• MyCabin started building prefab homes for European customers from a base in Latvia in 2020. 
• Illinois-based PrefabPads licensed MyCabin's minimalist designs, making them available in the US.
• Take a look inside some of the units, which cost as little as $59,000 and can run up to $175,000.

MyCabin, a Latvia-based startup, began building and selling minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired tiny homes to European customers in 2020.

MyCabin founder Girts Draugs initially built a collection of tiny abodes for himself after he couldn't find a vacation home that lived up to his vision. He then began selling and distributing his designs in Europe and the US.

In 2022, the company licensed its designs for structures also called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to Illinois-based firm PrefabPads, which launched MyCabin US. The tiny home builder offers four unit options, ranging from a 132-square-foot sauna to a 682-square-foot home with two bedrooms and one bathroom.

Prices range from $59,000 to $175,000, but customization and upgrades can increase overall costs.

Clients pay for the ADU plans but are individually responsible for obtaining permits and hiring contractors for groundwork and installation. MyCabin US builds each unit at its factory in Waukegan, Illinois, outside Chicago, and then delivers it fully constructed to the customer.

As of January 2024, MyCabin US has delivered about 43 tiny homes to customers in Connecticut, New York, Maine, Utah, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

For many Americans, tiny homes are a sustainable, budget-friendly housing alternative or a way to generate extra income. As demand grows, many states have passed zoning laws to permit their construction, with some even offering incentives to encourage development.

"First and foremost, land is expensive, and mortgage rates are terrible, so people are trying to expand their property instead of moving to bigger footprints," Anisha Seltenright, chief marketing officer of MyCabin US, told Business Insider. She said new regulations in states like California and Colorado that make building ADUs easier have helped the company expand.

Take a look inside the factory where MyCabin US builds its homes as well as five of its tiny home options.

PrefabPads builds the MyCabin units — from the initial framing down to the smallest fixtures and finishes — in its Illinois factory.

Each tiny home is fully finished at the factory, with plumbing, electrical systems, appliances, and interior and exterior lighting installed.

The company can produce seven to 20 homes at a time in its factory, according to its website.

The architecture of each unit is intentionally modern and minimalist.

The units have many large windows designed to bring "the outdoors indoors," Peter Seltenright, the cofounder of PrefabPads, told BI.

The homes' siding is treated in the factory to extract sugars and moisture.

This process makes the homes more resistant to bugs and rot. Afterward, the walls are stained a sleek, dark color.

Whoever ordered the cabin names it — in this case, Heron — and PrefabPads creates a custom sign.

The company wraps the homes and puts them on trucks to transport them to their final destinations.

This is the Milla unit, a cozy studio.

The Milla has a joint living room, kitchen, and bathroom. It has 270 square feet of living space and 78 square feet of loft space. The initial deposit is $4,000, and the total cost is about $98,500.

This is the interior of a finished Milla home before it was trucked to a client's home in Connecticut.

Inside the Milla's front door is a living room with an open kitchen. A ladder leads to a loft space, where there is a sleeping area.

The lofted sleeping area is four feet tall and fits a mattress.

A view down to the living room from the lofted bedroom.

This is how another customer designed their Milla living room.

Milla's kitchen has black quartz countertops, frameless matte black cabinets, and a stainless steel sink. There is also an induction stovetop.

The bathroom also has matte black fixtures, which nicely contrast the white walls and lighter-colored floors.

The Milla Long is a one-bedroom version of the regular Milla, which is classified as a studio.

It is 528 square feet, and includes a bedroom, loft, full kitchen, living room, and bathroom.

The Milla Long is a very popular unit, said PrefabPads cofounder Anisha Seltenright.

It costs around $149,500 and requires a deposit between $4,500 and $5,500. The company said on its website that it can be built and shipped in two months

The Milla Long's bathroom is sleek and spacious.

This is a kitchen in a customer's installed Milla Long tiny home.

The Milla XL is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom version of the other two Milla designs.

This 682-square-foot tiny home requires an initial deposit of $5,500 and costs about $175,000.

The Galia home at the far right of this rendering is a tiny home-turned-sauna.

The private at-home spa is waterproof, featuring a tile floor and vapor barrier film. It requires an initial deposit of $2,500 and is priced at $37,500.

Anisha Seltenright said the Galia has become more popular with homeowners as wellness culture shapes home design.

"The Galia has a lot of interest," she said. "People love the idea of using it as an option for an Airbnb-style property."

The Kalmus is also a one-bedroom unit.

The 245-square-foot tiny home — which can serve as a guest house or office — features a dining area and a loft that can be used for sleeping or storage. A bathroom is optional for the Kalmus unit.

The initial deposit for the Kalmus is $3,000 without a bathroom, but $3,500 with one. The final price — excluding upgrades —  is about $59,000 without a bathroom or $67,000 with one.

Two customers have bought the Kalmus and put it in their backyards to use as an office, said Peter Seltenright.

This Kalmus model was shipped to Connecticut to be installed as a backyard office there.

The initial deposit for the Kalmus is $3,000 without a bathroom but $3,500 with one. The final price – excluding upgrades —  is about $59,000 without a bathroom or $67,000 with one.

The floors are made of luxury vinyl that doesn't scratch and is waterproof, Peter Seltenright said.

MyCabin also sells a $175,000 three-piece set, which includes the Milla, the Kalmus, and the Galia.

• Sean Combs has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against a man he says lied in news interviews.
• The lawsuit names Courtney Burgess, his lawyer, and the company that owns NewsNation as defendants.
• Burgess has alleged in interviews that he has videos involving Combs that show sexual assault.

Sean "Diddy" Combs has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against a man who said he testified before a New York grand jury as part of the federal criminal sex trafficking case against the hip-hop music mogul.

That man, Courtney Burgess, has said in news interviews and on podcasts that he was in possession of several videos involving Combs that show the sexual assault of celebrities and apparent minors.

Combs' lawsuit — which names Burgess, his lawyer, and the media company that owns the network NewsNation as defendants — says that Burgess lied in a bid to raise his public profile and destroy Combs' reputation.

The lawsuit says Burgess and his Florida-based attorney, Ariel Mitchell, have engaged in a "willful scheme to fabricate and broadcast outrageous lies concerning Mr. Combs and then to leverage those falsehoods to gain social media fame, enrich themselves, and strip Mr. Combs of his reputation, livelihood, and right to a fair trial."

The pair has for months fueled "a media frenzy, fabricating outlandish claims and stirring up baseless speculation about Mr. Combs, vying to outdo each other in a shameless competition to draw attention to themselves, with no regard for the truth," Combs alleges in the lawsuit which was filed Wednesday night in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Burgess, Mitchell, and NewsNation owner Nexstar Media Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Business Insider.

Combs' attorney Erica Wolff said in a statement that her high-profile client — who has been locked up pretrial at a federal Brooklyn jail since his September 2024 arrest and indictment — "is taking a stand against the malicious falsehoods that have been fabricated and amplified by individuals seeking to profit at his expense."

The defendants' "falsehoods have poisoned public perception and contaminated the jury pool," Wolff said, adding, "This complaint should serve as a warning that such intentional falsehoods, which undermine Mr. Combs's right to a fair trial, will no longer be tolerated."

Combs' lawsuit says that the recordings Burgess says he saw do not exist.

"Burgess repeated this false claim many times to anyone who would listen, including reporters for major news outlets (including NewsNation, which recklessly repeated and amplified his lies as if they were true)," Combs said in the lawsuit.

Combs alleges in the lawsuit that NewsNation did not conduct any investigation before broadcasting the allegations "though it easily could have done so."

Burgess, Mitchell, and NewsNation, the lawsuit alleges, "have caused profound reputational and economic injury and severe prejudice to Mr. Combs."

Combs' lawsuit says that Burgess has never met Combs or had any relationship with anyone in his family, yet Burgess has said that Combs' late ex and mother of four of his children, Kim Porter, gave him a copy of her alleged memoir and videos showing the alleged sexual assault of intoxicated celebrities and minors.

"Those close to Ms. Porter, including her children and her roommate for over twenty years, had never heard of Mr. Burgess before he made this utterly implausible and completely false claim," says the lawsuit.

Combs says the claims made by Burgess prompted investigators to issue a subpoena for him to testify before a grand jury that convened in Manhattan in October.

"In this pitiful spectacle, all pretense of objectivity has been abandoned, as a global audience feasts at the all-you-can-eat buffet of wild lies and conspiracy theories," the lawsuit says.

At the center of the indictment against Combs are accusations he orchestrated "freak offs," which prosecutors describe in court papers as "elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded."

In these alleged drug-fueled sex sessions, prosecutors say Combs "used force, threats of force, and coercion" to get female victims to engage in sex acts with male commercial sex workers.

Combs' attorneys have argued in court papers that the video evidence prosecutors have of the so-called "freak offs" will vindicate the "I'll Be Missing You" rapper at trial.

Combs has vehemently denied the federal charges against him, as well as all accusations of sexual abuse made in a flood of civil lawsuits against him.

• The Port of Galveston, Texas' only cruise port, expects to accommodate 419 cruise ships in 2025.
• The port had previously exclusively handled cargo and almost filed for bankruptcy in the 1990s.
• Its CEO explains how the influx of cruises spurred an economic turnaround.

In the 1990s, the 200-year-old Port of Galveston almost filed for bankruptcy.

It expects to earn $84 million in 2025, a 6.4% increase from the previous year.

It's an incredible turnaround. And the port's director and CEO says it's all thanks to cruises, which began to spike in popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic

The Texas port spent $53 million expanding Carnival's cruise terminal in 2023, a year after Royal Caribbean opened a $125 million terminal. A fourth new, $156 million terminal is set to open for Norwegian and MSC's ship in November.

Galveston expects to accommodate 419 cruises in 2025, a more than 25% increase from three years prior — making it the fourth busiest cruise port in America.

"There was a time we didn't have enough money to make payroll," the CEO, Rodger Rees, told Business Insider. "Luckily, the money came in, but they were that tight at times."

Prior to the turn of the century, Galveston had exclusively been a cargo port. By the 1990s, its decades-old (in some cases, century-old) infrastructure had been in dire need of repair — with money that cargo alone wasn't generating.

"The port really didn't have anything going on 25, 30 years ago," Rees said. "It was like a ghost town out there."

That is until it began pursuing vacation-at-sea companies, which subsequently spurred a much-needed economic windfall.

"I've been selling Galveston to MSC for five years at least," Rees said. "Becoming a cruise port turned this port around."

In the shadows of the cruising limelight, the port still continues to receive cargo (primarily vehicles and parts for New Mexico's coming wind farm, set to become the largest in the US).

However, crucial infrastructure still needs a makeover. For example, the slips have become too small for today's larger cargo ships and were damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

To address this, the port is now using money from its flourishing cruise business — which accounts for 65% of its revenue — to finance its cargo-related renovations, set to be completed in early 2026.

It's a $100 million project, about $60 million of which is coming from its cruise revenue.

"Our best year that I've been here, we made $10 million in cargo business and $50 million in cruises," Rees said. "The cargo business has to really grow in order to keep up with the growth of the cruise business."

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Elon Musk she will work with DOGE to slash wasteful federal spending.
• Her recommendations to cut spending included reducing the defense budget and fraud in federal programs.
• There's growing bipartisan support to work with DOGE on achieving its spending cut goals.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she's "happy" to work with her sometimes sparring partner, Elon Musk, to cut wasteful federal spending.

On Thursday, Warren sent a letter to Musk — who is leading President Donald Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — detailing 30 recommendations to reduce government spending, including taking aim at the Department of Defense budget, fraud in Medicare programs, and education funding for for-profit schools.

Musk and his former DOGE co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy originally proposed slashing $2 trillion in federal spending, but Musk later walked back that goal and said during an interview in early January that DOGE has "got a good shot" of reaching $1 trillion in cuts.

While Warren said that she disagrees with some of Musk's initial proposals to cut spending, like reducing veterans' benefits, she said that she agrees with Musk that there is too much wasteful federal spending.

"If you are serious about working together in good faith to cut government spending — in a way that does not harm the middle class — I have proposals for your consideration," Warren said.

One of Warren's recommendations included cutting spending at the Department of Defense, which makes up 14% of total government spending, per year-to-date Treasury data. It's an idea that's already gained bipartisan support — Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna called out contractors overcharging the department in a December opinion piece and said he would work with DOGE, while GOP Sen. Joni Ernst also expressed her support for cutting defense spending in a November letter.

Musk has also previously been critical of defense spending and said it's "not sustainable" during a November speech.

One of Warren's other recommendations was to crack down on fraud in healthcare programs. Some policy experts previously told BI that rooting out fraud in programs like Medicare could be an area for a quick DOGE win, as Musk can leverage his Silicon Valley tech experience to help root out fraudulent and improper payments in federal programs.

Warren's letter to Musk comes amid their long-running public disputes, and her recommendations contain many of her signature positions that Musk and some GOP lawmakers are unlikely to support. They include eliminating charter school funding, restricting federal grants to for-profit universities, and closing tax loopholes for the wealthy. Warren previously singled out Musk as one of many billionaires who should pay more in taxes.

Musk and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Other recommendations for DOGE cuts

Trump officially established DOGE as an office within the White House in a Monday executive order. DOGE's mission in the order is narrower than originally proposed — it would focus on modernizing IT systems — and it's unclear how exactly the agency will initiate spending cuts.

Still, economic experts and policymakers have continued to outline areas Musk should target. William Gale, a senior fellow at the progressive Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, wrote in a Wednesday opinion piece that DOGE should scrutinize tax expenditures, which can take the form of tax credits and deductions, and "they can go on for years with no public attention or review," Gale wrote.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers also have ideas. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz previously told BI that he wants to target reorganizing the Department of Homeland Security to allow FEMA and the Secret Service to report directly to the president, simplifying the chain of command.

"If this is where that conversation is going to happen, I'm happy to be at the table," Moskowitz said. "And if they want to do stupid stuff, I'll call it out, and I'll vote against it."

Ernst's November spending cut recommendations also included eliminating vacant federal buildings, auditing the Internal Revenue Service, and reducing fraud in SNAP benefits.

• The Port of Galveston, Texas' only cruise port, expects to accommodate 419 cruise ships in 2025.
• The port had previously exclusively handled cargo and almost filed for bankruptcy in the 1990s.
• Its CEO explains how the influx of cruises spurred an economic turnaround.

In the 1990s, the 200-year-old Port of Galveston almost filed for bankruptcy.

It expects to earn $84 million in 2025, a 6.4% increase from the previous year.

It's an incredible turnaround. And the port's director and CEO says it's all thanks to cruises, which began to spike in popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic

The Texas port spent $53 million expanding Carnival's cruise terminal in 2023, a year after Royal Caribbean opened a $125 million terminal. A fourth new, $156 million terminal is set to open for Norwegian and MSC's ship in November.

Galveston expects to accommodate 419 cruises in 2025, a more than 25% increase from three years prior — making it the fourth busiest cruise port in America.

"There was a time we didn't have enough money to make payroll," the CEO, Rodger Rees, told Business Insider. "Luckily, the money came in, but they were that tight at times."

Prior to the turn of the century, Galveston had exclusively been a cargo port. By the 1990s, its decades-old (in some cases, century-old) infrastructure had been in dire need of repair — with money that cargo alone wasn't generating.

"The port really didn't have anything going on 25, 30 years ago," Rees said. "It was like a ghost town out there."

That is until it began pursuing vacation-at-sea companies, which subsequently spurred a much-needed economic windfall.

"I've been selling Galveston to MSC for five years at least," Rees said. "Becoming a cruise port turned this port around."

In the shadows of the cruising limelight, the port still continues to receive cargo (primarily vehicles and parts for New Mexico's coming wind farm, set to become the largest in the US).

However, crucial infrastructure still needs a makeover. For example, the slips have become too small for today's larger cargo ships and were damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

To address this, the port is now using money from its flourishing cruise business — which accounts for 65% of its revenue — to finance its cargo-related renovations, set to be completed in early 2026.

It's a $100 million project, about $60 million of which is coming from its cruise revenue.

"Our best year that I've been here, we made $10 million in cargo business and $50 million in cruises," Rees said. "The cargo business has to really grow in order to keep up with the growth of the cruise business."

• I ended a trip to Tokyo with an experience on my Japan bucket list — a night in a capsule hotel.
• For $50, I slept at the Nine Hours Narita Airport, a pod hotel inside the airport. 
• The sleep wasn't great, but I thought it was convenient for travelers with early flights. 

In April 2023, I spent 12 days wandering around Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan. As the days passed, I wanted to end my trip with a few experiences that were high on my travel bucket list.

I made sure to spend my morning slurping shio ramen and my afternoon exploring Shinjuku City, a popular Tokyo neighborhood known for its skyscrapers and stores.

For my last night, I wanted to stay in a capsule hotel.

Capsule hotels, often called pod hotels, originated in Japan. I've stayed in a capsule hotel in Australia and think it's best described as a cross between a hotel and a hostel — you don't have much space, but you do get a bit of privacy.

Since the concept originated in Japan, I wanted to end my trip with the quintessential experience. I booked a night at the Nine Hours Capsule Hotel at the Narita International Airport, where I was flying out the next day to go home. Here's what it was like.

Around 9 p.m. on the last night of my trip, I hopped on a train in Shinjuku heading to Narita International Airport and arrived a little over an hour later.

I navigated to the hotel located in terminal two and checked in for the night.

Before getting the keys, I was told the rules: I was not allowed to eat in my pod, but I could drink. Travelers were instructed to be quiet and return their towels to a bin at the end of their stay.

My capsule cost $49 for the night, but travelers can also book a pod for just a few hours to nap and shower.

Once the rules were covered, I was handed a key marked 11. This was the number on both my locker and bed.

From there, I headed to the women's capsule. The hotel was divided by gender, with two rooms of capsules.

Since the pods are small, travelers store their belongings in lockers. They were spacious enough for my items.

I grabbed a pair of slippers, which were in a complimentary bag of toiletries for overnight guests. The bag also contained two towels, a toothbrush, earplugs, and a nightgown.

With my luggage locked away, I headed into the next room, which was the bathroom. Eight toilets lined one wall.

The next two rooms were home to a total of nine showers.

Everything appeared remarkably clean, and as I explored the hotel, I was shocked by its size. The rows of lockers felt as if they went on and on, as did the bathrooms.

In other hostels I'd stayed at, rooms had four, eight, or 12 people, and this felt like a lot. I'm a light sleeper, so strangers snoring and leaving at different times have meant poor nights of sleep in the past.

I didn't consider the number of pods in the hotel, and I didn't spot that information on its website. But the number of lockers hinted that quite a few people would be sharing the same space.

My fears were soon confirmed. Near the showers, I saw a door leading to the capsules that said, "Sleeping Pods 001 - 058."

Any hope of sleep vanished, and I took a deep breath and stepped inside the pod room. The fluorescent lights of the rest of the hotel disappeared, and I felt like I was stepping into the set for a utopian movie.

The pods were illuminated in the darkness. Each capsule had a pull-down curtain for privacy, but with travelers still trickling in, most of the pods were open when I arrived.

I walked the length of the room to bed 11 and found my pod.

Inside my pod was a folded comforter and pillow.

I crawled in and was surprised by how spacious the room felt. I assumed I would feel claustrophobic, but I had plenty of room to stretch out my legs and sit up straight.

The mattress was firm, and the pillow was firmer.

A small panel was stationed at the head of the bed. Here, I could control the pod's lights and access a power outlet. The hotel also provided a button for music, but I didn't have headphones to try it out.

There were also two small storage nooks, though they could not hold much more than my AirPods or the locker key.

Besides that, the room was bare.

At 11:30 p.m., I was ready for bed and pulled down the curtain at the entrance of the pod.

The curtain allowed for privacy, which I was thankful for, but it wasn't thick enough to dampen the sounds of other travelers entering the room.

From what I could see, most pods were occupied. I dozed off to the sounds of a nearby pod mate snoring. Overall, it was surprisingly quiet, considering over 50 other people were sharing the room.

Unfortunately, the silence didn't last long. At 3 a.m., I woke to strangers' alarms, pod curtains being opened, and people getting up to catch flights.

I was in no rush to wake up. My flight wasn't until the afternoon, and I hoped to sleep in. I dozed in and out of sleep for the next five hours as people crawled out from their pods and headed to their airport gates.

Overall, I didn't have a great night of rest, but I usually don't before flights. Instead of deep sleep, I typically stir all night, fearing I'll miss an alarm.

Even if I was in a traditional hotel, I don't think I would've gotten much more sleep. I climbed out of the capsule at 8:30 a.m. and was surprised to find that every other bed in the room was empty.

Even though checkout wasn't until 10 a.m., everyone else had already left, and the cleaning staff was already stripping sheets and preparing for a new set of guests.

It made sense. The pod seemed convenient for people with early flights who didn't want to make an hourslong journey to the airport in the morning.

When it was time for me to leave, I checked out of the hotel and headed to my terminal, which was a short walk and bus ride away.

Getting to my was gate stress-free. I typically spend the day of my flight fearing some sort of mishap would prevent me from getting to the airport on time, but all my anxieties disappeared since I was already at the airport.

While it wasn't the best night of sleep, it was awfully convenient and affordable. If I had an early morning flight in Japan, I'd be sure to book the capsule hotel again.

• A new study found that people with ADHD likely have a shorter life expectancy.
• Men died about seven years earlier and women died nine years sooner than their peers.
• ADHD is linked to more impulsive or disorganized behavior, leading to worse health outcomes.

A new study of more than 9 million British adults found that people with ADHD died earlier than their peers without the disorder.

On average, men with ADHD died about seven years earlier while women died nine years sooner than their cohorts without ADHD, according to the research.

Published by the British Journal of Psychiatry, the study looked at data on 30,000 people diagnosed with ADHD, and compared it to data from around 300,000 people without — all around the same age and general health status.

While the study didn't explore the causes of death, the researchers say ADHD symptoms like impulsivity, hyperactivity, and forgetfulness can lead to "modifiable risk factors."

ADHD is a neurological disorder that can be linked to other health issues, like substance abuse, or other disorders, like autism.

"To me, the best analog is diabetes," Dr. Russell Barkley, the lead author of a 2019 study on ADHD and shorter estimated life expectancy, told the New York Times. "This is a disorder that you've got to manage, like high blood pressure, like cholesterol and diabetes. You've got to treat this for life."

ADHD can heighten impulsive behavior

The study is observational, which means it does not definitively show a causal relationship between ADHD and early death. It also leaves unanswered questions about what could be driving a connection.

Previous studies found a link between ADHD and risky behaviors like substance abuse. In a press release, Philip Asherson, a professor of molecular psychiatry at King's College London, said that adults with ADHD are more likely to engage in unhealthy habits like smoking or binge eating.

Over time, this can lead to health risks. "We know that ADHD is associated with higher rates of smoking, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer among other health problems," he said.

Early intervention can help

The British study noted that many people are undiagnosed in the UK.

Given that less than 1% of the study's participants were diagnosed with ADHD, it's "also striking in showing how few people with ADHD get a diagnosis," Oliver Howes, a professor of molecular psychiatry at King's College London, who was not involved in the research, said in a statement to reporters.

The study researchers said that "unmet support and treatment needs" could be one of the causes of earlier death in people with ADHD.

Getting a diagnosis can help a person with ADHD find ways to manage their symptoms, be it from medication or adjustments in how they work or stay organized.

• I'm a chef from the UK, and after years of resisting the appliance, I now love my air fryer.
• You can't go wrong with an easy meal of air-fried, nut-crusted chicken or panko shrimp.
• I even make desserts in my air fryer, like molten lava cakes and apple hand pies. 

When everyone else was buying air fryers a few years ago, I held out. I still hauled out my deep-fat fryer and gallons of oil or wrestled with various frying pans and griddles. 

Eventually, though, I gave in and bought a Gourmia 7-quart digital air fryer — I was astounded and delighted by how easy it was to use. Now, I love cooking with the appliance, and I've even bought a second one (a Kalorik Maxx 26-quart digital fryer oven). 

Here are some of my favorite things to make in my air fryer.

Breaded or panko-crusted shrimp turns out incredibly well in an air fryer.

There are tons of recipes out there for air-fried breaded shrimp. 

I prefer mine served with a hint of heat, like the "bang bang" shrimp recipe from the blog Stay Snatched. I also like the shrimp paired with lemon aioli. 

Setting up a three-bowl dipping station is the best way to bread the shrimp quickly and efficiently — one bowl for flour, one for egg (or egg and mustard or mayo), and one for panko. However, I've also made them by simply dipping lightly oiled shrimp in panko before tossing them in the air fryer. 

Stuffed portobello mushrooms make for a quick, tasty dinner.

There's no end to the list of things you can pile on a portobello cap and pop in the air fryer.

A recipe from the blog Spend With Pennies pairs them with cheddar and bacon, but I know some people swear by spinach and cream cheese or garlic and Parmesan. Brit + Co also has some great variation inspiration, including crab-stuffed mushrooms with Gouda or a play on French onion soup. 

I make mine with whatever I have on hand, but I particularly liked the batch I made with feta, cheddar, spinach, artichokes, bread crumbs, and lemon.

I pop the caps in the air fryer for a few minutes, gill-side down, to let any water drain out before flipping them and adding toppings.

I put nut-crusted chicken on the menu again and again.

Air-fried, nut-crusted chicken comes out moist, delicious, and with a perfect crust in just 20 minutes. 

Depending on what kind of air fryer you have, it might take a little more or less — I've found my basket air fryer cooks faster and my convection-oven air fryer takes slightly longer.

The blog Where Is My Spoon has a delicious, easy recipe for panko-breaded chicken. I adapted it by using half crushed nuts and half panko and adding smoked paprika and Parmesan for extra flavor.

Crab cakes with fire-roasted green chiles are my new favorite appetizer.

Crab cakes are one of the tastiest things I've cooked since getting an air fryer. 

I followed a Food Network recipe, substituting a can of fire-roasted green chiles and chipotle powder for the listed chipotle chiles and adobo sauce, just for convenience.

A creamy, lemony chipotle sauce is the perfect accompaniment. It's so tangy and delicious that I could drink it.

Corn ribs are an excellent air-fried option for vegetarians.

You can make corn ribs in the air fry like in the recipe I found from the blog Plant Based Folk, or you can add more of a Mexican-inspired flair with a Food Network Canada recipe.

I could also see them working with masala spice for an Indian-inspired take on the trend. 

Pro tip: Microwave the cobs for seven to nine minutes before cutting them to make quartering easier. Then, lower the air-fryer temperature during cooking. 

Crispy fried tofu can be made with or without cornstarch.

There's a simple recipe for cornstarch-free, garlic-and-soy sauce tofu on the blog Live Eat Learn. It reminded me how much better the texture is after pressing the moisture out of the tofu before cooking (I used a heavy Dutch oven to squash the block).

I've also made crispy fried tofu with a ginger, tamari, and garlic marinade, finished with sesame seeds for extra crunch. The resulting tangy saltiness makes it a good bacon substitute for vegetarians and a delicious addition to Buddha bowls. 

I've also had luck just adding sauce at the end, which I found in a recipe from the blog Nora Cooks.

Every batch of Buffalo cauliflower I make is devoured almost immediately in my house.

Buffalo cauliflower "wings" are a top choice any night of the week — it takes just 15 minutes to make crispy, spicy florets.

Simply whisk hot sauce, oil, garlic powder, and salt, and use the mixture to coat the cauliflower before tossing it into a single layer in the air fryer. I found the recipe I follow on Live Eat Learn.

Serve with blue cheese or another creamy dip.

Grilled cheese is a quick, simple air-fryer favorite.

Air-fried grilled cheese makes a quick lunch. Larger air fryers easily fit a few sandwiches, or you can chop them into half-sized sandwiches to cram more in a smaller basket.

My favorite grilled cheese is a take on a recipe from Kitchn, but with added apple slices.

I also love rustling up any cheese and jam, jelly, or fruit combination, a current favorite is ham, cheddar, and banana. 

Pro tip: Cook at a lower temperature until the cheese melts (three to five minutes) and then turn the heat up to toast the bread for an extra few minutes.

I throw garlic in alongside whatever vegetables I'm roasting.

Cooking garlic in the air fryer takes half the time as doing it in a regular oven.

Kristina from the blog Tasty Oven suggests slicing off the bottom of each head of garlic, cooking a big batch, and freezing the extras. 

I like cooking the heads alongside roasted vegetables such as honeyed parsnips or carrots and then crushing the cloves to make garlic bread.

Even cake turns out perfectly in an air fryer.

I didn't believe you could bake cakes in an air fryer, but I was proven wrong.

I've made some excellent cheesecakes in my basket air fryer, but the one I keep going back to is a simple coffee cake. I like a recipe from the blog Fork to Spoon.

I'll be working my way through the other recipes on the site, too, especially the air-fryer banana-walnut pound cake and banana-nut bread.

Apple hand pies are fiddly to make from scratch, but worth the effort.

Empanada-sized pies are a breeze to make if you have store-bought apple filling and pie dough. But making your own allows you to choose how much sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon you want to add.

The blog BellyFull has a great recipe, whether you're making a premade or homemade version. Both turn out crisp and delicious in a basket air fryer or an oven air fryer. I tried both and couldn't tell the difference.

According to the recipe, the pies last in the fridge for three days and in the freezer for up to two months.

Air-fried French toast is always on the menu.

I followed food writer Chelsea Davis's technique for making air-fried French toast with a delicious, crispy exterior. I also added ground cardamom pods to the cinnamon and nutmeg in the egg batter.

Cutting the bread into fingers is a great tip for fitting more toast into basket fryers with curved corners. Preheating is also a good idea, particularly with convection-oven air fryers.

Molten lava cakes are gooey and gorgeous.

Oozing with liquid chocolate, molten lava cakes are irresistible.

I liked a small-batch recipe I found on the blog Essential Omnivore, but I use orange-flavored chocolate for even more flavor.

Pro tip: Only fill your ramekins around ⅔ of the way or the gooey middles might bubble up all over the bottom of your air fryer.

This story was originally published in February 2023 and most recently updated on January 23, 2025. 

• I ordered the same breakfast from McDonald's and Burger King to compare them on taste and value.
• Burger King's biscuit was practically leaking butter but it tasted better than the McDonald's one.
• I also thought Burger King's hash browns were a great value.

There's nothing like a classic fast-food breakfast sandwich to start your day. 

Breakfast is an area of opportunity for chains to win back customers as people return to the office in droves and need a morning pick-me-up. In August, Dunkin' launched a new $6 breakfast meal deal, joining the long list of chains offering value meals as customers become more price-conscious. 

I tried the same breakfast meal, which included a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit breakfast sandwich and hash browns, at two of the biggest fast-food chains: McDonald's and Burger King. 

Here's which chain had the best breakfast, based on taste and value.

I ordered a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit breakfast sandwich and hash browns from each chain. I started by trying out Burger King's.

My meal cost $8.58, plus taxes and fees. I ordered it through the Doordash app from my local restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.

It seemed like a fair price for how much food I received.

I got a medium order of hash browns and thought it was more than enough.

A medium-size hash brown from Burger King cost me $3.19.

It came packed to the brim with small fried hash browns.

I enjoyed the hash browns from Burger King — I thought they were fluffy on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside.

They could have used a little sauce for added flavor but were just fine on their own as well.

I also got a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit breakfast sandwich from Burger King.

It cost $5.39 and came wrapped in wax paper to keep the heat and buttery biscuit safely tucked inside.

Right away, I noticed how buttery this sandwich was.

Butter had completely coated the wax paper wrapping.

Once I opened the sandwich, I saw right away why the wrapping was so buttery.

The biscuit was a dark yellow color and almost crispy in texture. This told me right away that a lot of butter was added to whatever batter they use to make their biscuits.

The sandwich came with a biscuit, sausage patty, egg, and a slice of American cheese.

When I bit into the breakfast sandwich, it tasted heavily of butter, but I could still taste the juicy sausage patty and egg.

There were small pockets of butter or oil on the top of the biscuit.

However, that didn't really turn me off. There's nothing worse than a dry biscuit ... which I would discover later on in this taste test.

The sausage patty was perfectly thick and moist, while the eggs were light and fluffy.

The biscuit was crumbly rather than flaky, but it complemented the other flavors and provided the perfect vehicle for the other ingredients.

I ordered the same items from McDonald's: a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit breakfast sandwich and one hash brown.

My meal cost $9.38, plus taxes and fees. I also got it delivered through the Doordash app.

It was slightly more expensive than the meal from Burger King, so I was anxious to see if the flavor would live up to the higher price tag.

When I compared the same meals from Burger King and McDonald's, the meal from the larger chain was also more expensive.

I got one hash brown, which appeared to be smaller in size than the medium order of hash browns from Burger King.

However, it was more expensive at $3.69.

The hash brown was perfectly crispy on the outside.

It wasn't as fluffy as the Burger King hash browns. The potato inside was more shredded in texture and had a lot more moisture. I liked it but thought the serving size was a little small and expensive for getting basically the same menu item taste-wise. 

I'm a big fan of McDonald's McMuffin breakfast sandwiches but haven't tried many of their biscuit options.

The sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich cost me $5.69, which was more expensive than the one from Burger King. 

The biscuit was lighter in color than the Burger King one but looked more like a traditional biscuit.

However, when I bit in, I was surprisingly a little disappointed.

I thought the biscuit was dry and crumbly.

It stuck to the roof of my mouth. The texture made it difficult to really taste the other ingredients — all I could taste was the biscuit.

I didn't have any urge to finish this sandwich.

The eggs and sausage were both pretty moist, but not enough to overpower the dry biscuit. In my opinion, the biscuit could have used some of the butter I found the Burger King sandwich practically drenched in.

Overall, I enjoyed both meals and thought they were both good deals in terms of value.

I then had to decide which meal I preferred based on each item.

Both of the breakfast sandwiches were around the same size and had the same ingredients, but I preferred the one from Burger King.

Even though it bordered on too buttery, the Burger King option had more flavor and the biscuit's consistency allowed the other flavors to come through. The biscuit from McDonald's was simply too dry for my tastes and made the other ingredients fade into the background.

Taste-wise, the hash browns were equally delicious.

However, the Burger King order came with more and they were less expensive. In my mind, that gave the smaller chain an obvious win.

Overall, I preferred the breakfast from Burger King.

I thought the biscuit sandwich was flavorful and moist, and the hash browns were a great value for the size of the order. In my own personal breakfast wars, this fast-food chain came out on top.

• CiCi has been a flight attendant at a major airline for over six years.
• She shared the biggest mistakes passengers make when packing a carry-on suitcase.
• From overpacking to forgetting a reusable water bottle, here are the common errors she sees.

After years of working as a flight attendant, CiCi has a newfound love for both the sky and packing suitcases.

CiCi told Business Insider that over six years ago, she left her career in real estate and became a flight attendant. Today, she works for a major airline. For privacy reasons, CiCi asked BI to omit her full name and the airline she works for. BI was able to verify CiCi's employment.

"I have loved it," CiCi, who posts about her job under the username @cici_inthesky, said. "It's a completely different lifestyle than what I have lived for the past 20-some years."

One of the biggest lifestyle changes has been how she packs, and she said she's not the only one who makes mistakes when organizing a suitcase for a flight.

Nearly every day, she witnesses passengers making mistakes with their carry-on bags. Here are the common — and avoidable — mistakes CiCi sees.

CiCi said the biggest mistake she's seen is when travelers pack their bags so full that they can't lift them into overhead bins.

CiCi said she constantly sees passengers who can't pick up their carry-on bags and require help from other passengers or a flight attendant. When it comes to her role as a flight attendant, CiCi stressed that lifting suitcases is not part of her job.

She doesn't want to risk hurting herself by lifting someone else's bag, and airlines often have policies preventing flight attendants from lifting passengers' suitcases, meaning that if a flight attendant gets injured while helping with suitcases, they may not receive worker's compensation.

CiCi said passengers should be confident and comfortable lifting their luggage.

Plus, some airlines, like Frontier Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, have rules about how much your suitcase can weigh. If your bag is overstuffed and weighs too much, you might have to check it at the gate. This can add unwanted time to your travel.

CiCi said she commonly sees passengers bring more than two bags on the plane.

CiCi said she passengers will often walk up to their gate with a roller suitcase, a backpack, and a purse — that's one too many carry-on bags, according to airline rules.

This can result in gate agents asking passengers to consolidate their belongings into two bags, which adds time to the boarding process. Plus, this can cost a traveler money if they can't fit everything into two bags and need to pay for an extra carry-on.

Passengers whose essentials aren't easily accessible can cause boarding delays.

CiCi said passengers who need to access their carry-on suitcases can sometimes cause delays in boarding. She recommends packing everything they need for a flight in their personal item.

"People put things that they need on the plane — like their book and their earbuds or whatever they're going to need — inside their suitcase," she said. "It's not easy to access."

Passengers who must get in their suitcases and sift through their belongings during boarding can block other passengers from their seats and cause delays.

Waiting until they're in midair to get items from their suitcase is risky, too — turbulence could've shifted the bags in the overhead bin, which might cause them to fall and injure someone.

CiCi said her advice is to ensure all your flight essentials are in your personal item, which will be within reach during the flight.

Many passengers don't pack liquids correctly.

The changing altitudes an airplane experiences cause gases to expand during a flight, which can, in turn, cause toiletries or water bottles to leak in your carry-on.

CiCi said she sees this frequently, but she has a few tips.

First, squeeze as much air out of the bottle as possible. She said this would help prevent expansion.

Perhaps most importantly, she said, choose travel-sized containers wisely. CiCi said that she's tried dozens of travel-sized containers designed to prevent leaks and that the ones she's had the most success with have screw-on caps instead of snap tops since these create a tighter seal.

Passengers make the mistake of not packing a reusable water bottle.

CiCi said it's important to stay hydrated on a flight.

The Aerospace Medical Association recommends that travelers drink 8 ounces of water each hour on a plane.

While you can't bring more than 3 ounces of liquids on the plane, you can bring a frozen water bottle or an empty bottle you can refill once you're inside the airport terminal. 

This will help travelers save money and stay hydrated.

She said some travelers forget to pack their own snacks.

CiCi said turbulence during the summer can get intense since high heat causes more convective turbulence in the sky. When there's a lot of turbulence, flight attendants are sometimes required to remain seated.

If flight attendants can't get up, passengers don't get snacks or beverages. Some airlines, like Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air, have ditched the complimentary snack service and offer drinks and snacks for sale.

CiCi suggests passengers bring their own snacks. She said that in addition to fruits like apples and oranges, she always has a few bags of nuts in her luggage.

Finally, CiCi said she sometimes sees passengers packing heavy items instead of wearing them on the plane.

CiCi said that if you're flying with just a carry-on, wear your heavy items on the plane instead of packing them.

She said she's sometimes shocked to speak to passengers who are traveling far with just a carry-on and wearing light airplane attire.

That's not what CiCi does. She said that on a recent flight to Italy, she wore her bulky rain boots, a sweater, and a jacket — even though she was flying out of hot, humid Florida. She added that this saved her a significant amount of space in her carry-on and allowed her to pack more outfits for her trip.

• I spent five days at the Hilton Cancún Mar Caribe all-inclusive resort.
• I had low expectations since it's a family-friendly spot, and I prefer adults-only trips.
• However, from the great food to the beautiful spa, there are so many reasons I want to go back.

When I booked a stay at the Hilton Cancún Mar Caribe, I expected a cookie-cutter all-inclusive experience. After all, it's a resort by a global chain.

Plus, as someone who prefers adults-only vacations, I wasn't overly excited that the hotel was family-friendly.

However, after five days on its pristine white-sand beach with my friend and her daughter, I returned home thoroughly impressed.

Here's why I can't wait to go back.

I upgraded to Hilton Enclave, and it was worth the splurge.

The Hilton Enclave rooms, which start at about $570 a night, offer a premium all-inclusive experience.

It comes with a beachfront room, private check-in and concierge, and exclusive amenities — like an upgraded mini-bar and access to the Enclave Lounge stocked with top-shelf liquor and gourmet snacks.

There were also reserved areas for Hilton Enclave around the resort, which made finding a chair at the beach or pool a breeze.

Every room faces the Caribbean Sea.

I've stayed at dozens of all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and experienced various room types — including one that overlooked a parking lot and loading bay.

I love that every room at the Hilton Cancún Mar Caribe faces the ocean.

I stayed in one of the 61 Enclave suites directly on the beach and loved falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing below.

My ultramodern room came with a soaking tub.

The resort was recently renovated, and the sea-inspired rooms felt super nice, with chic midcentury-modern furniture, cute wallpaper, and pops of turquoise.

My room also had a spa-like bathroom with a full-sized soaking tub, perfect for relaxing at the end of a long day in the sun.

The rooftop infinity pools were stunning — and had great views.

Hilton Enclave guests have access to Chala, a private rooftop bar with gorgeous infinity pools.

It was the perfect place to relax with a book and catch the sunset.

There was delicious fresh ceviche and tasty cocktails.

In addition to jaw-dropping views, the rooftop bar served all-you-can-eat, freshly made ceviche from different regions in Mexico.

I also discovered my new favorite poolside drink: a cocoberry mojito. It's a twist on the traditional mojito with coconut rum, mint, and muddled berries.

The pool area offers something for everyone.

The resort has three large pools, each with a different vibe.

There's a kid-friendly pool with a waterslide, an adults-only pool with a swim-up bar, and a sprawling but serene quiet pool that hosts regular floating yoga classes.

There were also smaller, adults-only infinity pools overlooking the ocean. These were the perfect spots to relax without the kids.

The kids' club is one of the best I've ever seen.

My friend's daughter loved hanging out in the kids' club, which offered daily activities plus a large selection of games, toys, and even princess costumes.

For older kids, there's a teen club with foosball tables, bean-bag chairs, and a complete gaming set-up.

I've seen my fair share of kids' clubs during my travels, and this one stood out.

We could get endless treats at the 24-hour coffee shop.

Azulinda, the property's 24-hour coffee shop, serves all-you-can-eat churros and gelato — plus other Mexican pastries, great espresso drinks, and excellent cold-brew coffee.

Azulinda also has made-to-order crepes — something I've never seen at another all-inclusive. My go-to afternoon snack was a ham-and-cheese crepe.

The food options went beyond what I've come to expect from an all-inclusive resort.

Although there was no shortage of typical all-inclusive eats — like burgers, hot dogs, and nachos — I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of food available around the resort.

I loved the wood-fired pizza and creamy risotto at La Luce, an elegant Italian eatery. The pad thai at the Asian-fusion restaurant Noriku was also delicious.

The bars felt stylish and upscale.

I didn't expect to find amazing cocktails at a family-friendly, all-inclusive resort. However, the beverages were inventive, and the bars felt surprisingly chic.

I'm still thinking of the passion-fruit margarita I had at the lobby bar, which was made with fresh juice and garnished with a preserved orange slice.

I also found excellent mojitos at the Instagrammable beach bar.

There were so many cute, aesthetically-pleasing corners of this resort, and the beach bar in the Hilton Enclave area was no exception.

The bar makes an excellent mojito with fresh lime juice and mint. I loved hanging out on its swings and enjoying the ocean view with a drink in my hand.

The spa is one of the nicest areas of the resort.

I'm so glad I went to the spa during my stay because it was one of the highlights of my trip.

After receiving an incredibly relaxing massage, I enjoyed the hydrotherapy circuit, which included a series of pools in a lush tropical garden.

Hilton Cancún Mar Caribe lives up to its name.

Mar Caribe, or the Caribbean Sea, is truly the star of this resort.

I loved so many things about my stay, but the beach was my favorite part. The water was impossibly turquoise and always the perfect temperature.

Paired with gorgeous weather and endless mojitos, I spent most of my days alternating between my lounge chair and swimming in the waves.

Everything about the resort impressed me, but this alone makes me want to visit Hilton Cancún Mar Caribe again.

• My husband and I spent nearly a month exploring castles and mountains in Germany and Austria.
• There was so much we loved about our adventures, but we found some experiences to be overrated.
• We wouldn't return to Triberg or Hallstatt, and we'd change up our Berlin itinerary.

My husband and I spent almost a month exploring castles, biergartens, mountains, and cities across Germany and Austria.

Although we loved every second of the trip, some experiences were more worth the time, effort, and money than others. Not surprisingly, some of the most touristy spots were our least favorite.

Here are some of the experiences in Germany and Austria we'd skip if we ever returned.

We wouldn't bother going back to Triberg in the Black Forest.

Our time in the Black Forest — the one believed to have inspired fairy-tales like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Hansel and Gretel — was wonderful. We hiked through lush greenery to monastic ruins, climbed mountains to abandoned castles, and ate our weight in Black Forest cake.

But we found its town of Triberg to feel a lot less magical. Many visitors flock there for its famous waterfalls and cuckoo clocks, but it felt too much like a tourist trap to us. (Think Pigeon Forge outside the Smoky Mountains.)

Many wares at the local shops felt overpriced, and a lot of the food seemed less authentic than other bites we'd eaten during our trip.

I also didn't like that you had to pay to see the waterfalls in Triberg. Although it's nice they're fairly accessible (only a short hike from the entrance), the Black Forest is filled with waterfalls you can visit for free if you're willing to drive into the foggy hills and hike a bit.

We'd skip the trip to Hallstatt, too.

Hallstatt has become a major tourist destination in Austria ever since influencers began posting iconic photos of the town that sits nestled beneath a mountain on a stunning Alpine lake.

It truly is beautiful — but the problem is so many people know about it now.

What you don't see in all those Instagram photos is how horribly crowded Hallstatt can get. We arrived early in the morning and were among the first in the town, but it didn't take long for the tour buses to catch up with us.

It broke my heart to see mobs of tourists ignoring signs posted on private homes that asked visitors to be respectful and quiet. We even saw tourists trespass on private property to pose for pictures in front of the charming houses.

To escape the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, my husband and I rented a motorized boat and got a view of Hallstatt from the lake.

This was much more relaxing — but I still would've rather visited one of the other small fairy-tale towns nearby, such as St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang, or Bad Gastein, which are not as popular with tourists.

My husband and I spent only half the time we'd allotted to Hallstatt because we were quickly over the crowds (and eager to find better food than what was offered in the town square).

I'm glad we did because it allowed us to spend more time exploring the beautiful lake, waterfalls, and swamps of the nearby Lake Gosau region.

Next time, we wouldn't venture to Berlin's Tiergarten.

Much like Central Park in New York City, Berlin has a large park for urbanites to experience some nature: Tiergarten.

The massive park is great for walking, biking, renting a boat, and even grabbing a liter of beer.

If we'd spent most of our trip in big cities, we probably would've loved Tiergarten. Instead, most of our month in Germany and Austria was spent hiking the Black Forest and the Alps and spending time at the lake.

For us, Tiergarten could not hold a candle to Germany's true wilderness escapes.

We also wouldn't treat Berlin like a checklist.

Berlin is a huge city with a lot to see and do. Unfortunately, a lot of those things are on everyone else's list, too.

We found ourselves walking (or taking public transportation) from one major site to the next — statues, memorials, churches, repeat.

Some of what we saw was moving, like the Memorial to the Murdered Jews; others felt like we were simply there because it was on every generic "top things to do in Berlin" list we found online.

The biggest letdown might've been Checkpoint Charlie.

We barely had time to take it in and educate ourselves about this spot — a famous symbol of the Cold War — before we were shoved out of the way by tourists brandishing selfie sticks, trying to get a picture with it.

We found Mozart's Birthplace to be underwhelming.

In Salzburg, we spent one morning touring the impressive Salzburg Fortress, which is on the hillside overlooking the town. Visiting Mozart's Birthplace, a popular museum, was underwhelming compared to the fortress experience that preceded it.

Although it was neat to learn more about the famous composer, I thought the museum felt dated, with very little interactivity and not a lot to see for the price point.

I also thought the exhibit consisted of too much reading while looking at replicas of artifacts, not the artifacts themselves.

If you're looking for a cool Mozart experience in Salzburg, I highly recommend going to a concert at Mirabell Palace. Performances take place in the stunning Marble Hall, and it's a unique way to experience the local culture.

Though I love beer, we found Hofbräuhaus in Munich to feel crowded and underwhelming.

Don't get me wrong: I love Hofbräuhaus. I live in Cincinnati, and we have a location right across the river in Kentucky. You can get huge beers and great German food here while listening to authentic German music.

The original Hofbräuhaus is in Munich, and it was at the top of my must-visit list in the city. When we got to the beer hall, however, it was swarming with people, and the roar of everyone's conversations was so loud that we couldn't even hear the live music while we ate.

It was cool to say I've been to the original, but biergartens we visited elsewhere throughout the country felt more like how the locals enjoy biergartens — in part because Hofbräuhaus is chain we could visit back in the US.

I'm also a little biased because the next day, we went to Munich's Oktoberfest and spent hours experiencing German food and beer across multiple tents. It was way more enjoyable than our trip to Hofbräuhaus.

• As a chef, I have a few tips and tricks that I think all home cooks should practice.
• I think it's worth investing in an immersion blender to cut back on prep time.
• Phyllo dough and meat thermometers are staples in my kitchen.

As a chef with over 10 years of experience, I'm pretty good at guessing when food is done or identifying which ingredients can upgrade a meal. However, a few tips and tricks have made my job so much easier.

Here are 10 tips I think every home cook should practice in their own kitchen.

Next time you make poultry, try brining your bird.

You've probably heard of brining, which rose to popularity in the early 2000s and involves soaking a turkey in gallons of salt water. I spent years sloshing around a cooler full of poultry juice and sacrificing fridge space to accommodate a vessel large enough for a whole bird. 

Once I switched to dry brining, I never looked back. I use a tablespoon of kosher salt for every 5 pounds of meat, rub it into all the nooks and crannies, and let the bird sit in the fridge for a couple of days to ensure the meat is juicy and succulent.

You can use this same method for a whole chicken, but remember that anything smaller than a turkey shouldn't be dry-brined longer than 24 hours.

You can also use a wet brine to improve the flavor and texture of boneless and skinless chicken breasts using a ratio of 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Just fill a lidded bowl with your brine mixture and soak the chicken in it for at least 30 minutes. 

Digital thermometers take the guesswork out of cooking.

I'm often asked how I know when food is finished cooking. Sure, after years of experience, I'm pretty good at guessing if a pork chop is ready to come off the grill — but why leave it up to guesswork rather than using a meat thermometer?

These brilliant devices are for more than just meat. A meat thermometer is the key to tender, flaky fish, homemade bread that doesn't resemble a brick, and velvety creme brûlée you know is done without judging the jiggle. 

If you want to make your life even easier, buy a Bluetooth version so you can walk away from your food while keeping track of the cooking progress.

Master the art of homemade salad dressings.

I love salads, whether they're crunchy, creamy, seasonally themed, or one of the old standbys. But a good salad needs a delicious dressing, and homemade is definitely the best.

Store a basic vinaigrette in your fridge, and the possibilities are endless. My go-to vinaigrette uses red-wine vinegar, olive oil, grated garlic, chopped shallots, whole-grain mustard, and honey, shaken together and stored in a mason jar.

You can sweeten your vinaigrette with extra honey or maple syrup, add fresh herbs, or up the decadence with mayo or crème fraîche. Use a ratio of one part acid to three parts fat and experiment with add-ins until you find your personalized perfect blend.

Phyllo shells are so underrated.

Few things make me feel more empowered than having an appealing appetizer or crowd-pleasing dessert ready at a moment's notice. For an impressive dish that makes you feel like a boss, turn to versatile phyllo-dough cups for savory and sweet bites.

Put flavored whipped cream cheese into a phyllo shell, delicately snip fresh herbs on top, and you have an appetizer that's elegant yet approachable.

Melt some chocolate chips in hot cream, add a splash of vanilla, stir until smooth, pour your ganache into the cups, and behold, a tiny chocolate tart. You can top this dessert with berries, canned whipped cream, a pecan and drizzle of caramel, or sparkly flaked sea salt and watch your guests light up with appreciation.

Making roasted garlic is an easy game changer.

During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, I stocked up on garlic, one of my grocery must-haves, to the point of sheepishness. Though I cook with garlic on a daily basis, I knew some of my stash would have to be preserved, so I turned to roasting.

Your oven can transform garlic into a sweet, savory, and versatile condiment perfect for spreading onto bread, adding to salad dressings, or whisking into a basic béchamel. To roast heads individually, cut off the top to expose the cloves, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, and pop in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

If you have several heads to roast, prepare them in a baking dish and cover them tightly with foil. Once cooled, squeeze the cloves into an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to two weeks. Alternatively, you can spoon the garlic into silicone ice-cube molds, freeze them until firm, and store them in a sealable bag for at-the-ready flavor bombs.

I highly recommend investing in an immersion blender.

I loathe washing dirty dishes, and frankly, I produce a lot of them. Luckily, an immersion blender cuts back on prep time and slims the sink load.

Not only does an immersion blender let you leave your clunky blender in the cupboard, but also you can confidently purée hot liquid without worrying that your ceiling will be painted with a molten eruption from a lidded appliance.

An immersion blender makes things significantly easier — use it to create smooth soups and sauces, control the texture of salsas and homemade baby food, effortlessly add flavored aioli to sandwiches, and achieve softly peaked whipped cream in seconds.

Parmesan rinds add a delicious flavor to sauces and soups.

Each time you've grated the last of a great wedge of Parmesan cheese, its delicious destiny is not yet fulfilled. One of my freezers always contains a bag of Parmesan rinds, my secret to satisfying sauces and soups.

Adding a Parmesan rind doesn't make something taste cheesy — it incorporates an undeniable savory boost. Toss a Parmesan rind into just about anything simmering away on the stove, and you'll notice a huge improvement in its flavor.

Peeling hard-boiled eggs can be frustrating, so why not make the process easier?

Hard-boiled eggs are a convenient anytime snack, but to eat it, the shell must go. Cue the profanity. I cannot fathom how many hard-boiled eggs I've mangled during shell removal.

Though I'd cheerfully douse a disfigured egg with Sriracha and sea salt for myself, if picnic-ready deviled eggs were the goal, it's game over. However, I later learned how to make perfectly cooked, peel-able hard-boiled eggs by carefully lowering the raw ones into water already simmering on the stove.

Once you lower your eggs in the water, maintain a gentle boil for 12 minutes and transfer them to a large bowl of ice water for a half hour. They'll be ready to jump out of their shells or stored for later use, destined to be peeled with ease.

Don't be afraid to add a little butter or other fat to a meal.

Chances are some of the most memorable, mind-blowing meals you've tasted earned that status from butter. I'm hard-pressed to think of any side dish on my consistently kid-friendly menu, such as rice, noodles, couscous, quinoa, or bread, that butter wouldn't benefit.

If you're looking to elevate a protein, throw together a quick compound butter (butter mixed with stuff), and add a slice on top just before it's served. Think blue cheese or horseradish for steak and citrus zest and herbs for chicken or seafood.

A roasted-garlic and cracked black-pepper butter compound can go on just about anything.

Cream can transform a dish.

If your food tastes like something is missing, it is, and that's probably salt or fat. A final addition of cream can take a sauce from pretty good to glossy perfection or turn a simple soup into something special.

Cream can also help to mellow out sharp flavors or calm down a dish that ended up a tad too spicy.

To me, a little cream is a totally-worth-it no-brainer, especially if you're hesitant to add more butter to a dish. 

A splash, or about a tablespoon, of heavy cream can make a huge difference and contains about 51 calories and 5 grams of fat. By comparison, a tablespoon of butter is roughly 100 calories and 11 grams of fat.

This story was originally published on December 6, 2022, and most recently updated on Janury 23, 2025.

• The nominees for the 2025 Academy Awards were announced on Thursday.
• Ten films were chosen by the Academy to compete for best picture, the biggest award of the night.
• Here's how all 10 films stacked up, according to critics.

The nominees for the 2025 Academy Awards, which will be held on March 2, 2025, were announced Thursday after being delayed twice due to the devastating fires across Los Angeles.

Among the most-nominated films are "Emilia Pérez," "The Brutalist," and "Wicked." There were also a few surprises, such as "The Apprentice" snagging a couple of nods, and there was even one for the Robbie Williams monkey movie, "Better Man" (for visual effects).

But the biggest prize of the night is always best picture. Since 2010, every year, 10 films are recognized as the potential best film of the year.

This year, the 10 nominees are: "Anora," "The Brutalist." "Conclave," "A Complete Unknown," "Dune: Part Two," "Emilia Pérez," "I'm Still Here," "Nickel Boys," "The Substance," and "Wicked." While all of these films have their fans, critics did not love them equally. Here are this year's best picture nominees, ranked by critics.

10. "Emilia Pérez"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%

"Emilia Pérez" is Netflix's entry into the best picture race this year. The movie, a musical performed almost entirely in Spanish, is the story of a trans woman played by Karla Sofía Gascón, who goes from the leader of a Mexican cartel to an activist trying to atone for her actions with the help of a lawyer, played by Zoe Saldaña.

It's been a polarizing film, to say the least, though it scored the most Oscar nominations of any film this year, at 13.

"[Director Jacques] Audiard commits the cardinal sin of the musical comedy — he has made a movie that is neither funny nor features any good music," wrote Soham Gadre for Chicago Reader.

9. "A Complete Unknown"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 80%

Timothée Chalamet transforms into the freewheelin' Bob Dylan himself in "A Complete Unknown," a biopic that follows the musician from his very early days in 1961 New York City through his meteoric rise to stardom and his fateful electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

Chalamet and Monica Barbaro (who played Joan Baez) both scored Oscar nominations for their performances.

Adam Graham of The Detroit News called the film "a maddeningly enjoyable piece of pop cinema."

8. "Wicked"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

"Wicked" is the highest-grossing film of this year's 10 nominees and was a full-blown sensation upon its release in November. It's an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, an alternate history-esque prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," told from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West.

"Wicked" scored 10 Oscar nominations this year, including best actress and best supporting actress for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, respectively.

"Indulgent and unwieldy as it is, 'Wicked' is a thrill, at times wildly funny, heart-soaring, and ultimately inspirational in spite of itself," wrote Kristy Puchko for Mashable.

7. "The Substance"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

Easily the most stomach-churning film on this list, "The Substance" stars Demi Moore in one of the most audacious performances of the year as a has-been, middle-age starlet who decides to take a mysterious drug called The Substance to bring back her youth.

What she doesn't realize is that the drug actually causes a younger version of herself, played by Margaret Qualley, to be created, and the two have to share the same consciousness.

Moore was nominated for best actress for her performance.

"The last 20 or so minutes of this movie — the best part — is wall-to-wall, nonstop blood and gore, mostly done with those old-school practical effects fans like me prefer. The delightful yuck factor made me forgive the film's numerous problems," wrote The Boston Globe's Odie Henderson.

6. "Nickel Boys"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Based on the Colson Whitehead novel of the same name, "Nickel Boys" is the harrowing story of Elwood, a young Black boy sent to a horrific "reform school" that's more like a prison in the early '60s. It's shot almost entirely in a first-person POV, so the viewer really feels like they are immersed in Elwood's environment.

"'Nickel Boys' is a life, made up of pieces; some of them lovely, some devastating. It's a mesmerizing, uniquely told story — of memory, of injustice, of friendship, of survival," wrote Moira Macdonald for The Seattle Times.

5. "Dune: Part Two"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

"Dune: Part 2" continues the story of Paul Atreides as he seeks revenge on the Harkonnens, who were behind the attack that killed Paul's father and most of his family's supporters. But as he gains power, Paul learns that his success will come with a terrible price — and he may even lose his love, Chani, to get it.

"The second 'Dune' installment is jaw-on-the-floor spectacular. It elegantly weaves together top-tier special effects and arresting cinematography; it layers muscle, sinew and savagery on to the bones of 'Part One,'" wrote Wendy Ide for The Guardian.

2 (tie). "Conclave"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

Oscar-nominated Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in "Conclave," a priest who is losing his faith … just as the Pope dies and he's tasked with running the papal conclave. What follows is a twisty journey of papal politics, disagreements about the future of the Catholic Church, and a surprise archbishop from Mexico.

"It challenges us to challenge ourselves and is wildly entertaining, one of the year's standout films," wrote Nell Minow for RogertEbert.com.

2 (tie). "The Brutalist"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

"The Brutalist" is a three-and-a-half-hour epic complete with an intermission. It stars Adrien Brody as László Tóth, a Hungarian architect who moves to the US in the aftermath of the Holocaust. As the story unfolds, we follow Tóth and his family across decades as he tries to make a mark on his new country.

Brody was nominated for his performance, as were his costars Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce.

"'Vox Lux' was a film that had me crying out 'I get it!' in frustration; with 'The Brutalist,' I said the same line with more satisfaction. Much of the credit goes to Brody," wrote The Atlantic's David Sims.

2 (tie). Anora

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

"Anora" is a modern-day Cinderella story with a twist: Mikey Madison stars as Ani, a young woman living in Brooklyn and working as a stripper for the rich and famous. She meets Vanya, the son of an uber-wealthy Russian oligarch, and quickly the two fall in something like love. But Ani soon learns there are worse things than losing a glass slipper when the clock runs out on their relationship.

Madison was nominated for best actress.

"At once a frenzied fairy tale and a tender-hearted character study, 'Anora' is an intoxicating pairing of director and star. [Director Sean] Baker's unique, humanistic approach to filmmaking is as riveting and rewarding as ever," wrote Empire Magazine's Beth Webb.

1. "I'm Still Here"

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

"I'm Still Here" is the second of two primarily non-English films nominated for best picture this year — and the best, according to critics.

The Brazilian drama stars Fernanda Torres (who was also nominated) as Eunice Paiva, the wife of a congressman who was forcibly disappeared in a military raid in the 1970s. The film follows her search for answers about her husband and her new responsibility as a single mother to five kids.

"To say that Torres digs into the role of Eunice Paiva, who spent a good deal of her life trying to demand accountability for her husband's disappearance, would be an understatement," wrote Rolling Stone's David Fear.

• Yipit sued two ex-employees in October, alleging they stole "secret information" from its business.
• Yipit's new filing seeks to add fellow alternative-data giant M Science and its CEO as defendants.
• M Science then sued Yipit, accusing its rival of stealing its intellectual property.

The chatter at the alternative data industry's annual shindig, the BattleFin conference at Nobu's five-star Miami Beach resort, isn't about the latest AI tool being unveiled but the legal fight between two of the field's biggest names.

A trade-secrets lawsuit that had the burgeoning industry buzzing this past fall now has onlookers worried about the fallout for the entire sector and its clients thanks to recent legal moves by the Carlyle-backed Yipit and the Jefferies-owned M Science.

Alternative data is a catch-all term for information that traders use beyond typical market data, such as stock prices and earnings reports. The industry has exploded over the past decade as credit-card transactions, geolocation-tracked foot traffic, and web-scraping bots have provided hedge funds with insight into companies' statuses.

Yipit originally sued two former employees, Alex Pinsky and Zachary Emmett, in October, accusing them of stealing "secret information at the heart" of its business. The lawsuit said the pair shared the information with the firm's rival M Science, a data provider that, like Yipit, is ubiquitous across hedge funds.

In a motion filed in the federal district court in Manhattan on Thursday, Yipit is hoping to add M Science; its CEO, Michael Marrale; and Valentin Roduit, its former chief revenue officer, as defendants. The new filing says: "M Science, Marrale, and Roduit encouraged and directly participated in Emmett and Pinsky's theft of Yipit's trade secrets."

M Science and Marrale declined to comment. Roduit, who left M Science in November, according to his LinkedIn profile, did not respond to requests for comment. An attorney for Pinsky did not respond to requests for comment. No email address, phone number, or legal counsel could be found for Emmett.

M Science on Tuesday brought its own lawsuit against Yipit, accusing the credit-card-data company of many of the same practices.

M Science claims Stephen Luban, a Yipit vice president who previously worked for the Hong Kong hedge fund Tybourne Capital, was granted an M Science login to access the data provider's reports while working for Tybourne. When Luban joined Yipit, M Science's suit alleges, he continued to use his M Science login to access his now-competitor's report and data.

The M Science complaint says Luban used his login nearly 200 times from 2020 to 2022, alleging he accessed data that "someone in a product development role at a competitor could use to gain an unfair advantage over Plaintiffs in developing or enhancing the specialized in-depth research that Plaintiffs' customers are willing to pay substantial sums for."

Luban did not respond to a request for comment. Yipit said in a statement: "This complaint is nothing but a meritless smokescreen concocted by M Science."

"The allegations in this case are circumstantial, magical thinking by M Science and relate to purported events from five years ago, demonstrating their complete lack of merit," the statement added.

The result of this dirty laundry airing is an industry on edge, said Don D'Amico, the founder of Glacier Network, which advises data buyers and sellers.

"We are all in this connective chain of data collection and data delivery. There was an understanding among the players that disputes could be settled between one another," said D'Amico, who was previously the general counsel for the data consultancy Neudata.

"All of this stuff is done on a trust basis, and it's been eroded," he added.

An uneasy marketplace

The original Yipit lawsuit alleged Pinsky and Emmett stole information on Yipit's hedge-fund clients, including those with approaching renewal dates that could be targeted by M Science, where the pair worked after Yipit. It accused Emmett, who joined M Science after Pinsky did, of downloading client information to personal devices as he was leaving Yipit, via messaging platforms on Facebook and LinkedIn. The original suit said he attempted to conceal files by renaming some with titles like "ZEtaxes2024."

Yipit's motion claims the pair of salespeople did not act alone but were encouraged by M Science's leadership.

"The examples of Marrale's, Roduit's, and M Science's intentional acts of theft and conspiracy" will be outlined in the amended complaint, the filing says. The filing adds that it has "reached settlements in principle" with its two former employees but could not reach an agreement with M Science.

M Science, meanwhile, accuses Yipit and its employees of conduct "contrary to honest industrial and commercial practices."

While it's not clear whether these fights will be settled before a trial, there's already a clear loser: alternative data.

The niche industry has always been under the microscope of clients and regulators alike because of its data-collection methods. A three-year investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into the now-renamed data provider App Annie and a subsequent $10 million fine put the industry on notice that its Wild West days were over.

Now, its infighting is threatening sectorwide collateral damage as two of its most-well-known brands take each other to court.

"Trust is going down as the stakes are going up," D'Amico said, referring to the increased revenues flowing into the industry thanks to an uptick in buyers and prospective datasets.

"My general concern," he added, "is this brings a lot of instability to the market, for both buyers and sellers."

• My parents named me after traditional family names.
• A first-grade teacher changed my name so it'd be easier to say in English.
• I still go by that name because it is now part of my identity.

Whenever I meet people for the first time and tell them my name, I usually get asked where it came from. It's a fair question, given that I'm not from the American South and also have a distinct Australian accent 18 years after first moving to the UK.

I wish I could tell you that my parents were inspired by their love of country music and settled on my name after a whirlwind tour of all the honky tonk joints in Nashville, yet it couldn't be further from the truth — and nor is it my real name. But it's a subject that has created its own baggage my whole life, creating mixed emotions.

A teacher changed my name

I was christened Maria Luz with lots of noble, traditional intentions behind my parents' choice. My father is Italian and insisted they keep with tradition by naming me after his own mother. Indeed, there are many generations of Maria in my family. Had I been a boy, I would have been Salvatore, after my paternal grandfather, and there are plenty of them in the family tree, too.

My middle name, meaning light in Spanish, honors my mother, who is from the Philippines and has Spanish names throughout her lineage. My maternal grandmother, for example, was called Natividad, a popular name given to girls born at Christmas. I have uncles and cousins with the last names of Lopez and Cruz.

I was called Maria in kindergarten and pre-school based on the caption in our class photos. Then, I started first grade, and my mother labeled all my belongings with my full name. My teacher decided it would be easier to modify my name to something that was still true enough to the original but more palatable for the Anglo tongue.

I was raised not to challenge the decision of adults, so my mild-mannered 5-year-old self dutifully wrote "MaryLou" on all my worksheets.

I dreaded the first day of school

Of course I had no idea it would set off a chain of awkward conversations at the beginning of each school year, when the next teacher would do roll call and call out my real name. My classmates would always loudly correct them on my behalf, having also grown accustomed to my new name.

This continued into high school, and I would dread the start of the school year for that very reason. I hated that everyone except me seemed to have a stake in what I was called. I started to feel like I wasn't in control of my own identity and that I wasn't allowed to be my authentic self.

I thought I'd found the perfect solution. My dream of going away to college in a big city came true, despite my parents fearing I would fall in with the wrong crowds and protesting that I should stay local for my own safety and future. But I was determined to escape my suffocating small town — and reclaim my identity. I introduced myself as Maria on the first day of college, and so far, so good. I could dictate who I was and how I would be called.

But it wasn't that easy. Connecting with and responding to what was essentially a whole new name just didn't feel right, adding to the uncertainty I was starting to experience as someone from a less affluent background than my classmates. They wore designer labels I had never heard of and didn't need part-time jobs like the one I spent so much of my free time at.

Getting caught up in the party and binge drinking culture also meant I gained a lot of weight, making me insecure about how I looked. The guys at the all-boys dorm next door to my all-girls one even made nasty comments about it. This was a huge setback, as I was supposed to be breaking free of the braces, acne and lack of interest from boys that defined my high school days.

I kept the name that wasn't mine

The new me wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I couldn't wait to go home and return to being MaryLou, away from the judgmental college scene, and be back with people who knew me. I decided that even though I'd not really had a choice about my name all those years ago, I had one now.

Should I feel anger at my first-grade teacher for anglicizing my name without my consent? Possibly, but it wouldn't achieve anything. Should I feel disappointed in my parents for not standing their ground or empowering me to do so? No, because I can only empathize with how two immigrants who were finding their place in a new culture chose not to take on yet another battle against the racism they had already experienced.

So here I am, 36 years later, with a name that isn't really mine but is very much part of my identity. My family background already makes me unique in many ways, and the story around my name is just one more thing.

• Uber's CEO says society needs to agree on an acceptable error-level from AI in the physical world.
• Dara Khosrowshahi, speaking at Davos, asked how much better AI would need to be than humans.
• Google's investment chief, Ruth Porat, said that society is more forgiving toward human errors.

Society will have to weigh up the acceptable level of errors from AI in real-world systems like robotaxis versus its potential benefits, Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said.

"Part of humanity is its flaws, and we accept humans are going to make mistakes," he said, speaking during a panel at the World Economic Forum on Thursday. "I think one of the questions in certain AI applications — defense may be one of them, certainly, AI in the physical world — is, how much better does that AI have to be than a human being?"

Khosrowshahi pointed to the safety record of autonomous vehicle giant Waymo, a subsidiary of Google owner Alphabet, as an example. Google's chief investment officer, Ruth Porat, responded that while Waymo's technology was "meaningfully safer" than that operated by human beings, "there is more forgiveness when it's a human" making a mistake.

A report produced by Waymo in partnership with the Swiss Reinsurance Company said that its fleet of autonomous cars was safer than human drivers. The report, published in December, said that Waymo's cars faced 90% fewer insurance claims related to bodily harm.

Still, self-driving cars have faced backlash amid some high-profile safety incidents. Last year, Waymo issued a recall after two of its cars crashed into a pickup truck, while Tesla's Full Self-Driving system has been involved in multiple incidents.

Khosrowshahi asked how society should weigh up the mistakes of machines and algorithms "versus the benefits of AI coming into the forefront."

The discussion comes as the AI industry has continued to gather pace while grappling with issues around accuracy.

Apple recently came under scrutiny for sending users misleading information and summaries of sensitive news stories. Similarly, Google was under fire when its search tool gave users misinformed advice, such as telling them to put glue on their pizza, and eat one rock daily.

• When I moved to Longyearbyen, there were a few things that took me by surprise.
• Residents here receive a ration card limiting how much beer and spirits they can buy.
• Because we live near polar bears, I'm encouraged to carry a rifle whenever I leave town.

I've always been drawn to nature's beauty, so for me, moving to Svalbard was the perfect decision. This remote archipelago, located in the Arctic Ocean between mainland Norway and the North Pole, is home to the world's northernmost town, Longyearbyen.

When I first moved, I felt as if I'd landed on another planet. Svalbard, which has over 1,000 permanent residents, is a place with snowstorms and reindeer casually roaming the streets — it couldn't be more different from my old home in Oslo, Norway.

Needless to say, there were plenty of things I didn't consider about life here until I actually moved near the North Pole. Here are five surprising things about living in Earth's northernmost town.

Alcohol is rationed in Svalbard

In Svalbard, residents need a special card to purchase alcohol, and a monthly limit regulates how much a resident can buy. Most residents can buy up to two bottles of spirits and 24 cans of beer each month.

This system dates back to when Svalbard was a mining community and alcohol rationing was introduced to prevent excessive drinking.

I'm not sure why the town has kept this tradition, but it's one of many rules that make life in Svalbard different from the mainland.

It seems that most homes are equipped with a garbage disposal

Polar bears are a constant presence in Svalbard, and keeping them away from Longyearbyen is a top priority.

When I got the keys to my first apartment, I was told that all houses must have a garbage disposal to ensure no food scraps that might attract bears are left outside.

From what I've seen, pretty much every resident uses their garbage disposal. It's not just a convenience — it's a safety measure.

Despite their name, the northern lights often appear to the south

When I moved to Svalbard, I was excited to see the northern lights. However, I didn't expect to be looking south to see them most of the time.

The northern lights are visible within the auroral zone — an area spanning across Iceland, Fennoscandia, northern Canada, and parts of Alaska and Greenland — surrounding the north geomagnetic pole. Because Longyearbyen is above the auroral zone, this natural phenomenon often occurs to the south of us.

The lights are visible throughout the long polar night when we experience 24/7 darkness for almost four months. For me, watching the northern lights feels like a magical reward for braving the Arctic cold and darkness.

The internet connection is exceptional

Despite Longyearbyen's remote location, the internet connection here is exceptional. This is because high-speed underwater fiber cables connect communications between Svalbard and mainland Norway.

NASA also relies on Svalbard's satellite ground stations for communication with polar-orbiting satellites. As a result, Longyearbyen has seen internet speeds that have rivaled those in many cities on the mainland.

Residents leaving town are encouraged to carry a rifle

One of the most surprising aspects of life in Longyearbyen is that residents are encouraged to carry a rifle and a flare gun when venturing beyond the settlement.

Svalbard is home to many polar bears, and though attacks are rare, the threat is real. Carrying a flare gun allows residents to scare the bear away, and a firearm ensures residents can protect themselves if need be. Polar bears are protected by law, so killing one is permitted only in life-threatening situations.

Obtaining a rifle license usually involves taking a safety course and passing a shooting test. In my experience, these courses aren't held frequently, so it can take months to complete the process and get a license.

Though polar bears are majestic, they're dangerous, and being prepared is nonnegotiable.

• Here is the full list of the 2025 Oscar nominations.
• "Emilia Pérez" received 13 nominations, while "Wicked" and "The Brutalist" each earned 10.
• The Oscars are set to air March 2 on ABC and Hulu.

The 97th Academy Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, and Netflix's "Emilia Pérez" received the most nominations, with 13 including best picture.

That puts it in a tie with titles such as "Gone With the Wind" and last year's best-picture winner, "Oppenheimer," for the second-most nominations of all time. It's also the most nominations ever for a non-English-language film.

The award-season favorites "Wicked" and "The Brutalist" received 10 nominations each, including for best picture.

Surprises included Sebastian Stan earning a best-actor nomination for his portrayal of Donald Trump in "The Apprentice" and Pamela Anderson missing out in the best-actress category for her critically acclaimed work in "The Last Showgirl."

The Oscars are scheduled for March 2 and set to be hosted by Conan O'Brien.

Here's the full list of nominees for the 2025 Oscars.

Best actor in a supporting role

Yura Borisov, "Anora"

Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"

Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"

Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"

Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"

Best actress in a supporting role

Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown"

Ariana Grande, "Wicked"

Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"

Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"

Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"

Best original score

"The Brutalist"

"Emilia Pérez"

"Conclave"

"Wicked"

"The Wild Robot"

Best costume design

"A Complete Unknown"

"Conclave"

"Gladiator II"

"Nosferatu"

"Wicked"

Best adapted screenplay

"A Complete Unknown"

"Conclave"

"Emilia Pérez"

"Nickel Boys"

"Sing Sing"

Best original screenplay

"Anora"

"The Brutalist"

"A Real Pain"

"September 5"

"The Substance"

Best animated feature film

"Flow"

"Inside Out 2"

"Memoir of a Snail"

"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"

"The Wild Robot"

Best animated short film

"Beautiful Men"

"In the Shadow of the Cypress"

"Magic Candies"

"Wander to Wonder"

"Yuck"

Best live-action short film

"A Lien"

"Anuja"

"I'm Not a Robot"

"The Last Ranger"

"The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent"

Best makeup and hairstyling

"A Different Man"

"Emilia Pérez"

"Nosferatu"

"The Substance"

"Wicked"

Best cinematography

"The Brutalist"

"Dune: Part Two"

"Emilia Pérez"

"Maria"

"Nosferatu"

Best documentary feature film

"Black Box Diaries"

"No Other Land"

"Porcelain War"

"Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat"

"Sugarcane"

Best documentary short film

"Death by Numbers"

"I Am Ready, Warden"

"Incident"

"Instruments of a Beating Heart"

"The Only Girl in the Orchestra"

Best film editing

"Anora"

"The Brutalist"

"Conclave"

"Emilia Pérez"

"Wicked"

Best international feature film

"I'm Still Here"

"The Girl With the Needle"

"Emilia Pérez"

"The Seed of the Sacred Fig"

"Flow"

Best original song

"El Mal" from "Emilia Pérez"

"The Journey" from "The Six Triple Eight"

"Like a Bird" from "Sing Sing"

"Mi Camino" from "Emilia Pérez"

"Never Too Late" from "Elton John: Never Too Late"

Best production design

"The Brutalist"

"Conclave"

"Dune: Part Two"

"Nosferatu"

"Wicked"

Best sound

"A Complete Unknown"

"Dune: Part Two"

"Emilia Pérez"

"Wicked"

"The Wild Robot"

Best visual effects

"Alien: Romulus"

"Better Man"

"Dune: Part Two"

"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"

"Wicked"

Best actress in a leading role

Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"

Karla Sofía Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"

Mikey Madison, "Anora"

Demi Moore, "The Substance"

Fernanda Torres, "I'm Still Here"

Best actor in a leading role

Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"

Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"

Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"

Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"

Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"

Best director

Sean Baker, "Anora"

Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist"

James Mangold, "A Complete Unknown"

Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez"

Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"

Best picture

"Anora"

"The Brutalist"

"A Complete Unknown"

"Conclave"

"Dune: Part Two"

"Emilia Pérez"

"I'm Still Here"

"Nickel Boys"

"The Substance"

"Wicked"

• The Chinese equivalent of TikTok is less harmful to young users than TikTok, Jonathan Haidt said.
• The author of "The Anxious Generation" spoke to Business Insider at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
• He compared letting TikTok operate in the US to letting the Soviet Union own US media during the Cold War.

The Chinese equivalent of TikTok is less harmful to young people than TikTok, a leading social-media expert said.

"TikTok is severely damaging children in the Western world, whereas the version in China is very different and is much more pro-social and is not damaging their generation," said Jonathan Haidt, a professor at NYU Stern School of Business and the author of "The Anxious Generation."

He made the comments in an interview with Business Insider at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.

TikTok does not operate in China, where consumers can use the Douyin app. Douyin is subject to different regulations, including the Chinese Communist Party's censorship rules.

TikTok and Douyin are both owned by ByteDance but operate independently, with TikTok's CEO based in Singapore.

Douyin's users are generally older than TikTok's and it has introduced measures to curb online addiction. Douyin has a "youth mode," which limits users under 14 to just 40 minutes a day and locks them out between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily.

A less restrictive version of youth mode limits the content that users between 14 and 18 can view through the search function.

Douyin has said it pushes "enriching" content related to general knowledge and educational material to users in youth mode, BI previously reported.

The changes were introduced in 2021 when the Chinese government was imposing a series of measures to limit the time children spent online.

In the US, TikTok has said it has "robust safeguards" and removes suspected underage users. "We have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screentime limits, family pairing, and privacy by default for minors under 16," a TikTok spokesperson previously told BI. The app defaults to limiting users who are under 18 to 60 minutes a day.

Attorneys general from 14 US states are suing TikTok for exploiting and harming children's mental health. Documents from the ongoing investigation revealed that officials at TikTok knew the algorithm was highly addictive and could harm children's mental health.

Haidt's book explores the effects of social media and smartphones. He argues that apps like TikTok affect young people's attention spans, which in turn blocks opportunities for growth and creativity.

"We know that TikTok has a damaging impact on the development of young people" and China "is able to influence what happens on TikTok," he said. "So I think TikTok is a major national security threat for the United States and other Western countries."

TikTok is facing an uncertain future in the US. A divest-or-ban law passed by the Senate in April mandated that TikTok had to stop operating in the US on January 19 unless it was sold by ByteDance.

The platform briefly went dark for US users on Saturday but resumed on Sunday after Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order delaying the ban.

After his inauguration on Monday, Trump paused the ban for 75 days. The company said it will work with the president on a "long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."

Haidt compared allowing TikTok to continue operating in the US to allowing the Soviet Union to run The New York Times and other leading media sources during the Cold War.

"The Soviet Union invested a lot of money in trying to change American public opinion and trying to divide us and trying to make us hate each other. From the 1950s through the end of the Soviet Union, they had a culture change program, and of course, China has one," he said.

"It is just inconceivable to me that the Soviet government could have owned The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and PBS."

TikTok declined to comment on the record in response to a request from BI.