• Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "The Last of Us" season two.
• The final episode of season two delivers a fast, tragic twist for Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
• It also heavily suggests what to expect from "The Last of Us" season three.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "The Last of Us" season two.

"The Last of Us" season two ends with a bang, as Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) finally come face-to-face for a moment in the last episode.

This season has pulled on the audience's heartstrings with gut-wrenching moments, chief among them Joel's (Pedro Pascal) death in episode two. But the series' exploration of grief and love has been just as emotional as the brutal violence that Ellie was forced to watch, and the season finale doubles down on it all.

The finale sees Ellie and Jesse (Young Mazino) head to Seattle to try to find Tommy (Gabriel Luna). They even hear over the radio that he uses a sniper rifle to murder numerous members of the Washington Liberation Front. But after the pair disagree about getting revenge on Abby, Ellie decides to go it alone and follow Abby's group to the Seattle aquarium.

After a brief detour and a clash with the Seraphites, Ellie eventually finds her way there and kills Abby's ally Owen (Spencer Lord) almost immediately. But Ellie is forced to reckon with the consequences of her actions when she realizes that she accidentally shot the heavily pregnant Mel (Ariela Barer) too, who begs her to perform an emergency C-section but dies seconds later.

It puts Ellie's revenge tour into perspective, as Tommy and Jesse bring Abby back to the Seattle hotel. When they arrive, Tommy questions whether Ellie can make peace with Abby's survival, and she replies, "I guess I'll have to."

However, shortly after, Ellie and Jesse hear Tommy shouting, and they rush to find out what's going on. As soon as Jesse bursts through the door, Abby shoots him in the head, killing him, while Tommy lies injured on the floor.

Abby tells Ellie, "I let you live, and you wasted it," before shooting at her — and it cuts to black. It's a much bigger cliffhanger than the end of the first season, albeit those who played the game will be expecting it, and it's a faithful adaptation of that moment in the games.

Still, the way it's executed will definitely get audiences tuning in when "The Last of Us" season three eventually arrives.

However, the final scene suggests that the HBO series will switch things up when it returns.

"The Last of Us" season two ending is faithful to the game

After the brief stand-off in the theater, the episode cuts away to Abby taking a nap on a couch. As she wakes up and walks around the WLF base, it becomes clear that she's staying in the Seattle SoundView stadium, another location from the game.

A line of text reads: "Day One," similar to the way the show has dated Ellie and Dinah's (Isabela Merced) journey through Seattle.

This heavily implies that "The Last of Us" season three will switch perspectives to show audiences Abby's journey after killing Joel, in the same way that the game shows players her side of the story. In the game, this ultimately changes the player's perception of the character and the decisions she's made.

HBO has already greenlit "The Last of Us" season three

Fans eagerly awaiting "The Last of Us" season three will be glad to know that HBO greenlit the show's return before season two was released in April 2025. According to the Film and Television Alliance, the third season is expected to start production in June 2025.

Most of the season two cast is likely to return for the next batch of episodes, so expect Ramsey, Dever, Luna, and Merced to reprise their roles.

The next season does not have a confirmed release date, but if season three follows the same pattern of a two-year gap between seasons one and two, it could return in in early 2027.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• At 25, Martina Smidova felt there had to be more to life than the daily grind of a 9-to-5 job.
• She quit her corporate job in the Czech Republic to travel around Asia before settling down in Thailand.
• Living in Koh Samui made her realize she didn't have to follow a conventional life path.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Martina Smidova, a 29-year-old digital nomad living in Koh Samui, Thailand. It has been edited for length and clarity.

At 25, I felt trapped in my corporate job.

I was working 9-to-5 as a project manager in the automotive field in the Czech Republic. With an hourlong commute each way, it felt like I was always either at work or on my way there.

One day, it hit me: there has to be another way to live. So I quit.

I decided to find a remote job and live abroad. I didn't have a plan B. I told myself that I'd figure it out, and off I went to Asia. I'd visited before on vacation, and it felt like the right place to start over.

I spent half a year in Bali before traveling around the region, including to countries like Vietnam and Malaysia. But Thailand stuck with me the most.

It was the people, the food, and the lifestyle. I felt comfortable here — almost like home — so I decided to stay.

After spending time in Chiang Mai, about 450 miles north of Bangkok, and meeting my boyfriend in Phuket, we decided to move to Koh Samui together.

I wanted to experience island life

At the same time, I also wanted access to modern amenities. Living in Samui, you have everything you need — plus peace and quiet.

There are parts of Samui that are well-developed and attract many tourists, but if you travel to the other side of the island, you'll find villages that feel frozen in time.

A year ago, my boyfriend and I moved into a two-bedroom condo in Bangrak, in the northeastern region of the island. We found it on Facebook Marketplace.

I knew I wanted to be in a good location. Even though it's a small island, I didn't want to travel an hour to get to the gym or somewhere else I needed to be.

We pay 55,000 Thai baht, or about $1,700, each month in rent. We have a common pool, but the view from the balcony sold me on the unit.

I have gotten to know some neighbors because I keep bumping into them, but because we are on such a holiday island, many of the apartments are Airbnbs.

It was hard for me to make friends

I still feel that way sometimes. There are different communities of people on the island, but they are often a bit older than I am.

I met all of my friends either through the gym or through other friends. While the digital nomad community of young people is slowly growing, many don't stay for a long time. That's the sad part about this lifestyle — you meet amazing people and then they're gone.

But the locals are really open to helping you, so I reach out when I need something.

I do get by just by speaking English, but I believe my experience here would be much better if I could speak Thai — that's why I'm planning to learn the language.

My life here is so different from back home

Now I work in operational management. But since my clients are in Europe, I work European hours, which start at 2 p.m. in Thailand.

I have the whole morning to myself. I'll go to the gym, have a nice breakfast, head to a coffee shop, or meet up with my friends.

I start work in the afternoon and usually finish up around 6 or 7 p.m. Then it's time to have dinner or to go for a walk on the beach.

Back home, everybody was rushing. I saw stressed faces all the time, but it wasn't their fault.

In order to meet up with friends, you need to schedule it three months in advance because everyone's so busy. But here, people are so chill.

My mom came to Samui to visit me last year. It was her first time in Asia, and she experienced culture shock.

I remember driving her from the airport, and she asked me incredulously, "You like it here?" It took her two weeks on the island to change her mind, and in the end, she didn't want to leave.

Living abroad broadened my horizons

I'm going to be 30 soon, and I don't plan on having kids yet. I'm not sure if I ever will, and I think that's something that won't resonate with my friends back home.

Before I started traveling, I didn't think about it as a choice. You grow up, you get a career, then you get a family, and that's how life works.

When I started meeting people who made the decision to pursue different careers or not have families, I realized, "Oh, it's a choice."

I try to reflect on my life every now and then. I've been living Thailand for four years, and even today, I still have moments when I can't believe that this is my life.

I don't plan on moving back in the foreseeable future. Of course, I miss my family, but I don't miss the lifestyle.

• K-pop fans' desire for flawless pictures of their idols has created a niche market in Asia's tech scene.
• Businesses are offering day rentals of Samsung Galaxy phones to concert goers for under $50.
• The Galaxy phones have powerful 10x zoom lenses, helping fans leave concerts with perfect pictures.

It's the new K-pop concert starter kit: a T-shirt emblazoned with your favorite singer's name, a band light stick, and a rented Samsung phone with a razor-sharp zoom.

K-pop fans clamoring for a picture of their favorite singers have carved out a niche market within the South Korean tech industry, with people shelling out money to rent Samsung Galaxy phones for a day.

K-pop concerts have been known to easily and repeatedly sell out arenas that can seat upward of 16,000 people, such as the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. And a strong zoom lens is crucial for fans seated far from the stage.

So, phones with 10x optical zoom lenses are now a key part of the concert survival tool kit.

At least a dozen established businesses in Southeast Asia offer day rentals of phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Ultra for under $50.

Both phones, released in February 2023 and January 2024, respectively, have strong 10x optical zoom lenses. Samsung did not respond to a request for comment for this story from Business Insider.

$30 to rent a Samsung phone for a day

Small businesses and individuals rent phones for concert day use all across Southeast Asia. But in South Korea — the home of K-pop, where concerts go on all year round — the market is particularly hot.

One business offering this phone rental service is Snapshoot. Founded in 2022, the company rents phones for 30,000 to 50,000 South Korean won, or about $22 to $37, daily.

Mingwan Jeong, the founder of Snapshoot, told BI his business serves hundreds of customers monthly and is increasingly attracting customers from outside South Korea, such as Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

"When Samsung released the S22 Ultra, their promotional slogan emphasized its capability to 'photograph the moon,'" Jeong said. "Fans quickly recognized that this advanced camera could help them capture their idols clearly at concerts."

He said Snapshoot started in 2022 with a small inventory of 10 phones, but now keeps several hundred smartphones in stock at any given time.

Another example is Woori Mobile Service, a South Korean telecommunications company that started renting out phones in 2023. Its collection points are at Seoul's Konkuk University and the hip Sinchon neighborhood. It also has a pickup point at Seoul's Incheon airport, catering to Woori's foreign clients.

"Many of them didn't own the latest smartphones or didn't want the hassle of international roaming," Han Da Bean, a spokesperson for Woori Mobile, told BI.

The company offers rentals of the S23 and S24 models, charging 35,000 won or about $25 per day, and a 10,000 won daily reservation fee.

"Samsung's flagship models like the S23 Ultra and S24 Ultra offer exceptional camera and audio capabilities, especially in low light and concert environments, making them ideal for fans looking to record memories in high definition," Han added.

He said the company serves 50 to 100 rental customers a month, typically renting out the phones for three to seven days. They see a spike in activity during major K-pop festivals and tour seasons, he added.

Han said Woori Mobile keeps an inventory of about 20 Samsung devices, but it plans to expand to other models like the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip series and add more mid-range models for budget-conscious users.

Forholiday, a luggage storage and rental company in Seoul, also offers phone rentals, with its services available on Klook. It has rented phones to more than 2,000 customers, per the Klook listing.

The company rents the S23 Ultra for 11,800 won and the S24 Ultra for 15,700 won daily.

Forholiday's CEO, Shin Dong-min, told BI the company's phone rentals are a stopgap for cost-conscious fans.

"It is inevitably burdensome to buy expensive mobile phones to use them for a short period," Shin said.

Shin said Forholiday sees the most demand around concerts by boy bands BTS, Seventeen, Stray Kids, and Zerobaseone.

Worth every cent

Some K-pop fans who've rented phones for concerts have said the experience was worth every cent.

"I own an iPhone 11, which works pretty well except the phone camera is limited to a 3x, which means I can't do any close-up fancams if I'm in any seat beyond VIP," Ghia Hong, a content creator from Malaysia, told BI.

TikTok user wanderwithgaby also posted about renting a Samsung S25 for 50,000 South Korean won.

"It was the best money I spent," she wrote in the caption of a zoomed-in fan video of BTS member J-Hope.

A+ marketing for Samsung

To be sure, Samsung's smartphones are not the only phones with a strong zoom lens.

Google's Pixel 9 Pro's specs say it produces pictures with the quality of a 10x optical zoom. Apple's iPhone 16 Pro has a 5x optical zoom function and a 25x digital zoom option. Other Asian brands like Oppo, Huawei, and Xiaomi are strong contenders, too.

Still, the rental service is doing wonders for Samsung's image.

Parker Burton, a tech reviewer and content creator on YouTube with over a million followers, said Samsung likely became the phone of choice because the brand has a huge fan base on home ground in South Korea.

"I think a big part of it can stem from the fact that it's a brand that people are used to and familiar with and has a lot of trust and loyalty in the community," Burton said.

Catherine Bautista, a partner at Flying Fish Lab, a branding consultancy agency in Singapore, said Samsung is also core to fan culture, and rentals have made it "the default choice for K-pop enthusiasts."

"Renting out Galaxy S23/S24 Ultra phones for K-pop concerts is a brilliant reputation booster for Samsung because, instead of simply competing on specs, Samsung dominates a niche need and turns fans into brand ambassadors," she said.

Bautista said Samsung has also positioned itself as the "official phone of K-pop" by sponsoring concerts, featuring top idols in its advertisements, and releasing special edition phones.

Samsung recently tapped Felix Lee, a singer from the band Stray Kids, as its newest ambassador. Lee, who is also a house ambassador of fashion powerhouse Louis Vuitton, is the face of the ad campaign for the brand's latest super-slim Galaxy S25 Edge phone.

And with Stray Kids now on a 34-city tour, the group's fans can sing, dance, and zoom in on their idols' faces to their hearts' content.

• Critical Role launched "Daggerheart" — its own tabletop roleplaying game system — on May 20.
• The team's eight cofounders are going all-in for a splashy promo for the game, "Age of Umbra."
• There's a lot riding on "Daggerheart's" success — and CCO Matt Mercer says it'll be a "major part" of the team's future.

Critical Role, the nerdworld business that has sold out stadium shows in and outside the US, just launched its new game, "Daggerheart," after more than a year of beta testing.

The team's cofounders rolled out the game on-stream on May 20, kicking off a new era for the business's game-making arm, Darrington Press.

"Daggerheart" plays like a sophisticated, modern answer to the 50-year-old "Dungeons & Dragons" — the Hasbro-owned game that first made CR nerdworld-famous. Now, the eight CR cofounders run a multi-division business that spans live shows and streaming, podcasting, Amazon-backed animations, gaming, and publishing.

The "Daggerheart" starter kit comes with a 366-page rulebook, around the same length as the main "D&D" rulebook. The core set comes with 279 player cards. Unlike "D&D," CR's "Daggerheart" involves the use of a card system that outlines each character's backstory and history.

Matthew Mercer, CR's chief creative officer, told Business Insider that the process of creating Daggerheart has been a "wild and rewarding journey."

"The scale of collaboration between both studying what elements of TTRPG gaming we've all been drawn to, and then implementing those lessons into a new game system has been a whole host of new challenges and unexpected revelations along the entire process," Mercer said.

"There's still so much more to come, and Daggerheart will most definitely be a major part of CR's future and content alongside everything else we've been working on," he added.

The eight cofounders are using other arms of the company to promote "Daggerheart." They're releasing an eight-part miniseries where they'll all be at the table, playing the game. It's titled "Age of Umbra," a dark fantasy-themed adventure that premieres on May 29.

Mercer told BI "Age of Umbra" is a marked departure from Exandria, the high fantasy setting that CR has been streaming in for its main campaign for 10 years.

Mercer said guiding the seven other cofounders, who've been playing "D&D" on-stream for a decade, was easier than he expected.

"We intentionally designed the game to be quite intuitive, and while there's always a learning curve to any new system — especially if you're having to unlearn habits from other game systems — everyone ultimately slipped into the game rapidly and comfortably," he said.

Designing 'Daggerheart'

Spenser Starke, the lead game designer for "Daggerheart," told BI that the game has been built for narrative-focused play, but it also has the latitude for "cinematic combat."

"The most challenging part of designing the game for me was trying to ensure all the mechanics felt balanced and locked together at every level to create a cohesive game," Starke said.

The player cards, Starke said, were a high-priority item for the development team, particularly the ancestry, community, and subclass cards — elements that go into character creation.

CR's Darrington Press created "Daggerheart" in-house, meaning Starke and his crew of designers built the book to the final stages of production, overseeing everything from art to the last edits.

One of the later additions to the rulebook that Starke and his team made was campaign frames, a quick-start method for new players to get their home games going.

"The design team spent so much time, effort, and energy putting that chapter together, and I'm really proud of what we created," Starke said. "We're truly so excited for people to take the format for campaign frames and start building their own."

Starke and Mercer also teased that there'll be more updates coming down the pipe soon.

"We can't announce anything officially, but know we are working every day on new, exciting stuff for 'Daggerheart,'" Starke said.

• Mahesh Chayel, a product management lead at Meta, mentors AI startups outside his job.
• He outlined the three steps founders need to take to sell their AI vision.
• "The biggest gap I've seen is essentially, why use Gen AI?" he said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mahesh Chayel, a product management lead at Meta. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Since 2018, I have mentored 12 startups, especially those operating in the enterprise and AI spaces. The biggest gap I've seen is essentially, why use Generative AI?

I work closely with early-stage founders to shape product strategy, refine their go-to-market approach, and explore how AI can be meaningfully integrated into their solutions.

I bring a unique blend of deep product experience at scale, having worked on Meta Ads, along with a strategic understanding of enterprise pain points from my time in Silicon Valley.

I also help teams clarify what real customer problems are worth solving, how to validate their solution early, and how to position their offering to resonate with decision-makers, especially in business-to-business environments.

This is what I tell founders who are building in AI.

1. Hyper-focus on the customer

I work with a couple of founders who are like, "Let's use AI and then let's build a product."

If this problem could have been solved in other ways, what would it look like? And if they are using Gen AI, is AI the best use of technology in that case? In some cases, it can be.

As a customer facing a problem, you really don't care how to solve it. It's more about, are you solving these problems for the customer in a better way?

Founders usually start thinking: If somebody else is going to use the same idea, use AI or Gen AI to solve the problem faster. Founders iterate a lot and keep trying to solve the problem through different mechanisms.

Can you be super laser-focused on the customer? Can you really identify how this technology can specifically solve the problem? If it doesn't, find other ways to solve it.

2. Get product-market fit right

People sometimes measure product-market fit in an incorrect way.

For some, even before building the product, their product market fit is not very clear.

It's not about 100 or 10,000 people looking at this product and just being aware of it. Many times, the first-time sale is not a good mechanism because all of those metrics can be gamified.

You can spend a lot of money on ads and make the product available to a lot of people. You can provide discounts and sell the product first time to a set of customers.

The most important thing for product market fit is: Do your set of customers really love and trust the product to keep using it and coming back?

That's the real crux of it. Product market fit comes down to retention metrics or the repeat purchase of a product.

3. Understand the business model

A startup I gave advice to was essentially building an AI tool for young adults — AI companions. The founder was not generating money from this.

There are a couple of parts. Young adults are not the real users who are going to pay for the product. You would need to identify who can really pay. It can be the parents, it can be the schools where these kids are studying.

It was a breakthrough to help this founder really understand the business model that can work in such a space. We uncovered that the market wasn't quite there yet, at least not in the way the founder had imagined.

While disappointing at first, it helped them redirect their focus toward a more validated pain point, saving months of effort and repositioning the company for a better product-market fit.

Take a step back: Who is the product used by? Who is the product paid by? How can it scale?

As a founder, sometimes you get so attached to the problem that you don't see the larger space.

This restart has helped the startup build a more sustained business now.

Whether it's unlocking growth or steering away from misaligned markets, I measure success by how much clarity and conviction founders gain in their next move.

• Trump said Sunday he'll delay a 50% tariff on EU goods until July.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had a "good call" with Trump.
• The US still has a baseline 10% tariff on the EU.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he agreed to extend the deadline for a 50% tariff on the EU from June 1 until July 9.

"I received a call today from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, requesting an extension on the June 1st deadline on the 50% Tariff with respect to Trade and the European Union," he said on his Truth Social platform. "I agreed to the extension — July 9, 2025 — It was my privilege to do so."

"The Commission President said that talks will begin rapidly," he added.

Earlier on Sunday, Von der Leyen said on X that she had a "good call" with Trump.

"The EU and US share the world's most consequential and close trade relationship. Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively," she wrote.

In April, Trump imposed 20% tariffs on the EU before issuing a 90-day pause and lowering the levy to 10%. However, Trump recently floated a 50% tariff for the EU, calling the 27-member group of nations "very difficult to deal with."

The Trump administration recently forged a trade agreement with the United Kingdom and is working on a trade pact with China, which has had the most tumultuous trade relationship with the United States since the beginning of Trump's second term.

• Movie theaters saw record sales this Memorial Day weekend.
• "Lilo & Stitch" and "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" led the way.
• Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch' is expected to make over $180 million, a Memorial Day weekend record.

This year, Americans are gathering on Memorial Day weekend for barbecues, picnics, and, apparently, "Lilo & Stitch."

Movie theaters earned a record $325 million at the box office this weekend, the most-ever for a Memorial Day weekend, with Disney's live-action reboot of "Lilo & Stitch" claiming the top spot.

"Lilo & Stitch" brought home a whopping $145 million in its opening weekend, while "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" starring Tom Cruise brought in another $63 million. Continued strong showings from "Sinners" and "Thunderbolts*" also contributed to the record turnout.

"Lilo & Stitch" is expected to make over $180 million by the end of the day Monday, which would unseat "Top Gun: Maverick," which earned $160 million when it opened on Memorial Day weekend in 2022, as the highest-grossing Memorial Day debut of all time.

It's a comforting sign for the film industry, which has weathered several storms since the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything for movie theaters. At the time, theaters transformed into ghost towns, and the multibillion-dollar industry came to a near halt. The rise of streaming has also eaten into its profits, as did the 2023 strike by actors and writers.

The success of "Lilo & Stitch" also marks a positive turn for Disney's live-action reboots, several of which have performed poorly in recent years.

Disney's live-action "Snow White," a remake of the 1937 animated classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," opened to disappointing numbers in March. Disney's live-action remake of "Dumbo," directed by Tim Burton, also flopped at the box office in 2019.

The debut of "Lilo & Stitch" is now one of the best-ever debuts of Disney's live-action remakes, following "The Lion King," which made $191 million over three days in 2019, and "Beauty and the Beast," which collected $174 million over three days in 2017.

• Google launched a new AI search mode in the US, and it could impact Reddit's growth.
• Reddit's stock fell as analysts predicted a decline in traffic thanks to Google's AI.
• Reddit said its most loyal users were key to its business and is refining its own AI search engine.

Google announced last week that it is rolling out a new search tool powered by AI that it's calling, simply, AI Mode.

That could be bad for Reddit.

Reddit has grown significantly over the past year, thanks in large part to Google prioritizing Reddit links in its search results and because searchers are often looking for human input on an internet increasingly dominated by AI and automated bots.

At Google I/O last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai described AI Mode as a "total overhaul" of the company's search tool. AI Mode will offer users a more conversational experience, rather than the traditional list of links. That means Google can give a user information found on Reddit, without that user ever having to visit the site.

This will mostly affect Reddit's logged-out users, who are more casual visitors without their own accounts. Logged-in users are Reddit's everyday fans. Much of Reddit's growth is with logged-out users coming through Google Search.

On Monday, Reddit's stock dropped about 5% after Wells Fargo said it expected Reddit traffic to decrease as "Google more aggressively implements AI features in search."

It wasn't the first time that changes to Google's search feature caused Reddit's stock to fall. Shares of the company fell by over 15% in February after Huffman said in an earnings call that the site saw traffic "volatility" in the fourth quarter after Google tweaked its search algorithm.

While algorithms are often shifting (just ask a digital news organization), Wells Fargo said recent user disruptions on Reddit are "likely more permanent" as search behavior changes in response to Google's AI advancements.

Reddit, however, says that its logged-in users, who come to Reddit directly, are the primary driver of its business.

"A lot of our product work allows us to develop and consistently grow those logged-in users, which are the bedrock of our impressions and inventory because of their very long engagement on Reddit," Reddit Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, & Telecom Conference in March. "It's not existential for us … I think the business is extremely healthy because, again, it's powered by the logged-in users."

Reddit also has its own internal AI search tool, Reddit Answers, which replies to searches with a list of relevant information found in posts on the site.

Ultimately, Huffman says he is confident that Reddit will hold its place on the internet because of the human interactions it provides.

"There's no doubt LLMs will evolve search on the internet. We can all see that. It's awesome," he said in an earnings call with investors earlier this month. "Sometimes people will want the summarized, annotated, sterile answers from AI, and we're even building this ourselves in Reddit Answers. But other times, they want the subjective, authentic, messy, multiple viewpoints that Reddit provides."

"So in the same way that Reddit for the last decade has been an alternative to social media — social media being performative and manicured, and Reddit being the opposite — Reddit communities and conversations will be an alternative to AI search answers," he added.

• Yann LeCun says there are four traits of human intelligence.
• Meta's chief AI scientist says AI lacks these traits, requiring a shift in training methods.
• Meta's V-JEPA is a non-generative AI model that aims to solve the problem.

What do all intelligent beings have in common? Four things, according to Meta's chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun.

At the AI Action Summit in Paris earlier this year, political leaders and AI experts gathered to discuss AI development. LeCun shared his baseline definition of intelligence with IBM's AI leader, Anthony Annunziata.

"There's four essential characteristics of intelligent behavior that every animal, or relatively smart animal, can do, and certainly humans," he said. "Understanding the physical world, having persistent memory, being able to reason, and being able to plan, and planning complex actions, particularly planning hierarchically."

LeCun said AI, especially large language models, have not hit this threshold, and incorporating these capabilities would require a shift in how they are trained. That's why many of the biggest tech companies are cobbling capabilities onto existing models in their race to dominate the AI game, he said.

"For understanding the physical world, well, you train a separate vision system. And then you bolt it on the LLM. For memory, you know, you use RAG, or you bolt some associative memory on top of it, or you just make your model bigger," he said. RAG, which stands for retrieval augmented generation, is a way to enhance the outputs of large language models using external knowledge sources. It was developed at Meta.

All those, however, are just "hacks," LeCun said.

LeCun has spoken on several occasions about an alternative he calls world-based models. These are models trained on real-life scenarios and have higher levels of cognition than pattern-based AI. LeCun, in his chat with Annunziata, offered another definition.

"You have some idea of the state of the world at time T, you imagine an action it might take, the world model predicts what the state of the world is going to be from the action you took," he said.

But, he said, the world evolves according to an infinite and unpredictable set of possibilities, and the only way to train for them is through abstraction.

Meta is already experimenting with this through V-JEPA, a model it released to the public in February. Meta describes it as a non-generative model that learns by predicting missing or masked parts of a video.

"The basic idea is that you don't predict at the pixel level. You train a system to run an abstract representation of the video so that you can make predictions in that abstract representation, and hopefully this representation will eliminate all the details that cannot be predicted," he said.

The concept is similar to how chemists established a fundamental hierarchy for the building blocks of matter.

"We created abstractions. Particles, on top of this, atoms, on top of this, molecules, on top of this, materials," he said. "Every time we go up one layer, we eliminate a lot of information about the layers below that are irrelevant for the type of task we're interested in doing."

That, in essence, is another way of saying we've learned to make sense of the physical world by creating hierarchies.

• Jerome Powell addressed graduates on Sunday at his alma mater, Princeton University.
• Powell told the graduates he didn't major in economics in college because he found it "boring."
• After Princeton, Powell went to law school and decades later became chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Princeton University graduates on Sunday that he didn't major in economics as a student because, at the time, he found the subject "boring and useless."

As Powell gave the Baccalaureate address at Princeton, where he graduated with a degree in politics, he recounted his path to a career that included the private sector and government service.

"I had no real plan for life after Princeton," he said. "Many of my classmates and friends went straight into prestigious graduate schools, politics, or Wall Street. Others went on to global capitals, the military, or the Peace Corps."

He continued: "I had brushed off my parents' one academic suggestion, which was to major in economics, which struck me as boring and useless. After 13 years at the Fed, I admit I was wrong about that."

Powell then spoke about life after Princeton and how it set him up for his future.

"After graduation, I had no plan and no job, and wound up putting labels on shelves in a warehouse for six months. I didn't feel great about that," he said. "In hindsight, that time in the warehouse was a blessing, and exactly what I needed. The next fall I entered law school, and for the first time I was highly resolved to make the most of the opportunity."

Powell attended law school at Georgetown University and later worked in investment banking and at the Treasury Department.

In 2011, then-President Barack Obama nominated Powell to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Powell joined the board in 2012 after the Senate confirmed his nomination. In 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Powell to serve as chair, and in 2021, then-President Joe Biden renominated Powell as chair.

In recent months, Trump has publicly griped about Powell. In April, he said he was "not happy" with the Federal Reserve chair, in part because Powell has not lowered interest rates this year.

That same month, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!"

Trump later said he had "no intention" of firing Powell. Last November, Powell said he wouldn't leave his post even if Trump asked him to.

"Not permitted under the law," he said at the time.

• Scott Galloway said Elon Musk's work at DOGE fueled "one of the greatest brand destructions" ever.
• Backlash against Musk largely targeted Tesla, which has reported a drop in profit and sales.
• Musk has said he'd step back from his government role to refocus on Tesla and his other companies.

Scott Galloway, a prominent marketing professor at New York University, says Elon Musk's links to the cost-cutting White House DOGE Office fueled "one of the greatest brand destructions" of all time.

Speaking on an episode of the Pivot podcast, which he cohosts with journalist Kara Swisher, Galloway said Musk's role with the agency had taken a major toll on Tesla.

"Tesla was a great brand," Galloway said.

"The rivers have reversed and the tide has turned entirely against him," he continued, citing a recent Axios Harris poll that showed Tesla had plummeted from eighth place in the ranking of America's 100 most visible companies in 2021 to 95th in 2025.

Galloway attributed Tesla's issues to Musk alienating the company's core customer base with his turn toward politics over the last year.

In the United States, the Tesla CEO spent millions backing Trump's presidential campaign and was almost inseparable from him during the transition. He then became the public face of DOGE, an advisory body tasked with reducing government spending.

While Musk became a hero to many of Trump's supporters, the image of a tech billionaire wielding so much power also sparked a backlash, which mostly targeted Tesla.

Tesla reported a 71% drop in earnings per share year over year during its earnings call in late April and has faced widespread protests at its dealerships and showrooms.

"He is a brilliant guy, but he's alienated his core demographic," Galloway said on Friday. "He's alienated the wrong people. Three-quarters of Republicans would never consider buying an EV. So he's cozied up to the people who aren't interested in EVs."

During Tesla's recent earnings call, Musk said he planned to step back from his work with DOGE and refocus on the companies that made him a household name. He reiterated that on Saturday.

"Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms," Musk wrote on X after the platform had battled with widespread outages.

"I must be super focused on 𝕏/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out."

The SpaceX CEO also told an audience at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday that he planned to spend "a lot less" on political campaigns in the future.

"If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it," Musk clarified. "I do not currently see a reason."

• "SNL" has wrapped its milestone 50th season and is set to return to screens in the fall.
• Kenan Thompson, one of the show's longest-serving cast members, has teased major changes.
• Several fan favorites have been the subject of departure rumors in recent weeks.

"Saturday Night Live" wrapped its milestone 50th season last week, with a scheduled return to screens in the fall.

But while audiences may be eager to see their cast favorites once again spoof the latest happenings in Washington, it appears that there could be a bit of a shake-up coming.

Kenan Thompson, the longest-tenured cast member in the NBC show's history, has hinted that some big changes could take place between now and next season.

Speaking to Page Six on Wednesday, Thompson described the show's recent season finale as "bittersweet."

"Especially this year where it feels like there's maybe, possibly, a lot of change next year," he said.

Thompson did not expand on what those changes may be, but there has been speculation that several popular cast members may be about to leave the show.

"You want everyone to stay forever, knowing that people may be making decisions this summer," he added.

Colin Jost, whose wife Scarlett Johansson hosted the season 50 finale episode, cracked several jokes about replacing "Saturday Night Live" boss Lorne Michaels during his latest Weekend Update. Jost began his tenure on the show as part of the writing team in 2005 and became co-anchor of the "Weekend Update" segment in 2014.

It was speculated that Michaels would be departing in the run-up to the show's 50th anniversary celebrations. The 80-year-old, however, who created the sketch comedy show in 1975 has previously addressed the rumors, telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 that he had no "immediate" plans to retire.

"I just know that this is kind of what I do and as long as I can keep doing it, I'll keep doing it," he said.

Elsewhere in the finale, Sarah Sherman, who joined the cast in 2021, was shown looking confused after other cast members sang a line about her leaving in a song performed during Johansson's monologue.

Bowen Yang also has left fans worried he could be saying his farewells following a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.

"I think you get to a point at SNL where you understand that you're on the downswing of things. I think I was just processing that being one of the last 'last nights' that I would have, and that is a huge thing," he said earlier this week.

As for Thompson, who joined the cast in 2003, he said he has yet to sign a new contract for the coming season but expressed interest in returning.

"You just never know what the future holds," he told Page Six. "I don't want to be in the way of someone else."

"I don't want to be the stale old man riding the same old thing. That doesn't really happen that much at 'SNL' but there's no guarantees," he added.

Representatives for "SNL" did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Shellfish collectors in Peru make a living harvesting a special mollusk called the barquillo, a primary ingredient in a world-famous ceviche dish. But hunting the elusive seafood comes at a deadly cost.

• An older mom embraces aging, focusing on authenticity over appearances and societal pressures.
• Her experiences as a breast cancer survivor and former teacher shape her parenting approach.
• She prioritizes her children's well-being over grades and avoids overextending herself in commitments.

I'm a mom of four kids, and I'm in my mid-forties. My age becomes glaringly apparent when I'm among other parents who are assisting my youngest child's class: a group of nearly twenty-five second graders with younger parents who appear to be in their late twenties.

Aging is a beautiful thing, they say. Who are they? I'm not sure. However, I absolutely agree that getting older is a gift and, I've discovered, can be quite settling. After all, the things that younger parents are worried about no longer concern me as an "old" mom. I've lived, and I have learned.

I have no desire to keep up with appearances

What you see is what you get with me, including my physical appearance. To be frank, there are twelve-year-olds who do their makeup better than I ever could. My days are often jam-packed with appointments, drop off and pick ups, writing assignments, chores, and errands. I have very little time to care about what others think about my fashion choices and makeup — or lack thereof.

I also don't worry about how I am perceived by others. I embrace that I can be chill and comfortable some days or a Hot Mess Express on other days, all thanks to having four kids plus perimenopause.

Part of my radical acceptance also comes from the fact that I'm a two-time breast cancer survivor. I've been stripped down to almost nothing, fighting for my life, so I have a different perspective on life than many. I simply don't have the mental capacity to attempt to impress others, whether it's my educational degrees, my appearance, or even my parenting skills. Take me or leave me, just don't annoy me.

I don't sweat small stuff, like outfit choices

My new outlook on appearances extends to my kids, too. I no longer demand that they be presentable in order to please others. Gone are the days of matching sibling outfits.

Meet any teen, and you know they will wear the same sweatshirt, every day, no matter how many clothes you buy them. My second grader, within reason, can dress as she pleases, as I have learned dressing oneself is a form of self-expression and independence. It doesn't hurt anyone that her clothes are mismatched.

I focus on different things with my kids

As an older mom, I know better than to obsess over my kids' grades or sports scores. Basically, the numbers don't make the kid.

Before I became a mom, I was a college teacher. I quickly learned that how well a kid did number-wise in school turned out to have very little to do with their future success. I understand that if my children's physical, mental, and emotional health aren't in order, academics and rankings are inconsequential.

I know better than to overextend myself

There are loads of volunteer opportunities, and I don't sign up for every one. The reality is, I don't have time. The other reason is because, truthfully, I don't want to. I do not feel obligated to be busting my butt at every volunteer opportunity each of my four kids has. Instead, my husband and I split some of the duties, and we also prioritize. No, if you recall, is a complete sentence.

I let my kids figure out some things on their own

I don't summon the manager, er, principal, every single time someone calls my kid a name, because I've learned this simply isn't an emergency. Instead, I invest in teaching my kids coping skills, listening to their feelings, and offering guidance. Mama Bear does come out when something is beyond my kids' capabilities and the situation is persistently an issue, but I conserve my energy for the bigger battles and try not to sweat the small stuff.

I'm comfortable in my role

Gone are my days of wrangling little ones into strollers and frantically trying to change diapers and serve snacks. Instead, my world has changed from keeping up with babies to being the family chauffeur. It feels good to be an older and wiser parent who knows how to stay in my lane — because that's all I have the capacity for.

• "Mountainhead" is an upcoming HBO film from "Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong.
• The film was completed in April and is set to be released on May 31.
• Armstrong said he wanted audiences to see it in the same "bubble of time" as he wrote it.

"Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong has said he wanted to get his new high-stakes satire, "Mountainhead," in front of audiences as soon as possible.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the film's premiere on Thursday, Armstrong said he was keen to write and release the film, which is his directorial debut, in the current political climate.

The turnaround time for post-production can often take months, but "Mountainhead," which finished production in April, is set to be released in theaters on May 31.

"When people see it, they'll realize it's about this world that we live in right now and the tech world changes so quickly," Armstrong said.

"I was keen to write it and for people to see it in the same sort of bubble of time," he added.

"Mountainhead" stars Steve Carrell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef as tech billionaires — one of whom is referred to in the teaser trailer as the "richest guy in the world."

As they reunite for a wintry getaway, their planned downtime quickly turns into a nightmare as news of an international crisis that affects them — and their combined wealth — begins to unfold on their phones and TV screens.

The film is Armstrong's first release since "Succession" ended in 2023.

As of Sunday, the movie has garnered positive reviews from critics and has an 82% positive rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

Many critics have noted the film's apparent digs at real-life tech-industry giants such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos.

In a BBC review, the author wrote that Smith's character "pointedly and unmistakably" evokes the X and Tesla owner. During one scene, Venis (Smith), the owner of a popular social media app, is seen getting a phone call from the US president.

In an interview with Newsweek, Smith downplayed the idea that he looked to the likes of Musk and Zuckerberg for inspiration in the role.

"I know there are going to be some comparisons, just by nature of the job and this status of power and wealth," he said. "But, you know, these are unique individuals born of Jesse's mind."

• A LendingTree study looked at the average annual cost of raising a small child in each US state.
• Hawaii was ranked the most expensive state to raise a child in 2025.
• On average, parents in the US spend 22.6% of their income on child-rearing costs each year.

In today's economy, luxuries like buying a mega-mansion, a sports car, or a Birkin bag might be cheaper than raising a child.

In step with rising food and housing costs, parents across America are facing the financial challenges associated with having a child.

A recent LendingTree study found that, on average, it costs US parents $297,674 to raise a child over 18 years, and they spend an average of 22.6% of their income on child-rearing costs each year.

While the costs vary by state, one factor remains constant: the rising cost of childcare during the workday, which is often the largest expense related to having a child.

"Our data from last year showed that in 45 states and DC, if you have two kids, what you pay for childcare on average exceeds [your] mortgage," said Sandra Bishop, the senior director of research for Child Care Aware of America, a national nonprofit organization focused on helping families across the country access affordable childcare.

Between LendingTree's 2023 and 2025 studies, the average annual cost of childcare rose by 51.8%, from $11,752 to $17,836.

Bishop says this isn't a new trend. Since Childcare Aware began tracking costs in 2000, the cost of childcare has remained "a major expense for families," she told Business Insider. On average, the price of childcare has increased every year that Childcare Aware has tracked it.

"[About] 70 to 80% of what it costs to provide childcare is staff costs," Bishop said. "As the cost of living goes up, so does the cost of care."

LendingTree's study, which was released in March, looked at the impact of raising a young child in categories like rent, food, and transportation by measuring the difference between costs for a two-person household and a two-person household with a child.

For day care and apparel costs, researchers examined the average annual costs that families face in each state.

To calculate the estimated costs of raising a child in every state, LendingTree used data from sources including the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer expenditure surveys, Child Care Aware of America's Price of Care report, and the IRS, among others.

Here's the annual cost of raising a young child in each state (and Washington, DC) and how each state ranks compared to the rest of the country, with 51 being the cheapest and 1 being the most expensive.

Alabama

Ranking: 49 (49th most expensive in the US and Washington, DC)

Annual cost of raising a child: $17,870

Annual day care costs: $8,771

Food costs: $1,897

In Alabama, parents spend an average of 17.1% of their income to raise a child, which is the seventh lowest percentage among all states.

The state also ranked third in the lowest day care expenses.

Alaska

Ranking: 18

Annual cost of raising a child: $24,921

Annual day care costs: $11,760

Food costs: $2,342

Alaska parents face some of the highest added costs in the country when factoring a child into their expenses. The state ranks third for extra rent and food costs each year at $4,620 and $2,342, respectively, and second for transportation costs at $3,462.

However, health insurance premiums are lower than in other states; Alaska ranks the sixth-lowest in that category, with parents spending an additional $2,486 on average each year.

Arizona

Ranking: 20

Annual cost of raising a child: $24,354

Annual day care costs: $14,040

Food costs: $1,807

Parents in Arizona might see smaller additional rent and food costs when factoring in a child, with the state ranking seventh lowest in both. Still, added costs for health insurance premiums are among the highest in the nation, ranking third, with parents spending an annual average of $4,929.

Arkansas

Ranking: 48

Annual cost of raising a child: $18,642

Annual day care costs: $8,869

Food costs: $1,735

Arkansas ranked lowest for the added cost of children's apparel to parents' expenses. The state also ranked among the lowest five for food and childcare costs.

California

Ranking: 5

Annual cost of raising a child: $30,059

Annual day care costs: $19,547

Food costs: $2,023

While parenting in California comes with a high price tag in some areas, parents also experience some areas of relief compared to other states. Per the LendingTree report, there are relatively low additional rent costs when raising a child compared to other states, and higher tax credits.

But parents in California face the highest apparel costs in the country, as well as the second-highest health insurance premiums.

The state also has the 10-highest average day care costs, according to the report.

Colorado

Ranking: 10

Annual cost of raising a child: $28,922

Annual day care costs: $19,573

Food costs: $2,035

Colorado is ranked among the top 10 most expensive states to raise a child. Parents may face higher day care costs than in other states, with the state ranking ninth highest in the country.

However, added transportation costs are more affordable in the state, with Colorado ranking sixth-lowest.

Connecticut

Ranking: 11

Annual cost of raising a child: $28,899

Annual day care costs: $17,888

Food costs: $2,111

Connecticut parents face higher costs in several areas, with the state ranking 10th highest for additional rent when factoring in a child, and eighth highest for food.

However, parents also spend a lower portion of their income on raising a child each year: 17.6% on average, the eighth-lowest in the country.

Delaware

Ranking: 23

Annual cost of raising a child: $23,804

Annual day care costs: $14,995

Food costs: $1,951

Delaware falls near the middle of the pack for the overall costs of raising a child in the US. Additional rent costs are among the lowest compared to other states, but additional expenses for food, transportation, and day care fall in the middle of all states.

District of Columbia

Ranking: 9

Annual cost of raising a child: $29,186

Annual day care costs: $25,480

Food costs: $2,378

Parents in the District of Columbia saw the biggest decrease in child-rearing costs since the 2023 study.

DC has the lowest added rent cost, at a negative difference of $4,284, where parents on average pay less than their childless peers. DC parents also face the lowest added transportation costs in the country at $1,919, and spend the lowest portion of income on raising a child at 14%.

However, DC also has the highest day care and added health insurance premiums costs in the country, and faces the second-highest added food costs, per LendingTree.

Florida

Ranking: 26

Annual cost of raising a child: $23,241

Annual day care costs: $12,639

Food costs: $2,054

While Florida parents might save on transportation, as the state ranks third-lowest with parents spending an added $2,754, they also face higher health insurance premiums, ranking seventh highest in that category.

Georgia

Ranking: 45

Annual cost of raising a child: $19,162

Annual day care costs: $11,066

Food costs: $1,921

The study found that Georgia parents spend the second-lowest portion of their income on raising a child. Some factors that contribute to this are the comparatively low added costs for rent and health insurance premiums — the state ranked within the 10 lowest in both categories.

Hawaii

Ranking: 1

Annual cost of raising a child: $36,472

Annual day care costs: $22,585

Food costs: $2,481

Hawaii is the most expensive state for raising a child in 2025, leading the list by over $3,000 in total annual costs.

Parents in the state face the highest added food costs in the country, the second-highest added rent costs, and the third-highest transportation and day care costs.

On average, parents in the state spend 25.4% of their income on the costs of raising a child, the highest share out of all states.

Idaho

Ranking: 37

Annual cost of raising a child: $21,797

Annual day care costs: $10,108

Food costs: $2,040

Parents in Idaho might face some higher costs despite having the ninth-lowest childcare costs in the country. The state ranked seventh highest for both added rent and transportation costs each year, coming in at $2,364 and $3,260, respectively.

Illinois

Ranking: 21

Annual cost of raising a child: $24,343

Annual day care costs: $16,373

Food costs: $1,965

Illinois' added rent costs for parents are relatively low; parents spend $276 more on average each year compared to their childless peers, which is the fifth lowest amount among all states.

Added transportation costs are also among the lowest in the country, ranking fourth lowest as parents spend an added $2,826 annually. Parents also spend a smaller portion of their income on raising a child than in other states, ranking ninth lowest at 17.9%.

Indiana

Ranking: 24

Annual cost of raising a child: $23,786

Annual day care costs: $13,736

Food costs: $1,731

Although parents in Indiana spend less on food — the state ranks fourth lowest at an average added cost of $1,731 each year — they also spend a larger share of their income on raising a child, coming in at 21.4%, the fifth-highest rate in the country.

Iowa

Ranking: 36

Annual cost of raising a child: $21,811

Annual day care costs: $12,168

Food costs: $1,873

Iowa parents have some of the lowest health insurance premium added costs, with the state ranking ninth lowest in the country at an average of $2,568 annually.

Kansas

Ranking: 19

Annual cost of raising a child: $24,528

Annual day care costs: $15,071

Food costs: $1,900

Kansas parents spend a higher portion of their income on raising a child than peers in other states, with the state ranking ninth highest nationwide. Parents spend an average of 20.8% on the added costs of raising a child.

Kentucky

Ranking: 46

Annual cost of raising a child: $19,149

Annual day care costs: $9,685

Food costs: $1,704

Kentucky has the lowest added cost for a child's food when compared to every other state. Parents in Kentucky also have the sixth-lowest day care expenses in the country, per LendingTree's report.

Louisiana

Ranking: 39

Annual cost of raising a child: $21,206

Annual day care costs: $10,101

Food costs: $1,855

While Louisiana parents have some of the lowest day care costs in the country, coming in at eighth-lowest, they also spend some of the highest percentages of their income on costs associated with raising children. They spend 20.6% of their paychecks on added costs.

Maine

Ranking: 32

Annual cost of raising a child: $22,061

Annual day care costs: $11,960

Food costs: $2,043

Families in Maine might see one of the bigger boosts from tax credits. The credits help parents in the state save an average of $300 each year, ranking fifth-highest in the country.

Maryland

Ranking: 4

Annual cost of raising a child: $31,601

Annual day care costs: $19,906

Food costs: $2,078

Ranked the fourth most expensive state to raise a child in, Maryland parents face higher costs across several categories, with the state ranking sixth highest for both day care costs and the added costs in rent, and 10th-highest for added food and health insurance premiums costs.

Massachusetts

Ranking: 2

Annual cost of raising a child: $33,004

Annual day care costs: $24,005

Food costs: $2,193

Ranked the most expensive state for raising a child in the continental US, Massachusetts parents face some of the highest food and childcare costs, with the state ranking fourth-highest for added food costs and second-highest for day care costs.

Even with the high price tag, parents in the state don't see a big difference in their added rent prices compared to childless peers, only paying $84 more on average, according to the report.

Michigan

Ranking: 34

Annual cost of raising a child: $21,881

Annual day care costs: $12,667

Food costs: $1,833

When compared to other states, Michigan has the eighth-lowest added food costs associated with raising a child.

Minnesota

Ranking: 6

Annual cost of raising a child: $29,891

Annual day care costs: $20,129

Food costs: $2,075

Minnesota parents face some of the highest day care costs, ranking fifth highest in the country.

They also spend a large portion of their income on raising children, spending an average of 21.3% of their income on the added costs of childrearing, the sixth highest share in the country.

However, they also benefit from tax credits, which on average save them $343 annually, the third-highest in the country.

Mississippi

Ranking: 51

Annual average cost of raising a child: $16,490

Annual average day care costs: $8,186

Average food costs: $1,783

Mississippi is the cheapest state to raise a child in 2025, having the second-lowest average day care costs and falling in the top 10 for cheapest health insurance premiums, rent, transportation, and food costs.

On average, Mississippi parents spend 17.9% of their income on raising a child each year.

Missouri

Ranking: 27

Annual cost of raising a child: $23,201

Annual day care costs: $12,907

Food costs: $1,883

Parents in Missouri have lower added health insurance premiums than parents in other states. The state ranks 10th-lowest, with parents spending an annual average of $2,649.

Montana

Ranking: 35

Annual cost of raising a child: $21,864

Annual day care costs: $11,700

Food costs: $1,918

Lacking sufficient childcare options for the number of children, the state of Montana is considered a "childcare desert," according to a January 2024 report by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. On average, Montana parents spend $11,700 on childcare each year, according to the LendingTree study.

Nebraska

Ranking: 28

Annual cost of raising a child: $23,154

Annual day care costs: $13,000

Food costs: $1,883

Out of all metrics, rent can be the biggest expense for parents in Nebraska when compared to other states. Parents spend an extra $2,340, on average, annually on their rent when raising a child.

Nevada

Ranking: 29

Annual cost of raising a child: $23,063

Annual day care costs: $13,024

Food costs: $1,894

Nevada, one of the most urban states in the country, is also considered a childcare desert, according to a 2023 report by the Nevada Governor's Office of Workforce Innovation, due to the lack of options and the high demand for available centers. Parents in the state pay an average of $13,024 on daycare annually, according to the LendingTree study.

New Hampshire

Ranking: 12

Annual cost of raising a child: $28,338

Annual day care costs: $17,250

Food costs: $2,031

New Hampshire parents face higher housing and transportation costs than in other states, ranking fifth highest for both rent and transportation.

Still, the added costs of health insurance premiums are more affordable than in other states, ranking third lowest.

New Jersey

Ranking: 7

Annual cost of raising a child: $29,728

Annual day care costs: $19,634

Food costs: $2,068

Parents in New Jersey may also encounter higher childcare costs, with the state ranking seventh highest among all states, but transportation costs are also more affordable, ranking 10th lowest.

New Mexico

Ranking: 30

Annual cost of raising a child: $22,792

Annual day care costs: $13,521

Food costs: $1,834

While New Mexico offers some of the lowest average added costs for transportation and food, parents in the state still spend a large portion of their income on raising children, with 22.8% of their paychecks going toward the added costs of raising a child, the second highest in the country.

New York

Ranking: 8

Annual cost of raising a child: $29,327

Annual day care costs: $19,584

Food costs: $2,141

While parents in New York face some of the highest child-rearing costs, ranking sixth and eighth highest for food and childcare, respectively, they also have the second-lowest transportation added costs, falling only behind Washington, DC.

North Carolina

Ranking: 42

Annual cost of raising a child: $20,818

Annual day care costs: $12,251

Food costs: $1,908

Parents in North Carolina have the most stable prices for their child-rearing expenses, the study found. Between the 2023 and 2025 studies, the cost of raising a child over the course of 18 years in the state changed the least, going from $217,182 in 2023 to $215,461 in 2025.

North Dakota

Ranking: 17

Annual cost of raising a child: $25,834

Annual day care costs: $10,758

Food costs: $1,875

North Dakota had the second-biggest jump in total added costs from the 2023 study, up 44%. The state also has the highest added rent costs, at $5,496, and ranks ninth for transportation, as parents spend an additional $3,237.

Ohio

Ranking: 40

Annual cost of raising a child: $21,186

Annual day care costs: $12,351

Food costs: $1,867

Ohio's low total costs for raising a child each year are, in part, due to the low added costs of health insurance premiums, which rank eighth lowest in the country.

Oklahoma

Ranking: 43

Annual cost of raising a child: $20,673

Annual day care costs: $10,065

Food costs: $1,836

Oklahoma parents enjoy the 10th and seventh lowest food and day care costs, respectively, but they also spend the 10th highest added costs on transportation, with children adding an average of $3,228 to their annual transportation expenses.

Oregon

Ranking: 16

Annual cost of raising a child: $26,107

Annual day care costs: $17,680

Food costs: $2,048

Oregon saw one of the biggest total cost decreases since the 2023 study. Transportation added costs are also more affordable in Oregon than in other states, with the state ranking eighth lowest at $2,915. The state also has the lowest health insurance premiums out of all states in the country, with parents spending an additional $1,978.

Pennsylvania

Ranking: 25

Annual cost of raising a child: $23,270

Annual day care costs: $14,483

Food costs: $1,991

Parents in Pennsylvania might spend less on additional transportation costs than in other states — the state ranks ninth-lowest in the country, as parents spend an average of $2,918.

Rhode Island

Ranking: 15

Annual cost of raising a child: $26,141

Annual day care costs: $16,899

Food costs: $2,127

Added food costs for parents in Rhode Island are higher than in other states — seventh highest in the country — while the added costs of transportation are more affordable than in other states, ranking fifth lowest.

South Carolina

Ranking: 50

Annual cost of raising a child: $17,699

Annual day care costs: $9,048

Food costs: $1,842

South Carolina parents spent the third-lowest portion of their income on child-rearing expenses, at 16.1%. They also benefit from some of the lowest childcare costs in the nation; the average cost is the fifth lowest among all the states.

South Dakota

Ranking: 47

Annual cost of raising a child: $18,918

Annual day care costs: $7,862

Food costs: $1,941

Average childcare costs in South Dakota are lower than in every other state, according to the study. This contributes to parents spending 16.3% of their income to raise a child, which is the fourth-lowest in the country.

Still, the added transportation costs of having a child in the state ranked as the sixth highest in the nation.

Tennessee

Ranking: 31

Annual cost of raising a child: $22,693

Annual day care costs: $11,985

Food costs: $1,920

While parents in Tennessee have relatively low costs for most factors contributing to the total cost of raising a child, they face higher health insurance premium added costs, spending an average of $4,478 each year, the fifth highest in the country.

Texas

Ranking: 41

Annual cost of raising a child: $20,889

Annual day care costs: $11,024

Food costs: $1,711

Texas parents spend some of the lowest added food costs in the nation — the second lowest among all states. They also spend the sixth-lowest portion of their income on raising a child, with 17% of their paychecks going towards child-rearing costs. However, the added costs for health insurance premiums are the eighth highest in the country.

Utah

Ranking: 38

Annual cost of raising a child: $21,784

Annual day care costs: $11,232

Food costs: $1,849

Parents in Utah spend an average of 17% of their income on the added costs of a child, one of the lower percentages in the country. Yet transportation is one area where parents in the state might see a significant increase, with the state having the fourth-highest added costs of transportation expenses, coming in at $3,289 a year.

Vermont

Ranking: 13

Annual cost of raising a child: $27,690

Annual day care costs: $17,973

Food costs: $2,183

Parents in Vermont, which in 2022 was ranked the most rural state in the country according to census data, spend more on food, and also spend a greater share of their income on raising a child.

The state ranked fifth-highest for added food costs, and parents spend the third-highest percentage of their income on raising their children at an average of 21.8%.

However, Vermont parents also benefit from tax credits, which help them save an average of $320 annually, fourth-highest in the country.

Virginia

Ranking: 14

Annual cost of raising a child: $26,666

Annual day care costs: $16,397

Food costs: $2,013

Parents in Virginia face higher added costs for health insurance premiums than parents in other states, with the state ranking ninth highest at an average of $4,088.

Washington

Ranking: 3

Annual cost of raising a child: $32,418

Annual day care costs: $20,370

Food costs: $2,109

Parents in Washington also face higher costs in multiple areas, with the state ranking ninth-highest for added food costs and fourth-highest for childcare costs.

On average, parents in the state spend 21.5% of their income on raising a child, the fourth-highest in the country.

West Virginia

Ranking: 44

Annual cost of raising a child: $19,957

Annual day care costs: $10,140

Food costs: $1,717

While parents in West Virginia enjoy some of the lowest added food, health insurance premium, and day care costs in the nation, they also have the eighth-highest added cost of rent and spend the eighth-highest portion of their income on raising a child, at 21%.

Wisconsin

Ranking: 33

Annual cost of raising a child: $21,930

Annual day care costs: $13,572

Food costs: $1,904

Wisconsin parents benefit from having some of the lowest added health insurance premium costs when raising a child, ranking second-lowest in the category and spending an average of $2,231.

Wyoming

Ranking: 22

Annual cost of raising a child: $24,262

Annual day care costs: $11,075

Food costs: $1,917

Wyoming saw the biggest jump in childrearing costs since LendingTree's 2023 report, with an increase of 47.9%.

Parents in the state face the highest added transportation costs in the country, with an extra $3,502 on average. They also have the fourth-highest added rent costs at $3,660, and spend the seventh-highest share of their income on raising a child: 21%.

• Women have been serving in the military, officially or unofficially, since the Revolutionary War.
• Queen Elizabeth II was a military truck driver during World War II.
• "Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve.

Women have been an important part of the armed services since the beginning, with icons like Harriet Tubman participating in the Civil War. While being female in a traditionally male-dominated space hasn't always been easy, these women have still served their countries.

In 2023, the US Department of Defense reported that the percentage of women serving in active and reserve capacities was growing. In 2022, 17.5% of active-duty roles and 21.6% of the National Guard and reserves were women, up slightly from the year before, it reported, citing the 2022 Demographics Profile of the Military Community.

On Memorial Day this year, here are 12 famous women who have served in the military around the world, including Bea Arthur, Queen Elizabeth, and more.

Harriet Tubman was a military leader and Union spy during the Civil War.

Most know Harriet Tubman for her groundbreaking work with the Underground Railroad and, later, as an abolitionist, but as National Geographic reported, Tubman was also an integral part of the Civil War.

In 1863, Tubman and Colonel James Montgomery led a group of soldiers in freeing slaves from plantations in South Carolina, making Tubman the first woman in US history to lead a military expedition, according to National Geographic.

Her work continued as a spy and recruiter for the Union Army. This operation was so covert that only President Lincoln knew about it.

Tubman received compensation for her military contributions decades later, in 1899. Thomas B. Allen, the author of "Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent," called Tubman "one of the great heroines of the Civil War."

Queen Elizabeth was a military truck driver during World War II.

Queen Elizabeth was only 18 years old when she begged her father, King George VI, to take part in helping out during World War II. 

She joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service in England that same year and was known as "Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor," according to the National Archives.

While serving, the young queen drove military trucks and trained as a mechanic, making her, to this day, the only female member of the Royal Family to enter the armed forces. 

NASA's Eileen Collins was one of the first female pilots in the Air Force and in space.

Eileen Collins broke several barriers during her career: Not only was she NASA's first female shuttle commander, but at 23, she became the Air Force's first female flight instructor, according to the agency.

She joined the Air Force in 1978, becoming one of the first four women to go through pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. 

She wrote in Time, "The Air Force was testing whether women could succeed as military pilots. We obviously were living in a fishbowl — everyone knew who we were, our personal business, our test scores and our flight performance. My philosophy was to be the best pilot I could be."

Her military training directly led her to test-pilot school, where she "knew" she would go on to be the first female space shuttle pilot — and succeeded in doing so.  

"Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve.

Before she was Dorothy Zbornak on "The Golden Girls," Emmy Award-winning actor Bea Arthur was a Marine.

As reported by The Daily Beast, Arthur enlisted in the Women's Reserve when she was 21 years old. She first served as a typist and truck driver. She worked her way up to staff sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1945. 

Official documents show that Arthur's supervisors thought she was "argumentative," which is not a far cry from the feisty persona she became known for on both "The Golden Girls" and "Maude."

"Stranger Things" actor Jennifer Marshall served in the US Navy for five years.

Before Jennifer Marshall scored the role of Susan Hargrove on Netflix's hit show "Stranger Things," she served in the United States Navy from ages 17 to 22. 

According to Marshall's website, during her service, she was a forklift operator, aircraft handler, and logistics specialist. She also worked for the USS Theodore Roosevelt's Sexual Assault Victim Intervention (SAVI) program. 

Marshall was awarded many honors and medals for her time in the Navy. Now, in addition to acting, she works with Pin-Ups For Vets, a nonprofit organization that aids hospitalized veterans and deployed troops.

Food Network star Sunny Anderson was in the Air Force.

Anderson, who hosts "The Kitchen," "Cooking for Real," and "Home Made in America," grew up around the military because of her parents. As an adult, she enlisted in the US Air Force as a radio broadcaster and journalist, working in Seoul, South Korea, and in San Antonio. 

"I knew that there were radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and magazines, for the military, by the military, and I wanted to be a part of that," Anderson told ABC News in 2013.

She also wanted to train in something that would be useful when she left the military.

"My transition from the Air Force started before I even got in the Air Force," she said.

Radio talk show host Robin Quivers was a captain in the Air Force.

Robin Quivers has co-hosted "The Howard Stern Show" for over 30 years, but before that, she served as a captain in the US Air Force.

Quivers got her degree in nursing from the University of Maryland and put it to use by joining the military as a second lieutenant after college. She quickly climbed the ranks, and when she was discharged in 1978, her official title was captain, according to Biography.com.

She served as a reserve in the Air Force until 1990, per military records, after which she fully pivoted to her career in radio. But Howard Stern hired her for his show in 1981, which means that Quivers — though she was "inactive" — was still technically serving while she was on the air.

Actor Zulay Henao served in the US Army for three years.

Colombian-American actor Zulay Henao has appeared on the show "Army Wives," but few know that she herself served in the US Army before becoming an actor.

Henao enlisted after completing high school and, after three years of serving, went on to enroll at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.

She previously spoke to the paparazzi about her time in the military, saying: "I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing, and I wouldn't have the perspective I have of the world, if it weren't for the Army."

Olympic medalist Shauna Rohbock was in the National Guard.

Shauna Rohbock is an Olympic bobsledder and won the silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. But before that, according to Team USA, Rohbock joined the Utah Army National Guard and was part of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program.

Olympian Amber English competed while still in the military. She won gold in women's skeet shooting at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

At her first Olympics, First Lt. Amber English took gold with an Olympic record score of 56, NBC reported. Technically not yet a veteran, she's a logistics officer and member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, according to Military.com.

After English's win, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin congratulated her on Twitter, now known as X.

"Your country is extremely proud of you today, and I'm so glad you're representing us," he wrote.

She joins an illustrious list of medal winners, both male and female, with military backgrounds.

"Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years.

After Gal Gadot was crowned Miss Israel in 2004 and before she became Wonder Woman in 2017, she served her mandatory two years in the IDF. During her assignment, she worked as a "physical fitness specialist," teaching gymnastics and calisthenics to the soldiers, PopSugar reported.

Pro-Palestine groups have criticized her service, as well as her support of the Israeli military and cause in social media posts.

"I think much of it comes from ignorance and people not understanding what most people do in the army in Israel or what I did in the army during my service in the military," she told The Jakarta Post in May 2021. She added, "Being an Israeli and going to the army is an integral thing. It's something you have to do. It's mandatory."

Ruth Westheimer, better known as the sex therapist Dr. Ruth, trained as a sniper in the IDF.

Dr. Ruth was a Holocaust survivor, and after World War II ended, she moved as a teenager to what would become Israel. During her time there, she trained as a sniper due to her small size.

She told The New Yorker in 2013, "I have no idea what the experience would be if I had to show it. But I was a very good sniper."

Melina Glusac contributed to an earlier version of this story.

• The National Museum of the US Navy is located in the Washington Navy Yard, an active military base.
• Access is limited and security measures are tight, but it contains fascinating artifacts.
• Exhibits include the USS Constitution mast and part of the submersible that found the Titanic.

Before I could join a dozen others for a tour of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, DC, I first had to pass through its heavily guarded gate.

Established in 1799, the Washington Navy Yard serves as the Navy's ceremonial and administrative center. It also houses the National Museum of the United States Navy, which opened to the public in 1963 and is the only naval museum to chronicle the Navy's history with artifacts dating from its founding to the present day.

Before we proceeded further, our guide, education specialist Mike Galloway, informed us that we were not allowed to photograph any entrances, service members, or security measures like cameras or police cars. He also emphasized that visitors could not wander around the base unattended and needed to be escorted by a guide.

"I'm responsible for you at this point, and I don't want to tackle anyone today," he said, apparently joking.

The museum, which I visited in June 2024, is in the early stages of building a more accessible space outside its tightly controlled gates. For now, it remains something of a "secret" destination.

Take a look inside the Washington Navy Yard and its museum's incredible collection of naval history.

Because the National Museum of the United States Navy is housed on an active base, access is limited.

The museum offers free tours on the second and fourth Saturday of every month, but you can't just show up. Tours need to be booked through Eventbrite or by emailing the museum at [email protected].

The base itself felt reminiscent of a college campus with brick buildings, manicured lawns, and signs advertising events.

This was my first visit to a military base, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I figured I'd see service members in uniform, but I hadn't anticipated a picnic with a petting zoo for military families or signs advertising karaoke and line dancing.

The National Museum of the United States Military is housed in Building 76, a former naval gun factory.

The National Museum of the United States Navy opened to the public in 1963, but the Washington Navy Yard has had a museum on its campus since 1865.

The museum paid tribute to its past with signage detailing the history of Building 76.

A sign on the museum floor explained that the train tracks that once led into the building were used to move manufacturing equipment and guns around the base.

The museum's centerpiece was a fighting top from the mast of the USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship that's still afloat.

The USS Constitution is docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston and is open to the public. Completed in 1797, the ship got the nickname "Old Ironsides" for its use during the War of 1812, according to the National Park Service.

Fighting tops were platforms used by Marine sharpshooters to fire at enemy ships during battle, our tour guide said.

The museum featured artifacts dating back to the establishment of the US Navy.

This Chinese porcelain punch bowl was made for Commodore Thomas Truxtun, who gifted a nearly identical one to his friend George Washington.

Truxtun served as the first captain of the Constellation, one of the six warships authorized by Congress as part of the Naval Act of 1794 establishing a national Navy.

Washington's bowl is on display at his historic Mount Vernon home.

A wooden figurehead from the early 19th century was believed to be modeled after King George IV.

The figurehead, which would have decorated the bow of a ship, is depicted wearing the Order of St. George and the Star of the Order of the Garter, royal traditions that are still observed today.

Modern weaponry on display included items like an atomic bomb casing similar to the one used on Nagasaki in 1945.

The atomic bomb, known as "Fat Man," featured a plutonium core. The casing weighs 10,265 pounds, according to the National Museum of Pacific War.

A Japanese Yokosuka MXY7-K1 Ohka plane used as a kamikaze suicide rocket bomb during World War II was suspended from the ceiling.

The Ohka planes were used by Japan to bomb US Navy warships, damaging the vessels and occasionally sinking them entirely, Galloway said.

The museum also displayed a Corsair fighter plane from World War II.

Armed with bombs and rockets, Corsair fighter planes targeted enemy aircraft during World War II.

The Mark 90 nuclear depth charge, developed by the Navy during the Cold War, was designed to destroy numerous Soviet submarines in one blast.

Nicknamed "Betty," the Mark 90 was part of a series of smaller nuclear weapons the US designed in the 1950s in order to dissuade the Soviet Union from attacking.

This twin-mount 38-caliber gun turret was once used to shoot down planes on the USS Reno.

Decommissioned in 1946, the USS Reno earned three battle stars during World War II, according to the Navy.

There was plenty to see, but much of the space remains under construction until the museum's new permanent home is ready.

Many of the items on display didn't have accompanying plaques explaining their historical significance. During my first lap around the museum, I walked right past the nuclear-weapon exhibits without knowing what they were. I found that touring the museum with a knowledgeable guide and asking them questions was essential for getting the most out of my visit.

The museum included exhibits about other aspects of life in the Navy, such as its connection to baseball.

Baseball has long been beloved by service members. In the 1870s, Navy ships visiting Japanese ports would play against local teams, according to the Department of Defense.

The National Museum of the United States Navy displayed World War II-era baseball paraphernalia, such as a hat and warm-up jacket worn by service members.

The sport remains popular in the US Armed Forces. Former Major League Baseball commissioner and Air Force veteran William Eckert once said, "Wherever soldiers and veterans are, baseball will be," according to a plaque in the exhibit.

In addition to displaying historic artifacts, the National Museum of the United States Navy also functions as a ceremony space.

On the morning I visited, the museum was hosting a retirement ceremony for a service member. The museum also hosts promotion ceremonies.

After we had some time to look around the museum, our tour of the Washington Navy Yard began.

Spanning 63 acres along the Anacostia River, the Washington Navy Yard was once used for the construction of ships and artillery. The river also made it a great place to grow hemp, which was used for lines in sails and other Navy equipment, Galloway said.

Today, it's largely an administrative center.

Along the sidewalk, our guide pointed out a collection of cannons captured during historic battles.

Known as "prize guns" or "trophy guns," artillery pieces captured in battle are engraved with the details of when and where they were taken.

One cannon was captured during a Civil War battle in 1861 when Confederate forces tried to shut down the riverways leading into Washington, DC, by firing cannons from bluffs outside of the capital.

"That's the great thing about guns and cannons," Galloway said. "They can actually tell a human story, as well — it's not just a piece of machinery, and it's not just a dealer of death."

We stopped at a cannon that was captured from the British during the War of 1812.

The gun, dating back to the late 18th century, was likely used by a merchantman or privateer.

An original guardhouse from the 1830s was positioned near the cannon displays.

The structure was temporarily moved to a Navy facility in Indian Head, Maryland, and sat abandoned for decades until it was restored and returned to the Washington Navy Yard.

On the way to our next stop, I took in a stunning view of Latrobe Gate, which was once the main entrance to the Washington Navy Yard.

Latrobe Gate was built by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who also designed the US Capitol Building. The Greek Revival structure survived the War of 1812 and remains the oldest continuously manned Marine sentry post in the US, according to Naval Support Activity Washington. Today, access to the gate is limited to the flag officers who live on base and their invited guests.

I couldn't take photos of the gate from inside the base for security reasons, so this image from the Library of Congress shows the gate as it looked in the 1980s.

Quarters B is likely the oldest building on the base, possibly dating back to the 1790s.

Quarters B housed the second officer of the Washington Navy Yard.

Next to Quarters B, obscured by the trees, was Tingey House, named for the first Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, Captain Thomas Tingey. Also known as Quarters A or the Commandant's House, it is now the official residence of the Chief of Naval Operations.

Both structures, along with Latrobe Gate, survived the War of 1812, when Tingey commanded US forces to burn the Washington Navy Yard to prevent the British from capturing it.

Outside the historic homes, the anchor from the USS Enterprise was mounted on a platform.

According to the museum, the USS Enterprise was the first nuclear aircraft carrier in the world and took part in numerous missions and battles from 1961 until 2012.

The Enterprise tracked the first American orbital spaceflight as part of Project Mercury in 1962, helped evacuate Saigon during Operation Frequent Wind in 1975, and struck Iraqi targets during Operation Desert Fox in 1998, among others.

This Naval History and Heritage Command headquarters is where Captain Charles McVay was court-martialed after the sinking of the USS Indianapolis.

In 1945, a Japanese submarine fired torpedoes at the Indianapolis as it traveled from Guam to Leyte after delivering the atomic bomb that would later be used on Hiroshima. The ship sank 12 minutes later.

Out of 1,195 crew members, 316 survived, according to the US Naval Institute. Around 200 crew members reportedly died from shark attacks.

The ship became more well-known after its mention in the movie "Jaws," in which the character Quint recounts his experience as a survivor of the Indianapolis wreck and the gruesome shark attacks that followed.

McVay was the only Navy commander to be court-martialed for losing a ship during battle in World War II. He was widely viewed as a scapegoat, leading his conviction to be overturned by Navy Secretary James Forrestal, The New York Times reported. Still, his reputation never truly recovered. He died by suicide in 1968, and over 50 years later, Congress passed a resolution fully exonerating him.

The old Winch House, where ships were removed from the water to be repaired, has been transformed into a coffee shop.

Before steam winch engines hauled ships onto land, hundreds of sailors would manually pull them in.

The Taylor Building once housed a 470-foot wave pool used to test ship hull models.

Ships and submarines are now tested in a 12 million-gallon pool at a Navy facility called Carderock in Maryland.

"The Washington Navy Yard is oftentimes an incubator to various ideas and concepts that will become standard for the US Navy as well as some industries over time," Galloway said. "But once it gets too large for what is relatively a small footprint throughout its history, that's when you start seeing it move to places that you might know today that are better for those activities."

Building 1 is the Navy's oldest active office building.

Built in 1838 and most recently remodeled in 2006, Building 1 serves as the Commandant's Office.

We then walked to Willard Park, which displayed more notable artifacts and pieces of artillery.

Willard Park is named for Adm. Arthur Willard, who served as commandant of the Navy Yard during World War I.

A spare propeller blade from the USS Maine, which sank in Havana Harbor in 1898, paid tribute to the lost ship.

The ship's sinking was a catalyst for the Spanish-American War, during which the US obtained Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines and annexed Hawaii, according to the US Office of the Historian.

One of the coolest artifacts on the tour was the pressure sphere from the Alvin, the submersible that discovered the wreck of the Titanic.

The Titanic was discovered in 1985 — more than 70 years after the sinking — during a secret Navy mission to locate the wrecks of two nuclear submarines. The true nature of the mission only became public in 2008 when oceanographer Robert Ballard published a book about his experience.

The last stop on the tour of the Washington Navy Yard was a parking garage with an unconventional macabre history, our guide explained.

Ulric Dahlgren, a Union colonel during the Civil War and the son of Union Navy Rear Adm. John Dahlgren, was wounded in the leg during the Battle of Hagerstown following the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

When amputation became necessary, the leg was interred with full military honors in the cornerstone of a foundry that was under construction in the Washington Navy Yard. The foundry was torn down in 1915 and, several buildings later, a parking garage now occupies the site. Dahlgren's leg was lost somewhere along the way, but a plaque on the parking garage still marks the spot where it would have been.

The National Museum of the United States Navy is absolutely worth visiting, even in its temporary home.

"The Washington Navy Yard still serves as a very important hub for the United States Navy to this day, we're just much smaller now," Galloway said. "And as you can see, the US Navy Museum is shrinking so that we can grow again so that we can better tell the story of the US Navy and the nation."

I'm looking forward to visiting the National Museum of the United States Navy again when its larger, permanent home is eventually established. In the meantime, it's still a fascinating site that pays tribute to the Navy's nearly 250-year history and provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a military command center.

• I traveled to Costa Rica earlier this year and learned a lot about how I'll pack for my next trip.
• There were a few things I was glad I'd thought to bring, like an extra blanket and natural soap.
• That said, an umbrella and UV-protective clothing would have made my Costa Rica trip even better.

Earlier this year, I traveled to Costa Rica for the first time.

It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited — but packing for the trip was overwhelming. I wasn't sure what to bring, what to leave at home, and what to buy when I landed.

After an incredible week and a few misadventures, I learned a lot about how to pack for my next Costa Rica trip.

There were five specific things I was glad to have in my suitcase, and three that I wish I'd brought.

I got a lot of use out of my thin, beach-friendly blanket.

Because Costa Rica is so close to the equator, I was expecting warm weather — so I wasn't sure if my extra blanket would come in handy.

However, I ended up using my soft, thin blanket as an extra towel, beach blanket, and sarong. I'll never travel without it again.

My rain jacket helped me stay dry during surprise showers.

Costa Rica is hot and sunny a lot of the time, but if your travel experience is anything like mine, you could wind up in an unexpected rainforest. As it turns out, afternoon showers are common in some areas, and especially frequent from late May through November.

I was so grateful I thought to bring a rain jacket with me, especially during a post-storm hike.

I brought hair-care products designed for humid climates.

Even when it's not raining, the humidity in Costa Rica is often high. Whenever I left an air-conditioned space, I felt as if I'd just gone swimming.

Thankfully, I had the foresight to toss some anti-humidity products, like Amika's The Shield anti-humidity spray, into my suitcase.

Using natural soap helped me feel like a respectful tourist.

While in Costa Rica, I learned that certain soaps and skincare items can bring toxins into native soil and oceans. I spent a lot of time outside, so I was relieved to have only all-natural products with me.

This is definitely information I'll keep in mind the next time I'm lucky enough to stay in the jungle, at the beach, or anywhere with outdoor bathing options.

I was glad that I'd thought to pack soothing tea and honey.

I sometimes find that travel weakens my immune system, leaving me susceptible to coughs, colds, and sinus issues.

For this reason, I packed tea bags and honey — and I was glad I did.

The combination was soothing and relaxing. I brewed myself a cup of tea every time my throat started to feel dry or I found myself getting stressed.

On the other hand, I wish I'd brought an umbrella to help me navigate Costa Rica's unpredictable weather.

Even on sunny, warm days, rain is common in Costa Rica. On day one, I noticed many locals carrying small umbrellas, which they also used as parasols to protect themselves from the sun's heat.

My rain jacket helped me stay dry, but I wish I'd brought a small pocket-sized umbrella to protect myself from both the sun and rain.

A bandana would have been a game changer for my hikes and outdoor adventures.

Being out in the wild — or even just on the patio — prompted me to work up a sweat. Plus, some of the local roads were dusty. I often found myself wishing I could cover my face or wipe my sweaty brow.

Next time I travel to Costa Rica, I'll definitely bring a bandana to wear around my neck or as a headband.

In the future, I'll be sure to pack lots of clothing to protect myself from UV rays.

Although I stocked up on hats and reef-safe sunscreen before my Costa Rican adventure, I didn't consider certain UV-protective clothing items. I wish I'd brought some long-sleeve shirts, as well as tank tops, bralettes, pants, or swimwear designed for UV protection.

My next trip will likely incorporate more outdoor activities like kayaking, paddleboarding, and hiking, so I definitely plan to stock up on these items for sun protection.

• During my first pregnancy, I was set on only buying high-quality items and clothing for my baby.
• After I gave birth, I realized kids are messy, and it was impractical to always buy new clothing.
• I now shop secondhand and attend therapy to heal my inner child.

When I became pregnant with my first kid back in 2019, I was set on only buying new clothes for her. It had to be clothing made with the Earth in mind and of the highest quality — sustainably-sourced materials and 100% cotton.

My babylist consisted of pricey garments, mimicking that of any momfluencer's list of newborn must-haves, a point of pride for someone raised on welfare.

I wanted my daughter to have the life and childhood I couldn't have growing up, and I thought expensive clothing would give her just that. I was wrong.

Growing up, I knew that 'free' came with a price: shame

My mother was 16 and my father was 18 when they wed at the courthouse, and, a year later, they had me. Because of their lack of experience and education, we lived paycheck to paycheck and had regular appointments at Social Services or the Health Department.

On rare occasions — like my birthday, Easter, or Christmas — I received a new dress and "church" shoes. I would bathe in the outfit's new smell, floral patterns, and crisp fabrics, stealing away whiffs of the department store from whence they came and trying on the get-up in a full-length mirror.

As our family grew from three to seven, my siblings and I received less and less new clothing. I don't remember us complaining much, but I do remember thinking in adolescence how I'd start working as soon as I could, so that I could buy the clothes that I wanted without burdening my parents.

I started working at 14 at a Greek family restaurant across the street from my high school. After my first paycheck, I took myself to the mall and bought a brand new pair of jeans and a T-shirt that were on sale at Hollister.

From that point on, I became unstoppable, working up to four jobs at a time while I pursued undergraduate and graduate degrees. In 2009, I got married and moved away from home to earn a better living. Although it pained me to leave my family behind, I felt powerful knowing that I'd halted the cycle of poverty.

And when I had my kids, I wanted to assuage any mom guilt by keeping my kids out of poverty.

Becoming a mother opened old childhood wounds

When I became a mother at the height of COVID in Manhattan, I hadn't anticipated the dramatic shift in identity that I felt in postpartum. With every cry, feed, or wake of my baby, buried childhood wounds began to surface, and I realized that I could no longer ignore their existence. I had to confront them in order to be the mother that I wanted to be.

The standards I had set for my baby, my husband, and myself were too high. Over time, I quickly realized the impracticality of buying new clothes, new toys — new everything — for my daughter.

By her first birthday, my mindset had radically shifted. Kids are messy. They destroy their garments from daily play, so my own emotional need to purchase expensive clothing for my child became an absurd and unreasonable habit, particularly as a stay-at-home mother who was no longer an active contributor to our household income.

Painstakingly, I learned what I really needed to do was to work on healing my inner child. This actualization occurred after I gave birth to my second daughter, 20 months after I had my first. It was when I found myself home with two under 2 and what seemed like a never-ending factory line of rolling tasks that I did the hard work of finding the right therapist.

I allowed myself to buy used clothing for my kids

While I set out on my own healing journey, I started my search for gently used clothing and shoes at secondhand stores, just like my mom did when I was a kid.

I discovered local shops that carried the brands that I'd once gawked over via social media ads and began visiting these stores regularly. I'd often find pieces in my daughters' sizes (or a size or two above) at more than half the price of retail.

My daughters are now 3 and 5, and I still almost exclusively shop at these stores, and even encourage my children's grandparents to do the same.

Without a doubt, therapy has been pivotal in maintaining my emotional well-being and has helped me become a more clear-headed, less self-critical mother.

I've also learned that it's OK to alter the original plan. It doesn't mean that I'm a failure of a mother, and it doesn't mean that my mom was a failure either. It shows that I'm still learning and that my mom was making the best choices she could given her difficult situation.