• Tesla sales in Australia fell 71% in February compared with the same month last year.
• The drop comes as the country also experienced Tesla-related vandalism incidents.
• European countries and China reported declines in Tesla sales last month.

Tesla sales are sliding in another market.

Elon Musk's automaker sold 1,592 vehicles in Australia last month, down from 5,665 in February 2024 — a 71% decline, per figures from the Electric Vehicle Council.

Rival Polestar also suffered a decline of 11% last month, selling 125 vehicles.

The decline for Tesla comes amid vandalism aimed at Musk. A Tesla store in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, was vandalized with graffiti including "Down with DOGE," news.com.au reported this week.

Tesla and Musk protests have taken place in a number of US cities, with some of them leading to vandalism and arrests. Anti-Tesla boycott attempts have also taken place in Portugal and the UK.

Australia joins a number of European countries reporting declines in Tesla sales. Tesla's February total in Germany fell 76% year-on-year, despite overall EV sales rising about 31%. Tesla sales in the country also fell in January amid Musk's endorsement of the far-right AfD party.

Tesla sales declined more than 40% year-on-year in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden last month, with a 26% slide in France.

Sales of Teslas manufactured in China fell 49% year on year in February to their lowest number since August 2022. Tesla's Chinese rival BYD posted a 90% increase the same month.

Tesla stock has had a rollercoaster ride this year, plunging 15% on Monday before regaining some ground on Wednesday to be about 34% lower this year.

As Tesla grapples with a slumping stock price and declining sales, some investors have expressed concerns that Musk's increased political involvement may be contributing to its struggles. However, some analysts have told BI that stock volatility is normal for the company, and some of the headwinds were expected.

Tesla warned there would be lost production time as plants retool for the Model Y refresh.

The model lineup is aging and increasingly showing up in the used car market. Some potential buyers may also be waiting for Tesla's cheaper EV to arrive later this later.

• Sen. Mark Kelly says he's "looking into" offloading his Tesla.
• He wouldn't be the first big name to do so.
• Other prominent figures have sold their Teslas over Elon Musk's actions or his support of President Donald Trump.

Sen. Mark Kelly might become the latest big name to get rid of his Tesla over Elon Musk's politics.

The Arizona Democrat told reporters on Tuesday that he's "looking into" selling his Tesla, though he noted "there's things I like about it."

"It's kind of cheaply built on the inside, but I love the performance," he said.

His remarks come amid his recent dust-up with Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, who called the senator a "traitor" for visiting Ukraine.

If Kelly follows through with his sale, he wouldn't be the first prominent figure to part with his Tesla. Some other big names have offloaded their Teslas because of Musk.

Jason Bateman

The actor told vice presidential candidate Tim Walz in October that he had ditched his Tesla.

"I feel like I'm driving around [with] a Trump sticker with that car, so it's gone," he said on an episode of his hit podcast "Smartless."

"I'm so excited that every car brand now has an electric car," Bateman added.

Bateman appeared in a Hyundai ad for the carmaker's Ioniq 5 electric vehicle in 2022.

Sheryl Crow

The singer posted a video on Instagram in February showing her waving goodbye to her Tesla as it was towed away.

"My parents always said… you are who you hang out with," she wrote in the caption. "There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long Tesla."

Crow said she donated the money from the sale of her Tesla to NPR, which Musk has criticized and called to defund. NPR says it receives less than 1% of its funding directly from the federal government.

Joanne Wilson

Angel investor Joanne Wilson told Business Insider that she and her venture capitalist husband, Fred Wilson, sold their Tesla in protest of Musk's actions at DOGE.

She wrote a blog post about their decision this week.

"Was it Elon's complete disregard for human beings as he attempts to completely disrupt the federal government like a classic tech dude without a proper understanding of how government works, or was it that awful new cyber truck that looks like something out of Mad Max and looks angry?" she wrote. "It is a toss-up."

Trump, on the other hand, just bought two

"Tesla takedown" protests have sprung up in cities across the US in opposition to Musk's work at DOGE. Protesters are calling for Tesla owners to sell their stock and cars, and some Tesla owners have seen their vehicles get vandalized.

However, Tesla recently got at least one prominent buyer: Trump.

The President said Tuesday he'll label attacks against Tesla dealerships domestic terrorism and said he plans to buy a Tesla Model S and a Cybertruck to support Musk. In a Tuesday photo op outside the White House, he got inside a Model S and sounded impressed by its interior, saying, "Everything's computer!"

Tesla's stock has plummeted more than 50% from its December all-time high, but it rose following Trump saying he'd purchase a new Tesla.

• Airlines CEOs are adjusting their forecasts amid economic uncertainty and softened consumer demand.
• Natural disasters and air crashes in January and February haven't helped.
• Shares of American, Delta, Southwest, and United are all trading down this year.

At the start of the year, airline CEOs raved about what they thought would be a strong year of profits, thanks to booming travel demand and the popularity of premium seats to Europe.

But an unrelenting series of natural disasters, tragic crashes, and economic uncertainties have dampened their mood and sent stock prices careening.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian referred to the recent events as a "parade of horribles" at an investor conference hosted by JPMorgan on Tuesday. He said the airline will reduce its first-quarter revenue outlook by $500 million, or by about 4%.

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have similarly slashed their earnings forecast for the first quarter, citing declining demand, safety concerns, and declining government travel.

"If [the wildfires and snow storms] were the only two issues, we probably wouldn't be talking about major guidance adjustments," American CEO Robert Isom said at the JPMorgan conference.

United didn't adjust its guidance, but CEO Scott Kirby said the airline expects to land at the lower end of its forecast. The airline already said it could lose millions due to declining government travel following the recent mass federal firings.

Delta shares are down about 23% year-to-date, while United is experiencing a nearly 24% slump. Year-to-date performances of Southwest and American are down about 10% and 35%, respectively.

Airlines took a hit from unusually powerful natural disasters

2025 kicked off with a series of deadly wildfires in Los Angeles. These unusual January fires took place outside the area's normal April to October fire season and temporarily paralyzed commercial air travel in Southern California.

That was followed by two major snow and ice storms that swept across the Southeast US — including Florida — in successive weeks, disrupting thousands of flights.

According to Bastian, January's bad weather and natural disasters did about "$100 million of damage" to Delta's finances. Jordan said Southwest was similarly impacted by the LA fires.

Isom said at the conference that the Sun Belt weather had an "inordinate impact on American," noting the operational disruptions caused by the January storm to the carrier's mega hubs in Dallas/Fort Worth and Charlotte.

Two crashes made fliers nervous and dampened flight bookings

After weather disruptions, the deadly midair collision between an American flight and a military Blackhawk helicopter in January set the downturn in motion.

"January actually looked pretty good," Bastian said at the conference. "The revenue environment was pretty strong. The booking trends were healthy. Then we had the tragic American Airlines incident."

Delta saw growth in corporate travel and bookings "immediately stall" following the crash, it said.

Southwest COO Andrew Watterson said the airline also experienced "suppressed bookings" in the days following the crash.

Before anything could recover, a Delta flight crash-landed in Toronto in February.

Even though the crash did not result in any fatalities, the compounding effect of the two back-to-back incidents — as well as a near-miss in Chicago and several other accidents involving smaller airplanes — negatively affected consumer confidence in air travel.

Despite softened bookings in the first quarter, Isom said he does not believe the DC crash will have a long-term impact on the US airline industry or American.

Recession fears have dampened demand

Waves of mass layoffs, a tumbling stock market, and a trade war have led some corporate and price-sensitive economy fliers to hold off on travel.

"We talked to all of our corporate customers, and everyone is ready to go," Bastian said. "But in the face of the amount of macro uncertainty, they're pulling back a little bit on travel, not in an organized manner, just kind of waiting to see what's going to transpire."

Delta and United said they plan to cut capacity through the summer to align with demand. United said it's retiring 21 aircraft ahead of schedule, saving the airline $100 million this year on engine overhauls.

Soft consumer demand has been exacerbated by waning travel bookings from the US government thanks to the mass layoffs and dramatic cost cutting measures implemented by the Trump Administration and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

"Government is 2% of our business," United CEO Scott Kirby said. "Government adjacent, all the consultants and contractors are probably another 2% to 3%; that's running down 50% right now."

Isom said American's historically profitable presence at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in DC has taken a particular hit, but added the airline's government-contracted business accounts for only 1.5% of its total revenue.

Airlines are still optimistic about the year

The first quarter of the year is generally the weakest financial period for airlines. So, it's common to see airlines report losses or lower-than-expected profits in Q1, even during banner years.

United, Delta, Southwest, and American all say they remain hopeful of a turnaround, especially going into the higher-demand spring and summer months.

"Good news is that international, long haul, Hawaii, premium all remain really strong," Kirby said at the conference.

Isom said American is "nimble" in its ability to adjust to economic and demand changes and will benefit from its renewed ticket distribution strategy that it expects will earn back high-paying corporate customers.

Jordan said Southwest is optimistic about its future profitability amid an operational shake-up that will now charge for things like bags and assigned seats.

Bastian said continued premium demand, lower fuel prices, profits from its credit card, and an expectation that much of the quarter-one hiccups are temporary have sewn optimism for the full year.

"Even though we just went through a little bit of a parade of horribles, we will still be just as profitable as we were in the prior year," Bastian said of Delta's first-quarter results. "We anticipate margins continuing to expand, even with the slower start to the year."

• A single mom was relieved for the pay increase and expected stability that came with a federal job.
• Now, she's grappling with an RTO order and job instability.
• She plans to nearly double the amount she's spending on day care when she returns to work full-time.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a federal worker who requested anonymity to speak freely. Her identity and employment were verified by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a single mom and I was recently hired as a remote-restricted federal employee, which means I'm within the 50-mile radius of an office.

I've always been remote. I like it because I don't have to cram everything into this very small window. I get to get my kids to their activities without making them feel stressed out or stressing myself out — but I would have taken this job if it wasn't fully remote, based on the salary bump. It's worth it.

I've always been a proponent of public service. Somehow I ended up working for the American people.

I saw it as the goal — and I was relieved. A federal job means a pension and really good benefits. If you're a high performer, there's an easy path to continue working your way up. It's not the highest salary that you can possibly get, but you work with really great people who want to do really good things for this country.

I worked so hard last year. In the last four months of the year, I got the house in my name, a new car to better afford the monthly car payments — and then this job, which was a huge raise for me.

Finally, I was going to have something stable for me and my children. In 2025, I just wanted to acclimate, rest, and enjoy what I finally got.

Then, my agency recently received our return-to-office guidelines.

We're expected to return in the next couple of months.

Since my position is covered by a collective bargaining unit, I'm waiting on my specific return date, but the expectation is I'll be returning full-time in person.

In addition to the RTO order, my agency lost thousands of workers between the deferred resignation program and the termination of probationary employees.

Most probationary employees on my team were terminated. I don't know why I wasn't. I have theories, but they're really just that.

I won't get a break for a long time

I have two children. My youngest goes to day care but will start school in the fall. My oldest is in school but usually stays home for the summer.

I have my kids five nights a week and they're in a lot of activities. One of them recently started competitive sports and it's essentially become their identity. Both of my children see their friends at their activities, they have their teachers — it's an outlet for them. It keeps their lives busy and they don't have to worry about the small stuff.

Keeping things as normal as possible is very important to me, and I felt like the activities helped the transition with the divorce.

Once day care was done at the end of the summer, I had a deal with their father that he would start splitting activities 50/50. Until then, I'm essentially footing the bill for their activities, which is thousands of dollars out of pocket.

I went into a lot of debt just from our first year of competitive sports. So, I was excited not to have to worry about that — but with how much it would cost to send them to before and after school care, it's essentially the same amount we're paying weekly now for my one child to go to day care. So we wouldn't get a break for a really long time.

The earliest I can bring my kids to day care is 6:30 a.m. So I would have to wake them up at 5:45 a.m., drop them off at 6:30 a.m., get to work by 7:15 a.m., leave work by 3:15 p.m., pick them up at 4:15 p.m., and get them to the earliest activity at 4:30 p.m. My commute is 45 minutes to an hour. I might struggle with getting them to their activities on time, especially because their activities may change to 4 p.m.

I'm also worried about them being able to perform academically or in their activities if they don't get enough sleep. With their activities, sometimes they don't get to bed until almost 9:00 p.m. and they're very young. They easily sleep 10-hour nights at least.

I emailed day care to figure out what the fees would be to send my oldest back to before and after school care. I also contacted a family friend to see if she would be open to taking care of the kids, and she offered a much cheaper rate. She's out of the school district though, so that's only an option during the summer.

Right now I pay $326 a week for my one child to go to day care. We were anticipating that going down to $0 once they started school in August. Day care during the school year for both kids would be $479 a week. If we had to do day care full time in the summer for both kids it would be $619 a week. Once both kids are in school in August it will be $323 a week.

The RTO mandate is hard, but at this point, the biggest challenge is job stability and making sure I can provide for my children after my ex-husband and I separated in 2023.

I worked so hard to find a way to keep my kids' lives normal. If I lost my job, it would be devastating to lose that income.

• Brianna Oyewo lost 100 pounds and kept it off by making simple changes to her diet and exercise routine.
• She started losing weight during the pandemic, but her habits became too restrictive.
• Now she has a more flexible diet and exercise routine to stay healthy and spend time with her kids.

The pandemic was a wake-up call for Brianna Oyewo.

In 2020, after giving birth to her first child, she was worried about her ongoing struggle with emotional eating and weight. Coupled with concerns about COVID and impending motherhood, Oyewo felt it was time for a change.

"I've been overweight my entire life," she told Business Insider. "I had to do something differently, I wanted to be a mom that was very active, running around on the playground."

Oyewo, based outside of Buffalo, New York, took advantage of the extra time at home to focus on working out and eating healthier food.

Within six months, she had lost 100 pounds and counting.

But as Oyewo continued to shed pounds, doubling down on workouts and her strict eating plan, friends and family started to voice concerns that she was losing too much weight.

By 2021, she realized her habits had become excessive, and after her second pregnancy, Oyewo worked on re-building a healthy relationship to food and exercise.

Now, Oyewo is 37 years old and a busy mom of two with a full-time office job in government and a side gig as a personal trainer. She's figured out a more balanced approach to nutrition and fitness that has allowed her to maintain the weight loss.

The key has been reframing her approach to focus on sustainable eating habits and exercise, while emphasizing wins that have nothing to do with the scale, like having more energy to spend with her kids.

"It's not about what I could lose, but what I'm gaining," Oyewo said.

She eats a flexible high-protein diet

Oyewo said she overhauled her diet as part of her weight loss effort.

"The moment I became pregnant, I started paying more attention to my health," she said.

Initially, she lost weight through cutting carbs and intermittent fasting, limiting her meals to an eight-hour window each day. But over time, Oyewo said she started to go longer and longer without eating, and her routine became too restrictive.

Now her diet is flexible, with a focus on eating more healthy foods and foods she enjoys as long as they fit into a broad calorie and protein goal. She aims to get at least 80 grams of protein daily, usually more, and no more than 25 grams of added sugar.

"I pay attention to those numbers because they matter, but I don't log every single thing I eat," she said.

A typical day of eating involves foods like:

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt with fruit, eggs, and a protein shake
• Lunch: a big salad with protein and plenty of produce
• Snacks: pretzels, granola, lots of fruit like berries and apples
• Dinner: chili, soup, or chickpea pasta.

She said if she could change anything about her initial weight loss diet, it would be less restriction from the start.

"I would focus on what I can add, eating more protein, more veggies, and more healthy fat," Oyewo said. "I'm going to listen to my body, if I want to have something, I'll have it in moderation."

She sticks to short, simple workouts

Oyewo started her fitness routine with Youtube, finding exercise videos that were easy to do at home, including Tabata and HIIT workouts.

Over time, she ramped up to longer and longer sessions, eventually realizing she was overdoing it by exercising as much as two hours every day, pushing through even when she was sick.

"I didn't believe in rest days," she said.

She scaled back to avoid overtraining, and now works out between three to five days a week, depending on her schedule, for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour per day.

Oyewo works a full-time desk job, so part of her routine is moving throughout the day, including taking time over her lunch break for a walk or run up and down some stairs for 10 to 15 minutes.

At home, she still sticks to YouTube videos, and aims for activities her kids can join in with their own set of toy dumbbells.

"Outside of work, I try to incorporate my children into my workout routine so I don't have to feel like I'm sacrificing time," she said.

Oyewo doesn't sweat it if she can't fit a whole hour of exercise, preferring to be consistent instead of strict.

"If all I can get in that day is 15 to 20 minutes, I'd rather do that than nothing," she said.

She has strong social support

Oyewo said one of the biggest lessons she learned is that making healthy, sustainable lifestyle change is a team effort.

She had support (and accountability) from friends and family, including her husband, a physical therapist.

She also consulted medical professionals such as her primary care doctor, a nutritionist, and a therapist, which were key to transitioning from unhealthy, extreme exercise and dieting to more sustainable habits.

"If I could back and give myself advice, I would say — you don't know everything, and it's important to get assistance you need right from the beginning," Oyewo said. "I wasn't trying to be superwoman. I asked for help."

• Bird flu has spread widely in poultry, causing egg shortages.
• Virus spillover has occurred in various mammal species, including humans.
• H5N1 does not currently have the ability to spread human to human.

It's not just higher egg prices. The ongoing bird flu outbreak has led to millions of wild bird deaths, slaughtered livestock, hazardous conditions for dairy industry workers, and spillover infections in humans and other mammals.

While there's no sign that H5N1 can be transmitted person to person at this point, some experts worry about the possibility of a pandemic if the virus continues to spread widely.

Here's what you need to know about bird flu.

What is bird flu?

The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread among a variety of bird species, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, and many migratory wild birds.

There have also been cases in humans and other mammals, including dairy cows, seals, bears, and cats. Dairy cows have seen the biggest impact among mammals, with 985 confirmed cases in 17 states since March 2024, according to USDA data.

In February, the virus affected a total of 15.83 million birds, with outbreaks reported in 79 commercial and 55 backyard flocks.

Where is the virus now?

The H5N1 virus has spread worldwide, hitting every continent except Australia.

In the US, the most affected states are California and Washington, with 38 and 11 confirmed human cases, respectively.

Who has the bird flu affected?

According to CDC data, there have been a total of 70 human cases since 2024 and one death related to the virus.

Of those cases, 41 were related to exposure to infected dairy cattle, 24 to exposure to infected poultry farm operations, and two to infected backyard flocks, wild birds, or other mammals. The exposure source for three of the cases was undetermined.

Andrew Pekosz, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recommends avoiding feeding household animals raw, unpasteurized milk products because of the potential for the milk to carry bird flu.

How is bird flu spreading?

Bird flu can spread through direct contact with contaminated animals, water sources, or surfaces.

So far, human exposure to the virus has mainly come from unprotected exposure to infected animals. The virus has not shown the ability to transmit human-to-human. Mild cases may look similar to regular flu infections, with patients showing signs of fever, cough, runny nose, headache, diarrhea, chills, and teary eyes, according to the CDC.

In the poultry industry, when a bird flock becomes infected, "you have to actually put the whole flock to death," Pekosz said.

For dairy cattle, the detection of just one infection in a herd means that the whole herd is taken out of production to prevent contaminated products from leaving the farm.

What is the bird flu infection threat to humans?

The CDC currently considers the risk of H5N1 infection to the public to be low.

"The risk to the general population is essentially zero," said Dr. William Schaffner, former medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

People should exercise caution in their interactions with wild birds and products that could spread infection, such as unpasteurized dairy.

What is the government doing about H5N1 outbreaks?

Under USDA guidelines, farmers must immediately contact authorities and test animals suspected of being infected. Once an infection is detected, the flock is put in quarantine and the infected birds are killed.

On Feb. 26, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a $1 billion strategy to curb the bird flu, including expansions to the agency's biosecurity measures and funding for vaccine research.

The CDC is monitoring human infections and has released guidelines for contact with possibly infected animals at the commercial and hobbyist levels.

How is bird flu affecting the economy?

The biggest hit to the poultry economy has been the massive loss in chicken populations, which has resulted in a decrease in egg production in the U.S.

The egg shortage has led to rising prices and dwindling grocery store supplies.

"When this virus enters a poultry farm, it starts to kill chickens almost immediately," Pekosz said. "The eggs or the chickens never really get a chance to even leave the farm before the farmers know that there's an infection going on."

How can people stay safe from bird flu?

The CDC suggests minimizing or avoiding exposure to dead and sick animals unless wearing adequate protective equipment.

While there is no real risk of infection from food products like eggs or chicken, Pekosz said people who are concerned can err on the side of caution and follow USDA cooking guidelines.

"If you follow those recommendations, the bird flu virus will be killed," he said. "So even if in the very, very low possibility that you would get something that's contaminated with H5N1, if you just cook the eggs properly, that virus will be killed and won't pose any harm to you."

"Raw milk is probably the biggest thing that is a concern for people who are not working on cows or at dairy or poultry farms in terms of a risk factor," Pekosz added.

For those with backyard bird feeders or bird baths, Schaffner suggested using surgical gloves when touching water or surfaces where the birds flock and carefully disposing the gloves once done.

How should we expect the virus to evolve?

The virus is beginning to mutate in ways that could make it more equipped to infect humans, but we have some tools to combat it.

"With H5N1, we know we have drugs that will prevent the virus from replicating. We know how to make vaccines that work against influenza viruses. We have a lot of tests that we know work really well in terms of detecting the virus," Pekosz said. "We've had 40 years of research on this virus that allowed us to show that we have a bunch of tools that can be used to minimize the effects of this virus should it become a human pathogen."

That said, an H5N1 pandemic could be devastating.

The risk of the virus mutating to become better at infecting beef cattle appears to be low, according to Pekosz and Schaffner.

Of the dairy cows affected by the virus, most infections have been caused by improper cleaning of milking equipment, and the infection has stayed localized in the cow's milk-producing organs, removing the risk of infection for cattle not involved in milking procedures.

In May 2024, the USDA started randomly testing beef cattle for the virus.

What do people need to keep in mind now?

The influenza vaccine doesn't protect humans against bird flu infection, but the ongoing flu season, which is the worst in 15 years, is a bigger threat right now.

"Bird flu is a theoretical risk. Seasonal flu is a real risk," Schaffner said.

• I spent a night at the Zawadi Hotel, a five-star, 12-villa property on Zanzibar Island.
• The all-inclusive stay featured gourmet dining and snorkeling on a private beach.
• However, the resort's staff and service were the most memorable part.

The tan gates to the Zawadi Hotel opened, and I was consumed by the striking blue in the distance.

My mind didn't have enough time to process the brown thatched roof in front of me or the cream-colored open-air lobby. Instead, all focus was on the glistening blue ocean.

That seems to be the trend at Zawadi. Rooms are filled with whites, grays, and tans. Woven baskets cover the walls, and ratan chandeliers fill the hotel's restaurant and bar.

You might not find much color in the resort's interiors, but that's because the nature outside takes center stage.

In the bedroom, sliding glass doors offer a view of lush green gardens filled with pink bougainvilleas. A window at the foot of your porcelain bathtub leads to an ocean of blues. Resort employees seat guests at tables facing the infinity pool, seemingly blending into the sea below.

Those views are just one draw of Zawadi, a 12-villa resort on Tanzania's Zanzibar Island — private beach access, gourmet food, and intimate settings also make it a resort worth visiting.

The all-inclusive resort offers a luxury stay

Zawadi is tucked on the southeast coast of Zanzibar. I arrived after spending two days on the island's popular north coast.

Gone were the touristy beaches and bustling fishermen wharves.

Instead, I was met with silence. Assistant hotel manager Noa checked me in and escorted me to my private villa.

Once again, my focus was on the nature surrounding me. A paved path to my villa was sandwiched between pristine gardens filled with palm trees, deep green bushes, and colorful vines. Staff members were trimming plants, watering grass, and tending to flowers. As I looked around, there were more garden staff than guests.

Each of the 1,100-square-foot villas sits on a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean. At the front of the villa is a private terrace with a small plunge pool in one corner and a covered hammock and lounge chairs in the other.

There was another villa just next door, but large privacy bushes made it feel like I had stepped into my own world. Inside, I found a neutral space divided into two areas.

A four-poster, king-sized bed sits at the center of the room, facing the floor-to-ceiling glass doors. In front of the bed is a living area with a couch and desk.

Behind the bed is the villa's bathroom. A two-sink vanity stretches across one wall, a rainfall shower sits in a corner, and an area is dedicated to a bathtub. There's also a toilet and a large open closet.

Back outside the villa are amenities shared by guests. The property's restaurant and bar sit between the open-air lobby. There's also a gym and spa room.

The focal point is a long infinity pool. Next door is a casual beach restaurant and bar, and stairs lead down to lounge chairs.

Below the loungers is the property's secluded beach. Its size varies depending on the tide, and each day, a boat takes snorkelers to a nearby reef. Guests can also book diving trips and other water sports during their stay. I had missed the snorkeling trip, so I grabbed some of the hotel's complimentary gear and explored the clear waters in solitude.

When I returned, it was time to get ready for dinner. Zawadi is all-inclusive, so its five-course, Swahili-inspired rotating menu, along with breakfast, lunch, house spirits, and wines, is included in the resort price.

A night at Zawadi varies depending on the month, but prices typically cost between $900 and $1,400 for two guests. Business Insider received a media rate for the one-night stay.

Beyond views, Zawadi's five-star service stood out

I arrived at the property's Mswakini Beach Bar past lunchtime hours. Frazzled over my tardiness, I asked my waiter if I could sit down for lunch.

He assured me I was welcome.

"You are wanted," he said.

That was the experience for my entire stay. Staff quickly learned my name and greeted me each time we passed. Waiters took the time to present wines and offer menu suggestions. When I left early one morning, I saw a staff member running to my room to triple-check that I didn't leave anything behind.

While Zawadi's pristine beaches and gourmet food were impressive, the staff left a lasting impression.

A honeymoon destination with activities next door

Zawadi oozes an indulgent honeymoon or anniversary vibe. Between elegant decor, fine dining service, intimate villas, and an adults-only policy, it's a place where privacy and luxury meet.

But Zawadi's hidden perk is that you can find an array of settings next door. The hotel is part of The Zanzibar Collection, with three other properties nearby.

Depending on your mood, you can hop over to play tennis or indulge at the much larger spa at the Baraza Resort. The Breezes Beach Club and Spa is home to the Rising Sun Dive Center, and Baraza has a water club where guests can take out paddleboards and snorkeling gear. If your stay is long enough, you can hop between restaurants for an array of options and atmospheres.

With only one night, I spent most of my time at Zawadi, rotating between a personal plunge pool, infinity pool, bathtub, and ocean.

And my takeaway from the night was simple — one day just isn't enough.

• Recession fears are back, but there are steps small business owners can take to prepare.
• Experts recommend businesses get paperwork in order in case they need a quick loan or merger.
• They also recommend checking contracts with landlords, contractors, and employees.

Markets are flashing warning signs of a possible recession. It's a good time to batten down the hatches.

For business owners, there's no "magic bullet that would completely protect you or make you recession-proof," said Noel Roycroft, the deputy director of the Harvard Law School Transactional Law Clinics, which advises entrepreneurs and small businesses.

But there are steps in the legal realm that businesses can take to prepare.

Business Insider spoke with lawyers who advise small businesses and startups about what advice they'd give to prepare for an economic recession.

Here's what they said.

1. Get your paperwork in order

In the event of an economic downturn, business owners might want to consider getting a loan to help them through choppy waters, merging with another company, or selling their business to a larger one.

In any of those circumstances, small businesses want to have all their ducks in a row for the due diligence process, said Roycroft, a former attorney at Ropes & Gray.

Have you paid all your taxes yet? Are your filings up-to-date with all the relevant state and federal agencies? Do you have all your corporate records organized? Do you have copies of the executed versions of all your contracts? Have you read your company's bylaws recently, and are you actually following them?

Roycroft said it's better to prepare before the storm starts rather than wait until something goes wrong before realizing the business is in bad shape from a legal perspective.

"You're playing cleanup at that point, and that's no fun for anybody," Roycroft said. "So the more you can kind of pay attention to those things now, the better."

Some states — like Massachusetts — automatically dissolve corporate entities if their paperwork isn't up-to-date.

"If you haven't done that for three years, you might be administratively dissolved and they don't even realize that's happened," she said. "And then they go to enter into a contract with somebody and there's no actual legal entity in place anymore."

2. Put up the firewall between you and your business

Proper corporate hygiene isn't just important for loans and mergers — it's also important for liability.

For small businesses, a hazy line between corporate and the owner's personal finances could cause trouble. Without a firewall, owners could become liable for debts in potential litigation or bankruptcy.

"If people are worried about litigation risks from creditors or counterparties, making sure that you're following these sorts of maintenance obligations shows that the business is separate from the owners and can help maintain that liability shield," Roycroft said.

3. Get your personal finances in order

If a small business needs a loan and has few assets, the owner will often be asked for a personal guarantee, Roycroft said.

For that reason, they should have their own financial life organized for lenders to analyze, she said.

Roycroft warned that such an arrangement could be risky, especially during an economic downturn, because the owner could be required to pay back the loan.

"If you were a corporation or an LLC and you enter into one of these loans, they can now seek to be paid back against your personal assets and not just the businesses," she said.

4. Consider trading debt for equity

Aside from loans, small business owners could consider lightening their debt load by giving up equity to existing lenders.

That arrangement could give the lender "skin in the game" and invigorate the business, said Jonathan Askin, a professor at Brooklyn Law School who oversees the Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship.

"You don't have debts coming due, but you've got potential equity partners who want to see you succeed as much as possible," Askin said of the arrangement.

Some lenders — or even contractors who are owed money — might also accept deferred compensation during a recession, Askin said.

"If we see light at the end of the recession tunnel, then anything you need to get over that hump through renegotiating and getting people to see your long-term vision, I think is helpful," Askin said.

5. Make sure you own your own intellectual property

Small businesses often overlook the fine print of their agreements with independent contractors, Roycroft said.

One common issue, she said, is that independent contractors or employees don't transfer over the IP rights for whatever they created for the business.

That could be a headache if the business is looking to merge with another. The contractor might have leverage of their own because they still have ownership of important IP for the business, Roycroft said.

6. Check your lease

For companies with brick-and-mortar businesses, rent is often the biggest expense.

Roycroft suggested checking that small business owners check their lease agreement and make sure they understand their obligations and rights.

"Making sure that you understand, 'If I miss one rent payment, what can happen and what are the notice requirements in it? How do I notice the landlord? How does the landlord send notice to me?'" she said.

There may be opportunities to renegotiate. While big corporate landlords tend to have more power than small businesses, no one wants to see a vacant storefront, she said.

Askin also suggested negotiating rules about sub-tenants, which can ease rent liabilities.

Landlords might also consider lowering rent for some equity, Askin said.

"There may be landlords who see the long-term future of your venture and might want to have skin in the game, too," Askin said. "Maybe they'd be interested in giving you a reduced rate for a piece of the business."

7. Use legal advisors who will save you money by using AI

The age of artificial intelligence has introduced enormous efficiencies in the legal industry. Askin recommended using AI-driven tools and law firms that pass some of those decreased costs along to their clients.

"As a business person, I would take advantage of as many free or pro-bono legal resources as possible," Askin said. "I don't think it's safe to abandon human legal counsel, but there are ways to automate legal processes so you could use more efficient legal support services."

He also recommended business owners take a look at their processes and see if AI tools could automate certain functions.

"If you're not digging deep into AI, you're behind the eight ball already," Askin said.

8. Understand your obligations to employees

Recessions usually mean that businesses need to tighten their belts. Roycroft recommended brushing up on state and federal laws that govern how employees are treated. Are they at-will employees? Do they have a union contract? Do they require a certain amount of severance or notice for a layoff? Are furloughs an option?

"God forbid you have to start letting people go, but that can happen in a recession," Roycroft said.

• Americans don't like President Donald Trump's economic policies.
• For the first time, a CNN poll found a majority of respondents disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy.
• Trump has signaled that he will press ahead with tariffs no matter how markets respond.

Americans are souring on President Donald Trump's handling of the economy.

In a CNN/SSRS poll released on Wednesday, a majority of respondents (56%) disapproved of the president's handling of the economy for the first time since they began polling the topic in his first term.

His previous worst rating in this survey fell in December 2017, with a 49% disapproval and 44% approval rating on the economy.

In a separate question, respondents overwhelmingly expressed displeasure with Trump's tariffs. More than 60% of respondents disapprove of the tariffs, the highest of any category pollsters asked about. Trump's highest marks were in his handling of immigration, with 51% of respondents approving his actions.

In response to the polling, the White House said that business leaders have responded to Trump's policies by making major investments in the US.

"Since President Trump was elected, industry leaders have responded to President Trump's America First economic agenda of tariffs, deregulation, and the unleashing of American energy with trillions in investment commitments that will create thousands of new jobs," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement to Business Insider. "President Trump delivered historic job, wage, and investment growth in his first term, and is set to do so again in his second term."

Trump has doubled down on his shifting tariff policy, arguing that the nation should ignore the stock market slump in favor of potential long-term economic gains. On Wednesday, the White House followed through with Trump's promise to impose a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum.

Business leaders have complained about the uncertainty of the situation as various tariffs are rolled out and then curtailed sometimes within the same day.

"You'll have a lot, but we may go up with some tariffs, it depends, we may go up, I don't we'll go down, but we may go up," Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired on Sunday when she asked if businesses had enough clarity on tariff plans.

"They have plenty of clarity, they just use that, it's almost like a sound bite, 'We want clarity.'"

The White House has also refused to rule out the possibility of a recession. Trump and his top economic advisors have also warned that tariffs may lead to "an adjustment period" with possible price increases.

Other polling has shown similar struggles.

A recent Emmerson College poll found that 48% of registered voters disapproved of Trump's handling of the economy. A February Gallup poll of US adults found that 54% disapproved of his handling of the economy.

In comparison, President Joe Biden had far worse numbers. Biden's economic approval never exceeded 40% from the start of 2022 until he left office. In CNN's final poll before he left office, 67% of respondents disapproved of Biden's handling of the economy.

The good news for Trump is that he's run his last campaign. If the current trend continues, congressional Republicans may be stuck with the bill. The president's party typically loses seats in the midterm elections, and Democrats would need to net only a handful of seats to flip the House.

Trump's overall approval is slipping, too. He began his second term with relatively meager numbers, and in recent days those have started to dip as well. According to Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin weighted average, Trump has a net negative approval.

• I'm a Florida local who tried Key West's Conch Tour Train for the first time.
• The train took me past famous Key West landmarks and residential parts of the island.
• The ride was fun, pretty comfortable, informative, and under $50.

I've lived in South Florida for nearly eight years, and I've visited Key West a handful of times since I moved here.

Every time I go to the island, I try to do something different, and on my most recent trip, I rode the famous Conch Tour Train.

My ticket for an hourlong ride cost $44 and some change. You can buy tickets at the window, but I booked in advance online.

Here's what I loved about it and why I think it's an awesome attraction for first-time and return visitors to the Conch Republic.

The train depot is easy to find.

Key West is fairly easy to navigate, and the train depot for this tour is right by Mallory Square, one of the most popular parts of the island.

It's also located within walking distance of the cruise port and the lot where day trip buses typically drop off visitors.

I appreciated how punctual the tour was, and we left right on time.

If you're visiting Key West on a day trip from Miami or as a stop on a cruise, you could easily fit this hourlong tour into your itinerary.

The train was pretty comfortable.

I was glad we sat on padded seats instead of a wooden bench, but I wish the backrests had been a little higher for even more comfort.

We had a rest stop in the middle of the tour where we could get out and stretch our legs, so that helped make the trip more comfortable.

I enjoyed seeing Key West's highlights.

There's a lot to see on Key West, and this train ride goes through the island's most notable attractions.

We started near the port on Front Street and drove all around Old Town, passing by popular spots like the Hemingway Home and Museum, Sloppy Joe's, the Southernmost Point buoy, and the beach.

If you're new to the island and want to get your bearings before exploring on your own, this is a great way to do it.

The train passes through residential neighborhoods, too.

Even though I've been to Key West a few times, I never did much exploring in the island's residential neighborhoods.

However, on the train, we drove through Bahama Village, one of the places where Bahamian immigrants first lived when they relocated to the island, as well as some other residential neighborhoods.

The architecture was beautiful, and I learned some interesting facts about Key West's early years and residents.

This was cooler than walking around the island, and I learned a lot on the tour.

Even though Key West is pretty small, many of the island's most popular attractions are spaced out.

The first time I went to Key West in the summer, walking around the island all day was sweaty and uncomfortable. If you want to see Duval Street, Mallory Square, and the Southernmost Point buoy, you won't get as hot riding the Conch Tour Train as you would exploring the island on foot.

I also appreciated how educational the experience was. I've taken different tours to Key West and know basic information about the island because I live in Florida, and I still learned a lot on this trip.

The tour guide did an excellent job combining general information about the island with niche facts about Key West's history, architecture, and culture.

The tour made me appreciate the island more and gave me ideas for my next trip.

I left with this experience a deeper appreciation of the island and the people who live there.

Plus, the Conch Tour Train gave me some great ideas for what I want to do on my next trip to Key West. Our guide shared suggestions for the best restaurants around the island, so I want to explore the local food scene a little more when I go back.

My tour ticket also came with free entry to the Sails to Rails Museum and two free walking tours. I didn't get to do them on this trip, but I'd love to try them on my next visit.

• TikTok and AI are changing how we shop.
• Rodeo, a social commerce startup, says it wants to help people "shop the way they scroll."
• Read the 11-page pitch deck that secured the startup a spot in an Andreessen Horowitz accelerator.

Startups have been racing to crack social shopping.

Lindsay Perper, a New York-based startup founder who spent seven years working at Ralph Lauren, is entering the fray with Rodeo.

Perper founded Rodeo in 2022 and launched its mobile social shopping app in 2024. The app's vertical feed feels familiar to any TikTok user, and that's by design.

Perper told Business Insider she wants Rodeo to become the "destination for the next-gen to shop the way they scroll."

On Rodeo, users scroll through photos and videos, each with products and shopping links layered over the content. Rodeo users can also sync their Instagram and TikTok accounts to auto-post content to the app.

Perper said the app uses software like AWS Rekognition and Google's Vision AI to identify shoppable items in users' content. (If the AI is wrong, Rodeo also lets users manually enter information for products.)

Identifying products is the primary application of AI right now on the app, but Perper said personalization — a buzzword for many commerce startups right now — will come later in the road map.

Perper compares Rodeo more to Spotify than any other commerce platform. Rodeo wants to apply machine learning to shopping in the way Spotify's Discovery Weekly playlist and other tools help identify the vibe of music or artists you like.

With the rise of TikTok Shop, social commerce startups have had newfound attention from users and investors. Live shopping app Whatnot announced a $265 million Series E funding round in January and said it had crossed $3 billion in livestream sales for 2024. ShopMy, an affiliate marketing startup, announced a $77.5 million Series B in January. And last month, creator shopping app LTK overhauled its mobile app to include more discovery and social features.

A few weeks ago, Perper began an intensive startup accelerator program hosted by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The program, Talent x Opportunity Initiative (TxO), is run by A16z partner Kofi Ampadu and mentors founders who are "building cultural breakthroughs," according to A16z's website. The TxO fund writes checks of $175,000 for founders in the program (this most recent cohort includes five startups).

Since launching, Perper told BI that Rodeo has raised $950,000 from family and friends. She also said Rodeo is targeting to raise another $2.5 million coming out of the accelerator, which will allow the startup to expand its team, build out more AI tools, and ink creator partnerships to fuel user growth.

Read the 11-page pitch deck Perper used to get into A16z's TxO accelerator program.

Note: Some slides have been edited and details have been redacted so that the deck could be shared publicly.

Rodeo pitches itself as 'the mall of the digital age' in its deck.

Here's what the slide says:

The Mall of the Digital Age

A centralized destination streamlining discovery through checkout for the next generation shopper

The deck starts out by describing the landscape of online shopping.

Here's what the slide says:

The way we shop online is evolving, but the platforms we use have not.

Tiktok wasn't built for shopping. Amazon wasn't built for discovery.

& Gen Z doesn't search, they scroll.

90% of gen z discover products on social media

78% of mobile shoppers never complete checkout

Rodeo says the online shopping industry is 'broken' and outlines a problem it wants to solve.

Here's what the slide says:

The $1.2 trillion online shopping industry is broken

Shoppers struggle to discover & purchase products they actually want leading to:

• Low conversion
• Abandoned
• No organic rates carts discoverability

It compares itself to Spotify, instead of other commerce apps.

Here's what the slide says:

Rodeo: The Spotify of Shopping

Rodeo aggregates the entire shopping journey from discovery to check out and personalizes it to the user, as the destination shoppers turn to with high purchase intent, looking for peer-recommendations and .

Mobile First Experience

• Higher conversion rates
• Fewer Organic
• Abandoned discovery Carts

Then, the deck dives into Rodeo's product.

Here's what the slide says:

Rodeo Drive for the Digital Age

Rodeo makes shopping seamless, authentic, and discovery based, all powered by user generated content

One Platform, Seamless Discovery

• A curated, AI-driven shopping hub—like an online mall.

Effortless Shopping Meets Social

• Discover, save, and buy products without leaving the platform.

AI-Powered Curation

• Personalized recommendations, just like Spotify for shopping.

Creator-Led Commerce

• Trusted tastemakers make shopping inspiring, not overwhelming.

It also includes imagery to show how the app works.

Here's what the slide says:

Style, Meet Algorithm

Recency-Weighted Scoring

• Fresh content gets prioritized for real-time discovery.

Engagement Optimization

• Posts rank higher based on clicks, views, and interactions.

Smart Resurfacing

• Viral content stays visible longer, maximizing reach.

It then breaks down how the app will fuel connection, spurring growth.

Here's what the slide says:

More Than An App: Community-Driven Connection

By fostering an inclusive supportive community, we see higher retention rates and an emotional attachment that keeps users coming back, creating an organic cycle of expansion.

Rodeo also breaks down key growth metrics, which have been redacted.

Here's what the slide says:

Attention + Intention= Successful Commerce

Rodeo's commerce-centric approach differentiates us from social platforms. Our experiential destination provides more than just commerce-enablement to shoppers, attracting high-value shoppers.

It also outlines the 'why now?' for a new app in social shopping.

Here's what the slide says:

The Perfect Convergence: Tech, Culture, and Behavior Aligning for Industry Disruption

Behavioural shift

• A behavioral shift from search to scroll and a clear, massive gap between inspiration and checkout

Technological advances

• At the same time, advancements in AI now allow us to hyper-personalize the shopping experience—curating recommendations with greater accuracy than ever before

Cultural shift

• And with privacy legislation continuing to erode cross-platform tracking, it's becoming even more difficult for brands to reach these consumers where they shop.

The deck then introduces Rodeo's founder and team.

Here's what the slide says:

We

We know commerce.

We know creators.

We're building the future.

The deck ends with a QR code.

• Russia's intelligence agency said its chief spoke to his CIA counterpart on Tuesday.
• It's a marked shift in posture and is the first reported contact between the pair in over two years.
• It comes as a US-proposed cease-fire deal between Russia and Ukraine is on the table.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service said that its chief had spoken to the head of the CIA, in the first reported contact between the pair in over two years.

In the Tuesday call, it said the two agency chiefs agreed to maintain regular contact in the future, a marked shift in relations that comes at a time when a cease-fire deal with Ukraine is on the table.

It came the same day that Ukraine signaled that it was ready to accept a US proposal for an immediate 30-day cease-fire deal with Russia.

Emily Ferris, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told BI that the call was "significant," as the two senior leaders had not spoken in several years.

According to the Russian intelligence agency, known as the SVR, its director, Sergey Naryshkin, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe spoke about how they could interact on matters of common interest and the resolution of crisis situations.

The CIA did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Tulsi Gabbard — who has shared anti-Ukraine talking points in the past — was confirmed as President Donald Trump's Director of National Intelligence last month, a rule that oversees multiple intelligence agencies, including the CIA.

The latest move comes amid a general rapprochement between Trump and Russia, while relations between the US and its traditional allies in Europe have soured.

The US temporarily paused all US intelligence-sharing with Ukraine last week, but reversed that on Tuesday.

Ferris told BI that the US may be using the calls with Russia as a "carrot" in negotiations.

"Russia's desire to be regarded on an equal footing with other countries it considers to be major powers, particularly the US and China, often drives its foreign policy decision-making," she said.

But she added that the link "could be severed at any time, especially should Russia delay on a decision about the cease-fire."

Edward Hunter Christie, a senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told BI that "America is deliberately opening itself to being influenced by official Russian voices."

"Russia will exploit this," he added.

Christie said that the announcement of resumed contact between the SVR and CIA "is the further confirmation of the Trump administration's openly stated intention to have a completely new relationship with Russia, based on collaboration and coordination between the two states on what they can agree on."

• The US wants to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, starting with a 30-day cease-fire.
• As part of a deal, Russia will likely seek sanctions relief.
• Security analysts told BI that Russia could use any sanctions relief to quickly re-arm.

With a 30-day US-brokered cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine on the table, the ball is now in Russian President Vladimir Putin's court.

As he considers the deal, Putin is likely preparing demands and conditions of his own — and US sanctions relief could be near the top of the list.

US sanctions, imposed by the Biden administration, have dented the Russian economy and weakened its defense sector. President Donald Trump has signaled a willingness to discuss easing sanctions in his pursuit of a peace deal.

But security and economic analysts told Business Insider that Russia would likely try to exploit sanctions relief to rapidly restock crucial US technology for its weapons industry.

"It is unquestionable that Russia will take immediate advantage of any easing in sanctions that allows it to access the components it badly needs to replenish its dilapidated military," said Tom Keatinge, director of the Royal United Services Institute's Centre for Finance and Security.

Biden's microchip ban

According to Alexander Kolyandr, a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, the lifting of tech sanctions will be near the top of the list for the Kremlin as it approaches negotiations with the US.

"The issue of easing of the sanctions is clearly on the table," he wrote last week.

US-made microchips are crucial components in items ranging from fridges to planes, as well as military technology such as ballistic missiles and sophisticated drones.

Then-President Joe Biden cut off Russia's access to US microchips after its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Russia has been forced to obtain them through complex black market networks, or through its ally China.

This has left Russia often unable to quickly repair or replace crucial weapons systems destroyed in the war.

Janis Kluge, a senior associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told BI that Russia would be particularly keen to obtain sensors and components for advanced machinery, as well as airplane and drone parts.

"It has been expensive and sometimes impossible for Russia to acquire these parts due to sanctions," Kluge said.

He added that "Russia knows now what it can't replace and will make sure to build large stockpiles in case sanctions will be imposed again later on."

One effect could be to blunt the power of possible future sanctions against Russia, he said.

Putin's ambitions remain unchanged

The exact shape of a possible Ukraine deal with Russia, and the future status of sanctions, remains unclear.

Last week, Trump threatened to impose tougher sanctions on Russia over its bombardments of Ukraine. But this came after the US president announced the freezing of military aid to Kyiv after a tense Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Keatinge warned that whatever form a deal between Trump and Putin over Ukraine might take, the Russian president's core goal will likely remain unchanged: To rebuild and seize more territory.

Maintaining sanctions is therefore crucial, he said.

"Anyone who thinks that Putin's aggression in Europe will be satisfied by any sort of deal over Ukraine is sorely mistaken," Keatinge added. "Appeasing Putin now hastens the possibility that Russian tanks cross the border into the Baltic states and Poland."

• In the 1920s, some women's lives changed radically due to the introduction of new rights and jobs.
• The 19th Amendment was ratified in August 1920, and some women voted in the November 1920 election.
• Societal changes were reflected in fashion, which incorporated shorter, looser skirts and dresses.

The 1920s brought huge changes for women. During World War I, they proved they could handle the jobs left by men who'd gone to war; the right to vote helped solidify some women's new position in society; and the fashion pendulum swung away from constricting corsets and bustles toward shorter, looser dresses and skirts.

However, despite this period of immense change, American beliefs surrounding race remained firmly rooted in the past. Black, Asian, Latina, and Indigenous women were still subjected to overt racism, violence, and prejudicial lawmaking that hindered — and even barred — their access to the rights and privileges afforded to many white women.

Before the Great Depression hit, it was also a time of great prosperity, but only for a select few: In 1928, the highest 1% of families earned almost a quarter of all pretax income, the Pew Research Center reported. Thus, the Roaring Twenties were marked by the juxtaposition of the glitz and glamour of Gatsby's New York City and the harsh realities often overlooked throughout history.

In honor of Women's History Month, here are 55 photos that offer a glimpse at what life was like for women in the 1920s.

The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was passed more than 100 years ago, although it would be many decades before all women could vote.

The women's rights movement reached a national scale after the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, in which leaders Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott spoke on the need for women's suffrage. 

When the 19th Amendment was ratified in August 1920, it largely benefited white women.

Voter intimidation and discriminatory policies kept many Black women from the polls. The government also often denied Native American and Asian-American women citizenship, so they were also unable to vote. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and voting rights amendments in 1975 that some Black women and other women of color were finally able to cast their ballots.

The 19th Amendment's passage was the result of nearly 100 years of protests.

Women protested for their right to vote for nearly a century before the amendment was finally passed in 1920.

Those who protested faced arrest, jail time, and harassment in their efforts to secure women's rights.

These were some of the first women to cast their ballots, just a few months after it became legal in 1920.

They voted in the 1920 election for either Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge on the Republican ticket or James Cox and Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the Democratic ticket. Harding won by a landslide and became president in 1921.

Women in London also protested for their right to vote.

Women's suffrage in Great Britain was put into law differently than in the United States, The Independent reported. The country saw two stages of granting women the right to vote: the 1918 declaration of suffrage for women, and then the declaration of full suffrage for women in 1928.

The 1918 declaration was highly exclusionary, only allowing women over the age of 30 who were married to members of their local government register.

It was only in 1928 that women were granted equal voting rights to men, allowing women over the age of 21 to cast a ballot.

Women both supported and protested Prohibition 100 years ago.

Though the Women's Christian Temperance Union was behind the movement that sparked Prohibition, there were also women against the alcohol ban.

Female bootleggers were often far more successful than men at the time, reported "Whiskey Women" author Fred Minnick, because it was illegal for male officers to search women.

Here, a woman demonstrates how to use a Prohibition-era book, which was made to hide a liquor flask.

In addition to using devices like this, women would hide bottles of liquor in their socks or under their jackets to smuggle alcohol.

In addition to being excellent bootleggers, some women enjoyed drinking, too.

Prohibition lasted nationwide from 1920 to 1933, but that didn't stop these ladies from enjoying a drink in 1925.

Women had been working members of society for years.

Georgia Ann Hill Robinson was the first Black female police officer appointed to the Los Angeles Police Department, and possibly the country, in 1916. She worked for the LAPD for 12 years, and fought against segregation and for women's welfare.

Many women took jobs as switchboard operators, answering telephones and connecting calls.

Before the job became popular for women, teenage boys worked as the first switchboard operators, History.com reported. However, they reportedly proved to be too rude and unruly, and bosses brought in women instead, believing them to be naturally more polite and soft-spoken.

Other women worked in manufacturing jobs, like at this tennis-ball factory.

World War I saw the first time that factory jobs, previously viewed as male positions, were taken over by women in the US.

This woman also worked in manufacturing, at a milk bottling plant.

Women began doing all sorts of jobs in the 1920s, per CCSU. They ran drill presses, did welding, operated cranes, used screw machines, and many other jobs that required heavy machinery.

Factory work was often long and tedious, requiring workers to do the same task all day, every day.

These women spent their days weighing and packing candies in York, England.

Life on the farm was difficult for women, too.

In the 1920s, farms still didn't have electricity, plumbing, or heating and cooling, PBS reported. Despite the hardship, families in the Midwest focused on growing fruits and vegetables, while also producing eggs and meat.

This young woman in 1925 was operating a plow.

Farmers across the US struggled to make a profit throughout the 1920s as a result of overproduction and the subsequent drop in prices. With farmers unable to pay their debts, "between 1920 and 1932, one in four farms was sold to meet financial obligations," the Library of Congress reported.

Though slavery was abolished in 1865, Black women were still not afforded many of the same opportunities as white women.

As pictured above, many Black women in the South picked cotton to make ends meet. 

A study indicated that two in three Black women from Black landowning families were involved in cotton farming in the 1920s.

The 1920s were a part of the segregation era in the South, in which Black women faced discrimination at work.

Black women were often barred from working in the same jobs as white women, like these construction workers pictured above.

Segregation, both de jure and de facto, continued to exist into the 1960s and we can still see its legacies today.

These women worked in a lumber yard in Louisiana.

The Louisiana lumber boom lasted from about 1880 to 1925, resulting in 4.3 million acres of trees being cut down, the Louisiana Forestry Association reported.

Other working women included the Black Cross Nurses, established in 1920 and modeled after the Red Cross.

Henrietta Vinton Davis established the Black Cross Nurses in 1920 as a part of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. They offered health services and hygiene education to Black members of the community.

At the time, hardly any nursing programs would admit people of African descent and many health facilities provided unequal care to Black patrons, an issue that persists today especially in maternal health care. The Black Cross Nurses became key figures for civil rights.

Black women also faced racist acts of violence, like during the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921.

In early 1921, the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma was home to an affluent Black community who ran newspapers, churches, and scores of businesses and was known as the "Black Wall Street." By June 1, it would largely be burned to the ground in "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history," per the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Although the exact details remain lost to history, it's believed that on May 30, 1921, a Black man named Dick Rowland stepped on the foot of a white woman named Sarah Page when he entered the elevator of the Drexel Building. Page screamed and the town quickly exaggerated their tellings of the incident, leading to an attempted lynching of Rowland that night.

An altercation at the courthouse led the unsuccessful, angry members of the white mob to riot and attack Black people and their businesses. The Tulsa Historical Society and Museum reported that 35 city blocks were burned down in the attacks, possibly killing as many as 300 people and injuring more than 800.

In Japan, women were also working in factories. Here, they're seen protesting unfair working conditions.

In 1918 and 1919, there was a surge in protests at textile mills in Japan, where women demanded shorter working hours and wage increases. They were receiving far less money than their male counterparts, and they were doing important work like constructing war uniforms, for which there was huge demand at the time.

Women began to take cooking positions outside the home.

Though women were perceived as cooks, the role was relegated to the home, rather than a restaurant. However, the 1920s began to see women studying to be professional chefs.

Many women worked as homemakers. Their lives were slowly made easier by new technologies, like the dishwasher.

Though the first practical dishwasher was invented in 1886 by Josephine Cochrane, The Independent reported, they did not become popular in homes until the 1920s.

The introduction of permanent plumbing in homes made machines like dishwashers possible, though they were expensive and only found in the homes of wealthy families.

Driving afforded women a freedom and mobility they hadn't before experienced.

In 1909, 22-year-old Alice Ramsey (not pictured) became the first woman to drive across the continental United States, in part to prove that women were capable behind the wheel, the Smithsonian reported.

Women 100 years ago also knew how to have fun.

These women are seen cooling down on a block of ice on a hot summer day. Bikinis were not yet popularized, so these outfits were likely the most skin women in the 1920s would be seen showing.

Dancing was a popular pastime for adults and children alike.

The 1920s was the first decade to see free and unbridled movement on many dance floors. Dances called the Charleston, the Black Bottom, and the shimmy were all highly popular. 

Women who went dancing at late-night parties were referred to as "good time girls."

One of the most famous women 100 years ago was Josephine Baker, who was known for her singing and dancing.

The National Women's History Museum reported that Baker first became known in the US for her Vaudeville shows, but she really became a star when she moved to Paris. Baker's shows became famous for her African-inspired dance moves, her singing, and her elaborate costumes.

She was a key figure in the French Resistance during World War II as well as an activist for civil rights in the US. Although she died in 1975, Baker became the first Black woman to be buried in France's Panthéon, the country's highest honor, in 2021.

Actress Mary Pickford led the silent-film era.

The Oscars described Pickford as the definition of a "movie star," known best for her work throughout the silent film era with movies like "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," "Stella Maris," "My Best Girl," and "Sparrows."

She was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and in 1930 was the recipient of the second Oscar for best actress.

Clara Bow was nicknamed "The It Girl."

She starred in the first best picture winner, "Wings," alongside Charles Rogers and Richard Arlen, and was widely known as a popular movie star throughout the decade.

You may also recognize her name from Taylor Swift's 2024 album, "The Tortured Poets Department," which had a song titled "Clara Bow."

Tennis was a popular sport for women.

Wimbledon opened its famous courts to women in 1884. Here, American Helen Wills competed against Brit Kitty McKane in the 1924 Ladies' Singles Final.

Sporting outfits were definitely different from what we know today.

Though modest by today's standards, French tennis star Suzanne Lenglen, right, was known for her provocative style on display above.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame reported that Lenglen was first female player to forgo bulky undergarments and was known for wearing tops that displayed her bare arms and silk dresses that were trimmed above her calf. Coupled with painted nails, red lipstick, bobbed hair, a tendency to drink alcohol between sets, and a winning record, Lenglen was "a rare and fascinating champion."

Swimsuits were different, too, as seen on these women in the 1924 Miss Coney Island pageant.

The first swimsuits were actually made of wool, as other materials like nylon and elastane weren't yet invented.

Not only were their swimsuits different, so were views on tanning.

It wasn't until the 1920s that tanning became popular. The Guardian reported that fashion designer Coco Chanel "may have inadvertently" created the trend with a photo showing her stepping off a cruise ship in Cannes after too much sun. The image was in every paper and created a new standard of beauty.

Exercise was often a group event.

Stretching, rather than vigorous exercise, was viewed as the ideal method for women's bodies and health, Byrdie reported.

Stationary bikes and rowing machines were also invented in the 1920s, along with the Vibro-Slim, a machine with a vibrating belt that was meant to reduce belly fat.

They also participated in exercise fads.

Before the mechanical bull became a fun attraction at a bar, it was invented to train rodeo competitors. In the 1920s, it became a popular exercise fad after women realized it could help tone their abs and strengthen their core.

They also used very simple rowing machines to work out.

Here, movie star Helen Chadwick used the rowing machine to stay fit. 

Baseball was a popular sport for men and women. Pictured is Barnard College's baseball team practicing in 1925.

With New York Yankees stars like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, it's no surprise that the sport attracted the attention of both men and women in the city.

Women would go on to make their mark in baseball in the following decades, with 60 playing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II, the National Baseball Hall of Fame reported.

American women were allowed to compete in swimming at the Olympics for the first time in 1920.

Women's swimming was the first aerobic sport accepted by the International Olympic Committee, according to USA Swimming, and was first introduced at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm.

Pictured are US Olympic swimmers Aileen Riggin, Gertrude Ederle, and Helen Wainwright.

Ethelda Bleibtrey won three gold medals at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.

Bleibtrey won all three women's swimming races, including the 100-meter freestyle, 4x100-meter relay, and the 300-meter freestyle, per the Olympics.

Just one year prior, she had been arrested at Manhattan Beach for taking off her stockings before swimming, an act considered "nudity." However, outrage from her arrest sparked a change in "acceptable" swimwear — women no longer had to wear stockings — and Bleibtrey was not penalized.

The Harlem Renaissance was a major period for Black literature, art, and music. Poet and critic Jessie R. Fauset was a key figure.

After graduating from Cornell University with a degree in classical languages in 1905, Fauset spent time as a teacher before turning to writing in 1912.

Poets.org reported that she wrote poems, essays, and reviews for the NAACP's magazine, The Crisis, for seven years before becoming literary editor.

During the 1920s, Fauset introduced the world to legendary writers like Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Anne Spencer while also publishing her own novels "There Is Confusion" and "Plum Bum."

Jazz music was popularized during the 1920s.

Lil Hardin Armstrong (pictured above) was just one of many women who would influence jazz music from the 1920s on.

The New York Times reported that Hardin helped her future husband Louis Armstrong become band leader of King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band; she also served as his first manager and was a pianist and frequent co-composer.

"Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith was a popular blues and jazz singer during the Harlem Renaissance.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture reported that Smith was mentored by "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey, who taught her how to navigate the music industry and capture an audience's attention. Smith signed a record deal with Columbia Records in 1923, releasing "Down-hearted Blues," a major hit.

Smith became the highest-paid Black entertainer of the time and she recorded with iconic jazz musicians like Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong.

The Great Depression caused Smith's career to be cut short, and she later died from injuries sustained in a car accident in 1937.

Beauty standards can be seen through women's popular fashion at the time.

1920s female fashion was characterized by loose fabrics, lots of fringe, and glamorous jewelry and details. Hair cut short into a bob was also popular, as seen in the woman above.

Among the wealthy, large brimmed hats with fringe and long pearl necklaces were popular accessories.

Long, straight skirts with low waists were the dominant style.

The loose skirts and dresses were very different from the constricting clothes of the previous decades, and were far more movable and comfortable.

Flappers and showgirls show another facet of 1920s female beauty.

Art Deco style and Gatsby-esque outfits were also popular for 1920s women. Showgirls and Vaudeville performers would dress up in decadent velvet and satin dresses, with pearl and gem details throughout.

Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, was a popular flapper.

Zelda was a major influence on Scott's writing, with the couple drawing lots of public attention throughout the 1920s. A writer and painter, too, Zelda's first and only novel, "Save Me the Waltz," was released in 1932.

Unfortunately, her life was largely cut short after being diagnosed with schizophrenia (now understood as bipolar disorder) and committed to sanatoriums. She died at age 47.

Fur coats and soft, form-fitting hats were also in style.

Though they were popularized 100 years ago, there are plenty of vintage outfits like these that are still trendy today.

But women also got dressed up for fun, as seen through these women and their Halloween costumes.

1920s Halloween costumes were more about inspiring fear than dressing up as celebrities and TV characters. Clowns, ghosts, and witches were all highly popular costume choices back then.

Elizabeth Arden's products became a key part of 1920s beauty standards.

Elizabeth Arden helped popularize makeup — once believed to be exclusively for movie stars —for the masses in the early 1920s. Arden started a marketing campaign that helped create the idea that wearing makeup was "appropriate and even proper," per the Library of Congress.

By 1925, Arden had salons open around the world in cities like New York, Paris, and London.

Dark-red lips with an exaggerated cupid's bow was a popular beauty trend of the time.

Beauty companies even made stencils, like the one above, to help women achieve the perfect Cupid's Bow.

Nail polish became popular, too.

Though the first nail salon in the US was opened in the late 1870s, nail polish began to really take off in the 1920s, Byrdie reported, thanks to the work of brands like Cutex and what would later become known as Revlon.

Wedding dresses from the 1920s were inspired by the modern, shorter style.

Wedding dresses followed the 1920s style: They were short, like the flapper dresses, with form-fitting bucket hats.

These brides and grooms gathered to get married on Christmas Day, which used to be a tradition.

It used to be popular to have weddings on Christmas Day in Britain, as churches would hold nuptials for brides and grooms every year. It was often the only time that working class couples could get married, as they'd have Christmas and Boxing Day off.

Another key part of American society was the impact of immigration. Shown below are Japanese "picture brides" who immigrated to the US in 1920 to marry American men.

The 1907 Gentlemen's Agreement limited immigration from Japan to the US, but it had an exception that Japanese wives of current American residents could enter the country. This exception started a system where men would choose Japanese wives based on their pictures alone.

These "picture brides" immigrated between 1907 and 1924, and faced many hardships. Many of their husbands were older and poorer than the women anticipated, and the wives faced spousal abuse in addition to societal racism fueled by anti-Asian sentiments, Women & the American Story reported.

The 1924 Immigration Act ended the practice, as it barred any immigrant "who by virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship," per the US State Department. People of Asian descent were denied full citizenship based on laws dating from 1790 and 1870.

 

Immigration policies of the 1920s heavily favored migrants from northern Europe.

In 2015, the Pew Research Center reported that in the 1920s, the US government enacted quotas reducing the number of immigrants granted entry. The first quota on immigration was passed in 1921 and allowed only 350,000 total immigrants; this was decreased to 165,000 in 1924. Nationality quotas were also imposed on Europeans.

The quotas were largely fueled by xenophobic fears toward Southern and Eastern European migrants, who'd come to the US during the second wave of migration from 1890-1919.

Meanwhile, immigration from most countries in Asia was already prohibited.

Prior to the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act, passed in 1965, 70% of the quota visas available belonged to residents of Ireland, Germany, and the UK, the Pew Research Center reported.

Indigenous women throughout the US were subject to racist violence and prejudicial laws.

Women of the Osage Nation were among those targeted and killed by William K. Hale and his accomplices in the early 1920s.

The Osage Nation reported that Hale and his associates are believed to be connected to more than 20 killings, though there were more than 60 murders total from 1920 to 1925. The killings were motivated by Hale's desire to inherit money held by the Osage people from the oil boom.

The tragedy was the subject of Martin Scorsese's Oscar-nominated film "Killers of the Flower Moon."

• A UK real-estate agency was sued by an employee who quit after being assigned a worse desk.
• A tribunal ruled it was "logical" for him to perceive the desk move as a demotion.
• The move was "likely to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence," it said.

A UK real-estate agency asked a manager to sit at a lesser seat, which he viewed as a demotion. He sued and won.

In 2023, Nicholas Walker was asked to relocate to a different branch of Robsons Limited, just north of London, returning him to an office he'd previously managed.

But he then learned he was sharing the manager role with someone else.

Walker was then told he would be sitting at a desk in the middle of the office rather than his old one at the back, where the books and ledgers were kept and managers had traditionally sat.

The colleague he would share management responsibilities with was now sitting at that desk.

After resigning, Walker took the agency to an employment tribunal, which agreed he was right to view the seating arrangement as a demotion.

Per the tribunal's judgment, Walker messaged the director of sales, Daniel Young, on WhatsApp saying he would not move to the branch if it meant sitting in the seat in the middle of the office.

Young "could not understand why [Walker] was making a fuss about something that he thought was unimportant," the judgment said, adding he "did not understand the significance of the back desk."

The tribunal found it "logical" for Walker to conclude that the seating amounted to a demotion, as communication about his move back to his old branch was "poor."

Its judgment acknowledged the "symbolic significance" of Walker's old seat. It also said that, as Walker "had not been told that he would be sharing the branch manager role," allocating him a different seat "amounted to being told that he would be assistant manager," while the employee in his old seat was the actual manager.

This was "likely to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence," it said.

The tribunal's judgment describes how, after receiving Walker's WhatsApp complaint, Young told Walker he could not understand why "a man of your age" — Walker was 53 at the time — was complaining about a desk. It added Young "swore" and that "his voice was raised."

Per the judgment, Walker resigned after the meeting. The tribunal found that his case amounted to constructive dismissal.

His compensation will be determined at a future date.

• Elon Musk said he's running his companies with "great difficulty" as he continues his DOGE work.
• Exploding rockets and slumping Tesla sales signal he might be stretched thin.
• Corporate observers told BI he might have overdone it — but if anyone can pull it off, it's Musk.

Even Elon Musk might have his limits.

The billionaire's recent comment that he's running his companies with "great difficulty" while he works to reshape the US federal government raises questions about whether the world's most famous corporate juggler has too many balls in the air.

"I think he's way overstretched," Bill George, the former CEO of medical device maker Medtronic and an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, told Business Insider.

Garrett Nelson, an analyst with CFRA Research, told BI that Musk faces a difficult balancing act when trying to run complex companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and Neurolink and immerse himself in government minutiae.

"He may have finally reached his tipping point," Nelson said.

Management experts and analysts told BI that while there are signs Musk might have overdone it, if anyone can pull it off, it's someone who already controls a half-dozen companies.

"Musk has proven that he's always up for a challenge," Craig Irwin, an analyst at Roth Capital Partners, told BI. "If you tell him, 'It's impossible,' he'll shock you."

For now, some investors might be feeling a different kind of shock.

Shares in Tesla, which Musk runs, are down over 50% from their all-time high in December and 40% year-to-date. The slide comes as some stockholders have grown nervous about the company's prospects and as Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has kicked up political dust that alienated some Tesla owners and potential buyers.

Musk didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Examples of the "great difficulty" Musk faces abound. At SpaceX, where Musk is CEO, two of the company's Starship rockets have exploded in recent months.

Sales at Tesla have been sliding in several markets. The automaker has also been the target of protests and vandalism in response to Musk's political involvement; some of the incidents have resulted in arrests.

On Monday, X, formerly known as Twitter, faced intermittent outages.

'He goes all in on it'

When Musk has faced challenges at one of his companies, he goes deep, Andy Wu, an associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, told BI.

Going into founder mode appears to be what Musk is doing with DOGE.

While there aren't indications that he's taken to sleeping in offices of the government the way he has at some of the companies he controls, Musk appears focused.

"He goes all in on it," Wu said, adding that in doing so, Musk almost certainly has to reduce what he can oversee elsewhere.

Wu said one factor helping Musk is that he often has deputies at his companies to lean on. These include Gwynne Shotwell, COO at SpaceX, and Linda Yaccarino, who is CEO of X, he said.

Nelson said the same applies to Tesla. He said while investors often see the automaker as a "one-man show," that's not the case.

"A number of investor events over the years have showcased that the company has a really deep bench in terms of talent and some of the brightest engineers and tech minds anywhere in the world," Nelson said.

Nevertheless, Wu said that in the past five to 10 years, every time Musk takes control of a company, "it seems like such a big distraction" from running his other ventures. Yet, Wu said, Musk keeps going.

One way Musk appears to manage it all, Wu said, is by acting like a private equity firm or the head of a conglomerate: Musk jumps in where he needs to and then lets other businesses operate with less oversight — at least for a time.

Wu said it's akin to how the CEO of a company like Disney might not be fully immersed every day in content streaming, theme parks, toy sales, and cruise ships. Yet, when a problem emerges, he said, the CEO would need to have sufficient time to dig into the details.

"Musk is essentially like a corporate headquarters of a conglomerate of Elon Musk," Wu said.

What's unusual about Musk, Wu said, is how involved he gets.

Yet that level of focus on a company or, in this case, the federal government, can come at a cost, George said. He said that if Musk's focus is likely to be elsewhere, he should temporarily hand off power to a COO or someone else to run the company in what amounts to an absence by Musk.

George said the rocket explosions at SpaceX are a sign that more oversight is needed. Yet, that's something Musk likely doesn't have time for if he's running all his other ventures and focusing on DOGE, George said.

"No one could do this. He's only human," he said.

Volatility isn't new

Yet, for all the worry about the well-being of Musk's companies, it's not the first time investors have grown nervous that the world's richest man is also an itinerant CEO who might have lost his focus.

Nelson, who has a "buy" recommendation for Tesla shares, said that the stock is experiencing the eighth peak-to-trough decline of 40% or more since 2018. Nelson said that those moments have "proven to be a good buying opportunity" every time.

"Volatility historically has been the norm," Nelson said. "It's been the rule, not the exception."

To help quell some of those fluctuations, George offered advice to Musk: "Go back and run your businesses. Be the brilliant inventor you are," he said.

• The Department of Education began terminating half its staff on Tuesday.
• It's the Trump administration's first major move to dismantle the agency.
• Eliminating a federal agency would still require an act of Congress.

DOGE slashing has begun at the agency that oversees trillions of dollars of student loans, disburses grants to low-income students and those with disabilities, and collects data on kids' reading and math outcomes.

The Department of Education announced on Tuesday night that it is terminating over 1,300 workers as part of the agency's workforce reduction plans and the broader culling of the federal government inspired by the White House's DOGE office. A senior administration official said that those terminations, combined with nearly 600 employees who already voluntarily resigned, will effectively cut the department's workforce by 50%.

It's the agency's first major step toward advancing President Donald Trump's goal of dismantling the Department of Education. He told reporters in early February that he wants the department to be closed "immediately" and for its new head Linda McMahon to "put herself out of a job."

"Already, parents, teachers, and students across the country are worried about the chaos and confusion that Trump's dismantling of the agency will unleash," Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a statement. "Shutting down an agency that provides financial aid to families, funds afterschool programs, and enforces our nation's civil rights laws doesn't help our students learn and doesn't make our country better."

The senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday that these terminations will not impact the agency's external-facing functions, like the disbursement of Pell Grants and student loans. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that the cuts reflect the department's "commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers."

While the Trump administration affirmed that the department would continue to meet the needs of Americans despite the cuts, it's likely more changes are coming in an attempt to fulfill the president's aim to abolish the agency altogether.

The future of the Department of Education

Closing a federal agency requires 60 Senate votes, meaning Trump cannot shut down the Department of Education on his own.

It's something McMahon has previously acknowledged, telling NewsNation last week that her "job is to convince Congress that the steps that we are taking are in the best interest of the kids, and that they would vote to close the Department of Education if they feel confident that at the state level, that those kids are going to receive a better education."

Trump has not yet signed an executive order directing McMahon to shut down the agency.

While the administration official said that the latest cuts are aimed at eliminating department redundancies, some advocates raised the alarm about what this means for the agency's future.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement that making cuts at "an agency so it cannot function effectively is the most cowardly way of dismantling it."

"The massive reduction in force at the Education Department is an attack on opportunity that will gut the agency and its ability to support students, throwing federal education programs into chaos across the country," Weingarten said.

Even before these latest terminations, some Education Department employees told BI last month that they were concerned about the agency's future. The Trump administration cut over $900 million in research contracts at the department, and one employee said that following kids' low reading scores, "this is the absolute worst time to divest from education research."

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, chair of the Senate education committee, wrote in a post on X that he spoke to McMahon, and she affirmed that the cuts would not impact the department's "ability to carry out its statutory obligations."

Beth Maglione, the interim president and CEO of NASFAA — an association for student financial aid administrators — isn't convinced.

"Claiming that eliminating half the Department won't affect its services — without any clear plan to redistribute the workload — is, at best, naive and, at worst, deliberately misleading," Maglione said. "It also raises serious concerns about how billions of dollars in federal student aid will continue to be disbursed to students without interruption."

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal at asheffey.97 or via email at [email protected]. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Warren Buffett is being praised for paring Apple and stacking cash before the market slumped.
• Social media is full of Buffett quotes about market downturns and memes featuring the investor.
• Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold a net $134 billion of stocks in 2024 and built a record cash pile.

Warren Buffett has sparked a raft of comments and memes on social media after the legendary investor sold most of his massive Apple stake and built a record cash pile before the stock market tumbled earlier this week.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway nearly doubled its stockpile of cash, Treasury bills, and other liquid assets last year to $334 billion (or $321 billion if you subtract payables for T-bill purchases).

The conglomerate's cash hoard ballooned largely because it sold a net $134 billion of stocks in 2024, and spent less than $3 billion on buybacks, halting them entirely in the second half. For comparison, it sold a net $24 billion of stocks and repurchased more than $9 billion worth of Berkshire stock in 2023.

"Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of your money remains in equities," Buffett reassured Berkshire shareholders in his annual letter in February, referring to both the stocks and businesses that his company owns.

Buffett didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sell, sell, sell

Berkshire owned about 906 million shares of Apple worth $174 billion at the start of 2024, meaning the iPhone maker accounted for 49% of the total value of its stock portfolio. Over the next nine months, it cut its top holding by 67% to 300 million shares, worth $75 billion at the end of December.

Buffett and his team also pared their No. 2 holding, Bank of America, by 34% to 680 million shares in the second half of 2024, cutting the position's value from $41 billion to just under $30 billion.

As of Tuesday's close, Apple and Bank of America shares have dropped 15% and 20% each from their November highs.

Apple is still up 15% since the start of 2024, however, meaning Buffett left money on the table by cashing out when he did. If he kept his stake intact throughout 2024 it would be worth nearly $200 billion.

Bank of America is trading around the $40 mark, as it was at the end of June last year, meaning Buffett probably hasn't won or lost big from selling.

There's nothing to say the market sell-off, which has pulled the S&P 500 down 9% and the Nasdaq Composite down 13% from their record closes on February 19, won't worsen as the Trump administration's policies continue to fuel recession fears.

Moreover, it's important to consider where Buffett has invested the sale proceeds. Owning Treasurys is more lucrative than in the past; the one-year yield has jumped from under 1% to over 4% in just over three years, primarily because rising inflation spurred the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to relieve upward pressure on prices.

"But I don't mind at all, under current conditions, building the cash position," Buffett said at Berkshire's annual meeting last year. "I think when I look at the alternative of what's available in the equity markets, and I look at the composition of what's going on in the world, we find it quite attractive."

Buffett is a long-term investor who's owned stocks such as Coca-Cola and American Express for decades. It's unlikely he pared his portfolio because he saw trouble coming and wanted to cash out before the next market crash — and he probably won't care much about a few months of stock performance.

He's publicly soured on banks and pointed to higher bond yields and the prospect of steeper taxes on capital gains as two reasons he was happy to take some Apple profits and buy Treasurys instead. He's also explained his growing cash pile reflects a dearth of bargains with both private and public companies trading at heady valuations.

It's also worth noting that quarterly portfolio filings provide limited insight into an investor's strategy. They're only a snapshot of their holdings on a single day with a six-week lag, and they exclude shares sold short, foreign-listed stocks, private investments, and nonstock assets.

Even if Buffett isn't selling stocks and stacking cash because he expects a market downturn, his bearish positioning could still make him a winner if this one continues.

Not only will the strategy temper the impact on his stock portfolio, but it means he'll have plenty of dry powder to deploy on cut-price businesses and discounted stocks, as he did during the financial crisis.

Words to remember

Buffett's social media followers aren't only applauding the timing of his Apple sales and cash build. Probably in a bid to shore up market sentiment, they're lining up to quote his famous advice to "be greedy when others are fearful."

Moreover, they're sharing the column he published in the depths of the financial crisis, in which he urged others to buy stocks on the cheap.

Buffett has also won plaudits for getting wealthier when many of his billionaire peers are taking big blows to their fortunes. That reflects a 9% rise in Berkshire stock this year while many blue-chip tech stocks have declined.

The "Oracle of Omaha" has often faced skepticism and claims that he's lost his touch during previous booms. Now the market mood has turned, he's back in fashion.

• I went to college at 40 — when I was a mother of five children.
• My first statistics class was so difficult that I became stressed and ignored my motherly duties.
• When my schoolwork became so stressful that I fought with my husband, I dropped the class.

When I was 40, I decided to finally go to college. My father told me I shouldn't enroll in college right after high school, so I waited. It took me several decades to finally work up the courage to apply.

At the time, the problem wasn't just my age; I was also a mother of five children. My youngest were twins in the second grade, while my oldest was starting high school.

My calendar was crammed with family obligations, yet I tried to fit in three courses per semester at a community college. I decided to focus on general education requirements first before transferring to a four-year university to study English.

At that time, I was an integral part of my children's education — and played a key role in feeding and caring for the whole family. I promised the children and my husband they would remain my first priority — but that proved more difficult than I thought.

I struggled with one class, which caused a lot of stress

Math has always been difficult for me. I took a statistics class because Statistics I and II would transfer to a four-year university so I could complete my bachelor's degree in English.

This was only the beginning of my college career, and already, I was taking far too much time away from caring for the family. It got worse when my new statistics professor wouldn't allow questions in class. He wrote his notes on the board, and we were supposed to magically understand.

I tried to make an appointment to meet with him outside class, but he didn't have office hours. He was an adjunct who taught at a few different colleges.

So, I set up an appointment at the tutoring center on campus, taking more time away from the family. However, the young tutor's idea of solving statistics problems only confused me more.

To feed my fear of failure, the professor gave weekly quizzes that I failed to complete in the allotted five minutes. I couldn't teach myself to become faster in constructing a frequency table.

That college degree seemed to slip from reach as I doubted my ability to pass college-level math.

I started to damage relationships at home

I often stayed home trying to accomplish homework I didn't understand while my husband took the kids to family parties. I rarely left the house to buy groceries. I lived with a statistics book in my hand, burning dinners, and undercooking pancakes — the children's favorite. I snapped at the kids whenever they tried to ask me questions about their homework.

My husband and I no longer discussed family difficulties. Instead, I became the difficulty. All we did was argue. I could no longer concentrate on anyone besides myself and my inability to pass one of my first college courses.

I had broken the promise to my family. I was miserable, and so was my family.

I couldn't allow this course at the beginning of my college career to destroy us. Family has always been my main priority, and a college degree shouldn't come between me and my love for them.

I had to rethink my approach to stress and college courses

If I couldn't change my ability, I needed to change my perspective. This professor was simply not right for my learning style. But I couldn't afford an "F" on my school transcript.

I had to shed any feelings of killing my role model status for the children. I couldn't worry about losing the money for the course or the time needed for my college career. I had to keep my family together and discover a way forward in my education.

Counselors at the school informed me I could withdraw from statistics without penalty to my GPA. It would be a lateral move. I had to remind myself that withdrawing from a class does not make you a failure.

Then, I looked for a professor who permitted countless questions in class and could explain the math procedures with different methods. It took two semesters, but I rescheduled Statistics I with a professor who was better suited for me. I survived and moved on to Statistics II with the same professor.

Obtaining a college degree takes time and determination for parents. It took 10 years to receive my bachelor's from the University of Pennsylvania — but it was worth it, and my family is all the better for it.

• $23 billion hedge fund Balyasny has adoped a new approach to recruiting young talent.
• A stock contest serves as an early application pool for the firm's internship program.
• A former participant and two firm execs explain how to snag an invite and make a good impression.

When Sophia Guiter arrived in New York City last October, it was her first time in the Big Apple.

Despite the allure of Broadway, Times Square, and the city that never sleeps, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, college student had a bigger mission: making an impression on executives of the $23 billion asset manager Balyasny. She and two of her Marquette University classmates were set to compete in the firm's first-ever US stock pitching competition the next day.

Guiter's focus paid off: Her team placed third, and she scored an interview that led to an internship with Balyasny's proprietary research team, set to start this summer.

Balyasny, meanwhile, has now adopted the competition as a regular part of its recruiting pipeline. It held a second stock-picking contest at the end of February and plans to host two such competitions a year in the US from now on.

In addition to prize money awarded to the top three teams, the top two teams, plus other standout students, are granted hard-to-get interviews for Balyasny internships. For example, six out of 15 participants from the February contest were interviewed for Balyasny's 2026 internship program.

"It's basically an early application pool for us, and we would love to be able to fill a good amount of our summer internship class via the stock pitch competition," said Hannah Dinardo, the firm's head of campus recruiting.

Balyasny is just one of many "buy-side" firms ramping up campus recruitment — that is, getting talent in the door earlier through internships versus waiting until they've had job experience. In the past, hedge funds and private equity firms recruited almost exclusively from investment banks. But campus recruiting has become increasingly important to the sector, which has ballooned in size in recent years due to growing interest in their investments.

"Having a cohort of young talent — I don't want to say that it's inexpensive, but it's an earlier investment," explained Steve Schurr, a Balyasny portfolio manager who conceived of the stock-picking competition as a talent pipeline. Today, most of Schurr's 10-person team counts Balyasny as their first job out of college, he said.

Guiter, Schurr, and Dinardo sat down with Business Insider to give their advice on how college students interested in a finance career can get invited to the competition and make an impression on the asset manager's top execs once there.

Inside the competition

Here's how it works: Balyasny recruiters, including Dinardo, identify campus clubs with students they can invite to submit stock pitches, which act as applications to the competition. The firm prioritizes sophomores.

Pitches are reviewed blind, meaning the school names are withheld until the final selection round. Then, five schools are invited to and hosted in New York to participate in an in-person competition.

At the event, student teams present their pitches to the judges — who are also portfolio managers — and the other teams for 10 minutes, followed by a seven-minute Q&A.

In addition to traditional Wall Street target schools, Dinardo says the firm also aims to include lesser-known universities like Marquette University — a small private school in Wisconsin. (The winners of the February competition hailed from The University of Alabama.)

"It's such a great way to evaluate students' skill set through their work product and to really see how they're thinking about markets, how they're thinking about stocks, and just see them in a totally different light versus just a one-to-one interview," said Dinardo. "You're able to also, from a recruiting perspective, see how they stack up against their peers."

Get strategically involved on campus

Key to scoring an invite is being in the right college clubs.

"The competition as a whole has been really helpful for us to better understand where we're spending our time on campus and which groups really align well with what we're looking for," Dinardo said.

She advises students whose groups aren't yet on their radar to hone in the club's educational program and mission.

"Think about the curriculum of the club. Is it a group where students by their sophomore year are going to be prepared to compete and participate in a competition like this?" she said, adding: "Are they well versed in diligencing an idea soup to nuts and from start to finish being able to build out a stock pitch and an investment pitch?"

In choosing which clubs to work with, Dinardo also looks at a club's relationship with its members, preferring a loyal base versus a handful of students aiming to fill out their resumes.

"A one-semester engagement opportunity on campus to build out your resume and get on an email distro list. I would say that's typically what we try to avoid," she said.

Put in the hours

It can be hard to juggle classes, jobs, friends, and other club commitments, but Guiter advises students prioritize the stock-picking competition if they want to succeed.

"We were putting in over 80 hours a week, especially that last week," Guiter said. I mean, we'd wake up in the morning and we would work on that until we went to bed. We were really focused on it and really wanted to stand out to the judges and come as prepared as possible."

She had never worked so hard on anything in her time as a student.

"It was definitely the most I've ever juggled on my plate at one time, but worth every minute of it."

Practice getting 'grilled'

Rehearse presenting your ideas and answering questions as much and as often as possible.

"Don't show up and have only practiced your pitch like, three times," Guiter said.

She and her team did multiple run-throughs in front of their entire investment club and professors.

"We'd go up during class or have Friday pitches where people would come, and they would just grill us," she said. "There was a time where it went on for an hour and a half."

Ahead of the competition, the top five teams get a 45-minute pitch revision session with members of Balyasny's analyst development team to prepare for the final event and get a better sense of the types of questions they might be probed on.

Think of ways to be different

Balyasny doesn't give students tight parameters for picking a stock, just a market cap amount. So when thinking about which equity they'd showcase, Guiter and her team went for something they thought would be a less popular choice: a healthcare stock.

"We wanted to branch out from the tech and AI space because we figured a lot of our competitors would choose a stock within that space," she said. "We wanted to differentiate within a market that has a lot of research that we could build off of."

Indeed, the skill set required to be a successful equity investor is "evolving rapidly," said Schurr.

"You need to have a high degree of creative intelligence. You need to be a really independent thinker, but you also have to have an adaptive mindset," he said.

Guiter and her team used ChatGPT to assist with the extensive research project and show they could harness technology.

"We analyzed how often management fulfilled their promises by analyzing 10 years of earning calls," she said.

Focus on process

Looking back, Guiter said her group should've included more details about the time spent on the project as well as their research approach when delivering their 10-minute pitch. It's something she now encourages other students to do.

Indeed, Shurr (who was a judge at her competition) said he is looking to hear about research processes and conclusions that say something interesting. Even if the judges don't agree with the stock call, this will give them insight into the process.

Schurr added that successful teams "did a deep amount of interesting and variant work and could articulate their thoughts quite well about the nature of the business and where they believe the perception was misplaced," he said. "And they could show their work."

This focus helps him and other PMs determine the competition winners and identify which students to invite to Super Days.

"Really what you're trying to do with this is not identify one great idea, you're trying to identify someone who has an innate strength as a sleuth to go and dig for information in a unique way," he said.

CORRECTION: March 12, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated the timing of Guiter's internship and the amount of the prize money.