• I'm a mom of four, and screens are integral to our lives.
• When the weather is nice, my kids naturally migrate outdoors, and we hike and swim.
• I see older people complaining about kids being on screens and also about kids being in public spaces.

As a family that has chosen to embrace technology and raise tech-savvy kids, screens are an integral part of our everyday family life. From the Skylight calendar in our kitchen that helps me manage the schedules of four busy kids to the smartphones my adolescents now possess, we see how technology improves our lives. We are just as apt to spend an afternoon working on the family Minecraft world as we are to play a board game (though we love those too).

However, as soon as the weather breaks, my kids naturally migrate outdoors. We love to bike, hike, swim, and camp — and warmer temps typically mean my kids naturally reduce screen time.

Recently, though, I have been frustrated by the mixed messages society sends us moms. Like most nosy neighbors, I am in all of our community's local groups. I see posts by older generations bemoaning the techy life my kids are living. "Get them off of screens and outdoors!" they lament.

But the second the weather breaks, those posts shift from screeds against screens to rants about children playing in public spaces.

The freedom my kids have has been earned

We live in a walkable, safe community where our adolescents enjoy freedom. Since toddlerhood, we've taught our children how to cross a road, pay at stores and restaurants, and be respectful of others in our community—from picking up their trash to not trampling someone's flowers. The freedom our kids now have was earned.

In addition, our town feels like the type of place older relatives reminisce about. My kids literally know to bike home when the street lights come on, like in a 1950s sitcom. That's why I am surprised so many adults seem uncomfortable with kids on the loose.

In general, I am not concerned about my kids' safety in our tiny Pittsburgh borough, but I am worried about others' judgment. I worry more about someone reporting my kids to the authorities when they are exercising the freedom we've given them than about anything bad befalling them.

I worry about what other people are going to say or do if they are out alone

I worry that when I send my 13-year-old off on his bike to head to Boy Scouts, someone will criticize me for not biking with him (or driving him). I worry that my 11-year-old twins will receive a noise complaint while playing basketball in the alley until sunset with neighbor kids, because it has already happened once. I was nearby, just on the other side of a fence, and heard nothing but the joyous laughter of happy kids on a summer evening.

I am still unsure why that was so bothersome to some anonymous neighbor. Still, I imagine them furiously typing up a Nextdoor post about how they never see kids playing outdoors anymore.

It feels both ironic and cruel.

I feel like I'm on an impossible tightrope

It's a common refrain: Today's kids are too lazy, too entitled, and don't want to work. At the same time, when my kids go door-to-door asking to shovel walks for a few bucks, people are scared to open their door. I worry that someone will reprimand me for sending my child to pick up milk at the corner store so I can finish cooking dinner. It feels like an impossible tightrope.

How are we parents supposed to raise independent kids in a world that decries our attempts? How can we get them off the screens and outside to play while somehow keeping them endlessly in our sight?

To those not currently parenting, I only ask for one thing: grace. Grace to raise these little humans as best we can in a rapidly changing world. Grace to raise up adults who appreciate a lazy gaming day just as much as they appreciate a good day of yard work. Grace that you were given in a world that was smaller and more insular — and yet really not that different from the neighborhood my kids are learning to be adults in.

• Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth said smart glasses won't replace smartphones just yet.
• Bosworth said people are still used to using their smartphones because they are convenient.
• He said Apple made a "rookie mistake" with the Vision Pro when they made it too heavy to wear.

Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth said he doesn't think smart glasses will be able to replace smartphones in the near future.

"That's ways off. Smartphones are incredible and it's not just they are great devices and they are convenient. We are used to them," he said during an interview at the Bloomberg Tech summit in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Bosworth said that smartphones benefit from having an "incredibly entangled ecosystem of software connected to the rest of the world around us." This makes it slower and harder for people to switch over to smart glasses, he added.

"So I think that will take a longer journey. The good news is they work really well in concerts," he said.

Bosworth praised Apple's Vision Pro headset during his interview with Bloomberg, but said the company made a "rookie mistake" when they made the device too heavy to wear.

"So from an engineering standpoint, it's wonderful and congratulations to that team. From a product standpoint, you can tell it's their first offering in the space," he said.

"First generation products are hard. It's not until the second or third generation that you really figure out and hone the thing, and they made a lot of mistakes in that in terms of weight and where the weight was," he continued.

Bosworth isn't the only Meta executive who thinks smartphones won't be displaced by smart glasses. The social media giant's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said in a podcast with The Verge in September that he didn't think "people are getting rid of phones anytime soon."

"It's not like we're going to throw away our phones, but I think what's going to happen is that, slowly, we're just going to start doing more things with our glasses and leaving our phones in our pockets more," Zuckerberg said.

In January, Zuckerberg said during Meta's earnings that 2025 will be a "defining year" to see whether smart glasses will become "the next computing platform" or if it is "just going to be a longer grind."

"Our Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses are a real hit, and this will be the year when we understand the trajectory for AI glasses as a category. Many breakout products in the history of consumer electronics have sold 5-10 million units in their third generation," Zuckerberg said.

EssilorLuxottica, which produces the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, said in February that it has sold 2 million pairs of the glasses since 2023. EssilorLuxottica's CEO and chairman, Francesco Milleri said the company is targeting to produce 10 million smart glasses for Meta every year by the end of 2026.

• For the past 70 years, Gallup has measured US presidents' approval ratings.
• Bill Clinton had the highest approval ratings at the time he left the Oval Office.
• Donald Trump's first-term rating is tied for eighth place with George W. Bush's and Jimmy Carter's.

President Donald Trump is seeking to rewrite US immigration policies, has reshaped how world leaders use social media, and has made historic changes to the federal workforce.

But in his first term, he made history in a way he may wish to forget: He was the first president since Gallup began tracking presidential job approval in the 1930s to fail to exceed a 50% approval rating at any point during his term.

In Gallup's latest poll, conducted during the first half of May, 43% of respondents said they approved of Trump's performance, down from 47% in polling conducted during the first six days of his second term in January.

In the recent poll, 53% said they disapproved of his handling of the presidency. This number has held steady since March, a month rocked by leaked Signal chats and the economic shake-up of tariff policies. (A handful of people in each poll said they had no opinion of Trump's job performance.)

For nearly a century, the polls have been used to measure the public's perception of US presidents' performance, with Gallup asking Americans: "Do you approve or disapprove of the way [the current president] is handling his job as president?"

The American Presidency Project from the University of California, Santa Barbara, compiled the final Gallup ratings of each president's term from the past 70 years, signaling how popular each leader was when they left the Oval Office.

See how US presidents from Harry Truman to Joe Biden rank in this end-of-term polling. We've ordered them from the lowest approval rating to the highest.

Richard Nixon

Approval rating: 24%

Even though Nixon won the 1972 election in a historic landslide, the end of his presidency was tainted by the Watergate scandal that led him to resign on August 9, 1974, when faced with the threat of an impeachment and removal.

Surveyed August 2 to 5, 1974, after the House Judiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment against the president but before he resigned, 66% of respondents to the Gallup poll said they disapproved of Nixon's presidency, the highest of any president on the list.

Harry S. Truman

Approval rating: 32%

Assuming the presidency after Franklin D. Roosevelt's death, Truman served two terms covering the aftermath of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, including the Korean War, which was widely unpopular and contributed to Truman's low approval rating by the end of his second term in 1953.

When asked December 11 to 16, 1952, 56% of poll respondents said they disapproved of his handling of the presidency.

Jimmy Carter

Approval rating: 34%

Carter had high approval ratings — and a disapproval rating in the single digits — during the early days of his term, but his handling of international affairs, such as the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, along with a struggling economy, ultimately made him unpopular by the end of his term.

He lost the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan and faced a disapproval rating of 55% in polling conducted December 5 to 8, when he was readying to leave the White House.

George W. Bush

Approval rating: 34%

Despite uniting the nation in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Bush saw his public approval fade during his second term. His approval rating spiked after the 2001 terrorist attacks, the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003, and the capture of Saddam Hussein.

After his reelection, his popularity began to decline as the Iraq War extended. His handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the onset of the 2008 financial crisis also contributed to his growing unpopularity.

From January 9 to 11, 2009, as Bush prepared to hand over the presidency to Barack Obama, 61% of poll respondents said they disapproved of his handling of the presidency.

Donald Trump

Approval rating: 34%

Trump's presidency was divisive from the start, as he entered the White House with an approval rating below 50%. He's the first president in modern history to never exceed 50% approval on the Gallup polls during his presidency.

While his approval ratings dwindled over the course of his four years in office, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in particular came under scrutiny ahead of his loss in the 2020 election. His lowest approval ratings in office came during the final Gallup poll, conducted January 4 to 15, 2021.

Most of that polling period took place immediately after the Capitol insurrection on January 6, and Trump faced a disapproval rating of 62%, the worst after Richard Nixon's at the time he left the office.

Joe Biden

Approval rating: 40%

While Biden saw continuous approval ratings over 50% during his first six months in office, rises in inflation and illegal immigration, as well as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, contributed to lowering approval ratings.

His lowest-ranking Gallup poll, in which 36% of respondents said they approved of his handling of the role, came in July 2024, a month after his debate performance against Trump shifted focus toward his age and fitness for office.

As he left office, in polls collected January 2 to 16, 2025, Biden received a disapproval rating of 54%.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Approval rating: 49%

After assuming the presidency because of John F. Kennedy's assassination, Johnson won the 1964 election in a historic landslide, but he faced decreasing approval ratings over his handling of the Vietnam War.

Low approval ratings, along with a divided party, led Johnson to withdraw from the presidential race in 1968. At the time of his withdrawal, 36% of poll respondents said they approved of his handling of the presidency.

By the time he left the office, however, his ratings had gone up to 49% approval. In polling conducted January 1 to 6, 1969, 37% of respondents said they disapproved of his handling of the role, and 14% said they had no opinion, one of the higher percentages among the listed presidents.

Gerald Ford

Approval rating: 53%

Assuming the presidency at the time of Nixon's resignation, Ford served as US president from August 1974 until January 1977, after he lost the election to Jimmy Carter.

During his presidency, Ford faced mixed reviews, with his approval dropping after he pardoned Nixon and introduced conditional amnesty for draft dodgers in September 1974.

Polled December 10 to 13, 1976, after he had lost the reelection to Jimmy Carter, 32% of respondents said they disapproved of Ford's handling of the presidency, and 15% said they had no opinion on it, the highest percentage of the listed presidents.

George H. W. Bush

Approval rating: 56%

Though the elder Bush lost his reelection bid in the 1992 presidential election against Bill Clinton, the public opinion of him was positive by the end of his term.

In the weeks before his nomination as the Republican candidate for the presidency in 1992, however, he had only a 29% approval rating, the lowest of his presidency. A recession and a reversal of his tax policy contributed to his drop in popularity.

In polling conducted January 8 to 11, 1993, 37% of respondents said they disapproved of his handling of the presidency, while 56% said they approved.

Barack Obama

Approval rating: 59%

Since the beginning of his presidency in 2009, Obama had a high approval rating for a modern-day president; he averaged nearly 47% approval over eight years.

At his lowest point, in polling conducted September 8 to 11, 2011, 37% of poll respondents said they approved of his presidency, the decline most likely influenced by the president's healthcare policies and his handling of the 2008 economic crisis and the following rise in unemployment rates.

In polls conducted January 17 to 19, 2017, when Obama was leaving office, 37% of respondents said they disapproved of his handling of the role, with 59% saying they approved.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Approval rating: 59%

After winning the 1952 election in a landslide, Eisenhower saw high approval ratings throughout his presidency, never dropping below the disapproval rating.

Holding office during critical Cold War years, Eisenhower saw his stay positive throughout the end of his second term, with only 28% of respondents polled December 8 to 13, 1960, saying they disapproved of his handling of the presidency, the lowest of the presidents listed.

Ronald Reagan

Approval rating: 63%

Reagan's strong leadership toward ending the Cold War and implementing his economic policies contributed to consistently positive ratings during his presidency and the subsequent election of his vice president, George H. W. Bush, as his successor to the presidency.

By the time he left office, 29% of respondents in a Gallup poll conducted December 27 to 29, 1988, said they disapproved of his handling of the presidency.

Bill Clinton

Approval rating: 66%

After winning the 1992 elections against the incumbent George H. W. Bush, Clinton saw high approval ratings throughout his presidency, though he faced mixed opinions at times during his first term because of his domestic agenda, including tax policy and social issues.

Despite being impeached in 1998 by the House of Representatives over his testimony describing the nature of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, Clinton continued to see positive approval ratings during his second term.

Near the time he left the White House, he had an approval rating of 66%, the highest of all the presidents on this list. In the poll conducted January 10 to 14, 2001, 29% of respondents said they disapproved of his handling of the presidency.

• Vice President JD Vance has shared his thoughts on the public fallout between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.
• Speaking to podcaster Theo Von, Vance said it was a "huge mistake" for Musk to "go after the president."
• Musk and Trump have been trading jabs this week after the Tesla CEO criticized Trump's spending bill.

Now entering the ring: Vice President JD Vance.

Appearing on an episode of "This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von," the vice president weighed in on the public feud that erupted this week between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.

Musk and Trump became embroiled in the spat after the Tesla CEO called Trump's "big, beautiful" spending bill a "disgusting abomination" on Tuesday.

"I think it's a huge mistake for him to go after the president like that," Vance told podcast host Theo Von in the interview, which was recorded Thursday and released Saturday. Vance had posted to X about recording the podcast on Thursday, as the pair's row was escalating, saying, "Slow news day, what are we even going to talk about?"

"Elon's entitled to his opinion," Vance told Von in the episode.

"I'm not saying he has to agree with the bill or agree with everything that I'm saying, I just think it's a huge mistake for the world's wealthiest man, I think one of the most transformational entrepreneurs ever — that's Elon — to be at this war with the world's most powerful man," he continued.

Vance, who said Trump had been getting "a little frustrated" with Musk's recent criticism of him, added that he believed a feud between the pair would be "bad for the country" and that he hoped Musk "figures it out" and "comes back into the fold."

While Trump appeared to be holding his tongue about Musk's criticisms at first, he hit back Thursday during a White House event to welcome German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot," Trump said.

"He knew every aspect of this bill — better than almost anybody —and he never had a problem until right after he left," he added, referencing Musk's recent announcement that he was stepping back from his role in the president's administration.

Musk then unleashed a whirlwind of X posts directed at the president, saying Trump would have lost the election without his help and accusing him of "ingratitude."

The fallout grew progressively uglier, with Trump threatening to cut Musk's government contracts.

The pair, who became close allies after Musk endorsed Trump's reelection last year, continued to trade barbs until Friday evening, when their tones appeared to soften.

The White House rapid response account posted a clip on X of Trump speaking on Air Force One, saying he wished Musk well.

"Likewise," Musk replied late Friday night.

• These 10 celebrities made it to 100 years old and have tips on how they did it.
• Staying mentally and physically active can contribute to making it to triple digits.
• George Burns took brisk walks and avoided stress; Jimmy Carter credited marrying "the best spouse."

You might expect all Hollywood stars to have outlandish health and wellness routines, but these 10 celebrity centenarians kept it surprisingly simple.

Living to 100 is rare, but those who do tend to have some things in common. Scientists who study aging say that genes play a role in how long a person will live, but lifestyle factors, including diet, exercise, stress, and social connections, play a larger one.

From Jimmy Carter to the Queen Mother, here's what famous people who lived to 100 credit their longevity to.

Norman Lear

Iconic screenwriter and producer Norman Lear, who died in December 2023 at the age of 101, said that work (and loving his job) is what kept him going.

"Some people run. I don't run. I wake up and do the things that please me. That's my present to myself. That's my prayer. That's everything," he told USA Today as he turned 100 in 2022.

He reiterated this in a chat with the Los Angeles Times in 2020. "When I go to sleep at night," he said, "I have something that I'm thinking. Among other things, it's about something I'm doing tomorrow." He added, "So today is over, and we're on to the next."

There's evidence to suggest that delaying retirement could add years to your life. A 2015 study that followed 83,000 adults over 65 for 15 years, published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, found that, compared with people who retired, people who worked past age 65 were about three times more likely to report being in good health.

Jimmy Carter

The 39th president lived to be 100, dying in December 2024, almost three months after his landmark birthday.

He credited one person with helping him live that long: his wife, Rosalynn. They were married for 77 years before her death in 2023.

"It's hard to live until you're 95 years old," he told People in 2019. "I think the best explanation for that is to marry the best spouse: someone who will take care of you and engage and do things to challenge you, and keep you alive and interested in life," he said.

Research suggests that having strong social bonds can help you live longer. A 2021 meta-review published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that the link between social support and longevity is as strong as the link between not smoking and longevity.

Bob Hope

Bob Hope, known for his vaudeville, acting, comedy, and his hosting gig at the Academy Awards a record 19 times, died in July 2003, two months after his 100th birthday.

Back in the '80s, when he was a spry 78, he said he made sure to walk 2 miles every day, no matter where he was, per Men's Health.

He learned this lesson from his grandfather. "When he was 96 years old, he walked two miles to the local pub every day to get a drink. He died within a month of his 100th birthday, and he remained mentally sharp till the very end," said Hope.

There's science to back up their method. A 2024 study published in the British Journal of Sports Science analyzed health and mortality data from the 2019 US Census, the 2003—2006 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, and the National Center for Health Statistics. Using a mathematical model, the authors predicted that people who walk for around 160 minutes a day live an average of five years longer than their sedentary peers.

They speculated that if the least active Americans walked for an extra 111 minutes daily, they could live up to 11 years longer.

Dolores Hope

Bob Hope lived to be 100, but his wife, Dolores, managed to outlive him. She died in 2011 at the age of 102.

While Dolores didn't publicly share theories on how she made it to triple-digits, her daughters had their own ideas. Her oldest daughter, Linda (who's now in her 90s herself), told ABC7 in 2009: "Laugh a lot. Laughter is something that's been part of our lives, and I have to think that is a large part responsible for their happiness and for their long lives."

Olivia de Havilland

The "Gone with the Wind" star lived to be an impressive 104 years old. She died in July 2020.

De Havilland, in addition to crediting the "three Ls" (love, laughter, and light) with her longevity, told Vanity Fair in 2016 that she kept her mind sharp by doing The New York Times crossword every single day.

In a 2022 study published in the journal NEJM Evidence, 107 adults with mild cognitive impairment were asked to do an intensive program of web-based crossword puzzles or games for 12 weeks, followed by booster sessions up to 78 weeks. The authors found that 37% of participants in the crossword groups improved by two points on an Alzheimer's scale.

Kirk Douglas

The Hollywood icon and star of films such as "Spartacus" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" lived to 103. He died in February 2020.

Douglas wrote an essay for Newsweek in 2008, when he was 91, about growing old.

"Humor helps longevity," he wrote.

"Try to think of others, try to help them. You will be amazed how that lessens your depression. That satisfaction is priceless," he added. "The greatest dividend to old age is the discovery of the true meaning of love."

Gloria Stuart

Much like her "Titanic" character Rose, Stuart lived to become a centenarian, briefly. She turned 100 in July 2010 and died two months later.

As her 1999 memoir, "I Just Kept Hoping," suggests, Stuart used her career to fuel her into her old age. "I was driven then [in the 1930s], and I'm driven now," she told SF Gate at the time.

After Stuart's death in 2010, NPR host Ari Shapiro added, "Her daughter says that during her long life, her mother did not believe in illness. She paid no attention to it, and it served her well."

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

The Queen Mother died in 2002 at the age of 101. Clearly, longevity runs in the family, as her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, lived to be 96 before dying in September 2022.

The Queen Mother had some frank advice for living a long life.

In her official biography, she said, "'Wouldn't it be terrible if you'd spent all your life doing everything you were supposed to do, didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't eat things, took lots of exercise, and suddenly, one day, you were run over by a big red bus and, as the wheels were crunching into you, you'd say, 'Oh my God, I could have got so drunk last night.' That's the way you should live your life, as if tomorrow you'll be run over by a big red bus."

George Burns

The vaudeville star and comedian knew people would be curious about how to live to 100, so he decided to write the book "How To Live To Be 100 Or More."

Burns, who died in March 1996 at 100 years old, told UPI Hollywood, "You'll be happier and live longer if you find a job you love; that way you avoid stress. Never take stress to bed with you. Work on it in the morning."

He also confirmed that he did 45 minutes of exercise every day before taking a "brisk 15-minute walk around the neighborhood." He also had "two or three drinks a day" and always had a cigar close by (though, according to him, he never inhaled). He steered clear of cigarettes, however.

Being active is linked to living longer in better health. A 2022 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that of 99,713 participants aged 55 to 74, those who did regular aerobic exercise and strength training were 41% less likely to die from any cause in the seven to 10 years after.

"I don't believe a lot of this medical stuff. They say everything you eat and drink causes cancer. Don't pay too much attention to that," Burns added.

Eva Marie Saint

Saint, the oldest living and earliest surviving Oscar winner, will turn 101 in July 2025.

"I continue to take walks out in the fresh air, like watching baseball — especially the Los Angeles Dodgers, and enjoy time with my family and friends," she told People ahead of her 100th birthday last year.

A 2023 study published in BMC Medicine found that never being visited by friends and family was associated with a 39% increased risk of early death.

• I took a round-trip Amtrak journey from Manhattan to Rochester.
• I rode coach on the way there and business class on the way back.
• I don't think my $180 business-class ticket was worth it.

At the end of May, I took a quick break from the hustle and bustle of New York City to check out life upstate in Rochester, New York.

Rather than schlepping to the airport, I decided to try a more relaxing mode of transportation: an Amtrak train. I'm not an Amtrak newbie, but I'm used to shorter train trips. My journey to Rochester was scheduled to take seven hours, while the return was even longer at nine.

As I prepared to book my tickets, I thought about all the hype I've heard about business and first-class experiences, and I was curious if an upgrade would make the long ride more comfortable.

I purchased a coach ticket for my journey to Rochester and a business-class seat for my return trip to see which was better. Next time, I'll save the money and stick to coach.

I started my journey to Rochester bright and early at Penn Station.

I booked a coach seat on a 7:15 a.m. train from New York City to Rochester for $69.

I left my apartment in Brooklyn just before 6 a.m. on the Thursday morning my train was scheduled to leave, ensuring I would arrive at Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station with time to spare.

I sleepily got off the subway and made my way into Penn around 6:40, thrilled I had time to grab a coffee and a breakfast sandwich before I had to board.

As I sipped on my iced latte, that excitement faded. Amtrak delayed the Maple Leaf train I was set to board in ten-minute increments for the next hour. I ended up idling in the hall and checking the boards continually while I waited because I was afraid of missing an update.

I finally boarded the train at 8:10, my coffee dripping condensation on my hand as I lined up with the other coach passengers to get our tickets scanned.

Once I got on the train, I settled myself into a two-seater.

I easily found open rows of seats in the car at the front of the train, so I didn't have to sit with a stranger for the long journey.

I popped my roller bag on the shelf atop my seat, dropped my backpack into the chair closest to the aisle, and settled into a window seat.

Looking around the car, I estimated it was about 60% full. I saw other solo travelers, like me, taking two seats for themselves, and pairs of passengers sitting together. The car was mostly quiet, as people snoozed and shared hushed conversations.

The two seats had everything I needed, but the views weren't the best.

I loved having plenty of leg room since the bag was in the seat next to me. I even rested my legs on the empty seat for some of the ride.

The tray table was convenient, as I could use it to rest my Kindle or laptop, and I was grateful for the outlet right under the window.

I was excited to have a window seat to check out the New York landscape during the ride, but the views were a bit of a letdown because I was sitting on the right side of the train. I only caught glimpses of the Hudson River if I craned my neck to look at the window across from me.

I was far from the café car but didn't mind stretching my legs.

I spent my first few hours on the train catching up on some work on my laptop and listening to music in my seat.

I got up a few times to go to the restroom and fill up my water bottle, but I didn't venture out of my car until a little after noon when my grumbling stomach got too loud to ignore.

The café car was at the back of the train, so I walked through several cars to find it. It was nice to have a reason to move my legs after four hours of sitting in the same position, and I liked peeking at the other cars, walking past groups of people dining at the handful of tables in the café car.

I quickly ordered a $9.50 Caesar salad and a $2.50 bag of chips. Because the café was in the caboose, it was bumpier than the rest of the train, so I held onto a railing in the car while I waited for my food.

Little did I know, those bumps would be a harbinger of what was to come on my return journey.

I had a row to myself for the entirety of the ride.

The rest of my trip was uneventful and peaceful. My car stayed pretty quiet throughout the journey, and even as people got on and off, it never got too crowded, so I was able to keep my row to myself.

I spent the afternoon binge-watching "Sirens" on Netflix, and before I knew it, I was arriving in Rochester.

Overall, my coach ride was pretty relaxing.

I upgraded to business class for my return trip to New York City.

A ticket on the Maple Leaf from Rochester to New York in business class cost me $180.

My business-class ticket included a larger reclined seat with a footrest, extra leg room, and a free non-alcoholic drink. An Amtrak representative also noted to Business Insider that business-class tickets are refundable, and purchases are eligible for a 25% point bonus for Amtrak Guest Rewards.

I arrived at the Louise M. Slaughter Rochester Station on Friday at 1 p.m. for my 1:30 p.m. train. When it was time to board, I found the business-class car at the back of the train, connected to the café.

There was only one seat left when I boarded the train.

The Maple Leaf starts its journey to New York from Toronto and makes stops in Niagara Falls and Buffalo before arriving in Rochester. The train's singular business-class car also only has six rows of seats, with one side featuring single seats rather than two next to each other. It wasn't a huge surprise that only one seat was open by the time I boarded.

The lone remaining seat at the front of the car was the accessible seat, so it didn't have a footrest or a traditional tray table. A conductor told me no one had reserved the seat for this trip, but I still felt ill at ease.

As I settled into the comfortable, singular seat, I noticed the car seemed louder than the coach car I had been sitting in during the journey there, likely because of its smaller size.

The location of the business-class car wasn't my favorite aspect of the ride.

Because the business-class car was in the caboose, it offered a noticeably bumpier ride than the coach car at the front of the train. My seat jostled more easily, and I felt a little nauseated when I looked at my phone screen for too long.

My seat was also right in front of the archway leading to the café, so I could hear everything happening there and in the smaller business-class area.

I was glad I had charged my AirPods ahead of the journey — and that Taylor Swift gave me an excuse to listen to "Speak Now" from start to finish the afternoon of my ride.

Things got a little quieter — and bumpier — when a free seat opened up at the back of the car.

After about an hour and a half, another single seat opened up at the very back of the car, so I gathered my belongings and relocated there.

The train was quieter when I moved because some passengers had gotten off and I wasn't as close to the café. I was happy for the lower volume, swapping my headphones for my Kindle so I could read.

I was also glad to have a back-of-seat tray table again and to use the footrest attached to the chair in front of me, which was particularly comfortable when I leaned my chair back a bit.

However, my new seat was even bumpier than the first chair. I don't usually sleep on transportation anyway, but I definitely wouldn't have been able to snooze with the jolts from the tracks.

The train had an extended stop in Albany, which made me miss my coach seat even more.

Around 6 p.m., the train rolled into the Amtrak station in Albany, and the conductor announced we would be stopping there until 7:40 so a train from Ontario could connect to ours. The café car closed a few minutes before the stop, and it wouldn't reopen until we were running again.

The extended stop was frustrating, as I was eager to get back to Manhattan. Plus, the lights and AC weren't on most of the stop, so it got hot and stuffy on board.

While we were stopped, most passengers got out to wander around the platform. I used the time to grab some food from a restaurant at the station.

After I ate a subpar chicken wrap, a bag of Skinny Pop, and a granola bar, I spent the rest of the hour walking back and forth across the platform.

I was happy to walk around after sitting for so long, but I would have liked to have the option to nap on a row of seats like I did on my journey to Rochester.

I had my free drink when the train resumed its journey.

Once the café car opened for the final leg of my journey back to New York, I popped over to grab a ginger ale as my complimentary beverage.

It was my only visit to the café during the ride, and I thought the beverage was a nice perk. I had to hold it still because the car was so bumpy, so I downed it quickly to free up my hands.

I also heard an announcement that the train was full after we departed Albany, which made me grateful for my solo business-class seat.

The views were my favorite part of the return journey.

I could see more of the New York scenery on my way back to Manhattan than I could on the journey to Rochester.

I saw quaint towns, stunning views of the Hudson River, and purple wildflowers lining the tracks. My eyes tracked a man kayaking across the river before the sun set, and I even spotted a deer and her fawn grazing in a field, seemingly oblivious to the train just a few hundred yards away from them.

I finally made it back to Penn Station around 10:40 p.m., smiling as I thought about the sights I had seen on my journey home.

I liked both train rides, but I wouldn't splurge on business class for a trip upstate again.

I had a pleasant experience on my round-trip ride from Rochester to New York, but I think a coach ticket is the way to go for a trip upstate.

The business-class ticket didn't have enough perks to make the additional cost feel worth it, and sitting in the caboose for nine hours wasn't fun.

It also seemed like the Maple Leaf only gets crowded in coach between Albany and Manhattan, so even if you have to share a row of seats for some of the ride, you'd still have a good chance of sitting alone for part of the journey.

I'll save my business-class tickets for even longer rides or Amtraks that offer full meals. Until then, you can find me in coach.

• My grandparents were very present in my life and helped raise me.
• When they died, the hardest part was telling my kids about it.
• I leaned into memories to help my kids process their loss.

I grew up with my grandparents — they raised my brother and me when our parents couldn't.

My grandfather was plagued with health issues throughout his life, almost dying from hydrocephalus when he was a kid. He had a dent in his head and a hole in his finger. These became party favorites at every family event. Gramps would let all the kids feel both the dent and the hole. My grandmother on the other hand was the picture of health, until her 70s when she was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. It came as a complete shock when she shared the news with me.

For years, my grandparents battled with their health until the summer of 2013, just after the birth of my fourth child. We got the call that things were not good. My grandfather died on July 7 at Mass General Hospital in Boston of heart failure. My grandmother died less than three months later at the exact hour and minute my grandfather had.

The hardest part of their death was having to tell my kids who were very close to Gram and Gramps.

They struggled with the loss

My kids watched my grandparents through their respective health battles. Once, my grandmother fainted during one of their birthday parties, and we had to rush her by ambulance to the hospital. Another time, we spent a Thanksgiving visit wondering if my grandfather would wake up from a cardiac event he endured after surgery for throat cancer.

My kids knew about long-term illness as much as children could. Death was different, though.

My two oldest struggled with the loss. Thankfully, the two youngest were too young to understand. I took the oldest to my grandfather's funeral, thinking it might help them process the loss of a man they had known their whole lives. Bagpipes played as we entered the church, and on the ride home, I listened to my kids cry in the back seat. We stayed in the apartment Gram had shared with Gramps. We ate Chinese food from our favorite place and stared at his seat on the couch that would remain forever empty. My grandmother was in an assisted care facility by this time.

I prepared myself to lose her. The ovarian cancer was progressing. I swore that I would do a better job of explaining her death to the kids.

We looked at photos and shared memories

She passed away as I was driving from my home in Maine to her apartment in Massachusetts. We told the kids on a warm night when I returned. We sat in our sunroom and listened to late fall sounds outside. This time, we had more time to think.

I brought out a photo album, and we talked about her and my grandfather. We told stories. I shared the eulogy I was writing and included them so they would understand how important they were to her. With the death of my grandmother, instead of avoiding the memories like we had with my grandfather's death, we leaned into them. They saved us and became a salve for our grief. We remembered holidays and the way my grandmother always greeted us at the elevator, too excited to wait for us inside her apartment.

In the months and years following the death of my grandparents, we also made sure to remain close to my grandmother's sisters. They became two of the most important people in my kids' lives. Fostering this relationship with them (who we now call "the aunts") was a way of helping them to process and continue to deal with the loss of their grandparents. We visited them in Massachusetts and shared holidays. The aunts have attended my kids' milestone events, standing in for the grandparents who couldn't.

Familial relationships and memories helped my kids in ways that nothing else could. Still, even now as my kids become teens and adults, we remember the early years of their lives, and those memories include my grandparents.

• When I decided to live at home while in college, people worried I'd miss the college experience.
• But I saved thousands on room and board while also working two jobs off campus.
• Living at home gave me a smooth transition into postgrad life after graduating debt-free.

When choosing a college, I had one requirement: It needed to be close because I wanted to live at home.

Many of my peers were applying to schools as far away as possible, shopping for dorm decor, and making plans to catch up over the holidays. I, on the other hand, was applying within a set radius. I settled on a small private university in the mountains, roughly a 30-minute drive from home.

Despite the proximity, many people assumed I'd still live on campus and were shocked when I told them otherwise. Friends and family were supportive — those who knew me especially well, unsurprised — but their responses were laced with concern.

I was often peppered with questions: Didn't I want to try living at school for at least a year? Wouldn't I be missing out on the "college experience?"

I was unconcerned. I knew what I wanted, and paying thousands upon thousands of dollars to live in a dorm room wasn't it. I believed I could have a far more fulfilling college experience on my own terms — and I was right.

Working off-campus was a priority for me

One of my primary reasons for living off-campus was simple: I wanted to work.

Upon graduating from high school, I was offered a job teaching theatre and dance at the school I'd grown up in. I'd been volunteering with the younger students for years, assisting with classes and productions. Now, being able to do so in an official capacity was an opportunity I wasn't about to pass up.

I also was leading the marketing efforts of a local bookstore — a job I'd held the year prior — and had no desire to give up experience working in my field.

My work required a sizable time commitment, so I chose to stack my full load of college classes between two days every week — Tuesdays and Thursdays. This gave me the freedom to work and maintain off-campus commitments the rest of the week.

Since I would be spending so much time off campus, it felt crazy to pay through the roof only to spend more days away from school than attending it. I was told I'd regret the decision not to be more involved in my university during my college years, but I was determined to choose my own priorities.

My social life thrived

One of the biggest concerns I heard about my decision to live at home was that I'd miss out on the relationships I'd build in college. I countered: Why would I want to solely invest in friendships that would be scattered in four years by the postgrad diaspora when I could have connections all around me?

Still, I made great friends in college. I bonded with fellow digital media majors by working with them at the student magazine. I stayed close to my theatrical roots by joining theatre electives and attending shows, cheering my classmates on.

But I also had the opportunity to make my community my own. Without being tied to college life 24/7, I could stay close to old friends more easily and get to know new people of all ages and walks of life, broadening my world in a way I wouldn't have been able to if entirely confined to campus.

The oldest of three girls, living at home also allowed me to be present for moments with family I would have otherwise missed, like weekly meals with my grandparents and helping my little sisters get ready for prom.

Instead of losing a vital opportunity for community, I was able to build and strengthen relationships that would last long past the college years.

My postgrad life is even better thanks to that early decision

After college, many 20-somethings flounder. It's understandable — for four years, their college campus has been their whole world, and suddenly they're thrust into the unknown.

I had my share of uncertainties, but I didn't feel unprepared. Instead of making college my life, I'd spent college building a life I could love — and putting myself in a great place financially to do so.

I left college debt-free, with more savings than most people my age. But living at home during college was more than just a financial perk; it also set me up to thrive mentally and emotionally.

Since graduating in December 2021, I've gone full-time with my freelance business, traveled with friends, and begun chasing even bigger dreams. I can't wait to see what's next.

• America's conflict with the Houthis gave the US Navy a taste of high-tempo air defense operations.
• The Navy is using the conflict to inform planning for future maritime wars, like a clash with China.
• One warship captain said a fight in the Pacific would be vastly different from the Red Sea battle.

The US Navy's exhausting shootout with the Iran-backed Houthis has given American military planners a clearer view into the complexities of high-tempo air defense operations.

The Red Sea conflict, now in the second month of a cease-fire, has been a heavy strain on the Navy, stressing warship crews and draining critical munitions. Though this fight has been a challenge, leaders within the service believe that it is but a taste of what a future war against China, which has far more sophisticated missiles than the Yemeni rebels, would look like.

And it's not just the missiles. Rather, it's a range of factors that would make a China confrontation significantly more difficult, but the Navy is learning key lessons from the Red Sea that it could apply to a future fight.

"In a lot of ways, the Red Sea — it's a knife fight in a phone booth," Cdr. Cameron Ingram, the commanding officer of the USS Thomas Hudner, told Business Insider aboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during a recent underway in the English Channel.

"The geography is extremely tight, and that geography operating that close off of China-controlled territory would be very, very challenging," he said.

"That would be a much more long-distance fight," Ingram said. "Also, their long-range surveillance and tracking is much more advanced. Their intelligence community is much more advanced. And so there are still a lot more complexities and challenges that would make it very difficult in a China fight."

Since October 2023, the Houthis have launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel and international shipping lanes off the coast of Yemen, specifically in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Navy warships and aircraft operating in the region have shot down many of the Houthi weapons, from drones to anti-ship missiles, in self-defense and in defense of Israel and merchant vessels. Thomas Hudner is one of America's ships with confirmed kills.

These interceptions — sometimes leveraging multimillion-dollar missiles to take down drones worth only thousands of dollars — have strained US stockpiles and raised concerns about readiness for potential future armed conflicts. In the case of China, which has been described as America's "pacing threat," naval air defense capacity is a priority; a potential conflict between the two would likely unfold primarily at sea.

China maintains a formidable arsenal of anti-ship weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles, that are vastly more capable than what the Houthis have been employing, making it imperative that the Navy has enough interceptor missiles on hand; however, it has already expended hundreds of these battling the rebels.

Ingram said a China war would be challenging and complex for the Navy because of Beijing's advanced weaponry, long-range surveillance and tracking, and intelligence operations.

"That environment will have to be fought at a different level," he explained, adding that it would see engagements at longer distances than what the Navy experienced in the Red Sea.

Lessons learned

The Navy has learned a great deal about air defense from the Red Sea conflict and tested by unprecedented engagements against dangerous threats such as anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Ingram spoke highly of the Aegis Combat System, which uses computers and radars to help warships track targets and intercept them. He said it has "operated probably better than most of us expected it to, as far as success rates of engagements."

The Red Sea conflict has also informed the Navy about its magazine capacity, reloading capabilities, and munitions inventory. The sea service has changed its firing policy and reconsidered the amount of ordnance warships ought to expend in attempts to neutralize a threat.

A big focus area is trying to drive down the cost ratio for air defense missions. Using a $2.1 million Standard Missile-2 to intercept a $20,000 drone isn't on the right side of that curve, but Ingram argues that it can be worth it to protect a $2 billion warship and hundreds of lives. The challenge, however, is sustainability.

The US and its NATO allies have demonstrated in the Red Sea that they can use cheaper air defense alternatives to take down the Houthi threats. American fighter jets, for instance, used guided rockets. Ingram said the Navy is working to bring the cost difference between threat and interceptor "a little bit closer to parity."

Ingram added that there is increased attention being directed at warships' five-inch deck guns, which have a much deeper magazine capacity than a destroyer's missile-launching tubes and have served as viable means of air defense in the Red Sea.

"If I can stay in the fight longer by shooting five-inch rounds, especially at a drone, maybe I should do that and save my higher-capacity weapons systems for larger threats," he said.

Rearming is another consideration. US warships have to travel to a friendly port with the necessary supplies to get more missiles, which takes up valuable time and keeps vessels off-station for extended periods. This could be a major issue in a high-tempo Pacific conflict. However, the Navy is looking to close the gap with its reloading-at-sea capabilities.

Ingram credited the Red Sea fight as being a resounding air defense success story that could affect China's calculus and military planning. On the home front, the conflict has given the Navy more confidence in its weapons systems and accelerated the development of its tactics, techniques, and procedures.

Ingram said it's difficult to predict what the future will look like, "but I think there are a lot of things that everyone has to consider based on what the Red Sea has been over the last 18-plus months."

• My mother had to move in with my family because she had to pay down debts.
• I'm worried I'll have to support my grandmother eventually, too.
• I'm frustrated that all of this falls on me, but I know I have no choice but to step up.

I'm 36 and constantly worry about making enough money to support my small family of three: myself, my mother, and her mother.

Nearly three years ago, we made a big decision to help my mother with her expenses by allowing her to move in at 55 years old. My mom had some significant debts to pay down — partly because being single and underpaid in this economy is expensive, but also because my mother has historically been bad at managing her personal finances.

Well, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. My grandmother (my mom's mom) is still working at 76 because she has to. The threat of losing her Social Security keeps me up at night.

If I have to start paying for either of their bills, I don't know what I will do. It frustrates me that I have to prioritize working extra hard and finding work that pays not just well but exceptionally well to mitigate their personal financial situations.

I feel obligated to help my mother and grandmother

My role has quickly changed from what should be a normal parent-child relationship to a financial advisor. I frequently coach my mother into asking for more money at her job or finding a new one that pays more. I also remind her to cut back on expenses and create savings goals.

At this point, I'm doing it for my own self-preservation because if she doesn't, I'll be the one to foot the bill. And I hate it.

What's even more frustrating is that I'm not even on speaking terms with my grandmother. Our estranged relationship has had its ups and downs. She texts a handful of times a year, but we haven't seen each other in person in nearly two years. I could use all of this as reasoning for why I shouldn't be the one to support her, but I know it'll still fall on me.

Even if our relationship isn't great, I know I'm incapable of letting her struggle. I know I'll step in. But that doesn't make me feel proud that I'm capable of doing that; it makes me feel bitter that I was put in the position in the first place.

I want to break the cycle

While I'm highly annoyed by their financial situation, I'm equally (if not more) annoyed by the system that allowed them to fail.

My grandmother was a young, unwed mother with no higher education. My mother, also a young, single mother, didn't get her degree until after I had mine. Education aside, their biggest hardship was and is their lack of financial education.

I hate to admit that I'd most likely be in their same situation if I weren't married to someone who taught me basic financial literacy.

I don't want praise for stepping up. I want a world where women like my mom and grandmother didn't have to rely on their daughters to survive.

I'm doing everything I can to break that cycle, but some days I wonder if I'm just patching holes in a sinking ship — and hoping my daughter never ends up with the same bucket in her hands.

• A young Marine's course certificate accidentally made it into thousands of government inboxes.
• The "reply allpocalypse" spurred a barrage of memes, making the corporal famous.
• The saga came to an end Thursday with an unexpected surprise.

The Marine Corps is going wild after an email accidentally sent to the entire service resulted in the top enlisted Marine surprising his troops and the young corporal at the center of all of it.

The latest development is the culmination of a story that started in April, when Cpl. Andrew Hundley's boss routed his online course certificate up to colleagues for record-keeping. The message went well beyond the intended recipients.

With the online training out of the way, Hundley, a 24-year-old cyberspace defense operator, could apply for a spot at the follow-on in-person course required for promotion. That course tackles topics like public speaking and military tactics.

But when the staff sergeant hit "send," the senior Marine accidentally unleashed a "reply allpocalyspe," emailing the entire service and more. Reply-alls began flooding inboxes. Almost just as quickly came the memes, which would last for weeks.

Alarmed, his boss called Hundley to explain his certificate had gone to untold corners of the government.

"There's been this problem," Hundley recalled her saying to Business Insider. At first he was worried about either of them getting in trouble— the email had made it outside the Corps too, fielding quizzical responses from the Army, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, FBI, and even the White House, Hundley said.

"A lot of them were kind of confused why they were getting the email," he said. Some thought it was a phishing attempt.

Despite the initial stress, Hundley noted that his leaders were quick to assuage his concerns during his rocket to Marine Corps fame and kept tabs on him as the memes kept coming.

A Change.org petition to have the service's chief officer, Commandant Eric Smith, attend Hundley's in-person course graduation took off, picking up over 1,600 signatures. It would be highly unusual for a Beltway-based top leader who oversees around 170,000 troops to attend the graduation for a routine enlisted course.

The commandant didn't show up, but on Thursday, Smith's partner, Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz, appeared unannounced, amid both applause and laughter, to present Hundley and his classmates with their graduation certificates.

Marine Corps spokesperson Gunnery Sgt. Jordan Gilbert said the petition gave Ruiz a chuckle.

"The Marine Corps gods have called upon me," Ruiz said as he entered the event Thursday. "They were setting up a schedule, and the schedule somehow ended up with — where you at, Hundley? Raise your hand."

A sergeant major serves as a unit's senior enlisted advisor and is the right-hand to the unit's commanding officer— in Ruiz's case, that's Gen. Smith. An enlisted leader may be subordinate in rank to an officer, but they bring decades of experience and function as a team.

Among other things, sergeants major are focused on unit welfare and troop morale — topics on which Ruiz has previously testified before Congress. That may well be why he decided to surprise Hundley and others, undoubtably a morale boost for the Marines.

The email that went out about the corporal was "an unintentional, so innocent email that went to everyone," Ruiz said. But then it went rogue. What triggered the email storm were all the people who replied all, followed by more who replied all asking the first group of people to stop.

"For three or four days, as I traveled the Corps, the question was not about barracks or quality of life," Ruiz said, referring to the service's $11 billion effort to overhaul shoddy barracks.

"It's 'Corporal Hundley!'" he exclaimed. "And that's why the gods have called me to see you graduate."

In an institution that reveres authentic leadership, Ruiz holds a high standing among many, including Hundley, who said that he was at once "amazed, shocked, and terrified" to see Ruiz walk in — he hadn't expected such a senior leader to actually show up.

Ruiz presented the class with their graduation certificates and spoke briefly with Hundley afterward.

"That the Sergeant Major is taking time out of his day, and out of his schedule just to come and see us," Hundley said. "It was an amazing feeling because it shows how much he cares."

"He most definitely fosters this idea of care for everyone in the Marine Corps," regardless of rank Hundley said of Ruiz.

"And I think that's an amazing leadership trait that anyone can have, having the humility to realize that we're all people and that we all have our own important things that we can offer up."

Having received an overwhelming amount of congratulatory messages from around the world, Hundley said the entire experience has left him feeling humbled and eager to give back to his community. A handful of classmates asked him to sign their course certificates.

Email storms happen every now and then within the US government. In 2007, a Homeland Security Department-based email chain ended up flooding over 2 million inboxes, including those of a nuclear power station in Illinois. More recently, in 2023, the Senate's email system tanked after thousands of staffers replied all to a security drill. The Hundley email debacle, however, might be the military's most amusing one.

• My home state of Wyoming doesn't have a Trader Joe's, so I drive to Colorado for my favorite items.
• The trip is 57 miles each way, but I pick up things I'm unable to get at my local supermarkets.
• I fill my shopping cart with staples like pappardelle pasta, Alfredo sauce, and sunscreen.

Wyoming has a lot to offer. One thing it doesn't have, though, is Trader Joe's.

Although I can get pretty much everything I need from local grocery stores, there are a few special items I travel 57 miles to buy at a Trader Joe's location in Colorado.

Here are eight things I cross state lines to buy at the grocery chain.

I always grab a bag of Piñata apples when they're available.

Although they're not as sweet as my favorite Honeycrisps, I love grabbing a bag of Piñata apples from Trader Joe's. They have a nice tropical flavor and come in a large, 5-pound bag.

They never last long in my house, so I always hope they'll still be available on my next shopping trip.

Trader Joe's sunscreen doesn't feel greasy.

I never wore sunscreen as a kid, mostly because of the smell and greasy feel on my skin.

As a mom, though, I always have to make sure my kids are sufficiently protected from UV rays, which means I constantly have my hands covered in sunscreen. However, I don't mind it as much when it doesn't smell or feel greasy.

Trader Joe's has a great line of health and beauty products, and I especially love the invisible gel sunscreen. I find that it soaks in quickly after application, and I can't even tell by the smell that it's been applied.

Just the Clusters vanilla almond granola makes the perfect snack.

Trader Joe's Just the Clusters vanilla almond granola is so tasty that I almost forget how nutritious it is.

I typically buy more than one bag at a time because I either eat handfuls of it as a snack, or with milk for breakfast. It also adds a great crunch to Greek yogurt.

Trader Joe's Alfredo sauce is a hit with the whole family.

This Alfredo sauce has a nice blend of Parmesan and Romano cheese flavors. Even my picky child eats it without complaining.

I like to brown some chicken and simmer it in the Alfredo sauce with broccoli and pasta. The whole process is quick and results in a quick dinner that everyone will eat.

Pappardelle is the perfect base for pasta dishes.

These wide noodles cook quickly and pair well with any sauce. I only wish they came in a bigger package.

Trader Joe's glazed vanilla-bean scones are surprisingly tasty.

I grew up with a mom who baked, so I don't usually like store-bought desserts. However, I gave Trader Joe's glazed vanilla-bean scones a chance, and now they're one of my go-to treats.

My husband loves the Trader Joe's cheddar jalapeño pull-apart bread.

My husband and older son both love spicy foods, so I like to get them Trader Joe's cheddar jalapeño pull-apart bread.

It's not super spicy, but it has a nice kick. I usually buy at least one extra package to freeze, since they typically polish off the first one within days.

Trader Joe's pizza crust makes dinner easy.

Homemade pizza is a fun, quick, and easily customizable dinner.

Trader Joe's pizza crust, which can be found in the bakery section, is sturdy enough to hold lots of cheese and toppings.

Click to keep reading Trader Joe's diaries like this one.

• The fallout between President Trump and Elon Musk underscores how dicey it can be to dismiss a high-profile recruit.
• When pushing out A-list talent, employers should frame the person's departure as business as usual.
• Employers may cut ties with flashy new recruits that turn out to be a poor cultural fit.

Star talent can be hard to retain — and even harder to let go.

The public fallout between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk this week may be an extreme example of a hotshot's exit going off the rails, but leadership experts said it underscores just how dicey it can be to part ways with a high-profile team member.

"These are folks with big egos," Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, told Business Insider. "Most of the time they end up in court."

Saying goodbye to a prominent employee doesn't have to be dramatic. But don't assume a beefy severance package and a non-disparagement agreement are enough to leave a company unscathed.

"If people want to hurt you, they'll find a way to do it," Cappelli said. "Ask divorced couples."

How to sever ties with a high-profile recruit

When pushing out a high-flyer, employers should frame the person's departure as business as usual, said Ronald Placone, a communications professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business

"You try to normalize it," he said. "Things happen, people move on."

Trump initially followed conventional wisdom in how he went about booting Musk from Washington last month. The president orchestrated a warm and fuzzy public send-off, thanking Musk for his service and providing a sensible explanation for his departure—in this case, that the billionaire was going back to focusing on his work at the multiple companies he helms.

More common explanations are that the fired individual has decided to pursue other career opportunities, spend time with family, or engage in philanthropic endeavors. This tactic is aimed at protecting both the departee's reputation and that of the employer showing him or her the door.

"They come up with a story," said Anna A. Tavis, chair of the human capital management department at New York University's School of Professional Studies.

The goal is to avoid hurting the outgoing hotshot's chances of landing a new gig and the company's ability to find a replacement.

"It's a question of, how do we save face?" she said.

Give people something else to talk about

Employers should also aim to draw people's attention elsewhere, Placone said.

"One of Trump's strategies that often works is you just flood communication channels with other stuff, stuff you perceive is more favorable to your organization," he said. "You try to take some control by giving as many potential stories as possible so people don't home in on one."

Trump did make some big announcements this week, including travel bans on several African countries, but leadership experts say the president also erred by openly rebuking Musk's harsh criticism of his signature tax bill on X. This kicked off the back-and-forth squabble that captured the world's attention on Thursday.

"There's no need for that," Placone said. "In these high-profile situations, you want to say as little as possible. You don't want to add weight to the argument the other is putting forth."

If Trump instead kept quiet, Musk would have been more likely to stick with critiquing the bill rather than upping the ante by accusing the president of illicit behavior, he said.

"It would've eventually fizzled out," Placone said.

Why some A-list hires don't last

Employers most commonly end up quickly sacking flashy new recruits because they aren't as talented as advertised or they insist on working in a way that doesn't align with a company's culture, Tavis said.

It even happens at the very top of the corporate ladder. For example, in recent years, the chief executives of Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, and CNN were pushed out of their jobs after brief tenures.

"A lot of times they're overestimating their value," she said of people with a reputation for being above the fray, adding that due to the current tight labor market, notable departures are likely to increase.

Sam Faycurry, CEO of artificial-intelligence and nutrition startup Fay in San Francisco, can relate. Last year, he hired a well-known rainmaker after a lengthy courtship only to quickly conclude that the person wasn't a good fit.

To avoid bad blood, Faycurry said he tried making it seem as if it was the individual's decision to leave by pointing out how much they disagreed on core principles.

"This person ended up exiting themselves" without any hard feelings, Faycurry said, adding that he was relieved because his main concern was being able to refill the position with a better-aligned A-list professional.

"If the person is influential in a talent pool you want to recruit people from in the future, there's no benefit to having a relationship fall out," Faycurry said. "You're never truly parting ways."

• We decided to buy a house with my in-laws after they shared their cognitive decline.
• It took a little time to adapt to our life together, but we've figured it out.
• I was surprised by how much our dynamic taught me about boundaries and communication.

We were just past our first year of marriage when my husband's parents opened up to us about their cognitive decline. They told us they had two options: move into a nursing home, or live with us.

They did their research, letting us know that if they were able to get into one of the few remaining facilities, it would not only be far away, but it would wipe out their savings in less than a year.

My partner and I feared the first option, wondering about their quality of life and what it would mean for us as a family. How often would we be able to visit them? How easily could we get to them in case of an emergency?

We decided the better option would be to buy a house together and live under one roof. While we weren't expecting the next chapter of our lives to look like this, we couldn't ignore how we would benefit: being surrounded by family, combining our incomes, having a chance to invest in property, and splitting the mortgage.

I expected changes, but I didn't realize it would lead to my own empowerment.

We had to find the right balance between helping and overstepping

After a few weeks of living together, my husband and I noticed his parents developed a routine of retreating upstairs whenever we came home. We appreciated that they wanted to give us space, but we didn't want them to feel banished.

With some encouragement, they started to feel more comfortable in the shared spaces. Walking in the door was often met with a sigh of relief, "Oh, it's a good thing you're home! We couldn't figure this out!" However, they didn't always want — or need — our help.

Whether it was refilling a prescription or helping them set up a new gadget, it was impossible to disregard their moments of distress. I often felt like I had to drop what I was doing aside to give them a hand, and my husband felt the same, becoming familiar with watching his bowl of ice cream melt as he helped his parents with little tasks. Without request, I'd jump to help my mother-in-law carry a basket of laundry up the steps so she could have a free hand to grab the railing. Our time was no longer our own, individually and as a pair.

I could tell it was slowly starting to irritate my mother-in-law whenever I took the initiative. At first, she'd assure me, "You were in the middle of doing something. Do not stop what you're doing." The need for words quickly faded. Each time she bent to clean something on the floor, she put her hand up to mimic a stop sign: I've got it.

We knew we had to adapt, to balance being diligent while not getting in the way of their independence. At the same time, we started to see more of their decline through the repetition of questions and conversations.

I've learned about boundaries and communication while we've lived together

While his parents are aware and honest about their state, we try to avoid making them feel self-conscious about their memory issues, particularly in the moment. We don't call attention to the fact that we're having certain conversations again, or to their contradictory behaviors, unless it is necessary for their safety.

As we move toward the six-month mark of living together, it's become evident that these efforts are not only helping them, but they've also helped me learn to communicate more effectively. I can self-edit and discern what is most important to tell them instead of overwhelming them with information all at once.

Watching my mother-in-law advocate for what she can and can't do is also helping me do the same for myself. It's becoming easier to be honest when I disagree, have an idea, or am focusing on a different task at hand. It helps that each time I do so, it is well-received.

There will always be a standard I hold, a responsibility I feel and pride myself on; deciding to move in together means helping care for them. While I need to be diligent to step in whenever necessary, it doesn't mean it has to be without boundaries, for us all.

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back to our Saturday edition! Are you ready to splurge on your new summer soles? Here are six shoe trends that are in, and four that are out.

On the agenda:

• Why dairy is so back.
• Inside Addison Rae's pivot from TikTok influencer to bona fide pop star.
• Bottle service, Shrek impersonators, oh my! The bachelorette industrial complex is out of control.
• Fine-dining restaurants are strategizing to survive an uncertain economy.

But first: Get in. We're getting outta here!

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

Business class battle royale

If you want your luxe vacation to start as soon as you step foot into the airport, business-class travel nearly guarantees top-tier comfort.

From the lie-flat seats to the impeccable food offerings, it's the best kind of splurge — if you're willing to invest in the upgrade.

Business Insider contributing writer Jill Schildhouse, who takes at least 50 flights a year and has been to more than 36 countries, went on three business-class flights recently.

She compared the offerings from American Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Qantas. Here's how they fared.

American Airlines: After flying 13 hours from Dallas to Tokyo, Schildhouse said her business class seat "was more angled toward the windows, which made it feel more private." She was also impressed by the service. After a flight attendant noticed her drinking a lot of water, they "brought me a huge bottle to enjoy … plus a second one to take with me."

Qantas: Australia's flagship carrier scored points for being the only airline to offer Schildhouse pajamas during her long-haul flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne. They were so comfy, she still wears them at home. It was also the only plane to have a vibey lounge area that allowed business-class passengers to "grab snacks and drinks from coolers."

Singapore Airlines: Schildhouse was most impressed by this airline during her 16-hour flight from Singapore to Los Angeles. It had her favorite seat "thanks to the plush bedding and three pillows provided when it was turned into a bed." It also scored high points for having her favorite meals that were "full of flavor."

Convinced yet? Leggo.

Dare to dairy

After years of being sidelined by alternative dairy products like oat milk and cashew cream, dairy is poised for a comeback. It's riding the wave of protein enthusiasm that's been dominating health trends.

Milk has also become culturally cool again since it's the OG natural drink — gut-friendly and minimally processed. Plus, there's no shortage of options: offerings include everything from chocolate butter to probiotic ice cream and pistachio-flavored kefir.

The next milk-fed frontier.

Who's afraid of Addison Rae?

Addison Rae launched to TikTok stardom by posting lip-synching and dancing videos around the clock. Her first foray into pop music in 2021 was a spectacular flop, both in the critical and popular spheres.

Four years later, however, Rae has become pop music's newest "It Girl." That included a slow yet total overhaul of her content strategy, a focus on narrative and nostalgia, and a little help from friends like Charli XCX along the way.

Mastering the rebrand.

The era of extreme bachelorette parties

Gone are the days of a nice night on the town celebrating the bride-to-be. Now, friends of the bride are shelling out money for plane tickets, a space in a crammed Airbnb, a bottomless brunch, merch, and more.

Over the past decade, bachelorette parties have become nearly as anticipated — and sometimes as expensive — as the big day. From Etsy shops for decor to concierge services, the bachelorette planning industry is bolstering a whole new subset of the economy.

Bride or die.

Fine dining? In this economy?!

Just as restaurants were recovering from pandemic-era woes, the fine-dining scene has been hit with the soaring costs of goods, labor shortages, and potential tariffs.

The restaurant industry won't go down without a fight, though. In times of economic hardship, fine dining needs to feel worth the price — and restaurants are getting creative to retain diners.

The key is events and experiences.

What we're watching this weekend

• "Sinners": For their latest collaboration, Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan deliver a haunting vampire tale set in 1930s Mississippi that's streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Fandango.
• "Becoming Led Zeppelin": The beautifully crafted documentary, available on Netflix, chronicles the formation and early years of one of the greatest rock bands ever assembled.
• "Stick": In the new Apple TV+ series, Owen Wilson plays a washed-up former pro golfer who finds redemption when he takes an aspiring player under his wing.

What to shop

• Father's Day gift idea: Get your dad a gift you know he'll love: great food from popular restaurants around the country, delivered straight to his door. Our deputy executive editor has trusted Goldbelly with the job for years. Here's why.
• Your feet deserve better: Stop walking around the house barefoot! In our guide to the best women's slippers, we've found 14 pairs that will support your feet for reduced arch and back pain.
• Skincare we love on sale: Some of us here on the Reviews team have trusted Kiehl's for years — that's why we're so excited about the brand's sale. Check out some of our favorites that are up to 30% off.

More of this week's top reads:

• Roblox has kids yearning for the farm with "Grow a Garden." I can see why it's addicting.
• I've traveled around the world, but this lively city in Mexico stole my heart.
• Meet the Kardashians' plastic surgeons.
• Walton Goggins explained why he unfollowed "White Lotus" costar Aimee Lou Wood and debunked rumors of their feud.
• 10 mistakes guests should never make at weddings, according to etiquette experts.
• I spent almost $7,000 on a 1-week retreat in the woods. It was worth every penny.
• A cardiologist overhauled his diet to boost his longevity. Here's the grocery store path he takes to stick to his meal plan.
• Nine cocktails that will be everywhere this summer, according to bartenders and mixologists.

The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York City. Akin Oyedele, senior editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• At his ongoing trial, Sean Combs has been accused of physical or sexual violence by seven women.
• His lawyers call them bitter opportunists. Prosecutors call them victims of Combs' criminal racket.
• Here's what each of these seven women told the jury, and why it matters legally.

Over the past month, seven women have taken the stand at the Manhattan trial of rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs to tell chilling personal stories of physical and sexual violence.

Two are Combs' ex-girlfriends, three are his former employees, and two were on the periphery of his multimillion-dollar media, entertainment, and lifestyle empire.

Defense lawyers call them jealous, or bitter, or greedy. They say all seven women were with Combs by choice and are now out for what one attorney termed "a 'Me Too' money grab." Prosecutors call them victims and say their stories are the heart of the trial.

Here's how the testimony of these seven accusers has turned the tables on Combs, building a case for federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges that could imprison him for anywhere from 15 years to life.

Cassie Ventura, his first sex-trafficking accuser

R&B singer Cassie Ventura was celebrating her 21st birthday in Las Vegas when Combs, who had signed her to his Bad Boy Records label the year before, surprised her with the kiss that started their relationship.

She told the jury that hundreds of times over the next decade, from 2008 until 2018, Combs forced her to meet him at luxury hotels, to dress up in wigs, heels, and lingerie, to take handfuls of drugs, and to have sex with male escorts as Combs filmed and masturbated to the dayslong performances.

"I want you to be glistening," she said Combs would tell her as he watched, ordering Ventura and sex workers with names like "Jewels" and "The Punisher" to apply ever more baby oil.

These so-called "freak off" performances were first revealed in Ventura's quickly settled 2023 lawsuit. (Combs paid Ventura $20 million.)

Ventura's allegations have since been corroborated at trial by freak off videos she'd saved over the years, by hotel records, and by testimony from eye-witnesses, including sex workers.

One exotic dancer told jurors he witnessed Combs beating Ventura twice during freak offs in Manhattan between 2012 and 2014.

"Bitch, when I tell you to come here, come now, not later," the dancer recalled Combs saying during one of more than a dozen beatings recounted at trial by witnesses and Ventura herself.

Proof of sex trafficking

Prosecutors say Ventura was sex-trafficked, meaning coerced into crossing state lines to participate in commercial sex acts (commercial because they involved paid sex workers).

They say the violent, 2016 InterContinental hotel hallway video is unavoidable proof that she was sex-trafficked by force. They will likely argue that other evidence, including her unprofitable record deal and Combs' threats to publicize her freak-off tapes, proves she was sex-trafficked by means of fraud and coercion as well.

They will likely also argue that from Ventura's vantage point at the center of the Combs empire, she also witnessed multiple crimes that support the racketeering charge.

These include not just sex trafficking, but narcotics sales, forced labor (she was never compensated for her mixtape, a producer testified), extortion (she says Combs threatened to release freak off videos) and kidnapping (she says that when she was 22, he forced her to stay at an LA hotel until the bruises on her battered face healed enough to be hidden by makeup.)

The defense has challenged Ventura's credibility by pointing to her lawsuit windfall, to the many times she left the Combs relationship only to freely return, and to the years of texts and emails in which she expresses her love of Combs and the freak offs.

But Ventura described being trapped in a cycle of drug addiction, financial and emotional dependency, and fear. And yes, also love.

"I would do absolutely anything for him," she told the jury, explaining why she agreed to the first freak off at age 22. "And it never stopped, our whole relationship."

"Jane," his second sex-trafficking accuser

"Jane," a recent ex-girlfriend of Combs, testified that on their first date at a Miami hotel in 2010, she fell "pretty head-over-heels for Sean."

The date lasted five days, she told the jury.

Over the next four months, she said, Combs slowly introduced her to his sexual preferences.

He loved baby oil and drugs that kept them up day and night. He loved it when she dressed in lingerie and "high stripper heels." He'd play pornography and tell her to fantasize about the men on screen.

"Do you like what you see there?" she said he'd ask her of these men. "Do you want that?"

Then one night in 2021 at his Miami mansion, as the pornography rolled, he told her, "I can make this fantasy a reality if you'd like that."

She loved him, she explained, and agreeing made him so happy. So she said yes.

Jane said she soon realized she'd opened up "Pandora's box."

Gone were the romantic trips and dinner dates of their first four months. Combs wanted freak offs — by now he was calling them "hotel nights" — nearly every time they saw each other over the next three years, up until his arrest in 2024.

"It was just a door I was unable to shut," she told the jury.

Jane must show force, fraud, or coercion

Jane's testimony has so far described some of the elements of sex trafficking. She said she reluctantly crossed state lines, traveling from the East Coast to Miami to Los Angeles, to engage with paid sex workers.

But her testimony, which continues next week, has yet to show that Combs sex trafficked her using force, fraud, or coercion, as the indictment requires.

She instead described intensive psychological and financial pressure. She said she agreed to hotel nights because she loved him, and because he'd moved her to Los Angeles from the East Coast and was paying rent and other costs for her and her child.

And when she told him she no longer wanted to do hotel nights, he would brush her off, or make what may or may not rise to the level of a coercive threat to withdraw that financial support.

"If you want to break up, that's fine," she testified he'd tell her. "Do you need, like, what, three more months in the house? Because I'm not about to be paying for a woman's rent that I'm not even seeing."

Prosecutors have said Combs defrauded Jane by promising romantic dinners and trips, only to renege and persuade her into another hotel night.

They have also said Combs was brutally violent with Jane, though it's unclear how they plan to draw a link between that violence and sex trafficking by force.

Meanwhile, the defense will likely use hundreds of affectionate and erotic texts between Jane and Combs to argue that she is a bitter ex who willingly suffered any demands and violence, and who continues to have her expenses paid by Combs in return.

Asked late Friday who is currently paying her rent, Jane answered, "Sean is."

Jane pushes back

Prosecutors have also hinted that Jane is a witness to obstruction of justice, one of the underlying crimes they can use to prove the racketeering charge.

"You will hear him try to manipulate Jane into saying she wanted freak offs," Emily Johnson, an assistant US attorney, told the jury during May 12 opening statements, describing a phone call recorded after Ventura's lawsuit was filed.

"You will hear him interrupt Jane when she pushes back," Johnson said. Prosecutors have also said he made a point of paying for Jane's housing — even after his arrest.

"Mia," his rape accuser

"Mia," a former Combs employee, told the jury about a night 15 years ago, when she slept in the employee bedroom at his Los Angeles mansion.

She woke up with Combs on top of her, she said, telling her, "Be quiet."

"It was very quick, but it felt like forever," she said, her voice breaking into quiet, gasping sobs.

Mia, like Jane, testified under a pseudonym to protect her privacy.

She told the jury that Combs raped or sexually assaulted her at least four times throughout her eight years working as his personal assistant and as an executive for his short-lived movie company, Revolt Films.

As with Jane and Cassie, Mia described in dozens of texts and social media posts struggling with her financial dependence on Combs and her fear of his violent nature, even as she spoke warmly of him.

Mia supported the Ventura sex-trafficking claim. She said she saw Combs throw Ventura to the ground and "crack her head open." But Mia was not herself sex-trafficked, according to prosecutors — she is instead a racketeering witness.

Forced labor, bribery, obstruction of justice

Mia's testimony may be used to support an underlying racketeering crime of forced labor. She told the jury that Combs made her work as many as five days in a row with little or no sleep.

Combs was a volatile boss who stole her phone and passport during arguments that turned violent, she said.

Her testimony may also support an underlying crime of bribery and obstruction of justice.

Mia told the jury that Combs' bodyguard, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, called and texted her repeatedly in the weeks after Ventura's lawsuit, spinning the "Puff and Cass" relationship as normal, and offering her "a gift."

Capricorn Clark, his kidnapping accuser

In her testimony, Capricorn Clark, Combs' former personal assistant and marketing exec, supported the Ventura sex-trafficking charge, describing Ventura as docile, trapped, and frequently subjected to beatings.

During one beating, Clark said, Combs stopped briefly to warn her, "If I jumped in he was going to fuck me up, too."

Kid Cudi, kidnapping, and extortion

Clark is primarily a racketeering witness. Her testimony supports the underlying crimes of kidnapping and extortion.

Clark said Combs was so enraged by Ventura's brief 2011 romance with rival rapper Kid Cudi that he forced Clark at gunpoint to ride with him and a bodyguard to Cudi's nearby house in Hollywood Hills.

"He just said get dressed, we're going to go kill this —" and here he used the N-word.

Cudi — whose given name is Scott Mescudi — told the jury that he arrived home to find his dog locked in the bathroom and a table full of Christmas presents unwrapped and rifled through.

Clark also corroborated trial testimony by Ventura and her mom, Regina Ventura, concerning what prosecutors call a $20,000 extortion threat. The mom said she wired Combs the money after he threatened to release explicit sex tapes of her daughter.

Dawn Richard, death-threat witness

Former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard testified to a brutal 2009 beating at Combs' rented Los Angeles mansion that supports both the Ventura sex-trafficking-by-force allegation and racketeering.

Combs punched, kicked, and dragged Ventura during a fight over her not cooking him breakfast quickly enough, both Ventura and Richard told the jury.

The next day, Combs called Ventura and Richard into his studio and locked the door. Inside, he tried to explain the incident, gave them some flowers, and what Richard said she considered to be a death threat.

"He said that what we saw was passion," Richard testified. He told them, "he was trying to take us to the top, and that, where he comes from, people go missing," if they talk to the police, she said.

"And then he gave us flowers."

Prosecutors may call what happened next inside the studio extortion, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice, all underlying racketeering crimes.

Kerry Morgan

In her testimony, Kerry Morgan supported the Ventura sex-trafficking charge, describing two times she saw Combs beat Ventura, whom she called her best friend from their teenage modeling years.

Once was when Ventura took too long in the bathroom during a 2013 Jamaica vacation.

Morgan said Combs dragged a screaming Ventura outside by the hair and flung her down onto some paving bricks. For about 30 seconds, "I thought she was knocked out," Morgan testified.

Morgan also supported the racketeering count by describing a $30,000 hush-money payment she received from Combs.

In return for the money, Morgan said, she signed a non-disclosure agreement that barred her from talking about a 2018 assault she said happened earlier that year in Ventura's Hollywood Hills house.

Combs was desperate to learn "who Cassie was cheating on him with," she testified.

Combs let himself into Ventura's apartment, she said. "He came up behind me, and choked me when I got away, he boomeranged a wooden hanger at my head," giving her a concussion, Morgan said.

Bryana "Bana" Bongolan, who says Combs dangled her over a balcony

Bryana "Bana" Bongolan, a marketing director, told jurors she and Ventura are longtime friends. They shared a lot of drugs over the years, she said — including cocaine, ketamine, and GHB.

They also shared trauma, she told the jury.

She once saw Combs throw a knife at Ventura, who she said threw it back. "I'm the devil and I could kill you," she testified Combs told her in 2016, seemingly at random, when she and Ventura were with him on a Malibu beach. Combs, she said, gave no explanation for the threat.

A violent, criminal racket

Bongolan's most important testimony — feeding the prosecution's argument that Combs stood at the head of a violent, criminal "racket" — described him picking her up and holding her over the railing of a 17th-story balcony in September 2016.

"You know what the fuck you did!" she said Combs kept shouting as he hoisted her into the air. Asked if she knew what he meant, she testified, "I still have no idea."

On cross-examination, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland highlighted inconsistencies between what Bongolan has said in a $10 million lawsuit, in her interviews with prosecutors, and in her testimony.

The defense lawyer also leaned into the defense contention that Combs' accusers have financial reasons to falsely implicate him.

Westmoreland questioned Bongolan hard about her and Ventura's lawsuits against Combs.

In one example, Bongolan's ongoing lawsuit accuses Combs of violent sexual assault, an allegation not made in her June 4 testimony — though Bongolan did tell jurors that Combs' hands cupped her breasts before he hoisted her up from under her arms.

"It means a lot for you to become a ten-millionaire soon, doesn't it?" Westmoreland asked Bongolan, who answered, "I care about justice."

• Baker Tilly and Moss Adams have merged to create the sixth-largest advisory CPA firm in the US.
• "We just added a bunch of arrows into our quiver," Jeff Ferro, CEO of Baker Tilly, told Business Insider.
• The deal marks a major shift for the mid-market landscape, which is being heavily influenced by private equity.

Baker Tilly and Moss Adams merged this week in a deal that marks another shake-up for mid-market consulting firms and emphasizes the role being played by private equity in US accounting.

The two firms, which are both in the tier below the Big Four, have a combined annual revenue of over $3 billion. By joining forces, they've catapulted themselves above BDO, Grant Thornton US, and CLA to become the 6th largest accounting firm by revenue in the US.

The move brings together 11,500 employees into one firm that will keep the Baker Tilly name and be an independent member firm in the Baker Tilly International network.

In a joint interview, the two CEOs of the merged firms told Business Insider that the move is mutually strategic and will help them navigate the challenges facing the mid-market.

"We just added a bunch of arrows into our quiver," said Jeff Ferro, CEO of Baker Tilly.

The deal also offers an insight into how private equity is reshaping the industry in the US.

In 2024, Baker Tilly sold a stake to the private investment groups Hellman & Friedman (H&F) and Valeas, in the second-largest deal in the sector at the time.

Baker Tilly is now, thanks to the merger, the largest firm in the industry to be partly owned by private-equity investors.

It's a trend that is redefining the culture and business model of traditional accounting firms.

Firms have typically paid out profits to equity partners, who also get a vote on how they are run. Private equity offers an influx of capital to help firms evolve their technology and data, but requires firms to divest the control historically promised to partners, shaking up their culture.

Ferro told BI that Baker Tilly's strategic plan had been to grow through acquisition, and was a key part of what H&F bought into when they signed the deal. H&F will also make a "meaningful additional strategic investment in the business" as part of this transaction.

"Our chances of executing our strategy were good, and now I think they're great," said Ferro.

A merger that expands the firms' reach

Combining firms also created strategic advances in geographic reach — Moss Adams is West Coast-focused, while Baker Tilly mostly covers the East, central, and has some international clients. The two firms bring specific industry strengths to the table and different tools and service capabilities to offer clients, Ferro said.

"I see us being a $6 billion revenue organization in five years," Ferro said, which would mean doubling their current combined revenues.

"It's quite a win," agreed Eric Miles, the former CEO of Moss Adams, who will take over from Ferro as CEO of Baker Tilly when Ferro retires at the end of the year.

The needs of the mid-market client base are changing, and they require more scale and breadth of services than they used to, he said.

At the same time, the firms themselves are seeing increasing demand for true fixed costs like training and development, and AI. Those kinds of pressures require large organizations to scale to be competitive, he said.

Neither firm had to do the merger, Miles said, "But we had this strategic lens on it, saying, 'how can we be stronger? What's going to be required to be a leading competitive firm in the future?'"

"The partnership with Baker-Tilly helped us meet all those long-term strategic objectives, which helps us not only deal with these forces, but get out in front and lead in the market," Miles said.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at Polly_Thompson.89. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• "28 Years Later" is the long-gestating sequel to Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later."
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson leads the film alongside newcomer Alfie Williams.
• Here's where you might recognize the rest of the cast from.

"28 Years Later" brings the terrifying Rage virus back to the big screen as director Danny Boyle returns to examine postapocalyptic Britain once more.

It's the third film in the franchise following 2007's "28 Weeks Later" and is released on June 20. It picks up decades after the initial outbreak turned the British population into bloodthirsty, sprinting zombies.

"28 Years Later" revolves around the inhabitants of Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of Northumberland. The tide cuts Lindisfarne off from the mainland most of the time, keeping it safe from the infected.

Things get bloody when Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is tasked with taking his son Spike, played by newcomer Alfie Williams, to the world beyond the island.

While Boyle has recruited some talented actors for "28 Years Later," Cillian Murphy won't return to the franchise just yet.

Here's where you've seen the main cast before.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is known for movies like "Kick-Ass," "Kraven the Hunter," and "Nosferatu."

Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Jamie in "28 Years Later," and he takes his son onto the mainland, where they come face-to-face with the infected.

The actor previously starred in the "Kick-Ass" movies, and played superhero Quicksilver in "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

He also appeared in the 2014 "Godzilla" reboot and had a supporting role in Christopher Nolan's "Tenet."

Last year he led Sony's "Kraven the Hunter" movie as the titular Marvel villain, before getting his first brush with the horror genre in "Nosferatu."

Jodie Comer made her name in British dramas like "Doctor Foster" and recently starred in movies like "Free Guy" and "The Bikeriders."

Jodie Comer plays Jamie's wife Isla (and Spike's mother) in "28 Years Later."

Comer started her career by starring in buzzy British dramas like "My Mad Fat Diary," "Doctor Foster," and "Killing Eve."

She made the jump to Hollywood in the last five years, and worked with Ryan Reynolds on "Free Guy," and starred opposite Ben Affleck and Adam Driver in Ridley Scott's "The Last Duel."

In 2023, she played Kathy Bauer in "The Bikeriders" with Austin Butler and Tom Hardy.

Ralph Fiennes played Voldemort in "Harry Potter" and led 2024's "Conclave."

Ralph Fiennes plays the mysterious Dr Ian Kelson in "28 Years later." The actor is one of the most famous British stars of the past 30 years, following Oscar-nominated performances in films such as "Schindler's List," "The English Patient," and 2024's "Conclave."

He may be best known for playing Voldemort in the "Harry Potter" franchise, and the new M in Daniel Craig's "James Bond" movies.

Jack O'Connell started out in "Skins" but recently appeared in "Back to Black" and "Sinners."

Jack O'Connell plays Sir Jimmy Crystal in "28 Years Later," but the details of his role are being kept secret and out of the film's marketing material.

He rose to fame thanks to his role as Cook in the teen drama, "Skins," before starring in critically acclaimed British movies and shows including "This Is England," "Eden Lake," and "'71."

He later appeared in Netflix's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" opposite Emma Corrin, and played Amy Winehouse's husband, Blake Felder-Civil, in "Back to Black."

In 2024, O'Connell portrayed the vampire villain, Remmick, in Ryan Coogler's "Sinners."

Erin Kellyman starred in "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier" before "28 Years Later."

Erin Kellyman plays Jimmy Ink in "28 Years Later," but her role has been kept out of the marketing for the film. She also got her start in British TV thanks to shows like "Raised By Wolves" and the "Les Misérables" miniseries.

She started to get more attention after her brief role as rebel pirate Enfys Nest in "Solo: A Star Wars Story," which led to her playing villain Karli Morgenthau in the Marvel series, "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier."

She continued her TV streak in 2022 by starring in Netflix's "Top Boy" and Disney's "Willow."

• A key DOGE-minded lawmaker in Congress calling out Elon Musk amid his feud with Trump.
• "Most everybody knew Elon was exaggerating to what he could do," said Rep. Blake Moore of Utah.
• He also said Musk was "parroting false claims" about the "Big Beautiful Bill."

Shortly after the feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk hit its apex on Thursday, a key DOGE-minded lawmaker in Congress had some pointed words about the world's richest man.

"Most everybody knew Elon was exaggerating to what he could do," Republican Rep. Blake Moore of Utah told reporters outside the Capitol. "He was claiming finding $4 billion a day in cuts he was going to get. One time, he said $2 trillion, he was going to find."

"It's a massive exaggeration, and I think people are recognizing that now," Moore said.

The Utah Republican is one of the three co-leaders of the House DOGE caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers who had hoped to support Musk's cost-cutting efforts.

The caucus met a handful of times at the beginning of the year, and leaders previously told BI that they intended to compile a report of potential cost-saving measures for DOGE at the end of the first quarter of this year.

That didn't end up happening, in part because the White House DOGE Office ultimately had little interaction with the caucus. One Democratic member declared the group to be "dead" last month.

"We've always been a little frustrated that there was such limited interaction," Moore said on Thursday. "We couldn't really identify where we were to lean in, and we had a ton of folks ready to support it, but there just wasn't that interaction."

Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Moore said that he wanted to pursue cuts to federal spending through the bipartisan government funding process, saying that there are "plenty of Democrats that recognize there's waste in our government."

GOP leaders have said they'll pursue DOGE cuts both through that process and through "rescission" packages, the first of which is set to be voted on in the House next week. The first package, which includes cuts to public broadcasting and foreign aid, is $9.4 billion, just a fraction of the cost savings that Musk once predicted.

"It's definitely kind of over-promising, under-delivering," Moore said.

Musk's public feud with Trump began last week, when the tech titan began criticizing the "Big Beautiful Bill" that Republicans are trying to muscle through Congress.

The bill is projected to increase the deficit by trillions of dollars, though Republicans have argued that those forecasts do not account for the economic growth that might be spurred by the bill.

That feud boiled over on Tuesday, with the two men engaging in a war of words on their respective social media platforms.

"When I saw Musk start posting, just parroting false claims about the tax reconciliation bill, it was clear something's amiss," Moore said. "And so it escalated, yeah. It escalated very quickly."

• Minimally processed and high-protein dairy is having a moment.
• Products like probiotic ice cream and chocolate butter are appearing on grocery store shelves.
• Meanwhile, raw milk has become a symbol of Make America Healthy Again-style wellness.

Want to snack on something that's high in protein, gut-friendly, minimally processed, and tastes good? Hit the dairy aisle.

After years of being outshone and relegated to second best by shiny, new plant-based alternatives like oat milk and cashew cream, dairy is not only in demand, it's having a glow-up.

Products like mint chocolate cookie probiotic ice cream and pistachio-flavored kefir — some of which come wrapped in whimsical, retro-style packaging — are hitting the market as dairy finds itself at the center of the Venn diagram of health, food, and cultural trends.

"I really have not seen this type of dairy innovation in past years," Jessica Rubino of New Hope Network, an organic-focused consultancy firm that tracks US food and drink industry trends, told Business Insider.

According to the organization's insights, the organic dairy sector grew by 9.8% in 2024, up from 5.6% the previous year — far higher than the one or two percent a year increase seen since around 2015.

"That type of increase in growth is pretty significant," Rubino said.

Dairy aligns with health trends

With 82% of US consumers considering wellness a top or important priority in their everyday lives, according to 2024 trend data from McKinsey, food and drink can't just taste good, it needs to provide health benefits too.

A large part of dairy's appeal right now is that it's high in protein and minimally processed.

Whether you want to eat enough protein to build muscle, you use a GLP-1 and need more protein to maintain muscle mass or are a member of the manosphere following the carnivore diet, we've gone protein-crazy in recent years.

The global protein market is estimated to reach over $47.4 billion by 2032, up from $26 billion in 2021, according to Statista. Protein-enhanced products, such as sodas, waters, powders, and bars, have taken over grocery store aisles.

Fairlife, the industry leader in ultra-filtered milk, which contains 50% more protein than regular milk, has seen dollar sales rise by 31% in the past 12 months, according to data from market research agency Circana. The milk is filtered to separate its components (water, lactose, protein, fat, and vitamins and minerals) and reformulated. Lactose and sugar are removed, and protein is concentrated.

Melissa Altobelli, a dairy industry analyst at Circana, told BI that Fairlife, which has been around since 2012, has exploded in popularity recently because its product chimes with current trends.

"It's not that the effort wasn't made in the past. It's just more appealing to consumers currently," she said, adding: "Protein is in everything at this point, and that's what consumers are looking for."

Rubino also sees gut health as a particularly big draw for dairy, as people seek out functional foods to "optimize" their health and live longer.

"You can get high dosages of probiotics through these food products," she said.

The ultra-processed foods backlash is good news for dairy

As ultra-processed foods take over from carbs as the demon of the dietary world, shoppers are losing their appetite for them.

Typically long-lasting and designed to be irresistible and easy to eat, these foods contain ingredients you wouldn't find in a regular kitchen, such as gums, emulsifiers, and colors. Mounting research links ultra-processed foods to a host of health conditions — from type 2 diabetes to depression and poor gut health.

As public awareness of ultra-processed foods has grown, people have become more wary of alt milks, which typically contain additives, Amy Bentley, a professor of food studies at NYU who specializes in the American diet, told BI. "Alt meat and alt milk don't want to be put in that category. They want to say, 'Hey, we're different.' But if you read those ingredient labels of some of those alt products, they are very, very ultra processed," she said.

This has been dairy's gain: "The pendulum has swung back," Andrea Hernández, the author of the food trends newsletter Snaxshot, told BI. "Milk was the original functional drink," Hernández said, "and it's become culturally cool again."

"Consumers are still looking for simple ingredients and naturalness," Altobelli said. And traditional dairy products, like unflavored yogurts and cottage cheese, as well as more innovative ones like Fairlife, fit the bill.

The cult status of raw dairy in a MAHA world

Dairy products, including raw milk, have become part of a cultural conversation in the past year or so.

Fans of raw milk say it contains more beneficial microbes than pasteurized milk and can protect against allergies and asthma. Food scientists, however, argue that the ostensible benefits of raw milk are outweighed on a population level by the risk of catching bird flu or being poisoned by E. coli.

Raw milk, along with beef tallow and butter, has also become synonymous with the "make America healthy again," or MAHA, movement. Its spearhead, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the US Health Secretary, said in June 2024 that he only drinks raw milk and, before he was appointed, criticized what he called the FDA's "aggressive suppression" of raw milk, which he said on X in October 2024 "advances human health." In late May, he took shots of the stuff in the White House on a podcast.

Federal law prohibits the sale of raw milk across state lines, but individual state laws, not the FDA, dictate whether it can be sold within that state.

Raw milk enthusiasts include people across the political and cultural spectrum. Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted "Raw Milk does a body good" on X in October 2024. Gwyneth Paltrow, an early adopter of wellness culture, said she adds raw milk creamer to her coffee every morning. And "tradwife" influencer and dairy farmer Hannah Neeleman, who posts as "Ballerina Farm" online, was featured milking one of her cows on the cover of the conservative women's magazine Evie in November, emblazoned with the words "The New American Dream."

Hernández said there is a "romanticization of a dairy farm or a farmer's life." "It's become trendy to be able to say, 'Oh, I got this $20 raw milk jug at Erewhon,'" the Los Angeles-based health food store known for its $20 smoothies, she said.

The next era for dairy: exotic flavors with health benefits

People may want their meals to be nutritious, but that doesn't mean they're willing to compromise on taste.

On top of wellness, consumers, and Gen Z in particular, are looking for "unusual flavors as they seek new and unique experiences," according to branding consultancy and market research agency VML's Future 100: 2025 trends report. One in four of us want "interesting and exotic global flavor combinations," the report said.

If the offerings at Natural Products Expo West, a prolific trade show for organic, sustainable food and beverage products, which took place in California in March, are any indication, brands are meeting the moment. Attendees could try ashwagandha-infused or Aleppo chile-flavored ghee, pineapple cottage cheese, and reduced-sugar chai tea-flavored yogurt.

Alec's, an organic ice cream brand that displayed at the trade show, launched their Culture Cup, a 4 fl oz cup of ice cream with added pre- and probiotics, in April with flavors including chocolate-covered strawberry and dark chocolate honeycomb.

All Things Butter, a company founded by the British chef Thomas Straker in 2023, has also gained traction for its flavored butters. Current products include cinnamon bun butter, chocolate butter, and smoked paprika butter. Unlike traditional butter packaging, its butter sticks come in colorful foil adorned with anthropomorphic cartoon cows.

It was the first "very yassified, very millennial looking" dairy brand Hernández noticed, but she's certain we'll see many more.

"I'm pretty sure there's going to be copycats coming out soon in the US," she said.