• The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against Elon Musk.
• The new suit alleges Musk violated securities law related to his purchase of Twitter shares.
• It's not the first time the Tesla leader has gone toe-to-toe with the SEC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against Elon Musk, alleging he violated securities law related to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, according to a federal docket.

The complaint alleges Musk "failed to timely file with the SEC a beneficial ownership report" disclosing his purchase of Twitter shares before he announced his ownership of the company.

"As a result, Musk was able to continue purchasing shares at artificially low prices, allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his beneficial ownership report was due," the complaint reads.

Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, told Business Insider in an email that Musk "has done nothing wrong."

"Today's action is an admission by the SEC that they cannot bring an actual case — because Mr. Musk has done nothing wrong and everyone sees this sham for what it is," Spiro said. "As the SEC retreats and leaves office — the SEC's multi-year campaign of harassment against Mr. Musk culminated in the filing of a single-count ticky tak complaint against Mr. Musk under Section 13(d) for an alleged administrative failure to file a single form — an offense that, even if proven, carries a nominal penalty."

This isn't the first time the SEC has sued Musk. A 2018 complaint from the commission stemmed from Musk's "funding secured" tweet, indicating he'd planned to take Tesla private, which eventually resulted in a settlement under which Tesla and Musk both paid fines of $20 million.

The SEC has not responded to a request for comment from BI.

Correction: January 14, 2025 — An earlier version of this story mistated the defendant in the story's URL and meta description. The SEC sued Elon Musk, not Tesla.

• Koyaana Redstar, a luxury bag authenticator, has decades of experience identifying fake Hermès Birkin bags.
• She said that the viral "Walmart Birkin," or "Wirkin," has several telltale signs of being a dupe.
• But Walmart is also not trying to convince anybody that the Wirkin is the real deal, she added.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Koyaana Redstar, the head of luxury buying at Luxe Du Jour, an online luxury boutique for vintage designer handbags. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've worked for Rebag, The RealReal, and other vintage consignment stores and have 20 years of experience in the resale industry.

To me, the Hermès Birkin and Kelly are the most iconic bags in fashion. They are classic and retain value more than almost any other bag.

So, of course, I have thoughts on the viral $78 "Walmart Birkin" bag.

Signs that the Wirkin is an obvious dupe

First, the proportions of the Wirkin wouldn't look right to anyone who knows their stuff — and knows Birkins.

The handles are too long, and the fact that it comes with a crossbody strap is a dead giveaway — the Birkin doesn't come with one. To my knowledge, the only Birkin with a strap is the Micro Birkin if you exclude Jane Birkin's first Birkin.

The hardware is also almost too gold and has a slightly green undertone, which a real Birkin wouldn't have.

From afar, the imitation leather-like material looks almost puffy, which also throws off the shape. I can also tell the size of various components isn't of regular Birkin proportions.

As far as I'm concerned, the Wirkin's design doesn't seem to have been intentionally created to convince anyone that it's a Birkin.

It does look similar — but major changes have been made to avoid confusion, and they haven't used trademarked branding that would lead someone to believe that it's a real Hermès Birkin.

I think it's likely not the last we'll see of Birkin dupes from other brands, partly due to the demand for this particularly iconic style.

Dupes are fair game

The Birkin is the most coveted handbag in the world, so it's not surprising that there are so many dupes and replicas.

Replicas are attempted duplicates of a luxury bag, down to the types of hardware, fonts, materials, and branding.

Dupes are not branded, like the bags they are trying to imitate. They use a style or concept, alter it, and remove its branding. However, these products may use similar materials and have similar functionalities.

I don't approve of replicas, but I can get behind the idea of dupes because they aren't made to trick people into confusing them with the real deal.

I do find that consumers I've interacted with have become more conservative about spending on luxury products. Now, what I see is that there is brand loyalty — especially among consumers who enjoy buying products from specific brands.

However, an uptick in prices and the idea that dupes are readily available could drive some people to find cheaper alternatives to items that are way out of their budget.

A word of warning, though. Knowingly purchasing, distributing, or shipping inauthentic items is illegal under federal law.

It constitutes "trafficking in counterfeit goods," which can result in significant fines and potential jail time depending on the severity.

• Israel has used its Air Force to strike its enemies with impunity.
• Syria's collapse now gives it unprecedented power in the air, right up to Iran's border.
• "Israel now has open skies to Iran," a Middle East analyst told BI.

The Israeli Air Force has long been regarded as the Middle East's premier aerial fleet, supplied in large part with US-made aircraft and munitions. But in the past year it has gone further, showing its aircraft can strike any of its adversaries with impunity and establishing unprecedented air superiority across wide stretches of the region.

It gutted Russian and Iranian-made air defenses in Iran, daring Iranian leaders to strike back with fewer defenses. It destroyed stocks of Hezbollah's missile arsenal in southern Lebanon and killed its top leader with a precision airstrike on his underground headquarters.

Its power was so formidable in Syria that the Assad regime and Russia secretly asked Israel to spare Assad's military, according to allegedly classified documents found in the country after that brutal regime collapsed in December.

In the wake of that collapse, Israel seized the opportunity. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) destroyed the country's vast majority of air defenses and Syrian military stockpiles.

Across 15 months of war, instigated by the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist massacre by Hamas into Israel, the IAF has emerged supreme and is basking in its moment.

"Fighter pilots, if they wanted, could now merrily fly in pairs, with visible operating systems, at any altitude, to any range, to any spot in Israel's first circle of defense," reported the Israeli news site Ynet in late December.

Israel has long possessed the most powerful air force in the Middle East and one of the most powerful and technologically advanced anywhere in the world. It boasts over 600 aircraft and over 30,000 active personnel, with no less than 50,000 in reserve. It operates the second-largest fleet of F-16s in the world and is the only regional country that currently flies the F-35 stealth jet. Furthermore, Israel has its own version of that fifth-generation aircraft, a privilege no other country enjoys.

The IAF overwhelmingly consists of American-made aircraft that also include Apache and Black Hawk helicopters. Israel also flies a large fleet of F-15s and recently signed a $5.2 billion deal for 25 highly advanced F-15IA variants.

The IAF plays a pivotal role in the defense of Israel. It gave the small country a critical qualitative edge over its larger Arab adversaries in historical conflicts, most notably the June 1967 Six Day War.

The IAF's newfound supremacy goes beyond previous wars. For example, it previously destroyed several Soviet-built Syrian surface-to-air missile batteries in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley in a complex operation in 1982 and shot down over 80 Syrian fighter jets without incurring any losses in return. While December's operation saw the IAF strike all across Syria, the operation wasn't nearly as sophisticated or dangerous as that historical episode; many of the air defenses in the latest operation were abandoned or in low states of readiness.

"We know one reason possibly restraining Israel was a recently exposed secret agreement with Russia and Syria in which Israel agreed to refrain from wider targeting of Syria's military," said Sebastien Roblin, a widely published military aviation journalist.

Israel launched an enormous long-range air and drone attack against Iran on the night of October 26 in retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage against it on October 1. The IAF targeted some Syrian air defenses in the lead-up to the attack.

The IAF also used Iraqi airspace that October night and reportedly targeted early warning radars and sensors in both Syria and Iraq, which were part of a network Iran established in the region to detect incoming Israeli attacks. While the IAF used standoff munitions, including air-launched ballistic missiles, some Israeli aircraft are believed to have penetrated Iranian airspace.

"From what we currently know, some Israeli aircraft did reportedly breach Iranian airspace, though not, from what I've seen, very far," Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company RANE, told BI.

"That was in part a demonstration of capability and in part an operational necessity to effectively hit deep targets," Bohl said.

Israel stated some aircraft entered Iranian airspace, which were likely stealthy Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jets and newly revealed long-range drones. Roblin said it's unclear if these aircraft released weapons over Iran. They could have been there to help "precisely locate key targets" and guide weapons fired by other aircraft over significant distances.

"The strike certainly had the effect of dispelling deterrence benefits of Iran's more advanced air defenses (Russian S-300 systems)," Roblin said. However, as in the case with Syria before December, Iran's remaining air defenses "still have some value in compelling use of more expensive standoff munitions and perhaps absorbing a percentage of incoming weapons."

Israel's campaign against the remnants of the Syrian military has major implications for Iran. Should Syria's airspace remain permissive to Israeli aircraft, Israel can fly its tanker aircraft closer to Iranian airspace than previously possible.

"If medium/high-altitude air defenses were truly fully destroyed, then Israel's ordinarily vulnerable tanker aircraft could indeed theoretically access Syrian airspace and refuel fighters, which could enable higher volume attacks on Iran," Roblin said.

With Syrian air defenses eliminated, Bohl believes that "Israel now has open skies to Iran."

It will likely take years before Syria manages to reestablish significant air defenses.

"The one-two-punch of Assad regime's collapse followed by Israeli strikes on surviving equipment mean Syria will require a much longer time-frame to reconstitute an air- and ground-based defense capability through expensive new equipment purchases," Roblin said. "So, Israel's ability to attack targets at will has been improved, though it was already more than adequate."

Airpower, of course, has its limits. Israel's aerial bombing has damaged roughly two-thirds of all buildings in Gaza, but it was a foot patrol that found and killed Hamas' hardline leader, who orchestrated the 10/7 attacks. Similarly, waves of Israeli airstrikes have failed to stop Iran from nuclear weapons development and uranium enrichment.

With Russia's influence diminishing, Turkey appears destined to become the new Syria's main military backer. Ankara has already offered to help Damascus rebuild the Syrian military.

"For now, Israel can ignore Syria as a defensive layer for Iran; it's just geography to fly over now," RANE's Bohl said. "But that is unlikely to be a permanent condition, and eventually, Syria's air defenses will, in some capacity, return."

"And should Turkey provide them, (that) might complicate Israel's regional strategy in a new way."

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

• The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against Elon Musk.
• The new suit alleges Musk violated securities law related to his purchase of Twitter shares.
• It's not the first time the Tesla leader has gone toe-to-toe with the SEC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against Elon Musk, alleging he violated securities law related to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, according to a federal docket.

The complaint alleges Musk "failed to timely file with the SEC a beneficial ownership report" disclosing his purchase of Twitter shares before he announced his ownership of the company.

"As a result, Musk was able to continue purchasing shares at artificially low prices, allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his beneficial ownership report was due," the complaint reads.

Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, told Business Insider in an email that Musk "has done nothing wrong."

"Today's action is an admission by the SEC that they cannot bring an actual case — because Mr. Musk has done nothing wrong and everyone sees this sham for what it is," Spiro said. "As the SEC retreats and leaves office — the SEC's multi-year campaign of harassment against Mr. Musk culminated in the filing of a single-count ticky tak complaint against Mr. Musk under Section 13(d) for an alleged administrative failure to file a single form — an offense that, even if proven, carries a nominal penalty."

This isn't the first time the SEC has sued Musk. A 2018 complaint from the commission stemmed from Musk's "funding secured" tweet, indicating he'd planned to take Tesla private, which eventually resulted in a settlement under which Tesla and Musk both paid fines of $20 million.

The SEC has not responded to a request for comment from BI.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

• The secretary of defense nominee pledged to re-recruit troops discharged over COVID-19 vaccine refusal.
• Over 8,400 troops were separated due to the vaccine mandate, which has now been rescinded.
• Hegseth said discharged troops should receive back pay, restored ranks, and an apology.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, pledged Tuesday to re-recruit troops forced out of the military for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and said they would receive back pay, restored ranks, and an apology.

"Service members who were kicked out because of the experimental vaccine," Hegseth told lawmakers, "they will be apologized to. They will be reinstituted with pay and rank."

Hegseth, if confirmed by the Senate, would build on the groundwork laid by Trump, who told supporters last summer he would "rehire every patriot who was fired from the military," because of the vaccine mandate.

Over 8,400 troops were separated from the services after refusing to receive the vaccine following a lawful order from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in 2021. The Pentagon argued that the vaccines, similar to over a dozen others servicemembers receive, were crucial to military readiness.

The Pentagon reversed course and dropped the vaccine mandate in 2023 following a decision by Congress. At that time, it stopped separating troops who had not received the shot. Roughly 99% of the active-duty Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force had been vaccinated and around 98% of the Army. Guard and Reserve rates were lower but over 90%.

Sen. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, asked if Hegseth Tuesday if he would commit to "recruit these folks back" with back pay.

"I will commit to this because the Commander in Chief has committed to this," Hegseth replied. "Not only will they be reinstated, they will receive an apology, back pay, and rank that they lost because they were forced out due to an experimental vaccine."

Top military brass considered the possibility of providing back pay to troops after the vaccine mandate was repealed in early 2023, but Hegseth's remarks Tuesday drive home the incoming administration's intent to re-recruit separated troops back into the military. It is the first such indication since Trump won reelection in November.

Such a change could affect the Marine Corps, the DoD's smallest service, the most — of the roughly 8,400 troops discharged, 3,717 were Marines. For the other services, 2,041 were discharged from the Navy, 1,841 from the Army, and 834 from the Air Force.

Republicans have long criticized these separations, arguing they were unnecessary and detrimental amid US military recruitment struggles. The military, however, maintained that the mandate was a lawful order essential to readiness and the well-being of the force.

• 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.

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

• ½ pound ground beef
• ½ pound ground pork or veal
• ½ 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.

• 1 cup onion, diced
• ½ cup celery, diced
• ½ cup carrot, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 ½ jars Carbone marinara sauce
• ¾ cup red wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• ½ cup milk
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 ½ tablespoons salt
• ½ 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 purée, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Then, I added the chopped carrots, celery, and onion.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Carbone recommends using pappardelle for his bolognese recipe.

Once the sauce was ready, I took the Dutch oven off the heat.

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 — which I find to be more Italian-American than true Emilia-Romagna style — 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.

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.

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'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 — plus, who doesn't love a good bowl of pasta?

• 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."

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."

• 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 ([email protected]). Use a nonwork device.

• 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."

• 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 — 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 Beyoncé 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 — namely the the lack of rights for Australian brands — 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."

• 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

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

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

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."

• 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 [email protected] and [email protected].
You can also reach them via Signal at jyotimann.11 and +1408-905-9124.

• Long-distance train travel can be the journey of a lifetime — so long as you avoid common mistakes.
• After spending 140 hours traveling nearly 4,000 miles by overnight trains, I've had some regrets.
• I've forgotten to check for WiFi access, slept in the wrong bunk, and overlooked lounge access.

I've spent 140 hours traveling nearly 4,000 miles on overnight trains in the US and Europe.

It all started in October 2021, when I took two 30-hour Amtrak rides between Miami and NYC.

Since then, I've spent a total of 65 hours traveling on overnight European trains between Berlin, Vienna, Venice, and Paris.

And most recently, in January, I spent 15 hours on another Amtrak sleeper train from Denver to Salt Lake City.

Looking back, I could have been more comfortable and gotten more out of all these rides if I avoided a few big mistakes.

When I booked my Amtrak rides, I could have saved money for future rides had I joined Amtrak's rewards program.

After my first overnight Amtrak trip, I learned that the train line has a loyalty program that rewards passengers two points for every $1 spent. Points may be used for tickets, hotels, shopping, and dining, and it's free to join.

If I'd signed up, I would have earned 3,000 points toward my next Amtrak adventure. I missed out that time, but I recently joined the program following my Denver to Salt Lake City journey.

I should have taken advantage of complimentary lounge access when traveling with Amtrak.

When I booked my first overnight Amtrak ride, I didn't check if my ticket included access to the Metropolitan Lounge at NYC's Penn Station, where I departed.

The Metropolitan Lounge is a quiet waiting area that's free for Amtrak customers in first-class and sleeper cabins. It has comfortable seats and free snacks and drinks.

Since I didn't realize my ticket included access to the lounge, I waited in the seating area for all passengers and was less comfortable than I could have been.

I forgot to pack medicine for motion sickness on my very first overnight ride.

That first ride taught me that overnight trains are very bumpy, and I felt sick for most of it.

For all my overnight rides since, I haven't forgotten to pack my medicine.

I also slept in the wrong bunk.

I chose to sleep in the top bunk on my first overnight train. I thought it would be more fun, but it made the ride feel even bumpier.

On every overnight ride since, I've opted for the bottom bunk over the top and have found that I sleep better that way.

Another mistake I've made on Amtrak trains was not always splurging on the most comfortable space available.

Amtrak sleeper trains have a variety of accommodations, from regular seats to private rooms.

I traveled from NYC to Miami in a $500 roomette, a 20-square-foot enclosed private space with a foldout table, two chairs that fold out into beds, and an additional bed that pulls down from the ceiling.

On my way back to NYC, I spent 30 hours in the next level up, a bedroom accommodation. It cost $1,000 for twice as much space as the roomette, with a private bathroom.

After these rides, I thought the roomette felt cramped and realized that spending twice as much money for double the space in the bedroom was worth it.

I made a similar mistake on my first overnight ride in Europe.

Some of the sleeper trains I've taken in Europe did not have private accommodations like Amtrak. Instead, they had shared cabins, and I learned that some were more comfortable than others.

For example, two Nightjet routes I booked offered regular assigned seats in enclosed seating carriages of six or shared sleeper cars with bunks of four or six. I tried both.

For my ride from Berlin to Vienna, I booked a $40 regular seat inside a seating carriage with six seats facing each other.

The seats didn't recline enough to be fully flat, and the small space felt like a tight squeeze for six people with limited legroom. I didn't sleep at all.

"The quality of travel depends not only on the carriages but also on the route," OBB Nightjet wrote in a statement to Business Insider. "We recommend the sleeper or couchette car for night travel. There is enough space to stretch out. Seated carriages are recommended for shorter journeys."

A few days later, I slept in a bunk inside a shared sleeping cabin for up to six people when traveling from Vienna to Venice for $84.

I still felt cramped in the 74-square-foot space, but having a lie-flat bed made sleeping a bit easier. I thought it was worth the higher price tag.

A year later, I traveled back to Europe to try out Nightjet's new overnight fleet with private cabins. I booked a room for myself from Venice to Vienna for $200. The added price for space and privacy made it worth the price tag.

On my most recent overnight ride, I should have checked if my train had WiFi before boarding.

My first two overnight Amtrak rides between NYC and Miami had WiFi on board. So when I got to my Amtrak train in Denver for my ride to Salt Lake City, I was surprised to find this route didn't include WiFi.

In hindsight, I should have checked if I'd have an internet connection before boarding. Had I known I wouldn't, I'd have downloaded some TV shows and movies for the journey.

While overnight train rides can feel exhausting, I think avoiding these mistakes in the future will make me feel cozier on my next sleeper train adventure.

• Some Starbucks customers are using the chain's mobile app to try to get faster drive-thru service.
• But Starbucks store employees say it just makes their job more difficult.
• The habit points to improvements that CEO Brian Niccol could make as he attempts a turnaround.

Starbucks baristas have a request for customers: Stop pulling into the drive-thru, then ordering coffee through the app, and asking for it a minute later.

Starbucks provides customers who order through the app an estimated time for when their order will be ready. While ordering, they can designate whether they want to pick up their order at the drive-thru or in the store, though Starbucks employees told Business Insider that many customers don't appear to pay attention to those options.

Still, some Starbucks customers seem to think that "hacking" the system by placing their order through the app when they're about to pull into the drive-thru — or when they're already waiting in line — will get them their venti pistachio lattes faster.

Some employees say it has the opposite effect, snaring their drink production. The employees also say the disruptive "hack" shows areas where the coffee giant could improve its order prioritization and preparation process.

BI spoke with three Starbucks employees about the issue. They asked not to be identified in this article for fear of retaliation at work, but we verified their employment.

Starbucks stores often have two separate production lines: one for drive-thru orders and another that handles orders placed in-store, through the app, and via third-party delivery apps like Uber Eats. When someone places an order, it's routed to one of these bars and generates a sticker that employees can attach to the side of a cup or other packaging.

"When people place their mobile order while they're already in line or they place their mobile order and show up a minute later, their mobile order might be behind 15 other people," one barista in the South told BI.

As a result, when the customer drives up to collect their coffee, "sometimes we haven't even seen the item that needs to be made," a barista in Florida told BI.

That means Starbucks workers, whom the company calls "partners," have to manually move that order to the front of the production line, employees said.

Preparing those orders on the spot can be especially hard if they contain multiple drinks. "It is our pet peeve, for sure," the barista said.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in September, has said that he wants baristas to get customers their orders in four minutes or less.

He said he wants to distinguish between the company's quick service, provided to customers using the chain's mobile app in the drive-thru, and its slower, more personalized service that some walk-in customers might prefer.

Niccol has also emphasized the importance of removing obstacles for partners doing their jobs in-store. "Our green-apron partners want to provide exceptional service to our customers," Niccol said in an October message to shareholders, adding that Starbucks' leaders "need to remove those things that might stop them from doing that."

While it's still early, some Starbucks employees have told BI that changes Niccol has overseen have already made their lives easier. Starbucks said late last year that it would cut back on promotions, such as multidrink deals offered to its rewards customers through its mobile app. Some baristas have told BI that the move has made filling mobile orders less hectic.

The Florida partner previously said that Starbucks' decision for workers to blend some drinks instead of shaking them by hand had cut production time and allowed workers at his store to fill orders faster.

When it comes to mobile ordering, "we're working to improve sequencing with a new algorithm that enables on-time mobile order handoffs and supports our four-minute throughput with quality being our goal," a Starbucks spokesperson said, adding: "And over the coming months, we plan to take steps to better separate mobile order pickup from the café experience."

Starbucks is expected to tell employees more about its plans in a three-hour meeting that will close store dining rooms next week.

Some partners have suggestions about what might improve the situation.

The barista in the South said Starbucks could have a separate drive-thru lane just for picking up mobile orders — something Chipotle did under Niccol's leadership with its Chipotlanes.

Such a change could help shorten drive-thru wait times and improve the experience for customers who want to enjoy their order in-store, the barista said.

"When you place an order at the register, your order goes in behind all of the mobile orders that I have, so I'm going to be making drinks for people that are still driving to the store while you're already in the store waiting," the barista said.

"That doesn't create a good experience for the customer," the barista added.

Do you work at Starbucks and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

• Chefs, cookbook authors, and food bloggers shared their favorite unique air-fryer recipes. 
• Meals ranging from mac and cheese to pizza can be made quickly and easily in the air fryer.
• Snacks like hard-boiled eggs, tempeh "bacon," and doughnuts cook nicely in the appliance.

Air fryers can do much more than just reheat items or cook quick snacks. Business Insider asked culinary experts, from cookbook authors to chefs, for their favorite dishes to make in an air fryer.

Here's what they said.

Air fryers can make delicious tofu dishes.

Adeev and Ezra Potash, hosts of Food Network's digital series "Takeout Twins," told BI that air-fried tofu is quick and easy.

"One of our favorite dishes is this stinky tofu dish we get on the street whenever we perform in China and we do our best to replicate that in our home air fryer," The Potash Twins said. "We've tried making it many different ways, but the air fryer is so much closer to the real deal."

According to Watch Learn Eat's vegan and gluten-free blogger Sherri Hall, firm tofu works best in the air fryer. 

"Use extra firm tofu and press it for 15 to 20 minutes first," Hall told BI. "Softer tofu won't hold up as well in the air fryer, and water-logged tofu will not get crispy. You also want to make sure to grease the air fryer to avoid sticking and place the tofu in a single layer to promote even cooking."

Her recipe for salt-and-pepper tofu takes only five ingredients and 15 minutes.

Doughnuts are quick and easy to make in the air fryer.

According to The Potash Twins, doughnuts are easier and healthier to make in the air fryer. 

"We make sufganiyot in our air fryers," The Potash Twins told BI. "It's an Israeli jelly doughnut that is made traditionally during the celebration of Hanukkah."

The Potash Twins fill store-bought pizza dough with raspberry jelly, spray it with oil, and place the formed doughnuts in the air fryer. This method helps to maximize the crispy, crunchy texture and replicates a deep fry.

The Potash Twins also like to top their doughnuts with powdered sugar as a finishing touch.

Make falafel in the air fryer for a tasty vegetarian snack.

Kysha Harris, food editor at New York Amsterdam News, said that although falafel is traditionally deep-fried, making it in the air fryer is healthier and just as delicious.

"You have spent the time to make a healthy, protein-rich food," Harris told BI. "Cooking falafel in the air fryer keeps the calories low and the cooking time short. It's a delicious vegetarian snack on hand.

Harris said she recommends chilling the formed falafel balls for 15 minutes and tossing them with vegetable oil to yield a richer color.

Use your air fryer to dehydrate dandelions for tea.

Food Network's "Farmhouse Rules" host Nancy Fuller told BI that because air fryers circulate hot air the same way as dehydrators, they can be used to dry out ingredients for tea.

"Dig up dandelions from your yard, wash the roots, chop the roots, and dehydrate the roots for 12 hours using the lowest setting on your air fryer," Fuller said. "Once the roots are dry, whir them up in a blender or coffee grinder."

Fuller then places a filter filled with the ground roots over a cup and slowly pours boiling water through. She also adds honey for flavor.

Your air fryer can also be used as a dehydrator to make homemade beef jerky and dried fruits.

Curb a sweet tooth with a simple and fast apple crisp.

Fuller also loves to make quick apple crisp in the air fryer. 

All you need to make this dessert is fresh-cut apples topped with cinnamon sugar and graham-cracker crumbs.

Bake it in the air fryer until the sugar is caramelized, and the graham crackers are crispy. 

Make cauliflower mac and cheese for an easy side dish.

Fernando Ortiz, of Margaritaville Hotel Nashville, uses his air fryer for both entrées and sides when making dinner for his family. 

"My go-to weeknight meal for me and my daughter from the air fryer is panko-crusted fish with cauliflower mac and cheese," Ortiz told BI. 

To make Ortiz's cauliflower mac and cheese, combine one cup of cheddar cheese, one cup of Parmesan, and one cup of heavy cream in a saucepan. Bring to a slight boil while cooking cauliflower florets in an air fryer at 390 degrees Fahrenheit for eight minutes.

Mix the cauliflower with the cheese sauce and put it back in the air fryer for five minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Make a one-pot meal of meatloaf and veggies in the air fryer.

David Trotta, owner and chef of Whealth Kitchen, a pick-up meal and delivery service in New York City, utilizes the air fryer by making a one-pot meal. 

To minimize messiness in the kitchen, Trotta recommends making meatloaf and vegetables. 

"It is a one-pot night with minimal mess," said Trotta. "The meatloaf goes in first for about 10 minutes. Then add the potatoes, followed by the broccoli. I toss the potatoes in olive oil, salt, garlic, onion, and rosemary and spray the broccoli with olive oil before adding it to the air fryer."

An air fryer can bake the perfect batch of chocolate-chip cookies.

"Chocolate-chip cookies are great in the air fryer, especially during times of warmer weather, as it won't heat up the house like a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven," Trotta told BI. 

Trotta said home cooks can use their favorite chocolate-chip cookie recipe and bake them on parchment in a preheated air fryer at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

The cookies should be set about 2 inches apart and need to bake for about eight minutes.

Make sure to let the cookies sit in the pan for two to three minutes before removing them from the air fryer for best results.

Use your air fryer to get the most out of your potato salad.

Jim Mumford, a cookbook author and food blogger, swears by using an air fryer when he makes German potato salad.

"The air convection dries the potatoes out, slightly dehydrating them, allowing them to drink in the dressing for less sogginess the next day," Mumford told BI. 

You can use this tip for your favorite potato-salad recipe, whether you prefer to serve it warm or chilled. 

Make a fast two-ingredient pizza dough in the air fryer.

Liana Green, a cookbook author and food blogger at Liana's Kitchen, said you can make two-ingredient pizza dough in an air fryer. 

To make the dough, Green combines one cup of self-rising flour and one cup of natural or Greek yogurt.

Once the ingredients form a dough consistency, Green rolls it out and places it on a piece of parchment paper in the air-fryer basket. She bakes the dough at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for eight to 10 minutes, turning over halfway through.

"Add pizza sauce, mozzarella, and any toppings and cook for a further three minutes," Green said. "It's the perfect snack or quick midweek meal."

Air fryers can quickly bake delicious cakes.

According to Green, as long as you have a baking pan that will fit in your air-fryer basket, you can quickly and easily make a cake.

This method is a great way to avoid heating up the house as a conventional oven would. 

"Make the cake batter the same way you would for baking it in an oven," said Green. "But remember that cakes will cook quicker in an air fryer than in an oven so it's important to check on them after 20 minutes."

To check if the cake is done, Green pokes a cocktail stick or skewer in the middle. If the outside is cooking too quickly, she covers the cake with some foil until it's done baking.

Proof bread dough fast using a low temperature on your air fryer.

If you're in a hurry to proof bread dough, Green suggests using an air fryer. 

"Just add the kneaded dough to the air-fryer basket and set it on the air fryer's lowest temperature," said Green. "Each model will differ, but it will likely be somewhere between 75 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. About 10 minutes should be enough time for the dough to proof."

Once you're done proofing, you can even bake your bread in the air fryer. 

Make a steakhouse-worthy dinner in your air fryer.

Marjory Pilley, a writer, recipe developer, and photographer for Dinner Mom, uses up thick cuts of meat with her air-fryer steak bites.

"Steak bites rival something cooked on the grill," said Pilley. "They caramelize on the outside and are juicy on the inside."

To make the steak bites, Pilley uses one pound of beef, such as sirloin. She cuts the meat into one to 2-inch cubes and tosses it with a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of her favorite steak seasoning.

Pilley then places the meat in the air-fryer basket in a single layer. She cooks the steak bites at 390 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.

If you'd like to make a full meal, Pilley said, you can add chopped vegetables like mushrooms or peppers to the mix. 

Hard-boiled eggs can be made in less than twenty minutes.

Pilley said making hard-boiled eggs in an air fryer is "ridiculously easy."

"Simply place cold eggs in the basket of the air fryer," said Pilley. "Cook at 250 degrees Fahrenheit using the following timing guide — 11 to 12 minutes for soft, 13 to 14 minutes for medium, and 15 to 17 minutes for hard. Immediately remove the eggs into ice-cold water for five minutes and peel."

Because every air fryer model is different, Pilley recommends checking the timing for your particular version on one or two eggs the first time around.

Customize your tempeh bacon by making it in the air fryer.

Hall likes to make vegetarian "bacon" with tempeh, tamari, maple syrup, olive oil, and seasonings.

According to Hall, this air-fryer "bacon" takes less time than baking in an oven, uses less oil than making it on a stovetop, and has "the perfect level of crispiness."

"Although you can purchase pre-made tempeh 'bacon' at the grocery store, store-bought tempeh 'bacon' brands are not typically gluten-free," Hall said. "Making it at home means that you can make it gluten-free and you can marinate it for as long as possible to make it incredibly flavorful."

Hall's easy air-fryer dupe is gluten-free, has less than 10 ingredients, and includes tips for using the "bacon" to make the perfect vegan BLT.

Air fryers can make crispy homemade churros.

Jessica Formicola, owner of Savory Experiments, makes churros in the air fryer as a lighter alternative to conventional deep-frying. 

"Thick choux pastry works surprisingly well for churros," said Formicola.

To avoid batter from seeping through the grates, Formicola lines the bottom of the tray with aluminum foil to prevent it from dripping.

This story was originally published on January 18, 2022, and most recently updated on January 14, 2025.

• Kate Middleton revealed she was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer in March 2024.
• She made her first public appearance in nearly six months in June 2024.
• On Tuesday, she announced she was in remission.

Kate Middleton said she is officially in remission.

In March 2024, the Princess of Wales revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for an unspecified type of cancer after months of speculation.

Kensington Palace previously said that Kate had a "planned abdominal surgery" in January 2024 and likely wouldn't return to public duty until after last Easter.

As time passed, her absence led to conspiracy theories about the princess running rampant online, some of which were bolstered after Kensington Palace released an edited photo of Kate and her children.

But Kate spoke directly to the public about her health to announce her illness, revealing her diagnosis and reiterating a request for privacy in a video shared on the Prince and Princess of Wales' social-media accounts.

And after announcing she finished her chemotherapy treatment in September 2024, Kate shared on Tuesday that she was officially in remission.

Here's everything to know about the Princess of Wales' experience with cancer.

Kate Middleton made a public appearance on Christmas Day 2023.

Kate joined the royal family for their annual walk from Sandringham in Norfolk, England, to attend a church service on Christmas Day.

The Princess of Wales walked with her children and husband to the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in one of her signature coatdresses, much like she did in years past.

On January 17, 2024, Kensington Palace announced Kate was in the hospital for "a planned abdominal surgery."

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A post shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales (@princeandprincessofwales)

Kensington Palace said in its statement that Kate would remain in the hospital, The London Clinic, for up to two weeks following the procedure.

"Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to hospital yesterday for planned abdominal surgery," the statement read. "The surgery was successful, and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery. Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."

Kensington Palace provided no additional information about what procedure Kate underwent, though the palace told the Associated Press the princess didn't have cancer.

The statement also said Kate hoped "her personal medical information remains private" to help provide her children with "normality."

"Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness' progress when there is significant new information to share," the statement went on to say.

Prince William was photographed visiting Kate at the hospital the following day.

On January 29, 2024, Kensington Palace said that Kate had returned to Windsor Castle.

"The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery," the statement shared on Instagram said. "She is making good progress."

William and Kate went on to thank the staff at The London Clinic in the statement, as well as those who sent them well wishes.

The same day, Buckingham Palace announced King Charles was returning home after having a procedure for a benign prostate enlargement.

Buckingham Palace announced on February 5, 2024, that King Charles had cancer.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement that "a separate issue of concern was noted" during the king's prostate procedure, and additional testing disclosed he had cancer. The palace didn't disclose what form of cancer he was diagnosed with, though they said it wasn't prostate cancer.

The statement also said that the king "commenced a schedule of regular treatments" and that although he would still be working from home, he would "postpone public-facing duties" per medical advice.

The palace didn't specify how long the king would forgo public-facing work at the time.

"His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer," the statement also said.

Prince William returned to public duty on February 7, 2024.

William paused his royal engagements amid Kate's surgery and recovery, returning to work on February 7, 2024, for an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

The same day, he attended a gala raising money for the London Air Ambulance, and he thanked the public for their messages of support for Kate, Town & Country reported.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days," he said, adding that "it means a great deal to us all."

He has attended a handful of public events since. The public was predicted to look to William in Charles and Kate's absences, as he represents the monarchy's future as heir to the throne.

"It's an opportunity for him to communicate on behalf of the royal family," Eric Schiffer, the chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, said.

In addition, the public generally responds more favorably to younger royals. Without Kate, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle, William's youth could be a boon for the monarchy, as Kristen Meizner, a royal watcher, told BI.

"They are most focused on the royals when they are of courtship age, getting married, having babies, that kind of thing," she said. "They're not necessarily considered as dazzling or as exciting to the public when they're 60 or 70 or whatnot."

Kate was reported on February 9, 2024, to have traveled to Norfolk to continue her recovery.

On February 9, 2024, the Daily Mail reported that Kate had joined her family at their home in Sandringham, Anmer Hall, for her children's half-term holiday.

The outlet also reported that her recovery was going well at the time.

Kate wasn't photographed during her trip from Windsor to Sandringham.

King Charles was photographed a few times throughout February, while Kate remained unseen.

Although he wasn't taking on public-facing duties, King Charles was still photographed a few times following his cancer diagnosis and the beginning of his treatment.

On February 11, 2024, he and Queen Camilla were spotted going to church in Sandringham, and he was photographed meeting with then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on February 21 at Buckingham Palace.

On the other hand, Kate remained absent, as Kensington Palace released no photos or videos of her.

William released a rare solo statement on February 20, 2024.

A statement from The Prince of Wales pic.twitter.com/LV2jMx75DC

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) February 20, 2024

Typically, William and Kate have released statements as a pair since they got married.

But on February 20, 2024, Kensington Palace released a statement on only William's behalf regarding the conflict in Gaza, in which he said he remained "deeply concerned about the human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October."

"I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible," the statement said. "There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza."

William also said he continued "to cling to the hope that a brighter future can be found, and I refuse to give up on that."

In addition to speaking for only William, the statement had a "W" seal at the top rather than the crown featured on messages from the Prince and Princess of Wales as a unit.

William missed a service of thanksgiving on February 27, 2024, because of an unnamed personal matter.

On February 27, 2024, members of the royal family attended a service of thanksgiving for King Constantine of Greece, King Charles' second cousin and close companion. He was one of William's godfathers.

William was set to attend the event alongside Queen Camilla and other family members but missed the service because of a personal matter, Kensington Palace told Business Insider.

A palace representative also told BI that Kate was doing well, but they didn't elaborate on what caused William to miss the event.

Following his absence, chatter about Kate's prolonged absence from the public eye erupted on social media, with users speculating about why she hadn't been seen in months. The princess was trending on X, and thousands posted about her on TikTok. "Kate Middleton" was also sixth on Google's list of trending search terms on February 27, highlighting how high public interest got in her absence.

Kensington Palace reiterated that Kate was "doing well" as William returned to public duty on February 29, 2024.

On February 29, 2024, Prince William resumed public duty, visiting the Western Marble Arch Synagogue to learn about the Holocaust Educational Trust, as Kensington Palace shared on Instagram.

He sat down with a Holocaust survivor, Renee Salt. Rebecca English, a royal editor for the Daily Mail, reported on X that during the conversation, he spoke on behalf of himself and Kate.

"Both Catherine and I are extremely concerned about the rise in antisemitism," English quoted the prince as saying to Salt. "That's why I'm here today to reassure you all that people do care and people do listen, and we can't let that go."

Kensington Palace also reiterated that Kate was "doing well" in a statement sent to BI on February 29.

"We gave guidance two days ago that The Princess of Wales continues to be doing well," the statement said. "As we have been clear since our initial statement in January, we shall not be providing a running commentary or providing daily updates."

Kate was spotted for the first time in 2024 on March 4.

On March 4, 2024, a sunglasses-clad Princess of Wales was seen riding in a car with her mother, Carole Middleton, in photos obtained by Backgrid and shared by TMZ.

According to TMZ, the pair were driving near Windsor Castle when they were photographed, and no other royals or security appeared to accompany them on the drive.

The sighting came as Queen Camilla announced she was taking a break from filling in for her husband at royal engagements until March 11.

After initially indicating she would attend, the British army removed references to Kate from online tickets for a June event shared on March 5, 2024.

On March 5, 2024, outlets like BBC News reported that Kate's name was included on tickets released online to The Colonel's Review, an event the British army hosts amid Trooping the Colour, on June 8. Kate was named the Colonel of The Irish Guards in December 2022, and the Colonel typically participates in the Review.

Many took her inclusion on the tickets as a sign she was on track to return to work in the summer. But then, the army quickly removed all references to Kate after the tickets were released because Kensington Palace had not confirmed she would attend.

A source close to the situation told Business Insider's Mikhaila Friel the army didn't get approval from Kensington Palace to include references to the princess in the tickets, leading to the confusion.

The palace didn't respond to a request for comment from BI on the matter.

Kensington Palace released a photo of Kate with her children for Mother's Day — but the photo was immediately met with suspicion.

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A post shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales (@princeandprincessofwales)

March 10, 2024, was Mother's Day in the UK, and to commemorate the occasion, Kensington Palace released the first official portrait of Kate since Christmas.

In the photo, Kate sits in a chair surrounded by her children, who are all giggling. According to the caption they shared on social media alongside the image, William took the picture of his family in 2024, and the photo appeared to come directly from Kate, as she signed the caption, "C," which stands for Catherine.

"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months," she wrote. "Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day."

But shortly after it was released, people began to speculate the photo had been edited. Photo editor Patrick Witty told BI's Shubhangi Goel it was "astonishing" the palace released the photo at all because of issues in the image, pointing to areas where the picture is blurred and things that seemed to be added to the shot during the editing process, like a zipper on Kate's jacket.

Later that day, multiple photo agencies removed the picture from their platforms.

On March 10, 2024, Reuters, the Associated Press, and the French organization Agence France-Presse sent kill notices for the picture, which means it is no longer available for distribution through their platforms.

Reuters said it removed the picture after a "post-publication review," while the AP said explicitly in its kill notice that it wouldn't distribute the photo because "it appears the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent."

Kensington Palace has been accused of editing photos of the royals before, as was the case with the Waleses' 2023 Christmas card, but the photo released on March 10 was the first to be killed by photo agencies.

The palace did not respond to a request for comment on the editing controversy.

Kate personally apologized for "any confusion" the picture caused on March 11, 2024.

On March 11, 2024, Kate released a statement on social media addressing the controversy surrounding the photo, seemingly taking responsibility for the manipulated image.

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," she wrote on X. "I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day. C."

Notably, Kate signed the statement alone. Kensington Palace typically speaks on behalf of the couple as a unit, and the royals said in their initial post that William took the shot.

The statement didn't appear to convince royal watchers online. Kate was trending on X, and the edited image had been viewed over 72 million times on the platform.

William and Kate were photographed together on March 11, 2024, before he attended a Commonwealth Day service.

A few hours after the princess posted on X, the Daily Mail released a photo of William and what appeared to be Kate in a car together leaving Windsor Castle.

In the shot, Kate is looking out of the window, so only her profile is visible. According to the outlet, Kate was going to "a private appointment," and William was en route to a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

William was photographed alongside Queen Camilla at the Commonwealth Day service after the photo of him and Kate was published.

Multiple tabloids released a video of what appeared to be Kate and William shopping in Windsor on March 18, 2024.

#KateMiddleton seemed to be in good spirits while out and about with #PrinceWilliam Saturday. https://t.co/kLUsfvt3b2 (🎥: TMZ/The Sun) pic.twitter.com/EqbtVojBcw

— TMZ (@TMZ) March 18, 2024

On March 17, 2024, The Sun reported that William and Kate were spotted shopping at a "farm shop" near Adelaide Cottage, their home on the grounds of Windsor Castle. But The Sun's coverage didn't include any images of the prince and princess.

Then, on March 18, TMZ and The Sun released a video of what appeared to be William and Kate walking through the market, holding shopping bags.

The video was grainy, and Kensington Palace did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the matter.

On March 22, 2024, Kate announced she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy in a video, speaking directly to the public.

On March 22, 2024, Kensington Palace uploaded a video of Kate speaking directly to a camera on its social media.

In the video, Kate said that her abdominal surgery in January was successful, but "tests after the operation found cancer had been present."

Her medical team recommended she "undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy" after reviewing the tests, as Kate said in the video. She began treatment in late February, according to a press release shared with BI.

The princess said that the diagnosis was a "shock" and that she and William "have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family," adding that determining how to share the news with their children was difficult.

"As I have said to them, I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal in my mind, body, and spirits," Kate said.

In the press release shared with BI, Kensington Palace said it would not be revealing what kind of cancer Kate had, nor what stage her cancer was.

The release also said Kate would return to work "when she is cleared to do so by her medical team."

In the video, Kate reiterated Kensington Palace's previous requests for privacy.

"We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space, and privacy while I complete my treatment," she said.

The Prince and Princess of Wales marked their anniversary with a private photo of their wedding in April 2024.

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A post shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales (@princeandprincessofwales)

To celebrate their 13th anniversary, Kate and William shared a never-before-seen photo from their wedding on Instagram on April 28, 2024.

The caption on the post was simple, reading, "13 years ago today!"

William said Kate was "doing well" during a royal engagement in May 2024.

Kensington Palace had not released any official updates, but on May 10, 2024, William said Kate was "doing well" when asked about her health in a video recorded by Sky News.

Kate apologized for missing a rehearsal for Trooping the Colour in June 2024.

Kate became Colonel of the Irish Guards in 2022, inheriting the title from Prince William. As the Colonel, she's meant to oversee the Colonel's Review, a rehearsal for Trooping the Colour, the king's official birthday celebration. However, Kate was unable to attend this year.

The Irish Guards shared a letter from Kate on X, in which she apologized for missing the rehearsal, on June 8, 2024.

"Being your Colonel remains a great honour, and I am very sorry that I am unable to take the salute at this year's Colonel's Review," she wrote. "Please pass my whole apologies to the Regiment, however I do hope that I am able to represent you all once again very soon."

In June 2024, Kate announced she would attend Trooping the Colour, her first royal event of the year.

I have been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months. It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times.

I am making good progress, but as anyone going… pic.twitter.com/J1jTlgwRU8

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 14, 2024

On June 14, 2024, Kate announced in a post on Kensington Palace's official social-media accounts that she would attend Trooping the Colour. The event, which took place on June 15, marked Kate's first official appearance of the year and her first since publicly sharing her cancer diagnosis.

In the post, accompanied by a photograph of Kate taken at her home in Windsor, the princess wrote that she was making "good progress" with her chemotherapy treatment, adding that there were "good days and bad days."

"On those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well," she wrote.

Kate added that her treatment was ongoing but that she was starting to do "a little work from home" and hoped to be able to join other "public engagements over the summer."

"I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty," she added. "Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal."

"I'm looking forward to attending The King's Birthday Parade this weekend with my family," she wrote, adding that she is grateful for the public's "continued understanding" and support.

It was announced that King Charles would also attend his official birthday celebration, though he would ride in a carriage instead of on horseback.

Kate stuck close to her family throughout Trooping the Colour.

During the parade, Kate rode in a carriage with George, Charlotte, and Louis, smiling and waving to the crowd.

She later watched the RAF flyover from Buckingham Palace's balcony alongside William, her children, and other senior members of the royal family, including King Charles.

William and Kate shared photos from Trooping the Colour on their official social-media accounts.

"A memorable day at The King's Birthday Parade," the caption of their post read. "From the Irish Guards Trooping their colour to seeing so many faces on the Mall, thank you for making it a day to remember."

Kate made her first solo appearance after her diagnosis at Wimbledon in July 2024.

About a month after Trooping the Colour, Kate took another step toward returning to her royal work by attending the Wimbledon Championships men's singles final.

Kate brought her daughter Charlotte, and the pair were photographed watching the match together. She also presented the winner, Carlos Alcaraz, with his trophy.

She said it was "great to be back at Wimbledon" in an Instagram post about the event.

The Princess of Wales announced that she had completed chemotherapy in September 2024.

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Kate took to Instagram on September 9 to announce she was finished with chemotherapy in a video filmed by Will Warr.

The video showed clips of the Prince and Princess of Wales with their children and Kate's parents.

"As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment," Kate said in a voiceover that played in the video. "The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown."

The Princess of Wales also shared a bit about her experience with cancer in her statement.

"The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you," she said. "With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything."

"This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved," she added.

Although the princess said she was "looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can," she made clear that her health was still her priority.

"Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus," she said. "Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes."

Kate said she was in remission on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Kate visited The Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, where she received her chemotherapy treatments.

She connected with staff and patients during her visit, and in the caption of an Instagram post she shared after the engagement, Kate said she was in remission.

"It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focussed on recovery," she said. "As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal. I am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead. There is much to look forward to. Thank you to everyone for your continued support."

In the post, Kate also thanked the staff who took care of her.

"I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to The Royal Marsden for looking after me so well during the past year," she said. "My heartfelt thanks goes to all those who have quietly walked alongside William and me as we have navigated everything."

"We couldn't have asked for more," Kate said. "The care and advice we have received throughout my time as a patient has been exceptional."

William and Kate have become joint patrons of the hospital, and the Princess of Wales said in her post that she hoped to use her position to support "groundbreaking research and clinical excellence" and promote "patient and family well-being."

• Mark Wiedman, a top BlackRock executive, is leaving the asset-management firm.
• Wiedman was seen as a prospective successor to CEO Larry Fink.
• He's leaving to pursue opportunities outside the firm, a source said.

A top BlackRock executive, Mark Wiedman, who was considered a prospective successor to CEO Larry Fink, is leaving the world's largest asset manager, a person familiar with the matter said.

Wiedman, who most recently led BlackRock's global client business, was one of two senior executives that insiders at the $11.5 trillion firm considered most likely to replace Fink, Business Insider previously reported.

Wiedman, 54, has chosen to pursue opportunities outside the firm and plans to stay on through the spring, the person familiar with the matter said.

A veteran of BlackRock who has been with the firm for two decades, Wiedman joined from the US Treasury Department and rose up the ranks. He was responsible for the integration and growth of its exchange-traded-fund business, iShares, and helped establish FMA, the firm's influential consulting arm. The Financial Times earlier reported his planned departure.

Fink, who turned 72 in November, had a blockbuster 2024, announcing three big acquisitions in hopes of bringing BlackRock closer to dominating the world of private markets. In December, BlackRock said it was set to buy HPS Investment Partners, a private-credit behemoth managing $148 billion.

Fink, who cofounded BlackRock in 1988, has been more vocal over the past year about the firm's growth plans than about whom he plans to pass the business on to. But he previously said that he had "no higher pri­or­ity" than put­ting together a team to replace him­ and Rob Kapito, Black­Rock's pres­id­ent.

The news of Wiedman's exit comes a day before BlackRock is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings.

Rob Goldstein, the firm's chief operating officer, along with Wiedman, has been named as a prospective successor to Fink. Other names in the mix have included Martin Small, the chief financial officer and global head of corporate strategy, Rachel Lord, the head of international, and Stephen Cohen, who was promoted to chief product officer last year.

Last January, Salim Ramji, another executive considered a prospective successor, left and joined Vanguard as its chief executive in July.

Wiedman's exit will likely be seen internally as a surprise.

Rebecca Ungarino reported for BI in January 2024 that it had "always been Weidman" at the front of the race.

A person familiar with the matter told her: "Now, it's hard to predict when a transition may happen. The senior-most officers of the firm thought the transition would have taken place awhile ago. Larry is definitely taking his sweet time."

• Meta plans to cut 5% of low-performing employees.
• The cuts are part of a strategy to improve performance.
• Meta aims for 10% "non-regrettable attrition," combining last year's and this year's targets.

A memo from one of Meta's human-resources executives explained to managers on Tuesday how the company's performance-based job cuts would work in the coming weeks.

Hillary Champion, Meta's director of people development growth programs, instructed managers to categorize employees into performance tiers based on their contributions over the past year, according to the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Business Insider.

Champion wrote in the memo that Meta aimed to reach 10% "non-regrettable attrition" by the end of this performance cycle, combining last year's 5% with an additional 5% this year. These are employees that the company wouldn't consider a loss if they left.

She signaled that Meta was ramping up pressure on underperformers and trying to more quickly decide who stays and who goes.

"We have really ambitious goals, so we need to manage our workforce in a way that ensures we have the strongest talent working here and can move faster in managing out low performers so that we can bring new people in," Champion said.

Her guidance for managers came shortly after Meta told employees it was preparing to cut about 5% of its lowest-performing staffers as part of an effort to "raise the bar." Meta said it intended to backfill these roles in 2025.

Meta's performance ratings, and who will be cut

BI also obtained a copy of Meta's internal performance guidance on Tuesday. This document describes several categories, one of which is "met most expectations." Other ratings include "met some" and "did not meet."

"Anyone who receives a rating of 'Met Some' or 'Did Not Meet' will be automatically added to the performance termination list," Champion told Meta managers.

"The number of people in the 'Met Most' category to be terminated will vary," she added.

This depends partly on whether Meta's target of 10% non-regrettable attrition is met. Champion shared a theoretical example: If a team had 5% non-regrettable attrition in 2024 and then put 3% of employees in the "met some" rating, an extra 2% of workers from the "met most" group would need to be cut to hit the 10% total.

The coming job cuts are part of a broader strategy to reshape Meta's workforce and become more efficient amid huge investments in AI, virtual reality, and the future of social media.

Last week the company rolled back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and disbanded its third-party fact-checking program.

Here's the memo from Champion:

Manager Update for the Performance@ Process

Following up on Mark's announcement today, I want to share some details about the role you will need to play through this performance cycle, and offer some guidance on how to lead through this.

What's Happening

• We have really ambitious goals, so we need to manage our workforce in a way that ensures we have the strongest talent working here and can move faster in managing out low performers so that we can bring new people in. As a result, we are exiting approximately 5% of our lowest performers.
• Calibrations continue to be our process for differentiating performance, recognizing impact, and making promotion decisions. In addition to the process overview shared in December, we will be using the calibration window to identify the lowest performers for performance termination.
• Company-wide, we expect to reach 10% non-regrettable attrition by the end of this Performance cycle, inclusive of ~5% non-regrettable attrition from 2024. This means we are aiming to exit approximately another 5% of our current employees who have been with the company long enough to receive a performance rating. The exact percentage will vary by org depending on their non-regrettable attrition in 2024.
• Those who are terminated for performance will receive generous severance packages, in line with previous cuts.
• Org leaders will share more on the the specific backfill process for your Org.

How Performance Calibrations will Work

Below is a topline view of what to expect. HRBPs will guide teams through this and provide more details during calibrations.

- This will be a normal calibration process and we will use the time to identify our strongest performers in addition to our lowest. We will discuss all ratings, flags, edge cases and promotions as usual.

• Consistent with our distribution guidance, teams will need to identify 12-15% of employees who are eligible to receive a performance rating as Met Most and Below ("MMB"). This includes any 2024 non-regrettable attrition, which will be visible in the performance tool and shared with team leaders during calibrations.
  • Example: If your org's 2024 NR attrition was 5%, then your team will need to identify 7-10% to receive MMB ratings in order to meet the 12-15% total.
• As you go through calibrations, your HRBP will also help you differentiate performance by utilizing the Met Some rating more than we have in the past.
• Anyone who receives a rating of "Met Some" or "Did Not Meet" will be automatically added to the performance termination list.
• Later in the calibration process, your Director and VP will review those with a "Met Most" rating to determine who will be terminated to meet the required 10% target. The number of people in the "Met Most" category to be terminated will vary, depending on your org's 2024 non-regrettable attrition rate and how many people are rated "Met Some" or "Did Not Meet"
  • Example: If your org had 5% non-regrettable attrition in 2024, and through calibrations put 3% in the "Met Some" rating, Directors and above will need to select an additional 2% from the "Met Most" group in order to reach the 10% total.
• You should use the flag and notes features within the performance tool to make any recommendations about whether someone with a "Met Most" rating should be included in the performance terminations or not.

Do you work at Meta? Contact BI reporters from a nonwork email and device at [email protected] and [email protected].

You can also reach them via Signal at jyotimann.11 and +1408-905-9124.

• Netflix is getting into business with YouTube star Ms. Rachel.
• The streamer will license and compile the creator's massively popular kids' content.
• Streamers are increasingly tapping YouTube-born creators and formats.

Netflix has signed another deal with a top YouTube star — a signal that the lines between the creator ecosystem and Hollywood are continuing to blur.

The streamer's latest pact is with Rachel Accurso, an education creator known by children the world over as Ms. Rachel. She's beloved for her sunny disposition and signature pink headband. Four episodes from Ms. Rachel are set to drop on Netflix on January 27, with more installments arriving later this year.

Netflix has struggled to attract young viewers in the past and has long considered YouTube one of its biggest competitors.

That's in part because YouTube has emerged as the victor in TV screen viewership, Nielsen data shows. The venue is crucially important to advertisers. (A top YouTube executive previously told Business Insider that 2024 was "the year of living room.")

The video giant has managed this feat without premium content. YouTube previously commissioned originals from native stars like Liza Koshy and Joey Graceffa for its YouTube Premium subscription service, but has largely abandoned those efforts. That's paved the way for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime to make inroads with YouTube talent.

Netflix's YouTuber collaborations date back to 2016, when it premiered "Haters Back Off," a comedy series with comedian Colleen Ballinger. The company also airs content from CoComelon, a kids' content hub that rose to renown on YouTube and racks up hundreds of millions of hours of watchtime on Netflix.

Streamers are leaning into YouTube-born creators and formats

More recently, Netflix streamed a boxing match with Jake Paul that shattered its live-viewership records, and inked a deal with creator septet The Sidemen for the second season of their reality series, "Inside." The first season premiered on YouTube.

Accurso's deal also arrives as the most-subscribed creator on Earth, MrBeast, is in the midst of rolling out his own streaming series with Amazon Prime.

The competition show, "Beast Games," was beset by controversy and has been assailed by some critics. Still, it has hovered at the top of Prime's TV charts — currently ranked No. 2 in the US.

"Hopefully, this opens doors for other creators on streaming platforms," MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, wrote on X in December about the show's success.

Accurso's deal opens that door even further. It also signals how content creators and traditional Hollywood formats are merging.

In the past, Hollywood has slotted creators into familiar TV formats, like when NBC tapped Lilly Singh to host a late-night talk show, or when Hulu worked with the D'Amelio family on a reality show in the same vein as the Kardashians franchise.

Netflix's deal with Ms. Rachel, meanwhile, is a licensing agreement.
The Netflix episodes of "Ms. Rachel" will be a "curated compilation" of her existing content, including what she's already shared on YouTube. The approach could make the transition to Netflix all the more seamless.

• Meta said in internal memos that it would cut 5% of workers, focusing on its lowest performers.
• Staffers asked how the cuts would work. One criticized the announcement after a "pretty rough" week.
• Some employees questioned the accuracy of internal performance ratings.

Mark Zuckerberg told Meta employees on Tuesday that the company would make "extensive" cuts to low performers, affecting about 5% of the company's workforce. For some staffers, the cuts raised questions about how performance would be measured and concerns about morale.

Employees posted their reactions on an internal message board, seen by Business Insider. Several asked how the cuts would work in practice. While some employees expressed support for raising Meta's standards, others wanted specifics about the process, particularly at a time when Meta is cutting third-party fact-checkers and rolling back DEI policies.

"This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams," Zuckerberg told staffers in a companywide note on Tuesday. He said that while the company would typically remove low performers over the course of a year, it would speed up that process for this review cycle.

A separate memo sent to Meta managers, a copy of which BI reviewed, said the company planned to cut about 5% of its workforce. Meta said in its latest earning report that it employed 72,404 people globally at the end of September, meaning the cuts would be equivalent to about 3,600 roles.

Some employees said they supported the decision to raise the company's standards. One wrote, "I realize there is a need to raise the bar and I absolutely support this." Others wanted to know more about how the cuts would be decided.

"How much of this decision will be based on performance and how much will be based on area of investment," one employee asked. Another asked whether the cuts would affect "exploratory work" at Meta.

"Year of intensity?" another staff member wrote, seemingly a joking reference to Meta's "year of efficiency."

"How will HR determine the level of optimism about someone's future at the company?" another question said, appearing to refer to Zuckerberg's comment that Meta "won't manage out everyone who didn't meet expectations for the last period if we're optimistic about their future performance."

Zuckerberg said that employees in the US affected by the cuts would be told by February 10, while those in other territories could take more time. At least 664 employees reacted to Zuckerberg's post with a shocked emoji, 386 with a like, and 66 with a crying emoji.

It's been an eventful week for Meta employees. On January 7, Zuckerberg announced that the company would replace third-party fact-checkers with a community-notes system and that it planned to bring political content back to the news feed. On Friday, staffers were informed that Meta would roll back its DEI programs.

"Teams aren't exactly strong when morale is low, and this is already a pretty rough ride over the last week," one employee wrote in the internal message board on Tuesday following the announcement of cuts.

A Meta spokesperson didn't comment on the memos and the employee reactions.

Monkeys 'throwing darts'

To determine which employees it could cut, Meta will use its internal performance-review program, which scores employees in buckets such as "did not meet expectations" and "exceeded expectations."

One employee writing in the internal channel expressed skepticism that the performance-review system was an accurate way to do this. "I would say the ratings and process creates marginally better than 'monkey's throwing darts' in terms of reflecting the actual performance and impact for a large majority of the people," they wrote.

Others asked if the changes would apply to low-performing managers and how people on maternity or mental-health leave would be affected.

"How are we going to balance false positive terminations of people who have context about the products and are just having unlucky halves with the cost of ramping up new people who have an even bigger chance of not being able to perform at the desired bar?" another employee asked.

Janelle Gale, Meta's vice president of human resources, told employees in a comment that an FAQ would be posted later on Tuesday "with additional information around how this process will work."

One employee suggested LGBTQ+ employees might have "additional concerns" about their performance ratings.

"As the company builds towards broader cognitive diversity, is there any outsized weighting for LGBTQ+ metamates in these perf reviews or in who gets offered severance?" they wrote. "Just want to check whether that will be a factor."

"Absolutely not," Gale said. "This is not in any way intended to target the LGBTQ+ community or any group. Objectivity and integrity are crucial aspects of the Perf@ process and we work hard to remove bias from our systems. We do not tolerate discrimination in any way. Full stop."

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