• DOGE has been ordered to release some records by US District Judge Christopher Cooper.
• He wrote in a 37-page opinion memorandum that DOGE was operating rapidly but with "unusual secrecy."
• He's now instructed the agency to comply with FOIA requests from a watchdog nonprofit.

A federal judge has ordered Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to release some of its records publicly, citing its "unprecedented" authority and the "unusual secrecy" with which it operates.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper instructed DOGE to comply with a nonprofit's three Freedom of Information Act requests for details about its role in "spearheading the mass firings and dramatic disruptions to federal programs."

In a 37-page opinion memorandum on Monday, Cooper wrote that the "public would be irreparably harmed by an indefinite delay" in the FOIA request.

He told DOGE to deliver the requested information quickly and "begin producing documents on a rolling basis as soon as possible."

Cooper's decision is the first major legal ruling that has sought to pry open DOGE's operations for the public. His memo mainly cited news reports and social media statements from Musk and President Donald Trump.

Still, the ruling can be appealed.

In his note, Cooper wrote that DOGE's actions "demonstrate its substantial authority over vast swaths of the federal government."

The judge wrote that DOGE appeared to have access to much of the government's IT systems, allowing it to act and move quickly.

"But the rapid pace of USDS's actions, in turn, requires the quick release of information about its structure and activities," he added, citing DOGE's former name, the US Digital Service.

Since Trump took office in January, DOGE's mandate has been to ax government spending in the name of efficiency. As part of that effort, it's canceled most USAID programs and fired thousands of federal employees.

Data released this month by Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that job cuts in the federal government had reached 172,017 in February alone — the highest monthly level since the pandemic spurred a wave of layoffs in June 2020.

DOGE estimates it's saved $105 billion so far, but its tallies aren't definitive. The agency has repeatedly deleted or lowered the amount saved in some of its reports by billions of dollars.

In his memo, Cooper cited multiple concerns with how DOGE was working, writing that it operates with "unusual secrecy."

Cooper referred to several news reports, such as a piece from The New York Times that found DOGE employees were operating on auto-deleting messaging apps like Signal.

"Moreover, the authority exercised by USDS across the federal government and the dramatic cuts it has apparently made with no congressional input appear to be unprecedented," he wrote.

In line with Cooper's order for DOGE to release its records, the judge also instructed it to preserve all records that might be related to the nonprofit's FOIA request.

The nonprofit, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, is a watchdog organization that focuses on the government's ethics and transparency.

On Monday, CREW's executive director said the organization was "grateful for Judge Cooper's decision."

"Now more than ever, Americans deserve transparency in their government," said Donald Sherman. "Despite efforts and claims to the contrary, the government cannot hide the actions of the US DOGE Service."

Representatives of DOGE and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

• Dax Shepard says he stopped trying to find out how much his costars made when he starred in "Parenthood."
• That way, he could continue to enjoy going to work, Shepard said on his "Armchair Expert" podcast.
• He said he was aware he was among the lowest-paid actors on the show.

Dax Shepard may be a popular podcaster now, but he said there was a time when he wasn't making much money as an actor.

During Monday's episode of his "Armchair Expert" podcast featuring his former "Parenthood" costar Lauren Graham, Shepard spoke about how being on the show changed the way he thought about pay transparency.

"Every job I had ever had in my life prior to 'Parenthood,' I made a point to find out what everyone was making," Shepard told Graham and his cohost, actor Monica Padman. "I'd always figure it out — either a conversation where I get it out of them or backchannel through an agent."

But when Shepard landed the role of Crosby Braverman in the NBC series, which ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2015, he decided to stop doing that. Because of that choice, Shepard said he was "so happy" working on the show.

"If I find out that Jabbar is making twice as much as me, how can I enjoy going to work?" he said, referring to Jabbar Trussell, his onscreen son played by actor Tyree Brown.

"That was the first time I ever broke that habit and boy, was that a blessing," he said.

Earlier in the podcast, Shepard said that he was among the lowest-paid of the show's actors.

Earlier comments about money

During a 2021 appearance on the "Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo" podcast, Shepard said that he was sometimes bothered by social media comments that he made less money than his wife, Kristen Bell.

"That shouldn't bother me at all," Shepard told host Ellen Pompeo. "I know how much I make. It's a lot."

"Yet, two days later, I'll be hearing that f— tweet in my head. 'Cause that person set out to emasculate me," he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported that in July 2024, Shepard signed an $80 million podcasting deal with Amazon's Wondery platform. As part of the deal, Wondery and Shepard's "Armchair Expert" team would develop and produce two new podcasts and one livestream a year.

In the past few years, a growing number of states, including New York, California, and Nevada, have passed pay transparency measures that force companies to disclose compensation levels.

Some employers are hesitant to share salary information upfront since it gives them an advantage during pay negotiations with candidates, workplace expert and author Jenn Lim previously told Business Insider.

Not disclosing immediately gives the companies "more wiggle room on the back end," Lim said in 2022. "It's a negotiation point."

If companies are hoping to appeal to Gen Z job seekers, pay transparency is a must: A 2022 Indeed survey of 2,000 people aged 16 to 26 years found that 85% of respondents said that it's important or very important for a job listing to include salary information.

Representatives for Shepard and NBC did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by BI outside regular hours.

• Australian-born K-Pop singer Felix Lee walked the Louis Vuitton runway in Paris on Monday night.
• Lee is a muse hand-picked by Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton's artistic director.
• Lee's second turn on the catwalk comes as LVMH bets big on East Asia, buying into endorsements from K-Pop.

Wherever Felix Lee goes, the lights — and Louis Vuitton — seem to follow.

On Monday, the 24-year-old Australian-born K-Pop singer showed up at LV's March Fall-Winter 2025 show in Paris for his second time on the catwalk.

He walked the runway wearing pieces designed by Nicolas Ghesquière, LV's artistic director for womenswear.

The look: Loose gingham-print pants with a black and beige knit sweater paired with a teal duffel bag with orange straps. Lee's hair — freshly bleached blonde — was straight and slicked back, reminiscent of his first visit on the LV catwalk in 2023.

Lee — who is based in South Korea and part of the eight-member band Stray Kids — is one of Ghesquière's latest muses. And while it's now common to see at least one South Korean pop star sitting front-row at fashion shows in New York, London, and Paris, it's still rare for one of them to walk the runway for a major brand.

Before Monday's show, Lee posted stories on Instagram with Ghesquière, where the designer said it was a "big honor" to have Lee at his show.

In several of the brand's videos, Lee has spoken extensively about his friendship with Ghesquière.

In a March video from LV, Lee said he first met Ghesquière in 2023 in Seoul.

"It's such a huge pleasure to meet him up front, and from there on, we became good friends," he said in the video.

He said Ghesquière personally invited him to walk in the LV Fall-Winter 2024 show in Paris.

"The fact that I got to attend and do my first runway for Nicolas' 10th-anniversary runway — honestly, it just blew my mind," Lee said in a May interview with Vogue.

Lee's Instagram page, which had 26.2 million followers as of press time, is full of pictures of him wearing LV pieces.

In a September post, he wore a black tee with the words "Vuitton Louis icons" emblazoned on it.

Another October post showed him carrying the brand's Neverfull bag.

LV bets big on East Asia

Lee's meteoric rise in LV's hall of muses comes as LV bets big on Asian endorsements.

Lisa from the K-Pop girl group Blackpink, who was previously the face of Celine, joined LV as a brand ambassador in July.

And back in 2021, LV tapped BTS as house ambassadors.

The larger LVMH business, too, has added K-Pop idols to its roster of ambassadors.

In 2023, Dior and Tiffany & Co. made Jimin — one of the seven members of BTS — their brand ambassador. V, also from BTS, became the face of Celine and Cartier the same year.

In 2021, Tiffany & Co. signed Blackpink singer Rosé to be the face of the brand. Her bandmate, Jisoo, was chosen as Dior's global ambassador in 2021.

To be sure, the connections between Korean pop culture and Western high fashion have been over a decade in the making.

G-Dragon — the leader of BIGBANG, the top band in South Korea's pop scene in the 2000s — was one of Chanel's hottest faces in Asia. The rapper was friends with the late Karl Lagerfeld and, in 2015, walked in Chanel's haute couture show in Paris.

A broader East Asia marketing push from LV

Jacob Cooke, the CEO of the China-based marketing firm WPIC Marketing + Technologies, said that LV's strategy of featuring K-Pop stars like Lee is a "continuation of its broader East Asia approach, where luxury brands use celebrity endorsements to cultivate deep emotional connections with consumers."

"South Korea has long been a cultural powerhouse for luxury, driving trends across Asia and beyond, particularly through K-Pop and K-drama fandoms, so LV's investment in stars like Felix Lee makes sense in terms of market positioning for the entire region," Cooke said.

However, Cooke said celebrity endorsements may not always be effective for sustained brand growth, as the brand risks appearing "too mass market" and less "aspirational."

Representatives for Lee at JYP Entertainment and Louis Vuitton did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

• Sam Altman showed up at Morgan Stanley's tech conference in San Francisco last week.
• The event was closed to the public and the media.
• Morgan Stanley analysts just summarized some of what was discussed.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman showed up to Morgan Stanley's tech conference last week. The event was closed to the public and the media, so details have been thin about what was discussed. Until now.

On Monday, Morgan Stanley analysts published a roundup of comments from the event, including some of what Altman and OpenAI discussed.

This company is one of the world's most valuable startups, working on AI technology that could revolutionize business and broader society. And Altman is probably the second most famous tech executive in the world, behind Elon Musk.

This makes it pretty important to check up on Altman's thinking regularly — especially when he shares thoughts in a semi-private setting.

Here are some highlights from the event, according to Morgan Stanley analysts:

AI = deflation?

Altman spoke about how AI could be deflationary. He said that this is one of the impacts of this technology that is most underappreciated and misunderstood by investors.

"This potential deflationary impact is consistent with our Thematic work where we have highlighted the potential for higher global efficiency and productivity… which would help offset inflation," Morgan Stanley's analysts wrote.

The cost to access and use generative AI models has been collapsing. This is partly due to new techniques that have made creating top AI models easier. I wrote last year that there are tons of great models, so the laws of supply and demand dictate that they are becoming more of a commodity, and hence cheaper.

This is likely great news for developers and businesses that need to access these AI models because they are paying a lot less than a year ago.

Still not enough GPUs

OpenAI highlighted significant capacity constraints, saying that its large fleet of graphic processing units is "completely saturated." This is true both in the training stage, where AI models are created, and in the inference stage, which runs these models.

OpenAI also said that it has never experienced a situation "where it can't sell out access to its GPUs at reasonable margins."

"At a high level these comments are consistent with our thematic framework where a small number of leading companies (or individuals) are focused on training/building the leading LLM…which will require significant compute," Morgan Stanley's analysts wrote, referring to large language models.

There's been some hand-wringing lately about how strong GPU demand may be in the future, so OpenAI's comments are notable.

OpenAI isn't worried about training data

In contrast, OpenAI isn't worried about the supply of data to train its models.

The startup highlighted its ability to use its GPUs and existing AI models to create more data. This is known as synthetic data, and it's becoming increasingly useful for certain stages of the model-creation process.

"Data is not a constraint in the way that compute is a constraint (or even the way energy may one day be)," Morgan Stanley's analysts wrote.

OpenAI didn't respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Do you have a story to share about AI? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• Eric Schmidt just became the CEO of Relativity Space.
• The startup aims to build reusable rockets and an industrial base on Mars.
• Some of the company's ambitions parallel those of Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

Another billionaire has entered the rocket race.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has provided "substantial financial backing" and has become the CEO of rocket startup Relativity Space, its outgoing leader Tim Ellis said Monday.

The company, which was the first to send 3D printed rockets into space, is building reusable flight hardware and has a long-term goal of building an industrial base on Mars.

Schmidt, who led Google from 2001 until 2011 and was Alphabet's executive chairman until 2017, joins as the company aims to launch its Terran R launch vehicle in the next couple of years. The company said in a YouTube video posted Monday the vehicle is now in the design process. It launched its Terran 1 rocket in 2023, but it failed to reach orbit.

Relativity Space declined to comment further when reached by Business Insider.

"I know there's no one more tenacious or passionate to propel this dream forward," Ellis, also the cofounder of the company, said in an X post on Monday, adding that he'll transition to the company's board.

Some of the company's eventual ambitions run parallel to those of Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

Under Schmidt's leadership, Relativity Space's rockets could compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy and Blue Origin's New Glenn and New Shepherd rockets, as Relativity Space aims to create reusable rockets.

The company, which was founded about a decade ago, is also known for using 3D printing to produce its rockets. In 2023, Relativity Space made history by sending the first rocket that was mostly 3D printed into space, though it did not reach orbit. The company has since expanded its focus beyond 3D printing and is also incorporating more traditional methods to produce its rockets.

Relativity Space was valued at more than $4 billion in 2021, with investors that included BlackRock, Fidelity, and Mark Cuban.

• Brian Chesky, a former hockey player and industrial design student, is now worth $9.1 billion.
• Chesky started Airbnb after renting out his apartment to conference-goers who couldn't find a hotel.
• See how Chesky led the company to a successful IPO and beyond despite COVID-19 and other challenges.

Before running Airbnb, Brian Chesky attended art school. 

After graduation, an idea hatched with his San Francisco roommate Joe Gebbia blossomed into tech unicorn Airbnb and has positioned Chesky as one of Silicon Valley's key players. 

In 2024, Airbnb recorded a 11% growth in pre-tax earnings at approximately $4 billion compared to 2023, and remained synonymous with short-term rentals across the US. 

Here's how the Brian Chesky, now 43, became one of the richest young tech founders in America.

This story was originally published in 2016. It was last updated on March 10, 2025.

Chesky grew up in Niskayuna, New York, north of Albany.

He was into hockey, and he also liked to draw and design new versions of Nike sneakers, which turned into an interest in art, according to a 2015 Fortune profile.

Chesky's high school yearbook quote was "I'm sure I'll amount to nothing." He thought it was funny — his dad didn't.

I remember the day my dad saw my yearbook photo. He saw this and yelled, "Nothing?! Nothing?!" I thought it was funny... he didn't. Earlier this year, he was happy to find out I'd be speaking at both my high school and college as the commencement speaker. Now, off to Rhode Island School of Design. ✈️ 🎓See you soon Dad! #RISD

A post shared by Brian Chesky (@bchesky) on May 31, 2017 at 11:06am PDTMay 31, 2017 at 11:06am PDT

"Earlier this year, he was happy to find out I'd be speaking at both my high school and college as the commencement speaker," Chesky wrote on Instagram in 2017. "See you soon Dad!"

 

Chesky attended Rhode Island School of Design.

The '04 grad served as captain of the hockey team and studied industrial design.

At RISD, Chesky met Joe Gebbia, with whom he would eventually cofound Airbnb.

Right before graduation, Gebbia reportedly pulled Chesky aside and said: "Before you get on the plane, there's something I need to tell you. We're going to start a company one day, and they're going to write a book about it," per Fortune.

Chesky first worked as an industrial designer.

After graduating from RISD, Chesky moved to Los Angeles to work as an industrial designer, for which he made $40,000 a year, according to Forbes.

But shortly thereafter, he moved to San Francisco and in with Gebbia.

—Bill Gross (@Bill_Gross) February 16, 2016

The two unemployed grads soon ran out of cash, said Leigh Gallagher, author of the book, "The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions … and Created Plenty of Controversy." When a design conference came to town in October 2007 and caused all the hotels to sell out, Gebbia pitched Chesky the idea of renting out their space to those who couldn't find a place to stay. Guests could sleep in air mattresses on their living room floor.

"They thought they were going to get hippie backpackers, and instead, they got lots of people just like them who wanted those air mattresses," Gallagher said in an interview with the Knowledge at Wharton show. "They had people sending their resumes and their LinkedIn profiles, so they thought, 'We might be on to something.'"

A few months later, Gebbia and Chesky were joined by their engineer friend, Nathan Blecharczyk.

Together, the three guys started what was at the time called Airbedandbreakfast.com in August 2008.

"I think they came along at the right time, because it was the Great Recession," Gallagher said. "People were looking for a cheap way to travel, and they just struck a chord with millennials, who were a massive market that at the time was not really being spoken to by the traditional hotel industry."

Since then, Airbnb has not only shortened its name, but has listings in more than 220 countries worldwide.

The company says it has served an estimated 2 billion guests since its 2008 launch. Airbnb has a market cap of $89 billion as of March 2025.

In 2015, Chesky was named to the Time 100 as one of the most influential people alive.

Apple's former design chief, Jony Ive, wrote at the time that Chesky's "audacity is fabulous."

"The service that Brian and his partners imagined," the Apple executive said, "is soaringly ambitious and utterly practical."

"Bringing people together is something of a passion for Brian," Ive said. "With Airbnb he's helped create millions of personal connections. That's an achievement that even the best hotels in the world should envy."

In 2016, Chesky, as well as Airbnb's two other cofounders, all publicly signed the Giving Pledge.

By doing so, they promise donate more than half of their wealth within their lifetimes. The pledge is a philanthropic initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda French Gates.

Up until 2016, Chesky was still renting out his couch in his San Francisco apartment on Airbnb.

But after getting caught flouting a San Francisco law that requires hosts to register with the city, Chesky was forced to take the listing down.

In February 2020, cancellations began rolling in from China due to a mysterious virus.

Chesky and his team were three weeks away from filing for Airbnb's IPO.

The early days of the pandemic seemed grim.

Airbnb's revenue plummeted 80% due to COVID-related travel restrictions. The company burned through its cash reserves and opted to raise $2 billion in debt and equity financing to stay afloat. Its valuation, previously $31 billion, slipped to $18 billion.

Airbnb laid off 1,900 employees, about 25% of its full-time staff.

Employees said they felt betrayed, but Chesky was also praised for his handling of the situation. Workers were given generous severance packages, and Chesky offered to help find them jobs elsewhere.

But then Pandemic-weary travelers turned to Airbnb.

Bookings bounced back by as much as 127% between April 2020 and May 2020.

Airbnb went public on December 10, 2020, under the Nasdaq ticker symbol ABNB.

Barron's called it a "blockbuster" IPO. On its first day of trading, the company was valued at $86 billion, more than hotel rivals Marriott, Hilton, and Intercontinental combined.

Chesky announced Airbnb would work to house refugees when Russia invaded Ukraine.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in Feburary, 2022, Chesky tweeted that "Airbnb and Airbnb.org are working with our Hosts to house up to 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine, for free," and appealed for hosts from neighboring countries including Poland, Germany, Hungary, and Romania to join the effort.

In November 2022, Chesky listed a guest room in his home on Airbnb.

The room had a queen-sized bed and a piece of Airbnb history: the novelty cereal boxes that Chesky sold in 2008 to fund the early days of the company. Chesky said he would make cookies and go to the gym with guests.

"I live here, so I'll be here," Chesky said in a video posted to his X account, which showed him taking photos of his home. "I did it 15 years ago, and I'm going to do it again."

Demand for travel and experiences surged

Airbnb recorded its first profitable year in 2022, with a $1.9 billion profit. It lost $352 million in 2021, per the Wall Street Journal.

Countless other real-estate firms conducted mass layoffs due to the cooling housing market.

In March 2023, Airbnb cut 30% of its recruiting staff, which represented just 0.4% of its total headcount of 6,800. "We're going to continue to grow, but we're going to grow modestly," CFO Dave Stephenson said in a February earnings call.

His current net worth is $9.1 billion, per Forbes.

Forbes also ranked him as one of the most eligible billionaires in the world alongside Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk.

Chesky hopes to expand Airbnb beyond short-term rentals and even travel, such as matching hosts with property managers and expanding the Experiences business.

"Why would Airbnb just offer homes? Why couldn't we offer significantly more things? And that's the future of this company," Chesky told Skift CEO Rafat Ali during the 2024 Skift Global Forum. "We're going to take the Airbnb model, and we're going to bring it to a lot of different categories."

Sam Altman credits Chesky for advice that helped saved OpenAI and prevented Altman from making mistakes after the OpenAI CEO was briefly fired in 2023.

Altman said Chesky, along with venture capitalist Ron Conway, helped him navigate challenges at OpenAI.

"They stopped me from making several mistakes and made none themselves," Altman wrote in a blog post. "They used their vast networks for everything needed and were able to navigate many complex situations. And I'm sure they did a lot of things I don't know about."

"I am reasonably confident OpenAI would have fallen apart without their help; they worked around the clock for days until things were done," he said.

Chesky allows his employees to work from anywhere as long as they come into the San Francisco office once month

Chesky said in a 2025 Rapid Response podcast episode that difficult deadlines and regular progress checks are more important than demanding a return to office.

"I have a simple rule: we basically ask people to come to San Francisco one week a month," Chesky told host Bob Safian. "Some people come for just two or three days. Some people come for the full week."

"I have not found a huge value in people being in the office all the time," Chesky said. "What I want is, for the most part, people coming to the San Francisco office, but I can't get everyone to move here to San Francisco, and I can't get them to fly here every week."

Chesky helped popularize the term "founder mode."

But he said people have gotten the definition twisted.

On an episode of The Verge's "Decoder" podcast the Airbnb CEO explained what he thought people were misunderstanding about it.

"First of all, people don't know what founder mode is," Chesky said on the podcast. "They think it means swagger. I remember a tweet that said, 'I'm going founder mode on this burrito.' I don't know what that means. That wasn't the message."

"If I could summarize founder mode in a couple sentences, it's about being in the details," he said. "It's that great leadership is presence, not absence."

• Elon Musk's net worth fell by $29 billion as Monday as Tesla's stock price also declined.
• Tesla's stock was down 15% as of close on Monday, while Musk's net worth was down 6.7%.
• Musk said Monday it's been hard to run his businesses while working on government efficiency.

Elon Musk remained the wealthiest person in the world even after losing $29 billion on Monday alone.

Musk was worth $301 billion as of Monday evening, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which updated to reflect stock values as of market close. Musk's net worth as of Sunday was $330 billion, meaning it fell 6.7% on Monday.

The net worth drop was fueled by a decline in Tesla's stock price. Tesla's stock fell 15% on Monday, marking its biggest single-day decline since September 2020. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was down 4% overall while the S&P 500 was down 3%.

Tesla stock is down 55% from its high in December. Musk's net worth is down $132 billion, or over 30%, this year, according to Bloomberg.

Some Tesla investors are worried the billionaire CEO might be spending too much time in Washington, DC, and not enough focusing on the electric-vehicle maker.

Musk has been working closely with President Donald Trump and the DOGE office as it seeks to make cuts to eliminate waste and fraud in the federal government, including by cutting spending and the federal workforce.

Trump has said the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is leading the office, but the White House and the Justice Department have denied it, instead naming another official as the administrator of the DOGE office.

Musk said in an interview with Fox Business that aired Monday that it has not been easy to juggle leading his companies, like Tesla and SpaceX, while also working on government efficiency efforts.

When asked how he was doing both, Musk replied, "With great difficulty," followed by a long pause and a sigh.

Tesla facilities have also been the targets of several attacks, including gunshots and other acts of vandalism, that police have said could be motivated by Musk's politics and government work.

When asked about those incidents during the Fox interview, Musk said he wanted to eliminated waste in fraud in government and that he believed he is "doing the right thing."

• Ukraine has fielded a new homemade Shahed-like drone.
• The Azov brigade says it is easy to operate and already hunting Russian targets.
• Russia's Shahed drones, both Iranian and domestically produced, have been incredibly lethal.

Ukraine has a new combat drone that resembles one Russia has been relying on throughout the war. Its soldiers say the homemade Shahed-like aircraft is easy to use and already giving them an edge in striking front-line Russian targets.

On Monday, Ukraine's 12th Special Operations Brigade, known as the Azov Brigade, shared photos of its newest weapon. The veteran Ukrainian unit released a video of the drone striking a Russian truck.

The brigade said that this new drone, identified as UAS SETH, allows operators to conduct drone operations more efficiently against Russian troops and equipment. The unit said that the new drone is entirely produced in Ukraine. The foundation Come Back Alive provided the first batch of these new drones, which are being used in the Toretsk sector.

Ukraine has heavily prioritized drones, seeing them as an invaluable tool that will save lives by reducing the human cost of war. The country is planning to spend over $2.6 billion on roughly 4.5 million first-person-view drones this year.

Ukrainian manufacturers have been working on new drone models, as well as software and other technologies to resist Russian signal jamming and other electronic warfare. Another priority is autonomous capabilities, which would make it easier to find and hit targets accurately and effectively.

Ukrainian companies and units have said drone developers are working closely with operators on what assets are most needed on the battlefield and on how Ukraine can continue to increase its domestic drone production.

Details on the new Ukrainian drone are few, but it notably resembles the Shahed drone series. Originally developed by Iran, the Shaheds have been a lethal strike option for Russia in the war. Russia has also produced a version of these aircraft.

The one-way attack drones, technically loitering munitions, are powered by gas engines with a pusher propeller. The new Ukrainian drone looks a lot like the Shahed-136, a popular delta-wing drone, that has been used to attack Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.

United24, a Ukrainian government-affiliated platform, reported that the Ukrainian drones appear to have an electric engine and may require a catapult launcher. It said that the design indicates it may be able to deliver a 6-11 pound payload over 30 miles.

It also said there are indications it may be resistant to certain types of electronic warfare.

The Shaheds Russia uses as a supplement to its precision-guided munitions have a much farther range, making them less applicable as a tactical solution.

Ukraine has had success shooting down Russian systems like the Shahed-136 with cheap, mobile air-defense solutions like truck-mounted guns. But some variations, like a newer Shahed-238, are faster and fly higher, creating new challenges.

Azov said that the new Ukrainian UAS is automated, indicating that it can loiter overhead and then engage targets with the support of an automated targeting system.

Last December, during a meeting with German leadership in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inspected different drones in development. One of the weapons on display at the time looked similar to the new system now in use with Azov.

Drones have been at the forefront of the Ukraine war, as has been the development of countermeasures to stop them.

The majority of UAVs rely on radio frequencies to maintain connections with operators, but these can be scrambled or jammed by electronic warfare capabilities. In response, both sides have worked on ways to avoid signal jamming or use drones that don't rely on radio frequencies altogether, such as fiber-optic ones.

AI drones are a potentially game-changing area of emerging technology that is rapidly coming online. The evolution of counter-drone systems has forced Ukrainian drone operators to constantly adapt, as well as figure out new capabilities.

• Elon Musk said running his businesses while working closely with the White House hasn't been easy.
• Tesla's stock declined 15% on Monday, with some investors concerned.
• Musk said he wants to make the goverment "more efficient" and "eliminate waste and fraud."

Elon Musk said Monday running his businesses, like Tesla and SpaceX, while also taking on a major government overhaul effort has not been easy.

During an interview with Fox Business that aired Monday, Musk was asked by host Larry Kudlow how he's running his other businesses while also working closely with the Trump White House.

"With great difficulty," Musk said, followed by a long pause and a sigh but not much more explanation.

"I'm just here trying to make government more efficient, eliminate waste and fraud, and so far we're making good progress, actually," Musk added.

His comment came as Tesla stock declined 15% on Monday, its largest single-day drop since 2020. The stock is down 55% from a high in December, causing concern among investors.

Musk is working closely with the DOGE office, which has pushed spending cuts and mass firings at various government agencies. President Donald Trump has credited Musk with leading the office, though other White House officials have denied it.

Musk said in the Fox interview his team is now made up of more than 100 people and that he expects it to reach 200. He also said they have taken action at virtually every government agency when asked by Kudlow if they were now working in all departments.

"We're trying to make the government more efficient across the board, so yeah," Musk said.

When asked about the recent attacks on Tesla facilities, including gun shots fired at a dealership in Oregon and other acts of vandalism, Musk said it has been "tough" but that he thinks "we're doing the right thing here."

Musk has been known for investing long hours at his companies, but some investors are worried he's no longer giving Tesla enough of this focus.

"We think shareholders have legitimate concerns about Elon Musk being spread too thin," Garrett Nelson, a senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, told Business Insider's Matthew Fox, "and it's become clear he's now spending more time on DOGE than anything else."

• Who's the biggest proponent of remote work? Jamie Dimon says he knows.
• The JPMorgan Chase CEO says it's only "people in the middle who complain a lot about it."
• The bank announced in January that it's mandating employees return to the office five days a week.

Jamie Dimon says when it comes to RTO pushback, the usual culprits are "the people in the middle."

The JPMorgan Chase CEO talked about the bank's return-to-office mandate in a recent interview at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

"If you work in a restaurant, you got to be in. You all may not know this, but 60% of Americans worked the whole time," he said, likely referring to the pandemic. "Where did you get your Amazon packages from? Your beef, your meat, your vodka? Where did you get the diapers from?"

Dimon, whose heated criticisms of remote work have made him a champion of the return to office culture shift, seemed to be talking about people who worked in-person during the pandemic.

"You got UPS and FedEx and manufacturers and agriculture and hospitals and cities and schools and nurses and sanitation and firemen and military. They all worked," he continued. "It's only these people in the middle who complain a lot about it."

White-collar workers, who generally have more freedom in where their work can be performed than frontline workers, have had various responses to return-to-office mandates in recent years. Some have pushed back or questioned such mandates or even quit over them.

JPMorgan Chase announced in January that it's mandating employees return to the office 5 days a week, starting in March.

Dimon has said he understands enforcing RTO might drive some employees to quit but says he's okay with that.

"I completely respect people that don't want to go to the office all five days a week. That's your right. It's my right. It's a citizen's right," he previously told CNBC. "But they should respect that the company is going to decide what's good for the clients, the company, etc., not an individual."

Dimon also said one reason he wants people back in the office is that "younger people are being left behind." He added that "to have the younger people coming in but not their bosses, I have a problem with that too."

JPMorgan Chase did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• "Gilmore Girls" premiered nearly 25 years ago and launched many of its leading cast members to fame.
• Stars Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, and Melissa McCarthy went on to have major acting careers.
• Milo Ventimiglia and Jared Padalecki have both found success on hit TV shows.

Over the decades, "Gilmore Girls" has become a beloved comfort show for its fans, who love returning to Stars Hollow again and again.

The comedic family drama aired on The WB in 2000, launching many of its actors into fame.

Here's what the stars, including Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, and Chad Michael Murray, have been up to since the series ended in 2007.

Lauren Graham is still well-known for playing determined young mother Lorelai Gilmore.

Before taking on the fast-talking, coffee-guzzling role of Lorelei in "Gilmore Girls," Graham started acting in commercials for Lean Cuisine, Cascade dishwasher detergent, and other products.

In the 1990s, she had bit parts on several popular TV shows, including NBC's "Law and Order" and "Seinfeld." The actor also had larger roles on ABC's "Townies" and NBC's "Conrad Bloom."

While starring on the show, Graham also appeared in films including "Bad Santa" (2001) and "Evan Almighty" (2007).

Graham has continued her acting career, and she's become a published author.

Graham's largest role after "Gilmore Girls" was Sarah Braverman on NBC's "Parenthood."

The actor also appeared as herself on Bravo's "Project Runway," worked on Disney Junior's "Vampirina," and was featured on NBC's "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." A few of Graham's movies include "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" (2009) and "Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life" (2016).

In 2016, she reprised her role as Lorelai for Netflix's "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" miniseries.

In addition to acting, Graham wrote four books in the span of a decade: "Someday, Someday, Maybe," "Talking as Fast as I Can," "In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It," and "Have I Told You This Already?"

More recently, she starred in the Tubi original series "The Z-Suite" and the 2024 movie "Twinless."

Alexis Bledel played Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore, a bright and ambitious teenager with a strong relationship with her young mother.

Book-loving, Yale-bound Rory Gilmore was Bledel's first major acting role. Before the show, she'd only had an uncredited role in "Rushmore" (1998).

While starring in "Gilmore Girls," Bledel also appeared in movies such as "Tuck Everlasting" (2002) and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (2005).

Bledel has continued acting and has even won an Emmy.

After "Gilmore Girls," Bledel went on to star in several movies, including "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" (2008), "Post Grad" (2009), "Violet and Daisy" (2011), and "Crypto" (2019).

In addition to playing an older (if not wiser) Rory in Netflix's "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," Bledel appeared on other hit series, including AMC's "Mad Men" and Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale."

Bledel's work on "The Handmaid's Tale" earned her an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress on a Drama Series in 2017.

Scott Patterson played Luke Danes, Star Hollow's grouchy diner owner.

Before playing Lorelai's will-they, won't-they love interest, Luke, Patterson had a professional baseball career.

He got his start acting in movies like "Little Big League" (1994) and "Three Wishes" (1995). On NBC's "Seinfeld," he played Elaine's "sponge-worthy" boyfriend, and he portrayed Grace's high-school crush on "Will & Grace."

During his years playing Luke, Patterson also worked on Cartoon Network's "Justice League Unlimited" and "Her Best Move" (2007).

Patterson still acts but also hosts a "Gilmore Girls" podcast.

Patterson has played several leading characters since turning in his backward baseball cap on "Gilmore Girls."

He worked on three movies in the "Saw" franchise, as well as "Other People's Children" (2015), "Batman: Gotham by Gaslight" (2018), and "Con Man" (2018).

The actor has also continued to find success on TV shows like The CW's "Aliens in America," Fox's "90210," and NBC's "The Event."

Patterson found his way back to Stars Hollow for Netflix's "Gilmore Girls" reboot.

Most recently, he appeared on CTV's "Sullivan's Crossing" alongside fellow "Gilmore Girls" alum Chad Michael Murray.

In 2021, Patterson also started hosting a "Gilmore Girls" rewatch podcast, "I Am All in With Scott Patterson," which is still running.

Kelly Bishop portrayed Lorelai's mother and Rory's grandmother, Emily Gilmore.

As Emily Gilmore, Bishop wore a lot of skirt suits and delivered devastating insults to anyone who crossed her or her family.

In a 2018 "Q with Tom Power" interview, the actor said she based her interpretation of Emily on her own grandmother.

Before that iconic role, Bishop had a successful background in theater, film, and television.

In Hollywood, she was well known as Baby's mother in "Dirty Dancing" (1987) and also appeared in "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993) and "Wonder Boys" (2000).

Much of her success also came from theater, with roles in "On the Town" (1971), "Six Degrees of Separation" (1990), and "Bus Stop" (1996).

She won a Tony award in 1976 for playing Shelia in "A Chorus Line."

Bishop has reunited with showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino several times.

After playing Emily Gilmore, Bishop reunited with "Gilmore Girls" showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino to star on ABC Family's "Bunheads" and appeared on "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."

The actor also continued her theater career, starring in the 2011 revival of "Anything Goes" alongside her future "Bunheads" costar Sutton Foster.

More recently, Bishop appeared in "The Salzburg Story" (2018), "Art of Falling in Love" (2019), and "The Watchful Eye" (2023). The actor also had a supporting role as matchmaker Benedetta on Amazon Prime's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," another Sherman-Palladino show.

In 2024, she wrote about her storied career in her memoir, "The Third Gilmore Girl."

Edward Herrmann played Richard Gilmore, Lorelai's father and Rory's grandfather.

Herrmann acted in dozens of roles and narrated several documentary series, such as PBS' "Nova" before donning a bow tie and hiding behind a newspaper as Richard on "Gilmore Girls."

In 1976, Herrmann won a Tony the same year as Kelly Bishop for his role in "Mrs. Warren's Profession."

He also earned Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the made-for-TV films "Eleanor and Franklin" (1976) and "Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years" (1977). In the 1982 movie adaptation of "Annie," he was again cast as the 32nd president.

Often, he was cast as wealthy characters, as in "Overboard" (1987), "Richie Rich" (1994), and "Nixon" (1995).

During his run on "Gilmore Girls," he also worked on ABC's "The Practice," "Oz," and several documentaries.

Herrmann's acting career continued until his death in 2014.

After "Gilmore Girls," Herrmann remained an actor and narrator.

He appeared on popular shows like ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," NBC's "30 Rock," and CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Good Wife." He also had a small voice role in "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013).

In addition to narrating films and series such as "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies" and "The Roosevelts; An Intimate History," he lent his signature voice to many audiobooks, including Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken," Daniel James Brown's "The Boys in the Boat," and Doris Kearns Goodwin's "The Bully Pulpit."

In 2014, the actor died from brain cancer at the age of 71, leaving behind a wife and three children.

The "Gilmore Girls" reboot featured the death of his beloved character Richard. 

Before Melissa McCarthy played Sookie St. James, she had minor credits on other television shows.

McCarthy had just started working in the entertainment industry as a comedian and actor before she joined the cast as bubbly chef Sookie St. James.

She appeared in a single episode of "Jenny," a 1997 NBC sitcom starring her cousin Jenny McCarthy. In 1999, she had a small part in the movie "Go."

While starring in "Gilmore Girls," she worked on movies like "The Kid" (2000), "Charlie's Angels" (2000), and "The Life of David Gale" (2003).

McCarthy has found incredible success in comedy since her time as Sookie.

After "Gilmore Girls," McCarthy continued working on television, starring on ABC's "Samantha Who?" and CBS' "Mike and Molly."

She also returned with much of the rest of the cast for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."

While known for some of these earlier roles, the comedic actor became a breakout star thanks to 2011's "Bridesmaids."

She followed it up with a string of other funny roles in "Identity Thief" (2013), "The Heat" (2013), "Tammy" (2014), "Spy" (2015), "Ghostbusters" (2016), "Life of the Party" (2018), and "Thunder Force" (2021) — several of which she also produced.

McCarthy has also stepped into dramatic roles in "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" (2018), "The Kitchen" (2019), and Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers."

More recently, she appeared in "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022), "The Little Mermaid" (2023), and "Unfrosted" (2024). In 2024, she played Doreen, Charles-Haden Savage's sister, in an episode of Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building."

Keiko Agena's career was gaining momentum when she was cast as Rory's best friend, Lane Kim.

Before picking up a pair of drumsticks as rocker Lane, Agena had a few roles in film and on television, including parts on ABC/The WB's "Sister, Sister," Fox's "Beverly Hills, 90210," NBC's "ER," and The WB's "Felicity."

When she wasn't playing Lane in the early '00s, Agena had roles on Lifetime's "Strong Medicine," Disney Channel's "Kim Possible," and CBS' "Without a Trace."

Agena has continued to act and star in podcasts.

Since "Gilmore Girls," Agena has kept busy in her career.

She appeared in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (2011) and showed up on ABC's "Castle" and "Scandal," Fox's "House," and Showtime's "Shameless" before reprising her role as Lane on "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."

Agena also acted on Netflix's "13 Reasons Why," AMC's "Better Call Saul," Fox's "Prodigal Son," and Apple TV+'s "Central Park."

After hosting her own podcast, "Drunk Monk," a "Monk" rewatch show, she began appearing in fiction podcasts, including "Trap Street."

Jared Padalecki played Rory's first boyfriend, Dean Forester.

Padalecki was a relative newcomer to Hollywood when he was cast as Dean, the floppy-haired grocery store worker who struggled to get over Rory after their breakup.

While on "Gilmore Girls," he acted in movies such as "Cheaper by the Dozen" (2003) and "New York Minute" (2004).

Post "Gilmore," Padalecki found fame during his time on "Supernatural."

While still on "Gilmore Girls," Padalecki landed one of the lead roles on The CW's "Supernatural," which ran for 15 years. The show aired its final episode in November 2020.

Padalecki also continued acting in films like "House of Wax" (2005) and "Friday the 13th" (2009), and he returned as Dean on "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."

For four seasons, he had the titular role in The CW's "Walker." He also guested on CBS' "Fire Country" and will reunite with his "Supernatural" costars Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins in season five of Amazon Prime's "The Boys."

Milo Ventimiglia portrayed Jess Mariano, Luke's nephew and one of Rory's boyfriends.

With small roles on NBC's "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," ABC/The WB's "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and NBC's "Saved by the Bell: The New Class," Ventimiglia wasn't yet a big star when he appeared on "Gilmore Girls."

He played Jess, Luke's sarcastic, Jack Kerouac-loving nephew who fell for Rory. The character nearly got his own spinoff set in Venice, California, but it never materialized.

While playing Jess, Ventimiglia also appeared on NBC's "American Dreams."

Ventimiglia had big roles in "Heroes" and "This Is Us."

Ventimiglia continued his successful acting career after playing Jess.

He's had starring roles on NBC's "Heroes," ABC's "The Whispers," and NBC's "This Is Us," which earned him three Emmy nominations.

He's also acted in "That's My Boy" (2012), "Grown Ups 2" (2013), "Creed II" (2018), and "The Art of Racing in the Rain" (2019).

In between, he appeared in "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" to give some hope to "Team Jess" fans.

In more recent years, Ventimiglia joined season four of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," starred in ABC's "The Company You Keep," and appeared in "Land of Bad" (2024).

Matt Czuchry played Logan Huntzberger, Rory's love interest at Yale.

Czuchry had a handful of acting roles on his resumé before being cast as trust-fund troublemaker Logan Huntzberger.

Most notably, he'd appeared on other teen shows, such as Fox's "Freaks and Geeks," The WB's "Young Americans," and The WB/The CW's "7th Heaven."

In 2006, in the midst of his role on "Gilmore Girls," he appeared on an episode of UPN/The CW's "Veronica Mars."

Czuchry has had long-running roles on "The Good Wife" and "The Resident."

In 2016, Czuchry returned as Logan to pursue a complicated relationship with Rory in "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."

He also had recurring roles in TV shows such as NBC's "Friday Night Lights," CBS's "The Good Wife," and Fox's "The Resident."

On "The Resident," Czuchry worked alongside Tanc Sade, who played Logan's best friend, Finn, on "Gilmore Girls."

Most recently, the actor joined the cast of FX's "American Horror Story: Delicate."

Paris Geller, Rory's academic rival and eventual friend, was played by Liza Weil.

Weil originally auditioned for the role of Rory. Instead, Sherman-Palladino wrote the part of studious, intense Paris specifically for her.

Prior to "Gilmore Girls," Weil had small parts in a few movies and on TV shows, including Nickelodeon's "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" and "Stir of Echoes," so she's only one degree of separation from Kevin Bacon.

Weil has spent a fair amount of time in Shondaland.

Weil was one of the returning characters in "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life." Sherman-Palladino also brought her on for several episodes of ABC Family's "Bunheads."

But her largest roles since playing Paris were in Shonda Rhimes shows, as Amanda Tanner on "Scandal" and Bonnie Winterbottom on "How to Get Away With Murder."

Some of her more recent projects include "Women Is Losers" (2021), Fox's "The Cleaning Lady," and "The Passenger" (2023).

Chad Michael Murray was cast as Rory's cocky classmate Tristin Dugray.

In the 1990s, Murray spent time modeling for brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Skechers. In 2000, he guested on MTV's "Undressed."

Not long after, he scored the role of Tristin Dugray, Chilton Academy's prankster who teased Rory. He left during the show's second season.

After leaving "Gilmore Girls," Murray spent years on "One Tree Hill."

In 2003, "One Tree Hill" debuted on The WB with Murray as one of the leads, Lucas Scott.

By then, he'd already appeared in a dozen episodes of "Dawson's Creek" and in the "Freaky Friday" remake with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis.

After "One Tree Hill," Murray had roles in movies such as "Fruitville Station" (2013), "Left Behind" (2014), and "Outlaws and Angels" (2016). He found steady work on shows including ABC's "Agent Carter," CMT's "Sun Records," and the third season of The CW's "Riverdale."

Along with "Gilmore Girls" actor Scott Patterson, Murray has a main role in "Sullivan's Crossing" on The CW. The 2024 Netflix Christmas movie "The Merry Gentlemen" also featured a shirtless, dancing Murray.

Sean Gunn played the offbeat Kirk Gleason.

Gunn is best known to "Gilmore Girls" fans as Kirk Gleason, a Stars Hollow resident who worked dozens of different jobs in town.

Before becoming a series regular, Gunn appeared in two other season-one episodes as Mick and "Swan Man."

Gunn acted in a few TV shows and movies before "Gilmore Girls," including episodes of The WB's "Angel" and Lifetime's "Any Day Now."

Gunn joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe along with his brother.

Following "Gilmore Girls," Gunn has appeared on ABC's "October Road," Fox's "Glee," and NBC's "Superstore." He also returned for the 2016 "Gilmore Girls" revival.

He's worked with his brother, director James Gunn, on "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014), "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017), "Avengers: Endgame" (2019), "The Suicide Squad" (2021), and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (2023).

The actor reprised his MCU roles in "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022).

He also paired up with Sherman-Palladino again for episodes of "Bunheads" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

Variety recently reported that Gunn will star with Mckenna Grace, Fred Armisen, and Bobby Lee in "New Years Rev," a comedy inspired by the band Green Day.

During a March 2025 episode of "Celebrity Jeopardy!" Gunn recreated some dance moves from "a film by kirk."

Liz Torres played Miss Patty, the gossipy dance teacher.

Liz Torres may have pulled from her own lengthy career as an actor and dancer to add credibility to Miss Patty's star-studded tales of Hollywood.

Her easy banter with Sally Struthers' Babette was real too, the product of a decadeslong friendship that formed during their days on CBS' "All in the Family."

With roles dating back to the 1960s, she showed up in episodes of legendary shows such as CBS' "The Jeffersons" and "Murder, She Wrote," plus "Hill Street Blues" and "LA Law," both on NBC.

In addition, she was a main cast member on NBC's "The John Larroquette Show," which earned her two Emmy nominations.

After "Gilmore Girls," Torres continued acting on television, in film, and on the stage.

Following her role on "Gilmore Girls," Torres guest starred in ABC's "Desperate Housewives," ABC's "Scandal," and Pop/Netflix's "One Day at a Time."

Additionally, she glided back into the role of Miss Patty for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."

The actor was also cast in the 2010 Off-Broadway play "It Must Be Him" and produced the 2012 original run of "Ghost the Musical."

More recently, she appeared on NBC's "Lopez vs. Lopez."

Sally Struthers played Babette Dell, Lorelai's protective neighbor and friend.

Before she played Lorelai's cat-loving neighbor, Struthers was already well-known for her television, film, and voice-acting performances.

She rose to fame on CBS' "All in the Family," and she continued to appear on TV in CBS' "Murder, She Wrote" and "Gloria" and ABC's "Nine to Five."

Before "Gilmore Girls," Struthers also voiced Pebbles Flintstone on CBS' "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" and in "Fred Flintstone and Friends" (1977). She also lent her voice to The Disney Channel's "TaleSpin" as Rebecca and ABC's "Dinosaurs" as Charlene.

Outside Hollywood, the actor played Miss Hannigan during part of the 1998 US tour of "Annie" and Miss Lynch in the 1994 revival of "Grease."

Struthers recently stole scenes on "A Man on the Inside."

Struthers' career after "Gilmore Girls" has included acting and voice work in movies such as "The Relationtrip" (2017), "You and Me" (2018), "Still Waiting in the Wings" (2018), and "Very Frightening Tales" (2023).

She also returned for the "Gilmore Girls" revival and voiced a character on Netflix's "Not Quite Narwhal."

Struther has continued her theatrical career in productions of "Steel Magnolias," "Legally Blonde," and "The Witches of Eastwick."

In Netflix's "A Man on the Inside," Struthers played the flirtatious, fun-loving Virginia.

Yanic Truesdale played Michel Gerard, the irritable concierge at Lorelai's inn.

To capture Michel Gerard, Truesdale put on a thick French accent and a bored expression, unless his character was talking about his Chow Chow dogs or Celine Dion.

Truesdale acted in a few different Canadian projects before landing the role of the concierge on "Gilmore Girls."

Some of his biggest parts were on the Canadian series "Les héritiers Duval" and "Majeurs et vaccinés."

Truesdale has continued acting after the show, and he's also opened a fitness studio.

Truesdale returned for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," which revealed more about Michel's personal life than the original series had.

Some of his recent roles include in "My Salinger Year" (2020) and "Love by Accident" (2020) and on Citytv's "The Wedding Planners" and Ici Radio-Canada Télé's "Les Mecs."

He also appeared on Netflix's "God's Favorite Idiot," where he acted again with Melissa McCarthy.

In addition to his acting career, Truesdale is the founder of the spin studio Spin Énergie in Montreal.

Emily Kuroda portrayed Mrs. Kim, Lane's strict mother.

Mrs. Kim, played by Kuroda, was Stars Hollow's stern antique store owner who was slow to warm up to Lane's hobbies.

Kuroda has a background in theater and was part of East West Players, an Asian American theater organization.

In the 1980s and '90s, Kuroda portrayed characters on several popular shows, such as NBC's "ER" and CBS's "The Young and the Restless." She had a recurring role on NBC's "LA Law."

During her "Gilmore Girls" days, the actor also took roles on CBS' "The Agency" and HBO's "Six Feet Under."

Kuroda has continued acting and appeared with former castmate Czuchry on "The Resident."

Since "Gilmore Girls," Kuroda has had plenty of work, from ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Good Doctor" to CBS' "The Bold and the Beautiful." In MyNetworkTV's "Under One Roof," she acted alongside musician Flavor Flav.

She also landed a part on Fox's "The Resident," which starred fellow "Gilmore Girls" alum Matt Czuchry.

In 2016, she came back for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."

Kuroda recently worked on "Kimi" (2022) and "Strange World" (2022). The same year, she appeared onstage in "The Brothers Paranormal" and has continued to work in theater.

Her latest role is a nun on Amazon Prime's "The Power."

Todd Lowe played Lane's bandmate-turned-husband, Zack Van Gerbig.

After a few heartbreaks, Lane later started crushing on Zack, her Hep Alien bandmate.

Todd Lowe's guitar-playing skills are real, and the actor was in what he described as a faux-German punk band when he was cast on the show.

Prior to joining "Gilmore Girls," Lowe appeared as two different characters on CBS's "Walker, Texas Ranger" and had a small role in "The Princess Diaries" (2001).

Lowe sank his teeth into a role on "True Blood" after "Gilmore Girls."

After "Gilmore Girls," Lowe went on to play mortal Terry Bellefleur on several seasons of HBO's "True Blood."

In addition to returning for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," the actor has also appeared on CBS' "NCIS," and USA's "Shooter."

Like many of his "Gilmore Girls" costars, he popped up on ABC Family's "Bunheads."

Lowe also kept up with his music, playing in bands including LA Hootenanny and TeeLo & Friends.

As Dave Rygalski, Adam Brody stole Lane's heart.

Equally at home strumming a guitar during bible study and rocking out with his band, Dave Rygalski, played by Brody, made an impression during his short time in Stars Hollow.

Brody had already done episodes of MTV's "Undressed," Nickelodeon's "The Amanda Show," The Comedy Network/MTV's "The Sausage Factory," and ABC's "Once and Again."

After "Gilmore Girls'" third season, Brody headed for a warmer climate to star in "The OC."

Brody played a "hot rabbi" on "Nobody Wants This."

Playing Seth Cohen on Fox's "The OC" helped turn Brody into a TV star. While working on the teen drama, he also acted in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005), "Thank You for Smoking" (2005), and "In the Land of Women" (2007).

Other movie roles followed, including "Jennifer's Body" (2008), "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (2012), "Lovelace" (2013), "Shazam!" (2019), and "My Father's Dragon" (2023).

Brody has also had recurring roles on several TV shows such as MTV's "Good Vibes," Yahoo! Screen's "Burning Love," FX's "The League," Hulu's "Fleishman Is in Trouble" and Sony Crackle's "StartUp."

In 2024, he played the charming Noah Roklov in Netflix's "Nobody Wants This," in which his character was dubbed the "hot rabbi."

This story was originally published on October 5, 2020, and most recently updated on March 7, 2025.

• High-end cruise suites often include amenities like private hot tubs, butlers, and pillow "menus."
• See eight of the most luxurious suites on cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Disney, and Celebrity.
• This article is part of "Well Charted," a series for travelers planning cruise adventures.

Forget windowless interior cabins. Wealthy cruisers prefer apartment-like suites with butlers, original Pablo Picasso prints, and pillow "menus."

Travelers have been increasingly spending big on their at-sea vacations — so much so that Four Seasons plans to charge $350,000 a week for its coming ship's palatial four-floor, 9,975-square-foot suite.

If you, too, have the ultraluxe-cruise itch but don't want to wait until Four Seasons' yacht sails in 2026, here are eight other lavish cabin options.

They won't cost as much as a new house, but they'll still have deluxe perks like butlers and welcome bottles of bubbly.

Silversea's Otium Suite

Silversea is known for its all-inclusive luxury cruises. If you want a step above the basics, book the Otium Suite. It's available on Silver Ray and Silver Nova, starting at $17,000 a person for a weeklong 2025 voyage.

On Silver Ray, the 1,324-square-foot cabin's balcony is larger than the ship's smallest suites. More space means more amenities — the outdoor area has a hot tub, lounge chairs, and a dining table.

If you prefer eating inside (perhaps the complimentary caviar delivered by your butler), head to the living room, which has a library, dining table, and stocked bar.

The couch can be converted into a bed. For a cozier slumber, you'll want the bedroom, which has a walk-in closet and a dual-vanity marble-tiled bathroom.

Royal Caribbean International's Ultimate Family Townhouse

Icon of the Seas' 2,523-square-foot Ultimate Family Townhouse is an unconventional take on luxury, designed more for children than adults.

That doesn't mean it'll be affordable — two travelers should expect to each pay more than $34,220 for a seven-night voyage in 2025.

Guests can play ping-pong on the white-picket-fence-lined patio. Up the curved staircase, they can lounge in the multipart living room, which includes a hot tub on the balcony and a movie theater lounge with karaoke.

Take the second set of stairs and pass the mesh-floor lounge to find the two bedrooms. The primary room has a private balcony and an en-suite dual-vanity bathroom, while the kids' room has bunk beds, a couch, and another restroom.

Need to get back to the living room? Take the tube slide down.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Regent Suite

Seven Seas Grandeur's 4,443-square-foot Regent Suite features two bedrooms and balconies, 2 ½ bathrooms, a parlor, and a living and dining room. It's also atop the ship's bow, offering sweeping views.

Expect homelike touches such as walk-in closets, laundry service, and a personalized bar — as well as ultraluxe niceties like a butler, two original Picasso prints, and a variety of sheets and pillows to choose from.

The ship's spa facilities, including the sauna, are complimentary. But if you prefer a private sweat, the Regent Suite has its own wellness amenities, such as a steam room, a heated mini pool, and complimentary treatments.

At ports, guests receive a personal car and guide. On board, they get priority dining and spa reservations.

In 2025, the all-inclusive Seven Seas Grandeur's weeklong roundtrip Miami voyages start at $4,500 a person. If you opt for the glitzy Regent Suite, expect to pay $42,000 each (if you can get off the waitlist).

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection's Owner's Suite

The 1,754-square-foot Owner's Suite on Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection's Ilma has plenty of space for entertaining — from the personalized living room bar to the furnished terrace with a hot tub.

Host light bites at the dining table or drinks on the outdoor couch. If guests are spending the night, convert the sofa into a bed.

Keep the bedroom to yourself — there, you'll have a walk-in closet and a marble bathroom with a bathtub and shower.

In 2025, the all-inclusive suite starts at $36,400 a person for a weeklong voyage.

Disney Cruise Line's Tomorrow Tower Suite

Disney Treasure's Epcot-inspired Tomorrow Tower Suite could be the happiest cabin on earth — and starts at about $46,820 a guest for a weeklong sailing for two.

To access the 1,966-square-foot suite, you'll have to take a private elevator.

Downstairs, the two-story floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the living room, dining table, and bar in light. There, you'll also find a library turned bedroom.

Head upstairs for the children's bunk room and two primary sleeping quarters, each with walk-in closets, and the children's room with a bunk bed.

Don't fight for the bathroom — the suite has 4 ½ of them, and the two largest have dual sinks, bathtubs, and showers.

Feeling peckish? Grab snacks from the pantry refrigerator and a beverage from the wine cooler. Need help booking the nursery? Call your concierge.

Virgin Voyages' Massive Suite

Virgin's aptly named 2,147-square-foot Massive Suite is fit for a rock star — with a music room stocked with electric guitars.

The suite has two circular couches: one in the living room and the other on the terrace.

There's no need to visit the pool deck when your open-air lounge has a hot tub and hammocks.

Guests can use the bedside tablet to personalize their bedroom's smart curtains and mood lighting. The en-suite marble bathroom is just as flashy, featuring a bathtub and a separate shower overlooking the bedroom.

The accommodation includes priority reservations, a daily spa pass, and a voucher for some drinks at the bar, though the in-suite bar is bottomless.

Drink up — the Massive Suite starts at $8,540 a person for a weeklong 2025 cruise.

Celebrity Cruises' Iconic Suite

Expect unobstructed views in Celebrity's two-bedroom, two-bathroom Iconic Suite. After all, the cabin is perched above the ship's bridge and surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows.

If you don't mind blocking the primary bedroom's view, you can lower the ceiling-mounted TV. Its en-suite bathroom is just as luxe, with two vanities, a shower, and a bathtub.

The terrace has a hot tub and plenty of lounge seating, complementing the living room's sectional and dining table. Guests also have a butler's pantry and a butler on call to help pack or make dinner reservations.

Expect to pay at least $17,406 a person for a seven-night 2025 cruise.

Seabourn's Grand Wintergarden Suite

What's better than one suite? How about two aboard a luxury Seabourn ship?

Seabourn combines its Wintergarden and Veranda cabins into larger two-deck, apartmentlike Grand Wintergarden Suites.

The luxe mansion cabins have a lounge with a dining table, a pantry, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Upstairs, travelers will find another bedroom, with a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a tub and shower.

For a relaxing evening, call your suite host to help draw a bath.

Or grab a glass of whiskey from the pantry bar and use the Swarovski-branded spotting scope for an afternoon of wildlife peeping from one of two balconies.

A weeklong 2025 vacation in the giant suite starts at $17,509 a person on Seabourn Quest.

• AvatarOS, a virtual avatar startup founded by Isaac Bratzel, closed a $7 million seed investment.
• Bratzel previously worked for the company behind Lil Miquela, a popular virtual influencer.
• Read the 11-page pitch deck the startup used while raising venture capital.

AvatarOS is betting that AI can supercharge the market for virtual influencers.

Founded by Isaac Bratzel, the startup is building digital avatars for social media, gaming, apps, and other immersive experiences.

AvatarOS announced this week a $7 million seed investment led by venture capital firm M13. Andreessen Horowitz Games Fund, HF0, Valia Ventures, and Mento VC also participated in the round. AvatarOS has raised $8 million in total since its founding in 2022.

This isn't Bratzel's first rodeo working with digital avatars.

Remember Lil Miquela?

If you don't, she was a pioneering virtual influencer and has over 2 million Instagram followers. Bratzel led the creation of her avatar while at the virtual influencer startup Brud, which was later acquired by NFT startup Dapper Labs in 2021. The Miquela character has been leveraged by brands like Chanel and Prada in marketing campaigns and even has a music career.

Bratzel said Miquela had one major limitation, however. Animation is expensive, and some projects with potential brands or partners simply "weren't doable," he said.

One example, which Bratzel outlines in AvatarOS's investor pitch deck, was Miquela being featured in HBO's hit show "Euphoria."

"It just wasn't feasible because of the technical limitations," Bratzel said. It would have cost about $3,000 per second to animate Miquela, per the pitch deck. With advancements in AI, technical limitations for animation are lower than ever, Bratzel said.

One character already developed by this technology is a version of Bratzel himself (who also makes an appearance in the pitch deck).

M13's Latif Peracha, who led the deal, told BI that while running due diligence on AvatarOS prior to investing, he spoke with this virtual version of Bratzel for an hour, discussing hobbies like running and basketball.

While virtual influencers are one application for AvatarOS, Bratzel said the company is broadly thinking about how any "character-driven content" could be used across several platforms, pointing to video games as an example.

"You have this character, you have all these assets, but the social media and the marketing for how you do that is very disjointed," he said.

Bratzel said video game companies could use AvatarOS to create avatars of game characters with their own social media accounts and become virtual influencers for the game brand.

The company is also eyeing partnerships with celebrities and sports figures.

"It feels like the right time where you can scale this type of application," Peracha said.

Read the 11-page pitch deck AvatarOS used while raising its $7 million seed investment round.

Note: Some details have been redacted, and the deck has been altered so that it can be shared publicly.

The pitch deck begins with an animated virtual avatar.

The slide reads: Real. Digital. Humans.

Then the deck introduces Lil Miquela.

Here's what the slide says:

Have you heard of Miquela?

• 50 million+ streams on Spotify
• 6 million+ followers on social
• Time Magazine's 25 most influential people on the internet!

Not bad considering:

SHE'S NOT REAL!

AvatarOS's team built Lil Miquela.

Bratzel said that several members of the startup's team come from Brud, which built the Lil Miquela avatar. He also said Trevor McFedries, Brud's cofounder, is an angel investor and advisor to AvatarOS.

The deck spells out a problem: animation is expensive.

Here's what the slide says:

Problem:

Cost per second of animation

HBO's Euphoria wanted to cast Miquela but even with a $165M budget, they couldn't afford to.

AvatarOS explains its proprietary tech.

Here's what the slide says:

Solution:

The best avatar generation technology in the world.

Dynamic animation at the cost of inference.

Proprietary 4D/ML Training

Authentically train from real human performances, enabling perfectly on brand real-time inference.

AvatarOS introduces its CEO's virtual avatar.

In this slide, the virtual avatar for Bratzel is animated and says that AvatarOS's "virtual characters that reach the quality of real life and can authentically engage a human audience by maintaining the subtle nuance that makes individuals unique."

The deck includes a product demo, too.

This slide outlines how 3D avatars go from API requests to a game or pixel stream video.

It also includes a 45-second video demo of Braztel's avatar, which says:

"We are developing interactive, AI-powered avatars, not by blending 20 pixels together with zero control, but by creating three-dimensional, cross-platform avatars that reach the quality of real life. Characters train from real-life performances via patented 4D-ML technology that can as easily star in a video game or immersive experience as answer questions in a browser or mobile app. Blending the efficiency of AI and the utility of real-time computer graphics with the authenticity of human individuality."

The slide also says the demo uses ChatGPT and ElevenLabs integrations.

AvatarOS maps out potential applications.

This slide lists 34 applications of AvatarOS, ranging from AI content creators to sports to virtual try-on tools.

The deck describes the market for digital avatars.

Here's what the slide says:

Digital Human Avatar Market

$18B market that is "expected to reach $527.58 billion by 2030" *Emergen Research

The deck concludes with a summary of AvatarOS's financial backers.

Here's what the slide says:

a16z

• Largest VC in the world
• Andreessen Horowitz is the top VC in the world AUM

HF0

• Most exclusive AI residency in the world
• Only 10 companies get in!

a16z Games Speedrun

• Premiere Games Accelerator
• We were far and away the #1 team coming out of the premier gaming x tech accelerator

Nvidia

• Nvidia inception and Developer partner
• We are part of the Nvidia Inception program and a preferred developer partner

• Jared Padalecki spoke to Business Insider about being part of the final season of "The Boys."
• Padalecki said he'll share scenes with Jensen Ackles, but added, "I don't know what we're doing."
• Padalecki and Ackles previously starred as brothers in "Supernatural," which lasted for 15 seasons.

Jared Padalecki doesn't have many details about his involvement in the fifth and final season of "The Boys," but he's teasing an onscreen reunion with "Supernatural" costar Jensen Ackles.

"I don't know a whole lot about it, which is effing terrifying," Padalecki told Business Insider's Caralynn Matassa on Thursday at the 2025 Texas Film Awards, celebrating 25 years of the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

Social media accounts for "The Boys" recently announced that Padalecki and fellow "Supernatural" star Misha Collins will appear in season five of the show. On Friday, a rep for "The Boys" confirmed to BI that Padalecki and Collins will make guest appearances, sharing scenes with Ackles.

There are no details about how Padalecki's role will fit into "The Boys," but given the show's reputation for pushing boundaries, his character's storyline could go anywhere. At the very least, Padalecki said that he'll have screentime with Ackles, even though he doesn't know what it'll entail just yet.

"Yeah," he said. "I don't know what we're doing. I don't know if we like, bump into each other. I don't know much about it. They're still trying to write and figure out who's gonna be there. But it'll be the end of this month."

It's no coincidence that more "Supernatural" alums have crossed over to Prime Video's hit superhero satire series. "The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke also created The CW's "Supernatural," which ran for 15 seasons between 2005 and 2020 and starred Ackles and Padalecki as brothers Dean and Sam Winchester, respectively.

Ackles joined "The Boys" as the foul-mouthed, old-school superhero named Soldier Boy during season three and will be returning as a series regular for season five.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played patriarch John Winchester in "Supernatural," made his "Boys" debut as Joe Kessler during season four. It was inevitable that Padalecki would also appear in "The Boys."

"I know Eric Kripke very well," Padalecki said. "I know 'The Boys' very well. He's like, 'Hey, you wanna come play?' I'm like, 'Yes, I think?'"

Padaleck thanked his wife, Genevieve Padalecki, for giving him the extra push to say yes to "The Boys."

"To give credit to my wife, I was like 'Hey, I think it's gonna be a weird role. I don't know what to do,'" Padalecki recalled. "And she was like, 'You excited about it?' I was like, 'Yeah.' She goes, 'Then do it.' I was like 'OK. You wanna read it first?' She was like, 'No, if you like it, then do it.'"

"Only if you get to be in your birthday suit," Genevieve, who was on the red carpet with him, chimed in.

"I'm sweating now," Jared said. "Literally my text to Eric Kripke was like, 'Hey, if I'm getting naked, just give me like a month's notice to eat broccoli and rice and chicken breasts and all day long just sit there doing push-ups.'"

The actor also knows that his involvement in "The Boys" is exciting for fans, but he still has some nerves about it.

"It's fucking terrifying for me," he said.

• Pharmaceutical giants such as J&J, Merck, and Eli Lilly are embracing AI and prioritizing upskilling.
• They hope that training thousands of employees on generative AI will boost productivity in drug development.
• This article is part of "AI in Action," a series exploring how companies are implementing AI innovations.

Johnson & Johnson is embracing the concept of a bilingual employee — but not in the classic sense.

For the pharmaceutical company, literacy is needed in specialized and core job skills, including research, supply chain, and finance. Then there's fluency in AI technology.

"There are so many ways we've been using AI," said Jim Swanson, the chief information officer of J&J. "But to do that effectively, we had to really create a curriculum and a mindset around upskilling."

More than 56,000 of J&J's 138,000 workers have taken a generative AI training course, which is required before any employee is authorized to use the technology. After training, J&J's employees can utilize generative AI tools for summarization and prompt engineering, the latter a skill to ask the right question to get the best output from a large language model. A separate, more in-depth digital boot camp that covers topics including AI, augmented reality, and automation has recorded more than 37,000 cumulative hours of training from more than 14,000 employees.

Generative AI offers the promise of more quickly identifying compounds for new treatments and vaccines, accelerating drug development, streamlining regulatory compliance, optimizing which patients are best suited for clinical trials, and improving how new drugs are marketed.

Deborah Golden, Deloitte's US chief innovation officer, said these advancements were poised to change which skills the pharmaceutical industry prioritizes in recruitment. Biology and chemistry knowledge will still be needed, but it isn't as essential for newer roles like AI engineers, and other new roles might require a mix of traditional expertise and AI know-how if AI-driven drug discovery proliferates.

"When you think about how AI is shifting the balance and the talent requirements, you really need to be able to speak both the language of biology and AI models," Golden said.

How AI is changing drug development

Generative AI could save the pharmaceutical industry tens of billions of dollars each year through improved productivity within drug development.

J&J, the maker of treatments like the immunosuppressive drug Stelara and Darzalex, a medication for treating the cancer multiple myeloma, has used more traditional forms of AI for almost a decade. Use cases include AI-enabled software tools that can guide a surgeon through a procedure, speed up drug discovery, and help drug makers manage inventory more effectively.

In 2023, J&J piloted a six-week digital immersion program that focused on AI, data science, and other emerging technologies. More than 2,500 employees participated last year, taking 90-minute classes each week, and J&J is planning further expansion this year.

Swanson told Business Insider it was critical for company leaders to create a culture that promotes technological literacy. "We've been around 135 years. We've had to reinvent ourselves multiple times to stay relevant and current," he said.

The pharmaceutical giant Merck's early generative AI investments included the development of a proprietary platform called GPTeal. Merck — which is responsible for the HPV vaccine Gardasil and the immunotherapy drug Keytruda — said that GPTeal gives employees access to large language models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Meta's Llama, and Anthropic's Claude while keeping company data secure from external exposures.

Employees are also using generative AI to draft emails and memos and for other productivity-focused tasks, but Merck's aspirations are also getting bolder.

"Now, the journey is clearly to identify, implement, track, and measure use cases that have a dramatic impact on our business," said Ron Kim, a senior vice president and the chief technology officer of Merck.

Generative AI allows Merck's employees more time to focus on higher-impact tasks. In drug discovery, for example, generative AI can help draft (human-reviewed) regulatory documents that are submitted to health authorities. "We felt like some of our scientists were taking time being copyeditors," Kim said. "That's not what they trained for."

Kim said more than 50,000 Merck employees were using GPTeal regularly. The company supported upskilling through a mix of self-serve digital training courses, monthly webcasts focused on generative AI, and boot camps for software developers that could last anywhere from half a day to 10 days.

AI can appeal to pharmaceutical companies of various sizes

Dr. Daniel Stevens, the chief medical officer at Blue Earth Therapeutics, said AI was alluring to the clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company because, as a small startup founded in 2021, it has to be judicious with how it spends capital.

"The application of artificial intelligence is of interest, because it may help us with some of our efficiency goals," Stevens said.

A $76.5 million Series A in October, which included funding from the healthcare investment firm Soleus Capital and the diagnostic imaging company Bracco Diagnostics, was mostly intended to support clinical trials that will assess the safety and effectiveness of new prostate cancer treatments.

Stevens said that with just 20 full-time employees, Blue Earth has not yet needed to offer AI upskill training. He added that when Blue Earth grows its employee base and is ready to offer instruction about the technology, it plans to use online courses and AI certifications from external vendors.

Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant behind treatments including the antidepressant Prozac and the type 2 diabetes and weight loss medicine Mounjaro, has used generative AI to support the research of both small and large molecules. The company also used AI to generate documentation for clinical trials and create materials for regulatory submissions.

After ChatGPT launched, major employers such as Apple and Amazon restricted employee use of the popular chatbot, with many citing concerns about data privacy. "We went in the exact opposite direction," said Diogo Rau, the chief information and digital officer at Eli Lilly.

Rau encouraged Eli Lilly's workforce to embrace the tool without exposing sensitive company information, similar to how an employee might use Google Search.

"We told everybody you need to use it, you need to start bringing ChatGPT into your work," said Rau. But, he added, "Don't put anything in there that you don't want to get out."

The company also internally sought to bolster interest with an "AI Games" competition timed to the Summer Olympics in Paris. Contests involved using a chatbot to write a message to a colleague or relying on generative AI to make a quiz about Eli Lilly's history.

In 2024, Eli Lilly also encouraged all employees and managers to use generative AI for their year-end reviews. This year, the company is set to require all senior leaders and managers to obtain an AI certification.

"We've got a workforce that is embracing AI," Rau said, adding that employees often stopped him in the office or emailed him to share the ways they were applying AI to their daily work tasks.

• Manus, a new agentic AI system from a Chinese startup, is starting to generate DeepSeek-like buzz.
• The AI agent is currently in closed beta, with limited invitations being distributed.
• Access codes are being listed on third-party reseller sites for a wide range of asking prices.

Resellers are testing the waters on how much people are willing to pay to score an invite to Manus, the latest buzzy agentic AI out of China.

Manus is currently in closed beta, which means the public can't try it out without getting an invite code from an existing user. As a result, listings are cropping up on the Chinese reseller site Goofish, also known as Xianyu, claiming to offer invite codes.

Searching for "Manus" on the site brings up fifty pages of listings, both incredibly cheap, at about 1 to 2 Chinese yuan, or a little less than one USD, to the more exorbitant. Sorting from highest to lowest pricing on the site brings up listings in the equivalent of thousands of American dollars.

The interest has spilled over onto eBay, where an unsold listing for an email and password to access Manus AI starts at $1,000.

It's not clear how many, if any, of the listings on Goofish are actually selling, particularly the higher priced codes. But their presence alone highlights a growing international interest in exploring the AI's purported capabilities.

An energy not unlike the hype that surrounded Deepseek's initial entry into the marketplace now surrounds Manus — some early users claim it's revolutionary, while others say it falls short of expectations.

The Butterly Effect, the Chinese company behind Manus, claims it's capable of a variety of real-world tasks, from analyzing stocks to developing minigames and screenplays.

"This isn't just another chatbot or workflow," said Yichao "Peak" Ji, Manus cofounder, in a Youtube video announcing the AI. "It's a truly autonomous agent that bridges the gap between conception and execution."

The team behind Manus did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider prior to publication.

Ji goes on to add that the program has already proven itself capable of "solving real-world problems" on gig-work platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, as well as "proven its capabilities" in Kaggle Competitions, which challenges users to solve problems based off data sets.

Manus' developers appear to be positioning it as the model to beat, in direct competition with other "chain-of-thought" offerings, such as ChatGPT's "Deep Research," and Claude's "Extended Thinking" mode.

"We see it as the next paradigm of human-machine collaboration, and potentially a glimpse into AGI," Ji said.

• TikTok Shop, the e-commerce arm of TikTok, launched in Mexico in February.
• It offers sellers a bridge into Latin America, a fast-growing region for online shopping.
• Its arrival in the country offers a way for US Shop sellers to hedge against a possible TikTok ban.

TikTok's future may be up in the air in the US, but it's ramping up in other parts of the world.

The company officially launched its e-commerce product, Shop, in Mexico in February after testing it in the country. The platform is still getting off the ground there, but it's attracting local sellers like beauty brands Sarelly, Renova, Pink Up Cosmetics, and Sinless Beauty.

The move across the border is also opening an opportunity for US brands to expand into a fast-growing market — and hedge against a possible TikTok ban.

Beauty brand KimChi Chic Beauty, supplement brand Beast Bites, and security-camera brand Wyze are among the US companies planning to expand into Mexico, per two Shop agencies that work with the firms.

"It's a logical play for any seller that saw success or could see success on TikTok Shop," said William August, CEO of the social-commerce agency Outlandish, which runs a livestream facility in Los Angeles and recently set up operations in Mexico. "Regardless of what happens in the US, they should be doing it anyway."

TikTok Shop has grown quickly in the US since it first began testing the feature there in 2022. But the app is operating on shaky ground due to a divestment law that requires its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app or essentially stop operating in the US. While that hasn't deterred many brands that sell goods on TikTok in the US, some are busy diversifying onto other platforms like live-selling app Whatnot or entertainment platforms like Flip and LTK. Moving into other TikTok Shop markets, like the UK, Singapore, and now Mexico, is another tactic.

How a US brand can expand into Mexico

In some instances, Outlandish is helping US merchants launch in other countries by registering a local business on their behalf, called a merchant of record.

The company also acts as a one-stop shop for other services, like logistics and compliance.

Outlandish set up a joint venture with marketing and retail media firm MindgruveMacarta to help bring US and global brands onto TikTok Shop. In February, Outlandish sent its US livestream training managers to Mexico to teach local staff about selling live, August said. It plans to open a video production hub in the country with the capacity to produce thousands of shopping videos.

"So long as you have a good product, when you enter a new market with TikTok Shop, you can grow a brand there," August said.

Social-commerce agency Orca is also working with third-party logistics providers in Mexico to help US brands start selling in the country, offering services like inventory management and compliance, said its CEO Max Benator. "If you're a brand in the US, you can't just turn on in Mexico," he said.

Shop's entry into a neighboring country allows US sellers to do more than lower their risk from a US ban. It gives them access to an e-commerce market that's on the rise. In September, EMARKETER forecast that e-commerce spending in Latin America would reach close to $180 billion in 2024.

Mexico, in particular, is expected to drive a lot of that growth. In 2024, EMARKETER forecast Mexico would be the fifth-fastest growing e-commerce market in the world, growing online sales by 15.7%.Major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Mercado Libre are investing billions of dollars to improve their operations in Mexico and reach a nascent customer base there, according to the firm.

"Mexico and Latin America are some of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world," Benator said.

• I tried on similar blazers at two Gap Inc.-owned retailers: Old Navy and Banana Republic.
• The blazers were very different in terms of price and quality.
• Despite being $110 more expensive, I'd consider investing in the version from Banana Republic.

A chic blazer is a true wardrobe staple. Whether it's for professional settings, street style, or elevating casual outfits, a blazer is one of the most versatile pieces someone can have in their closet.

After years of wearing the same black blazer I found at a thrift store, I decided it was time for an upgrade. So, I turned to two trusted retailers for basics: Old Navy and Banana Republic, both owned by Gap Inc.

Here's how my search for the perfect blazer went.

I started at Old Navy because of the retailer's approachable prices.

Since opening its first store in 1994, Old Navy has become one of the world's largest apparel brands. Today, the company has over 1,200 stores around the world.

Although I'm not usually drawn to major corporations, I know I can always count on Old Navy to offer classic and trending pieces at an affordable price.

I wasn't blown away by the blazer I tried on at Old Navy.

When I arrived at the store, I browsed the racks and headed to the fitting room with the Taylor relaxed suit blazer in black. I liked the style and fit, but there were a few big turnoffs for me.

I thought the shoulder pads were stylish, but they were sticking out slightly to the point that there was a noticeable outline. This was a sign to me that the blazer lacked quality of construction.

I also appreciate a trendy oversize silhouette, but there was no shape or cinching at the waist, making me look boxy.

Plus, the blazer was made entirely of synthetic materials, including 91% polyester and 9% spandex.

Although these flaws were subtle, I wouldn't pay $50 for this blazer. I'd rather invest in one that's well-structured and flattering.

I continued my search for a new blazer at Banana Republic, Gap Inc.'s destination for attainable luxury.

Founded in 1978, Banana Republic is known for elevated and classic styles. Today, the brand has over 400 locations around the world.

The clothing at Banana Republic is typically more expensive than that of other Gap Inc. brands. However, the products and in-store shopping experience also feel more luxurious.

I thought the Banana Republic blazer would be worth the investment.

At Banana Republic, I tried on the sculpted suit blazer in black. I loved the fit and silhouette of this piece, and it was much more tailored than the one I tried on at Old Navy. It also provided a more shapely look with a slight cinch at the waistline.

The fabric felt higher quality, but seemed to only vary slightly from that of the Old Navy option. It was made with 49% polyester, 44% recycled polyester, and 7% elastane spandex.

The Banana Republic blazer, which cost $160, was more than three times the price of the Old Navy option. However, considering the significant improvement in overall quality and fit, I didn't think it was a completely outrageous price.

I walked out of both stores empty-handed, but I'd consider going back for the Banana Republic blazer once it goes on sale. After all, a blazer is an investment piece that's worth paying more for.

• Amazon's VP of AI/ML services is leaving after a major reorg.
• The exec ran several teams, including AWS's flagship AI product Bedrock.
• AWS recently created a new Agentic AI team under VP Swami Sivasubramanian.

The VP in charge of Amazon's flagship AI product Bedrock is stepping down a year after joining the company.

Baskar Sridharan, Amazon Web Services's VP of AI/ML services and Data Services & Infrastructure, plans to leave following a recent reorganization that consolidated several teams within the cloud business, according to people familiar with the matter. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.

Sridharan oversaw the strategic direction and development of AWS's biggest AI products, including Bedrock and Sagemaker, according to a company profile. Bedrock is a development tool that gives access to multiple models and has served as AWS's main horse in the AI race. Sridharan joined AWS in May, after working at Google Cloud and Microsoft for more than 20 years.

Sridharan's departure is part of a big shake-up that created a new Agentic AI team last week within AWS. Swami Sivasubramanian, VP of AI and data, was promoted to lead the team and now reports directly to AWS CEO Matt Garman, according to an internal email seen by Business Insider. Sridharan reported to Sivasubramanian.

As part of this change, the Bedrock and Sagemaker AI organizations will move under the AWS compute team led by VP Dave Brown, according to another internal email seen by BI. Prasad Kalyanaraman, VP of AWS infrastructure services, will take over several networking teams, and VP of technology Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec will add some of the data service units. Amazon's Q chatbot teams will join the new Agentic AI group.

Sridharan is part of several recent high-profile departures at AWS. Former AWS CEO Adam Selipsky, CMO Raejeanne Skillern, CFO Richard Puccio, and AI VP Matt Wood left the company last year.

Amazon faces fierce competition in the AI space, with companies ranging from Google to OpenAI all vying for supremacy. In one of the emails, Garman said the new Agentic AI team has the potential to build Amazon's "next multi-billion-dollar business."

"We're in the midst of the most significant technological transformation since the inception of cloud computing, and our customers are seeing unprecedented productivity gains through generative AI," Garman wrote.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at 650-942-3061. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• NASA will shutter three departments, according to an email reviewed by BI.
• The email said that the closures are part of a larger reduction in force.
• Twenty-three employees were fired on Monday, an agency spokesperson told BI.

NASA has officially started its restructuring effort.

The agency will close three departments as part of the Trump administration's broader goal to reduce the federal workforce, according to an email reviewed by Business Insider.

NASA employees received the email on Monday from the agency's acting administrator, Janet Petro. The three departments affected are the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy; the Office of the Chief Scientist; and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility branch of the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. An agency spokesperson told BI that 23 individuals were fired.

"NASA's Office of the Chief Scientist is tasked with ensuring that all the Agency's scientific endeavors align with the Administration's goals. Eliminating the office sends a chilling message that NASA's scientists aren't part of the nation's goals," a current NASA employee told BI in a written response.

Petro said the changes put the agency in compliance with President Donald Trump's executive order to implement the White House DOGE office's workplace restructuring.

She wrote that Monday marked the beginning of NASA's reduction in force effort.

"While this will mean making difficult adjustments, we're viewing this as an opportunity to reshape our workforce, ensuring we are doing what is statutorily required of us, while also providing American citizens with an efficient and effective agency," Petro wrote in the email.

It's not clear if all employees in the departments were terminated, or if some might be moved to different areas within NASA.

"A small number of individuals received notification Monday they are a part of NASA's RIF. If they're eligible, those employees may opt to participate in the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, or VERA, or complete the RIF process," the NASA spokesperson told BI in a statement.

Representatives for DOGE and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

The latest restructuring plans from NASA follow weeks of changes to the federal workforce. The Trump administration has fired thousands of workers across a range of federal agencies and has cut billions of dollars in federal spending programs. The Office of Personnel Management also instructed all federal agencies to develop reorganization plans by March 13.

Have a tip? Contact these reporters via Signal at asheffey.97 or alicetecotzky.05 or via email at [email protected] or [email protected]. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.