Whether the former first lady will return to the White House has been a subject of speculation since Donald Trump's election win.

"Silicones can provide benefits like reduced split ends, improved resistance to humidity, and smoother, shinier hair," one expert told Newsweek.

Senate confirmation picks for Donald Trump's cabinet appointees start tomorrow, January 14.

The National Weather Service has warned that minor coastal flooding could impact the Bay Area on Monday.

About half of Russia's military budget is off the books, according to Craig Kennedy, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker.

"This has to be one of the favorite proposals I've seen!" one person wrote about the hilarious mix-up.

• My husband has been teaching for 20 years.
• His salary is $19,000 above the poverty level for our family of seven.
• While money is tight, it's worth him keeping his job for our health insurance.

For most of his career as a public school teacher, my husband's paycheck has hovered just above the poverty level for our family. This past summer, my children even qualified for the free lunch program through the schools.

Today, with my husband's 20 years of teaching experience and a Masters degree, his pay is about $19,000 above the poverty level for a family of our size in our state. He has reached the top of the teaching pay scale at our school, which means his income will not increase after this year, but with five children, two of them teens and two on the brink, we are entering one of the most expensive phases of our lives.

Although we have talked about my husband leaving teaching many, many times, the discussion always comes back to one sticking point: health insurance.

Our health insurance is great

We are extremely fortunate the teachers' union that my husband's school works with has always advocated for top-tier healthcare. Part of that is many teachers and teacher's families who have special health needs, but regardless of the catalyst, our family has always enjoyed what I feel is excellent health insurance.

Our annual family deductible is $2,000, and we have a PPO, which means I've never had to deal with referrals or even prior authorization. I've never had to fight an insurance company, and we've never had a denial.

There was a time in my life when we were first married and still in college when I used Medicaid for my pregnancy. I felt so ashamed every time I went to the doctor, although I was incredibly grateful that I never paid a dime during my pregnancy, and it allowed me to graduate from college as a nurse exactly one week before delivering my baby.

Despite my shame in using Medicaid, the experience also opened our eyes to how important health insurance is because I had postpartum complications that led me to have two hospitalizations after giving birth.

The statements were mailed to our house after I had recovered, and when I saw how high the statements were for those bills and then realized they had been fully covered, I wept in relief. At that time in our lives, as brand-new parents and new college graduates, a $20,000 hospital bill would have ruined our lives. Instead, we were able to start our adult lives fresh and immediately started working, paying back into the system that saved us.

We don't have crippling medical bills

With those memories in hand and five children we are responsible for, we have always felt that any potential lower income as a public school teacher has been worth it for access to high-quality health insurance. We've been fortunate not to have any true medical emergencies, but even with seemingly "normal" medical events, like a premature baby and a weeklong NICU stay, we have still not experienced any of the crippling medical bills that haunt many American families.

I do wish that teachers were paid just a little higher, especially considering how highly valued they were during the pandemic, but for us, health insurance alone has made it worth it.

I don't know what will happen in the future, especially with education and healthcare, but I do hope that we can continue to prioritize the health insurance that has made our lives possible to this point because it provides us with a lot of peace of mind. But even more so, it might be nice to get to a point in society when employer-tied health insurance doesn't rule our decision-making.

• Microsoft formed a new engineering group led by Jay Parikh to build AI tools.
• Microsoft anticipates AI agents will fundamentally change application development.
• The new CoreAI Platform and Tools group will combine various AI teams and build out GitHub Copilot.

Microsoft created a new engineering organization responsible for building its artificial-intelligence platform and tools, CEO Satya Nadella said in an email to employees Monday morning.

The new group will be led by Jay Parikh, Facebook's former head of engineering whom Nadella added to Microsoft's senior leadership team in October.

Microsoft is forming the group as it anticipates that AI, and particularly AI agents, will present a fundamental shift in how applications are built and used.

"2025 will be about model-forward applications that reshape all application categories," Nadella wrote in the email, which was also posted on Microsoft's blog. "More so than any previous platform shift, every layer of the application stack will be impacted. It's akin to GUI, internet servers, and cloud-native databases all being introduced into the app stack simultaneously. Thirty years of change is being compressed into three years!"

It said the new group, called CoreAI Platform and Tools, would include Microsoft's developer division and AI platform team and be responsible for building out GitHub Copilot. AI-related teams from the office of the chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, such as AI Supercomputer, AI Agentic Runtimes, and Engineering Thrive, would also be part of the new group.

Parikh worked at Facebook for more than a decade. He helped the company build out and maintain its massive technical infrastructure, a network of expensive data centers stocked with thousands of computers spanning several continents.

As one of Mark Zuckerberg's top lieutenants, Parikh also spearheaded various ambitious initiatives such as internet connectivity and an internet drone project that was eventually abandoned.

At Microsoft, Parikh's new reports include Eric Boyd, a corporate vice president of AI platform; Jason Taylor, a deputy CTO for AI infrastructure; Julia Liuson, president of the developer division; and Tim Bozarth, a corporate vice president of developer infrastructure.

The email said Parikh would also work closely with the cloud-and-AI chief Scott Guthrie; the experiences-and-devices leader Rajesh Jha; the security boss Charlie Bell; the consumer AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman; and Scott, the CTO.

Are you a Microsoft employee or someone else with insight to share?

Contact Ashley Stewart via email ([email protected]), or send a secure message from a non-work device via Signal (+1-425-344-8242).

• PR pros and lawyers see the Lively-Baldoni fight as part of a larger trend.
• They say public figures often file lawsuits to try to influence the popular narrative.
• Media outlets can sometimes become collateral damage in this strategy.

As Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni hurl competing accusations in court, some media lawyers and PR pros see their battle as part of a bigger trend of prominent figures using lawsuits to change public opinion.

"They're done primarily as a PR play," Juda Engelmayer, a veteran crisis PR pro, said of lawsuits like Lively's and Baldoni's.

Lively accused her "It Ends With Us" costar Baldoni of sexually harassing her and engaging in a smear campaign against her. The New York Times detailed her allegations in an article published December 21.

Baldoni and his camp fired back in a libel lawsuit against the Times in California Superior Court. Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, also said last week that his client planned to sue Lively.

Several media lawyers told BI they saw a calculated PR strategy at work on both sides.

Lively's initial complaint, filed with the California Civil Rights Department, coincided with the Times article on the allegations, which was based on the complaint and supporting documents. Filing a legal complaint gives cover to the plaintiff to make accusations and to the news outlet to freely report on it because it's shielded by fair reporting privileges.

And the complaint was filed right before the holidays, which could have made it harder for the Baldoni camp to respond. Lively later filed a federal lawsuit making similar claims against Baldoni and others.

Lively's claims and Baldoni's subsequent suit made huge splashes with widespread media coverage. Media lawyers told BI they saw Baldoni's suit as weak from a libel standpoint, but the details helped him publicize his side of the story.

Other examples of narrative-shaping lawsuits include actor Sophie Turner's 2023 "wrongful retention" legal complaint against her now ex-husband, which was later dismissed, and Drake's recent petitions against Universal Music Group and Spotify over Kendrick Lamar's song "Not Like Us."

"It happens quite often that people and companies with lots of resources use multi-tiered litigation" to get advantages outside the legal system, said Sean Andrade of Los Angeles law firm Andrade Gonzalez, who's represented plaintiffs in libel cases.

"It doesn't matter that you're going to lose because the goal was to publicize your side of the story and create some doubt in Blake Lively's," he said of Baldoni's libel suit against the Times.

Media caught in the crossfire

Lawyers and PR pros told BI that defamation cases often have a PR motive — and media outlets are a common target.

Before Johnny Depp won a US defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard in 2019, he sued the UK's Sun for libel.

Engelmayer said that though Depp lost that first case, it still served a purpose.

"Any time anyone sues a major publication, even if they lose in court, it's a win for those who support him. And for those sitting on the fence, it makes them think twice," he said.

There are some legal safeguards to prevent the unfair weaponizing of defamation suits.

Many US states now have anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws. These laws are meant to protect news outlets or other entities from frivolous lawsuits that can be costly to defend. Thirty-four states and DC have such laws, which typically let defendants who win anti-SLAPP motions recover legal fees, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

These laws have helped news outlets fight many meritless cases, said George Freeman, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center, which provides legal resources to media outlets.

Still, the laws aren't always effective at preventing lawsuits from being filed. Deep-pocketed plaintiffs can weather big legal fees if they lose a case. Press advocates said that anecdotally, they'd seen an uptick in anti-media rhetoric or baseless cases against the media. PEN America said that lately, courts have been letting more cases go forward, financially burdening media outlets and threatening to require them to reveal confidential sources.

"There seem to be more cases than we've seen, including some against media," Freeman said of defamation suits more broadly. "So deterrents don't seem to be working. Media isn't as well off as it once was. So they're a target."

These lawsuits can be costly and distracting for media organizations, even if they win.

"Even in situations where a news organization is able to get a defamation case dismissed, there is a time and resource cost that is significant," said Jennifer Nelson, senior staff attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. She recalled one case she handled where the news outlet eventually won, but only after years of litigation.

"Particularly for smaller outlets, it can be a challenge and have a chilling effect on reporting," she said.

Legal analyst Joyce Vance questioned why Judge Cannon continues to issue orders when the case has been dismissed.

The reality TV star took to social media to chronicle his hair transplant journey.

The judge denied a request to block the release of Smith's report on Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Millions of Ukrainians eligible for military service have not updated their details with the government as required by law.

Newsweek spoke to wedding planner Wendee Vezzetti about the expectation that has caused the uproar.

The U.S. Navy is key to Washington's projection of strength all around the world.

The owner was surprised to see her dog waiting patiently and staring at the door when she left her apartment.

"Most of these tips have been learned through personal experience," the former United Airlines worker told Newsweek.

Food recalls have recently been issued for several products by Kroger, which supplies supermarkets across the U.S.

• Walmart just unveiled its latest brand refresh — the first major change in 17 years.
• The new logo draws retro inspiration from one of founder Sam Walton's iconic trucker hats.
• Walmart said blue and yellow evoke the retail giant's past and look forward to a more digital future.

What's old is new again.

With Walmart's latest brand refresh — the first major change in 17 years — the company is harkening back to the styling of its founder Sam Walton.

The company said its new logo draws retro inspiration from one of Walton's iconic trucker hats, which is featured in his portrait for the cover of his autobiography "Made in America."

"Walton was known for preferring baseball caps to staid business clothes, exemplified in this trucker-style hat he wore," says the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, where another design is exhibited.

Walton's hats also served a practical function as he famously flew his small airplane around the country, sometimes dropping in unannounced from the sky on stores to check on their operations.

"This update, rooted in the legacy of our founder, Sam Walton, demonstrates our evolving capabilities and longstanding commitment to serve our customers of today and tomorrow," Walmart's US chief marketing officer, William White, said in a statement.

"While the look and feel of our brand is more contemporary, our refreshed brand identity reflects Walmart's enduring commitment to both Sam's principles and serving our customers however they need us," he added.

The new font is bolder and blockier than its predecessor, and the blue is a deeper hue than the slightly teal version of before.

The company says the "True Blue" and "Spark Yellow" evoke its past and look forward to a more digital future as the company aims to push beyond traditional brick-and-mortar retail and take a bigger bite of the e-commerce market.

The last time Walmart rebranded was in 2008, when it dropped the punctuation between "Wal" and "Mart," which it had for 44 years.

That year also saw the arrival of the yellow spark, an icon that the company says represents six key facets of its commitment to customers and associates.

If you are a Walmart worker who wants to share your perspective, please contact Dominick via email or text/call/Signal at 646.768.4750. Responses will be kept confidential, and Business Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a non-work device when reaching out

• Abbie Stockard was crowned the new Miss America on January 5.
• A video of her boyfriend, the Utah Jazz player Walker Kessler, watching her win went viral.
• Stockard told BI she thinks it's "amazing" that Miss America no longer has an anti-boyfriend rule.

Shortly after Abbie Stockard, representing Alabama, was crowned Miss America in Orlando on January 5, a video of her boyfriend's reaction went viral.

Walker Kessler, who plays for the Utah Jazz, just happened to be in town for a game against the Magic. After Stockard won, he rushed over from the arena to her coronation.

"It's fate because he plays over 80 games the entire season. He is in Orlando one night the entire year," Stockard told Business Insider. "What are the odds it's the night I'm crowned Miss America?"

The touching video has racked up more than a million views since it was shared on Bleacher Report's TikTok on January 7. But it likely wouldn't have been allowed when Miss America had a strict "anti-boyfriend" rule.

The unofficial policy — dictated by former Miss America CEO Sam Haskell — was explained by past winners such as Savvy Shields Wolfe and Betty Maxwell in the 2023 A&E docuseries "Secrets of Miss America."

"It was made clear that Sam was in charge, and what he said went, and boyfriends were not allowed to exist when you're Miss America," Wolfe said in the series.

"They're very, very, very anti-boyfriend because they want you to look like you're America's sweetheart," said Maxwell, who was crowned Miss America in 2015. "They're trying to be feminist and 'Me Too' and all these things, and at the same time, they're not thinking every young 20-something is dating someone? Come on."

Haskell did not respond to previous requests for comment from BI about the docuseries.

While married women and mothers are still not permitted to compete in Miss America, there's been a clear shift in policy.

Madison Marsh announced her engagement a week after winning the crown in January 2024. At the time, Marsh told BI that the competition had changed under Robin Fleming, who became CEO in January 2023.

"There are a lot of outdated rules that have gone away," Marsh said. "Just because you're engaged or in a healthy relationship doesn't mean you're not independent. It doesn't mean you still can't be a leader."

Stockard thinks it's an "amazing" shift for the competition.

"I'm so glad that it doesn't really matter now because it does not affect your job as Miss America at all," she said. "Having the Miss America team support Walker and our relationship has just made it even more special."

The new Miss America also thinks allowing contestants to go public with their significant others is a "good way to boost recruitment" for the pageant.

"I've heard stories of girls who just didn't want to compete because they were in a serious relationship, and they weren't willing to put that relationship on hold or to hide it throughout their year," she said. "But now it's not like that. They don't have to worry about that anymore."

Plus, Stockard said Kessler has been doing a great job helping her promote the Miss America Organization.

"I watched one of his media interviews with the Utah Jazz yesterday, which is always about basketball, and they didn't ask him one basketball question; it was all about Miss America," she said with a laugh. "He was literally using my talking points. He knows all about it."