• X is suing more advertisers over what it claims was a coordinated ad boycott.
• Nestlé, Abbott Laboratories, Colgate, Lego, Pinterest, Tyson Foods, and Shell have been added to the suit.
• Elon Musk's company is seeking damages, alleging the boycott hurt its competitiveness in digital advertising.

Elon Musk's X is suing more big advertisers as part of a lawsuit that alleges they collectively conspired to boycott advertising on the platform following his takeover of the company.

In an amended complaint filed in a Texas court on Saturday, X added Nestlé, Abbott Laboratories, Colgate, Lego, Pinterest, Tyson Foods, and Shell as defendants to its lawsuit, which was originally filed in August.

The complaint alleges that members of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a now-defunct initiative from the advertiser trade body the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), illegally conspired to "collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue" from X.

The WFA, CVS Health, Mars, Ørsted, and Twitch are the other defendants in the case.

The WFA declined to comment. The trade body has previously said that it planned to contest the suit and that it was confident in its adherence to competition law.

X, Nestlé, Abbott Laboratories, Colgate, Lego, Pinterest, Tyson Foods, and Shell did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, which were sent outside normal US business hours.

Founded in 2019, GARM was a US-based initiative that aimed to provide common frameworks to be used by media owners, advertisers, and agencies to categorize harmful content such as hate speech, misinformation, and online piracy.

The uptake of the frameworks was voluntary, and many online platforms and agencies adopted them as what became known as a "brand safety floor" — content that was deemed unsuitable for advertising to fund or appear next to. X was also previously a member of GARM.

GARM discontinued operations after X filed its initial lawsuit, saying that, as a small nonprofit organization, it lacked the resources to fight it.

In its latest legal filing, X alleges that the WFA "organized an advertiser boycott of Twitter through GARM, with the goal of coercing Twitter to comply with the GARM Brand Safety Standards to the satisfaction of GARM."

The complaint claims that at least 18 members of GARM stopped advertising on Twitter in the US or worldwide between November and December 2022. Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter closed in October of that year.

"As a result of the boycott, X became a less effective competitor to other social media platforms in the sale of digital advertising and in competing for user engagement on its platform," the complaint reads.

Twitter's ad revenue plummeted following Musk's takeover of the company. Many advertisers shunned the platform after a number of sales and safety staff were let go and controversial banned accounts were allowed back on the site.

X claims in the suit that GARM members "collectively acted to enforce Twitter's adherence" to its brand safety standards by boycotting the platform. The company is seeking "trebled compensatory damages" and injunctive relief for what it claims are violations of US antitrust laws.

The WFA, alcohol giant Diageo, and the ad agency holding company WPP are also facing a similar lawsuit from the video site Rumble, which alleges they collectively agreed to restrict advertising on social platforms, including Rumble. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is also investigating whether advertisers' and agencies' participation with GARM led to conservative media being demonetized.

• Chinese startup DeepSeek shocked markets this week after releasing a cheaper rival to OpenAI's o1.
• Silicon Valley has reacted to DeepSeek's release with a mix of panic and awe.
• Some AI startups see an opportunity in DeepSeek's open-source success.

In the tech industry, the tides can turn quickly, especially when it comes to AI.

Last week, OpenAI was the industry leader, developing what many saw as the most advanced AI models on the market, which led to a skyrocketing valuation.

This week, its standing was in question as Silicon Valley eyed a more cost-effective competitor: DeepSeek.

The Chinese company recently released a challenger to OpenAI's o1 reasoning model called R1. Users who've tested both said R1 rivals the capabilities of o1 and comes at a substantially cheaper cost.

The news shocked markets on Monday, leading to a stock sell-off that wiped almost $1 trillion in market cap. AI insiders said the frenzy is warranted: DeepSeek's methods are a game changer for the industry.

CEOs of startup companies facilitating the AI boom by supplying hardware, security services, and building agents told Business Insider that DeepSeek's success creates more opportunities for smaller companies to flourish.

Roi Ginat, the cofounder and CEO of EndlessAI, which develops the video AI assistant Lloyd, said DeepSeek's success could widen the pool of who can develop AI technology — and who can access it.

"DeepSeek's success represents a democratization of AI development, where smaller teams with limited resources can meaningfully compete with well-funded tech giants," Ginat wrote by email. "This has catalyzed a wave of innovation from startups and research labs previously considered peripheral to the field."

While OpenAI might not lose its standing in the industry, Ginat said its role could change. "The industry is witnessing a fascinating tension between two competing visions. One focuses on pursuing artificial general intelligence (AGI) through increasingly powerful and comprehensive models. The other emphasizes practical applications through efficient models and methods targeted at specific use cases and benchmarks," he said, comparing OpenAI and DeepSeek. "This tension drives innovation in both directions, and also exists within the big companies."

Pukar Hamal, the CEO of SecurityPal, which helps companies like OpenAI complete security questionnaires, said the industry should temper expectations of immediate change.

"If the DeepSeek team truly can cut training and inference costs by an order of magnitude, it could spark far broader deployment of AI than analysts anticipate," Hamal, told Business Insider. "On the flip side, it'll take more than a few tough earnings calls to make the biggest AI players reconsider the staggering GPU investments we're seeing for 2025."

Meta recently committed $60 billion to AI infrastructure investments. President Donald Trump also announced Stargate last month, a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank that will invest $500 billion into AI infrastructure across the country.

One of the biggest debates among AI innovators is whether open-source models, which the public can access and modify, are more likely to drive breakthroughs than closed-source models. OpenAI says it keeps its models closed for safety, while DeepSeek's models are open-source.

Satya Nitta, the cofounder and CEO of Emergence AI, a company developing AI agents, said that "DeepSeek R1 is a meaningful advance in broadening access to AI reasoning, spotlighting the power of open source and setting a new benchmark for reasoning."

Hamal said we should still approach open-source development cautiously — even if it'll eventually dominate the industry.

"An 'open source' model of unknown alignment invites serious public safety and regulatory questions. If DeepSeek's mobile app keeps climbing the charts, we could end up with a discussion similar to the recent calls to block TikTok in the US," he said. White House advisor David Sacks also raised concerns about DeepSeek's training methods when he told Fox News that it is 'possible' DeepSeek used OpenAI's models to train its own AI model.

Still, "openness typically wins in the long run," Hamal said. "If DeepSeek helps reset an increasingly closed foundational model market, that can be a net positive — so long as we maintain the guardrails that protect customers and the public at large."

If there's one lesson AI executives are taking away from this week, though, it's that it's possible to do more with fewer resources.

Matthew Putman, CEO of Nanotronics, which designs AI-controlled factories, said, "To me, the competition itself is less significant than the validation of a broader principle: AI models can be built more affordably and applied far beyond large language models."

• I try not to be a helicopter parent at home, but there are times when my children need supervision.
• On a recent vacation, however, we felt safe enough to let them have almost total independence.
• We were on a private island, and the independence they had gave them immediate confidence.

These days, many parents favor a hands-on, highly supervised, and tightly scheduled parenting style. However, unlike some of my peers, I'm not much of a helicopter parent. My twins, now 10 years old, have been lucky to grow up in our flat, friendly area of urban Los Angeles, where they enjoy the freedom to pop into neighbors' houses unannounced and unsupervised.

Still, at their age, their freedom is limited by the realities of our big-city environment — and their parents' enforcement of rules meant to protect them from it. So they can't ride their bikes out of sight or walk alone from their school bus stop a few blocks from home; the dangers (vehicular and human) associated with our traffic-packed cross streets are just too risky. And that creates a ceiling for their development and independence.

But the calculus changed for all of us on our recent family vacation when we spent a week at The Brando, a resort built upon a private island in French Polynesia. (Yes, my kids enjoy a posh travel life thanks to my job.) Completely inaccessible to unauthorized visitors — just a speck in the Pacific Ocean 30 miles north of Tahiti — there are no cars on this island, or even on the greater atoll.

We let our kids roam free during our vacation

There are just 35 villas (only a few of which were occupied at the time of our stay), and a staff village, tucked into a paradisical coconut palm jungle reminiscent of Gilligan's Island. That's it. And protected as it is by a lagoon, the waters surrounding the island are completely placid at all times.

For all those reasons, the greatest risk I saw to my kids on the island was sunburn — and my husband and I made sure they were well-slathered with sunscreen to protect against the tropical rays. Beyond that, they were free to explore as they wished — alongside their sibling or, in fact, entirely alone, as they preferred at a given moment.

So with their own keys around their wrists in the form of rubber bracelets, off my kids went. They hopped on their bikes, provided by the resort during our stay, and hit the paved path around the island. As long as they remained on this path, there was no real way to get lost, so they were free to explore among the palm jungles and deserted beaches at will. By the water, they found and named hermit crabs and watched fish swim in the lagoon. On land, they identified plants, swung in hammocks, and got soaked by warm rain.

All this time, they were away from their otherwise omnipresent screens — and also away from their parents and the level of oversight they get at home. The whole vibe was more of a 1970s approach to hands-off parenting, and I watched it pay off quickly.

We saw a change in them

In just a week, without the close supervision they get at home, I saw a change in my kids. They exuded greater independence, curiosity, courage, and confidence. Their problem-solving skills improved in this short time, as did their sense of direction and navigational prowess.

Because they were on their own out there, and they didn't have us feet away at all times to lean on for assistance instinctively, they tended to solve their own small problems — like dusting off a scraped knee after toppling on a bike, and making sure to bring along the stuff they felt they needed (such as swim goggles and water bottles, which I'd normally take responsibility for stashing in my beach bag and divvying out when needed, mom style). It was a refreshing change — for all of us.

I also distinctly noticed a particular joy — a carefree affect I don't see from them as frequently in their highly scheduled and supervised normal lives.

Back home after our trip, we snapped back into our typical patterns — the standard buzzkill associated with post-vacation reentry. Resuming my typical level of parental oversight seemed necessary and appropriate given their still-young age, and amid the real and varied risks of our densely populated county, home to nearly 10 million people and a host of social, political, economic, and climate-related problems. (Soon after, widespread wildfires would decimate the city and close their school for nearly two weeks.)

But I like to think the independence and confidence they gained during their free-range week in paradise will continue to serve them well back in the real world. At any rate, it sure was fun — for all of us — while it lasted.

• The 2025 Grammy Awards will air on Sunday, February 2 at 8 p.m. on CBS and Paramount Plus.
• Presidents, first ladies, and senators have been recognized for their recording achievements.
• Jimmy Carter was nominated for the 10th time this year.

In addition to winning elections, some politicians have also won Grammy awards.

Presidents, first ladies, and members of Congress have been recognized by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for their achievements in recorded sound.

At the 67th Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, former President Jimmy Carter is up for best spoken-word album, his 10th Grammy nomination. Carter, who died in December, became the oldest nominee in Grammys history when he was nominated in November at age 100.

Here are nine politicians you may not have known were Grammy winners — and seven more who have been nominated.

Jimmy Carter won three Grammys for best spoken-word album and is posthumously nominated again this year.

Jimmy Carter has been nominated 10 times for best spoken-word album, according to the Grammys' official website. He won for the recordings of his books "Faith — A Journey For All" in 2019, "A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety" in 2016, and "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis" in 2007.

This year, the former president is nominated in the best spoken-word album category for "Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration."

Michelle Obama has won two spoken-word Grammy awards.

The former first lady's audiobook for her memoir "Becoming" won best spoken-word album in 2020. In 2024, she won again for the recording of her latest book, "The Light We Carry."

Barack Obama also has two Grammys.

The recordings of Obama's books "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" won best spoken-word album in 2006 and 2008, respectively. His presidential memoir audiobook, "A Promised Land," was also nominated in 2022.

Sen. Bernie Sanders received his second Grammy nomination in 2024.

In 2018, Sanders was nominated for best spoken-word album for "Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In" along with actor Mark Ruffalo, who narrated parts of the audiobook. The pair lost to Carrie Fisher, who won a posthumous award for her memoir "The Princess Diarist."

In 2024, Sanders was nominated in the same category for his audiobook, "It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's audiobook for her memoir, "A Fighting Chance," was nominated for best spoken-word album at the 2015 Grammys.

Warren lost the award to "Diary of a Mad Diva" by Joan Rivers.

Bill Clinton has two spoken-word Grammys, one for a children's book and one for his memoir.

Clinton's narration of the children's book "Peter and the Wolf: Wolf Tracks" earned him his first Grammy in 2004. The following year, he won best spoken-word album for the audiobook of his presidential memoir, "My Life."

He received two other Grammy nominations for his recordings of "Giving: How Each Of Us Can Change The World" and "Back To Work: Why We Need Smart Government For A Strong Economy."

Hillary Clinton attended the Grammys in 1997 to accept her award for best spoken-word album.

The then-first lady won a Grammy for the recording of her nonfiction book, "It Takes A Village." She was nominated again in 2004 for the audiobook of her memoir, "Living History."

Al Gore's audiobook for "An Inconvenient Truth" won best spoken-word album in 2009.

The former vice president's audiobook was read by actors Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon, and Blair Underwood, according to its listing on Audible.

Al Franken has won two Grammys: one for best comedy album and one for best spoken-word album.

The former Minnesota senator, who rose to fame as a comedian before entering politics, won best comedy album in 1997 and best spoken-word album in 2004. He has been nominated seven times.

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, who represented the District of Columbia in the Senate, won a Grammy for best spoken-word recording.

Jackson advocated for DC statehood in an unpaid Senate position known as a "shadow senator" from 1991 to 1997. He was also appointed as a special envoy to Africa by President Bill Clinton in 1997.

In 1989, Jackson won a spoken-word Grammy for a recorded address entitled "Speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson." He was nominated in the same category in 1985 for "Our Time Has Come."

His musical talents were also recognized at the 22nd Grammy Awards in 1980, when his gospel album "Push For Excellence" was nominated for best contemporary soul gospel performance.

Richard Nixon was nominated for best spoken-word recording in 1979 for his televised interviews with journalist David Frost.

In what became known as "Frost/Nixon" or "the Nixon interviews," the former president sat down with Frost to discuss his presidency and role in the Watergate scandal. The Grammy-nominated interviews were watched by 45 million people, the BBC reported.

Former Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen won a Grammy for a recording of his poem "Gallant Men."

A Republican senator from Illinois, Dirksen took home the Grammy for best spoken word, drama, or documentary recording in 1968. He was also nominated in 1971 for his spoken-word album "Everett Dirksen's America."

Harry Truman was nominated for a Grammy in 1978.

"The Truman Tapes," a series of recorded interviews with Ben Gradus, was nominated for best spoken-word recording at the 20th Grammy Awards.

Former Sen. Sam Ervin recorded a Grammy-nominated album, "Senator Sam at Home."

The album, a mix of stories, jokes, and pop music covers, was nominated for best spoken-word recording at the 17th Grammy Awards in 1975.

In 1965, John F. Kennedy received a posthumous Grammy nomination.

Editor Bill Adler's book "The Kennedy Wit," a compilation of the former president's quotes and humorous quips, became a bestseller in 1964, the year after his assassination, according to Goodreads.

On the recorded version, Kennedy was listed as an artist along with narrator David Brinkley and Adlai Stevenson, who provided an introduction. The album was nominated for best documentary, spoken word, or drama recording.

Ultimately, the cast of the BBC show "That Was The Week That Was" won the category for its tribute to Kennedy.

Former presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson received two Grammy nominations.

Stevenson served as governor of Illinois and ran twice for president as the Democratic nominee in 1952 and 1956.

He was nominated for his first Grammy in 1965 for his contribution to "The Kennedy Wit." He was nominated again in 1967 for "The Stevenson Wit," a similar album featuring selections from his "speeches, press conferences, and off-the-cuff remarks," according to the album cover.

• Stephen and Joanna Vargha moved to Ecuador from North Carolina after retiring early.
• The moved to Cuenca for its lower cost of living, vibrant culture, and welcoming expat community.
• They recommend retiring abroad but said anyone thinking about it should do a lot of research.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Stephen and Joanna Vargha, a married couple who moved from North Carolina to Cuenca, Ecuador, in 2020 after retiring early. Cuenca is located in the Andes mountains and has a population of about 600,000 people. Their interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Stephen: I heard about Cuenca, Ecuador, as a place to retire way back in 2010. I checked it out for a week in 2011 and visited some people I knew there. But I was only 53. So I put it in the back of my head.

In early 2019, my work was taking a toll on me physically and mentally. I had worked at a television station in North Carolina for over 37 years. We already had a retirement house in a small mountain town in North Carolina, so we decided to move there. The plan was to leave my job and look for a one at half the pay because we could afford it. But after several months I couldn't get a job.

We also realized the Affordable Care Act coverage was going to cost around $1,900 a month for the two of us and we were too young for Medicare. I didn't work my butt off for four decades to give my hard-earned money to the insurance companies.

Then Joanna goes, "Let's move to Cuenca." This is a woman who had never been there, doesn't like big cities, grew up in a town of maybe 75,000 people when she left. I was like, "Are you sure?" But that's what we did. So I decided to retire at 61 when we moved to Ecuador.

Joanna: I retired around the same time at 56, and before that worked for an auto insurance website.

We started talking about moving to Cuenca in May of 2019. We visited in September and looked at places. We moved in January 2020 and just barely missed the pandemic lockdown.

Cuenca is a great city with a lot of expats

Stephen: You make friends so easily here. I've visited 29 countries, and I can emphatically say that the people in Cuenca are the friendliest people I have ever met.

Joanna: We have made so many dear friends here that we would never have back home. We would've had to stay working and been too busy. Now we do three-hour lunches here just catching up and having fun.

There are so many things to do here, including art events and going to restaurants. There are lots of musical events. We have a free symphony and it's fabulous.

Stephen: Cuenca is becoming more of an international city. It's considered the arts capital of Ecuador and is called the "Athens of Ecuador" because of its culture and education.

We speak a little Spanish, so we try to respect their culture and speak Spanish when we can, but some people here also speak English.

Stephen: There are an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 foreigners living in Cuenca, mostly from the US and Canada, with Europe at a distant number three. Facebook groups are a great way to meet people and the expat community is very helpful.

Joanna: You rely on each other.

The cost of living is so much lower

Stephen: It's a fraction of the cost of living compared to a good portion of the US, like with housing and food. Our electric and water bills are much lower. Healthcare here is very affordable and good.

Joanna: There are some health things that you can't get done here. You have to go to Quito, about one hour away, or back to the states. But there's a lot of things here that you can get.

A pallet of 30 farm-fresh eggs is like $4.25 here. Fresh produce at the market is also affordable. To ride a bus is 31 cents. A taxi across the city could cost you $6 including tip.

A lot of expats don't even own cars because it's very walkable. We walk everywhere. It's the healthiest we've ever been.

Stephen: We average 35 miles a week. It didn't take long for me to lose my American weight, as I call it. I went from 192 to 168 — just by the fresher food, better food, and walking all around.

There is also a great respect for older folks, and it's not just a cultural thing, it's part of the country's laws. There are discounts for older people, including on taxes, and even separate lines at the bank.

Stephen: One drawback about Cuenca is there's not an international airport. We usually have to fly to Quito.

Communication can be terrible with vendors and government entities. Finding real estate listings is a little more difficult here, but we went to a real estate agent and she found our place for us.

There are certain things you just can't buy here.

Joanna: When we go back to the US to visit we load up our suitcases with stuff to bring back with us. But that's changing literally every day. They're offering more stuff here.

We recommend retiring abroad but do your research

Stephen: For people thinking about moving abroad, research is the most important thing. Facebook, blogs, get more than one source and make sure they're reliable. Definitely visit here.

Joanna: Try to make some local contacts who you can talk to because they'll help you ease into local life.

And we would never suggest doing the visa process on your own. You need a visa lawyer or a facilitator to help you because the rules can change quickly. It wasn't hard to do with the help. We used a group in Ecuador called Visa Angels.

Joanna: We don't plan to leave Ecuador soon, but we are researching end-of-life continuous care right now.

Stephen: We may eventually have to move back to the US despite the high healthcare costs because they just don't have the same assisted living facility options here. But right now, we're very happy here.

Joanna: In the five years we've been here, we've had a pandemic, national protests, and one of the worst droughts in Ecuador's history.

There's good and there's bad in any place that you live, but I like to say that when we knew we had to leave our home, we didn't make lemonade out of lemons. We made Limoncello and lemon pound cake.

It's been such a wonderful adventure. I would've never dreamed that we would be able to do this.

Have a news tip or a story to share? Are you an American who has moved abroad? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• Costco and the Teamsters union have reached a tentative deal to avoid a strike.
• Costco Teamsters represents 18,000 workers nationwide who were ready to walk off the job.
• The deal will now be presented to the union's membership for a vote, a Teamsters spokesperson told BI.

Costco and the Teamsters union have reached a tentative agreement to avoid a strike, the union told Business Insider.

The union said the deal would now go to its membership for a vote and that further details would follow.

Costco Teamsters represents 18,000 workers nationwide who were ready to walk off the job after their contract expired at 11:59 p.m. PT Friday.

On January 19, Costco's unionized workers "overwhelmingly" voted in favor of a strike in their strike authorization vote, which received 85% support among those who voted. In a press release at the time, Costco Teamsters accused the company of failing to "bargain constructively" and propose a contract that "reflects the company's record-breaking profits."

"The Costco Teamsters National Negotiating Committee has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract. Additional details will be shared soon. The tentative agreement will be presented to the membership for a vote," the union, Teamsters, said in a statement.

Matt McQuaid, a Teamsters spokesperson, told BI on Friday morning that the outstanding issues at the bargaining table were wages, pensions, and increased protections of union rights.

"The Teamsters are committed to securing a fair and reasonable agreement but are prepared to take action if the wholesale giant fails to deliver," the union previously said in a social media post.

Ahead of Friday's strike deadline, Costco announced in a memo that its next Employee Agreement, which is set to go into effect in March and covers nonunion workers for three years, would include successive pay raises that push compensation to over $30 an hour for workers at the top of its pay scale.

Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, which was made outside regular working hours.

• Equinox, best known for its high-end gyms, plans to launch 33 luxury hotels over the next 10 years.
• Equinox Hotels' CEO said at least half will be in the US.
• Its pipeline currently includes coastal resorts and properties in Texas, California, and Hawaii.

Equinox is eyeing a country-wide expansion — not just with its gyms, but its hotels.

The luxury fitness giant operates a New York City hotel with plans to launch 33 more over the next 10 years. At least half will be in the United States, Chris Norton, the CEO of Equinox Hotels, told Business Insider, with properties in Texas, Northern California, and Hawaii already in the pipeline.

Expect a resort on the East Coast to be succeeded by another on the West Coast. Norton called Los Angeles, New York, and Miami "strategic priorities," followed by Nashville, Atlanta, Austin, and Detroit.

Internationally, in addition to an announced resort in Saudia Arabia's Noem development, Equinox Hotels' CEO said the company is now also considering locations in London.

Equinox is best known for its growing collection of more than 110 "fitness clubs," which start at $325 monthly — not including an initiation fee. Despite (or maybe because of) the hefty expense, its fit crowds, eucalyptus-scented towels, and Grown Alchemist-stocked bathrooms have created a cultlike following beloved by investors and affluent fitness buffs.

Expect the same wealthy and healthy tribe at its coming hotels.

At its six-year-old New York City property, guests have in-room supplement mini-bars, daytime and nighttime soaps, a trendy 60,000-square-foot gym, and access to spa treatments such as cryotherapy and IV drips.

Upstairs, they can feast on a fluke crudo and pasture-raised chicken at a trendy rooftop restaurant. Downstairs, they can see and be seen at the outdoor pool with barrel saunas and unfettered views of the Vessel.

"If you stay at the hotel, you can experience this entire universe of a multi-dimensional Equinox experience," Norton said.

The list of amenities has created a five-star go-to for travelers who want to eat, sleep, and breathe (four counts in, four counts out) the lucrative fitness and wellness world.

However, it's also why Norton estimates nine out of 10 of its future properties would have to be new builds.

Not many existing hotels have what the company is looking for: gyms averaging 30,000 to 40,000 square feet with pilates and cycling rooms that might otherwise sit empty between classes.

"The New York hotel has clearly moved and will continue to move Equinox into a luxury lifestyle brand versus a gym brand," the hotel brand's CEO said.

• My best friend and I met in New York, and then we moved to Denver.
• Once we moved, our friendship changed, and he suddenly ghosted me.
• I tried to understand what I did wrong, but I'll never truly know.

I recently endured my first friendship breakup — one that caught me off guard and ended without explanation.

Seven years ago, I was living in New York when a mutual friend introduced me to a guy with similar interests and personality traits. We even identified with the same sports teams. We made each other cackle by reciting foreign accents or comedy bits while also melting into couches while spinning Pink Floyd vinyl.

As we spent more time together, we grew side-by-side, investing in each other's personal growth.

During the pandemic, I moved to Denver, and after two years of staying in touch, he followed me because he wanted easier access to nature. But not insignificantly, he moved knowing I'd be there for him.

That move would ultimately cause the end of the friendship, leaving me hurt and confused.

We no longer fit together in Denver

The early reconnection was joyful chaos. We'd golf on gorgeous mountain courses, hit the bars to watch soccer, and, most importantly, continue laughing.

As he settled in, I tried expanding his social circle by introducing him to my friends. Unfortunately, this wasn't as seamless as I hoped.

I then spent more time traveling than staying put in Denver last summer. When I returned in the fall, I reached out to hang out, but uncharacteristically, he didn't respond.

After a few more texts, I still hadn't heard from him. By the fifth unanswered text, I was no longer in denial. One of my favorite people was ghosting me.

I tried calling him. After no response, I texted to express if I had done something wrong, I wanted to apologize.

My desire to right the ship ended up in capsizing

My friend took two weeks to respond — a gestation period to draft three paragraphs.

In his mini-essay, he shared that he didn't want to be friends anymore and asked me not to contact him. The friendship was over.

I'd like to believe my lack of response was due to acceptance, but it was likely because I was speechless.

A few months prior, he and I were flexing the bounds of our connection, from quoting the crudest moments of "South Park" crudest moments to having an articulate, heart-to-heart chat. Now, he wouldn't even acknowledge my presence.

I tried to figure out what exactly went wrong

As this was my first overt friendship breakup, I tried to figure out where I went wrong.

My initial reaction was to recreate scenarios between us and analyze everything. Was it something I said? Could I have done something differently? Could I have hung out with him more?

Those questions were all dead ends. After enduring weeks of rumination, I uncovered a harsh reality.

When a friendship ends, you're not entitled to know anything

At work, a sudden termination is often followed by answers explaining exactly what you did wrong in the role. A divorce needs reasons to influence legal and financial implications. But with this friendship breakup, there was no need for explanations.

My nebulous misdeeds were no longer the point. I just had to accept that whether he was my friend for a reason or a season, he wouldn't be for a lifetime.

Fortunately, I found the silver lining.

Losing one best friend made me wake up and double down on appreciating my current close friends. That doesn't just require being present for the good times; it's about being there through it all. It also means communicating any discontent so that I won't be blindsided again.

• Netflix has plenty of great new movies hitting the platform in February.
• See Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in "Spencer," or watch acclaimed movies like "Parasite" and "The Founder."
• Family favorites like "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and "Despicable Me 4" are also streaming.

Here are the best movies coming to Netflix this month.

"Magic Mike XXL" (February 1)

One could argue that the second movie in this stripper trilogy is the best of all three.

Most of the original cast returns, as Mike (Channing Tatum) takes the gang on a road trip to Myrtle Beach for one final performance for the ladies.

"Miss Congeniality" (February 1)

In this classic comedy, Sandra Bullock plays an FBI agent who is transformed into a beauty pageant contestant to prevent a group from bombing the event.

Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen, and William Shatner all add to the fun in supporting roles.

"Parasite" (February 1)

You can't go wrong with Bong Joon-ho's four-time Oscar-winning masterpiece, which examines issues like class and privilege while telling the story of a poor family who infiltrates a wealthy one.

"Space Jam" (February 1)

During the late 1990s, when Michael Jordan stepped away from professional basketball to pursue baseball following the death of his father, he also starred in this classic animated movie where the Looney Tunes gang recruit him to play in a basketball game against invading aliens.

"Two Weeks Notice" (February 1)

Opposites attract in this rom-com starring Sandra Bullock as a lawyer who goes to work for a narcissistic billionaire played by Hugh Grant. You guessed it, eventually they fall for each other.

"The Wedding Planner" (February 1)

Here's more rom-com fun: Jennifer Lopez plays a wedding planner who begins to have feelings for the latest groom she's working with, played by Matthew McConaughey.

"The Founder" (February 2)

In this biopic, Michael Keaton plays businessman Ray Kroc, who turned a hamburger stand he stumbled across in the 1950s run by two brothers into the birthplace of fast food with the McDonald's chain. In the process, Kroc ruthlessly forced out the brothers of the soon-to-be lucrative company.

"Kinda Pregnant" (February 5)

In this Netflix original comedy, Amy Schumer plays Lainy, who after learning that her best friend is pregnant, pretends she is too by wearing a fake belly. Complications ensue when she finds the man of her dreams while keeping up the lie.

"Spencer" (February 8)

Kristen Stewart transforms into Princess Diana in this impressionistic biopic of the late royal, which follows her as her life begins to unravel as she considers divorcing Prince Charles and leaving the royal family.

"Train to Busan" (February 11)

If you're in need of a good horror, you can't go wrong with this zombie movie, which follows a group of people trying to survive a train trip from Seoul to Busan during a zombie outbreak. Expect lots of gore and some laughs.

"Despicable Me 4" (February 28)

The latest movie in the franchise follows Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his family — and, of course, the Minions — as they embark on a new spy adventure.

"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" (February 28)

Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) returns this time with his buddy Tails to take on Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and the formidable Knuckles (Idris Elba).

• I'm a dietitian on the Mediterranean diet, and I try to find healthy snacks even when I travel.
• Nuts and popcorn are some of my absolute favorites, especially when I find brands I like.
• When there's a Farmer's Fridge in the airport, I'll grab a pesto pasta bowl as a light meal.

As a dietitian who tries to stick to the Mediterranean diet, I've found some go-to airport snacks that make travel days a little more bearable.

These aren't my everyday eats, so they don't fit the Mediterranean diet to a T — especially considering this eating style tends to avoid processed foods. However, I think they're a better fit than the ubiquitous bags of potato chips and cookies.

Most airports, especially those across the US, tend to stock similar products at convenience-store-style spots like Hudson News. If you can't find the exact brand or product I recommend, though, I'm pretty confident there will be something similar.

Without further ado, here are my favorite airport snacks.

When I find a Farmer's Fridge, I get the pesto pasta.

Farmer's Fridge, a refrigerated vending machine that sells fresh food options, has expanded to nearly 20 US airports (alongside other locations) over the last decade or so. If I need something substantial, it's the first thing I'll look for.

I like that the meals taste fresh and ready to eat. My favorite is the pesto pasta bowl, which is made with quintessential Mediterranean ingredients, like veggies and olive oil.

It's hearty enough to be a light meal when I miss a traditional lunch or dinnertime

Cashews are a great snacking nut.

I always reach for nuts when I travel because they're a staple of the Mediterranean diet and a good source of plant-based protein.

Cashews are my favorite — I find them incredibly satisfying.

Sahale Snacks pomegranate-vanilla cashews, in particular, have been a game changer for me. The rich, nutty flavor pairs well with the tart pomegranate-flavored apple chunks and fragrant Madagascar vanilla.

They're my go-to indulgent snack that keeps me fueled and happy while I'm on the move.

Olipop is my soda of choice.

Olipop, a prebiotic soda with plant fiber, provides a refreshing, more gut-friendly alternative to traditional soft drinks.

I love how it satisfies my craving for a fizzy drink without a ton of added sugar, which isn't a huge part of the Mediterranean diet. A can keeps me energized and balanced without a crash during long travel days.

If you can't find Olipop, other brands like Culture Pop and Poppi make similar beverages.

Popcorn is a staple.

Popcorn is a whole grain — one of the cornerstones of the Mediterranean diet — and I find it to be a very satisfying snack. Plus, it's a good source of fiber, which can help support digestion.

Lesser Evil's Himalayan Gold popcorn is dairy-free and made with butter-flavored coconut oil and Himalayan sea salt. It's the brand I reach for in airports when I want something crunchy.

I love snacking on olives.

Olives are a delicious and convenient way to incorporate healthy fats into my day. Their rich, briny flavor is both satisfying and refreshing, making them an excellent choice for a quick bite on the go.

I particularly love it when I can find single-serve packs because they make it easy to manage portion sizes and keep everything fresh.

I've found Pearls olives to go at my airport and others, and I specifically like how the container is pre-drained. I don't necessarily want to mess with olive juice on a plane.

Undercover chocolate quinoa crisps satisfy my sweet tooth.

Undercover quinoa crisps are one of my favorite treats when I'm at the airport. I love the brand's use of simple ingredients that help satisfy my sweet tooth without too much sugar.

The snack consists of crispy quinoa coated in rich chocolate and other flavorings. It provides a satisfying crunch and a dose of whole grains, protein, and fiber.

If Undercover isn't available at your airport, look for other quinoa-based clusters, bars, or crisps.

Harvest Snaps baked pea snacks are a sneaky way to get in veggies on the go.

I often snag a bag of Harvest Snaps, especially when I'm traveling with my 9-year-old daughter. It's one of those snacks that works well for both of us.

They're made from green peas and offer a nice bit of fiber and protein, which keeps us full and fueled during long trips.

Since they're baked instead of fried, they feel like a lighter option compared to regular chips.

Even if you can't find this brand, you'll likely come across other fruit- or veggie-based chip alternatives. Just skim through the ingredient list to make sure there aren't too many additives.

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy Saturday! Are you in the throes of planning your Spring Break trip? Learn from one mother who planned an epic family vacation for 18 family members that ended up being a "nightmare." Ouch!

On the agenda:

• They waited until their 30s to have kids. Now, they've hit an unexpected snag.
• A personal trainer shares how to work out for a longer life, depending on your age.
• How Kristen Bell spends her off-work hours, from "exercise snacking" to bedtime stories.
• A New Yorker who traveled to Utah's Silicon Slopes for the first time shared the 9 things that surprised her.

But first: Hi, (billionaire) neighbor!

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

It pays to live next to a billionaire

A South Florida mansion — yet to be built — is on the market for $285 million. A vacant lot in Miami went on the market for $200 million. Meanwhile, Tom Brady reportedly may sell his newly built Indian Creek mansion after quietly receiving offers of $150 million.

Besides their eye-popping price tags and Florida locations, what do all of these properties have in common? They sit next to the homes of billionaires, whose presence alone is dramatically affecting the surrounding property values.

Billionaires undoubtedly affect our everyday lives — from job creation and politics (Hi, Elon Musk!) to philanthropy and even the media we consume. Where the nine-zero earners choose to live is also driving the market upward — and their neighbors are cashing in.

Stewart Satter, a former CEO who now develops real estate as a hobby, listed a $285 million to-be-built house in Manalapan, Florida. The property sits "next door to the Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison's estate, which he paid $173 million for in 2022," real estate reporter Jordan Pandy recently wrote. Satter's price tag makes it the most expensive new home on the US market.

It's the latest in a trend of properties with proximity to billionaires being put up for sale. About 70 miles north, Jeff Bezos' neighbor listed an 80,000-square-foot vacant lot for $200 million in December 2024. It came after Bezos paid $68 million, then $79 million, and later $90 million for three properties in Indian Creek, Florida.

Ilya Reznik, who's representing the owners who didn't want to be identified, told Business Insider that the lot is in "a very unique location."

Reznik is right. Tom Brady, Carl Icahn, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump also own mansions in one of America's wealthiest towns. And one bold-faced name seemingly wants in on the Bezos Effect, too. Brady is quietly receiving offers upward of $150 million on a home he bought in 2020 for $17 million.

Forget keeping up with the Joneses; it's all about living next to the billionaires.

The millennial parenting paradox

As the cost of raising a child skyrockets, more women feel they need to delay motherhood until they're more established in their careers. By the time they're ready to have kids, they must juggle their high-pressure, prestigious jobs with the full-time demands of parenting.

"Having it all" — a successful career and a fulfilling home life — may be a myth, but all's not lost. Fortunately, more parents are warming to a more balanced solution.

Is a career break the answer?

Working out for all stages of life

It's no secret that exercise is crucial for living a longer life. If you want to be active and strong in your 80s, it's never too early to start training for it.

One of the biggest fitness mistakes is failing to prioritize long-term fitness goals, Ollie Thompson, a UK-based personal trainer who specializes in longevity, said. He shared workout advice for training based on your age — from prioritizing strength workouts in your 20s to adding stability movements in your 40s.

Lifting for longevity.

Kristen Bell's 5-to-9

Actor Kristen Bell knows how difficult it can be to fit a workout into a busy schedule. She relies on "exercise snacking" whenever she can't make it to the gym to lift weights. The method involves intermingling one-and-a-half-minute segments of exercise throughout the day.

The Golden Globe-nominated actor also typically microwaves dinner for her family. Bell gave a glimpse into her life and shared with BI how she spends the hours in the day she's not working.

Juggling family time and exercise.

Exploring the Silicon Slopes

On her first trip to Utah's Silicon Slopes, BI's Joey Hadden thought she knew what to expect — skiing, tech, and celebrity estates.

The region, which includes Salt Lake City and Park City, met those expectations, but a few things still surprised her. From a bustling suburban tech scene to a ski lift in the heart of downtown Park City, Hadden got a sense of what it means to work and play in the Silicon Slopes.

These unexpected delights made her want to revisit.

What we're watching this weekend

• "Paradise": The new Hulu series, starring Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden, is a political thriller with an unexpected twist.
• "Mythic Quest": The workplace comedy about a fictional video game studio, from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" costars Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, returns to Apple TV+ for its fourth season.
• "You're Cordially Invited": Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell star in a new Amazon rom-com about two people who clash when weddings they're involved with are double-booked at the same venue.

See the full list

What to shop

• Happy Lunar New Year!: The Year of the Snake marks a time of renewal and transformation. It's an important gifting occasion for many, so we've rounded up the best Lunar New Year gifts you can give outside of a red envelope.
• Retinol vs. Retin-A vs. Retinoid: Though they sound the same, these vitamin A derivatives offer different benefits for your skin when applied correctly. We spoke to dermatologists to break down the differences, from the side effects to their product recommendations.
• Another Netflix price hike: With the major streaming service increasing its prices again, you may want to consider a more affordable option for your shows. Here are the best Netflix alternatives, like Disney Plus, Peacock, and Apple TV Plus.

More of this week's top reads:

• Taylor Swift cheered on the Chiefs in a $68,000 outfit and brought back a controversial trend.
• My kids and I went to Dubai for the first time. It was incredible, but I wish we'd avoided these 6 mistakes.
• Heather Rae El Moussa and Christina Haack are open to flipping a house together — even if Tarek El Moussa isn't so sure.
• These were the 10 hottest brands at the end of 2024, according to Lyst.
• Benedict Cumberbatch says he was wrong about Doctor Strange not appearing in the next 'Avengers' movie: 'Don't ever believe anything I say'.
• Four things to know about the real-life office building in 'Severance.'
• I'm an American spending my retirement living in dozens of countries. There's one thing I wish I'd known before I started.
• The best and worst outfits celebrities have worn at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival so far.
• Why Royal Caribbean Group is betting big on luxury river cruises.
• A chef who grew up on the Mediterranean diet shares 3 high-fiber recipes she eats for her gut health.

The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York City. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• A medical transport jet crashed in Philadelphia shortly after takeoff on Friday.
• Six people were on board the Learjet plane when it went down, authorities said.
• The aircraft had departed Northeast Philadelphia Airport and was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri.

A medical transport jet crashed on Friday in northeast Philadelphia.

The Learjet 55 had six people on board when it went down shortly after departing Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Flight operator Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said in a statement that four crew members and two passengers — a pediatric patient and her mother — were on the flight.

It said there were no survivors.

Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that all six were Mexican.

Video footage of the incident circulating on social media seems to show the plane hurtling toward the ground followed by a large explosion.

Data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft, which was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, had been in service for 43 years. It shows the plane took off shortly after 6 p.m. local time and crashed in less than a minute, "less than three miles from the end of the runway."

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have since launched an investigation into the incident.

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump said: "So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

"More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all."

The incident comes days after an American Airlines flight crashed into a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people.

• My kids prefer their father to me, even though I'm the one who spends all day with them.
• At first, this left me feeling rejected and resentful. Then, I discovered a newfound freedom.
• I have time to go out to lunch with friends and dive into projects I'm passionate about.

Ever since my three babies were born, their father has been the most important figure in their lives. In the early years, this made me feel less significant.

"Baba," what they call their father, was the first word all three of them uttered and is the most spoken word in our home.

I'm the one they run to when their noses need wiping or they want comfort after a fall, but when it comes to sharing a secret or seeking adventure, it's always Baba they turn to.

Hearing phrases like "Baba would answer that better," or "I'll only share this with Baba," hit me hard at first, and felt like rejection.

Especially since I spent all day with them — cleaning, feeding, and disciplining them while Baba was away at work.

I had to enforce rules and responsibilities, while my husband seemed to breeze in and win the "favorite parent" title with ease. My resentment built quietly, and I often felt like the bad guy.

To be clear, I'm grateful for their wonderful relationship. I lost my father when I was 7 and feel deep gratitude when I see how much my children are loved and supported by their father.

He has a way of being there for them in ways I can't quite match. Still, for a long time, the situation felt unfair until I realized it wasn't necessarily a bad thing for me as a mother.

Their strong bond with him hasn't weakened my relationship

What I've come to understand is that my husband's role with the children is different from mine, and that's okay.

His humor and ability to be silly and fun make him someone they want to spend time with, and he connects with them through their shared interests. They bond over watching cricket together, discussing farm animals, an interest they inherited from him, and love spontaneous outdoor activities, which I don't always join in on.

Meanwhile, I enjoy reading, solving crosswords, and cooking with the kids. These activities may not get the same level of excitement as when they're playing sports with Baba, but they hold their own value.

The silver lining of being the less preferred parent

As I accepted my position as the second-favorite parent, I also began prioritizing my own needs.

I started taking time for myself, whether it was going out for lunch with my best friend or working on projects I was passionate about.

It wasn't about abandoning my role as a mother. Instead, I was creating a balance that allowed me to care for myself and pursue my own goals. While the children had fun with their father, I had my moments of independence.

I also had open conversations with my husband about my feelings. I shared how I felt when they would turn to him first and how it left me feeling less important.

He acknowledged my feelings and made a conscious effort to show more appreciation for me in front of the kids.

While this didn't make me the favorite parent, it did make my children more empathetic toward me. That understanding deepened our connection as a family.

I've become a better mother

To any other mother who might be feeling the same way, like your child's preference for their father is a rejection of you, remember that children need both parents, just in different ways.

It's not a competition and focusing on your own special connection can help build a unique and irreplaceable bond.

My children love me, and they genuinely care for me, but it's okay that Baba is the one they run to with their secrets. It doesn't make me any less of a mother. In fact, it's made me a better one.

• I've spent seasons snowboarding in Colorado, and this winter, I went on my first European ski trip.
• While in Italy, I noticed several ways skiing and snowboarding vary between regions.
• From how slopes are labeled and designed to the overall cost, here are the differences I spotted.

As I heaved my snowboard bag out of the trunk, onto my back, and across the Denver airport, I debated if the effort was worth it.

Inside the awkwardly heavy bag was everything I needed for my first European ski trip — my snowboard, boots, base layers, ski pants, and ski jacket.

Bringing the 35-pound bag was a debated effort, especially since I have a dozen or so ski resorts just a drive away from my Denver apartment.

I knew snowboarding in Italy's Dolomites mountain range was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I'd seen the striking, jagged mountains in articles, scrolling through videos, and in images across social media.

Snowboarding down them was going to be an entirely different experience.

Along with the views, I hoped to discover how the sport and culture in towns like Cortina d'Ampezzo and Brixen differ from what I've experienced in the past four ski seasons in Colorado.

Getting to a ski run in Italy might involve a gondola, train, elevator, and escalator.

Once you've made it to a ski resort in Colorado, getting on the mountain is simple. Likely, you'll have one or two options: a ski lift or a six-person gondola up the mountain.

In Italy, I saw several options for scaling the slopes. During my ski day in Cortina d'Ampezzo, for example, I first boarded a 40-person gondola, followed by a lift.

It was by far the largest gondola I've ridden, and throughout my three days snowboarding in Italy, I boarded these large gondolas along with smaller gondolas, ski lifts, and T-bars.

The consequence was that getting to the slopes often took longer since I spent time waiting for other people to board these large spaces. On the flip side, though, I rarely sat in a lift line once on the mountain — a common occurrence on Colorado's crowded slopes.

Italy's ski culture felt stronger — popular restaurants sit on the slopes, and aprés goes into the evening.

I read through lists of recommended restaurants in Cortina d'Ampezzo and listened to locals share their favorite spots in the Dolomites to grab a quick bite.

At each recommendation, I pulled up Google Maps to see how I could drive or walk to the spot. Often, I'd need to strap in my snowboard to get to their recommendations.

Refugios, which are mountain guesthouses, are known for great meals. Meanwhile, in Colorado, ski restaurants typically stick to the staples: chicken tenders, hamburgers, and chili.

While Colorado's mountainside restaurant scene may be changing — resorts like Snowmass and Arapahoe Basin have opened newer, nicer restaurants in the past few years — my friends and I typically stick to packed sandwiches and granola bars, basically quick bites consumed on chair lifts or at picnic tables.

Lunch some afternoons in Italy naturally led into après. The French word is similar to America's concept of happy hour. In Italy, it seemed like a staple of a ski day. In Cortina d'Ampezzo, I could hear music echoing as I snowboarded down one slope.

While the concept of après has made its way to Colorado, I rarely have friends who stick around a DJ set or carve out a few hours during the day for a sit-down meal.

The overall trend seems to be that the focus is on the sport when you're in the mountains in Colorado. In Italy, the focus is an experience that includes dining, drinking, and, of course, skiing or snowboarding.

In Italy, runs are numbered and go off a different grading scale.

I stared at my first ski map in Cortina d'Ampezzo and searched for familiar colors. In Colorado, ski runs are marked green for easy, blue for intermediate, and black for hard.

As I eyed Cortina d'Ampezzo's map, I saw no green lines. Then I remembered that Europe's grading system is different. Easy runs are blue, red runs are medium, and black runs are hard. Plus, there were colors I had never seen. Orange marked the equivalent of double blacks, and green dotted lines highlighted items like hiking trails.

Beyond the differences in colors alone, most European ski maps use numbers instead of names to signify ski runs.

In Colorado, you might head down runs named Bittersweet, Copperopolis, or Kaboom. In Italy, I looked at numbers — like skiing down slopes 85 and 62.

Trees and moguls are a rare sight in Italy.

When it comes to the types of runs in Colorado, everyone seems to have a preference. Some skiers and snowboarders love narrow runs between groupings of trees. Others seek out moguls, a series of bumps down a run. If you're like me, you avoid both and stick to wide-open slopes.

The variety of runs was limited at the two resorts I visited in Italy. Most runs were groomed, and I didn't see a single mogul run.

The same goes for trees. Most of Italy's skiing happens above the treeline since trees stop growing at lower altitudes in the region. That means you'll find very few runs carved through pines. Instead, everything I snowboarded down in Italy was flat and open.

The sport is much more affordable in Italy.

I walked up to my first gondola in Cortina d'Ampezzo, a wealthy ski town in Italy often compared to Colorado's ritzy Aspen, and I was shocked to learn that a lift ticket for the day would cost a mere 70 euros, or about $73.

In Aspen, a lift ticket cost me $250 in January.

Beyond the cost of getting on the mountain, other parts of skiing in Italy were cheaper.

Aperol spritzes cost less than $7, sandwiches less than $10, and gear was less than $50 a day for boots and skis or a snowboard.

The sport is expensive at resorts like Aspen, Snowmass, and Winter Park. Ski gear can cost closer to $100. In 2023, I paid $84 for skis and boots; gear at Snowmass this year was $78.

Ads were everywhere in the mountains of Italy.

When I boarded my first Italian gondola, the fashion brand Guess was plastered across its walls. Minutes later, on my first lift, I noticed each pole had a bright-red Prada advertisement. At the base of my first run, a billboard showcased a Ford Bronco.

I saw ads everywhere I looked in the Dolomites.

It was unexpected, especially coming from Colorado. Sure, there are a few ads on the slopes — lunch advertisements fill lift safety bars, and you might see a luxury-sponsored bar — but it's not nearly as common as it was in Italy.

The views were some of the most stunning mountainscapes I've seen — leaving me itching to book a trip next year.

I find Colorado's mountains breathtaking every time I end up on the slopes, but I'll admit that the views of the Dolomites were some of the most impressive I've seen.

As I snowboarded across the Brixen resort during golden hour, I was in awe of the jagged peaks.

The views alone convinced me that lugging my heavy snowboarding gear was worth every bit of discomfort, and I won't second guess a future European ski trip.

• Chef Patrick O'Connell opened the Inn at Little Washington restaurant in 1978.
• The Inn is now a five-star hotel, and the restaurant has held onto three Michelin stars since 2018.
• I went behind the scenes of O'Connell's kitchen and dined at his restaurant. It was an unforgettable experience.

Blessings from an altar boy amid the sound of chanting monks is not how I expected to begin my first-ever three-star Michelin restaurant experience.

But it was a fitting introduction to the Inn at Little Washington and chef Patrick O'Connell, who was once nicknamed the "Pope of American cuisine" by the legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi.

For decades, O'Connell has hosted the most powerful people in American politics at his five-star hotel in Washington, Virginia, a tiny town (population of 84) about an hour-and-a-half drive from Washington, DC.

O'Connell took me behind the scenes of his world-famous kitchen before I dined on the $388 prix-fixe menu. There was truffle popcorn, a Dolly Parton soundtrack, and one of the best dishes I've ever tasted.

Before we begin, let me tell you a little more about the Inn at Little Washington.

O'Connell opened his restaurant in 1978. The self-taught chef, who learned with the help of Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," aspired to bring fine dining to the American countryside.

"In 1979, I began taking pilgrimages to the three-star Michelin restaurants of France to establish a benchmark for this place," O'Connell told me as we sat by a roaring fireplace in the restaurant's kitchen. "I wanted to see places that were outside major urban centers, the little villages."

"I realized that while America didn't have any tradition of expecting a fine meal outside a city, if it's something that was part of French culture, maybe one day Americans would embrace the same idea," he continued. "And now they have."

O'Connell has cooked for presidents, Supreme Court justices, and Queen Elizabeth II, but he never thought a Michelin star was possible.

That changed in 2016 when the Inn at Little Washington was awarded two stars in the first-ever Michelin Guide for DC. Two years later, the restaurant got its third star and has held on to it ever since.

The acclaim has filled O'Connell's dining room with a new international clientele, who he said collect three-star Michelin restaurants like "Gucci, Dior, or Chanel." But the chef is glad the Inn had time to come into itself.

"It didn't just hit like a lightning bolt," he added. "So we've been able to maintain our sense of humor and humility and not take ourselves too seriously."

O'Connell's humor is on display from the moment you walk into his kitchen.

Guests who reserve the two special tables available in O'Connell's kitchen are given a blessing. The chef told me it's a tribute to the "sacred space" and a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Mondavi nickname.

Before they set foot in the space, an altar boy will appear, holding a golden censer with incense, which he rocks back and forth in time with a soundtrack of chanting French monks.

"The chefs don't even hear it anymore. They just feel it," O'Connell said. "But we like to say it reduces cursing."

Guests who reserve a table in O'Connell's kitchen sit at a cozy breakfast nook inspired by his grandmother.

My dinner would take place in the dining room, but I briefly sat in the breakfast nook to try some canapés and watch O'Connell's kitchen at work on the night's dinner service.

Diners at the Inn can select "The Gastronaut" menu, which features seafood and meat, or "The Good Earth" menu if they want to go vegetarian. Both menus change with the season, feature six courses (plus a few amuse-bouches to start), and are priced at $388 per person. Business Insider received a media rate for the dinner.

The first bite of the night was popcorn tossed in white truffle oil and topped with fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

As I munched on the delicious popcorn, O'Connell explained that he sees dining in a restaurant as a film — and the guest as its star.

"The whole idea of what we do is seduction," the chef said. "I can't serve anybody something I don't love or wouldn't want to eat. If it doesn't deliver on the palate, if it doesn't make you swoon, what's the point? It has to be personal."

A server then came by with a round of playful but elevated canapés. There was a crisp chip filled with pimento cheese and rolled like a cannoli, plus a pair of fried green tomatoes topped with generous scoops of caviar.

Then, O'Connell gave me a tour of his unique kitchen before dinner.

I've gone behind the scenes of some legendary restaurants, but I've never seen a kitchen as beautifully designed as the Inn at Little Washington.

Instead of cramped spaces and industrial silver as far as the eye can see, there are high ceilings, huge windows, and shimmering copper. The decorative blue and white tiles on the walls derive from an ancient tradition — O'Connell told me "it was thought that blue deterred flies" — seen in the dairy room at Windsor Castle, which was the kitchen's design inspiration.

Meanwhile, the dinner service was in full swing. I watched as O'Connell's staff calmly plated delicate pieces of sashimi and piped "Happy Birthday" on white chocolate.

As O'Connell pointed to different stations, proudly introducing every cook, he told me they were planning the night's menu for a table of German tourists who were staying at the Inn for 10 nights and "never have the same thing twice."

Written under the kitchen's ceiling are five words, which O'Connell calls the five stages of dining.

"Anticipation," "Trepidation," "Inspection," "Fulfillment," and "Evaluation" are displayed across the kitchen to remind the staff "what phase or stage the guest is at in any moment," O'Connell said.

Anticipation, the first stage, is one that O'Connell believes even "the most jaded diner in the world" feels before they step into the dining room. Then, there's trepidation, when the guest is "naturally worried that it might not live up to their grandiose expectations."

Inspection likely begins after "the second sip of their first drink," when the guest starts looking around the restaurant.

"You can't have any flaws stand out at that point because then it ruins the illusion," O'Connell told me.

Fulfillment tends to follow after the meat course, while evaluation begins after the final bite of dessert.

"The key that we've succeeded is on their departure if they're talking about who they wish to bring on their next visit," the chef explained. "It's always very rewarding to me when they say, 'We need to bring our parents here,' because that's very personal."

With my tour complete, O'Connell's famous show was about to begin.

I was led into the sanctuary through the warmly lit lounge and dining room, ornately decorated with scarlet drapes, pastel-pink chairs, and velvet blue booths.

The lights were dim, casting shadows of the palm tree fronds that filled the space. A menu with my name on it was waiting for me, and the anticipation I'd been feeling for weeks was fully setting in. The first stage of dining had officially commenced.

A waiter presented the first amuse-bouche, which he called the "world's smallest grilled cheese."

The canapé, a delicious potato crisp filled with Parmesan and rolled in truffle, filled me with cheesy warmth. It was immediately followed by an oyster encased with an apple gelée and topped with Meyer lemon foam, a delightfully light and refreshing bite.

The quick contrast of flavors and textures was as unexpected as Dolly Parton crooning through the hidden speakers. When I later told O'Connell I never expected to hear Dolly in a three-star Michelin restaurant, the chef told me he wanted to give a "sense of place."

"It has to be somebody's house and somebody's taste, so it has to be eclectic, and it can't be predictable," he said. "Each song is chosen to take you on a little journey."

Then came an adorable egg topped with cheese.

At the base of the egg was a roasted garlic custard, followed by sautéed cauliflower and chanterelle mushrooms topped with Parmesan foam and breadcrumbs.

The filling was rich and silky, yet still light on my tongue, thanks to the frothy texture.

I'm not ashamed to say my mouth dropped when a waiter came by with the candlelit bread cart.

Displayed alongside a mountain of butter were four different types of bread, including fresh baguettes and a sourdough made from a 143-year-old starter.

I already knew O'Connell's bread was baked to perfection after sampling it during the hotel's breakfast that morning, so I decided to save space. After all, I still had six courses ahead of me.

The first official course was what O'Connell calls "A Tin of Sin."

The dish featured Petrossian's Tsar Imperial Ossetra Caviar, mixed with Chesapeake crab and cucumber rillette and served in its tin.

I spooned some of the mixture onto the lightly buttered brioche toast, which added a satisfying crunch and contrast of texture as the caviar and crab melted into my mouth.

The buttery caviar had just a hint of brine, allowing the light and bright crab to shine, while the cucumber added a refreshing bite to the overall flavor.

The second course, a big-eye tuna and swordfish carpaccio, was my favorite dish of the night.

Sometimes, to truly illustrate how much I loved a dish, I think it's better to begin with the notes I wrote upon my first taste. For the carpaccio, it was: "Holy shit, this is incredible."

A server presented the plate, a visually stunning quilt of bright and pale pinks, before grating some fresh wasabi straight from the root.

So many different flavors were tap dancing on my tongue, including the bright yuzu brushed on top of the fish and the creamy avocado that cut through the acidity. It was one of the most refreshing things I've ever tasted and paired perfectly with the glass of Infinite Summer sake that my waiter recommended.

A chartreuse of savoy cabbage and Maine lobster, served with a caviar beurre blanc, then arrived at my table.

O'Connell's incredible carpaccio was tough to follow, but his light-as-air cabbage made a valiant effort.

The classic French technique he taught himself by repeatedly making Julia Child's recipes was on full display with the silky beurre blanc, which had just a touch of bright lemon and paired beautifully with the lusciously soft crab.

My server recommended I use a spoon to get all the sauce, and you better believe I finished every last drop.

The final savory course was Szechuan pepper-crusted venison.

"Americans have this thing about the meat course," O'Connell told me knowingly before dinner. "You have to be careful to give them enough meat. And only after the main course has been served will they allow themselves to sort of fall into an animal satisfaction of fulfillment."

I was definitely satisfied following the tenderloin, which was plentiful and far more tender than I ever thought possible of venison.

The Szechuan peppers crackled on my tongue, adding a fun twist to what could have been a standard fine-dining dish. O'Connell's flair and creativity were on display once again.

Before dessert, I was served a palate cleanser dubbed "George Washington's Pawpaw Posset."

Served alongside the refreshingly tart mousse — which a waiter told me was inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe — was a card explaining that pawpaw was George Washington's favorite fruit.

It's a lovely little treat that pays homage to the town's namesake and illustrates O'Connell's impeccable attention to every detail. Just look at the two garnishes on top, shaped like a rose and a heart.

Last but definitely not least was "Apparently a Pear," O'Connell's signature dessert.

From the careful shading to the tiny drop of water sliding down its curve, this pear cheesecake was the perfect illusion dessert.

The deliciously indulgent cheesecake featured soft and sweet poached pears in its center, and I couldn't get enough of the boozy amaretto sabayon sauce.

It was a fun and whimsical end to a meal that was just as lively and playful as O'Connell had promised.

As a server dropped off a surprise plate of homemade chocolate bark, I settled into the final stage of dining.

"My parents would love this place," I kept thinking as I nibbled on the bark and sipped chamomile tea.

A song with the words "sleep well" was wafting softly from the speakers, almost like a lullaby. It was a moment of pure contentment.

I only realized later, when I listened back to my interview with O'Connell, that I had entered the final stage of dining that he aspires to take every guest.

"You're not going to bring your parents to somewhere that's questionable or that's stupidly trendy," he said. "You want them to have that same similar wonderful experience that you had."

O'Connell's love for the food, the Inn, and this tiny town in Virginia shines through in every one of his dishes. Plenty of three-star Michelin restaurants coast on their reputation, knowing there will always be people with big wallets who want to collect their menus like stamps. But O'Connell is still in the kitchen every night, trying to make the experience special for every guest.

"This is why we acknowledge that we can't make it as good as it was last time," O'Connell said. "It has to be better."

I can't wait to go back. And next time, I'll bring my parents.

• Barbara Corcoran found her dream home when she delivered a package to a Manhattan penthouse in 1992.
• The future "Shark Tank" star told the apartment's owner to call her if she ever decided to sell.
• More than 20 years later, Corcoran got the call and promptly bought the place for $10 million.

Barbara Corcoran stumbled upon her dream home when she delivered a package there in 1992 — then purchased it more than two decades later.

The "Shark Tank" star was working part-time as a messenger to keep her fledgling real-estate business afloat during a painful downturn, and one delivery took her to a penthouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

"I walked in and saw this green, lush terrace through the French doors, and said to the lady who let me in, 'If you're ever going to sell this, would you sell it to me?'" Corcoran recently told The New York Times.

"She didn't take me seriously. Years went by, I got notoriety. When she was ready to sell it, she called me."

Corcoran told Business Insider that imagining herself in that home drove her to hustle and excel in her career.

"I don't think you can accomplish anything without starting with a dream," she said. "And I think the less attainable something seems, the more important dreaming is because it's all you've got! That certainly applies to today's real estate market which is less affordable for first time buyers. But if you visualize the house you want and choose the street you want, you're more able to do the hard work it takes to get it because it's already real in your mind."

"I've visualized every success in my life long before I ever accomplished it," Corcoran continued. "I could feel it, touch it, and picture every detail. But without dreaming first and putting in the hard work to get there, I'd probably be living in my studio rental on East 83rd Street."

Living the dream

The property tycoon has previously shared the story about how she bought the apartment. She told "Shark Tank" costar Kevin O'Leary in 2020 that the previous owner "looked at me with pity" because she couldn't imagine a courier could ever afford a Fifth Avenue penthouse.

O'Leary suggested the takeaway was that relationships are vital to snagging prime real estate.

"No," Corcoran replied. "Relationships matter, but more important than that, dreaming matters. I envisioned myself living here."

Corcoran told O'Leary she paid $10 million for the apartment and spent another $3 million on renovations. She estimated her place was only worth $12 million at that point, but dismissed the idea it was a bad investment.

"Because I over-improved it on purpose, and I'll be living here for 10 years," she said. "New York's a crazy market, but one thing I know for sure, I will make a lot of money."

The founder of The Corcoran Group, which she sold for $66 million in 2001, told "Live With Kelly & Mark" in 2023 that she sits in her home and squeals with delight every night.

She granted influencer Caleb Simpson a tour in late 2022 that he shared on social media:

The 1158 Fifth Avenue apartment was featured in a New York Times article headlined "Garden in the Sky" before it was listed in 2013 for the first time since 1975.

The newspaper described Corcoran's future home as an "elegantly eclectic duplex penthouse … with soothing views of Central Park to the west and the George Washington Bridge to the north."

Property records show the apartment was listed at $14.5 million in November 2013. After several price cuts, it was sold for $10 million in March 2015.

Corcoran spoke to the Times after her mobile home in the Palisades burned down during the recent California wildfires. She said she acquired that property by finding a neighborhood on the beach she liked, walking the streets until she found the home she wanted, then knocking and asking the owner if she wanted to sell.

The owner initially said no, but changed her mind after Corcoran said she could use the place whenever she wanted for the rest of her life.

"That's how I buy all of my homes," Corcoran said about purchasing sight unseen. "I have an emotional love affair with them. It's romanticism. I walk in and I go, 'I belong here'."

• This February, shoppers can find easy appetizers, unique desserts, and premade meals at Aldi.
• Specially Selected goat-cheese risotto and two-packs of gelato are both under $5.
• The retailer also plans to release seasonal soups, chips, and a confetti pizza cookie this month.

Although February is the shortest month of the year, it can feel packed with special events and holidays.

After all, Super Bowl LIX is on February 9, and Valentine's Day is not long after. Fortunately, Aldi is set to stock its shelves with groceries that work for both occasions.

From romantic meals for two to game-day appetizers, here are some of the best groceries to get at Aldi this month.

Best of all, each item is under $5.

Impress your partner with the Specially Selected goat-cheese risotto.

Risotto can be a famously time-consuming dish to make from scratch. However, Aldi's Specially Selected boxed risotto may help you prepare the decadent meal in record time.

This month, the goat-cheese risotto comes in three flavors— black pepper, garlic-herb, or truffle — for only $2.50 a box.

The Priano pasta bake can be an easy dinner.

Get dinner on the table quickly with a Priano pasta bake. Each premade meal requires little prep work or cleanup.

This month's Bolognese, carbonara, and four-cheese options are only $3 each.

End your evening with the Sundae Shoppe Italian gelato cups …

After enjoying some creamy risotto or cheesy pasta, round out an Italian-inspired dinner with Sundae Shoppe gelato cups.

Each features layers of gelato, chocolate, and fluffy whipped topping. Choose from pistachio, cappuccino, or chocolate-hazelnut flavors for $4 per pack of two.

… or try other Aldi desserts imported from Italy.

If it feels a little too cold for gelato, consider trying some of the other seasonal Italian desserts at Aldi this month.

Single-serve raspberry mousse and tiramisu are both set to be available this month for just over $2.50 each.

Stock your pantry with Clancy's cheesy garlic-bread potato chips.

A combination of two comfort foods, these cheesy garlic-bread-flavored potato chips can be found in the snack aisle.

Enjoy them as-is, or try crumbling them as a topping for mashed potatoes, homemade mac and cheese, or an omelet inspired by "The Bear."

Grab a bag for just under $2.

Get ready for game day with Park Street Deli pretzel bites.

This February, Aldi is set to stock shelves with new varieties of pretzel bites from Park Street Deli.

The popular game-day bites come paired with either a dulce-de-leche sauce or cinnamon dip. Each 9.25-ounce box is about $4.50.

The Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen pizza cookie is ready to decorate.

Just ahead of Valentine's Day, Aldi's beloved Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen brand is set to release a heat-and-serve confetti pizza cookie.

Just heat the sugar cookie up at home and decorate it to your heart's content with fruit, icing, and sprinkles.

One 9-ounce cookie retails for $4.

Upgrade your favorite drink with Friendly Farms Irish-creme whipped dairy topping.

Friendly Farms whipped dairy toppings can be used to finish off a seasonal coffee, hot cocoa, or ice-cream sundae.

A can retails for $3.

Warm up on the coldest winter days with seasonal Specially Selected soups.

This month, Aldi is set to stock its shelves with more seasonal Specially Selected soups. Flavors include creamy curry bisque and a Thai coconut-ginger soup.

Each 24-ounce jar retails for just under $4.

Season's Choice loaded potato tots look like quite the comfort food.

Cheese? Check. Bacon? Check. Potatoes? Check.

These loaded potato tots from Season's Choice have all the makings of the ultimate comfort food — just add your favorite dipping sauce.

The tots also come in a cheesy-jalapeño flavor, with each box retailing for just over $4.

Get ahead on seasonal shopping with Moser Roth St. Patrick's Day chocolate truffles.

Toward the end of February, Aldi is set to start prepping for St. Patrick's Day.

Shoppers can look for these seasonal Moser Roth truffles, complete with chocolate-cream, Irish-coffee, salted-caramel, and vanilla flavors.

A box of eight truffles retails for just over $3.

Pacific Fruit Vineyards sweet mango wine is set to return to Aldi for just $4 a bottle.

Aldi's wine selection is known to be fairly affordable and extensive.

This month, Aldi plans to return its fan-favorite Pacific Fruit Vineyards sweet mango to shelves for just $4 a bottle.

• Instacart is testing a new kind of gig work at some stores.
• Contractors can now earn money by photographing products on shelves to show what's in stock.
• The brands behind the products use the photos to review what's there and how displays look.

Instacart is offering its independent contractors a new type of work: Checking shelves on behalf of the companies that supply stores.

Instacart has been testing the program, which it calls "brand tasks," at some stores since last fall, according to messages seen by shoppers via email and the Instacart app, shared with Business Insider.

"You'll get paid to take photos of what's in stock or refill displays," a message sent to a shopper about a beta version of the program in November said, which was seen by Business Insider.

Instacart built its business using hundreds of thousands of gig workers to shop and deliver groceries, sporting goods, and other items to consumers. The "brand tasks" experiment is one way it's trying to expand into other areas of grocery and retail technology, along with smart shopping carts and advertising.

One shopper in Pennsylvania, who didn't want to be identified for fear of retaliation from Instacart, told BI that they completed one of the tasks, which involved taking a photo of a display of Dove body care products, which Unilever makes. Unilever did not respond to a request for comment. BI verified the shopper's identity and employment by Instacart.

The gig paid about $12 and took about 10 minutes to complete, according to the shopper. That's more than Instacart pays to shop and deliver some orders, which can easily take an hour, the shopper added.

Instacart confirmed that it is testing the program.

"Shoppers can opt-in to receive access to these tasks and will be able to accept the tasks just as they would a standard batch" of orders, an Instacart spokesperson told BI. The spokesperson declined to confirm where in the US Instacart is testing the new offering or which retailers and brands are involved.

Taking photos of how a shelf looks gives the companies that make food, personal care items, and other items information on what's selling and how their products appear to customers. "Brands often work with third parties on a periodic basis to gain insights into their in-stock inventory," the spokesperson said.

Instacart is "primarily focused on display check," the spokesperson said. "We have evaluated other tasks and could consider adding additional tasks in the future."

Gig work has been expanding far beyond delivering restaurant orders and driving people to the airport. Multiple apps now allow nurses to pick up single shifts at hospitals and other medical facilities, for instance.

Do you work for Instacart and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected]

• Now is the "worst possible time" for the West to stop supporting Ukraine, a former top US general said.
• Russia's fight in Ukraine is hurting its military and economy.
• "Russia is in very bad shape, not just from their military, but also their economy," Mark Hertling said.

Given the state of Russia's military and economy, now would be a bad time for the West to stop supporting Ukraine and reduce the pressure, a former top US general told Business Insider.

"It's the worst possible time right now," said Mark Hertling, a retired US Army lieutenant general and a former commander of United States Army Europe. "Let me emphasize that," he said, "I really believe that Russia is in very bad shape, not just from their military, but also their economy."

The reelection of former President Donald Trump has raised the possibility that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could, at least temporarily, end, as he has repeatedly pledged to resolve the conflict quickly through negotiations. He has threatened Russia with new economic penalties, but he has also been very critical of US aid to Ukraine. Some assistance has already been cut.

Supporting Ukraine is considered by many Western countries as a way to weaken Russia's military and to stop it from attacking elsewhere in Europe or NATO, as it has threatened to do.

Hertling said that, given Russia's situation at the moment, "this is by far the worst time to take away support from the Ukrainians." He explained that he supported efforts to end the conflict but not by ending support for Ukraine.

"This is the time right now to continue to put pressure on the Russian government and Mr. Putin specifically and end this thing," he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Time for a show of strength

Many world leaders have said that unrelenting support for Ukraine and strength are needed to end the conflict, to signal to Putin that he cannot win by grinding down Ukraine's military or tiring its international partners.

Margus Tsahkna, the foreign minister of Estonia, a European Union and NATO member that borders Russia, told BI that, indeed, the condition of Russia's military and economy made this a terrible time to stop supporting Ukraine.

He added that the West should support Ukraine, at least in part, because it is fighting Russia on behalf of the West. "Ukrainians are not fighting only for themselves and for us, but instead of us," Tsahkna said, sharing that Estonia has given Ukraine more support as a percentage of its GDP than any other international partner.

He said the West needs to stop Putin or change his goals, "and the cheapest and more efficient way is doing in Ukraine because Ukraine is not asking our troops to come there and fight."

Russia has repeatedly threatened to attack elsewhere in Europe, and it has held back some combat capabilities that warfare experts said it could use in another conflict.

Tsahkna said that putting additional sanctions on Russia and targeting oil prices while preserving support for Ukraine would be a way to erode Russia's position ahead of any peace talks, "to push Ukraine into a strong position and weaken Putin to change the goal. All the opportunities, they're there."

"The peace must come through strength," he said, repeating a phrase from the Reagan era of which Trump is fond: peace through strength.

A weakened Russia

Russia's economy has suffered since it launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Inflation has risen, the labor supply has shrunk, and the value of its currency, the ruble, has fallen. Sources told Reuters this month that Puin is increasingly worried about his country's economy, which is on a stressed wartime footing.

Anders Åslund, a Swedish economist and former fellow at the Atlantic Council, said this month Russia's financial reserves could run out before the end of the year.

Russia has published positive economic data, but analysis by economists in Sweden found issues, reporting that Russia's data did not stand up to scrutiny. Some economists have said, however, that Russia doesn't appear to be moving toward any sort of collapse like the Soviet Union experienced. They say parts of its economy actually appear to be encouraging.

But there's been a negative impact, and Russia's military has suffered, too.

While it has increased its weapons production, it is still not producing enough for the war and has taken decades-old equipment, like early Cold War tanks, out of storage.

It has suffered tremendous troop losses. Ukraine, casualty estimates from which tend to run higher than others, said this month that Russia had lost 833,000 troops in Ukraine since it began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Lower estimates are still high.

The trained, professional army that Russia started the war with is gone. Though it has, by some observations, reconstituted, losses are reaching a point where they outpace replacement. Russia has consistently been sending newer recruits with little to no training straight into a grinder.

Those losses don't seem to phase it, though. And it is also receiving help from Iran and North Korea to maintain its war machine. Ukraine is standing between it and Europe.

Many Western leaders and analysts have warned that the West is not sufficiently preparing for the possibility that Russia will follow through on its threats.

Hertling said of Russia's threat that the West "definitely needs to take it seriously" and that the West needs to increase its arsenals, just in case it needs them.

What Trump will do about Russia is unclear. This month, he told Putin to "STOP this ridiculous War" and threatened to put new sanctions on goods sold by Russia. But he has repeatedly criticized US assistance to Ukraine, and this week he froze foreign aid, including to Ukraine, for 90 days.

He may also struggle to bring both sides to any sort of agreement that could even pause the fighting. Ukraine wants security guarantees that Russia may not agree to, and Russia has said it is uninterested in negotiations.

• Tech giants appeared to defend their heavy AI investments during their latest earnings calls.
• Both Meta and Microsoft plan to spend over $60 billion on building out AI infrastructure this year.
• DeepSeek's seemingly cheaper AI model has raised questions.

DeepSeek may have spooked investors at the start of the week, but tech giants are doubling down on their plans to invest heavily in AI.

Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and more reported earnings on Wednesday and Thursday. One of the major topics people were interested in was whether execs would comment on whether Chinese company DeepSeek's seemingly cheaper AI model would change US corporations' lofty spending goals.

The answer appeared to be a resounding no.

"Huge week for Big Tech earnings as Zuckerberg, Nadella, Cook, and Musk doubled down on their AI visions and what this means for each of these tech stalwarts looking ahead," Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, said in an X post, referring to Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Apple's Tim Cook, and Tesla and xAI's Elon Musk.

"This is an AI arms race and the Temu of AI DeepSeek not changing that…AI Revolution just starting," Ives continued.

Investors had been concerned whether a less-expensive open-source AI model like DeepSeek's R1 would highlight that Big Tech companies had been splashing out too much on building out infrastructure — like data centers filled with costly chips — or that less-expensive models would stop them being able to charge customers as much to access them.

However, Big Tech stuck with its spending plans. Meta, for example, said it's still planning for $60 billion to $65 billion in capex for its AI strategy in 2025. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said "investing aggressively" in these initiatives will be the determining factor in Meta's financial trajectory in the coming years.

Meanwhile, Microsoft told investors that demand for AI is so high that it's struggling to provide enough data centers.

"Already, our AI business has surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $13 billion, up 175% year-over-year," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on the FY 2025 Q2 earnings call.

The company plans to spend $80 billion on AI data centers this fiscal year.

Many companies said that cheaper AI models would broaden access to the technology, therefore increasing demand and justifying their spending on chips and data centers.

Zuckerberg told investors that Meta is working to set an "American standard" for open-source models globally as they become more accessible.

"If anything, some of the recent news has only strengthened our conviction that this is the right thing for us to be focused on," Zuck said on the Wednesday call.

DeepSeek disrupted the market in January with a new AI model that its researchers said was trained at a fraction of the cost — less than $6 million — that US tech companies are investing. Shares of many competitors, including Microsoft and Alphabet, fell on concerns that a cheaper model showed they might have been overspending.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been criticized for launching Apple Intelligence later than competitors and taking a more cautious approach. However, that meant the company was insulated from the hit other stocks took from the DeepSeek news ahead of Thursday's call.

While he didn't discuss how much the iPhone maker plans to spend on AI this year, Cook said, "From a CapEx point of view, we've always taken a very prudent, deliberative approach to our expenditure."

Over at Tesla, CEO Elon Musk was all about real-world AI during the Q4 earnings call on Wednesday. Musk told analysts he's "making rapid progress" on technology when asked about accelerating innovation.

He didn't mention DeepSeek but said "the cost of training is dropping dramatically with time," as Tesla ramps up its efforts in developing its humanoid robot, Optimus.