• Two days into a family trip, I spiked a 103 fever and didn't feel great.
• At the hospital, I was diagnosed with sepsis and felt guilty for ruining my family's trip.
• I learned I can't control what happens and should let go of mom guilt.

Two days into a Disney World vacation with my husband Anthony, our two daughters, and my in-laws, I became very sick. With a fever of 103, I shook with chills, ached all over, and dry-heaved repeatedly.

We'd been excited about this trip. Every day before we left, I drew a Disney-themed picture on my 8-year-old daughter's snack bag. I counted the days, with the number eight hidden in Cinderella's castle, Mickey's four-fingered glove, and a glittery two alongside Tinkerbell.

And then, I was in the room feeling guilty while my family explored Magic Kingdom. I'm no stranger to illness. Born with heart disease, I've recovered from four open heart surgeries, but I rolled around the bed moaning in pain. I cried to Anthony on the phone, delirious from the fever, the lorazepam I'd taken, or both.

I didn't think anything was seriously wrong, but I called my cardiology nurse after a few days. She said I likely had a virus, but since my mechanical valve and pacemaker are breeding grounds for bacteria, we should rule out blood infection. She sent me to the emergency room for blood cultures.

Things were worse than I imagined

"She's septic," the triage nurse said.

Maybe I couldn't register her words through the pain; maybe Anthony was getting me a blanket at that moment because once I was in an exam room, neither of us understood why the clinicians seemed so serious. This was a virus; I was only here as a precaution.

But my pressure was 70/40, my white blood cell count was elevated, and I had an infection somewhere. The culture results would take days, but they treated my symptoms and started antibiotics. Once I could think clearly, the guilt returned.

This wasn't how I'd imagined this vacation. I was supposed to watch my daughters spin around in oversize teacups, not see the room spin around me. Instead of pulling on a hospital gown, I should've been helping my 8-year-old pull on her princess dress. I wanted to be pushing my 4-year-old in her stroller, not being pushed through the hospital on a gurney.

The culture came back positive. I was moved to an inpatient floor, and the guilt festered. I was in the hospital for about a week, but it felt like forever. I cried often — when my kids flew home without me, before every medical test, petrified the results would keep me away from them longer, and each time, my in-laws sent me a picture of their faces.

If I'd paid attention, I would've noticed those smiling faces. While I was wallowing in guilt, they were having the time of their lives.

We made our way through it together

I remained guilty when I returned home and spent four months on IV antibiotics, which ravaged my stomach and kept me curled on the couch for half that time. I was lucky to have my husband home temporarily, my mother, who moved in while I recovered, and extended family and friends willing to help. It killed me that I could hardly take care of my girls, but we found a way. We cuddled while watching TV and played games. They decorated my IV pole for my birthday.

In the end, I didn't need to feel so guilty. My kids are OK. It wasn't easy. My older daughter admitted later that she cried herself to sleep while I was in the hospital. My younger one cried so much before preschool during that time, we pulled her out. It was hard, but so is life. They got through it and learned they had parents who loved them and an entire village willing to care for them when their mother couldn't.

I learned that this ever-pressing guilt we moms carry is futile. I can't control what happens to me. Inevitably, I'll have more medical issues down the line. Maybe my kids will be better prepared to handle it. At least now I know we can get through it together. And I know not only that I love them, sometimes to a painful degree, but that they love me too, even when things are difficult and even if sometimes I ruin their good time.

• Once my single mother got a handle on her eating disorder, she decided to go to college in her 50s.
• She's now a counselor and helps people with substance abuse issues.
• My mother and I went through treatment together, and I also struggled in college.

My mom began her college education at 55 years old, shortly after completing an eating disorder treatment program.

As a single mother battling mental health issues, she never had the opportunity to go to college or explore her interests. But, after I flew the coop and she got help for her eating disorder, she finally chased her goals.

Like her, I also struggle with mental health issues and found it difficult to put college first.

Together, we overcame our biggest obstacles and achieved our dreams.

My addiction hindered my college journey

While I don't have children, I, too, relate to a non-traditional college journey. I'm in recovery from substance use disorder — a glorious mix of alcohol, drugs, and countless other self-destructive behaviors created a myriad of hurdles to my education for a decade.

As anyone on a recovery journey knows, substance use disorders are usually accompanied by undiagnosed mental health issues or personality disorders. We often think it's easier to self-medicate than to ask for help.

This life outlook makes "simple" tasks like finishing homework and going to class feel impossible. I took college courses on and off, binge drinking and bartending until 2 a.m.

I dropped out of school more times than I can count, finally graduating with a degree in business administration at age 28.

Motherhood and mental health issues got in the way of my mom's dreams

Mom always wanted to be a counselor because she genuinely enjoys helping others, but she couldn't prioritize education as a single mom with limited support. Mom went back to work when I was six weeks old while also juggling childcare and undiagnosed mental health issues.

A single parent living paycheck to paycheck rarely has the luxury of time to peruse college admissions pamphlets or the countless hours needed to fill out financial aid forms or write scholarship essays — not to mention how challenging life can be with mental health struggles, leaving little room for motivation to flourish.

But when she finally put herself first in her 50s and dealt with her eating disorder, she met a treatment counselor. My mom figured she was a seasoned veteran based on her age. Apparently, this woman returned to college later in life, ultimately inspiring my mother to do the same.

Mom now works in her dream career as a substance abuse counselor, while I also work in my dream career as a published author and entrepreneur in the sobriety space.

Figuring ourselves out is one day at a time, too.

Our lives have long been intertwined

My mom addressed her eating disorder at the same time I addressed my substance abuse. Going through this shared recovery journey showed us how eating disorders and substance use disorders stem from similar desires to escape reality through self-medication. Her drug of choice was food; mine was alcohol and drugs.

Mom is a strong, independent woman who inspired me to be the same way.

We bring our inclusive approach to recovery to our work, too. We understand that addiction is addiction — whether it's drugs, gambling, shopping, food, or self-harm. Life is freaking hard; many folks don't have the tools or resources to address our various coping skills.

She has some advice for anyone wanting to pursue their dreams

I asked my mom if she had any words of wisdom for someone reading this, thinking about returning to school.

"Make an appointment with an advisor and learn your options. If your advisor isn't helpful, find another one," she told me.

Pursuing education is similar to mental health recovery: It's all about self-advocacy, asking for help, and leaning into peer support.

"Making an appointment with an advisor was easy, but actually going to the meeting was so hard," she continued, "I luckily found an advisor who listened to my goals and mapped out my options. She was one of the most important people in my education."

Through our journeys, we both learned that if you have the right people in your corner, you can achieve anything.

• Johan and Sabine Bogaerts left the Netherlands and moved to Thailand to open a beach resort.
• The couple says they always dreamed of running their own business instead of working for someone else.
• While life now feels "slower, and definitely more fulfilling," Johan, 54, says it's not all play.

In November 2022, Johan and Sabine Bogaerts packed up their lives and moved from the Netherlands to Koh Lanta, an island off the west coast of Thailand, with their two sons.

They had traveled to Thailand countless times on vacation and loved everything about the country, but it was the pandemic that gave them the idea of moving there.

"Life just happens really fast, and we wanted to do something else before it was too late, physically and also mentally," Sabine, 51, a former chef, told Business Insider.

The couple always dreamed of managing something on their own instead of working for someone else.

"We've agreed to change our life a little bit, get out of the rat race, and do something totally different in a beautiful country that we knew already," Johan, 54, a welding engineer, told BI.

But the real decision was made after they saw some ads on Facebook about properties for lease in Thailand, Sabine said.

"We found this piece of property online. We were interested, and we knew the area since we've been here a few times," Johan said.

The property was located less than 200 feet away from Klong Khong beach, a popular tourist destination on Koh Lanta.

Koh Lanta is part of the Krabi province and is about 45 miles from Krabi International Airport. Visitors can also reach Koh Lanta via a 1.5-hour ferry ride from Phuket.

It was already built like a resort with freestanding rooms but looked dated, with minimal furniture and basic finishings. Due to the pandemic, the original resort had ceased operations, and the humid climate had left the property in a bad state.

Despite that, the couple saw its potential and made their decision during a video call with their agent.

Since foreigners can't own land in Thailand, the couple leased the property for 20 years instead. They declined to share specifics, but estimated that their total costs — inclusive of renovations — came up to about 200,000 euros, or about $206,000.

The couple also said they managed to sell their house in Holland, which helped cover their costs.

Running a resort by the beach

Thailand has long been a popular spot for tourists and expats alike, thanks to its rich culture and relatively low cost of living.

In recent years, it's also been a popular destination for retirees: Thailand was ranked 10th on International Living's 2025 Annual Global Retirement Index.

However, the couple says that they knew they weren't ready to retire and decided to start a business in Thailand.

"I think retiring at 50 would be so boring for us," Sabine said.

"You have to be really comfortable. We were doing OK, but we weren't ready financially to totally retire yet," Johan added.

When they got the keys to the property, the first thing they did was start renovating and getting it up to their own standards.

"We took out some walls, made them bigger, redid all the bathrooms, made new balconies, new paint — everything is brand new," Johan said.

The resort has 16 guest bungalows, a pool, a restaurant and bar, and a laundry area.

Their busiest season runs from the beginning of December until the end of March, since that's when the weather is sunny with less rain. Room rates during the low season are about one-third of the price of the high season, Sabine said.

During the low season, the cheapest room is around 1,100 Thai baht, or about $32. During the high season, the same room can go for around 2,600 Thai baht, or about $75, Johan said.

The couple also employs nine full-time staff, including a receptionist, housekeepers, kitchen staff, and gardeners.

One of the biggest challenges they faced during the renovations was differing expectations of when things would be completed.

"With us, a deal is a deal, and a time of finishing is the time of finishing, but that's a little bit different here. So, we really have to adapt to that," Johan said.

A "slower, and definitely more fulfilling" life

One of the things they loved most about their lifestyle now compared to back in the Netherlands is that they no longer feel the need to keep up with the Joneses.

"You decide yourself. For me, it's that you're not being driven by something that needs to be done. When we were living in Holland, everything had to be the way things were," Johan said. "You have a lot of possessions and you were only busy trying to maintain and to upkeep all the possessions that you have."

Not only that, the couple gets to spend more time outdoors compared to before.

"We have beautiful surroundings. We have many palm trees, and we hear the birds, and we can look at the ocean from here," Sabine said.

However, there are times when they miss the Netherlands, too — especially the weather. Thailand has a humid tropical climate, and the weather is either "hot or really hot" or "raining or not raining," Johan said.

"We do have to say that we miss a little bit of cold sometimes," he said. "We're seasonal people. We grew up in the four seasons, so that's something you tend to miss a little bit."

Even the Christmas season doesn't feel the same anymore.

"We, of course, never ever worn a jacket anymore or proper shoes or trousers," Sabine said, adding that her go-to outfits now are sleeveless tops and shorts.

Work-life balance in Thailand

These days, the couple's routine starts by dropping off their youngest, 7, at school before heading to the resort to check in on things. Their other son, 21, returned to the Netherlands last March.

They say their youngest son is adjusting well to life on the island.

"It's a little more difficult for him to visit friends sometimes, like he did in The Netherlands, but he loves the beach life here," Sabine said.

The rest of the couple's day is usually spent on miscellaneous tasks — such as fixing things around the property and getting groceries for the restaurant — to ensure the resort runs smoothly,

While life now feels "slower, and definitely more fulfilling," Johan says it's not all play.

The couple has been busy getting the resort up and running over the past years, and they've only just begun to somewhat settle down — considering that they also recently opened a restaurant nearby serving European and Thai cuisine.

"People think, 'Ah, you must be so happy you can watch the sunset every evening.' We hardly do because we're always busy," Sabine said. "At the moment, everything is sort of done. Of course, in a resort, you are never truly done, but all the massive projects are done. So, I don't know, maybe life is going to be different now."

Have you recently relocated to a new country and found or renovated your dream home? If you have a story to share, contact this reporter at [email protected].

• To kick off 2025, Erin Liam visited Hong Kong for the first time in January.
• Having grown up in Singapore, she had expected the cities to be similar.
• However, she was surprised by several ways of life, including sharing tables with strangers.
  

When I told my family I was planning a trip to Hong Kong, they responded, "Why? Isn't Hong Kong similar to Singapore?"

In some ways, they are right. Hong Kong and Singapore — where I grew up — are often compared to one another. Both cities have high population densities, serve as global financial hubs, and are known for being expensive.

But on a four-day solo trip there in January, I was surprised to see how different the cities were.

1. Sharing tables with strangers

On my first night, I settled into a cozy beef noodle restaurant and was mid-slurp when a middle-aged man sat across from me at my table. Without even a glance in my direction, he ordered his dish and tucked in.

Although initially confused, I learned that table sharing, known as dap toi, is a dining norm in the city. The practice isn't meant to be intrusive, nor is it an invitation to make conversation. It simply arises from the lack of space and the need for efficiency.

It makes sense. Hong Kong, a city slightly smaller than Rome, has a population of around 7.5 million, per its mid-2024 census. Yet, government data from 2018 showed that only about 24% of land area is built-up. The result is a densely populated city where space is a luxury.

2. Speaking up on minibuses

Hong Kong is not a city for the soft-spoken. I learned the hard way that you must speak up to get what you want — on minibuses, at least. Also known as public light buses, minibuses provide an efficient mode of transportation to areas that Hong Kong's standard buses may not easily reach.

On route to the start of a hiking trail to Braemer Hill Peak, a spot to catch sunset views of the city, I took a minibus to avoid the 1-mile climb up. When the minibus reached my stop, however, it simply zoomed past and traveled back down.

As it turned out, not all minibuses have "stop" buttons that I was familiar with. Instead, passengers alert the bus driver when they want to get off by saying "yau lok," which means to stop the bus in Cantonese. It was, not surprisingly, a daunting task for an introvert.

On that day, I resigned myself to walking back up the hill and avoided minibuses for the rest of the trip.

3. French toast is not breakfast

If there's one thing that fueled my desire to visit Hong Kong, it's the food. The city is a foodie's dream, with 79 Michelin-starred restaurants in 2024. Local cafés, or cha chaan tengs, and open-air food stalls, or dai pai dongs, are also mainstays of the food scene.

I was eager to try Hong Kong-style French toast. Unlike French toast in the US — typically pan-fried and served with maple syrup — Hong Kong-style French toast is usually stuffed with peanut butter, deep-fried, then topped with condensed milk. The dish was introduced to Hong Kong during British colonial times and evolved to adapt to local tastes and ingredients.

When I attempted to order the treat for breakfast, however, the waiter wagged her finger and pointed to another menu — the afternoon tea menu. French toast, it seems, is considered a tea-time snack that is usually enjoyed later in the day. Instead, I settled for macaroni soup for breakfast. Funnily, it was something I would consider more of a lunch dish.

The next afternoon, I returned to a nearby cha chaan teng to attempt to order the dish again — only to be served french fries due to miscommunication.

4. Lines are everywhere, but they usually move quickly

On my first day, I walked miles to check out Hong Kong's famous eateries, only to give up upon seeing the long lines. But when I took a chance on one, I was surprised by how quickly it moved. As a city that prioritizes efficiency and speed, people eat and leave quickly, so lines move fast.

As a solo diner, I saw the benefits of dap toi. It was like joining a single-rider line at Disneyland, and I soon got used to sharing tables with strangers in crowded eateries.

Looking back, I could have enjoyed egg tarts and steamed rice rolls if I had been a little more patient.

5. Everything moves at twice the speed

When I met up with a local friend for dinner, she finished a plate of roasted pork rice within minutes. "You're done already?" I asked in amusement. "Hong Kong speed," she simply replied.

Indeed, everything moves quickly in Hong Kong. In busy districts like Mong Kok and Central, the Mass Transit Railway train arrives every other minute. People walk as if they are on a mission, and waiters almost expect you to know what to order the moment you sit down.

I was used to the fast pace of life in Singapore and assumed Hong Kong would match it. Instead, it surpassed my expectations and, at times, felt jarring. But, it was the bustling energy that made the city feel truly alive.

I'll be back again. Next time, I'll make sure to order my French toast correctly.

• TikTok restored services in the US after 12 hours of downtime, easing some creators' concerns.
• Creators rely on TikTok for income, from product sales and ad deals to the app's affiliate program.
• With TikTok's future still uncertain, some creators are planning to diversify how they sell online.

TikTok restored services in the US on Sunday, easing the concerns of content creators and entrepreneurs who make their living from the platform — at least for now.

The platform was down for 12 hours starting late Saturday night and was restored following a Truth Social post by President-Elect Donald Trump, who said he'd issue an executive order on Monday to delay the ban. TikTok's future remains unclear, as its China-based parent company, ByteDance, has so far refused to divest from the app as required by law, but for now, the economy driven by TikTok can continue to churn.

"My whole livelihood was on the line this weekend," Live shopping host Kimberly Balance told Business Insider. "Never experienced anything like this the entire time that I've been a business owner."

Balance, who goes by KIMMIEBBAGS, sells luxury consignment goods on TikTok, Instagram, and the marketplace platform Whatnot. Last week, she relocated her business from Florida to California to expand her live shopping operations.

Balance was set to host a six-hour live shopping show on TikTok on Saturday as part of a new live shopping partnership she had struck with Reunited Luxury. On Thursday evening, TikTok informed her that her Friday meeting with the platform's luxury sales manager was canceled. Her show on Saturday was canceled soon after, in a blow to her business' revenue.

Since it launched in 2023, TikTok's online marketplace, TikTok Shop, has quickly become a prime source of revenue for creators on the platform. The app also has an affiliate program where creators can earn a commission for sales they help drive by tagging products in videos or live streams. Creators can also package products from different sellers on their profiles for users to search through. TikTok takes a cut of each transaction.

In its April 2024 economic impact report, the company said TikTok "brings tens of billions of dollars to the US economy," including $15 billion in revenue to small businesses that use the app, supporting more than 224,000 jobs. Business Insider could not independently confirm these internal statistics.

Before TikTok "went dark" on Saturday night, some creators on the platform told Business Insider they worried the ban could hurt them financially.

In a press release for the social media app Own, one creator, ChalkDunny, said he made more than 60% of his income in 2024. Another creator, izzybizzyspider, said in the release that TikTok is her "biggest source of income and biggest platform."

She warned that creators on the app have to be "prepared to be flexible and adapt quickly."

Nadya Okamoto, founder of menstrual-care brand August, which sells products on TikTok, told Business Insider she is "relieved" that TikTok came back online. However, she said the ongoing volatility over the ban prompted her to develop a contingency plan that reduces her reliance on the app.

"I've been encouraging my followers to connect with me on platforms like Instagram and YouTube for updates," she said. "I'm also exploring other affiliate shopping opportunities, such as YouTube Shop, where I've started adding shoppable products—particularly in my skincare-related videos."

Balance said she plans to switch up the platforms where she does business, given TikTok's still-uncertain future.

"We're going to continue probably to lean on the other channels like Instagram and possibly launch a YouTube," she said. "I think this is just an eye opener for all small businesses that we need to have a diverse way to reach our audiences."

TikTok did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider for this story.

• Lebanon elected General Joseph Aoun as president earlier this month, ending a two-year presidential vacuum.
• Just days later, Nawaf Salam was named as the country's prime minister.
• Business Insider has taken a look at what the moves mean for Hezbollah.

Lebanon elected General Joseph Aoun, the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), as president earlier this month, ending a more than two-year presidential vacuum.

Just days later, Nawaf Salam, who had been serving as the president of the International Court of Justice, was named as prime minister, replacing the Hezbollah-backed caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati.

The moves marked a dramatic shift in Lebanon's power balance and highlighted the weakened state of Hezbollah, one of the country's most powerful political players.

Here's what we know about Lebanon's shifting political landscape and what it means for Hezbollah.

The political shake-up in Lebanon — which operates a sectarian power-sharing system — comes in the wake of Hezbollah's costly conflict with Israel.

The group had been exchanging strikes with Israeli forces since October 2023, in the wake of Hamas' October 7 attacks.

But it was thrown into disarray after Israel killed its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and wounded thousands of its fighters with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies.

A cease-fire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah took effect in November.

However, the group was dealt another major blow by the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime the following month. Syria had offered Iran an important pipeline through which it could transfer weapons and supplies to Hezbollah, but the fall of Assad effectively cut this route off.

These events have come as heavy blows to Hezbollah, depleting its resources and diminishing its ability to project its influence into Lebanese politics.

The appointments of Aoun and Salam may further compound Hezbollah's position.

Aoun was seen as the favored candidate of both the US and Saudi Arabia, which had spent years trying to end Lebanon's political stalemate.

A rival candidate preferred by Hezbollah had withdrawn prior to the vote, paving the way for Aoun's election.

While Aoun could help secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, his forces may present a new obstacle for Hezbollah.

"If the Lebanese army expands its presence into areas formerly controlled by Hezbollah, it will be more challenging for the group to rebuild its capabilities," said Will Todman, the deputy director and senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

"And if President Aoun alone is credited with securing international funding for reconstruction, it could further the sense that Hezbollah abandoned its constituents during and after the conflict with Israel," Todman added.

However, Aoun may be reluctant to provoke Hezbollah as he seeks to stabilize a country that has been mired in economic crisis and devastated by Israeli strikes.

"Hezbollah, no doubt, will be sharply watching the new president's moves in the coming months," wrote Nicholas Blanford, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Middle East Programs. "Aoun is a pragmatist and is unlikely to provoke a confrontation with Hezbollah that, despite receiving a battering in the recent war, remains domestically powerful and potentially dangerous if it feels threatened."

While Hezbollah did not oppose Aoun's nomination, Salam's appointment as prime minister is said to have angered the group — which had sought to get Mikati reappointed.

Mohammed Raad, a Hezbollah lawmaker, reportedly said the group had taken "a positive step" by helping elect Aoun as president and was "hoping to find that hand extended, only to find it was cut off."

Salam has committed to implementing a UN Security Council resolution related to the Israeli conflict with Hezbollah that, in part, says Hezbollah should not have an armed presence near the border with Israel.

However, analysts say Salam is unlikely to risk provoking the group too much while he tends to more pressing needs.

"Salam is highly unlikely to juggle his uphill battle to extract Lebanon from near-total collapse while clashing — politically or otherwise — with one of the country's most socially and politically powerful factions," David Daoud, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said.

For his part, Salam has said that the formation of a new government would not be delayed, that his hands were "extended to everyone," and that he was committed to starting "a new chapter" in Lebanon "rooted in justice, security, progress, and opportunities," per Reuters.

Aoun and Salam

Aoun joined the LAF in 1983, during the Lebanese Civil War, and he became its commander in 2017. His forces have an important role in maintaining the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

Aoun is regarded as a "no-nonsense," nonpartisan figure who tends to avoid political discussions, the Associated Press reported.

Bilal Saab, a former Pentagon official who met Aoun on multiple occasions, told the outlet that the president was a "very sweet man, very compassionate, very warm."

"He really was viciously nonpartisan, did not have any interest in even delivering speeches or doing media," Saab said. "He wanted to take care of business, and his only order of business was commanding the Lebanese army."

Salam became Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations in New York in 2007. He held the position for 10 years.

In 2018, he was elected a judge on the ICJ, and he became its president in 2024.

Salam presided over ICJ hearings stemming from South Africa's allegations that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

World leaders and officials from around the world have welcomed the appointments of Aoun and Salam.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that he "strongly" believed Aoun was "the right leader for this time."

"President Aoun will provide critical leadership as Lebanon and Israel fully implement that cessation of hostilities and as hundreds of thousands of people return to their homes and Lebanon recovers and rebuilds," he said.

The Iranian embassy in Lebanon also welcomed the news, saying it looked forward to working with Aoun to strengthen relations between the two nations.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres took to X to congratulate Salam on being named prime minister.

"The road ahead for Lebanon is filled with promise but also great tests," he wrote.

In Israel, the news gave rise to mixed reactions.

Israel's minister of foreign affairs, Gideon Sa'ar, congratulated Lebanon on the appointment of Aoun, but he criticized Salam's nomination.

"The President of the ICJ, just appointed Prime Minister of Lebanon, has called Israel an enemy," he wrote. "How can such a person be expected to judge Israel fairly? President Salam's decisions regarding Israel must be disqualified immediately. Otherwise they might as well take the 'J' out of the ICJ."

• The TikTok ban, which may be shortlived, prompted some users to reevaluate scrolling culture.
• The app went dark over the weekend before Trump said he would extend TikTok's deadline to sell.
• The uncertainty drove many users to other apps. Others said they might ditch scrolling altogether.

As the days turned into hours ahead of the TikTok ban, many Americans shared a common refrain: "Follow me on RedNote!"

The mass migration to yet another Chinese-owned short-form video app pushed Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, to the top of Apple's app store, with Lemon8, TikTok's sister app, close behind. Apps like Instagram, X, and YouTube are also vying for users' attention.

Some TikTok users, however, say that the confusion over the app's future is causing them to consider another option: Ditch scrolling altogether.

TikTok went dark overnight on Saturday in anticipation of a ban. Then, on Sunday, it began coming back online after President-elect Donald Trump said he would delay the ban via executive order.

It was just the latest about-face in a week of uncertainty that left TikTok users feeling "jerked around," Casey Lewis, author of the youth consumer insights newsletter After School, told Business Insider.

"I think this has been the weirdest week on TikTok, from a consumption standpoint," Lewis said. "I had an onslaught of people resharing the first TikTok they ever made or the first sound they ever saved, so that sort of nostalgia."

At 37, Lewis said she's seen her share of social media apps come and go.

"These young people who stumbled onto TikTok, unless something just is totally right there, easy to jump into, I can't see that they will seek something out, and I do think that their screen time will drop," Lewis said.

From mourning to reevaluating

While many users said they would find similar apps to fill the void left by TikTok, others said they'd look for better things to do, like read, work out, or even "touch grass" to avoid being pulled onto yet another app and back into "doom-scrolling" culture in general.

"I am a victim of doom-scrolling all the time. I really shouldn't be because I have a baby too, so it's like when she's napping, I should really be getting stuff done, but I'm on my phone on TikTok," Robin Reineke, a 28-year-old real-estate agent in St. Louis, told Business Insider.

Reineke said she made some money from her lifestyle content on TikTok, but it wasn't her whole life or her sole source of income. Part of what made the app special was its algorithm and the community it forged among its users, as if "you're on FaceTime with your best friends," she said.

Given the app's unresolved future, she intends to pour more time and energy into herself and her work.

"I'm excited to be able to take my life back, and I am trying to focus on this new healthy era for myself," she said. "It's giving me the opportunity to just focus back on physical and mental health and not consuming so much of what everybody else is doing all the time."

Creators question moving to other social media apps

Users aren't the only ones reassessing — content creators are, too.

Sierra Boudreaux, a 26-year-old who worked in finance until she became a full-time content creator, had similar thoughts. In a TikTok she posted last week, she joked: "And if we do lose this, I don't think I'm going to RedNote. Like, I think I'm just going to have a baby, shit!"

While she told BI she was mostly poking fun at her screentime on TikTok — "If I'm not spending all of my time creating content or consuming content on this app, I would have the time to then get pregnant, have a baby, raise a child" — she said she is skeptical about pivoting to RedNote, which she said may not have as many branding and monetization opportunities as other apps that are more established in the United States.

"I think that while it could be fun," Boudreaux said, "a lot of creators are probably like me in this mode where it's like, 'Okay, what is our next pivot career-wise, and what makes a lot of sense to invest our time in?'"

While RedNote is well-established in China, it could be just a "blip in the radar" for Americans, Boudreaux said.

"Should I be creating content for this up-and-coming (in the US market, at least) platform?" she said. "Or should I be focusing on X, my podcast that I have, Instagram, the whole Meta universe?"

Boudreaux said spending time reading or training for a marathon might be a better move for her, noting that she had already scaled down her TikTok screentime in recent months.

"As a creator engaging with other creators, whether they're mutuals of mine or not, there's this underlying level of comparison. What is their engagement? What are their views? What are their likes? And so it wasn't really just this reprieve for me, it was also this breeding ground for me to see what everyone else doing and then compare myself to it," she said. "So I have filled my time in other ways."

The business of magic in a bottle

While some people might rethink their social media habits, the majority will likely focus on finding an adequate substitute (at least until TikTok figures out its future), Charles Lindsey, an associate professor of marketing at the University at Buffalo's School of Management, told BI.

When there's industry change for regulatory or competitive reasons, "sometimes you'll see a certain percentage of people that will say, 'You know what? I'm going to take this time to reflect and unplug before I decide what to do next.' And that's certainly a valid response," Lindsey said.

But the vast majority of users would still end up migrating to other apps if they haven't already, he said.

So the race is on to see which app can absorb wayward TikTok users, whether that's RedNote or Lemon8, Meta platforms, X, or YouTube. There's also a possibility that other apps emerge to fill the void, Lindsey said.

"For a lot of users and content creators, it really boils down to dollars and cents," Lindsey said. "I think whichever platform makes the most sense in terms of pushing out their content, developing a critical mass of followers, and getting their existing followers to migrate over and so on."

Though the TikTok ban brought on a distinct upswing in Mark Zuckerberg-hate and promises to boycott his apps, outrage alone may not be enough to move the needle on which app ultimately fills the void.

"I think you can have a preference, and we're seeing that with RedNote shooting up to the top," Lindsey added. "Whether that then becomes the app of choice three, six months, a year down the road, I think it all boils down to the functionality of the app."

It may also come down to mimicking the magic-in-a-bottle that was the TikTok experience, which had a unique rise to popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent five-year reign, Lewis said. TikTok had an "unbeatable" algorithm and comment sections that kept users entertained and engaged, she said.

"I think if they have to search too hard for a suitable alternative, then they will reevaluate their time," Lewis said. "Consumers aren't lazy, but they aren't going to jump through hoops in order to figure out a way to waste time on the internet."

• Steve Bannon told ABC News that Trump "broke" the tech giants who've embraced him.
• "He broke them, and they surrendered," the ex-Trump White House aide said on Sunday.
• Bannon has expressed skepticism toward Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Ex-Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said Sunday during an ABC News interview that the attendance of high-profile tech moguls at Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday signals their "official surrender" to the president-elect.

Bannon, while speaking with journalist Jonathan Karl on "This Week," said he wasn't surprised by the expected appearances of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Trump's inaugural.

"As soon as Zuckerberg said, 'I've been invited. I'm going,' the floodgates opened up, and they were all there knocking, trying to be supplicants," Bannon told Karl. "I think most people in our movement look at this as President Trump broke the oligarchs; he broke them, and they surrendered."

Bannon then pointed to President Joe Biden's farewell speech last week, when the departing president warned that "an oligarchy is taking shape in America," expressing his view that extreme wealth and influence threatened the nation.

"When Biden talks about that… they only became oligarchs when they flipped on him when they surrendered, and they're going to come to Trump's thing," Bannon said.

The former Trump aide then compared the attendance of the tech titans to Japan officially surrendering on the USS Missouri in September 1945, an event which marked the end of World War II.

"He's like Gen. Douglas MacArthur," Bannon said of the president-elect. "That is an official surrender, and I think it's powerful."

Bezos and Zuckerberg are set to be guests at Trump's inauguration, and Musk — a political ally of Trump who has become a fixture of the president-elect's political orbit — will also be in attendance.

Amazon and Meta each donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund. Other companies have also donated money as many business leaders seek to establish or strengthen ties with Trump ahead of his second term.

Bannon, during the ABC interview, however expressed skepticism of their recent warmness toward Trump.

"Zuckerberg's, you know, road to Damascus came a little late. It was after the Fifth of November," Bannon told Karl. "It's very, you know, now wants to be a bro. … That doesn't hack it with me."

"That guy will flip on President Trump, and he'll flip on us in a second when it's convenient for him," he added.

Earlier in January, Bannon called Musk a "truly evil guy" after the tech mogul stood behind his support of H-1B visas. Many conservatives have argued against the visas, insistent that the skilled-worker program is detrimental to American workers.

"I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day," Bannon said at the time.

Business Insider reached out to Amazon and Meta for comment.

• Costco workers affiliated with the Teamsters union have voted in favor of going on strike.
• The strike will start if no deal is reached by the January 31 deadline.
• Teamsters president Sean O'Brien has pledged to win "the strongest contract in Costco's history."

Costco workers are ready to strike.

Unionized warehouse employees affiliated with the Teamsters union have voted "overwhelmingly" in favor of going on strike, the union told Business Insider.

The vote came ahead of a January 31 contract expiration deadline. The contract covers over 18,000 workers across the United States, including the recently unionized warehouse in Norfolk, Virginia. Costco employs over 300,000 people worldwide, over 200,000 of which work in the United States.

"Costco's greedy executives have less than two weeks to do the right thing," Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said in a statement. "If they refuse, they'll have no one to blame but themselves when our members go on strike."

Representatives for Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI on the vote. Costco CEO Ron Vachris addressed the negotiations during a quarterly earnings call in December, saying that the company is focused on a "fair and timely process" to reach an agreement.

"We have a 40-year track record of dealing fairly with the Teamsters union," he added. "And we're going to do everything we can to take care of those employees as we do all of our employees."

Last week, local chapters in New York, California, and Costco's home state of Washington held practice picket activities, carrying signs reading "Just Sampling" and "A taste of what's to come."

Of those who participated in the strike authorization vote, 85% voted in favor. The vote empowers the Teamsters bargaining committee to call for a strike once the contract has expired.

"We are the backbone of Costco," Bryan Fields, a Costco worker in Baltimore and member of Teamsters Local 570, said in a statement. "We drive its success and generate its profits."

O'Brien has pledged to win "the strongest contract in Costco's history," with a raft of proposals, including higher wages and expanded benefits.

Bargaining is set to resume on Monday.

If you are a Costco worker who wants to share your perspective, please contact Dominick via email or text/call/Signal at 646.768.4750. Responses will be kept confidential, and Business Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a non-work device when reaching out.

• Donald Trump and Elon Musk are looming large over this year's World Economic Forum.
• Protests in Davos began on Sunday, with some demonstrators blocking traffic.
• The president of the Young Socialists called out Musk's meddling in European politics.

Protests against the World Economic Forum in Davos began on Sunday, with demonstrators showing up to make their voices heard on issues like economic inequality and the climate crisis.

There are two other concerns on their minds this year, too: President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Dozens of protesters from the Young Socialists Switzerland, an offshoot of the country's Social Democratic Party, gathered on Sunday outside the Hotel Davoserhof, just off the main promenade in Davos. Other demonstrators blocked traffic further down the mountain, preventing some meeting attendees from reaching their destination.

About 3,000 world leaders also descended on the snow-blanketed town of Davos on Sunday ahead of the conference, where they will discuss issues ranging from clean energy to artificial intelligence.

Mirjam Hostetmann, president of the Young Socialists, said economic inequality, climate change, and global conflicts were top of mind for demonstrators.

However, with Trump set to be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, his shadow, along with Musk's, also loomed large.

"For us, Trump is a danger to democracy," Hostetmann told Business Insider. "His colleague Elon Musk is now disturbing the democracy in Europe. It's a symbol of how dangerous the power of the rich is for us all."

Trump, who is expected to be a big topic of conversation over the week, will address the forum remotely, the WEF announced. The timing of his inauguration has also left CEOs with a dilemma: Attend Trump's big day or attend the first day of Davos.

Musk, who has criticized the WEF, will lead Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which seeks to drastically cut government spending. In recent weeks, Musk has also championed right-wing politics in Europe.

"Trump is, of course, a big worry we have," said Charlotte Günther, another member of the Young Socialists. She said she was there because climate change and global conflicts are her biggest concerns.

"The biggest issue is that you can't put profit over the environment," she told BI. "I will listen to the speeches, make some noise, and try to show those people that we're here."

One climate protester dressed as Trump was getting a lot of attention from passers-by. "We have a real issue, and he has the power to make a change," he told BI, referring to the next US president.

Hostetmann said the Young Socialists expected other groups to join them in the coming hours and days, including anti-capitalism activists from Strike WEF. A march is scheduled for later in the week, she added.

"It's funny because I will be invited to the forum," Hostetmann said. "But my place is here, not there."

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

• TikTok went dark for American users on Saturday night.
• TikTok users directed their anger at Mark Zuckerberg and Meta.
• TikTok began returning on Sunday after Trump said he'd issue an executive order delaying a ban.

The hate train started almost immediately after TikTok went dark.

"Why do you ruin everything you touch," one Instagram user wrote.

"Btw tik tok is a better app. Reels will never be tik tok, reels only exist cus of tik tok. You stole stories from snap chat and you made threads cus of twitter," another wrote.

"You are hated by 170 million people," wrote yet another.

All these comments from so-called TikTok 'refugees' showed up on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's most recent Instagram post, which was posted shortly after TikTok went dark for American users on Saturday night. The video of a surfing Zuckerberg, which was initially filled with Instagram users lauding his skills, was quickly overrun with angry users.

Their frustration may be short-lived. TikTok announced Sunday it was 'restoring service' after President-election Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order on Monday delaying the ban.

For those few hours, however — and for the days leading up to the potential ban — TikTok users directed their ire at Meta apps like Instagram and Facebook. A flyer promoting a boycott of the apps — dubbed "Lights Out Meta" and scheduled from January 19 to 26 — circulated on Reddit.

Others flocked to RedNote, another Chinese-owned app, and Lemon8, TikTok's sister app, the fate of which appears to be following that of TikTok.

On X, users said their frustrations stemmed in part from the US government citing national security concerns as a reason to ban TikTok.

When the Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday that requires TikTok to divest its US-based operations or effectively cease operations, the justices said it was "necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."

Some X users said that stance is hypocritical because American-based apps like Facebook have also shared user data with foreign entities. Facebook said it had data-sharing partnerships with at least four Chinese electronics companies — including Huawei — in 2018, according to The New York Times. The outlet reported that American intelligence officials had previously flagged Huawei as a national security threat.

More recently, senators sent a letter to Zuckerberg questioning Meta about documents showing that Facebook developers in China and Russia had access to user data, according to Reuters. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio shared the letter on his website in 2023.

"It appears from these documents that Facebook has known, since at least September 2018, that hundreds of thousands of developers in countries Facebook characterized as 'high-risk,' including the People's Republic of China (PRC), had access to significant amounts of sensitive user data," the letter read.

One X user cited The New York Times article about Facebook's data-sharing partnerships with Chinese companies.

"Folks forgot about this with all the focus on TikTok, but Meta/Facebook was selling your data to China for years," the user wrote.

As some American TikTok users regained access to their accounts, they celebrate on competing social media sites.

"MY TIKTOK IS WORKING ITS BACK EVERYONE," one X user wrote.

A representative for Meta did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• "Marvel Snap" was removed from US app stores alongside TikTok this weekend.
• The Supreme Court upheld a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok, affecting its other apps too.
• "Marvel Rivals" is so far unaffected but is also owned by a major Chinese conglomerate.

"Marvel Snap," a popular mobile card game, is now gone from US app stores as a consequence of the TikTok drama.

TikTok followed through on its promise to "go dark" in the United States on Saturday night after the Supreme Court upheld a law requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to find a non-Chinese buyer for its US operations.

Its offline status was short-lived, however.

TikTok began coming back online on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order extending the deadline for TikTok to find a buyer.

While current users can access TikTok, the social media app and other ones owned by ByteDance are still not available in app stores. That includes video editing app Cap Cut, social media app Lemon8, and "Marvel Snap."

Users who tried to log into "Marvel Snap" on Sunday were met with a similar message to the one that for several hours greeted users on TikTok. The message says that "Marvel Snap" is currently "not available" after a law was enacted that banned the app in the United States.

"Rest assured we're working to restore our service in the US. Please stay tuned!" the message says. In a since deleted post, "Marvel Snap" developers said on X that they were not told the app would shut down before the ban.

"Unfortunately, MARVEL SNAP is temporarily unavailable in US app stores and is unavailable to play in the US," the post said. "This outage is a surprise to us and wasn't planned. MARVEL SNAP isn't going anywhere. We're actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will update you once we have more to share."

"Marvel Snap" isn't the only popular Marvel game owned and created by a large Chinese developer. "Marvel Rivals," developed by Chinese company NetEase, was released in December to massive player numbers across the United States.

"Marvel Rivals" hit a peak player count of over 640,000 on Steam, the PC game store, this month, in addition to being one of the top games in the PlayStation and Xbox stores, according to Forbes.

In December, just weeks before the TikTok and "Marvel Snap" ban was to go into effect, "Marvel Rivals" and "Marvel Snap" participated in collaborative events, which required users to log in to their accounts on each game, sharing account information between the two.

"Marvel Rivals" also participated in similar events in December with "Fortnite," which is owned by American developer Epic Games. Tencent, another Chinese gaming mega-corporation, owns about 29% of Epic Games.

Tencent has a strong footing in the US games industry. It owns 100% of Riot Games, which makes "League of Legends" and "Valorant," and has significant investments in the makers of "Clash of Clans," among others.

While companies like NetEase and Tencent don't have a specific "app," laws like the one targeting ByteDance could ultimately lead to scrutiny of their involvement in the US games industry, games YouTuber and analyst Paul Tassi wrote in Forbes.

"The claim here could be that Tencent being intimately involved with loads of major games that US citizens, and particularly children, are playing might be a "harmful" Chinese influence, or something along those lines," Tassi wrote.

Marvel Studios did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider on Sunday.

• TikTok says it is "restoring service" in the United States.
• The company had turned off its app for its 170 million US users on Saturday.
• President-elect Donald Trump said he will issue an executive order on Monday to delay a TikTok ban.

TikTok said on Sunday it is "restoring service" after shutting down its app in the United States to comply with a divest-or-ban law.

The app began coming back online for US users first through web browsers and later on the mobile app.

The company told advertising partners on Sunday that it would soon become available for the majority of US users, but they should expect "some temporary service instability," according to a memo obtained by Business Insider.

"In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service," TikTok wrote in a statement to BI. "We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive."

President-elect Donald Trump said on social media on Sunday morning he would issue an executive order to extend the time before "the law's prohibitions take effect," adding that "there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark" before the order.

The company said it will work with President Trump on a "long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."

A message appearing on TikTok on Sunday after the app came back online said that TikTok is back "as a result of President Trump's efforts."

TikTok switched off its app for its 170 million US users on Saturday, shortly before a legally imposed deadline for owner ByteDance to sell the US version of the app or effectively cease operating in the country. Apple and Google have both removed TikTok from their stores.

The TikTok shutdown followed a drawn-out legal battle over the ban-or-divest law, which was passed by Congress last year. The law required TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app's US operations by January 19 or be banned.

As the deadline neared, a message on the app popped up at around 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday: "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now."

"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!"

• President-elect Trump said he'll sign an executive order on Monday delaying the TikTok ban.
• The social media app went dark on Saturday just before a federal ban took effect. It is now being restored.
• Trump once sought to ban TikTok in the US. But over the past year, he has embraced the app.

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said he plans to issue an executive order after his inauguration on Monday to delay enforcement of the TikTok ban.

Trump, who's just a day away from being sworn into office for his second term, made the statement on his Truth Social platform hours after the hugely popular social media app went dark.

The president-elect said his executive order would "extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect" and added that "there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark" prior to the order.

Trump didn't specify the length of time he'd give ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to find a non-Chinese buyer, but he said he'd like the United States to "have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture."

"Without U.S. approval, there is no TikTok," the president-elect wrote. "With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars - maybe trillions."

It wasn't immediately clear if Trump meant the US government or just a US entity.

Shortly after Trump's remarks on Truth Social, TikTok, in a statement to Business Insider, said it was "in the process of restoring service" to its users in the United States.

"We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive," TikTok said.

TikTok's stoppage came after ByteDance spent months challenging a law that required the company to divest from its US app or effectively be cut off from operating in the country.

Last year, the TikTok ban was easily passed in both the House and the Senate in bipartisan votes, with many lawmakers expressing national security concerns about ByteDance.

Biden signed the TikTok ban bill into law in April 2024.

After TikTok on Saturday said it would "go dark" in the US unless Biden intervened, the administration called the statement a "stunt."

"It is a stunt, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump Administration takes office on Monday," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Reuters.

Trump during his first term unsuccessfully sought to ban TikTok in the United States, but has since shied away from that position. During the 2024 presidential campaign, he said young people would "go crazy without it." Trump himself joined TikTok in advance of the 2024 race.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a Trump ally, said on X on Sunday that he's long been opposed to a TikTok ban, arguing that it infringed on "freedom of speech."

"That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced. Something needs to change," Musk wrote.

• TikTok went dark for 170 million users in the US on Saturday.
• Other ByteDance apps were also pulled from the app store in the US.
• Apple has released a list of all the apps that were affected.

Apple has released a list of all the apps it has taken down alongside TikTok after the US shutdown.

In a statement, Apple said it was "obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates," and as such, apps developed by ByteDance and its subsidiaries would no longer be available for download or updates on the US app store from Sunday.

See Apple's list here.

CapCut

CapCut, an AI-powered video editing service that can be connected to TikTok, has also gone offline in the US. CapCut was a staple for adding transitions, syncing sounds, or adding AI-generated effects.

Lemon8

Lemon8, ByteDance's answer to Instagram, has also been blocked for US users, despite efforts to promote the app to TikTok users in the run-up to the ban.

Hypic

Hypic combined photo editing with AI, giving users tools to enhance photo quality or transform images into AI art, including digital cartoons.

Lark

Lark is a professional collaboration platform with messaging, video calls, and cloud storage. It is comparable to Slack and other communication platforms.

Gauth

Gauth is an AI-driven app for solving academic problems. It allows users to snap pictures of homework and receive detailed solutions.

Marvel Snap

Marvel Snap is a Marvel Universe-based digital collectible card game published by Nuverse, which is owned by ByteDance.

Second Dinner, the game's developer, published a statement on X following the shutdown.

"In a surprise to Second Dinner and our publisher Nuverse, MARVEL SNAP was affected by the takedown of TikTok late on Saturday, January 18th," it said.

"MARVEL SNAP isn't going anywhere. We're actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will update you once we have more to share," it added.

TikTok is banking on Trump's help

TikTok went dark in the US on Saturday, less than two hours before a scheduled ban was set to take effect.

The unprecedented shutdown has effectively blocked access to one of the world's leading social media platforms, with 170 million Americans losing access.

The shutdown came after a protracted legal battle over a law that required ByteDance to divest from its US app or see it banned.

The Supreme Court ruled to uphold the ban after TikTok challenged the law, which paved the way for Saturday's shutdown.

At around 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time, a message began appearing on users' screens: "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now."

The company also indicated that it was relying on President-elect Donald Trump to save the app.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said he would "issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security."

• I shop at Costco once or twice a week and try to spend under $100 on each trip.
• I think the Kirkland Signature cashews and chicken breasts are some of the best deals at Costco.
• I always make sure we have Boston lettuce, Kerrygold Irish butter, and artisan rolls.

I'm at Costco so often that I feel like I live there.

I usually visit the wholesale retailer once — sometimes twice — a week and keep each shopping trip under $100. I love to cook for myself and my husband and find it's a great place to get all of my ingredients and other essential groceries.

Here are some of my favorite things to get at Costco. (Notably, I don't buy all of these groceries on every trip since many of them can last us more than a week.)

When I'm looking for carbs, I pick up artisan rolls.

While in Costco's bakery section, I usually pick up a 12-pack of Kirkland Signature artisan rolls for $7.

They're crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, and I use them as a side for an entrée salad or as a main-course carb.

Plus, the rolls freeze well if we're not going to finish them before they start to get stale.

I top my yogurt with NuTrail nut granola.

The NuTrail nut granola has the best flavor and texture. I like that the mix is smooth instead of packed with big, clunky chunks.

Plus, it's crunchy, slightly sweet, and doesn't have added sugar.

I usually pay $10 for a 22-ounce bag — about half the price of what I've seen for similar granola in regular grocery stores.

If I want even more crunch in my yogurt, I add some Kirkland Signature cashews.

I love it when my yogurt has a great crunch — to add even more, I use Kirkland Signature whole cashews with sea salt. Plus, they add protein.

I think they're a great buy at $13 for a 40-ounce bag. I won't buy cashews anywhere else.

Kerrygold Irish butter is almost always in my fridge.

There's nothing like a roll with a smear of fresh and creamy Kerrygold Irish butter for breakfast.

This butter has a great, rich flavor. A pack of four 8-ounce sticks usually costs $15.50 at Costco and lasts through the week for straight-up eating (OK, I love my dairy), cooking, and baking.

Norwegian smoked salmon slices are a lunch staple in my house.

Costco has Norwegian smoked salmon slices at $14.50 a pound, and a 12-ounce pack lasts us a whole week.

There are three different seasonings in the pack: dill, pepper, and traditional.

When I eat these on a roll with onion, tomato, and cream cheese, I'm reminded of when I'd get lunch at corner delis in New York City.

I love using Kirkland Signature organic chicken for a variety of meals.

When it comes to dinner, I can't get enough chicken. So, I often pick up a pack of Kirkland Signature organic chicken breasts for about $6 a pound.

I'll either bake the breasts in a honey-Dijon sauce or slice them thin for cutlets. I also boil some of the chicken to use for making food for my dog.

A jar of Better than Bouillon lasts me a while.

I pick up Better than Bouillon roasted-chicken base at Costco anytime I run out.

Fortunately, a 21-ounce jar is only $9 and lasts me quite a while. I use a little bit of this, white wine, and lemon when making my chicken cutlets.

A bag of avocados goes a long way.

One of my favorite ways to incorporate fresh produce into my diet is with avocados.

I add them to my lunches and salads, usually only using ¼ of an avocado at a time. A bag of avocadoes at Costco costs about $8 and lasts us a week or so without going bad.

I love my crunchy Boston lettuce.

Boston lettuce, also known as butterhead lettuce, is soft, flavorful, and crunchy. I like to use this for salads and pair it with avocado, too.

A plastic, three-head clamshell of lettuce costs $7 at Costco and lasts us a whole week.

Campari tomatoes are my go-to buy during colder months.

I often pick up a clamshell of Campari tomatoes at Costco for just over $5, especially once the season for growing them in my backyard is over.

They're flavorful and small enough that they don't feel too watery.

I find they're the perfect finishing touch for a salad drizzled with olive oil, lemon, and a sprinkle of Parmesan. (I also buy Parmesan in bulk at Costco whenever I run out!)

Click to keep reading Costco diaries like this one.

• Many of the world's secrets, from individual finances to national security, rely on encryption.
• Major developments in quantum computing call for new security procedures, researchers told BI.
• Quantum computers could end encryption as we know it and risk geopolitical instability.

As Donald Trump prepares to take office, he's leaning into his self-proclaimed title of "crypto president," launching his own official meme coin and working on a potential federal reserve of bitcoin.

Crypto holdings are widely regarded as ultra-secure due to the blockchain they are traded on. The high value of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, worth over $100,000 each at the time of publication, could serve as a hedge against inflation or pay down the national debt.

Recent advancements in quantum computing could undermine that security — and a whole lot more — two researchers on the advanced technology explained to Business Insider.

"What we're talking about is the possibility of a hack, not just into individual cryptocurrencies, but our larger financial markets," Arthur Herman, director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute, said.

Quantum computing is a rapidly evolving technology that combines the disciplines of computer science, mathematics, and quantum mechanics to solve more complex problems more quickly than is possible through classical computing.

Where classical computing uses binary digits — 0s and 1s, called bits — to represent information, quantum computing relies on the quantum equivalent of bits, called qubits, which are represented by a superposition of multiple states, such as 0, 1, or a combination of both.

Qubits themselves are unstable, and it's difficult to predict their behavior. They behave differently when observed, making measuring their state challenging, and require specific conditions such as low light or extremely cold environments to replicate results reliably and without errors. The errors become especially pronounced, and the qubits behavior less reliable, when scaling the computing power up using additional qubits — making advancement in the field slowgoing.

A qubit's capacity to exist in multiple states at once, like a spinning coin appearing to show both heads and tails simultaneously, allows quantum computers to quickly calculate equations with multiple solutions and perform advanced computations that would be impossible for classical computers.

Researchers in the field agree that the previously unsolvable computations could help discover new drugs, develop new chemical compounds, break our current encryption methods, and reverse the pseudonymity of the blockchain.

Supercomputers: 10 septillion years behind

Last month, Google unveiled Willow, its new quantum chip, which represents a major advancement in commercial quantum computing. The company says Willow can perform a standard benchmark computation, an industry-accepted calculation used to measure the performance of quantum computers, in under five minutes — a task that would take the current fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete. That's 10 followed by 24 zeroes, a timeframe that exceeds the age of the universe.

Willow also solves a challenge related to correcting errors in the qubits' behavior while scaling the computing power up, which has plagued the industry for 30 years. Other private companies, like IBM and Microsoft, allies like France, and adversaries including Russia and China, are also working to develop the tech.

Karl Holmqvist has served as a quantum security advisor to major government bodies, including the Department of Defense and NATO. He is the CEO of Lastwall, which provides cybersecurity solutions designed to protect users from quantum computing threats. Holmqvist said that while the timeframe for creating a large, fully functional quantum computer — compared to the midsize versions with still unreliable qubit behavior we have now — remains unclear, the things such a device will be able to do when the technology becomes more stable are starting to come into focus.

"A really concerning thing is that, right now, when we store personal information, we encrypt that data, and we often encrypt it with systems that use public key cryptography — and that's what quantum computers may come to actually break," Holmqvist said. "So we have to think of all the databases and all the systems that have records of what we do, and there is a problem for privacy."

It's not just basic data privacy or the risk of personal financial details becoming public. Encrypted data, from national security secrets to the blockchain and beyond, will be readily accessible and, more worryingly, manipulatable by anyone with a quantum-capable system.

"When you start peeling back the layers, it's like anything that's internet-connected will likely have problems," Holmqvist said. "A lot of the time, we trust that the links between systems are secure and the data that's gone between them is secure, and there's no way to get into those that they're encrypted. If you take away that default assumption, it allows so many new entry points into systems that it becomes quite concerning."

Herman, the director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative, told BI that a hack from a quantum computer would be "totally stealth" due to a quantum machine's potential ability to lay bare encryption and operate inside computer systems without leaving a trace, meaning a bad actor could cause "catastrophic" damage without being detected.

"It's not a situation like with a conventional hacker, where he breaks into one system, into one bank or one cryptocurrency exchange, and then when he's finished with one, has to move on to the next," Herman said. "Once you've cracked one system, you've cracked them all, and you can help yourself, almost instantaneously, to whatever assets or moneys you want."

Herman said the race to achieve reliable quantum computing mirrors the nuclear arms race, but officials aren't taking the risk nearly as seriously as he thinks they should.

"From the point of view of where we stand in our competition with Russia and particularly China, the race to a quantum computer should be one of the major factors and threats that we want to be able to deter," Herman said. "But it's also a challenge that we want to come out on top of and be the first ones with a quantum computer because, ultimately, that'll be the real deterrence to this kind of threat: If you try to do it to us, then we can do it with even more devastating effect on you."

• On March 4, 1925, nearly 100 years ago, President Calvin Coolidge was inaugurated for a second time.
• He served a partial term beginning in 1923 after the death of President Warren G. Harding.
• Coolidge's inauguration was the first to be broadcast live on the radio, with 22.8 million listeners.

On January 20, Donald Trump will be inaugurated for his second non-consecutive term as president in a tradition as old as the United States itself.

Nearly 100 years ago, President Calvin Coolidge took the same oath of office outside the Capitol. His inauguration was the first to be broadcast live on the radio, and he did not host any inaugural balls as part of his efforts to curb excessive government spending.

In honor of the coming inauguration, here's a look back at what the celebrations looked like a century ago.

President Calvin Coolidge, first lady Grace Coolidge, Vice President Charles Dawes, and second lady Caro Dawes posed together at the White House before leaving for the inauguration.

Calvin Coolidge served a partial term beginning in 1923 after the death of President Warren G. Harding and was reelected in 1924.

Charles Dawes was chosen as Coolidge's vice presidential nominee at the 1924 Republican National Convention.

Onlookers lined the streets of Washington, DC, to catch a glimpse of the president.

Calvin Coolidge and Grace Coolidge rode to the inauguration in a convertible automobile accompanied by a mounted honor guard and cavalry escort.

At a press conference ahead of the inauguration, Calvin Coolidge said he intended for the event to be "moderate in its proportions and moderate in its expenditures." He saved the joint Congressional Inaugural Committee $16,000 by reducing the size of the parade and the amount of security, stands, and decorations, according to the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Vendors sold souvenir buttons to commemorate the event.

The buttons featured the faces of Calvin Coolidge and Charles Dawes. Today, the mementos are rare collectibles.

Crowds gathered outside the Capitol to watch the inauguration.

Around 30,000 people attended the 1925 inauguration, UPI reported.

Chief Justice and former President William Howard Taft administered the oath of office — the first time a former president swore in another president.

Grace Coolidge did not hold the Bible for her husband's swearing-in ceremony. In 1964, Lady Bird Johnson became the first incoming first lady to hold the Bible for her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson.

In his inaugural address, Calvin Coolidge spoke about the need to cut taxes and reduce wasteful government spending.

"The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the government," he said. "Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant."

Coolidge's inauguration was the first to be broadcast live on the radio. Around 22.8 million listeners tuned in.

The ceremony was broadcast across the country over AT&T telephone wires. Photos of the event were also sent to newsrooms via wire photography transmissions. From Washington, DC, it took seven minutes for photos to reach New York City and an hour to reach Los Angeles, according to the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Calvin Coolidge did not throw or attend any inaugural balls, though some private charity balls were held in his honor.

The United States Navy Band Orchestra performed at a charity inaugural ball held in honor of Calvin Coolidge at the Mayflower Hotel, even though the president himself wasn't in attendance.

• I went to Culver's, Freddy's, and Sonic to see which chain has the best fries in the Midwest.
• All three serve different styles, so there's something for everyone on this list.
• Freddy's fries were beautifully thin and crispy, which is just how I like them.

^ Pick one of those chains to link! (Or we can link a chain later and link "best fries in the Midwest" instead if we have something relevant)

I love french fries, but there are so many different varieties out there that I think it's hard to name an objective winner.

Despite this challenge, I ordered fries at three popular Midwest chains — Culver's, Freddy's, and Sonic — to see which one served my favorite fast-food side.

Here's how the fries stacked up.

First, I drove through Sonic.

Sonic started as a single restaurant in Oklahoma in the 1950s and has since grown to over 3,500 locations across 47 states.

I ran out to get my fries at 11 a.m. on a Sunday, and I was able to drive right up to the speaker without waiting.

My medium fry cost $3.25. Despite being the most expensive of the bunch, the container appeared to have the least amount of food.

Sonic's fries have been upgraded since the last time I got them.

If you haven't been to Sonic in a while, it might be time to swing through and get yourself some fries. Last year, the chain released its Groovy Fries — crinkle-cut potatoes with a crispy surface akin to the chain's famous tots.

They're quite different from the Sonic fries I remember.

Maybe the idea of having to choose between tots and fries was too much for people. Whatever the case, the fries had a great crunch, even if they were a bit nontraditional.

The ridges are also supposedly ideal for picking up dipping sauces, which I could see as a plus.

Next, I ran down the street to Culver's.

Since opening in the 1980s, Culver's has become an old-reliable in the Midwest. The Wisconsin-based chain, which now operates out of 26 states, is known for its Butterburgers, cheese curds, and frozen custard.

Even on a Sunday morning, it was hopping. The parking lot and drive-thru were both packed.

My medium fry from Culver's cost $2.74 and was the only one served in a paper bag instead of a cardboard container. However, I seemed to have gotten a few more fries than I received at Sonic, so I was content.

Culver's is great if you like a thick-cut fry.

If you like potato wedges, these may be your top choice. Culver's crinkle-cut fries have a similar soft, creamy interior with a thin outer layer.

Some of my fries had nice crispy edges, but unfortunately, they were few and far between.

However, I let the inconsistency in texture slide a little since the fries are so thick — noticeably larger than the other two — which I bet makes the cooking process more difficult.

I swung through Freddy's last before heading home.

Freddy's hasn't been around as long as the other chains — it was founded in 2002 — but it's expanded far beyond its humble beginnings in Wichita, Kansas. It now serves cheese curds, onion rings, and frozen custard in 500 locations across 36 states.

There were a few other Sunday morning customers and diners, but I easily placed my order and patiently waited for my food.

Freddy's medium fries come in an upright container — the biggest of the three — and it seemed absolutely overloaded. For $3.09, I was pleased with the generous portion.

Freddy's stood out from its competitors.

Visually, Freddy's thin fries are very different from the crinkle-cut ones I got at the other chains.

They tasted ever-so-lightly seasoned and almost had a shoestring texture. I'd say they're slightly thinner than a McDonald's fry.

Best of all, each one was delightfully crunchy, just how I like it.

All of these options were solid, but Freddy's fries were my favorite.

There is truly a french fry for everyone on this list. Although it's difficult to crown one singular winner, I think their distinctions are interesting to note.

Freddy's was my favorite, and if you're also a fan of consistently crispy, shoestring fries, it'll likely be yours as well.

However, if you prefer a thicker wedge-like fry, Culver's is probably your best bet.

Sonic kind of fell into its own unique category, but I guess if you can't decide between a tot and a fry, you now know where to go.

• We like exploring off the beaten track places as a family.
• Arctic Norway offers nature experiences you can't find anywhere else.
• The best thing about it was the chance it gave us to appreciate small things and connect with each other.

I think a lot about what makes a great family holiday. The travel industry can give you the impression that travel with kids should involve bright colors, ice creams and sandy beaches, but one size does not fit all.

I'm a travel writer and a mom of two, and I've refined what I need on holiday to a fine art: time away from work, nature, a chance to do things I love, including swimming and reading, and some new things to do and new people to meet as well. Location — and sunshine — aren't always as important for me as the opportunity to do these things.

I also accommodate the family's needs and wants for family holidays. My husband likes to cook; the kids like to play and meet new people too. Some kind of physical activity seems to work well: in previous years, we've swum our way around Iceland and hiked the coastal paths of Italy. This year, we took off to an Arctic island in Norway for a week of screen-free solitude — and loved it.

We went to Arctic Norway

We stayed in a nine-room hotel on a tiny, rocky, car-free island west of Bodø in Arctic Norway. It's the ultimate in-nature getaway, a place where you can hear yourself think, watch sea eagles soar, and enjoy solitude. Hosted by the owner, a musician, and his manager, a poet, nothing is planned and the simplicity is the treat. You can walk to the end of the island and back in the morning and still have time for a coffee before lunch; it's safe, and you don't need to constantly apply sunscreen or insect repellent. Of course, it's not somewhere to pick up a tan either.

Reaching the hotel took us a while, but that's all part of the adventure. It's a flight from Copenhagen to Oslo, then Oslo to Bodø, and then a two-hour ferry from Bodø to the island. As a metropolitan family, like many these days, the chance to immerse ourselves completely in nature is special. The quiet is intense, and the most activity we saw was one Saturday when waffles were served at the local community house, something that the kids loved. We also had communal dinners with the other delightful guests, and one night included musicians from the Arctic Philharmonic.

My kids brought things to keep them entertained

My daughters, ages 10 and 14, brought books, games, and toys to play with and spent time having fun together, running up and down the one hill and looking for globe-shaped sea urchin shells in the clear water. It was a welcome break from being stuck on screens for all of us: here, the biggest screen is the picture window in the lounge, from which you can gaze out at waves, hope to see orca, and spot sea otters floating on their backs.

We spent our days not doing much — getting up late, walking up the hill, swimming in the sea, and fishing. The kids made art with the artist who lives next to the hotel, making beautiful black and white prints that now hang on our walls, and I read books while my husband cooked. The hotel is laid across several cabins, so everyone has privacy and a space to eat together in the kitchen.

We connected with nature

Summer in the Arctic is a time for viewing the midnight sun: it's a time when the sun barely sinks below the horizon before it is up again. From my bedroom, I watched the sun sink behind a neighboring island one night and paint a neon pink stripe in the sky. The phenomenon means that days seem to last forever. They blur into one and make the tempo drop, something we were really craving.

One day, I sat on the dock with my youngest daughter and we watched as hundreds of comb jellies swam by, tiny iridescent jellyfish rippling with bioluminescence, said to be a relic of the last ice age. Beside them, blowsy orange jellyfish trailed their long fronds, and an Arctic Tern dove into the water with a sharp splash, reappearing with a small silver fish. We noticed the little things and were amazed.

It was also a bittersweet holiday: I know it might be one of our last perfect family holidays. It's hard to keep everybody happy, and parents of older teens tell me that teenage holidays can be particularly tough.

Meeting people your own age and being able to be in constant contact with your friends becomes more important than tiny moments watching wildlife as a family, and I understand that. I remember what it was like to be dragged on family holidays myself, and am already thinking about what a good holiday for teenagers could look like.

Laura Hall is a travel journalist specializing in Scandinavia and the Arctic. Follow her stories in Modern Scandinavian on Substack.