• I didn't realize it growing up, but my mother was always balancing work and family caregiving.
• She often prioritized family over career, opting for flexibility and security.
• The choices she made have influenced my own parenting and have helped me help my to family thrive.

Growing up, I didn't understand the weight of the sacrifices my mom made for our family. She worked full-time as a programmer during the '80s and '90s, a time when women were still a rare sight in the industry. She did it all while raising my sister and me, caring for my chronically and eventually terminally ill father, and even looking after her mother-in-law. She moved to the United States from India in 1984, and juggled all of these responsibilities while navigating a culture and country that weren't her own.

My dad navigated complex physical and mental health struggles until he passed away when I was 20. The years leading up to his death were filled with hospital visits, doctor's appointments, and treatments, and my mom was a constant, steadfast presence in all of it.

At the time, I didn't fully understand the depth of her sacrifices, the amount of thought put into the decisions she made, or the boundaries she set in every area of her life. But now, as a parent raising two autistic children and navigating my own late-diagnosed autism, I realize how much I learned just by watching her.

She worked hard to build a sustainable life

One of the most significant things I learned from my mom was how to prioritize what truly matters, even if it didn't align with the conventional career path or societal expectations. She was always working — often doing the impossible — but she never let it come at the expense of our family.

She deliberately opted out of promotions and career advancements because she knew that a bigger role meant less time at home. She chose flexibility over prestige, security over ambition.

In the years leading up to my dad's passing, she managed to secure a job that allowed her to work four 10-hour days instead of a traditional five-day workweek. This arrangement gave her the time she needed to take my dad to chemotherapy appointments and medical visits. To anyone looking in from the outside, it may have seemed like a step back in her career, but to our family, it was everything.

At the time, I didn't appreciate or understand her choices. I didn't see how much of her career and personal ambition she sacrificed. But looking back now, I understand just how intentional and meaningful those decisions were.

Her example shapes the way I parent today

When my children were diagnosed with autism, and later when I received my own diagnosis, I found myself drawing on my mother's example. She showed me that caregiving isn't just about being there in crisis, it's about creating a life that makes room for caregiving in the first place.

I've had to make similar choices. I've turned down job opportunities that offered more money and responsibility, but demanded more of my time than I could sustainably give. Like my mom, I've structured my days to leave space for what's most important: my family. I've learned to take on less commitments in my community, to prioritize the mental and emotional health of everyone in our family, and to build a life that doesn't burn out everyone involved.

A huge difference today is that I have more options than she did. Technology and flexible work environments have opened up opportunities for remote work, family leave, and a better work-life balance. But the core challenge remains the same: how to build a life that works for your family, even when it doesn't follow the traditional script.

Success looks different now

For so long, I believed success was about climbing the corporate ladder — about promotions, bigger salaries, and external validation. But my mom showed me that success doesn't always look like that.

Success is about making decisions that align with your values and needs, even if they don't make sense on paper. It's about sustainability, flexibility, and ensuring that caregiving isn't just something you squeeze into the cracks of your day.

I understand that the sacrifices my mom made weren't just about survival, they were about creating a life that worked for our family.

And that's exactly the kind of life I strive to create for my own.

• Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of all his films.
• The new vampire movie has received high praise from critics.
• Here's all his films ranked and where you can watch them.

Ryan Coogler's fifth film, "Sinners," was released on Friday, and has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of the director's career at 97%.

The new movie is Coogler's first original story since his directorial debut in 2013.

Since 2015, Coogler has directed three franchise spin-offs that have been loved by critics and audiences and earned award recognition too. Coogler's "Black Panther" was the first Marvel movie to get an Academy Award best picture nomination, and is the sixth highest-grossing superhero film.

Here are Coogler's films ranked from worst to best, according to critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"

Critic Score: 84%

Audience Score: 94%

After the success of "Black Panther," Coogler directed the 2023 sequel that featured the fictional nation of Wakanda fighting its rival, Atlantis.

T'Challa, the original lead character of the franchise, dies early in the film as a tribute to Chadwick Boseman. The actor died in 2020 due to complications from colon cancer.

The sequel follows T'Challa's sister Shuri, his mother Ramonda, and his closes advisors as they try to govern and protect Wakanda while processing their grief.

Critics praised the emotional handling of Boseman's tribute and the film's beautiful score, costumes, and visuals. The inclusion of Ironheart in the story received mixed reviews.

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is the one instance where the audience score is higher than the critic score for Coogler's films.

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is available to stream on Disney+.

"Fruitvale Station"

Critic Score: 94%

Audience Score: 87%

Coogler's directorial debut was "Fruitvale Station," a biographical film about Oscar Grant, a young man who was shot and killed by a cop during his arrest in Oakland, California, in 2009. After a trial a year later, the officer, Johannes Mehserle, was sentenced to two years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

The film depicts Grant's day leading up to his death, with Michael B. Jordan, who has appeared in all of Coogler's films, playing Grant.

This film immediately launched Coogler on critics' radar, especially after it won the best first-film prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013.

"Fruitvale Station" is available to rent on Apple TV+ and Amazon Video.

"Creed"

Critic Score: 95%

Audience Score: 89%

2015's "Creed" was the first "Rocky" spin-off movie since the original series ended in 2006.

The film starred Jordan as Adonis Creed, son of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) from the original "Rocky" films, who wants to become a boxing champion. He seeks out his father's former rival, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), to be his mentor.

Stallone's performance is a standout in this film, and fans praised Coogler for reinvigorating the "Rocky" franchise.

"Creed" is available to stream on Prime Video.

"Black Panther"

Critic Score: 96%

Audience Score: 79%

"Black Panther" is Coogler's most successful film, grossing $1.3 billion and gaining his first best picture nomination.

The film follows T'Challa, the new king of Wakanda, who tries to adapt his country's traditions to the new world landscape. Meanwhile, T'Challa's cousin, Killmonger (Jordan), seeks to usurp the throne as part of his revenge plan.

Critics said "Black Panther" stood out from the rest of the Marvel universe due to its imaginative, detailed, and culturally respectful world-building, which created a fictional country that felt real.

"Black Panther" is available to stream on Disney+.

"Sinners"

Critic Score: 99%

Set in 1930s Mississippi, "Sinners" follows a group of Black and Chinese citizens at the opening night of a new juke joint, launched by a pair of criminal twins, played by Jordan. The event turns into a nightmare when a vampire arrives, converting the patrons into zombie-like vampires.

The film has received high praise from critics for its score, engrossing story, and terrific performances from the cast. David Ehrlich, the head film critic for Indiewire, also said it is the best movie of Coogler's career.

"Sinners" is showing in theaters.

• Phil Stafford moved to the Bay Area from Fresno, California, to work in cybersecurity.
• Stafford's wife lost her sales job as soon as the couple relocated.
• He says networking has helped him get contracts, but it's not enough; the system is broken.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Phil Stafford, a 45-year-old cybersecurity professional based in Oakland, California. It's been edited for length and clarity.

After I struggled for two years to find consistent tech work, my wife and I took a leap of faith and moved from Fresno, California, to the Bay Area — the tech hub of the country, located three hours northwest.

However, a week after moving, my wife got laid off from her job, and we went into full survival mode. I had never been more frightened for my ability to exist than at that moment.

We've spent the last six months scrambling to find work and having difficult conversations about our future. Here's how we're supporting each other during this time and staying afloat.

I've been applying for jobs for two years

For about a decade, I managed all technical needs for the janitorial business my wife and I owned. Then the company shut down.

After that, I started doing contract cybersecurity consulting work while working toward my bachelor's degree in cybersecurity and information assurance. I earned my degree from Western Governors University in 2022, but my freelance opportunities started to dry up in Fresno.

Since then, I've been able to find some contract roles, but the last two years have been spent unsuccessfully applying for full-time jobs.

Every rejection feels personal

In the early days, I used Indeed and LinkedIn to apply for jobs a lot, but I landed maybe two or three interviews in all the time I was on there.

I used to dedicate a lot of time to customizing each cover letter and résumé, and I'd catch myself getting my hopes up and fantasizing about what my life would be like with that job. I simply don't have the emotional bandwidth to do that anymore.

Every rejection feels like a social wound. It's hard not to tie it back to my self-worth as a person.

AI has been helpful, but networking has given me more success

AI has been a great tool for helping me write my cover letters while giving me back physical and emotional time. Since utilizing AI, I've started getting more rejections, as opposed to radio silence. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

The only real success I've found has been through networking and connecting on a human level. In Fresno, I found some contract jobs by directly reaching out to people via LinkedIn or email. People have been able to help me find opportunities or introduce me to someone else who can.

But ultimately, I felt like my job opportunities were limited there. We left our month-to-month rental in Fresno and have been staying in Airbnbs in the East Bay Area ever since.

My wife and I moved to the Bay Area six months ago

We're currently working on locking down a more permanent arrangement with an Airbnb host.

After my wife got laid off, not only did we now have no reliable income, but we had just uprooted ourselves from our entire support network at home. Moving was a leap of faith, and since then, we've been scrambling to make ends meet.

I've found a lot more work since moving, plus networking is so much easier, so I feel like it was absolutely the right choice to move. That being said, we're still not making nearly enough as we'd like, but we've decided there's no going back. There simply isn't enough opportunity in Fresno.

Here's how my wife and I have been supporting each other during this time

My wife and I have always had great, open communication, but the last six months have probably been the hardest on that particular mechanism. We've had lots of tough conversations about how we're going to pay our bills.

Even though things are financially chaotic, the most helpful thing we've been doing is staying interested in our hobbies, entertaining each other, and having deep, emotionally fulfilling conversations.

After a meeting with my engineering research group, I can come home to my wife and say, "Hey, these are all the cool things we're doing," and she doesn't have to understand; she just has to nod and say, "That's awesome."

She can also talk to me about the people she meets at church or nerd out with me about history. We are a unit, and that's not going to change.

We're trying to diversify our income streams

I'm still applying for jobs and hunting for more consulting work, and I won't give up.

My wife is applying for new jobs while also starting to build her own patient advocacy firm.

The biggest thing I've had to remind myself of is that I'm not alone. It sounds trite, but it reminds me that this is not a personal failure. This is just a broken system, and we're all suffering.

If you would like to share how you're managing long-term unemployment while searching for full-time work, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• I spent a weekend living like Meghan Markle, trying dishes and following hosting tips from her Netflix show.
• I made floral ice cubes, chilled eucalyptus towels, and whipped up her spring garden pasta salad.
• My weekend as Meghan taught me more than just some hosting tricks.

As I vigorously rubbed hair serum into my scalp, rapidly counting the 60 seconds before I could flop into bed, a voice popped into my head.

"The only difference between ritual and routine is intention."

This wasn't a quote from a self-help Instagram infographic, nor a wise lesson from Chelsea, Aimee Lou Wood's lovable zodiac queen on the most recent season of "The White Lotus." No, this was something I had heard on Meghan Markle's new Netflix show.

Having just binged every episode of "With Love, Meghan" to prepare for my review of her As Ever products, it made sense that her voice was in my head. But my fingers still relaxed, turning the moment into a head massage instead.

That's when I wondered if there was more to learn from Meghan's new show than the critics were willing to give her credit for. So, I spent the weekend living like the Duchess of Sussex, making a long to-do list of recipes and hosting projects.

It was quite the trip.

Meghan Markle shared a bevy of tips in her new Netflix series, "With Love, Meghan."

Meghan's show seems to be inspired by Martha Stewart and Ina Garten. It shows her making frittatas, popping bottles of chilled Champagne, and hosting a rotating guest list of friends in her ultra-luxurious Montecito neighborhood.

It was a new venture for the duchess, but the critics weren't impressed. They seemed to be in competition for who could come up with the harshest headline, calling it "toe-curlingly unlovable TV" and a "Montecito ego trip not worth taking."

Some thought Meghan was unrelatable, while others said she was too amateur. It all seemed pretty harsh for a series about making ladybug crostinis and jam.

I wouldn't know until I put the projects to the test — let the weekend begin.

My Saturday morning began with some avocado toast and, of course, flower sprinkles.

I jolted awake before 7 a.m., as if my body knew it was about to spend 48 hours cosplaying as a Montecito princess. Unfortunately, that same body stayed up until 1 a.m. to watch Lady Gaga perform on the Coachella livestream the night before and was definitely feeling it.

Thankfully, Meghan believes in starting the day with carbs, so I made some avocado toast, just like I had seen her do on the show.

The recipe was simple enough. I spread avocado on my toasted slice of sourdough bread, sprinkled some salt, then topped it with a very un-Instagram-worthy fried egg.

I briefly considered making another one for a prettier picture, but there's no way I'm wasting eggs in this economy. A shower of flower sprinkles, which are part of Meghan's sold-out As Ever line, would have to suffice.

By 9:30 a.m., I was out the door and off to the farmers market.

Meghan mentions visiting the Montecito Farmers Market on her show, so it only made sense that I stop by mine to grab ingredients for some of her dishes.

After picking up fresh veggies and some honey, I spotted a vendor with small blue flowers inside plastic containers.

"Are these edible?" I asked her.

"Of course," she replied.

A lady who was browsing nearby immediately turned around. She had been on the hunt for edible flowers as well.

"What are you using them for?" she asked.

"I'm … making Meghan Markle's flower ice cubes," I sheepishly confessed.

"I wanted them for her shortbread cookies!" she replied.

Maybe Meghan was more influential than the critics realized?

Back at home, I got to work on my "bedside blooms."

The first episode of Meghan's show revolves around everything she does to prepare when a guest is staying over. One of my best friends was staying the night during a layover in LA, so it was the perfect time to try some of Meghan's hosting tips.

Meghan says one of her "favorite things to do is prep a guest room," which includes preparing small bouquets of fresh flowers.

"What's at the side of the bed for them? That's their morning and good night moment," she adds.

Unfortunately for my friend Andrew, I don't have nightstands in my guest bedroom yet, so I made some "bookshelf blooms" instead. I followed Meghan's tip to remove some leaves from each stem, which she said allows the water to go straight to the bloom.

Then, I made some floral ice cubes.

Meghan makes these floral ice cubes for lunch with her friends, calling them a little moment of "surprise and delight."

I plucked petals from the edible flowers, as well as some yellow florets that came with my purple cauliflower, and sprinkled them in my ice cube tray. According to Meghan, the trick is to then fill the cubes with distilled water so they come out clear instead of cloudy. It felt like an art project that would be fun to do with kids.

Even with the distilled water, I thought my cubes came out kind of cloudy, and I didn't love getting petals in my mouth once they had melted into the water.

For this project, the process was more fun than the result.

I also whipped up Meghan's chilled and scented towels.

Meghan says these towels are "one of those easy surprises and delights that, after a long day, will bring a lot of joy," adding that it's the "least complicated thing on the planet."

Since Andrew was coming to my house after a five-hour flight from JFK, I figured a chilled towel would be a great way to greet him.

I opted for eucalyptus oil, adding six drops to a big bowl of water. Then, I dunked each small white towel into the bowl, ringing the water out before rolling them up and popping them into the fridge.

Once the towels were chilled, I placed them by the bathroom sink and added a few edible blooms for decoration.

The next morning, Andrew told me the entire bathroom had smelled of eucalyptus and was "so relaxing."

After a quick lunch break, it was time to test out Meghan's recipes.

First, I needed to prepare Chantilly Lili, the dessert Meghan named after her daughter, Princess Lilibet, and recently shared with The New York Times.

It features homemade vanilla pudding layered with bananas and topped with fresh whipped cream, cookie crumbles, and macerated strawberries.

Since the pudding needs to chill overnight, I made it ahead of time so I could finish the dessert on Sunday. It only took about 10 minutes to whip up and stick in the fridge.

While the pudding was quick and easy, Meghan's spring garden pasta salad took way more work.

The New York Times calls this dish a "perfectly quick spring or summer dinner," a promise that doesn't apply to people with bad knife skills.

Meghan's spring garden pasta salad requires five different veggies to chop, dice, and slice, which took me around 30 minutes. I'm pretty slow with a knife and was already feeling tired from a day packed with projects, so the process was anything but soothing — even with Meghan's preferred cooking soundtrack of "French dinner party music" playing in the background.

Still, the spring garden pasta was a hit at my friend's barbecue that night. Everyone loved all the fresh flavors from the veggies, which were perfectly captured in each bite of floppy rigatoni.

It's a great side dish, but I'm not sure I'd make it again — at least not without an extra pair of hands!

After a good night's sleep, I was ready to begin my second day as the Duchess of Sussex.

I kicked things off with a crudité platter, which Meghan says she makes every day for Prince Harry and their children.

"There's nothing so fancy about a crudité platter, except that it's called crudité," she says in one episode, before making a stunning platter complete with edible flowers.

Per Meghan's instructions, I grabbed some rainbow carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, and purple cauliflower. I also displayed some veggies on beds of leftover Swiss chard to elevate the presentation.

The final step was drizzling olive oil into my store-bought hummus, another Meghan tip. The duchess says it's "always nice to decant your condiments," but I didn't have any cute serving dishes, so I used the bowl from a souvenir I got at Super Nintendo World — a sentence I'm sure has never been spoken in Montecito.

I also finished my Chantilly Lili pudding, which came out beautiful.

It was much quicker to make the Chantilly Lili than the spring garden pasta. After macerating the berries and making the fresh whipped cream, all I had to do was assemble.

Both my boyfriend and Andrew were impressed with the presentation. The dessert was light and fluffy and struck the perfect balance of sweetness. It's definitely something I would make again.

Before the weekend could come to an end, I had to make Meghan's snack bags.

Probably one of the most cited — and derided — of Meghan's hosting tips was her love of transferring snacks from their original packaging into clear plastic bags, marked with a homemade label.

I knew I had to include it in my weekend in the name of journalism, so I diligently transferred peanut butter pretzels and popcorn into bags for Andrew to take on his flight to Sydney.

The bags looked cute, and getting my friend some snacks before a long flight was a lovely idea that I'd do again. Next time, though, I think I'll just leave them in the original packaging!

My weekend as Meghan taught me more than just how to be a good host.

At the end of the first season of her show, Meghan tells the camera that "reconnecting with myself, it just gives me so much joy." And you know what? I believe her.

Spending the weekend being creative and staying off screens was refreshing and rewarding. Will I ever do eight different projects in less than 48 hours again? Probably not, but getting a dopamine hit from making flower art and cooking was much needed.

I don't think embracing the above makes Meghan a "trad wife," as many critics claim, just as it didn't make Martha Stewart or Ina Garten one when their shows premiered in the '90s and early 2000s. I think it's just about finding things to do that bring you joy once in a while.

Maybe the lesson from my weekend living like Meghan wasn't really about plastic goodie bags or bouquets. It was about taking the time to stop and smell the flowers … and the chilled eucalyptus towels.

• Artisan is a startup that uses AI agents to replace human employees who do repetitive work.
• The startup just raised a $25 million funding round from Glade Brook Capital and other investors.
• BI got an exclusive look at the pitch deck Artisan used to raise its Series A funding round.

One startup is on a mission to replace a bunch of repetitive work that humans do, and it just scored a big funding round to replace workers with AI agents.

The startup, Artisan, just raised a $25 million Series A funding round led by Glade Brook Capital. Oliver Jung, Day One Ventures, BOND, Soma Capital, and Sequoia Scout also participated in the round, along with the startup accelerator Y Combinator.

Artisan was a member of YC's Winter 2024 batch, and it previously raised an $11.5 million seed round in October 2024 led by angel investor Oliver Jung.

Co-founded in 2023 by Jaspar Carmichael-Jack and Sam Stallings, Artisan is developing AI employees, called Artisans, that fully take over specific jobs that have been traditionally done by human workers. These jobs are often routine in nature — think copy and pasting data, updating CRMs, and writing emails.

Artisan's first Artist, Ava, is a fully autonomous business development representative who can tackle every part of outbound sales, from discovering leads to researching them to outreach to booking meetings.

Some of Artisan's marketing has garnered viral shock value — in a recent campaign, its founders donned t-shirts reading "Hire Artisans, Not Humans," — but the startup's broader goal is that by offboarding rote tasks to AI agents, their human co-workers are less bogged down by tasks and can focus more on creativity.

Thanks to AI advancements, that's becoming a reality, explained Carmichael-Jack, Artisan's CEO.

"Six months ago, all investors wanted to hear about was AI's potential," he told BI. "Conversations evolved from 'What could this become?' to 'What's it doing for customers right now?'"

"That's why our 'Stop Hiring Humans' campaign resonated so strongly," he said. "It tackled the question of what the role of humans moving forward will be."

AI's role in the workplace has been a hot-button issue lately, with both employers and employees weighing in on the benefits and detriments of using the tech on the job.

Mira Murati, OpenAI's former CTO, who's now running an AI startup, said last year that some jobs at risk of being replaced by AI shouldn't have existed in the first place — prompting outrage.

The controversy hasn't deterred a bevy of startups from developing workplace-centric AI agents. AI voice agent Vapi raised $20 million in December from Bessemer. AI agent job recruiter OptimHire landed a $5 million seed in March. And earlier this month, Spur, which uses AI agents to quality test websites, raised a $4.5 million seed round from First Round and Pear.

Check out the 16-slide pitch deck Artisan used to raise its $20 million Series A funding round.

• AMD sees the AI inference shift as a chance to grab market share from Nvidia.
• AI inference will move from data centers to edge devices, like smartphones, AMD's CTO says.
• Mark Papermaster expects an AI 'killer app' in the next three to six years.

The lion's share of artificial intelligence workloads moving from training to inference is great news for AMD, its CTO said.

AI training workloads — the ones that make up the gargantuan task of building large language models, imbuing them with a familiar writing or speaking style, and knowledge — used to be most of what AI computing was used for. Inference is the computing process that happens when AI generates outputs like answering questions or creating images.

It's hard to pin down exactly when the switch happened — probably some time last year. But inference is now and will likely stay the largest segment of accelerated computing going forward. Since then, AMD executives have been hyping up a window of opportunity to wrest market share from Nvidia.

"People like the work that we've done in inference," CEO Lisa Su said on the company's February earnings call.

AI at scale is all about inference.

If you ask Mark Papermaster, AMD's Chief Technology Officer, where it all goes from there, he'll tell you that as inference grows, it's headed for the edge.

"Edge devices" are the industry term for computers that live outside the data center. Our phones and laptops all qualify, but so could smart traffic lights or sensors in factories. Papermaster's job is to make sure AMD is headed in the right direction to meet the demand for AI computing across devices as it grows.

AMD has had to play catch-up in the data center since Nvidia's 10-year head start. But at the edge? The field is more open.

Business Insider asked Papermaster what he thinks the future of handheld AI looks like.

This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.

What's the most prominent use for AI computing in edge devices like laptops and phones?

The use case you're starting to see is local, immediate, low-latency content creation.

Why do we use PCs? We use them to communicate, and we use them to create content. As you and I are talking — this is a Microsoft Teams event — AI is running underneath this. I could have a correction on it such that if I look side to side, you just see me centered. That's an option. I can hit automatic translation — you could be in Saudi Arabia and not speak any English, and we could have simultaneous translation once these things become truly embedded and operational, which is imminent.

It's truly amazing what's coming because just locally on your PC, you'll be able to verbally describe: 'Hey, I'm building a PowerPoint. I need this. I need these features. I'm running Adobe. This is what I want.'

Today, I've got to go back to the cloud. I've got to run the big, heavy compute. It's more expensive and it takes more time.

That's the immediate example that's front and center, and this is why we've invested heavily in AI PCs. That's imminent from Microsoft and others in the next six months.

The other application that we're already seeing is autonomous anything. It starts with cars, but it's way beyond cars. It's the autonomous factory floor.

OK, say it's 2030 — how much inference is done at the edge?

Over time, it'll be a majority. I can't say when the switch over is because it's driven by the applications — the development of the killer apps that can run on edge devices. We're just seeing the tip of the spear now, but I think this moves rapidly.

You might consider phones as an analogy. Those phones were just a nice assist until the App Store came out and made it really easy to create a ton of applications on your phone.

Now, things that used to always be done with more performant computing could be done more locally. Things that were done in the cloud could be done locally. As we start to get killer applications, we're going to start to see that shift go very rapidly. So it's in the next three to six years, no doubt.

I keep running into examples that suggest the way models are getting better is to just keep piling on more inference compute.

How do you know that three years from now, there's not going to be some breakthrough that makes all these devices being designed now completely out of date?

Everything you're describing is to gain even more capability and accuracy. It doesn't mean that what we have is not useful. It's just going to be constantly improving, and the improvement goes into two vectors.

One vector is becoming more accurate. It can do more things, and typically drives more compute. There's an equal vector that runs in parallel, saying, 'How could I be more optimized?'

I call it the DeepSeek moment. It sort of shook the world. Now you have everybody — Microsoft, Meta, Google — making their models more efficient. So you have both examples where it's taking more and more compute and examples where there's innovation driving more and more efficiency. That's not going to change.

• The dollar has slumped against other currencies as President Donald Trump's tariffs pinch demand.
• Haven currencies, export-driven economies, and commodities stand to gain from its decline.
• Here are some of the likely winners from a weaker greenback.

The US dollar, the bedrock of global finance, has weakened by nearly 10% from its mid-January peak to a three-year low against a basket of major currencies.

A key catalyst has been President Donald Trump's disruptive tariffs, which have reignited inflation and recession fears and rocked investors' confidence in the greenback.

The buck's depreciation has eroded consumers' purchasing power and raised import costs for businesses, while also making US exports more competitive.

The slump also has global implications, as the dollar is the world's reserve currency used for trading everything from goods and services to commodities and derivatives.

Here's a look at the likely winners from the decline.

Foreign currencies

The dollar's loss has been other currencies' gain this year, as investors seek havens and substitutes.

The Swiss franc, supported by Switzerland's neutrality and robust financial system, has gained more than 9% against the dollar and continues to hover around its strongest level in more than a decade.

The yen, underpinned by Japan's low inflation and strong bond demand, has surged more than 9% versus the greenback.

The euro has surged to a three-year high against the dollar, signaling confidence in the European Central Bank. Emerging market currencies such as the Singapore dollar and South Korean won have also gained ground.

While cryptocurrencies are heralded as hedges against inflation and currency depreciation, bitcoin is down more than 9% at about $84,400.

Charlie Bilello, the chief market strategist at wealth manager Creative Planning, highlighted the broad exodus from the dollar this year in a X post on Wednesday:

Other countries

A weaker dollar typically benefits export-driven economies such as China, Germany, Japan, and Malaysia. It makes the goods they produce cheaper in dollar terms, boosting domestic companies' revenues and profits and lifting their stock prices. That effect is at least partly offset by Trump imposing tariffs on most goods entering the US.

Commodity-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia and Australia tend to gain too, as their respective oil and gold exports become more competitively priced. Other countries' stock markets stand to gain as well as more investors pile in, seeking better returns on their money.

A declining dollar could accelerate efforts by countries including Brazil, India, Russia, China, and South Africa to reduce dollar dominance in global trade — a trend known as de-dollarization.

Commodities

Oil, gold, and agricultural goods tend to benefit from a falling dollar as it makes them relatively cheaper.

Gold, a popular haven asset, has surged above $3,300 an ounce this year as investors flee from riskier assets such as US stocks and dollars.

However, crude prices have dropped since January due to concerns that an expanding trade war will trigger a global economic slowdown and reduce oil demand.

Soybean futures are up about 4% this year at $10.40 a bushel, as tighter supply and Chinese tariffs on US soybeans put upward pressure on prices.

• Apple releases earnings quarterly.
• On calls with investors, CEO Tim Cook addresses Apple's results and trajectory.
• The Q1 2025 call was dominated by discussions about Apple Intelligence.

Apple, the tech powerhouse behind the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more, and services like Apple TV+, Apple Music, and the App Store, releases its earnings quarterly.

Typically, Apple CEO Tim Cook joins the calls to reflect on the results and discuss the company's future trajectory. Cook and Apple's CFO field questions from analysts to keep investors in the know about the company's financial standing.

The calls usually cover topics like the revenue of Apple products. The iPhone almost always makes up most of the company's overall sales, but it fell in the most recent quarter from the year prior.

Apple's Q2 earnings will be reported on May 1, 2025.

Here's a breakdown of Apple's recent earnings.

Apple Q1 earnings 2025

Apple reported its fiscal first-quarter results on January 30, 2025, beating earnings and revenue estimates. The firm pulled a record $124.3 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 4% year-over-year. Earnings-per-share came in at $2.40, above estimates of $2.35.

Revenue in China, though, missed estimates. The iPhone maker pulled $18.51 billion in revenue from its business in China, lower than the expected $21.57 billion.

The firm has yet to roll out Apple Intelligence in the region, which has contributed to the decline in sales, Cook told CNBC ahead of the earnings call.

On the earnings call, Cook added that he was optimistic about new products Apple has in the pipeline, like newer versions of the iPhone.

He also expressed optimism about AI.

"I do believe it will go mainstream," Cook said about artificial intelligence. "I'm getting feedback from people using different features today. Keep in mind that on the iPhone side of our business, you either have to have an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 to use Apple Intelligence. As that base grows, the usage will continue to grow."

Apple Q4 earnings 2024

Apple reported its fourth-quarter earnings in October 2024, beating revenue and profit estimates. Revenue for the quarter came in at $94.9 billion, slightly above the expected $94.3 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.64, above the estimated $1.60.

The company missed its targets for Greater China. Revenue in the region came in at $15.03 billion, below the estimated $15.8 billion.

On the earnings call, Cook said Apple planned to roll out more AI features in the "coming months," adding that he believed Apple Intelligence was creating a "new era" for the company.

He dodged a question about the impact of the presidential election and potential tariffs on Apple, adding that he didn't want to speculate.

Apple Q3 earnings 2024

Apple held its earnings call for its fiscal Q3 in August 2024, beating estimates. Revenue for the quarter came in at $85.7 billion, above the expected $84.4 billion. Earnings per share came in at $1.40, above the expected $1.35.

iPhone sales may have slowed in Q3, but services soared, and the iPad lineup launched in May received shoutouts from Apple execs. iPad revenue was up 24% year-over-year in the quarter.

Apple Intelligence, announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, was a big talking point during the call. Cook said that its rollout would begin in 2024 and continue in 2025.

Cook said the company was "optimistic" about AI.

Apple Q2 earnings 2024

Apple held its earnings call for its fiscal Q2 in May 2024. Revenue came in at $90.7 billion, slightly above estimates of $90.3 billion. Earnings per share came in at $1.53, above the expected $1.50.

Sales in Greater China were better than expected, but overall iPhone sales fell 10% from the year prior. Apple also announced its biggest stock buyback ever at $110 billion.

Cook praised the Vision Pro headset, which was released on February 2, and said that Apple was "off to a good start" with the device, which was its first major new product line since the Apple Watch.

Apple earnings history

Apple's net revenue for the 2024 fiscal year totaled $391 billion, up 2% year-over-year. Its net income fell slightly to $93.7 billion, down 3% year-over-year.

Apple currently pays a dividend of $0.25 per share.

Jacqui Kenyon contributed to an earlier version of this report.

• Rory McIlroy's private jet was one of hundreds departing Augusta after the Masters.
• He's one of many wealthy athletes with their own private jets.
• Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods are among the others.

After becoming the sixth golfer to complete a career grand slam with his win at the Masters on Sunday, Rory McIlroy's private jet departed Augusta the following day.

His Gulfstream G650 was one of hundreds of jets that took off from the usually sleepy Augusta Regional Airport during its annual mass exodus. After stopping in Florida, N1989R landed at England's Farnborough Airport, near London, on Wednesday morning.

But the Northern Irish golfer, whose career winnings are over $160 million, isn't the only sports star with their own plane.

Here's a look at some of the world's richest athletes and their private jets.

Michael Jordan

Last October, Michael Jordan appeared to take delivery of a new private jet worth around $65 million — a drop in the ocean for the world's wealthiest sports star. Forbes estimates his net worth at $3.5 billion.

The Gulfstream G650ER has a flamboyant black-and-blue custom paint job. Its tail includes the Jumpman logo from his eponymous sneaker and sportswear brand.

The jet's tailnumber, N236MJ, also includes the legendary Chicago Bull's initials.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo flies on a Bombardier Global Express XRS, which also has a custom paint job. The soccer player's partner, Georgina Rodríguez, has shared several photos of the jet. It's painted black and gray with Ronaldo's "CR7" nickname and a silhouette image of him celebrating.

The 15-year-old plane was refurbished last year and is operated by Global Jet Luxembourg, a charter firm. It says the plane, LX-GOL, can seat 14 passengers and sleep up to five. Photos show it has a cream interior with light-grey seats and wood paneling.

In 2020, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner became the first active team-sport athlete to earn $1 billion across his career, Forbes reported.

Alex Rodriguez

Like Jordan, A-Rod's plane also has a tailnumber with his initials — N313AR. The Gulfstream IV-SP has been photographed at airports around the world by several planespotters since the baseball star bought it in 2017. On its tail, the gray-and-black jet features an illustration of a baseball player swinging a bat.

The G-IV is registered to a holding company called DORA 13, which is Rodriguez's nickname backward and the number he wore while playing for the Yankees.

The plane was built in 1997. In a typical configuration, it can carry up to 19 passengers and has a maximum range of around 4,850 miles.

Max Verstappen

Forbes reported that Max Verstappen is Formula 1's best-paid driver, earning $75 million last year. The Red Bull driver has won the F1 title four seasons in a row from 2021 to 2024. Lewis Hamilton, who won the four before that, sold his private jet in 2019.

Verstappen took ownership of a Dassault Falcon 8X earlier this year, worth around $50 million. The tri-engine jet is painted black with neon orange accents and has been spotted at airports near the locations of this season's Grand Prix races.

With a range of 6,450 nautical miles, it can fly nonstop between New York and Beijing — ideal for F1's global season, which visits 21 countries this year.

Tiger Woods

The only golfer to amass more career winnings than McIlroy, Tiger Woods has a Gulfstream G550. Like Jordan and Rodriguez, he also has a tail number with his initials — N517TW.

Forbes estimates that Woods is worth $1.3 billion, while a new G550 costs around $55 million. According to data from JetSpy, the plane made 71 flights last year for a total of 119 hours. It most commonly stopped in Stuart, Florida — the airport nearest Woods' home on the exclusive Jupiter Island, where neighbors formerly included Bill Gates.

• International companies and organizations see 2025 as a tipping point for quantum technology.
• Major advancements are afoot as the industry navigates the "International Year of Quantum."
• Here's some of the biggest quantum news so far this year— and things to keep an eye on.

The era of quantum is officially upon us, and if you're not immersed in the world of emerging tech, you may have missed the memo.

The burgeoning field leverages quantum mechanics to solve complex problems faster than classical computers. It promises breakthroughs that could revolutionize fields from medicine to data privacy and is attracting major investments from world governments, tech giants, and equity firms seeking to capitalize on that potential.

While the announcements of advanced quantum chips from the biggest of Big Tech players may have briefly broken through the news of the escalating trade war, alarming aviation accidents, and increasing political unrest, there's so much more to know about what's gone down in the industry so far in 2025, which the United Nations has dubbed the "International Year of Quantum."

Here's some of the biggest quantum news so far this year — and things to keep an eye on.

Big Tech is all in on quantum

Skepticism is fading about whether the quantum industry can achieve all that it promises, and major discussions have now turned to the timeline to get there.

According to research by Boston Consulting Group, the quantum industry attracted $1.2 billion from venture capitalists in 2023 despite a 50% drop in overall tech investments that year. BCG projects that quantum computing will create between $450 billion and $850 billion of economic value globally and sustain a $90-$170 billion market for hardware and software providers by 2040.

The Big Tech players are all investing heavily in quantum advancement, hoping to catch up with IBM — a longtime frontrunner in the field, with several different prototype chips and its circuit-based commercial quantum computer, IBM Quantum System One, which was unveiled in January 2019.

Amazon announced its Ocelot chip in February. The company says it represents a breakthrough in error correction and scalability, two key issues that have long slowed advancement in the field. Its announcement came just a week after Microsoft debuted its Majorana chip and only a few months after Google's Willow chip hit the scene in December.

Nvidia is also aiming to get in on the action. This year, the company announced at GTC that it is developing a new quantum research lab in Boston.

The government is betting on quantum too

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Department of Defense's research and development agency, has expanded its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative this year in an attempt to achieve utility-scale operation by 2033.

DARPA in early April announced it had chosen 18 companies to test and advance various technologies for creating qubits — the building block for quantum computers — including superconducting qubits, trapped ion qubits, and other novel approaches.

Microsoft and PsiQuantum have already advanced to the third and final phase of DARPA's quantum initiative. IBM, IonQ, and Rigetti Computing are among the newest companies joining the QBI.

The first quantum supercomputer is nearly here

IBM plans to debut the world's first quantum-centric supercomputer this year.

This new system will use the modular IBM Quantum System Two architecture, which is designed to be scalable and upgradeable. It is expected to feature over 4,000 qubits and aims to break existing records in the field, eventually surpassing the size of the largest quantum computer by more than threefold.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Time in March that "something remarkable" is on the horizon for quantum technology and that the company has positioned itself to create the next generation of foundational technology through advancements in quantum.

Advancement comes with security risks

While we're on the cusp of a quantum revolution, cybersecurity professionals have previously warned Business Insider that the tech comes with its own risks.

It's not just basic data privacy or the chance of personal financial details becoming public. From national security secrets to the blockchain and beyond, all encrypted data will be readily accessible and, more worryingly, manipulatable by anyone with a fully fault-tolerant and quantum-capable system.

Karl Holmqvist has served as a quantum security advisor to major government bodies, including the Department of Defense and NATO. He is the CEO of Lastwall, which provides cybersecurity solutions designed to protect users from quantum computing threats.

"When you start peeling back the layers, it's like anything that's internet-connected will likely have problems," Holmqvist previously told BI. "A lot of the time, we trust that the links between systems are secure and the data that's gone between them is secure, and there's no way to get into those that they're encrypted. If you take away that default assumption, it allows so many new entry points into systems that it becomes quite concerning."

Hiring managers are starting to take notice

LinkedIn shows that the salary bands for jobs in quantum computing range from $150,000 on the low end to well past $500,000 a year, depending on the role and company. Hiring managers are paying attention.

Yaad Oren, a managing director at SAP Labs, one of the world's biggest software companies, previously told Business Insider that recruiters in the field look for curiosity more than anything else.

"Of course, we need expertise — and quantum is a very deep science and practice that requires a lot of knowledge — but if you follow the industry, you see there are also many disruptions going with quantum," Oren said. "We're definitely looking for change agents and curiosity is needed because, I mean, the industry is not sure at all that the current quantum technology we have now will be the winning architecture."

He added: "It's like building a building from the ground floor."

Brianna DeWitt didn't want to be a stay-at-home mom.

The 35-year-old loves her job: She spends mornings on the early shift as a physical therapist in Oahu, Hawaii. The rush she gets working in a hospital every day makes her years of intense medical training worth it.

So when her first baby was born in 2023, DeWitt did her best to make space for her career alongside her new role as a parent. Working part time seemed like the best of both worlds; she could still get the satisfaction that came from her job, and the scaled-back hours would allow her to spend time with her son and cut down on childcare bills. But then DeWitt realized that reducing her schedule below full time would disqualify her family from healthcare coverage and make her ineligible for an employer-matched 401(k).

"My husband was self-employed," she told me. "So I was trying to hold down the fort as far as our health insurance benefits went." He recently switched to a corporate job so the family could have stable coverage, and DeWitt could continue splitting her schedule between the hospital and their baby, "That was really important to us," she said.

DeWitt's dilemma is shared by parents and caregivers across America. Unlike other developed countries, the US offers few legal protections for part-time employees, meaning that people who typically work fewer than 30 to 34 hours a week are left at the mercy of their company's policies. At a time when many millennials are starting families, a shift to working part time could be a perfect solution for new parents to stay connected to their careers while attending to the needs of their children. While some companies like Starbucks and UPS offer benefits to part-time workers, for most people, stepping back from full-time work can mean losing out on healthcare coverage, paid leave, and fair wages.

"It could be the same position, the same qualifications, but you have one worker working full time and one worker working part time, and they are given different access to benefits, eligibility for promotions, or even paid differently based on hourly wages," Laura Narefsky, a senior attorney at the National Women's Law Center, told me.

At a time when the job market is cooling and businesses are keen to keep valuable employees around, conversations with economists, policy analysts, company leaders, parents, and caregivers made it clear that expanding workers' ability to adjust their hours is a winning idea. Companies that allow parents to work part time could retain experienced talent and save money on hiring. And letting more parents, especially mothers, stay connected to the workforce could be a path to economic growth as a whole: Nearly 3 million part-time workers are parents with children under 6 years old. America has a long way to go in terms of making the labor force flexible — but improving part-time opportunities is not only possible, it has overwhelmingly positive implications for the US job market.

Over 29 million people in the US work part time — roughly 18% of the total American labor force. Employees might choose a part-time schedule for a variety of reasons: They could be parents or caregivers who need to be home to look after a loved one; some are students trying to make ends meet while they finish a degree; others are retirees, people with disabilities, or people working multiple jobs. What all of these part-time workers have in common is a lack of federal protections.

Full-time employees in the US are guaranteed some basic rights, such as paid leave and access to company benefits. But once you dip below that roughly 30-hour-a-week threshold, employees don't have the same safeguards. Workers told me that can lead to unpredictable schedules and tight budgets. Part-time workers are about three times as likely as full-time workers to hold a low-paying job, and many live near the federal poverty line. In a 2020 report, the Economic Policy Institute found that part-time workers are paid nearly 20% less per hour than their full-time counterparts in the same industry and occupation. And that doesn't include the money part-time workers lose if they don't have access to benefits.

Julie Gagne, 63, cobbles together part-time and gig work to make ends meet while caring for her ex-husband, who is quadriplegic. She is a delivery driver near her home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and often earns less than $20 an hour. It's enough to cover basic essentials, but she hasn't been able to build any savings and the job can be "physically exhausting," she said.

"Candidly, I have not had health insurance in a very, very long time," she said, adding, "I'm very healthy, but obviously if something catastrophic happened, I'd be screwed."

This level of economic uncertainty is particularly acute for parents. As the cost of childcare has skyrocketed in recent years, outpacing salaries in some cities, many have been left in a bind. The lack of options hits moms especially hard. Deborah Singer, the chief marketing officer at the advocacy and research organization Moms First, said that mothers and female caregivers are most likely to drop to part-time hours or leave the workforce altogether. About six in 10 part-time employees are women, and working fewer hours can have long-term consequences.

"That's not just a penalty that women are going to pay when their child is young," Singer said. "That's going to impact their entire career, their retirement savings, and our economy more broadly."

Having access to a flexible schedule — without having to make major financial sacrifices — would be a game changer for millennial parents, allowing more of them to stay on the career ladder when their kids are toddlers or in preschool. Right now, though, many have to choose between a steady paycheck and time with their family.

Jessica Cuevas, 35, lives in Chicago with her husband, their preschool-aged son, and toddler. After her first child was born, Cuevas knew she wanted to hang on to the successful career she'd built in academia. To save on childcare bills, she switched from a full-time role in college admissions and education policy to a part-time job as a college counselor for a nonprofit. The move helped her stay in the field she's passionate about, but she said she lost her access to employer healthcare and retirement plans. Her pay is unpredictable month-to-month, and she hopes to return to full-time work as soon as her youngest son goes to school.

"I became a mom, and as much as I wanted to be there for my family, I also didn't want to lose myself," she told me, adding, "I'm very frustrated with companies and employers for putting the load directly on mom: What if she also wants to grow? What if she also wants to scale up? What if she also wants to get paid more than her partner?"

The lack of protections for part-time workers makes the US an anomaly compared to many of its peer countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, and Spain. In the Netherlands, for example, part-time workers are required by law to have the same access to benefits, time off, and pensions as full-time employees. Not extending these rights to part-time workers in the US isn't just a burden on the individuals, but it's also holding back the nation's economy as a whole. Kathryn Anne Edwards, an economist who studies the labor market and economic inequality, said providing more rights for part-time employees could boost the American labor force.

"Our labor market is much meaner and exclusive than people realize," Edwards told me. "Our labor market is very much like, 'If you can't hack it, you're out' at the expense of people's participation."

Take the Netherlands: As of 2023, the country's labor-force participation rate was 73%, with a slightly higher rate for men (76%) than women (68%), largely thanks to the prevalence of part-time work. At the end of 2023, the US labor-force participation rate was 62.5% with a sharper gap between men (68.2%) and women (57.3%). Historically, when more people are working, there are positive downstream effects like higher consumer spending and more movement in the labor market.

"What the US labor market needs is a 'glow-up,'" Edwards said. But it's unlikely that laws protecting part-time employees will be passed at the federal level anytime soon. A Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights — which would ensure that all part-time employees have access to paid leave and other benefits — was introduced in the House in 2023, but the bill has gone nowhere.

Still, companies can take steps to protect part-time workers, even without government involvement. UPS offers pensions and some healthcare coverage for part-time employees, and Trader Joe's offers medical, dental, and vision benefits, along with access to a 401(k) for most part-time employees. The moves aren't just a moral imperative for these companies, they also have material benefits for their business.

In a March report for BI using data from 400,000-plus small and midsize businesses, the business research firm Gusto found that the average job tenure for part-time workers with healthcare benefits is 39 months, compared to 36 months for full-time workers and 23 months for part-time workers without healthcare benefits. Employees who had access to paid vacation time and retirement plans were also more likely to stay at their companies than those who didn't. When experienced talent stays at a company, employers don't have to spend money to fill open roles.

In recent years, Starbucks has implemented similar part-time work benefits. It offers full tuition for full- and part-time employees pursuing a degree, parental leave for part-time employees working at least 20 hours a week, 401(k) matches, and healthcare coverage. A spokesperson for Starbucks told me that most of the company's barista employees are part time. The spokesperson said employee retention at the chain is at its highest level since the pandemic, and the company believes its benefit policies play a big role in that. The spokesperson said the company has seen a boost in traffic to its Careers webpage since its enhanced parental leave policy for full- and part-time workers began on March 1.

Jamie-Lee Kapana, 33, is a barista in Oahu and has a 13-year-old son. She's been working part time at Starbucks since he was a toddler. Kapana said that with past service-industry jobs, she struggled to find the flexibility she needed as a new mom while still paying the bills. Starbucks' health, 401(k), and other benefits have been a game changer for her family, she said.

"I decided to leave the restaurant job and commit to Starbucks because of the health benefits, job flexibility, and consistent hours," Kapana told me. "One of the biggest advantages was being able to work just 20 hours a week to receive these benefits, not just for myself, but also for my son."

More white-collar industries are leaning into part-time work as well. A June report from the hiring platform Indeed found that part-time job postings in sectors like beauty and wellness, marketing, and communications rose by up to 27% between 2022 and 2024. Still, higher-paying sectors like insurance, law, and finance remain heavily tilted toward full-time roles.

A more accessible workforce is a win-win for employees and employers. Companies can retain talent, and parents can achieve a healthy work-life balance. Plus, as Edwards told me, "more workers equals a bigger economy, full stop."

Allie Kelly is a reporter on Business Insider's Economy team. She writes about social safety nets and how policy impacts people.

• Prosecutors see Mark Zuckerberg's old emails as a key piece in their blockbuster antitrust trial.
• If the FTC wins, it may ask that Meta be forced to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp.
• In his once-private emails, Zuckerberg can be seen as ever watchful of his expanding empire.

Mark Zuckerberg's own emails, some of them more than 10 years old, revealed he had antitrust concerns long before the FTC brought its case against Meta.

During 10 hours of testimony, a lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission grilled the Meta CEO over his old emails.

Zuckerberg's messages reveal near-nonstop concern about nascent rivals, blunt descriptions of some of Facebook's most pivotal deals.

"While we believe our current trajectory will yield strong business growth over the next 5 years, I worry it will also undermine our global network, erode our corporate brand, impose an increasingly large strategy tax on all of our work, and then over time we may face antitrust regulation requiring us to spin out other apps anyway," Zuckerberg wrote in a 2018 email to top Facebook executives.

Daniel Matheson, the FTC's lead lawyer, highlighted another portion of Zuckerberg's prescient warning about his company's future.

"While most companies resist breakups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they've been split up," Zuckerberg wrote. "The synergies are usually less than people think and the strategy tax is usually greater than people think."

When Matheson asked the billionaire to explain his thinking, Zuckerberg appeared flummoxed.

"I'm not sure exactly what I had in mind then," Zuckerberg said in response to Matheson's question about what corporate history he had in mind in 2018.

The trial, which began Monday and is expected to last up to eight weeks, had a high-profile start, with Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg as the prosecution's first witnesses.

Matheson and his lawyers repeatedly turned to a 2012 message Zuckerberg sent Sandberg in which he bluntly summed up the need to acquire Instagram. In the same thread, he offered to teach Sandberg how to play Settlers of Catan.

"Messenger isn't beating WhatsApp," Zuckberg wrote. "Instagram was growing so much faster than us that we had to buy them for $1 billion and Groups and Places, although smaller efforts, have made only a little progress. That's not exactly killing it."

Facebook acquired WhatsApp roughly two years later for $19 billion.

If the FTC wins the case, the government could ask Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Legal experts say the government faces a high bar in proving that Meta "cemented" its monopoly with its acquisitions of the two companies since the FTC already OKed those mergers years ago.

(In October 2012, Facebook officially rebranded as Meta.)

The many worries of Mark Zuckerberg

Meta has sought to downplay Zuckerberg's messages. Mark Hansen, the company's lead lawyer, said that Facebook's cofounder had to be worried — it came with the job.

"Was it a constant joke at Meta that you were worrying and the sky was falling?" Hansen asked Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg replied that if it is a joke, "It's probably behind my back," but stressed that worry is a cornerstone of Silicon Valley.

Hansen also said that while the government had numerous examples of Zuckerberg expressing fear about Instagram and WhatsApp's rise, there were also worries about defunct social networks like Path. In one email, Zuckerberg expressed worry that Dropbox could eventually become a competitor — that, too, never came to fruition.

"I'm getting a bit more worried about Path," Zuckerberg wrote in 2012 to top executives in a thread named "Aquarium," the tongue-in-cheek name for one of the social network's real-life conference rooms at its Menlo Park HQ.

"Out of all the new social startups, they're the only one that goes right to the core of what we're trying to do around identity and friend sharing."

Zuckerberg's old worries are more relevant when they concern Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC contends that Facebook gobbled up the companies because it worried that, with a large user base, either one could eventually pivot to become more like Facebook.

"If Instagram continues to kick ass on mobile or if Google buys them, then over the next few years they could easily add pieces of their service that copy what we're doing now, and if they have a growing number of people's photos then that's a real issue for us," Zuckerberg wrote in a 2011 email.

Sometimes it's not about being Liked.

As for WhatsApp, the government showed multiple messages where Zuckerberg expressed concern about the messaging app that rose to popularity outside the US — and one where he seemed unmoved by its leadership.

"I found him fairly impressive although disappointingly (or maybe positive for us) unambitious," Zuckerberg wrote in 2012 to colleagues after he met Jan Koum, the cofounder of WhatsApp.

The Meta CEO seemed taken aback when Hansen asked Zuckerberg about the email. Zuckerberg said the point of his message was that he had learned Koum did not want to pivot or monetize WhatsApp in a way that would truly unnerve Facebook.

In contrast, the FTC showed multiple messages in which Zuckerberg expressed frustration with Facebook's efforts to develop a competing camera app as Instagram skyrocketed in popularity.

"What is going in with our photos team?" Zuckerberg wrote in a 2011 message that was partially redacted when it was presented in court. "Between [redacted] leaving and [redacted] being checked out/a bad manager as well as [redacted] also being checked out and [redacted] not wanting to work with this team because he thinks this team sucks. It seems like we have a really critical situation to fix here."

• Domestic migration to the Sunbelt has slowed, and the Midwest is a beneficiary.
• Three baby boomers explain why they traded the Sunbelt for the Midwest.
• Rising home prices and climate change impacts have made the Midwest more attractive.

After 40 years in Arkansas, Teri Center missed Midwestern summers. Benton got so hot and humid that the Minnesota native felt trapped in her air-conditioned home for months at a time. She worried things would only get worse as climate change takes its toll.

"The fall quit happening because it went from drought summers to dead-looking leaves," the 66-year-old said.

She and her husband, both retired, were also eager to live in a small, walkable city in a blue state with affordable home prices, good healthcare, and legal marijuana, which Center uses to help treat her chronic pain.

So in 2023, the couple sold their Benton home for $195,000, uprooted their lives, and moved to Lansing, Michigan, where they bought an old home for $65,000 that they're fixing up themselves. They live within walking distance of the state capitol, biking and walking trails, a hospital, and a ballpark. Lansing hits the "sweet spot" for affordability and climate, Center said, though they left their community behind in Arkansas. They didn't know anyone in Lansing when they moved.

Center's move is part of a bigger trend. The data shows that over the last few decades, domestic migration to the Sunbelt has slowed — and flyover country is becoming the new place to be.

Home prices and rents have risen dramatically in many Southern and Sunbelt communities, particularly as the regions have welcomed a spike of new residents in the years since the pandemic. At the same time, much of the Snowbelt, particularly more rural areas, has stayed relatively affordable. The North is also experiencing less frigid winters, while the Sunbelt grows ever steamier, making the Snowbelt increasingly attractive.

People who've traded their lives in the Sunbelt or West for the Midwest told Business Insider their new home offers an affordable cost of living, a high quality of life, and something of a safe haven from the worst impacts of climate change.

A good quality of life

When Patrick Walters and his wife moved to Carmel, Indiana, two decades ago, they were looking for a safe place with good public schools to raise their four young kids. The family, who'd moved several times, including to Central California and Chicago, found just what they were looking for in the northern Indianapolis suburb.

Carmel has nearly doubled in population to over 100,000 residents over the last quarter century, but it's still a safe, affordable, and increasingly attractive place to raise a family, Walters said. Videos of the impressive athletic and academic facilities at the city's high-achieving public high school recently went viral on TikTok. And urbanists celebrate the suburb's walkability and density — and its many roundabouts.

Walters, who grew up in Colorado, misses the natural beauty of the West, but he's come to love the Midwest's quality of life. "If somebody had told me years ago that I'd be living in Indiana, I would have thought they were crazy," he said. "But this is by far the nicest place we've ever lived."

Younger people agree. All four of Walters' kids, who are between 23 and 32 years old, still live in Indiana and don't want to leave. His two oldest recently bought their own homes in the Indianapolis suburbs.

"You can have a really high quality of life out here for a lot less money than other parts of the country," he said.

Have you moved to the Midwest — or left? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

Escaping heat and drought

Worsening extreme heat, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires are making large parts of the South and Sunbelt more challenging places to live. And it looks like Americans are starting to respond by moving away.

The warmest places in the country have seen their population growth slow while the coldest places are growing, economists at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank reported last year. As temperatures rise and extreme weather events grow more severe with climate change, the trend looks like it's here to stay.

Nearly 20 years ago, Robert Taylor left his hometown of Flint, Michigan, for a change of pace in Arizona, where he lived on a golf course and got around by bicycle. But after 10 years in Tempe, he wanted a break from the desert heat and droughts and moved to New Orleans.

"I decided that maybe I didn't enjoy the heat as much, and I was still worried about the water, and I was getting older, and I wanted to have some fun, so I decided to move to New Orleans, walk around, and drink all day," he said.

But after several years in the Big Easy, Taylor, 63, felt he could no longer afford the rising cost of housing or handle the intense heat and humidity for half the year.

So he moved back to Flint, where he rents a room for $400 a month and hopes to use the money he's saving on housing to travel more. He's still adjusting to living in a much smaller city with fewer attractions. But at least the winters aren't as frigid as he remembers.

"People in Michigan have gotten soft," he said. "Now you get an inch of snow on the ground and things shut down here. It's just laughable."

• Some older Americans are working past 80 to supplement Social Security and cover their expenses.
• Rising inflation and health issues are driving some older workers to seek part-time jobs.
• The number of workers 80 and older increased by 25% since 2022, per Gusto, sometimes in risky jobs.

Jim Uhrinyak, 82, doesn't know if he'll ever have enough money to retire.

Uhrinyak is gearing up to work part time as a driver inspector at the traffic control company his son manages. He could have to work in areas where the traffic poses safety hazards. The Navy veteran said the extra money he makes will help him afford groceries, medications, and the bills he shares with his son, with whom he lives.

"I never saved for retirement," said Uhrinyak, who lives in Arizona. "It is miserable at an older age not to have funds to enjoy the last years of your life."

Uhrinyak is one of dozens of Americans in their 80s who spoke to Business Insider about needing to work well past retirement age. Many said they need income to supplement their Social Security checks, while others said a health scare, job loss, or rising inflation have eaten into the savings they hoped would carry them through retirement. This story is part of an ongoing series on older workers.

An analysis by Gusto, a small-business payment and HR platform, found that since 2022, the number of workers 80 and older has increased by about 25%, compared to 4% growth in the overall workforce. To be sure, that number represents a fraction of the workforce — about one in 1,000 US workers. The analysis was based on payroll records from over 400,000 small business customers.

"The economy and current prices are in a place where they're really forcing folks to reconsider or even rejoin the labor force," Nich Tremper, a senior economist at Gusto, said. "These are folks who are just likely looking to earn a little bit extra to have their money last as long as the month does."

Navigating work amid health challenges

Some workers in their 80s and older, including Uhrinyak, said they've taken on new jobs amid health issues, as they had few other options to stay afloat financially.

In February, Uhrinyak resigned from his role as a construction coordinator because of side effects he experienced from taking Ozempic. He said working with his son will make his transition back to the workforce easier.

Uhrinyak said the $800 a week he'll earn from the driver inspector job will supplement his $2,800 a month Social Security payment. He spends roughly $350 a month on medications — including $120 for a blood thinner — which, along with various medical expenses, has hurt his financial planning.

"The worry of having funds just to survive is sometimes overwhelming," Uhrinyak said. He has about $6,000 in total savings, he said.

Some older Americans have told BI that the only jobs they could find have put them at potential risk of injury, including jobs where they have to stand for hours at a time or lift heavy items. Some said their jobs have taken a toll on their bodies or mental health.

Monique Morrissey, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute who researches Social Security, found that older workers' jobs fall into, on average, 2.6 of six dangerous work categories, including physical demands and high pressure. She told BI that many older workers approaching or past retirement age have had to take blue-collar jobs that are lower-paying and riskier.

"You have slightly less dangerous jobs for older workers than for prime-age workers, but the dangers that they face are much worse," Morrissey said.

Diane Knaus, 82, broke her ankle in September, and she temporarily stopped working as a freelance writer to focus on her recovery. After a couple of months with limited income, Knaus said she began thinking about how to generate some additional cash. She's about to start a desk job for a trucking company.

"I'm on my Social Security, but that's not much," said Knaus, who lives near Annapolis, Maryland. "I'm just taking life year by year."

A tough job market for older Americans

Dozens of workers in their 60s and older told BI this year that finding a well-paying job feels nearly impossible amid a tight job market and reduced white-collar hiring. It's leading many to seek blue-collar roles and other part-time positions that pay a bit more than minimum wage.

Pamela Levier, 81, recently resigned from her full-time service department job at the car dealership where she'd worked since 2013. While she has four pensions tied to her and her late husband, she said they're "not large amounts" and that she's not in a position to retire.

The dealership was sold, and the new owner was expected to make changes that Levier felt would negatively affect her work experience and could put her job at risk. She said she's been looking for positions at other car dealerships but hasn't had much luck. She's hoping to find a job to supplement her $2,100 monthly Social Security check.

"I live paycheck to paycheck," said Levier, who lives in the Tampa area. "No savings, no stocks, or bonds."

While she's in need of additional income, Levier said working would also help her stay busy.

"I don't want to be sitting around just not doing anything," she said. "I enjoy being out and about and learning things. It helps me stay young."

Working partly for the fun of it

To be sure, some older Americans who need work to supplement Social Security said financial stability and fulfillment are their main motivators.

Lawrence Dugan, 80, said he isn't desperate for the wages he earns and could live minimally on his savings and retirement income. While he and his wife value working, Dugan said they have some concerns, including knowing they could be "screwed" if an economic disaster comes.

"Working is probably 30% to 35% financial to get extras in life," said Dugan, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Dugan said he works as a psychology consultant and earns roughly $3,000 monthly. He also sells paintings for extra income. Meanwhile, his wife works 15 to 20 hours a week as a home-care agency nurse. Dugan receives about $2,800 monthly in Social Security, while his wife gets about $2,100. Their combined net worth is less than $250,000.

"I knew when I was 25 I wouldn't retire and would die with my boots on," Dugan said. But he values work because it keeps him feeling younger. "Unless you keep using your brain, you use it or lose it."

• Americans are dealing with a palpable sense of uncertainty about the economy.
• Most react to money fears in three ways: fight, flight, or freeze.
• Which are you? Identifying your reaction can help regain a sense of control when anxiety strikes.

Job applications, panic buying, and tuning out the news: Which one's closest to your reaction to economic anxiety?

"We want the economy to keep rolling smoothly in the background while we live our lives," Joseph Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab told Business Insider. "So when we see this great uncertainty, it only adds to the stress that we're already trying to manage."

Coughlin said that many people cope in three ways: fight, flight, or freeze. In other words, Americans' money anxiety mirrors their natural reactions to other fears.

In recent months, BI has heard from dozens of Americans who are dealing with uncertainty regardless of their age, financial situation, or political affiliation.

The US isn't in a recession yet, but most of the people we spoke to are worried about short-term price increases, their student loan payments, or their 401(k)s. Some fear a more dire scenario of job losses and a downturn in the months to come.

Amid flip-flopping trade policies, stock market fluctuations, and DOGE cuts, consumer sentiment fell again in April, reaching its second-lowest level since 1952. Consumer spending trends indicate households are feeling the heat of high prices and tariffs.

If you feel powerless in the current financial environment, focus on what you can control and be aware of your own natural fear reaction, said Bradley Klontz, psychologist and professor at Creighton University's business school. He added that the US economy has faced downturns before and always recovers.

"We have a fight, flight, freeze response," Klontz said. "You need to point it in the right direction."

Do you have a story to share about your finances? Fill out this survey.

People in 'fight' mode are busy making plans

Those with a fight mentality toward uncertainty are working hard to make plans. As Coughlin said, they are likely calling their financial advisors, reading news articles, saving extra money, and doing anything else they can to prepare for a potential downturn.

Robert Kistler, 71, retired a decade ago from his career as a product engineer. He and his wife built a seven-figure net worth and strong nest egg, but they're working to dial back their spending. With the long-term future of the Social Security trust fund in question and current staffing turmoil at the Social Security Administration, Kistler said they aren't confident benefits will support them as they age.

"It turns out our annual spending is roughly 20-25% more than in our plan — I am certain this is going to impact our retirement plan confidence level somewhat," Kistler said, adding that he met with his financial advisor this month to make a plan.

Similarly, 65-year-old professor Gail Lisenbard recently paid off her car and started grooming her mini golden doodle at home to save more money. She hopes to retire in the next few months and said she's carefully planned her nest egg, but is now concerned about rising prices.

Younger Americans are taking action to protect their finances, too. Millennial mom Jen Miller had planned to buy a new car before May because her family has a third baby on the way, and they need more room. But, concerned about new tariffs on auto imports, she moved up her timeline because she's worried US car inventory will decline: "We certainly felt spurred into action," she said.

Haylee Bachman, a 30-year-old mother of three near Seattle, said her family lives on a low income and receives some government aid, but their budget has been especially tight lately. Her fiancé's job in car manufacturing became less stable in recent months because the industry is in turmoil with the auto tariffs.

Bachman said she's teaching herself to bake bread, cinnamon rolls, and other kitchen staples from scratch because it's cheaper and has visited food banks to pick up groceries. She's trying to save enough to afford rent and pay for activities like soccer and tumbling that make her kids happy.

"I know that things could get very bad for us since we are low-income and a one-income household," she said. "I'm not sure what the future holds, so I'm just trying to make those tiny changes."

People with a 'flight' reaction make snap financial decisions

A "flight" reaction to economic turmoil can take a few different forms. To protect their finances, Coughlin and Klontz said people with this response are likely panic buying or pulling their investments out of the stock market — snap financial decisions that may not be the wisest, but make people feel better in the moment. Coughlin refers to it as the "I need to get out of here" feeling.

BI has heard from teachers cashing out their pensions, families with tariff nerves overstocking their pantries, and investors primed to sell at the first sign of trouble. Some Americans are considering literal 'flight' — they're moving to other states or countries to escape high costs or policies they disagree with. Others are anxiously stepping back from newspapers or social media to tune it all out.

Klontz said when people get scared, "our survival brain tends to take over."

"Our instincts are great if we're being chased by a rabid dog," Klontz said, "but our instincts are not good when it comes to investing and spending." He advised people to avoid major or impulsive purchases where possible.

Still, Olivia Iverson, 28, doesn't regret choosing to "panic buy" a new MacBook laptop in early April. She pulled the trigger because many laptops are imported from China, and tariffs are likely to raise prices. Trump has since announced a pause on tariffs on electronics for now.

"A laptop is a one-time purchase," Iverson said, adding, "there's some stuff people panic buy that you're going to have to keep buying week to week, even if prices of these items change."

A flight response can lead to moves and major purchases, but it can also be a much-needed emotional break. As a busy mom balancing a household budget, Bachman said she often turns off the news. She said it can be stressful to constantly be on alert for changes in politics or the economy that might affect her family.

"I try to take care of myself as much as possible, just because I can't be the best mom without doing that," she said. "I do self-care, skincare, like face masks, or I sit in silence. That's a big one. I just sit in silence, in the dark sometimes, and just relax."

People who 'freeze' don't know what to do with uncertainty

The most common reaction to economic uncertainty is freezing, Coughlin said. Freezers are looking at the economy — the tariffs, stock ups-and-downs, the tough white-collar job market, and DOGE cuts — and they don't know what to do.

The slow job market has left Christopher Smith's financial plans on ice. The 41-year-old has been looking for a job for about two years, but hasn't found the right fit. He's trying to stay optimistic, but he's "admittedly terrified" of what will happen to his employment prospects if there's a recession. He's taken on a roommate to help with bills.

"I am begging the universe to send me a job ASAP," he said. "I really hoped to be working by now, and I am slowly drowning under my finances."

Michael Salvatore, similarly, isn't sure what to do next. He operates several bars and coffee shops in Chicago. His businesses are at risk of higher costs on everything from eggs to coffee beans. He said he's put all kinds of decisions on hold, including hiring and opening a new location.

"Especially as a small-business owner, the unknown makes it impossible to have a vision that you can execute on," he said, adding, "I'd rather the market crash and know that, 'hey, we're on a level playing field."

Rebecca Walriven-Lawson, 74, is also feeling stuck. She recently lost Medicaid because her Social Security cost-of-living increase put her over the qualification threshold. Without health insurance, she can't afford the surgery she needs to walk comfortably. She isn't sure what to do next.

"There's nothing for any of us to do but wait," she said.

• Military deception must adapt rapidly to the age of AI.
• Commanders in future wars will rely on AI to aid their staff in assessing the battlefield.
• This creates vulnerabilities to fool the AI, especially for rigid militaries, US Army officers said.

Deception operations are the ultimate mind games of war. Manipulating enemy commanders into expecting an attack at the wrong place, or tricking them into underestimating your strength can be far more powerful than tanks or bombs.

But what if the enemy is enhanced by a thinking computer?

Successful operations must now fool not only human commanders, but the AI that advises them, according to two US Army officers. And Russia and China — with their rigid, centralized command and control — may be particularly vulnerable if their AI is deceived.

"Commanders can no longer rely on traditional methods of deception like hiding troop movements or equipment," argue Mark Askew and Antonio Salinas in an essay for the Modern War Institute at West Point. "Instead, shaping perceptions in sensor-rich environments requires a shift in thinking — from concealing information to manipulating how the enemy, including AI systems and tools, interpret it."

Historically, commanders went to great lengths to fool enemy generals using misdirection, decoy armies and letting slip false war plans. Today, nations will have to focus on "feeding adversaries accurate if misleading data that can manipulate their interpretation of information and misdirect their activity," the essay said

The idea is to turn AI into an Achilles heel of an enemy commander and their staffs. This can be done by making "their AI systems ineffective and break their trust in those systems and tools," the essay suggests. "Commanders can overwhelm AI systems with false signals and present them with unexpected or novel data; AI tools excel at pattern recognition, but struggle with understanding how new variables (outside of their training data) inform or change the context of a situation."

For example, "slight changes in a drone's appearance might cause AI to misidentify it," Askew and Salinas told Business Insider. "People are not likely to be thrown off by small or subtle tweaks, but AI is."

To determine enemy intentions or target weapons, modern armies today rely on vast amounts of data from a variety of sources ranging from drones and satellites, to infantry patrols and intercepted radio signals. The information is so copious that human analysts are overwhelmed.

What makes AI so attractive is its speed at analyzing huge quantities of data. This has been a boon for companies such as Scale AI, which have won lucrative Pentagon contracts.

Yet the power of AI also magnifies the damage it can do. "AI can coordinate and implement flawed responses much faster than humans alone," Askew and Salinas said.

Fooling AI can lead to "misallocation of enemy resources, delayed responses, or even friendly fire incidents if the AI misidentifies targets," the authors told Business Insider. By feeding false data, one can manipulate the enemy's perception of the battlefield, creating opportunities for surprise."

Russia and China are already devoting great efforts to military AI. Russia is using artificial intelligence in drones and cyberwarfare, while the Chinese military is using the DeepSeek system for planning and logistics.

But the rigidity of Russian and Chinese command structures makes any reliance on AI an opening. "In such systems, decisions often rely heavily on top-down information flow, and if the AI at the top is fed deceptive data, it can lead to widespread misjudgments," the authors said. "Moreover, centralized structures might lack the flexibility to quickly adapt or cross-verify information, making them more vulnerable to deception if they cannot protect their systems."

In other words, false images are fed to an enemy's sensors, such as video cameras, to try to get the AI to rush to the wrong conclusion, further blinding the human commander.

Naturally, China and Russia — and other adversaries such as Iran and North Korea — will seek to exploit weaknesses in American AI. Thus, the US military must take precautions, such as protecting the data that feeds its AI.

Either way, the constant presence of drones in Ukraine shows that the sweeping maneuvers and surprise attacks of Napoleon or Rommel are becoming relics of the past. But as the MWI essay points out, surveillance can determine enemy strength, but not enemy intent.

"This means deception must focus on shaping what the adversary thinks is happening rather than avoiding detection altogether," the essay said. "By crafting a believable deception narrative — through signals, false headquarters, and logistical misdirection — commanders can lead enemy AI and human decision-makers to make ineffective decisions."

Like any scam, military deception is most effective when it reinforces what the enemy already believes. The essay points to the Battle of Cannae in 216 BCE, when a Roman army was nearly annihilated by Carthage. Intelligence wasn't the problem: the Romans could see the Carthaginian forces arrayed for battle. But Hannibal, the legendary commander, deceived Roman commanders into believing the center of the Carthaginian line was weak. When the Romans attacked the center, the Carthaginian cavalry struck from the flank in a pincer maneuver that encircled and decimated the legions.

Two millennia later, the Allies used elaborate deception operations to mislead the Germans about where the D-Day invasion would take place. Hitler and his generals believed the amphibious assault would occur in the Calais area, nearest to Allied ports and airbases, rather than the more distant Normandy region. Fake armies in Britain, complete with dummy tanks and planes, not only convinced the Germans that Calais was the real target. The German high command believed that the Normandy landings were a feint, and thus kept strong garrisons in Calais to repel an invasion that never came.

Drones and satellites have improved battlefield intelligence to a degree that Hannibal could never have imagined. AI can sift through vast amounts of sensor data. But there still remains the fog of war. "AI will not eliminate war's chaos, deception, and uncertainty — it will only reshape how those factors manifest," the essay concluded. "While intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems may provide episodic clarity, they will never offer a perfect, real-time understanding of intent."

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

• Caring for your gut microbiome is one of the buzziest health topics right now.
• The evidence that a happy gut improves our overall health is piling up.
• The message is spreading online, and businesses are cashing in.

Is half of your social circle suddenly obsessed with their gut health? You're probably not alone.

From 2015's "The Good Gut" by Erica and Justin Sonnenburg to Netflix's 2024 documentary "Hack Your Health," numerous documentaries, books, and articles in the last decade — including by Business Insider — have explored the potential benefits of caring for the gut. Between December 2021 and April 2022, Google searches for "gut health" doubled, the search engine's data shows, and have kept rising since.

In turn, the global digestive health market — which encompasses functional foods and dietary supplements, from probiotic yogurts to juice "cleanses" — is projected to be worth $71.95 billion in 2027, up from $37.93 billion in 2019, according to market research by Fortune Business Reports.

But the increase in interest doesn't seem to be because significantly more people have gut problems than in previous decades, Dr. Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist and director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, told BI.

← removed sentence in brackets and added line break And our diets haven't changed enough in recent years to have worsened gut health on a population-wide scale, he said.

Instead, health experts told BI the buzz comes down to a combination of growing research suggesting gut health plays a larger role in our overall health than previously thought, the rise of wellness influencers, and a post-pandemic obsession with preventative health.

The link between the gut microbiome and our general health is clearer than ever

The trillions of microorganisms in our digestive system, known as the gut microbiome, are at the center of this health craze. Early research suggests that a healthy gut microbiome is one that contains a diverse range of microbes, nurtured by things such as high-fiber and fermented foods, and is linked to many physical and mental health benefits.

This research was advanced with the launch of the Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health in 2007, and influential gut-health labs have since been established at institutions including Stanford University and King's College London.

And there's been a 4,300% increase in the number of academic papers mentioning the terms "gut health" or the "gut microbiome" in the last decade — from three papers in 2014 to 132 papers in 2024 — according to data from Elsevier's Scopus research database.

This explosion of research coincided with the rise of social media and the erosion of certain taboos, including talking about gastrointestinal issues, Staller said, especially for women.

With greater social awareness, comes greater misunderstanding

People being candid about their digestive problems on social media has made us more aware of the gut's role in our health and wellbeing, Stephanie Alice Baker, a sociologist at City St George's, University of London, who researches online health misinformation and wellness culture, told BI.

And as fad diets fall out of fashion, gut health has become a socially acceptable replacement, she said.

The idea of wanting to lose weight is more taboo now than it was 15 years ago, Baker said. "Now, people still want to be slim, but they'll often frame that goal through the lens of health or self-optimization," she said, because it's more socially acceptable.

And when a health trend gains awareness online, an influx of companies, products, and services will always appear in response, she added.

But Staller said that the research is still new, and we understand much less than people might think. He cautions against jumping to conclusions based on one or two scientific studies or anecdotal evidence being shared online. Don't believe that products marketed as "natural" are automatically beneficial, he added.

"People seem to think that somehow we might be able to hack our guts and cultivate the ideal microbiome," Staller said, with probiotics or fermented foods. But we don't know how to create the "ideal microbiome" because we don't know what one looks like yet, he said.

While there's no "magic trick" or miracle product for good gut health, Staller recommended focusing on generally healthy habits: getting enough sleep, eating a nutritious diet including enough fiber, and being active.

• Vice President JD Vance called Chinese people "peasants" during an interview with Fox.
• Anger against Vance's comment is fueling further discontent over US tariffs on China.
• Many Chinese social media users pointed to Vance's upbringing in Appalachia.

Vice President JD Vance's comment about Chinese people has esclated online tension between the US and China over a back-and-forth trade war.

"What has the globalist economy gotten the United States of America? And the answer is, fundamentally, it's based on two principles — incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things that other countries make for us," Vance told Lawrence Jones on news show "Fox & Friends" on April 3.

"To make it a little more crystal clear, we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture," Vance continued.

It took some time, but clips of Vance's interview went viral across the Chinese social media over the following weeks and drew intense backlash. By April 7, a hashtag on Vance's remarks became the top trending topic on Weibo, China's Twitter-adjacent social media platform, and racked up a total of more than 150 million views by April 18.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded to the comments during a press conference on April 8: "It's both astonishing and lamentable to hear this vice president make such ignorant and disrespectful remarks.

The internet fire storm soon followed, and the anger against Vance spilled over into discussions related to US tariffs on China.

In a dramatic speech about the tariffs that has racked up millions of views, Xia Baolong, a Chinese politician and director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, ended his talk by hitting back at Vance.

"Let those American peasants wail in front of the 5,000 year-old civilization of the Chinese nation," Xia said.

"Vance once said that the Chinese are 'peasants.' This real 'peasant' who came from the American countryside seems to have some defects in perspective," wrote Hu Xijin, the influential former editor-in-chief of state-run paper Global Times, on a Weibo post discussing the possibility of a trade decoupling between China and the US.

"Look, this is their true face — arrogant and rude as always," wrote one Weibo commenter who racked up more than 3,000 likes.

"We are peasants, but we have the best high-speed rail system in the world, the most powerful logistics capabilities, and the world's leading AI technology, unmanned driving technology, drone technology, etc.," wrote another Weibo commenter. "Such peasants are still quite powerful."

Some more politically savvy commenters also pointed out the irony in Vance's remarks, considering his own working-class roots as described in his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy."

In the memoir, Vance recounts a childhood marked by poverty, abuse, and his mother's struggle with addiction, much of it spent in Appalachia — a region he portrays as neglected by affluent elites. The book was widely seen as appealing among the white working class and as an explanation for the billionaire's rise.

"Vice-President Vance, don't forget," wrote a Chinese blogger on Zhi Hu, a Chinese micro-blogging platform, "a peasant gave birth to you!"

The White House did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender became the acting commissioner of the IRS on Friday.
• Faulkender is the 3rd person to lead the IRS since tax season began and the 5th since Trump took office.
• Trump has nominated Billy Long for the role, but his confirmation is awaiting Senate approval.

The Internal Revenue Service had another leadership shake-up on Friday, marking the third turnover the bureau has seen since tax week began — and the fifth since Donald Trump took office in January.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in a Friday statement that he had appointed his deputy, Michael Faulkender, to become acting commissioner of the IRS. Faulkender will take over from Gary Shapley, a former IRS staffer who held the position for just days following Melanie Krause's departure on Tuesday.

"Trust must be brought back to the IRS, and I am fully confident that Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender is the right man for the moment," Bessent said in a statement on Friday. "Gary Shapley's passion and thoughtfulness for approaching ways by which to create durable and lasting reforms at the IRS is essential to our work, and he remains among my most important senior advisors at the US Treasury as we work together to rethink and reform the IRS."

Shapley, last month, was tapped as a senior advisor to Bessent. He became a hero among conservatives following his testimony before Congress in July 2023, in which he and fellow IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler attested that the Justice Department had delayed a criminal probe and tax investigation into Hunter Biden while President Joe Biden was in office.

In his statement, Bessent said Shapley and Ziegler would conduct a yearlong investigation into IRS reforms, after which Bessent said he "will ensure they are both in senior government roles that will enable the results of their investigation to translate into meaningful policy changes."

Shapley took over the role of acting IRS commissioner after Krause resigned on Tuesday. Her resignation came on the heels of the IRS coming to an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to share sensitive tax information related to undocumented immigrants to help the Trump administration locate and deport them, court documents show.

The agreement was revealed in early April in a partially redacted document filed in a case challenging the legality of the IRS sharing individuals' tax information with external agencies.

Krause took over the agency in an acting capacity after Doug O'Donnell resigned in February. O'Donnell had served in the role following Biden-appointed IRS commissioner Danny Werfel's resignation on Inauguration Day.

Trump has nominated Former Republican Rep. Billy Long for the role, but his confirmation is awaiting Senate approval.

The uncertainty regarding the bureau's leadership comes as the IRS is facing significant staff cuts. Business Insider previously reported that the staffing cuts are intended "to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS," and include a 75% reduction of the IRS's Office of Civil Rights and Compliance.

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• The share of borrowers applying for adjustable-rate mortgages has increased to its highest level since November 2023.
• ARMs often come with lower interest rates than fixed-rate loans. But they're also riskier.
• While an ARM can save you money, it may be safer to get a fixed-rate mortgage if you plan to stay in the home long term.

As mortgage rates rise, more borrowers are looking for ways to keep their homebuying costs down. Could an adjustable-rate mortgage be the way to do that?

On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that for the week ending April 11, 2025, the share of borrowers applying for ARMs rose to its highest level since November 2023.

"Given the jump in rates, more borrowers are opting for the lower initial rates that come with an ARM, with initial fixed rates closer to 6% in our survey last week," Mike Fratantoni, MBA's SVP and chief economist, said in a press release.

MBA's data also showed that the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate increased 20 basis points to 6.81%. So it's possible that borrowers could get a significant discount by opting for an adjustable-rate loan. But is that a good idea?

Why more buyers are shifting to ARMs

"Generally, ARM rates are lower than fixed mortgage rates, however, how much lower depends on market conditions," says Jennifer Beeston, executive vice president of national sales at mortgage lender Rate.

Beeston says that ARMs have trended closer to fixed rates in recent years, but that they're starting to diverge more.

Because ARM rates are typically lower than fixed mortgage rates, they can help buyers find affordability when rates are high. With a lower ARM rate, you can get a smaller monthly payment or afford more house than you could with a fixed-rate loan.

How does an adjustable-rate mortgage work?

With a fixed-rate mortgage, your interest rate remains the same for the entire time you have the loan. This keeps your monthly payment the same for years.

As the name suggests, adjustable-rate mortgages work differently. You'll start off with the same rate for a few years, but after that, your rate can change periodically. This means that if average rates have gone up, your mortgage payment will increase. If they've gone down, your payment will decrease.

5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage example

The most popular type of ARM is the 5/1 ARM. We'll use it as an example to show how these types of mortgages work.

The first number tells you how long you'll keep the rate you were initially given. So, say you get a 5/1 ARM with a 6.20% interest rate.

For the first five years you have the mortgage, your rate will stay at 6.20%.

The second number tells you how often the rate will adjust after the initial fixed-rate period is over. With a 5/1 ARM, the rate adjusts once a year. If over those first five years market conditions cause interest rates to rise, you'll likely end up with a higher rate when it comes time to adjust.

Five-year ARMs also come in a 5/6 variation, which means that after the five-year fixed-rate period your rate will adjust once every six months.

Are adjustable-rate mortgages risky?

Because your monthly payment can go up over time, these types of mortgages are risky.

"Personally, I am not a huge fan of ARMs unless the borrower is educated on the risks and has a firm understanding," Beeston says.

ARMs do come with some limits on how much they can change each time they adjust. When you apply for an ARM, your lender will give you a loan estimate that spells out those limits and tells you how high your payments could ultimately go.

Don't assume you'll be able to refinance your way out of an ARM if your monthly payments go too high, Beeston warns.

"People always assume if that happens, they can refinance, but if rates overall are higher or if they do not qualify to refinance, they can end up in a bad financial position," she says.

Is an ARM better than a fixed-rate mortgage in 2025?

ARMs tend to be popular with borrowers who don't plan to stay in their homes for a long time. If you sell your house before the initial fixed-rate period is over, you won't have to deal with a changing mortgage payment.

If you plan to stay in your home for longer, Beeston recommends going with a classic 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

"A 30-year fixed is fantastic for risk-averse borrowers," she says. "Not all countries have 30-year fixed loans. We are very lucky in America to have the ability to lock the rate of our loan for the life of the loan."

How much can an ARM save you right now?

How much you could save by opting for an ARM depends on your mortgage lender and your finances.

Say you get quotes from a lender that show you can get a 5/1 ARM with a 6.20% interest rate or a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 6.80% interest rate on a $300,000 loan.

For the first five years, the monthly payment on the ARM (not including taxes and insurance) would be $1,837, while the monthly payment on the fixed-rate mortgage would be $1,955.

This is just an example. ARM rates can vary a lot, so if you're interested in seeing if an ARM could save you money, your best bet is to talk to a lender.

You can also keep an eye on Business Insider's daily mortgage rate coverage for the most up-to-date info on current ARM rates and how they compare to fixed-rate options.