• China has officially praised its rising star, DeepSeek, as a success.
• But instead of framing DeepSeek as a challenger, Beijing said it would "complement" American firms.
• While DeepSeek upended beliefs about AI costs, US firms are focused instead on a race to reach AGI.

China on Monday lauded DeepSeek's much-hyped AI model, but said the Hangzhou-based company isn't competing with America's leading AI firms.

"As AI continues to reshape industries and everyday life of humanity, DeepSeek complements, rather than competes against, existing AI leaders like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind," Beijing's embassy in Washington said in a statement seen by Business Insider.

DeepSeek has continued to raise its profile in Beijing since its reportedly low-cost AI model stunned the tech world. It's quickly become a star at home, with the startup's founder, Liang Wenfeng, given a front-row seat at a symposium hosted last week by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The symposium has been a rallying point for the tech scene in China, which saw Xi's supportive remarks — and the attendance of once-shunned Alibaba founder Jack Ma — as a positive sign after years of industry crackdowns.

In yet another moment of official recognition for DeepSeek, the Chinese embassy's statement on Monday praised the company as a success, saying it "significantly lowered AI development costs."

DeepSeek has said that it spent less than $6 million on "official training" for its latest model, but the scope of those expenses isn't clearly defined. SemiAnalysis, a semiconductor analytics firm, estimated in late January that the company may possess $500 million worth of GPUs.

American firms at the forefront of AI have also called the Western panic over DeepSeek overblown.

Google DeepMind's CEO, for example, said that the Chinese model is impressive but showed "no real new scientific advance" toward the true goal among AI leaders — reaching artificial general intelligence.

Still, DeepSeek is seriously undercutting pricing models for American AI firms like OpenAI, with Bernstein tech analysts estimating that DeepSeek's prices are 20 to 40 times cheaper.

But Beijing's official line adopted a conciliatory tone, framing China's foray into AI as a chance for collaboration rather than outmuscling US firms.

"AI companies across different regions contribute unique strengths, leading to better, more inclusive solutions for users everywhere," the embassy said in its statement. Emphasizing a desire to collaborate and avoid conflict has long been central to China's public image.

On the other hand, the US has warned that its race with China to develop more sophisticated AI would be a difference-maker in Beijing's push for superiority.

The Chinese embassy did not respond to a request for additional comment sent by BI outside regular business hours. DeepSeek and the startup's parent company, HighFlyer, did not respond to similar requests for comment.

• Ayesha Curry says she prioritizes her relationship with Stephen Curry over their four children.
• "And that works for us because then you have two happy people raising the kids in the house," she said.
• Prioritizing each other involves making time for each other, such as going on date nights, she said.

Ayesha Curry believes that partners should put each other first in order to be good parents.

In an interview with People, Curry spoke about prioritizing her relationship with her husband, NBA player Stephen Curry, over their kids.

"I think for us, our relationship always comes first. Then we're parents," Curry told People. "And that works for us because then you have two happy people raising the kids in the house. So the family sector in our lives always comes first."

The couple, who tied the knot in 2011, share four kids: Riley, Ryan, Canon, and Caius — whom they welcomed in May.

This isn't the first time that Curry has spoken about how she and her husband make their marriage work.

In a 2019 interview with HelloGiggles, Curry shared that her parents and her in-laws were the ones who showed the couple the importance of prioritizing each other.

"And then also the biggest thing, both of our parents are still married and have been married for 30-plus years, and the one thing that they both shared with us — some through learning it the hard way, some through just making sure that they do it — is just making sure that we put each other first, even before the kids, as tough as that sounds," Curry told HelloGiggles.

This involves making time for each other, including date nights, she said.

"Because when you become a parent, you want to put your kids first, and we do, but we do it second to our relationship. Because ultimately, when our relationship is good, the kids are happy, and they're thriving, and our family life is good," Curry said.

At the end of the day, their relationship sets the basis for their family life.

"We have to put that into perspective and realize that it's not us being selfish, it's making sure we set a strong foundation," she said.

The Currys aren't the only celebrity couple who've spoken about making time for each other despite their busy schedules.

Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan, shared that they don't go more than two weeks without seeing each other and being together as a family.

Gordon Ramsay's wife, Tana, says that she and her husband often get dressed up to go out on dates without their kids.

"In our relationship, having little kids again, our present to each other on our last anniversary was, we have to go to the theater once a month, and we have to go out three times a month, and we're not allowed to wear trainers," Tana said.

A representative for Curry did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI outside regular hours.

• Federal workers were told to send a list of accomplishments by midnight on Monday or lose their jobs.
• However, some federal agencies told their employees not to respond.
• President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appeared intent on moving forward with the request.

The deadline for federal employees to email in their lists of personal accomplishments has passed.

In the lead-up to the deadline, federal employees received conflicting guidance from President Donald Trump, DOGE leader Elon Musk, and government agencies on how — and if — they should respond to the request from the Office of Personnel Management.

Here's the latest.

What Trump is saying

On Saturday, the Office of Personnel Management sent an email to federal workers asking them to send an "email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week" by Monday 11:59 p.m. ET.

At a press conference on Monday, Trump said he thought the OPM's email was "great."

"So by asking the question, 'Tell us what you did this week,' what he's doing is saying, 'Are you actually working?'" Trump said.

Trump wasn't clear on what happens if federal workers don't send in their emails.

"And then, if you don't answer, you are sort of semi-fired, or you're fired," Trump said.

When asked about the conflicting guidance agencies have given on the request, Trump said the State Department and FBI were "working on confidential things."

Guidance from the departments had been given "in a friendly manner" and not "in any way combatively with Elon," Trump added.

In a Truth Social post published on Saturday hours before the OPM sent out its email, Trump praised Musk's work with DOGE but said he would like to see Musk "get more aggressive."

Musk's latest comments on the DOGE ask

In an X post on Saturday, Musk wrote that failure to respond to the OPM's email "will be taken as a resignation."

By Monday, Musk's wording had changed.

Musk wrote in an X post on Monday that federal workers who have yet to respond to the request "will be given another chance."

"Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination," Musk wrote.

In a Monday morning X post responding to Garry Tan, the president and CEO of Y Combinator, Musk said the DOGE request was "basically a check to see if the employee had a pulse and was capable of replying to an email."

"This mess will get sorted out this week," Musk wrote. "Lot of people in for a rude awakening and strong dose of reality. They don't get it yet, but they will."

The request echoes one that Musk made to employees at X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Shortly after he bought the social network in October 2022, Musk asked software engineers to print out their latest code for review.

Representatives for the White House and DOGE did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Guidance varies across departments

In a memo to heads of departments and agencies on Monday, the OPM reiterated its deadline for employee emails and said all emails should be addressed to agency heads with OPM copied.

At least eight agencies, including the Department of Defense, the State Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services, have told workers they don't have to respond to DOGE's email.

Some government departments have told workers that responses about productivity will be handled by the agencies, not staff.

Other departments have told employees they can respond to OPM if they wish, but that not responding will not incur penalties.

On Monday, the Social Security Administration reversed course on its messaging to employees. On Sunday, it told employees the OPM email was a "legitimate assignment." On Monday afternoon, it told employees responding is "voluntary."

"Non-responses are not considered a resignation," the agency's email to employees read.

It is unclear how the White House and DOGE plan to reconcile the conflicting guidance.

This turmoil comes after a chaotic few weeks for government employees, as Musk's DOGE proposed broad head count cuts across government agencies.

Thousands of federal workers have been fired. Some of these workers received termination notices saying that the job cuts were based on performance, per documents BI viewed.

• Alex Karp said if he were not running Palantir, he'd move to his "hermit-like location."
• At the Economic Club of New York, Karp said he'd lean into hobbies like Tai Chi, shooting guns, and reading.
• Karp, known for being an eccentric leader, has run Palantir since 2004.

Alex Karp said if he were not running Palantir, he probably wouldn't be running another company — he'd be living like a "hermit" and focusing on his hobbies.

The billionaire CEO of the big-data analytics company made the comments on Monday while speaking at the Economic Club of New York.

When asked what he'd be doing if he wasn't leading Palantir, Karp said that while he is suited to running the defense contractor, he wasn't "built to run another company."

"I am a little bit of a hermit, and the minute they fire me, I'm going to be moving back to my hermit-like location and doing my hermit dance," he said, adding that involved things like reading, shooting guns, Tai Chi, and cross country skiing.

Karp also said he's an "introvert" and is not interested in running for office.

He added that he'd also spend time with some friends and might engage in some "debaucherous behavior," prompting laughter from the crowd.

Karp has gained a reputation as an eccentric leader in Silicon Valley known for being a health and wellness fanatic who keeps Tai Chi swords in his office.

Karp has been CEO of Palantir, which he cofounded, since 2004, building it into a multi-billion-dollar company and major government contractor.

During its earnings call earlier this month, the company reported US revenue growth of 52% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, beating analyst expectations. However, Palantir's stock has taken a hit over the past week due to the possibility of defense spending cuts.

During the talk on Monday, Karp also shared why he left academia. After attending law school at Stanford University, Karp pursued a Ph.D. in philosophy at a university in Germany.

"I left academia because I felt like I was almost always right, and it didn't matter because it was all politics," Karp said. "So I had to go into business because in business there is a deliverable."

• Juliana Pasquarosa is one of the contestants on Grant Ellis' season of "The Bachelor."
• She caught Grant's attention on night one, but doesn't go on a one-on-one date until week five.
• Juliana is a 28-year-old client service associate based in Newton, Massachusetts.

As the competition heats up on season 29 of "The Bachelor," contestant Juliana Pasquarosa is quickly becoming a strong contender for Grant Ellis' heart.

"It has been so long since I have had a big crush or felt the butterfly feelings for a man. It's a little bit of a fairytale and my heart's happy," Juliana, 28, says during week three.

By week five of the show, Juliana is one of the seven remaining women. After patiently waiting all season, she finally gets to spend solo time with Grant during a one-on-one date in Scotland on Monday night's episode, and their connection grows even stronger.

Here's everything to know about Juliana.

Juliana has a job in finance

Grant is a day trader, and Juliana also has some ties to the financial sector. According to her LinkedIn profile, Juliana has been working as a client service associate at Winthrop Wealth, a wealth management firm, since May. She's also a social media manager for La Beautique Salon.

She graduated from Lasell College with a degree in marketing in 2018.

Juliana's family is the most important thing to her

In her intro package during the season premiere, Juliana says, "My family is like the center of my life."

"We're big, Italian, loud, crazy,'" she adds. "We really support each other."

Juliana also explains that she was cheated on a lot during a long relationship, which led her to a "dark place," but she credited her family with picking her up.

Juliana's ABC bio says that her parents were high school sweethearts, and she hopes to similarly find lasting love.

Based on the caption of one of her Instagram posts, Juliana's older sister signed her up for "The Bachelor" without telling her. Given how things are going with Juliana and Grant so far on the show, she may have to thank her sister.

She loves dogs

Juliana has a dog named Charlie and her ABC bio says that she "wants to own a dog-friendly bar one day."

"For a random $5-Walmart-parking-lot purchase, you sure turned out to be one of the biggest blessings," Juliana wrote in part on Instagram.

Juliana's bubbly disposition gets Grant's attention from the start

After sharing a cannoli with Grant during her limo entrance on night one, Juliana impresses the Bachelor with her piano skills later that evening.

"Juliana immediately has my attention," Grant says. "She has some skills that I definitely don't have. Not to mention, she's gorgeous. She's a talented woman and I love that."

Juliana also tells Grant that she's a bubbly person because of the love she got from her family. Although the competition begins with 25 women, Grant tells her that he has his eyes on her.

"I like your personality and you're beautiful," he tells her before they share their first kiss.

Their connection gets overshadowed by some of the drama throughout season 29, but Juliana does eventually get to spend time with Grant at a castle in Scotland.

"I just feel like a princess," Juliana says. "Cinderella can take a full backseat because this is like, next-level type of love."

New episodes of season 29 of "The Bachelor" premiere on Mondays.

• JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said he supports efforts to make the government more efficient.
• "The government is inefficient, not very competent, and it needs a lot of work," Dimon said.
• Dimon also said the US has become a "highly bureaucratic, litigious, over-regulated society."

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said he has a "wait-and-see attitude" regarding the Trump administration and the White House DOGE office, but he's hopeful DOGE will succeed.

"More effective government — more efficient government — isn't bad. It's actually a good thing," Dimon said in an interview with CNBC on Monday during JPMorgan's Global Leveraged Finance Conference in Miami.

When asked about how DOGE, tariffs, and President Donald Trump's slew of executive orders could impact the economy, Dimon said it's too soon to say and will depend on how the changes are implemented.

But in general, he said he supports efforts to make the government more efficient and effective.

"The government is inefficient, not very competent, and it needs a lot of work," he said. "It's not just waste and fraud, it's outcomes. Why are we spending the money on these things? Are we getting what we deserve? What should we change? I think doing that needs to be done."

DOGE aims to reduce government spending and waste and improve efficiency. Much of its early efforts have focused on cutting the federal workforce and targeting specific federal agencies, like USAID.

"I'm hoping it's quite successful," he said of DOGE.

Dimon has previously had a rocky relationship with Elon Musk, a special government employee closely associated with DOGE, though the two have appeared to be on better terms over the past year. Dimon said last month he and Musk "hugged it out" and that the billionaires have settled some of their differences.

Dimon has also said he supported the idea of a department of government efficiency and that he'd love to be helpful to DOGE if he can.

In the CNBC interview on Monday Dimon also expressed support for the Trump administration's deregulation stance, saying the US is a "bureaucracy completely run amok."

"We have become a highly bureaucratic, litigious, over-regulated society, and it's bad," he said, adding that he's not opposed to all regulations but that they've gotten "excessive."

After the election in November, Dimon said bankers were "dancing in the street" at the prospect of Trump slashing regulation.

On Monday he said changes to regulations could free up capital to grow the economy and "free the banks to what they're supposed to do."

"We have the best natural system in the word," he said. "Let's keep it that way. Let's not hamstrung it."

• FBI agent Loretta Bush participated in Netflix's new docuseries "American Murder: Gabby Petito."
• Bush's appearance on the docuseries went viral when she got visibly choked up talking about her job.
• Viewers, and particularly lesbian viewers, were immediately captivated by Bush. Here's what to know.

Netflix's latest true-crime docuseries "American Murder: Gabby Petito" digs deeper into the story of the 22-year-old aspiring travel influencer who was killed by her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, while on a cross-country road trip in 2021.

As the many true crime fans who have long followed the Petito case know, it's a bleak and upsetting story. But viewers have already found light in the darkest of places: by thirsting after FBI agent Loretta Bush, who was featured in the doc.

Bush works out of the bureau's Tampa division, which covers 18 counties in central and southwest Florida, including where Petito and Laundrie lived with Laundrie's parents in North Port, Florida. She appears toward the end of the second episode of the three-part series, at the point when Petito's 2021 disappearance in Wyoming became a federal investigation.

The first shot of Bush instantly establishes that she's, quite frankly, cool as hell: She strides across the screen wearing black sunglasses with her badge on her hip and tattooed arms visible. The first words out of her mouth are about how she takes her job in law enforcement very seriously and how important it is to her to get closure for victims' families.

If the dozens of thirsty TikTok videos and hundreds of comments on them are any indication, it was love at first sight for many viewers. Bush is the subject of fancam edits set to Ethel Cain's "Crush" and Usher's "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)," where commenters are talking about getting lost in her blue eyes and how they hope she doesn't end up getting fired by Elon Musk and DOGE.

"I felt so bad falling in love with Loretta while watching this sad documentary but OH MY GAWD 🥵 😍," one commenter wrote.

There's a whole subgenre of self-identified straight women who joke that they're now questioning their sexuality because of their attraction to Bush.

Some are also campaigning for Bush to get her own Netflix show. About what? Anything, really; her newfound legion of fans just wants to see more of her.

It's not all about physical attraction. Many of the comments also reference a moment near the end of the docuseries in which Bush gets visibly choked up talking about her work on missing persons cases and how many of them remain unsolved despite the outsized attention to Petito's case in particular.

"This story is unique, but I will tell you that there are so many other people out there missing and they are important too. My work is important. Victims' lives are important," Bush says in her final appearance in the docuseries.

Bush herself doesn't appear to have publicly available social media profiles, at least not any that her dedicated fans have been able to track down.

Several commenters on TikTok have identified themselves as friends of Bush's in real life. They say that Bush isn't on social media but that she's aware of her newfound viral fame and they've been sharing all the videos with her. They also said that Bush is married. (Netflix declined Business Insider's requests for comment for more information on Bush.)

Another person who knows about Bush's TikTok fame agrees that she's a gem: Petito's father, Joe Petito.

"I told her that she is a TikTok sensation. 😎😎😎 She really is such an amazing person. We love her," Joe Petito commented on a video about Bush.

• Software engineer Antonio Perez, 47, spent the past year and $32,000 building his dream at-home gym.
• After his wife became wheelchair-bound, he felt guilty leaving daily for the gym.
• The most expensive piece of equipment was a $3,600 AssaultRunner Pro treadmill he bought for his daughter.

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with software engineer Antonio Perez, 47, who lives in Bath Township, Ohio, about 30 minutes south of Cleveland. Over the past year, he turned his house's woodworking shop into a basement gym. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I bought the five-bedroom house for $485,000 in 2019. The previous owner used the basement as a woodworking shop, but I knew we would transform it into something different.

Originally, I thought the basement might be a home movie theater and I would just use one of the bedrooms for my exercise equipment. While researching home theaters, though, I realized we probably wouldn't use it enough to justify the cost.

My wife developed Multiple System Atrophy, or MSA, in 2020, a neurological disease similar to ALS. By 2023, she was wheelchair-bound and it was difficult for her to leave the house. I started to feel guilty every time I left for the gym. What if she needed help going to the bathroom and no one was there?

The gym was also for the whole family. I'm trying to get back into shape personally. I weightlift around three to five days a week when I'm focused on a program. I also have two daughters, 19 and 17, who have played lacrosse, tennis, soccer, and basketball over the years.

My two-month project turned into a yearlong odyssey

Like all home improvement projects, you think it's going to be faster than it is. I originally thought it'd be a two- to three-month project. I started in February 2024 and only felt like everything was completed last week — over a year later.

I didn't set a specific budget. I knew I wanted it to be nice, and I kind of did it on the fly. If I saw a piece of equipment that I wanted and I could afford it, I bought it. In total, the project cost me around $32,000.

The flooring took a lot of research. I had to strip out all the old linoleum glue, which required renting a sander. I knew I wanted a material that mimicked professional gyms, so I went to Home Depot and got samples. I wanted it to feel dense when you stepped on it.

While researching home theaters, I saw a really cool speaker system. It was dark black, but you could see the wood grain coming through. I tried to replicate that for the walls, and I think I nailed it.

The hardest part was spray-painting the ceiling. I used 10 gallons of paint, which means I held up that extension wand for hours and hours.

I taught myself how to do some of the DIY work and learned to be patient

The lighting was surprisingly easy, especially since it was my first electrical job ever. I used YouTube videos to learn how, but it turned out to be a simple project to run together a couple of lines and put together junction boxes. I settled on the hexagonal shape after seeing pictures of some other home gyms. The lights were relatively cheap, only around $500, and I didn't even use all the ones I picked up.

I wanted it to be extra bright since the floors and walls were so dark. My daughter thinks its too bright, but I think it's perfect.

If you're attempting to build a home gym on your own, just know it takes time. Life gets in the way. You'll put down one coat of paint and realize you need another, but then your family needs you, so you don't go back for another month or two.

I bought some equipment secondhand and splurged on other pieces

I knew I wanted a really solid power rack system, so I started with that. There were options for 80" or 92" of height. Initially, I was worried I would hit my head on the ceiling doing pull-ups with the 92", so I got the 80". But when I set it up, it was too small for me to do overhead lifts. So now I have two racks.

I used Facebook Marketplace for some of the equipment, like two rep bars, a trap bar, and a powerlifting bench for the glutes and hamstrings. For really big equipment though, I didn't want to skimp. I wanted to make sure it was reliable.

The hardest piece of equipment to pull the trigger on was the AssaultRunner Pro treadmill. It was about $3,600, which I thought was just way too much for a treadmill. Nothing powers up like it — you can get to the speed you want instantly. My daughter really wanted it for interval training, so I got it.

For my daughter's high school graduation party last year, I bought a whole bunch of cutouts of her in action. Now, they decorate the gym. I told the younger one that we'll add her photos to the collection next year.

• Drake has released eight albums, two solo mixtapes, and three collab projects since his 2010 debut.
• BI's senior music reporter ranked all 13 from worst to best (excluding compilations).
• "Take Care" took the top spot, while his newest album, "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U," was ranked 10th.

Ever since Drake signed with Lil Wayne's Young Money label in 2009, he has proven to be a dominant force, reigning over the charts with few signs of stopping.

Drake has racked up 14 No. 1 albums to date, tied for the second-most ever, from 2010's "Thank Me Later" to 2025's "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U."

Drake has also shifted the very ways in which we define and judge albums. He releases record-breaking, studio-quality projects but calls them "mixtapes" or "playlists." He drops so much music so often that it becomes difficult to keep up, let alone compare and contrast.

But let's do it anyway. For our purposes, a Drake "album" is any full-length LP released after he signed with a major label (which means "So Far Gone" is ineligible, sorry). This ranking also excludes compilation projects like "Care Package" and "Dark Lane Demo Tapes."

The remaining contenders are ranked below from worst to best.

13. "For All the Dogs"

Nearly two decades after Drake released his debut mixtape (2006's "Room for Improvement"), he still spends entire albums complaining about women and haters.

As a twentysomething rapper with something to prove, Drake's petty jabs and paranoid delusions made sense. It was actually refreshing for an artist to be so open about his darkest impulses.

But the whole thing is no longer a novelty. "For All the Dogs" was made by a 36-year-old father, and it makes his rich-kid malaise sound an awful lot like misogyny.

As Nadine Smith wrote for The Independent, Drake's toxic masculinity has become "increasingly hard to ignore."

"'For All the Dogs' sees him step into a role that's nauseatingly patriarchal and almost abusive," Smith wrote. "He wants to handcuff them on 'Fear of Heights,' then whip and chain them like 'American slaves' on 'Slime You Out.' When he raps that he 'packs them into my phone like sardines' on 'First Person Shooter,' his outright contempt for women stares you directly in the face."

Beyond the blatantly sexist lyrics, "For All the Dogs" is an inconsistent, aggravating, and derivative album. (It's also way too long, which is a complaint you'll see a lot in this ranking.) Drake promised a return to form, but unfortunately, the charm that made him a superstar only appears in fickle bursts.

The rest of the 23-song tracklist is full of try-hard trap music and eye-roll-inducing lines: "They say love's like a BBL, you won't know if it's real until you feel one," "Feel like I'm bi 'cause you're one of the guys, girl." Drake's target audience these days seems to be exclusively frat boys, but I still have to ask: Is this your king?

12. "Her Loss"

"Her Loss" seemed like Drake's attempt to course-correct after "Honestly, Nevermind" didn't receive rapturous praise from his fan base. He took the one classic rap song on the tracklist, "Jimmy Cooks" featuring 21 Savage, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and tried to clone its success 16 times.

This was a disappointing decision. "Honestly, Nevermind" wasn't a flop; it was a thrilling departure from the standard Drake formula. It signaled that he'd found the courage to try new things, to execute new visions, to create true albums instead of glorified playlists.

"Her Loss" erased that progress. The album feels sloppy and scatterbrained, especially compared to the cohesive club vibe of its precursor. It's peppered with unnecessary jabs at famous women (Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice, Serena Williams) that serve only to spark discourse on Twitter. It lacks any sense of gravity.

"It's yet more evidence that Drake's art is suffering under the strain of his obsession with churning out as much music as is physically possible," Fred Garratt-Stanley wrote for NME, while Rolling Stone's Mosi Reeves put it even more bluntly: "Drake's error is that he unintentionally reveals himself as a self-centered jerk who refuses to grow up."

11. "Certified Lover Boy"

Like the majority of Drake's albums, "Certified Lover Boy" would have benefited from several tracklist edits.

But unlike "Scorpion" and "Views," it doesn't have the standout cuts and certified bops to justify its obscene length. The only memorable moments are the cringey ones: the Right Said Fred sample on "Way 2 Sexy," for example, or the entirety of "Girls Want Girls." And don't even get me started on "F*****g Fans."

Put simply, "Certified Lover Boy" is swollen and boring, a watered-down collection of Drake tropes. I listened straight through the album exactly once and never returned.

10. "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U"

Drake's long-rumored collaborative album with PartyNextDoor, who is signed to Drake's boutique label, OVO Sound, is thankfully more R&B-forward than much of his recent work. In the words of Kendrick Lamar, "I like Drake with the melodies, I don't like Drake when he act tough."

Speaking of Lamar, how could we not? It's impossible to divorce this album from the insults and drama swirling around it, as much as Drake would like us to.

"$ome $exy $ongs 4 U" was released just one week after Lamar's hate parade at the Super Bowl. Lamar took a risk at the big game by performing "Not Like Us," a hit song full of unsavory claims about his nemesis — particularly that Drake "likes 'em young" and hangs out with accused sexual predators, among others.

Drake alludes to Lamar in "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U," but for the most part, he conducts his business as usual. It's framed as an album "for the girls," not the beef-obsessed rap bros. This strategy makes logical sense, but it's still unsatisfying. Drake has decided to lean on lawsuits to save him instead of artistry.

At this point, I would consider Drake's artistry missing in action. With the exception of "Honestly, Nevermind," it feels like Drake has been releasing the same album over and over since 2021, ever confident that people will listen, even if it's bad. (Alas, he's right. "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.)

"$ome $exy $ongs 4 U" isn't bad in the same way that "For All the Dogs" is bad. But the album is persistently uninspired — yet another hour-plus slog that lacks enough intrigue or emotion to justify its existence.

9. "What a Time To Be Alive"

There's a reason Drake is a commercial titan. He tosses out hit songs and record-breaking collections with staggering informality.

"What a Time To Be Alive" is one such example. Drake's 2015 collaborative mixtape with Future was famously written and recorded in just six days. Unfortunately, it shows.

These songs don't quite suit him. Drake takes a backseat throughout the 11 tracks, on which much of the production and many of the lyrics are undercooked.

The chemistry between these two rappers just isn't strong enough to sell the concept — which may explain why nearly a decade later, Drake and Future are so on the outs that Future allowed Lamar to insult and provoke Drake on his own album (2024's "We Don't Trust You"), leading to the most sensational rap beef in a generation. In "Not Like Us," Lamar also accuses Drake of exploiting Future for clout.

8. "Thank Me Later"

"Thank Me Later" satisfied both critics and fans at the time of its release. But beyond serving its purpose as a hype-fulfilling studio debut, it falters when compared to many of Drake's subsequent projects (even though "Find Your Love" has remained one of his strongest songs).

At least no one can accuse Drake of coming out of the gate too strong and never living up to his potential.

7. "If You're Reading This It's Too Late"

For those who worship Drake as a rapper, rather than a pop star, "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" is the holy grail. It sees him at his most forceful and most boastful, rapping over minimal beats and industrial sounds for 17 straight tracks.

But Drake didn't become Drake because he's a great rapper. I mean, this is a man who actually said, "Got so many chains, I feel like chain-ing Tatum."

Drake is capable of delivering strong bars, to be sure, but he's at his best when he blends his bars with moody R&B, decadent production, and melodic vocals — when he blends his narcissism with his jealousy, longing, melancholy, and regret, confronting many moods in a way that feels universal.

"If You're Reading This," by contrast, is unceasingly paranoid, aggressive, and single-minded. Save for "Know Yourself" and perhaps "Jungle," it lacks that intimate translation of memories and emotions that make people feel connected to Drake as an artist, rather than Drake as a brand.

6. "More Life"

Drake continues to insist that "More Life" is a "playlist," not an album — perhaps as an attempt to exempt it from lists like this one, since it's so difficult to compare to his other works.

The triumph of "More Life" is its ability to absorb many different sounds and spotlight many different artists. With its rich production and fun list of collaborators, it has plenty of bright spots, particularly "Passionfruit," "Get It Together," "Portland," and "Fake Love."

But if Drake's most consistent critique is that his albums are too bloated, too sprawling, and too uneven to make it all worth it, then "More Life" fails spectacularly.

It doesn't even feel like a Drake album because it's 80 minutes of other artists showing him up, from Jorja Smith to Young Thug — 80 minutes of genres and styles that only work with him as a feature. It lacks a central genius, as well as many of the quirks that make Drake, well, Drake.

5. "Honestly, Nevermind"

I was primed to enjoy "Honestly, Nevermind," firstly because its release was announced mere hours in advance. This weakened the risk of New Drake Hype eclipsing the album itself, which several of its predecessors fell victim to.

Secondly, with 14 songs spanning just 52 minutes, this is Drake's shortest album since "What a Time To Be Alive." After the absolute slog of "Certified Lover Boy," the world deserved that.

But most importantly, "Honestly, Nevermind" is fun to listen to — a cohesive, focused package of tropical beats and atmospheric production.

Especially as a surprise drop, this made for a fascinating change of pace. There aren't any Drake-isms, quippy lyrics, or unfortunate outliers. This is an album for feral summer nights at the coolest club in town.

One staff writer at Rolling Stone described this effect as "'More Life' on molly." Another popular tweet compared it to the groovy jellyfish music from "SpongeBob SquarePants." Both are compliments, and both are correct.

"Honestly, Nevermind" is so smooth that it runs the risk of passive vibing and mindless head-bobbing. Luckily, highlights like "Sticky" and "Overdrive" serve to pull the listener back into their body. When 21 Savage arrives to deliver closing statements on "Jimmy Cooks," I never quite feel ready to leave the dance floor.

4. "Scorpion"

Drake is famously unable to refine a tracklist. But at the time "Scorpion" was released, that gimmick hadn't gotten old yet. As Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield wrote, "With this guy, way too much is the point."

It would be fair to assume most people don't commit to a front-to-back listen of "Scorpion." At 89 minutes, it's his longest project ever.

But that's just one way to listen to an album, and it's clearly not the way Drake would prefer.

A lot of music traditionalists would argue that you can't judge an album by cherry-picking its highlights. But Drake doesn't care if you replay the full album. He only cares if you love pieces of it, and on "Scorpion," there are plenty of pieces to love.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a fan who doesn't have at least one or two "Scorpion" songs on repeat, even now. The album boasts some of Drake's most likable songs yet, whether it's his genius Mariah Carey homage "Emotionless," his meme-able "In My Feelings," his emo-synth jam "Summer Games," or the ultimate summer bop "Nice For What."

Concluding with "March 14," an open-heart rumination on being thrust into fatherhood, is the icing on the cake. You're left feeling like you understand Drake better than before, a feat that many of his newer albums lack.

Plus, there's something to be said for a man who has remodeled the system in his own image and broke multiple Beatles records in the process. With "Scorpion," he makes sheer magnitude work in a uniquely Drake-y way. 

3. "Views"

In 2016, many fans and critics found "Views" underwhelming, largely due to the feverish anticipation that preceded its release.

But in retrospect, it may be the best representation of Drake as we know him now: the eclectic, confident, irritated, unabashedly corny, taste-making icon.

In the words of The Ringer's Virali Dave, Drake spends the entire album "reveling in all his absurdist, quippy glory" — and that's exactly what we love him for.

The 80-minute tracklist has something for everyone. Drake's purist rap fans have "Hype" and "Still Here." His "Marvin's Room" die-hards got a new crying-in-the-club anthem with "Feel No Ways." And all music listeners should be thankful for the album's string of undeniable bops: "Hotline Bling," "One Dance," "Pop Style," and "Controlla." In short, "Views" holds up.

All these years later, it remains Drake's most divisive project. But for all the ways critics slandered "Views" as a flop, everyone has sure streamed the hell out of it. It spent more than 100 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 chart; it's one of the biggest hip-hop albums of all time.

2. "Nothing Was The Same"

Only Drake could build a tracklist that includes a timelessly seductive love song ("Hold On We're Going Home"), career-defining hype anthems ("Worst Behavior," "Started From the Bottom"), emo slow jams ("Own It," "Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2"), and an audacious six-minute intro ("Tuscan Leather") and somehow turn it into his most solid, coherent album ever.

"Nothing Was The Same" is a true standout in Drake's catalog because, as Andrew Unterberger wrote for Billboard, "The LP in its entirety is stronger than just its highlights in isolation: It's the Drake album with the most consistent vibe throughout, the one where the songs most feel like they're all stemming from the same moment."

1. "Take Care"

"Take Care" is Drake's masterpiece. It saw him step into his role as the High Priest of our generational oversharing: He's processing his memories in real time, collapsing a myriad of modern experiences and complex emotions into his most immersive listening experience.

It can be difficult to remember how risky "Take Care" was for Drake at the time — to release such a self-conscious, gothic record when everyone wanted classic rap songs for the radio.

"Making an album this outré demonstrates a perverse sense of confidence, and also ignores the received wisdom about consistency and incremental change," Jon Caramanica wrote for The New York Times in his review.

"'Take Care' isn't a hip-hop album or an R&B album so much as an album of eccentric black pop that takes those genres as starting points, asks what they can do but haven't been doing, then attempts those things," Carmanica continued. "In the future an album like this will be commonplace; today, it's radical."

He was right. "Take Care" was criticized by Drake's peers who said it wasn't "real rap." Now, it's what you'd put in a time capsule for future generations to understand why rap hasn't been the same since 2011.

• The Billboard 200 is the definitive all-genre chart for album sales in the US.
• Nine acts in Billboard history have topped the chart at least 10 different times.
• The Beatles have the most No. 1 albums with 19. Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, and Drake are tied for second.

Since it began publishing weekly in 1956, the Billboard 200 has tracked the best-selling albums in the US.

Today, it's still an impressive feat to reign atop the chart, especially with several different albums.

Only a handful of artists have crossed into double-digit No. 1s, including modern superstars like Taylor Swift and Drake. They're listed below in ascending order.

Editor's note: Although Elvis Presley is often credited with 10 No. 1 albums, a Billboard representative told Business Insider that most of his biggest releases pre-date the modern Billboard 200 chart, which launched in 1963.

Bruce Springsteen — 11

Bruce Springsteen's 11 chart-topping albums span over three decades, from 1980's "The River" to 2014's "High Hopes" — even though Springsteen has yet to score a No. 1 hit song on the Hot 100.

Barbra Streisand — 11

Barbra Streisand logged her first No. 1 entry on the Billboard 200 with "People" in 1964.

Fifty-one years later, she set a record for the longest span between No. 1s when "Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway," her 2016 studio album, topped the chart.

Streisand previously had the most No. 1 albums among female artists until Taylor Swift broke her record in 2023.

Kanye West — 11

Ye, who still releases music under the name Kanye West, topped the Billboard 200 for the first time in 2005 with "Late Registration."

He logged his 11th consecutive No. 1 album in 2024 with "Vultures 1," a collaborative effort with Ty Dolla $ign.

Eminem — 11

When it was released in 2000, Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" sold over 1 million copies in its first week, easily earning a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200.

Two decades later, "Music to Be Murdered By" debuted at No. 1, becoming Eminem's historic 10th chart-topper. He logged his 11th in 2024 with "The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)."

Future — 11

Future earned his first No. 1 album in 2015 with "DS2," which has since spent over 300 weeks on the Billboard 200.

In 2024, Future's "Mixtape Pluto" debuted atop the chart — his third No. 1 album in just six months and 11th overall.

Earlier that year, Future topped the chart with "We Don't Trust You" and "We Still Don't Trust You," collaborative efforts with Metro Boomin. The former is widely known for reigniting a feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Jay-Z — 14

Jay-Z began collecting No. 1s in 1998 with his third studio album, "Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life." In 2017, he extended his total to 14 with "4:44," setting a record among solo artists.

Jay-Z is also one of the most-awarded artists in Grammy history.

Taylor Swift — 14

Taylor Swift has only released one album that didn't top the chart: her self-titled debut, which peaked at No. 5 in 2008.

Swift earned her first No. 1 later that same year with "Fearless," which has since been ranked the fourth-biggest album in Billboard 200 history.

Most recently, "The Tortured Poets Department" launched atop the chart in 2024 with Swift's biggest sales week to date. It became her 14th No. 1 album, extending her record for the most among women, and reigned atop the chart for 19 weeks.

Swift has also broken Elvis Presley's record for the most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 among all solo artists.

Drake — 14

Drake has racked up 14 No. 1 albums in nearly the same number of years, from 2010's "Thank Me Later" to 2025's "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U," a collaborative effort with PartyNextDoor, released one week after Kendrick Lamar's triumphant Super Bowl performance.

Drake's grand total also includes one mixtape ("Care Package"), two more collaborative albums ("What A Time To Be Alive" with Future and "Her Loss" with 21 Savage), and one project mysteriously billed as a playlist ("More Life").

He is currently tied with Taylor Swift and Jay-Z for the most No. 1 albums among solo artists.

The Beatles — 19

The Beatles hold both records for the most No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 and the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. The latter group includes classics like "Revolver" (1966), "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967), "Abbey Road" (1969), and their post-breakup compilation "1" (2000).

As a solo musician, Paul McCartney has topped the Billboard 200 eight more times, while John Lennon managed the feat thrice before he died in 1980.

• I made frozen fries using my oven, air fryer, grill, and stove to find the best cooking method.
• The air-fryer fries were the easiest to make, but the oven fries were the crispiest.
• Surprisingly, the winners were the panfried fries, which were the juiciest of the bunch.

French fries are hands down one of my top comfort foods. I can never resist picking up a small fry from a fast-food chain or heating some up after a night out. 

I usually make fries in the microwave when I'm feeling lazy, but I wanted to try leveling up.

I prepared a bag of frozen Ore-Ida shoestring fries in my oven, air fryer, pan, and grill to see which method would yield the best results. 

All I needed to panfry the frozen fries was a pan and some cooking oil.

I figured I'd start with the easiest household appliance to find — a simple pan. The Ore-Ida instructions said to heat ¼ cup of cooking oil in a large skillet over medium to high heat. 

I had vegetable oil handy, so I poured it into a pan and waited a few minutes for it to sizzle. 

After spreading out the fries in a thin layer, I waited for them to turn a nice golden brown.

I burned my first batch of panfried potatoes.

I'll admit, I wasn't paying close enough attention, and before I knew it, my pan was filled with dark brown, burned french fries. 

I forgot the most essential part of panfrying fries — turning them over frequently to avoid mishaps like this. I was too busy preheating my oven for the baked fries. 

Luckily, both my brother and father love crunchy fries, so they devoured this failed first batch.

This was a good opportunity to reuse the oil for my second batch.

Lacking confidence after my first attempt, I decided to stick with the amount of leftover oil in my pan and give the stove another chance. 

This time, I watched the pan and flipped my fries as often as I could. After about 10 minutes, I was satisfied with the golden, crispy fries and laid them out on a paper towel to soak up the extra oil. 

These fries were all-round perfection.

The stovetop fries were warm and juicy thanks to the vegetable oil, but they had a slightly toasty outer layer.

I couldn't imagine anything that could top this.

Next, I laid a layer of fries on a baking sheet to put in the oven.

My oven was already cranked up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, so all I had to do was arrange the fries in a single layer on a baking sheet. 

I wasn't quite sure how long to leave these fries in the oven.

Following the instructions, I heated up half of the fries in the bag for 13 to 21 minutes until they were a light golden color. 

This seemed like such a wide range, so I punched in 15 minutes and hoped for the best.

The oven-baked fries were the most aesthetically pleasing.

I was pleasantly surprised by the end result of the baked fries — especially since I was hesitant about the cooking time. They looked practically perfect, similar to my favorite McDonald's version.

I completely forgot to flip them while they were cooking, but apparently, this wasn't a super necessary step for good results. 

They were warm and tasty but a little drier than the juicy panfried fries.

I turned to my air fryer for the next taste test.

Although I had high hopes for the air fryer at the start of this test, right off the bat, I knew this option was the least practical cooking appliance.

I could only fit a handful of fries in my small basket.

The air fryer was super easy to use.

I sprayed the basket with olive oil and cranked it to 400 F for 10 minutes.

This was actually one of the easiest appliances to use since I didn't have to monitor the fries as closely as the pan or oven.

The air-fried fries were almost perfect.

I was amazed at how easy it was to make fries in the air fryer. It required almost zero effort, and they came out nearly perfect with minimal cleanup.

These fries had a nice, crunchy outer layer and a soft middle. However, they weren't as juicy as the panfried fries.

Lastly, I used my grill to cook some fries.

Making frozen fries on the grill doesn't seem much different than searing potato wedges.

I also thought it might be a nice option if I'm already grilling hot dogs, burgers, or chicken for dinner. 

The grill was easy to use, and it cooked the fries quickly.

I covered the grates with aluminum foil and threw a fistful of fries on top for 15 minutes.

They cooked pretty quickly and even had some nice char marks on them. 

I could imagine these fries served Greek-style, with lots of lemon juice and oregano.

These fries were also crispy with some nice smoky flavor, but they were still too dry and tough for my taste.

Although the small char marks were nice, the fries didn't turn golden brown and stayed somewhat pale despite being cooked thoroughly.

The stove was an easy winner, but the air fryer was a close second.

Although I struggled the most with the pan, it yielded the juiciest, crispiest fries. They got a bit soggy after a few minutes, but I honestly like them like that, too.

The air fryer was a close second, even though I could only cook a small pile of fries at a time. I could see future uses for my oven and grill as well.

Regardless of the method, next time, I'll definitely spice up the frozen fries by tossing them with salt and pepper or even oregano.

This story was originally published in August 2023 and most recently updated on February 24, 2025.

Click to check out the other appliances we've put head-to-head so far.

• I have enjoyed visiting Italy, and one of my favorite spots for avoiding tons of crowds is Bologna.
• The walkable city welcomes fewer crowds than its popular neighbors, such as Florence and Rome.
• Bologna also has world-renowned cuisine, rich history, and beautiful architecture.

While in Italy, I wanted to experience the country's finest food, art, and architecture while doing my best to avoid crowds. I was very successful at doing this in Bologna.

First of all, I appreciate that the city is far less visited than some of Italy's most popular destinations. Last year, Bologna welcomed millions fewer visitors than Florence and over 20 million fewer than Rome.

The walkable Northern Italian city also won me over with its beautiful rose- and rust-colored buildings that blend in with the hues of a sunset.

Although Bologna's relatively fewer tourists make it an appealing travel destination, that's just one of many reasons to plan a trip here.

It's a culinary haven

Bologna is affectionately nicknamed "La Grassa," which translates to "the fat" and reflects what the city is best known for: its amazing cuisine.

In fact, Bologna and the surrounding Emilia-Romagna region are the original home to many famous Italian foods such as Parmigiano Reggiano, tagliatelle al ragù, balsamic vinegar, tortellini, and mortadella.

One way to explore the famous local cuisine is by taking a food tour. However, it's not necessary. I took a spontaneous approach, dining at various restaurants ranging from big spots with the best reviews to smaller, lesser-known ones that I stumbled upon during my trip.

No matter where I ate in Bologna, I had a cozy, authentically-Italian-feeling experience. I didn't feel like I encountered dining tourist traps, which wasn't the case in Florence.

A culinary highlight of the trip was the fresh handmade pasta I ate at Sfoglia Rina, a cozy trattoria with a long tradition of producing and serving handmade pasta since its inception in 1963.

Lastly, I highly suggest taking a stroll in the medieval streets of Quadrilatero, Bologna's ancient market. It's the perfect place for a culinary adventure with its fresh produce and street food.

Bologna is also a must-visit destination for art and architecture lovers

If you appreciate beautiful architecture and are an aesthete, Bologna should be a must-visit city. It's also pedestrian-friendly, so pack your comfiest walking shoes and get ready to explore.

Start at the Piazza Maggiore, the city's central square, and check out one of its most important buildings, the Basilica di San Petronio. Then, stop by and marvel at the famous Neptune Fountain in Piazza del Nettuno, just a short distance away.

Enjoy walking below Bologna's famous porticoes, which have been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They're said to be a symbol of Bologna's hospitality and sociability, offering visitors shelter in all seasons.

The Archiginnasio, which dates back to the 16th century, is another must-visit place in Bologna. It houses a centuries-old municipal library and a theater hall that was once used for anatomical displays and lectures.

Many will also appreciate its proximity to other popular spots in Italy

You could easily spend a few days here, leisurely taking in its old-world charms. While in the area, you can check out other nearby towns in the Emilia-Romagna region, like Modena or Parma.

This year, Bologna may be an especially attractive city to include in your Italian itinerary if you want to dodge the millions of pilgrims expected to congregate in Rome for the Jubilee.

Once you feel you are ready to brave more hordes of tourists, though, take advantage of the city's location and the fact that it is one of the main railway hubs in Italy.

By train, Bologna is less than an hour from Florence, about two hours from Rome, and an hour and a half from Venice.

• The Office of Personnel Management asked federal workers to email a list of their accomplishments over the past week.
• A number of federal agencies told their employees that they were not required to respond.
• Some agencies said a response is voluntary, while others said they would respond on employees' behalf.

Some federal agencies' response to Elon Musk's worker productivity email: thanks, but no thanks.

A growing number of agencies are telling their workers that they are not required to respond to the email sent from the Office of Personnel Management over the weekend asking for a list of accomplishments from the past week.

According to emails reviewed by Business Insider, some of the agencies told employees that they would respond to OPM on their behalf. Others said a response is voluntary, and failure to respond will not result in any penalties.

In a post on X on Saturday, Musk said that "failure to respond will be taken as a resignation," but the initial email didn't make the same claim. This comes after a tumultuous past few weeks for federal workers; a number of agencies terminated thousands of employees last week following directions from President Donald Trump and Musk's DOGE to slash government waste.

These are the federal agencies BI has verified that have so far told their workers that they do not need to respond to OPM's email ahead of the 11:59 p.m. Eastern time deadline on Monday night.

Department of Defense

The Department of Defense posted on X on Sunday that its employees should "pause any response" to the OPM's email.

"The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures," the statement said.

Social Security Administration

On Sunday, the Social Security Administration sent an email to its employees telling them that the OPM email is "a legitimate assignment" and those who received it were required to respond.

However, the agency followed up on Monday afternoon telling employees that any response is "voluntary."

"Non-responses are not considered a resignation," the email said.

NASA

NASA emailed its employees on Monday afternoon saying, "You are not required to respond, and there is no impact on your employment with the agency if you choose not to respond."

The agency said it would respond on employees' behalf and that "employees should continue to feel empowered to report their activities and accomplishments" to their supervisors.

Department of Justice

Jolene Ann Lauria, acting assistant attorney general for administration at the DOJ, emailed employees on Monday: "Due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the Department's work, DOJ employees do not need to respond to the email from OPM."

Bloomberg Law reported that this was a reversal of Lauria's earlier guidance that instructed employees to respond to the email.

Department of Agriculture

The USDA told employees on Monday afternoon that responding to the email is "voluntary," and that "there is no penalty for not responding to the request."

The USDA guidance said that those who do choose to respond should refrain from submitting any sensitive or confidential information.

State Department

The State Department told employees that it would respond on behalf of the agency.

"No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command," the department said.

Department of Energy

The Department of Energy emailed its employees on Sunday night, instructing them to "pause" any responses to the OPM email.

"The Department of Energy is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures," the department said. "When and if required, the Department will provide a coordinated response to the OPM email."

Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Health and Human Services told employees that based on discussions with OPM officials, they did not need to respond to the initial email.

"OPM has now rescinded that mandatory requirement," HHS said in an email. "There is no HHS expectation that HHS employees respond to OPM and there is no impact to your employment with the agency if you choose not to respond."

The email said that those who do respond should do so "at a high level of generality" and protect sensitive information. They should "assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly."

Are you a federal worker? Got a tip? Contact these reporters securely on Signal at the usernames asheffey.97 or alicetecotzky.05, or email them at [email protected] or [email protected].

• Nvidia finally has a chance to tell investors why their violent reaction to DeepSeek was a mistake.
• The chip giant's Wednesday earnings are the first since DeepSeek's AI sparked market panic.
• Key areas to watch are data center revenue, Blackwell's ramp-up, inference demand, and policy.

When Nvidia reports earnings on Wednesday, the chip giant will have the chance to tell investors why it thinks their intense reaction to the rise of DeepSeek was a mistake — or change the subject entirely.

Heading into 2025, Nvidia's rule looked unassailable as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and others lined up for its chips. That is until Chinese startup DeepSeek released R1, an open-source reasoning model with benchmark results to rival OpenAI's o1 model.

Critically, R1 was reportedly produced with fewer and less powerful chips than o1.

"DeepSeek's remarkable feat has shaken the industry's assumptions about how much capital or GPU chips a company needs to stay ahead of the competition," Barclays analysts wrote last month.

Although Nvidia has largely recovered from the violent reaction markets had to DeepSeek — the chip firm lost $600 billion in market capitalization in one day to mark the biggest single drop in US market history — CEO Jensen Huang will need to show investors the party is nowhere near over and that the promise of AI isn't overhyped. Huang previewed his argument at a virtual event broadcast Thursday where he said investors had misinterpreted the signals of DeepSeek.

As Nvidia prepares to address investors officially for the first time since the DeepSeek saga, here's what to look out for in its earnings.

Data center revenue

Analysts predict Nvidia's revenue, especially in its all-important data center business, will keep rising — bolstered by already-announced forthcoming data center buildouts.

From Stargate, with $500 billion in expected spending, to Meta forecasting an additional $65 billion in data centers this year, to Amazon forecasting $100 billion more computing power earlier this month, Nvidia's customers are still lining up.

It will offer Nvidia fresh evidence to present to investors concerned that DeepSeek's claim to use chips more efficiently — a key driver in lowering costs — would hurt demand.

"Despite DeepSeek's supposed 'revolutionary' optimizations, there is no change thus far to spending intentions at NVDA large customers including Microsoft and Meta," Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya wrote in a note to investors in early February.

Model improvements, paired with big data center buildouts, are another favorable evidence point for Nvidia.

Grok 3, Musk's latest model from xAI, is receiving praise for its performance. Musk's firms also recently collaborated on its second data center with roughly 12,000 Nvidia GPUs, BI exclusively reported.

Musk has been aggressively adding to the fleet of GPU-packed data centers supporting Grok, suggesting a link between progress and infrastructure.

Model builders and hyperscalers still have their eyes on artificial general intelligence, and cheaper, highly functional models like DeepSeek won't impact that pursuit, Morgan Stanley analysts told investors in a note from last week.

Blackwell ramp-up

Nvidia's latest and most powerful chip series, Blackwell, has struggled with a slow rollout due to manufacturing and overheating issues. Analysts, however, are expecting the company to report a strong ramp-up.

"Demand for Blackwell is very strong and will outstrip supply for several quarters," Synovus senior portfolio manager Daniel Morgan said in an investor note last week.

UBS's Timothy Arcuri wrote that after much consternation, investor fears of a botched rollout are relaxing, and strong sales numbers could put them fully at ease.

UBS analysts also said the fourth quarter was the last in which Blackwell chips won't make up the majority of Nvidia's GPU sales. Investors will likely favor that shift because Blackwell brings with it higher profit margins.

Nvidia's buzzy GTC conference will take place in San Jose, CA, next month, marking the first anniversary of Blackwell's debut.

Inference and applications

Further growth in inference demand would also be a proof point for Huang's theory of investor error surrounding the DeepSeek rout. Demand for inference, the process of using and improving models once they've been trained, increases when consumers and businesses find value in AI tools.

Investors will likely want to see the share of AI workloads continue to shift to inference, which also requires GPUs to run. On the company's last call in November, Huang repeatedly said that inference across Nvidia's platforms was growing.

Growth in the software layers of Nvidia's tech stack would be a good sign, too. This would suggest maturity in AI products and lend strength to a part of its business that's potentially even more difficult to compete with than the chips themselves.

"What Nvidia talks about on its long-term moats and its possible deployment on the AI application side probably matters more this time," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note to investors Friday.

Worldwide wild card

Investors will also be looking for any signals from Nvidia about the company's approach to China as President Donald Trump threatens to upend business relations with the country.

Just before the end of his term, former President Joe Biden initiated new regulations on the export of high-powered chips like Nvidia's GPUs, which are in the midst of a 120-day comment period. Many policy analysts expect Trump to allow the rules to take effect as they align with his "America First" agenda, though Trump has yet to directly address them.

As Trump said last month, AI leadership is critical to ensuring "economic and national security."

Last month, Trump also threatened to impose tariffs on Taiwan, home of Nvidia's chip manufacturing partner, TSMC. Tariffs could lead to increased costs for Nvidia. Huang met with the president at the White House last month, but neither party provided details of the discussion.

Although Nvidia's share price has recovered much of its DeepSeek-induced losses, the $3 trillion juggernaut faces various potential headwinds. Huang's job Wednesday will be to reassure investors that those headwinds will be mild and reaffirm that Nvidia remains fundamental to the AI story.

• Rep. Rich McCormick faced a town hall full of constituents angry over DOGE last week.
• Now, he seems the government-efficiency initiative is moving too quickly.
• "I'm concerned that maybe we're moving a little bit too fast," he said.

Last week, Rep. Rich McCormick faced a town hall full of voters angry about President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency's swift reshaping of the federal government.

Now, the Georgia Republican says he's worried the government-efficiency initiative is moving too quickly.

"I'm not against anything he's doing, but I'm concerned," McCormick said on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "Politically Georgia" podcast on Monday. "I'm concerned that maybe we're moving a little bit too fast."

At a town hall in Roswell, Georgia on Thursday night, McCormick fielded a variety of contentious questions about the Trump administration's recent moves, with many of the questions focusing on the firing of federal workers and the cutting of certain programs.

The Georgia congressman, who represents a conservative-leaning district, said on Monday that he'd prefer a more methodical approach to cutting than the rapid pace that Elon Musk's DOGE is setting, including the shuttering of entire government agencies.

"We should have impact studies on each department as we do it, and I'm sure they can do that," McCormick said. "But I think if we're moving really, really rapidly, we don't know the impact."

McCormick also suggested that he's not the only House Republican who's concerned by the pace of DOGE's work.

"I think there's debate of how rapidly we're moving," McCormick said. "Some people who are very conservative also think we should move much more slowly."

In response to a request for comment, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to BI that Trump has "enjoyed broad support" for his cost-cutting initiatives.

"The spending freeze is already uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse across federal agencies and ensuring better stewardship of taxpayer dollars, including for American farmers and families," Kelly said. "Ultimately, President Trump will cut programs that do not serve the interests of the American people and keep programs that put America First, just as 77 million voters elected him to do."

• Some 60,000 DoorDash delivery workers will split a $16.75M settlement, NY officials said Monday.
• The settlement ends a probe into deceptive tipping practices.
• DoorDash used tips to offset driver salaries, deceiving customers and workers, AG Letitia James said.

DoorDash will pay a $16.75 million settlement to resolve a probe led by New York officials into the delivery platform's tipping practices.

The settlement will be split among some 60,000 delivery workers — known as "Dashers" — and will range from between $10 and $14,000 per worker, Attorney General Letitia James said Monday.

For years, DoorDash used tips to offset what it paid its Dashers, James told reporters in announcing the settlement.

In an example provided by James, if Dashers were offered a guaranteed amount of $10 for a delivery, and the customer did not tip, DoorDash would pay the Dasher the promised $10.

But if the customer tipped $3, then DoorDash would let the Dasher keep that tip and pay only $7 out of its own corporate coffers.

The practice was kept secret from customers and DoorDash delivery workers, James said. Dashers did not know that their tips were not adding to their income, she said. And customers had no idea that their tips were not subsidizing their Dashers' incomes and were instead helping the company save money.

New York, which also worked with Illinois and DC on the probe, gained access to communications among DoorDash executives who worried that their Dashers would "figure out" what was going on, James told reporters.

"Doordash executives knew how deceptive this policy was," she said. "They knew it wasn't right but they did it anyway."

Under the settlement, the New York AG's office will set up a website for Dashers to use to claim their money. DoorDash will be required to end the tip-sharing practice and lack of transparency in how tips are handled, and for the next three years must report to the AG's office every 6 months on compliance.

A DoorDash spokesperson told Business Insider that the "pay model" cited by the AGs office was in place between 2017 and 2019, and has not been used in the last six years.

"We remain committed to making sure that Dasher earnings are always fair and transparent, and the allegations settled were related to an old pay model that was retired in 2019. To be clear: Dashers always keep 100% of tips from orders on the DoorDash app," a spokesperson said.

This story was updated to include comment from DoorDash.

The world's supply of Brie and Camembert could be in danger. One mold, called Penicillium camemberti, is responsible for the cheeses' iconic white rinds and creamy, tangy centers. But the qualities that once made it a star of the cheese world are becoming a liability — driving some to hunt for colorful fungi in the wild to make completely new cheeses. So, are these famous French cheeses really facing catastrophe? And what does this mean for cheese lovers around the world?

• Donald Trump is threatening Europe on behalf of Big Tech.
• Donald Trump is also telling Big Tech to watch its step.
• Does Trump mean both things? Or maybe one thing at one time, and a different thing at another? Maybe.

Fact: The Trump administration is fighting with European regulators, arguing that they are too harsh on American tech companies.

Also a fact: The Trump administration says it is going to regulate American tech companies because they have "too much power."

That's a confusing, but accurate, summary of the new administration's relationship with Big Tech. On the one hand, it is gearing up for a brawl with European lawmakers who have been punishing the likes of Apple, Google, and Meta for perceived antitrust violations. On the other, it is warning Big Tech companies that it will be watching for signs that the platforms are behaving badly.

We got to see both sides of that positioning last week, via two memos from the administration. On Thursday, Trump's Federal Trade Commission announced an "Inquiry on Tech Censorship," aimed at "technology platforms [that] deny or degrade users' access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations."

Platformer's Casey Newton speculates that the FTC's effort "seems designed to unearth cherry-picked anecdotes that favor one political party," and that seems right to me. I would certainly be surprised if the FTC spends a lot of time looking at the way Twitter/X has shifted very far to the right under Elon Musk's ownership.

But a day later, team Trump also offered Big Tech companies a chance at something they really, really want: Relief from European regulation, in the form of a memo announcing that the federal government will be "defending American companies from extortion."

The short summary of that one: Trump says he will threaten tariffs against countries that use "taxes, fines, practices, and policies that foreign governments levy on American companies."

Which happens to be exactly what tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, have been asking Trump to do (and why Zuckerberg and his Meta reps have been referring to European regulation as "almost like a tariff" for the last few weeks).

One way to look at the two different tech messages coming out of Trump's White House could be a basic carrot and stick: We'll fight the Europeans on your behalf — but you'd better toe the line at home.

But another lens could simply be about different messages for different audiences: Trump tells the men running some of the biggest companies in the world — the ones lined up behind him at his inauguration — that he'll work on their behalf. Meanwhile, his proxies tell Trump voters that they're keeping up the pressure on Big Tech, just like they promised. Like last month's JD Vance interview with CBS' "Face the Nation", when the vice president announced that "we believe fundamentally that Big Tech does have too much power," and that the companies need to "stop engaging in censorship."

As always, we'll need to see what Trump et al actually do because announcing investigations and threatening tariffs are one thing — following up is another. Seeing where the administration puts its energy will be telling.

• I had doubts about attending the University of Connecticut, a state school.
• Before jumping at the chance to transfer, I decided to try to make the best of my current college.
• I ultimately decided transferring to urban Boston University was the best decision for me.

I always knew that the University of Connecticut wasn't the right place for me.

Despite UConn's stellar academics, its rural campus offered little appeal to me. Plus, its emphasis on science and engineering didn't align with my creative interests.

I had been rejected from all three of my top schools and only landed on UConn because it was the cheapest tuition. With my decision to attend UConn, my dreams of leaving Connecticut and going to school in a city came to a swift end. That was a hard pill to swallow.

Nevertheless, in August 2023, I packed up my bags, stuffed them into the back of my mom's car, and started my college journey. I joined clubs, made friends, and even pushed myself to take on new challenges. However, despite trying to make the best of UConn, my desire to go to a different school persisted.

I originally struggled to adapt as a freshman

As someone who never quite found their place in high school, I romanticized the idea of college. Coming to UConn, I had very rigid expectations for myself and my experience.

I never stopped to consider the challenges I might face or the possibility that I wouldn't love every minute of my time there. I expected everything to fall into place as soon as I arrived, and when it didn't, I felt lost.

I knew I wanted to be somewhere else, but I had no idea what that place was or how to get there.

I turned to a close friend, who had transferred the year before, for advice. She told me that the key to a successful transition was to "make sure the reason you're transferring has something to do with the school."

This advice stuck with me. The transition to college is hard, and it's important to acknowledge that it's not always going to be a smooth ride. I had to make sure that the problem was the school itself — not my struggle to adapt to this new life change.

I knew then that I couldn't just flee UConn because I was struggling. I had to settle in and see if it really was the wrong place for me.

I tried to make the best of UConn, but it just wasn't the right school

Coming back from winter break, I decided to give my second semester at UConn my best shot. I came into the spring semester with a more open-minded approach. I hosted my own radio show, became the social media manager of one of my clubs, and continued to develop deep connections.

By the time April came, I had turned my experience around. Yet, despite my newfound happiness, my desire to transfer continued to linger.

The moment I truly knew it was time to transfer came in the middle of March. I was walking back to my dorm room after a night spent with friends, laughing. I remember taking in my surroundings, the cool winter air, and thinking to myself, "This is great, but I have to go."

I ultimately transferred because I was unhappy in a rural environment.

I'm glad I transferred colleges based on something I could fix — not because I was searching for something unrealistic or intangible. If I had, I might have experienced the same challenges I did at UConn.

I'm glad I gave myself the time to explore my options

I transferred to Boston University, and the urban environment was the right fit for me.

During my process as a transfer, I've learned that it's easy to want to leave when the going gets tough. But I quickly realized it wasn't just a difficult transition; my school of choice was the problem. It just wasn't the right fit.

Ultimately, you know what's best for you, but it's also important to give yourself time to settle and adjust — and then you can make a definitive decision.

The time I spent at UConn was definitely transformative. It taught me a lot about myself — how I handle stress, how I deal with new environments, and what I value in a community.

But it also reinforced the idea that if something doesn't feel right, it's OK to move on.

• JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon defended some of his comments on DEI and WFH.
• He said he wasn't against working from home overall but opposed it in certain circumstances.
• He described some DEI efforts as wasteful but said the bank was committed to diverse communities.

Many people have piled into the work-from-home debate that's been amplified by Jamie Dimon's testy comments. Now Dimon has something he wants to say back to them.

During a CNBC interview on Monday from JPMorgan's global leveraged finance conference in Miami, Dimon acknowledged some faults.

"I should never curse, ever. That — OK," he said. "And I shouldn't get angry or stuff like that."

He then defended his stance on pulling employees back to the office five days a week, a mandate set to go into effect for most workers on March 3.

"I completely respect people that don't want to go to the office all five days a week. That's your right. It's my right. It's a citizen's right," Dimon said. "But they should respect that the company is going to decide what's good for the clients, the company, etc., not an individual."

He added: "They can get a job — and I'm not being mean — they can get a job elsewhere. I understand that it may make total sense for them to do that."

Dimon was defending some fiery comments he made during an internal town hall in February, the audio of which was published by Barron's. In it, Dimon complained that there was "not a goddamn person" he could get a hold of on Fridays and griped about employees not paying attention on "fucking Zoom."

Dimon said in the interview with CNBC that "we do have 10% of jobs that are full time at home," highlighting virtual call centers in Baltimore and Detroit.

"I'm not against work from home," Dimon said. "I'm against where it doesn't work."

JPMorgan employees have spoken out about some of the drawbacks of being back in the office full time, and a petition against the in-office mandate collected more than 1,700 signatures. Dimon said in the town hall that he didn't care about how much support the petition garnered, and he reiterated that during the Monday interview.

"That's fine. They have the right to feel that way," he said. "But we're not going to change. We're going back to the office, and I'm sure when we do there'll be some seats not available. But for the most part, most of our people understand why we need to do it."

During the town hall, Dimon also sounded off on JPMorgan's DEI-related programs, reportedly saying, "I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid shit, and it really pissed me off," and threatening to cancel them because "I don't like wasted money in bureaucracy."

He said on Monday that what he found specifically wasteful were "trainings that don't work, or too many of them," and hiring outside consultants for meetings and events. He also argued that a lot of small programs grew over time and should be consolidated.

He said the bank was "still going to reach out to the Black, Hispanic, LGBT, veteran, disabled communities," adding, "We're not changing that."