• TikTok creators face losing their income as a potential US ban looms.
• In response, some TikTokers are vowing not to pay taxes on their earnings from the app.
• TikTok supports 224,000 US jobs and contributed $24.2 billion to GDP in 2023, according to one analysis.

As the deadline to decide TikTok's fate nears, some creators are wondering what it means for their income.

Some say that if their social media business is suddenly yanked away, they won't be filing their taxes — either out of spite of because they simply won't have access to their earnings details anymore.

"If the government bans TikTok, I'm not gonna pay my taxes," said one creator, Spencer Hudson, in a video. "I said it. TikTok is my job, alright. I get money from this."

Hudson said he paid taxes on his TikTok income last year, but this year, he's "not doing that."

"You can't take away my job and still demand taxes. That's not how this works, alright?"

TikTok's time could be running out. Unless the Supreme Court steps in or delays the divest-or-ban law, the platform will start to "go dark" for US-based users on January 19.

A ban could have a significant impact, with some small business owners warning that their livelihoods will be destroyed.

Some also say they'll no longer be able to access their 1099 forms that are used to report income.

"My place of employment no longer exists," said TikToker Patricia Walker. "What taxes? Uncle Sam, I'm sorry to tell you this, but what money?"

Walker also asked if she could "file for unemployment," adding: "You took my job away."

Sen. Ed Markey's Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, which he proposed in a press release on Monday, aims to fight for the platform on this basis.

He said that TikTok had its problems, but that the "stakes are high" for millions of Americans.

"Like every social media platform, TikTok poses a serious risk to the privacy and mental health of our young people. I will continue to hold TikTok accountable for such behavior," Markey said in a statement.

However, he said a ban "would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen."

An Oxford Economics report found TikTok is responsible for 224,000 jobs in the US. In 2023, it contributed $24.2 billion to GDP in 2023, and $5.3 billion in taxes paid.

TikTok Shop, for example, pulled in millions in sales a month on the platform last year, including $100 million on Black Friday alone.

As the potential ban inches closer, creators have been flocking to alternative apps, including Chinese-owned Lemon8 and RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshum.

• RedNote, or Xiaohongshu, has taken the West by storm.
• TikTok users have flocked to RedNote ahead of the looming ban on their app.
• The sudden influx of users has created a mass cultural exchange, but experts say it may not last.

For over a decade, China's social media has been living in its own world.

Without access to YouTube, Facebook, Google, or Instagram, the country instead relies on local apps such as BiliBili, Weibo, Baidu, and, more recently — Xiaohongshu.

Xiaohongshu, now known in English as RedNote, transformed overnight into a bridge between the realms of China's internet and America's, as a sudden wave of US users downloaded the app this week in anticipation of a national ban on TikTok.

RedNote's rise was relatively recent in the Chinese space, with the app only gaining significant mainstream traction from 2018 onward.

It's most often compared to Instagram, with a heavy focus on photos presented through a grid-like feed. In China, it's been largely defined as a popular app for beauty and lifestyle content, especially among young women.

Then came the looming TikTok ban and the Americans. By Monday, RedNote became the most downloaded iPhone app in the US. As of Thursday evening, it still holds the top spot.

The sudden surge in interest in RedNote comes as TikTok inches closer to its divest-or-ban deadline on January 19. The Senate passed a law in April that would require TikTok to stop operating in the US if it didn't divest itself from its Chinese-based owner, ByteDance.

Last week, TikTok appealed to the Supreme Court for an emergency injunction to pause the divestment deadline. The court is expected to rule on TikTok's fate this week.

New US users, calling themselves "TikTok Refugees," flooded the platform with memes and introduction videos. In turn, their Chinese counterparts uploaded welcome posts and guides on how to use Chinese online slang. Some even asked for help with their English homework.

Cultural exchange on a mass scale

It's a mass cultural exchange on an unprecedented scale.

International users typically have little incentive or opportunity to dive into Chinese social media apps, which cater to local audiences and are often locked behind strict user requirements that align with Beijing's government standards.

Weibo, for example, requires all users to register with their full names, and the app displays their location and gender to other users.

Even TikTok, founded by Chinese company Bytedance, is separate from China's version of the app, Douyin.

Cross-border interactions on RedNote have been mostly friendly, at a time when US-China tensions have dominated global politics.

"It's so amazing to have you here," said one Chinese user in a viral post. "For so long, we haven't been able to connect or talk to each other like this. But now we finally can, and it feels so special."

His video, titled "American friends please stay here," received over 174,000 likes.

Some users began hosting "cultural exchange" livestream audio chats, inviting young American and Chinese people to discuss their lives and befriend each other. One such livestream, seen by Business Insider, was watched by 70,000 users, with hundreds tuning in at a time.

Too early to tell how RedNote will impact US-China relations

Researchers and academics who study US-China relations told BI they're watching the space with interest, but that it's still too early to say how the RedNote migration might play out.

"I think it's likely true that many Chinese are interacting with Americans for the first time," said Stanley Rosen, a professor of political science at the University of Southern California's US-China Institute.

Rosen said China's government might initially be pleased by the influx of American users to RedNote, given how Beijing has criticized the impending ban on TikTok. Congressional leaders who voted to pass the divest-or-ban law against ByteDance had cited concerns about Chinese ownership.

But Rosen added that letting Chinese and American users mingle en masse could eventually disrupt Beijing's careful governance of its online platforms. For instance, a Chinese person's complaints about low pay could be met with well-intentioned — yet potentially contentious — replies from Americans, who might suggest forming a union or going on strike, Rosen said.

American users are still subject to Chinese rules on RedNote. For example, two writers from the entertainment news site The Wrap reported on Wednesday that they uploaded a post about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests — a heavily censored topic on the Chinese internet — and found that it was taken down within five minutes.

Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, told BI that it's unlikely that any friendly interactions on RedNote would impact US-China relations.

"The tensions between these countries are based on very long-term problems," Wu said.

"I think this sort of passion will die very soon," he added.

RedNote's popularity may not last

In fact, RedNote's newfound popularity in the West could just end up being a temporary phenomenon.

Natalie Pang, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore's department of communications and new media, told BI that such massive user migrations from one platform to another haven't always been sustainable.

"Many years ago, when WhatsApp announced certain features on their platform, people also left WhatsApp and migrated to Signal, but those migrations were not sustained," Pang said.

Platforms are only able to retain these new users if their network moves along with them, she added.

"We have to understand that these 'TikTok Refugees' are moving to Xiaohongshu as part of a protest against the TikTok ban. So if we understand this move as part of a protest, then I think we'll see more sustained migration toward the platform if interest in the protest continues," Pang said.

That said, TikTok may not be out of the game just yet.

The social media platform may get some reprieve from President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office on January 20, a day after the divestment deadline passes.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month and plans to attend Trump's inauguration.

Trump had pushed for a ban on TikTok during his first term, but has since reversed his position on the platform. The president-elect filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on December 27, asking the court to pause the deadline so that he could come up with a political resolution.

"You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump told reporters at a press conference last month.

On Wednesday, Trump's pick for national security advisor, Mike Waltz, said in an interview with Fox News that Trump would "find a way to preserve" TikTok.

"He is a dealmaker. I don't want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we're going to create the space to put that deal in place," Waltz said.

• Donald Trump's second inauguration is on Monday.
• He's received a warm welcome from top CEOs in the tech industry.
• Some business leaders are reacting differently to a Trump presidency than they did eight years ago.

Business leaders are treating President-elect Donald Trump a lot differently than they did eight years ago when he first took the White House.

Trump will take the oath of office at his second inauguration on Monday, and several CEOs are reportedly attending.

Microsoft CEO Sundar Pichai and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew are just two of the latest Big Tech executives planning to attend. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos are also reportedly attending.

Companies have also been making donations toward Trump's inauguration festivities. Google, for instance, is making a $1 million donation — roughly three times what the company donated to Trump's 2017 inauguration.

Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon are also making major donations to Trump's inauguration. Sam Altman is contributing $1 million of his own money to the fund.

It's not unusual for major companies and CEOs to donate to a presidential inauguration. Uber, Qualcomm, and Lockheed Martin were among the companies to make $1 million donations to President Joe Biden's inauguration celebrations in 2021, according to a Federal Elections Commission Filing.

Trump also attracted multiple million-dollar donations for his inauguration in 2017, when net donations reached about $107 million thanks to names like Sheldon Adelson and Charles Schwab. Major tech names didn't contribute, though, according to federal filings.

Trump's inauguration effort this year has raised $170 million so far — a record, according to the New York Times. This time, donations from tech companies and leaders are partly to thank.

How CEOs responded to Trump's first presidency

The level of support for Trump among tech leaders this year contrasts with 2016, when many prominent CEOs distanced themselves from Trump.

In the days after Trump won in November 2016, many CEOs did not mention Trump by name in their public statements.

"We are all blessed to have the ability to make the world better, and we have the responsibility to do it," Mark Zuckerberg posted on Facebook after the election that year. "Let's go work even harder."

Zuckerberg also skipped a December 2016 meeting with Trump and other tech CEOs soon after Trump was elected.

Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees at the time that the company's ranks included "supporters of each of the candidates."

"Regardless of which candidate each of us supported as individuals, the only way to move forward is to move forward together," he said, according to an email obtained at the time by TechCrunch.

Ahead of the December 2016 meeting that Trump held with tech leaders, there was "a wide spectrum of feeling in the Valley," Aaron Levie, the CEO of the cloud storage company Box, told The New York Times at the time, referring to Silicon Valley in California.

Some business leaders did congratulate Trump directly, though some of their comments were not glowing endorsements.

"Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump," Jeff Bezos wrote on Twitter. "I for one give him my most open mind and wish him great success in his service to the country."

Tech leaders show public support for Trump

When Trump won a second term in November, by contrast, Zuckerberg, Cook, and other CEOs who had avoided saying Trump's name or involving themselves in the inauguration or administration were direct in congratulating him.

Elon Musk, who became an economic advisor to Trump during his first term, ended up parting ways with the president in 2017 after Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement on the climate crisis.

Yet Musk threw his support behind Trump this time round, and in November, Trump named the Tesla CEO and Vivek Ramaswamy, a politician and entrepreneur who has worked in the biotech industry, to run the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk has been spending lots of time with Trump during his preparations to take office. He's also referred to himself as the "first buddy."

While seemingly not as closely involved in the transition, other prominent tech figures have also sounded hopeful when speaking about Trump's return to the White House.

For instance, Zuckerberg told podcaster Joe Rogan earlier this month that he thinks Trump will help US businesses.

"One of the things that I'm optimistic about with President Trump is I think he just wants America to win," he said during the podcast.

At The New York Times' DealBook Summit in December, Bezos said he wanted to help Trump reduce government regulations.

"I am very optimistic this time around," Bezos said of Trump's second term.

Trump is also changing his tune

There are some indications from Trump himself that his relationships with many CEOs are on the mend.

In 2021, he called Zuckerberg a "criminal" after he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated more than $400 million to organizations supporting election infrastructure in 2020.

Last September, Trump also published a coffee table book called "Save America" in which he gave an ominous warning to Zuckerberg.

"We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison — as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election," Trump wrote in the caption of one of the images of him and Zuckerberg in the White House.

Instead of sitting in prison, though, Zuckerberg will likely have a front-row seat at Trump's inauguration events.

On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that Zuckerberg is one of the hosts for a reception for Trump that will be held before the Inauguration Ball, which will take place Monday evening.

Trump has also seemingly changed his tune on Zuck's company, Meta.

In 2017, Trump also called Meta, then known as Facebook, "anti-Trump" in a post on X.

Earlier this month, Trump said the company had "come a long way" after Meta said it would end fact-checking on Facebook.

Trump also took aim at Bezos during his first term, calling him "Jeff Bozo" in a 2019 post on X, criticizing the Bezos-owned Washington Post, and saying that Amazon didn't compensate the Post Office adequately for shipping so many of its packages.

This December, though, the former Amazon CEO was on terms good enough for Trump to host Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, at his Mar-A-Largo estate for dinner.

Other business leaders, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Altman, and Zuckerberg, also visited Mar-A-Largo after Trump's win in 2024, underscoring a broader shift in the relationship between Trump and the tech world.

"In this term, everybody wants to be my friend," Trump said in December of all the tech CEOs trying to get an audience with him.

Trump's transition team and representatives for Altman, Bezos, Cook, Musk, Pichai, and Zuckerberg did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

• The quiet luxury trend is a big reason luxury brands are performing poorly, Bank of America analysts say.
• The analysts said the trend makes it easier to replicate luxury brand looks with low-cost dupes.
• The analyst note comes after a particularly bad year for luxury retailers in 2024.

Quiet luxury is a big source of the luxury industry's woes, Bank of America analysts said.

BofA analysts, led by Ashley Wallace, said in the Thursday note that the retail trend of leaning toward subtle, logo-less designs has hurt the luxury industry.

"'Quiet luxury' is still in fashion. But it has created lower barriers to entry/scale and fuelled copycats/dupes," the note read.

For instance, quiet luxury has made the combination of a "beige cashmere jumper with wide gray pants" one of the top fashion styles, the analysts said. This fit, however, is easily replicable when shopping at stores like COS or Uniqlo, the BofA analysts added.

They added that the trend toward products with no logos has lowered barriers of entry into the luxury market, which has allowed for "the rise of niche players like The Row and Khaite as true competition for share of luxury wallet."

The Row, Khaite, and Loro Piana are known for releasing clothes and accessories in solid colors and simple, structured designs.

The analysts suggested that the luxury industry should "pivot back to creativity, fashion content, and newness" instead of leaning harder into simplicity.

"In order to reestablish stronger barriers to entry, we think the logo and fashion content is important," the analysts wrote.

Quiet luxury has boosted some big brands — including Hermès, which managed to reap rewards with classic designs. Hermès's revenue of 11.2 billion euros, or $12.1 billion, for the first nine months of 2024 was up 14% from the same period in 2023.

Chinese luxury consumers, who have long been logo-hungry, also started adopting a quiet, old-money aesthetic in 2023.

The BofA note comes after a bad year for the luxury market. In 2024, luxury spending stagnated, and big brands saw their share prices drop.

The luxury industry was also hit by "aspirational" luxury shoppers — those who spent big bucks on luxury immediately after the pandemic — scaling back on spending.

Kering, the owner of Gucci, YSL, and Balenciaga, saw its stock fall more than 40% in 2024.

Luxury giant LVMH, the parent of brands like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Burberry, also saw its sales slide by 3% in the third quarter of 2024, partially due to weakened consumer confidence in China.

• The top scientist at real-estate firm CoreLogic lives in an LA area affected by the Palisades fire.
• Howard Botts said he chose his home's location carefully and added extra protections against fire.
• He said his home is safe but that big challenges lie ahead for his neighbors and other homeowners.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Howard Botts, chief scientist and executive leader of CoreLogic's science and analytics team, which studies the climate crisis and risks from natural disasters. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I live in the Rustic Canyon area of Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles — 20 miles west of downtown.

We've had fires in the community before, but usually, they get suppressed pretty quickly. The recent fires are an anomaly.

On the day it all started, I could see smoke and fire on the top of the Santa Monica Mountains in the city. The wind was blowing at 30 to 50 miles per hour. which I knew wasn't good because winds flow from the mountains to the ocean.

My wife and I began packing up essential things, getting ready to evacuate. We had no idea how fast that fire was going to spread. Within a couple of hours, much of our city was engulfed in flames.

We evacuated from our house, along with tens of thousands of residents from Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas.

Last Thursday, I was able to walk into Rustic Canyon. Miraculously, our house had no damage, but there's a lot of ash, debris, and smoke damage that will need extensive clean-up. We may have to remove the drywall and insulation if deep cleaning doesn't remove the campfire smell.

I live on the south side of Sunset Boulevard, just below Will Rogers State Park. Virtually all the homes on the north side of Sunset and above burned — including Billy Crystal's house and Will Rogers' historic home.

As you go up the hill from where I live, into the main part of the Palisades, it looks like the pictures you see of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped. Literally everything is gone, except for some fireplaces and metal staircases.

Palisades residents didn't anticipate the fires even though the area is high-risk

The Pacific Palisades is uniquely located between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains, which rise about 1,000 feet above the city — just a few miles from the coast. The mountains offer beautiful views but are also heavily covered with chaparral, making the area at high risk for wildfires.

I was very aware of this and avoided living in the hillside area.

A question I get a a lot is, "Why do people live in the Palisades, up in the hillside?"

I think it's a calculated risk. For some, the area's amenities outweigh the perceived risk.

The homes in the neighborhood range from $3 million to $64 million, so people living here have some level of assets and probably feel secure. The area is also unique in that, even though it's part of the city of LA, it has a small-town feel.

I think all of those things caused people to maybe downplay the wildfire risk. They thought nothing like this would ever happen.

The Palisades fire ignited for several reasons

You would never envision an entire community burning, but the wildfires were born from a perfect storm of events.

Increasing average temperatures put stress on vegetation in the mountains that hadn't burned in 30 years.

Extremely high wind speeds also played a major role. The winds carried embers a mile from the wildfire, blowtorching flames out of the mountains and into flat, more urban areas. In those areas, houses, fences, and vegetation were already burning well ahead of the fire's front.

There were also human-caused factors. Fire departments and responders ran out of water, so fire suppression that would normally occur on the ground ceased for a period.

Fires in this area are also typically attacked from the air with airplanes and helicopters. However, those aircraft were grounded due to the high winds, preventing the use of fire retardants and other aerial suppression methods.

I don't plan to leave the Palisades, but I've taken steps to protect my house and family

I absolutely plan to continue living in the Palisades.

As a scientist and a fourth-generation Californian, wildfire risk is always at the forefront of my mind. I've mitigated everything I could around my property, from installing double-paned windows and a fire-resistant roof.

My house is anchored in bedrock, so my earthquake risk is relatively low. Plus, I live high enough above the Pacific Ocean that I don't have to worry about sea level rise.

Conversely, it will take a decade for my community to return.

Many older homes likely had asbestos or lead, requiring major remediation efforts, including removing soil and other materials. This will prevent people from moving back in immediately.

Also, the stores, banks, post offices, and schools are all gone, so any sense of community closeness is lost.

It will be a long time before this area bounces back — that will be the real challenge.

Insurance costs could impact whether people who lost homes rebuild or move

The Palisades is relatively affluent. However, the areas affected by the Eaton fire have many more middle-class residents.

I think the fires will change the character of those neighborhoods, because the key question is, "Can residents afford to rebuild at the cost it will take?"

Building codes have changed, so homes being rebuilt will need to meet the latest standards, including indoor sprinklers for fire suppression and fireproof Class A roofs, which will increase both materials and costs.

Another question is, "Do residents have enough insurance coverage to make rebuilding possible?"

California definitely has an insurability problem at the moment.

In September, a major insurer did not renew my policy. The only fire insurance I could get was through the California FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort. My overall homeowners premium increased from $2,800 a year to $12,800 a year for less coverage than I had previously.

With higher insurability costs, some of my neighbors are considering moving to lower-cost areas in other parts of California. I think we'll see this play out nationally as well.

Over the next 30 years, we'll likely see people moving to regions they've historically left, such as cities around the Great Lakes — Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit — where climate change impacts are expected to be more moderate.

Californians will also need to adjust how they build homes

A key question is how places like California can stay safe with rising temperatures.

We'll see more happening at the community level, where neighbors band together to clear vegetation around homes to reduce wildfire risk.

Additionally, there will be more pressure on individual homeowners to mitigate wildfire risk on their properties — such as avoiding wood fences, decks, and pergolas attached to the house.

We'll also see insurers incentivizing homeowners to make changes that reduce risk. For example, some neighbors were told they could lower their rates by removing pine or eucalyptus trees from their property.

Going forward, I think there will also be much greater investments in California's public safety, including making sure there is adequate water supply, fire suppression equipment, and other resources.

• Wildfires have ravaged Los Angeles for over a week.
• Some Republican lawmakers argued that aid to California should be conditioned on policy changes.
• Data shows California pays more in taxes than it receives in federal spending.

Los Angeles' wildfires spurred a political debate about whether California should continue receiving unconditional federal aid in the wake of the disaster.

Wildfires have ravaged LA for over a week, having burned through more than 40,000 acres, destroyed over 12,300 structures, and killed at least 25 people.

The scope of the damage and the severe impacts on the state's residents have prompted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to participate in the conversation about whether the federal government should let more funds flow to help stop the wildfires.

Some Republican lawmakers have criticized the current aid going to California and supported conditional aid hinged on policy changes in the state. GOP Rep. Warren Davidson, for example, recently told Fox News that he supports more federal aid for wildfires, but policy changes like better forest management should accompany it.

"If they want the money, then there should be consequences where they have to change their policies," he said. Davidson also wrote on X on January 12 that California Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order to help wildfire victims rebuild their homes was "reasonable," but he said more action is needed on water management and fire prevention.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson expressed a similar sentiment, telling reporters on January 13 that "there should probably be conditions" on any wildfire aid that California receives.

But despite those GOP criticisms of potential aid to California, data shows that the state has actually received less from the federal government than the taxes it paid.

The Rockefeller Institute of Government, a public policy think tank, found that in fiscal year 2022, California's federal tax receipts per capita was $17,731 while its federal expenditures per capita, excluding temporary COVID-19 spending measures, was $14,492 — or a difference of $3,239 taxes paid minus spending received. A dozen other states had higher values of taxes paid than federal spending distributed in a state per capita, including New York and Illinois.

You can hover over the map below to see what this looked like by state.

Some commentators pointed out the disparity between California's taxes and spending. Economist Paul Krugman wrote in a Substack post, which also highlighted similar data from the Rockefeller Institute, that California subsidizes states, "red states in particular, through the federal budget."

Even on the campaign trail, President-elect Trump hinted that future funding for wildfires could hinge on California's policies. "We're going to take care of your water situation, and we'll force it down his throat," Trump said of Newsom during an October campaign rally in California, referring to the state's water policies. "And we'll say: Gavin, if you don't do it, we're not giving you any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the fire, forest fires that you have."

Trump posted on Truth Social on January 8: "One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It's ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!"

Newsom has pushed back on Trump and other Republican lawmakers' comments on the wildfires, recently telling CNN: "People are literally fleeing, people have lost their lives, kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder, churches burning down, and this guy wanted to politicize it," referring to Trump.

The Trump transition team, along with Davidson and Johnson's offices, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

While it's too early to calculate the costs of the wildfire damage, a recent estimate from AccuWeather found the price tag could total between $250 billion and $275 billion. Local and federal governments would likely pick up some of the tab, BI previously reported, along with private and state insurers.

President Joe Biden also said during January 14 remarks that those impacted by the wildfires will receive a one-time payment of $770 to help them quickly purchase necessities.

"Although the federal government is going to cover 100% of the cost for the next 180 days for things like firefighter overtime pay, debris removal, temporary shelters, it's going to cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back to where it was," Biden said. "So, we're going to need Congress to step up to provide funding to get this done."

• Most Amazon corporate employees started working in the office five days a week in January 2025.
• Some employees reported issues such as lack of desks, full parking lots, and office theft.
• Others are keen to re-connect with colleagues. "You just can't recreate these connections online."

Amazon's five-day return-to-office mandate is off to a bumpy start.

Employees who spoke to Business Insider said the new office policy, which kicked off at the beginning of the year, has resulted in full parking lots, a lack of desks and meeting rooms, and items being stolen from desks.

While some employees praised the new policy as more face-to-face interactions have at times resulted in better collaboration, others say they still spend much of their time on video chats and in other virtual meetings.

BI spoke to seven current Amazon employees about the new office mandate. The employees also shared screenshots of group Slack messages and other private communications.

"Please go back to RTO3," one Amazon employee wrote on Slack, referring to Amazon's previous policy that allowed staff to work two days a week from home. "Or allow employees the option to WFH if they have the proper set up and they are high performers."

That Slack post garnered at least 22 supportive emojis from other Amazon colleagues.

Change is hard

Amazon has 1.5 million workers, of which roughly 350,000 are corporate staff. So those people who are openly complaining about the full RTO experience represent a tiny fraction of the company's workforce.

Some of the complaints may be a natural reaction to what is a drastic change of daily life for thousands of employees who slowly got used to working from home in the pandemic, and now must adjust again to a new reality.

Peter Cappelli, director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources, told BI that forcing employees to return to the office can stoke resentment. But even if management does a poor job with the transition, employees cannot do much because RTO is often "painful." And quitting isn't an option as fewer companies offer remote work these days, he noted.

"Employers have all the power here," Cappelli added.

Some Amazon employees are RTO-happy

Not all Amazon employees are grumpy about working in the office every day of the week.

BI asked Amazon for examples of employees who are positive about the full return to office. The company's press office shared thoughts from two employees.

Rena Palumbo, an Amazon Web Services employee, said re-establishing human connection with colleagues has been important, and she's now more excited about working with them.

Cash Ashley, another AWS employee, said face-to-face interactions have been crucial for building work relationships and creating mentorship opportunities. He said RTO also helps with work-life balance because there's a clear separation between work and home.

"You just can't recreate these connections online," Ashley said.

In an email to BI, Amazon's spokesperson said the company is focused on ensuring the transition is "as smooth as possible."

"While we've heard ideas for improvement from a relatively small number of employees and are working to address those, these anonymous anecdotes don't reflect the sentiment we're hearing from most of our teammates," the spokesperson said. "What we're seeing is great energy across our offices, and we're excited by the innovation, collaboration and connection that we've seen already with our teams working in person together."

CEO Andy Jassy said last year that the new policy is meant to improve team collaboration and "further strengthen" the company's culture. AWS CEO Matt Garman also told employees in October that 9 out of 10 people he spoke to were "excited" about the change.

Lack of desks and meeting rooms

Most of Amazon's corporate employees started following the five-day office return mandate in early January. There are some signs that the company wasn't fully prepared for the logistical challenges.

Some workers found there weren't enough desks and had to track down space in a cafeteria or a hallway, two employees told BI. Others said there weren't enough chairs in offices and meeting rooms.

There's also been a shortage of meeting rooms, one of the people said. Some people got used to speaking openly about private topics while working from home. Now they're surrounded by colleagues in the office, so they are unofficially slipping into meeting rooms and phone rooms to conduct these conversations, this person said. That's clogged up meeting spaces and left some managers having private chats in open areas for everyone in the office to hear.

Full parking and shuttles

Some Amazon employees complained on Slack that when they drove to the office they were turned away because company parking lots were full. Others said they just drove back home, while some staffers found street parking nearby, according to multiple Slack messages seen by BI.

One employee from Amazon's Nashville office said the wait time for a company parking pass is backed up for months, although another staffer there said the company was providing free commuter passes which they described as "incredibly generous."

Another Amazon worker said some colleagues are joining morning work meetings from the road because the flood of extra employees coming to the office is making commutes longer.

Other staffers said they were denied a spot on Amazon shuttle buses because the vehicles were full, according to one of the Slack messages viewed by BI.

Signs of strain

With so many Amazon employees spread out across well over 100 locations around the globe, getting everyone back into an office smoothly is going to take more than a few weeks.

Indeed, Amazon delayed full RTO at dozens of locations, with some postponed to as late as May, due to office capacity issues, BI previously reported. Amazon subsidiaries, such as One Medical and Twitch, have also delayed or received exemptions from the five-day office-return policy, BI reported.

"Our upper 'leadership' has botched this so hard along with so many other things. Makes one wonder what other poor decisions will impact the company in the coming year," an Amazon worker recently wrote on the company's Slack.

Amazon's spokesperson told BI that the company is ready for the vast majority of employees to be back in the office.

"As of early January, the overwhelming majority of our employees have dedicated workspaces and have returned to the office full time," the spokesperson said. "Of the hundreds of offices we have all around the world, there are only a relatively small number that are not quite ready to welcome everyone back a full five days a week."

Office thefts and daily shower reminders

In some cases, basic office etiquette seemed missing as staff returned in the first week or so of January.

Several employees at Amazon's Toronto office complained of their personal belongings being repeatedly stolen from desks, according to the Slack messages.

One person complained that a keyboard and mouse placed on their assigned desk had gone missing, while another urged employees to keep their possessions in a safe place.

"Despite being adults that are well-paid, it's shameful that we can't trust each other with leaving personal belongings unattended," one worker wrote on Slack. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment when BI specifically asked about this issue.

An office "survival guide"

On Blind, which runs anonymous message boards for corporate employees, Amazon staffers posted an "essential survival guide," offering tips for colleagues coming back to the office.

"Operation: Don't Be The Office Menace" listed several dos and don'ts for working around other people.

"Deploy personal hygiene protocols BEFORE leaving your launch pad (home). Yes, that means actually using the shower you've been avoiding since WFH began," read one piece of advice for office life at Amazon.

Another urged colleagues to keep the toilets tidy. "The bathroom stall is not a 'serverless' environment. Flush after use — it's called 'garbage collection' for a reason."

A third tip focused on the types of shoes to wear in the office. "Footwear is not optional. This isn't a beach sprint retrospective — keep those toes contained in their proper containers (shoes)."

'Very little team discussion'

RTO has been one of Amazon's most contentious issues over the past couple of years. Tens of thousands of Amazon employees signed internal petitions opposing the mandate, while internal Slack channels blew up with questions about the change. Jassy has had to address the issue repeatedly during internal all-hands meetings.

This month, some employees were still questioning the logic behind the policy. They said being in the office has so far had little effect on their work routine and has not generated much of a productivity gain.

A considerable portion of their in-office work is still being done through video calls with customers who are located elsewhere, these employees told BI.

Many Amazon colleagues are based in other office locations, so face-to-face meetings still don't happen very often, they added.

"Very little team discussion while here," one employee wrote on Slack.

Do you work at Amazon? Got a tip?

Contact the reporter, Eugene Kim, via the encrypted-messaging apps Signal or Telegram (+1-650-942-3061) or email ([email protected]). Reach out using a nonwork device. Check out Business Insider's source guide for other tips on sharing information securely.

Contact the reporter, Ashley Stewart, via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email ([email protected]). Use a nonwork device.

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• Stefan Vorontsov is a Ukrainian volunteer who secretly coaches those who want to leave occupied Ukraine.
• He told BI what it's like to evacuate and prepare for scrutiny from border authorities.
• He said the journey's most difficult leg is the border checkpoint, where Ukrainians can get interrogated for six hours.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Stefan Vorontsov, a Ukrainian who fled Russian-occupied Nova Kakhovka in early 2022. His organization, Humanity, has helped over 6,000 Ukrainians leave southern and eastern Ukraine.

Vorontsov is trying to raise awareness of the situation at the border, and limited his interview to information that he says would not compromise evacuees' safety. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Ukrainians who want to leave Russian occupation have only one path: Russia itself.

It's too dangerous to cross the front line, so we must go through either Crimea or Rostov-on-Don. Each one has a border checkpoint that gives Ukrainians access to Russia, but they are incredibly difficult to pass through.

The Russian border authorities are constantly screening people to catch pro-Ukraine partisans or punish those with family in the Ukrainian forces. One slip-up may mean you go to prison or never leave.

When a Ukrainian evacuee makes contact with us, we give them a "legend." It's the fake story we must create about why they want to enter Russia, about their families and national identity, and about their past.

For example, sick people can say they want to visit a Russian hospital, and families can say they want to go to the Black Sea and chill at the beach.

It's a lot harder for young Ukrainian men, especially those who are flagged by Russia for making pro-Ukraine posts online. For these people, we have to make sure their legend is strong.

In most cases, I use Telegram's "secret chat" function to message an evacuee carefully. I have to be delicate with what I tell them because I know that Russia may be able to read every word I write.

The Russians search everything about you

There are many reasons Ukrainians did not flee before the Russian army arrived. Many are sick. Many have children. Even though the war is on your doorstep, on your streets, it's so difficult to make the decision to permanently leave your home.

Over the years, I've learned that 95% of an evacuation's success depends on preparation before the person steps out the door.

The most important thing Ukrainians must do is clean up their phones.

The Russians check everything at the border checkpoint, and they're always looking for people with pro-Ukrainian views.

Evacuees must prepare that they could be interviewed for six hours at the border checkpoint, where the guards will meticulously vet everything about them: their phones, their social media posts, and their search history.

Anything related to Ukraine can implicate you. Ukrainian words, text messages from family members, photos of the Ukrainian flag, and even the colors of blue and yellow might land you in trouble. The guards can see if you liked or subscribed to a pro-Ukraine social media channel.

Maps are especially important to delete. The Russians do not like maps, and they think you will use them for sending coordinates.

Photos of buildings or city locations can also be a trap because they might be labeled as evidence of Russian positions.

The Russians will look through your phone contacts and call history, and try to find numbers from their database of pro-Ukraine people or Ukrainian soldiers. Even if it is an unknown number to you, you can still be caught if it's related to someone the Russians don't like.

We also consider the type of phone our evacuees use. If they use an Android phone, it's very easy for the Russians to recover a lot of their deleted data, like messages and photos from the last two or three years.

To help their case, we sometimes tell evacuees to add a bit of Russian flavor to their digital history by following certain Telegram channels or subscribing to pro-Russia YouTubers.

Surviving the checkpoint

Our organization gives free evacuation to those who want to escape, and we try to plan every step for them. We arrange for licensed bus drivers to take them to Crimea or Rostov-on-Don, and if they can't make it themselves to the gathering point, we pay for taxis, food, or hostel stays.

But we have to compete with Russian drivers, who come from the east and offer desperate Ukrainians travel into Russia for $400 a trip. We pay our drivers less than $50 per person.

At the border, the interviewers will try to provoke the evacuees. They will ask questions to make Ukrainians angry and catch them slipping if they support Ukraine.

This is where an evacuee's legend is so important.

If, for example, their brother is in the Ukrainian military, they should never tell the Russians that. They should try to talk about how they hate war and pretend to be as neutral as possible. Sometimes, it's useful to say that they are tired of the Ukrainian government.

The consequences of failing the checkpoint clearance can be great. You can be stuck in occupied Ukraine. Or you can go to prison. Or they can send you to a deep part of Russia without telling anyone.

Dozens of my friends, colleagues, and evacuees have disappeared while making this journey, and I don't know where they are.

Old people, children, and the sick often have an easier time, but it's becoming a lot harder to leave occupied Ukraine. When I left Ukraine in early 2022, it was 40 days after the Russians took Nova Kakhovka.

Back then, the Russians thought they would take our country quickly. They found photos and information on my phone that revealed I was pro-Ukraine, but somehow I managed to lie my way through to Georgia. Now, they try to break all Ukrainians, even old grannies and mothers.

Since January 2024, Russia has also required all Ukrainians to get a Russian passport for permission to cross the border. That's made our work a lot more difficult, and it introduced new complications. Boys and men, even those as young as 15, get pressured to join the Russian army when they apply for a passport.

If a Ukrainian can overcome all of these obstacles and pass the border checkpoint, they can travel to Moscow. From there, they can take a train to Belarus or Europe and eventually return to unoccupied Ukraine.

The entire process takes about four days. As for myself, I had to pass a second checkpoint and go through another four-hour interview on my way to Georgia, where I stayed for six months. Now, I'm in Western Europe helping to coordinate evacuations.

We don't get paid for what we do. In 2024, my organization helped to evacuate 360 Ukrainians, including 106 children, for a total of $23,500. We also evacuated a horse and dozens of dogs and cats.

We fundraise for train tickets, bus rides, and other evacuee expenses. We have a mission — to save the Ukrainian people, to save the Ukrainian nation. This mission is our driving force, our fuel.

• Sephora's CEO said teenagers only need three products in their skincare routine.
• "Just cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF for a 13-year-old," CEO Artemis Patrick said.
• Gen Alpha customers have gone viral for snapping up Sephora's expensive skincare products.

Sephora's CEO said teenagers only need three skincare products and need to stop buying products inappropriate for their age.

In a keynote speech at the National Retail Federation's Big Show on Monday, CEO Artemis Patrick said that she was all about "using the right appropriate skincare for the appropriate age."

She said that she had a conversation with her co-speaker, PWC's retail expert Kelly Pedersen, about his 13-year-old daughter "trying to buy products that she shouldn't be putting on her skin."

She said, "And I told him to tell her the CEO of Sephora told her not to do that."

"Just cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF for a 13-year-old. That's all you need," Patrick added.

Patrick's comments come after numerous reports of younger Gen Alpha shoppers going ham on expensive skincare and makeup products at Sephora.

The "10-year-old girls in Sephora" retail phenomenon went viral on TikTok last year, with Sephora customers and employees alike posting about how they spotted young shoppers shelling out on expensive skincare products.

Doctors and dermatologists previously told BI that teenagers needed only cleansers, moisturizers, and sunscreens for their skin and did not need to think about antiaging products like retinol or vitamin C serums.

"Most young people do not need to use any of these products. Their skin is young and does not have the photodamage of those in their 30s and 40s," Jamie Glick, a dermatologist with the New York Dermatology Group, told BI in May.

Apart from talking about skincare for teens, Patrick also said in her Monday chat that Sephora would be getting a major facelift, with all of its North American stores getting redesigns in the next five years.

Patrick said it will be the "largest capital project for Sephora in its history and that the redesign, as a whole, aimed to give Sephora customers in different regions a consistent experience.

• All of North Korea's troops in Kursk could get wiped out by April, given current losses, a think tank said.
• Analysts cited casualty reports from Ukraine and South Korea, estimating 92 losses per day for Pyongyang.
• Still, the estimated 12,000 troops sent by North Korea are a small fraction of its total military strength.

If North Korea's current casualty rate holds, it would take three more months for Pyongyang to lose all of its estimated 12,000 troops deployed to fight Ukraine, per an estimate by researchers from the Institute for the Study of War.

Analysts at the Washington-based think tank cited casualty reports from Ukraine and South Korea, as well as Russian military bloggers who said that North Korean troops were actively participating in significant combat in December.

"North Korean have therefore likely suffered roughly 92 casualties per day since starting to participate in significant fighting in early December 2024," they wrote in an assessment published on Thursday.

The think tank said that "the entirety of this North Korean contingent in Kursk Oblast may be killed or wounded in roughly 12 weeks (about mid-April 2025) should North Korean forces continue to suffer similarly high casualty rates in the future."

The analysts wrote that Pyongyang's losses will likely involve more wounded troops than those killed in action, which they said is "typical or armed conflict."

"And it is unclear if or when injured North Korean soldiers return to combat," the think tank's assessment said.

A South Korean lawmaker, Lee Sung-kwon, said on Monday that Seoul's intelligence service estimated that about 300 North Korean soldiers had been killed in action in Kursk, with another 2,700 wounded.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in early January that North Korean losses in Kursk had reached up to 3,800 wounded or killed.

"12,000 has arrived. Today, 3,800 killed or wounded," he told podcaster Lex Fridman.

The US also gave its estimate for North Korean casualties in December, saying that Pyongyang likely suffered 1,000 killed or wounded in its first week of engaging in significant combat.

"We now assess that North Korean forces are conducting massed — massed, dismounted assaults against Ukrainian positions in Kursk," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on December 27.

Russia's defense ministry press team did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

Western and South Korean intelligence officials have said that the roughly 12,000 North Korean troops deployed in Kursk are likely from the Storm Corps.

The elite branch of soldiers is considered North Korea's version of special forces, and estimates have varied as to how many are fielded by Pyongyang. One of the highest counts, by South Korea's Defense Ministry in 2022, put the Storm Corps at up to 200,000 strong.

Questions remain as to whether Kim Jong Un may send more troops to Russia's aid if manpower on the frontline runs dry. Quantity has been vital for both Ukraine and Russia — from troops to artillery to ammo — as the war looks to drag into its fourth year.

North Korea has an estimated 1.2 million soldiers in its armed forces, though they have barely any combat experience. Pyongyang is known to instead often rely on its troops for building infrastructure projects.

Still, Zelenskyy warned in early January of the possibility that North Korea could send up to half a million troops to aid Russia. But Pyongyang isn't giving its troops away for free — Kim is receiving food, technological expertise, and economic assistance from Russia in exchange.

Ukraine and South Korea reported in November that Russia was also paying Kim a stipend for each North Korean soldier deployed in Kursk. Seoul's intelligence said at the time that the cost was about $2,000 per man.

• The Chinese foreign ministry says Vice President Han Zheng will attend Donald Trump's inauguration.
• The Trump team said in December that it had invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but Xi will not attend.
• Foreign heads of state do not usually attend US presidential inaugurations.

China's foreign ministry says it is sending Vice President Han Zheng to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20.

The Trump transition team said last month that it had invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the event. The move came as a surprise given that foreign heads of state usually do not attend US presidential inaugurations.

"China follows the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in viewing and growing its relationship with the United States," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday morning local time announcing Han's attendance.

The statement said China is "ready to work with the new US government to enhance dialogue and communication" and "jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship."

The White House, Trump's transition team, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and the Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

'A channel of communication'

International relations experts told BI the move to send Han to Trump's inauguration is a positive sign for the US-China relationship.

"Han's attendance is significant, and even though the vice president does not really wield political power, it is still consequential, and he certainly will be able to play the role of an interlocutor and a channel of communication," Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at the Nanyang Technological University, told BI.

"Symbolically, the presence of Han for Trump's inauguration is also important to underline that political communication and cooperation is possible despite the campaign rhetoric and threat of tariffs," Loh added.

Han's visit to the US also allows China to "respectfully accept Trump's invitation without sending too strong of a signal or doing anything overly unconventional," said Austin Strange, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong's department of politics and public administration.

"China's government prefers a better, more stable relationship with the United States, and it can signal an initially friendly posture to the new administration, without making any concrete commitments, by sending a representative such as Han," Strange added.

Ian Ja Chong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, told BI that while Han's presence suggests "respect for Trump and the invitation," he isn't a member of China's Politburo Standing Committee, the Chinese Communist Party's top decision-making body.

"That insulates the CCP and the Politburo Standing Committee somewhat from blame should US-PRC relations not turn out as the CCP and Xi would prefer," Chong said.

"The PRC is willing to accord respect to Trump and set relations on a positive footing, but are not ready to engage with the Trump administration on substantive issues at the inauguration," he added.

Trump made tariff threats on the campaign trail

US-China relations have been tenuous since Trump's first term, with both the Trump and Biden administrations imposing tariffs on China.

In May, President Joe Biden announced an increase in tariffs on Chinese-exported steel, aluminum, medical products, and electric vehicles.

Those tariffs could be ratcheted up even further when Trump takes office. During his campaign, Trump said he plans to impose tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese goods entering the US.

In November, Trump said he plans to impose an additional 10% import tariff on Chinese goods unless China does more to curb the inflow of fentanyl into the US.

In January, Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that his representatives have been speaking to Xi's staff.

"I had a great relationship with President Xi. It was very solid, very strong, very friendly. He's a strong man, a powerful man," Trump told Hewitt in an interview that aired on January 6.

"He's certainly revered in China, but they are having problems and I think we will probably get along very well, I predict, but you know it's got to be a two-way street," Trump added.

Business leaders, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Shou Chew, are planning to attend Trump's inauguration on January 20. Meanwhile, US companies, including Amazon, Google, and Meta, have made $1 million donations to Trump's inauguration fund.

• Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos exchanged friendly tweets after rocket launches on Thursday.
• The billionaires have had a long-standing rivalry over space ambitions and more.
• Their recent interactions suggest a possible end to their long public feud.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos may no longer be enemies. In fact, a friendship may be budding between the two billionaires, judging by tweets they recently posted on X.

Both tech founders own rocket companies that launched missions on Thursday, with mixed results.

SpaceX's huge Starship spaceship exploded, although its Super Heavy rocket booster successfully returned to a platform on Earth.

"@elonmusk Kudos to you and the whole SpaceX team on the flawless booster catch! Very impressive." Bezos wrote on X.

Earlier in the day, Bezos' Blue Origin launched its 32-story-tall New Glenn rocket into orbit. It lost its booster during the test flight.

"Well done, @JeffBezos, and the Blue Origin team!" Musk wrote.

Is their long feud over?

Followers on X were quick to notice the sea change in the relationship between the billionaires.

Musk and Bezos have been embroiled in a years-long feud.

They've argued over their space ambitions at SpaceX and Blue Origin as they've repeatedly leapfrogged each other for the title of the world's richest person. That's a title Musk currently holds by a massive margin: With Bloomberg estimating his net worth at $439 billion, he's by far the richest person in the world. Bezos is second, with an estimated net worth of $240 billion.

Musk has said Blue Origin has tried to poach talent from SpaceX, and he's taunted Bezos repeatedly about the status of their respective businesses.

In 2015, when SpaceX landed its Falcon 9 spacecraft, Bezos needled Musk on Twitter by suggesting Blue Origin had already accomplished a similar feat.

Bezos has also subtly criticized Musk's mission to colonize Mars over the years. When NASA picked SpaceX for a major contract in 2021, Blue Origin was furious and protested the decision. 

Less than two months ago, they were at it again. In an X post, Musk said Bezos had told people to dump their shares in his companies because Donald Trump was bound to lose the presidential election.

Hours later, Bezos said the claim was "100% not true."

Billionaire "Step Brothers"

This history is what has made Thursday's friendly repartee between the billionaires so jarring.

Musk posted a gif on X from the movie "Step Brothers," with the main characters saying, "Did we just become best friends? Yep!"

"Step Brothers is the perfect meme for @JeffBezos & me," Musk wrote. 

He posted another clip from the same movie, implying his relationship with Bezos was now harmonious. 

Of course, all of this is unfolding on social media, which has its limitations. But one thing is for sure: No matter what's happening behind the scenes or offline, Thursday's exchanges mark a change in Bezos and Musk's online rapport.

• China's economy grew 5% in 2024, meeting its growth target.
• Analysts expected China's GDP growth to be 4.9%, close to the 5% target.
• China faces challenges like property crisis, youth unemployment, and deflation.

China reported its economy grew 5% in 2024, meeting its target of around 5%.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected China's full-year GDP growth to come in at 4.9%, just shy of the official target of around 5% — which analysts had said was ambitious.

China's economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year ago — better than the 5% analysts had expected.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said in its economic growth announcement that the economy is "generally stable with steady progress."

China's economy has been struggling to stage a convincing post-pandemic recovery. It's dogged by numerous challenges, including a property crisis, high youth unemployment, and deflation.

The Chinese government made efforts to stimulate its economy throughout 2024, with measures getting more aggressive in September.

The growth China recorded in its fourth quarter is likely due to early signs of stronger domestic demand, Vishnu Varathan, Nomura's head of macro research for Asia excluding Japan, wrote in a note on Friday ahead of China's GDP data release.

"But the irony is that even as growth hopes may be inspired, its deflation concerns may be far harder to put to bed," Varathan wrote. "This underscores the dissonance between private sector confidence deficit and state-driven ramp up in industrial momentum amid heightened geoeconomic uncertainties."

Consumer confidence in China remains weak even though strong exports supported growth. Last year, China's trade surplus reached a record 7.06 trillion Chinese yuan, or $990 billion.

China's strong exports could come under threat after US President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week. The American leader has threatened 60% on all Chinese imports.

• SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded during a test Thursday.
• The Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning after the explosion, calling the area "dangerous."
• After the explosion, some flights near Turks and Caicos were diverted, per Flightradar24.

Flights near the Turks and Caicos islands were spotted diverting to avoid debris after SpaceX's Starship exploded on Thursday.

SpaceX was conducting its seventh test flight of its unmanned Starship mega-rocket from its Starbase launch site near Brownsville, Texas. The launch occurred around 5:30 p.m. ET.

The Starship's Super Heavy Booster, which boosts the Starship spacecraft, successfully touched down back to the launchpad, marking another milestone in SpaceX's goal to create reusable boosters.

However, the upper stage of the system, Starship, was lost in what the company called a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

Videos on social media appeared to show debris light up the sky near Turks and Caicos as it fell back to Earth.

Dean Olson, who captured footage of the Starship debris while in the area, told Business Insider that he heard the sound of constant "thunder" for about a minute after witnessing the explosion.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in an X post on Thursday night that the rocket "had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall."

Musk wrote that the leak "was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity."

"Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area. Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month," he added.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning after the explosion, calling the area "dangerous" and warning of "falling debris of rocket Starship."

"The FAA briefly slowed and diverted aircraft around the area where space vehicle debris was falling," an FAA spokesperson said. "Normal operations have resumed."

Flight data from Flightradar24 showed several aircraft near the Turks and Caicos Islands diverting from destination routes.

One flight was an Airbus A320-232, operated by JetBlue, headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Fort Lauderdale, according to the website. The flight was diverted back to Fort Lauderdale International.

JetBlue and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket has exploded in two of its previous tests.

In November 2023, the Super Heavy booster exploded as it returned to Earth while the Starship continued to climb toward space.

• For her 16th birthday, my daughter wanted to host a co-ed sleepover. I was not on board.
• We eventually compromised and I agreed to let boys stay until 11 p.m., but later relented.
• Despite my initial concerns, the sleepover was uneventful and my daughter got her birthday wish.

Teenage co-ed sleepovers are not my thing. And though this wasn't our first co-ed party, I'm not sure I was emotionally prepared for this one. Our first took place when my daughter was two. Any display of affection came in the form of messy check kisses, with arms clasped tightly around another toddler's waist, as they tried to wriggle away. But it seems that today's teens also like having co-ed birthday parties and don't shy away from asking their parents for those parties to be sleepovers — something I never dreamed of asking my own parents at that age.

We agreed on a compromise

My daughter bugged me for weeks about her upcoming 16th birthday. She wanted ten of her friends there, a mix of a few boys, but mostly girls. She pointed out that I let her go to weekend get-togethers, where she sometimes ended up sleeping over in places with her guy friends there, which was fine with me. After all, I knew they stayed up most of the night watching movies. But this felt different. Now she wanted everyone to sleep at my house. Being a sober, single mom made me nervous about these things. So we agreed she could invite the boys for the evening, but they'd have to leave by 11:00.

The day before the party, with all her teen excitement tagging along with us, we made a trip to a local party store. We left with a bag of party supplies, plus a back seat full of helium balloons, bobbing around, which my daughter kept batting as they lurched towards the front seat. We dropped the balloons and other party stuff at home, then headed to the grocery store to retrieve the cake and a cart full of snack food that occupies the bottom row of the teen food pyramid.

The next day, after decorating the house with the streamers and balloons, her friends started to arrive around 5 p.m., far too early for my menopausal nervous system to handle. They came in dribs and drabs for the next hour or so, and my blood pressure surged when the last car pulled up with the boys and their adolescent hormones.

After taking jumps on the trampoline, the group settled in the family room, surrounded by bowls of chips, peanut M&M's, and popcorn. Between fits of laughter, they decided on what movies they'd watch during the night.

The kids eventually wore us down

The party remained fairly calm, a noticeable difference from last year's all-girl group. I bolstered myself and my nerves by inviting a couple other mom friends to join me at various stages throughout the evening, helping me to remain somewhat chill for most of the night.

When I finally settled into a novel, along with my ever increasing fatigue, my daughter detected my vulnerability and popped the question one last time. "Mom, can the guys please stay over. Ple-e-ease! It's the only 16^th birthday I'll ever have."

Little did I know, one of the boy's father had already arrived to pick them up, and another crew of kids were working on him out on the porch. After over an hour of wearing us down with their-junk-food-energy-fueled-persuasion, we gave in and I had my first co-ed sleepover.

Honestly, it wasn't that bad

After all my fretting, it was quite innocuous. I told the boys they had to sleep in the guest room without any girls, although I did find out there was some making out going on after I went to bed.

The next morning, I was exhausted, as were the kids, but we made it through the night just fine.

I imagine when my daughter gets her license and her own car, and is driving around late at night without my supervision, this co-ed sleepover will look like nothing much. I still don't think I'll be volunteering to host another one of these anytime soon though.

• Claire Volkman got divorced and spent the following year traveling to 20 countries.
• Some of the dates during her trips across Asia, South America, and Australia led to more heartbreak.
• Volkman, now 39, met her second husband on a dating app after she returned to the US.

It was a hot afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City. I was sitting on the edge of the hotel bed, scrolling through Instagram, about to go ham on a piping hot bowl of phở when I got a buzz. A text from my then-husband flashing six words nobody wants to read: "I think we need to talk."

On that September day in 2016, when I realized my marriage was over, I had no time to grieve. I was in Vietnam, about to embark on an eight-day reporting assignment. I called my parents and asked if they could meet me in Charleston after the trip.

My parents and best friend helped me move out of the house I had shared with my husband for almost 10 years. It took two days to box up nine years of memories. With no place to live and no grasp on the person I was anymore, I did the only thing I could think of: I ran.

I traveled to Myanmar, Colombia, and 20 other countries in 12 months. What I thought would be a year of escapism turned into a transformative adventure.

Finding my feet in Myanmar and South America

Two days after I moved out, I was on a flight to Myanmar for a two-week hiking, biking, and rafting trip. Alongside five strangers who quickly felt like family, my journey to finding myself again began. I found solace in the golden glow of Shwedagon Pagoda at sunset. I laughed while sipping cheap beers in small village restaurants during our bike ride from Mandalay to Meiktila.

I was too tired every night to think, dwell, or feel much of anything. Every morning I woke up, I felt a little more like myself.

During the two weeks I spent back home for Thanksgiving, reliving the divorce by having to tell my entire family what happened, I found myself jumping into the online dating scene.

I met one man online, based in the US, and we stayed in touch after I left to travel around South America. We talked for hours on Facetime as I sat in airports awaiting flights.

After a day of trekking through the jungles of Colombia, I would re-read his text messages before bed, getting butterflies every time. After four days of sweltering heat, mosquito bites, and blisters, I felt something I hadn't felt in years: pride.

I stood atop the ancient ruins of Ciudad Perdida, soaked in sweat but glowing with triumph. And the first person I called after a much-needed shower and change out of dirty hiking clothes was him.

Being alone helped me heal

I was too naive to know it wouldn't last. I had such hope that we'd survive the crash into real life, with him juggling his schedule working at a hospital and me traveling from country to country without an address.

Sadly, it didn't work, and our relationship ended as quickly as it started. Following the break-up, I went on a cruise through the Middle East. I felt alone throughout the trip. I'd walk the streets of Muscat — weaving through bustling markets, looking for ways to feel alive again. I rode camels in the desert of Doha, smiling for what felt like the first time in weeks.

On the next leg of my journey, I started to find some of my spunk again. I traveled to Australia and spent days wine tasting in Yarra Valley and bar-hopping all night in Melbourne. I was laughing again. I let myself have a one-night stand with a chef I just met — and enjoyed every second of it.

From there, I hopped from Melbourne to LA to Hong Kong, where I found myself with multiple dinner reservations and not a single person to dine with. To avoid another night alone, I found a match on Bumble. Eager to enjoy a free meal at a 4-star Michelin restaurant in Hong Kong, he joined for another whirlwind date.

He was charming, an expat from England who helped fill the void of being alone. It was the first and only time I "Bumbled abroad." After this, I met an Australian during a trip across Bali and Lombok. At the end of the trip, we were determined to make it work and said our tearful goodbyes. It didn't last.

I realized that I needed to focus on myself. Why was I so scared of being alone? As a writer living paycheck to paycheck without health insurance, I couldn't afford therapy. Instead, I hopped on another plane. This time to Iceland.

Finding my fearlessness in Greenland

On an expedition cruise through Greenland, I was inspired by some of the older writers I met. They weren't just accomplished journalists, either; they were strong, powerful, and single women whose worth was based on their careers and accomplishments.

Their wisdom, coupled with the landscapes of Greenland and Norway, showed me how resilient I could be. I was determined to focus on my goals and my worth outside a relationship.

After that trip, I sold stories to outlets I had always dreamed of writing for and found myself with more back-to-back adventures to finish off the year.

Back in Indiana, I gave it another shot and scrolled through matches on the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel, until one guy caught my eye. The photos were cute: riding a camel in Morocco, drinking tea in Jordan, and adventuring through Japan. I thought one date couldn't hurt, so we met up in Chicago, on my way to China for work.

It was the start of the end for me — the end of singledom.

What I Learned

I learned that heartbreak doesn't just crack you open — it splits you wide enough to let something new and better take root. That year of travel taught me to trust myself, to say yes more, and to embrace the messiness of life.

And now, years later, as I sit beside my husband and our 6-year-old and look back on that whirlwind year, I can't help but smile and yearn a little for the freedom I felt. Sometimes, you have to lose yourself to truly find your way.

Got a personal essay about lessons learned during travel that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor: [email protected].

• Justin Baldoni has sued Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
• The suit makes claims, including that Lively hadn't read "It Ends With Us" well into production.
• It also appears to reference Lively's close friend and confidant Taylor Swift.

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's legal brawl deepened Thursday, as Baldoni and a group of plaintiffs sued his former "It Ends With Us" costar for $400 million.

The suit claims Lively falsely accused Baldoni of sexual harassment in order to hijack the film's creative direction and promotion. The lawsuit also names Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, and PR rep, Leslie Sloane, as defendants.

While some of the lawsuit rehashes allegations that appeared in an earlier suit against The New York Times, there are fresh claims in Baldoni's latest action — including an apparent nod to Taylor Swift.

"This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook," Lively's legal team said in a statement. "A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim."

"They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni," the statement continued. "The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively's complaint, and it will fail."

"Ms. Lively will never again be allowed to continue to exploit actual victims of real harassment solely for her personal reputation gain at the expense of those without power," Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told BI in a statement.

Here are 6 takeaways from the latest chapter in the legal saga.

The suit claims that, well into production, Lively had not read the book 'It Ends With Us'

The suit says that "even well into production, Lively had not even read the book" that the movie was based on.

"She even tried to 'Google' the color of her character's hair rather than pick up the book," a footnote in the suit says.

Baldoni wrote to his business partner, Jamey Heath, in a text message — a screenshot of which is included in the lawsuit — that he understood Lively's reasons for not wanting to read it. The suit does not say the reason, however.

The suit says that Lively did at some point claim to have read "It Ends With Us."

The suit claims Lively served her sexual harassment complaint amid evacuation orders

Baldoni claims Lively's sexual harassment suit was served to Los Angeles-based defendants in the midst of wildfire evacuation orders.

The suit says: "On a day when Defendants were gathering their kids and pets, preparing 'go bags' and monitoring evacuation orders while fearing for their homes, Lively — from the safety of her penthouse in New York — deployed process servers in the midst of these troubling times."

The suit says Ryan Reynolds called Justin Baldoni a 'sexual predator'

Reynolds is mentioned several times in the suit, which claims the actor referred to Baldoni as a "sexual predator" to a WME agent during the "Deadpool & Wolverine" premiere.

The suit says Reynolds later demanded that the agent drop Baldoni as a client. A WME spokesperson previously denied that Lively or Reynolds pressured the company to drop Baldoni.

The suit also suggests Lively's attempt to seize control of "It Ends With Us" echoed a previous incident involving her husband. Reynolds is "widely reported to have insisted on taking so much control over the film 'Deadpool 2' that the director, Tim Miller, left the production," the suit claims, citing a Men's Health article from 2019.

A rep for Reynolds did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The suit seems to reference Taylor Swift

The suit describes a conflict in which Baldoni felt hesitant after Lively re-wrote a key scene in the film.

The suit says that after a meeting at Lively's penthouse — which was attended by Reynolds and a "megacelebrity friend" — Baldoni felt he was being pressured to concede to the rewrites.

But in a text message to Lively included in the complaint, he appeared to express a more positive view of Lively's contributions: "Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor)."

Lively is known to be close friends with Taylor Swift and they are often photographed attending events, such as the Super Bowl, together.

In response, per a text in the suit, Lively described Reynolds and the megacelebrity friend as "my most trusted partners and the people I go to first with anything creative I touch," likening them to her "dragons" from the series "Game Of Thrones."

Elsewhere, the suit seems to allude to Swift, saying that Lively's decision to unfollow Baldoni on social media may have been strategic.

"Lively was leaving what she had earlier referred to as 'crumbs,'" the suit reads, "a social media strategy she had learned from a close celebrity friend: to give fans just enough to allow them to come to their own conclusions, thereby launching an army of detectives that, on information and belief, Lively hoped would turn against Baldoni."

A representative for Swift did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The suit includes photos of Baldoni's basement celebration during the movie premiere

Baldoni alleges he was permitted to attend the film's premiere so long as he wouldn't interact with Lively. When she arrived at the premiere, Baldoni claims he and his guests were escorted to the building's basement by security.

"There, they were confined to a makeshift holding area surrounded by concession stand stock, with only fold-out tables and chairs arranged in a square," the suit reads. "The irony of being held in a basement on what was arguably one of the most important nights of Baldoni's career thus far, was not lost on anyone."

Baldoni counters Lively's claims of sexual harassment

Throughout the suit, Baldoni counters some of Lively's previous allegations of sexual harassment, including saying that her characterization of being "mostly nude" during a birthing scene was "dishonest." The suit says she was wearing black briefs, a pregnancy suit, and a hospital gown.

The suit also claims Lively mocked his appearance, joking that he needed a nose job. And while Lively had previously claimed Baldoni had improvised kissing during filming, Baldoni's complaint says Lively had done the same.

"It is clear Lively was initiating unchoreographed kissing: In one take, she pulled Baldoni in and kissed him once; in another twice, and the number of kisses, entirely initiated by Lively, changed at her whim," the suit says. "Lively demonstrated, again and again, that this was a normal and acceptable part of filming romantic scenes."

• Justin Baldoni's new lawsuit against Blake Lively references Ryan Reynolds' "Deadpool" franchise.
• The suit compares reported creative differences on "Deadpool 2" to Lively's battles with Baldoni on "It Ends with Us."
• Baldoni also recently claimed that the "Deadpool & Wolverine" character Nicepool was created to mock him.

Not even Deadpool is safe from being named in the continuing legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively.

A new lawsuit filed Thursday by Baldoni, his associates at Wayfarer Studios, and his publicists against his "In Ends With Us" costar Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist Leslie Sloane uses the "Deadpool" movies as an example while making the claim that Lively seized control of the production of "It Ends With Us" and usurped Baldoni, the film's director.

The lawsuit also comes after Baldoni accused Reynolds of mocking him through the "Deadpool & Wolverine" character Nicepool.

Here's what to know about how the Marvel antihero got embroiled in the Baldoni-Lively feud.

Justin Baldoni and his team claim Ryan Reynolds used the Nicepool character to mock him

In "Deadpool & Wolverine," Deadpool (Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) encounter a variant of Deadpool named Nicepool in a wasteland called The Void.

Unlike Deadpool, Nicepool is agreeable and friendly because "it costs nothing to be kind." The character also styles his hair in a man bun, has a four-legged companion named Dogpool, and speaks about being a feminist.

"Oh my goodness, wait until you see Ladypool," he tells Deadpool and Wolverine in one scene, referring to a female variant played by Lively. "She is gorgeous. She just had a baby too and [you] can't even tell."

In response, Deadpool says, "I don't think you're supposed to say that."

"That's OK," Nicepool replies, putting his hand over his heart. "I identify as a feminist."

Nicepool returns later in the movie when more variants fight Deadpool and Wolverine. In the battle, Reynolds' character uses Nicepool as a human shield against Ladypool's bullets. Nicepool dies shortly after.

In an interview on "The Megyn Kelly Show" in early January, Bryan Freeman, Baldoni's lawyer, said it's "pretty obvious" that Nicepool is a riff on Baldoni.

"If your wife is sexually harassed, you don't make fun of Justin Baldoni," Freedman said. "You don't make fun of the situation. You take it very seriously. You file HR complaints. You raise the issue and you follow a legal process. What you don't do is mock the person and turn it into a joke. There's no question it relates to Justin."

Around the time of the "Megyn Kelly Show" interview, Freedman reportedly sent a litigation hold letter to Marvel president Kevin Feige, Disney CEO Bob Iger, and "Deadpool" director Tim Miller in regards to Baldoni's "anticipated claims" and Reynolds, Lively, and others.

Variety, who viewed the litigation letter, reported that Baldoni felt that Reynolds intentionally made fun of him through the Nicepool character.

Baldoni has previously given a TED Talk and wrote an essay for Romper about why he's a feminist. Discussions about Lively's post-baby weight were also mentioned in Lively's California Civil Rights Department complaint and a federal complaint against Baldoni. According to Lively, Baldoni criticized her body and weight.

The letter asked Marvel and Disney, who produced and distributed "Deadpool & Wolverine," to preserve "any and all documents relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of 'Nicepool.'"

Baldoni's latest lawsuit references 'Deadpool' director Tim Miller's departure from the 2018 sequel

Baldoni's latest lawsuit accuses Lively of hijacking creative control of "It Ends With Us" and lists her possible motivations for doing so. Among the potential reasons is one related to her husband's work with the "Deadpool" franchise.

"Lively may have felt driven to match her star husband Ryan Reynolds, who is widely reported to have insisted on taking so much control over the film "Deadpool 2" that the director, Tim Miller, left the production," the lawsuit reads. "Seeing the fame and success that Reynolds commanded, she may have adopted his oft-repeated pattern wholesale to seize her own power and control."

Miller directed the first "Deadpool" movie, which was released in 2016. He was reportedly set to direct the sequel but left due to creative differences with Reynolds, who stars in and executive produces the films.

In a 2016 interview with GQ, Reynolds said that he had a clear vision for the character and the first movie.

He called Miller "a visual-effects wizard," but said he felt like the expert on the project's character and tone.

"I've also been with this thing the longest out of anybody, aside from the guys that wrote the comics," Reynolds said. "Eleven years I've been trying to get this Sisyphus rock up the hill, and it kept rolling back on top of me. So I'm gonna be all the fuck over it from the moment it starts to the moment it finishes."

Miller opened up about his departure during an appearance on KRCW's "The Business" podcast in 2019.

"I don't mind having a debate, but if I can't win, I don't want to play," Miller said. "And I don't think you can negotiate every creative decision, there's too many to make. So Ryan's the face of the franchise, and he was the most important component of that, by far. So if he decides he wants to control it, then he's going to control it."

Reps for Lively, Reynolds, Miller, Marvel, and Disney didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.

• SpaceX launched its Starship mega-rocket for the seventh time on Thursday.
• It performed an epic booster catch for the second time but the Starship exploded shortly after.
• The launch marked the first flight of a new-generation Starship.

SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket has stumbled on the road to commercial use. On Thursday, it unexpectedly dropped out of communications and exploded as it screamed toward space for its seventh flight.

Shortly after Starship's explosion, Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, wrote on X that "improved versions of the ship & booster already waiting for launch."

The mishap happened on the same day SpaceX rival Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its New Glenn rocket into orbit. Blue Origin lost New Glenn's booster during Thursday morning's test flight.

What happened to the Starship

After liftoff, the rocket's Super Heavy booster heaved the Starship spaceship toward space, separated itself, and fell back toward Earth. As the falling booster approached SpaceX's Texas facilities, it nailed a complex maneuver that's only happened once before.

The booster fired its engines to lower itself to a catch tower, where a pair of giant "chopstick" arms closed around its trunk and caught it.

This technological feat is key to reaching SpaceX's goal of building a fleet of rapidly, fully reusable rockets to help slash spaceflight costs, advance the company's business model, and ultimately build a city of people on Mars.

"Kudos to you and the whole SpaceX team on the flawless booster catch! Very impressive," Bezos wrote to Musk on X about the achievement.

Shortly after the booster catch, SpaceX said the upper stage of the system, Starship itself, was lost. The company later confirmed on X that it had suffered a rapid unscheduled disassembly, which is another way of saying it exploded.

"We were just coming up to the end of that ascent burn for the ship when we started to lose a couple of the engines," Dan Huot, one of the hosts of SpaceX's livestream of the launch, said in the broadcast.

Then the ship dropped out of communications, meaning there was some kind of anomaly and Starship was lost, Huot said.

"This was a brand new vehicle essentially," he added. "With that, there's a lot of things you're upgrading, but there's a lot of things you're going to learn as all those systems are now interacting with each other for the first time."

In an X post on Thursday night, Musk wrote that preliminary indicators suggest Starship "had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity."

"Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area. Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month," Musk added.

Dean Olson, who captured footage of the Starship debris while he was in Turks and Caicos, told Business Insider he heard the sound of constant "thunder" for about a minute after witnessing the explosion.

"I'm just walking out of the restaurant holding a cocktail, and I just looked up," Olson said. "Everyone's breath is kind of just taken away."

"Nobody knew what was going on," he added. "There was a lot of people panicking, to be honest with you."

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

SpaceX's Starship flight 7 didn't achieve all it set out to

For the first time, SpaceX flew Starship with a reused Raptor rocket engine.

The Super Heavy booster runs on 33 Raptor engines. For the entire rocket to be reusable, as Musk has said he intends, those engines must be recycled and reused, too.

Aboard Thursday's flight, one of those engines was the same one that SpaceX flew on its October flight.

Also flying for the first time was SpaceX's new generation second-stage Starship. This new generation comes with significant upgrades designed for "bringing major improvements to reliability and performance," the company wrote on its website.

For example, the flaps on this upgraded Starship are smaller and reoriented, so they're not exposed to as much heat upon reentry. These flaps are designed to eventually help Starship fly back and touch down on land, making it reusable.

However, SpaceX has not yet recovered a Starship from spaceflight. So far, every Starship that has flown to space has sunk into the Indian Ocean. The ship on Thursday's flight was slated for the same fate before it was lost shortly after launch.

Starship was scheduled to deploy a set of 10 Starlink simulators, or dummies. They were about the same size and weight as SpaceX's next-generation V3 Starlink satellites. Deploying them was practice for eventually the real thing, which is a key part of SpaceX's business plan.

Starship is set to make other SpaceX rockets obsolete

In its final form, Starship should be able to release up to 100 second-generation Starlink satellites at a time, increasing SpaceX's internet coverage and a core pillar of its income.

Once Starship is operational, its sheer power will likely make it the cornerstone of SpaceX's business, which has long hinged on the comparatively wimpy Falcon 9 and its hefty counterpart, Falcon Heavy.

"Starship obsoletes Falcon 9 and the Dragon capsule," SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell said at the Baron Investment Conference in November, according to Ars Technica.

"We'll be flying that for six to eight more years," she added, "but ultimately, people are going to want to fly on Starship. It's bigger. It's more comfortable. It will be less expensive. And we will have flown it so many more times."

• Pam Bondi owned $3.9 million in Truth Social stock as of mid-December, per financial documents.
• She also earned more than $1 million last year from lobbying.
• Her total net worth in December was more than $12.1 million.

President-Elect Donald Trump's nominee to be the next attorney general of the United States, Pam Bondi, disclosed owning more than $3.9 million in stock in Trump's "Truth Social" platform in December.

Bondi disclosed the holdings in a statement of net worth she submitted on December 16 as part of her Senate confirmation process. Business Insider obtained a copy of that document, along a more detailed financial disclosure, on Thursday.

The former Florida Attorney General disclosed a total net worth of $12.1 million between her and her husband. Since Bondi's tenure ended in 2019, she has worked as a lobbyist and a consultant.

Bondi's financial disclosure, which covers all major financial activity from last year, lists a $1,067,000 salary from the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, along with $520,000 in consulting fees from the America First Policy Institute and $203,738 in legal fees from a law firm in Fort Lauderdale.

She also earned $27,600 in contributor fees from the conservative network Newsmax. Bondi's lobbying clients, according to the disclosure, include Alden Torch Financial, multiple sheriff's associations, and a refrigerant manufacturer called iGas USA. She also provided legal services to the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

According to the disclosure, Bondi acquired the shares of Truth Social stock as compensation for consulting work when the company completed its SPAC merger and went public last March.

Bondi received $2,969,563 worth of shares at the time, according to the document. That means she earned almost $1 million from the investment in the subsequent nine months.

It's not clear whether Bondi would be required to divest from those holdings if confirmed to her job. Those details would be contained in Bondi's ethics agreement, a copy of which had not been made public as of publication on Thursday.

The Trump-Vance transition did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Many of Trump's nominees, in consultation with ethics officials in the executive branch, have agreed to divest from some of their assets in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

Bondi was nominated by Trump to lead the Department of Justice after former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew from consideration.

Her confirmation hearings began on Wednesday, and she is widely expected to be successfully confirmed by the Senate.