• Jean Smart called on TV networks to consider not broadcasting award ceremonies following the LA fires.
• Some entertainment journalists said outright cancellations would hurt gig workers in LA the most.
• A debate has erupted on whether award season should go ahead at all.

Jean Smart called on TV networks to not broadcast this year's award ceremonies amid the Los Angeles wildfires, but some journalists believe this move would hurt those who work behind the scenes on the show.

The awards season has already been altered this week in response to the fires, which JPMorgan analysts estimate could result in losses of $50 billion.

On Wednesday, Joey Berlin, the CEO of the Critics Choice Association, said its awards ceremony would be pushed back to January 26. The SAG nominations broadcast has also been canceled.

Oscars nominations are now expected to be delayed by two days to January 19, per an email from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts reported by multiple outlets.

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

But some people think more should be done.

Smart, the Emmy-winning actor who stars in "Hacks," posted on Instagram on Wednesday: "With ALL due respect during Hollywood's season of celebration. I hope any of the networks televising the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have gathered to victims of the fires and the firefighters."

Brandon Lewis, a film critic, said on X that all the awards shows should be pushed back, adding: "I just don't see how anyone will be able to focus on something comparatively trivial like campaigning with people's homes destroyed and lives upended."

Some X users agreed, while others called for awards season to be canceled.

Eric Andersen, the founder and editor in chief of Awards Watch, an awards-focused outlet, and other users on X suggested that the networks and awards organizers should donate the revenue from broadcasts to people affected by the wildfires.

Andersen added that the award organizations would not generate any money without televising their shows.

The Academy Awards made $143.5 million in revenue in 2023 from the Oscars and related events, according to financial statements reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Marc Malkin, a senior editor at Variety, told KTLA 5 that "priorities have to shift," but Hollywood was a "gig economy" that relied on award shows.

"Makeup artists, hairstylists, drivers, waiters," Malkin said. "Yes, the celebrities are going to be fine. They don't need an awards show money-wise, but all of this gig economy, all of those people. It's a day rate. They're all going to lose work."

He added: "People rely on this to feed their kids, to pay their rent. We can't ignore that."

Maggie Lovitt, a Collider editor, Matthew Rettenmund, an author and freelance editor, and other users on X agreed with this sentiment.

Some users on Instagram also hit back against Smart's statement in her comments section, with one writing: "Productions shutting down will further contribute to the demise of LA. How will those of us rebuild if we can't work?"

Flipkart has hired Kabeer Biswas, the co-founder of Indian delivery startup Dunzo, as the Walmart-owned e-commerce group expands its quick-commerce business in the country. Biswas will lead Flipkart’s quick commerce effort, called Flipkart Minutes, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The move comes nearly a year after Flipkart was considering a potential acquisition […]

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Just when you thought you had seen every possible Doom mod, two game developers released a free browser game that reimagines the first level of 1993's Doom as an art gallery, replacing demons with paintings and shotguns with wine glasses.

Doom: The Gallery Experience, created by Filippo Meozzi and Liam Stone, transforms the iconic E1M1 level into a virtual museum space where players guide a glasses-wearing Doomguy through halls of fine art as classical music plays in the background. The game links each displayed artwork to its corresponding page on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website.

"In this experience, you will be able to walk around and appreciate some fine art while sipping some wine and enjoying the complimentary hors d’oeuvres," write the developers on the game's itch.io page, "in the beautifully renovated and re-imagined E1M1 of id Software's DOOM (1993)."

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• Matt Garman leads AWS with 11 executives amid rising cloud and AI competition.
• Garman, an Amazon veteran, became AWS CEO in June, succeeding Adam Selipsky.
• Julia White, ex-SAP and Microsoft, is the latest addition as AWS's chief marketing officer.

A leaked Amazon Web Services organizational chart shows the 11 executives helping new CEO Matt Garman lead the unit through a period of intense competition in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Garman, an 18-year veteran of AWS, became its CEO in June. He took over from Adam Selipsky, who led the unit for three years after previous AWS CEO Andy Jassy was promoted to run all of Amazon.

Garman, who previously ran AWS sales and marketing, made a few changes to the cloud business when he took over, including combining global sales teams.

Since then, the biggest change to Garman's team was to hire Julia White as chief marketing officer.

Here are the 11 executives who report to Garman:

Julia White: VP, WW AWS Marketing

White joined AWS as CMO in November. She was most recently the chief marketing and solutions officer at SAP. Prior to that, she spent nearly two decades at Microsoft in roles including corporate vice president of product marketing for the Azure cloud unit.

"Julia will join my leadership team and further develop and execute our global marketing strategy, playing a pivotal part in AWS's growth," Garman wrote of White in an email announcing her appointment.

Peter DeSantis: SVP, AWS Utility Computing

DeSantis was one of the first AWS employees and played a critical role building up its technology. He's a member of Andy Jassy's senior leadership team at Amazon, called the "s-team."

DeSantis took over utility computing in 2021 when Charlie Bell, considered one of the founders of the cloud unit, left for Microsoft.

Prasad Kalyanaraman: VP, AWS Infrastructure Service, Infrastructure Leadership

Kalyanaraman, who has spent nearly 20 years at Amazon, took over infrastructure and network services for DeSantis when Bell left.

Colleen Aubrey: SVP, AWS Solutions

Aubrey has spent nearly 20 years at Amazon, but switched to AWS in May around the time Selipsky left. She leads the AWS unit responsible for business applications. Aubrey is a member of Jassy's s-team.

Elizabeth Baker: VP, Private Pricing

Baker has been at Amazon since 2016 and runs the unit responsible for custom agreements between AWS and customers, providing terms like discounts based on usage. Baker's past roles include positions at SAP and Oracle.

Werner Vogels: VP and CTO

Werner Vogels is technically the chief technology officer of Amazon overall, but he has another important role within AWS. He acts as one of the public faces of the company's cloud business and technical infrastructure.

Greg Pearson: VP, AWS Global Sales

After Garman became CEO, he integrated global sales teams under Greg Pearson, combining AWS Global Sales, WW Public Sector, the Greater China Region, and Sales Strategy and Operations.

Kathrin Renz: VP, AWS Industries

Renz leads the organization responsible for industry-specific AWS products for customers. She's had the role since 2020 and Garman expanded her purview when he took over as CEO to include AWS Enterprise GenAI sales and business development VP Scott Rosecrans's team.

Laura Grit: VP/Distinguished Engineer, Technical Advisor

Grit, a 17-year Amazon veteran, is the technical advisor to the AWS CEO. She previously led Amazon.com's migration from on-premise data centers to AWS cloud services.

Ruba Borno: VP, AWS Specialists & Partners, AWS WWCO Partner Management

Borno has been at AWS since 2021. When Garman took over, he put Borno in charge of a new unit combining its Channels and Alliances team, responsible for relationships between global partners and customers, and its WW Specialist Organization, which connects service teams to customers.

Uwem Ukpong: VP, Global Services

Ukpong runs the AWS Global Services Organization, which includes training, professional services in commercial and public sectors, customer support and managed services, and security. Garman expanded Ukpong's role last year to include its Sovereign Cloud and International Product Management teams.

Are you a tech-industry employee or someone else with insight to share?

Contact the reporter, Ashley Stewart, via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email ([email protected]). Use a nonwork device.

• Walmart, Target, Trader Joe's, and Costco plan to open new stores in 2025.
• New store openings are planned in over 10 states, including California, Texas, and Michigan.
• Walmart told Business Insider it plans to open six Supercenters and three Neighborhood Markets.

Some of America's favorite grocery store chains could open up stores near you in 2025.

Walmart, Target, Trader Joe's, and Costco have all announced several new stores they expect to open in the new year across more than 10 states.

Here's the full list.

Walmart

Walmart has more than 4,600 locations in the US and plans to open nine new stores in 2025 and one Sam's Club, which Walmart also owns. Walmart told Business Insider it plans to open in the following locations in 2025:

Walmart Supercenters

• Mountain View, California
• Eastvale, California
• Cypress, Texas
• Frisco, Texas
• Melissa, Texas
• Celina, Texas

Walmart Neighborhood Markets

• Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Milton, Florida
• Pace, Florida

Sam's Club

• Tempe, Arizona

Target

With 1,963 locations in the US, Target says most American households are located within 10 miles from at least one of its stores. Still, the grocery giant plans to open more than 30 new locations. A Target spokesperson said the company could not confirm when those stores were expected to open, but at least three are expected to open in 2025, according to the hiring page on the company's website. Those three are located in:

• South Lake Tahoe, California
• Surprise, Arizona
• Denton, Texas

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's, which has hundreds of locations around the US, said it expects dozens more to open in 2025. The company's website lists 12 new locations expected to open soon, though it does not specify an exact date. The locations include:

• Northridge, California
• Sherman Oaks, California
• Tarzana, California
• Seattle, Washington
• Bellingham, Washington
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
• Berwyn, Pennslyvania
• Staten Island, New York
• Hoover, Alabama
• Two locations in Washington, DC
• Rockville, Maryland

Costco

As of November 2024, Costco had 896 locations worldwide, with 616 in the US. The wholesale warehouse giant has said it plans to open about 30 new locations in 2025, with six set to open in March. The locations set to open in March are:

• Brentwood, California
• Genesee County, Michigan
• Highland, California
• Prosper, Texas
• Sharon, Massachusetts
• Weatherford, Texas

India has once again pushed back a contentious plan to limit major technology companies’ control of the nation’s digital payments system, extending a regulatory uncertainty that has weighed on the sector for years. The National Payments Corporation of India said on Tuesday it would extend the deadline for implementing a 30% cap on any individual […]

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• Insider compiled 2024's top Netflix original movies based on critics' rankings from Rotten Tomatoes.
• The list includes titles with an 80% or higher score and at least 20 reviews.
• The top films included "Daughters," "Will & Harper," and "Hit Man."

This year's top Netflix original movies span genre and form, ranging from action flicks to documentaries to all-ages animated films.

You might remember "Hit Man," which helped cement Glen Powell's star status on the heels of "Anyone But You" and before the summer blockbuster "Twisters." Perhaps you caught the Academy Award-nominated "Society of the Snow" after it premiered on Netflix in January. Or maybe you were tuned for Anna Kendrick's directorial debut, "Woman of the Hour."

There are 21 Netflix films this year that boasted aggregated critic score on Rotten Tomatoes of over 80% — provided they had at least 20 reviews. Here's the full list, from lowest to highest score.

Note: All scores were current on the date of publication. In the event of a tied score, the movie with more reviews was ranked higher.

21. 'Ultraman: Rising'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Netflix synopsis: "For decades, his dad was Ultraman, maintaining balance between humans and kaiju-kind. Now it's Kenji's turn — and it's the hardest job he's ever had."

20. 'The Beautiful Game'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

Netflix synopsis: "This heartwarming tale of football, friendship, and triumph against the odds stars Bill Nighy as the caring manager of England's Homeless World Cup team."

19. 'The Piano Lesson'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

Netflix synopsis: "A fight over an heirloom piano stirs up ghosts of the past in this Denzel Washington-produced adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play."

18. 'Martha'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

Netflix synopsis: "From homemaker to lawbreaker, discover the story of America's original influencer and her comeback from the scandal that almost cost her everything."

17. 'Society of the Snow'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Netflix synopsis: "Nominated for a Golden Globe, this touching film about the 1972 airplane crash in the Andes 'hypnotizes with its spectacularity,' praises El Mundo."

16. 'The Shadow Strays'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Netflix synopsis: "Skilled in the art of killing, a young assassin defies her mentor to save a boy from a ruthless crime syndicate — and she'll destroy anyone in her path."

15. 'Joy'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Netflix synopsis: "Born in 1978, Louise Joy Brown was the world's first IVF baby. But who were the scientists that made her birth possible? This drama tells their story."

14. 'The Kitchen'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Netflix synopsis: "London, 2044. The gap between the rich and the poor is stretched to its limits. The Kitchen is one of the only social housing estates left."

13. 'The Imaginary'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Netflix synopsis: "Amanda and her imaginary friend Rudger go on thrilling make-believe adventures. but when Rudger finds himself alone, he faces a mysterious threat."

12. 'Woman of the Hour'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Netflix synopsis: "An aspiring Hollywood star matches with a sadistic serial killer on a dating game show in Anna Kendrick's 'tremendous directorial debut' (Screen Daily)."

11. 'Orion and the Dark'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

Netflix synopsis: "Sean Charmatz's directorial debut about a boy who befriends the Dark is a 'marvelously told tale' that 'has fun with fear' (San Francisco Chronicle)."

10. 'Rez Ball'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

Netflix synopsis: "They play fast, shoot fast and never stop. A high school basketball team defies the odds in this LeBron James-produced drama inspired by true events."

9. 'Hit Man'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

Netflix synopsis: "A mild-mannered professor poses as a fake hit man in this comedy that's 'a blast of pure pleasure and one of the year's best films' (The Washington Post)."

8. 'Black Barbie'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

Netflix synopsis: "From Shondaland comes this 'must see' (RogerEbert.com), 'magnificent' and 'simply spectacular' (Black Girl Nerds) documentary on the first Black Barbie."

7. 'Rebel Ridge'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

Netflix synopsis: "A former Marine with a mysterious background uses his unique skills to pursue justice when small-town cops seize the cash he needs for his cousin's bail."

6. 'The Remarkable Life of Ibelin'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

Netflix synopsis: "When the parents of a beloved World of Warcraft player announced his death, his guild members reached out ot them — and revealed his hidden life."

5. 'The Greatest Night in Pop'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

Netflix synopsis: "Music stars met their idols, egos were tested, the clock was ticking — and history was made. A documentary on the night 'We Are the World' was recorded."

4. 'His Three Daughters'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

Netflix synopsis: "A trio of estranged sisters reunite at their dying father's New York City apartment in this 'bitingly funny and disarmingly honest' drama (The Atlantic)."

3. 'Will & Harper'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%

Netflix synopsis: "When Will Ferrell's good friend Harper comes out as a trans woman, they take a road trip to bond and reintroduce Harper to the country as her true self."

2. 'Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhaka Sherpa'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Netflix synopsis: "Bone-chilling winds. Dwindling oxygen. Avalanches. Lhakpa Sherpa makes a perilous, record-breaking summit of Mount Everest in this gripping documentary."

1. 'Daughters'

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Netflix synopsis: 'This Sundance prize-winning documentary about a group of girls reuniting with their dads is 'an admirable, ennobling picture,' says Vulture."

• Walmart has been offering a Birkin handbag dupe for under $100, sparking TikTok buzz.
• The Hermès Birkin, a luxury status symbol, starts at around $10,000 for the real thing.
• The "Walmart Birkin" raises questions about the accessibility and legality of similar-looking bags.

Attention, Walmart shoppers: You can own a lookalike of one of the most exclusive handbags in the world — and for less than $100.

The Hermès Birkin is coveted by many luxury shoppers, and the handmade bags start at around $10,000. The hefty price tag means it's available only to customers who have up to six figures to spare for a handbag (and who are savvy enough to get themselves in the queue).

However, TikTok is ablaze with users sharing a more affordable bag that looks like the Birkin and which is available for purchase online from Walmart.

The bags have been dubbed "Walmart Birkins" or "Wirkins," and they're providing shoppers with the look of luxury at a fraction of the cost. People have been calling the bag a dupe, a term used to describe an item that's similar in appearance to a more expensive product.

Their popularity has also opened up a larger conversation around access to styles that wealthy people are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to own.

On Thursday, TikToker Jessi My posted a video of her holding what looked like two Hermès Birkin bags. In the caption, My used the tags "#walmartbirkin" and "#walmart." Her video had eight million views as of Monday morning and thousands of comments from users praising how similar to the Birkin the "Walmès" bags look.

My said she purchased it on the same day she came across a video by a creator named Imani. In the video, Imani shows off a Birkin lookalike inside a Walmart store. Since her purchase, My told Business Insider that she uses her "Walmès" bags for travel, work, and trips to the grocery store.

"When I received it and saw how great the bag was, I figured others needed to hear about it," My said.

The Birkin bag is a status symbol for the wealthy, and has extensive waitlists and a tricky buying process. Walmart customers can skip the line and purchase a "Wirkin" for $78 from third-party sellers. However, some have questioned how legal it is to sell bags that look extremely similar to the Birkin. As an analysis by The Fashion Law notes, the appearance of Hermès Birkin is protected under trademark laws.

However, Hermès' argument could hinge on it being able to prove that customers could easily mistake a fake for the real thing.

Dasein, the listed seller of one of the Birkin lookalikes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by BI. Hermès and Walmart also didn't immediately respond. Many of the bags are described as "genuine leather" in Dasein's listings.

Hermès' Birkin and Kelly bags are among the most likely luxury bags to be faked, Hunter Thompson, director of authentication and brand compliance at secondhand luxury retailer The RealReal, previously told BI.

The bags are selling out on Walmart's website — making the cheaper option more difficult to own. Meanwhile, the retailer has real pre-owned Birkins on its website retailing for over $24,000.

Although customers are getting the appearance of luxury, fashion experts say there are clear signs to tell a fake Birkin from a real one.

The zipper design and placement, the undertones of its iconic gold stamp, and even the smell are ways an authenticator can tell your purse is authentic, vintage expert Koyaana Redstar previously told BI.

Correction: December 30, 2024 — An earlier version of the story incorrectly described the Walmart-sold bags as counterfeit.

There is rarely time to write about every cool science paper that comes our way; many worthy candidates sadly fall through the cracks over the course of the year. But as 2024 comes to a close, we've gathered ten of our favorite such papers at the intersection of science and culture as a special treat, covering a broad range of topics: from reenacting Bronze Age spear combat and applying network theory to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, to Spider-Man inspired web-slinging tech and a mathematical connection between a turbulent phase transition and your morning cup of coffee. Enjoy!

Reenacting Bronze Age spear combat

The European Bronze Age saw the rise of institutionalized warfare, evidenced by the many spearheads and similar weaponry archaeologists have unearthed. But how might these artifacts be used in actual combat? Dutch researchers decided to find out by constructing replicas of Bronze Age shields and spears and using them in realistic combat scenarios. They described their findings in an October paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

There have been a couple of prior experimental studies on bronze spears, but per Valerio Gentile (now at the University of Gottingen) and coauthors, practical research to date has been quite narrow in scope, focusing on throwing weapons against static shields. Coauthors C.J. van Dijk of the National Military Museum in the Netherlands and independent researcher O. Ter Mors each had more than a decade of experience teaching traditional martial arts, specializing in medieval polearms and one-handed weapons. So they were ideal candidates for testing the replica spears and shields.

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