Dylan. And I think that Rosetta Tharpe created rock 'n' roll, so we need some stories about Rosetta Tharpe and the movement of music that she made inside and outside of the church, and then her blending both of those.

That's the story of American music, and I think it's fascinating. She's a woman. She's a queer woman. She had a relationship with the woman who she was singing with. It is a fascinating story. I want to see that onscreen.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

"Nickel Boys" is now in theaters.

More from this series

• Guy Pearce on the one bad job that made him swear off doing blockbuster movies
• Niecy Nash-Betts feels bad about making out with Glen Powell in front of his mom
• Billy Bob Thornton ad-libbed his famous 'Friday Night Lights' speech after being betrayed

• I've followed the Mediterranean diet for over 20 years while living in Crete, Greece. 
• I eat some things in moderation, but I don't cut out certain food groups and snacks. 
• Olive oil and lemons are Mediterranean-diet staples that I like to embrace.

The Mediterranean diet is suspected to have started in Crete, Greece, the historically rich island where I've had my home base for the past 20 years. 

This plant-heavy diet, which involves eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, and healthy fats like olive oil, is believed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, improve brain function, and increase life expectancy.

With a focus on seasonal foods, traditional options, and local products, this power-packed way of eating has become increasingly popular.

Your mindset is as important as what you eat

Here in Crete, "siga siga," which translates to "slowly, slowly," is not just something commonly said, it's a way of life.

Meals can last for three hours, and I siesta from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. most days and then often spend my evenings drinking coffee and chatting with friends. 

A laid-back pace of life is just as important as eating well, so make sure to surround yourself with people and take the time to enjoy your food.

Snack when you're hungry

A common misconception is that you can't snack while embracing a new diet, but in Crete, I've found that munching is welcome at all hours of the day. 

Although potato chips and sugary drinks aren't a kitchen staple of mine, I regularly enjoy cucumbers chopped into bite-sized chunks, tomatoes sprinkled with sea salt, and crunchy dakos, whole-wheat, open-face sliders drizzled with olive oil. 

Use olive oil for everything

Saturated and trans fats may have adverse health effects, but I banished butter and margarine from my pantry years ago as a matter of taste.  

These days, I make everything from carrot cake to mashed potatoes with olive oil. It's not just because extra-virgin olive oil is a major component of the Mediterranean diet, but it also gives food a much richer flavor. 

On top of its wholesome taste, this oil is rich in antioxidants that are said to help protect the body from cellular damage.

I also prepare herb-flavored options by bottling oil with fresh basil or rosemary sprigs. So when I'm hungry for a treat, I drizzle this tasty alternative over a few cubes of whole-grain bread served with fresh cucumber.

Don't deny yourself the foods you enjoy

For me, the Mediterranean diet is not about denying yourself the foods you love — it's about enjoying them in moderation.

Eating the occasional dose of poultry, eggs, and dairy is fine. After all, how could anyone resist a bowl of deliciously creamy Greek yogurt drizzled with local honey and topped with a handful of nuts? 

I've noticed that meat is also on the menu in most Cretan homes, but since there's not much room for larger animals like cows to graze on this arid atoll, a lot of people eat other options such as lamb or goat.

Plus drinking wine in moderation is a welcome accompaniment to the Mediterranean diet. 

If life throws you lemons, use them

It's great to eat vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats, but you should also make sure to fill your cupboard with lemons. 

Like several of my neighbors, I have a lemon tree growing at the bottom of my garden, and I use this vitamin-C-packed fruit with just about everything. 

You can add a wedge to your first glass of water in the morning, mix lemon juice with extra-virgin olive oil to pour over your salad, or squeeze a few drops into your chunky lentil-soup supper — I guarantee you'll be hooked.

Swap out chocolate and cake for fruit and honey 

I love whole grains and vegetables, but I sometimes find myself missing chocolates and cookies. But I've learned to curve my sugar cravings by adding plenty of fruit into my diet.

After a meal at a Cretan restaurant, you'll nearly always be offered a bowl of sweet Bing cherries, a platter of juicy chilled watermelon, or a gleaming bunch of grapes picked fresh from the vine, depending on the time of year. 

When I need a midmorning snack, I head straight toward the fruit basket, so I also make sure to stock my fridge with dried prunes and apricots.

Plan your meals ahead of time

Like most people I know, I have a busy life and don't always have time to prepare healthy dishes. So my solution is to have a whiteboard that I use every Sunday to plan out my meals for the week. 

Once I know what I'm eating each day, I prep some of the basic ingredients — like whole-wheat pastries, lentils, beans, tomato sauce, or chickpeas — and put them in the freezer.

Then when I want to cook one of the dishes on my list — such as my favorite Mediterranean lentil soup with sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, onions, and garlic — I just defrost my main ingredients and add the rest.

Don't be afraid to forage your own food

There are as many as 300 different wild, edible greens in Crete, so foraging is a popular pastime. 

When I first moved to Greece's largest island, I'd see my neighbors coming home from the fields with bags full of greens. And soon enough, I learned to recognize dozens of these edible plants and how to prepare them, like lightly steaming and dressing them with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Foraging for food is a great way to eat mineral-rich greens and stay on your feet.

You might not find anise-scented fennel or wild oregano growing in your backyard, but dandelion, purslane, and sorrel are common finds — just make sure to harvest them in a non-polluted spot. 

Don't call it a diet

For me, the Mediterranean diet is not a fad, it's a lifestyle choice that involves making the most of the foods that are available in a sustainable way.

While respecting the environment, you also learn to savor the flavors of sun-rich tomatoes, fiery garlic cloves, and tree-plucked lemons. 

Once I started the Mediterranean diet, I never wanted to eat in any other way again.

This story was originally published in February 2021, and most recently updated on January 17, 2025.

• Elle Fanning often takes fashion risks on the red carpet.
• The "A Complete Uknown" actor has worn see-through outfits and looks with plunging necklines.
• Most recently, she wore a leopard-print dress with a thigh-high slit.

Elle Fanning is almost as well known for her style as she is for her acting résumé.

She's often included in best-dressed lists, from her on-theme Met Gala outfits to glamorous awards show ensembles.

Fanning has also experimented with daring looks as her career has progressed, wearing gowns with plunging necklines and embracing sheer fabric.

Check out some of Fanning's boldest looks to date.

Elle Fanning was photographed in a black crop top during a day out in Cannes, France, in 2017.

She paired the halter top with a pink jacket and an orange skirt. A white bag and black heels completed the look.

Fanning walked the red carpet at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival in a green dress with a plunging neckline and low back.

Fanning's green silk Gucci gown was almost entirely sheer and embroidered with sparkly floral detailing.

Oversize flowers decorated the hem of the dress.

At the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, Fanning arrived in a pink lace dress with a sheer corset.

The Alexander McQueen dress was covered in delicate lace, and the sheer, dropped-waist corset offset the high-low skirt.

She accessorized the look with sparkly pink heels.

She wore another pink look to a Miu Miu fashion show in July 2017.

The dress was covered in oversize sequins and featured a plunging neckline and midriff cutout.

Fanning matched her silver heels to the crystal-lined neckline detail of the Miu Miu dress.

Fanning's custom Miu Miu dress for the September 2018 Deauville American Film Festival had cutouts on the bodice.

The gown's bodice was yellow and trimmed with silver sequins, forming a bow in the center.

The white, tulle skirt flowed out into a train behind her.

She chose a sequined Valentino dress for the September 2018 world premiere of "Teen Spirit."

The sparkly navy dress had a deep neckline trimmed with pink and silver stripes.

She accessorized the dress with red satin heels.

At the May 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Fanning turned heads in a floral-print Valentino gown.

The gown had a full skirt and train, as well as ruffled sleeves.

Fanning wore Chopard jewelry and Sophia Webster shoes at the "Les Miserables" premiere.

She attended the August 2019 D23 Expo in a head-to-toe pink look.

Fanning arrived at the event in a sheer Kimhekim blouse and skirt held together by an oversize pink satin bow.

She completed her look with a pink corset and pointed-toe heels in a lighter shade of pink.

Fanning wore a chic yellow dress with a daring twist for a March 2019 Miu Miu fashion show.

The dress hit Fanning at her ankles, and both the skirt and the plunging neckline were trimmed with ruffled fabric.

She paired the floral-print dress with pointed metallic silver heels.

Fanning's dress for the March 2019 iHeart Radio Music Awards looked almost see-through.

The pale-pink dress from Miu Miu featured sequins on the halter bodice, which formed cutouts on the sides. The tulle skirt flowed to the floor and featured subtle sparkles.

Fanning wore the gown with Tiffany & Co. jewelry.

Fanning wore Gucci at a February 2020 screening of the film "All the Bright Places."

Fanning's flared jumpsuit featured a fun petal cutout on the bodice. She paired the black ensemble with a floral Gucci choker and black heels.

At the November 2021 LACMA Art + Film Gala, Fanning wore a sheer black gown with cutouts across her torso and sleeves.

Fanning's Gucci dress had an open back, a high neckline, and a full skirt.

At the November 2021 InStyle Awards, Fanning wore a gold and diamond cropped top.

The actor's Balmain top, designed to look like a gold chain, left Fanning's back completely open.

She wore the top with a low-rise, black skirt.

Fanning arrived at the January 2023 Critics Choice Awards in an off-the-shoulder dress from Alexander McQueen.

The cream dress was designed with ruffles and floral embroidery. It flared around Fanning's hips, cinching in again for an asymmetrical look.

Cutouts decorated the dress, and the sweetheart neckline sat low on Fanning's chest. Gold shoes completed the look.

She wore a black bodysuit to an H&M event in September 2023.

The bodysuit's top looked like a bra, and sheer black lace covered Fanning's stomach.

She paired the daring top with black, wide-legged pants, a matching jacket, and silver shoes.

Fanning walked a L'Oreal runway in a pale-yellow dress with a low neckline in October 2023.

The Georges Chakra dress hugged Fanning's figure, and it was embroidered with textured embellishments.

The draped neckline scooped all the way to Fanning's navel, and she wore gold shoes with the look.

Fanning's Balmain dress for the May 2024 Met Gala looked made from glass.

For the "Garden of Time" Met Gala, Fanning wore a form-fitting dress with a neckline that flowed into birds on each shoulder.

The glass-like material was see-through, and it flowed into a tulle train.

Fanning opted for another sheer dress for the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024.

The long-sleeve Gucci gown was covered in a sunflower pattern from head to toe.

The gauzy sleeves and skirt flowed around Fanning, offsetting the plunging neckline that cinched her waist.

She jumped on the shirtless suit trend at the Tony Awards in June 2024.

Fanning chose a loose-fitting suit from Saint Laurent for the event.

The single-button jacket bared her chest, and she paired the black suit with pointed-toe heels.

Fanning wore another all-black look to the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards in November 2024.

Dior designed her knee-length black dress, which cinched at the waist and was framed by cutouts on the sides.

The neckline formed a deep V, and the latex sleeves formed gloves. Black heels completed the look.

Fanning's floral-patterned gown for the Governors Awards in November 2024 looked ethereal.

The sage-green dress from Valentino featured long sleeves and a low neckline, and the hem and sleeves were trimmed with fuzzy fabric.

Fanning wore a coordinating shrug over the gown, adding volume to the look.

For the Gotham Film Awards in December 2024, Fanning walked the red carpet in a Dior gown.

The deep-green dress had an A-line silhouette, and the bodice was made of crisscrossing fabric, creating subtle cutouts.

The pleated skirt was semi-sheer, showing glimpses of Fanning's legs throughout the night.

In December 2024, Fanning attended the premiere of "A Complete Unknown" in a white, backless Gucci dress.

The column dress had a square neckline trimmed with silver embellishments and a bow in the center.

The straps were made of the same fabric and flowed onto Fanning's back in a square pattern.

A delicate train flowed out, adding glamour to the look.

Fanning chose a leopard-print dress for a Golden Globes after-party in January 2025.

Fanning's dress for the 2025 Golden Globes featured a leopard bodice, and she nodded to the look with her vintage Dior gown at the after-party.

The form-fitting dress had spaghetti straps adorned with red bows and a thigh-high slit cut up the skirt. A coordinating scarf completed the sultry look.