Reading view
Drake's Dad Reacts to Kendrick Lamar's Grammys Success With 'Not Like Us'
USAID 'Shutting Down'—Elon Musk
No More Talk: It's Time to Destroy Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program | Opinion
Bill Gates said he did his best to save things like funding for HIV research during a 3-hour meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
- Bill Gates said he "had a really good, very long dinner" with President Donald Trump last year.
- Gates said he told Trump to retain PEPFAR, a long-running foreign aid program that combats HIV.
- Trump signed an executive order halting all foreign aid programs for 90 days after he was sworn in.
Bill Gates said he pushed President Donald Trump to maintain America's aid and relief programs for HIV during a meeting they had in 2024.
Gates told The New Yorker's editor David Remnick in an interview published Sunday, that he "had a really good, very long dinner" with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after Christmas.
"Well, we talked about the world broadly, but my first request was on HIV, where there's a question of whether the US maintains the PEPFAR program that's over twenty years standing, that keeps over ten million people alive with HIV medicines," Gates told Remnick.
PEPFAR, or the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, is a foreign aid program that was started by then-President George W. Bush in 2003. The program has saved 26 million lives and prevented millions of HIV infections around the world, the State Department said on its website.
But funding for PEPFAR was paused on January 20, after Trump signed an executive order freezing all foreign aid programs for 90 days until they are reviewed. According to the State Department, the US has given over $110 billion in funding to PEPFAR.
"I got his ear for three hours. He couldn't have been nicer. Doesn't mean that other people won't come in and say the HIV money should be cut, but I did my best," Gates said of his meeting with Trump in his interview with The New Yorker.
It is unclear what will become of PEPFAR under Trump. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a waiver "for life-saving humanitarian assistance" to Trump's executive order on foreign aid.
"This resumption is temporary in nature, and with limited exceptions as needed to continue life-saving humanitarian assistance programs, no new contracts shall be entered into," Rubio said in a statement on Wednesday.
Gates has given money to philanthropic causes like climate change and global health since stepping down as CEO of Microsoft, the software giant he cofounded with Paul Allen in 1975.
Gates was Microsoft's CEO until 2000, and was its chairman until 2014. He left Microsoft's board in 2020. Gates said in a LinkedIn post in March 2020 that stepping down from the board would allow him "to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities."
According to the Gates Foundation's website, Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates, have given $59.5 billion to the foundation since its inception in 2000. French Gates left the foundation in June, three years after she'd announced her divorce from Gates. The couple had been married for 27 years.
The foundation had a total endowment of $75.2 billion as of December 31, 2023.
In April 2018, Gates told medical publication STAT in an interview that he had suggested to Trump to hire a science adviser only for Trump to offer the job to him.
Gates said he declined the offer, telling Trump that it wouldn't be "a good use of my time."
Representative for Gates and Trump did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
After a 2020 ban, Shein has regained access to the world's biggest consumer market
- Shein, which was banned from India in 2020, has regained access to the populous market.
- The Chinese fast fashion brand has entered an agreement with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.
- It will sell products under a new e-commerce platform called Shein India Fast Fashion.
Shein is re-entering the world's biggest consumer market, India, nearly five years after it was banned there in 2020.
India's Ministry of Information Technology banned Shein and dozens of other Chinese apps including TikTok in 2020, citing concerns over national security and data privacy.
But Reliance Industries, a multinational conglomerate owned by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is bringing Shein back into the country under a new platform called Shein India Fast Fashion.
Business Insider's checks showed that a new Shein app was available on Apple and Google's app stores as of January 27. The app listing showed it was operated by Reliance Retail, Reliance Industries' consumer arm.
"The fashion OG is back!" a pop-up message on the app wrote.
According to a memo on the app seen by Business Insider, the brand currently ships products only to select regions, such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bangalore, India's tech hub.
"Pan-India shipping very soon," the notice said.
When BI searched the App Store in India for the original Shein app, a notice said it was not available.
The Reliance and Shein agreement was brought up in a parliament address in December when India's commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, said the two companies had entered into a technology agreement to develop an e-commerce platform.
"The platform is intended to create a network of local manufacturers and suppliers who will manufacture products under the brand of Shein and sell them domestically and globally," Goyal said.
Shein faces an uphill battle in the US, its largest market
Re-entry into India, the world's most populous country with nearly 1.43 billion people, comes at a crucial time for Shein as it faces a reckoning in the US. The US is its largest consumer market, according to GlobalData estimates seen by Reuters.
But President Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on goods from China on Saturday, along with a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico. During his 2024 campaign, Trump said he planned to impose tariffs of 60% or higher taxes on Chinese products.
Jeffrey Towson, the founder of US and China-based retail consultancy TechMoat Consulting, told BI in November that Shein and Temu, another budget Chinese retailer, won't be able to escape the consequences of the tariffs.
"Shein and Temu excel at very low prices. That's why American consumers love them. But there is nothing left to squeeze out of their China supply chains," Towson told BI.
He said that consumers are likely to see price increases due to the tariffs unless "the supply chains are redirected," which he said was "very likely."
Representatives for Shein and Reliance Industries did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Matthew McConaughey's mom, 93, says her key to aging well is avoiding stress
- Matthew McConaughey's mother, 93, says that a positive attitude helps her stay well at her age.
- Kay McConaughey told Austin Lifestyle that she tries to avoid stressful situations wherever possible.
- She also makes a conscious effort to keep her mind active by reading and keeping up with current affairs.
Matthew McConaughey's mother, Kay McConaughey, is 93, and she's still in great shape thanks to being stress-free.
In an interview with Austin Lifestyle, McConaughey — born Mary Kathlene McCabe — said that she's able to lead a vibrant life because she eats well, exercises regularly, and has a positive attitude.
"But, the biggest thing for me is I don't stress. Like, if you and I were really good friends and, and you were talking to me and you had a situation, I would listen to you and I would give you advice and if you didn't take it, then that's it, I wouldn't stress over it," McConaughey told Austin Lifestyle.
She also tries to avoid getting into stressful situations.
"If I see that's where I'm headed, I back off. I'm not going to let people do that to me," she said.
Not only that, McConaughey said that she "never really had any reason to" be stressed when she was younger either.
"I was really popular and I had a zest for life and stress is not a word I can apply to me, ever," she said.
Additionally, she does Pilates four times a week and eats a "very healthy breakfast" consisting of yogurt and "lots of different fruits."
"My father was very healthy and he taught my sister and I that you are what you eat, and you are what you think, and I've tried to live by those two things, really and truly, because if you think you're dumb, guess what? You're probably dumb. If you think you're smart, then you're probably smart," McConaughey said. "So, I have always thought I am what I think, and that's why I think positive."
While she says that her family doesn't have "any sweets in our house, ever," she enjoys drinking wine every day — one glass at 5 o'clock and another glass when she goes to bed.
She acknowledged that keeping her body and mind active at her age requires a conscious effort.
"I read a lot, I keep up with things, you have to work at it at my age. I keep up with current events on my iPad," she said. "I want to know what's happening in the world. I'm curious, very curious about life, still."
Research has shown that chronic stress can weaken the immune system and may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal problems.
Just 30 minutes of low to moderate-intensity exercise each day, like walking, can stabilize mood and improve sleep.
Practicing "micro-meditations" that take less than a minute to complete daily can also help to lower stress levels and improve mental health, Dr. Kien Vuu, a physician who specializes in antiaging and regenerative medicine, told Business Insider previously.
One technique involves a simple exercise of focusing on your breath as you inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of seven, and exhale for a count of eight, he said.
Business Insider reached out to Kay McConaughey via a representative for her son, Matthew McConaughey. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular hours.
Climate change could erase $1.4 trillion in real estate value due to insurance costs
A novel new report combining several strands of research finds that human-driven climate change could result in $1.47 trillion in net property value losses from rising insurance costs and shifting consumer demand.
Why it matters: Insurance costs are increasing faster than mortgage payments. That's squeezing homeowners and eventually leading to climate change-driven migration away from high-risk areas in the Sun Belt and the West.
The report from First Street, a climate risk financial modeling company, identifies the five largest metro areas likely to see the biggest spikes in insurance premiums: Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, New Orleans and Sacramento.
Zoom in: The report is based on peer-reviewed models of how climate change may affect insurance prices, migration and economic patterns, among other factors.
- The findings are particularly timely given the recent, devastating wildfires in Southern California, which caused an estimated $20 to $30 billion in insured losses and raised the topic of how insurance premiums price wildfire risks.
- According to the new research, climate impacts may disrupt historical migration to Sun Belt states as risks of climate change-worsened extreme weather events continue to grow.
- First Street estimates that unrestricted, risk-based insurance pricing would yield a 29.4% increase in average insurance premiums across the country by 2055.
This would include an 18.4% correction for "current underpricing" and an 11% increase from climate risk increases.
The intrigue: The economic, climate and demographic modeling behind this report predicts that more than 55 million Americans will "voluntarily relocate within the U.S. to areas less vulnerable to climate risks by 2055."
- This would include 5.2 million internal climate migrants in 2025.
- Economic growth has been thought of as a shield of sorts to retain population in areas that suffer from increasingly severe climate change-related disruptions.
In its analysis, First Street warns that may not hold up through 2055, with some metropolitan areas crossing "tipping points" in which they begin to see net declines in population.
- Already, researchers found that fast-growing cities in the South, Southeast and West have pockets of higher climate risks where homes are gaining value more slowly than similar homes in less risky areas.
- There may be winners, however, with northern, currently less-populated areas from Montana to Wisconsin — and in parts of the East — taking in more people because of the region's greater climate resilience.
Between the lines: First Street's report itself hasn't been peer reviewed, and there are important caveats and uncertainties associated with the work, since it combines results from multiple models and peer-reviewed studies.
- Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications for First Street and a demographer by training, laid out to Axios via email the new research's usefulness as well as its limitations.
- He said the models don't account for climate adaptation measures such as stricter building codes and sea walls to shield coastal areas from storm surge flooding.
- They also don't include inflation, which could miss non-climate-related housing market appreciation, along with other market forces that could also run counter to climate-risk-related losses in value.
The bottom line: These results are best used to identify locations that are most at risk for climate change-related increasing insurance costs, property devaluation and population change, Porter said.
Only 12 Black artists have won album of the year at the Grammys — here they all are
- In the decadeslong history of the Grammy Awards, only 12 Black artists have won album of the year.
- Stevie Wonder became the first Black artist to win in 1974 for "Innervisions." He has since won thrice.
- Beyoncé took home the award in 2025 for "Cowboy Carter."
Since the Grammy Awards celebrated its inaugural show in 1959, only 12 Black artists have won album of the year.
Most recently, Beyoncé won for "Cowboy Carter" after four unsuccessful bids for the top prize.
She joined an esteemed yet brief list of singers and superstars, listed in chronological order below.
Stevie Wonder became the first Black artist to win album of the year in 1974 for his 16th studio album, "Innervisions," 15 years after the inaugural Grammys ceremony.
He won again in 1975 for "Fulfillingness' First Finale," becoming just the second artist ever to win the award in consecutive years, after Frank Sinatra in the '60s.
Along with Sinatra, Paul Simon, and Taylor Swift, Wonder is one of just four artists who has won album of the year three different times; Wonder won again in 1977 for "Songs in the Key of Life," and he remains the only artist in Grammy history to win with three consecutive studio albums.
Michael Jackson won album of the year in 1984 for his magnum opus, "Thriller."
That year, Jackson became the first artist ever to win eight Grammy Awards in one night. The record was later tied by Santana in 2000.
Lionel Richie won album of the year in 1985 for "Can't Slow Down," his second solo album.
Quincy Jones won album of the year in 1991 for "Back on the Block," an album he produced that features various artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Ice-T, and Ray Charles.
Natalie Cole won album of the year in 1992 for "Unforgettable…With Love," her 12th studio album.
Whitney Houston won album of the year in 1994 for the soundtrack of "The Bodyguard," a film she starred in.
Houston recorded most of the soundtrack's songs, and also served as the album's co-executive producer with Clive Davis.
Lauryn Hill won album of the year in 1999 for her debut solo album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."
She became the first-ever hip-hop artist to win the prestigious award. Hill is also one of just five artists to win album of the year and best new artist in the same night, a feat most recently achieved by Billie Eilish.
As Billboard notes, Hill is the only female artist in Grammys history to win album of the year for an album on which she was the sole producer.
Outkast won album of the year in 2004 for "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," the duo's fifth studio album.
Ray Charles posthumously won album of the year in 2005 for "Genius Loves Company," his final album. The album's two co-producers, John Burk and Phil Ramone, accepted the award on Charles' behalf.
Herbie Hancock won album of the year in 2008 for "River: The Joni Letters," a tribute album comprised of Joni Mitchell covers.
Jon Batiste won album of the year in 2022 for "We Are," his sixth studio album.
Batiste was up for the award again in 2024 for "World Music Radio," but lost to Taylor Swift's "Midnights."
Beyoncé finally won album of the year for the first time for "Cowboy Carter," her eighth studio album and Nashville-inspired opus. She also became the first Black woman to win best country album.
She was previously nominated in 2010 for "I Am... Sasha Fierce," 2015 for "Beyoncé," 2017 for "Lemonade," and 2023 for "Renaissance," but lost to Taylor Swift, Beck, Adele, and Harry Styles, respectively.
Musk says Trump has "agreed" to shut USAID down
Elon Musk said he's spoken with President Trump on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and "he agreed" that "we should shut it down."
The big picture: Musk's comments early Monday followed reports that representatives for Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which the billionaire is spearheading, had visited USAID's D.C. headquarters and accessed classified spaces and American citizens' data.
- While representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment in the evening, the president told reporters earlier Sunday that USAID was "run by radical lunatics, and we're getting them out, and then we'll make a decision" on its future.
Driving the news: Musk said during a late-night discussion with former DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) on his X Spaces platform he went over USAID issues in detail with Trump and checked with him a few times if he was sure that he wanted to shut it down and he agreed to do it.
- The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also accused the agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance of being "incredibly politically partisan," without going into specific examples.
Zoom in: Ernst, who's previously led investigations into USAID, said "there are probably some arguments to be made about what could be important work that falls under USAID, but the fact of matter is, it has been overshadowed by these bad actors."
- She suggested if there are "truly good pro-American programs, let's move them to the State Department," to which Musk replied: "Exactly."
- Ernst emphasized the need for oversight while giving examples of what she said were her findings of waste in USAID, while Ramaswamy said there was a need for the agency's "deletion."
- Musk said he was looking to shut USAID down because it's "a bowl of worms" with no apple, so you've "got to get rid of the whole thing" because it's "beyond repair."
Zoom out: Senate Democrats wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sunday to demand answers and raise concern that the DOGE representatives' and the subsequent placing on administrative leave of USAID senior personnel might compromise our national security.
Go deeper: Trump says USAID run by "lunatics" as Dems demand answers on DOGE visit
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
JT Miller Drastically Changes Everything in Rangers Quest For Stanley Cup
Meet Bianca Censori, Kanye West's partner who went almost fully nude at the 2025 Grammy Awards
- Bianca Censori, Kanye West's partner, went almost fully nude while walking the 2025 Grammys red carpet.
- Censori, 30, has been romantically linked to the controversial rapper, 47, since January 2023.
- She is an architectural designer at Yeezy, per a LinkedIn profile matching her description.
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is no stranger to making headlines, but his partner Bianca Censori may have outshone him this time.
On Sunday, the rapper, 47, hit the 2025 Grammy Awards red carpet clad in a black shirt and pants, while Censori, 30, wore a black fur coat that she removed to reveal a virtually transparent mini dress underneath.
Censori has been spotted wearing sheer outfits in public multiple times before.
In March, she pulled up to a drive-thru with Ye in a super sheer black bodysuit. A month later, in April, she went to dinner with him in Los Angeles in a completely see-through tube dress and hot pink stockings. In December, she was also seen strolling around Art Basel Miami in a similarly racy nude bodysuit that left little to the imagination.
In January 2023, TMZ reported that the pair had symbolically wed without a marriage certificate in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills. Earlier in the month, they were spotted sharing a meal at the Waldorf Astoria, and Ye was wearing a new ring on his left-hand ring finger in photos taken by TMZ that day.
This came just two months after West finalized his divorce from Kim Kardashian.
Censori and Ye have yet to publicly confirm their marriage, but the rapper did refer to her as a "stepmom" to his children in a since-deleted birthday tribute post on Instagram in January 2024, per People.
Before news of their relationship broke, Censori hadn't been in the spotlight in the same way as Ye's more high-profile exes, like Kardashian and Julia Fox.
Here's everything you need to know about Censori and her connection to Ye.
Censori is an architectural designer at Yeezy
According to Censori's LinkedIn account, she began working as an architectural designer at Yeezy in November 2020 and has been working full-time at the company.
Before that, she worked as a student architect and design consultant at DP Toscano Architects, an architectural firm in Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.
Censori was also part of the architectural team involved in renovating Ye's Tadao Ando-designed beachfront property in Malibu, per The New Yorker. The rapper paid $57 million for the concrete home in 2011, gutted it, and sold it at a loss for $21 million in 2024.
She previously ran a jewelry brand called Nylons
Censori started Nylons, a jewelry company, just after she finished high school, she told i-D in 2016. "I started playing around with mesh, then putting crystals inside the meshing, just making really simple thin chokers," she said.
She began the company while studying at the University of Melbourne, where she pursued both undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture. The business served as a "creative outlet" while Censori was in architecture school.
She's also a visual artist.
In 2022, Censori appeared in a group show called "Vital Pleasures" at the Australian gallery It's Nice Inside. She and fellow artist Tanil Raif produced a sculpture of a woman bent over, seemingly covered in vines.
Ye released a song that appears to reference Censori in December 2022
NME reported in December 2022 that Ye dropped an original song that sampled the Alex Jones interview in which he praised Hitler, and also referenced some of his recent controversies and antisemitic remarks. Ye shared the song on Instagram on December 7, 2022, per NME, but the post has since been deleted.
The caption of the song, which sampled the 1973 Donny Hathaway track "Someday We'll All Be Free," appeared to reference Censori.
"Censori overload. The variable epitope library from the antigen promotes an immune response in the body," the caption read, a play on the term "sensory overload."
According to Page Six, one of the lyrics of the song reads, "And the Bible said, 'I can't have any more sex 'til marriage."
This story was originally published in 2023 and was updated after Bianca Censori's Grammys appearance.
The 22 music artists with the most Grammy Awards of all time
- The Grammy Awards, billed as "music's biggest night," were launched in 1959.
- Top winners include big-name artists like Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, and Stevie Wonder.
- In 2023, Beyoncé became the most-awarded person in Grammy history.
Since 1959, the Recording Academy has been heaping Grammys upon influential musicians.
The most-awarded artists in history stretch across the musical spectrum, from classical composers and producers to rock stars, rappers, pop hitmakers, and more. The 22 top winners of all time are listed below.
Jimmy Sturr won his first Grammy Award in 1987 for best polka recording for "I Remember Warsaw." He has received 24 nominations.
Aretha Franklin, known as the "Queen of Soul," won her first two Grammys in 1968 for her hit single "Respect." She received 44 nominations before she died at age 76.
Paul McCartney won his first Grammy in 1965 for best new artist with The Beatles.
After the band split, he continued to rack up nominations and awards for his work as a solo artist, including best rock song for "Cut Me Some Slack."
McCartney's latest award, however, was also bestowed for his work with his former band: best rock performance for "Now and Then," billed as "the final Beatles song." He has received 83 nominations.
The famous crooner Tony Bennett won his first two Grammys in 1963 for the song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." He received 41 nominations before he died at age 96.
The renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma won his first Grammy in 1985 for a Bach recording. He has received 31 nominations.
Bruce Springsteen, known as "The Boss," won his first Grammy in 1985 for best rock vocal performance for "Dancing in the Dark." He has received 51 nominations.
The recording engineer Al Schmitt won his first Grammy in 1963 for his work with composer Henry Mancini on the film "Hatari!" He has received 36 nominations.
The guitarist Pat Metheny won his first Grammy in 1983 for best jazz fusion performance for the album "Offramp." He has received 39 nominations.
The film and TV composer Henry Mancini won his first two Grammys at the first-ever ceremony in 1959 for his score to the show "Peter Gunn." He received 72 nominations before he died at age 70.
The country singer-songwriter Vince Gill won his first Grammy in 1991 for best country vocal performance for "When I Call Your Name." He has received 48 nominations.
U2 won their first two Grammys in 1988 for the album "The Joshua Tree." The Irish band has received 46 nominations.
Ye, who still releases music under the name Kanye West, won his first three Grammys in 2005 for best rap album ("The College Dropout"), best rap song ("Jesus Walks"), and best R&B song (Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name"). He has received 76 nominations.
Jay-Z won his first Grammy in 1999 for best rap album for "Vol. 2 … Hard Knock Life." In 2024, he was presented with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award (which does not count toward his official total). The rapper-slash-mogul has received 89 nominations.
Stevie Wonder won his first four Grammys in 1974 for his album "Innervisions." He is also the only Black artist in Grammy history to win album of the year three times.
The R&B legend has received 74 nominations throughout his career.
Vladimir Horowitz won his first two Grammys in 1963. The pianist received 45 nominations before he died at age 86.
John Williams won his first Grammy in 1976 for composing the original score for Steven Spielberg's "Jaws."
Most recently, he won best instrumental composition in 2024 for "Helena's Theme" in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." He has received 76 nominations.
Pierre Boulez won his first two Grammys in 1968 for his classical album "Berg: Wozzeck." The French composer received 67 nominations before he died at age 90.
Alison Krauss won her first Grammy in 1991 for best bluegrass recording for the song "I've Got That Old Feeling." The singer-songwriter has received 44 nominations.
The pianist Chick Corea won his first Grammy in 1976 for best instrumental jazz performance for the song "No Mystery."
Most recently, he won best jazz instrumental album for "Remembrance" at the 67th annual Grammys. He has received 75 nominations to date.
Quincy Jones, the illustrious producer best known for his work with Michael Jackson in the 1980s, won his first Grammy in 1964 for best instrumental arrangement for his production of Count Basie's "I Can't Stop Loving You."
Most recently, Jones won best music film for "Quincy" at the 61st annual ceremony. He received 80 nominations before his death at age 91.
The Hungarian-British composer Georg Solti won his first Grammy in 1963 for best opera recording for "Verdi: Aida." He received 74 nominations before he died at age 84.
Beyoncé won her first two Grammys in 2001 with Destiny's Child for their hit single "Say My Name."
In 2023, she received her record-breaking 32nd award for best dance/electronic album for "Renaissance." Most recently, she won three awards at the 67th annual ceremony for "Cowboy Carter," including best country album and album of the year.
The legendary singer has received 99 nominations throughout her career, the most of any artist in history.
Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" makes history at the Grammy Awards 2025
Beyoncé and Lady Gaga were leading the charge as set women set historical benchmarks and broke records on Sunday, as predicted.
The big picture: Among the breakthrough moments, Beyoncé became the first Black artist to win Best Country Album for "Cowboy Carter."
- The Houston native also nabbed her very first Album of The Year win.
- The wins extended her lead for the most Grammy awards won by an artist.
Other milestones from the 67th Grammy Awards
With five wins, Kendrick Lamar's hit record "Not Like Us" is the most awarded rap song in Grammy's hisotry.
- What's next: Lamar will play the Super Bowl Halftime show.
Maine native Amy Allen is the first woman to be awarded Songwriter of the Year.
- Allen was considered for writing Sabrina Carpenter's Grammy-winning song "Espresso" in addition to songs by Justin Timberlake, Tate McRae and Olivia Rodrigo.
The record for wins in the Best Pop/Duo Performance category was broken by Lady Gaga, who now has three.
- She won this year for "Die With A Smile," a collaboration with Bruno Mars.
- Her previous wins were for "Rain On Me" with Ariana Grande (2021) and "Shallow" with Bradley Cooper (2019).
Beyoncé wins album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' at the 2025 Grammys — her first triumph in the awards show's biggest category
- Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" won album of the year at the 2025 Grammys on Sunday.
- It marks the first time Beyoncé has won the top award after racking up five nominations.
- She was previously nominated for "Renaissance," "Lemonade," "Beyoncé," and "I Am... Sasha Fierce."
Beyoncé won album of the year at the 2025 Grammy Awards, a milestone win for the legendary singer and performer.
Beyoncé received the top prize on Sunday for "Cowboy Carter," her critically acclaimed eighth studio album. Earlier in the evening, Beyoncé also won best country duo/group performance for "II Most Wanted" featuring Miley Cyrus and best country album.
"I'd like to thank all the incredible country artists that accepted this album. We worked so hard on it," Beyoncé said during her acceptance speech for the latter award, which was presented by Taylor Swift.
"I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists, and I just want to encourage people to do what they're passionate about and to stay persistent," Beyoncé continued. "Wow. I'd like to thank my beautiful family, all of the artists that were collaborators, thank you. This album wouldn't have been without you."
Despite becoming the most-awarded artist in Grammy history in 2023, Beyoncé had never won album of the year. She was previously nominated for "Renaissance" in 2023, "Lemonade" in 2017, "Beyoncé" in 2015, and "I Am... Sasha Fierce" in 2010.
In fact, she had only won a general-field award (sometimes called a "Big Four" award) once in her career, taking home song of the year for "Single Ladies" in 2010.
'Connections' February 3rd: Hints and Answers for Game #603
'Wordle' Today #1,325 Clues, hints and Answer for Monday, February 3 Game
The Kremlin's medical system is likely overloaded as Russian soldiers on crutches keep appearing at the front line: UK intel
- Russian soldiers are showing up on the front lines in crutches, the UK Defense Ministry said.
- It's likely a sign that Russia's military medical system is "overburdened," the ministry said.
- Several videos of Russian soldiers in crutches and casts have gone viral in Ukraine.
Repeated frontline sightings of Russian soldiers on crutches suggest Moscow's injured troops are returning to combat from a medical system struggling to keep up, the UK's Defense Ministry said.
Citing open-source reports, the ministry wrote in an intelligence update on Sunday that it's "highly likely injured Russian personnel are being returned to combat duties in Ukraine with unhealed wounds, often on crutches."
It specifically named the 20th Combined Arms Army, which the intelligence update said had likely formed "assault groups" of wounded soldiers.
"There is a realistic possibility Russian commanders are directing this activity to retain personnel who would otherwise become lost in the overburdened medical system," the ministry wrote.
The update pointed to Ukraine's estimate that 830,000 Russian soldiers have been wounded or killed in the war so far, with about 400,000 requiring treatment at medical facilities outside the war zone.
"The injured soldiers have likely been returned to their units after being discharged from forward medical facilities, prematurely, at the behest of their commanders," the British ministry wrote. "This reduces the pressure on the overburdened military medical system and increases unit's ability to track and use wounded servicemen for operational tasks."
"The lack of proper medical attention in facilities away from the front line necessitates the transfer of the administrative and medical burden back to troops' units," it added.
The UK's assessment comes as pro-Ukraine Telegram channels posted clips last month of Russian men in military uniforms moving on crutches through a forested area near Pokrovsk. Several others were filmed complaining about the deployment.
In mid-January, Ukrainian sources posted drone footage of two men walking on crutches in an open field that was also said to be near Pokrovsk. The drone dropped several munitions on both men, appearing to incapacitate them.
However, it's visually unclear what initial injury either man sustained before the drone attack. Neither is it clear whether they were assaulting Ukrainian forces or moving between Russian positions.
The footage has gained traction in Russia, too. Military blogger Svyatoslav Golikov, for example, criticized the reported practice of sending wounded troops to fight, calling it an "entire wild disgrace" in a post in late January.
"In particularly egregious cases, obvious cripples can even be sent to assault, but more often they are sent to fortify newly recaptured positions," he wrote.
Golikov wrote that it's possible the two men in the drone video were seen without weapons or equipment because Russian soldiers are often told to find their own supplies on the front line.
The criticism also follows recent backlash on Russian social media toward the treatment of the war's wounded, after a video that went viral in mid-January showed a man in military fatigues assaulting two injured Russians with a baton and a stun gun.
Local authorities in Kyzyl, a city in the Russian region of Tuva, told Moscow-based news agency Interfax that they were investigating the incident.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a comment request sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.
Signs of strain in Russia's troop supply are significant, because the war now increasingly hinges on whether Moscow or Kyiv can outlast each other in terms of gear and soldiers.
To enlist recruits, the Kremlin has been raising sign-up bonuses and benefits for newcomers, with some Russian regions seeing cash incentives almost on par with the US military's.
Russia is already set to spend almost a third of its federal budget on defense in 2025, or 13.5 trillion rubles (worth $135 billion, at press time), as its economy grows isolated by Western-led sanctions.
Chappell Roan used her 2025 Grammys acceptance speech to demand a livable wage for artists. Here's why it's famously difficult to make money as a musician.
- Chappell Roan won best new artist at the 2025 Grammy Awards on Sunday.
- She used her speech to call for record labels to "treat their artists as valuable employees."
- Here's why even Grammy-nominated musicians have trouble turning a profit in the music industry.
Chappell Roan never shies away from making a statement.
While accepting the award for best new artist at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, the "Good Luck, Babe!" singer highlighted the difficulties of building a stable — let alone profitable — career in the music industry.
"I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists," Roan said.
Roan alluded to her first record contract with Atlantic, which signed her as a teenager, and the shock of getting dropped by the label — a setback that forced her to leave Los Angeles and move back to her home state of Missouri, where she worked at a drive-thru to support herself.
"When I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had… quite a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic," Roan said.
"Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection," Roan continued. "Labels, we got you, but do you got us?"
The problems that preoccupied Roan's speech are more widespread in the industry than many fans may realize.
As Business Insider previously reported, modern artists face a seemingly endless array of bureaucratic, strategic, and financial obstacles to making a living — from the eye-popping upfront costs of touring or recording an album to the countless unpaid hours of social media self-promo and meager payouts from streaming giants like Spotify.
Indeed, Roan's fellow best new artist nominee Raye told BI last June that she was still "breaking even."
The 27-year-old British vocalist, who recently worked with Beyoncé on "Cowboy Carter" and opened for Taylor Swift's multi-billion-dollar Eras Tour, explained that musicians are faced with unseen expenses at every turn. This is especially true for those who forgo the major-label system.
"You're getting paid X to do Coachella, and then you spend double the amount that you got paid to do the show on the show itself, because you want to do a great show," Raye offered as an example. "And you have to pay musicians, and the singers, and everyone what they deserve."
Like Roan, Raye has a troubled history with record labels. She butted heads with executives at Polydor, who signed her at a young age, and publicly asked the label to release her from her contract in 2021. The company obliged, and Raye released her first album as an independent artist, "My 21st Century Blues," in 2023.
Roan found a different way forward. After working to refine her craft and building an audience on TikTok during the pandemic, Roan signed a new contract with the label imprint founded by her producer, Daniel Nigro. Amusement Records distributed her debut album, 2023's "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess."
The album climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 last year, second only to Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department," and received a Grammy nomination for album of the year. Roan's "Good Luck, Babe!" was also nominated for song of the year and best pop solo performance.