Michelle Trachtenberg has died, according to reports. The actor was 39. The New York Post and ABC reported the news, citing police sources.

According to the Post's sources, Trachtenberg was found dead at One Columbus Place, a luxury high-rise apartment complex near Central Park in Manhattan.

The former child actor was best known for her roles in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Harriet the Spy," and "Gossip Girl."

A representative for Trachtenberg didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• Donald Trump is threatening publishers again.
• A New York Times editor who's out with a new book says we need to take him seriously.
• A landmark free-speech case could be at risk.

Donald Trump, who is used to suing journalists and media companies about stories he doesn't like, says he's going to do more of it.

In a post published on his Truth Social platform Wednesday, Trump vowed to "sue some of these dishonest authors and book publishers, or even media in general," arguing that they make up stories about him and "a big price should be paid for this blatant dishonesty."

"I'll do it as a service to our Country," Trump continued. "Who knows, maybe we will create some NICE NEW LAW!!!"

Trump is presumably referring to the newest book by author Michael Wolff, who chronicled Trump's first term and is back at it again with "All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America," which is out this week. Trump complained about the book in an earlier Truth Social post this week. I've asked Wolff and the White House for comment.

Complaining about people who say or publish unflattering things about him, threatening to sue them, and actually suing them are nothing new for Trump. And up until recently, it was relatively easy for media companies and journalists to shrug off those threats and threatened suits. Even when Trump did lodge a claim, he rarely won in court.

But in Trump 2.0, it is getting harder to dismiss a Trump rant about the media. Since his election last fall, he has already extracted a settlement from Disney and ABC over a defamation suit he filed last year, and he is in discussions with CBS and Paramount to settle another suit, this one over alleged "election interference" because he didn't like a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris. He has lodged a similar lawsuit against Gannett and its Des Moines Register.

How a key free speech ruling could be at risk

And while Trump's threat to create a new law about defamation seems like a reach — in the US, laws are hard to pass, even when the same party controls the White House, the House, and the Senate — the direction he's headed is worth taking very seriously.

That's the underlying message of "Murder the Truth," an upcoming book from New York Times editor David Enrich, which details an ongoing push to tear down the legal underpinnings that support freedom of speech in the US. Enrich is specifically focused on New York Times v. Sullivan, a 1964 Supreme Court ruling that established the basic framework for defamation law in the US: In short, it should be very hard to successfully sue someone because you don't like what they say.

As Enrich notes in his book, this was both a landmark ruling and a popular one, cherished by free speech advocates across the political spectrum. But that has started to change in recent years.

There are multiple reasons for that, but the main one is Trump himself, Enrich told me on this week's episode of my Channels podcast.

On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump mused about wanting to "open up our libel laws, so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money." Which, again, was easy to dismiss at the time, for multiple reasons. But Trump kept coming back to the idea — and as we're seeing now, he has already had success on the payments front.

Next up: A potential showdown at the Supreme Court, where Justice Clarence Thomas has already said he is eager to revisit NYT v. Sullivan, as has fellow Justice Neil Gorsuch. So it's possible Trump could end up getting his way without passing a new law.

There's been a slew of news about Trump and his allies battling with the press in recent weeks — see his fight with the Associated Press over the Gulf of Mexico/Gulf of America, and his dustups with the press corps over who gets to ask questions at press conferences, and who gets to participate in the White House press pool.

And those stories unsettle me and other observers. But they're ultimately about access, not about limiting what the press — who, as Elon Musk likes to remind us, is everyone now — actually says, writes, and publishes. Threatening lawsuits, filing lawsuits, and extracting settlements from lawsuits is very much about that. Actually changing the law to make those suits that much more powerful is something that should alarm all of us.

• Netflix's Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight and NFL games drove surges in daily signups, data shows.
• These 2024 events were among Netflix's early entries into live sports.
• The new subscription data shows the live sports strategy is paying off for the streaming giant.

Live sports are paying off for Netflix, new subscription data shows.

The company had big spikes in daily signups during major live events last year, according to media-subscription research firm Antenna. These included the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight and NFL games on Christmas Day.

Netflix brought in 1.4 million US signups for the boxing match, while the Christmas games drove 700 million, per a report Antenna published Tuesday.

Alongside live sports, Antenna said Netflix's password-sharing restrictions, which rolled out in the US in 2023, have helped boost signups by limiting the number of people who can use one account.

"It was a good start for Netflix into its foray of live acquisition sports," said Jonathan Carson, Antenna's CEO, in a webinar about the report.

Netflix is pursuing more live sports and events. The streamer kicked off a deal with the WWE this year and landed exclusive US rights to the FIFA Women's World Cup for 2027 and 2031. The company wants more NFL rights, too, content chief Bela Bajaria told the podcast "The Town with Matt Beloni."

Netflix highlighted sports in January as it announced a record 19 million new subscribers. The company called the Paul-Tyson fight the most-streamed sporting event ever and the NFL Christmas Day games the two most streamed NFL games in history.

Carson at Antenna said Netflix's subscriber leap shows an industry giant that has been around for as long as Netflix can still drive better business results with new tools and strategies.

"When Netflix announced that they were getting into these live events, these big moments in time, there was a question as to whether these could drive big surges of acquisition," Carson said. "The results have been pretty impressive."

Users who signed up for live sports weren't as loyal as other Netflix subscribers

Driving signups is half only the battle. Netflix also needs to keep these new customers around.

Antenna found that 79% of the US subscribers who signed up for the Paul vs. Tyson fight stuck around one month later. That's lower than Netflix's overall benchmark of user loyalty, which is 86%, per Antenna.

However, it was still higher than the benchmark for loyalty at other premium subscription streaming services that Antenna tracks. 21% of users who signed up to watch the fight canceled their subscriptions within a month of subscribing. Its competitor set, which includes streamers such as Paramount+ or Hulu, saw 26% of users cancel in a similar timeframe.

Antenna's data also showed other positives for Netflix:

• Netflix was one of five streaming subscriptions that grew gross additions by double digits year over year in 2024. It also captured 15% of gross additions in the category, in line with Hulu and behind Paramount+'s 17%.
• Netflix had the highest retention rate for a standalone service, with 74% of users who subscribed from July to September sticking with the service after three months. Its retention rate was second only to Disney and Warner Bros Discovery's bundle, which had an 80% retention rate during the period.

• I ate at Chili's for the first time after seeing people rave about the food on TikTok.
• I ordered a Triple Dipper appetizer sampler, the Bacon Rancher burger, and a molten chocolate cake.
• I enjoyed most of the food but thought the meal was overpriced.

Growing up in Brooklyn in the early aughts, I didn't have access to many fast-casual chain restaurants. My time was mostly spent in small pizza shops strategically located next to Blockbusters and family-owned diners.

However, I never felt like I was missing out — until 20 years later, when my social media algorithms somehow became a display of Chili's fandom.

Although I'm still not exactly sure how this happened (maybe it was my boyfriend whispering "Take me to Chili's" into my phone when I wasn't looking), the videos of Triple Dippers and Nashville hot mozz pulls succeeded, and I found myself at Chili's for the very first time.

Here's what I thought of my first visit to the chain.

The popularity of Chili's is undeniable.

Chili's is a fast-casual chain restaurant with over 1,600 locations worldwide. Unlike many of the restaurant's competitors, Chili's has recently seen a rise in popularity, especially among young diners.

When I asked my boyfriend — a die-hard Chili's fan — to come with me to try some menu items, he agreed and insisted on driving out to the best Chili's we could find within driving distance.

For me to have the real experience, he said, the Chili's could not be in a strip mall; it had to be a stand-alone structure. So, we made our way to Long Island.

When we got there, I was disappointed by the appetizers.

We knew we had to start with the $17 Triple Dipper, an appetizer sampler that's become so popular that the CEO of Chili's parent company Brinker International said it accounts for 11% of the brand's sales.

Many TikTok users have been loving the Nashville hot mozz, which is Chili's take on a classic mozzarella stick that's tossed in hot sauce. So, we included those in our Triple Dipper, along with boneless wings and Southwestern egg rolls.

Our four-person booth was cozy, and I had a lot of fun ordering in Chili's lingo. However, none of that seemed to matter when the food arrived.

I expected the Nashville hot mozz to be fiery and gooey, but was instantly disappointed. I didn't even experience the TikTok-famous cheese pull. Now, I'm sure this doesn't always happen — but this cheese was nowhere near hot enough to pull. The flavor was good and tangy, but nothing felt hot or Nashville about it.

However, the boneless Buffalo chicken wings were very good. I was impressed with the quality of the chicken and loved the ranch dipping sauce that so many rave about.

Unfortunately, though, the Southwestern egg rolls were another miss for me. Although there was nothing inherently bad about them, they were pretty forgettable.

The entrées were good but felt a bit pricey.

Oddly enough, the item I was least looking forward to trying — the Bacon Rancher burger — was my favorite part of the meal.

I enjoy everything on it (patties, bacon, ranch, American cheese, sautéed onions, and pickles), but I assumed it would be too much together. The combo turned out to be perfect, but the price could have been better.

At $19.50, I couldn't help thinking I could get something just as good at a mom-and-pop joint, which I'd also rather support over a chain.

Other members of our party got Chicken Crisper combos ($15), the star of which are really just bigger versions of the boneless wings. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the chicken when I tried a bite.

The combos also came with white-cheddar mac and cheese and fries, which felt excessive to me.

I enjoyed the molten chocolate cake.

What could be bad about molten chocolate cake? The $10 dish, topped with vanilla ice cream in a chocolate shell with caramel drizzle, was warm and flavorful — so much so that I couldn't help but push the limits of my lactose intake.

We split the decadent treat four ways, and even that was a struggle after the heavy meal and endless Diet Coke refills we'd enjoyed.

Overall, I didn't think Chili's provided a great value.

To be honest, after trying Chili's for the first time, I didn't get the hype. In my opinion, the quality and value just didn't add up.

For $21 — two dollars more than I spent on a burger at Chili's — I could walk up 10 blocks and have one freshly made at a restaurant that uses quality meat from the butcher next door.

Plus, the Nashville hot mozz taught me not to believe everything I see on TikTok. As I learned the hard way, not all cheese pulls are created equally.

For decades, what went on behind the walls of the Sednaya military prison in Syria was largely hidden from the world. But after Bashar al-Assad lost power in 2024, droves of inmates were released. They are now sharing the horrors they experienced in the country's deadliest and most violent prison.

• A Department of Energy employee took the federal government's "fork in the road" offer.
• He said the resignation process was rushed. He's doubtful he'll be paid through September, as promised.
• Some 75,000 federal workers have accepted the deferred resignation program, the administration said.

When a program manager at the Department of Energy received the Trump administration's "fork in the road" resignation offer, his first reaction was defiance.

"My initial thought process was, 'I am not going to do this because I don't want to let them win. They can fire me, but I'm not leaving,'" the DOE program manager told Business Insider, adding that they wanted to stay and protect a clean energy program they oversaw. "But it became pretty demoralizing and clear that wasn't a realistic option."

The DOE employee said they decided to take the buyout offer — known as deferred resignation — in February after his eight-person team was "decimated" and it seemed unlikely that the department's career leadership could shield employees from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to slash the federal workforce and eliminate climate- and DEI-related programs.

The DOE employee requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation. BI verified the DOE employee's identity and also viewed their signed deferred resignation agreement.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, about 75,000 federal workers had accepted the offer as of February 13. That's about 3.75% of the federal workforce, shy of the White House's goal of 5% to 10%. Since then agencies have fired thousands of workers, mainly probationary employees who have been hired or promoted in the last two years — moves that have attracted legal challenges.

The DOE employee said he was impressed by how many federal workers wanted to stay in their jobs because they care about public service. He worried that the Trump administration's gutting of federal agencies would fuel their narrative that the government is inefficient and ineffective, a view he disagreed with.

"Trump and Musk are creating those conditions by removing staff and pausing grants and requiring them to remove all the DEI efforts," the DOE employee said. "Before, things were functioning decently well."

3 strikes and he's out

The beginning of the Trump administration brought three events that tipped the scales for this DOE employee.

First, right after the inauguration, Trump signed executive orders that paused his team's work because it paused funding authorized by Congress under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Those two laws are former President Joe Biden's landmark climate accomplishments.

Second was what he saw as mistreatment of his colleagues. The DOE fired probationary employees on his team who'd been on the job less than a year. Even if their work resumed in the coming months, the DOE employee said he's not sure there'd be enough staff to implement it. The DOE employee also disagreed with directives to remove pronouns from federal e-mail signatures.

"I wasn't willing to do that because it created a hostile work environment for the people who worked for me," he said.

Finally, the DOE employee is remote and thought he would eventually be fired if he refused to return to the office as directed by Trump's executive order.

'I'm almost positive I won't get paid through September'

The DOE employee described the deferred resignation process as rushed and lacking clear guidance.

He submitted his request to the Office of Personnel Management and then signed a four-page agreement with the DOE. The agreement said he would be placed on administrative leave until September 30 and be paid his current salary, "subject to the availability of appropriations."

The DOE employee said he didn't know he had to request administrative leave until he had already been locked out of federal computer systems. His last day was Feb 21, and his pay is bi-weekly. His first paycheck for administrative leave should arrive in the coming weeks.

"I'm questioning whether the administration will fulfill the agreement," the DOE employee said. "I am almost positive that I will not get paid through September."

'It's a tough job market'

The DOE employee said he plans to start applying for jobs in case the Trump administration doesn't hold up the agreement.

But that presents other risks. The deferred resignation agreement requires federal workers who take another job to get approval from the Ethics Counsel regarding "outside activity," and the DOE employee said it's unclear whether those requests will be approved.

Ideally, he could find a position in clean energy that pays a similar amount as his federal job so he could leave the deferred resignation program altogether. The DOE employee falls on a payscale ranging from $123,000 to nearly $160,000 a year.

"I think it's a tough job market," the DOE employee said, adding that clean energy companies and organizations might not be hiring right now given the Trump administration's attacks and the uncertainty about grant funding.

"The prospects of working in clean energy — the thing I care about — seem terrible at the moment."

The DOE employee said many companies and nonprofits are also still waiting for their federal grant funding to be unfrozen.

"It's an anxious time," he said. "Where can I go that takes advantage of my skills but also has some sort of longevity?"

Do you have a story to share about the deferred resignation program? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or Signal at cboudreau.37. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Slack, the popular workplace communications app, is experiencing issues as of Wednesday morning.
• Slack's status page lists "incidents" with login and messaging.
• The company said it was working to restore functionality to affected users.

Your colleagues aren't ignoring you — Slack is experiencing issues.

Some people using the popular workplace communication platform were unable to log in or message on Wednesday morning.

At 10:27 a.m. ET, Slack said it was "investigating reports of trouble connecting or loading Slack."

"We're still working to restore functionality to affected Slack features but have also discovered some workflows may also be experiencing issues," Slack said in a follow-up message.

"We appreciate your patience as we sort this out and will be back with another update soon," it added.

Slack's system page listed an "incident" status on multiple features, including the platform's login and messaging.

Slack users also reported issues to third-party outage-tracking website DownDetector, which saw a spike in reports.

Slack and Microsoft Teams are two of the top workplace communication platforms used by many companies to communicate quickly. In 2022, Slack said that 77 of Fortune 100 companies used its platform.

Hailed as an "email killer," Slack went public in 2019 and was acquired by Salesforce for $27.7 billion in a deal that closed in 2021.

• I attended the opening of the first Applebee's and IHOP dual-branded restaurant in Seguin, Texas.
• It's the first restaurant of its kind in the United States, though the concept has worked abroad.
• Dine Brands CEO John Peyton said the restaurant will hopefully attract younger customers.

Chain restaurants are betting big on value and choice to attract younger customers amid declining sales across the casual dining industry.

The latest example is the opening of the first dual-branded Applebee's and IHOP restaurant in the US.

The first-of-its-kind restaurant, which opened on February 18, is located off the side of a major highway in Seguin, Texas, about halfway between San Antonio and Austin.

It's rare for chain restaurants to try something completely new.

New menu items often come and go as mere trends, and with many chains focusing on nostalgia instead of rebranding, they're sticking with what has already proven successful rather than taking a risk on a new restaurant concept.

Chili's popular Triple Dipper, for example, went viral last year and accounted for 14% of the chain's total sales in the second quarter, but it has actually been a menu staple for years — although it recently got a refresh with spicier flavors for its chicken tenders and extra-cheesy fried mozzarella.

But from the moment I walked into the newly designed Applebee's-IHOP restaurant, I could tell this experience would be completely different from any visit I'd had at either chain before.

The new restaurant concept is poised to appeal to a younger audience, a priority for Dine Brands, the parent company of Applebee's and IHOP.

CEO John Peyton told Business Insider that Gen Z's tastes were a key consideration before introducing the Applebee's-IHOP hybrid in the US.

"They love spicy, they love to share, they love to sample, they like to have choice. And so all of those things are important inspirations for how we think about designing our menus and new ideas," Peyton told BI ahead of the restaurant's grand opening.

"Guests never had the opportunity to have two people at dinner have an omelet and two people have a Bourbon steak, or mix and match," he continued. "That new level of choices you can make here is exactly what we think our younger guests are looking for."

Here's what it was like to eat at the hybrid Applebee's-IHOP restaurant.

The first Applebee's and IHOP dual-branded restaurant opened in Seguin, Texas, in February.

This is the first Applebee's-IHOP restaurant concept in the US, with both brands operating in the same space, dining room, and kitchen.

There are 13 dual-branded restaurant locations across Canada, Mexico, Honduras, and the Middle East.

Peyton told Business Insider the restaurant concept improves customers' experience.

"For our guests, it enables a lot more choice," he said. "We already see overseas, they're ordering from both sides of the menu. The other thing it does for our guests is we've created items on this menu that are only available at the dual-branded restaurants."

The company said it plans to open 14 more dual-branded locations in the US in the next year, both by updating existing single-branded IHOP and Applebee's locations and building completely new locations that reflect the new Applebee's-IHOP brand.

Inside, there were homages to both brands throughout the dining room.

Peyton said this location was previously just an IHOP, but it has been renovated to suit both brands.

In addition to a large dining room with booth and table seating, there's also a bar area with screens for sports games like you'd find in an Applebee's.

A large greenery-covered wall in the back showed off both brands' logos.

The design of the restaurant was clean and modern, something I personally have rarely experienced at chains like Applebee's or TGI Fridays, which tend to have a moodier, more classic bar-and-grill feel with dim overhead lighting and deeper colors like red throughout.

Dine Brands partnered with the Ramzi Hakim Group, led by vice president Danny Hakim, as the franchisee for the first Applebee's-IHOP restaurant.

"These are the new looks for both IHOP and Applebee's," Danny Hakim told BI. "We are very excited to release these looks across the board."

Nation's Restaurant News reported that the Hakim group has been operating IHOP franchises in the San Antonio area since 1991.

Over the years, the group has expanded to 37 IHOP locations and recently added nine Applebee's restaurants to its portfolio. The group plans to open five more dual-branded restaurants this year.

"They're great innovators and they know that this is a test-and-learn restaurant," Peyton told BI. "This is No. 1 in the US, and we're both aligned in the fact that the next one we build might not look and feel exactly like this one. We're going to learn together and make changes together."

There's just one menu, which includes favorite dishes from both chains as well as items exclusive to the dual-branded restaurant.

The menu includes popular dishes from both Applebee's and IHOP menus, plus five dishes available only at the hybrid restaurant.

Breakfast is served all day and night, and the restaurant itself operates from 5 a.m. until 1 a.m. every day, so restaurants that convert from a single-brand concept gain more hours in the morning and at night to serve customers.

"IHOP owns the morning, and Applebee's owns dinner," Peyton said. "It was an IHOP franchisee who was busy in the morning and quiet at night. This activates the restaurant all day long. Their economics are so much better."

I was surprised by the affordable prices on the menu, from egg dishes to appetizers.

The chain's omelets were all priced under $15, and the build-your-own omelet started at $10.29, which I thought was an affordable price point.

The chain's sirloin steak and eggs, which includes an 8-ounce steak, three eggs, and two pancakes, cost $19.99, which I thought was reasonable.

Peyton said that winning over cost-conscious customers is something every chain is thinking about, and also this year's biggest challenge.

"The casual dining customer is really managing their wallet closely," he said. "Applebee's and IHOP are working really hard to be relevant to our guests at a time when we know they're thinking a lot about their wallet."

For many chains, that fight for value-conscious customers is an uphill battle.

Applebee's year-over-year same-restaurant sales declined 5.9% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter the year before, while IHOP's declined 2.1%.

Peyton said that the word value "is thrown around a lot," but could be key to winning over customers and boosting revenue.

"It's important that we don't lose sight of the fact that value's got a very specific definition for us, which is great food, a really generous portion, and great service at an accessible price," he said, adding that "we have to focus on those four things to yield to our guests more than ever in 2025."

I started my meal with a mimosa.

One of the biggest draws of this new restaurant concept is a full bar menu, which includes brunch cocktails like mimosas, a bloody mary, and espresso martinis, plus all the classic cocktails and brews you'd expect to find at an Applebee's.

The Good Morning Mimosa, made with IHOP orange juice and Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée, cost $8.99.

It was light and fresh, and the perfect start to the morning.

I also tried the chain's Ultimate Breakfast Burger, which is exclusive to this restaurant concept.

Applebee's is known for its burgers, while IHOP does breakfast. Therefore, it made sense for both chains to combine for an elevated breakfast burger.

The burger, which cost $13.99, reminded me of a classic New York deli favorite: a bacon, egg, and cheese with a hash brown sandwiched into it.

The burger was moist and cooked perfectly medium-rare, while the hash browns added a salty, savory flavor.

I thought the egg added even more moisture to this sandwich, as did the bright and tangy poblano hollandaise sauce. The bacon was crispy and added a deep smoky flavor, balanced by a soft, fluffy bun. I would definitely order this again.

It was a standard breakfast sandwich kicked up a notch — paired with seasoned fries, this burger set me up for the day.

The concept of exclusive menu items that can only be ordered at dual-branded Applebee's-IHOP restaurants could easily appeal to Gen Z customers, who love limited-time offers and menu hacks.

I finished my meal on a sweet — and affordable — note.

The strawberry waffle sundae, which includes two Belgian waffle pieces, glazed strawberries, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream, cost $2.99.

The sundae had the ideal amount of sweetness.

The waffles' crispy texture was balanced by the sweet and flavorful vanilla ice cream, and the strawberries added a tart bite to the dish.

I couldn't help but be impressed by the meal and the overall restaurant concept.

While the first restaurant may be located in a small Texas city, I could see this concept working well in larger metropolitan areas with a younger, more brunch-obsessed crowd.

Brunch, which can sometimes be seen as an upscale meal, needs to be accessible when people are tightening their budgets. As a member of Gen Z myself, I was sold on the concept.

I was impressed by the restaurant's affordable pricing and extensive menu selection. With options ranging from burgers and eggs Benedict to omelets and steak dinners, there was something to satisfy any craving.

I look forward to seeing the chain expand with new locations in the coming year.

• After "Barbie," toy company Mattel is turning more of its famous brands into movies.
• Upcoming movies will be based on Barney, Uno, and Magic 8 Ball.
• Here are 17 live-action movies that have been announced and are in development.

Mattel is building its own cinematic universe after its blockbuster success with the "Barbie" movie.

In 2018, the toy company behind Barbie and other famous brands created a division to make movies inspired by its toys, games, and brands and appointed Robbie Brenner, an acclaimed film producer, to oversee it.

"Barbie" was the first movie to be co-produced by Mattel Films, and it made $1.4 million in ticket sales, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023.

In 2023, The New Yorker reported that Mattel is developing 45 more movies, but only 19 have been announced.

Here is everything you need to know about Mattel's upcoming movies.

Will there be a "Barbie" sequel?

While Mattel hoped the "Barbie" movie would be successful, its level of success was almost unprecedented.

With a total of $162 million, it had the largest opening weekend at the US box office in 2023 and the largest opening weekend ever for a female director.

Mattel CEO Ynon Kriez told Variety in 2023, ahead of the movie's release, that its success could lead to numerous sequels and spinoffs.

"Barbie, as a brand, has many different iterations. The product lines of Barbie is a very broad brand. In addition to the main Barbie figure, she has family, she has a lot of elements around in her universe," Kreiz said.

Kriez added that Mattel had not started developing a sequel yet because they didn't want to jump the gun until the movie was released.

Greta Gerwig, who directed the movie, told The New York Times in 2023 that she wasn't sure about making a sequel.

"I feel like that at the end of every movie, like I'll never have another idea, and everything I've ever wanted to do, I did," Gerwig said. "I wouldn't want to squash anybody else's dream but for me, at this moment, I'm at totally zero."

An A24 film about Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

A24, an independent production company and distributor, has built a reputation for making original, artistic movies. Now, it's teaming up with Mattel and Daniel Kaluuya's company, 59% Productions, to produce a film about the friendly purple dinosaur Barney.

Kaluuya, known for roles in "Black Panther," "Get Out," and "Widows," was first attached to the "Barney" movie in 2019 when it was reported he would produce the project through his company, 59% Productions.

In 2023, Kevin McKeon of Mattel Films told The New Yorker the movie would be "surrealistic" and an "A24-type" film before A24 was confirmed to be involved.

On Tuesday, a representative for A24 told Business Insider that the production company was involved in the project. Ayo Edebiri, who will star in the upcoming A24 release "Opus," will write the screenplay for "Barney" and is in talks to star, the rep said.

A live-action "Masters of the Universe" movie.

The first attempt at a "Masters of the Universe" live-action movie, based on the He-Man toys, animated series, and comics, was released in 1987. It was a critical and commercial failure at the time and only gained a cult fandom much later.

In the years since, successful animated series and movies based on the franchise have been produced, and Mattel is trying again to make a new live-action movie.

Speaking to The New Yorker, Kreiz said he believes the film could spawn a franchise "as big as Marvel and DC."

This is the only movie on Mattel's slate that is in production, and is due to premiere on June 5, 2026.

The movie, co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and directed by Travis Knight, follows Prince Adam, who is stuck living on Earth until he finds a magical sword that whisks him back to his home planet, Eternia. When he returns home, he must protect Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor.

The full main cast includes Nicholas Galitzine as He-man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, and Idris Elba as Duncan.

A new "Bob the Builder" animated movie

In January 2023, Variety reported that Mattel Films was making a film about "Bob The Builder," the kids cartoon about a construction worker and his living, anthropomorphic vehicles.

Variety said Jennifer Lopez will produce the film, and Anthony Ramos will voice the lead character. In the movie, Bob travels to Puerto Rico for a major construction job and learns more about the culture there.

Felipe Vargas, an up-and-coming writer-director, will write the script for the movie.

Ramos told Variety that elements of the film were inspired by his own life: "For years, Bob the Builder's characters have inspired young people around the world."

A movie about Major Matt Mason.

Another live-action movie first announced in 2019 is "Major Matt Mason," based on the 1960s astronaut action figure of the same name.

Variety reported that Mattel is partnering with Paramount Pictures to bring the story to life with Tom Hanks playing the lead role.

Ironically, according to the New Yorker, Major Matt Mason was the inspiration for Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story," in which Hanks also starred as the voice of the spaceman's cowboy friend, Woody.

Variety reported that the script will be written by Akiva Goldsman and Michael Chabon.

A live-action Monster High movie.

Goldsman is also working on another project for Mattel — the live-action Monster High movie.

The doll brand, which imagines folklore monsters like werewolves and mummies as teen girls, has already been adapted into multiple animated specials, a web series, and movies for the small screen.

In June 2021, Variety reported that Mattel has partnered with Universal Pictures and Goldsman company, Weed Road, to develop the first theatrical film.

A Polly Pocket family comedy.

In 2021, Deadline reported that Lena Dunham planned to write and direct a movie about the micro-doll line, Polly Pocket.

Lily Collins was set to star and produce, and Mattel and MGM were teaming up to create the movie.

Brenner told Variety in 2023 that the script for the family comedy has been completed.

But in July 2024, Lena Dunham told The New Yorker that she had pulled out of making the film after the success of "Barbie."

There have been no updates since Dunham's interview about the "Polly Pocket" movie, so it is unclear if it is still in development.

An Uno heist comedy.

You read that right. In 2021, Variety reported that Mattel is developing an action-heist comedy about the card game Uno with rapper Lil Yachty being eyed for the lead role.

The script for the movie was written by Marcy Kelly.

Kelly told The New Yorker she was asked to pitch Mattel a script based on the card game and wrote a heist movie set in Atlanta's hip-hop scene.

"The first draft that I sent in was 'fuck'-heavy," Kelly said, explaining that each swear word was flagged by an executive. "And then the next draft had one. I got my one, well-placed, PG-13 'fuck.'"

A true story drama called "Christmas Balloon."

Not all of Mattel's movies will be about their toys.

In 2021, Deadline reported that Mattel is developing its own live-action holiday movie, "Christmas Balloon."

The family drama, based on a true story, follows a young girl living in a Mexican border town who tries to send a Christmas list to Santa via a balloon but instead, the list is found by a couple in Arizona grieving the loss of their child.

Gabriela Revilla Lugo, who produced "Palm Springs," is writing the script, according to Deadline.

A 'gritty' Hot Wheels movie.

In 2022, Mattel announced that it would team up with J.J. Abrams' production company, Bad Robot, to produce a Hot Wheels movie.

Variety first reported in January 2022 that a movie based on the toy car brand is at the script stage, but the film was initially announced in April. Deadline reported in April 2022 that the film will be made through a partnership between Mattel Films and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Abrams said the franchise will be "emotional and grounded and gritty."

Brenner told Variety the movie will have "real characters that you can relate to, that are three-dimensional, that have emotional journeys."

She added: "Look at any J.J. Abrams movie. All of his movies have an incredible story and incredible characters. That was something that was important to him — to make a movie that's not just going to be fun and exciting, but that has real emotion and real stakes to it."

A live-action "Thomas the Tank Engine" movie.

Marc Forster, who directed "World War Z" and "Quantum of Solace," is making a film about Thomas the Tank Engine.

Deadline reported in 2020 that Mattel Films is teaming up with Forster's production company 2Dux² to turn the children's cartoon into a movie that is a mix of live-action and animation. 

Forster has turned a children's franchise into a feature film before, having directed the 2018 movie "Christopher Robin," which is about the legacy of Winnie the Pooh.

A Magic 8 Ball horror movie.

Mattel has been trying to create a Magic 8 Ball movie for almost 20 years.

The Guardian reported that, in 2006, Universal tried to make a Magic 8 Ball rom-com, and later Paramount tried to make a "National Treasure"-style movie about the fortune-telling ball.

Neither project came to fruition but Mattel is trying to create a horror movie instead.

Deadline first reported in 2019 that Mattel was partnering with Blumhouse to create the horror movie. However, in 2022, CNBC reported that Blumhouse is no longer attached to the project.

The New Yorker reported that "Cocaine Bear" screenwriter Jimmy Warden is turning the movie into a horror-comedy.

Mattel's Robbie Brenner told the publication: "We're not going to make any rated-R movie. We're not going to make anything that feels violent, or that is alienating to families. We want to stay within the parameters of what Mattel is."

Brenner later told Variety that the movie will "probably be a PG-13 thriller."

A movie based on Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.

"Fast & Furious" star Vin Diesel has been pegged to star in and produce a movie based on the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.

In 2021, Deadline first reported that Mattel Films, Universal, and Diesel are creating the live-action movie. The publication reports that "Rampage" writer Ryan Engle will write the script, and the story will follow a father and son who bond with an advanced war machine.

Brenner told Variety that they are still working on a script, but that Diesel was excited about the project.

An American Girl doll movie.

"Saturday Night Live" may have joked about an American Doll movie in 2023 but there are actual plans to turn the doll brand into a live-action movie.

Deadline first reported that a movie from Mattel and MGM was in the works in 2019. At the time, neither a director nor a writer was attached.

In an update, per a recent New Yorker article, Mattel's Kevin McKeon said that a screenwriter is writing a script that would be like "Booksmart" meets "Bill & Ted."

Brenner later told Variety the movie is a family comedy.

American Girls are 18-inch dolls that depict various young girls across history.

A Big Jim movie.

Mattel is not restricting itself to its most famous toys, because the company is also bringing back toys from the last century. One of which is the muscly action figure, Big Jim, which was created in the 1970s.

In 2022, Variety reported that a film based on the toy will be developed by Dan Mazer, who wrote "Bridget Jones's Baby," cowrote both "Borat" films, and directed the latest "Home Alone" reboot.

A movie based on the Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy dolls.

Variety also reported in 2022 that Jason Bateman's production company, Aggregate Films, is making a movie based on Mattel's Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy dolls.

Chatty Cathy was a pull-string doll created by the inventors of Barbie, Ruth and Elliot Handler, in 1959. According to Time magazine, the dolls could speak 11 phrases, and brunette and African-American versions were created a few years later.

Meanwhile, Betsy Wetsy was another doll brand created by Ideal Toy Company, which later became part of Mattel through multiple acquisitions. This one, created in 1934, was a baby doll that you could feed and had to change after it urinated.

No further details have been provided for the plot of the film.

A live-action movie about the Matchbox toy car brand.

The New Yorker reported that Mattel is working with Skydance to create a movie based on toy car brand Matchbox.

A movie about View-Master.

MGM and Mattel are teaming up to produce a live-action movie about the View-Master, The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2019.

View-Masters were a 20th-century gadget that offered 3D images.

A movie about the PBS TV series "Wishbone."

In 2020, Deadline reported that Mattel and Universal Pictures are rebooting "Wishbone." 

The upcoming movie is based on a '90s PBS TV series about an ordinary Jack Russell Terrier who dreams about being the protagonist in famous books.

Deadline reported that Roy Parker will write the script with two-time Oscar-winner Peter Farrelly producing.

A "Gremlins"-like movie about Boglins toys.

The New Yorker reported that Mattel is turning the gruesome toy hand puppets known as Boglins into a new movie, and there are already numerous "millennial" directors and screenwriters who want to work on it.

Mattel's Kevin McKeon said he thinks the Boglins could be the star of the company's "big Halloween movie."

"We're thinking 'Gremlins'-ish, but with a twist," McKeon said.

• West Elm is a popular retailer known for its home decor and modern, high-quality furniture.
• I visited the West Elm Outlet in Industry City, Brooklyn, and loved the variety of discounted items.
• I found ottomans for 95% off, affordable light fixtures, dining sets for 40% off, and more.

As an interior designer, West Elm is one of my favorite retailers for clean, modern designs — but it's not exactly known for affordability.

Enter: West Elm Outlet. There are fewer than a dozen of them in the US, and I went to the location nearest me in Industry City, Brooklyn.

As an interior designer, I was excited to find it offered a broad selection with steep discounts and tempting deals on everything from furniture to accessories.

Here's what it was like shopping at the West Elm Outlet for the first time and why I'll definitely be back.

The West Elm Outlet in New York City was huge and appeared to be in a massive warehouse.

It had organized displays, plus sections and boxes of seemingly random items to dig through. This made shopping feel more like a treasure hunt.

A few minutes into my trip, I grabbed a $9.97 pillow insert that would usually cost more than double that price.

I couldn't find a cover big enough for it, so I grabbed a discounted curtain panel I could use to sew one myself.

The next display was filled with dinnerware sets for an additional 40% off their ticketed price.

Some sections of the store looked well-organized, like this shelf with sculptural lighting for 70% off.

When I looked up, I found a beautiful chandelier that was reduced to $576. After the extra sale, it was just $172.

Across from the lighting, I found bedroom furniture on sale for an additional 50% off the ticketed price.

There were multiple aisles of nightstands and dressers.

I appreciated the variety, from options with drawers to ones with doors. Many looked like they were in perfect condition.

They weren't all winners from a design perspective, though.

The store even had a few kid-sized furniture pieces.

There were a lot of accent chairs on display for shoppers to test out.

I found a leather chair that had been on my radar for months at West Elm's regular store.

At the outlet, items are extra discounted if they have imperfections. The chair was an extra $200 off because of a tear in the leather.

The sofa section was packed with options.

They seem like a really popular item here — tons of them had "Sold!" signs.

I found great coffee-table deals, too. Most were a few hundred bucks off of the original price — plus an extra 40% off.

As I walked around, I found more popular styles that were heavily discounted because of small blemishes.

One of the best deals I found was a large $1,500 ottoman for only $70. I can't even find similar ottomans for that price at Target.

I left feeling impressed by the selection and all of the money I saved. I will definitely be back … ideally with a big car.

• Dallas is now home to Goldman Sachs' largest US workforce outside of New York City.
• 5 Goldman employees, from partner to analyst, share what living and working there is like.
• They said career opportunities in Dallas have grown as the hub takes on more front-office functions.

In 2017, Goldman Sachs' president and co-chief operating officer, David Solomon, had a big ask of one of his fellow bankers: Move to Goldman's outpost in Dallas, Texas. At the time, Dallas was home to roughly 900 Goldman employees, and the bank hadn't had a full-time partner stationed there since the 1990s.

The lifelong New Yorker tasked with building out the Dallas office, Aasem Khalil, didn't know what to expect. The experience, he said, has exceeded his expectations — both personally and professionally.

"If you think back to the mid-90s, to the mid-2010s in New York City, it had this incredible golden era," Khalil told Business Insider in a recent interview. "Dallas is in the very early innings of a similar run, with a financial-services renaissance, a cultural explosion, and continued population growth," he said, adding, "All of these things are really exciting."

When one thinks of Goldman Sachs, they tend to think of New York City — where Wall Street was born. Today, Dallas is Goldman's largest US office outside of New York City, home to 4,600 Goldman employees and growing.

Khalil, who was Goldman's global head of chemicals banking when he moved to Dallas, is now head of the Dallas office. He is helping to oversee the construction of a $500 million state-of-the-art office campus, which will house roughly 5,000 employees when it opens in 2028.

Goldman is not alone. A number of companies have either moved to or expanded their offices in the Lone Star State in recent years, attracted by the business-friendly environment, favorable tax policies, and a skilled workforce bolstered by the region's universities and burgeoning business scene. Elon Musk made headlines when he moved electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla to Austin from California in 2021, citing frustrations with the latter state's COVID-19 lockdown policies.

Dallas, meanwhile, has become a hub for financial firms like JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, and Wells Fargo. According to the law firm Foley & Lardner, investment-banking and securities employment in Texas has surged by 27% since the coronavirus pandemic.

BI spoke to five Goldman Sachs employees in Dallas, including Khalil, to understand what it's like to work in the bank's fastest-growing US hub. They discussed the challenges of being away from headquarters, the social and professional culture, and what it means to build a career in finance outside of Wall Street.

More than a back-office hub

Prior to Khalil's arrival, Goldman's Dallas office, established in 1968, was largely focused on real estate and private wealth, as well as middle- and back-office support functions. In 2020, however, Goldman announced plans to slash more than $1 billion in costs, in part by shifting staffers from higher-cost centers like New York City and London to more affordable cities like Dallas, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

As a result, the Dallas office is now home to a much wider array of career opportunities, including investment banking, wealth management, asset management, real estate, and sales and trading, executives told BI. Some of the firm's top executives are also now based there, including Khalil, who is global head of investment-banking services in addition to leading the Dallas office, and Rob Kaplan, who rejoined Goldman last year as vice chairman of the bank and a member of its management committee following a stint as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

"One of the things about the Dallas presence is we are well represented across every division of the firm," Kaplan told BI, adding: "You'll see us grow across divisions."

The company declined to provide a breakdown by division, but a review of the bank's careers portal showed more than 250 open posts in Dallas as of late February. Positions ranged from a Java full-stack developer to associates focused on direct lending. Sixty-four job listings were in the AWM group, versus 36 in global banking and markets, and 31 in the next biggest group, the risk division.

The office's junior bankers get deal experience just like they would in New York, Khalil said. The Dallas-based investment-banking team advised Celanese, a global chemicals company, on its $1.15 billion acquisition of Exxon Mobil's business Santoprene in late 2021, and Tyler Technologies, a software firm, in its all-cash, $2.3 billion purchase of NIC, a government solutions and payments company, the same year.

Dallas' young bankers also get pulled into the deals being handled by other teams, Khalil said.

"We get a lot of calls asking for our junior resources to help execute M&A transactions for clients that are in and around the southwest," Khalil said, adding: "It happens all the time where other regions call us and say, 'Hey, can we borrow so-and-so? Or can we have so-and-so work on this?'"

Where opportunity meets connectivity

Despite efforts to make Dallas a microcosm of 200 West Street, where Goldman is headquartered, employees said the southern hub feels more intimate as a result of its smaller size.

"Forty-five hundred people doesn't sound small and cozy, but the truth is you can get to know everyone here, you can get your arms around the place, and we have a lot of mentors and coaches," said Kaplan, the vice chairman. "I spend a lot of my time mentoring and coaching young people early in their career in the Dallas office and across the firm."

Longtime Dallas resident Oksana Beard — a managing director in asset and wealth management and the firm's global head of debt capital markets for real estate and Goldman Sachs Asset Management — likes to help new arrivals get settled in the city.

"When people come, the feedback that I hear quite a bit is that they are overwhelmed by that southern hospitality and open-door culture that we tend to have," she said. The challenges tend to arise along personal lines as they adjust to their new home, she added. "It's just on a personal level of, which community do you want to plug into the most as far as where you're going to buy your house or kids' schooling and things like that," Beard explained.

Kaplan, meanwhile, has taken to hosting receptions at his Dallas home roughly once a month for employees ranging from analysts to vice presidents and managing directors. "We'll get a hundred people, as much as I can fit, into my apartment," he said.

Living in Dallas

Goldman's website paints Dallas as the perfect combination of laidback and urban living. A guide to the city displayed on the website until recently said it's home to the largest arts district in the country, over 160 miles of urban hiking and biking trails, and four major league sports teams.

Another perk of life in Dallas is the low cost of living. According to the Economic Research Institute, New York is 150% more expensive than Dallas, and a person making $30,000 per year in Dallas would need to make about $75,000 to preserve an identical living standard in the borough of Manhattan.

For Maggie Kravchuk, an analyst in the asset-and-wealth-management group, the ability to work from Dallas was a key selling point when she joined the bank full time in 2022. Kravchuk attended the nearby Baylor University so had already built a life there.

"I went to college in Texas and was able to build connections here throughout my time at undergrad," Kravchuk said. "It was amazing to be able to pursue the career in finance that I wanted without having to leave a place that had become home for me and where a lot of my friends were."

Despite having friends in the area, Kravchuk said she has also cultivated close bonds with members of her analyst class. Recently, a group of them traveled to Florida to run a half marathon.

"There's a group of us who love running," she said. "We train for a few races every year."

The highlights of the Dallas office

Perks of Goldman's Dallas office include a suite at the American Airlines Center where the Dallas Mavericks NBA team and the Dallas Stars NHL team play, employees said. Sometimes, Goldman's Dallas staffers are invited to take in a game from the suite, which is primarily used to entertain clients.

Employees get free access to the Nasher Sculpture Center, a gallery featuring more than 300 pieces of modern and contemporary work by noted artists like Picasso, Matisse, and Rodin.

Paige Richey, chief of staff for the Dallas office, said that working in Dallas has afforded her and her three kids a quality of life they might not have elsewhere.

"I tell them all the time how fortunate we are to be able to pop into the city, go to the museum, hit the Dallas Mavericks game," she said. "This feels a little bit New Yorker-ish that my girls right now — their favorite thing to do is to get onto their rollerblades and meet their friends and they go to Starbucks. So that feels a little bit like an urban lifestyle."

Goldman has a 5-day in-office policy across its offices, including the Dallas site. Still, Richey said her life there affords her the flexibility to have a career and raise her kids, thanks to supportive bosses and a short commute.

"I never thought that I'd be able to be at Goldman as a working mom with three kids and have a career that I feel is on the up, and feel like I am getting to raise our daughters and not having somebody else do that for me."

Reed Alexander is a correspondent at Business Insider. He can be reached via email at [email protected], or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.

• About 81% of US workers are "non-AI users," a Pew Research Center survey said.
• Tech giants are betting hundreds of billions of dollars on businesses increasing their AI adoption.
• Over half of those surveyed said they were more worried than hopeful about AI's long-term impact.

Tech giants are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI, promising it will transform the workplace. However, a new survey suggests that most American workers aren't yet using it.

While about one in six workers use AI to do at least some of their jobs, the remainder were considered to be "non-AI users," a Pew Research Center survey published Tuesday said.

The non-AI user group is broken down by 63% of respondents who rarely or never use AI in their jobs, and 17% who have not heard of AI use in the workplace.

The research, which surveyed 5,273 employed US adults in October, suggests that for all the hype around AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini, tech giants still have some persuading to do to ensure their massive bets pay off.

Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta are collectively planning to spend more than $320 billion on AI-related capital expenditures in 2025. They are doing so on the premise that business demand for AI tools will continue to grow, requiring more chips and data centers to power those services.

Google has made AI a central part of its business strategy, integrating tools like Gemini Advanced and NotebookLM into its Workspace enterprise plans. More than 100,000 customers have already adopted Google's AI tools, the company said in January.

Microsoft is making a similarly aggressive push with its Copilot AI assistant. However, Copilot has faced challenges. Last year, Business Insider reported that the reviews of Copilot — both inside and outside Microsoft — indicate that the new product is struggling to live up to the hype.

OpenAI kicked off the AI boom in late 2022 with ChatGPT, its chatbot that captured the attention of businesses and consumers alike. However, the Pew Research Center survey said that only about one in 10 workers use AI chatbots every day or a few times a week in their jobs.

One reason for the seemingly slow adoption of AI tools could be the lack of an integration strategy among businesses, said Doug Winter, the CEO and founder of Seismic, the sales software company.

"There's a constant stream of new AI tools promising to revolutionize the workplace," Winter told BI. "Many businesses rush to adopt them without clear integration strategies. This applies pressure on employees to quickly adapt and utilize multiple new technologies, often leading to tool fatigue."

The Pew survey also asked employees how they thought AI would affect the job market in the coming years. More than half — 52% — of those surveyed said they were more worried than hopeful about AI's long-term impact on the workplace.

• US special operators need cheap weapons for future conflicts, and they need a lot of them.
• The war in Ukraine has shown the value of having lots of cheap weapons, such as drones.
• Operators and industry will need to work closely together to develop the right capabilities.

US special operators are going to need a bunch of cheap, expendable weapons to fight a fast-paced, high-intensity, and materially demanding future war, US military leaders said recently.

And those weapons are going to need to be able to be rapidly modified to adapt to ever-changing battlefield threats.

At the National Defense Industrial Association's US Special Operations Symposium last week, special operations leadership and other military officials spoke about the shift from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency to great-power competition and the challenges and opportunities that presents for the US military's elite special operations forces, or SOF.

Looking at a potential future conflict between the US and a major military power, like China or Russia, officials said a war like that would be fought across a range of contested domains, such as space, cyberspace, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Dominating these warfighting domains will be decisive, they said.

Preparation for this fight has led to increased demand for innovation and the acquisition of new weapons and combat technologies.

Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, the director for Joint Fore development, pointed to Ukraine's success in crippling Russia's Black Sea Fleet with uncrewed surface vessels as an example. There are lessons to learn from the Ukraine war, he said, especially when it comes to drones.

The general said "there are a lot of cheap things you can do to have an asymmetric advantage."

US special operators are often among the first American troops to get their hands on new technologies, and they work closely with the defense industry to develop new systems.

Anderson said that he wants to see "technologies that are truly cheap in the hands of the operators" so that they can "experiment" with them and offer feedback.

Getting tech acquisition right

The key to developing these capabilities, he said, is rapid-cycle iteration. Industry and operators should work closely to develop new systems, edit them based on observations, and switch out capabilities quickly for different missions, he suggested.

But these systems need to be affordable, Anderson said, capable of being bought on a large scale for relatively low cost.

That's been important in Ukraine, where soldiers burn through thousands of drones and where new drone companies are constantly building newer, cheaper hardware and updating software based on current battlefield challenges.

In recent years, the Pentagon has been moving to achieve mass through drone warfare, as seen in Ukraine. The Replicator Initiative, announced in 2023, is the Department of Defense's effort to streamline the development of uncrewed systems with key industry partners, with the goal of deploying thousands of multi-domain drones at speed and scale.

The biggest challenges, though, lie in how DoD obtains new systems and works with the defense industry. Similarly, technologies related to artificial intelligence, autonomy, uncrewed systems, and electronic warfare are moving at breakneck speed, meaning what is innovative today may be obsolete tomorrow.

Chris Brose, the chief strategy officer at Anduril Industries, said that a potential solution to this problem is the creation of flexible systems that can be updated quickly.

Brose said that Anduril's work with DoD on countering drones with US Special Operations Command largely began with trying to solve problems that operators were experiencing on the field.

"It started with units that were deploying," he said, with "capabilities that were not working, with threats that were outpacing them, with technology that was rapidly getting better but they were incapable of incorporating."

Those challenges led to an understanding that operators and industry need to work together and quickly, adjusting in real time in different locations against different threats.

While much can be learned from the war in Ukraine, there are still unanswered questions, especially about how AI will evolve and what humans will actually be needed for in certain combat roles. SOF leadership said that autonomous capabilities and AI may potentially change what roles operators play on the battlefield, such as flying drones.

• Amazon announced Alexa+, its new voice assistant, on Wednesday.
• The company unveiled AI-powered features for Alexa+.
• Amazon has spent years trying to grow its Alexa business after early success.

Alexa just got a long-awaited AI upgrade.

Amazon unveiled Alexa+, its latest voice assistant, at an event Wenesday morning in New York City.

Among the additions are AI-powered features. The new Alexa can provide dinner recipes, text friends and family, and send out party invitations, among other things, Panos Panay, Amazon's senior vice president of devices and services, said at the event.

Alexa+ can also create bedtime stories for kids using generative AI, Amazon said. The assistant will also work with tens of thousands of partner companies for specific tasks, such as calling a car through a ride-hailing app or booking a restaurant reservation.

The assistant will be free for Amazon Prime members. Outside of Prime, users will have to pay $19.99 a month for Alexa+. That's about the same cost as ChatGPT Plus.

Users will start to have access in the new few weeks, with Alexa+ hitting certain Echo Show devices in the coming months, Amazon said.

AI has also eliminated "precise 'Alexa' language," Amazon said in a rundown of the changes. The assistant now picks up on users' tone of voice. For example, on Wednesday, Alexa+ appeared to reassure Panay when he sounded nervous about being onstage with hundreds of people watching.

"Alexa+ learns from you and the more you use it, the more personalized it gets — understanding everything from your favorite entertainment to your family's dietary preferences, allergies, and weekly traditions," Amazon said.

Alexa+ is available on Echo devices with screens as well as through voice-only devices and a smartphone app, Amazon said.

Amazon has been working on a voice assistant that would have integrations with other companies, such as Uber and Ticketmaster, Business Insider reported last year.

But progress has been slow, BI reported. Teams working on the revisions previously wanted to have them ready in time for this past holiday season, but they have had to delay the launch until this year.

In tests, the new Alexa gave answers that were too long or didn't directly answer users' questions, BI reported.

Adding features that customers want to use, AI or otherwise, matters right now for Amazon's voice assistant business, especially as Apple works on improving its AI capabilities in tandem with its Siri voice assistant.

Amazon has faced slowing demand for Alexa despite early success last decade. It's not alone: Usage for Apple's Siri and Google Assistant has also declined since 2020, according to data from EMARKETER, a sister company of BI.

• My husband and I have moved six times in the last decade in search of a place that felt like home.
• We've struggled in our search until realized loving where you live takes effort and commitment.
• After some self-reflection, we've finally settled down and committed to building a home.

My husband and I have occupations that have allowed us the freedom to live anywhere we want within the United States, which has been a blessing and a curse.

With a penchant for adventure and the whole country at our fingertips, we've had a hard time choosing a single place to settle down.

Newly married and in our mid-20s, we left our shared hometown Atlanta, Georgia, and headed west for Denver in 2014.

We were hungry for change and eager to find a place that felt like a better fit for us than our home ever had.

Denver was great until the novelty wore off

When we first got to Denver, we loved it. We were obsessed with the beauty of the West and eager to drink in every new experience.

We were hiking, camping, and road-tripping as if we were the first people to ever discover mountains. We'd never felt more alive and free.

However, after over a year of non-stop adventure, the novelty began to fade, and we were surprised to find ourselves longing for the familiarity of the same home we'd been keen to leave before.

Giving in to the pull, we moved back to Atlanta in 2016— a U-turn that would start a trend.

We regretted our choice almost immediately. Desperate for the freedom we'd felt in Denver, we moved back as soon as possible (in 2017, less than a year later).

Becoming parents made finding the perfect home feel even more crucial

Shortly after returning to Denver, we had our daughter, which raised the stakes in our search for place perfection. We wanted to give her a great life and thought finding an ideal place to do so was essential.

We fantasized about raising her in an idyllic setting in the mountains, but our eyes were bigger than our budget, so we settled for what we hoped would be the next best thing — a small city in a mountainous state.

From Denver, we moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2019 (it didn't feel right at the time), then to Bend, Oregon, in 2020 (in pursuit of closer mountain access), and then back to Fort Collins in 2021 (when we missed Colorado, again).

Our third move back to a place we didn't love the first time was a wake-up call and a catalyst for introspection.

My husband and I have since discovered that a) we both have ADHD, which means we crave change and forget our lessons easily, b) we've put too much pressure on finding the perfect setting for our daughter's childhood, and c) a place alone can't provide lasting contentment.

A new place can bring novelty only for a little bit. However, liking where you live long-term requires putting in the effort to make it feel like home.

We've found clarity and have settled down

Despite our nomadic start to adulthood, we're now staying put.

Thanks to therapy and personal development work, my husband and I have found the healing and contentment in ourselves that we always hoped to find in a place.

We also know we can give our daughter a loving, supportive childhood wherever we are — our presence matters more than our location.

Now, instead of looking to other cities and wondering if the grass is greener, we're watering the grass in our own backyard in Fort Collins.

We know we need a village, and now that we've done some internal work, we're committing to building one where we are instead of seeking it out somewhere else.

After all, cultivating community and familiarity takes time.

We're confident we can find contentment in Fort Collins by making an effort to do so since it has our basic requirements for employment opportunities, housing, amenities, and recreation.

Although we're still explorers at our core, we now get our fill of adventure through travel and local exploration instead of moves while also getting to soak in the goodness that comes with building a home.

This story was originally published on March 27, 2024, and most recently updated on February 26, 2025.

• DonnaJean Wilde, 59, holds a Guinness World Record for planking for 4.5 hours.
• She built up to this record by strengthening her core over the course of a decade.
• Wilde said planking while doing other tasks was one of the ways she fit training into her day.

DonnaJean Wilde can plank for 4.5 hours. She built up to this over a decade, while juggling parenting, teaching, and studying for a master's degree.

She started planking with her children as part of a viral craze in the early 2010s — and never stopped. Now, the 59-year-old from Alberta, Canada, holds the Guinness World Record for the longest time spent by a woman in an abdominal plank position.

Not only are Wilde's capabilities impressive, planking is also great for her health. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation involving participants aged between 60 and 69 found that those who didn't regularly exercise, had improved strength and muscle endurance, better oxygen intake, and improved immune cell function after they planked on and off for 20-30 minutes, three times a week, for 12 weeks.

A strong core, which planking can contribute to, can also help us to stay mobile day to day and prevent injuries and aches like back pain.

Wilde shared with Business Insider how she worked toward planking for hours.

Plank while doing other tasks

When Wilde started planking, her wrist was broken and it was the only form of exercise she could do.

She planked for slightly longer each day, while reading or using her phone. She was impressed when she reached 10 minutes, so kept going.

"I found that I could put my computer on the floor, answer emails, plan my school lessons, and really enjoy planking knowing it was making me stronger. It made me feel so good and my time was improving all throughout the years," she said.

Deep, controlled breathing

Wilde used deep breathing to prepare for her world record attempt, which she said helped her stay calm and eased her anxiety.

She now does deep breathing as she goes about her day, not just while planking. For example, taking a deep breath and holding for ten, before releasing the breath slowly and repeating.

A 2022 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that five to 10 minutes of breathing exercises a day for six weeks appeared to decrease blood pressure in participants whose levels were abnormally high. However, deep breathing isn't a replacement for regular exercise when it comes to lowering blood pressure, Daniel Craighead, the lead author of the study, previously told Business Insider.

Visualize yourself planking

Wilde worked on visualizing herself planking calmly in perfect form, she said, which helped her stay strong when she was in position.

Visualization is a "magical tool," she said.

A small 2016 study published in the journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology found that its 65 participants, who were all tennis players, were more likely to hit a target after they imagined themselves doing so every time.

• I thought I had the whole parenting thing figured out when I raised my oldest son.
• But my youngest son is having dramatic tantrums often, and I'm struggling to deal with them.
• I learned parenting is not one-size-fits-all, and I'm learning to adapt.

My youngest son has a temper, and it comes out at odd times.

Outside the home, he's a popular and high-achieving 7-year-old. He's funny, athletic, smart, and well-behaved; his report cards have whole paragraphs praising his behavior.

But when he's home, he can get angry over the smallest things. Can't have a snack before dinner? Outburst. Stuck on a hard part in a video game? Outburst. Being told to knock it off with the outburst? Bigger outburst.

Learning how to help him manage his emotions has made me better equipped to address his emotional needs, adapt to his brother's needs, and provide me with a better understanding of parenting.

I thought I was prepared for my second kid

As a father, I started out unsure of how to handle my youngest's temper tantrums. After raising his older brother, I thought I already had all the parenting experience I would need to handle the outbursts.

And I had done pretty well, too. The oldest had turned out to be a gifted student and was praised by teachers for his creativity, his intelligence, and his sweet and polite nature. That must mean I had parenting down to an art, right? So, what else was there to learn?

It turns out that my youngest had the gall not to be a new version of his brother. Because he was a different person, many of the parenting techniques we had employed for his older brother didn't produce the same effects.

I got frustrated, my wife got aggravated, and the youngest got louder. Nothing seemed to work.

Clearly, a new parenting approach was needed. While we were trying new techniques for the youngest, we also had to adapt our parenting for my oldest.

I'm learning to adapt my parenting

My oldest has reached middle school, having achieved some self-sufficiency in terms of basic human needs and hygiene, so we tend to focus more on the youngest. But we also have to stay available for the oldest. As a middle schooler, he's becoming more familiar with school stress and social pressure, and he struggles with how to handle his emotions in the face of those challenges.

Suddenly, we have two kids at two different emotional paces requiring equal attention. Some days, it feels like we're trying to drive a bus and a motorcycle at the same time. While that can be daunting, I've decided that my best way forward requires me to be more open-minded about parenting techniques.

One of my favorite learning methods? Watching how other parents work with their kids.

Years ago, I would have watched another kid's emotional outburst with a feeling of relief that it wasn't my problem. I would thank the heavens that it wasn't my kid throwing milkshakes at his mother. These days, whenever I see a child having an outburst in public, I find myself turning to watch so I can make mental notes on how the parents react.

I try the stuff that looks effective, ignore the stuff that doesn't, and frequently confer with my wife. We also chat with other parents to learn how they handle their kids' tantrums.

So far, we learned that when my youngest needs to calm down, we make him count to 20, sometimes several times. If that doesn't work, we require some basic calisthenics like jumping jacks, pushups, and sit-ups. Wind sprints in the front yard have been very effective, especially when we offer to time how fast he can go.

I have a whole new outlook on parenting

I've discovered that parenting requires a bigger empathy bandwidth, especially when raising multiple children. While it's important for my kids to understand how to handle their emotions, especially in public, it's become equally important for me to understand what I can do to guide them through it.

I also realized that parenting is not one size fits all; what may work for one kid may not work for the others.

But the most important thing I can do is be there for both my children and hope the temper tantrums will end soon.

• I stopped in the Mojave Desert and wandered around a 251-acre abandoned water park.
• The former park's history was a roller coaster of success and failure, changing hands three times.
• Today, the water's dried up. What remains are empty pools and decaying buildings. 

A scattering of palm trees in a sandy desert was my first clue that I was close to Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark.

Once I spotted colorful billboards, I was positive I had arrived.

Just off the service road running parallel to California's Mojave Freeway in Newberry Springs are the remains of an old water park.

The water park's history is reminiscent of a water slide with years of ups, downs, and sharp turns. It originally opened in the 1960s as Dolores Waterpark. Later, it operated under the names Discovery Waterpark and, most famously, Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark. Then, in 2004, it closed for good.

Today, the water has dried up, swimmers have disappeared, and most of what remains are empty cement pools and buildings decaying in the desert sun.

Driving through California's Mojave Desert in the fall of 2023, I didn't spot much beyond billboards, rest stops, and sand. Then, I saw palm trees and colorful buildings.

I had arrived at my destination: an abandoned water park. I drove up and was shocked to find no fences or gates turning away visitors.

I pulled into a sandy lot, drove past signs I imagined once welcomed visitors, and made my way to a parking area.

For the next hour, I explored the 251 acres of ruins.

The place felt like a mirage. I spotted desert landscapes in every direction, with the park providing pops of color amid beige-toned scenery.

At the front of the property was what remains of the water park's entrance.

Here, I could make out the word "waterpark."

Bob Byers, a local businessman, built the property. It was originally a private resort, which he named Lake Dolores Waterpark after his wife.

Source: Business Insider

In 1962, he opened it to the public. It was home to a lazy river, zip line, man-made lakes with water slides, and bumper boats.

"We have an old-fashioned swimming hole," Byers told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 1989. "You have to have a little country in you to enjoy this."

Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal

In the 1980s, Byers shut it down. The water park couldn't compete with other nearby attractions.

In 1998, the park went through a major renovation. Money was poured into the attraction and transformed into a 1950s-themed oasis called Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark.

While rock-n-roll music once played across the property and 1950s references filled the park, only hints of the old theme remain today.

Rock-A-Hoola didn't last long. In 1999, an employee used a water slide after hours and became a paraplegic. The settlement cost the park $4.4 million, the Review-Journal reported.

The park went bankrupt in 2000. In 2002, it tried its hand at success for a third time, reopening as Discovery Waterpark. By 2004, it had closed for good.

While swimmers no longer go to Rock-A-Hoola, skateboarders, graffiti artists, photographers, and urban explorers do.

I crossed the entrance gates, where I spotted the remains of an old water fountain.

Dotting the perimeter of the space were the skeletons of buildings. One was likely home to tube rentals, another to snacks, and perhaps a third for souvenirs.

Practically every inch of the former water park was covered in graffiti, and rusted cans were scattered on sandy floors.

I pictured the slides that would have curved down the remaining steel frames.

I pictured people swimming in the vast cement ditches that are now better suited to skateboarders.

I spotted the canal where the lazy river once flowed. According to Lost America, it was added during the 1998 renovation and was the largest in the world at the time.

Source: Lost America

Toward the back of the property was a large hill with a handful of slides that would have sent swimmers down to the bottom.

Since the park closed in 2004, rumors of a revival have existed. But plans to bring it back haven't come to fruition. In 2020, a private firm had plans to turn it into a "roadside playground," Business Insider previously reported.

In 2021, the property was listed for sale for $11 million.

Source: Business Insider

The San Bernardino County Board of Commissioners approved plans to transform the property into a new park with a 22-acre lake, water park, and RV park, the Review-Journal said.

It's unclear if the plans to revitalize the water park are still happening. The project's developers did not respond to a request for comment from BI on the project.

As I explored the property in the desert heat, I saw no signs of improvement or progress.

So, instead of envisioning the future, I pictured myself at the park during Rock-A-Hoola's glory days.

I imagined zooming down the Greased Lightning water slide and chilling in the lazy river.

And I was glad I stumbled upon a place I never expected to see in the desert.

• New and emerging leagues are attracting the most VC funding in sports, data shows.
• VC deals tracked by PitchBook show a rebound in funding to US sports startups in 2024.
• Some categories, like media and gambling, raised less money last year than in recent years.

New leagues, women's teams, and youth and amateur sports are reinvigorating the sports startup landscape.

Venture capital funding for US sports startups rebounded last year, with an estimated 119 deals worth a total of $880 million, according to PitchBook data. That value was up 54% from the year before but below the levels from 2021 and 2022 when roughly $1.4 billion poured into the sector each year.

While private equity continues to flow into sports — PitchBook tracked an estimated $9.89 billion worth of deals in 2024, a new high-water mark — the startup space has been choppier. Investors have been looking for surer bets amid the economic uncertainty that's driven high interest rates and fewer exit opportunities for startups.

Venture capital typically goes to startups, while PE firms tend to invest in growth-stage businesses that may be more mature. In sports, PE has gravitated toward major teams and leagues, for example. VCs have backed more sports technology, including betting and fantasy companies, and nascent or emerging leagues.

Early-stage companies with experienced founders and proven traction have attracted big VC investments in the last year. League One Volleyball, which runs a professional women's league and youth programs, announced in November a $100 million funding round from both PE and VC investors. Soccer company TOCA Football said in October that it raised a $100 million Series F round from private investors.

"In the world of sports, adept management teams building technological infrastructure and engaging, experience-driven platforms that play into these tailwinds are capturing investor interest," said Lloyd Danzig at Sharp Alpha Advisors, which invests in sports, gambling, and entertainment.

The hottest startups are new sports leagues and women's sports

New leagues and women's sports grabbed the most VC funding in 2024, according to PitchBook.

In addition to League One Volleyball, two National Women's Soccer League teams and the three-on-three basketball league Unrivaled were among the 10 sports startups that raised the most money last year, per PitchBook. These teams and leagues feature some of the biggest names in women's sports, such as Breanna Stewart, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and Rose Lavelle.

Emerging sports, such as cricket and track-and-field, also attracted new investment.

"Emerging leagues, women's sports, those are the hot areas," said Chris Russo, CEO of Fifth Generation Sports. "People view those as big growth opportunities."

Investors think there is a big opportunity to capture existing fans of these sports in new ways. Some of those could include having shorter events or new methods of engagement.

"Everyone is trying to get to those fans that love the sport," said Mohit Pareek, a principal at Drake Star Partners. "These new leagues are trying to cater to the changing fan behavior."

Russo and Pareek pointed to AI as another key area of innovation for sports, though AI didn't appear to be a key focus among the sports companies PitchBook tracked that had raised the most money last year.

The challenges sports startups face

While some verticals in the landscape are booming, others have taken a hit, including media, content creation, and, to a lesser extent, sports betting.

"Dealmaking has been challenging for a while now," said Chris Lynch, managing director at Citizens, about the sports betting landscape. "Investors have become much more discerning."

Lynch also mentioned that sports-betting deals are taking longer than they did in the past, and investors face more roadblocks.

Danzig at Sharp Alpha Advisors told BI that he's seeing more founders bootstrap their way for longer before seeking external funding.

It's more difficult for founders with an idea and dream to get those first checks.

"Companies with clear traction and growth potential continue to attract investment in a flight to quality, while those lacking indications of success are finding it increasingly difficult to secure financing," Danzig said.

Here are 10 US sports startups that raised significant VC funding in 2024, according to PitchBook:

• Angel City FC: The Los Angeles-based NWSL team announced in July an additional $50 million investment from Disney CEO Bob Iger and Willow Bay, which valued the company at $250 million. PitchBook estimates the team raised a total of $123 million across several Series B rounds last year that included various investors.
• League One Volleyball: The new women's professional volleyball league raised $100 million last year. LOVB also has a youth program.
• TOCA Football: The tech-focused soccer training program announced a $100 million Series F round in September. It has facilities around the US.
• Grand Slam Track: PitchBook estimates the track-and-field startup raised about $39 million in seed funding as of September 2024. The startup said in June that it had secured more than $30 million in financial commitments to launch a new league that plans to bring some of the world's biggest track stars to competitions.
• Major League Cricket: The league aims to bring cricket to American audiences. It has attracted investment from executives like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and firms like Iconic Ventures and Madrona Venture Group, CNBC reported in July. PitchBook estimates the league raised $39 million in July.
• On3: PitchBook estimates On3 raised an estimated $36.25 million as of November. The digital platform focuses on high school and college sports, NIL, and recruiting news.
• NJ/NY Gotham FC: The NSWL franchise raised an estimated $34 million in June, per PitchBook. The team won the championship in 2023, and its roster includes US Women's National Team players Emily Sonnett and Rose Lavelle.
• Sofive Soccer Centers: The indoor soccer facility owned by City Football Group raised an estimated $30 million in April, per PitchBook.
• Unrivaled Basketball: The new 3x3 women's basketball league raised $28 million in October. It was founded by WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. The league brings in players from the WNBA to compete in the fast-paced game.
• Gameplay Galaxy: The Web3 esports company announced in August that it raised a total of $24 million in seed funding, including a $11 million extension round, VentureBeat reported. Gameplay Galaxy has said it's developing a "decentralized competitive gaming ecosystem."

Angel City FC and LOVB directed BI to recent funding announcements. Unrivaled and TOCA confirmed the funding amounts for their 2024 raises. Sofive and Gotham FC declined to comment. The other companies on this list did not reply or confirm by press time.

• Jeff Bezos unveiled sweeping changes to The Washington Post's opinion pages.
• Coverage will now center around two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.
• The search for a new opinions editor has begun after David Shipley stepped away, Bezos said.

Jeff Bezos unveiled sweeping changes to The Washington Post's opinion page in a note to staff that he also shared on X.

"We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets," Bezos wrote. "We'll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others."

Bezos, who owns the Post, said there's no longer a need for "a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views" because of the internet.

"I am of America and for America, and proud to be so," he wrote. "And a big part of America's success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else."

As part of the overhaul, Bezos said that opinions editor David Shipley is stepping away from the paper, and that the search is on for a replacement.

Will Lewis, publisher and CEO of the Post, echoed Bezos' view in his own staff memo.

"This is not about siding with any political party," Lewis wrote in a memo shared with Business Insider. "This is about being crystal clear about what we stand for as a newspaper."

While newspaper owners generally set the direction of opinion pages, the shift prompted some fierce criticism.

Martin Baron, who was executive editor of the Post from 2013 to 2021, emailed BI that he was "sad and disgusted" by Bezos' action, calling it counter to his history of standing up for editorial independence at the Post while Baron was there.

"Bezos argues for personal liberties. But his news organization now will forbid views other than his own in its opinion section," Baron wrote. "It was only weeks ago that The Post described itself as providing coverage for 'all of America.' Now its opinion pages will be open to only some of America, those who think exactly as he does."

Chief economics reporter Jeff Stein wrote on X that the move was a "massive encroachment by Jeff Bezos into The Washington Post's opinion section."

"Makes clear dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there," he wrote.

A current Post staffer on the news side told BI that there was "a lot of tension in the newsroom that we're next."

"Top editors are reminding us that so far there hasn't been any interference in the newsroom," this person said. They asked for anonymity in discussing internal matters; their identity is known to BI.

The staffer also said Bezos's heavy-handed messaging felt like a first, likening it to "a proclamation coming down from high."

This new shake-up comes after a series of controversies at the Post.

In October, the Post made waves when it opted not to endorse a candidate in the presidential election — a decision that the Post reported came from Bezos himself.

Following a year of internal turmoil, hundreds of Post staffers sent Bezos a letter in January asking him to intervene after integrity and transparency issues — far beyond the endorsement controversy, the letter said — had precipitated staff departures.

The Los Angeles Times has also been roiled by controversy after its billionaire owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, became more involved in the paper's opinion section. Before the presidential election, he stopped the paper from endorsing then-VP Kamala Harris. He also said the paper had moved too far to the left and called for a more balanced approach to covering President Donald Trump.

In his second term, Trump has put greater pressure on the mainstream US news media. His administration has opened investigations into news organizations and thwarted some outlets' access to covering events.

Here's the note that Bezos shared with staff in full:

I'm writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages.

We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We'll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.

There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader's doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.

I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America's success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.

I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn't "hell yes," then it had to be "no." After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won't be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision. We'll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction.

I'm confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I'm excited for us together to fill that void.

Jeff