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This Bolognese pasta from Carbone's chef is one of my favorite winter comfort dishes

Mario Carbone bolognese
I made chef Mario Carbone's Bolognese pasta and it's perfect for winter.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

  • Mario Carbone is the chef behind the iconic Italian restaurant Carbone.
  • He gave me the recipe for a Bolognese pasta that's perfect for chilly winter nights.
  • The pappardelle covered in a comforting sauce was packed with tons of flavor.

Carbone is one of the hottest restaurants in New York City, and it's almost impossible to get a table.

But you don't need a reservation to whip up some of Mario Carbone's dishes at home.

I asked the chef to share some of his favorite recipes. And with winter in full swing, Carbone thought it'd be the perfect time to whip up his comforting Bolognese.

Here's how to make it.

Chef Mario Carbone's Bolognese has three different types of meat to get you through chilly temperatures.
Meat for Carbone Bolognese
The Bolognese includes ground beef, ground pork, and Italian sausage.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

To make Carbone's Bolognese for six, you'll need:

  • Β½ pound ground beef
  • Β½ pound ground pork or veal
  • Β½ pound Italian sausage (out of casing)

Carbone told me he likes to add Italian sausage for his spin on the classic dish to give his Bolognese a "big pop of added flavor."

The recipe also features plenty of veggies.
Ingredients for Carbone Bolognese
The Bolognese also includes carrots, celery, red wine, and Carbone's marinara sauce.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • Β½ cup celery, diced
  • Β½ cup carrot, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 Β½ jars Carbone marinara sauce
  • ΒΎ cup red wine
  • Β½ cup chicken stock
  • Β½ cup milk
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1 Β½ tablespoons salt
  • Β½ tablespoon thyme (chopped)

Carbone's recipe was developed with Carbone Fine Food to pair with one of the restaurant's sauces, which you can buy online and in grocery stores. Carbone's Bolognese features the marinara, but you can also try the tomato basil, roasted garlic, or arrabbiata.

If you don't have Carbone's sauce on hand, you can always opt for a similar marinara or just make your own. His sauce is made with Italian tomatoes (whole peeled tomatoes, tomato purΓ©e, sea salt, basil), along with onions, olive oil, sea salt, garlic, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, and oregano.

Before I started cooking, I prepped my veggies.
Chopped celery, carrots, and onions for Carbone Bolognese
First, I diced my carrots, celery, and onion.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I diced my onion, carrots, and celery and set them aside.

Then, I threw some olive oil into a Dutch oven and added the ground beef.
Ground beef in Dutch oven for Carbone Bolognese
I seared my ground beef for about three minutes.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I seared the ground beef over high heat for about three minutes, then drained it in my colander over a large bowl.

I separately seared the pork, followed by the sausage, for around the same amount of time.
Breaking up the beef for Carbone Bolognese
I also separately sealed the Italian sausage (pictured) and the pork in the Dutch oven.

Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

As with the ground beef, I drained the pork and sausage in the colander after they had browned in the Dutch oven.

After I seared and drained all three meats, I made sure to season them.
Putting the beef on the side for Carbone Bolognese
I seasoned my meat with salt and set it aside.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I added half a tablespoon of salt and gave the meat a quick mix.

I drained the excess fat from my Dutch oven before adding the chopped garlic and thyme.
Adding garlic to Carbone Bolognese
I cooked my garlic and thyme for about two minutes.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I constantly stirred my garlic and thyme for around two minutes over medium-low heat.

Then, I added the chopped carrots, celery, and onion.
Adding the veggies to Carbone Bolognese
I turned my stove to low heat after adding my veggies.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I seasoned my veggies with half a teaspoon of salt and cooked them over low heat for another 15 minutes, until they turned soft.

I covered the Dutch oven while everything cooked, making sure to stir the vegetables every few minutes.

Once the vegetables were ready, I added the tomato paste and red wine.
Adding the veggies to Carbone Bolognese
Once the vegetables were ready, I added the tomato paste and red wine.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

First, I added the tomato paste and increased my stove to medium heat. I stirred constantly for two minutes to lightly cook the tomato paste, making sure it had completely mixed with the veggies.

Then, I poured the red wine into the Dutch oven and let it reduce until there wasn't much liquid left. I continued to stir often to ensure I didn't burn the wine and vegetables.

Once the wine had reduced, I added the browned meat back into the Dutch oven.
Adding meat to Carbone Bolognese
I threw my meat back into the Dutch oven once the wine had reduced.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I stirred everything together as delicious scents began to fill up my kitchen.

I threw in my Carbone marinara sauce, along with the chicken stock and bay leaf.
Adding Carbone sauce to Carbone Bolognese
I cooked the sauce for around 40 minutes.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I continued to cook everything for about 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Then, it was time for some milk.
Adding milk to Carbone Bolognese
After adding the milk, I allowed the sauce to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I added the milk and mixed everything together, allowing the sauce to simmer for another 10 minutes.

As the sauce was finishing up, I threw my pasta into a pot of salted boiling water.
Boiling pasta for Carbone Bolognese
I used pappardelle per Carbone's recommendation.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Carbone recommends using pappardelle for his bolognese recipe.

Once the sauce was ready, I took the Dutch oven off the heat.
Simmering sauce for Carbone Bolognese
The sauce for Carbone's Bolognese pasta.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I removed the bay leaf and added another half tablespoon of salt to season everything.

Not letting the Bolognese sauce simmer too long is part of Carbone's twist on the classic dish.

"Usually, this recipe cooks all day," he told me. "But my style β€” which I find to be more Italian-American than true Emilia-Romagna style β€” leaves the meat with more texture, which reminds me of my childhood."

Everything was ready! So, I threw my pasta into the Dutch oven and mixed it with the Bolognese sauce.
Addding pasta to Carbone Bolognese
I threw the pappardelle into the Dutch oven to mix everything together.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

If you've made more sauce than you need for one dinner, Carbone said you can store the Bolognese in the fridge for up to five days.

You can also freeze it for longer, just make sure to use freezer-safe bags.

The golden ribbons of pappardelle looked beautiful sitting in that rich Bolognese.
Carbone Bolognese
My pot of Bolognese pasta looked incredibly delicious.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

There's just something about a heaping bowl of thick pasta noodles in an even thicker sauce on a cold night. I instantly felt soothed as I admired the big bowl of pasta in front of me.

The bolognese took more time than many of the pasta recipes I usually prepare, but it smelled absolutely glorious.

Carbone's delicious Bolognese sauce made for a perfect winter pasta dish.
Carbone Bolognese
I'll definitely make Carbone's Bolognese pasta again.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Carbone's recipe has the deep richness you'd expect from a Bolognese but still tastes light despite featuring three different types of meat. The sauce has a lovely, mild sweetness that lifts the entire dish.

"The different flavors don't compete with each other; they build on each other," my mom said approvingly as she finished her plate.

"I could really seduce a man with this recipe," my sister added as she went for seconds.

Carbone's Bolognese was so comforting and soothing on a gloomy night. It's the perfect recipe to help us get through winter β€” plus, who doesn't love a good bowl of pasta?

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In future fights, warfighting decisions will have to be made faster than humans can make them, top US Air Force official says

Two F-35 Lightning II's of the Vermont Air National Guard fly over the Midwest Sept. 19, 2019.
Two F-35 Lightning II's of the Vermont Air National Guard fly over the Midwest Sept. 19, 2019.

U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ben Mota

  • The Air Force and Space Force must grow over the next two decades to counter emerging threats.
  • China's rapid military advancements pose a significant challenge.
  • The US is boosting cyber defenses and AI, with "machine speed" being necessary for some decisions.

Winning wars 25 years from now will hinge on achieving an edge in artificial intelligence and the ability to make certain decisions at inhuman speeds, the US Air Force's top civilian official said Monday.

Future war will be "highly automated, highly autonomous, action at long range, precision," and space will be a "decisive theater," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said. "Response times to bring effects to bear are very short."

Advances in technology, including the proliferation of sensor technology and machine learning, have led to the ability to execute complex kill chains on faster timelines. Maintaining a competitive edge demands change and further innovation.

"We're going to be in a world," Kendall said, "where decisions will not be made at human speed; they're going to be made at machine speed." Meeting that challenge will mean transforming the Department of the Air Force through AI to shield troops from a range of threats and prepare for higher-level combat.

Kendall's remarks on Monday at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event looking at Air Force plans for the future align with Air Force leadership visions for 2050.

A December 2024 report titled The Department of the Air Force in 2050 says that the "areas of conflict that move at speeds vastly exceeding human decision time constants, such as cyber warfare and electronic warfare, are likely to be dominated by AI technologies that assess events happening at unimaginably fast speeds and unimaginably small dimensions."

"These technologies will be used to make crucial decisions with no possibility of human intervention," the report says. "Victory or defeat in the air or in space at the human scale is likely to be determined by which combatant has fielded the most advanced AI technology in the areas most crucial to achieving victory."

The Air Force secretary has previously said that he doesn't think people who say that AI is "going to determine who's the winner in the next battlefield" are "all that far off."

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall speaks at the 2022 Air and Space Forces Association's Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 19, 2022.

U.S. Air Force photo by Wayne Clark

What Air Force leadership says is needed for future fights

"China is doing everything it can to exploit the opportunities that emerging technologies are providing to field forces designed to defeat the United States in the Western Pacific, especially in space and in the air," the Air Force plans for 2050 say.

The Air Force and Space Force have expressed concern over the pace at which China has been developing military space capabilities, including a network of hundreds of military satellites that may assist in targeting troops, among other challenges.

"The joint force will not be able to go anywhere and do anything unless we can protect it from targetings in space," Kendall explained Monday.

A more powerful Space Force is a must to combat China's growing abilities, Kendall said. "We have to go from having a merchant marine [force] to essentially having a Navy," the secretary said, comparing where the force is today and where it needs to eventually be to civilian cargo mariners and armed naval forces.

The Space Force was established during the first Trump administration and remains in the early stages of development. But strengthening US technological capabilities doesn't stop there.

The US needs to boost defense against cyber-attacks while also increasing offensive capabilities, Kendall said, adding that he expects more developments on both fronts this year. That sentiment comes on the heels of a recent alarming hack of US telecommunications systems and the US treasury, allegedly by Chinese hackers.

Autonomous vehicles and aircraft are also expected to become more prolific and play a greater role in future wars. "The only open questions about autonomy are how fast it will mature and what form it will take," the Air Force said in its report on 2050.

"The direction is quite clear at this point," it said. "By 2050, we can reasonably expect autonomous vehicle operation to be the norm, in all domains."

The Air Force has already begun experimenting with AI-assisted flight navigation for some of its jets in anticipation of a space attack that could cripple satellite-based GPS communication. It is also developing uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft and experimenting with AI-piloted fighter aircraft, key developments amid Beijing's investment in its own air forces, which is gradually eroding American air supremacy.

Autonomous military platforms and other variants of AI rely so heavily on chip technology, which the Biden Administration has put new restrictions on.

"To enhance US national security and economic strength, it is essential that we do not offshore this critical technology and that the world's AI runs on American rails," read the White House announcement.

But one of the hardest challenges in the decades to come will be how American troops and machines work together at war, Kendall said. "We're gonna have to figure out how to manage this in a way which is cost effective, which is consistent with our values, which is militarily competitive."

And, he said, "I think that's gonna be a tough problem to resolve."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Microsoft lays off employees in security, experiences and devices, sales, and gaming — separate from performance cuts

Satya Nadella Microsoft Build

Microsoft

  • Microsoft is laying off employees on teams, including security, sales and gaming.
  • The layoffs are separate from cuts targeting underperforming employees across the company.
  • In 2024 Microsoft said security was its No. 1 priority.

Microsoft is laying off employees across organizations including security, experiences and devices, sales, and gaming, according to two people familiar with the matter.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the layoffs are small but did not specify a figure and unrelated to the job cuts Business Insider recently reported targeting underperforming employees across the company.

One of the people familiar with the matter said employees started receiving notifications Tuesday about layoffs in Microsoft's security unit. The group is run by Charlie Bell, a former top cloud executive at Amazon, who stunned the industry when he left for Microsoft in 2021 to lead a revamped cybersecurity effort.

Microsoft expanded its Secure Future Initiative last year, making security the top priority for every employee. The change followed years of security issues at Microsoft, including what the Department of Homeland Security called "a cascade of security failures" that allowed Chinese hackers to access emails from thousands of customers.

The company also made security a core priority on which employees are evaluated during performance reviews.

"If you're faced with the tradeoff between security and another priority, your answer is clear: Do security." Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote in an email to Microsoft employees last year.

Are you a Microsoft employee, or do you have insight to share? Contact the reporter Ashley Stewart via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email (astewart@businessinsider.com). Use a nonwork device.

Read the original article on Business Insider

TikTok sellers brace for 'doomsday'

TikTok Shop.

Illustration by Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images

  • TikTok may soon go dark in the US due to a divest-or-ban law.
  • Merchants that rely on its e-commerce tool, Shop, are scrambling to come up with contingency plans.
  • Some are halting warehouse shipments and testing out other apps like Flip and Instagram Live.

The clock is ticking on a potential TikTok ban in the US, and panic is beginning to set in for the platform's sellers and their e-commerce partners.

TikTok Shop, the app's shopping product, has been flourishing in the US. Last year, merchants pulled in millions in sales a month on the platform, including $100 million on Black Friday alone.

But that could all go away in a few days. Without court or presidential intervention, TikTok said it would "go dark" after January 19 to comply with a divest-or-ban law. The company has asked the Supreme Court to push back that deadline. Legal analysts say the odds aren't in TikTok's favor.

Some e-commerce players are already backing off from the app.

A TikTok Shop agency partner executive told Business Insider that a lot of merchants have paused their TikTok Shop plans while they wait to see what happens at the Supreme Court. Some have halted sending free samples to TikTok creators, while others are holding off on shipping products to US warehouses amid the uncertainty. The executive requested anonymity to protect business relationships. Some merchants are even asking for carveouts in contracts with the firm to account for the possibility that TikTok could go dark, the executive said.

Two agency sources told BI that the TikTok Shop team has not communicated anything to them about a possible US app shutdown, acting as if things are business as usual.

A TikTok spokesperson did not provide comment by the time of publication.

Other sellers are testing out alternative social-commerce platforms, such as Flip, Instagram Live, Amazon Live, and YouTube Shopping. And some US merchants are exploring selling goods in other countries where TikTok Shop operates.

Jake Bjorseth, founder of the TikTok Shop partner agency Trndsttrs, described the flurry of TikTok ban planning as "doomsday prep."

"Fortunately, we've slotted much of this in advance, but it's still quite unclear where brands and creators reliant on TikTok are going to flow," Bjorseth said. "It'll certainly be a turbulent few months for folks reliant on it."

Nicole Rechtszaid, co-CEO of the e-commerce agency Ghost Agency, said the company has similarly stopped new business operations related to TikTok Shop and general TikTok content production in preparation for a possible TikTok shutdown. The company's revenue is heavily tied to the app, and if TikTok leaves the US, Ghost may need to consider alternative paths like merging with another company, she said.

"For our existing clients, we've aimed to shift them to alternative platforms, like Instagram Live," Rechtszaid said. "However, it is challenging to replicate TikTok Shop's success on platforms that do not have the combination of an engaging algorithm and native shopping features."

While some Shop businesses are deep into contingency planning, others hope to extract what they can from the platform while it's still around.

"We are continuing on as business as usual until we are told to stop," Lindzi Shanks, the cofounder of the gourmet marshmallow seller XO Marshmallow, told BI. "We also never put our eggs in one basket, so to speak. We have always diversified our social platforms and marketing efforts and continue to do so."

'It's going to put the industry back a few years'

Even as merchants and sellers hedge their bets by testing out alternative platforms, replacing TikTok Shop in the US is going to be tough.

Other apps excel in certain aspects of social commerce. Live shopping app Whatnot said it drove over $3 billion in sales last year, for example. But only TikTok offers an all-in-one place for sellers to run their social-commerce businesses, including a dedicated app store, affiliate marketing tech, and order fulfillment services.

"If it does get banned, it's going to be very bad for live shopping," the first TikTok Shop agency exec said. "It's going to put the industry back a few years."

Michael Herling, a Shop merchant who sells hats on TikTok under the brand Herling Handcrafted, said most of his business comes from TikTok sales and referrals. If TikTok does end up getting banned, he's planning to use Instagram and Facebook to advertise his business.

"It's a real bummer. I built my business on TikTok," Herling said. "I've been pretty depressed about it, knowing that if it gets banned it essentially shuts my business down."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Your UGGs may not be the shoes you think they are

Influencer Anna Winter wears UGG shoes in Berlin, Germany.
An influencer wears UGG shoes in Berlin.

Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images

  • People are realizing that the UGG shoes they've worn for decades may be different than they thought.
  • That's because they purchased American-made UGGs β€” not shoes from Australian brand UGG Since 1974.
  • The brands are separate companies with little in common besides their nearly identical boots.

You probably have a pair of UGG boots in your closet.

And just as likely, they're probably not the Australian-made shoes you think they are.

Leather, fur-lined boots have a history that goes back centuries, but the kind we wear today got their start in Australian surfing culture. Dubbed "uggs," an Australian slang term, the shoes were first regularly worn by surfers to keep their feet warm around the '50s.

Of course, when you hear the term in the US, you likely think of the trendy, brand-name footwear ideal for winter.

The UGG company's brown boots first became a sensation in the early 2000s, with everyone from suburban moms to celebrities like BeyoncΓ© touting their Australian-made boots with authentic sheepskin fabrics and cloud-like linings.

And since then, various UGG styles have made a comeback thanks to Gen Z fashion fans.

However, many shoppers are now discovering that the shoes they've been wearing for decades aren't actually made in Australia. They're not created by the original ugg brand unless they were purchased from UGG Since 1974, an Australia-based company that handcrafts its products and has been around a few years longer than UGG.

An UGG store sign in London.
The UGG brand that we all know is actually American, not Australian.

Mike Kemp/Getty Images

UGG vs. UGG Since 1974

After sheepskin boots first became popular in the '50s and '60s, Australian couple Arthur Springthorpe and Faye Springthorpe took the shoes to another level in the '70s, according to a blog post from UGG Since 1974.

"Arthur and Faye drew on Arthur's years of experience as a wool classer in the shearing sheds of New South Wales to craft sheepskin moccasins and UGG boots, one pair at a time in our workshop, all those years ago," the brand's website says.

Though they didn't invent the term "ugg," the Springthorpes saw its potential as a business moniker and created a stable, family-run business in Australia.

And today, the brand is still going strong. You can buy its shoes at one store in Australia and around the world via its online shop.

@uggsince1974 Fun fact, we only have 1 store in the entire world where we hand make our true Aussie ugg boots for! 🫢🏽 🦘 #uggsince1974 #uggboots #australianmade #winterfashion #autumnfashion #springfashion #australia ♬ original sound - UGG Since 1974

But as UGG Since 1974 was rising to success in Australia, a competitor named UGG rose alongside them in the US.

Brian Smith, an Australian surfer and entrepreneur, founded UGG in 1978 after relocating to California.

In a 2014 interview with Forbes, Smith explained that he was looking to start a business while in school to be an accountant and found inspiration in sheepskin boots when he saw an advertisement for them in a friend's surfing magazine.

"Importing six pairs of boots as samples, I registered UGG as the trademark and settled down to be an instant millionaire," Smith told Forbes. "What I didn't know was that Americans didn't understand sheepskin like Aussies do."

Despite initial slow sales and business troubles, as Smith told the publication, the shoes eventually caught on with US surfers and professional athletes.

The US Olympic team, for example, wore UGG boots during the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

The US Olympic team wears UGG shoes in Lillehammer, Norway, on February 12, 1994.
The US Olympic team wears UGG shoes in Lillehammer, Norway, on February 12, 1994.

David Madison/Getty Images

And later, celebrities grew to love the US-based UGG brand.

Oprah first featured UGG boots in her 2003 Favorite Things episode, and the shoes became a staple wardrobe piece for stars like Paris Hilton, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kate Moss.

Kate Moss wears UGG shoes in London, England, on December 16, 2003.
Kate Moss wears UGG shoes in London on December 16, 2003.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Deckers Brands, which owns popular footwear companies including Hoka, Teva, and Sanuk, then purchased the UGG brand in 1995.

Is there a difference? Shoppers say yes.

The fact that two major UGG brands exist is no secret.

Both companies have been around for decades, and the Australian version regularly states online that it has "no connection whatsoever, past or present, to the US company known as UGG."

However, many consumers have been entirely unaware of the similar yet different brands, which has led to a lot of confusion.

In December 2023, content creator Eliana Shiloh said in a TikTok video that she was "shook" to discover there was even a difference between UGG and UGG Since 1974 and that Deckers Brands mass-produces its UGG products with materials that aren't always from Australia. Deckers Brands did not respond to a request for comment.

In her video, which now has 2.3 million views, Shiloh said she thought the quality of the shoes she'd purchased from the brand had decreased over the years, which led her to question if she'd had UGG Since 1974 shoes as a child but bought American-made UGG boots as an adult.

@elshiloh this is literally crazy i cant believe it #ugg #uggseason #uggsince1974 ♬ original sound - elshiloh

As UGG Since 1974 explained in a TikTok video two days later, that's likely not the case.

"If you purchased your UGGs in the early 2000s in the USA or from the USA website, you've likely never owned a pair of our UGG Since 1974 boots," the video's narrator says. "Our UGG boots can only be purchased from one store in Australia and online through uggsince1974.com.au."

Shiloh told Business Insider that she came to the same conclusion after doing more research following her TikTok video. From now on, she plans to purchase shoes from UGG Since 1974 instead of UGG.

@uggsince1974 Replying to @They_are_covert Different UGG companies? More to come. #uggsince1974 ♬ GOOD VIBES - Ellen Once Again

So, how did shoppers like Shiloh get so confused? Is there an UGG Mandela effect?

In a way, yes. UGG was once named UGG Australia, leading shoppers to believe they were purchasing shoes made in Australia with Australian materials.

The brand changed its name to UGG in 2016 when Australian ugg makers complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that the American company's branding was misleading, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

If you bought UGGs in the early 2000s, you were likely buying UGG Australia, which is now known simply as UGG.

Stylist Sonia Lyson wears UGG shoes in in Berlin, Germany.
A pair of US-brand UGG shoes.

Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images

As for how the brands differ, that all comes down to how (and where) the shoes are made.

UGG Since 1974 says on its website that it handcrafts its shoes, and the brand wrote in a since-deleted blog post that its competitor UGG mass-produces its products "in countries such as China, Vietnam, the Philippines and other parts of Asia."

"We strictly use Australian and New Zealand sheepskin, with all of our UGG boots being handcrafted from premium A-Grade Australian or New Zealand sheepskin," UGG Since 1974 said in its post.

Meanwhile, UGG details the materials used in the product descriptions of each of its items.

One of UGG's most classic designs, for example, utilizes sheepskin and "real fur from sheep or lamb," according to the UGG website. The site says that fur "may be sourced from Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, or the United States" and that it is "artificially dyed and treated." Other UGG products incorporate materials such as wool and lyocell, a fabric made from trees.

Representatives for UGG Since 1974 did not respond to a request for comment. When contacted by BI for this story, UGG declined to comment on the debate and feedback surrounding its products.

Sheepskin boots and trademark disputes

UGG, UGG Since 1974, and other ugg manufacturers don't necessarily co-exist peacefully.

In May 2021, a federal appeals court rejected a case from shoemaker Eddie Oygur, who sells ugg-style shoes through his brand Australian Leather, to remove UGG's American trademark.

Oygur told The New York Times in 2021 that he felt Australia should have sole ownership of the term.

"The trademark should never have been given in the first place to the US," he told the publication.

UGG Since 1974 said in its deleted blog post that this dispute β€” namely the the lack of rights for Australian brands β€” prevents them and other brands from widely selling ugg products in other countries.

The company also said it was then "working to preserve" the ugg term for Australian businesses to use in and outside the country.

However, as of January, UGG Since 1974 said on TikTok that it had been sued by Deckers and would be rebranding to Since 74 overseas. In Australia and New Zealand, the brand says it will remain as UGG Since 1974.

So maybe you own UGGs, UGG Since 1974 boots, or another dupe entirely.

But whatever you've got on your feet, the shoes likely have a deep, complicated history that's enough to make you say "ugh."

Read the original article on Business Insider

'Back in Action' director recounts finishing the Netflix movie amid Jamie Foxx's sudden illness: 'A bit of a miracle'

Cameron Diaz standing next to Jamie Foxx on a movie set
Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx on the set of "Back in Action."

John Wilson/Netflix

  • Jamie Foxx suffered a stroke in April 2023 while in production on his Netflix movie "Back in Action."
  • Director Seth Gordon recounts how he continued making the movie while Foxx recovered.
  • "Back in Action," starring Foxx and Cameron Diaz, is available Friday on Netflix.

Making a movie is never an easy or predictable process. But veteran writer-director Seth Gordon could only come up with one word to describe the challenges it took to make his Netflix movie "Back in Action": "special."

Gordon was prepping for a day of shooting in Atlanta on April 12, 2023, when he received a call no director ever wants: one of his stars wouldn't be reporting to work that day. But it got worse. The star, Jamie Foxx, had collapsed the day before and was in the hospital.

"We didn't know anything," Gordon told Business Insider via Zoom from Berlin. "No details. But we simply wanted to make sure he was OK as best we could. We put that priority first."

"Back in Action" was being billed as an action comedy about two CIA spies who have gone into hiding to start a family. With star power in Foxx and Cameron Diaz, who returned to acting for her first role in eight years, it had a lot of hype. Now, it would be known as the movie Foxx was making when he mysteriously collapsed.

It would take a months before the public would hear from Foxx again, as speculation ran rampant about what had afflicted the star. Revealing the cause of his mysterious illness would take longer. In his Netflix standup special "Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was...", released in December 2024, Foxx said he suffered a brain bleed that led to a stroke that rendered him unconscious for weeks.

During that time, Gordon and the producers of "Back in Action" scrambled to continue making the movie, holding out hope that Foxx would one day return to finish it.

Gordon resumed filming with Foxx body doubles, then rewrote some scenes

Jamie Foxx at the AAFCA Special Achievement Awards luncheon on Sunday, March 3, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Jamie Foxx at the AAFCA Special Achievement Awards luncheon on Sunday, March 3, 2024, in Los Angeles.

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

After the shock of Foxx's hospitalization wore off, Gordon had to figure out what to do with a movie that was already deep in production. A key action sequence was set to be shot the week Foxx fell ill.

Gordon said he wasn't panicked.

"From doing documentaries, I'm really used to having no idea what is actually going to happen," said Gordon, who, before making comedies like "Four Christmases" and "Horrible Bosses," made the beloved documentary "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters."

"You do your best to guess and your best to plan and then you react to reality as it unfolds. So maybe my stomach is a little more used to that uncertainty than it should be."

With locations already locked and the rest of the cast and crew ready to go, Gordon powered through trying to shoot an exterior fight sequence sans Foxx.

"We shot part of it, what we could shoot without Jamie, which was limited," said Gordon. The shoot made headlines as pictures of Foxx's body double doing the scene alongside Diaz spread across the internet.

At that point, Gordon said he was at a loss for what would be the right way to proceed. Production was halted until he could get a better idea of Foxx's condition.

During the months-long downtime, Gordon said he began editing the movie and realized that some of the scenes they had yet to shoot were unnecessary.

"I basically reconceived a couple scenes," he said.

Now, all Gordon needed was for Foxx to get better.

Gordon never considered recasting Foxx, who finally returned to set cracking jokes

Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz in "Back in Action."
Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz in "Back in Action."

John Wilson / Netflix

Despite knowing very little about Foxx's condition, Gordon said there was never a conversation to recast the Oscar winner.

"There's no movie without him, honestly," Gordon said. "It really became putting all our eggs in the basket of praying that he got better."

Finally, all anxieties were laid to rest when Foxx showed up to see a rough assembly of some scenes in the fall of 2023.

"He was 100%," Gordon said, recalling his shock when Foxx strolled into the editing bay like he hadn't been fighting for his life mere months earlier.

"In classic Jamie style he was smooth, was cracking jokes, holding court, he was hilarious, as usual," Gordon said of their meeting.

Gordon showed Foxx the thrilling plane crash sequence that opens the movie.

"He got really excited about what he saw," he said.

The star's return was a huge boost for production morale. Then word came that filming could resume in January 2024.

"We were doing backflips and just hoping everything would remain OK," Gordon said. "Jamie went through a pretty severe thing, and the last thing in the world we would want to have happen is the stress from shooting to cause something."

Gordon thinks Foxx's recovery is a miracle, and on-set spontaneity led to even better scenes

Jamie Foxx holding a gas pump on fire
Jamie Foxx in "Back in Action."

Netflix

With the movie back on, Gordon shot the remaining scenes as well as some new ones showcasing the dynamic between spy parents Matt (Foxx) and Emily (Diaz) and their daughter Alice (McKenna Roberts), which Gordon devised during the pause in production.

In one scene, after Matt and Emily drop their kids off at school, Emily uses binoculars to spy on Alice and a boy. Matt snatches the binoculars so he can see. Then Gordon came up with an idea between takes.

"At the very last minute, I asked props if they had another pair of binoculars," he said. "I wrote it for one pair, but I thought it would be hilarious if she all of a sudden had a second pair."

They shot the next take on the fly, with Emily suddenly looking through a new pair of binoculars as Matt looks with the ones he originally took from her.

Gordon said the bit got a great reaction when they test-screened the movie. And it all came from the spontaneity created by the director's desire to be mindful of Foxx's health by keeping his workload light and not doing too many takes.

"Making movies is hard and those days can be long, so what I was trying to do was keep everything with him as brief as possible for him," Gordon said.

Looking back, Gordon is still amazed by Foxx's recovery.

"He's a bit of a miracle."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Meta could make performance-based job cuts an annual practice, leaked memo suggests

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Alex Wong via Getty Images

  • Meta may plan for annual performance-based job cuts to boost employee performance.
  • The strategy aims to increase "non-regrettable attrition" and remove the lowest performers.
  • Affected employees will still receive bonuses and stock vesting despite the layoffs.

Meta's performance-based job cuts could become an annual occurrence, according to an internal FAQ document viewed by Business Insider.

The document, shared with employees by Hillary Champion, Meta's director of people development growth programs, addresses whether Meta's upcoming performance-related layoffs will happen every year.

"We are committed to a culture of high performance and are trying to raise the bar by increasing our annual non-regrettable attrition and moving faster to move our lowest performers out," Champion's memo says. "We may use future performance cycles to do that."

The development comes amid an already intense review process designed to cut about 5% of Meta's workforce deemed to be its lowest performers. These cuts are set to be finalized by February 10 for US-based employees, with some international notifications occurring later.

The FAQ also reassures employees that location will not influence their ratings or termination risk and confirms that anyone impacted by the performance reviews will still receive their February 15, 2025 vesting, any due dividends, and bonuses if any are eligible.

Do you work at Meta? Contact BI reporters from a nonwork email and device at jmann@businessinsider.com and pdixit@businessinsider.com.
You can also reach them via Signal at jyotimann.11 and +1408-905-9124.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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