• Booking a room at the front of the ship was my biggest regret on my first cruise.
• On Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas, I learned that rooms at the front are bumpier than others.
• I booked the front room of deck eight and felt seasick for most of my voyage.

The first night of my first cruise was terrifying. The floor trembled beneath me as I was startled by booming noises that sounded like the crashing of heavy items on decks above and below mine.

Determined to stay awake and prepared for disaster, I sat stiffly on the couch. I read the emergency instructions over and over for what felt like hours until I accidentally fell asleep.

When I woke up, I rushed out the door to ensure everything was all right. As seemingly unfazed cruisers filled the buffet and lined up for the water slides, I realized I'd experienced a normal night at sea.

This was back in April 2022 when I booked a room on one of the largest cruise ships in the world, Royal Caribbean's 18-deck Wonder of the Seas.

For $2,000, I spent seven nights in a 179-square-foot ocean-view stateroom at the very front of deck eight. It was a mid-tier room — a step above the windowless interior staterooms, a step below staterooms with a balcony, and two steps below a suite.

I unknowingly booked a room where movement on the ship felt the strongest

After my first rocky night aboard the ship, I wondered whether everyone had the same experience. So, I talked to some fellow passengers who were seasoned cruisers. They told me that the front of the ship is one of the worst places to be if you're often seasick. They said that higher decks in the middle of the ship feel calmer and more stable.

Since my room on the 18-deck ship was situated at the front of the eighth floor, I felt constant motion in my room. As someone who gets motion sickness from the slightest movement of bathwater, this spoiled many aspects of my first cruise. 

Some nights were rockier than others. On the roughest nights, I heard and felt a similar sensation to thunder beneath me every few minutes. Loud thumps and heavy vibrations in my room sounded like large pieces of furniture falling.

During the days at sea, it was especially challenging for me to eat and participate in activities. And I didn't feel rested for my excursions at port stops, which included hikes in the sun.

Some cabins can be rockier than others, like those situated at the front of the cruise ship

Cruise passengers prone to motion sickness should book a room in the middle of the ship to feel the least amount of rocking.

I wish I'd researched how the location of a cabin can affect the amount of motion you feel while the ship is moving before booking my cruise. Next time, I'd choose a room in the middle of the ship.

• When it comes to fashion, Dakota Johnson has a chic and seemingly effortless style.
• However, the "Fifty Shades of Grey" star also regularly experiments with daring looks.
• She's worn sheer dresses, plunging necklines, mismatched shoes, and more.

If you somehow haven't noticed, Dakota Johnson has been everywhere lately.

She made multiple appearances at the Cannes Film Festival in May, has since been photographed all over New York City, and has appeared on multiple late-night talk shows this month.

The 35-year-old actor has, of course, been promoting her film "Materialists," which she stars in alongside Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans.

All the while, she's stood out in her signature style: chic, effortless outfits that are also quite bold. Here's a look at the most daring looks she's worn lately, and ones she's donned in the past.

Dakota Johnson's bold red-carpet style can be traced back to her 2012 appearance at a GQ party.

For the event, she wore a long-sleeved lace top over a black bra and tucked the former into high-waisted leather pants.

By 2013, she was already elevating her daring fashion.

At the LACMA Art + Film Gala that year, she wore a black Gucci dress with multiple daring elements. It had netted sleeves up top, golden feathers across her chest, and green fringe on her skirt.

The actor showed the playful side of her style in 2015.

While in New York City, she wore a fuzzy green vest over a tan jumpsuit. And she didn't stop there.

Johnson also wore strappy heels and sunglasses that made the casual outfit look dramatic and glam.

For the UK premiere of "Fifty Shades of Grey," Johnson wore a striking Saint Laurent gown.

The white dress had thin straps and a plunging neckline embellished with crystals.

She then attended the 2015 Venice Film Festival in a backless, blush-colored gown.

The Prada design hugged her body in the front and revealed her tattoos on her back.

Johnson embraced sheer fashion again for the 2015 "Trumbo" premiere.

She walked the red carpet that night in a black velvet gown with sheer sleeves and matching mesh panels across her waist and legs.

Plunging necklines remained a staple of the actor's wardrobe in 2017.

At the "Fifty Shades Darker" premiere that year, Johnson arrived in a shapeless Valentino gown with a V-neckline that plunged below her chest.

A few weeks later, she went full metallic for the Oscars.

Her gold Gucci gown was made from satin. It had a high pleated neckline, long sleeves, and an oversize bow at the waist.

She then stood out at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards in a semi-sheer Gucci gown.

The skin-revealing design was made from black tulle, Swarovski crystals, and recycled brass.

Johnson embraced the "no-shirt" trend at the 2017 Hollywood Film Awards.

She wore a vibrant red suit jacket with no shirt underneath, matching trousers, and a diamond choker. Equally daring were her mismatched heels, which had giant crystals on one shoe but not the other.

In 2018, the actor put a glamorous twist on the sheer trend at the Venice Film Festival.

She wore a strapless Dior gown made from lace with a corset-style bodice and sheer skirt.

She later opted for a dramatic gown at the Marrakech Film Festival.

Johnson wore a Givenchy look with brown fabric surrounding its asymmetrical metallic bodice and a matching silver belt.

Johnson swapped her usual gowns for a bold minidress in 2019.

She walked the red carpet at "The Peanut Butter Falcon" screening in a Saint Laurent design. It featured a large bow as a top, a triangle cutout at the chest, and all-over crystal designs.

Johnson wore one of her most daring and stunning looks at the 2021 Venice Film Festival.

Her silver Gucci gown had a plunging neckline, a see-through bodice and skirt, and crystal fringe.

The see-through corset she wore to "The Lost Daughter" premiere was also bold.

Johnson paired it with leather pants, pointed pumps, and a diamond necklace.

However, she took her daring fashion to another level the next day.

While meeting fans in New York City, Johnson was photographed wearing a cream-colored dress with a high slit in its skirt that almost reached her hips.

In November 2021, Johnson attended a fashion show in a fringe minidress.

Her Gucci frock was held together by sparkling belts strapped across her chest, and matched her Gucci-logo tights.

She wore Gucci again in December 2021. The look was even more eye-catching than her last.

She wore pink satin pants — they were so wide they resembled a skirt — and a cropped, crystal-covered top that was sleeveless with a deep V-neckline.

At the 2022 Met Gala, Johnson wore a see-through catsuit made from black lace.

The "naked" design from Gucci was covered with long silver fringe and delicate sparkles.

To kick off 2023, Johnson wore her own version of a Canadian tuxedo.

The Magda Butrym look included a denim bustier, a matching trench coat, and baggy jeans.

She went the opposite direction in May that year.

For a Gucci runway show, Johnson wore black lingerie underneath a see-through slip dress and monogrammed coat.

In 2024, Johnson wore the most sheer gown of her career.

At the "Madame Web" premiere, Johnson sported a custom chainmail gown from Gucci that sparkled in the light. It was sleeveless, plunged at the neckline, and see-through.

Though the gown did appear to have a small lining, it matched the actor's skin tone perfectly and created the illusion that she was only wearing the crystal links.

Johnson is still staying loyal to sheer clothes in 2025.

In early June, she was photographed walking around New York City in a maroon bodysuit beneath a black tulle dress.

The latter had long sleeves, a wrapped neckline, and a flared skirt, making for a classic silhouette. However, it was entirely see-through.

• Amazon's retail business won't grow its hiring budget this year.
• An Amazon spokesperson said the company is still hiring.
• CEO Andy Jassy's cost-cutting measures aim to boost profit margins and operational efficiency.

Amazon's retail business is locking down its hiring budget.

According to an internal email, this major part of the company will keep a "flat headcount opex," or operating expenses, this year compared to 2024. Headcount operating expense refers to employee salaries plus their stock-based compensation, the email noted.

The update was shared earlier this year by a finance leader in Amazon's retail unit. This executive explained that any increase in the hiring budget will be "scrutinized" and require "strong supporting reasons." Business Insider obtained copy of the email.

The retail business is also shifting from managing "opex targets versus headcount targets," according to the email. That likely means managers now have a strict predefined budget allocated to their teams, instead of specific headcount targets when hiring.

These changes only apply to corporate employees in Amazon's retail business. They do not apply to staff working in Amazon warehouses and in the company's cloud division, Amazon Web Services.

The retail organization includes everything from Amazon's online marketplace to its logistics arm and Fresh grocery business.

In an email to BI, Amazon spokesperson Zoe Hoffman said this is the "responsible way" to grow a company of its size, and stressed that not growing the hiring budget in a given year is not the same as not hiring. Amazon continues to hire across the company, she added.

"Each of Amazon's many businesses has its own approach to hiring based on its individual needs," Hoffman added in a statement. "However, across the company, we've historically considered both the number of people we need to hire and the associated costs — that is, Operating Expenses or OpEx — of those hiring decisions."

The move underscores CEO Andy Jassy's relentless push for increased efficiency and higher profit margins.

Since taking over in 2021, he's slashed jobs, revamped pay, trimmed management layers, and even reconsidered Amazon's product listing approach, all in the name of saving money and driving efficiency. Amazon reported record profit of $59 billion in 2024, nearly double its 2023 result.

Holding the hiring budget steady could encourage Amazon retail managers to get smarter and more flexible with compensation expenses. HR professionals say budget-based planning offers tighter financial control than headcount targets. That can be useful in uncertain business environments.

Staying within limits

The email said Amazon retail CEO Doug Herrington inspected operating expenses "very closely throughout the last two years." The retail organization also recently launched new financial reporting and analysis tools for tracking headcount and operating expenses. Some of the new features include the ability to plan headcount mix by job level, technical skills, and tenure, according to the email.

Amazon has been on a yearslong cost-cutting spree. After booming during the pandemic, the online retail and cloud giant's growth slowed, triggering cutbacks in warehouse growth and the closure of some experimental ventures.

Headcount has also leveled off. The company doubled its workforce to 1.6 million from 2019 to 2021, but that number dipped to 1.55 million last year. Amazon has cut at least 27,000 employees since late 2022.

Managing headcount instead of a hiring budget lets managers bring on high-cost talent without worrying much about salary, David Kryscynski, a human resources professor at Rutgers, told BI. But with a fixed labor budget, he said, managers are more likely to stay within financial limits, either by hiring less or opting for lower-cost candidates.

This model also gives managers more staffing flexibility, said Shaun Pichler, a management professor at California State University, Fullerton. Without headcount targets, they can bring on cheaper contractors or temporary workers. And they're not pressured to spend the full budget, often resulting in leaner teams.

"Tech firms have more widely adopted OpEx targets post-pandemic for largely the same reasons — high labor costs, reduced revenues, and to give managers more flexibility," Pichler said.

Amazon's retail arm remains laser-focused on cutting costs. At an internal all-hands meeting earlier this year, retail chief Doug Herrington told employees that belt-tightening would likely extend into 2025, even as the company pours money into major investments elsewhere, BI previously reported.

"We have to keep reducing costs so that we can afford the big investments in big new businesses," Herrington said.

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• The Defense Department is sending another destroyer, USS Cole, to the southern border mission.
• Cole is the latest destroyer to go from the Red Sea conflict to America's backyard.
• The warship is one of the many military assets the White House has sent to the US-Mexico border.

A fourth US Navy destroyer that participated in the Red Sea conflict is on its way to support President Donald Trump's southern border mission, bringing a range of advanced naval combat capabilities to a very different operating environment.

The Navy announced Friday that the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Cole had left its homeport in Florida to support US Northern Command's "border security objectives."

The Trump administration has made cracking down on maritime-related criminal activity, including weapons smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal immigration, a top priority, and the Defense Department has sent military assets to the US-Mexico border. Among these assets are five destroyers and a littoral combat ship on staggered deployments.

Cole, like the other warships, is set to be accompanied by a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment. They specialize in military operations at sea, such as counterterrorism, counterpiracy, and anti-immigration missions.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like the Cole are advanced naval surface ships with robust communications and sensor suites and are suited for long-endurance missions. These vessels can be armed with surface-to-air and land-attack missiles. Other armaments include the ship's five-inch deck gun, machine guns, and a Phalanx Close-In Weapons System.

The Navy said that the Cole's deployment to the southern border "aims to enhance maritime security and support interagency collaboration in the region through presence operations" and the support of the Coast Guard operators, who can perform vessel boardings, searches, and seizures to target drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and maritime criminal activity.

Cole's new assignment makes it the latest destroyer to go from the Red Sea conflict, where it defended international shipping lanes from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, to patrolling the waters near the US-Mexico border.

It follows in the footsteps of USS Gravely, USS Stockdale, and USS Spruance, which all had extensive Middle East deployments last year.

When the Cole arrives in the Gulf of Mexico, which the Trump administration has renamed the Gulf of America, it will be one of two destroyers actively participating in the mission. The other warship, USS Sampson, departed its homeport in San Diego a few days ago and will be operating in the Pacific Ocean.

• Eileen Perry, 57, was unemployed and struggling to buy groceries and pay her bills.
• She turned to a company that gives homeowners cash in exchange for a share of the home's future sale price.
• Perry will owe thousands when she sells her home, but says the relief she has now makes it worth it.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Eileen Perry, a 57-year-old from North Carolina. Perry entered a home equity agreement with the financial services company Unlock to access her home equity. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm originally from New Jersey, where I lived with my husband and my son. In 2023, my husband passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer. He left me well-off enough that I was able to buy a home in North Carolina for $260,000 outright, in cash.

Unfortunately, timing is everything. I had an on-the-job injury; I broke my back, and I'm still suffering from back issues. I'm currently waiting for my permanent disability Social Security, so I have no income. My son, who lives with me — he's 27 — is also disabled and unable to work right now. So the two of us have no income.

We've been in North Carolina for almost two years, and my sister has supported us. But I didn't want to keep relying on her. I knew I owned 100% of my home's equity and thought, "Maybe there's something I can do with this."

I tried to get a home equity loan, or a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). But because I have no income, and had fallen behind on all my credit cards and bills, my credit score took a major dive. I couldn't qualify. I even tried to get a loan with a cosigner, but my application was denied.

It felt like everyone was closing a door in my face, but I still thought, "There has to be someone out there who can help me."

An HEA was the right solution for me

I was scouring the internet when a home equity company, Unlock, popped up. I started researching home equity agreements and thought it could be a perfect fit for me.

Unlock's home equity agreement (HEA) is different from a loan, HELOC, or reverse mortgage, which typically has an age requirement. Instead of owning the deed or title to a home, they place a lien on the property.

Homeowners access their equity by receiving an investment payment from Unlock. In exchange, the company receives a percentage of the home's value.

There are no monthly payments, and homeowners can buy out their agreement at any point within 10 years, either with partial payments or all at once. For many homeowners, the equity buy-back happens when they sell their home.

To qualify for an agreement, I needed a valid ID, proof of ownership of my home, and a credit score of at least 500, which was great for me. I also needed current and up-to-date homeowner's insurance.

My $45,000 home equity agreement became effective in September 2024. After paying $2,205 to Unlock for an origination fee, $340 for the home's appraisal, and $720 for settlement costs, I received $41,735 in October for my first HEA.

In May 2025, I needed more funds for day-to-day expenses, so I canceled the original HEA balance and replaced it with a new HEA agreement totaling $93,500.

My funds have paid off outstanding property taxes and other bills I wouldn't have been able to cover. They also helped us afford everyday expenses like groceries and gas. I finally have peace of mind and can sleep at night.

An HEA has changed my life for the better

It's been almost two years since my husband passed away. There were days when I didn't know how my son and I were going to eat, whether we would be sitting in the dark, or where we were going to live.

Having a home equity agreement has truly been a gift — call it divine intervention.

I'm now selling my house to move back to New Jersey. Of course, certain things are required to put your home on the market or pass inspection, like having an air conditioning system and bathrooms with good plumbing.

In February, the plumbing in my house went out completely. I had no shower or toilet for almost two months. The bathrooms had to be completely remodeled because of severe water damage. The influx of money helped me pay for a new line when my homeowner's insurance wouldn't cover it. That line alone cost nearly $6,000, just for the plumbing.

Without the money from the home equity agreement, I doubt I'd be able to sell my home.

In May, my home was appraised at $290,000. Since I received a $93,500 investment — about 32.24% of the home's value — if I sell this month, I'd owe about $94,000 of my home's equity.

Initially, my friends and family were hesitant about me taking on a home equity agreement because they feared I might get a much higher interest rate, or they were concerned about how I was going to pay the money back.

But I knew I wasn't going to be staying in North Carolina forever, and putting my house on the market was going to be the next option. I didn't think getting an HEA agreement would be a problem because I would have a profit left over after I sold my home.

This experience has been life-changing.

Unlock was not involved in the writing of this story. The views contained within represent the author's personal views.

• This post originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter.
• Sign up for the weekly BI Tech Memo newsletter here.

It's getting clearer who the winners will be in key parts of the generative AI race, according to Elad Gil, a top startup investor.

"In coding, it seems like it's consolidated into 2 or 3 players," he said recently on my favorite AI podcast, "No Priors."

He highlighted Cursor, Codium (now called Qodo), Cognition AI (the startup behind Devin), and Microsoft's GitHub Copilot.

A clear sign of progress in the tech industry is when a giant platform decides to use an outside service rather than its own product. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and others have thousands of engineers who can whip up new tech pretty well. So it's a major signal when these companies decide that, no, their home-grown stuff may not be enough.

This is happening with Cursor, an AI coding tool from startup Anysphere. Amazon is working on making this available to its employees, according to a scoop this week from Business Insider's Eugene Kim.

Amazon already has its own AI coding assistant, Q, and is developing a more advanced tool codenamed "Kiro." So this is a notable move for a company that had warned employees about using third-party AI tools.

Google has its own internal AI coding tools, too. And yet, CEO Sundar Pichai said this week he's been messing around with Cursor and a similar service called Replit, building a custom webpage for himself.

Software engineering is evolving from a specialized skill into something that non-technical folks can try. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang likes to say that everyone is a programmer now. Instead of learning complex coding languages, we can create digital things using plain English.

Still, some AI coding tools require more expertise than others. Cursor is an IDE, or integrated developer environment, a common setup for pro software engineers. Replit and another coding tool called Bolt.new work in a browser and are considered more user-friendly for novices.

Pichai made the distinction this week, saying he uses Cursor, and has "vibe coded with Replit." Vibe coding is a hot new phrase for some of these easier-to-use tools. A good rule of thumb: If you didn't know what IDE stands for, you probably aren't ready for Cursor! Here are more tips.

• This is a portion of Business Insider's Tech Memo newsletter.
• To read the full newsletter, sign up here.

Each week in Business Insider's Tech Memo newsletter, I try an AI tool. What do you think of this one? What should I do, or use, next week? Let me know.

This week, I tested Granola, an AI notetaking assistant. I fired it up for an interview with Raj Sharma, a bigwig at consulting giant EY. Coincidentally, he said his wife uses Granola to transcribe her interactions with patients.

Installing it on my MacBook was easy. It synced with my Google work calendar, launched a Microsoft Teams video call, and prompted me to start recording — all smooth and fast. My prepared questions were saved in the app, but I couldn't easily access them during the call. I defaulted to a Google Doc, wishing the notes had appeared more intuitively as the interview began.

Granola's post-interview features impressed me. It provided a thematic summary with expandable sections and action items, based partly on my prepared questions and any notes I jotted down while Raj was speaking. I asked it to find a quote from Raj about AI being a "welcome relief," and it delivered. I made sure to go back and check the exact phrasing. For that, I needed the full transcript. This was pretty good, although Raj's comments and my questions were sometimes misattributed to the wrong speaker.

What shocked me: Granola doesn't record audio of meetings. This is a dealbreaker for journalists who need to verify quotes precisely. I used Apple's Voice Memos app alongside Granola for the essential raw audio backup.

Granola is sleek, smart, and promising. But for now, it's missing one essential thing for me: the truth in someone's own voice.

Postscript

After sending out the Tech Memo newsletter this morning, I tracked down emails from Vicky Firth, who leads customer experience at Granola. She kindly answered my annoying questions!

Here's what she said on the lack of I asked why Granola doesn't provide audio recordings.

"We never store the audio recordings and that's a deliberate decision for a few reasons. Firstly, we're aware that whatever platform you're on for your call already does this, and we don't feel the need to duplicate this functionality — we've optimised Granola to be able to make great summaries of meetings, so that's what we're laser-focused on, and the transcripts are enough to allow it to do that well. We want to make sure Granola can stay simple and great at what it does best."

"Another set of reasons is around data security: we want to make sure we're only capturing what's necessary to make those great notes, such that we're not holding on to more sensitive information than is necessary. We hear feedback on both sides — some users would love us to store the recordings, but others email us wanting to make sure we don't! The transcripts again feel like enough here."

I suggested that this is kind of a dealkiller for those who need to verify exactly what people say. I also asked why Granola doesn't just offer this as a default feature but add a clear button to switch audio recording off when users want that?

Firth's reply makes good sense, and it's a real window into how startups operate and the hard product decisions they must make while building efficiently.

"It's probably not the best solution if you're someone who needs very specific quotes on a regular basis, and another product is probably more suited if that's what you're after as your primary output. We do get requests for it, but at the moment (especially while we're such a small team and have to be ruthless with prioritising!) we're trying to focus on functionality that helps make great summarised notes, helps you share those notes with your team, and help you all get insights to do your work better on a higher level. It means we sadly have a long, long list of things that we have to park for now!"

Here's how Elon Musk and Donald Trump's friendship unraveled publicly on Thursday, June 5, over a tax bill dispute.

• Andreessen Horowitz's power move has sparked drama at New York Tech Week.
• Partiful is now the only official events platform, and it's caused some headaches.
• The venture capital titan is an investor in Partiful but not in competitor Luma.

Venture capital juggernaut Andreessen Horowitz (A16z) pulled a power move at this year's Tech Week — and it's become the conference's most compelling niche drama.

Tech Week, whose current iteration was started by A16z in 2022, returned to New York City this month with a full calendar of events just as the city started heating up for summer. The conference's "decentralized" nature means anyone can throw an event and apply to have it added to the official calendar, provided they follow a set of rules.

However, one of this year's new rules has drawn criticism from some organizers and attendees: Official tech week events must use Partiful.

"The only official events platform this year is Partiful," the 2025 Tech Week guide says.

That's left Luma, a competing events platform popular at previous iterations of Tech Week, out in the cold. Versions of Tech Week's events FAQ document from 2023 and 2024 said events could use either Luma or Partiful.

And here's what's gotten tongues wagging: A16z is invested in Partiful, but not in Luma.

"I get the Partiful push this year. It's a portfolio company. Of course they're gonna try to make it the default," Olivia O'Sullivan, a partner and COO at Forum VC, wrote in a LinkedIn post critiquing the platform that led to a barrage of comments.

"Hot take: next year, the people should take back NY Tech Week and bring back Luma as the default platform," she wrote.

Representatives for Partiful, Tech Week, and A16z didn't respond to requests for comment.

The change has been a headache for some organizers.

Daniel Oberhaus, the founder of PR firm Haus, told Business Insider he couldn't get his defense tech rooftop party listed on the formal Tech Week schedule because he had used Luma to invite guests.

"Most conferences we attend tend to be run through Luma," he said.

When Oberhaus asked Tech Week organizers to add his event to the official calendar, they requested that he delete the Luma invite and remake it only on Partiful, he said. Oberhaus decided to keep the initial Luma invite since "hundreds of people" had already signed up.

"Perhaps it's egg on our face in the sense that we should have just made a Partiful to begin with, but we were just using the platform we were familiar with," he said. "We had plenty of people in attendance, and we're just not on the official page now, which is, I think, a bit of a bummer for a distributed conference."

Other event organizers and attendees also groused about the changes to what they said was once a free-wheeling gathering for the technorati with few rules on how events should or shouldn't be run.

Luma cofounder Victor Pontis was measured in his response when asked for comment on the shift, but nodded to the power dynamics at play.

"With successful initiatives like this, people naturally try to claim ownership since it's valuable and well-known," Pontis said. "Having control over what qualifies as a Tech Week event gives some power."

Partiful vs. Luma

Founded in 2020 by ex-Palantir staffers, Partiful has become a go-to app for young people hosting shindigs and offers a one-stop shop for hosts to customize their event pages and send text blasts and updates.

Partiful has become especially popular in tech circles and among the under-30 crowd, and has been used by some Tech Week organizers in New York and LA in previous years.

For some Tech Week attendees at this year's New York events, however, Partiful was a new — and not necessarily preferred — platform for RSVPs.

Luma, also founded in 2020, has been a favorite event management platform for many in the tech world.

Jacob Wallach, the creator behind the TikTok account Excel Daddy, told BI that when he attended Tech Week events last year, "it felt like everything was on Luma." Wallach also hosts events regularly in New York and typically uses Luma for managing RSVPs.

On the other hand, Wallach said, Partiful is the app he and his peers often use for "birthdays, house parties, barbecues."

Despite the drama, being the sole official platform could be a boon for Partiful.

Natalie Neptune, founder of GenZtea, hosted multiple events this Tech Week. She used Partiful for these, which made it onto the official calendar, but said she typically uses Luma.

"I started using Luma last year just because New York Tech Week used Luma," Neptune said.

That same flywheel, if all goes well, could come to Partiful. The platform has also rolled out tools specifically for professional events, like collecting emails for RSVPs and syncing with calendars.

Neptune said she thinks New York Tech Week and A16z's focus on Partiful this year "definitely will have more people" using the platform.

• My daughter loved gymnastics, but it was destroying her knees and joints.
• I had to force her to stop, taking away the thing she loved the most.
• She was devastated, but now we both know it was the best decision.

I took away the thing my daughter loved most on a warm August afternoon.

I'd watched my daughter twist, tumble, and throw herself in the air for 12 years as a competitive gymnast. But now, it was hurting her, and I had to protect her, even from what she loved most.

It all started with a recreational class at the community center when she was 3. Her passion for gymnastics was clear from the first somersault. With each new skill, she fell more in love with the elite sport. Never wanting her to lose that love, we took things slow. I followed her lead, inevitably winding up on a competitive track.

Eventually, the sport took its toll on her body, and I forced her to step away from the sport.

Gymnastics was causing irreversible damage to her body

At first, we chose the less intense track — fewer hours, more balance — so she could still be a kid. But the hours added up. What began as 45 minutes a week grew to nine hours in a specialized gym, plus weekends filled with competitions. She loved every minute.

Each meet brought medals and new skills. She loved the challenge, the friendships, the routines, and even the hard work.

But gymnastics, even done safely, is hard on the body.

My daughter started complaining that her knees hurt in middle school. Complaining was out of character for her, and I took her to the doctor. The verdict was clear: the pounding her joints endured was causing real, irreversible damage. There was nothing to fix — only a recommendation to stop.

Still, she pressed on, using ice packs, stretches, ibuprofen, and a fierce belief that she could manage it. She was young and resilient, and she wasn't ready to give up the sport she loved.

I let her keep going for a while.

I took her out of the sport

Eventually, I had to see past her passion and look at her future. She couldn't understand that the damage was building, that it wouldn't just disappear when she eventually stopped. Even with doctors explaining the risk, she wanted to push through. Her love for gymnastics made it impossible for her to imagine life without it.

That's where I came in. As her mom, I had to do what she couldn't.

She didn't understand that the damage was done and worsening with every flip and landing; it wasn't something that would go away when she stopped gymnastics. She loved it and was dedicated to the hard work it required. But she couldn't see beyond her love for the sport.

As a mom, I was in a difficult spot. No parent wants to take away something their child loves, especially something that keeps them active and healthy. But she wasn't healthy. Her actions were directly affecting her health. As much as I wanted to encourage her passions, I needed to consider her future.

I told her before the new season started. She was asking about the practice schedule when I said she wouldn't be going back. She cried, heartbroken and confused. We'd talked about it before, but now it was real. The thing that shaped so much of who she was — I was taking it away. She cried as I explained that it was too hard on her body, that she was damaging her knees, that I wanted to protect her. She couldn't understand. All she saw was loss.

Even though we had discussed the possibility, facing a reality without gymnastics was hard. She shaped her entire identity around what she could do in the gym. It felt almost as hard for me as it did for her.

It was the right decision for my daughter

It felt almost as hard for me as it did for her. In the end, I knew it was the best for her, even if she couldn't see it. She struggled. So did I.

But slowly, she found new outlets, new joys, and new ways to move her body that didn't take such a toll. It's been five years since she last competed.

When I asked her recently if she missed it, she said yes, and that her knees still hurt every day. But now, she sees why I did it. She's grateful, even if the loss still lingers. Stopping was the right choice to protect what I could of her future.

Sometimes, the hardest parenting decisions aren't about what we let our kids do; they're about what we make them stop.

• President Donald Trump bought a red Tesla Model S in a show of support for Elon Musk in March.
• After an explosive bust-up with the Tesla CEO, he's considering selling it, per a White House official.
• The dramatic disintegration of Trump and Musk's relationship sent Tesla stock plunging on Thursday.

Just under three months ago, President Donald Trump stood next to Elon Musk outside the White House to choose a new Tesla. Following his explosive feud with the Tesla CEO, Trump may be about to ditch his shiny EV too.

A senior White House official confirmed to Business Insider that Trump was considering selling or giving away the red Model S, which has a list price of about $80,000. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

Trump picked out the Model S from a lineup of Tesla vehicles during a sales pitch-like event with Musk at the White House in March.

At the time, it was a show of support from Trump to his biggest financial backer, with Tesla stock plunging and the company becoming a target for protests due to Musk's efforts to slash the government workforce at DOGE.

At the event, Trump said he was buying a Tesla because "it's a great product, as good as it gets," and because Musk had "devoted his energy and his life to doing this, and I think he's been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people."

Since then, the relationship between the president and the world's richest person has taken a dramatic turn for the worst.

A high-profile spat began on Thursday with Musk criticising Trump's "big, beautiful" tax bill in a series of posts on X. Trump then called the billionaire "crazy" and suggested that "the easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's governmental subsidies and contracts."

The feud damaged Tesla's stock price, closing down 14% on Thursday and wiping $138 billion off the company's valuation. Shares staged a recovery on Friday, rising nearly 5% in morning trading and remain down by a fifth this year.

If Trump does decide to sell his Model S, he should probably get a move on. A study by used car site iSeeCars in April found that used Model S prices had dropped more than any other model over the past year, as the resale value of used Teslas continues to slide.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• When our identical twin boys were born, we deliberately treated them as individuals.
• Even their closest friends struggled to tell them apart despite our efforts to differentiate them.
• The twins occasionally used their identical appearance for harmless mischief.

When Charlie and Thomas were born, I jokingly called them "Copy" and "Paste" in the hospital — my first official dad joke. But behind that joke was a genuine concern about how society would perceive them as identical twins.

As parents, we set out to ensure that our boys would be seen for who he was and not lumped together just because they looked the same.

Color-coding became our first identity strategy

While many parents of identical twins dress them alike for the cuteness factor, we deliberately went the opposite direction. From infancy, Charlie was always dressed in green while Thomas wore blue. This simple color-coding system helped friends and family identify which twin they were interacting with.

Most importantly, we wanted the boys to understand that they were individual people who happened to share DNA. However, our color strategy had one unexpected downside. If we ever dressed them outside their assigned colors, chaos ensued, and even people who knew them would become confused.

I even tried dressing Charlie in brown for a while (Charlie Brown), but that experiment was short-lived when he told me that he didn't like the color.

We built identity-affirming habits into everyday life

Our commitment to their individuality extended beyond clothing. We ensured each boy had his own bedroom from age 1, creating personal spaces where they could develop separate interests.

Birthday celebrations were another opportunity to reinforce their separateness. We always sang "Happy Birthday" twice — once for each boy — and made sure each boy joined in singing for his brother. Joint presents were strictly forbidden, even when it would have been more convenient.

Separate classrooms helped them develop different friend groups

When their first year of school approached, we faced our first major decision about their separation.

The school administrators asked if we wanted them in the same classroom, suggesting it might help them settle in more easily. Despite initial hesitation, we requested separate classes, hoping it would help them develop individual friendships and learning experiences.

While it helped their teachers, in the playground, their classmates simply couldn't keep them straight. They became known collectively as "Charlieandthomas" — one word, one entity. And they both learned to respond to either name.

Outside school, their interests initially aligned, particularly in sports, and they did most activities together. I was thrilled when Thomas showed interest in music and began taking ukulele lessons at age eight. Charlie had zero musical inclination, giving Thomas something that was uniquely his.

Their identical appearance became a source of mischief

Despite our efforts to distinguish them, the twins quickly discovered the power of their identical appearance. They executed their first major switch in third grade, trading classes for an entire day. Not a single teacher noticed.

Their prank was only discovered when Charlie, excited at his accomplishment, confided in a friend, who told a teacher. Rather than get angry at their secret stunt, their creativity secretly impressed me.

High school brought natural differentiation

The teenage years finally brought the natural divergence we had hoped for. Thomas gravitated toward math and science courses, while Charlie preferred humanities subjects. During the COVID lockdowns, I grew my hair long and encouraged Thomas to join me. For 18 months, we both sported long locks while Charlie, who hated the idea, kept his short. Looking back at the photos, I think he made the wise choice. This created the most visually distinct period of their lives — people rarely confused them during this time.

Their social circles also began to evolve naturally. Thomas took up basketball, while Charlie joined a gym and developed different fitness interests. This further expanded their worlds beyond their twin bond when they started dating.

During their final year of high school, they couldn't resist one last identity swap. They switched places for their yearbook photos, with Charlie initially planning to make his brother "look stupid forever" by pulling faces. The photographer made him redo the shot, but their switch was still successful — their final yearbook shows their photos reversed, a prank immortalized in print.

The effort to foster individuality paid off

Interestingly, they have never seemed bothered by being confused for each other. They would casually answer to the wrong name without correcting people, sometimes exchanging amused glances that only they understood.

As they started college this year at different schools — their choice — I reflected on our 18-year journey. The color-coding, separate bedrooms, individual birthday celebrations, and encouragement of different interests were all designed to give each boy space to discover who he was as an individual.

The copy-paste twins have become entirely different documents after all — mission accomplished.

• The US recently let another country take control of its bombs for the first time.
• It let Norway take control in flight and steer them toward targets.
• Norway was testing its technology to make networked weapons that can be guided and redirected in the air.

The US Air Force recently allowed another country to take control of American bombs in flight for the first time, with F-15 Strike Eagle pilots passing control of their glide bombs over to Norwegian forces.

The Norwegian Armed Forces announced the successful weapons test last week, describing it as a test of networked weapons, "weapons you can communicate with after they're fired," that delivered a "groundbreaking" result.

"For the first time, the Americans have allowed another country to take control of an American bomb on its way to the target," the armed forces said.

The Norwegians said that two US Air Force F-15E fighter jets flew toward Norway's coast with two American GBU-53/B glide bombs in the exercise, called Jotun Strike.

Using data provided by various sensors, including those on a deployed P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, Norwegian soldiers took control of the bombs when they dropped and used a network to direct them toward targets they had selected. With the data support, the soldiers adjusted the bomb's course.

Chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces' Operational Headquarters, Vice Adm. Rune Andersen, called the result of the test key to Norway maintaining a "technological lead." He added that the test highlighted the "good relationship" between the US and Norway, saying that the test was "based on a high degree of trust and integration between close allies."

Capt. Brett Stell, from the 494th Fighter Squadron, US Air Force, explained that the recent exercise was "a demonstration of what warfighting looks like in the future."

It proved that "a weapon launched from a US platform can be guided by a Norwegian sensor across domains and distances," he said, adding that "this level of integration shows our shared ability to conduct complex, network-enabled engagements-even in contested environments."

The unprecedented exercise was not just about Europe, "it's about homeland defense forward," Stell said.

"Threats to the US can originate beyond the Western Hemisphere, and our forward capabilities in the European theater are essential for early warning, rapid response, and deterrence," he said, explaining that "exercises like Jotun Strike make our collective force more lethal, more integrated, and ready to fight and win together."

A new kind of weapons test

Network-enabled weapons are ones that can be guided and redirected as they fly using communications networks.

The armed forces said that "via a built-in radio transmitter, military personnel can communicate with the weapon after it has been fired, change its course, change the target it is going to attack, and await or abort an attack. All based on updates they receive in real time."

The concept tested last month was developed in Norway with Norwegian industry, the armed forces said. Specifically, the Norwegian Battle Lab & Experimentation had been working on its concept for network weapons since 2019, with a 2025 deadline.

NOBLE is a group in the Norwegian Armed Forces that is affiliated with the operational headquarters and tasked with concept development and experimentation for the military.

Its network weapons concept had only previously been tested in simulations, and Col. Roger Samuelsen, the head of NOBLE, said "this was the big test."

He said that "it was fantastic that this worked."

"It is the first time this weapon has been released in a live version. And it was also the first time someone from the Norwegian Armed Forces tested a live network weapon."

The test took place on May 14 at Andøya, a large island in Norway's northwest.

The system had already been tested in the US against other simulators, Samuelsen said. He said Norway was repeatedly told it was ahead of others on this technology and that he believed that was why the US wanted to provide weapons and planes for this test.

He added that he was "very excited to see if the software we have developed would work as intended, even though we have done all the preparations and tests that were possible in advance."

He said the outcome means Norway "now can both plan, lead, coordinate and carry out an engagement with network weapons."

Network weapons can get real-time data from external sensors, making them more likely to hit their targets. And they can be made to change course after they are fired.

The Norwegian Armed Forces said the network weapons have "increased range and safety" since they don't need to see the target. Instead, they can be launched from further away and controlled, so they "can be fired at a safe distance without the platform supplying the weapon having to expose itself."

It also means the target can be changed depending on what's happening and what the military wants to hit.

The technology is key for Norway, a smaller country that needs to use its resources efficiently and make the most of recent acquisitions like the P-8 and F-35 fighter jets, but there's also interest from allies.

Samuelsen said that people who work in "concept development in NATO have already shown interest in the Norwegian concept." And he said allies are interested in the control software that it has developed with Norwegian software company Teleplan.

"There are not many nations that have this weapon or the technology within reach," the armed forces said.

• As a Costco employee of 19 years, I always look forward to browsing the aisles for new products.
• This June, Costco is carrying lots of great summer-focused items.
• The warehouse also has lots of tasty new food items like crispy beef tacos and a strawberry cake.

Summer is quickly approaching, which means Costco is stocking its aisles with barbecue essentials, delicious treats, and plenty of items to help elevate your outdoor gatherings.

As an employee of 19 years, I always look forward to scanning the shelves for fun new items. Here are nine of the best items I'm seeing this June.

The Oxo coiled grill brushes are great for summer barbecues.

Summer typically means more opportunities for outdoor cooking, which is why I think the Oxo coiled grill brushes are a must-buy for barbecue season.

These stainless steel brushes are dishwasher safe and even come with replacement heads.

I recommend trying this tasty mix between a croissant and a waffle.

If you're looking to spice up your breakfast or snacking routine, I recommend trying the When We Eat butter Croffle. The name says it all — this tasty treat is a mix between a croissant and a waffle.

They're easy to make in the toaster, oven, air fryer, or toaster oven, and can be ready in minutes.

The crispy beef birria tacos look delicious.

This month, Costco's prepared food section is carrying a delicious-looking crispy beef birria taco kit.

Each platter contains eight birria tacos stuffed with cheese and slow-roasted beef. The container also includes Spanish-style rice, a consommé dipping sauce, and limes.

The Ninja Slushi is perfect for making frozen drinks at home.

Nothing screams summer quite like a nice frozen drink. That's why I was drawn to the Ninja Slushi frozen drink maker.

This machine has five settings to make everything from spiked drinks to milkshakes. It even comes with two insulated cups to keep drinks colder even longer.

Get your vitamins and minerals in with the AG1 powder supplements.

The AG1 powder supplement is great for those who don't like taking their vitamins in pill form. Each box has 40 premeasured packages with vitamins, minerals, and probiotics.

To enjoy, all you have to do is add a serving to cold water, a smoothie, or juice.

The Cool retractable screen door is easy to install.

The Cool retractable screen door is perfect for getting some fresh air without letting bugs in the house.

It's easy to install and comes in different heights and finishes to match any home.

Cook an entire meal at once with the Gourmia dual-basket air fryer.

Those who love cooking with an air fryer may want to check out the Gourmia dual-basket option.

This air fryer can cook up to four dishes at once and has eight different cooking functions. Each basket can be controlled with different temperatures and timers, making it easy to cook an entire meal in one shot.

Costco's strawberries and cream cake looks incredible.

This month, the Costco bakery is selling a new strawberries and cream cake that's perfect for summer get-togethers.

This delicious-looking sponge cake is filled with strawberries and topped with sweet whipped cream.

For hours of outdoor fun, check out the Wham-O slip n' slide.

If you have kids, you may want to check out the inflatable Wham-O slip n' slide. This 30-foot slip n' slide inflates in minutes and even has a waterfall.

Costco was not involved in the sourcing or writing of this story. The views contained within represent the author's personal views.

• I tried the cheapest cheeseburgers on the menu at Applebee's, Chili's, and TGI Fridays.
• Each affordable burger was properly cooked and served with plenty of fries.
• The best value was at Chili's, where my burger came with fries, a soft drink, and a starter.

Fast food may still be quick and convenient, but rising prices are making it lose some of its appeal.

On the bright side, the fact that it costs me $10 just to get a burger, fries, and drink at McDonald's is making sit-down chains look extra appealing.

Turns out, I can get that order at several popular casual dining chains like TGI Fridays, Applebee's, and Chili's for about the same price.

So, I visited each of them in search of the cheapest burger-and-fries combo on the menu.

I wanted to see if I could get a good meal at a low price at these chains, and I was pleasantly surprised at all three — but one really stood out.

TGI Fridays' burger was tasty, but my meal wasn't perfect.

A cheeseburger and fries cost me $9.99 at TGI Fridays, though my meal didn't include a soft drink.

My burger was perfectly cooked to my medium-well request and generously topped with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pickles, TGI Sauce (sweet and tangy), and cheese.

The veggies were layered under the patty, with the cheese on top, which made the burger easier to eat. I appreciated how well it held together, especially as so many cheeseburgers devolve into knife-and-fork piles.

The meat itself seemed entirely free of gristle, and the patty was a decent size — I'd estimate it was at least ¼ pound of beef, if not a bit more.

My fries came out hot and had a nice crunch, but they were way too salty for me. They only made me wish my meal had come with a refreshing soft drink, but that would have cost extra.

Fortunately, my water was still free and, overall, the meal was certainly well worth its price.

The burger at Applebee's tasted great, but it was a mess to eat.

To get the best deal on a burger meal at Applebee's, I ordered from the chain's Really Big Meal Deal menu.

That menu includes several different burgers and a chicken sandwich priced at $9.99. Each comes with fries and a soft drink, meaning this meal was already a better value than the one I got at TGI Fridays.

I went with the classic cheeseburger, which was a hit. It was cooked just right, with a bit of pink left in the center and a hint of char on the exterior. The lettuce, pickles, and tomato were stacked high, and the tasty, slightly sweet brioche bun seemed fresh.

I appreciated the generous portion of toppings, but they made the patty slide off the bun with each bite. I needed to use a fork and a knife toward the end.

The fries at Applebee's were hot, crunchy, plentiful, and not too salty.

All told, this meal was entirely worth its price, messy burger and all.

My burger at Chili's came with a starter.

The cheapest burger I found at Chili's was on the chain's 3 for Me menu. I could get a burger with fries, a soft drink, and a starter, all for $10.99.

The options for starters include a cup of soup, a house side salad, or chips and salsa. I went with baked-potato soup, which came heavily topped with bacon, cheese, and green onions.

The portion wasn't huge, but as the soup seemed like a total bonus, I didn't mind.

The burger and fries at Chili's were pretty decent, too.

The burger I got at Chili's was pretty bare bones, but at least the patty was large — it was broad and flat, in a "smash" style — and cooked well. Plus, the bun tasted fresh.

However, it felt like the most boring burger I tried, topped with just a tangy sauce, cheese, and a bit of chopped onion. I had expected the usual lettuce, tomato, or pickles (and think they would've paired well with the patty) but I didn't get any.

This wasn't that big of a deal, though, as I was already half sated from my bonus starting course.

The fries at Chili's were thick and had just the right amount of salt. They were pleasantly complemented by my ginger ale (also included with my meal).

All things considered, I'd probably head back to Chili's first.

Each meal cost an extra $2 or so after tipping my servers. Even still, I felt the prices I paid were fair across the board.

In terms of final thoughts, I was bummed my affordable cheeseburger at TGI Fridays didn't come with a soft drink.

At Applebee's, I got a drink, burger, and fries — but at Chili's, my burger was accompanied by fries, a beverage, and a starter, making it far and away the best deal.

Although the Chili's burger wasn't my favorite, it was still good. If it had been more heavily topped, it would've been on par with the ones from Applebee's and TGI Fridays.

Next time, I might just ask for some more toppings —ideally for no added cost.

• Eve Jobs is the youngest child of late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.
• She is a Stanford University alum, model, and equestrian.
• Jobs has been described as a "funny firecracker" and poked fun at the iPhone 14 in 2022.

Steve Jobs once described his youngest daughter, Eve Jobs, as "a pistol" with "the strongest will of any kid I've ever met."

While she didn't take her talents to Silicon Valley, Eve Jobs has made a name for herself outside the tech world as an equestrian and model.

Here's an overview of her family, career, and connection to her famous father.

DNA Model Management, which represents Jobs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Eve Jobs, the youngest child of Steve Jobs and Laurene Powell-Jobs, was born in 1998.

Jobs, 26, has three older siblings named Reed, Erin, and Lisa.

She was 13 when their father died in October 2011.

In high school, Jobs balanced equestrian sports in Florida with applying to colleges and attending high school in California.

Jobs said her school allowed her to make up for missed classes through Upper Echelon Academy, a tutoring program based in Wellington, Florida.

"It took me a long time to figure out how to balance friends, school, and riding, but through the years I figured out the best way to make it all work is to prioritize what is most important to you," Jobs said in a 2016 interview with Upper Echelon Academy. The interview has since been removed from Upper Echelon Academy's website, but an archived version is still available online.

Jobs graduated from Stanford University in 2021, the same school where her parents met.

Jobs majored in science, technology, and society, Elle reported.

Jobs is an accomplished equestrian who once hoped to compete in the Olympics.

In 2016, Jobs' mother bought a $15 million ranch in Wellington, Florida, where she frequently competed and trained with Missy Clark.

The Daily Mail reported that the ranch included a barn big enough for 20 horses and a show-jumping training rink. Jobs also bought a stallion named Chill RZ in 2016.

Jobs told World of Showjumping in 2020 that competing in the Olympics and the World Equestrian Games "would be a dream." After the Tokyo Olympics were postponed due to COVID-19, she decided to pursue other avenues.

"I had done everything I wanted to achieve in the sport, and I just felt at peace," she told Vanity Fair in 2022.

In May, she returned to the sport to compete in the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

"So grateful to be back jumping at this level," she wrote on Instagram.

Jobs isn't the only famous heiress to take up equestrian sports. Other famous show jumpers include Michael Bloomberg's daughter Georgina, Bill Gates' daughter Jennifer, Bruce Springsteen's daughter Jessica, and Steven Spielberg's daughter Destry.

Jobs now works as a model represented by DNA Model Management.

Jobs made her modeling debut in 2020 in a Glossier ad campaign alongside "Euphoria" star Sydney Sweeney and "RuPaul's Drag Race" finalist Naomi Smalls.

She signed with DNA Model Management in 2022, which also represents stars such as Kaia Gerber and Emily Ratajkowski.

She has also been a regular guest at Paris Fashion Week since 2022.

She makes occasional appearances at red-carpet events such as the Met Gala and the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

Jobs walked the Met Gala's red carpet in 2022 wearing a Louis Vuitton gown and posed for photos at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2022 and 2023.

She also attended the WSJ Magazine 2023 Innovator Awards and the 2023 TIME100 Gala.

Jobs is reportedly engaged to Harry Charles, a British equestrian who won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Jobs made their relationship Instagram official when she posted photos with Charles during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Page Six reported that their wedding will be held in August in the Cotswolds in England.

While Jobs has pursued career paths outside tech, she has occasionally weighed in on Apple product launches.

Jobs made headlines in 2022 when she posted a meme poking fun at Apple's iPhone 14 reveal, hinting it wasn't much different than the previous model.

In the biography "Steve Jobs," Walter Isaacson describes Eve Jobs as growing up to become "a strong-willed, funny firecracker" who knew how to take on her famous father.

Isaacson wrote in the 2011 biography that Jobs would even call her father's assistant at work to ensure that she was "put on his calendar."

When it comes to the future, Isaacson wrote that Steve Jobs joked that he could envision her running Apple or becoming president of the United States.

"She's a pistol and has the strongest will of any kid I've ever met," her father told Isaacson.

• Roblox's "Grow A Garden" game is breaking popularity records.
• The game involves buying seeds, planting, and selling virtual crops.
• I tried it — and I can see how you could get ahead quickly if you want to spend real money.

The hottest trend this spring for young people is … gardening. Growing carrots and strawberries, pruning weeds. I'm sorry to inform parents anxious about screentime: This doesn't mean your kids are digging in the dirt outside in the fresh air.

They're probably on Roblox, playing "Grow a Garden," which, as I typed this Thursday, had more than 2.2 million people playing — four times as many as the next most popular game. (A Roblox spokesman told me the game had around 9 million concurrent players at one point over a weekend in late May — a Roblox record.)

I tried the game myself, and I can see how — if you're willing to spend real money on seeds and other garden accoutrement — you can get ahead.

Bloomberg reported there's already a robust secondary market for some of the things you can buy to help grow your garden. Items like seed and livestock have popped up on Discord, some niche sites, and even on eBay, to the tune of millions of dollars of turnover a week, the report said. (Selling items on third-party sites is against Roblox's rules, but it still happens.)

How did 'Grow a Garden' sprout?

"Grow a Garden's" origin story is much like many games on Roblox: A random user — in this case, reportedly a 16-year-old — created the game. The teen has remained anonymous, and I couldn't reach him.

Roblox's user base is 40% under the age of 13, CEO David Baszucki has said recently. Users can create their own games — and by using "Robux," the platform's own virtual currency that players can buy with real money, players and game-builders can make money. (It's roughly one real cent per Robux, though they can be had cheaper with package deals and other promotions.)

According to an interview in a gaming newsletter with well-regarded Roblox developer Janzen "Jandel" Madsen, "Grow a Garden" was initially created by the teen who built it in a few days. Then Madsen acquired part of the game to build it out with a team of developers.

It got even bigger when Do Big Studios, a Florida-based company, also partnered in the game. The exact workout of who owns what isn't clear. Madsen and Do Big Studios didn't respond to my requests for comment.

I played 'Grow a Garden'

In "Grow a Garden," which is free to play, you start by planting some simple seeds (carrot, strawberry), which quickly grow into plants that you can sell. With that money, which comes in the form of the game's virtual currency, the Sheckle, you earn more to buy even more seeds, eggs, animals, and so on.

Curious, I tried it. You start with just enough Sheckles to buy a few carrot seeds, which you can plant in your garden. Compared to my real-world failures in vegetable gardening, the carrots grew satisfyingly quickly, which I then harvested and took to sell at a farm stand, using my Sheckles to buy more seeds for strawberries and more carrots.

I strolled around the world beyond my own garden to look at the gardens of other players, who were milling about, buying seeds and selling crops.

Some players had really elaborate setups, which must've taken days or weeks of play to build up. After not too long, I had about 400 Sheckles. The leaderboard showed I was playing with someone who had 968 million Sheckles. I walked over to see her garden, which was full of lush plants and blocky animals walking around. Her profile showed she had created the account in early May — quite a feat (or a lot of real-world money).

It's possible to "steal" another player's crops — but for that and other things, you have to use real Robux. In general, the gameplay is similar to other games — over time, you do a thing to trade in points for more things, which takes time and patience. And if you're willing to spend real money, you can get ahead much faster (this is not unlike the real world).

So what makes 'Grow a Garden' so compelling?

Justin Watkins, who runs the popular Roblox gaming YouTube channel ThinkNoodles, told me the game's creators obviously knew what they were doing.

"The developers have really optimized everything about the game to maximize its spread in the Roblox algorithm, and also have a deep understanding of what players value in Roblox," he said.

"There's been many games that use different hooks for players, but this game has incorporated almost all of them into a single game," including live events that he said are considered "must-attend" to get "rich" in the virtual world of "Grow a Garden" and "flex on others with cool mutations" in your virtual patch.

How did 'Grow a Garden' get so big?

"Grow A Garden" is undeniably popular. Roblox spokesman Eric Porterfield said it was one of the games that most quickly racked up 1 billion visits in Roblox's history.

Still, some adults in video game forums on Reddit, X, and YouTube have criticized the game as being for "dopamine-addled children," saying it doesn't take a lot of brain power to play. (To be fair, there were plenty of adults who also said they found the game soothing and fun.)

Others said that Do Big Studios' involvement led to a bigger focus on monetizing the game — in-app purchases to get ahead and the like — which they said had put a damper on the game's community. (Again, I couldn't get Do Big to respond to my questions, so I don't know what they have to say about this criticism.)

"Grow A Garden" is still new, having launched in March 2025 — and the kind of momentum and popularity it has doesn't suggest it will fizzle out anytime soon. After playing a few minutes a day for a few days — without spending any of my own money on Robux or Sheckles — I had grown my garden to more than 180,000 Sheckles with tulips, watermelons, tomatoes, and a rare bamboo plant.

Hard to complain about that.

• The US added 139,000 jobs in May, exceeding the expected 126,000.
• Unemployment was 4.2% for the third consecutive month.
• Other reports show businesses are being cautious due to economic uncertainty.

The US added 139,000 jobs in May, more than expected, and the unemployment rate didn't budge.

Economists predicted job growth of 126,000 and for unemployment to remain at 4.2%. This is the third straight month of a 4.2% rate and the 13th straight month at or above 4%.

April's job growth was revised from 177,000 to 147,000, and March's growth was revised from 185,000 to 120,000. That means that there were 95,000 fewer jobs created over those two months than BLS previously reported.

Wage growth continued its consistent year-over-year growth of 3.9% in May. Average hourly earnings increased from $34.89 a year ago to $36.24. Month-over-month wage growth was also slightly better than expected.

Labor force participation cooled from 62.6% in April to 62.4% in May.

Healthcare and leisure and hospitality had high job growth over the month compared to other industries. Employment fell by 8,000 in manufacturing and by 18,000 in professional and business services. There were more cuts to the federal government; employment fell by 22,000 in May, more than the declines in the past few months.

The new data release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is just one of several recent reports illustrating the much-watched US labor market. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book showed that some businesses are delaying hiring due to economic uncertainty. Separately, the National Federation of Independent Business showed small business optimism has continued to weaken. While insured unemployment claims are still low, they climbed in May.

The back and forth on tariffs, including a 90-day pause with China and higher duties on steel and aluminum, is adding pressure to business decisions. Cuts and deferred resignations within federal government agencies could mean job seekers turn to the private sector or leave the labor force.

"Tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism are putting intense pressure on companies' workforces," Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a report before Friday's news release. "Companies are spending less, slowing hiring, and sending layoff notices."

President Donald Trump has argued tariffs will help the US economy, despite some short-term pain for businesses and consumers.

"It shows us that President Trump's economy is working. For the third month now, we've beat job expectations," Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling told BI. He said that May's jobs beat showed the administration's focus on "putting the American worker first for jobs" is working. "We're very excited about the numbers and the way President Trump's economy is going."

CME FedWatch showed based on market trades an overwhelming chance the Federal Reserve will decide to hold interest rates steady at the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting in mid-June. Like business owners, the Fed is hoping for more clarity on the evolving economy.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

• I'm married and we want kids, but I'm not starting a family until I complete my travel bucket list.
• We've spent the past 10 years going on trips in between my husband's deployments.
• We hope to be parents someday. For now, we're embracing going on once-in-a-lifetime trips together.

When I got married in 2018, I imagined my husband and I would start our family within a few years. But seven years later, it's still just the two of us and our dogs.

Many friends our age have kids, and we feel the pressure to start a family now that we're in our 30s. However, we've prioritized pursuing career opportunities and travel adventures over settling down.

Over the last decade, we've been eagerly checking off destinations from our bucket list — and I don't regret taking more time to focus on our marriage, careers, and travel dreams together.

For us, having children would mark the end of a chapter filled with freedom, spontaneity, and adventure. That's not a decision we take lightly.

Travel has been a foundational part of our relationship since the very beginning

As a little girl, I fantasized about traveling all over the globe — and when I met my now-husband in college, I was giddy that he shared the same dreams.

Soon, we fell in love with exploring the world together.

He applied for his first passport to meet me in Morocco and England while I studied abroad. Throughout college, we worked summer jobs to save up for a bucket-list cruise to Asia.

A few months later, he proposed on a bridge in Venice during a Mediterranean cruise. Within the first months of marriage, we honeymooned in Italy, experienced the magic of Christmas markets in Prague, and jetted off on a spontaneous weekend trip to Tokyo.

However, our travel plans changed as my husband kicked off his military career less than a year after our wedding.

Although we squeezed in a two-night trip to London during a training break, we couldn't take another trip together for nearly two years.

Then, a pandemic and another military deployment meant we once again had limited time to chip away at our travel bucket list.

As a couple, we've decided to focus on growing our careers and traveling to make up for lost time

Between deployments, we squeezed in as many adventures as possible — and starting a family still wasn't on our radar.

Between trips, I kept busy as my husband spent months away from home. I prioritized my data analytics career, worked on my MBA, and traveled with family and friends to Japan, China, and Austria.

I planned trips to Hawaii, Scotland, the Caribbean, Alaska, and England. I wrote about my travels, and my freelance-writing career began to take off.

Suddenly, I was being paid to go on trips and living a dream I hadn't even imagined. My husband was supportive and relieved that I was making the most of his time away and embracing new opportunities.

After he returned from his second deployment, we took a much-needed getaway to the Canary Islands — a destination that had topped our bucket list since we first met.

As many of our friends began planning for kids, we continued planning trips to Iceland, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and back to the Canaries.

Over the next few years, we have once-in-a-lifetime adventures planned in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia.

We hope to start our family once we've crossed the last adventures off our travel bucket list

We still have dreams of traveling the world with kids if we have them, but we know it won't be the same.

For now, we're enjoying the freedom and flexibility of planning trips with just the two of us. Prioritizing ourselves and our quality time has only made our marriage stronger.

This isn't the timeline we envisioned, but I don't regret taking a few years to focus on ourselves and our travels.

I hope our future kids will be proud that we followed our dreams and crossed all the destinations off our bucket list.

• Audio startups are changing how we listen to and discover music.
• A new crop of companies has emerged to help artists and other audio creators build businesses.
• We spoke with six audio-startup founders who shared the pitch decks they used to raise funds.

Innovation in music tech is on the rise.

Startups are building new ways for artists and creators to make and distribute songs and other audio. 

Some companies, including social-entertainment apps like TikTok and YouTube, are making it easier for artists to get discovered. Platforms like Roblox and Discord have added new formats for artists to reach fans. And generative AI tools like Suno have created a tidal wave of new music while raising new questions about artist compensation in the age of AI.

One area of focus among audio startups is finding ways to help artists interact with their most loyal listeners, sometimes called superfans.

Sesh built a platform that lets users add "fan cards" of their favorite artists to their smartphone wallets, for example. Hangout created a group-listening platform that enables music fans to stream songs together.

"Even with a hundred superfans, you're going to be able to make a living instead of needing to do extra jobs for you to be able to pay for your instruments or your music career," Sesh's CEO, Iñigo-Hubertus Bunzl Pelayo, told Business Insider.

Other upstarts are focused on building internal tools for artists and their teams. Offtop built a Dropbox-style platform to help music collaborators share files, for instance. And RealCount offers data analytics for artists on their ticket sales.

Read BI's list of 14 promising music startups

Investors have poured millions of dollars into audio startups over the last few years. The category has drawn funding from institutional firms like SoftBank Ventures Korea and record labels like Sony Music.

BI spoke with six audio-startup founders who've raised money in the past few years about their fundraising process. They each shared the pitch decks they used to win over investors.

Read the pitch decks that helped 6 audio startups raise millions of dollars:

Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.

Series A

• Slipstream Music, a music and sounds library for creators: $7.5 million (13 pages)

Seed

• Hangout, a social-listening platform: $8.2 million (26 pages)
• Sesh, a fan-engagement platform: $5 million (13 pages)
• Chartmetric, a music data startup: $2 million (46 pages)
• Supercast, a podcast subscriptions platform: $2 million (20 pages)

Other

• Spoon, a live audio streaming platform: $60 million total (15 pages)

Geoff Weiss, JP Mangalindan, Nhari Djan, and Michael Espinosa previously contributed reporting.

Chartmetric

Chartmetric is a data-and-analytics tool that enables music-industry professionals to track the digital performance of songs.

The company created a platform for customers like record labels and artists to review streaming and social-media data all in one place.

"There is more and more data that artists and record labels measure and that they care about, and the importance of the data changes over time," Chartmetric founder and CEO Sung Cho told Insider.

Read the 46-page pitch deck that the company used to raise $2 million in seed funding

Magroove

Brazil-based Magroove helps independent musicians distribute music on global platforms like Spotify and iTunes, and runs a music-discovery app. 

A prime selling point for artists on the platform is its affordable distribution services. The company is also testing features to help artists earn more, including a digital-store offering. 

"I had my history as trying to make it as a musician, knowing absolutely nothing to now being in the position to help other artists and serve them with things that I didn't have back then," cofounder Vítor Cunha told Insider.

See the 21-page pitch deck Magroove used to raise $1.6 million in seed funding

Slip.stream

Slip.stream built a subscription service for creators that opens up access to a library of royalty-free music and sound effects.

Roughly 40% of its clients are livestreaming gamers, the company told Insider.

The company raised in June a $7.5 million Series A in a round led by Sony Music Entertainment.

"The 'majors' were not our first target – we initially wanted to go the classic VC route," Slip.stream CMO Jesse Korwin told Insider at the time. "We realized that having one of the major music companies as a backer provided a ton of validity and support for our vision."

Read the 13-page pitch deck that Slip.stream used to raise $7.5 million in funding

Spoon Radio

Spoon Radio is a live audio platform founded in South Korea that expanded to the US in late 2019.

The platform's users tune into different audio rooms, similar to the Clubhouse app, where creators host listening sessions. Users can also tip livestreamers with virtual tokens called "spoons."

Read the 15-page pitch deck for Spoon, which has raised more than $59 million in funding

 

Supercast

Supercast built a subscription platform designed specifically for podcast creators.

The company launched in September 2019 and raised $2 million in seed funding from investors like Form Capital and Table Management.

"The world of podcasting is sitting on a goldmine, and they don't even know it," said CEO Jason Sew Hoy. "They've done the hard work of building up the audiences that they may be monetizing by ads. But they have an entirely new additive revenue stream that they can switch on with listeners' subscriptions."

Read the 20-page pitch deck the company used to raise $2 million

Ultimate Playlist

Ultimate Playlist is a music-marketing platform that incentivizes users to listen to and rate songs in exchange for daily cash prizes.

Each day, the company features a new set of 40 songs on the app. Eventually, the company plans to charge rights holders around $200 to $300 for a song to be included.

"There's not a lot out there for this middle-class artist," cofounder Shevy Smith told Insider. "One key component of Ultimate Playlist is that it isn't anchored by superstars."

Read the 9-page pitch deck that the company used to raise $2 million

JP Mangalindan and Michael Espinosa contributed additional reporting. This story was originally published in January 16, 2023.