Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he's "ready" to "give up" his leadership in exchange for peace in his nation or Kyiv becoming a member of NATO.
The big picture: Zelensky made the comments on the eve of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as U.S. and Russian officials hold talks on the war ahead of a possible summit between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
What he's saying: "If to achieve peace you really need me to give up my post — I'm ready," said Zelensky, who was democratically elected in 2019, in response to a question during a briefing Sunday.
"I can trade it for NATO membership, if there are such conditions," he added.
Zelensky shrugged off Trump's claims that that Ukraine's leader is "a dictator without elections" — in reference to Kyiv postponing going to the polls in 2024.
"I wasn't offended, but a dictator would be," Zelensky said. "I am focused on Ukraine's security today, not in 20 years, I am not going to be in power for decades."
Context: Ukraine's Constitution "does not allow national elections during martial law, which was introduced in 2022 and remains in place" due to Russia's war on Ukraine. per the Atlantic Council think-tank.
Elon Musk, who leads the DOGE team, announced that federal employees would be asked to submit a work report by Monday evening. But departments like the Pentagon have asked employees not to reply yet.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The Pentagon is telling employees to "pause any response" to DOGE's request for a work report.
Federal employees were told this weekend to list five tasks they achieved last week by Monday night.
But the Defense Department has instead said it would be the authority to review its employees.
The Pentagon is the first major federal agency to publicly tell employees to hold off on responding to an instruction from the White House DOGE office to list their work accomplishments.
"For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled 'What did you do last week,'" the Defense Department wrote in a statement to civilian employees that was posted online on Sunday.
"The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures," said the statement, posted on behalf of Darin S. Selnick, the acting defense undersecretary for personnel and readiness.
It added that the Pentagon would handle responses to the email request.
Selnick was referring to an email sent through the Office of Personnel Management, which asked federal employees to respond by 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday with five tasks or accomplishments that they achieved over the last week.
"Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments," said the DOGE email, which was sent to employees in federal agencies across the US.
It came just after President Donald Trump publicly wrote on Saturday that he wanted Elon Musk to "get more aggressive" in cutting workers and expenses from the federal bureaucracy.
Musk, who oversees the DOGE team, also announced the email on social media and said that a "failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."
The Defense Department did not respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular business hours. Staffers at other security-related government departments — including the Department of Homeland Security, National Security Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence — did not respond to BI's requests for comment.
Representatives for the State Department and the FBI declined to comment on the DOGE emails.
"Suits LA" is Aaron Korsh's spinoff of the original "Suits," which ran for nine seasons.
It's led by Stephen Amell who plays Ted Black, a former prosecutor turned entertainment lawyer.
The first episode ends with a twist for Black, who is reckoning with his past.
Warning: Spoilers for "Suits LA" below.
"Suits LA" — the new spinoff of Aaron Korsh's "Suits," which enjoyed a revival after landing on streamers — starts with a twist.
The first episode introduces Ted Black (Stephen Amell), a former New York prosecutor who moves to the West Coast to start his own law firm representing some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
"Suits LA" maintains the format of the original show by including flashbacks to subplots that explain the characters' actions in the present day. Mainly, these scenes explain Black's previous role as a prosecutor in New York working on jailing gang members for murder.
This plot device helped develop the backstories of beloved characters like Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle), and Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty) in "Suits."
Black's character is developed when he talks to Eddie (Carson A. Egan), his brother, who seemingly lives with him.
Here's the twist in the closing moments of the first episode of Suits: LA" explained.
Ted Black talks to his dead brother in 'Suits LA'
Stephen Amell and Carson A. Egan in "Suits LA."
NBC
The first episode implies that Black lives with his younger brother Eddie, who is there when he wakes from a nightmare. Other scenes also show that they have a close relationship.
But at the end of the episode, Black visits his estranged, dying father, (Matt Letscher) who is in a coma. Black tearfully blames his father for "letting them kill Eddie" the night before he was convicted for an unknown crime.
This moment reveals that Black has been imagining his dead brother this whole time, which some viewers might have picked up on since he wears the same New York Yankees shirt in every scene.
In the closing moments, Black tells Eddie him he just wants to spend another day with him.
It's a surprising move from "Suits LA," as the original show didn't have such abstract moments. But it's an interesting way of endearing Black, who is ruthless at work, to the audience.
Last year was the worst on record for government-imposed internet shutdowns, with at least 296 outages across 54 countries, according to a new report from Access Now.
Why it matters: Governments are increasingly shutting down the internet to silence dissenting voices during conflicts, protests and elections.
What they're saying: "Authorities and warring parties wielded an unprecedented number of internet shutdowns as a weapon of war and a tool for collective punishment — hurling communities into digital darkness, and concealing grave human rights abuses," Felicia Anthonio, manager of Access Now's #KeepItOn campaign, said in a statement.
"As internet access becomes consistently weaponized, restricted, and precarious, we are seeing pervasive patterns of crushing censorship and an urgent need for greater accountability."
By the numbers: Seven countries joined the first-time offenders list, including El Salvador, France, Malaysia and Thailand.
For the first time since 2018, Myanmar overtook India as the worst offender, imposing 85 shutdowns—one more than India.
The majority of internet shutdowns came from four countries: India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Russia, which accounted for a combined 210 shutdowns, or more than 70% of the global total.
Between the lines: Conflict was the main trigger for internet disruptions, accounting for 103 of the documented shutdowns across 11 countries: Ethiopia, Bahrain, Chad, India, Israel, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Protests and elections were also behind a significant number of shutdowns.
Pope Francis sent a message from his hospital bed as the Vatican said in a health update Sunday that he remains in "critical" condition but "has not presented any further respiratory crises."
The big picture: The Vatican said in its Sunday statement that the 88-year-old Catholic church leader is being treated for a kidney problem in addition to his respiratory issues, but it is "currently under control."
The pontiff was admitted to Rome's Agostino Gemelli Hospital with bronchitis and tests revealed "a complex clinical picture" that saw him diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.
He remains "alert and well-oriented," according to the Vatican.
What he's saying: Pope Francis in a statement on Sunday thanked medical professionals for taking care of him and expressed gratitude for the warm wishes he'd received.
"In recent days I have received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children," the pope said.
"Thank you for this closeness, and for the prayers of comfort I have received from all over the world! I entrust you all to the intercession of Mary, and I ask you to pray for me."
Zoom in: The pope noted that Monday "will be the third anniversary of the large-scale war against Ukraine: a painful and shameful occasion for the whole of humanity!"
He added: "As I reiterate my closeness to the suffering Ukrainian people, I invite you to remember the victims of all armed conflicts, and to pray for the gift of peace in Palestine, Israel and throughout the Middle East, Myanmar, Kivu and Sudan."
I rely on my kids' boomer grandparents when I need childcare.
They don't always understand the way I parent, but they try hard.
I'm a mom of a 4-year-old and a 7-month-old who attend day care while my husband and I work full-time. Boomer grandparents get a lot of grief for being unempathetic and aloof, but that's not the case for my family. My children's boomer grandparents are my childcare secret weapon and I couldn't be a working parent without their help.
I'm not the only one, either; I see our school's office administrators helping grandparents navigate the attendance system at least once a week. I've even become friendly with some of the grandparents I see regularly at pick-up. For some millennials, grandparents are an important part of our family ecosystem.
We heavily considered their proximity to us when choosing a home
When choosing our first home, it was important to us to have easy access to my mom and my in-laws, who are less than 30 minutes away, to ensure that our children could see their grandparents frequently. Both sets of parents are in their mid to late 70s; I had my first child at 36 and my second at 40, so their time together is precious.
When my youngest first attended day care, she only went three days a week. My mom and in-laws surprised me by offering to watch her the other two days so I could work full-time without paying for full-time care. I'm sure they would have offered even if they lived further away, having them relatively close has made a huge difference.
While they might not understand our new parenting systems, they try hard
I'm grateful that neither my in-laws nor my mom have ever questioned modern millennial parenting values and concepts. I'm sure they are internally rolling their eyes at me when I talk about sleep hygiene, bottle schedules, and gentle parenting. But they genuinely try to stick to my schedules and notes.
I've found that my part of this relationship is letting things go that aren't make-or-break; my child will be OK if someone forgets to put them in a sleep sack for a nap or if my mom makes a bottle by hand instead of using our fancy formula machine.
Thankfully, none of them has ever given me long diatribes about how they did things when we were babies. This mutual respect is what keeps our relationship healthy, and I'm grateful that they're open to learning the ways we think are best for our children at this point in time, no matter how ridiculous they might seem to them.
I've learned to pick my battles
As a first-time mom suffering from postpartum anxiety, I would internally flip out, watching them feed my toddler things riddled with added sugar and salt. It's been four years since I had my first child and their first grandchild. I've now realized their time together is more important than the details. While I would prefer that my preschooler not get diet tea sweetened with stevia, her tea party is much more important than what's in her cup.
They are there when we need them most
Now that both of my children are in full-time care, my mom and in-laws regularly pick them up from school to help me with scheduling issues or to give us a break from the grueling job of parenting. It can be frustrating when both sets are unavailable for holidays or sick days because they are almost always available and eager to help. These are the moments I have to catch myself and acknowledge how lucky I am to have two sets of grandparents at the ready.
The FBI is warning about a Chinese ransomware group called "Ghost."
Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images
The FBI has issued a warning about a Chinese ransomware group called Ghost.
Ghost has attacked critical infrastructure, schools, and businesses in over 70 countries.
The FBI advises using security updates and multifactor authentication to prevent ransomware attacks.
The FBI is warning about a new ransomware hacker group called "Ghost."
The FBI published a security advisory with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency that said the group began indiscriminately attacking organizations in more than 70 countries starting in 2021. The warning from the FBI and the CISA says Ghost is now one of the top ransomware groups, targeting organizations all over the world as recently as January.
"Ghost actors, located in China, conduct these widespread attacks for financial gain," the report says. "Affected victims include critical infrastructure, schools and universities, healthcare, government networks, religious institutions, technology and manufacturing companies, and numerous small- and medium-sized businesses."
Ransomware is a type of malware that lets bad actors encrypt a victim's data until they pay a ransom. Ransomware attacks have become more common in recent years, sometimes targeting large companies or government infrastructure.
A ransomware attack in February 2024 against Chain Healthcare, the payment arm of healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group, briefly crippled the pharmacy industry after it caused a major backlog in filling customer subscriptions.
Most ransomware hackers use phishing methods, sending fake messages to victims in the hope that they'll click a link and install malware on their devices.
The hackers in the Ghost group, however, use publicly available code to exploit common vulnerabilities in organizations' software that have not been removed by updated patches, the FBI says.
"The FBI has observed Ghost actors obtaining initial access to networks by exploiting public-facing applications that are associated with multiple Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures," the warning says.
The FBI said in the warning that Ghost attackers usually claim that they will sell the victim's stolen data if they do not pay a ransom. However, the agency said they "do not frequently exfiltrate a significant amount of information or files, such as intellectual property or personally identifiable information that would cause significant harm to victims if leaked."
The FBI recommends consulting its StopRansomware guide for comprehensive information on how companies can guard against ransomware attacks.
Some tips for fighting against common ransomware tactics are to maintain regular system backups of sensitive information, patch known system vulnerabilities with security updates and use phishing-resistant multifactor authentication for company email accounts.
The FBI recommends reporting any ransomware attacks to the agency. In the security advisory, the FBI said it is particularly interested in "any information that can be shared, including logs showing communication to and from foreign IP addresses, a sample ransom note, communications with threat actors, Bitcoin wallet information, and/or decryptor files."
After living as an expat in Hong Kong for seven years, Hannah Ho moved back home. She misses the hiking trails.
Hannah Ho
At 23, Hong Kong was Hannah Ho's dream city, until it wasn't.
She had moved there after graduation but when she turned 30, she knew it was time to move back home.
She enjoys spending more time with family back in the UK but wants to continue exploring the world.
When I graduated with degrees in business management and Chinese, I didn't have a clear career plan. I just knew I wanted to live abroad.
I had spent two semesters in China — six months studying in Shanghai and six months completing an internship in Qingdao. That year, I took a 5-day trip to Hong Kong, and something about the city's energy and diversity drew me in. I decided I wanted to move there.
So, at 23, I took the leap and moved to Hong Kong. I was excited but also nervous. I was a fresh graduate with no real-world experience and had landed a nine-month job as a project coordinator for an educational foundation.
I thought it would be a short adventure, but I ended up staying for seven years. I transitioned into the recruitment industry and before I knew it, Hong Kong became home. I made a lot of friends and adapted to the city's fast-paced lifestyle.
But my life in Hong Kong began to shift in 2020. During and after the pandemic, the once-bustling city felt gloomy. Over time, I realized that the version of Hong Kong I had fallen in love with was gone. Some of my close friends had left, tourism had slowed down, and the once-thriving social scene had faded with fewer gatherings and events.
As the city changed, so did I. I found myself craving something new, a fresh challenge and the desire for a career change began to grow.
Moving home was hard
In 2023, and after I turned 30, I knew it was time to leave. Moving back home to the UK was not an easy decision. It meant leaving behind the life and career I had built, the friendships I had formed, and a city that had shaped me as a person.
I had never heard anyone talk about how hard it is to move home after being an expat. The truth is, you come back as a different person, shaped by experiences and perspectives that people around you may not fully understand.
Meanwhile, I quickly noticed that things back home had also changed. My parents were older, most of my friends had settled down, and the life I once knew felt both familiar and foreign.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was returning without a professional network. Having left the UK straight after university, I had built my career in Hong Kong. Now, I was essentially starting from scratch.
In Hong Kong, my well-established career provided useful connections. Back in the UK, I had to rebuild everything. I started getting back in touch with old friends and acquaintances, attending networking events, and leveraging LinkedIn to create new opportunities. At times, it was uncomfortable, but I reminded myself that I had done this before — I had built a life from scratch once, and I could do it again.
Not missing Hong Kong's work culture
For the first time in years, I had time to pause and reflect. It was a strange paradox — I had longed for more balance, yet I found myself missing the intensity of my old life.
There's so much I miss about Hong Kong: transporting myself from the hustle and bustle of Central to an island beach or a hiking trail in 30 minutes. I miss the food, the social scene, and the warmer weather. The sense of adventure that came with living in a place where something was always happening.
In Hong Kong, I shared a compact apartment with a roommate in a lively neighborhood. Big-city living meant being surrounded by high-rises and skyscrapers. Now, in Liverpool — a port city about 200 miles northwest of London — I've gone from apartment living to a house with a garden — something that once felt almost impossible in Hong Kong. With more space, fresh air, and quieter surroundings, home now feels more open and relaxed.
Back home, Ho has been exploring the English countryside.
Hannah Ho
Coming back to the UK has brought its own joys. Spending quality time with my family has been a highlight, I notice myself appreciating them now in a way I never did before. I can drop by my sister and brother's places for home-cooked meals, a cup of tea, and just talk about life. These simple moments remind me of the comfort and connection I once took for granted.
I have a car, so I can drive to the countryside instead of relying on public transport.
Adjusting to the UK's work culture has also been refreshing. In Hong Kong, the work ethic was intense — long workdays were the norm, and efficiency was everything. There was a sense of urgency in everything people did. In contrast, the UK has felt more relaxed. The standard 9-to-5 schedule, hybrid/remote working models, and emphasis on work-life balance have been a welcome change.
Most importantly, I've been using this transition as an opportunity to pivot my career. While I still work a part-time job, I've decided to step away from the agency recruitment industry. Now, I'm building an online business that will allow me to work remotely and travel more. Because if there's one thing I've learned, once an expat, always an expat.
It does feel like I'm starting from scratch, but I see it as an opportunity to build something new on my own terms while embracing the lessons and experiences that shaped me abroad.
Got a personal essay about moving home after living abroad that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor: [email protected].
People on the Financial Independence, Retire Early path told me few loved ones really understood them.
I Putu Abel Pody
Twenty-two hours into tropical paradise, the money nerds started getting emotional.
In November, four dozen Americans and Australians converged in the spiritual heart of Bali, Indonesia, at a luxury resort filled with banana trees and the sounds of passing sheep. The crew was united by their commitment to the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement.
On the first day of the retreat, we sipped on coconut water and focused on introductions. Attendees at the five-day, $1,800 retreat came largely from Big Tech, finance, and small businesses, a mix of five- and six-figure paychecks. At 22, I was the youngest person in attendance — by far. The other participants ranged from 35 to nearly 60 and included both those on the path to early retirement and those who had left their jobs years ago.
On the second day, people started opening up about what brought them to the island. This retreat came, like any financial product, with caveats and nondisclosures. During small-group sessions, we were instructed not to interrupt or ask follow-up questions. I agreed not to write details that might identify specific people.
Outside our daily meeting room, jungle flora and koi reminded us we were far from home.
Shubhangi Goel/Business Insider
Inside a bamboo-paneled room with the AC blasting, wooden chairs were arranged in circles of four, so close that our knees almost touched. The organizer, a retired teacher from Texas who moved to Bali, talked about mending her relationship with an estranged parent.Next up, her friend — a prominent financial independence influencer — described a painful interaction with his tween daughter.
Then the first member of our four-member group was up.
Shespent a minute looking down at her flip-flops. Though she had been all smiles up to this point, when she finally spoke, she teared up and told us about a childhood family trauma.
The next man kept the emotional momentum going by talking about his loneliness. The third member of our quartet confessed how his obligations to his parents sometimes felt like a burden. I had rarely seen men cry, but here two did so one after the other. Last up, I thought about what troubled me, a 22-year-old with a dream job, a happy family, and good friends. I told them I was anxious that my sister's going overseas to college next year could pull us apart. I had never said that out loud.
Throughout that half hour, people sobbed, patted each other's shoulders, and, like me, struggled to show their solidarity without words.
The confessional set the stage for nearly a week of conversations — about stocks and Excel models,yes,but far more about personal growth and life optimization, replete with phrases like "accountability buddies."
After six months of writing about FIRE, I knew isolation to be one of the common downsides of retiring early. When all of your friends have a 9-to-5, nobody's around for lunch on a Tuesday.
At this retreat, I saw how deeply those feelings cut through a global community that often doesn't feel like a community at all. FIRE adherents need more than a lunch buddy — they're yearning for friends who won't shoot down their seemingly far-fetched plans, like retiring at 35.
"Any time I bring up net worth, my friends think I'm bragging," a five-figure employee with a job she hates told me over dinner. "Here I have people who are so much further than me in their journeys that I can talk about money openly."
The retreat's organizer, Amy Minkley (right) retired at 44 and lives in Bali.
I Putu Abel Pody
Amy Minkley, the organizer who lives in Bali, said she came to appreciate the value of live, long events — not just a monthly happy hour or Zoom hang — in 2021 after attending her first retreat. Minkley had grappled with money issues since her parents' divorce during her childhood. She took on two jobs as a teenager to help her struggling mother.
"I felt like I met my tribe," she said about attending her first event. "I was so moved by the people that stayed up late with me and really counseled me through some big money scarcity issues."
Over the next few years, advice from new friends she made at these Bali retreats helped her sort her aging parents' long-term care.
"People don't often get that vulnerable until they've been around each other for multiple days," said Minkley, who retired at 44. "There's just something so valuable to be able to have conversations about money in real life."
Escaping judgment
Many outsiders associate the FIRE movement with fun-eschewing cheapskates.
Early evangelists, like the blogger Mr. Money Mustache, preached about living a bare-bones life to save as much as possible, then quitting your job the second you hit a certain threshold.
"There's been a lot of judgment over the years," a woman who started her path to FIRE in 2017 told me. "There's a lot of people that think that it doesn't work."
One American said she stopped talking about personal finance with her friends. They told her that they thought the FIRE community was a cult and that she was depriving herself.
"They just don't have the discipline to save and invest, so they think retiring early is impossible," the woman said.
"I still go out, I still travel, hell I even still drink Starbucks occasionally," she said. "It's hard to convince people that it's not about deprivation — it's about deciding what you value and spending on those things."
Over dinner with a Balinese fire dance and spicy Thai food, two women — both serial Financial Independence retreat attendees — told me their loved ones associated retiring early with laziness or lack of ambition.
The retreat brought corporate quitters from four continents together.
I Putu Abel Pody
Others said they needed someone outside their regular circle to give them permission to take the big step, whether it be to retire, to quit, or to actually spend money. A small-business owner told me she made two of the biggest decisions in her life — to start a business and to get a divorce — at similar events. She credits the phone-light, nature-heavy long weekends centered on Financial Independence, or FI, that feel more like adult summer camp than a financial workshop.
One woman in her 50s, who suffered from what's known in FIRE-land as "I'll resign next year" syndrome, asked a trusted person at this year's retreat to run through her finances to see whether she could retire. Back home in New York, a financial advisor had quoted her nearly $3,000 to do the same.
"This community is worth every penny," she said after a loud, late-night game of spoons.
FI influencers and Gen Xers who had retired years ago led breakout sessions with catchy names like "Financial Independence Next Endeavor" to talk about how to retire meaningfully.
The early retirees recommended creating a bank account to spend solely on experiences with friends and family. The session leader told us one of the best trips he had ever taken was last year's $20,000, 11-day cruise from Greece to Italy, with his mom and his adult daughter. His "fun bucket" helped him ditch the frugality mindset.
In an exercise about how to introduce yourself without mentioning work, a "FI-curious" couple with adult children struggled to talk about themselves. They had prioritized building their business for the past several years. They didn't know who they were without work — or where they would go if they decided to retire early.
'Accountability buddies'
On the last day, our 50-person group sat in a circle sporting a mix of loose tank tops and uneven tans. We shared one thing we promised to do to improve our lives after getting home. To keep on track, we were directed to find "accountability buddies."
One woman promised to talk to her FIRE-wary partner about her desire to move abroad. A business owner broke down and confessed that her work felt like a prison so she would consider hiring help. A couple with young kids said they would prioritize their sidelined marriage — though the two finance whizzes had recently hit nearly $2 million in net worth, they had never considered shelling out for household help or a full-time nanny.
"It's a cautionary tale," the husband said. "When the kids grow up and they leave, you look at each other and you realize you're two different people."
One man, whom I had always seen laughing and surrounded by others, teared up, saying he was going to try to forge more meaningful friendships.
Accountability buddies actually kept in touch.
I Putu Abel Pody
When I checked in with some attendees in the weeks after the retreat, they told me their accountability buddies had stayed in touch. Some, like the couple with young kids, were following through on their improvement pledge — the duo had hired someone for household tasks and were trying to find an au pair.
On the eve of my 23rd birthday, I'm not gunning to retire by 30. Whether I have two or four decades of work ahead of me, the long weekend of drinking the coconut water made me want to invest in meaningful connections, not just my brokerage account.
I'll have my 30s and 40s to grow my career and net worth. But I need to enjoy friends and family now, while everyone is still fit and healthy. In the past three months, I have said yes to more activities and taken the initiative to plan others — a new tactic, because I often waited for loved ones to show they cared by asking me first.
And while I love my job as a journalist, I'm thinking more about who I am beyond it. As a kid, I dreamed of the hobbies I could pursue when I had my own time and money, untethered from school obligations. Now, I have no more excuses — and my accountability buddy is waiting.
