• Ukraine carried out a massive drone attack targeting Russian bombers on Sunday.
• A Ukrainian security source said at least 40 aircraft were struck in the attack.
• Footage shows the Ukrainian strikes on Russian bombers shielded only by tires.

Ukrainian forces carried out a massive drone attack targeting Russian bombers and other aircraft on Sunday, striking dozens of planes, a security source told Business Insider.

The source in the Security Service of Ukraine said that the agency carried out "a large-scale special operation" to destroy Russian bombers deep inside the country. They said that the attack drones hit at least 40 aircraft, including Beriev A-50 airborne early warning and control planes and Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-22M strategic bombers.

Video footage captured by a drone and obtained by BI shows a row of Russian bombers burning, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air.

Another video captures the moment a drone hits an aircraft.

At least two bombers in this footage, including the one that gets struck, are covered in tires. Russia has used this tactic throughout the war in an apparent attempt to confuse Ukrainian weapons systems, like drones and missiles, that are looking for the aircraft.

"Enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia," the SBU source shared in translated remarks. They said that Ukraine attacked four airbases across Russia and said Moscow's losses amount to billions of dollars, adding that the number of damaged planes could increase.

The source said the operation, which was supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, involved more than a year and a half of planning and was "extremely complex from a logistical point of view."

The SBU transported numerous small first-person-view (FPV) drones to Russia, along with what looked like wooden shipping crates. Once all the pieces were in the country, the drones were hidden in the crates, which were placed on trucks. On Sunday, the tops of the crates were remotely opened, and the drones flew out.

BI could not independently verify the shared details of the operation against Russia.

Russia's defense ministry has yet to issue a public statement on the attack, nor did it respond to BI's request for comment on the attack. The Russian embassy was also unresponsive.

The Tu-95 and Tu-22M strategic bombers have been used to launch missile strikes against Ukrainian targets. Russia's attacks have intensified recently; Moscow launched more than 900 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles over just a three-day period in late May, officials said.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 472 attack drones and decoy drones — Moscow's biggest bombardment with uncrewed systems so far. Kyiv said 385 enemy air vehicles were taken down.

The Ukrainian attack on Sunday marks Ukraine's latest deep strike into Russia. Kyiv's forces have repeatedly used domestically produced drones and missiles to hit airbases, ammunition depots, and weapons-making sites far behind enemy lines over the past year.

• June is Pride Month, a time to honor and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
• Activists like Marsha P. Johnson and Larry Kramer helped fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1980s.
• LGBTQ+ scientists like Sally Ride and Alan Turing made significant advancements in their fields.

It's Pride Month, and as people and companies around the world celebrate (or back away from it), it's time to recognize the groundbreaking individuals who helped advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and representation.

From politics and media to science and sports, figures like Harvey Milk, Laverne Cox, and Billie Jean King have been instrumental in uplifting the voices and stories of the LGBTQ+ community to promote acceptance and understanding.

Here are 25 LGBTQ+ figures you should know.

Alan Turing created modern computer science, but he was persecuted for being gay.

Alan Turing was a mathematician who is often credited with creating the foundation of artificial intelligence and computer science. He also played a major role in World War II, helping break several German codes.

In the '50s, he told police that he had a sexual relationship with a man and was arrested for gross indecency. He was then chemically castrated. He died in 1954 due to cyanide poisoning.

BBC News reported that Turing was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013. Three years later, the UK government announced it would posthumously pardon other men convicted of abolished sexual offenses, in what was dubbed the "Turing law."

Sally Ride was the first American woman to go to space.

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman and, at the time, the youngest American, to travel to space when she flew aboard the Challenger space shuttle.

As the first American woman in space, Rider faced scrutiny based on her gender, which she repeatedly rejected. Throughout her life, she worked to encourage girls to go into science, and in 2001, she founded Sally Ride Science, a nonprofit aimed at inspiring young people in STEM.

While Ride kept her personal relationships private during her life, at the time of her death in 2012, her nonprofit and her sister, Bear Ride, revealed the astronaut had been in a relationship with science educator and Sally Ride Science co-founder Tam O'Shaughnessy for 27 years.

"Sally never hid her relationship with Tam," Bear Ride wrote following her sister's death, as reported by NBC. "They were partners, business partners in Sally Ride Science, they wrote books together, and Sally's very close friends, of course, knew of their love for each other. We consider Tam a member of our family."

James Baldwin is one of the most influential writers in history.

James Baldwin grew up in Harlem, New York, and published his first book, "Go Tell It on the Mountain," a semi-autobiographical novel, in 1953.

The following year, he published his groundbreaking novel "Giovanni's Room" — its main character is a gay man. Baldwin continued writing books and essays with LGBTQ+ and Black characters, speaking out about racial discrimination and becoming a civil rights advocate.

"He was fearless," his sister Paula Whaley told The New York Times in 2024. "He would say, 'You have to walk straight into it.'"

Christine Jorgensen was one of the first people to come out publicly as transgender.

Christine Jorgensen grew up in the Bronx, New York, and lived a quiet life. But the World War II veteran said she felt like a woman stuck in a man's body. When she read about a doctor who was carrying out gender therapy in Copenhagen, she jumped at the chance to go.

After hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery in Europe, Jorgensen returned to the US in the 1950s as Christine. Overnight, she became a celebrity; she shared her story widely, including in an autobiography.

Bayard Rustin worked closely with Martin Luther King, Jr., before turning to LGBTQ+ activism.

Although most people associate the March on Washington with Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin was a key organizer, per the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In fact, Rustin is the one who taught Dr. King about Gandhi's belief in non-violence and civil disobedience. 

Rustin was also an openly gay man, so he often spoke about the importance of fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. He shifted his focus from civil rights to LGBTQ+ activism in the '80s.

His life was the focus of the 2023 Oscar-nominated film "Rustin," starring Colman Domingo.

Dr. Alan L. Hart's work in radiology pioneered the way tuberculosis is diagnosed.

Born in Halls Summit, Kansas, in 1890, physician and radiologist Alan Hart identified as a male from a very young age, per Scientific American.

Throughout his medical research career, Hart pioneered the use of X-rays to detect early stage tuberculosis, a practice that is still used today to diagnose patients and that is credited with saving "countless lives."

Transitioning in 1917, Hart became one of the first trans men to undergo a hysterectomy in the US.

Barbara Gittings was a well-respected activist in the gay rights movement.

Before the Stonewall riots, Barbara Gittings was on the frontlines, attempting to normalize homosexuality.

Per Time magazine, she joined the Daughters of Bilitis, the first organization that focused on lesbian rights, and started its New York chapter in 1958. She also began editing the Ladder, a magazine by and for lesbian women.

Gittings was also an important figure in reversing the American Psychiatric Association's belief that homosexuality was a mental illness.

Marsha P. Johnson was on the frontlines of the Stonewall riots.

Although Marsha P. Johnson never officially identified as transgender, she is considered a transgender pioneer. As a drag performer, sex worker, and self-identified "transvestite," Johnson played a major role in the historic Stonewall riots in 1969 that jump-started the gay liberation movement, CNN reported.

After the riots, Johnson and her friend, Sylvia Rivera, became leaders in the community and used their power to open Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which helped provide housing for homeless and transgender youth.

Sylvia Rivera was a gay and transgender activist, but she's mainly known for her role at the Stonewall riots.

Sylvia Rivera is often credited with throwing the second Molotov cocktail at the Stonewall riots in 1969 when she was only 17, according to Biography.com. After taking her place in history, she joined forces with her friend Marsha P. Johnson to create Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. 

Rivera experienced drug addiction, incarceration, sex work, and racism, so she fought for the rights of many marginalized groups throughout her lifetime.

Chavela Vargas challenged traditional gender expression in Latin America.

When the Costa Rican-born Mexican singer entered the music scene, the Rancheras genre she eventually grew popular in was astoundingly male-dominated. Still, she sang.

Covering popular songs in the genre, often love songs written by men toward women, without changing their pronouns, and performing in traditionally masculine clothing, Vargas, who was born in 1919, challenged the societal view of the genre and the role women played in it.

When the then-81-year-old publicly came out as a lesbian in her 2002 biography, fans weren't surprised, NPR reported. The singer was reported to have had multiple romances with women, including with Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Billie Jean King, a professional tennis player, was outed as a lesbian in 1981 and became one of the first out gay athletes.

Billie Jean King is one of the most famous names in professional tennis. She earned 39 Grand Slam titles from 1966 to 1975, and also beat Bobby Riggs in the famous "Battle of the Sexes" match.

But in 1981, King was outed as a lesbian, and her publicists told her to deny the claim. Instead, she confirmed that she was a lesbian and became one of the first out gay athletes.

Harvey Milk was a gay rights activist and politician in San Francisco.

Harvey Milk was the first out gay politician to ever be elected in California. While on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, Milk made a name for himself as a prominent, outspoken LGBTQ+ activist.

He was assassinated in 1978 in City Hall.

Eerily, Milk predicted his death by saying, "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country," NBC News reported.

Gilbert Baker created the gay pride flag, which remains a prominent symbol today.

CNN reported that, in 1978, Harvey Milk asked his friend Gilbert Baker to make a symbol that would represent gay pride.

Using the US flag as inspiration, Baker hand-sewed a rainbow flag. He said each color on the flag represented something that was important to the community. For example, the hot pink was for sex, and the red was for life. The rainbow pride flag was first flown in San Francisco on June 25, 1978, for Gay Pride Day.

Larry Kramer is known for his writing, but he also created two influential organizations during the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Playwright Larry Kramer was on the frontlines of the HIV/AIDS crisis, which disproportionately impacted — and still impacts — members of the LGBTQ+ community, per the Human Rights Campaign.

In 1981, Kramer created the Gay Men's Health Crisis organization, which was the only group devoted to helping those who were HIV-positive, The New York Times reported. He later created Act Up (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), which was an organization that held high-profile demonstrations.

In the '80s, Kramer wrote the play "The Normal Heart," which chronicled his experience in AIDS activism. In 2011, the play finally went up on Broadway and then was turned into an HBO movie.

RuPaul is a drag queen who has brought the art of drag into the mainstream.

RuPaul got his start in the '90s in the music industry, releasing his hit single "Supermodel (You Better Work)," which reached the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. At the same time, he appeared in a number of films as his drag persona, including "Crooklyn," "The Brady Bunch Movie," and "Blue in the Face." In 2009, he started a drag-queen competition show, "RuPaul's Drag Race," and it quickly became a hit among the LGBTQ+ community.

Throughout the years, the series gained momentum and has become a major hit for mainstream audiences, leading to several spinoffs. The star has gone on to win 14 Emmys, per the Television Academy.

Edith Windsor was the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that declared the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional.

Edith Windsor's wife, Thea Spyer, died in 2009, igniting a court battle that would change LGBTQ+ rights forever. The federal government did not recognize Windsor and Spyer's marriage, so Windsor was left to pay $350,000 in estate taxes, per NPR. She waged a war against the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2013 that Section 3 of DOMA — which prevented the federal government from recognizing any same-sex marriages for the purpose of federal laws — was unconstitutional, paving the way for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Although she's known as a commentator, Rachel Maddow is also a longtime LGBTQ+ activist.

After college, a young Rachel Maddow became an AIDS activist, joining Act Up and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel in San Francisco. After that, she became the first out gay woman to be a Rhodes Scholar, and she studied AIDS in prisons.

Maddow hosted her own radio show, which was eventually turned into "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC in 2008. The journalist continues to be a public LGBTQ+ activist.

Anderson Cooper is another news anchor who is open about his sexuality.

Anderson Cooper started as a correspondent for ABC News, but in 2003 he got his own show on CNN, "Anderson Cooper 360." In 2012, he became the news story when he came out as gay. 

"The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud," Cooper wrote in an email to Andrew Sullivan, who was then given permission to publish in The Daily Beast, per Today.com.

In 2020, he revealed on his CNN segment that he had a son via surrogate and that he would be raising him with his ex-partner. "As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I am so grateful to all those who paved the way," Cooper said.

He welcomed his second child in 2022.

Laverne Cox was the first transgender person nominated for an Emmy Award for acting.

Laverne Cox jumped into the spotlight in 2013 when she started playing transgender inmate Sophia Burset on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black." For her role in the series, Cox was nominated for four Emmy Awards, becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy in an acting category, per the Television Academy.

She is well known as an activist for transgender rights, serving as executive producer of "Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word," which won a Daytime Emmy for outstanding special class special in 2015, making her the first transgender woman to win the award.

Cox also starred on CBS's "Doubt" in 2017 and appeared in Netflix's "Inventing Anna" in 2022. She has been a host of E!'s "Live From the Red Carpet" since January 2022 as well.

Lena Waithe was the first Black gay woman to win an Emmy Award for comedy writing.

Lena Waithe won the Emmy for comedy writing for her work on the Netflix series "Master of None." During her speech, she took a moment to thank the LGBTQ+ community, Time reported.

"I love you all and last but certainly not least my LGBTQIA family," she said. "I see each and every one of you. The things that make us different, those are our superpowers — every day when you walk out the door and put on your imaginary cape and go out there and conquer the world because the world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren't in it."

Waithe also uses fashion as a statement to speak out for the community. In 2019, she wore a rainbow flag to the Met Gala that was Catholic Church-themed. A year later, she wore a pantsuit that read "Black Drag Queens Invented Camp" to the same event.

Janet Mock is a transgender trailblazer who is changing the face of television.

Janet Mock's powerful 2014 memoir, "Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More," chronicled her experience being transgender and became a New York Times bestseller. She released her second book, "Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me," in 2017.

Since then, she has moved into television and become the first transgender woman of color to write and direct an episode of television on Ryan Murphy's groundbreaking show "Pose," the National Women's History Museum reported. She also directed and produced episodes of Murphy's "Hollywood."

In 2018, Time named Mock one of the most influential people in the world.

Elliot Page is one of the most visible transgender actors in Hollywood.

Elliot Page is known for starring in the Oscar-winning film "Juno" and Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy." In 2020, he came out as transgender.

"I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive," the actor wrote in his coming-out post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Since then, Page has gone through top surgery and he sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview in April 2021 to explain his journey.

"It felt important and selfish for myself and my own wellbeing and my mental health," Page told Winfrey about coming out. "And also with this platform I have, the privilege that I have, and knowing the pain and the difficulties and the struggles I've faced in my life, let alone what so many other people are facing, it absolutely felt crucial and important for me to share that."

Page published a New York Times bestselling memoir, "Pageboy," in 2023.

Ariana DeBose was the first queer Afro-Latina woman to win an Academy Award.

For her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg's 2021 adaptation of "West Side Story," DeBose won the Academy Award for best supporting actress, becoming the first queer Afro-Latina woman to do so.

"So to anybody who has ever questioned your identity, ever, ever, ever, or you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: There is indeed a place for us," DeBose said in her acceptance speech.

Michael Sam was the first out gay man to be drafted into the NFL.

In 2014, Michael Sam came out as gay in an interview with ESPN and made history that same year when he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, becoming the first out gay man to ever be drafted into the NFL.

Unfortunately, Sam was let go from the team, and in 2015, CBS reported that he announced he was leaving the sport for good, citing mental health reasons.

He went on to coach in Europe and now works for ProformApp.

Robert Dover is recognized as the first out Olympic athlete.

Per the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum, Robert Dover became the first out gay athlete when he competed in the Olympics in 1988.

The six-time Olympic equestrian athlete and four-time bronze medalist told the museum, "I feel very fortunate that the equestrian community is made up of progressive thinking people for the most part," because he knows athletes in other sports have not always been as lucky.

"The US Equestrian Team and the federation itself has always been very fair with me and they have been my family," Dover added.

• I went to Las Vegas with friends and learned a few lessons the hard way.
• I wish I were more specific when ordering water and that I'd avoided the many slot machines.
• Free bottle service is tempting, but it can be a slippery slope to spending a lot of money.

Many members of my friend group dispersed around the US after college — so our annual girls' trips have become more of a lifeline than a luxury.

We've been on many, and a highlight was our long weekend in Las Vegas a few years ago. Between glitzy nightclubs, casinos, and pool parties that feel like something out of a movie, Sin City was an endless source of fun.

However, looking back, we made some mistakes on our Las Vegas girls' trip that could've been avoided.

Here are five things I wish I'd known before I went — and what I'd do differently next time.

Ordering water without specifying which kind you want can be an expensive mistake.

When you're partying in the middle of the desert, water is a must. However, if you forget to specify which kind, you could be in for a rude awakening when the bill arrives.

At one club, we ordered water and were given an ice bucket holding four small Fiji bottles. Later, we realized we were charged $80 for them.

We weren't just paying a premium for what was in the bottle — we were paying for the luxury of drinking inside one of the city's hottest clubs.

Next time, I'll make sure the servers know I have zero qualms about drinking free water from the tap, and no fancy bucket is required.

Free bottle service can be a slippery slope to spending a lot of money.

Many Vegas club promoters look for any way to get more girls in the door, so it's not uncommon to be swayed by the promise of complimentary bottle service.

However, I learned the hard way that this doesn't mean you're in for a free night out. Between cover fees, two rounds of shots, and one fancy water bucket, my friends and I left one "free" pool party with a $500 tab.

It's easy to make less-than-stellar decisions when you're caught up in the excitement, like ordering brightly-colored shooters instead of simply swigging from the bottle that was already on your table.

Hindsight's 20/20, and I'll try to be more aware of my spending next time.

Slot machines are almost everywhere and tough to resist.

Slot machines are synonymous with Sin City, and the flashing lights and sounds will do everything to pull you in from the moment you step off the plane at Harry Reid International Airport.

Yes, the airport has slot machines. Unlike many others, I resisted.

However, throughout our trip, those noisy machines were waiting around every turn, constantly telling me I was just one spin away from getting lucky.

The thrill of the lever pull got the best of me, and before long, I had dropped half a month's rent on slots.

Take it from me — just because your hotel has a casino on the first floor, that doesn't mean you have to empty your pockets. If you plan on gambling, set a firm spending limit before you get to Vegas and stick to it.

I wish I'd eaten more meals off the Strip.

Although many of the celebrity-chef restaurants on the Strip have great food and Instagram-worthy decor, they can get expensive.

I loved the ultra-hip vibes at STK and Hakkasan, but I wish we'd thought to save money by dining off the Strip for at least a few meals.

We could've savored authentic dishes without sky-high price tags or even super-long wait times. Next time, I'll ask locals for their favorite affordable picks.

Pay attention to your surroundings, especially in the desert.

We went on a group ATV ride in the nearby desert, which was awesome. However, veering off the course and getting lost wasn't.

Somewhere between snapping selfies and racing each other, my friends and I wound up separating from our group. I don't know about you, but Death Valley is not a place I want to be stranded in.

After a frantic search and a terrifying moment when one friend flipped her ATV, we learned a valuable lesson. No matter how much fun you're having, safety comes first.

Next time, I'll enjoy myself while still keeping my wits about me.

• President Donald Trump withdrew Jared Isaacman as his nominee to head NASA on Saturday.
• Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut, is a close ally of Elon Musk.
• Replying to the news on X, Musk wrote: "It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted."

Elon Musk has praised his close ally Jared Isaacman after President Donald Trump dropped him as his nominee for NASA administrator on Saturday.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was withdrawing Isaacman's nomination after a "thorough review of prior associations" and that he would soon announced a new, "mission aligned" nominee.

News of Trump's decision broke earlier in the day, and Musk was swift to respond.

"It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted," he wrote of Isaacman in a post on X.

Isaacman, the founder of payments company Shift4, was part of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew in 2024 and led the first private space walk.

In a social media statement Saturday, Isaacman said he was "incredibly grateful to President Trump" and "all those who supported me throughout this journey."

"I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of government and the weight our political leaders carry," he continued, adding: "I have not flown my last mission."

Trump had nominated Isaacman in December, calling him an "accomplished business leader" and saying he was "ideally suited to lead NASA" forward.

Isaacman's subsequent removal as nominee comes days after Musk said he was stepping back from his role as a "special government employee" in the Trump administration, ending his time with the White House DOGE office.

Trump's move appears to have come as a shock to supporters of Isaacman, with some experts questioning what it means for NASA.

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said missing out on Isaacman was "bad news for the agency."

"So not having @rookisaacman as boss of NASA is bad news for the agency. Maybe a good thing for Jared himself though, since being NASA head right now is a bit of a Kobayashi Maru scenario," he wrote on X.

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy also took to X to air his support for Isaacman, saying he was a "strong choice" to head NASA and that he "strongly" opposed any efforts to "derail his nomination."

• I'm a registered dietitian and mom who helps busy parents lose weight and maintain weight loss.
• I try to stock up on nutrient-dense foods from Costco, from easy dinners to satisfying snacks.
• Kirkland Signature quinoa and mixed nuts are pantry staples for me, and I like Rao's marinara.

I'm a registered dietitian who specializes in helping busy parents lose weight without restrictive diets.

As a mom of three myself, I know weight management can be especially difficult when you've got a family to feed. Preparing healthy family meals feels like a Herculean task on busy weeknights between work responsibilities and after-school activities.

Having nutritious, balanced foods on hand is half the battle — fortunately, I've found great bulk buys at Costco that come in handy when life gets overwhelming.

Here are a few things I get at the wholesale retailer to help me (and my clients) consistently eat well while supporting sustainable weight management.

Trident Alaska salmon burgers are great for a quick dinner.

A freezer staple in our home, these Trident Alaska salmon burgers from Costco can be ready to eat in 10 minutes or less.

Throw the patty on top of a whole-grain bun, add a salad or some roasted veggies on the side, and dinner's done.

I love that the burgers are made with wild-caught salmon and loaded with heart-healthy omega-3s.

I always try to keep riced cauliflower on hand.

I love using cauliflower rice instead of brown rice to add more nutrition, fiber, and bulk to my meals without carbohydrate overload.

This frozen bag from Tattooed Chef is great because I can easily heat and eat a single serving or a larger portion.

Premade meals from Kevin's Natural Foods come in handy on busy evenings.

Meals from Kevin's Natural Foods are perfect for those "nothing's defrosted but I don't want to derail my weight-loss efforts" kind of nights.

From Korean BBQ-style beef to roasted-garlic chicken, these heat-and-eat entrées are ready in minutes and packed with protein to make them extra satisfying.

Pair them with precooked rice or riced cauliflower for a more filling dinner.

The Kirkland Signature chunky guacamole cups are convenient.

Portion-controlled, portable, and super satisfying, Kirkland Signature chunky guacamole cups are a staple for me.

Each cup contains 4 grams of fiber plus heart-healthy fats that can be great for stabilizing blood sugar and keeping you feeling full for longer.

I like to dip veggies or tortilla chips in these for a midday snack.

I keep mixed berries in the freezer.

I toss frozen berries into oatmeal or yogurt for an easy dose of fiber, antioxidants, and natural sweetness.

This four-berry blend is also great for nutrient-dense smoothies — I blend them with baby spinach, frozen banana, and a splash of water.

It's easy to make dishes more nutritious with baby spinach.

Baby spinach is a no-brainer for sneaking more greens into your meals. It's easy to add to smoothies, eggs, and sandwiches — or to use as the base for a quick side salad.

Pre-cooked chicken bites come in handy for lunches.

With 24 grams of protein per pouch, these fully cooked Fresh Station chicken-breast bites are a lunch lifesaver.

They can be the star of a balanced salad or wrap that can help keep your blood sugar stable midday.

Kirkland Signature egg bites can be an easy breakfast.

Some people skip breakfast because they're busy or want to "save calories," but that typically backfires when it comes to weight management.

Skipping breakfast can throw off your blood sugar for the whole day, so I suggest having even just a quick meal in the morning.

These Kirkland Signature sous-vide egg-white bites are one of my favorite easy breakfasts because they cook in minutes and have 11 grams of protein per serving.

I also try to keep protein bars on hand.

Stash protein bars in your purse, glove box, diaper bag, or desk to ensure you aren't skipping snacks on even the busiest of days — doing so can lead to sugar cravings or overeating at mealtime.

Sometimes, I grab G2G bars at Costco. They're filling and each has 18 grams of protein.

RxBars are also a solid pick.

One of my other favorite protein-packed Costco buys is RxBars.

They have 12 grams of protein per serving, and I like their simple ingredients.

Kirkland Signature mixed nuts are great to keep on hand.

Mixed nuts are a great grab-and-go snack with healthy fats, protein, and fiber.

Pair a handful of nuts with some high-fiber, antioxidant-rich fruit, like berries or an apple, to create the perfect blood-sugar balancing snack that'll help keep you full between meals.

Quinoa is a great whole grain to serve with dinner.

Quinoa is one of my favorite fiber-rich whole grains that's ideal for busy weeknights.

It only takes about 20 minutes to prepare in a rice cooker, and it pairs well with most proteins, from salmon to chicken.

I always grab a salad kit or two from Costco.

Costco typically has a great variety of salad kits, which keep my meals interesting.

The kits are great for busy weeknights since they typically include pre-washed lettuce, toppings, and a premade dressing. Plus, using them to fill half of your dinner plate with veggies is a surefire way to maximize your nutrition intake.

Chicken sausages are good to keep on hand.

Aidells chicken sausages can be a great protein for quick meals since they're fully cooked. I like to slice the sausages and pop them in the oven or on the stovetop with veggies.

These are also a great, simpler alternative to hot dogs at a barbecue.

Rao's Homemade marinara is a staple for me.

I've found it's difficult to find delicious premade pasta sauce that doesn't have added sugar or sweeteners. Fortunately, Rao's Homemade marinara fits the bill.

The sauce pairs well with chickpea or lentil pasta, which can be good sources of fiber and protein.

Skinny Pop is an easy, light snack.

Skinny Pop popcorn is good for satisfying salty, crunchy snack cravings. Each 100-calorie bag is made with just popcorn, oil, and salt.

I love the simple ingredients and how easy these are to throw in a lunch bag.

Click to keep reading Costco diaries like this one.

• After not doing it for a while, I decided to take myself solo to the movies.
• I started chatting with the concessions cashier and gave him my phone number on a receipt.
• He reached out and we fell in love like in the movies.

Every year, I try to rewatch dozens of movies, finding comfort in seeing familiar characters and saying aloud what their next lines will be. Around Thanksgiving, I'd prep myself for this tradition with one of my favorites, "When Harry Met Sally" by reading the screenplay for the first time ever, so that when it was time to actually sit down and watch it again, I'd connect with it differently than last time.

Reading that kind of thing around the holidays would make any other hopeless romantic yearn for their own cinematic meet-cute.

And miraculously for me, I didn't just fall in love like in the movies — I got to fall in love at the movies.

I went alone to the movies

When Thanksgiving came around, I decided to treat myself to another tradition I hadn't done in months: I went on a solo date to the movies.

I was debating which movie to watch in the first place. Torn between going to a theater closer to my apartment or going to a farther one that had the movie I actually wanted to see, I chose the latter and figured it'd be worth it.

And I was right.

The theater was surprisingly busy for Thanksgiving night, employees and customers alike pacing from end to end. As I waited in line for concessions, one employee in particular caught my eye.

He was tall, adorable, and seemingly around my age. He was rushing back to his register, anxiously apologizing to customers, which made him even cuter.

He beckoned me over since I was next.

As I nervously approached him to say my order, I'd learn the name that would stay in mind the rest of the night — Brett.

I gave him my phone number

It wasn't until I took my card out to pay that I finally mustered up the courage to find something to talk about with him.

Though his dimples certainly caught my eye, I used his hair as my starting point. "Do you use gel or anything like that to get your hair that way? Or you just wake up and poof?"

He laughed, "No, I just woke up, messed around with it and hoped for the best," while flashing that million-dollar smile at me.

He'd ask me what I was there to see, and my response ("We Live in Time") let him share the gem of knowledge that he could barely handle emotional movies like that. From there, we went back and forth about other movies we had or hadn't seen recently, chatting for so long that my cheeks hurt from smiling, and my back would turn in guilt of potentially holding up the line.

Anyone on the outside might think he was upselling me, but I had paid long ago.

I had to leave him then, but not forever. After filling my soda, because I was emboldened by either the rom-com gods or AMC's Nicole Kidman herself, I took advantage of a pen I had and the receipt he gave me. I wrote a semi-long note that started with "If you have a girl or aren't into girls, ignore this" and ended with my number.

I returned to him, Red Vines in one hand and the receipt in another. I said, "Excuse me, but you might've given me the wrong receipt."

We've been dating since

As his concerned eyes wandered to my note, I did what any romantic protagonist would do — I ran away.

I laughed and cried during the movie, my Brett in my thoughts every now and then.

Once the movie finished, I checked my phone. No notifications.

I got home. Still nothing.

I had just finished the screenplay and desperately needed Billy Crystal to cheer me up after Andrew Garfield's tears, so I finally put on "When Harry Met Sally." After convincing myself he was taken and about 15 minutes into the movie, Brett texted me.

He apologized for the delay, wanting to wait until after his shift so he could give me his full attention. When I told him what I was watching to soothe myself, not only did he say he does the same thing, but he'd immediately quote back to me my favorite scene: "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

While I didn't realize it then, I knew I wanted the rest of it to start as soon as possible after every surreal date that would follow. And though we're far from the ending, I'm grateful to have a partner who not only wants to accompany me to the movies but will never let us stop feeling like we're in one.

• Two of my four kids graduated from high school, and one graduated from college this month.
• I've noticed my feelings around this milestone are pretty consistent each time.
• Of course, I'm sad about them moving on, but I'm also proud and excited.

I'm not sure how it happened, but once my oldest graduated from high school, time went warp speed on me.

Two of my kids have now graduated, and all four of my children will be out of high school in less than five years. One of them just graduated from college.

So I've had a lot of experience dealing with the emotions — both positive and negative — that come as kids grow up and leave the nest.

The realization that my kids were moving on didn't just hit me at graduation

I don't really get emotional at graduation ceremonies because the actual day is very busy. I'm typically getting everyone to the right place at the right time, planning parties, getting tickets, and making sure we have food. It's kind of stressful in the moment.

But I'm the queen of mourning my kids' childhood at random times, well before they ever walk across that stage.

In my son's sophomore year of college, I was watching him in the marching band. They did a pre-game parade through the college campus, and he was laughing with friends, playing, and just loving where he was in the moment. I started sobbing in the middle of our tailgating party. It hit me that he only had two more seasons left to enjoy this. It's an activity with a limited lifespan, and it was already halfway over.

I was at my other son's end-of-season banquet in his junior year, and the seniors were making speeches and passing along advice and silly gag gifts to the upcoming class. Even though he had a year and a half left of high school, again, I cried when I realized what was coming — and what was ending.

My kids' school years have been a mix of joy as I watch them learn and flourish, and wistful sadness as I see how fast their childhoods are going. It's all a grieving process.

I'm proud of all that we accomplished as a family

Mixed with sadness about them getting older is the realization of how proud I am of these kids. I'm sure I'm biased, but I find them to be fascinating people. I like the adults they're growing into. I enjoy being around them.

I've had the same reaction every time we hit a milestone in this family. When each of them learned to walk, it was bittersweet because they were growing up, but I was also proud of their new skill. The same was true for the first day of school, when they learned to swim, and when they learned to drive. Graduation is a huge step forward, but all of us parents have been slowly training for it with smaller steps along the way.

I'm proud of myself, too. All those runs to the store to grab poster boards and markers, all those evenings helping with homework, all those carpools to school plays, sports practices, and music lessons. We all worked so hard, and now I have actual grown children who need me less because I did my job well.

It helps to remember how I felt when I graduated

There's one more thing I do when I start feeling melancholy about my kids growing up. I remember my own high school and college graduations. I was so excited for both.

I was ready for new college adventures. I couldn't wait to move out of the only home and city I had ever lived in and be on my own. After college, I was ready to be a working woman with my own apartment and a whole set of matching dishes. I couldn't wait to throw grown-up dinner parties and have friends pop by like we were living in a sitcom. I was even excited about paying my own bills.

I know my kids are anticipating these big moves, too. If they're anything like I was, they're nervous but ready to try new things without their parents. While I will miss them like a part of my actual body, I can't wait to see what they do next.

• Six of Alfred Hitchcock's best movies are available this month.
• Documentaries on the OceanGate and Astroworld tragedies are also available.
• So are hit movies like "The Town," "Barbarian," "Now You See Me," and "The Blues Brothers."

Whether it's films from the Master of Suspense or must-watch documentaries, there are a lot of movies to stream on Netflix in June.

Six Alfred Hitchcock classics (June 1)

A half-dozen of Hitchcock's titles are available on the streamer. These include some of the works that would solidify him as the Master of Suspense, like "The Birds," "Rear Window," and "Vertigo."

If you've never seen a Hitchcock movie or need a refresher on his mastery, this is a perfect way to start.

Titles available:

"The Birds"
"Family Plot"
"Frenzy"
"The Man Who Knew Too Much"
"Rear Window"
"Vertigo"

"Barbarian" (June 1)

If Hitchcock movies don't deliver the chills you crave, check out Zach Cregger's acclaimed horror, which follows a young woman's twisted journey when she realizes the Airbnb she booked is nothing like what it seems.

"The Blues Brothers" (June 1)

This beloved musical comedy is based on the characters created by original "SNL" cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Director John Landis crafts an entertaining road trip movie as brothers Elwood (Aykroyd) and Jake (Belushi) Blues sing the blues, break hearts, and con their way across the country to fulfill their mission from God.

"Focus" (June 1)

Will Smith and Margot Robbie headline this clever dramedy, in which Smith plays a career con artist who takes an aspiring crook (Robbie) under his wing. They get romantically involved, which complicates things years later when the two reconnect on a high-stakes job.

"The Great Outdoors" (June 1)

With summer around the corner, it's a perfect time to watch this hit 1980s comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and John Candy as two dads who try to give their families a great vacation in very different ways.

"Now You See Me" (June 1)

Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Morgan Freeman star in this heist movie as a team of illusionists who use their sleight-of-hand skills to commit elaborate robberies. The sequel is also available to stream now.

"The Town" (June 1)

If you're looking for a more grounded heist movie, check out Ben Affleck's beloved crime thriller in which he and Jeremy Renner lead a Boston-based bank robbing crew who put together one final score: robbing Fenway Park.

"Us" (June 1)

Jordan Peele's twisted horror stars Lupita Nyong'o as a woman who learns that she and her family are being hunted by doppelgängers who want to take over their lives.

"Piece by Piece" (June 7)

Pharrell Williams gets the biopic treatment, but in typical outside-the-box fashion for the multi-hyphenate, his life and career are recounted in Lego animation.

"Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy" (June 10)

On a November night in 2021, thousands watched Travis Scott perform at his own music festival, Astroworld. It ended horrifically with 10 dead and many wondering how an evening of joy could result in such terror.

This documentary investigates the night, focusing on the survivors, paramedics, and security that were at the center of the crowd crush.

"Titan: The OceanGate Disaster" (June 11)

In 2023, a submersible known as Titan suddenly imploded while doing a deep-sea dive to the Titanic, killing all on board. Though at first many questioned how this could happen, over time, it was revealed just how unsafe the journey was.

This documentary examines the bold vision of OceanGate founder Stockton Rush and why the trip was so dangerous.

• I stopped drinking about a year and a half ago.
• It's been a game changer in my relationship with my two teenagers.
• Being a sober parent shows my kids that we can do hard things without turning to alcohol to cope.

I've done a lot of things right while parenting my kids, but I've also made plenty of mistakes. My "babies" are 17 and 15 now, and my greatest parenting achievement just might be that I've always been open with them about my mess-ups.

Yelling when I shouldn't have, looking at my phone too much, taking their dad (my husband) for granted — these things all make the list. No parent is perfect, and over the years, I've apologized when necessary and made lots of changes to my parenting style. Still, if there's one regret I still have and one thing I'm glad I course-corrected in my parenting journey, it's my relationship with alcohol.

When my kids were young, alcohol was my default way to handle stress

I started drinking in high school and maintained a pretty run-of-the-mill relationship with alcohol throughout college and my 20s. At 28 (and again at 30), I had a baby, and, like so many moms, I turned to my nightly glass (or bottle) of wine to cope with the stress of having two little ones.

Surrounded by messages like "rosé all day" and "mommy needs wine," I felt like I was part of a special club that knew the secret to relaxing after a long day of parenting. By the time my kids neared middle school, every part of parenthood felt tied to alcohol, from making sure there was a cooler of beers for the parents at my kids' birthday parties to taking ride shares to "moms' night out" activities because we knew we'd all be drinking.

Becoming sober is the best thing I've done for my parenting

I was sober-curious long before I stopped drinking completely. I knew alcohol was creating problems in my life, like strained friendships, increased anxiety, and spending too much on tipsy, late-night, online shopping splurges. After years of reading quit-lit, listening to sobriety podcasts, and analyzing my relationships with alcohol with friends, I woke up one morning (with a hangover) and decided to stop drinking completely.

It's been nearly 600 days since I've had a drink, and I've never looked back. Alcohol disgusts me now, and thoughts of my drinking days fill me with shame. There are plenty of reasons I'll never drink again — one of the biggest being my kids.

Sobriety has allowed me to be more present for my kids

Since I quit drinking, my daughter went through a tough break-up, and my son was diagnosed with ADHD and autism. There were thousands of smaller moments where my kids needed me to be of sound mind to offer them advice: whether to quit a part-time job, how to handle a disappointing theater audition, and what to say to a close friend during an argument. I'm so glad I was fully present without a wine buzz, so they could trust and confide in me.

There have been happy moments, too, that I'll always be grateful I was sober to experience. We've traveled, celebrated holidays, and made beautiful memories together that I'll remember so much more clearly. Like all of my parenting mess-ups, I've spoken candidly with my teens about my choice to live an alcohol-free lifestyle, sharing everything from cautionary, embarrassing drinking stories to insights from my therapy sessions, and how much more manageable things like anxiety and depression feel.

My teenagers telling me they're proud makes it all worth it

[Photo: 4 diet coke]

An unexpected perk? My teenagers are incredibly proud of me — I know, because they tell me. Often. And it's something I never tire of hearing. Not only are they proud, but they've told me they're also taking notes on how sobriety has led to my improving my physical and mental health and forging deeper, more intentional friendships.

My sobriety is allowing me to model to my teenagers that alcohol isn't a necessity to have fun, be social, or make friends. They're seeing in me an example of what it's like to do hard things and not only succeed, but thrive. Most of all, my kids are seeing that mommy doesn't need to drink just because they exist, a message the media sends kids that sends shivers up and down my spine. Because I choose not to drink, my kids see that stress and tough times are normal parts of life, and that the best way to handle them is to be present and work through them, not numb out with a drink.

• My husband and I retired at 55 and did a lot to prepare for it, like paying into pension plans.
• But unexpected bills, rising costs of essentials, and lifestyle creep have stretched our budget.
• We've already dipped into our savings and began working side gigs to help maintain our lifestyle.

My husband and I thought we did all the right things to prepare for successful early retirements at age 55.

We worked hard for over 30 years in our respective careers and both had pension plans. Plus, we invested in RRSPs (popular retirement savings plans in Canada) for extra cushion.

Before we retired, we paid off almost all of our debts and purged 30 years' worth of accumulated belongings. An inheritance and the sale of our acreage also allowed us to build our new forever home without taking on a mortgage.

Over the years, we've sought advice from different financial advisors, who all assured us that retiring at age 55 and living a comfortable life thereafter was attainable. Now, we're not so sure.

Despite all of our planning, we found ourselves worrying about money

In 2015, my husband retired at 55 and helped out with his nephew's construction business until I joined him in retirement a few years later in 2023 when I turned 55.

At first, early retirement was off to a great start.

As empty nesters without a mortgage, we suddenly found ourselves with more free time and extra disposable income. In a way, we experienced a lifestyle creep.

We upgraded our vehicles and went out to concerts, on day trips, and even occasional cross-border shopping expeditions. We planned future vacations to the US, thinking we'd "made it" and that we'd fairly easily be able to maintain this lifestyle from here on out.

Then, unexpected costs began piling up.

Several major appliances broke down in our home within just a few months and we paid for unplanned home renovations to accommodate our son's family after a devastating house fire.

Soon, we were withdrawing huge sums from our emergency savings account. We didn't expect to touch those savings for several years, but our monthly cash flow is limited now that we're both retired.

On top of the unexpected bills, tariffs and inflation mean many essentials, like fuel and food, cost more than we'd anticipated. Soon, we began dipping into our savings to help pay off credit-card bills, too.

For now, I'm grateful that we have skills and assets to help keep us going

Although we receive my husband's payments from his Canada Pension Plan, mine haven't kicked in yet. And, like many in our age group, our net worth consists mostly of assets and investments.

When we realized our pensions alone would not sustain us, we began finding ways to supplement our income.

My husband works seasonally in construction and sells woodworking projects. Since I'm a retired teacher, I can choose to take substitute teaching gigs. I also have freelance writing and translation contracts that allow me to pick and choose my work days.

These gigs have helped us get back some of the freedom and flexibility we sought in retirement — and we're still available to help with our grandkids as needed.

Fortunately, we're in good health and we've found joy in creatively using our transferable skills to our advantage during retirement.

Hopefully, these gigs won't be necessary forever. As we get older, additional Social Security benefits, like Old Age Security, should kick in to give us extra income and stability.

For now, we're trying not to take our situation for granted. We're fortunate to have pension plans and no mortgage, plus assets we could sell to maintain our current standard of living if needed.

We don't know how long we'll live or what other surprise expenses may come up, but we're trying to be way more careful with our spending in the meantime.

It's probably for the best that we learned early on how important it is to keep reassessing our desires, needs, and budgets if we really want to reap the rewards of retirement.

• Buckingham Palace has published lists of the gifts the royal family received between 2020 and 2023.
• Among the most eye-catching gifts was a luxury Rolls-Royce from the King of Bahrain.
• King Charles III also received a "Charles 3" soccer shirt signed by players from Paris Saint-Germain FC.

Buckingham Palace has published lists of gifts received by the royal family between 2020 and 2023.

The official register, which was published on Friday, shows the royals have received some particularly expensive gifts over the last few years.

One of the standout presents — a Rolls-Royce car from the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa — was gifted to King Charles III for his coronation in 2023.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II costs around $450,000, according to Autotrader, and it will reportedly be used for official occasions.

The luxury vehicle, along with all the other gifts, is not considered to be personal property and cannot be sold or exchanged. The royals also do not pay tax on official gifts.

Other eye-catching gifts presented to Charles in 2023 included a leather folder from former President Joe Biden containing letters between the late Queen Elizabeth II and former President Dwight Eisenhower inviting him to the UK, a "Charles 3" soccer shirt signed by players from the French Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-Germain, and a ceremonial sword from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Elsewhere, the lists showed that in the final years before her death in 2022, the late Queen Elizabeth was gifted dog jackets from the Royal Australian Air Force, a Cedar of Lebanon tree from the late Pope Francis, and an engraved Tiffany sterling silver box from Biden. You can check out the full lists for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 here.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle do not appear on the lists, having stepped back from their duties as working royals in 2020.

The publication of the lists comes after it was reported last year that the royals had failed to publish details of official gifts for the past four years.

Guidelines have been in place governing the royals' acceptance and use of gifts since 1995.

• US manufacturing is struggling to fill existing jobs as tariffs aim to bring back more.
• The manufacturing industry faces a skills gap, an aging workforce, and negative perceptions.
• Trade experts say China has advantages in manufacturing from subsidies and low-cost labor.

The US manufacturing renaissance may need a lot more than tariffs.

President Donald Trump wants to bring back manufacturing, but even if his tariffs manage to stimulate growth in this sector, the industry faces a skills gap, an aging workforce, and negative perceptions — not to mention the potentially mounting cost of hiring domestic labor in comparison to countries like China.

Experts and researchers in trade told Business Insider that the manufacturing sector is struggling to fill the existing open positions.

"Manufacturers have faced a structural challenge for multiple years now," said Carolyn Lee, president and executive director of the Manufacturing Institute. "The heart of that is most people don't know what modern manufacturing is all about, that we still are challenged by a perception of what the industry used to be."

"Our workforce, a lot of them are also retiring, and they are older," Lee added. "Manufacturers have averaged about 500,000 open jobs every month for several years now."

The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte found in an April 2024 report that the manufacturing sector could need as many as 3.8 million net new employees between 2024 and 2033, and that around half of these jobs could remain unfilled if the shortfall in workers with the right skills is not solved.

More than 65% of manufacturing companies consider recruiting and retaining workers as their top business challenge, according to the Manufacturing Institute.

Sameeksha Desai, Associate Professor at Indiana University and director of the Manufacturing Policy Initiative, told BI that job functions and the types of technologies that workers need to know are rapidly changing, and training is struggling to keep up.

"More innovation and more technology uptake are crucial for the industry, but this also means manufacturing companies need to fill needs related to cybersecurity, digital skills, data management, and so on," said Desai. "These skills can also be workforce concerns."

Trump made manufacturing a cornerstone of his policy, but experts are skeptical

Bringing back manufacturing jobs has been an integral part of Trump's campaign promise, which he doubled down on by imposing some of the highest tariffs the country has seen in decades.

"Have you ever heard that we're going to take other countries' jobs?" he said to attendees during a campaign rally at the Johnny Mercer Theatre in Savannah, Georgia, in September. "We're going to take their factories — and we had it really rocking four years ago — we're going to bring thousands and thousands of businesses and trillions of dollars in wealth back to the good ole' USA."

"Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country," Trump added while announcing sweeping tariffs on April 2. "And ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers."

Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, also proposed having people work in factories for the rest of their lives and then passing the same lifestyle on to their children and grandchildren.

A recent Wells Fargo report says that tariffs are unlikely to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, and Willy C. Shih, a professor of management practice in business administration at Harvard Business School, told BI that some countries like China may indeed have some key advantages.

"Let's take your typical smartphone that I estimate to have about four hours of labor in it," said Shih. "In China, you pay between $6 to $8 an hour for that, but in the US, with overhead benefits, healthcare, and other costs, you'll probably pay $40 an hour."

"That's $160 versus $30 for four hours of labor content," he added.

Desai also says that China's subsidies for domestic industries are "definitely a big part of the story," as are well-established industry clusters and regional value chains that help keep costs down.

A solution for the manufacturing shortfall?

Carolyn Lee of the Manufacturing Institute told BI that she thinks a large part of the issue is that people are often being pushed to get a college degree, without thinking about what other well-paid opportunities exist and how to attain those skills.

"Let's get the learning you need for the job that you aspire to," said Lee. "I think there are a lot of different opportunities out there, and society shouldn't just be pushing people to one."

But it may not be the end of the world even if manufacturing does not return to the US in the desired numbers, according to one expert.

Gordon Hanson, a professor of urban policy at Harvard Kennedy School, told BI that policymakers are "asking the wrong question" by overfocusing on manufacturing.

"The problem we should be trying to solve here is the absence of good jobs, especially for workers without a college degree," said Hanson. "We've lost a lot of middle jobs in middle wage categories over the last 30 years, but most good jobs that non-college workers can get are not in manufacturing."

"They're going to be in healthcare, they're going to be in the construction trades, they're going to be in the many parts of the information technology industry where you don't need a four-year degree — there are options," Hanson added. "What you need is the right sort of technical training you can get in a community college — manufacturing is just one of many options."

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. Elon Musk's foray into politics was the final straw for Mahican Gielen. She traded in her beloved Model 3 for a BYD Sealion 7 Excellence. She said she's overall happy with her new purchase, but there are a few Tesla features she misses.

On the agenda today:

• There's a CEO succession crisis brewing.
• The death of sneaky fees.
• Apple is the worst-performing Mag 7 stock in 2025, but it could be a good time to buy.
• Former Target superfans shared with BI why they don't love the retailer anymore.

But first: AI meets the consulting giants.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

Consulting disruption

If you've read BI lately, you know AI is proving to be an asset and a risk for the consulting industry. Several months ago, we asked Polly Thompson in London to take on coverage of the the Big Four: Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG. She immediately zoned in on this tech and how it is poised to help — and disrupt — these massive firms. I chatted with Polly to find out more.

Polly, how do you size up AI adoption inside the Big Four? Is it more hype and hope, or embrace and happening?

Big Four firms are resting their futures on AI and have poured billions into developing in-house solutions. Employees don't have much choice but to embrace it — the messaging is to learn AI or get left behind — and their Fortune 500 clients will be following their lead. We'll see how quickly their efforts generate returns.

Tell us more about how AI is both an opportunity and, in some ways, an existential threat.

Consultants specialize in guiding companies through transformations, which means AI presents plenty of opportunities for the Big Four. They face a balancing act between meeting that demand and handling the massive upheaval that AI will bring to their operating models, leadership structures, and job roles.

What have you been learning about smaller consulting firms challenging the bigger rivals?

Midsize firms are in a sweet spot right now. Consultants increasingly are expected to become specialized and offer deep sector expertise — a demand many of these firms already fill. AI is also poised to help boost their productivity and widen their reach without the need to invest in a vast workforce. They see this as their opportune moment. That said, the midsize firms I've spoken to aren't aiming to be the next Big Four.

What are the other top-of-mind topics in your coverage?

I want to dig into how these industry shake-ups affect employees at every level of the chain. How should firms train junior employees as AI takes on more? Why are some execs shunning high-paid partnerships? Is there a tech talent war coming at the Big Four? If anyone wants to reach out to me about those questions, email [email protected]!

Succession IRL

The number of CEO changes for S&P 500 companies is on pace to reach 14.8% this year. With turnover up, BI spoke to corporate observers about how the search for new leaders is getting messy.

Poor succession planning, job-hopping, and cuts to middle management are damaging the pipeline. Despite the headache, companies aren't settling, either.

"The musical chairs is broken."

RIP, hidden fees

On May 12, a bipartisan-supported FTC rule cracking down on unfair and deceptive fees went into effect. You can now behold the glory of all-in pricing when you peruse Airbnb, Ticketmaster, Booking.com, or StubHub.

Some companies are trumpeting the news, even though showing costs up front wasn't their idea. BI's Emily Stewart took the new rule for a spin.

She said it's pretty awesome.

Apple's tough year

The iPhone maker is the worst-performing Magnificent 7 stock in 2025, with shares down 20% year-to-date. One reason for the decline is the trade war, since most iPhones are assembled in China.

President Donald Trump even singled out the tech giant over the issue. Regardless, many Wall Street analysts and investors remain optimistic about Apple's future.

To buy — or not to buy — the dip.

Veering off-Target

Target used to have a dedicated following of customers that treated shopping there as more of a pastime than an errand. In 2025, that's all changed.

The retailer's sales, foot traffic, and popularity have plummeted thanks to a DEI messaging fumble, declining in-store experience, and greater industry-wide headwinds.

Why former fans are disillusioned.

This week's quote:

"Employee surveys mostly seem like a way for the executive suite to pat themselves on the back."

— Nick Gaudio, creative director at chatbot startup Manychat, on the rise of employee satisfaction surveys.

More of this week's top reads:

• Getting divorced is even harder for millennials than it was for boomers.
• The TACO trade is the new Trump trade. Here's what to know about the meme ruling the stock market.
• Middle managers, beware: The Great Flattening layoff trend has moved beyond Big Tech and into retailers like Walmart.
• General Catalyst's Hemant Taneja is trying to redefine venture capital — and baffling the industry.
• What did tech CEOs get for pivoting toward Trump?
• Amazon's sprawling warehouse robot factories offer a glimpse into modern US manufacturing.
• Anthropic CEO says AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs.

• Meta is working on plans to open retail stores, internal communication shows.

  ---

  The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• I was spending all this money on workout classes and clothes, but wasn't getting any fitter.
• I already use AI in other areas of my life and decided to try it for my personal fitness.
• The results have been incredible: I'm stronger, leaner, more motivated, and am saving money too.

I used to feel like I needed to spend money to stay in shape — not just on the gym but also on classes, personal training, and enough Lululemon to dress a small Olympic team.

I was immersed in a landscape of gymfluencers and self-improvement culture, and that combined with my own poor impulse control, plunged me into a costly cycle where I felt like my ability to stay healthy was increasingly associated with spending.

However, I wasn't getting any fitter despite spending over $100 each month on a gym membership, personal training, and workout gear. What finally worked wasn't some militant app that blasted my phone with reminders or a new Apple Watch. It was self-discipline and an AI sidekick.

It's been over two months since I replaced my personal trainer with AI, and I've become stronger, leaner, and saved hundreds of dollars, as a result.

To be clear, trading people for algorithms wasn't my intention when I started out. After all, it was a person who got me hooked on fitness in the first place.

However, I have to admit that using AI to refocus has given me back ownership of my time, money, and motivation.

My fitness journey was erratic but not untypical

In my early 20s, I traveled frequently between cities, which made it hard for me to establish any consistent habits, including fitness. This lack of structure and haphazard routine came to a head when I moved to Cambridge for a master's program.

Juggling full-time work with studies took its toll, and I found that the only real solution to a clean bill of mental health was exercise.

I lucked out that one of the instructors running classes at my local gym was brilliant and had a knack for pushing me just beyond my natural limits. I trained with him for about a year, but when he moved on, my motivation tanked.

I stayed on at the gym, but wasn't getting what I needed from other instructors and the membership bills kept coming. Testing alternative spaces with Classpass and various free trials at other gyms was fine for a while, but without consistent guidance and encouragement, I started showing up less, making excuses, and procrastinating.

All the habit stacking and calendar updates in the world can't help if you just don't want to be somewhere.

Bribing myself with new gym wear and post-workout treats helped me show up, but that wasn't sustainable either. The pounds were rolling away, but they were the wrong kind: sterling.

I decided to make a change.

I needed a mindset shift

I already used ChatGPT and Perplexity in other areas of my life — mostly for recipes, travel planning, and other kinds of research and troubleshooting. So, tailoring a personal exercise routine wasn't difficult to start.

I used ChatGPT as a master app, entering my goals and progress each week and requesting new or updated workout routines.

I also used it to explore issues around willpower and discipline. Where once I might have taken a few days to read and sift out strategies and motivation from books, now I could find solutions in real time and dig into the reasons I might be holding myself back.

I even used ChatGPT to find recommendations for other free AI-powered apps.

The best of these was Cronometer, a nutrition and calorie-counting app, which I began using daily. I use the free version and it helps me track water intake, macros (carbs, proteins, and fats), fiber, iron, and vitamin levels.

I got curious about the results I was seeing with Cronometer and turned to ChatGPT again to learn more about nutrition.

I asked it questions like: Why does protein matter so much for muscle growth and recovery? How much do I need? What's the best way to get it? Soon it was providing me with simple meal plans to boost my protein intake and better complement my workouts.

I also use a free app that ChatGPT recommended, Hevy, which tracks sets of reps in real time. I also use the free version of Gymmade, which offers a catalog of resistance training exercises with step-by-step instruction and animated illustrations; it's been the perfect tool for confidently handling any free weights.

I'm finally seeing results

I'm now seeing real results across strength, stamina, body composition, and mood. My muscle definition improved, and I doubled the weight I was lifting in a matter of weeks.

Plus, the urge for expensive personal training has vanished. I dropped my gym membership and now I hit my local free outdoor gym instead.

I wouldn't have made it to this point without the encouragement of that first brilliant instructor. However, what made the most difference was learning to hold myself accountable and build my own motivation and momentum without anyone's help.

I didn't set out to build a DIY fitness routine, but I've stuck to it longer than anything else I've tried on my own.

• My partner and I were arguing about the same things and decided to try something new: PowerPoint.
• We started having PowerPoint debates about our minor conflicts.
• It's a surprising way to ease tension and see each other's perspective.

When my partner and I found ourselves stuck in an endless loop of petty arguments, like "Who forgot to take out the trash again?" and "Do we really need five kinds of mustard?" We didn't go to couples therapy or buy a book on conflict resolution. We opened PowerPoint.

It started as a joke. One night, after an especially heated debate over the correct way to load a dishwasher (I maintain there is a correct way), I pulled out my laptop and said, "I'd like to present my findings on the Great Dishwasher Debate of 2024." I added a pie chart, some clip art, and a dramatic fade transition. He laughed. And then he made his own slide deck in response.

That was our first "debate night."

PowerPoint debates are now our go-to solution for minor conflicts

Now, whenever a minor conflict starts brewing, we schedule a presentation. Each of us gets five minutes, a slide limit (usually five, but that's negotiable), and full creative freedom to make our case. We've made charts about whose turn it is to water the plants. Memes about condiment overcrowding. Graphs tracking the suspicious disappearance of socks. One time, my partner included a slow zoom-in on a photo of our overstuffed fridge with the caption: "Explain this."

We do this because we are conflict-avoidant millennials. But more importantly, we do it because it works.

The most surprising part? How intimate it feels.

When my partner presents his slides, I'm not just hearing complaints, I'm seeing how his brain works. The effort he puts into choosing the right font or animating a title slide tells me he cares. I've seen him earnestly explain, with bullet points and supporting evidence, why my habit of leaving half-full mugs around the apartment is slowly destroying his will to live. And I've laughed, but I've also listened.

These debates have given us a new way to connect

PowerPoint gave us a new language of connection. Instead of escalating into shouting matches or icy silence, we invite each other into our weird little TED Talks of domestic frustration. We even have themes now. One week it was "present like a villain," another week we did "musical slideshow," and once we had to present each other's side as sympathetically as possible. That one was oddly moving.

It's not always perfect. Sometimes we disagree about the rules (meta, I know). Sometimes one of us gets a little too smug when the audience (our cat) clearly favors one argument. And yes, it's still possible to have an actual argument about how we're arguing. But those moments are rare and far less intense than before.

There's a strange joy in over-preparing for petty disputes. It turns everyday friction into a game, a performance, a creative outlet. We're not just airing grievances; we're co-authoring stories about our life together, even if those stories are titled "A Brief History of Bathroom Mirror Smudges" or "The Case Against Buying More Throw Pillows."

And honestly, it's made us better communicators. Because when you only get five slides to explain why you're upset, you learn to distill your feelings. You learn what actually matters. You learn how to listen, not just to respond, but to understand and maybe to laugh a little, too.

Last month, I gave a particularly impassioned presentation about the existential crisis I feel when our spice rack is disorganized. My partner responded with a color-coded system, laminated labels, and a closing slide that read: "Your chaos ends today." Reader, I swooned.

This isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. I'm not saying PowerPoint can fix deep relationship issues. But for us, it's been a playful, surprisingly effective way to defuse tension and build empathy. We took something mundane to our disagreements and reframed them as creative collaborations.

At the very least, we've made arguing weirdly fun. And honestly? That feels like a win.

• I took the same weekly grocery list and $150 budget for my family of four to Aldi and Walmart.
• Many prices were similar, but Aldi generally had the items I needed for less.
• Even though my Walmart haul cost about $27 more, I preferred my shopping experience there.

My family's grocery bill has been creeping up recently, thanks to a mix of things like inflation and my kids eating more as they grow.

At this time, I usually spend around $150 a week on groceries for my family of four. My cart usually has proteins for dinner, snacks, cereal, and some fresh produce.

Sticking to my budget is important to me, so I sometimes switch up where I shop. Recently, I took my grocery list to Aldi and Walmart to see which budget-friendly chain had the better deals, selection, and overall shopping experience.

Here's how recent trips to my local Aldi and Walmart in Raleigh, North Carolina, stacked up.

At first, the produce prices and quality seemed comparable.

My menu for the week included a beef and broccoli stir-fry, so I headed to the produce section first in each store.

Prices for a head of broccoli, bell peppers, and mushrooms for the recipe were almost identical between the stores — and the quality seemed comparable, too.

For example, a head of broccoli was two cents pricier at Walmart, and a three-pack of bell peppers was 27 cents more.

However, the potatoes and Brussels sprouts were much cheaper at Aldi.

Next, I grabbed some ingredients for a sheet-pan chicken and veggies dish.

Although both chains are known for their low prices, a bag of small yellow potatoes was over $1 cheaper at Aldi.

I was also surprised that a bag of Brussels sprouts cost me $1 more at Walmart.

There wasn't an option to buy a single onion at Aldi, which I didn't like.

I needed two red onions for the week. I could only buy a 3-pound bag of them at Aldi for $2.15, which roughly works out to about $.37 per onion.

At Walmart, I found red onions sold individually. I paid $1.48 per onion.

Even though it's cheaper to buy onions in bulk at Aldi, I preferred buying the exact quantity that I needed at Walmart.

Not everyone would agree, but I'd rather spend more to know that everything will get used. Food from my bulk purchases has gone to waste in my house too many times.

Skirt steak was next on my list — and it was way cheaper at Aldi.

My local Aldi is much smaller than the Walmart I shop at, so I was surprised by its impressively wide range of meat options. The price points were great, too.

I found skirt steak for $6.99 a pound at Aldi, compared to $11.42 a pound at Walmart.

Throughout my trip, I continued to save on protein options at Aldi.

I also needed salmon, ground turkey, and chicken thighs for this week's recipes.

A pound of Atlantic salmon cost me $2 more at Walmart than it did at Aldi. The ground turkey was about 50 cents more a pound at Walmart.

That said, chicken thighs were cheaper at Walmart.

Chicken thighs are typically on my list because they're normally cheaper than the breasts, and I think they have more flavor.

They were the only protein on my list that was cheaper at Walmart than Aldi, coming in at $1.58 a pound versus $2.19.

I buy pasta every week, and both stores had a solid selection for the same price.

My girls can be picky eaters, but they're always down for noodles with Parmesan cheese. So, I always pick up a box or two of pasta on my grocery trips.

Aldi and Walmart both had a wide selection of pasta shapes with identical prices.

My cereal options felt more limited at Aldi.

I liked that Walmart had wider selections of cereals, including many recognizable name brands.

There were only a handful of options to pick from at Aldi compared to almost an entire aisle at Walmart. Generally, the boxes of cereal were also smaller at Aldi.

The price per ounce for the Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch was the same at both stores, but we'd run out of cereal sooner if we bought it from Aldi.

Organic fruit snacks felt like a bargain at Aldi.

Fruit snacks are a big hit in my house, so I always keep them around.

I was surprised to see that Aldi had organic ones at an impressive price point. Each bag of snacks came out to $0.39.

In comparison, the cheapest organic option I found at Walmart came out to $0.46 each. It's not a huge difference, especially since the Aldi fruit snacks were on sale during my trip.

However, I would've had to spend more than double up front at Walmart, as the smallest pack had 22 bags of snacks in the box versus 12 at Aldi.

I don't necessarily want to shell out $10 on fruit snacks during my weekly grocery-shopping trips.

Prices aside, I generally preferred my shopping experience at Walmart.

I felt shopping for groceries at Walmart was a bit easier in a few ways.

First of all, shoppers have to insert a quarter into the carts at Aldi to use them. Although you get the quarter back when you return your cart, I don't usually keep change on hand.

I spent nearly five minutes searching for a quarter in my purse and car, which really frustrated me.

Although many Aldi locations have self-checkout options, mine does not. It usually only has one or two open lines staffed by cashiers. I find self-checkout to be more efficient, so I liked that I had this option (and tons of registers were available) at Walmart.

Plus, Walmart stores tend to be much larger with a wider variety of brands and buying options, whereas Aldi primarily carries its own labels.

I also preferred Walmart's system for bagging purchases.

At Aldi, cashiers are usually focused on scanning groceries as quickly as possible — they don't usually place my items in bags.

Although I appreciate the emphasis on speed, this means I have to pack up my groceries in the designated bagging area off to the side after checking out. This can be a time-consuming extra step.

At Walmart, I bag groceries at the self-checkout station or the cashier packs them as they scan. This can result in a slightly slower checkout process, but I think it's worth it.

My experience-related grievances seem small, but they add up when I go to the grocery store every week.

Overall, I'd still shop at Walmart even though I spent more money there on this shopping trip.

After going through my whole list, I spent about $27 more overall at Walmart than at Aldi.

I spent $119.50 at Aldi and $146.27 at Walmart. Fortunately, at both places, I still came in slightly under my budget of $150.

Of course, this isn't a perfect science. Grocery prices, sales, and the quality of different store locations can vary.

Still, it seems I could save more by regularly shopping at Aldi.

Even so, I'm more likely to go back to Walmart. I preferred my shopping experience there and was still able to stick to my budget.

I'm fortunate to live close to both stores, so I'd probably only take my grocery list to Aldi if I really needed to pinch pennies.

Luckily, my budget works at Walmart for now. (Although Walmart plans to raise prices over tariffs, so I'm not sure if that will stay true for much longer.)

• Travel companies said European trips to the US dipped in early 2025 but are starting to rebound.
• Price reductions and deposit incentives are driving travel back to the US ahead of the summer.
• Trump's tariffs sparked boycotts of US brands, but travel firms see no structural collapse.

Despite political tensions and growing anti-American sentiment, US travel is holding steady among European tourists — especially when prices drop.

From January to April, several major travel platforms observed a slowdown in European bookings to the US.

Thomas Cook reported a dip that exceeded typical seasonal fluctuations.

"We did observe a softening in bookings to the US between January and April this year — a dip that goes beyond the usual seasonal adjustments," Nicholas Smith, holidays digital director at Thomas Cook and eSky Group, told Business Insider.

However, by May, things began to shift. Smith said aggressive pricing strategies, including hotel rate cuts of around 25% and deposits of just over $1, triggered an uptick in bookings.

"This has, in turn, helped stimulate demand, particularly among UK travelers adept at spotting good deals," he said. "We expect this rebound to continue into the summer months."

Other travel firms echoed that optimism.

TravelPerk, which serves business and corporate travelers, said bookings to the US from Europe rose 1% year over year in April, while US to Europe bookings climbed by 14%. Cancellation rates remained stable at 7 to 9%.

Etraveli Group, which analyzed bookings through April, found that while demand for flights from the EU to the US declined by 7%, overall trip orders to the US from Europe jumped 19.5% year over year.

However, bookings to other intercontinental destinations grew even faster, up 24.3% overall, 29% for Africa, and 25% for Asia. Shorter intra-European trips surged by 29%.

Tariff backlash

These shifts are unfolding against a politically charged backdrop.

President Donald Trump's escalating trade war, with tariffs on EU imports swinging from 20% to 10% and now potentially rising to 50%, has triggered grassroots consumer backlash across Europe.

Apps like Brandsnap in the Netherlands and Detrumpify in France are helping Europeans identify US brands to avoid in supermarkets and online.

In Denmark, major retailer Salling Group labelled European-made products with black star labels, while Norway's largest oil bunkering operation company, Haltbakk Bunkers, made headlines for briefly refusing to refuel US Navy ships.

Meanwhile, high-profile American brands like Tesla and Coca-Cola are already seeing a fallout.

Tesla's sales in Europe dropped by 46% between January and April, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, and McDonald's reported a global sales dip linked to "anti-American sentiment," especially in Northern Europe.

This behavior may reflect more than a passing political reaction. In its March Consumer Expectations survey, the European Central Bank found that 44% of about 19,000 respondents preferred to switch away from US brands, regardless of tariff levels.

The bank warned that this suggested a "possible long-term structural shift in consumer preferences away from US products and brands."

It may not be a long-term shift

French hotel giant Accor added to the concerns last month. CEO Sébastien Bazin told Bloomberg that summer bookings to the US from Europe were down 25%.

Yet, travel industry analysts cautioned against assuming this signals a long-term shift.

"While there is evidence of a temporary slowdown at this stage, the combination of price adjustments and strong interest in iconic US destinations suggests the market is poised to recover momentum," said Smith of Thomas Cook.

Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, told BI that politics isn't the only factor deterring travelers.

"Some of it is a genuine disinclination against spending your holidays in the US," he said, "but much of it is the fear of harassment at the border."

• Photos are appearing on social media showing sharp price increases at Walmart and Target.
• Walmart's CFO recently said tariff rates were "too high" and that prices would go up on some items.
• Analysts expect the overall impact of tariffs to represent a small percentage of total spending.

President Donald Trump's tariffs appear to be hitting the shelves at Walmart and Target stores across the US.

Walmart employees have been sharing photos recently on the Walmart subreddit showing sharp price increases of as much as 45% at the retail giant. Meanwhile, some of the items have also seen price increases at rival retailer Target.

In one example, a Walmart label shows the price of a Jurassic World T. Rex toy jumping from $39.92 on April 27 to $55 on May 21, an increase of nearly 38%.

A third-party website that tracks Walmart prices, AisleGopher, shows the price was $29.74 back in November.

Another toy — a Baby Born doll — jumped from $34.97 in March to $49.97 in May, an increase of about 43%.

And in a third case, a left-handed fishing reel sold by Walmart went from $57.37 in April to $83.26 in May, or a 45% jump. The price was $51.12 on March 14, according to AisleGopher's price history.

Some of the price increases have happened even more recently.

On Wednesday, the same two toys were listed on Target.com for roughly the same prices that Walmart had carried them for before the price increase. By Thursday, however, the Baby Born doll price was increased to be in line with Walmart.

"We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won't stop," a Walmart spokesperson told BI in a statement. "We'll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins."

Walmart CFO John David Rainey said recently that tariff rates remain "too high" and warned that prices would go up on some items in the coming weeks and months. President Trump responded by saying Walmart should "eat the tariffs."

Target CEO Brian Cornell said price increases would be a "very last resort" and that the company would aim to offset the new import costs in other ways. Target didn't immediately comment when contacted by Business Insider.

Although certain items are seeing significant hikes, companies can choose to raise prices for a variety of reasons, and the listings don't indicate how much tariffs may have impacted the retail price.

Mizuho retail analyst David Bellinger said in a note Wednesday that investors expect the overall impact of tariffs to represent a low-single-digit percentage of total spending.

A US federal court ruled on Wednesday that Trump does not have the authority to impose his sweeping tariff strategy.

Walmart has said it sources about 60% of what it sells in the US from US suppliers, and the company has been on a multi-year effort to reduce its reliance on Chinese imports, which were the subject of the steepest tariff rates.

• Janvi Kalra, an AI engineer at OpenAI, said students should intern at Big Tech firms and startups.
• The skills you learn will be wildly different, she said on an episode of The Pragmatic Engineer.
• Experience with both will help you determine where you best fit after graduation, she said.

Janvi Kalra, an engineer at OpenAI, thinks students should diversify their experiences after college, with at least one internship at a Big Tech firm and another at a startup.

That way, she said on an episode of The Pragmatic Engineer podcast, you have a better idea of what career path you should take.

Kalra interned with Microsoft and Google. She then worked for productivity startup Coda before transitioning into her current role at OpenAI. She said both tracks have advantages and disadvantages.

"The way I saw it, the upside of going to Big Tech was, first, you learn how to build reliable software for scale," Kalra said. "It's very different to build something that works, versus build something that works when it's swarmed with millions of requests from around the world and Redis happens to be down at the same time. Very different skills."

Another good thing about Big Tech, she added, was the amount of time she got to work on projects that were under less pressure to immediately succeed.

"Different upside for Big Tech in general was that you do get to work on more moonshot projects that aren't making money today," Kalra said. "They don't have the same existential crisis that startups do."

And then, of course, more practically, were the financial upsides — including potential prestige.

"There are also practical, good reasons to go to Big Tech," Kalra added. "I'd get my green card faster. I'd get paid more on average. And the unfortunate reality, I think, is that the role does hold more weight. People are more excited about hiring an L5 Google engineer versus an L5 from a startup, especially if that startup doesn't become very successful."

Still, Kalra said, there are "great reasons" to go to a startup, like the sheer amount of experience you'll get with programming itself.

"First, you just ship so much code, right?" she said. "There are more problems than people, and so you get access to these zero-to-one greenfield problems that you wouldn't necessarily get at Big Tech maybe where there are more people than problems."

She said another advantage is the wide array of challenges that'll be thrown at you, allowing you to develop expertise on several fronts.

"Second is the breadth of skills — and this is not just in the software engineering space," she said. "Right from a software engineering space, maybe one quarter you're working on a growth hacking front-end feature, and the next quarter you're writing Terraform. But even in terms of the non-technical skills, you get an insight into how the business works."

Startups also afford you more responsibility, along with a better chance of materially affecting the company with your work, she said.

"You just get more agency in what you work on," she said. "You get the opportunity to propose ideas that you think would be impactful for the business and go execute on it."

Given the opportunity, Kalra said it's best to gain experience with both startups and larger firms as early in your career as possible.

"Given that Big Tech and startups are such different experiences and you learn so much at each, it would be more educational to do one startup internship and one Big Tech internship to get a very robust overview of what both experiences are like very early," she said.

Kalra did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.

• A provision in Trump's tax bill could make donor-advised funds an even more popular form of giving.
• DAFs are especially attractive to the ultrawealthy because of big tax advantages.
• Some experts told BI they're seeing DAF donations among the wealthy change in the post-Trump era.

As President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill" moves through Congress, a provision hiking taxes on private foundations could make another form of philanthropy even more attractive: donor-advised funds.

Donor-advised funds, or DAFs, are accounts where donors can contribute funds, immediately get a tax deduction, and "advise" on where to donate — and they are becoming increasingly popular.

As Daniel Heist, a professor at Brigham Young University and a lead researcher on the 2025 National Survey of DAF Donors, put it, "they're growing like crazy."

Donors can contribute non-cash assets, like appreciated securities or crypto, to DAFs, and the funds grow over time.

BI spoke with academics, DAF sponsors, and nonprofits about why major donors use DAFs, how the tax bill and Trump are changing the calculus, and the risks of the "opaque" form of philanthropy.

DAFs have a few key differences compared to private foundations

Sponsoring organizations, which are themselves public charities, operate DAFs. Some of the largest are connected to investment firms like Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab, though others include community foundations or religious organizations.

Technically, donors don't control the funds in their DAF, but practically speaking, they can direct the money to any accredited charity.

"As long as you're following the rules of the DAF provider, you should always have those recommendations honored," Mitch Stein, the head of strategy at Chariot, a technology company focused on DAFs, said.

Private foundations have to distribute at least 5% of their assets annually for charitable purposes, but DAFs don't have payout requirements. Donors also don't report their gifts to individual organizations on their taxes, and instead report that they gave to the DAF.

Republicans' tax bill hits private foundations

If Trump's fiscal agenda passes in the Senate (it has already passed in the House of Representatives), it would raise the current 1.39% tax on private foundations' investment incomes. The rate would rise to 10% on foundations worth $5 billion or more, to 5% for those worth between $250 and $5 billion, and to 2.8% for those worth between $50 million and $250 million. It wouldn't change for foundations worth less than $50 million.

"There already was a substantial amount of momentum toward donor-advised funds, and a bill like this would only magnify that," Brian Mittendorf, a professor at Ohio State University who has studied DAFs, told BI.

DAFs are especially helpful for the ultrawealthy

Though people across net worths use DAFs — Heist called them a common "mid-range philanthropic tool" — they're particularly attractive to the rich. The 2025 survey of DAF donors found that of 2,100 respondents, who were surveyed between July to September 2024, 96% had a net worth of more than $1 million.

"I definitely see a trend away from private foundations," Heist said. Rebecca Moffett, the president of Vanguard Charitable, a prominent DAF provider, said she's seeing the same pattern.

The main draw has to do with taxes, according to data and the experts. In the 2025 survey, 62% of donors said tax advantages were a strong motivation for opening a DAF account.

Jeffrey Correa, Senior Director of US philanthropy at the International Rescue Committee, told BI that there's been an "explosion" of major donors giving through DAFs.

The ability to contribute non-cash assets is also a big factor. Donating appreciated assets lets the donor avoid paying capital gains taxes (in the 2025 survey, 51% of respondents said reducing capital gains taxes was a big consideration).

Convenience is another benefit, experts said, since DAFs are more streamlined and cheap than private foundations. Then there's the question of privacy, beyond how DAF donations show up on tax filings. Donors can choose varying levels of anonymity when donating to recipient nonprofits.

Only 4% of donors in the 2025 survey opted to be totally anonymous to the recipient organizations, most commonly to avoid public recognition or solicitation. Just 24% said they wanted to avoid scrutiny.

Generally, the experts BI spoke with said they don't see confidentiality as the primary appeal of DAFs. Moffett and Correa said they haven't seen more major donors opt for anonymity or express concerns about confidentiality.

Giving can be 'opaque'

Most of those BI spoke to were enthusiastic about DAFs, but some flagged risks.

Mittendorf and Helen Flannery, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, found through a study that DAFs distribute grants to politically engaged organizations 1.7 times more than other funders.

"They can be great conduits for dark money because they're completely opaque," Flannery said, adding that the public doesn't always know where donors' DAF funds go.

Risks aside, the wealthy seem as interested as ever in using DAFs — and in turn slowly eroding the private foundations that once defined the philanthropic world.

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