• I went to Cabo in Mexico with my fiancé and, looking back, I made a few mistakes.
• Turns out, many resorts, including the one we booked, are on beaches where swimming isn't allowed.
• I wish we'd left the property for some meals, and I'd realized how intense a sailboat ride could be.

"Never have I ever been to Mexico."

For years, this was my go-to kill shot in the quintessential party game, since it seemed like I was the only one among my friends who could say it.

Although we lived in the US, most of them had vacationed in Mexico at some point in their lives. However, I joined the club in late 2023 when I finally had the opportunity to go to Cabo with my fiancé.

The all-inclusive property we stayed at was stunning, and we had a good time. However, looking back, I made a few mistakes that could've been easily avoided.

Here are three missteps from my trip that could happen to anyone — and what I'd do differently next time.

I didn't realize we wouldn't be able to swim in the ocean near our beachfront resort

Cabo's beachfront resorts have incredible ocean views — but, at some locations, you'll only be able to look at the water.

During the trip, I learned it's unsafe to go swimming at many of the beaches along the Sea of Cortez due to strong currents, steep drop-offs, and dangerous riptides.

Where we stayed at El Médano Beach at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica turned out to be one of those "lounge-only" spots. Although we were able to walk and sunbathe on the nearby beach, I was disappointed I couldn't go in the water.

Although this is mentioned on the hotel's website, I didn't think to check before booking because I hadn't anticipated not being able to swim in the ocean at a resort that's on a beach.

Luckily, the property had two massive pools where we spent most of our time instead. They were great and I loved sipping cocktails poolside, but I missed the feeling of salt water on my skin.

Looking back, I wish I'd done more research on the location so I could've mentally prepared or made plans to visit one of the area's swimmable sections of beach.

If you plan to visit Los Cabos and want to swim in the ocean, I suggest researching beforehand to see where that's possible.

We should've made plans to dine outside our all-inclusive resort

When staying at an all-inclusive resort with multiple dining options, it's easy to opt for convenience over having to seek out local flavors.

Between breezy poolside brunches at Siempre and upscale dinners at Península or Quivira Steakhouse on the property, I felt pretty well taken care of in the food department.

That said, I'm still kicking myself for not venturing off-site at least once to explore downtown Cabo's vibrant dining scene.

It wouldn't have been difficult to call a cab or take the resort's complimentary shuttle downtown, but I got caught up in the ease of on-site dining and skipped the chance to taste local cuisine.

After learning more about the fresh seafood at Mariscos Las Tres Islas, huge portions at Campestre, and street tacos at Tacos Gardenias, I definitely feel like I missed out.

For a more well-rounded experience, I'd recommend planning ahead to dine where the locals do.

The sailing cruise wasn't what I expected, and I wish I'd known my limits

I've always loved exploring new destinations from the water and have never struggled with motion sickness, so I wasn't worried when my fiancé and I booked a sunset cruise during our stay.

The first half of the excursion was amazing. We saw striking rock formations (like the famous "El Arco"), sunbathing sea lions, and mesmerizing views of the coastline.

Then, the crew opened up the sails, and our ride dramatically changed. When the boat became fully dependent on the wind and waves, the unpredictable movement and sudden jerks made me instantly sick to my stomach.

Most sailboats in Cabo are designed to tilt with the wind without capsizing, but the extreme tilting had me clinging to the rails for dear life anyway.

It was on this day that I learned I am not a sailboat girl — at least, not when the sailboat is in choppy Pacific waters.

If I could do it over, I would opt to take a catamaran or sail in the morning when it's less windy and the waters are calmer. I'd also stock up on Dramamine to help with motion sickness.

• Radar screens went dark early Friday at an air traffic facility that guides planes around Newark.
• The outage, lasting 90 seconds, is the second since April.
• This compounds Newark's operational problems involving weather, ATC issues, and runway construction.

The problems keep piling up at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that an air traffic control equipment outage at the Philadelphia approach control facility, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark, occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday morning.

The agency said it affected communications and radar displays for "approximately 90 seconds."

This is the facility's second outage since April 28, when screens went dark for 60 to 90 seconds and prevented controllers from talking to aircraft.

The issues, coupled with weather and runway construction, have caused hundreds of delays and cancellations at the airport for nearly two weeks.

United CEO Scott Kirby has called on the government to designate Newark as a "Level 3" airport. This would mean it would run on a slot system that limits the number of planes that can take off and land at certain times to manage capacity.

The airline, which holds the largest market share at Newark, has already suspended 35 daily flights to deal with the overcapacity and compounding air traffic problems.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• Taylor Sheridan is one of Hollywood's most prolific screenwriters.
• The "Yellowstone" co-creator has a number of other projects in various stages of production.
• This includes several stand-alone TV series and multiple "Yellowstone" spinoffs.

There's no doubt that Taylor Sheridan is one of Paramount's star writers.

Since moving away from acting, he has become one of the most hardworking screenwriters in Hollywood. He helped redefine the modern Western genre with his hit series "Yellowstone," and the subsequent spinoffs "1883" and "1923."

He's so prolific that The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount spent more than $500 million producing his shows in 2023.

That figure is likely larger now that his slate of "Yellowstone" spinoffs has grown.

Here's what we know about the projects he's working on.

1. 'Y: Marshals'

CBS announced in May that Luke Grimes will reprise his role as Kayce Dutton in a "Yellowstone" spinoff titled "Y: Marshals."

Per its logline, "Y: Marshals" will see the character join an "elite unit of US Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana."

Sheridan will executive produce the drama alongside Grimes.

It's set to premiere in spring 2026.

2. 'The Madison'

While announcing that "Yellowstone" would be drawing to a close in 2023, Paramount bosses promised "expansions of this incredible world" that Sheridan had built.

In February 2024, Puck reported that Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Pfeiffer were in negotiations to lead the cast of a present-day continuation titled "2024."

In August 2024, it was announced that Pfieffer will star in and executive produce the new series, which has been renamed "The Madison."

Sheridan will write the series, which is set to follow a family of New York City natives who live in the Madison River valley of central Montana.

Per Paramount Network, "the series is a heartfelt study of grief and human connection."

Chris McCarthy, the co-CEO of Paramount Global, said of Pfieffer's casting: "She is the perfect anchor to the newest chapter of the 'Yellowstone' universe, 'The Madison,' from the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan."

As of 2025, McConaughey hasn't been cast in the series.

3. '1944'

"1944" is yet another "Yellowstone" spinoff series that has been greenlit by Paramount. It's also the one we know the least about.

It's expected that it will, like the previous prequels "1883" and "1923," take place in the titular year and focus on the difficulties the Duttons faced during the wartime period.

4. '6666'

This long-teased "Yellowstone" spinoff is set to revolve around the history of a real Texas-based ranch that Sheridan purchased in 2022. It was first announced in early 2021 and originally set to debut in 2023.

However, the future of the show remains up in the air. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2023, Sheridan explained the delays in getting "6666" (pronounced "four-sixes") off the ground.

"That, for a number of reasons, needs a unique level of special care because this is a real place with real families working here. You have to respect the lineage," he said, adding that he had told Paramount to "be patient."

5. 'Landman'

Based on the podcast "Boomtown," the series was billed as a "modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs" in Texas, per a synopsis from Paramount+.

Demi Moore and Billy Bob Thornton starred in the first season of the show, which debuted in 2024. A second season was announced in early 2025, with Sam Elliott — who previously appeared in "1883" — joining the cast.

6. 'Lawmen: Bass Reeves'

The first season of the series, on which Sheridan served as an executive producer, told the story of legendary lawman Bass Reeves, one of the first Black US marshals west of the Mississippi River.

David Oyelowo, who starred in the lead role and served as an executive producer, said the series was set up to be an anthology, with each season focusing on "other lawmen in history whose story should be told."

Chad Feehan, the show's creator, showrunner, and executive producer, echoed this in an interview with Deadline shortly after season one finished airing.

"There are several figures in history much like Bass who deserve their day in the sun. As much as it pains me that this marriage is taking a hiatus, that is the reality," he said.

"Lawmen" hasn't been renewed for a second season.

7. 'Special Ops: Lioness'

The first season of the espionage thriller, which Sheridan created, wrote, and executive produced, premiered in the summer of 2023, and a second season began airing in October 2024.

The series was inspired by a real-life US military program focused on bringing down terrorist organizations from within. The first season starred Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Nicole Kidman, and Morgan Freeman.

It's unclear whether a third season is on its way, but the ending of season two left the door open for more installments.

8. 'Tulsa King'

"Tulsa King," which featured Sylvester Stallone in a leading role in a scripted television series for the first time, debuted in late 2022.

The series focuses on an aging mafia capo who is released from a 25-year prison sentence and sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to set up a new criminal organization. Sheridan created and executive-produced the series.

A second season premiered in September 2024, while a third went into production in March in Atlanta and Oklahoma.

9. 'Mayor of Kingstown'

"Mayor of Kingstown" was the first series Sheridan created as part of his deal with Paramount. It premiered in late 2021.

Starring Jeremy Renner, the series is set in the fictional town of Kingstown, Michigan, and follows the powerful McLusky family as they attempt to bring justice and order to a community rife with corruption.

The show's fourth season is currently in production.

10. 'The Road'

Sheridan has teamed up with "The Voice" coach and country star Blake Shelton for a new singing competition show for CBS.

"The Road," which will launch as part of the network's fall 2025 schedule, will follow "a headlining superstar on their journey to discover the next big artist," per a press release.

Competitors will perform as opening acts for the headliner's tour at venues across the US and will have to win over local fans to advance to the next location, the press release says.

Sheridan and Shelton will executive produce the series along with "The Voice" producer Lee Metzger and "Yellowstone" producer David Glasser.

11. 'Empire Of The Summer Moon'

As if all of Sheridans' existing commitments weren't enough, it was announced in January 2024 that he and his Bosque Ranch production company had optioned the Pulitzer Prize finalist book "Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History," by S.C. Gwynne.

Sheridan will produce the project alongside Jenny Wood, Deadline reported.

The book recounts the story of Quanah Parker, a chief of the Indian Comanche tribe, and the tribe's forty-year battle against white settlers for control of the American West.

• Western militaries are trying to develop drones capable of operating in the Arctic.
• Tough weather conditions can impact a drone's batteries and navigation systems.
• There's growing competition in the region between Western countries, Russia, and China.

Drones are transforming warfare, and Western militaries are now in an intensifying race to develop models capable of operating in one of the harshest environments on Earth: the Arctic.

NATO countries are fast discovering the potential, as well as limits, of drones in the Arctic, where geopolitical competition is intensifying.

Russia and China have increased their military presence in the region, and the Pentagon said last year it will be relying more on unmanned technologies to monitor regional threats.

Military analysts told Business Insider that drones could be crucial in any military confrontation in the region.

However, there are major obstacles to deploying the technology at scale in an area where winter temperatures can drop to -40 degrees.

A new race for Arctic dominance

In Ukraine, drones, both aerial and naval, have been heavily used for surveillance as well as being fitted with explosives to strike targets.

The challenge of using drones in the Arctic comes down to the region's "harsh environment and its lack of connectivity," Nicolas Jouan, a defence and security analyst at RAND Europe, told BI.

Most Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs, are powered by batteries, which are badly affected by cold weather, he said.

Another issue is communication, with most drones directed by controllers using GPS signals. Satellites, though, can provide only "reduced and unreliable" GPS coverage in the Arctic, Jouan added.

In late April, the UK's 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group said it had been testing the limits of drone technology in extreme cold weather training in Norway, as well as testing new models there.

Around the same time, Col. Joshua Glonek, the commander of the US 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, told reporters that during recent extreme cold-weather training in Germany, drone operations were severely impacted.

"What we found was battery life was significantly degraded in the cold and affected the flight time and the ability of us to employ some of our drones," he said.

Zak Kallenborn, a drone warfare analyst, told BI that the commercial drones that have become ubiquitous in the war in Ukraine struggle to handle the cold.

"Some small drones have been developed to handle cold weather conditions, but I don't know if they can handle as cold as the Arctic," he said.

Russia's advantage

Gregory Falco, an assistant professor at the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University, told BI that the systems used by drones to collect data, such as cameras and lidar — which uses lasers to register distance and chart territory — can also be affected by adverse weather.

The "biggest challenge for developing drones for Arctic warfare is the sensing in a heavily denied environment," he said.

Complicating the situation, at least for Western countries, is the fact that Russia appears to have a drone technology advantage in the region.

The Russian military has deployed UAV models, including the Orlan-10 and Inokhodets, in the Arctic, and is developing a specialized combat drone, the S-70 Okhotnik.

The S-70 is a plane-sized drone that can be deployed for attack missions or surveillance. It has reportedly been tested in Arctic conditions, though its technology is a closely guarded secret; Russia shot one down in 2024 to stop it falling into Ukrainian hands.

Working together

The fears are that Russia could use its Arctic drone strength to expand its regional power.

James Patton Rogers, a drone expert at Cornell University, told Reuters in January that Russia would likely soon be able to monitor the North Sea route, connecting Europe and Asia, with drones.

"We're moving towards a point where Russia will not only have unarmed surveillance drone systems along the Northern Sea Route, but potentially armed systems that are constantly patrolling those areas," he said.

In the race to boost their presence in the Arctic, and integrate new drone technologies, some Western countries are cooperating closely together.

In May 2024, Denmark and Norway announced that they'd be launching joint drone reconnaissance operations in the region, with the MQ-4C Triton among the models being considered.

A report last year for the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that Northrop Grumman's long-range MQ-4C Triton was among the few Western-made drones capable of operating effectively in Arctic conditions.

But they're designed for high altitude surveillance, and would be attractive targets for Russia, it said.

Norway is also set to open a drone surveillance base in Andøya, the hub of its military in the region, The Barents Observer reported.

And some Scandinavian countries are seeking to develop their own drones capable of withstanding Arctic conditions.

"Russia has been working on Arctic-rated drones for longer than the US, but Sweden and Finland have been working on this too," Falco said.

Quantity, not just quality

In its 2024 report, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that, when it comes to the Arctic, drone numbers will count as much as they have in Ukraine, and that Western countries should prioritize scale, not just quality.

"Rather than opting for fewer numbers of expensive drones, which do not capture the military-technological advantages of evolving drone capabilities, the Arctic should choose instead to adopt many less-expensive variations," it suggested.

But, according to Falco, the US will have to work closely with its Arctic region allies if it wants to compete with Russia.

"We need to rely on these partners to be at parity in the Arctic domain," he said.

• Sam Altman told senators he does not want his son's best friend to be an AI bot.
• More people are forming personal relationships with AI, the OpenAI CEO said Thursday.
• Altman said he thinks kids need "a much higher level of protection" than adults using AI tools.

Sam Altman's friendship goals for his infant son do not include AI.

The OpenAI CEO was asked during a Thursday Senate testimony whether he'd want his child to form a best-friend bond with an AI bot.

"I do not," Altman replied.

The question, from Senator Bernie Moreno, came during a broader discussion about how to shield children from harm in the AI era as people trust them with more personal information.

"These AI systems will get to know you over the course of your life so well — that presents a new challenge and level of importance for how we think about privacy in the world of AI," said Altman, who became a father in February.

Altman said that people are already forming deeply personal relationships with AI.

"It's a newer thing in recent months, and I don't think it's all bad," he said. "But I think we have to understand it and watch it very carefully."

Altman said there should be greater flexibility for adults using AI tools, while children should have "a much higher level of protection."

But, as with other online services, it can be difficult to be certain of the age of users.

"If we could draw a line and if we knew for sure when a user was a child or an adult, we would allow adults to be much more permissive and we'd have tighter rules for children," Altman added.

Altman has previously spoken about what it means to raise a child in the AI era.

"My kid is never gonna grow up being smarter than AI," he said during a January episode of the Re:Thinking podcast with Adam Grant. "Children in the future will only know a world with AI in it."

Last month, Altman said OpenAI was no longer his proudest achievement after his son, who was born prematurely, learned to eat on his own.

On Thursday, Altman said his son is "doing well," adding that it's "the most amazing thing ever."

• Trump said on Friday that the GOP "should probably not" raise taxes on the rich.
• He argued that if they did so, Democrats would use it against them.
• Democrats have long supported raising taxes on the wealthy.

President Donald Trump says he'd be fine raising taxes on rich people like him, but he's still warning his party not to do it.

In a Truth Social post on Friday morning, Trump said that Republicans "should probably not" increase taxes on the wealthy, but said he's "OK if they do!!!"

Trump's missive came one day after multiple outlets reported that he had urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to create a new tax bracket for those making more than $2.5 million per year, raising the rate they pay from 37% to 39.6%.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are currently working on a sweeping bill that will include changes to the tax code and cuts to government spending.

Trump suggested that Democrats would try to make Republicans pay politically for a tax hike on the rich, despite the fact that Democrats have generally long supported increasing taxes on the wealthy.

The president referenced President George H.W. Bush's 1988 pledge not to raise taxes, which he ultimately broke during a budget negotiation with Congress in 1990.

"The Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, 'Read my lips,' the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election," Trump said, adding: "NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election!"

• My two teenage sons have started lifting weights at the gym.
• I'm worried they are going to hurt themselves or that it could develop into an obsession.
• When I spoke to my trainer, I learned I need to stay engaged in their workouts.

Instead of asking "What's for dinner?" my teenage sons — 16 and 18 — now say, "What protein are we having tonight?"

They recently joined a gym and are focusing their time on strength training.

Since they started, the pull-up bar is a permanent fixture on the laundry room door, and they challenge one another to see who can do the most reps. They also now flex their "guns" at any opportunity.

When they first started, I was concerned about their physical and mental well-being. But I'm now trying to be more open to it.

The idea of my boys lifting weights concerned me

When they started at the gym, the idea made me uncomfortable. It seemed like an adult activity.

I was mostly concerned about the potential impacts of gym culture — being surrounded by guys bulking up and obsessing over their muscles in mirrors as they counted their reps.

While I recognized it was good that they were taking an interest in their health and fitness, I was also worried about the potential harms of weightlifting on their growing bodies through bad technique, using machines incorrectly, or attempting to lift heavier than they were able due to peer pressure.

Part of their appeal is the social aspect; they never go alone, always meeting friends at the gym before or after school. It is great to see them out of the house and socializing in real life rather than online, but my mind defaults to the flip side of image-based social media influencers and the teenage need to look a certain way and fit in. What if this interest becomes a preoccupation?

Joining the gym myself and speaking to my trainers helped

After doing some research, I learned that strength training can be beneficial for young people. It can help strengthen their muscles, help them maintain a healthy weight, protect them from sports-related injuries, and keep blood pressure low, the Mayo Clinic says.

To fully understand what my sons are getting into, though, I've joined the gym too — but a different one, so I don't embarrass them. I started strength training for the first time.

It has been reassuring to speak to a qualified trainer about how to support my sons with strength training and generally living a healthy lifestyle.

My trainers put my worry that the move to weightlifting could be about getting the right physique rather than general health and fitness into context. My sons are teenagers, so of course, they're going to care about how they look, but I should stay engaged with what they are doing at the gym and how much.

We don't spend every dinner talking about lifting, but I do regularly ask what exercises they're doing, who is guiding them, and how much they are lifting.

My trainers also advised that it's important that strength training is balanced with other activities to give the muscles time to rest and recover, so I've instilled a three times a week rule and insisted they don't quit their team sports.

As for diet, there is no way I'm cooking steaks or pounds of chicken breast each night, no matter what the gym influencers they follow on Instagram suggest. There is a bag of protein powder in the cupboard for post-workouts, but we continue to eat a balanced diet with protein, vegetables, and fruits as well as carbs, which are essential to fuel their growing bodies.

I'm hoping to instill positive habits

I know strength training and exercise can lead to obsessive behaviors, so I'm trying to teach them how to stay positive as their bodies change.

By informing myself and bringing my own gym experience to the conversation, I'm trying to create a positive narrative about health and strength for people of all ages.

Whenever I get nervous about their gym activities, I remind myself that they're simply getting off their screens and moving their bodies.

• Nobody likes Pap smears.
• A new DIY home swab kit for cervical cancer aims to make that part of the procedure more comfortable.
• It's set to be available to Californians in June, with other states to follow.

Pap smears are dreaded, uncomfortable chores at the OB-GYN's office. They're also life-saving procedures.

A new, tampon-shaped do-it-yourself test from Teal Health aims to make the most important part of your Pap smear — the cervical cancer screening — a little more comfortable and private. On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Teal's at-home cervical cancer screening test, the first of its kind in the US.

The new test can't replace pelvic exams entirely, but it could help close the gap in cervical cancer screenings. In the US, roughly one in four women are behind on their Pap smears for a variety of reasons, including a lack of access.

"It's just a new way of collecting the sample, it's not a new test," Teal Health CEO Kara Egan told Business Insider. "You can actually eliminate cervical cancer in the US, if we actually screen."

A tampon for cancer screening

Teal's test screens for human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the virus that causes more than 99% of cervical cancer cases.

The device is designed like a tampon, with a plastic applicator that guides a squishy, spongy tip that deploys and collects a sample from inside the vagina. In testing of over 600 women at 16 clinical trial sites nationwide, Teal found that 98% of users get an accurate test result on their first try, and 94% of participants preferred it to getting their test in a doctor's office.

After the results are mailed in and processed, Teal asks patients to schedule a follow-up telehealth visit with one of its providers to discuss their results.

"Any method that can actually bring screening to patients and overcome some of the barriers that prevent women from getting appropriate screening will be exciting and important," Dr. Melissa Frey, a gynecologic oncologist who directs the Genetics and Personalized Cancer Prevention Program at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, told Business Insider.

While an HPV test isn't the only component of a Pap smear, Frey said it is the "most important" test.

Home tests still can't do it all.

"Overall, I'm very much in favor of new screening modalities that help meet patients where they are," Dr. Rachel Flink-Bochacki, an academic OB-GYN in New York, told Business Insider. "My one hesitation is that there are so many other things that happen during a healthcare visit, so many other benefits, even just to a routine Pap smear."

An in-office Pap smear can detect other, less common cancers that an HPV screening wouldn't pick up. During a pelvic exam, a doctor may also notice other concerns like abnormal warts or veins, and can spot signs of endometriosis, fibroids, skin issues, abnormal masses, or infection.

She is sensitive to the fact that many women avoid staying up to date on pelvic exams and Pap smears, sometimes because of a past sexual trauma. For this reason, she says some of her patients collect their own HPV test samples in her office during their visit.

"For somebody who can't or isn't comfortable accessing gynecologic care, a test that allows at-home HPV screening could be really impactful," Flink-Bochacki said.

A deadly but preventable cancer

In the 1940s, cervical cancer was a leading cause of cancer death for women in the US. With the widespread adoption of Pap smears in the 1940s and then the first HPV vaccine in 2006, cases and deaths have declined sharply. There are still disparities in who gets screened and treated, with minorities and women living in rural areas often lagging behind.

"Having seen those patients, again, although there are not many of them, each one of those is a really significant loss," Frey said. "These are often very young women who are otherwise healthy, and who should have had a normal lifespan."

With widespread HPV vaccination, plus adequate cancer screening, it is possible to essentially prevent cervical cancer. In Australia, at-home HPV tests, coupled with widespread HPV vaccination, have the country on track to end cervical cancer as a public health issue by 2035, according to Cancer Council NSW.

In areas of the world where screening and HPV vaccination are not as accessible, cervical cancer is still a major concern and a top cause of cancer death for women. According to the American Cancer Society, cervical cancer is still the deadliest cancer for women in 37 countries around the world.

Teal's at-home cervical cancer screening test will be available to patients in California starting in June. The company says it will be covered by the big health insurers, including Aetna, Cigna, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. There will also be a cash pay option, with details set to be announced in the coming weeks.

"Before the end of the year, you'll see us go to the other states," Egan said.

• President Donald Trump suggested that tariffs on Chinese goods should be slashed to 80%.
• The rate would still be high but would be a dramatic reduction from the 145% the US has imposed.
• Just two days ago, Trump said "no" when asked whether he would consider lowering tariffs on China.

President Donald Trump made the first move ahead of US-China trade talks this weekend.

In a Friday morning Truth Social post, the president suggested significantly lowering his tariff on Chinese goods to 80% — still high but 65 percentage points lower than the current 145% rate.

The president posted: "80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B."

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, announced this week that they'd be meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this weekend to discuss US-China trade relations as Trump's heavy tariffs remain in effect and the trade war rages on.

"CHINA SHOULD OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA — WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DON'T WORK ANYMORE!!!" Trump wrote in another Friday morning post.

Just two days ago, while speaking with reporters from the Oval Office, Trump flatly said "no" when asked whether he would consider lowering his tariffs on China to help ease this weekend's talks, though he also recently said that the 145% tariff on China is "very high" and would "come down substantially."

Ahead of the talks, shipments from Chinese ports have slowed. US importers have begun to weigh whether they can afford to do business now that each shipment is subject to the 145% tariff.

"It has gone very fast, so this is the result of customers reacting very, very fast on canceling orders or stopping orders and waiting to see if this is going to resolve itself," Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said on his company's first-quarter earnings call.

Trump previously lashed out at China after Beijing retaliated against his "Liberation Day" tariffs. Since April, the world's two largest economies have remained largely at loggerheads. Starting late last month, the president has said that China is talking to the White House — a claim Beijing has repeatedly denied.

The two sides couldn't even agree on who initiated the high-level talks this weekend, but news of the face-to-face conversation was seen as a serious indication that a deal is in the offing.

The current 145% tariff is so high that many economists have essentially compared it to a trade embargo. The White House did grant a series of exemptions for certain tech items, including Apple's iPhones, but other industries have said that price increases could be coming if relief isn't on the horizon.

Trump said that Americans needed to take some price increases on the chin to pave the way for the reshoring of manufacturing.

"Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls would cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally," he told reporters in April during a Cabinet meeting.

In past talks, Trump has shown he will start with significant bluster before a breakthrough arrives. In his first term, he ratcheted up tensions with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, dismissing him as "little rocket man" before ultimately agreeing to hold historic talks with the nuclear-armed nation.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, another trade advisor, on Thursday lavished praise on the president for his methods.

"He's the closer," Lutnick said, looking over to Trump in the Oval Office. "He gets deals done that we could never get done."

Correction: May 9, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated how much lower an 80% tariff on Chinese goods would be from 145%. It would be 45% lower, not 55%.

• Reddit CEO Steve Huffman says that Reddit's human-led communities are what set the company apart.
• AI bots, however, are threatening that advantage by taking over forums and comments.
• Reddit has acknowledged the problem and is introducing new checks to ensure its users are human.

Is nothing sacred anymore?

Reddit is one of the last places on the internet where posts and comments don't feel like an endless pit of AI slop. But that is starting to change, and it's threatening what Reddit says is its competitive advantage.

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman says that what keeps people coming back to the site is the information provided by real people, who often give thoughtful answers to questions. As the internet becomes saturated with AI-generated content, Huffman says that Reddit's communities, curated and managed by real people, set it apart from other social media platforms.

"The world needs community and shared knowledge, and that's what we do best," Huffman told investors last week on an earnings call.

Traffic to Reddit has grown considerably over the past year, thanks in part to users Googling specifically for Reddit posts related to their questions.

Reddit's business model has seen increased attention since the company went public in March of last year. Since then, Reddit has amped up advertising on its forums and inked deals with both OpenAI and Google to allow their models to train on Reddit content. In April, Reddit's stock dipped after some analysts shared fears that the company's success could be inextricably tied to Google Search.

"Just a few years ago, adding Reddit to the end of your search query felt novel," Huffman said in a Q3 earnings call in February. "Today, it's a common way for people to find trusted information, recommendations, and advice."

But now, some Reddit users are complaining that the uniquely human communities the site is known for are being infiltrated by AI bots, or users relying on tools like ChatGPT to write their posts, which can often be spotted by the formatting. ChatGPT loves a bulleted list and an em-dash, and these days tends to be effusive in its positivity.

One user in the community r/singularity, which is dedicated to discussion about advancements of AI, recently flagged a post from what they believed was an AI-generated user spreading misinformation about the July 2024 attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.

"AI just took over Reddit's front page," the poster noted. A Reddit spokesperson said the company investigated and found no evidence that the user was AI-generated.

On April 28, Reddit's chief legal officer said the company was sending "formal legal demands" to researchers at the University of Zurich after they flooded one of the site's communities with AI bots for a study. Moderators of the forum r/changemyview said in a post that researchers conducted an "unauthorized experiment" to "study how AI could be used to change views."

The researchers who conducted the experiment said in a Reddit post that 21 of the 34 accounts they used were "shadow-banned" by Reddit, meaning the content they posted would not show up for others. But they said they never received any communication from Reddit regarding Terms of Service violations.

The moderators called the experiment unethical and said that AI targeted some users in the forum "in personal ways that they did not sign up for." The post says the AI went to extreme lengths in some posts, including pretending to be a victim of rape, posing as a black man opposed to Black Lives Matter, and even posing as a person who received substandard care in a foreign hospital, among other claims.

"Psychological manipulation risks posed by LLMs is an extensively studied topic," the community's moderators wrote. "It is not necessary to experiment on non-consenting human subjects."

A spokesperson for the University of Zurich told Business Insider that the school is aware of the study and is investigating. The spokesperson said that the researchers decided not to publish the findings of the study "on their own accord."

"In light of these events, the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences intends to adopt a stricter review process in the future and, in particular, to coordinate with the communities on the platforms prior to experimental studies," the spokesperson said.

For Reddit's business strategy, which is largely focused on advertising and its belief that it provides some of the best research around because it's based on real human reactions, the increased presence of AI on the platform is a threat. And Reddit has noticed.

On Monday, Huffman said in a Reddit post that the company would start using third parties to "keep Reddit human." Huffman said that Reddit's "strength is its people" and that "unwelcome AI in communities is a serious concern."

"I haven't posted in a while — and let's be honest, when I do show up, it usually means something's gone sideways (and if it's not gone sideways, it's probably about to)," Huffman said.

The third-party services will now ask users creating Reddit accounts for more information, like their age, Huffman said. Specifically, "we will need to know whether you are a human," he said.

A spokesperson for Reddit told BI that the Zurich experiment was unethical and that Reddit's automated tools flagged most of the associated accounts before the experiment ended. The spokesperson said that Reddit is always working on detection features and has already further refined its processes since the experiment came to light.

Still, some Reddit users say they are fed up with what they see as a "proliferation of LLM bots in the last 10 months."

"Some of them mimic the most brain-dead of users, providing one-word responses with emojis at the end," one user wrote. "They post with unnatural frequency, largely in subreddits known for upvoting just about anything."

• Melania Trump has worn neutral basics at recent official events, a departure from her usual style.
• She seemingly hasn't spent much time at the White House after saying she'd also be living in Florida and New York.
• Her subdued wardrobe and infrequent public appearances have helped her keep a low profile.

Melania Trump, the first lady, rarely ventures into public these days. When she does, you may have a hard time spotting her.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, her wardrobe has largely consisted of muted basics in neutral tones.

A black Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo for the National Governors Association dinner and reception in February. A gray Dior skirt suit for Donald Trump's joint address to Congress in March. A cream-colored Mackage trench coat for the White House Easter Egg Roll in April.

And most recently, on Thursday, a white blazer and black skirt for an event honoring military mothers.

It's a notable departure from her White House style during President Donald Trump's first term, when she made bolder fashion choices.

Back then, she wore vibrant, glittering gowns at state dinners, a $51,500 Dolce & Gabbana floral coat to a G7 summit, and of course, the infamous "I really don't care, do u?" jacket on her way to visit immigrant children at the US-Mexico border.

Melania Trump's involvement in public life this time around has been similarly subdued, which has helped her maintain a low profile.

Citing anonymous officials, The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the first lady had spent fewer than 14 days at the White House since the inauguration on January 20. She has been photographed at the White House about once a month — twice in April.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Ahead of Donald Trump's second term, Melania Trump indicated that she didn't plan to live at the White House full time, an arrangement not typical of modern first ladies. In a rare interview back in January, she told Fox News that she planned to divide her time between Washington, DC, Trump Tower in New York City, and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

"I will be in the White House," she said. "And, you know, when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach."

The shift to safer style choices could indicate a more matter-of-fact approach to a role she's already held, but perhaps the first lady is simply tired of launching a news cycle with every outing and look.

Throughout her memoir, "Melania," she expressed frustration with what she called the "vindictive attitude" of press coverage surrounding her involvement in public life.

"That campaign year would set the tone for my future relationship with the media — they would never treat me fairly," she wrote of campaigning in 2016. "They persisted in fabricating stories, undermining my efforts on behalf of children, and focusing on trivial matters."

A fiercely private first lady, Melania Trump's tempered wardrobe and infrequent appearances have given the media and the public little to talk about, which may have been the goal all along.

• The 1929 stock market crash marked the beginning of the Great Depression.
• Factors including speculative lending and changing monetary policies contributed to the crash.
• Photos show the panic in the stock exchange, at banks, and on the streets as savings vanished.

The Roaring Twenties — an era of great economic growth in the United States — halted on Thursday, October 24, 1929, when stock prices began plummeting.

Influenced by a variety of factors, from banks' role in speculative stock lending to changing monetary policies, the market crash of 1929 marked the start of the Great Depression that would shape American life for the following decade.

With recent market movements in response to President Donald Trump's tariff announcements sparking fears of an incoming recession, history shows how market crashes have influenced American life in the past.

These 20 vintage photos show how the 1929 market crash, marked by dramatic stock price drops on Black Thursday, Black Monday, and Black Tuesday, unfolded on Wall Street and beyond.

The Roaring Twenties came to a sudden halt in October 1929.

The 1920s were a decade of great economic growth. Industries boomed, and economic optimism led many everyday Americans to invest in the stock market, which had become more accessible thanks to loans offered by banks.

From 1922 to 1929, the value of stocks as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 218.7%, according to the Economic History Association.

Over the decade, many had begun investing in the stock market through margin loans.

At the time, people could buy stocks by paying as little as 10% of the purchase price and financing the rest from brokerage firms through what became known as margin buying, according to Federal Reserve History. This meant that many people who could not afford the up-front expense of investing in the stock market had access to buy and trade stocks.

By 1929, two-fifths of loans issued by banks went toward the purchase of stocks, Time reported.

On October 24, the US markets began to crash.

The crash began on Thursday, October 24. On the day that later became known as Black Thursday, the market opened 11% lower than the previous day, as reported by Barron. Despite moderately picking back up by that afternoon, the drastic drop began sounding the alarms for stockholders.

The crash came after market speculation reached a historic high.

With many Americans investing in the stock market through margin purchases of stocks, the speculation for high prices, which would provide a profit on their loan, reached a historic high. This led to the Federal Reserve making an effort to limit banks' lending to speculative stock purchases, according to Federal Reserve History.

Stock prices peaked right before the crash.

On September 3, 1929, less than two months before the market crash, stock prices had reached a historic peak, with the Dow Jones averaging 381.17, over 27% higher than the previous year.

With many owning stocks through margin loans, fears spread that stock prices had become overvalued, a concern that slowly led to doubts about the stability of the market, the Economic History Association wrote.

On Black Monday, brokers rushed to sell as prices plummeted.

When markets opened on Monday, October 28, 1929, stock prices immediately began to plummet as stockholders rushed to sell based on the panic that had begun the previous week.

As mass panic spread, sell transactions overwhelmed the markets, leading to the crash.

By the end of the day on Black Monday, the Dow Jones had dropped nearly 13% and showed no signs of slowing down, as reported by Time.

Outside the New York Stock Exchange, crowds tried to get updates on prices.

In New York, people rushed to the Stock Exchange building in an effort to get updates on the stocks to ensure their investments remained safe.

"For so many months so many people had saved money and borrowed money and borrowed on their borrowings to possess themselves of the little pieces of paper by virtue of which they became partners with the US industry," Time reported in November 1929. "Now they were trying to get rid of them even more frantically than they had tried to get them."

Without access to real-time information, many relied on the newspapers to inform them.

As the crowds tried to get an image of what was going on inside Wall Street, newspapers became a hot commodity, with many flocking to buy the most updated information as it came out.

Meanwhile, brokers' offices were overwhelmed trying to complete sell orders.

As prices plummeted on Black Monday and Black Tuesday, stock brokers witnessed sell orders coming in at rates they knew wouldn't be replicated in their lifetime.

"Wall Street was a street of vanished hopes, of curiously silent apprehension and of a sort of paralyzed hypnosis yesterday. Men and women crowded the brokerage offices, even those who have been long since wiped out, and followed the figures on the tape," The New York Times reported on October 30, 1929. "It was the consensus of bankers and brokers alike that no such scenes ever again will be witnessed by this generation."

The dissemination of information was limited by the technologies of the time.

As chaos unfolded on Wall Street, communication to outlets across the country relied on telegrams and ticker tape, which could not keep up with the sheer volume of transactions being made as prices continued to plummet. As Time reported, "although people knew they were losing money, they didn't know how much."

Stock brokers worked around the clock during the critical hours of the market crash.

To keep up with the mass volume of transactions, stock traders worked through the night, catching up on sleep in the area near Wall Street, turning offices or school gyms into sleeping quarters in preparation for the chaos that was all but certain to come on Tuesday, October 29, 1929.

Abroad, businessmen closely monitored the situation unfolding in the New York markets.

The crash spread to international markets as US consumers rushed to withdraw their capital from investments abroad, according to the International Monetary Fund. In the following months and years, the financial depression that shook American markets spread to other countries, leading to a worldwide financial downturn in which each country's domestic markets aimed to regulate themselves.

As the news about the crash spread, panic grew even more, peaking on Black Tuesday.

By 1932, when the Great Depression ended, stocks had lost nearly 90% of their pre-crash value, per the Economic History Association.

Hearing of the chaos on Wall Street, thousands rushed to withdraw their accounts from the banks.

On Black Tuesday, as the news spread, people rushed to their banks to withdraw their savings, as panic and financial uncertainty influenced mass decisions.

Banks across the nation began failing, causing people to lose their savings.

The crash showed the fragility of economic systems, as banks, which used deposited money to issue loans, started failing. As people in the midst of the panic rushed the banks to withdraw their savings, banks ran out of money to cover the transactions.

The Social Security Administration reported that 9,000 banks failed after the crash, virtually disappearing $7 billion in assets for those who had stored their capital in them.

People's savings virtually disappeared overnight.

As the market crash led to banks failing, a distrust in financial institutions began to rise, leading to the popularity of practices like stashing cash under mattresses or buying gold as an investment.

Following the crash, banks decreased lending, affecting businesses across the country.

In response to the market crash and the droves of people rushing to the banks to withdraw their capital, many banks stopped or decreased their lending, which greatly affected businesses.

Americans soon began to feel the economic downturn.

The effects of the Great Depression were felt soon after the crash. Americans faced the sudden loss of savings and investments. Banks failed and lending stopped, so businesses had to cut costs by lowering production and laying off employees, which led to a drastic rise in unemployment, reaching a high of 24.9% in 1933, according to the National Archives.

The Great Depression lasted for the next decade.

While the market crash didn't singlehandedly cause the recession, it was a sign of the crumbling economy that would greatly impact people for the decade after.

• I'm a huge Costco fan who's been shopping at the store for over 20 years.
• On a recent trip to the store, I saw lots of great items for summer entertaining.
• I really enjoyed some of the snacks I found, including the Fruit Riot sour grapes.

Summer prep is in full swing at Costco, with delicious snacks and essentials for outdoor entertaining hitting the shelves.

As a diehard Costco fan of over 20 years, a few items caught my eye during a recent visit to the warehouse. Here are nine items I recommend checking out this month.

The Sonoma Creamery pepperoni pizza crisps look delicious.

I'm always on the lookout for a new snack to add to my rotation, so as a pizza lover, these Sonoma Creamery crisps caught my eye.

Their crispy, cheesy edges look like they'd give the perfect satisfying crunch, and I'm very excited to try them.

I grabbed a box of Titan ice packs to prepare for warm summer days.

For those gearing up to spend the summer outside, I highly recommend checking out the Titan high-performance ice packs. These are ideal for keeping your beverages cool during long days in the sun.

I snagged the multi-pack for my family, and thankfully, they don't take up much freezer space since they're foldable.

The Fruit Riot sour grapes are my new favorite snack.

I've been seeing lots of buzz about Fruit Riot on social media, so I was very excited to find the brand's sour grapes at my local Costco.

Each bag contains frozen grapes covered in lemon juice and a sour candy coating. Although it may sound odd, believe me when I say these are worth the hype.

I'll definitely be snacking on these treats by the pool all summer long.

The Core FlexRail folding table is perfect for outdoor gatherings.

As the days get longer, I'm looking for any excuse to gather friends and enjoy a meal outside. Although the Core FlexRail folding table is on the heavier side, it's extremely versatile.

Half the table can be used for meal prep, while the other half has a heat-resistant surface, perfect for placing a portable grill. It also has a paper towel holder, cupholders, and a space to hang a garbage bag.

In my opinion, it seems like the perfect option for barbecues and tailgates.

I'm excited to try the Sun Tropics dragon fruit and guava juice.

I seriously cannot wait to try the Sun Tropics 100% dragon fruit and guava juice. When I was at Costco, I saw lots of people grabbing it, and I was intrigued by the unique flavor combination.

I'd love to pour it into a Popsicle mold for a cooling summer treat.

The Igloo MaxCold cooler is perfect for outdoor activities.

Igloo's MaxCold foam-insulated roller cooler is the ideal size for a camping trip or beach day. With easy-to-navigate wheels, it looks like it would make transporting beverages simple.

The Solely fruit jerky is like an adult version of a Fruit Roll-Up.

I first fell in love with Solely fruit jerky when I discovered that each flavor is made with just one ingredient. So, when I saw Costco's newest variety pack with mango and pineapple strips, I knew I had to pick up a box.

These are like the adult version of Fruit Roll-Ups: chewy, light, and packed with a ton of fruit. Honestly, I could probably eat the entire pack in one sitting.

I loved the Brentwood Originals indoor/outdoor pillows.

I was immediately drawn to the Brentwood Originals pillows, which can be used either inside or outside.

These versatile pillows come in four different designs and are UV- and weather-resistant, making them perfect for porches, patios, and everything in between. My family is already planning to grab a few on our next Costco run.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Pho'nomenal Foods ripened jackfruit chips.

During my last trip to Costco, I picked up a bag of the Pho'nomenal Foods freeze-dried ripened jackfruit chips. I wasn't sure what to expect, but they surprised me in the best way.

They have a bright tropical flavor but aren't overly sweet, and the light crunch makes them super snackable.

Click to keep reading Costco diaries like this one.

• Tesla canceled its range extender — and it's one of many Cybertruck promises the company hasn't delivered.
• The EV truck is also more expensive, with the cheapest version of the Cybertruck starting at $69,990.
• Other features that didn't make it into the final vehicle include crab walking and floating.

The Cybertruck has changed a lot since Elon Musk first unveiled it in 2019.

Tesla's first pickup, which finally launched in November 2023, has had a rocky rollout, with multiple recalls and early challenges in scaling up production.

The Cybertrucks for sale right now have less range and a far higher price tag than Musk initially predicted, with the cheapest model available costing nearly $70,000, compared to the $39,900 that Musk promised.

Here are some of the Cybertruck features that Musk has talked about over the years that failed to materialize.

1. A $39,900 price tag

When Musk first unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, he said the cheapest version would cost $39,900, with more advanced variants costing $49,900 and $77,000.

But that didn't work out. In 2023, Tesla shipped a $120,000 Foundation Series version of the Cybertruck and said its cheapest model would actually cost $60,990 and would arrive in 2025. Tesla recently released its Long Range version of the Cybertruck, which has a $69,990 price tag. The Cyberbeast, its most expensive version, cost around $100,000.

The price hike disappointed many Tesla fans, and made the Cybertruck something of a status car when it first arrived. Now that the market has become more saturated and the truck has been targeted by political backlash, some consider the EV overpriced.

2. 500-mile range

Musk also said in 2019 that the most advanced tri-motor version of the Cybertruck would have a 500-mile range.

That would have made it one of the longest-range EVs on the market, but it was a promise Tesla didn't deliver on.

The automaker advertises the $69,990 Long Range Cybertruck as having an estimated 350 miles of range, with the roughly $100,000 "Cyberbeast" clocking in at 301 miles.

Tesla previously had plans to offer a $16,000 "range extender." The battery pack would sit in the truck bed of the vehicle and increase the vehicle's range to over 470 miles. In October, Tesla reduced the range to 445 miles and delayed it from early to mid-2025.

In early May, Tesla canceled the product and refunded pre-orders.

3. Cyberquad

Musk ended the 2019 Cybertruck event with a surprise unveiling of the "Cyberquad," a Tesla quad bike.

The billionaire wrote at the time on X that the Cyberquad would be a two-seater ATV that would be released at the same time as the truck.

Tesla did release a $1,900 kids version of the Cyberquad, which now costs $1,650 and previously faced a recall, but the full-size quad bike is yet to materialize.

4. The Cybertruck functioning as a boat

One of the most eye-catching promises Musk made about the Cybertruck is that it would be able to float and serve as a boat for short periods.

The Tesla CEO wrote on X that the pickup would be waterproof enough to "cross rivers, lakes, & even seas that aren't too choppy."

Although the Cybertruck has a "wade mode" that allows drivers to drive through 30 inches of water for a limited time, it's far from sea-worthy.

Musk appears to have not given up on this feature, however, posting on X last December that Tesla would release another upgrade that would allow the Cybertruck to "traverse at least 100m of water as a boat."

He reiterated its potential in April when responding to a video on X of a Cybertruck driving in a lake.

5. Crab walking

In 2021, Musk wrote on X that the initial production run of Cybertrucks would have four motors, one for each wheel, allowing it to turn 360 degrees like a tank and move diagonally like a crab.

But this feature never made it off the Tesla drawing board. Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill said in April that Tesla experimented with the feature but couldn't find a practical use for it.

"We played with this in development, but no matter what we tried, it was a clunky/awkward experience with no real use case," he wrote in a post on X.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside normal working hours.

• My husband and I met when he was 44 and I was 38.
• I placed a personal ad in a newspaper, and he replied with a flyer about himself.
• We didn't want kids and wanted to travel the world instead, and we've been doing it for 35 years.

In 1991, when I was 38, I placed a personal ad in a newspaper — this was before computers and cellphones — looking for a boyfriend.

Around a month later, I received a large envelope in the mail with interesting responses. There was one that really stood out.

Carefully designed like a humor-infused brochure, the title across the top said, "YOUR NEXT BOYFRIEND?" It included a picture, bullet points listing his attributes and interests, and lots of adorable graphics, including his drawing of a couple hugging that said, "Could this be us?" It was clever, creative, honest, and funny. In fact, it was so hilarious that I laughed out loud and thought to myself, "I have to meet this guy!"

My husband Jim and I have been married for almost 33 years.

We had lots of things in common

On our first date, we discovered we had many interests and ethics in common, and I could tell that he was genuine, sweet, funny, and a real gentleman.

He told me he lived on a boat (✓), loved to ride his bicycle and motorcycle (✓), and liked to travel to tropical places and scuba dive (✓✓). Also, he told me he had done a lot of solo adventures, traveling on his bicycle for months at a time in places like Australia and New Zealand. That really excited me — I had always wanted to travel like that. Also, neither of us wanted to have kids.

Our next date was a scenic bicycle ride along the water. On our third date, he took me for a ride on his motorcycle to a beautiful beach, and we shared our first kiss. On the way back, I had butterflies in my stomach, I knew something really wonderful was up. Now, almost 35 years later, I still swoon with every kiss.

After three months of dating, we took a trip to Belize to go scuba diving, which was fantastic. After 10 months, we moved in together, and a month later, he proposed to me on Christmas Eve as we sat beside our colorful, twinkling tree and warm, cozy fireplace.

We haven't stopped traveling

Eleven months later, we got married, and the day after, we took a walk on the beach and agreed that after tasting adventure together in Belize, we wanted to take a much longer trip and officially become vagabonds.

Six months later, we quit our jobs, sold our cars, put everything else into storage, bought two backpacks, and flew to Bangkok.

We traveled with just a Lonely Planet guidebook as we made our way through Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Bali. Four glorious months of nothing but adventures. We learned early on how to overcome difficulties and cope with constant change together.

Eighteen years after our first big adventure trip, we lost our jobs due to an economic downturn, so we took off again for a six-month trip to Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia, and India. Then, after a year back home, we sold our house and embarked on a seven-month trip that included the Greek Islands, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Laos, and back to Thailand and India.

We are a really good team

Traveling to all these amazing places changed our lives forever and gave us an important perspective on how other cultures live. We also discovered that we are a really good team, each with a different set of skills that match up well, and that we can trust each other to get things done right. This experience also helped us develop a seemingly unbreakable and lasting bond.

Delightfully, on a day-to-day basis, we are extremely demonstrative. We hug and kiss often and thank each other constantly for such a loving relationship. We also have many absurd running comedy routines and dialogues that keep us laughing. People are often amazed by our obvious affection for each other and tell us how rare it is.

Like every other couple, we have had to deal with stressful and difficult situations. But we are able to handle them well because we always try to be kind to each other and put the relationship first. We both truly believe that love is the most precious and wonderful thing in the world.

To this day, every night when we get into bed and snuggle (his response to my ad did include, "likes to snuggle"), we happily melt into each other's arms and feel so grateful that we were lucky enough to find each other.

• Splurging on a five-star hotel stay is typically saved for special occasions.
• I've, fortunately, slept in plenty of luxury hotels where I've watched travelers make mistakes.
• Some people book stays that are too short, while others don't take advantage of the concierge.

From sipping an iced vanilla latte on a private beach to watching snowfall from the comfort of a sauna, I've stayed in luxury, five-star hotels around the world as a travel reporter.

It's a drastic shift from my personal trips and vacations, which tend to involve budget hotels and cheap vacation rentals. When I'm at a lavish hotel, I'm soaking in every minute and every amenity.

From personal experience and conversations with other travelers, I've spotted mistakes that diminish the luxury experience.

A single night is not nearly enough in a five-star hotel.

With a typical 4 p.m. check-in and 11 a.m. check-out, one night in any hotel isn't very long to explore — especially when you're splurging on the accommodation.

I made this mistake while staying at my first five-star hotel, the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Canada's Banff National Park.

My friend and I checked into the glorious property just as the sun was setting. We explored the hotel's dining scene and joined a free s'mores and bonfire event. The next day, we set our alarms early to enjoy why we were at Lake Louise in the first place — the nature.

We didn't have nearly long enough. We were rushing to get up early, hike around the lake, and make it back in time to check out of the lodge. We enjoyed our stay, but it wasn't the relaxing trip we had hoped for.

Since then, I've talked to dozens of other guests who shared similar sentiments.

At a five-star hotel in Sydney, guests told me they couldn't decide how to split time between exploring the city and the hotel's amenities. At a luxe spot on the island of Zanzibar, guests raced around the property to enjoy every detail during a short stay.

While booking a luxury hotel might already be a splurge, finding a place that allows you more than one night helps maximize the entire experience.

Not researching the destination beforehand is another common mistake.

Some five-star hotels are in the heart of a city, offering easy access to museums, shopping, and nightlife.

Other luxury hotels are in the middle of nowhere. A stay here means that your vacation is limited to the resort itself.

I've spoken to travelers who weren't aware of how remote the accommodations were, leaving them frustrated that activities were far away, dining outside the hotel was inaccessible, and entire days had to be spent at the property.

Researching where you're heading is key to making the most of a luxe hotel stay. Whether that's speaking to a hotel representative, a travel agent, or Googling, research will give you a better sense of how you'll be spending your precious vacation days.

Some guests don't take advantage of the hotel's concierge.

A concierge at a five-star hotel is a major perk of sleeping in luxury.

They can secure hard-to-get dining reservations, share lesser-known property amenities, and make personal recommendations for the area you're visiting.

I've watched travelers miss out on restaurant visits because they didn't know the concierge might be able to help. I've also seen people fail to use water kayaks and paddleboards in fear that they cost money — a simple question for the concierge.

The concierge is also there in case an emergency arises. They can provide information on the nearest doctor, call transportation services, and help you find anything you may have forgotten to pack.

They're a resource, so failing to use them is a big mistake.

Similar to not using the concierge, I've watched travelers not take advantage of free amenities.

Since every hotel works differently, knowing what's included and what's not when you arrive is important.

I've visited hotels where the spa is accessible regardless of whether you book a service. Other hotels keep the spa off-limits unless you arrive for a massage or facial.

In casual conversations with guests, I've raved about a visit to a private beach and watched as they were shocked to learn that access to a second beach was included in their stay. I've also highlighted the free minibar — another perk people have said they were unaware of.

The high costs of visiting a five-star hotel tend to include much more than just your hotel room, so take advantage of those perks.

Others fail to explore the hotel's food scene.

Finding an award-winning chef stationed at a luxury hotel shouldn't come as a surprise.

On a recent visit to the Four Seasons Tamarindo, I dined on meals influenced and created by well-known chefs. At Coyul, a restaurant on the property, the menu was created in partnership with Elena Reygadas, who was named the best female chef in the world in 2023 by The World's 50 Best Restaurants. The meal of risotto and soft shell crab was a highlight of a weeklong trip to Costalegre, Mexico.

I'm always shocked when I chat with guests and learn they haven't had a single meal at the hotel. While I'm all for exploring a range of restaurants on a trip, guests might miss out by skipping the hotel's dining scene.

Finally, they overpack for the trip.

I still laugh when I think about packing for my first five-star vacation to a tropical destination.

I sat staring at my suitcase, debating how I could save space. Removing a beach towel was my solution, and thank goodness I did. When I arrived, beach towels were piled high at every corner of the pool.

If you're heading to a luxury spot, there are a handful of things you can skip packing. There's no need for shampoo, conditioner, lotion, or body wash. Robes and slippers are a guarantee. I've always found a hair dryer.

While some of those are expected, I've also watched guests waste precious space packing extra tote bags and umbrellas, which will typically be available at a five-star hotel.

Again, a quick conversation with the hotel can help save precious space in a carry-on.

• Jony Ive was known for delivering simple designs at Apple.
• Ive said in a fireside chat that his design mantra at his new agency, LoveFrom, could be different.
• His new chapter is shaping up to be his "ornament era."

Jony Ive is embracing his "ornament era."

The former chief design officer at Apple spent the better part of 27 years designing products that were defined by simplicity and minimalism: the iPod, iPhone, MacBook, and iPad all had the British-born designer's hand in them.

But he's taking a different approach now.

In a fireside chat with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison this week, Ive, who has been busy working on an independent design agency called LoveFrom since leaving Apple in 2019, said his more recent work could be seen as "Jony's ornament era."

"I think that's a lovely observation," Ive said in response to Collison, who described his work at Apple as "so stripped down" and "reduced to the essence."

Ive's ideas and work at Apple were often inspired by Dieter Rams, the German industrial designer who had a "less but better" approach that informed his work at consumer products businesses like Braun.

In the fireside chat, Ive said that his work at LoveFrom is informed by a diverse team of industrial, graphic, and sound designers, as well as architects, typographers, and musicians, as opposed to at Apple, where his team had "clear criteria for what we were doing."

Ive has shared few details about the projects LoveFrom was working on, with his design agency's website maintaining a barebones display that has shrouded the storied designer's future work in secrecy.

But a few public projects have indicated a shift in direction in his design, with Ive notably creating an ornament logo for the coronation of King Charles III, as well as work for Airbnb.

"If you're working for the king on his coronation identity, that of course, would demand a very different approach than the one we would have taken if we were designing instructional products for how to use an iMac," Ive said.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
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Happy Friday! We've got a new pope and he's an American! Cardinal Robert Prevost, who hails from Chicago, will be known as Pope Leo XIV. Here's everything you need to know about him. To be fair, we probably should have seen this coming with Gen Z's obsession with "Conclave."

In today's big story, a trade agreement with the UK has Wall Street excited, but not everyone is convinced things are heading in the right direction.

You still have time to sign up for Tech Memo. It's our new weekly BI newsletter from Alistair Barr on what's happening inside the world's most powerful tech companies.

What's on deck

Markets: At Milken, billionaire and CEO concerns about the economy didn't stop the party.

Tech: Google pushes back on claims it's losing search to AI.

Business: Panasonic is cutting 10,000 jobs in a bid to boost efficiency.

But first, wheeling and dealing.

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The big story

The art of the trade deal

President Donald Trump seems to be entering the next stage of his wide-reaching trade war, and investors are loving it.

On Thursday, Trump announced a trade agreement with the UK that his administration said would bring opportunities worth $5 billion to US exporters.

The first deal made since Trump's Liberation Day — when tariffs were widely implemented — was reason enough for investors to celebrate, sending major indexes rising.

But it wasn't just the UK deal that had Wall Street excited. In announcing the agreement on Truth Social, Trump made clear he wasn't done resolving trade disputes.

"This Deal shows that if you respect America, and bring serious proposals to the table, America is OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Many more to come — STAY TUNED!" Trump said on the social media platform.

Trump's post seemed to confirm what many had long believed: The threat of tariffs was merely a Trump negotiation tactic to secure better trade terms.

(BI's Alice Tecotzky previously read Trump's "The Art of the Deal" to see how they compared to his approach to tariffs. There were plenty of takeaways.)

One trade agreement is still far from solving the whole trade war.

Investors have been eager to find any signs of reprieve from tariffs, with some even pricing in a win for the US ahead of the UK announcement.

Still, there's no guarantee other countries will be as willing to come to the table. Relations with one of the biggest trade partners — China — are still strained. Discussions between the two sides are supposedly coming this weekend.

In the meantime, the risk of a recession is looming. Despite strong recent economic data, some experts warn the worst is yet to come thanks to the ongoing uncertainty, writes BI's Catherine Boudreau.

The unknowns are also stressing anyone involved in global trade, which is already a pretty complex industry to begin with, writes BI's Madeline Stone.

Even Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that the true impact of tariffs on the economy is still unclear while holding interest rates firm on Wednesday, much to Trump's displeasure.

But for now, Wall Street is happy to take the win. A trade agreement with the UK is better than a trade agreement with no one.

3 things in markets

1. Bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time in three months. The world's largest crypto saw gains after the White House's trade agreement with the UK. Bitcoin is moving in line with other risk assets as the markets settle down.

2. A benefactor from the Trump bump is going bust. The secondhand market had a record number of deals last year, and uncertainty around President Trump's policies means demand for the once-niche market is expected to ratchet up again. Here's what it's like to work as a secondaries investor.

3. Hanging with the bigwigs and billionaires at Milken. Onstage at the Beverly Hills conference, concerns about the economy were almost as ubiquitous as the viral Saratoga water bottle. Recession woes didn't stop the rich from partying it up in private, however.

3 things in tech

1. Things aren't looking good for Google. Google disputed an Apple exec's statement that AI is cutting into its search. It's possible that both companies are right — but a recent filing reveals there's another reason to worry about Google's search dominance.

2. Tariffs sparked a wave of iPhone upgrades, not AI. Wall Street thought Apple's generative AI would kick-start an upgrade cycle, but Consumer Intelligence Research Partners found concerns over higher prices actually did the trick.

3. Millennials had the mall; Gen Z has Pinterest. That's according to Pinterest CEO Bill Ready, who said the platform is where "Gen Z goes to shop" during its Q1 earnings call. Pinterest's stock jumped as much as 18% after-hours on Thursday.

3 things in business

1. Panasonic plans to cut 10,000 jobs. The Japanese company, which supplies batteries to Tesla through a subsidiary company, plans to cut 5,000 roles in Japan and 5,000 overseas by March 2026, which amounts to about 4% of its global workforce.

2. Bill Gates ramps up giving away his billions. The Microsoft cofounder told the New York Times he plans to shut down his foundation in 2045 — decades earlier than initially intended. He also criticized Elon Musk, saying he was "involved in the deaths of the world's poorest children" by cutting USAID as part of his DOGE initiative.

3. Shopify wants to help sellers navigate tariffs. The company just launched new tools to help merchants calculate duties and consider other tariff impacts, including a new website that uses AI to give guidance. See how it's assisting sellers.

In other news

• Here's how much Trump's policies could cost Wall Street in bonus money.
• Trump's deal with Paul Weiss is throwing a wrench into his war on Big Law.
• Warren Buffett delivered a masterclass in succession planning — and a lesson in high drama.
• Temu sent my last shipment with no extra tariff fees. What happens the next time I want to place an order?
• The new face of professional networking isn't human.
• Liam Payne died without a will. Here's why his ex will manage his $32.2 million fortune, even though they weren't married.

What's happening today

• Hoover Institution Monetary Conference begins, with speakers including institution director Condoleezza Rice.

• Court hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez as push to free them continues.

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The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• Boeing may deliver the new Air Force One jets by 2027, two years earlier than projected.
• The company has faced cost overruns and operational challenges, with the program $2 billion over budget.
• That timescale would allow Donald Trump to fly on the jets while he's still president.

Boeing could now deliver the next-generation Air Force One aircraft while President Donald Trump is still in office, a US Air Force official said.

The planes could be delivered by 2027 — two years earlier than previously expected, but still five years behind the original schedule.

Darlene Costello, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, revealed the update during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday.

"We are looking at the requirements that are being potentially traded off to get to that date, and so I would not necessarily guarantee that date, but they're proposing to bring it into '27," she said.

One major change already agreed is the relaxation of a requirement that Boeing staff working on the project hold top-level security clearances, which had contributed to previous delays. Additional holdups were caused by supplier changes, engineering challenges, and pandemic-related workforce constraints.

"We are absolutely committed to delivering an aircraft with the communications and defensive capabilities required for presidential transport," Costello told the hearing.

The revised timeline comes as Boeing works with the Air Force to streamline requirements for the new VC-25B jets — modified 747 aircraft that will replace the ageing VC-25As. The updates aim to reduce production delays that have plagued the $3.9 billion program.

During his first term in office, Trump struck a deal with Boeing to acquire two new 747-8 aircraft, with initial delivery scheduled for 2024.

The two planes had been ordered by Transaero, a Russian airline that filed for bankruptcy before they were delivered.

Both planes, which first flew in 2016, have logged fewer than 20 hours in the air and have been at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio since 2019 for conversion.

Since taking on the fixed-price contract, Boeing has struggled with cost overruns and operational disruptions.

The aerospace giant recently acknowledged that the program is now $2 billion over budget.

If Boeing manages to meet the 2027 target, Trump could fly on the new aircraft while still in office.

The president has previously criticized delays in the project, prompting renewed pressure on Boeing from both the Air Force and political leaders.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• HSBC has created a loan designed to help businesses handle the cost of tariffs.
• HSBC TradePay for Import Duties is an extension of an already existing program.
• Businesses have been scrambling to work out how to deal with the cost of tariffs.

Banking giant HSBC has launched a new financing service to help its customers manage the extra costs caused by the trade war triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

HSBC TradePay for Import Duties allows businesses to access credit and make payments. It adds to an already existing program launched in 2023 to help businesses deal with the costs of international trade.

The London-headquartered bank and financial services firm said the platform could be used to cover the cost of import duties, helping address the extra costs associated with tariffs.

According to HSBC, since launching TradePay, it has made $2.3 billion of trade finance accessible worldwide.

"By settling import duties directly and frictionlessly through HSBC TradePay, our US clients have more visibility and control over their working capital at the time they need it most," Vivek Ramachandran, head of global trade solutions, said in a statement.

Since Trump announced his so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs in April, US businesses have been scrambling to address the cost of the increased levies on goods. Some have said they will absorb costs, while many have passed these costs onto customers.

Last week, HSBC posted a profit before tax of $9.5 billion, compared to forecasts of $7.8 billion, in its first quarter of 2025. It surpassed expectations of revenue by $980 million and announced a share buyback of up to $3 billion.