The Office of Personnel Management said mostly empty federal offices are "a national embarrassment."
Its acting director said in a memo that unrestricted telework led to "poorer government services" and hurt the D.C. economy.
The memo said agencies must complete three tasks by 5 p.m. on Friday in line with Trump's return-to-office order.
The White House's US Office of Personnel Management did not mince words when addressing agency heads in a memo outlining the next steps for federal workers' return to office.
"Federal office buildings sit mostly empty, particularly Washington, D.C.-area agency headquarters offices, devastating the local economy and serving as a national embarrassment," Charles Ezell, the acting director of the OPM, said in the Wednesday memo.
Ezell added that "virtually unrestricted telework" has led to "poorer government services" and also impacted the ability to train and supervise workers.
The OPM defines telework as an arrangement in which employees are expected to report to an agency office on a regular basis for each pay period, in addition to working from an alternative location, like their home. Remote workers, according to the OPM, are those who have not been previously required to report to an agency office.
The memo comes in the wake of Trump's executive order mandating the return of in-person office work for executive branch employees.
Ezell said that the pandemic has been over for years and "the vast majority" of federal workers did not return to the office.
In addition to criticizing remote work, Ezell detailed three tasks that federal agencies must complete by Friday at 5 p.m.
The first requires each agency head to revise its telework policy to state that eligible employees must work full time at their designated site unless granted an exemption due to a disability, medical condition, or otherwise approved reason "certified by the agency head and the employee's supervisor."
The second task requires that the agency head send an email notification to all employees about Trump's in-person work mandate and their intent to comply with it. The email should also include a copy of the mandate, the memo said.
The third directive calls for agencies to let OPM know who is the agency's telework managing officer, and to give the officer the responsibility of complying with the new guidelines.
The memo states that agencies are required to tell OPM when they plan to fully implement the new policy, with the suggestion of reaching "full compliance" within 30 days "subject to any exclusions granted by the agency and any collective bargaining obligations."
"If an employee's official duty station is more than 50 miles from any existing agency office, the agency should take steps to move the employee's duty station to the most appropriate agency office based on the employee's duties and job function," the memo said.
In an effort to streamline the federal workforce, the Trump administration has also moved to revoke federal job offers that were accepted before January 20 with an undefined start date or one that comes after February 8. President Trump has also taken steps to end federal DEI programs.
Are you a federal employee impacted by the changes? Reach out to the reporter from a non-work email and device at aaltchek@businessinsider.com
Ellen Davis, a writer, said she was targeted by a fake job scam while seeking remote work.
The scam involved impersonating HR representatives and requesting personal information, according to screenshots.
Davis warned others to trust their instincts and be cautious of unusual job processes or requests.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ellen Davis, a New York-based writer. Her identity has been verified, and BI has viewed screenshots from her correspondences. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.
For many, many years, I've worked as a marketing and promotion writer and producer at major networks and companies like People Magazine.
My last role ended a few months ago and I've been actively looking for work. I was primarily going after remote copywriter roles and I was having a hard time getting even a nibble.
Earlier this month,I got a text from a potential job that I had applied for, which seemed a little odd, but I thought, 'Okay, it's a whole new world out there. Technology has changed and maybe this is how representatives are contacting people.'
I wasn't surprised to hear from the company. The name was familiar because I did apply there and I immediately checked the names that they were using on LinkedIn and they were actual HR representatives from the company.
So I started to communicate.
It was a scam
The person texting me told me to contact someone on Google Chat, which also should have been a red flag β but I did it. Her original message said, "We need to hear from you ASAP," and I thought, I'm not going to interview on a weekend. I said I would be available on Monday.
We never had a Zoom call. We never spoke on the phone. She sent me a series of questions asking why I'm the best fit for the job and what my qualifications are.
Things started getting odd when she asked me what my credit score was. I should have ended things right there, but instead, I said, "Honestly, I don't know what my credit score is."
Then she told me what a good job I did and said she was going to present me to the board of directors, which seemed preposterous to me that a copywriter job would go before the board of directors.
At that point, I really started to feel a little odd, so I went on LinkedIn and I wrote messages to the two people from the actual company whose names were used in these fraudulent communications with me.
While I was waiting to hear back from them, the person on Google Chat said the board of directors was very impressed with my credentials and they'd like to hire me as a copywriter. As soon as she said that, she also sent a list of equipment she was going to send to me to be able to do the job, including a 15-inch MacBook, headset, laminator, and printer. As a writer, I thought I would just send a file β why would I have to laminate?
I then saw I had a message on LinkedIn. It was the woman from the actual company who confirmed the Google Chat exchange was a scam and said the company would never contact me via text or Google Chat.
The scammers strung me along for at least four or five hours.If I'm going to interview at a company, I research the company. I take pages of notes that I have in front of me when I'm going to go through an interview.
I've heard of this scam before, where they require you to have all this technology in order to perform the job and they send you a check to cover the cost of it and the check turns out to be fraudulent. I have a feeling that's where it was heading.
I'm mortified that I didn't pick up on these signals, but I was eager to move things forward. It was a company that promoted sustainability and I just thought this would have been fascinating work and something that I actually believe in.
I've applied to a few more jobs since, but my heart's a little broken that I fell for this and I definitely don't feel confident at the moment.
There's so much cruelty out there and it can feel like everyone is just trying to separate you from your money and your dignity. We have to protect each other a little bit.
That's why I'm trying to put this out there: If you feel something is wrong, it's likely wrong β very rarely do you get that sense of uncomfortableness in a legitimate interview.
You might be nervous. You might be tense. But if you feel something's wrong, trust your instinct.
President Trump issued an executive order requiring federal workers to return to the office full-time.
Some workers told BI that it will be a major strain on commutes and family life.
Others say they're willing to return to the office full-time, and see the value in the mandate.
President Donald Trump has officially ordered federal workers to come into the office full-time. It has some employees rethinking their careers, while others see value in the new mandate.
The return-to-office requirement is one of Trump's first moves, and it could reshape the federal workforce. In late November, Elon Musk β the head of Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency β and former DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy proposed the RTO mandate as a cost-cutting measure. They argued that it would effectively weed out employees who didn't want to go back.
Now that federal RTO is set to become reality, Business Insider spoke to a collection of federal workers who offered split perspectives on the order. Employees were granted anonymity to allow them to speak freely about their work situations. Their identities have been verified.
Detailed below are some of the main issues highlighted by frustrated federal workers, as well as the reasoning behind those in support of RTO.
More demanding commutes
One employee at the Department of Justice told Business Insider that one reason they took the job was because of the flexibility offered by telework. Now that they're facing a potential five-days-a-week requirement, their total weekly commute time could increase to 15 hours, up from six hours a week.
"You work for the government, it's supposed to be the best place to work, and suddenly you're seeing that you're not getting the same flexibilities that you've been living with and adjusting your life for, for the last couple years," the employee said.
An employee named Tyra, who works in the Health Resources and Services Administration, said the flexibility of remote work has allowed her to work out regularly after her shift ends. She now faces a 90-minute commute each way into Washington DC, something that could cut into her training to become a Pilates instructor.
"A lot of people live a little bit further away," Tyra said. "It's just a lot to consider and change abruptly."
Another federal worker said having to work in the office every day would mean "at least 10 stressful hours a week wasted in traffic," in addition to the time spent making lunch and other elements associated with getting ready for work.
"It will cost more money in gas, car wear and tear, parking fees, and business attire," they told BI.
Family-life complications
A veteran and four-year federal employee is trying to figure out how to restructure their family's life within the RTO mandate. They told BI that they had been teleworking since they started their job, which allowed flexibility for childcare. They haven't received any formal guidance yet from their agency, but they're starting to look at other career opportunities outside the federal government.
"Everybody's trying to figure it out, and we're trying to do it with limited time and on the fly," the worker said.
A clinical psychologist for a federal entity said they won't be able to work their job if it's not remote. As a military spouse, the employee is required to move around often, making it impossible to commute five days a week to a single location far from where they're stationed.
"It honestly makes me consider just leaving entirely in the first place," they said. "I can't be working for anyone where there's this much uncertainty when I have to support my family and when I have small children."
Those who support RTO
But not everyone is opposed to the RTO mandate. One federal employee says that while they're only required to work in the office two days a week, they would be willing to expand that.
"You need us to come in five days, we'll come in five days," the employee said. "We're adapting as we go along."
The employee added that they expect to see some workers retire earlier than planned due to this mandate. While they recognize the challenges it could bring, they're grateful for the employment and willing to work with it.
"There's a majority of Americans who probably would kill to have that opportunity, and they probably don't want to hear somebody complaining about, 'Well, I got to return to the office,'" the employee said.
Another worker in the Department of Homeland Security, who has already been going to work in-person the majority of the time, told BI being in the office "really enhances collaboration," adding that "decisions often happen more quickly." They also said working in the office can create clearer "boundaries between work and home life."
"I think it's overall a positive change in our work environment," the employee said.
Depleted morale and 'brain drain'
A Social Security Administration employee who works from home twice a week said the new RTO mandate will hurt organizational culture by deepening existing worker dissatisfaction.
"Morale is so low right now in this agency," they said, adding, "we'll have even more people wanting to leave."
In addition, one Treasury employee said the RTO order would lead to losing staff, including pushing some people into retirement.
There's going to be a possible "brain drain of senior, knowledgeable employees," they said.
Government contractors told BI that DOGE could bring both challenges and benefits to their industry.
Reducing the federal workforce could open opportunities for government contractors.
They said DOGE could help make federal contracting more efficient, though uncertainty remains.
The looming changes expected to be recommended by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency mean swirling uncertainties for federal employees.
However, government contractors β those who work with the US government but are not directly employed by it β told Business Insider they feel secure in their jobs, even if some have fears over how things will ultimately play out.
"I still view it as 100% very stable," government contractor Wes Fisher told Business Insider about the wider industry.
"Without a doubt, we are a little scared," said Tyler Pinson, CEO of Navarre Corporation, a company that provides non-emergency medical transportation to VA hospitals.
Pinson said there's uncertainty in the contracting industry and he's curious about where federal cuts will be directed. However, he said he thinks "services are less likely to be interrupted" or eliminated, and past administrations haven't impacted demand for Navarre's services.
BI spoke to more than half a dozen business owners and consultants in the government contracting space about how they feel DOGE could impact their work. Many of them said they see it as an opportunity, even if it comes with uncertainties and challenges, such as potentially lower contract amounts or more ambitious deadlines.
"We envision a lot more contracts coming out to outsource to government contractors," said Derek Hoyt, CEO of government contracting platform GovSignals.
Deniece Peterson, senior director of federal market analysis at Deltek, which provides enterprise software for government contracting and other project-based businesses, told BI that if federal workforce reductions occur and specialized expertise is still required, it could create opportunities for other contractors. She said areas of opportunity depend on the particular market government contractors are working in.
For example, contractors working in federal offices might face challenges from agency budget cuts or return-to-office mandates. However, Peterson said the return-to-office mandates could also result in additional IT, maintenance, catering, and janitorial service contracts awarded.
"When there's gaps in the federal workforce, that can be an opportunity for contracts," Peterson said.
Limits on how much federal agencies can rely on outside contracts have already emerged as more details about President Trump's federal hiring freeze are distributed. A government memo sent to the heads of executive departments and federal agencies on Monday said that contractors can't be hired to take on the work that would have normally been filled by the roles in impacted job listings.
"Agencies shall not acquire by contract with a commercial vendor services that are substantially similar to those that would have been provided by a Federal civilian in a vacancy covered by the [presidential memorandum]," the memo said in reference to Trump's executive order.
Hoyt said the directive ensures that "a prospective federal civilian hire could not be brought in as a contractor" to fulfill the original role. Peterson said that the instruction "may not make much difference" since contracts "to replace certain functions could take longer to put into place" than the length of the current hiring freeze.
A more efficient government could remove a 'major pain point' for contractors
Rich Weber, a partner for advisory firm Moss Adams, which works with government contractors, told BI in an interview ahead of Trump's inauguration that there will likely be a push for efficiency that begins with federal workers and trickles down to contractors.
Adaptability will become "critically important" for government contractors as will being able to expand into needed areas, he said.
Hoyt, who runs a platform that helps clients win government contracts, said DOGE's push for operational efficiency could accelerate the contract award process, helping to remove "a major pain point for our clients." Speedier processes could also open up opportunities for smaller businesses, he added.
Hoyt said that with the current system in place, it can take up to 18 months to win a contract, which could create national security risks in situations where agencies can't get access to what they need fast enough. He added that the extensive processes, rules, and regulations surrounding government funding awards often lead to lengthy timelines, especially given the many procurement opportunities that can arise daily.
"For almost 20 years I've seen the compliance around the entire contracts life cycle kind of grow into this massive mountain of paperwork and documentation and bureaucracy," Weber told BI.
Weber said DOGE could help simplify procurement procedures, speed up project initiation, and standardize requirements across agencies. He also said "accelerated funding allocations" could "improve cash flow," especially for small business contractors.
Higher standards, increased competition, and doing more with less
Ripple effects from DOGE could work their way to government contractors in the form of smaller federal budgets to fund contract work and pressure to fulfill contracts for less money.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who was co-leading DOGE with Elon Musk before backing out ahead of an expected run for Ohio governor, previously said he anticipates "massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are over-billing the government." The US Government Accountability Office posted in June 2024 that the federal government committed about $759 billion in contracts in the 2023 fiscal year, a roughly $33 billion year-over-year increase when adjusting for inflation.
Weber said it's possible that the government could place "increased scrutiny" during the bidding phase of contracts. He also said there could be "stricter evaluation criteria" on projects.
"That would be the whole idea behind the agency," Weber said, which is "trying to bring up the quality and efficiency of government projects."
Weber said cost efficiency will likely become a higher priority, and delivering results under budget and ahead of schedule will become increasingly important. He added that there's a high potential that the number of contracts awarded could decrease.
"Let's say the overall budget decreases, then each individual line item may decrease and then you're going to have potential increased competition and cost cutting," Weber said.
If the overall budget for contracts gets reduced, Weber said contractors could see more competition and cost-cutting. That could also mean getting the job done with fewer individuals staffed on a project, or doing it for less money in a shorter span of time.
Some government contractors have also shared concerns about the future of minority set-aside funding for small businesses, which directly award contracts to certain subsets of qualifying small businesses.
Weber said set-asides could remain a key part of initiatives given the "entrepreneurial spirit" of the administration. However, Hoyt said it's possible that the panel puts an "emphasis on different types of set-asides."
While many in the government contracting space struck an optimistic view about their industry's future, it is clear they are bracing for change.
After all, the potential trickle-down impacts on the sector sound right out of Musk's playbook: Do more with less β and faster.
Are you a government contractor or a DOGE worker? Contact the reporter from a non-work email and device at aaltchek@businessinsider.com
Federal job offers accepted before Monday with start dates after February 8 are revoked, a memo said.
The Office of Personnel Management said agency heads could seek written approval to renew an offer.
Agencies must also report monthly on job offers, hires, departures, and head count, the memo said.
Newly hired federal workers expecting to start their jobs next month could soon see their offers yanked by the federal government.
A memo providing further guidance on President Donald Trump's executive order mandating federal hiring freezes told federal agencies that "offers made and accepted prior to January 20" with an unconfirmed start date or one later than February 8 were revoked.
The memo, written by the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management and sent to the heads of executive departments and federal agencies on Monday, said that if people were hired before noon on Monday and had a start date earlier than February 8, their offers could remain in place.
"Those individuals should report to work according to their respective designated start date," the memo said.
Even if a job offer is rescinded, it might not be a done deal for the candidate. The memo said that the head of an agency could seek written approval from the OPM to renew the employee's offer after considering "essential mission priorities, current agency resources, and funding levels."
The memo also called for reports on the last day of each month from agencies subject to the hiring freeze. The reports should have information about candidates who were extended or accepted offers, employees who started that month, and employees who departed that month. The reviews are also required to list the total staff head count and any positions listed online, the memo said.
In a separate memo sent the same day, Charles Ezell, the acting director of the OPM, asked leaders of all federal agencies to evaluate their workforces and consider firing employees who had been there less than two years.
The memo requested that agencies identify all employees on probationary periods and "promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency" by Friday.
Trump's federal hiring freeze went into effect on Inauguration Day, preventing any vacant positions that existed before 11:59 a.m. on Monday from being filled and restricting the creation of positions. There are some exceptions to the freeze, including roles tied to "immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety" and positions requiring "Presidential appointment or Senate confirmation," the memo said.
The OPM move is in line with broader Trump-administration efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Since his inauguration, President Trump has already issued a mandate for federal workers return to the office full time.
He also signed an executive order to end federal DEI programs. The order calls for federal DEI staff to be placed on paid leave by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and agencies have 60 days to end DEI-related practices.
The Department of Government Efficiency, an Elon Musk-led commission, is also working to recommend ways that the Trump administration can cut the size of the federal workforce, reduce regulations and federal budgets, and improve efficiency.
The OPM declined to comment. The Trump administration and the OMB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Correction, January 22 β An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the memo's date. It was Monday, January 20, not January 8.
Co-leading DOGE means Elon Musk is spread increasingly thin.
Tesla shareholders told BI that Musk's position could help reduce regulatory red tape for the EV giant.
Others said Musk proved his ability to multitask and DOGE has an expiration date.
With his new role co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk has another plate to keep spinning β and many Tesla investors aren't fazed by his new area of focus.
Business Insider spoke to more than a dozen Tesla shareholders and analysts about the billionaire's new role with DOGE and how they think it could impact the company.
Many said they aren't worried that Musk is juggling more β and that the CEO has proven himself a capable multitasker.
Questions about the amount of time Musk spends on Tesla have swirled in the last year, including at the EV maker's annual shareholder meeting, where the CEO's pay package was approved for a second time (more on that later). The serial entrepreneur is also involved with SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink, xAI, and X.
With DOGE, Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to slash the federal budget and cut wasteful spending. They've also pledged to restructure federal agencies, or in some cases eliminate them, with the goal of improving efficiency.
It's no small job.
Musk's work with Trump could benefit Tesla
Some of theshareholders BI spoke to said they believe Musk's involvement in the Trump administration could help reduce the regulations that Tesla must navigate, paving the way for technological advancements and generally making life easier for the company.
Anthony L. Gurino, a Tesla shareholder from Long Island, said he sees Musk's position easing the "red tape around autonomous driving." The technology is currently approved on a state-by-state basis and Musk has said he'd push to create a national approval process for fully autonomous vehicles.
Patrick O'Connell, a Tesla shareholder who started investing in 2013, said he went "all in" on the stock in 2019. He told BI he hopes Musk's new role will ease regulations and could help with brand awareness.
Philip Engberg, a Tesla shareholder in Denmark, said that under the Biden administration, it seemed like there was a "lot of political will against" Musk's companies and the technology they were trying to develop.
Despite being the top EV seller in the US, Tesla was famously not invited to President Joe Biden's EV summit in 2021.When asked at a press conference if Tesla's exclusion was due to not having a unionized workforce, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she would let people come to their "own conclusion."
"Now the outlook is that is completely gone," Engberg said.
Faced with increased competition and slowing growth across the EV market, Tesla reported its first year-over-year car sales decline in January. However, Telsa isn't the only car company to face declining sales, and the EV giant recently reached a new milestone, outselling Audi globally for the first time in 2024.
Wall Street appears optimistic about Tesla's fortune during the Trump administration. Tesla shares are up nearly 70% since the election, and some on Wall Street expect them to rise higher still. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas recently raised his price target from $400 to $430 and revised his bull case to $800.
Craig Irwin, a managing director and senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners who recently changed his Tesla buy status from neutral to "buy," told BI that he estimates that "the pool of Tesla enthusiasts" has doubled since Trump's reelection.
"Right now, you have technology-oriented conservative fighters that are going to say, 'You know, I think Elon Musk is a cool guy β let's go see what this Tesla car is about,'" Irwin said.
Not all shareholders are convinced that Musk's affiliation with Trump will have a positive impact on Tesla. John VonBokel, a shareholder who voted against Musk's pay package the second time, said he "can't make sense" of why Tesla's share price has gone up so much.
"Certainly Trump is not going to go in there and write code to make FSD better," VonBokel said, referencing Tesla's Full-Self-Driving beta software, which requires drivers to be ready to take control of the vehicle at any moment. VonBokel said he sees it as a "classic situation of the market seems to think this is worth more than I think it's worth."
Charlie Redmond, a Tesla shareholder since 2017, told BI that he doesn't see the relationship with Trump lasting more than six months. He said the main benefit he sees from Musk's involvement would be convincing Trump to keep the EV tax break, which Trump has talked about getting rid of. Musk has also said he supports ending the credits.
Tesla shareholder and investing author Kiana Danial also said she sees the relationship likely falling apart at some point. If that were to happen, Danial said Musk has "always been unpredictable" and she believes any stock dip in the short term could be regained.
'Musk has shown that he can multitask brilliantly'
Some of the Tesla shareholders told BI they believe the second shareholder vote approving Musk's pay package galvanized support for him as the company's leader. Engberg told BI he thinks retail shareholder support "is the greatest it has ever been."
"Musk is Tesla, and Tesla is Musk," Wedbush analyst and Tesla bull Dan Ives told BI, adding that the court battle has "become a soap opera" and he expects Tesla to win its appealat the Supreme Court level given "overwhelming" shareholder approval of the pay package.
In addition to some shareholders being invigorated by the Tesla shareholder vote and Trump's victory following Musk's endorsement and fundraising, a majority of the investors and analysts BI spoke to said Musk has proven his ability to take on multiple projects at once.
"Musk has shown that he can multitask brilliantly," said Irwin of Roth Capital Partners.
David Abrams, a Tesla shareholder who started investing in the company about three years ago, told BI he thinks Musk's involvement in politics could have some level of impact on his focus on the company. However, he said Musk has "proven over the years that multitasking is one thing that he is undeniably good at."
"He keeps throwing stuff under his plate and you would think at some point the focus would go away," Redmond said.
Abrams said that while Musk may be spread thin, his companies likely have enough people in place that they can "largely run on their own." Other shareholders also said that at this stage of the company, Musk doesn't need to be involved in every step.
"Elon's an important leader, but it's about delegating and he's really good at that," Tesla shareholder Larry Winer told BI.
Tesla and Musk did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Alexandra Merz, a staunch Tesla advocate and shareholder who goes by the username "TeslaBoomerMama" on X, said the company hasn't relied on his constant attention to run the business "for a long time."'
"He doesn't need to be the one opening factory doors in the morning," Merz told BI, adding that he doesn't turn "every bolt in every rocket" at SpaceX either.
Others pointed to DOGE's seemingly limited timeframe. Merz told BI that she is "in no way concerned" that Musk will be involved with the government for decades.
"Keep in mind that DOGE is set to expire on July 4, 2026," Tesla shareholder Cianna Swartz told BI.
Are you a Tesla shareholder? Reach out to the reporter at aaltchek@businessinsider.com
Startup CTO Arun Prasad Jaganathan has been in the US for almost 14 years, mainly on an H-1B Visa.
He said the application process isn't easy and companies don't sponsor applicants to fill spaces.
The system has flaws, but there are misconceptions about H-1B employees contributing to the economy.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Arun Prasad Jaganathan, CTO of workforce platform Jugl. He is from Coimbatore, India, and now lives in Prosper, Texas. His identity, work experience, and visa status have been verified by Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I have been in the US for almost 14 years. I built most of my career here. I have my family here. I have my home here. So it would be tough for me to shift back to India and build something from there.
I completed my computer science and engineering degree in India and got an offshore position atglobal tech services company Cognizant. Eventually, they wanted me to come to New York because they felt like my presence in the US would help them build a better product and train them to scale their processes. So I came in on an L-1B visa, which is for an intra-company transfer to help on a project. Then, I applied for the H-1B Visa.
H-1B is mainly for high-skilled workers. It helped me gain more product and business knowledge because it gave mefirst-hand experience working with US businesses.
I'm in the process of acquiring permanent residency now, but the H1-B visa has helped me grow from my role at Cognizant to lead and architect at nThrive to managing advanced technology projects at KPMG. Now, I am leading technology and product for the startup Jugl.
Every three years, you have to go through the same process. If there was no premium processing, which costs more,it took around three to six months to get my renewal. With premium processing, it takes about two weeks.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services scrutinizes every application. Companies don't hire H1-B talent just to fill spaces. They are very cautious about whom they sponsor for H-1B and they make sure that it's the top talent.
There are also regular audits from USCIS. They come and visit the companies and interview them. They audit employees. They ask questions to make sure they are placed in the same roles that they were submitted in the application.
The system has flaws β but there are misconceptions
The H-1B Visa system isn't perfect. However, I would not agree with the misconception I've heard that the H-1B visa is causing job losses. Any process will have loopholes, and they're working toward fixing them, but how fast they are going to do it is a question of the administration and other government functions.
Another argument is that H-1B employees don't contribute to the economy because they don't pay taxes. H-1 B employees pay taxes and insurance, have 401Ks and IRAs, and contribute back to the economy because they buy homes and cars and invest here in the US. I have a home, wife, and kids. I trained people already in the US. I helped them gain knowledge, build teams, develop products, and grow companies.
USCIS is making adjustments. The lottery system is little bit more difficult now because it's not just about skill level, it's more about luck. Now, because there is a lottery system, people with better skills might be frustrated.
In the last couple of years, many people were applying through different companies for a higher chance of getting picked in the H-1B lottery. USCIS understood this was happening, so they updated their system.
There is still room for improvement. For example, USCIS increased wages H-1B employees have to make and also increased sponsorship fees. The downside to it is companies have less incentive to hire.
With the startup I work for now, if we cannot find the talent we are looking for in the US, we have to hire H-1B candidates. But at the early stages of startup, it is a higher cost for us to hire H-1B workers. The H-1B process involves paying the attorney and legal fees as overhead, in addition to the high salary we need to pay compared to local talent.
Now other countries are catching up, like China and India. If H-1B is becoming tougher for workers they're going to open startups where they can build those products. Or, multinational corporates are going to open centers in locations where they can find people like in India, Mexico, Canada, and many other places.
22-year-old Tabitha Snavely evacuated her apartment ahead of the Palisades wildfire.
Snavely, who works multiple jobs, said many in her building were blue-collar workers or older people.
She evacuated to her parents' house and told BI she needs to find a new place to live that is closer to work.
This as-told-to essay is based on interviews with Tabitha Snavely, a 22-year-old living in the Palisades. Her identity and employment has been verified by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
I'm 22 years old, and I live alone in a rented medium-sized apartment building in the Palisades. I've lived in California my whole life so this isn't my first time dealing with a fire.
On Tuesday night, I woke up to the alert of an evacuation. I had about 45 minutes to pack and feed my dog really quickly because I didn't know when we'd be in a safe area. As I was packing up, I started smelling smoke in my unit. As soon as I started smelling the smoke, I was like, "OK, I need to leave now."
I threw some clothes in a suitcase, grabbed my dog, loaded up my car, and started driving. I grabbed everything that I had the instinct to get out in an emergency, like my phone, laptop, some clothes.
When I pulled out of the parking garage, I could see so much smoke and then hundreds of cars trying to get out. Luckily, I am closer to the Pacific Coast Highway, so I was able to get out pretty quick.
I evacuated to San Diego. My family thought it was a better idea for me to evacuate here with them than to go to a friend's in Santa Monica or Hollywood because as the fire keeps growing, more people seem to keep getting evacuated.
The aftermath
I saw on the Watch Duty app on Wednesday that my apartment building was in a bright red zone βindicating it was in the path of the fire. My unit specifically is tucked away on the inside of the building, so I was hoping that not everything in my unit was demolished.
I planned to check on it over the weekend. Now, I've seen news footage showing my street and buildings that burned, including my apartment building.
Everything I left behind may now be gone: photos, books, my college diploma. I had my great-grandmother's quilt that she made for me before she passed away. I also had a set of plates and mugs that my grandma gave to me when she died. A lot of my things are thrifted or are hand-me-downs so they're not easily replaceable.
At the same time, my parents are selling their house, so the place I could stay for evacuation, although it isn't close to my job, is very temporary. I feel like a floater with nowhere to go because I don't want to impose on my friends too long without a secure plan for where to go.
A lot of my friends live in Santa Monica, Brentwood, or Malibu, and they have been starting to get evacuated now, but some of them have been able to return to their homes.
I'm close with a lot of the older people who have lived in the Palisades for decades. I would hang out with them at the coffee shops for hours. I don't know how any of them are doing because many of them only have home phones and not cellphones.
I have a hard time feeling at home, but this apartment finally felt like home. I loved everything about it.
It's not only wealthy people living in the Palisades
I know also that a lot of people think that the Palisades is very wealthy, but I don't feel rich. I have multiple jobs. A lot of the people in my building are blue-collar workers, and there are a lot of older people in the Palisades.
I work at a coconut water company, which allowed me to work remotely for the next week before returning in person. I also am a personal assistant for someone who owns a film production company, which also gave me the week off.
Luckily, I have renter's insurance, but I don't know where I will be living. Airbnb has offered a free week to people who have lost their homes, but I filled out the form and haven't heard anything back yet.
I have friends who have offered their couches for me to sleep on while I figure out what to do next, but I still do not have a definitive plan because I've been so scatterbrained since the fire evacuation alert woke me up.
I think we need to keep more compassion alive at this time because online, I've been seeing a lot of people say that the Palisades is very rich and they can all just afford to rebuild.
Tesla launched a redesigned Model Y in China with a revamped Cybertruck-like look.
Tesla recently reported a year-over-year sales decline amid EV-market challenges.
Tesla is taking an Apple-like approach by iterating on a product rather than creating a new one.
Tesla's new Model Y in China has a Cybertruck-like design, a noticeable change that could be just what Tesla needs to refresh its aging car lineup.
Tesla's new Model Y has a redesigned exterior along with updated suspension, wheels, and tires. The company says it's also quieter and more efficient, and it has an 8-inch rear touchscreen.
The company says the car includes "soft-touch textiles" to give passengers the feeling that they're "floating in space," drawing inspiration from other futuristic Tesla designs.
It's not far off from Tesla's Model 3 redesign in 2023, which introduced a more luxurious and minimalist aesthetic. It similarly featured a quieter cabin and a rear screen.
The front end was made sleeker with slimmer headlights and a new wheel design. The dashboard and steering wheel were also redesigned.
While the new Model Y's design isn't nearly as radical as the Cybercab's or the Cybertruck's, that might be intentional. Sometimes drastically changing the look of a vehicle can be polarizing.
One Cybertruck driver told BI that he'd owned all Tesla models but faced negative reactions on the road only with his Cybertruck. The driver, a YouTuber, also said a sponsor declined to be featured in a video with his truck because of its polarizing nature.
The refreshed model is still likely to generate conversation about Tesla's most popular vehicle, one of the best-selling cars. It could stick out on the road and broadcast that drivers are in the latest Tesla, which may help boost sales or convince existing Model Y owners to upgrade.
It's similar to Apple's approach with the iPhone, in which the company has opted to enhance its models rather than build a new product line. Like Apple, Tesla offers frequent over-the-air software updates. When it comes to hardware updates, Tesla often offers a revamped design and features rather than a new vehicle.
Last week, Tesla reported its first year-over-year sales decline. The car giant said it sold about 1.79 million cars in 2024, slightly fewer than the 1.8 million it sold in 2023. While Tesla's fourth-quarter deliveries increased by more than 11,000 from the prior year, they fell short of analysts' expectations.
It's been a challenging time for the EV industry, which has slowed in the past couple of years because of factors including limited charging infrastructure and a lack of affordable options. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration adds uncertainty to the landscape, as he has vowed to eliminate EV tax credits.
The Model Y refresh in China comes at a pivotal moment for Tesla. It's facing increasing pressure from competitors like BYD, which has experienced surging demand and is challenging Tesla's dominance in the country.
While the new model hasn't launched in the US, it's giving investors something to look forward to in 2025, in addition to a lineup of cheaper EVs.
California fires have led people to turn to apps, security cameras, and social media accounts for real-time updates.
The Watch Duty wildfire maps app said it added over 1 million new users in recent days.
Residents are also using security apps like Ring to check in on their homes and discuss updates in forums.
As California fires spread across the Los Angeles region, residents are turning to online resources and smartphone app communities to track the blazes and find up-to-date information on their impact.
Along with the Watch Duty wildfire maps app, people are using security apps like Google Nest and Ring to check footage of their homes and communicate in forums.
Others are sharing resources and information in subreddits and on social media platforms.
Watch Duty
Watch Duty describes itself as a wildfire mapping and alert service "powered by real people giving you real-time information vetted by trained professionals, not robots."
The app, which was developed by a nonprofit company and isn't government-affiliated, is free to use with the option to pay $25 for a yearly membership that unlocks additional counties and places of interest. There's also a web-based version.
Adam Wood, a 45-year-old film producer, director, and editor, living in North Hollywood, helped his friend evacuate from Pasadena and said he used the app to track the fires. He told BI it helped him assess whether his friend's area was likely to have been impacted, although they don't know if his house is still standing.
"People are hungry for granular information, and the fire department and other emergency agencies just don't have the capacity to supply that when there's multiple fires happening in the same area," Watch Duty's VP of operations, Nick Russell, told Business Insider.
The app provides users with push notification alerts and a geospatial look into what's going on around them with flame icons, evacuation zones, and information about surface winds. It focuses on providing real-time information about fires from over 200 volunteers and 12 paid employees, including retired firefighters, dispatchers, and first responders. The reporters use "radio scanners, wildfire cameras, satellites, and other public sources" to monitor and verify risks, the company said on its website.
"Our team is constantly getting signals, both from authoritative and third-party services," Russell told BI. "And then we're disseminating that through radio traffic and validating."
Ring and other home-security apps
Security app users have shared experiences of watching their homes being burned down from the app's camera footage.
Zibby Owens, a writer, shared to social media on Wednesday footage from her Google Nest camera of parts of her Palisades property in flames.
"Fire close to Mandeville Canyon (photo from 9:50PM), seems to be going rapidly toward South," one user posted last night with a photo.
The app has also released information about the wildfires and dedicated a tab to resources for impacted residents called "California Wildfire Information." The page includes shelter locations, where to find food in LA County, what to pack, and wildfire smoke tips. It also links over a dozen resources including media updates, Airbnb temporary housing details, and a list of school closures.
The Ring Neighbors team also released a statement in the app about the wildfires with links to help those impacted, including organizations like The American Red Cross, the California Community Fund, and California Fire Relief.
Social media
In addition to people posting stories, photos, and videos about their experiences with the wildfire, specific accounts are also being used to inform people about up-to-date information.
Facebook users are active in groups like Calfire Updates, which has over 300,000 members. The group dedicates posts to firefighters, shares information about damage, and discusses the fires. Other groups, like California Wildfires Information ALERT, post evacuation notices and resources for those who have fled impacted areas.
Local police, fire departments, and emergency services have been sharing information on their dedicated social media pages, such as the Los Angeles Fire Department account on X or the City of Pasadena account on Facebook.
People are also turning to community subreddits like r/PacificPalisades and r/Pasadena to share updates and discuss wildfire damage. Some posts have offered practical tips for evacuees, such as suggestions to film the contents of their homes before leaving for insurance purposes if they have time to do so.
One user named OnerKram17, has dedicated two days to monitoring police and fire scanners, providing frequent updates in the r/PacificPalisades subreddit in between what they said was a few hours of sleep.
Multiple blazes raged out of control in Los Angeles and Southern California Wednesday.
Business Insider spoke with three residents about their experiences fleeing the scene.
They called it terrifying, devastating, and apocalyptic.
The fires storming through Los Angeles and Southern California have left over 1,000 structures burned, at least two people dead, and tens of thousands of others displaced as they heed mandatory evacuation orders.
Business Insider spoke with three people who encountered the devastating impacts of the blaze firsthand. Their words have been edited for length and clarity.
'I don't know where everyone in our community is going to go'
Alisa Wolfson, a journalist, lives in the Palisades with her husband and two daughters, ages 7 and 10. They evacuated to a friend's home and then the Beverly Hilton before losing their home in the fire.
My husband and I both grew up in the Palisades and bought our home there in 2018. My mom's still there, too. We love our neighborhood, and there's a strong sense of community. There's a reason that it's impossible to buy in and that Bill Hader lives on our street. It was like a storybook β too good to be true.
I was sitting in my home office Tuesday looking out the window when a girlfriend called me to see if I had heard that there was a fire nearby. I looked up and saw a little thing of smoke, but I thought we'd be fine. Within 10 minutes, it grew beyond what I ever thought was possible. I went out to the street and could see that the nearby hillside was engulfed in flames. I called my husband at work and said, "You need to come home right now."
Very quickly, it turned into all of our neighbors on the street throwing things in their cars and driving off. It was terrifying. I grabbed our dog Gus and just as I was leaving, my neighbor across the street called and asked me to pick up her dog since she wasn't home. I went back into my house, got her key, and put her dog in the car.
A friend whose daughter goes to the same school as mine picked our girls up, and we met at her house, which was just outside the evacuation zone. We put all the dogs in the yard, and the girls played with their friends. I thought we'd just camp out for a few hours β but then things started to look terrible really quickly. Around 1 p.m., my husband borrowed our friend's e-bike and rode to our house to see if there was anything he could do and to grab a few things left behind. He saw tons of smoke, firemen, and the hillsides burning β it was really wild.
We stayed at our friend's house until they lost power, then checked into the Beverly Hilton. It was like all of West Los Angeles had descended upon the hotel β it took 40 minutes just to pull into the driveway.
We paid $560 for the night for a room with two beds, which doesn't seem outrageous to me. They've been wonderful here. They greeted everyone in line, handing out water bottles. Henry Winkler was checking in ahead of me, and Cisco Adler's here. It's like a real LA tale. My mom is staying in the room next door with her dog β the number of dogs in this hotel right now is insane.
The front page of the LA Times featured a house on our street in flames. The images looked apocalyptic. Our daughters kept asking, "Is our house safe?" but we weren't sure.
This afternoon, a neighbor who rode his bike into the neighborhood confirmed it: We've lost our home. Our neighbors have been texting that they have too. I'm utterly devastated and in a state of shock, barely functional. I haven't been able to break the news to my daughters yet. I don't know where everyone in our community is going to go. Our entire town appears to be gone.
This isn't something that should be happening. People need to elect local officials who really care about the climate and do what's needed to prepare for or prevent events like this. Last night, my husband asked me, "Where do you think you want to spend the rest of your life?" We have family in Connecticut, and last night it crossed my mind β do we just bail and start fresh? I don't know. For now, we're just taking it hour by hour.
'It was like the apocalypse, in a way''
Katie Cassidy, an actor and close friend of Alisa Wolfson, lives three minutes away from Wolfson in the Palisades. On Tuesday afternoon, she and her significant other evacuated to her parents' home in another part of Los Angeles.
My significant other, who is Canadian, woke up around 10:15 a.m. and said, "Oh my gosh, this weather is so beautiful, and the wind is so nice," and I was like, "Oh no, wind is not good." I was born and raised in Los Angeles, so I'm aware of fires and the Santa Ana winds, especially around this time of year.
I went outside and smelled smoke. My close friend Alisa lives up the street, so I called to check on her and her family. Moments later, firetruck after firetruck and helicopter after helicopter passed by. My gut knew that this was not good. I started to pack away our things and valuables.
We kept our eye on the situation. There were more helicopters and more smoke. The sky turned darker and red, and we started seeing ashes.
Around noon, my partner looked out the window and said, "Babe, there are people running down the streets with their suitcases and bags and kids and strollers." We threw everything in the car, brought our cats and dog, and left.
Luckily, my parents live in another part of Los Angeles, so we came here. We later saw on the news that the people we saw running down the street were people who'd abandoned their cars on Sunset Boulevard because they were stuck in traffic. It was really terrifying and devastating to see; it was like the apocalypse, in a way.
I wish I would've left earlier. I was trying to get a better gauge of what was going on and trying not to panic. People need to be aware and not be stubborn and stay in their homes thinking it'll never happen because it will; it's happened to me. I don't know if our house is still there, but if it isn't, it'll be the second home I've lived in that has burned to the ground in LA; my childhood home in Bell Canyon burned down in a fire some years after we sold it.
Even though my parents' place is safe at the moment, the winds can change. Our bags are packed, and we're ready to move with our fur babies when and if need be. At the end of the day, we're just grateful to be alive.
'There's only so much you can take'
Adam Wood, a 45-year-old film producer, director, and editor, lives in North Hollywood and helped his friend evacuate from Pasadena early Wednesday morning.
Everyone was aware there was a fire building in Altadena around late Tuesday afternoon, and we've had issues up there before. My friend has an urban farm up there that houses rabbits, pigs, and chickens. My thoughts and concerns were with him β if he had to get out, he'd need as much help as possible. I went over there in the early evening Tuesday to help.
At first, evacuators didn't think the fire would come down toward where we were, but at around 2:45 in the morning, we got the evacuation order through an alert on the phone. Then a fire official knocked on the door, and we had about half an hour to pack as much as we could, including a young pig, into the back of my friend's Tesla.
Thankfully, we got everyone out, and all the animals got out OK. My friend had already packed his documents and anything of physical value in his wife's SUV and his Tesla. The chickens were huddled together in one cage, and the rabbits were also hutched in one of the cars.
His wife and two kids were also there, and they all took a bunch of personal items, a suitcase each, and some computers. Of course, there's only so much you can take. The cars were jam-packed, but much of their personal property had to be left behind.
As we drove away, it was pretty hectic given that it was a rush and the whole neighborhood was also leaving at the same time. Thankfully it wasn't replicable to the scenes in the Palisades where people abandoned their cars. But the glow of the fires was visible on the horizon, and smoke filled the air.
He lives in a very nice house, and God knows if that still exists.
Now, there is the Woodley fire, which is closer to my home, so we are keeping a watchful eye on my place and hoping we won't need to evacuate ourselves.
Mark Zuckerberg said Meta would loosen some policies in an effort to avoid limiting free speech.
It'll remove restrictions on topics like gender, meaning users may see more-controversial opinions.
The policy shift is expected to change how your Facebook, Instagram, and Threads feeds appear.
Don't be surprised if your Instagram or Facebook feed looks different as Mark Zuckerberg's overhaul of Meta's moderation policies rolls out in the coming weeks.
In addition to replacing its third-party fact-checking system with community notes similar to Elon Musk's X, Meta is looking to change things up with a return to promoting political content. Other changes include eliminating restrictions on topics like immigration or gender and shifting enforcement policies on lower-severity violations.
"We're going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms," Zuckerberg said in a video announcing the changes.
So what will Facebook, Instagram, and Threads look like with the changes? Based on Zuckerberg's comments, this is how your feed could appear different.
You'll likely see a wider range of views β including controversial ones
In the next few weeks, you may notice more-controversial content in your feeds.
In an announcement about the changes, Meta said that it "removed millions of pieces of content" daily in December and that "one to two out of every 10" of those may not have violated its policies.
Meta said that to try to reduce instances of accidentally removing content through its automated moderation tools, it would remove restrictions on frequent topics in political conversations and debates including "immigration, gender identity, and gender."
"It's not right that things can be said on TV or the floor of Congress, but not on our platforms," the company said.
What does that mean in practice? An update on Tuesday to Meta's "Hateful Conduct" policy offers more detail.
"We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation," it says, "given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like 'weird.'"
Less-severe violations won't be reviewed unless people report those posts
Meta said it would loosen its guidelines around enforcement of policy violations and raise the bar for content removal.
The company said its automated systems had "resulted in too many mistakes and too much content being censored" and demoted content thought to violate its guidelines.
Meta said that moving forward it would focus on addressing "illegal and high-severity violations," including those related to terrorism, child sexual exploitation, and drugs.
It said that for "less severe policy violations" it would rely on users to report the content before it considers taking action. Meta said that it would also eliminate most demotions and that it would require a "much higher degree of confidence" and consensus from multiple reviewers to remove content.
You'll see more political content
Following what it described as feedback from people who didn't want to see political content in their feeds, Facebook announced changes in 2021 designed to reduce how much of that content users saw, including content about elections or social issues.
In Tuesday's announcement, the company described that approach as "pretty blunt" and said it would start recommending political content again on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. It said it would take a "more personalized approach" by ranking and showing content based on users' interactions with other content, such as liking a post.
"We are also going to recommend more political content based on these personalized signals and are expanding the options people have to control how much of this content they see," it said.
In 2022, Meta said political content made up about 3% of posts on Facebook. So the change doesn't necessarily mean your feed will be flooded with political news and content β but it may be an increase from what you've seen in recent years.
You won't see fact-check notes anymore β instead, you'll sometimes see community notes
Part of the shift focuses on reversing moderation changes that the Meta executive Joel Kaplan said resulted in "harmless content" being removed and people "wrongly locked up in 'Facebook jail.'"
Meta said it would end its third-party fact-checking program, implemented in 2016, and launch a community-notes program allowing contributors to add context to content.
Meta said it would no longer demote fact-checked content or include full-screen warnings that users have to click through before viewing a post. It said they'd instead see "a much less obtrusive label" indicating they can see additional content.
A Meta spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment from Business Insider.
The CEOs of Heineken USA and Athletic Brewing told BI that drinking trends are moving toward moderation.
While the space is becoming more popular, widespread availability can pose friction in adoption.
Dry January participants were given extra incentive to stay sober this month as the US Surgeon General said alcohol is a leading cause of preventable cancer and called for a warning label on alcoholic products.
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's advisory, announced on January 3, comes as a number of non-alcoholic drinking brands and sobriety-related trends, like sober curiosity or intermittent sobriety, have gained traction in the US.
However, CEOs of companies selling non-alcoholic beverages say the evolving attitudes toward drinking don't mean alcohol is on its way out.
"It's not that there is, like, a big prohibitionist movement or a sober movement, necessarily," Bill Shufelt, the CEO of non-alcoholic beer brand Athletic Brewing said in an interview with Business Insider.
Today, there are more options on store shelves to moderate alcohol intake while providing a similar taste experience. "Even two years ago," Shufelt said that there was "very little availability and awareness." Now the category is on the cusp of a "big societal breakthrough," the CEO said.
The increasing availability of non-alcoholic beer and spirits comes as studies suggest drinking rates have decreased among young Americans. Gallup data published in August also indicates a shift in perception of alcohol. The report said 45% of Americans view alcohol as bad for health, which is a 6% increase from the year before and 17% increase since 2018.
Dozens of celebrities have spoken out about their sobriety in recent years, with some even establishing their own non-alcoholic drink brands, including Katy Perry's De Soi, Blake Lively's Betty Buzz, and Tom Holland's Bero.
Shufelt said the availability of quality alternatives has given consumers the ability to drink non-alcoholic beer without changing their lifestyles.
Leaning into moderation
Both Athletic Brewing's CEO and Heineken USA's chief executive, Maggie Timoney, told BI that as more options are sold in bars and stores, buying behavior is leaning toward moderation over strict sobriety.
Shufelt said 80% of Athletic Brewing customers still drink alcohol, suggesting that most of its customer base isn't traditionally sober.
Heineken's Timoney pointed to NielsenIQ data from 2023 that indicated over 93% of non-alcoholic consumers also purchased alcohol, a 13% jump from the year prior.
The shifting mindset toward drinking can be seen in trends like Dry January, which has evolved for some into the more flexible approach of "Damp January," in which participants cut down on their alcohol intake for the month without fully eliminating it. Some have credited the less drastic approach for helping them moderate their alcohol consumption after the monthlong challenge ends.
Timoney said evolving attitudes toward non-alcoholic beverages stems in part from a desire to participate in occasions where others are drinking.
"It's linked to the health and wellness macro trend," the Heineken executive said, as well as occasions, "because people still want to have a sense of belonging."
Both companies have been making non-alcoholic beer for more than half a decade. Athletic Brewing was launched in 2018. In 2019, Heineken, which has experimented with non-alcoholic beer in the past, launched the non-alcoholic Heineken 0.0 in the US.
Over the last few years, other non-alcoholic drink companies like Free Spirits and Spiritless joined the space. Now, there are a number of non-alcoholic brands making the option to enjoy a mocktail or beer-like drink more widespread.
Athletic Brewing's Shufelt said that the proliferation of non-alcoholic options has expanded "menus and occasions" and has created excitement in the adult beverage industry.
Milan Martin, the CEO of Free Spirits, told BI the rise of participants in Dry January and the decline in some alcoholic drink sales isn't a sign that the alcohol industry "is in trouble" or that it's "going away."
"It's just that people are now just drinking more mindfully and more with an eye to moderation because they have the data," Martin said.
'Bars and restaurants are leaving a lot of money on the table'
While the sale of non-alcoholic beer and spirits has grown in recent years, the segment is still a fraction of overall alcohol sales.
Shufelt said the relative availability of non-alcoholic options is "probably the biggest friction" in people regularly buying the products. He said that Athletic Brewing products are on less than 10% of restaurant menus in the US and as he sees it, "bars and restaurants are leaving a lot of money on the table."
Martin said that for those looking to drink moderately, it can be challenging "if they have to go out of their way to try your product or keep drinking your product."
In an effort to reach more consumers, Heineken plans to expand its 0.0 brand across two major US convenience retailer chains and launch a 12-pack of the non-alcoholic beer bottles for the first time this year.
Timoney told BI that while stigmas around non-alcoholic beer are "easing, they still remain a hurdle."
A Heineken study released on January 2, conducted in collaboration with a professor at the University of Oxford, surveyed 2,413 Americans. The study found that 16% of those in the US said they felt the need to justify their choice of low- or no-alcohol drinks at social gatherings, and 13% said they concealed those choices due to social pressures over the past year.
"Often, the hesitation comes from outdated perceptionsβ people assume it won't taste like beer," the CEO said. "But the reality is, once they try it, they're amazed."
The US Surgeon General's advisory calls for a warning label on alcohol products.
The CEO of Free Spirits told BI he thinks the statement will further push a change in drinking culture.
Non-alcoholic brands like Free Spirits are expanding as mindful drinking gains popularity.
Milan Martin, the CEO of non-alcohol spirit brand Free Spirits, said American drinking culture has evolved over the last decade β and the US Surgeon General's statement on alcohol will further push that change.
In an advisory published Friday, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said alcohol consumption was the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the US, after tobacco and obesity. He also said he wants to see cancer warnings on wine, beer, and spirits.
In an interview with Business Insider, Martin said regardless of whether a change to the warning label would win political approval, he thinks the statement will impact consumers.
Do you plan to change your drinking habits in response to the Surgeon General's recommendation? Tell us why in this survey.
"What we've seen with the surgeon general is that there's enough research now that says alcohol does not play a positive role in your life and, specifically, it has ties to cancer," Martin said.
Martin said the advisory will be another "nugget" that reinforces similar messages about drinking based on data points, positive stories from friends who have stopped drinking, or guidelines from other governments. All of those insights sit in consumers' minds and lead them to make more informed decisions, Martin said.
"It's not that the alcohol industry is going away," Martin said. "It's just that people are now just drinking more mindfully and more with an eye to moderation because they have the data."
Martin said the current non-alcoholic drinking landscape looks different than it did even a year ago.
"Even a year ago, when I would see a zero-proof cocktail menu on a restaurant's menu, I'd be like, 'great,'" Martin said, adding that, "the expectation is that most restaurants have them now."
Despite running a non-alcoholic spirits company, Martin said neither he nor his employees classify as "traditionally sober." Martin said he still enjoys cocktails, but he drinks a lot less than he used to. Similar to most non-alcoholic consumers, Martin said he enjoys both options.
Before founding Free Spirits, Martin said he spent 20 years in the advertising industry and embraced the "work hard, drink harder" mentality of the business. Oftentimes, he said he overindulged β but not because he necessarily wanted to.
"It was just that phenomenon of you're having a great time, you're out with friends in some great cocktail bar. The energy is high," Martin said. "Your glass is empty, you order another."
Brands like Free Spirits, which is now distributed across around 8,000 locations in the US, including at stores like Total Wine & More and Wegmans, offer consumers the "bite and burn" of alcohol in a non-alcoholic drink. The drinks also integrate Vitamins B12, B6, and B3. Other popular non-alcoholic options infuse THC or psychedelics.
Instead of drinking orange juice or soda in a social setting, consumers now have the opportunity to experience a margarita or martini without the effects of alcohol.
Martin said Free Spirits' prices have come down by about 15% to 20% since the company's start. As Free Spirits continues to scale and find efficiencies in its supply chain, the company plans to pass those savings onto its partners and to consumers to broaden the availability of the category and the brand, the company said.
Experts told BI the explosives detonated in an apparent attack outside a Trump hotel didn't appear sophisticated.
One explosives expert said the incident, where the driver was an active-duty Army service member, appeared "poorly executed."
Authorities said the explosives were "not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience."
Explosive experts told Business Insider the damage from the materials detonated inside a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas would likely have been worse if the items used had been more sophisticated.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to social media in the wake of the incident to praise the Cybertruck's design and suggest it helped limit the damage of the explosion.
Nick Glumac, a mechanical science and engineering professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told BI thatthe volume of the explosion was likely due to the types of explosives used. Glumac said this was a "poorly executed" incident if the intent was to cause major damage.
"It would be very difficult to get the types of fuels here to make into a large scale destruction kind of event," Glumac said.
Glumac said similar improvised explosive device blasts look very different from what occurred on January 1. He also pointed to the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, when Army veteran Timothy McVeigh detonated an explosive-laden rental truck that killed 168 people and reduced a third of the federal building to rubble.
"That was very carefully planned. They knew what they were doing," Glumac said about the Oklahoma City Bombing, adding that the Cybertruck explosion on January 1, by contrast, appeared "very improvised."
'The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience'
Car and truck bombs were a key feature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,to which the suspect deployed at least three times. In many of those instances, vehicles were packed with enough explosives to blast fortified positions or take down buildings. The war in Ukraine has similarly suggested that heavily armored vehicles and tanks can be used as rolling car bombs.
Officials spoke about the explosive materials used in the incident during a Thursday press conference.
"The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience,"Kenny Cooper, an assistant special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said at a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police press conference, adding that most of the materials in the vehicle were to "help fuel a greater explosion."
Ali Rangwala, a fire protection engineering professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said that the driver may have miscalculated the explosion, and it might not have been released instantaneously.
"Some of the explosives might not have triggered on time systematically," Rangwala said.
"The only way to create an instantaneous energy release, as in the case of a bomb, is for all of the energetic material to ignite in micro- or milli-seconds," Jim Wesevich, a global service line leader of forensics at safety and security firm Jensen Hughes, told BI in written commentary.
A military official told BI that Livelsberger "wasn't a bomb maker." But his military occupational specialty (MOS) within the 10th Special Forces Group was 18Z, making him a special forces operations sergeant, which the Army says, "trains and maintains proficiency in all major duties associated with Special Forces."
Cooper said it was too early to know if there was "sophisticated connectivity" to the components or to "give any determination" as to how the explosion was initiated. Officials said they discovered consumer fireworks, mortars, aerial shells, fuel enhancers, and explosive targets that Cooper said could be purchased at "any sporting goods store."
Experts say a vehicle's design may shape the trajectory of a blast
Elon Musk, in a social media post Wednesday, called the Cybertruck the "worst possible choice for a car bomb, as its stainless steel armor will contain the blast better than any other commercial vehicle."
Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said the Cybertruck's design helped limit the explosion.
"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up and through the truck and out," McMahill said in a briefing.
Rangwala said the damage may have been partly limited because a Cybertruck's roof, which includes a large glass pane, would clear pressure from inside the vehicle early in the explosion. The pressure from an explosion would be felt on all sides equally if it wasn't relieved by going upward through the roof, he said.
Glumac and Brian Meacham, an engineer and director of risk and regulatory consulting at Crux Consulting LLC who spoke to BI over email, said that they would have expected similar scenarios if the incident took place in a traditional pickup truck.
Michael Villahermosa, a US Army commander with a background in explosive ordnance disposal, said on X that photos of the items used in the blast suggest the explosives were "poorly constructed and poorly thought out."
As he said on X, "People are using the Las Vegas bombing to show the quality of the Cybertruck," when, in his view, "it shows the quality of the explosive device that was used."
Staff writer Ryan Pickrell contributed to this report.
The US Surgeon General recommended disclosing the cancer risk of alcoholic beverages on Friday.
While just a recommendation, the advisory sent shares of some big alcohol manufacturers lower.
It also presents a fresh opportunity for makers of alternatives to alcohol.
The US Surgeon General's finding Friday that alcohol causes cancer led to stock declines for some of the beverage industry's biggest names β and an opportunity for some newer entrants.
Drinking is a major cause of preventable cancer, Dr. Vivek Murthy said in the advisory, which also recommended placing a notice about the cancer risk on beer, wine, and spirits β similar to how packs of cigarettes include warnings about their health risks.
On its own, the recommendation doesn't mean that labels on booze will change. That would require an act of Congress.
Murthy is also part of President Joe Biden's administration and will be replaced by President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for surgeon general after he takes office on January 20. That nominee, Janette Nesheiwat, could take a different view on the advisory if she's confirmed by the Senate.
However, the advisory prompted a response from some companies and the markets today. Here's what it might mean:
Shares of alcohol companies like Diageo and AB InBev lost out
Stocks of some of the biggest alcohol companies in the world were down Friday after the surgeon general released his advisory.
Shares of Budweiser-maker Anheuser-Busch InBev closed down 2.8% in Belgium. In London, shares of Diageo, the company behind Captain Morgan rum and Ketel One vodka, closed nearly 4% lower.
Still, there's reason to doubt that the surgeon general's advisory will lead to a lot less drinking and fewer sales for the big booze makers, Kate Bernot, lead analyst at Sightlines, which researches the alcohol space, told Business Insider.
Annual per-capita alcohol consumption in the US has hovered around 2 Β½ gallons since 2012, Bernot said, citing data from the National Beer Wholesalers Association. Gallup polling shows that the percentage of Americans who say that they drink alcohol has mostly stayed between 60% and 65% since the early 1990s, she added.
That stability in habits comes despite previous research into the link between alcohol consumption and cancer as well as the growth of "Dry January," a commitment drinkers make to avoid drinking during this time of the year.
"Maybe some people change their behavior, but I don't think we're going to see population-level dramatic shifts in alcohol consumption," Bernot said.
Makers of non-alcoholic beer and spirits could get a boost
Even if there is a nationwide shift away from alcohol, many of the big producers already have alcohol-free options that they have been ramping up for years. In 2023, for instance, Constellation released a non-alcoholic version of Corona beer.
"The diversification has been happening as a result of consumers' potential thoughts about alcohol's effect on their health," Bernot said.
Murthy's advisory came right as many drinkers are trying to cut back on their alcohol consumption in the new year or embarking on a Dry January.
That's a potential win for many other brands that make alcohol-free beer, wine, gin, and other drinks.
The CMO of non-alcoholic spirit brand Spiritless, Tom Santangelo, told BI he sees these comments as the "front end of a tipping point."
"My guess is that for a lot of America, this surgeon general statement is kind of the message they need to come to a realization that this is something serious," Santangelo said.
He said the industry has already grown significantly in the last few years as alcohol moderation and abstention have become increasingly normalized. Similar to cigarettes, change may not come quickly, but he said, "It's a message that's going to carry a lot of weight."
Milan Martin, the CEO of non-alcoholic spirit brand The Free Spirits Company, told BI that the US Surgeon General's comments are another "nugget" of insight that will contribute to cultural change around drinking.
"All of these teeny little nuggets sit in our minds and sit there at the point where we're ready to order our third drink and impact our choice," Martin said, adding that conversations among peers and in the media around drinking are contributing to changes in drinking culture.
Athletic Brewing, which sells non-alcoholic beer, similarly said that while it is "aware of the ongoing discussions about alcohol and health," it "has never been anti-alcohol."
"We believe the alcohol and non-alcoholic sectors are synergistic," the company told BI.
Innovative soft drinks, from seltzer to kava, could benefit
Besides alcohol-free beer and cocktails with all the ingredients other than the, well, alcohol, there are other beverages that have attracted attention from the sober-curious β and could benefit if people cut back on booze.
Others have turned to kava, a beverage that's common to the Pacific and is supposed to help you relax and put you in a better mood. While the most authentic kava is served on its own, brands that have added juice, sugar, and coloring before canning it have popped up over the last few years. Some point to their kava as a healthier choice than a cold beer or cocktail.
Cannabis products could become more attractive
People looking to cut back on alcohol sometimes turn to cannabis as a replacement, especially as governments loosen restrictions. That could be good news for makers of everything from CBD-infused beverages to marijuana dispensaries. Cannabis company Canopy Growth, for example, rose more than 2% Friday.
In 2022, the number of daily or near-daily cannabis users outpaced the number of daily or near-daily drinkers, research from Carnegie Mellon University found.
Some states, such as Minnesota and Texas, already allow liquor stores to sell drinks that contain THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana, right alongside liquor.
The Chinese automaker BYD just reported its best quarter yet.
Even though it doesn't have access to the US market, BYD's affordable EVs are popular in China.
Here's how a little-known Chinese brand proved it could go toe-to-toe with an industry giant.
BYD may not be a household name in America, but it recently made itself known in a big way.
For a brief moment in December 2023, the Chinese automaker unseated Tesla as the world's top seller of electric cars. A little over a year later, on January 1, BYD reported its best quarter yet.
Even though you won't see a BYD car in America (yet), the company has built an affordable brand that's popular in China and elsewhere.
Earlier this year, it announced a Cybertruck competitor, the BYD Shark, along with a hybrid powertrain that allows its sedans to travel up to 1,250 miles without stopping.
Here's the story of the company that proved it could outsell Elon Musk.
BYD doesn't stand for anything β officially.
Wang Chuanfu and a cousin founded BYD in 1995. Then a 29-year-old government researcher, Wang came from a family of rice farmers. He earned a university scholarship and eventually moved to the Special Economic Zone in Shenzhen to start his new company.
The "YD" in the name came from Yadi, the village in Shenzhen where the company originally was, one South Korean newspaper reported. The "B" was added later as a promotional tool, the report said. Wang has said in interviews that, taken together, the BYD name doesn't stand for anything in particular.
It was only later that Wang derived the slogan "Build Your Dreams." The company has also acquired another nickname: "Bring Your Dollars."
The company was originally a cellphone-battery manufacturer.
The company's original business wasn't cars. It was cellphone batteries. BYD challenged the established Japanese suppliers Toyota and Sony by providing a cheaper alternative. By 2002, companies such as Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung were all using BYD batteries.
They started making cars in 2003.
BYD moved into the car business after buying Xi'an Tsinchuan, a failing state-owned automaker that was then an arm of the defense contractor Norinco, the South China Morning Post reported.
The company launched its first car in 2005. The BYD F3 was a compact sedan that resembled the Toyota Corolla. It sold for as little as 40,000 yuan, or about $5,850.
Warren Buffett was a key early booster.
The billionaire investor Warren Buffett was one of the high-profile names who took an interest in BYD early on. Looking to invest in China's booming car market, Buffett toured BYD's headquarters.
The Wall Street Journal reported that while the Berkshire Hathaway tycoon was there, Wang took a sip of battery fluid to prove how clean his batteries were. Buffett was so impressed by the experience that he offered to buy 25% of the company.
Wang declined that offer, but Buffett was not deterred. Berkshire Hathaway acquired a 10% stake in BYD β for $232 million β in 2008.
Their first electric car drew scorn from Elon Musk.
The company debuted its first fully electric vehicle, the E6, in 2010. Benefiting from Chinese government subsidies, it was able to compete with its Japanese counterparts.
But not everyone was impressed. Tesla CEO Elon Musk laughed in a 2011 interview when asked whether he considered BYD a serious rival to Tesla.
"Have you seen their car?" he said. "I don't think they make a good product. I don't think it's particularly attractive. The technology is not very strong."
BYD's hybrid cars turned it into a titan of Chinese automakers.
BYD established itself as one of the top automakers for hybrid vehicles in China in the 2010s. Its most popular offering was the Qin, introduced in 2012, which became one of the best-selling cars in China.
That wasn't the only offering that propelled BYD to prominence, however. The company also released the Tang, a hybrid SUV, and partnered with Daimler AG (now Mercedes-Benz) to make its Denza line.
BYD took the EV crown from Tesla β briefly.
Even though most of its sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 came from the Chinese market, BYD made headlines across the globe when it seemingly did the impossible β it unseated Tesla as the world's top seller of electric cars.
The Chinese automaker rode the EV wave on the back of its new Seagull, which debuted for 73,000 yuan, or about $10,000, as well as its Song, Qin Plus, Dolphin, Yuan Plus, and Han EVs.
Tesla reclaimed the crown in the first quarter of 2024, though both companies saw steep declines in their sales.
BYD's Shark takes aim at Tesla's Cybertruck
The Shark, unveiled in May, is the latest model offered by BYD.
It's a midsize hybrid pickup truck, and the cabin's design fuses outdoor functionality with modern style and durability.
The truck has more than 430 horsepower, or 170 less than Tesla's all-wheel-drive Cybertruc. BYD says it can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers an hour, or about 62 miles an hour, in roughly 5.7 seconds. The vehicle has five seats and a maximum towing capacity of 2,500 kilograms, which is just more than 5,500 pounds. That's about half of the Cybertruck's towing capability.
Designed for everyday trips and off-road driving, the Shark has three terrain modes: sand, mud, and snow.
It also has built-in features to make camping and off-roading more accessible. The vehicle offers bidirectional charging, according to BYD's site.
While the Shark isn't in direct competition with the Cybertruck as a hybrid model that doesn't sell in the US, it may entice EV fans looking for a more traditional pickup design. It's also priced competitively at about $53,451, which is lower than Cybertruck's $60,990 starting price tag.
Don't expect to see a BYD car on American roads anytime soon.
For a time, it looked as if we were just a few years away from getting Chinese electric cars in the United States. A BYD executive said as much in 2017, and the company even hired Leonardo DiCaprio as a brand ambassador for English-speaking customers.
But the company says it has abandoned its plans of selling its EVs to Americans. Analysts have pointed to geopolitical tensions and trade barriers between the two countries, as well as the slumping demand for EVs in the United States.
BYD is launching a new hybrid powertrain system on two midsize sedans β and it can drive 1,250 miles without charging or stopping to fill up for gas.
BYD is upgrading its hybrid powertrain system.
The company announced that the upgraded powertrains will launch in two of sedans, one of which will be the BYD Seal 06, Bloomberg reported. Both models will reportedly be under 100,000 yuan, according to the company.
Hybrids make up the majority of BYD vehicles sold, according to a Reuters report. The new upgrade gives them a competitive edge against rivals like Toyota and Volkswagon, which mostly sell fuel-powered vehicles.
The powertrain system translates to about 81 miles per gallon at full charge, which is over triple the US fuel economy average for 2022 cars. That's also close to 500 more miles of range than a hybrid 2023 Lexus ES, which was the longest-range hybrid in the Kelley Blue Book's list last year.
Additional reporting by Graham Rapier.
BYD hit record sales in the fourth quarter of 2024
BYD similarly launched a series of discounts toward the end of the year and has grown in popularity with its hybrid models in the last few months. BYD's 2024 sales include a monthly record of over 500,000 EVs and hybrids sold just in December, the company said.
32-year-old Taelor Salmon is the CEO of a government contracting company called TJS Group.
She said around 50% of her contracts come from funds set aside for socially disadvantaged businesses.
She doesn't know exactly how DOGE will impact small business set-asides, but she's bracing for change.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 32-year-old Taelor Salmon, the CEO of TJS Group. Her employment and identity have been verified by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
I'm the CEO of TJS Group, and we've been in business providing services to the government for about nine years now.
We have about 19 employees and provide everything from IT security to facilities maintenance and repair support. But our main focus is administrative and facility support.
Our success isn't tied to the president at this point. It's correlated to the regulations projected by the Small Business Administration, including in programs like the 8(a) Business Development program and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business certifications.
The 8(a) Business Development program was established to give at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars annually to disadvantaged small businesses. The 8(a) program can establish you or your business as socially and economically disadvantaged. We got ours in November 2021, and it's a nine-year program that you apply for with the SBA. There are a lot of requirements in it, and I got denied three times before.
We got our first contract around 2017 when Trump was president. We did well under Trump, but better under Biden simply because TJS Group received its 8(a) certification under him. While this could've happened under Trump, the program has helped us tremendously.
My biggest concern is DOGE, or the SBA, wanting to remove the 8(a) and the funding set aside for minority businesses. My company has significantly benefited from those "set-asides" over the past 3 years. Losing the 8a set-aside would be scary, as much of our contract value has derived from this for our small business.
SBA program funding makes up a large part of our revenue
The SBA's job is to support and assist small businesses. SBA initiatives require Congress to spend a certain amount of taxpayer dollars toward different types of small businesses. Some of the initiatives are for minority-owned, women-owned, or veteran-owned companies. It's the government's way of making sure taxpayer's dollars are funneled back into the economy in a fair way where it's not just going to powerhouses.
The 8(a) certification is great because you can get directly awarded contracts without competition. Some people like that, some people hate it, some people think it's unfair. But again, these programs are to help small businesses establish themselves. In the beginning, these programs, or set-asides like 8(a) or EDWOSB, weed out other competition to level the playing field. The goal for these small businesses is to grow into well-established companies in the future so that these very same businesses won't need to rely on set-asides.
I don't know what DOGE will bring, but I'm preparing to be impacted
While TJS Group did well under the prior Trump administration, we're not certain how this administration will treat or change small businesses. I'm not as hopeful as I have been in prior years, given the conversation around the Department of Government Efficiency.
The SBA's 8(a) program has already been in question for the past year or two, so there's strong reason to believe it may not be around in the next 10 years. The program has faced scrutiny, and in 2023, a ruling challenged it. The program now requires applications to be processed with an additional social disadvantage narrative requirement. Prior to the ruling, race served as a qualification for being socially disadvantaged. Now,you have to provide an example of being socially disadvantaged and explain how it impacted your entry into the business world.
As we all know, any major decision, specifically regarding small businesses, requires a lot of change, and that could take months or years. I don't believe DOGE will have a lasting effect, but it has the potential to negatively affect small businesses like ours. The way you reduce that fear and uncertainty is to prepare, be knowledgeable, and fine-tune your strategy.
It's like in basketball β you live by the three-pointer. TJS Group cannot simply rely on our 8(a) status or EDWOSB for awards, we must competitively bid on opportunities to stay competitive. So we try to be proactive about also pursuing opportunities with federal agencies that anybody could pursue.
We're also exploring pursuing partnerships with larger companies, which can have subcontracting goals and requirements that necessitate partnering with small businesses. These partnerships can provide opportunities to expand service offerings and access new customers for small businesses.
We're also looking into opportunities that have the potential to become commercial so thatwe're not just relying on the government.
Every contract based on government funding is uncertain. Often, contracts remain for all base and options years if there's funding and if you provide good services. So, you could have it for the base, but if they say we don't have funding for the next four years, you can only have it for that year.
My advice to other government contractors would be to pursue opportunities competitively and focus on a niche that aligns within both federal and commercial industries so you're not solely relying on government opportunities.
Government contracting isn't for the weakhearted. You need to plan your business around a worst-case scenario just in case this happens. You're running a business, and you're managing it. And so that's a whole nuance in itself that you have to be prepared for.
There's also never a clear answer with administration change, so it's important to focus on things we, as small businesses, can control.
Steve Bannon advised Elon Musk to "study modern political history" amid the H-1B visa debate.
Bannon said Musk should not "start lecturing people about the way things are gonna be."
Musk recently faced MAGA criticism after he shared strong support for H-1B visas.
President-elect Donald Trump's former advisor, Steve Bannon, has some advice for Elon Musk β start studying.
"You need to study modern political history of the fights we've been through for twelve or fourteen years to get to this spot," Bannon said on his "War Room" podcast on Tuesday.
The remarks were made during a discussion about the H-1B visa, for which Musk has recently expressed support. While Bannon said Musk earned a seat at the table for investing in Trump's reelection and supporting the cause, he said he didn't agree with the Tesla CEO's stance on the H-1B visa.
"Don't come up and go to the pulpit in your first week here and start lecturing people about the way things are gonna be. If you're gonna do that," Bannon said, "we're gonna rip your face off."
Musk said on X that the US needs to attract foreign talent to remain globally competitive. He strongly supports H-1B visas, which he said were crucial to building "SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong."
While Trump stood behind Musk, his stance has been criticized by MAGA supporterswho say employers are using H-1B visas and other legal immigration methods to take jobs from Americans and drive down wages.
Bannon was considered one of the most powerful figures in Trump's administration before he was ousted from the White House. He was later found in contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with the January 6 panel.
Bannon completed a four-month prison sentence in October. After his release, the former strategist said at a media conference that he was "empowered" by his sentence.
I made ChatGPT Search my default search engine after it rolled out to logged-in users.
However, I found myself opening a separate browser to find the answers I was looking for on Google.
ChatGPT Search hasn't quite nailed down keyword searching, but it worked well for open-ended prompts.
After a little over a week of using ChatGPT search as my default search engine, I can say that it won't be replacing Google Search for me in the near future.
ChatGPT Search became available to anyone with a free account on December 16 after OpenAI launched the feature on October 31 to select users. The feature allows users to get quick, up-to-date responses with the option to open up relevant links in a tab on the right-hand side.
"This blends the benefits of a natural language interface with the value of up-to-date sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more," the company said in its announcement.
The launch of the tool to free users also means you can go into your web browser settings and set ChatGPT Search as the default search engine β meaning that typing a question or keyword into the browser bar will route that query through ChatGPT instead of your usual default, such as Google or DuckDuckGo.
I use ChatGPT frequently for a number of tasks and I find the chatbot and search engine feature valuable. However, setting it as my default search engine made me realize how necessary Google Search continues to feel to my daily workflow β and how much the two platforms differ.
I feel Google shows, ChatGPT tells
While I found the summaries generated by ChatGPT Search to be useful, there were instances when I wanted to better see and select the sources for myself.
It can vary, but in my experience, ChatGPT Search includes about one to seven in-text links in the response and has a "Sources" tab at the bottom that users can select for an expanded source display. The tab includes the cited links at the top and about eight to 13 relevant links underneath. If you ask for more sources, you have to reopen sources from the first prompt to see the original list.
On Google, it often feels like you can scroll endlessly.
For example, if I want to shop around for a new TV stand for my living room and search "55 inch TV stand" on Google, I can see seemingly infinite options of stands that match that description. If I want to keep scrolling through, I can open Google Shopping which now operates more like a third-party marketplace, thanks to an AI revamp.
ChatGPT Search, on the other hand, responded to my search with around 5 products and linked additional sites in the source tab. Instead of seeing a visual array of products from different brands with filters to set my preferences, ChatGPT Search selected some. I also found the source tab to be a fairly narrow display that didn't present sources in a particularly helpful way visually.
Now, it's worth noting that some people may prefer the approach of ChatGPT Search to their usual search engine. And Google has been evolving the search experience over the past year as it leans into AI.
There's an argument to be made about too many options being shown on Google, and ChatGPT certainly narrows it down. However, if I'm doing a broad search, I personally want to see the breadth of what's out there.
While using ChatGPT Search, I found that I missed Google's layout of providing AI Overviews at the top of some queries. The feature allows users to get the short version while also having the option to scroll through other sources, which I feel offers a bit more agency in how users consume information.
Google is optimized for keyword searches
During this experiment, I often opened a separate browser with Google as my primary Search engine because ChatGPT Search took longer to provide the answers I needed.
It's worth noting that the tech giant has dominated the search engine space for years, so my habits are naturally optimized for Google Search. I'm used to typing in a single keyword and instantly finding an array of relevant links.
Google's head of search, Liz Reid, said at Google I/O in May that "Google will do the Googling for you," and I've generally found that to be true. When I look up a company, person, or website, I'm able to see social media accounts, recent news, and other relevant links. I can also select filters or categories such as images, videos, news, and shopping to narrow my search.
ChatGPT Search worked better when I had a specific prompt or question in mind.
For example, if I have an open-ended research query, like "What was President Gerald Ford's most notable accomplishment" or "How did Gerald Ford's legacy differ from other presidents," I would probably turn to ChatGPT Search because it can organize information concisely, and save me from reading hundreds of related articles that might not address that specific question or contain those keywords.
Google's lead in offering keyword-based access to the wider web is tough to beat. While I see valuable uses for both products, I don't see how ChatGPT Search could replace for me what Google has spent decades building β at least at this stage.