• Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt co-authored a paper warning the US about the dangers of an AI Manhattan Project.
• In the paper, Schmidt, Dan Hendrycks, and Alexandr Wang push for a more defensive approach.
• The authors suggest the US sabotage rival projects, rather than advance the AI frontier alone.

Some of the biggest names in AI tech say an AI "Manhattan Project" could have a destabalizing effect on the US, rather than help safeguard it.

The dire warning came from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Center for AI Safety director Dan Hendrycks, and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. They coauthored a policy paper titled "Superintelligence Strategy" published on Wednesday.

In the paper, the tech titans urge the US to stay away from an aggressive push to develop superintelligent AI, or AGI, which the authors say could provoke international retaliation. China, in particular, "would not sit idle" while the US worked to actualize AGI, and "risk a loss of control," they write.

The authors write that circumstances similar to the nuclear arms race that birthed the Manhattan Project — a secretive initiative that ended in the creation of the first atom bomb — have developed around the AI frontier.

In November 2024, for example, a bipartisan congressional committee called for a "Manhattan Project-like" program, dedicated to pumping funds into initiatives that could help the US beat out China in the race to AGI. And just a few days before the authors released their paper, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the country is already "at the start of a new Manhattan Project."

"The Manhattan Project assumes that rivals will acquiesce to an enduring imbalance or omnicide rather than move to prevent it," the authors write. "What begins as a push for a superweapon and global control risks prompting hostile countermeasures and escalating tensions, thereby undermining the very stability the strategy purports to secure."

It's not just the government subsidizing AI advancements, either, according to Schmidt, Hendrycks, and Wang — private corporations are developing "Manhattan Projects" of their own. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has said he loses sleep over the possibility of ending up like Robert Oppenheimer.

"Currently, a similar urgency is evident in the global effort to lead in AI, with investment in AI training doubling every year for nearly the past decade," the authors say. "Several 'AI Manhattan Projects' aiming to eventually build superintelligence are already underway, financed by many of the most powerful corporations in the world."

The authors argue that the US already finds itself operating under conditions similar to mutually assured destruction, which refers to the idea that no nation with nuclear weapons will use its arsenal against another, for fear of retribution. They write that a further effort to control the AI space could provoke retaliation from rival global powers.

Instead, the paper suggests the US could benefit from taking a more defensive approach — sabotaging "destabilizing" AI projects via methods like cyberattacks, rather than rushing to perfect their own.

In order to address "rival states, rogue actors, and the risk of losing control" all at once, the authors put forth a threefold strategy. Deterring via sabotage, restricting access of chips and "weaponizable AI systems" to "rogue actors," and guaranteeing US access to AI chips via domestic manufacturing.

Overall, Schmidt, Hendrycks, and Wang push for balance, rather than what they call the "move fast and break things" strategy. They argue that the US has an opportunity to take a step back from the urgent rush of the arms race, and shift to a more defensive strategy.

"By methodically constraining the most destabilizing moves, states can guide AI toward unprecedented benefits rather than risk it becoming a catalyst of ruin," the authors write.

• Military leaders argue AI has an important role in future warfare.
• There's been a shift in industry collaboration with the Department of Defense on AI and autonomy.
• AI in military tech must adhere to ethical frameworks, Snowpoint Ventures' Doug Philippone said.

Nobody wants "killer robots," so making sure artificial intelligence systems don't go rogue is the "cost of doing business" in military tech, the founder of a venture capital firm said during a Wednesday discussion of AI technology on the battlefield.

"You have to be able to make AI that can work within an ethical framework, period," Doug Philippone, co-founder of Snowpoint Ventures, a venture capital firm that merges tech talent with defense issues, said during the Reagan Institute's National Security Innovation Base Summit.

"I don't think anybody is, you know, trying to have killer robots that are just running around by themselves," he said.

Philippone explained that companies working in the military technology space that are worth making an investment in must have "thought through those problems and work in that ethical environment." He said these aren't limitations on development. Instead, they're requirements.

Autonomous machines tend to cause a certain degree of apprehension, especially when such tech is applied to the DoD's "kill chain." While military leaders maintain that the systems are critical for future warfare, they also pose ethical concerns about what machine autonomy might ultimately mean.

Times are changing

The defense-technology space appears to be experiencing a major shift in perspective. Last month, Google reversed course on a previous pledge against developing AI weapons, prompting criticism from some employees. The move seemed to reflect a greater willingness among more tech companies to work with the Defense Department on these technologies.

Throughout Silicon Valley, "there's been a massive cultural shift from 'no way we're thinking about defending America' to 'let's get in the fight,'" said Thomas Robinson, the Chief Operating Officer of Domino Data Lab, a London-based AI solutions company.

He said at Wednesday's event that "it is just a palpable difference between even a few years ago."

There has been a sharp rise in smaller, more agile defense technology firms, such as Anduril, breaking into areas like uncrewed systems and autonomy, spurring a view among some defense tech leaders that the new Trump administration could create new DoD contract opportunities potentially worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars.

Part of that cultural shift has spurred concerns around "revolving doors" of military officials heading to the venture capital tech realm after retirement, creating possible conflicts of interest.

US military leaders have increasingly prioritized the development of AI capabilities in recent years, with some arguing that whichever side dominates this tech space will be the winner in future conflicts.

Last year, then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the US is locked in a technological arms race with China. AI is crucial, he said, and "China is moving forward aggressively."

The Air Force has been experimenting with AI-piloted fighter aircraft, among other AI-enabled tools, as have other elements of the US military and American allies. "We're going to be in a world where decisions will not be made at human speed," Kendall said in January. "They're going to be made at machine speed."

Certain areas of armed conflict, including cyber warfare and electronic warfare, are likely to be dominated by AI technologies that assess events happening at unimaginably fast speeds and unimaginably small dimensions.

AI with guardrails

That makes AI a top investment. During Wednesday's discussion, US congressional representative Ro Khanna of California expressed support for a proposal from 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, which called for shifting 15% of the massive Pentagon budget to advanced and emerging tech.

As the nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth committed to prioritizing new technology, writing that "the Department of Defense budget must focus on lethality and innovation." He said that "technology is changing the battlefield."

But ethical considerations remain key. Last year, senior Pentagon officials, for instance, discussed guardrails put in place to calm fears that it was "building killer robots in the basement."

Understanding exactly how an AI tool's algorithms work will be important for ethical battlefield implementation, Philippone noted, and so will understanding the quality of data being absorbed — otherwise, it's "garbage in, garbage out."

"Whether it's Tyson's Chicken or it's the Department of the Navy, you want to be able to say 'this problem is important," he explained. "What is the data going in?"

"You understand how it flows through the algorithms, and then you understand the output in a way that is auditable, so you can understand how we got there," he said. "And then you codify those rules."

Philippone said the opacity of some AI companies' proprietary knowledge is "BS" and a "black box approach" to technology. He said that companies should instead aim for a more transparent approach to artificial intelligence.

"I call it the glass box," he said. Understanding how the inner workings of a system work can help avoid hacks, he said, "this is really important from an ethics perspective and really understanding the process of your decision in your organization."

"If you can't audit it," he said, "that leaves you susceptible."

• Notable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts Apple's foldable iPhone could launch in late 2026 and cost over $2000.
• The first foldable iPhone would likely be a luxury offering, balancing Apple's lower-priced models.
• CEO Tim Cook has said "there's a lot of innovation left on the smartphone."

Chatter around the long-rumored foldable iPhone is picking up.

If it turns out to be true, the device sounds expensive — and impressively high-end.

To be clear, Apple hasn't confirmed plans to build a foldable iPhone. However, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities published a note on Wednesday with more details on a foldable iPhone design that he had previously heard about.

Kuo, known for his Apple predictions and supply-chain sourcing, described the mysterious project as a "top-tier iPhone" with a "crease-free inner display" and an expected retail price of over $2000. The device could begin mass production in the last quarter of 2026, Kuo said.

Such a price tag would make it more expensive than any of its predecessors and many MacBook models, but Kuo said the iPhone's "must-have" status would attract a strong demand for a premium device if the quality is up to par. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is currently the priciest smartphone Apple offers starting at $1199.

"A phone with such a high price point affords Apple a true higher-end luxury offering to balance out the push on lower-priced alternatives like the iPhone 16e," Dipanjan Chatterjee, a Forrester analyst, told Business Insider.

Apple is currently facing fierce competition in the smartphone market as Chinese competitors offer lower-cost phones and high-end models with novel form factors.

However, it's important to note that Apple could always change course and not release such a device. It's not unusual for Apple to put significant resources behind big projects and ultimately scrap them. The tech industry buzzed with talks of an Apple Car for years until the tech giant reportedly scrapped the project.

"I definitely believe it's under development. I'm less sure it'll ever see the light of day," Morningstar analyst William Kerwin told BI of the foldable iPhone.

Kuo said the foldable iPhone would bring back Touch ID to potentially replace Face ID, but this time the button would be on the side of the device. It'd have a "book-style design" and a 7.8-inch inner display, he added. Apple is also pursuing a "crease-free" display, according to Kuo — something other phone makers like Samsung are also chasing.

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

While both Bloomberg and The Information have reported that Apple is planning foldable screen devices, Kuo's predicted timeline should be taken with a grain of salt. A Kuo note in 2023 said that foldable iPads would hit shelves in 2024, for example, which has yet to materialize.

A bet like a foldable iPhone, in an area where competitors like Samsung and Huawei have already ventured, is a "significant gamble" that could result in a device with low demand, similar to the $3500 Vision Pro, said Jacob Bourne, an analyst at BI sister company EMARKETER.

"Apple's better bet might be to focus on other emerging technologies rather than chasing a form factor that may not maintain its appeal long-term," Bourne told BI.

Rumors of smart glasses, AI-powered home devices, and robotics swirled around Apple in 2024. Apple was late to the artificial intelligence race last year with Apple Intelligence launching months, or years, after competitors' similar software.

CEO Tim Cook told investors that he felt "optimistic" about Apple's product pipeline during its fiscal first-quarter 2025 earnings call.

When asked about the future of the iPhone's form factor and where Apple sees opportunities to innovate, Cook didn't go into detail but hinted that there's more to come.

"I think there's a lot of innovation left on the smartphone," Cook said.

• "Value," "nostalgia," and "innovation" are the biggest buzzwords for fast-food chains in 2025.
• Boneless, crispy chicken will continue to be a trend this year after multiple new releases in 2024.
• Gen Z consumers are also customizing their orders with fun dipping sauces.

Gen Z is driving fast-food trends with its love of crispy chicken, dipping sauces, and bold, international-inspired flavors.

Seemingly every fast-food chain is trying to win over Gen Z, who have more spending power than previous generations and an estimated $360 billion in disposable income, Rubix Food wrote in its NEXT Flavor Report, which was released in November.

To identify the biggest trends for fast-food menus, especially among the Gen Z crowd, Business Insider spoke to leaders from chains like Wingstop and Taco Bell about their visions for 2025.

We also examined the Rubix report, which collected data on Gen Z cravings through group and one-on-one interviews and social media polls. It analyzed the responses of nearly 16,000 Gen Z consumers between December 2023 and November 2024.

Here are the biggest fast-food trends for 2025, shaped by Gen Z's appetite.

International-inspired flavors are popping up on more menus.

Bold, spicy flavor profiles are expected to be an area of opportunity for fast-food chains in 2025, especially those with an international or Asian-inspired influence.

Wingstop recently launched its new, limited-time-only Sweet Chili Glaze sauce, which the chain described as a "sweet and spicy fusion" of sweet chili, rich hoisin, and red chili sauce.

Wingstop's senior director of culinary, Larry Bellah, told Business Insider that the new sauce was developed in Thailand and Singapore before being launched nationwide in the US.

The menu item reflects a larger trend of Gen Z customers being more open to experimenting with fusion and more diverse flavor profiles.

The Rubix report found that 87% of Gen Z consumers wanted to see more global flavors at chain restaurants, with a special interest in flavors inspired by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisines.

Sweet and spicy combinations like hot honey are expected to be a major trend.

Gen Z is bringing the heat, but with a sweet touch.

Wingstop said its hot honey rub is one of its most popular flavors, but it isn't the only chain offering sweet and spicy flavors on menus.

Wendy's told BI that its Spicy Chicken Nuggets are especially popular among Gen Z customers, and Popeyes also launched sweet and spicy boneless wings last year.

It doesn't stop there. Taco Bell announced at its Live Más Live event this month that it is planning to collaborate with Mike's Hot Honey on a new version of its Diablo sauce in the coming year.

KFC also recently partnered with Mike's Hot Honey for a new chicken sandwich, proving that chains are really leaning into all things sweet and spicy in 2025.

Burgers are out, and crispy chicken products like nuggets and tenders are in.

Taco Bell's chief marketing officer, Taylor Montgomery, said it best in a recent interview with BI: "Crispy chicken's hot."

After the chain released chicken nuggets in December, they sold out before some fans were able to try them. However, the chain said nuggets will be returning to menus twice in the coming year.

"Tenders are still really relevant. Nuggets are really relevant," Montgomery said. "But, I think the brands that are winning have a unique point of view and are doing it their way."

He said Taco Bell's offerings will include crispy chicken nuggets and a crispy chicken taco burrito, both of which will be hitting menus this year.

Multiple fast-food chains are leaning into chicken to capture Gen Z's attention.

Raising Cane's — a chain that notably only sells chicken tenders and a few sides like coleslaw and Texas toast — is now one of the fastest-growing fast-food brands in the country.

McDonald's is also poised to bring back its popular chicken strips and chicken "snack wraps" in 2025 after fans have been begging for them for years.

For Gen Z, it's all about the sauce.

From signature sauces like Cane's Sauce and Chick-fil-A sauce to spicy ranch, barbecue, and other varieties, chains are offering dippable, dunkable menu items to complement Gen Z's passion for sauce.

Montgomery described the sauce trend among Gen Z consumers as "permissible exploration."

"You don't have to fully commit to a flavor profile that's different, but you can dunk something into it, or dip something in it," he said. "America's getting more diverse, and our consumers' tastes are changing. I think sauces are enabling that."

Taco Bell's chief food innovation officer, Liz Matthews, added, "Consumers are really looking for adventure on their food, but they want to have kind of a safe adventure. People are really gravitating toward sauces and different flavors from around the world."

Chains like Taco Bell are also betting big on new beverages, from soft drinks to coffee.

At Taco Bell's Live Más Live, the chain identified its beverage menu as an area of focus and opportunity this year.

It highlighted new launches like the new Mountain Dew Baja Midnight, a twist on its Baja Blast soda, and its new Live Más Café concept, which currently operates one location in Chula Vista, California.

Beverages are an area for other chains to experiment with limited-time offerings and niche trends, such as the "dirty soda" trend that popped up over the summer and was subsequently added to Del Taco and Sonic menus.

Nostalgia will continue to influence fast-food menus.

Innovation may be a huge trend for 2025, but so is nostalgia.

In November, Taco Bell leaned into the trend with its "Decades" menu, which featured five previously discontinued items.

The menu included the Tostada from the original 1960s menu, the Green Sauce Burrito from the '70s, the Meximelt from the '80s, the '90s-era Gordita Supreme, and the Caramel Apple Empanada of the 2000s.

"I just love the throwbacks because people have such an emotional connection with it," Matthews told BI. "Our brand is always going to do innovation. And I think we're always going to honor our past. Whether it's bringing something back, or do we make a tweak on something that hasn't been on the menu in a while? I think we're always going to do both."

Taco Bell isn't the only brand that has leaned into nostalgia.

Last year, Wendy's launched a collaboration with Paramount, which owns Nickelodeon, and "SpongeBob SquarePants," to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary with a limited-edition burger inspired by the Krabby Patty and a pineapple-flavored milkshake.

McDonald's also launched limited-edition cups inspired by iconic Happy Meal toys and its viral Grimace-themed shake, which paid homage to the character first introduced in the 1970s.

Wingstop's head chef, Larry Bellah, identified the nostalgia trend as one of his favorites in the industry in a recent conversation with BI, though the chain has yet to lean into it as a brand.

While nostalgia was a major trend in 2024, it's clear that it's not going anywhere.

Fast-food chains are doubling down on value, emphasizing budget-friendly menus and meal deals to attract customers.

Above all, as we enter 2025, every fast-food chain is focused on delivering value to customers.

"Consumers have become more discerning," Moody's Ratings analyst Michael Zuccaro told BI in November. "Value perception is a key driver. This is not just price but also experience-related factors such as convenience, speed, consistency, and accuracy."

Taco Bell's chief financial officer, Neil Manhas, said during the chain's consumer day, held during its Live Más Live event, that value is "critical" for the brand.

The so-called "value wars" are in full swing, as chains like McDonald's, Wendy's, and Dunkin' all lean into meal deals and promotions to keep prices low for customers amid growing inflation and food prices.

"Value wars come and go. We believe that showing up for consumers every single day on value is something we've always done and we always will," Montgomery said. "But, I think, for us, it's about giving consumers more when a lot of the [other chains] sometimes are giving consumers less."

As people tighten their pocketbooks, chains are under more pressure than ever to keep prices low without sacrificing quality.

An instructor at the US Army Mountain Warfare School breaks down every piece of gear a mountain soldier would carry on a cold-weather mission, including tactical gear, mountaineering equipment, and avalanche rescue tools. Sgt. 1st Class Tim McLaughlin explains why each item is integral to the mission of the mountain soldier, who must traverse near-vertical terrain in extreme cold-weather conditions to move troops safely in and out of battle. The US Army trains soldiers for mountain warfare at the Army Mountain Warfare School at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont.

• Blake Lively has sought an enhanced protective order in her legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
• An attorney for Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, suggested Baldoni's camp may leak.
• "There is an insatiable appetite for any information about this case," the lawyer said in court.

Blake Lively's lawyer is trying hard to keep some evidence away from Justin Baldoni and, by proxy, the press.

Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds' lawyer suggested Baldoni and his camp may leak sensitive information amid their ongoing legal fight.

The couples' lawyer, Merly Governksi, raised the alarm Thursday as she made her case to a Manhattan judge about why she believes an enhanced protective order is needed to protect the discovery process in the dueling lawsuits between them and Baldoni.

"There is an insatiable appetite for any information about this case no matter how salacious it is. We've seen even the most benign and routine information become tabloid fodder," Governksi told US District Judge Lewis Liman during a virtual court hearing.

The lawyer said she knows there will be subpoenas to "third parties involving third parties" and "we think that there is a significant chance of irreparable harm if marginally relevant communication with high-profile, third-party individuals who are unrelated to the case were to fall into the wrong hands."

Lively sued Baldoni — her director-costar in "It Ends With Us" — in December, accusing him of sexual harassment on the movie set and of engaging in a retaliatory online smear campaign against her. Other defendants in the lawsuit include Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, his fellow producers, and his publicists.

Baldoni, who has denied the allegations, then countersued Lively and Reynolds in a defamation complaint. The two cases have been consolidated into one.

Governksi argued on Thursday that a more robust protective order with an "attorneys eyes only" category for confidential and sensitive discovery material is needed in the case to not only protect people not directly involved in the case, but also to keep medical information and the security measures of those involved out of the public eye.

The lawyer said one example that she imagines would be subject to discovery and would pose irreparable harm to disclose would be the specific security measures that Lively and Reynolds "have taken in order to protect themselves and their families from this retaliatory campaign."

"We don't see any reason why the parties themselves need to know the specific details about Mrs. Lively and Mr. Reynolds' security measures that they put in place," Governksi said.

In a letter to the judge last month about the proposed protective order, Lively and Reynolds' attorneys said that Lively, her family members, and others who have spoken out in support of her have already received "violent, profane, sexist, and threatening communications."

Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, argued during Thursday's court hearing that the judge's protective order is sufficient as it is.

"I think it's rather offensive that anyone would suggest that we would disregard a protective order," Freedman told the judge. "In fact, we're in favor of the court's model protective order. We think it's sufficient to protect the parties."

Freedman called it "nonsense" that Baldoni's legal team would even care about how Lively and Reynolds handled their security.

"No one is interested in what somebody's security is doing," Freedman said.

Governksi said that if that's Freedman's position, he should withdraw the subpoena he served on the celebrity couple's security firm "for all documents and communications concerning Lively and Reynolds and to Lively and Reynolds."

A spokesperson for Lively told Business Insider in a statement after the hearing: "All of the parties agree that there is sensitive information in this case that should be shielded from public disclosure—the Wayfarer Parties' proposed order would do that."

"The dispute is about whether a narrow category of already non-public information should be accessible only to attorneys rather than the parties," the spokesperson said, adding, "This additional protection would ensure that the defendants who have committed to spending $100 million to destroying Ms. Lively and her family do not have access to information that only attorneys need to see."

Baldoni's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment by BI.

• Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto fraudster serving a 25-year sentence, spoke with Tucker Carlson.
• Bankman-Fried is bunking near Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is facing sex trafficking charges.
• Bankman-Fried said he's made friends and they play chess.

Sam Bankman-Fried talked about life behind bars in a wide-ranging prison interview with Tucker Carlson.

Between crypto chatter and sharing his strategies for making friends in prison, Bankman-Fried also opened up about living alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center where both men are being held.

"He's been kind," Bankman-Fried said of Diddy. The rapper was arrested last year and is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy in late 2023 at a criminal trial that dissected the fall of FTX, his defunct cryptocurrency exchange.

"I've made some friends," Bankman-Fried told the former Fox News anchor. "It's a weird environment. It's sort of a combination of a few other high profile cases and then a lot of, you know, ex gangsters, alleged ex gangsters."

Carlson posted a video of the 40-minute interview on social media on Thursday. He called Bankman-Fried and Combs "two of the most famous prisoners in the world," asking Bankman-Fried what it's like living in such close quarters.

"I've only seen one piece of him, which is Diddy in prison. He's been kind to people in the unit. He's been kind to me. It's a position no one wants to be in. Obviously, he doesn't, I don't," Bankman-Fried said. "It's kind of a soul crushing place for the world in general, and what we see are just the people that are around us on the inside rather than who we are on the outside."

Bankman-Fried turned 33 on Thursday but downplayed the milestone to Carlson.

"You're not going to tell Diddy it's your birthday tomorrow? I don't believe you," Tucker joked during the interview, which was apparently filmed Wednesday.

"Someone else might, but I'm not," Bankman-Fried replied.

Aside from life in prison — where Bankman-Fried said he plays chess with and loses to accused armed robbers and hoards muffins as a form of currency — he discussed his thoughts on foreign aid, crypto, and having children.

Bankman-Fried says he expects to be in his late 40s when released from prison — if he's not pardoned first.

When Carlson asked whether he thinks he'll make it that long, the ex-crypto mogul said he didn't know.

The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on Bankman-Fried's interview.

This story will be updated.

• Dolly Parton's husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, died on March 3 at the age of 82.
• Parton thanked those who reached out to pay their respects in her first statement since his death.
• Parton also referenced her hit song, "I Will Always Love You," in her post.

Dolly Parton thanked loved ones and fans for their sympathies on Thursday in her first public statement since announcing the death of Carl Dean, her husband of 58 years.

Dean died on Monday at the age of 82. In an Instagram post announcing his death on March 3, Parton wrote that he would be "laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending."

On Thursday, Parton shared another statement expressing gratitude to those who had reached out to express their condolences.

"This is a love note to family, friends, and fans. Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers that you've sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl," Parton wrote on Instagram. "I can't reach out personally to each of you, but just know it has meant the world to me."

"He is in God's arms now, and I am okay with that. I will always love you," the post continued, referencing Parton's 1973 single that the late Whitney Houston later recorded for the "The Bodyguard" soundtrack.

Throughout their nearly six-decade marriage, Dean remained out of the public eye despite serving as the inspiration behind hits such as "Jolene" and her latest bestselling album, "Rockstar."

Award shows and stages weren't Dean's forte, but the couple did share a love of Taco Bell and Southern cooking, Parton previously told Business Insider.

• Stephen Park described "Friends" as a "toxic environment" when he guest-starred during a recent podcast interview.
• Park guest-starred in seasons two and three of "Friends" and said he heard racist comments on set.
• "Nobody felt the need to correct this or say anything about it. So this is normal behavior."

Despite its reputation as one of the most celebrated sitcoms of all time, one "Friends" guest star said the environment on set was uncomfortable for Asian actors.

"It was at the time, for me, I felt it was kind of a toxic environment," Korean-American actor Stephen Park said on an episode of the "Pod Meets World" a podcast.

Park appeared in a small role as a data-processing colleague of Chandler Bing (the late Matthew Perry) in the season two episode "The One With the Chicken Pox."

He described hearing racist slurs on set while making his second appearance on the show, in season three's "The One With the Ultimate Fighting Champion," which aired in 1997 and also guest-starred James Hong ("Blade Runner," "Mulan," "Everything Everywhere All At Once").

"James Hong was the actor who was also on the episode with me, and [the assistant director] was calling him to the set and you know, essentially saying, 'Where the fuck is the Oriental guy? Get the Oriental guy,'" Park recalled on the podcast.

Park, Hong, and the episode's director, Robby Benson, did not reply to BI's request for comment.

"This is bigger than this show," Park added on the podcast. "This isn't the first time that this happened, you know, but this is the environment where this is business as usual in Hollywood in 1997, I guess it was. And nobody felt the need to correct this or say anything about it. So this is normal behavior."

Fed up by the incident, Park wrote a "mission statement" outlining racism in Hollywood and sent it to everyone who'd signed up for his email list.

"Being an Asian-American actor, I continue to struggle to find roles for myself that are not insulting and stereotypical," he wrote at the time, according to archived versions available online.

"I just finished working as a guest star on one of the highest-rated shows on television, which brings me to my next point," Park continued. "Working with the people involved with this show was an extremely painful experience for me. A disturbing lack in generosity of spirit and basic human courtesy, in addition to a racial incident on the set, has forced me to speak out."

Park said the email made a big impression in Hollywood circles — that "it went viral before 'viral' was even a word" — and ended up getting published in several other publications, but ultimately did little to quell his concerns.

"I had become so race-conscious and so angry that I was looking at everything through the lens of race," Park said on the podcast. "I felt like there was no freedom. I didn't feel any freedom. So, I didn't have any idea what I was going to do, but I just decided to drop out. I told everybody, 'I'm not acting anymore.'"

Park's break didn't last forever. He'll next appear alongside Robert Pattinson in Bong Joon-ho's highly anticipated dystopian comedy "Mickey 17."

In recent years, he has also appeared in multiple Wes Anderson films, including 2023's "Asteroid City" and 2021's "The French Dispatch," and Joon-Ho's 2013 thriller "Snowpiercer."

• The biggest cruise lines had a banner 2024 amid booming demand and prices.
• The largest — Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival — saw revenue and passenger growth compared to 2023
• Royal Caribbean saw the most growth of all, welcoming some 8.6 million guests on board.

Every cruise line has benefited from booming demand for vacations at sea, but one company is standing — or floating — above the rest of its competitors: Royal Caribbean Group.

Royal Caribbean isn't the largest of the three most well-known cruise operators. It and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings each oversee three brands, compared to Carnival Corp's eight. As such, in 2025, Carnival is projected to account for 36% of the cruise industry's revenue, followed by Royal Caribbean at 24.8% and Norwegian at 14.1%, according to Cruise Market Watch.

Yet, when it comes to growth from 2023 to 2024 in both revenue and passengers accommodated, Royal Caribbean is the clear winner.

The cruise giant's two competitors saw record revenue in 2024: $25 billion for Carnival (a 15.9% increase from 2023) and $9.5 billion for Norwegian (a 10.9% increase). Similarly, both accommodated about 8% more passengers than the year prior: 13.5 million for Carnival and 2.9 million for Norwegian.

These year-over-year growth spurts are impressive. But they pale compared to Royal Caribbean's 2024 figures: an 18.6% revenue spike to $16.5 billion and a 12% increase in passengers to a record 8.6 million.

It's a sign that the company is increasingly capturing the eager-to-spend cruising market — expected to continue into 2025.

Royal Caribbean started the year with strong bookings and pricing, with plans to debut two new ships and a private resort to further entice potential travelers.

As for demand, "there's no area of weakness," Jason Liberty, the CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, told analysts in late January, a week before it experienced its strongest-ever "wave season" reservation week.

Liberty said its trend-setting private island and two latest and largest cruise ships, Utopia of the Seas and Icon of the Seas, have attracted both first-timers and regulars. Similarly, its cruises in the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand have garnered plenty of demand.

Like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian have seen a boom in bookings and prices for 2025 — despite having more dry dock days than in 2024, which could negatively impact the number of passengers they accommodate. However, all three companies expect to debut more products this year, including new ships (including one of the world's largest from Royal Caribbean) and resorts.

That is to say, expect the entire mass-market cruise industry to sail into yet another banner year.

• I prefer watching TV shows and movies with the captions turned on. So do 63% of Americans under 30.
• But each streaming app has a slightly different way of turning on captions, which is confusing.
• There is literally nothing else going on in the world more terrible than this, I'm pretty sure.

I can't remember exactly when I started watching TV and movies with captions turned on, but it probably started with a show that had British accents that I — as a boorish American — struggled to understand.

Now, even though I don't need closed captioning, I almost always use it. And I'm not alone — a recent YouGov poll found that 63% of Americans under age 30 prefer watching TV with subtitles turned on.

It's great to be able to understand every nuance and whispered word, but something grinds my gears like no other: Each streaming service seems to have its own way of turning on captions — and it's hard to keep them all straight.

Inevitably, I'll start pushing buttons or sliding my thumb around the Apple TV remote — trying to find the right menu and the magic combination of gestures. Sometimes, this means accidentally pausing my show. Sometimes, it means accidentally turning it off. Sometimes, I manage to actually exit out of the app entirely.

Perhaps I should show you how hard it is to turn on subtitles

I should start with a disclaimer: I'm using an Apple TV set-top box that's connected to my TV. Things may work differently with a Roku or a Google Chromecast. (Using captions on mobile and desktop versions of streaming apps is easier because you don't have to fumble around with a remote control.)

Perhaps it's best if I show you. Allow me to take you on a tour through the annoyingly subtle ways each streamer does captions differently.

Netflix

To add captions on Netflix, there's a speech bubble on the lower right-hand side of the screen that shows up when you start a new show. Or you can swipe up on your remote to pull it onto the screen.

Personally, I find this the easiest and most intuitive way to do captions, but that may be partly because I've used Netflix the longest.

Amazon Prime

For Amazon Prime, you swipe up to open the menu, but BE CAREFUL!

You could easily tap the "Play from the Beginning" button, which will restart your episode. (Nooooooo!) The menu is on the lower left, under "Subtitles."

Click into that, and then tap "On" or "Off," which is confusing because does that mean you want to TURN on captions? Or does it mean that subtitles are already on? And how do you know which way it's toggled? Don't swipe right into "Languages," where you'll see "English [CC]" because that isn't actually the option to turn subtitles on or off — it's the menu to choose subtitles in a different language.

Basically, good luck!!

Disney Plus

On Disney Plus, you swipe down on your remote to access the menu. with Info/Audio/Subtitles.

Then, you choose from a list of languages that have been formatted in paragraph mode rather than a drop-down list. From there, you find "Engish [CC]." (Presuming you're looking for English like I am.)

Max

For Max, you swipe up and tap into the little speech bubble icon at the bottom right.

This will open a menu on the bottom right of the screen.

From there, it's pretty self-explanatory.

Peacock

On Peacock, you swipe up and open up a menu on the bottom left.

Make sure you skip over the "Restart" and "Next Episode" prompts before you scootch right into the "Subtitles and Audio" menu.

Apple TV+

On AppleTV+, or on movies or shows from the iTunes Store, the menu is on the bottom, and in list order.

This is almost identical to Netflix — but with one extra button to minimize the screen on the bottom right.

YouTube TV

Now, let's get to YouTube TV. Look, I'm not a religious person, but I know that hell is real because only Satan himself could have designed the user interface on the YouTube TV app.

First, you swipe down on the remote — but not too quickly, because then it will automatically drop you into a menu with thumbnails for other shows to watch. From that thumbnail menu, you have to swipe lightly back up, but not too far up or you'll get back into the show.

This will put you in the most far left "More to watch" option. From there, you have to scroll to the left several times to finally reach the CC button, which will open a new menu below. If this sounds confusing, IT IS.

Why are captions so hard?

Another disclaimer! I'll be honest: I am only 95% sure these are the right pathways for each app's caption settings. Because although I tested each app while writing this story, I kept messing up and fumbling around — sometimes going back a step or two and getting angrier and angrier as I went.

It is entirely possible that you have to actually swipe left when I said right, or up when I said down. But if I had to try these one more time, it might have actually driven me to madness. And that's sort of my point: This shouldn't be so hard!

You'll have to take my word that I'm capable when it comes to using a remote. I've put in the 10,000 hours of clicking around my TV. I know how to turn off motion smoothing; I've programmed a VCR to record. And yet, I still find captioning incredibly frustrating — and accidentally restart or stop my shows all the time.

Closed captions are a serious matter for some

I should say here something that's obvious, but important: Captioning is an accessibility issue. I am a hearing person who just prefers to use captions, but for someone who needs captions, confusion about how to turn them on could be a real problem.

Meredith Patterson, who's the president of the National Captioning Institute, told me she supports what's become the more ubiquitous use of captions. "We want closed captioning to be 'the norm' regardless of context and are committed to making that a reality," she said.

In the last few years, AI technology has made captioning easier and better than ever — more things can be captioned with fewer errors and latency, and ultimately, Patterson said, that's what matters to the people who need it.

How to improve captioning for everyone

I can imagine why streaming services want to have slightly different functionality. They want to have their own distinct identities. And they're all obviously committed to captioning, which is a good thing. Once you figure out how to work captions on each streaming app, they do work. (None responded to my request for comment on this story.)

But captions are so hard to access! At least for me. And there are some basic functions you want to be consistent when it comes to technology: You expect the privacy policy of a website to be in small print at the bottom; you expect to find customer service at the very top or very bottom of a shopping site; you know where to find notifications in a social app.

For a streaming service, turning on captions should be standard and easy.

Do you have a story to share about using captions on streaming services? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• US job cuts hit the highest level since July 2020, fueled by DOGE's layoffs of federal workers.
• Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported a 245% increase in job cut announcements from February 2024.
• Retail and tech sectors also have also seen significant layoffs amid economic uncertainty.

Monthly job cut announcements in the US surged to their highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic last month, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The job cuts, spearheaded by President Donald Trump's DOGE committee, totaled 172,017 in February, the highest monthly level since July 2020 and the highest total for the month of February since 2009.

The reported job cuts in February represented a 245% increase from the 49,975 job cuts announced in February, and a 103% increase from the 84,638 job cuts announced in February 2024.

"With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] actions, as well as canceled Government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February," said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President at Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Challenger tracked 62,242 job cuts announced by the federal government last month across 17 different agencies. That's a more than increase from the 151 government job cuts announced in February 2024.

The spike is important for investors, who will be paying close attention to Friday's jobs report, examining whether the DOGE-led job cuts are affecting the economic data.

Challenger's report comes one day after the release of the ADP employment report for February. Private payrolls rose by 77,000, badly missing estimates of 148,000.

It's not just the government announcing job cuts, though. Other areas of the economy that were vulnerable to job cuts include the retail and technology sectors, which announced 38,956 and 14,554 job cuts respectively in February.

The layoffs may keep mounting. Estimates on Wall Street suggest DOGE could cut as many as 300,000 jobs, and Apollo economist Torsten Sløk recently noted that two contractor jobs are tied to every government job. That means total layoffs could quickly approach one million if DOGE follows through with its job cuts.

Meanwhile, economic uncertainty is heightened amid Trump's tariff threats against Mexico and Canada and the growing risk of a recession hitting the economy.

And the job cuts could even lead to voluntary layoffs, according to Challenger.

"When mass layoffs occur, it often leaves remaining staff feeling uneasy and uncertain. The likelihood that many more workers leave voluntarily is high," the firm said.

Economists expect the US economy to have added 170,000 jobs in February, with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.0%.

Stopping aid to Ukraine at a time when Russia's military spending and production is so high could result in a dangerous situation for the West.

• President Donald Trump is rolling back some of his tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
• After initial uncertainty, Trump extended a one-month pause to some Canadian goods as well.
• The pause comes after stocks tanked on Tuesday when the original tariffs took effect.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he's granting a one-month tariffs pause to a range of Mexican and Canadian goods, just days after imposing 25% tariffs on imports from the two neighboring nations.

Trump announced a one-month pause for some Mexican goods on Truth Social. After some uncertainty, he later granted Canada a reprieve as well.

"This is a modification for our tariff regime to protect car manufacturers and American farmers," Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary, told Trump before he signed the executive orders.

As part of the Canadian-related executive order, Trump also reduced the tariff on potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer that the US overwhelmingly imports from Canada. Potash will now be tariffed at 10% as opposed to the initial overall 25% for all goods.

The White House's Thursday reprieves come just a day after Trump handed automakers their own pause.

"After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This Agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum."

The USMCA, a trade deal negotiated between the US, Mexico, and Canada during Trump's first term as a replacement for the NAFTA trade pact, exempts most goods that are produced in the three signatory countries from most tariffs.

Trump's newest pause dovetails with the White House's efforts to calm markets. Shares on Wall Street tanked after Trump decided to forge ahead on Tuesday with his latest round of tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. Markets rebounded on Wednesday as traders anticipated a reduction in the tariffs would be forthcoming.

Stocks slid on Thursday, with weakness in tech and tariff concerns bringing the S&P 500 down as much as 2% in afternoon trading.

It remains to be seen how Wall Street will respond to the latest pause.

The White House has said the first round of tariffs is based on Trump's frustration with the nations failing to do more to stop the spread of fentanyl. Leaders of all three countries have disputed that claim.

The White House said the Big 3 US automakers — General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis — requested the earlier exemption for cars. That exemption applies to Canadian auto imports as well. At the time, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was open to cutting further deals.

Another round of tariffs targeting foreign agricultural goods and other products is set to go into effect on April 2. During his joint address to Congress, Trump mentioned South Korea, India, and the European Union as potential targets to even out what he views as unfair trade relations.

China and Canada immediately responded to Tuesday's announcement with retaliatory tariffs. Mexico was originally set to implement its measures on Sunday.

Beijing has taken particular exception to Trump's actions. China's US embassy wrote on X that it was ready for a "war" of any kind.

• 2024 Mr. Olympia winner Samson Dauda said he once struggled to gain weight and build muscle.
• Eating more home-cooked meals and whole foods helped him gain size and strength to compete.
• His workouts aim to maximize muscle with a mix of high reps and heavy weight in time-saving supersets.

Looking at Samson Dauda, you'd never guess he used to be a skinny kid.

But the winner of the 2024 Mr. Olympia — the most prestigious award in bodybuilding — said he once had a hard time gaining muscle.

"When I was young, I struggled to put on weight. I was one of those guys that could get away with eating everything and I didn't put on a pound," he told Business Insider in an interview on his partnership with energy drink brand Celsius.

Now Dauda weighs in at as much as 330 pounds in the off season as he packs on muscle for competition.

Born in Nigeria, Dauda moved to the UK as a teenager, and started his athletic career in rugby, where a teammate introduced him to bodybuilding. He started competing in 2014.

In 2020, at age 34, he quit his job as a construction worker to focus on bodybuilding full time.

He said two changes to his diet and workout routine have helped him break through muscle-building plateaus: eating heaps of nutritious food, and hitting high-rep, time-saving workouts.

High-rep supersets can boost muscle growth

Dauda said that, as someone who struggled to make gains, his workouts involve as much time under tension as possible to prompt muscle growth.

To do that, his typical routine involves back-to-back sets of exercise that start with a high number of reps at light weight, and then decrease the reps while increasing the weight over time.

The strategy allows him to get the benefits of lifting heavier weights, while also maximizing the time his muscles are working.

"You're putting a lot of strain in the muscle over a long period," Dauda said.

Supersets — performing two exercises one after another without rest — can also be useful for muscle building because it saves time. Switching up the exercise allows you to let one muscle group rest while the other is working, so you don't have to wait between sets.

You need extra calories and nutrients to build muscle

All that work in the gym needs fuel, and Dauda said eating nutrient-dense whole foods instead of processed food improved his gains.

"You have to give your body the building blocks for you to be able to use to build muscle," he said.

For a pro bodybuilder, eating becomes a full-time job.

Dauda said his off-season diet, when he's trying to build muscle, involves 7,500 calories a day, the vast majority of which is whole foods.

"We cook all my meals at home, so we control everything. We know that the quality of food is there and are able to put on quality size with it," he said.

Typical meals include protein sources like eggs, chicken breast, steak, ground beef — research suggests the ideal amount of protein for muscle gains is about 0.7 grams of protein per pound of your body weight daily. Dauda also eats plenty of carbs for energy from foods like oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and pasta.

He supplements with whey protein shakes to make sure he's getting enough protein to build muscle. He also relies on caffeine, including Celsius, to keep his energy up in the weeks before a competition, when intense prep can be exhausting and makes it difficult to sleep.

Dauda still gives himself a break, especially right after competition. His favorite post-show meal is pizza, ideally washed down with a big bottle of Coke. But after a few days of indulgence, Dauda is typically happy to go back to his routine of home-cooked healthy meals.

"You are so deprived for weeks and months on end that you have all these things you want to eat," he said. "And after one week you're kind of like, I've had enough, I want to go back to diet food."

• A new virtual try-on startup powered by AI is stirring up buzz in the tech world.
• Doji raised capital late last year in a round led by Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six fund.
• Its fundraising comes as some in tech are betting AI can reinvigorate the consumer startup space.

The tech industry is drooling over a new AI startup. This time, it's in the fashion space.

Doji, a new app that allows users to create AI avatars with their own likeness and virtually try on clothing, launched from stealth in January and has been rolling out access to its private beta.

Techies are loving it.

Early beta testers, including some who work for other hot AI companies like Anthropic, Cursor, and Humane, have been taking to X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn to share screenshots of the AI-generated model versions of themselves wearing designer clothes.

One of Doji's biggest fans: Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.

"Consumer is fun again thanks to AI," Ohanian said in January about Doji in a post to X, where he's been posting AI-generated fit pics from the beta.

Ohanian is also putting money behind it.

His venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six, invested in Doji, Business Insider has learned. Doji confirmed to BI that it raised an early-stage investment in 2024 from Seven Seven Six and Origins Fund. Doji did not disclose the size of the fundraise.

"Over the years, a lot of folks have tried to nail virtual try-on — the ultimate holy grail for recreating the dressing room experience online," Chris Vanzetta, a partner at Seven Seven Six who led the deal, told BI in a statement. "Powered by their cutting-edge AI technology and incredible taste, Doji has finally brought that experience to consumers with its lifelike virtual avatars."

Building AI for everyday consumers

Doji was cofounded by Dorian Dargan (previously at Meta and Apple) and Jim Winkens (previously at Google DeepMind) in 2024 after the two first met on Twitter in 2022.

The pair are self-professed fashion lovers who, in building Doji, are bringing together their AI and consumer expertise.

"We started it with ourselves as users in mind," Dargan said. "And I think that's one of the reasons why it's being well received, because it's actually designed for people versus just to be technology."

Here's how it works: Users upload several selfies from different angles and two full-body images, then wait about 20 minutes for the app's AI to generate a virtual model.

In the app, users can try on products that the Doji team has curated, as well as import products with shoppable links, Dargan said. Then, if someone wants to buy a product they were virtually trying on, there is a button that brings the user to wherever that product is hosted online.

Consumer has been a sleepy segment of the startup market for years, but AI is pumping energy into the industry and getting some investors excited about opportunities.

"I think the smarter investors are seeing now that most of the value in AI is getting accrued at the application layer," Winkens said. "We are seeing, also outside of us, money flowing into the application layer more and more."

Doji isn't the only virtual try-on startup to raise venture capital recently. Vybe, a browser extension for Safari that lets people virtually try on clothing while online shopping, announced a $4.75 million seed funding round led by Stellation Capital last summer.

Tech workers are driving hype for the app

Jane Manchun Wong, an engineer and tech blogger with access to Doji's beta, told BI that she first learned about the app after seeing people she knew post about it on X.

One feature that made an impression on Wong was the option for Doji to generate potential outfits.

"I don't really like to try out different choices of clothes, so having it be able to pick the clothes for me is really inspiring," Wong told BI.

Karine Hsu, founder and CEO of startup creative agency Slope, who also uses Doji's beta, said she was impressed by the tool's accuracy. There have been a few instances where an item was transposed, or the fit was off, but it has been minor, she said.

Right now, Doji's app includes a curated selection of designer items from brands like Maison Margiela, Diesel, and Rick Owens. Even though Hsu doesn't purchase luxury goods, she said it's been fun to try on things she wouldn't buy herself and explore her personal style with shoes and accessories. She's also used the feature where Doji users can input their own products from across the internet to try on.

"I did find myself inputting athleisure from Alo Yoga and more everyday items so I could see myself in them before purchasing," she said. "I actually ended up going to the store to try on the product again, but it was cool that I had a reference photo that I could compare to."

• When planning a girls' trip to Mexico City, I searched for unique local experiences.
• I found a tour led by locals to Teotihuacán that took you to their home for lunch.
• It taught me more about Mexican culture than any museum or bus tour could have.

When a friend relocated to Mexico City, planning a girls' trip to visit her was a no-brainer.

As a travel writer, I naturally became the trip planner. Although we wanted to explore the city's vibrant culture and history, I also desired to go beyond the traditional tourist haunts.

Teotihuacán's iconic ruins outside the city were a must-see on our list, so I started searching for different ways to experience them.

That's when I found Hugo and Gabriel's tour on Airbnb Experiences.

For about $104 a person, we would visit the ancient Mesoamerican city and have lunch at their grandmother's home just minutes away.

The excursion promised a mix of history, culture, and connection that felt perfect for our group.

With my friends' blessings to do something out of their comfort zones, we booked it.

I seek local connections when I travel, and this tour to a grandma's home near an ancient city delivered

The day began with a visit to Teotihuacán, an ancient Mesoamerican city home to the awe-inspiring Sun and Moon Pyramids.

As incredible as the ruins were, the real magic started when we arrived at Grandma's house.

We were greeted with glasses of refreshing agua de Jamaica (hibiscus water) while the intoxicating aroma of rich, earthy spices, hints of roasted chilies, dark chocolate, toasted nuts, and fragrant herbs quickly drew us inside.

Our guides' family was putting the finishing touches on the plates, which had been prepared for hours — if not days.

Tasting homemade moles while listening to the family's story was heartwarming

Our guides, brothers Hugo and Gabriel, shared how their family business started while we savored the homemade green and red moles — each a grandmother's secret recipe.

They said what first began as a way to offset college costs by driving visitors to the pyramids evolved into something much bigger.

Inspired by their love for history and culture, the brothers told us they studied anthropology to become certified guides.

When they started offering tours, they realized many nearby restaurants felt like overpriced tourist traps. Then, their mom and grandma suggested a simple but life-changing idea: "Why not bring the visitors home? We'll cook for them!"

Now, many members of the family help them share their culture and traditions through food as part of the tour.

After hearing about their experience, our culinary journey only deepened. We were introduced to pulque, a fermented drink crafted from the sap of the maguey plant that dates back thousands of years.

Our guides taught us about the history of the ancient beverage while we got to taste a few varieties and other unique liqueurs.

This tour was one of my favorite experiences in Mexico City

I didn't expect this would become the highlight of my trip, but I'm grateful we booked it.

We got to learn about local cuisine and a local business while sharing a delicious meal, which felt priceless. To me, this experience felt like a celebration of everything that makes Mexican culture so rich and inviting.

It was a beautiful reminder that the best travel experiences aren't just about ticking off landmarks. They're about the connections that reveal the soul of a place — one bite, one story, and one meal at a time.

• The Social Security Administration told workers they couldn't access news or shopping websites.
• It said this move would help protect sensitive information within the agency.
• An employee who received the email told BI it could hinder the agency's work.

As the Trump administration continues to restructure the Social Security Administration, employees at the agency learned on Thursday that they're now prohibited from reading the news on their work computers.

SSA sent an agencywide email informing employees of new restrictions on internet browsing. The email, reviewed by Business Insider, said that starting on Thursday, employees were no longer allowed to access three categories of websites on "government-furnished equipment": online shopping, general news, and sports.

"Employees with a legitimate business should submit an exception" to their supervisor, the email said, adding: "These additional restrictions will help reduce risk and better protect the sensitive information entrusted to us in our many systems."

An SSA spokesperson told BI that "employees should be focused on mission-critical work and serving the American people. Therefore, we implemented additional restrictions to the categories of websites prohibited from government-furnished equipment."

An SSA employee who was granted anonymity to speak freely about their job told BI that there was a staff meeting on Thursday about the latest guidance. During the meeting, they said, employees voiced their concerns that the Microsoft web browser they use automatically reroutes certain homepages to news and sports links.

The employee said that a representative from SSA's headquarters said there should be no issues as long as workers did not "navigate" to a prohibited site.

"Not a comforting thing in this Bolshevik environment," the employee said.

This person added that SSA workers sometimes search online obituaries to "move things along quicker" to help verify information on beneficiaries. "In some cases, surviving family are eligible for benefits but we never receive official notice of death," they said.

This latest guidance "could mean claims being stuck in limbo," the employee said.

Thursday's email followed a notice sent to employees last week offering them voluntary early retirement as part of a "restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions." Five SSA workers told BI that the cuts could increase customer service wait times and delay payments for older Americans and those with disabilities who rely on Social Security benefits.

"Service to the public will undoubtedly suffer. We barely have enough staff now to meet the public's needs," one employee said.

Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has terminated thousands of federal workers and outlined plans to restructure federal agencies as part of the DOGE office's goal, championed by Elon Musk, to slash government waste. The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo in late February asking all federal agencies to submit reorganization plans by March 13.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at asheffey.97. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Business Insider spoke to professional organizers about the things to get rid of before spring.
• The experts suggest getting rid of unused kitchen appliances and food-storage containers.
• The change in seasons is a great time to organize your closet and donate anything that's unworn.

With spring getting closer, now is a great time to tidy up around the house and get rid of items that are taking up valuable space.

To help make this process easier, Business Insider spoke to three professional organizers about the best things to toss or donate before the season changes. Here's what they said.

It's time to get rid of appliances you don't use.

Although it's fine to hold onto the blender you use to make a daily protein shake, Hope Kerner of All Things Neat by Hope told BI it's important to rethink the trendy kitchen appliances taking up unnecessary space.

"People tend to buy air fryers and giant blenders and panini presses, and if you don't use it, it's just taking up valuable real estate in your cabinets," she said.

It's also a good time to sort through old utensils.

Checking the quality of utensils in the kitchen is not only a good way to free up space but also a smart choice for your safety.

Consider tossing cracked or damaged ones, like wooden spoons or silicone spatulas, which can be difficult to clean and harbor bacteria.

If you have dull knives you don't use anymore, sharpen them or take them out of the kitchen.

"Knives become dull if they're not maintained, and then they become dangerous," Kerner said. "Good cookware and good knives are essential in the kitchen."

Plastic food-storage containers take up a lot of space in cabinets.

Kerner also recommended sorting through the plasticware taking up space in the cabinet.

Although people buy containers of all shapes and sizes, they're often forgotten items left in the back of the cabinet, taking away valuable storage space in the kitchen.

Sort through your clothing before the new season.

Nathalie Navarro of Todo en Orden RD said the change of seasons is the best time to evaluate the clothes in your closet.

Although this can be an emotional process, Navarro said it's important to remain rational while sorting through the racks. For example, it's probably smart to donate a forgotten sweater or jeans that fit a little too tight.

"The questions people need to ask themselves are: If I keep it, will it take up space in my closet? If I get rid of it, do I have the financial means to buy it again? And lastly, do I already have a good replacement for it?" she told BI.

Meghan Cocchiaro of Organized by Meg also emphasized the importance of sorting through your closet to welcome a new season. "Clothing is a great category to go through when seasons change," she said.

As the weather warms up, it's a good idea to organize the garage.

As the seasons change, Cocchiaro told BI it's a good time to tackle organizing the garage.

Getting rid of bulkier items like cardboard boxes and outdoor equipment, as well as duplicates of certain items, can help free up space.

For example, it's unlikely you'll need six rakes, but putting all your gardening equipment in one spot can help you take stock of what you have.

• Software engineering jobs have declined as AI tools have increasingly automated coding tasks.
• Newer entrants in the field are struggling to find jobs and some companies are pausing hiring.
• Some engineers have still found success, and tech executives recommend strong foundational skills.

Working as a software engineer isn't what it used to be — but those working in the industry have some tips for getting ahead in the increasingly crowded job market.

The software engineering industry is going through a major shift driven by the adoption of AI, which has led to fewer job postings, layoffs, and evolving responsibilities for those still working in the field.

In early to mid-2022, there were three times as many software engineering roles listed on Indeed. This chart shows just how much the opportunity landscape has changed.

As AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot or Replit have become more prominent, a large part of the job has become automated. In Salesforce's most recent earnings call, its CEO Marc Benioff said the company is seeing a "30% productivity increase in engineering" and won't "hire any new engineers this year" in the wake of those gains.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in an earnings call in 2024 that over a quarter of the company's code is generated by AI before being checked by employees.

A manager at Microsoft similarly shared that AI reduced 70% of the time he used to spend on coding, although he noted that his daily workload hasn't been reduced. That's because software engineers do more than just code. For newer entrants to the field, though, the opportunities are narrowing, and some have struggled to get the foundational skills needed to move up.

Some recent software engineering grads have said they sent hundreds of job applications with minimal responses. That's led some to pursue a "panic Master's" degree to put off the hunt.

There are ways to be successful in the field

It's not all doom and gloom, though.

Automating coding tasks has increased the demand for developers to leverage their creativity and experience. Here's some of the advice from industry veterans and tech CEOs on how to improve your odds of getting a job in the field — and success stories from those who have done it.

• Consider majoring in AI at one of the growing number of universities offering specialized degree programs in this field. Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pennsylvania, and Dakota State University are just a few of the schools offering Bachelor of Science degrees in artificial intelligence.
• Google's head of research says the basics are more important than ever and advocates for learning to code, especially as there will be opportunities to build upon those foundational skills.
• Instagram's cofounder Mike Krieger said more of the work will revolve around double-checking AI-generated code instead of writing it. Krieger, who is now Anthropic's chief product officer, said the work will evolve to be more about coming up with the right ideas and learning how to delegate correctly to models.
• Google's CEO said the company is looking for "superstar software engineers." He also said those who want an engineering job at the search giant need to be willing to learn and adapt.
• An Nvidia principal architect said young programmers should prioritize writing and math. He also said having an internship every year in college is key to getting an entry-level job.
• One Gen Z software engineer said a comp-sci degree with a focus on AI is one of the best and most valuable degrees at the moment. He added that it's not for everyone though — if you have a short attention span, don't like math, or struggle with commitment issues, it might not be the right fit.
• A software engineer who landed a $300,000 job at Google said he would lead with experience instead of skills if he were to apply again. However, he said he'd keep an "interests" section because it helps break the ice in interviews.
• A software engineer who landed interviews at Meta, Amazon, and Dropbox, and got hired at Microsoft suggests focusing your résumé on technical strengths and being concise. He also suggests making it visually stand out, and clearly communicating responsibilities and results.
• One Google software engineer recommends conveying impact on a résumé in numbers and results. He also said highlighting publications and projects can help if you don't have a lot of professional experience yet.
• A software engineer hired by Oracle said data center experience was mentioned in the hiring process and he was also asked to detail the technical work he previously did. He said an interview he did for a FAANG company was more focused on him being the right personality and fit.
• Three software engineers who landed jobs at Google shared varying résumés, but they all interned at a Big Tech company during college. They also all had at least a 3.6 GPA and studied computer science.
• Four Google software engineers were hired after interning at the tech giant. They suggested starting as early as possible, and applying to internships aimed at underclassmen.