• Corruption has been plaguing China's military, including senior leadership.
• The issues and purges raise questions about China's military readiness and its ambitions.
• China's military has long struggled with graft, but it's growth and modernization can't be overlooked.

Corruption investigations have led to significant high-level purges in the Chinese military. A US Department of Defense official said that these purges are "just the tip of the iceberg" and that the issues affecting the military could hinder its ambitions, including Taiwan.

The Defense Department released its annual report on China's military last month, assessing that the People's Liberation Army has "experienced a new wave of corruption-related investigations and removals of senior leaders that may have disrupted its progress towards stated 2027 modernization goals."

China's leadership has directed the PLA to be fully ready to execute a potential invasion or blockade of Taiwan as a professional fighting force should Beijing opt to pursue that path.

The PLA has long faced corruption scandals, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has spent the last decade cracking down as part of a wider campaign to root out corruption and ensure loyalty to the Communist Party. But the latest string of cases has left the Pentagon questioning China's military ambitions and their ability to achieve them in the Pacific.

At an event in mid-December with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Chase said the US has assessed "the anti-corruption campaign — the corruption challenges themselves — and how they could present real obstacles to accomplishing the goals that Xi has set for the PLA for 2027."

"Just the tip of the iceberg"

Over the past year and half, China has sacked at least 15 high-ranking military officers and defense industry executives. A prominent example includes the dismissal of Defense Minister Li Shangfu. China also expelled Li and another defense minister from the ruling party over graft. The suspension of Adm. Miao Hua from his position as the Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission in November 2024, was also significant.

Leaders within the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force have also been removed.

PLARF's leadership has faced allegations of fraud in the construction of silos for ballistic missiles, and US intelligence has reported on missiles filled with water and intercontinental ballistic missile silos equipped with improperly functioning lids that could derail a missile launch.

At CSIS last month, Assistant Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner said a key takeaway from the corruption crackdown: corruption investigations such as this are typically highly secretive. Beijing has often publicly described the current wave of dismissals as "serious violations of discipline."

"We often don't hear about them until they're done," Ratner said of the Chinese corruption investigations. "And what that should lead us to believe is that what we are seeing now — which already has been substantial, right, 15 senior PLA officials already rounded up — is just the tip of the iceberg."

Chase added that there can be a spiral effect in these kinds of situations, where an investigation may reveal further corruption in a different branch or program. That's broadly been the case in the current wave of allegations.

China's military growth and Taiwan

The PLA has long suffered from corruption issues. Since he took office, Xi's anti-corruption campaign has been seen as a renewed effort to root out problems while also ensuring the PLA is both politically loyal to Chinese Communist Party leadership and prepared for any military directives Xi gives it.

China has pursued massive military buildup and growth over the past decade or so, with its eyes set on Taiwan and challenging the US as a peer adversary, but that's also driven corruption.

"The PLA is modernizing so quickly, and they're spending significant amounts of money to build up their forces," said Brian Hart, a fellow with the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said that widespread graft is, in many ways, also "a manifestation of the rapid pace of PLA modernization."

A concentration of the PLA purges being in equipment procurements and the defense industrial base supports the argument that the corruption could be tied to how quickly and aggressively the military is attempting to build up its forces and capabilities.

That raises questions of whether the PLA is on track to meet its mandated modernization goals — a concern that likely keeps Xi up at night, Hart said.

"Does that really undermine the PLA's ability to fight and win wars, especially when it comes to Taiwan?" he asked.

The Pentagon said in its recent report that an investigation announced in July 2023 related to weapons procurement programs dating back to 2017 pointed to "significant concerns with the PLA's modernization efforts more broadly."

What does corruption mean for China's military goals?

Despite the corruption, China's military has achieved tremendous military growth across its branches, from procuring advanced aircraft and bolstering its naval forces to doubling the number of missiles that can reach Guam.

Its military exercises in the Western Pacific, specifically around Taiwan, have grown in size and frequency, and it puts pressure on US allies. And there have been other demonstrations of might.

In September 2024, PLARF carried out an intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific for the first time in 40 years, an apparent signal that despite its challenges with corruption, it maintains power and ambition.

Since the US election, China has been flexing its muscles, sending a clear message to the incoming Trump administration.

The ultimate goal, Hart explained, of Xi's anti-corruption campaign has been to ensure the PLA can modernize on the timeline he has implemented. Even with some issues along the way, China's military growth shows that effort has seen its successes.

Despite the Pentagon's observations, it remains unclear if the PLA's corruption problems will impact China's 2027 goals.

• California has banned undervalued and unsolicited property offers in fire-hit areas of Los Angeles.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order targeted speculators trying to exploit victims of the LA fires.
• The order covers areas like Pacific Palisades and Altadena, which have been devastated by the fires.

California just made it harder for predatory real estate investors to take advantage of victims of the Los Angeles fires.

On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order temporarily banning unsolicited and undervalued offers for properties in specific Los Angeles County zip codes.

The order will be in place for three months, with the zip codes including areas such as Malibu, Altadena, Pasadena, and Pacific Palisades — some of the areas worst hit by the ongoing fires.

The LA wildfires, which have been raging for more than a week, have burned more than 40,000 acres, damaged over 12,000 structures, including many homes, and killed at least 25 people.

"As families mourn, the last thing they need is greedy speculators taking advantage of their pain," Newsom said in a press release.

The governor described how real estate speculators are exploiting the situation, saying he'd heard firsthand from victims who had "received unsolicited and predatory offers" from speculators offering cash far below the market value.

The executive order prohibits offers below the fair market value as of January 6, 2025 — the day before the fires started.

The press release said that the order was inspired by a similar measure issued by Hawaii Gov. Josh Green in August 2023, designed to protect residents after wildfires devastated much of Lahaina.

Violating the order during a state of emergency is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, six months in prison, or both.

Altadena, a "working-class neighborhood" hit hard by the Eaton fire, was cited as an example where undermarket offers could displace vulnerable residents with long-standing ties to the community.

"We will not allow greedy developers to rip off these working-class communities at a time when they need more support than ever before," Newsom said.

Even in areas like the Palisades, which has some of the most expensive real estate in the country, not all victims were wealthy.

A 22-year-old living in the Palisades, who works multiple jobs and said many in her building were blue-collar workers, told Business Insider about having to evacuate her rental apartment.

Concerns about exploitation in the rental market are also growing, as those who have lost their homes look to the future.

Jason Oppenheim of Netflix's "Selling Sunset" said that greedy landlords have been taking advantage of the fires by price gouging, or illegally hiking rents.

He told Business Insider: "This is a time for people to put aside any opportunities for financial gain. If anything, we should be giving back financially, not trying to be rewarded financially from the situation."

• Boeing delivered 348 commercial aircraft last year, fewer than half as many as rival Airbus.
• It's the sixth year in a row Boeing has lagged behind its European competitor.
• After a troubling year, the planemaker has a plan to turn things around.

Boeing reported last year's delivery figures late Tuesday, and they show the scale of the challenge that lies ahead.

The embattled planemaker delivered 348 commercial aircraft in 2024 — down by just over a third since the year before. It was its lowest figure since the pandemic.

Boeing also delivered fewer than half as many planes as rival Airbus, which last Thursday reported 766 deliveries.

Last year was especially arduous for Boeing as it not only dealt with the fallout from January's Alaska Airlines blowout but also a seven-week strike that crippled production.

However, it was also the sixth year in a row it has lagged behind Airbus.

The bulk of both companies' deliveries consist of short-haul, single-aisle aircraft.

Boeing's 737 Max has become almost synonymous with its recent woes, while Airbus is helping airlines unlock new routes with an extra-long-range version of its A320neo.

The A320neo overtook the 737 Max as the best-selling narrow-body jet following the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes in 2018 and 2019, in which a combined 346 people died.

After a door plug came off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max in midair last January, the Federal Aviation Administration limited Boeing's production of the type to 38 a month.

However, it has stayed below that as it works to overhaul its safety and quality processes.

Boeing was also behind Airbus for orders last year, receiving 569 compared to the European manufacturer's 826. Although, it does have a smaller backlog to work through, of 5,595 versus 8,658.

On the one hand, backlogs are a sign that both firms have plenty of business — as airlines order planes years in advance. However, it is also a challenge to work through the order book and ensure airlines receive their jets on time.

Several Boeing customers voiced their annoyance with delivery delays last year. The planemaker also announced further delays to the certification of its 777X jet.

The industry has also had to contend with supply-chain constraints, with Airbus scaling back its delivery target.

For Boeing, there is a road map to increase production without compromising quality.

In 2024, it acquired the bulk of Spirit AeroSystems — a key supplier that was formerly part of Boeing before being spun off into its own entity.

Integrating Spirit back into the company should help keep production on track and minimize traveled work, where planes are assembled out of sequence.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has also made clear that he wants company leaders on the factory floors, so that workers have more trust in management and their concerns and challenges are better understood.

The latest delivery figures show there is a lot of work ahead for Boeing to better challenge Airbus, let alone reclaim the upper hand in the duopoly. But the new boss has a plan in place.

• My eldest daughter had to learn to become self-sufficient at an early age.
• I have limited time for her because most of it is spent caring for my youngest.
• It's not the life I would have chosen, but my family is stronger for it.

My eldest daughter is self-sufficient at 10 years old. She gets herself breakfast and lunch, manages her own schedule, and finds ways to fill her time.

I never dread her school breaks on holidays and in the summer, I don't arrange entertainment for her, and she very seldom whines about being bored.

I just wish all this was by choice.

My 6-year-old has a debilitating disease

Instead, my eldest daughter's independence has come about because of my family's unusual circumstances. My six-year-old daughter has a rare progressive disorder called Rett Syndrome.

Her disease has stolen her words, hand use, independent mobility, and much of her swallow function. It has left her with a wheelchair, speech-generating device, feeding tube, and epilepsy.

With the help of my husband, I spend most of my time doing tasks like blending food, preparing medications, coordinating in-home helpers, fighting insurance denials, and driving to medical appointments.

Our workload intensifies whenever my youngest is not in school, her in-home helpers cancel their shifts, or she becomes ill. Because of her weakened immune system, she spends most of the winter sick. Meanwhile, my husband and I spend most of it caring for her.

Unfortunately, all this leaves little time for my eldest daughter.

My eldest's self-sufficiency is a silver lining

I struggle to do the most basic things with her, let alone, coordinate playdates, drive to after-school activities, or act as her entertainment director.

Instead, my eldest plays a vital role in our household. She relays messages, fetches supplies, helps with her sister's feeding tube, and operates our van's wheelchair ramp.

This might sound like my eldest has the short end of the stick. But her self-sufficiency has been one of the biggest silver linings of her sister's disease.

While my eldest daughter's peers are whisked from one activity to another, remain glued to tablets, or complain about being bored, she has the freedom to make what she wants of her time.

When she's not in school she's typically playing with neighborhood kids outside or, when the weather keeps her indoors, reading, designing art projects, or writing stories and poems.

The moments I spend with my eldest are precious and wonderful

I do spend time with my eldest daughter, of course, but not in the way I envisioned when I first became a mother.

Our moments together aren't as frequent as I would like and require a good bit of coordination.

However, because they are so few, they are also precious and highly enjoyable.

When my youngest is healthy and an in-home helper or my husband can care for her, my eldest and I plan activities together.

Sometimes she chooses a recipe and I give her a cooking lesson. Other times we spend a night in a hotel or have a "spa night" painting our nails and playing Mad Libs.

We look forward to these pockets of time when we laugh, talk, and share meals without stress or interruption.

This isn't the life I would have chosen but our family is stronger for it

Sometimes I worry that my eldest's limited extra-curricular activities will eventually make her a less competitive college applicant. She won't have an application filled with sports, language lessons, after-school activities, or service projects.

However, when I feel guilty, I remind myself that she will have many of the things one needs to succeed in life — self-reliance, independence, resilience, flexibility, and compassion.

Though this is not the life I would have chosen for my family, we are all stronger and wiser for it. My eldest daughter is a perfect example.

She doesn't fidget in the doctor's waiting room, even when she doesn't have a phone or a tablet. She doesn't walk by someone in a wheelchair without acknowledging them. She opens doors for others, stands up for her sister, and calmly accepts any last-minute changes to our plans.

I couldn't be prouder of the person she is becoming.

• Firefighters are bracing for strong gusts of winds, fuelling the deadly LA fires.
• The fires have burned through 40,000 acres and could cost up to $275 billion in damage.
• Over 8,500 firefighters have been deployed to fight the blazes. 25 people are reported dead.

Officials have warned that the fires raging across Los Angeles could soon get worse, with the "highest risk" of gusty winds to intensify on Wednesday.

The wildfires, which have now been raging for more than a week, have already burned through 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 12,000 homes and other structures.

Preliminary estimates from AccuWeather show the total damage and economic losses associated with the Southern California wildfires could amount to $275 billion, making it one of the most costly wildfires and natural disasters in recent US history.

According to Goldman Sachs, the total damage from the LA fires could rank among the top 20 costliest natural disasters in US history, in terms of GDP.

More than 8,500 firefighters have been marshaled to fight the blazes, which have caused at least 25 reported deaths.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said 34 people had been reported missing, 21 of whom had been found safe.

Of the 13 remaining, two have most likely been found dead but have yet to be identified, he said.

Fires rage on

On Tuesday night, the LA County Fire Department said that a red warning for the Eaton Fire, one of the major blazes, had been extended through 6 p.m. on Wednesday, local time.

Moderate to strong winds were expected to persist, and gusty winds were at the "highest risk" of impacting the fire early Wednesday morning, it said.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the next 24 hours would be another "dangerous" period, with high winds set to hit the region.

And in an update Tuesday, the National Weather Service of Los Angeles said "critical" fire weather conditions may extend to next week, when another round of Santa Ana winds could take place.

The Palisades and the Eaton Fires were 18% and 35% contained as of the early hours of Wednesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, while the Hurst fire was almost fully contained, it said.

Looking beyond the destruction

LA officials are already looking beyond the fires, despite firefighters still struggling to put out the larger blazes.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order to speed up the city's building permit review process, calling for reviews to be completed within 30 days of submission.

The executive order also aims to streamline processes for clearing debris.

Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday issued an executive order barring land developers from making unsolicited and undervalued offers to buy properties.

"Make no mistake — this is a prosecutable crime," he said in an X post.

Southern California Edison, an electric utility company serving California's Central, Coastal, and Southern regions, said on Tuesday that 70,250 customers were without power as of 4 p.m. local time.

It added that because of dangerous conditions, it could take days to restore power, and that customers should be prepared for extended and potentially intermittent outages.

• Millennials and Gen Z are packing up and leaving cities with high housing costs.
• They're moving to suburban and exurban communities while balancing hybrid work schedules.
• Here are 8 hot housing markets located outside major metropolitan areas, according to Zillow.

Young Americans sick of the high housing costs in major cities but unwilling to commit to going country are exploring a third option: moving to the burbs.

This development is a marked departure from the "back to the city" movement pioneered by millennials in the 2000s and 2010s. However, considering the historical context, moving out of crowded urban areas isn't unprecedented.

Suburbs are as American as apple pie. Armed with postwar GI Bills providing housing assistance and bank accounts bolstered by economic expansion, Americans poured out of cities and into mass-produced suburban Levittowns in the 1950s and 60s. Thus, the American dream of a home with a white picket fence was born.

According to Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow, young Americans are taking it one step further and moving to the exurbs — communities located past denser suburban areas but still within commuting distance to the metropolitan center.

"These communities strike a balance between suburban amenities while being located less than 90 miles outside of the offerings and thriving job markets of large urban centers like New York City or Boston," Divounguy told Business Insider in an email.

Post-pandemic, millennials, and increasingly, Gen-Z, have been giving up city life for the suburbs and exurbs, partly because they're getting priced out but also because they've developed changing lifestyle habits regarding flexible working arrangements.

"The increase in hybrid work models is likely contributing, leading more people to discover hidden gem cities that they may have previously overlooked when daily commutes were standard," Treh Manhertz, senior economic research scientist at Zillow, wrote in a recent report.

According to the moving company Hire a Helper, cities like New York, San Jose, and Los Angeles were top of the list for cities millennials moved out of in 2023. And between 2021 and 2022, millennials and Gen Z comprised almost two-thirds of the total number of departees from New York, an analysis conducted by Business Insider found.

That's not to say city living is out. Young people are still moving into expensive markets, according to Divounguy, but there's an undeniable proportion of the younger population leaving the cities.

This trend was reflected in 2024 Zillow user preferences. The real estate company analyzed metrics such as page-view traffic, home value growth, and days on market to gauge which housing markets with the highest level of consumer demand. Out of the top 10 most popular housing markets on the site, seven were suburban or exurban locations, which are listed below.

7 exurban communities homebuyers are eyeing

Manchester, New Hampshire

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 50 miles away from Boston

Stamford, Connecticut

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 35 miles away from New York City

Columbia, Maryland

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 20 miles away from Baltimore

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 60 miles away from New York City

Allentown, Pennsylvania

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 60 miles away from Philadelphia

New Haven, Connecticut

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 80 miles away from New York City

Waterbury, Connecticut

Approximate distance to nearest metro area: 80 miles away from New York City

• Job ads have been getting too lengthy and have long lacked salary details.
• Hiring managers are being inundated with applications thanks to AI.
• The situation is untenable and something needs to change, hiring experts say.

Job ads need an overhaul. They're often too lengthy, too demanding, and may prompt candidates to lean more on their networks to avoid a relentless application-rejection cycle.

With an era of "revenge quitting" on the horizon, companies that want to attract top talent may want to rethink what they post on job boards, use AI sparingly but smartly, and remember that hiring is an inherently human process.

Research from the HR and recruitment software company iCIMS, shared with Business Insider, found that job openings were up only 3% between December 2023 and December 2024, but applications rose by 13%.

Rhea Moss of iCIMS told BI that this underlines a "self-fulfilling prophecy" in the job market: candidates can't help but contribute to the vicious cycle by applying for more jobs.

"There's an interesting confluence that's happening right now, of candidates feeling like their résumé isn't being looked at, and recruiters feeling like they have too many résumés to look at," Moss said. "Something has got to change here."

Too wordy and demanding

Job hunting can be frustrating. Susan Levine, the founder and CEO of the recruitment and advisory firm Career Group Companies, told BI that job ads "frequently paint an unrealistic picture of the roles they represent."

Using buzzwords to draw attention rather than accurate descriptions can contribute to the culture of love-bombing and ghosting in the jobseeking world, where candidates believe they are perfect for a role — only to hear nothing after an interview.

"This practice can mislead candidates, leading them to believe they are a strong match when their qualifications may not align with what the company truly needs," Levine said.

Ads can also be too long and demanding. Data from the recruitment software and hiring platform Applied, shared with BI, found more than a third of "entry-level" job ads sought an average of 2.5 years of experience.

Michael Horn, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and coauthor of "JOB MOVES: 9 Steps for Making Progress in Your Career," said: "Job descriptions are really, really broken at this point."

"They have gotten ridiculous in terms of the number of listed and credentials and qualifications," he told BI. "They read much more like legal documents."

Ashley Ward, the founder and CEO of the recruitment agency W Talent Solutions, said poorly constructed job ads contribute to a frustrating cycle for all involved.

"A job ad should serve as a compelling invitation, not a laundry list of unattainable qualifications," Ward told BI. "Yet, too many ads are designed more as exclusionary gatekeepers than as tools for engagement."

'Soul-crushing' process

Shannon Talbot, a former banking director and VP at an advertising agency turned career coach, told BI that hiring managers often "copy and paste old, potentially irrelevant job descriptions because they're in a rush to fill the role."

"These descriptions turn into wish lists of requirements rather than focusing on what's truly needed. Add to that the lack of transparency around salary and job levels, and it's no wonder candidates feel frustrated."

The language of job ads can be off-putting. The Applied report, which analyzed just over 7,500 ads, found that using masculine wording (including "individual," "challenging," and "driven") reduced the number of women applying by 10%.

There's also no guarantee the jobs being advertised actually exist.

A recent analysis from Greenhouse found that as many as one in five jobs advertised online may be "ghost jobs" — roles that are never filled, and companies may never have any intention of filling in the first place.

"The job market has become more soul-crushing than ever," said Jon Stross, president and cofounder of Greenhouse.

The human touch is missing

AI was supposed to make everything better, with job hunting becoming easier and more efficient than ever on both sides of the process.

But for all its benefits, using AI the wrong way could make everything worse.

Horn said hiring managers may receive thousands of applications, mostly from people wholly unsuitable for the job.

"Individuals applying to things are struggling to figure out, thinking, I don't even know what this means. Am I a good fit for this? I have no idea," Horn said. "Might as well let the AI apply, and then we'll figure it out later."

Meanwhile, good candidates may be automatically rejected by an algorithm.

Rise of the networks

When met with an unfulfilling market, people may instead turn to their networks for their next career move, said Horn.

This could have consequences for DEI. Managers have a tendency to want to hire candidates like themselves, whether they mean to or not. Networks becoming more important could have a disparate impact on underrepresented groups, Horn warned.

Hiring managers can help make the application process more transparent by maximizing automation while maintaining the human touch.

Lisa Frank, the founder and CEO of the recruitment and coaching firm LBF Strategies, said hiring managers should embrace AI but remember that it can't be fully relied on to make decisions.

"You're still dealing with humans, hiring other humans, humans working with other humans, or working for or managing them. We can't turn our backs on that," she told BI.

• I teach writing courses to undergraduates at the University of Michigan.
• Many of my students seem to struggle with traits of perfectionism and formulating independent ideas.
• I'm rethinking how I model my life for my daughter to foster her autonomy and sense of self.

I've been teaching University of Michigan students how to write for over a decade, starting as a graduate student instructor and now as a middle-aged mom. I've worked closely with all students — from the pre-med freshmen to the seasoned seniors majoring in creative writing.

Through our in-class discussions and their writing, I've glimpsed into a wide sampling of backgrounds. The majority of students hail from places like where I'm raising my own daughter — the university town of Ann Arbor.

Therefore, it's impossible not to view my students through the lens of my child's development.

I've noticed most of my students are able to articulate most things — except who they are. They are only concerned with test scores and perfectionism.

This makes me wonder if I should change the way I'm raising my daughter to give her a better sense of self.

Students struggle with independent thought and a sense of self

Most high schools teach students to write formulaically. If they follow that formula, then they will receive a good grade.

But in my class, I encourage my students to write originally. I've realized that students struggle without the formula, without a road map. They struggle to come up with original ideas out of fear they will fail or not suit my needs.

After class, I am swarmed by eager questions asking what I want them to write. When a deadline looms, I clarify office hours are not for me to think of their ideas. I've received e-mails with bulleted topics for me to pick beforehand.

I had a class free write on ambition and perfection. Students asked if it would be collected. Did I want a title? Is their name top right or left? The point was to sit with their thoughts long enough to hear their own ideas. They struggle to tell their own story.

"I figured out what you want," a business student approached me once, grinning. "A pioneering idea!"

He waited for me to confirm he'd guessed my definition of the correct idea. I wanted to tell him that the student with a pioneering idea won't care what his English professor wishes to read.

Modern parenting techniques are breeding perfectionism

Research published cites a significant rise in perfectionism in young people compared to previous generations. The study found that 88% linked their perfectionist traits to academic achievements.

But where does all of this start? I think it starts back in childhood. Overbearing parents are creating a lack of intrinsic decision-making in their kids. Gentle parents are becoming helicopter parents by reading a book about not becoming helicopter parents.

Parents are turning to specialists for picky-eating, proprioception-system correcting, and allergens. In doing so, we're fueling the child-perfecting industry.

I'm modeling imperfect behavior for my daughter

Parents hide their inexperience, even though we all go onstage cold. But we must let our kids see who we really are — imperfect creatures who make mistakes.

I've stopped deducting points from my self-imposed score. I schedule less and cancel more. I foster my daughter's independence by shifting focus back to my growth, showing her my life as I draft it — my mistakes and disappointments.

In doing so, I hope she understands perfectionism isn't the goal.

• A Chinese app known as RedNote is surging in new users from the US.
• I downloaded it and found users posting gleefully about giving away their data to China.
• The frenzy around RedNote might be short-lived, however.

I spent time on the Chinese app Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, that Americans are flocking to as a potential TikTok ban looms.

It was an amusing and utterly confusing experience.

The app is flooded with posts deriding the US government. It seems impossible to parse what's potentially propaganda, what's ironically pretending to be propaganda, and what are earnest complaints about the US government — or earnest welcome messages from Chinese citizens.

What's clear, however, is that many Americans are furious, and they're doing what angry Americans do best from their couches: make memes. One video with over 30,000 likes shows a scene from the movie "Brokeback Mountain," where the two main characters reunite and hug, with the caption, "Me being reunited with my Chinese spy."

Many users joked — using the hashtag "TikTokrefugee" — about giving all their data to the Chinese government. One speculated that RedNote users were being assigned a new Chinese spy to watch them.

My feed, overall, was chock full of dark humor about being fine with giving data to China or using the app "just to say FU to our govt," as one user put it.

Many posts expressed anger toward the US government, or at least joy in what people perceived to be the government's embarrassment when it discovered that young people were signing up for an app that could be even worse of a national security issue than TikTok.

Sure enough, RedNote and Lemon8, an app owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance, hit the top two spots on the Apple app store rankings on Monday. I mean, yes, it is pretty funny!

Admittedly, I also chuckled at another genre of memes about how people would rather sign up for a dubious Chinese app than switch to Instagram Reels. One video I saw showed a cat labeled "Americans" loudly rejecting a cup of yogurt with the Instagram logo on it.

The RedNote frenzy may be short-lived, however. The app is difficult to navigate for English speakers, and some new users have reported it banned them (although it's possible these issues relate to the phone verification system, which I also found to be buggy).

It's also possible that users are downloading RedNote and other Chinese apps not to replace TikTok, but to to send a signal to the US government.

"It really is just retaliation towards the government in the simplest way, but in a way that feels very native to Gen Z," Meagan Loyst, the founder of the investor collective Gen Z VCs, told my colleagues Dan Whateley and Sydney Bradley.

But for one or two days, at least, there's some level of cathartic steam being released — the frustration that millions of TikTok users feel that the app they enjoy is likely going away.

• Russia is accused of using aging tankers to damage undersea cables.
• Analysts say it gives the cover of plausible deniability.
• But it's a method that also comes with risks.

A series of apparent attacks on undersea internet cables show Russia exploiting a Western vulnerability, analysts say.

The incidents in recent months involve aging tankers dragging their anchors and severing undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, prompting outages.

The latest came on Christmas Day, when the tanker Eagle S dragged its anchor for hundreds of miles, damaged the Estlink 2 power line between Finland and Estonia and telecommunications cables.

Officials in Europe say Russia is deliberately using the vessels to target the crucial infrastructure used to transmit internet data and power.

They say the incidents add up to a campaign by Russia to sabotage infrastructure. At least one vessel is said to belong to a "shadow fleet" of ships not directly tied to Russia that it uses to evade oil sanctions.

The means employed, the officials say, are decidedly low-tech: aging tankers dragging their anchors along the seabed for miles, hoping to snag and damage a cable.

One Finnish official on Monday said that Eagle S and its crew were preparing to target more cables before the ship was boarded.

The Baltic and beyond

In November, a Chinese-flagged vessel, the Yi Peng 3, was accused of damaging another cable in the Baltic.

Another Chinese-flagged vessel, the NewnewPolar Bear, damaged subsea communications and gas cables in the Baltic in October 2023 by dragging its anchor. China admitted the vessel was responsible for the damage but said it was an accident, The South China Morning Post reported.

And on January 6, Taiwanese officials said that a Chinese-owned tanker severed cables near its north coast in a parallel incident it blamed on China.

Analysts classify the incidents as likely examples of "grey zone" tactics used by Russia and China to destabilize their rivals while falling short of acts of war.

"Attacks on CUI have become a viable weapon in grey zone warfare," said James Foggo, a retired US Navy admiral, using an abbreviation for Critical Undersea Infrastructure.

"More must be done to preserve CUI in the Baltic and other susceptible regions of the globe," he said in an interview with Business Insider.

Plausible deniability

Using commercial vessels for sabotage comes with risks, but also significant benefits for the attacker.

Henri van Soest, a senior analyst at RAND Europe, told BI that "Russia gets a number of advantages from using its shadow fleet for this purpose. The most important one is deniability and ambiguity: We currently have little insight into the make-up of the shadow fleet."

The ultimate ownership of a vessel can be difficult to establish.

The Eagle S, for instance, is owned by a company registered in the UAE, managed by a firm in Mumbai, and sails under the flag of the Cook Islands.

Analysts assert that Russia is directing the vessel, but there is no verifiable public link.

The Kremlin has itself denied any connection with the Eagle S, and other similar incidents in the Baltic.

The lack of an explicit tie to Russia also allows the ships to navigate freely, drawing less attention from national coast guards than a Russian ship.

A thousand threats, or more

Van Soest also pointed to the size of the fleet — which analysts say could exceed 1,400 vessels. It makes any single ship hard to monitor or counter.

"While currently only a small number of ships are suspected of engaging in sabotage activities, these actions make the entire shadow fleet suspect," said Van Soest.

He said there was a psychological component to the strategy in addition to the actual damage it can cause.

"Any ship that forms part of the shadow fleet could potentially be on a sabotage mission. It also sends the implicit message that Russia could swiftly order a larger number of shadow fleet vessels to start sabotage actions, leading to far greater damage and disruption," he said.

Clumsy strategy

The sabotage playbook comes with risks for Russia.

Pushing too hard with the fleet, Kaushal said, could prompt Western navies to treat it as a hostile entity and try to restrict its movements, reducing its value as a way of overcoming sanctions.

It's also clumsy, said Erin Murphy, deputy director of Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.: "Anchors can bounce on the ocean floor and miss cutting the cable entirely, if that was the intent of a ship."

For all that, there is not much Western countries can do that matches the potential scale of the problem.

Limited counterplays

Sweden has said it'll be contributing 3 naval ships to boost NATO patrols in the Baltic to defend against subsea cable sabotage.

And late last year the alliance also deployed divers to test equipment to better defend the cables.

Two further measures proposed by European officials have been to tighten sanctions on vessels in the shadow fleet and boost naval patrols to deter sabotage.

"Increased patrols could help, but there's still the problem in terms of the size of the ocean and waterways," said Murphy.

In short: the sea is just too big to defend.

And Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at London's Royal United Services Institute, was skeptical that sanctions would deter the shadow fleet in practice.

Kaushal said that several vessels connected to recent cable-cuttings, including the Yi Peng 3, were not considered to be part of the shadow fleet.

Murphy, the author of a 2024 report on the threat to subsea cables, said nations could pressure the destination ports of suspected shadow fleet vessels to search them or deny them entry.

"This could work for a short time but countries and actors usually find ways to circumvent," she said.

It leaves Western nations with few options beyond chasing shadows.

• I moved to Los Angeles 16 years ago, and then met my husband and had two daughters.
• While our house wasn't affected by the fire, our lives have been.
• Many of my friends lost their homes and I wonder if I need to move for my kids.

"Are you OK?" is the text I've received every day for the last week. And the answer is complicated. Yes, I'm OK in the sense that while I live in Los Angeles, my family and house are safe from the wildfires.

But also, I'm absolutely not OK.

I moved to Los Angeles 16 years ago as an aspiring writer. I lived in West Hollywood, which is where I met my husband. Eventually, we moved to the sleepy suburbs of Burbank, where we've been raising our two daughters.

Moving to the suburbs, for me, meant a sense of security for our family. The roads here are wide, the trees are ancient and enormous, and the schools are top-notch. We're surrounded by other families and local businesses we love. I recently texted a friend, "This feels like our forever home."

The Palisades and Eaton fires, though, have changed not only LA itself, but how I see our future in this city

Last week, my husband and I packed up a suitcase with clothes, birth certificates, and our marriage license as intense winds knocked over those mighty trees on our street. We buckled our daughters into their car seats as ash fell from the sky. We drove out of LA under enormous plumes of smoke to find better air quality. And days later, when the Palisades fire moved East, we could see the glowing flames in the distance, just behind our house.

Like everyone else, I don't know when the LA fires will be contained. What I know is that many of my friends have lost all of their possessions and sense of safety. What I know is that while we are safe, my daughters can't go outside because of the air quality. What I know is that I'm not the only parent in LA right now trying to both process the heartbreak of all this and maintain life as usual for my kids.

I also know that I don't want to do this again

I don't want to live every year wondering if the fires will start closer to our house. What if the home we worked so hard to have goes up in flames? Or worse, what if we can't get out in time?

Los Angeles is where I began my career as a novelist. My first two books are set in Hollywood. My husband has been lucky enough to be a TV writer for shows that film here in Los Angeles. Our community and work is here.

My husband has nervously laughed off my questions of, "Should we stay in LA?" and "No, really, are we staying?"

But to ease my anxiety, I've started looking at listings in North Carolina — not because I'm from there, but because my best friend lives there. Maybe that could be fun?

But then the practical part kicks in. How would we be able to make a living? There are no TV writers rooms, and I'd have to hope that I got a full-time job that could make enough money for all of us. The idea of moving our family somewhere else is currently very tempting, but financially maybe impossible.

And on top of that, I can't imagine another place in the world I'd want to live. I love Los Angeles. My kids love that we can drive to the beach and swim in our backyard pool in the summer. This is our home.

As I made my daughter's bed this morning, I silently said a prayer of thanks for the life we have. I imagine each day will be something like that — both gratitude that we were spared, and the small knowledge that we were very close to losing everything. But next time — if and when there is one — will my family be as lucky as we have been?

• Have you bought a virtual reality or augmented reality headset?
• If so, you're part of a small group of consumers — despite repeated predictions that the market will boom.
• Meta alone has lost $60 billion on this tech over five years. It's going to keep spending, says Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg has spent tens of billions of dollars chasing it. Some of the biggest names in tech, including Apple, Microsoft, Google and Sony, have poured in billions more. For years.

But so far, no one has nailed it.

Maybe one day wearing computers on our heads will be something many of us do all the time, instead of a novelty we try a few times and then forget. We're not there yet.

It doesn't matter whether you're talking about super high-end devices like the Apple Vision Pro or low-priced novelties, like early editions of Snap's Spectacles. Or whether you're discussing virtual reality devices that create an entirely new world around the user or augmented reality headsets that let you see the outside world as well as digital images. All of these devices have yet to take off. Consumer demand isn't budging.

That hasn't stopped the tech industry from trying. Or deterred people around the tech world from predicting that one day, this will be a huge market.

You can see this spelled out in a new chart from analyst and investor Matthew Ball, as part of a new report he's released on the problems in the video gaming business. This one tracks the gap between projected headset sales, as estimated by International Data Corp., and actual sales.

As you can see, while IDC has been continually bullish about VR and AR headsets, consumer interest has lagged far behind. No matter what's on offer, at whatever price, these devices seem mired in the 10 million units a year or less range.

That's not to suggest that Zuckerberg — who has racked up more than $60 billion in losses on this tech over the past five years, filings show — is chasing after the market because of an IDC estimate. It just shows you that for close to a decade, the industry has been excited about this stuff, while many consumers remain unimpressed.

I talked to Jitesh Ubrani, the IDC researcher who works on this stuff, about the gap between his company's projections — which, to be fair, are projections — and reality.

He said his shop has become less optimistic over time about the market, which you can see reflected on the right side of the chart.

"Everyone is a bit more realistic about these expectations," he said, noting that the market for the tech has been "notably volatile" over the past few years, as big players like Microsoft and Google temper their interest in headsets. Meta PR declined to comment.

In his public comments, Zuckerberg has been telling investors that he'll continue chasing virtual and augmented reality tech, and that they should expect to see more losses in the future.

For him, the stakes seem quite clear: He wants people to use a new computing platform instead of, or in addition to, phones. And he wants to be able to interact with them on that platform without Google or Apple getting involved, as they do with their mobile platforms. And if all of that happens — meaning that Zuckerberg essentially creates the next iPhone — then burning tens of billions on R&D will seem like a good bet.

Meanwhile, Meta does seem to be making progress. The Orion glasses Zuckerberg showed off last fall — but isn't selling yet — are super-impressive. I've tried them, and I could definitely imagine using some version of them if they were way cheaper, and worked as advertised.

But those are big ifs, and it's possible Meta never figures out how to make these things at scale, and in a way that will sell hundreds of millions of units per year — like Apple does with its phones. But someone, somewhere, will keep insisting that the headset of the future is just around the corner.

• Discovering 'The Third Door' led to career success at Google and Meta for Andrew Yeung.
• The concept involves finding unconventional paths to achieve goals and stand out.
• Yeung used four steps to find the "third door" and launch a successful tech and hospitality career.

Up until a few years ago, I thought I was going to have a mediocre career.

School was difficult for me. Math, English, and science were hard. I didn't think I was terribly smart, and I had below-average grades all the way from middle school up until the point I graduated from college.

It wasn't because I didn't try. In fact, I tried pretty hard. My brain just couldn't grasp basic STEM concepts. Beyond that, I lacked the typical traits associated with success, like charisma, confidence, and genius-level intelligence.

No matter how hard I pushed myself, my results were always below average. I'd spend hours studying in school, only to end up with bad grades. This pattern repeated itself throughout college, where I'd spend months applying to jobs without any kind of response.

I realized I needed to change things up, or I'd end up with below-average results for the rest of my life. I had to stop doing what everyone else was doing because it wasn't working for me.

Everything changed for me in 2019 when I came across Alex Banayan's book, "The Third Door." It completely transformed how I did everything and eventually helped me land lead roles at Google and Meta.

What is "the third door"?

Picture yourself trying to enter an exclusive nightclub. There are three doors: one general entrance that everyone goes through, a second door for the VIPs and celebrities, and a third door that nobody tries.

After learning about this idea, I made it a habit to solve every problem by finding the third door.

I became almost allergic to conformity, ignoring common wisdom. Whenever I saw someone do something a certain way, I would try to do it differently, and I was convinced that there was always an easier, unconventional, non-obvious way of getting things done.

Here are the four things I started doing to improve my likelihood of having a fulfilling, high-growth career.

1. I started creating magnets to attract the attention of decision-makers.

I always had trouble getting into the room, whether it was an interview room with the hiring manager, a private dinner with executives, or a boardroom with decision-makers. To get into the room, you often had to know the right people, have a top-tier résumé, or be exceptionally smart or charismatic. I was none of these, so I realized I needed to create the room myself.

Instead of trying to get into the private dinners with CEOs, I hosted my own.

Instead of trying to get on stage and grab the attention of business leaders, I created my own stage and invited leaders I wanted to speak alongside.

Instead of chasing people, I learned to create valuable things that would attract the attention of those I wanted to meet.

2. I started differentiating myself with my speed of execution.

Throughout my career, I've used my execution speed as a competitive advantage, and it's always paid off.

By replying to her email within 10 seconds, I landed an internship with the CEO of a company with over 20,000 employees.

At Facebook and Google, I had the opportunity to work on the highest visibility projects because I was the first person to raise my hand.

I've also made introductions within a minute of being asked. Being faster is the easiest way to differentiate yourself.

3. I started investing in decadelong relationships when everyone else focused on transactional relationships.

In the last few years, I've interacted with thousands of people, and I've observed that most people take a shortsighted approach to building relationships, especially in fast-paced, metropolitan cities like New York and San Francisco.

It makes sense — there's a high density of remarkable people, giving you what seems like infinite options for relationships, but in reality, this false sense of optionality can hurt you.

Early in my career, I was rejected by dozens of hiring managers. Each time, I accepted the rejection with grace, thanked them for their time, and offered to provide value by introducing them to other candidates. Eventually, it came back around.

I graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in finance and economics. My first job out of school came after I was rejected from a company's internship program. I took this opportunity to build a relationship with their hiring manager and nurtured that relationship for over a year.

My path into Facebook was from a cold outreach that turned into a mentorship relationship lasting over three years, and my entry point into Google came from building a long-term relationship with someone I met spontaneously.

The strongest professional relationships are built when you think in decades.

4. I started giving without the expectation of return.

My strategy for gaining access to job opportunities, CEOs, and influential people has always been volunteering my greatest asset: my time. It's been my trojan horse for opening doors, building relationships, and accessing larger opportunities.

In my early 20s, I knew nothing about startups and tech, so I pitched myself to the CEOs of early-stage companies, offering my help and suggestions. Eventually, a few people took me on, and it became my method of breaking into the tech world as a non-tech person. This approach helped build my personal brand as a young, helpful, and hungry operator.

The third door helped me succeed

These four habits eventually enabled me to get access to opportunities, build relationships with prominent tech leaders, and "break" into tech without good grades or a strong résumé.

In reality, I see myself as an average person who isn't particularly gifted or exceptionally smart in a specific area, but I've managed to find some success by discovering the unfair advantages that are uniquely suited to me.

Andrew Yeung is a former Meta and Google employee who now throws tech parties through Andrew's Mixers, runs a tech events company at Fibe, and invests at Next Wave NYC.

• My mom always wanted grandkids, but my siblings and I all had them later in our lives.
• Now that she's an older grandparent, she has less energy to play with her grandkids.
• I had my kids at the perfect time for me, and I have no regrets.

When my partner and I found out I was pregnant with our first child, I couldn't wait to tell my mom. After all, it was the news she had been wanting to hear for years.

My mom has always loved children, and as a mother of four herself, she had hoped that one of her kids would give her a grandchild to love sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, my siblings and I were all late to the parental party, and Mom had to wait a long time before it eventually happened.

My oldest sister was the first sibling to have a child at age 40. By then, Mom was 64 and still full of energy. She took on the role of 'Nana' with zest. However, my sister's family lives in South Africa, and I think Mom was dying for more grandchildren closer to home in Australia.

When I got pregnant, I knew life was about to change

Three years later, when I was 29, I unexpectedly got pregnant. I remember feeling overwhelmed at first and a little daunted about how much my life was about to change, but I also felt ready to settle down. I'd been with my partner for eight years at that point, and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, so starting a family wasn't that much of a leap.

I was also happy about the fact that the baby was due just after my 30th birthday. I'd always wanted the focus of my 20s to be on my career and travel. I'd ticked both of those boxes — working as a news reporter at various points in my 20s and traveling the globe for three years satiating my travel bug. Looking back, I think I might have resented it later if I hadn't achieved those goals before having children.

My parents were so excited, and my mom flew down to help after I gave birth

Around the 12-week mark of my pregnancy, my parents flew down from the Gold Coast in Queensland to Melbourne, where my partner and I lived. I'd printed off a photo of myself as a toddler and written a note saying, "Version two: coming soon." Naturally, Mom was over the moon. "I can't believe my baby is having a baby," she said, hugging me tight.

When our son was born six months later, she was incredible. She flew down and stayed with my husband and me for seven weeks while we adjusted to parenthood. It was a special time and I'm so grateful for her support.

My parents are older grandparents, but I had kids at the right time for me

After the birth of our son, my other siblings ended up giving Mom more grandchildren — she now has seven in total. While she loves them all dearly, she struggles to keep up with them physically, especially the younger ones. She's now 76 and often says she wishes we hadn't waited to have kids so late because now she's an older grandparent.

Being an older grandparent means Mom doesn't have the energy she once had. She loves spending time with our kids and will happily read a book to our toddler or play chess with our nine-year-old son. But she can no longer leap around in the pool with them or hike up mountains with us, and at times, that does make me sad.

Everyone has a different idea of how they want their life to look, and for me, 30 was the right time to become a mother. Instead of focusing on the fact that my parents are getting older and the limitations their age places on them as grandparents, I'm trying to enjoy the time we do have together. The most important thing to me is to make memories that will sustain us for the long haul. We will cherish those forever.

• Gale Sinatra, a USC professor, lost her home in the Eaton fire in Altadena, California.
• She and her husband evacuated before the evacuation order after a neighbor warned them they should.
• In the days afterward, she struggled to acquire medications and direct mail from loved ones.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gale Sinatra, Ph.D., a professor at USC Rossier School of Education, based in Altadena, California. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

My husband and I lost our home, neighborhood, and community in Altadena to the Eaton Fire.

I've been asked, "How are you doing?" and that question is hard to answer. It's been a very heart-wrenching week.

I didn't just lose my home, but my neighborhood is gone. It's such a massive loss that it's difficult to wrap your head around.

We had no idea it was coming

The Eaton Fire was completely unexpected. In 2020, a wildfire threatened our neighborhood, and I packed suitcases with clothes, documents, and family and wedding photos. I felt fully prepared. I know how to react to the threat of Southern California wildfires.

The Eaton Fire started at about 6:15 p.m. on January 7, when a resident saw an electrical tower on fire. There was a strong wind advisory, and we lost power.

At 7:30 p.m., my husband and I were playing cribbage at the kitchen table, lit by a camp light. I looked up and saw my neighbor running across the street with a flashlight and thought, "That can't be good." When he reached our home, he asked if I had looked up at the mountain near us. I hadn't. He said, "It doesn't look good. We're leaving, and I think you should, too."

Being 40 miles across Los Angeles, the Palisades fire was not a threat to us, and there were no evacuation orders near our neighborhood at that time.

I grabbed as much as I could but forgot a few important things

We walked through our house using the flashlight feature on our phones to see what was in front of us. It's easy to look back and think, "Why didn't I pack my house title?" but when you're panicking and trying to get out as fast as you can, it's a feat to have packed anything.

I grabbed clothes, our passports, my makeup bag, and other necessities for an overnight trip. I thought the fire would stay in the mountains, which wildfires have always done.

What began as a structure fire spread to over 200 acres in 75 minutes. About 30 minutes after we left, our neighborhood was under an evacuation order. By midnight, the fire had reached 1,000 acres.

I forgot to grab my medications and could not contact our local independent pharmacy. I heard rumors that it burned down, which seemed probable, considering nobody was manning the phones.

I had to call my doctors to re-send the scripts to an open pharmacy, but I had just refilled my medications the week before, so there was pushback from my insurance. Once the prescriptions were finally approved, the CVS Pharmacy my doctor sent them to didn't have electricity and could not fill them. I found another CVS Pharmacy with power, and they told me it had been refilled at the CVS without power.

When we finally could refill our prescriptions, we found out our local pharmacy had not burned but was out of power and inaccessible by staff.

The insurance process that comes next is daunting

On the morning of January 9, I watched in horror as CNN broadcast live from my street. It looked like a bomb had hit it. My home was completely gone, along with so many others.

When you lose your home, there are a thousand things to do to start the process with your insurance company, obtain lost documents and paperwork, find new housing, tend to your physiological needs, and get back to your life. Refilling our medications was just one thing on our towering to-do list, and that single task took days to complete.

To submit claims to my insurance, I need to provide documents such as my home title, which I didn't collect while running out of my house. Where will documents and paperwork be sent since my home and our local post office have burned down?

I don't know where to direct my loved ones who want to help

I have very caring friends who would like to send me essentials, such as clothes, but I have no address to provide them. I have applied to reroute our mail to a post office in Pasadena, but I don't know how long it will take.

Thankfully, a colleague of mine has an ADU unit we could stay in for a few days. We're looking for permanent housing in the area, and while there are many helpful resources to help those impacted find temporary housing, it feels like we are on our own for long-term leases. It will be a long road ahead.

For those looking to help, donating to the community is very appreciated. I've been impressed with World Central Kitchen, which also needs donations. There are many local resources for our community, and donations, especially monetary, go a long way.

• Companies are offering support to their employees and others affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.
• The deadly flames have burned thousands of acres and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing.
• From planning a benefit concert to serving free Happy Meals, here's what companies are doing.

The wildfires in Los Angeles have claimed 24 lives as of Thursday, burned thousands of acres and homes, and sent hundreds of thousands of people looking for shelter.

The disaster has prompted many major companies to adjust their operations — and donate to relief efforts.

Here is a roundup of the actions that major businesses are taking in the wake of the fires.

Amazon

Amazon is donating $10 million in fire relief efforts in the Los Angeles area, the company said on Monday. The funding will come from Amazon's entertainment division, which includes Amazon MGM Studios, as well as Ring and Whole Foods Market.

Among Amazon's donations so far are respirators and gloves for clean-up efforts to the American Red Cross, as well as food donations from Amazon Fresh to local groups feeding fire victims.

Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday that the company would "be donating to support the victims and recovery efforts on the ground" in a post on X.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the size or other details of the donation.

Comcast NBCUniversal

Comcast NBCUniversal donated $10 million to relief efforts, the company announced Monday. Benefiting organizations included the American Red Cross, the Entertainment Industry Foundation SoCal Fire Fund, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles.

"We stand ready to support our employees and the broader Los Angeles community as we recover and rebuild from these tragic events," Comcast chair Brian Roberts said in a statement.

Disney

Hundreds of Disney employees, including CEO Robert Iger, had been evacuated from their homes as of Monday, while 64 had lost their houses, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. Disney has approved $15 million for "community services and rebuilding efforts," the Times reported.

Disney's movie production, however, hasn't slowed down, the Times reported. The company's movie operations in Burbank are far enough from the fires. Lots for Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Netflix, and other entertainment providers are also not currently threatened by the fires.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Google

Google and its philanthropic division "are supporting relief and recovery efforts with grant funding and an internal giving campaign for employee donations and company gift match," the company said in a post on Thursday.

The tech company also said it was providing details about the fires, such as the boundaries of affected areas, on Google Maps. It was also working with the Hotel Association of Los Angeles so that search engine users affected by the fires could find free or discounted places to stay.

Live Nation

Entertainment company Live Nation is planning a benefit concert called "FireAid" for January 30 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, Variety reported on Friday.

While the performer lineup is not public yet, proceeds from the concert will go to rebuilding and supporting victims as well as preparing for future fires, according to Variety.

Live Nation didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

Mattel

El Segundo, California-based Mattel said in an Instagram post on Sunday that it would support nonprofits doing relief work for the fires through the Mattel Children's Foundation.

"Our thoughts are with all who are suffering during this unprecedented crisis in our headquarter city," the post reads.

McDonald's

McDonald's restaurants in Southern California are giving out free Happy Meals to first responders and people who have had to leave their homes, according to a website that the chain set up for the offer. The deal is good through Thursday, and patrons have to use the McDonald's app to order.

Paramount

Paramount is donating $1 million to organizations that support firefighting and relief efforts, per an internal memo sent out by its co-CEOs on Friday and obtained by Business Insider.

The company is providing support for impacted employees in the form of cash grants via its Employee Assistance Fund (EAF), as well as offering lodging and temporary housing.

Paramount will also match all employee donations to charities, including the EAF, wrote co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins.

Netflix

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos announced that the disaster had impacted "many" of its employees and creative partners.

As a result, Netflix is donating $10 million to five organizations: the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, California Community Fund Wildfire Recovery Fund, World Central Kitchen, Motion Picture and Television Fund, and Entertainment Community Fund.

It's also assisting impacted employees with temporary housing and double-matching all employee charity contributions, Sarandos said.

Snap

Snap founder Evan Siegel — who grew up in the now-fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades — posted a love letter to Los Angeles Monday, sharing that his father's house had "burned to the ground on live TV."

He also said more than 150 Snap employees had been displaced by the fires.

"Snap, Bobby, and I have already disbursed $5 million in immediate aid," Spiegel wrote, referring to cofounder and CTO Bobby Murphy, "and we will do more." He added that the company was helping to feed evacuees and first responders and offering free space.

Starbucks

Starbucks is "temporarily offering catastrophe pay for any missed shifts" to employees whose stores are open but have been displaced due to the fire, the coffee chain told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Starbucks didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

• A United Airlines plane hit a coyote during departure, the FAA and the airline confirmed.
• The Boeing 737 Max turned back to Chicago and landed 40 minutes after departing.
• The probability of wildlife strikes has risen "dramatically" in recent years due to quieter planes.

A United Airlines plane embarked on a 40-minute flight to nowhere after hitting a coyote on the runway.

On Monday, the Boeing 737 Max was taking off from Chicago O'Hare Airport, bound for Phoenix, when the incident occurred.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the aircraft "struck a coyote on departure." It added that the plane's right nose gear was damaged.

It was classified as minor damage, per the FAA's notice.

United confirmed the incident to Business Insider, saying the plane, operating as Flight 1727, "safely returned to Chicago O'Hare International Airport to examine the aircraft after its landing gear struck a coyote during takeoff."

The plane had 167 passengers and six crew on board, United said. There were no injuries reported.

Data from Flightradar24 shows that the plane took off normally, climbing to around 6,000 feet before U-turning.

It looped around twice before landing back in Chicago about 40 minutes after taking off.

Audio recordings archived by LiveATC.net show air traffic control confirming to the pilots that equipment was standing by to inspect the aircraft upon landing.

The incident wasn't too disruptive for the airline as the same 737 Max took off again four hours later, per Flightradar24.

The Chicago Department of Aviation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Airports have wildlife management plans because animals can pose risks to aircraft — although birds are usually the main concern.

The FAA says the probability of wildlife strikes has "increased dramatically" in recent years, not only due to increased animal populations but also because newer planes have much quieter engines.

• Americans face potential tax bill changes as Trump's 2017 tax package is set to expire this year.
• The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered rates and shifted brackets for filers.
• Republicans plan to prioritize tax policy, aiming to extend cuts and reduce other taxes.

Americans could see their tax bill change next year as a legislative battle looms.

Many provisions from President-elect Donald Trump's major tax package from his first term, 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, are set to expire this year. The legislation lowered tax rates for many Americans and shifted tax brackets. For many everyday Americans, TCJA's expiration would mean the possibility of a larger tax bill — the Tax Foundation estimates that 62% of filers would see a tax increase should TCJA expire.

With the GOP controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, however, it's likely that the bulk of the law will be extended.

"President Trump is committed to lowering the tax burden on the American people who elected him in November with an overwhelming mandate to Make America Wealthy Again," Karoline Leavitt, a Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman, said in a statement to Business Insider. "The Trump Administration will be dedicated to ensuring that American workers keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets while growing the strongest and most resilient economy the world has ever seen."

To determine the potential tax impacts for Americans, we used the Tax Foundation's projections of what tax rates and brackets would be for single filers in 2026 under a TCJA extension and under a TCJA expiration scenario.

TCJA also impacts the deductions that filers can claim on their taxes, but, since those are often determined on an individual basis based on varying circumstances — such as having a child or business — they are not included in these calculations, which cover taxable income after any such deductions and adjustments.

Higher earners would end up with the biggest tax increases if TCJA expires. For instance, an American with $1 million of taxable income would see their tax burden grow by over $12,000 should TCJA provisions expire.

But the tax bills of Americans in the middle income band would see the highest percent increase should TCJA expire. For instance, a filer with $50,000 of taxable income would see their tax burden increase by nearly 20%; comparatively, a filer making $700,000 would see their tax burden grow by just around 2%.

Of course, this doesn't tell the whole tax story. Measures like the Child Tax Credit were expanded under TCJA, meaning that, should the bill expire, parents would owe more or get a smaller refund.

The TCJA also capped how much filers could deduct for paying hefty local taxes. For Americans in high-tax areas, which includes states like New York and New Jersey, the State and Local Tax deduction cap expiring could mean a bigger break on their taxes.

"The change in the tax brackets is only a small part of the story of the TCJA," Ernie Tedeschi, Yale Budget Lab's director of economics, told BI. "Most of the story is actually in the law's changes to deductions, exemptions, and credits."

Republicans are already lining up to tackle tax policy as one of their major priorities once they hold their House, Senate, and White House trifecta. The GOP may go even further than merely extending the TCJA's cuts through proposals from Trump to nix taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security.

But slim Republican congressional majorities will likely mean that any tax changes could be contentious, although Republicans are gearing up for the fight. Rep. Jason Smith, the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in his weekly report that he's been working closely with Trump on a bill.

"Passing one big, beautiful bill is the best way to ensure as much as possible of President Trump's agenda is enacted," Smith said. "In one fell swoop, we can secure the border, unleash American energy, and deliver tax relief to workers, families, farmers, and small businesses. These are the policies the American people are demanding. Now it's up to Congress to deliver."

Are you concerned about your tax bill changing, or did it change in the wake of 2017? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• Some companies are calling employees back to the office and hiring for in-person roles.
• But many Americans continue to work at least part of the week from home.
• Some workers could retain their flexible work arrangements but struggle to find a new remote role.

Americans who want to keep their work-from-home arrangements may need to cling to their current jobs.

Corporate giants like Amazon, AT&T, and JPMorgan have notified employees they must return to the office five days a week this year. This comes as the share of remote and hybrid postings on job platforms has ticked down in recent years — which has made landing one of these roles more difficult.

As of November, the share of remote and hybrid job postings on Indeed had declined to 7.8% from over 10% in 2022. On LinkedIn, the share of remote or hybrid postings had declined to roughly 21% as of December, down from 26% two years prior.

But remote and hybrid work hasn't faded away. In December, roughly 23% of US workers worked from home at least part of the time, up from about 19% two years prior, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, about 10% worked completely from home.

"We keep hearing stories that 'work-from-home is over,' and while yes it is true for some firms, others must be doing the reverse," Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist and cofounder of the remote work research website WFH Research, told Business Insider. Bloom's research shows that the share of paid full days worked from home in the US has been fairly steady over the past two years — fluctuating between roughly 25% and 30%.

Bloom and other economists told BI that the divide between remote/hybrid job postings and work-from-home rates suggests that some employers could be prioritizing in-person hires while letting some of their existing employees continue working more flexibly. They said this strategy could allow companies to boost their in-office attendance without drawing the ire of employees who've grown used to a remote or hybrid arrangement.

"We know that companies frequently make exceptions to return-to-office mandates for employees to avoid losing them, so policy changes might affect new hires more than incumbent employees," Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told BI.

This approach would allow workers to retain their flexible work arrangements — but make it more difficult for them to snag a remote or hybrid role at another company, Kory Kantenga, head of economics, Americas, at LinkedIn's Economic Graph Research Institute told BI.

"If you already have a job and you are grandfathered into this flexible work, you're maintaining it in a lot of cases," Kantenga said. "Companies are using those new positions to roll that flexible work back a little bit, but they're not necessarily rolling it back for the workers who already have it."

Why remote work could stick around

Even if more businesses prioritize in-person hiring, it could take a while for work-from-home rates to fall significantly, said Lisa Simon, chief economist at Revelio Labs. That's because hiring, layoffs, and quits have slowed, which means that "very few people have actually changed jobs in the last two years" and businesses haven't added many new workers who would be subject to recent RTO mandates, Simon told BI.

However, the modest share of available remote/hybrid jobs could be somewhat misleading. Simon said that a slowdown in hiring for white-collar roles — where flexible working arrangements are more common — could be pushing down remote/hybrid job postings.

Additionally, Bloom said some companies might not want to commit to a flexible working arrangement in the job posting, but could ultimately allow the employee to work from home at least some of the time.

"They don't want to repeat the 2021 mistake of promising generous work-from-home only to have to painfully reverse this later," he said. Bloom added that for some roles — like university professors — working from home on days when they don't have classes is a norm of the job. However, a job posting might not classify this position as remote or hybrid.

Pollak said remote/hybrid roles are generally underrepresented in job postings because they tend to have lower turnover than the typical in-person job.

"A hotel may replace its entire staff of janitors three times a year, but only replace its remote customer support staff every two years," she said.

Has your employer asked you to work from the office more days a week? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

• Justin Baldoni sued the New York Times for its story about Blake Lively's complaint against him.
• He alleges that the paper took his publicists' quotes out of context and omitted an emoji.
• Experts say emojis can change the meaning of a statement, and that Baldoni might have a point.

As the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni ramps up, one of the most contested points may involve an emoji.

In his lawsuit against the New York Times, Baldoni said the paper failed to include an upside-down smile emoji — which is used to convey sarcasm or silliness — in a quote, effectively changing the meaning.

The Times quoted Jennifer Abel, one of his publicists, as saying "Wow. You really outdid yourself with this piece" to Melissa Nathan, a crisis management expert. Read at face value, it would appear that Abel is congratulating Nathan for contributing to a Daily Mail story critical of Lively.

However, Baldoni said that the upside-down emoji at the end indicated that Abel was being sarcastic and therefore changed the meaning of the text.

He raises an interesting question about modern communication, Dr. Monica Riordan, a computer-mediated communication professor at Chatham University, told Business Insider.

"I would argue that the inclusion of that emoji is actually very important," Riordan said. "You can't just remove an emoji from a message and indicate that the message contains the same meaning."

Others disagree, arguing that the emoji omission won't be enough to help Baldoni's case.

Emojis make up for a lack of body language

Emojis originated in Japan in the late '90s as a set of pixelated images created for an early mobile internet platform. By 2011, Apple introduced an emoji keyboard on iPhones and has regularly replenished it with new ones.

As communication has become more reliant on digital media, from texting close friends to messaging online dates, emojis have become crucial for filling in the blanks for what we don't see.

"Emojis have similar functions to body language and spoken interaction in the digital space," Vyvyan Evans, a linguist and author of "The Emoji Code," told BI. As with IRL body language, he said emojis are often used to establish tone.

Evans compared the upside-down smiley emoji to rolling one's eyes or shrugging in real life. Because tone of voice and facial expressions can drastically change the meaning of a phrase, emojis can, too.

"If an emoji is removed, it's not just that it impacts the tone, it's changing the meaning in a substantive way," he said.

Emojis are more complicated than tone of voice

Unlike smiling or frowning, which have more universally agreed-upon meanings, emojis are more up to interpretation, Riordan said. How people use emojis can differ by generation, for example.

It gets even thornier when analyzing a relationship between two people who may have their own shared language. It's common to develop some norms around emoji use that maybe people outside that relationship might not actually understand or may misinterpret," she said.

Not everyone uses the upside-down emoji the same way — some mean it to be ironic, others to denote frustration or painful acceptance.

It makes analyzing emojis in texts all the more challenging. Riordan said there are "perils" to wading through so many layers of communication to analyze a person's intent. It gets even hazier when the emoji is cut from a quote.

It likely won't be enough to help Baldoni's case

Sean Andrade, a Los Angeles lawyer who's represented plaintiffs in libel cases, previously told BI that the Times removing context such as emojis would be "a little unethical." Still, he believes it won't be enough to disprove that Baldoni's team engaged in a smear campaign against Lively.

Riordan said Baldoni can make an argument for the emoji changing the meaning of the message, but would likely "have a difficult time proving intent." Not everyone views emojis as necessary to quote.

However the case pans out, Evans said it brings up an important point for journalists: it can be "very dangerous" from an ethical and legal standpoint to omit emojis that could dramatically change the interpretation of a quote.

"The communicative intent is what is important," he said. "Without the other relevant elements, you're changing that and misreporting," whether a journalist means to or not.