• Michelle Trachtenberg was found dead on Wednesday morning. She was 39.
• She began her acting career as a child star and is best known for "Buffy" and "Harriet the Spy."
• Trachtenberg's famous friends and former costars paid tribute to the actor.

After Michelle Trachtenberg's death on Wednesday morning, celebrities and fans are paying tribute.

The NYPD told Business Insider that Trachtenberg had been found dead in a luxury apartment in Manhattan near Central Park. No cause of death has been given, and authorities said they're not treating the death as suspicious.

Trachtenberg, who began acting in commercials at age 3, had a decadeslong career in Hollywood, appearing in memorable films like "Harriet the Spy" and "EuroTrip" and TV series like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gossip Girl." As the news of her death spread, her famous friends and former costars shared their reactions and heartfelt messages online.

Rosie O'Donnell said she wished she could've helped Trachtenberg.

In a statement to Us Weekly, O'Donnell, who played the beloved nanny of Trachtenberg's character in her 1996 film debut "Harriet the Spy," called the younger actor's death "heartbreaking."

"I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped," O'Donnell told the publication.

Michelle Branch shared a photo of Trachtenberg with broken heart emojis.

Branch was a musical guest star on the sixth season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Shawn Ashmore called Trachtenberg an incredible person.

Ashmore and Trachtenberg dated in the 2000s. In his post about her death, he called it an "incredible loss."

"Incredibly sad to hear about Michelle's passing. She was an incredible person and I will always remember the years we spent together fondly," he wrote. "She was loving, quirky and would never pass up a law and order SVU marathon:) My condolences to her mother Lana and sister Irene!"

Ed Westwick shared a photo of Trachtenberg as her "Gossip Girl" character.

Westwick played reformed bad boy Chuck Bass and Trachtenberg played fan-favorite antagonist Georgina Sparks throughout all six seasons of The CW teen drama "Gossip Girl."

"So sad to hear of the passing of @MichelleTrachtenberg," he wrote in his Instagram story. "Sending prayers."

David Boreanaz sent prayers to Trachtenberg's family.

Boreanaz played the vampire Angel, the longtime love interest of Buffy Summers on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and was a series regular on the first three seasons of the show before departing for his own spinoff.

Trachtenberg joined the series as Buffy's sister Dawn Summers in season five.

Kim Cattrall shared a throwback photo of her and Trachtenberg in "Ice Princess."

"Rest in peace sweet Michelle 💔" Cattrall captioned the post.

Trachtenberg's "Buffy" costar James Marsters shared a heartfelt message.

Marsters, who played Spike in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," worked closely with Trachtenberg from the time she joined the series in 2000 as a young teen.

"My heart is heavy today. We have lost a beautiful soul. Michelle was fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny, and a very talented person," the actor wrote on Instagram. "She died much too young, and leaves behind scores of people who knew and loved her."

"My heart goes out to her family who are good people, and are suffering the greatest loss anyone could bear. I hope everyone can give them space to heal in this most difficult time. Godspeed Michelle. You are missed," Marsters added.

• TJX CEO Ernie Herrman says he's excited about the opportunity for businesses like his from tariffs.
• "We've been to the movie before," he said of rising costs. "It's a different headline."
• Herrman also pointed to several ways the off-price retailer is able to soften the impact of tariffs.

Tariffs are shaking up retail, but not all companies are looking at the changes in the same way.

For TJX, CEO Ernie Herrman says he's excited about the opportunity the new trade costs present for businesses like his.

"We've been to the movie before," he said of managing rising costs from inflation. "It's a different headline; it's just the same approach."

Speaking on a fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday, Herrman said TJX — which owns brands like T.J. Maxx, Marshall's, Sierra, and Home Goods — directly imports only an extremely small percentage of its inventory from China.

As an off-price retailer, the company typically stocks up on merchandise that other retailers have already imported (and paid the relevant duties on) and could not sell themselves.

In other words, most new tariffs aren't coming directly from TJX's pockets. Meantime, higher prices could push US consumers to get even more cautions about paying full price for things — and as long as TJX can sell products for less than their traditional retail counterparts do, Hermann says the company will come out ahead.

"I'm excited about the sales and margin opportunity in this environment, because this is pretty much textbook situation coming up," he said.

In addition, Herrman noted that a large chunk of TJX's sales come from housewares and furnishings, which tend to be more exposed to Chinese tariffs.

To soften the impact of those — and to differentiate TJX's assortment from its competitors— Hermann said the company sources more of its home goods from Europe.

"It creates an umbrella of fashion and brand and quality that other home retailers don't do," he said. "Customers love that piece of our mix."

• BlackRock removed DEI mentions from its annual report amid political pressure.
• The asset manager has faced criticism from Republicans for being too "woke."
• Here's how BlackRock has tried to distance itself from the themes it once championed.

Many big American companies have been quick to respond to President Donald Trump's pushback on DEI, but none of their steps carry more symbolic weight than a retreat by BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager.

An early advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusion, BlackRock has removed all mention of the strategy from its latest annual report. The asset manager and its CEO, Larry Fink, have over the years become targets for Republicans who claim the firm is too "woke."

What was the DEI section in the asset manager's last report has now been reframed as "connectivity and inclusivity" in the Tuesday filing. Last year, it said that it believed "a diverse workforce with an inclusive and connected culture is a commercial imperative and indispensable to its success."

This year it avoided mentioning the acronym or a diverse workforce, just "diverse perspectives."

When reached for comment, a BlackRock spokesman referred to the new paragraph in its annual report that said the firm's approach to "building a connected and inclusive culture is aligned with the firm's business priorities and long-term objectives. Delivering for the firm's clients requires attracting the best people from across the world.

"BlackRock is committed to creating an environment that supports top talent and fosters diverse perspectives to avoid groupthink."

BlackRock has also removed references to a three-pillar strategy, which included phrasing around cultivating a work environment where employees felt "seen, heard, valued, and respected."

The firm left out a section that previously broke down its US employees by gender and ethnicity. In its 2023 annual review, it introduced the statistics with a line saying that "BlackRock views transparency and measurement as critical to its strategy."

Companies have been quick to respond to President Donald Trump's executive order on "radical and wasteful" DEI programs, though a few big names such as JPMorgan Chase and Costco have reaffirmed their commitment to diversity initiatives.

Through his annual investor letters, Fink promoted stakeholder capitalism and environmental, social, and governance investing, becoming the unofficial corporate poster child for the movements. In the last few years, however, Fink has had to tone down his support for ESG and defend against the idea that the firm has an ideological agenda it's forcing on the many companies it invests in through its mutual funds and ETFs.

The firm also has critics on the political left. Climate activists have previously protested outside Fink's home and BlackRock's New York headquarters, calling for a divestment from fossil fuels.

"The only agenda we have is delivering for our clients," he said in 2023 LinkedIn post, which he drafted as a response to being called the "king of the woke industrial complex" in a Republican Party presidential candidate debate.

Here is a timeline of how BlackRock built and then knocked down its reputation as a social and environmental champion:

• Kurkova and Drury filed a complaint against the Fisher Island Club last Thursday.
• The lawsuit says the club's board of directors threatened the couple and unjustly expelled them.
• The Fisher Island Club said the complaint is nothing more than disgruntled former members.

The supermodel Karolina Kurkova and her husband, the real estate broker Archie Drury, are suing the exclusive members-only club on Fisher Island, a private island near Miami that's home to some of the biggest — and richest — players in business and tech.

In their complaint, filed last Thursday in Miami-Dade County court, Kurkova and Drury say the club's board of directors threatened and targeted them to strip the couple of their property interests on the island and prevent Drury from conducting business there. "Doing so allowed the Club Board to continue to engage in their illegal usurpation of control" of the island in hopes that "their wrongful conduct would not be exposed," the lawsuit says. It accuses the club of wrongfully suspending Drury's membership twice and says it ultimately expelled the couple from the club in January. Kurkova and Drury say the club board's actions harmed their reputation and caused them millions of dollars in damages.

"Florida's private clubs and HOAs operate without proper oversight, leaving property owners vulnerable to unfair governance and unchecked power," Melanie Bonvicino, a spokesperson for Kurkova, told BI in a statement. "We believe that the time for lawmakers to act is now by implementing meaningful reforms to address these issues."

Kurkova and Drury, who have three children, bought their first Fisher Island Club membership in 2013 for $250,000. In 2018, they purchased a second membership that was designated for an employee of theirs, according to the lawsuit. Kurkova, best known for her work as a Victoria's Secret Angel, owns six residential units on the island, and Drury was a real estate agent for Douglas Elliman on the island from 2017 through December 2022.

The lawsuit says issues between Kurkova and Drury and the club board started shortly after Drury left Douglas Elliman to start his own brokerage company.

Two of the Fisher Island Club board members, David Chene and Mark Zeitchick, also sit on the board of directors of Douglas Elliman, which Kurkova and Drury's lawsuit says posed "significant conflicts of interest."

The Fisher Island Club said it "denies all of the allegations in the lawsuit as baseless and is firm in the belief that the complaint is nothing more than disgruntled former members. The Fisher Island Club looks forward to defending each of its challenged actions in detail in court filings as appropriate."

A Range Rover and food delivery gone wrong

Fisher Island is a 216-acre artificial island just south of Miami Beach that's accessible only by boat or helicopter. Residents have included Oprah Winfrey, the tennis player Caroline Wozniacki and her husband — the former NBA player David Lee — as well as Sintavia CEO Brian Neff and Mark Sutcliffe, who founded the software company Redzone. The Fisher Island Club is integral to residents' social life; nearly everyone who resides on the small island is a member. The club facilities include restaurants, private beaches with sand imported from the Bahamas, a beach club and spa, a golf course, and two marinas.

The Fisher Island Club suspended Drury's membership for six months in December 2023 after informing him via email that he had been accused of various forms of inappropriate conduct since 2021 including stealing a white Range Rover owned by another member, threatening and giving the middle finger to another club member, and acting inappropriately to a marina employee. In an email included in a December complaint Drury filed and later withdrew, the club's secretary said Drury came into a marina office in October 2023 "screaming and visibly upset" about where marina staff members were docking a vessel owned by the retired NFL star Tom Brady. The email also said Drury's alleged misconduct included the "general intimidation of Club management and Club members."

In their lawsuit, Drury and Kurkova say the allegations were part of an "orchestrated effort" by the club board and its officers to "target, damage, punish, and ultimately expel" Drury and Kurkova in violation of the club's governing documents and Florida law. They said the misconduct allegations were "patently false or grossly overstated."

They said that the Range Rover incident, for example, was an "innocent mistake" and that Drury only drove the vehicle from a parking garage to an external parking lot before realizing he was in the wrong white Range Rover. The car's owner did not press charges, the lawsuit says.

Two weeks later, on December 24, 2023, on Christmas Eve, Drury was at home on Fisher Island with his hungry 2-year-old daughter, according to the lawsuit. Per his suspension, Drury was not permitted at the time to use the club facilities, including the restaurants. Drury tried to place a delivery order to one of the club's restaurants, but the wait was over an hour, the lawsuit said, so Drury walked to the restaurant, stepped one foot inside, retrieved the food for his daughter, and went home. The club issued Drury a second six-month suspension for what they called "a flagrant violation" of his initial suspension.

In November 2024, the couple received another letter from the board stating that the duo attempted to defraud the club and circumvent its rules by attempting to designate a membership to a tenant, the lawsuit says. Kurkova and Drury said in the complaint that this was permitted under the club's bylaws for residents who own two or more residential units on the island. After an investigation into the matter, the club expelled Kurkova, Drury and their family in January.

The Douglas Elliman connection

The lawsuit accuses Chene and Zeitchick of using their club board positions to benefit Douglas Elliman rather than working in the best interests of the club and its members.

Chene, the chairman of Douglas Elliman's board, is also the cofounder and co-managing partner of the investment firm Kennedy Lewis, which tried to buy "the last remaining significant piece of real estate" on Fisher Island, a 10-acre fuel depot owned by the energy-storage firm TransMontaigne Partners, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says the board threatened to suspend club members who found out about the negotiations and raised concerns about the potential deal. Ultimately, the developer Related Group landed the deal, but the suit goes on to accuse Chene and Zeitchick of using their board positions to push for Douglas Elliman to exclusively broker the new development in exchange for club benefits.

The Fisher Island club said that "allegations by plaintiffs that certain Club Board members used their influence for personal or corporate gain are patently false, unjustified and are nothing short of scandalmongering."

Kurkova and Drury are seeking a trial by jury against the Fisher Island Club. The lawsuit says Drury had been "a respected and active member of the Fisher Island community," having served on the Fisher Island Community Association board from 2021 to 2023, a position to which he was elected. The lawsuit says Drury also spent six years helping to establish a medical clinic on the island operated by the University of Miami.

In their complaint, the couple accuses the board of abuses of power including violating the club's bylaws, allowing two board members to remain past their term limits, and threatening other members with retaliatory suspensions if they voiced concerns about the board's actions.

In addition to Chene and Zeitchick, the club's board members are Robert Nydick; Andrew Zaro, whose family runs the New York bakery chain Zaro's; and Rafael Llopiz, the CEO of Quik Park, a parking facility operator in New York City.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected].

• I tried chicken tenders from Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, Whataburger, Raising Cane's, KFC, Bojangles, Zaxby's, Wingstop, and Cook Out.
• Chick-fil-A and KFC's chicken tenders were similar in their breaded texture.
• Raising Cane's impressed me with its crispy-yet-juicy tenders and delicious signature sauce.

Some fast-food chains have built their entire businesses on chicken tenders.

Todd Graves, for example, turned his idea for a chicken-finger restaurant into a billion-dollar business: Raising Cane's. Graves is now the richest person in Louisiana, with an estimated net worth of $9.5 billion, and Cane's is growing rapidly, with more than 800 restaurants in the US and internationally and billions in annual sales, Forbes reported.

But other chains aren't sleeping on chicken tenders — the chicken tender battle is underway, and practically every chain wants in.

KFC revamped its original recipe in October, and this week, Wingstop released new chicken tenders that the chain said will be "lighter" and "crispier" than its previous tenders.

To see which chain might win the battle, I compared chicken tenders from nine fast-food chains from across the country.

Here's how the tenders ranked, from worst to best, based on taste and value.

Of all the chicken tenders I tried, the ones from Whataburger didn't completely wow me.

A three-piece chicken tender cost only $6.97 at Whataburger at the location I visited in Austin.

The chicken tenders were large and perfectly fried.

I thought the tenders could only be described as "classic" — they weren't anything out-of-the-box, but I enjoyed them.

The meat inside was juicy, but I thought the fried coating could have had a bit more crunch.

The chicken tenders tasted good on their own, as well as with ranch dipping sauce. They weren't bad by any stretch of the imagination. However, I did think the other tenders I tried were slightly crispier and had just the slightest hint of more flavor in the batter.

Regardless, for a relatively low price, I'd definitely order these again.

I also ordered chicken tenders from Cook Out, a regional chain I visited in South Carolina.

The three-piece "snack" cost $4.99, not including tax.

The chicken tenders were crispy on the outside.

They were also a good size. I thought the price was also a great deal for the generous portion I received.

However, there wasn't an abundance of chicken meat inside.

These were undeniably classic chicken tenders, similar to the ones from Whataburger, but they were a touch too fried for my liking. However, I thought they were well-seasoned and had a lot of peppery flavor.

Chick-fil-A's chicken tenders were good ... but I really just used them as a vehicle for the chain's Chick-fil-A sauce.

When it's not included in a meal deal, a three-piece chicken tender costs $9.69 at my nearest location in New York City. For a meal, the price bumps up to $17.35, excluding tax and fees.

Some of the chicken pieces looked slightly darker and more fried than others.

There were small bits of fried breading scattered on the outside, which I always love with a chicken tender.

The chicken tenders were nicely fried but still juicy on the inside.

However, they weren't quite as crispy as I expected. I wanted a distinct crunch when I bit into the tenders, but they didn't deliver that. In the end, it's largely up to personal preference.

When I dipped them in the chain's signature Chick-fil-A sauce, the experience was mouthwatering. However, the actual chicken tenders were just alright — it was the sauce that took them over the edge.

My sixth favorite chicken tenders came from Popeyes.

A three-piece tender combo costs $16.89 before taxes and fees. The meal deal included a large serving of fries, a drink, and a biscuit, as well as a choice of dipping sauces. 

The chicken tenders from Popeyes were crispy, flaky, and crunchy.

I really liked the crunchy exterior.

The meat inside was flaky and moist as well.

I also thought the batter was quite flavorful — I could taste hints of seasoning and buttermilk, although they weren't quite as buttery-tasting as the Chick-fil-A tenders.

However, this meal felt expensive for only three chicken tenders, even though they were large.

I thought the chicken tenders from Bojangles were flavorful and super crispy.

A four-piece chicken tenders combo, including fries, a medium drink, and a biscuit, cost me $12.97, excluding taxes and fees.

I thought the chicken tenders were a good size.

The texture and flavor of the breading made them taste like a cross between the chicken tenders from Chick-fil-A and Cook Out. 

The breading was peppery, just the right thickness, and perfectly encased the juicy white chicken meat inside.

I also thought the price was fair considering how much food I received. The chicken tenders paired perfectly with honey mustard but were also tasty on their own.

I would definitely order these again.

KFC's original recipe chicken tenders really impressed me with their taste and value.

I ordered a four-piece tender meal for $13.04, excluding taxes and fees, in Brooklyn, New York. I thought this was an excellent value for the amount of food I received. 

The tenders were well-breaded on the outside, though the breading wasn't as crispy or crunchy as others I tried.

The breading stuck closely to the chicken tenders, rather than having a thick or crunchy texture.

However, the chicken tenders paired well with the chain's honey mustard and new comeback sauce. The breading had a tasty, very peppery flavor to it that was unique compared to the other chicken tenders I tried.

The chicken tenders were flavorful and contained an impressive amount of white meat chicken.

However, the slightly less crispy texture of the breading meant they didn't come out on top when compared to the last three chains I tried.

Wingstop's chicken tenders came in third place.

Wingstop recently revamped its chicken tenders, and I was excited to try them out.

The chain sells its chicken in various flavors, from original hot to hickory-smoked barbecue and mango habanero. However, I ordered these chicken tenders plain.

I ordered a five-piece chicken tender combo at my local Wingstop in Brooklyn, New York. It cost $14.99 and came with a drink, dipping sauce, and a regular side of fries.

The chain also sells four chicken tenders, which come with one dipping sauce, for $10.39, plus tax and fees.

The chicken tenders were large and well-breaded.

The chicken tenders were deep golden in color and evenly fried, with small clumps of fried breading adding even more texture to every bite.

These tenders were filled with real chicken.

The chicken tender easily tore apart with every bite, which is something I look for. The breading itself was slightly peppery, but not overly flavorful. They paired well with Wingstop's signature ranch — my favorite of any fast-food ranch — and the chain's honey mustard.

Wingstop delivered great classic tenders, though the breading didn't pack as much flavor as the top two chains I tried. Nevertheless, I'd definitely order these again.

My second favorite chicken tenders came from Zaxby's.

A five-piece chicken tenders combo came with fries, a small drink, coleslaw, and a piece of Texas toast. I also asked for a side of honey mustard and Zaxby's famous Zax sauce. My meal cost $14.77, excluding taxes and fees.

The breading of the chicken tenders was very similar to Chick-fil-A's in consistency, flavor, and texture, but I thought these chicken tenders had more chicken meat.

The breading was crispy and flavorful, with a slight sweetness.

The chicken tenders held their own without sauce but were really taken to the next level when dipped in the tangy Zax sauce.

Zax sauce tastes similar to Cane's sauce I tried from Raising Cane's, but I found it to be just ever-so-slightly less flavorful, and creamy. I also thought that it didn't have the same kick.

However, the chicken tenders really impressed me. They were a good size, extremely flavorful, and addictingly delicious. I found myself craving even more than the five chicken tenders I was given, which is rare for me.

In the end, it was a really tough call on whether I preferred Zaxby's or Raising Cane's chicken tenders.

But my favorite chicken tenders came from Raising Cane's.

My six-piece meal cost $16.59, including tax, but a three-finger combo that includes three chicken fingers, fries, Cane's sauce, Texas toast, and a regular drink costs $9.59, excluding tax and any additions or swaps. 

The chicken tenders were super crispy.

The chicken tenders were also thick. After biting in, I could actually see the strips of white chicken underneath, which, in my experience, you don't always find with fast-food chicken tenders.

The chicken tenders were crispy and juicy on the inside — I had to give them the win.

I tried the tenders on their own and with the Cane's sauce. On their own, the tenders were simply everything one could ask for: thick, juicy, and crispy on the outside.

However, the chain is famous for its chicken-complementing sauce, and after biting in, I could definitely see why. It had a slight kick to it, and it was creamy and surprisingly tangy. It paired perfectly with the chicken and was unlike any other sauce I've ever tried.

In the end, Raising Cane's took home the win for me with the chain's near-perfect chicken tenders and fair prices.

• The back row of an airplane has a bad reputation, but I actually prefer it on long-haul flights.
• Some long-haul planes don't have bathrooms in the back, so it's the quietest spot.
• Plus, it's close to the galley for stretching, and it's my best chance at sitting by an empty seat.

Picking a seat for a long-haul flight is daunting.

It's a tiny space I'll call home for eight-plus hours, and every seat has its pros and cons.

Do I want a window seat where I can rest my head against the plane's wall? Maybe, but then I'll have to bother strangers when I need to use the restroom.

Do I splurge for a higher cabin class? Probably not. While business class is a luxury, I'd rather spend money on the trip — not on the flight. 

The one decision I don't struggle with is picking the row I want to be in. For that, I head all the way to the back of the plane.

I've discovered the last rows are the quietest spots

On shorter flights, the bathroom is one of the biggest gripes about the back row of a plane. Constant flushing, concerning noises, and unwelcome smells often accompany the last row of a domestic flight.

For flights with a bathroom in the back, that's the last place I want to be. But on recent long-haul carriers, the bathrooms haven't been in the back of the plane.

For example, on a flight from Denver to Tokyo, I boarded a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with three bathrooms for economy-class passengers, all located at the front of economy.

This means every passenger walks to the front of the cabin instead of the back to use the bathroom.

Since I was sitting toward the back half of the cabin, only a few passengers disrupted me by walking through the aisle for the 12-hour flight.

I realized it would've been even quieter if I had been farther back since the only people heading to the back of the aircraft were flight attendants and passengers stretching their legs. 

There are other perks of the back row, including more storage

Through experience, I've learned that my best chance of getting accessible overhead storage is if I'm in the back of a plane because I get to pass every potential opening for my carry-on bag.

On the flip side, I've been on a few flights where all the overhead storage was filled near my seat. This meant my bag had to go behind me, and when the plane landed, I had to wait for other passengers to disembark before grabbing my bag.

I didn't even experience the major perk of sitting in the front — quick disembarkation.

It's a minor inconvenience, but I'd rather chill in the back of the plane and wait for everyone to deplane without getting frustrated about when I can access my bag. 

Empty middle seats in the back are a win in my mind

Another perk of the back of the plane is galley access. For long-haul flights, I stretch my legs every few hours. It helps my body adjust to cramped quarters and keeps me from feeling claustrophobic.

Typically, I do light stretches in the plane's galley (as long as the flight attendants don't mind). Sitting in the back lets me know when the galley is packed and empty, and I can assess the best time to stretch.

If I'm in the front, I might not realize the galley is crowded and head back there anyway. 

Finally, the back of the plane is my best chance of sitting next to empty seats. 

From experience, it seems like airlines typically fill seats from front to back. If there are any open seats, they're usually in the last rows of the plane.

This was the case on my latest flight from Denver to Germany. The front half of the plane was much more crowded than the back half. Luckily, I snagged a row with an empty middle seat and enjoyed a bit of extra legroom for the 10-hour flight.

The same thing happened on both long-haul flights to and from Tanzania. I was one of the lucky passengers to have empty middle seats, and I attribute that to being in the back of both aircraft. That extra space was a major luxury during the longest journeys of my life.

That potential alone is worth sitting in the back for every long-haul flight.

So, while plenty of people are eager to be at the front, you'll almost always find me in the back of a plane.

• Elon Musk said on Wednesday that DOGE "accidentally" cut Ebola prevention funding.
• The apparent error occurred as DOGE implemented cuts to USAID.
• Musk said that DOGE "won't be perfect."

To make his point that the White House DOGE office wouldn't be perfect, Elon Musk said on Wednesday that that staffers briefly cut Ebola prevention funding while an outbreak raged in Uganda.

"I should say also, we will make mistakes. We won't be perfect," Musk told President Donald Trump's cabinet. "When we make mistakes, we'll fix it very quickly. So, for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention."

Trump had asked Musk to speak about DOGE's efforts during the first cabinet meeting of his second term.

Musk said "there was no interruption" in Ebola prevention. He said DOGE needs to move "very quickly" to stay on track to achieve its goal of cutting at least $1 trillion.

"I think we all want Ebola prevention," he said.

This is not the first time Musk has said DOGE may make mistakes. During a previous appearance with Trump in the Oval Office, Musk said he "would not bat 1,000." DOGE has also edited or even removed examples from its "wall of receipts" of spending cuts after reports raised questions about its accuracy. In one instance, DOGE claimed to have canceled a contract worth $8 billion. The contract was actually for $8 million.

On Tuesday, the White House revealed that Amy Gleason, a US Digital Digital Service employee during Trump's first term, is leading DOGE on an interim basis. Musk remains closely linked to DOGE, as evident by Trump's decision to have him speak during a cabinet meeting.

There is an ongoing Ebola outbreak.

Uganda's health ministry official declared on January 29 that there was an Ebola outbreak linked to the Sudan virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel notice earlier this month, restating that no US Ebola cases have been reported. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) conducted a number of health-related programs around the world.

Musk previously said that USAID was put "through the wood chipper." It is now being reorganized under the State Department. A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, a Democrat, criticized Musk's apparent admittance of the oversight.

"An average person who did something as incompetent as 'accidentally cancelling Ebola prevention' wouldn't be applauded, they'd be fired," Beyer wrote on X. "Musk is failing up in this administration because he didn't earn his job, he bought it. It's corrupt, and risks Americans' health and safety."

• Michelle Trachtenberg has died, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.
• The 39-year-old actor was known for roles in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gossip Girl."
• She made her film debut as a child actor in 1996, playing the title role in "Harriet the Spy."

Michelle Trachtenberg has died at age 39.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department told Business Insider that Trachtenberg was found dead at One Columbus Place, a luxury high-rise apartment complex near Central Park in Manhattan. Police had responded to a 911 call at about 8:01 a.m. and found Trachtenberg unconscious and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The New York Post and ABC earlier reported the news, citing police sources.

According to the authorities, the death is not being treated as suspicious. A cause of death hasn't been determined.

A representative for Trachtenberg didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The former child actor was best known for her roles in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Harriet the Spy," and "Gossip Girl."

Born on October 11, 1985, Trachtenberg began her career as a child actor at age 3. She started off in commercials, with her first on-screen appearance in an ad for Wisk detergent.

After bit parts in the second season of "Law & Order" and "Clarissa Explains It All," Trachtenberg landed her first regular role as Nona F. Mecklenberg in the second season of "The Adventures of Pete & Pete," appearing on the show from 1994 to 1996. She also appeared on the soap opera "All My Children."

Trachtenberg's breakthrough came when she was cast as the title character in "Harriet the Spy," which marked her feature film debut. Her performance as the titular 11-year-old aspiring sleuth won Trachtenberg a Young Artist Award for best leading performance in a feature film.

As a young teen, Trachtenberg returned to the small screen with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," in which she played Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Trachtenberg's character was introduced in the show's fifth season and quickly became a pivotal part of the teen supernatural drama, earning her a Teen Choice Award nomination for choice TV sidekick in 2001 and maintaining a main role through the series finale in 2003. For many fans, Dawn Summers remains the role for which they know Trachtenberg best.

However, her time on the popular show was not without its difficulty.

In 2021, Trachtenberg said there had been a rule that series creator Joss Whedon wasn't allowed to be in a room alone with her. She made the claim, which Whedon later denied in a New York Magazine interview, amid reports of Whedon's alleged history of abusive on-set behavior from other former "Buffy" stars like Charisma Carpenter.

Trachtenberg remained close with several of her "Buffy" costars, including her former on-screen sister, Gellar. In January, she posted a throwback photo of herself with Gellar in honor of Woman Crush Wednesday. "Slay all day! Always loved this twinning photo of us!" she captioned the picture.

After "Buffy" concluded, Trachtenberg continued to appear on TV and in film throughout the 2000s, with recurring roles in the series "Six Feet Under," "Weeds," and "Robot Chicken" and memorable appearances in movies like "Ice Princess," "EuroTrip," and "17 Again."

In 2008, Trachtenberg landed her second career-defining role, as conniving rich girl Georgina Sparks in The CW series "Gossip Girl."

Trachtenberg's Georgina appeared in a recurring capacity through each of the series' six seasons, quickly becoming a fan-favorite as she battled for supremacy against Leighton Meester's Blair Waldorf.

The actor called Georgina, which earned her another Teen Choice Award nomination for choice TV villain in 2012, one of her favorite roles and relished playing a villain. "It's definitely a lot more fun than playing the good girl. I love the reaction you get. I never understood why some actors don't want to play villains or evil characters," she told Seventeen magazine in 2009.

In 2022 and 2023, she returned as Georgina in the second season of the "Gossip Girl" sequel series on Max. It was her last credited on-screen appearance.

Additional reporting by Natalie Musumeci.

• Donald Trump is threatening publishers again.
• A New York Times editor who's out with a new book says we need to take him seriously.
• A landmark free speech case could be at risk.

Donald Trump, who is used to suing journalists and media companies about stories he doesn't like, says he's going to do more of it.

In a post published on his Truth Social platform Wednesday, Trump vowed to "sue some of these dishonest authors and book publishers, or even media in general," arguing that they make up stories about him and "a big price should be paid for this blatant dishonesty."

"I'll do it as a service to our Country," Trump added. "Who knows, maybe we will create some NICE NEW LAW!!!"

Trump is presumably referring to the newest book by Michael Wolff, an author who chronicled Trump's first term and is back at it with "All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America," which is out this week. Trump complained about the book in an earlier Truth Social post this week. I've asked Wolff and the White House for comment.

Complaining about people who say or publish unflattering things about him, threatening to sue them, and actually suing them are nothing new for Trump. And up until recently, it was relatively easy for media companies and journalists to shrug off those complaints and threatened suits. Even when Trump did lodge a claim, he rarely won in court.

But in Trump 2.0, it's getting harder to dismiss a Trump rant about the media. Since his election this past fall, he has already extracted a settlement from Disney and ABC over a defamation suit he filed last year, and he's in discussions with CBS and Paramount to settle another suit, this one over allegations of "election interference" because he didn't like a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris. He has lodged a similar lawsuit against Gannett and its Des Moines Register.

How a key free speech ruling could be at risk

And while Trump's threat to create a law about defamation seems like a reach — in the US, laws are hard to pass, even when the same party controls the White House, the House, and the Senate — the direction he's headed is worth taking very seriously.

That's the underlying message of "Murder the Truth," a coming book from The New York Times' editor David Enrich, which details an ongoing push to tear down the legal underpinnings that support freedom of speech in the US. Enrich is specifically focused on New York Times v. Sullivan, a 1964 Supreme Court ruling that established the basic framework for defamation law in the US: In short, it should be very hard to successfully sue someone because you don't like what they say.

As Enrich notes in his book, this was both a landmark ruling and a popular one, cherished by free speech advocates across the political spectrum. But that has started to change in recent years.

There are multiple reasons for that, but the main one is Trump himself, Enrich told me on this week's episode of my "Channels" podcast.

On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump mused about wanting to "open up our libel laws, so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money." Which, again, was easy to dismiss at the time, for multiple reasons. But Trump kept coming back to the idea — and as we're seeing now, he has already had success on the payments front.

Next up: a potential showdown at the Supreme Court, where Justice Clarence Thomas has already said he's eager to revisit NYT v. Sullivan, as has his fellow Justice Neil Gorsuch. So Trump could end up getting his way without passing a new law.

There's been a slew of news about Trump and his allies battling with the press in recent weeks — see his fight with The Associated Press over the Gulf of Mexico/Gulf of America, and his dustups with the press corps over who gets to ask questions at press conferences and who gets to participate in the White House press pool.

And those stories unsettle me and other observers. But they're ultimately about access, not about limiting what the press — who, as Elon Musk likes to remind us, is everyone now — actually says, writes, and publishes. Threatening lawsuits, filing lawsuits, and extracting settlements from lawsuits are very much about that. Actually changing the law to make those suits that much more powerful is something that should alarm all of us.

• Netflix's Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight and NFL games drove surges in daily signups, data shows.
• These 2024 events were among Netflix's early entries into live sports.
• The new subscription data shows the live sports strategy is paying off for the streaming giant.

Live sports are paying off for Netflix, new subscription data shows.

The company had big spikes in daily signups during major live events last year, according to media-subscription research firm Antenna. These included the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight and NFL games on Christmas Day.

Netflix brought in 1.4 million US signups for the boxing match, while the Christmas games drove 700 million, per a report Antenna published Tuesday.

Alongside live sports, Antenna said Netflix's password-sharing restrictions, which rolled out in the US in 2023, have helped boost signups by limiting the number of people who can use one account.

"It was a good start for Netflix into its foray of live acquisition sports," said Jonathan Carson, Antenna's CEO, in a webinar about the report.

Netflix is pursuing more live sports and events. The streamer kicked off a deal with the WWE this year and landed exclusive US rights to the FIFA Women's World Cup for 2027 and 2031. The company wants more NFL rights, too, content chief Bela Bajaria told the podcast "The Town with Matt Beloni."

Netflix highlighted sports in January as it announced a record 19 million new subscribers. The company called the Paul-Tyson fight the most-streamed sporting event ever and the NFL Christmas Day games the two most streamed NFL games in history.

Carson at Antenna said Netflix's subscriber leap shows an industry giant that has been around for as long as Netflix can still drive better business results with new tools and strategies.

"When Netflix announced that they were getting into these live events, these big moments in time, there was a question as to whether these could drive big surges of acquisition," Carson said. "The results have been pretty impressive."

Users who signed up for live sports weren't as loyal as other Netflix subscribers

Driving signups is half only the battle. Netflix also needs to keep these new customers around.

Antenna found that 79% of the US subscribers who signed up for the Paul vs. Tyson fight stuck around one month later. That's lower than Netflix's overall benchmark of user loyalty, which is 86%, per Antenna.

However, it was still higher than the benchmark for loyalty at other premium subscription streaming services that Antenna tracks. 21% of users who signed up to watch the fight canceled their subscriptions within a month of subscribing. Its competitor set, which includes streamers such as Paramount+ or Hulu, saw 26% of users cancel in a similar timeframe.

Antenna's data also showed other positives for Netflix:

• Netflix was one of five streaming subscriptions that grew gross additions by double digits year over year in 2024. It also captured 15% of gross additions in the category, in line with Hulu and behind Paramount+'s 17%.
• Netflix had the highest retention rate for a standalone service, with 74% of users who subscribed from July to September sticking with the service after three months. Its retention rate was second only to Disney and Warner Bros Discovery's bundle, which had an 80% retention rate during the period.

• I ate at Chili's for the first time after seeing people rave about the food on TikTok.
• I ordered a Triple Dipper appetizer sampler, the Bacon Rancher burger, and a molten chocolate cake.
• I enjoyed most of the food but thought the meal was overpriced.

Growing up in Brooklyn in the early aughts, I didn't have access to many fast-casual chain restaurants. My time was mostly spent in small pizza shops strategically located next to Blockbusters and family-owned diners.

However, I never felt like I was missing out — until 20 years later, when my social media algorithms somehow became a display of Chili's fandom.

Although I'm still not exactly sure how this happened (maybe it was my boyfriend whispering "Take me to Chili's" into my phone when I wasn't looking), the videos of Triple Dippers and Nashville hot mozz pulls succeeded, and I found myself at Chili's for the very first time.

Here's what I thought of my first visit to the chain.

The popularity of Chili's is undeniable.

Chili's is a fast-casual chain restaurant with over 1,600 locations worldwide. Unlike many of the restaurant's competitors, Chili's has recently seen a rise in popularity, especially among young diners.

When I asked my boyfriend — a die-hard Chili's fan — to come with me to try some menu items, he agreed and insisted on driving out to the best Chili's we could find within driving distance.

For me to have the real experience, he said, the Chili's could not be in a strip mall; it had to be a stand-alone structure. So, we made our way to Long Island.

When we got there, I was disappointed by the appetizers.

We knew we had to start with the $17 Triple Dipper, an appetizer sampler that's become so popular that the CEO of Chili's parent company Brinker International said it accounts for 11% of the brand's sales.

Many TikTok users have been loving the Nashville hot mozz, which is Chili's take on a classic mozzarella stick that's tossed in hot sauce. So, we included those in our Triple Dipper, along with boneless wings and Southwestern egg rolls.

Our four-person booth was cozy, and I had a lot of fun ordering in Chili's lingo. However, none of that seemed to matter when the food arrived.

I expected the Nashville hot mozz to be fiery and gooey, but was instantly disappointed. I didn't even experience the TikTok-famous cheese pull. Now, I'm sure this doesn't always happen — but this cheese was nowhere near hot enough to pull. The flavor was good and tangy, but nothing felt hot or Nashville about it.

However, the boneless Buffalo chicken wings were very good. I was impressed with the quality of the chicken and loved the ranch dipping sauce that so many rave about.

Unfortunately, though, the Southwestern egg rolls were another miss for me. Although there was nothing inherently bad about them, they were pretty forgettable.

The entrées were good but felt a bit pricey.

Oddly enough, the item I was least looking forward to trying — the Bacon Rancher burger — was my favorite part of the meal.

I enjoy everything on it (patties, bacon, ranch, American cheese, sautéed onions, and pickles), but I assumed it would be too much together. The combo turned out to be perfect, but the price could have been better.

At $19.50, I couldn't help thinking I could get something just as good at a mom-and-pop joint, which I'd also rather support over a chain.

Other members of our party got Chicken Crisper combos ($15), the star of which are really just bigger versions of the boneless wings. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the chicken when I tried a bite.

The combos also came with white-cheddar mac and cheese and fries, which felt excessive to me.

I enjoyed the molten chocolate cake.

What could be bad about molten chocolate cake? The $10 dish, topped with vanilla ice cream in a chocolate shell with caramel drizzle, was warm and flavorful — so much so that I couldn't help but push the limits of my lactose intake.

We split the decadent treat four ways, and even that was a struggle after the heavy meal and endless Diet Coke refills we'd enjoyed.

Overall, I didn't think Chili's provided a great value.

To be honest, after trying Chili's for the first time, I didn't get the hype. In my opinion, the quality and value just didn't add up.

For $21 — two dollars more than I spent on a burger at Chili's — I could walk up 10 blocks and have one freshly made at a restaurant that uses quality meat from the butcher next door.

Plus, the Nashville hot mozz taught me not to believe everything I see on TikTok. As I learned the hard way, not all cheese pulls are created equally.

For decades, what went on behind the walls of the Sednaya military prison in Syria was largely hidden from the world. But after Bashar al-Assad lost power in 2024, droves of inmates were released. They are now sharing the horrors they experienced in the country's deadliest and most violent prison.

• A Department of Energy employee took the federal government's "fork in the road" offer.
• He said the resignation process was rushed and he's doubtful he'll be paid through September.
• Some 75,000 federal workers have accepted the deferred resignation program, the administration said.

When a program manager at the Department of Energy received the Trump administration's "fork in the road" resignation offer, his first reaction was defiance.

"My initial thought process was 'I am not going to do this because I don't want to let them win. They can fire me, but I'm not leaving,'" the program manager told Business Insider, adding that he wanted to stay and protect a clean-energy program he oversaw. "But it became pretty demoralizing and clear that wasn't a realistic option."

The DOE employee said he decided to take the buyout offer — known as deferred resignation — in February after his eight-person team was "decimated." He said it seemed unlikely that the department's career leadership could shield employees from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to slash the federal workforce and eliminate climate- and DEI-related programs.

The DOE employee requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. BI verified the DOE employee's identity and viewed his signed deferred resignation agreement.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, about 75,000 federal workers had accepted the offer as of February 13. That's about 3.75% of the federal workforce, shy of the White House's goal of 5% to 10%. Agencies have additionally fired thousands of workers, mainly probationary employees who were hired or promoted in the past two years — moves that have attracted legal challenges.

The DOE employee said he was impressed by how many federal workers wanted to stay in their jobs because they care about public service. He worried that the Trump administration's gutting of federal agencies would fuel its narrative that the government is inefficient and ineffective, a view he disagreed with.

"Trump and Musk are creating those conditions by removing staff and pausing grants and requiring them to remove all the DEI efforts," the DOE employee said. "Before, things were functioning decently well."

3 strikes and he's out

The beginning of the Trump administration brought three events that tipped the scales for this DOE employee.

First, right after the inauguration, Trump signed executive orders that paused his team's work, as it paused funding authorized by Congress under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, former President Joe Biden's landmark climate accomplishments.

Second was what he saw as mistreatment of his colleagues. The DOE fired probationary employees on his team who'd been on the job less than a year. The DOE employee said that even if their work resumed in the coming months, he wasn't sure there would be enough staffers to implement it. The DOE employee also disagreed with directives to remove pronouns from federal email signatures.

"I wasn't willing to do that because it created a hostile work environment for the people who worked for me," he said.

Finally, the DOE employee is remote and thought he would eventually be fired if he refused to return to the office as directed by Trump's executive order.

'I am almost positive that I will not get paid through September'

The DOE employee described the deferred resignation process as rushed and lacking clear guidance.

He submitted his request to the Office of Personnel Management and then signed a four-page agreement with the DOE. The agreement said he would be placed on administrative leave until September 30 and be paid his current salary "subject to the availability of appropriations."

The DOE employee said he didn't know he had to request administrative leave until he had already been locked out of federal computer systems. His last day was Friday, and his pay is biweekly. His first paycheck for administrative leave should arrive in the coming weeks.

"I'm questioning whether the administration will fulfill the agreement," the DOE employee said. "I am almost positive that I will not get paid through September."

'It's a tough job market'

The DOE employee said he planned to start applying for jobs in case the Trump administration doesn't hold up the agreement.

But that presents other risks. The deferred resignation agreement requires federal workers who take another job to get approval from the ethics counsel regarding "outside activity," and the DOE employee said it was unclear whether those requests would be approved.

Ideally, he could find a position in clean energy that pays a similar amount as his federal job so he could leave the deferred resignation program altogether. The DOE employee falls on a pay scale ranging from $123,000 to nearly $160,000.

"I think it's a tough job market," the DOE employee said, adding that clean-energy companies and organizations might not be hiring given the Trump administration's attacks and the uncertainty about grant funding.

"The prospects of working in clean energy — the thing I care about — seem terrible at the moment," he said.

The DOE employee said many companies and nonprofits were also still waiting for their federal grant funding to be unfrozen.

"It's an anxious time," he said. "Where can I go that takes advantage of my skills but also has some sort of longevity?"

Do you have a story to share about the deferred-resignation program? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at cboudreau.37. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Slack, the popular workplace communications app, experienced issues on Wednesday.
• Many Slack users were unable to log in or use the platform to send messages.
• "Our teams are aware and are investigating the issue," Slack told BI. "For the latest updates, please keep an eye on status.slack.com."

Your colleagues aren't ignoring you — Slack has been experiencing issues today.

Many users of the popular workplace communication platform were unable to log in or message for multiple hours on Wednesday.

At 10:27 a.m. ET, Slack said it was "investigating reports of trouble connecting or loading Slack."

"We're still working to restore functionality to affected Slack features but have also discovered some workflows may also be experiencing issues," Slack said in a follow-up message.

"We appreciate your patience as we sort this out and will be back with another update soon," it added.

Slack's system page listed an "incident" status on multiple features, including the platform's login and messaging.

Slack users also reported issues to third-party outage-tracking website DownDetector, which saw a spike in reports.

"Our teams are aware and are investigating the issue," a Slack spokesperson told BI. "For the latest updates, please keep an eye on status.slack.com."

Slack and Microsoft Teams are two of the top workplace communication platforms used by many companies to communicate quickly. In 2022, Slack said that 77 of Fortune 100 companies used its platform.

Hailed as an "email killer," Slack went public in 2019 and was acquired by Salesforce for $27.7 billion in a deal that closed in 2021.

• I attended the opening of the first Applebee's and IHOP dual-branded restaurant in Seguin, Texas.
• It's the first restaurant of its kind in the United States, though the concept has worked abroad.
• Dine Brands CEO John Peyton said the restaurant will hopefully attract younger customers.

Chain restaurants are betting big on value and choice to attract younger customers amid declining sales across the casual dining industry.

The latest example is the opening of the first dual-branded Applebee's and IHOP restaurant in the US.

The first-of-its-kind restaurant, which opened on February 18, is located off the side of a major highway in Seguin, Texas, about halfway between San Antonio and Austin.

It's rare for chain restaurants to try something completely new.

New menu items often come and go as mere trends, and with many chains focusing on nostalgia instead of rebranding, they're sticking with what has already proven successful rather than taking a risk on a new restaurant concept.

Chili's popular Triple Dipper, for example, went viral last year and accounted for 14% of the chain's total sales in the second quarter, but it has actually been a menu staple for years — although it recently got a refresh with spicier flavors for its chicken tenders and extra-cheesy fried mozzarella.

But from the moment I walked into the newly designed Applebee's-IHOP restaurant, I could tell this experience would be completely different from any visit I'd had at either chain before.

The new restaurant concept is poised to appeal to a younger audience, a priority for Dine Brands, the parent company of Applebee's and IHOP.

CEO John Peyton told Business Insider that Gen Z's tastes were a key consideration before introducing the Applebee's-IHOP hybrid in the US.

"They love spicy, they love to share, they love to sample, they like to have choice. And so all of those things are important inspirations for how we think about designing our menus and new ideas," Peyton told BI ahead of the restaurant's grand opening.

"Guests never had the opportunity to have two people at dinner have an omelet and two people have a Bourbon steak, or mix and match," he continued. "That new level of choices you can make here is exactly what we think our younger guests are looking for."

Here's what it was like to eat at the hybrid Applebee's-IHOP restaurant.

The first Applebee's and IHOP dual-branded restaurant opened in Seguin, Texas, in February.

This is the first Applebee's-IHOP restaurant concept in the US, with both brands operating in the same space, dining room, and kitchen.

There are 13 dual-branded restaurant locations across Canada, Mexico, Honduras, and the Middle East.

Peyton told Business Insider the restaurant concept improves customers' experience.

"For our guests, it enables a lot more choice," he said. "We already see overseas, they're ordering from both sides of the menu. The other thing it does for our guests is we've created items on this menu that are only available at the dual-branded restaurants."

The company said it plans to open 14 more dual-branded locations in the US in the next year, both by updating existing single-branded IHOP and Applebee's locations and building completely new locations that reflect the new Applebee's-IHOP brand.

Inside, there were homages to both brands throughout the dining room.

Peyton said this location was previously just an IHOP, but it has been renovated to suit both brands.

In addition to a large dining room with booth and table seating, there's also a bar area with screens for sports games like you'd find in an Applebee's.

A large greenery-covered wall in the back showed off both brands' logos.

The design of the restaurant was clean and modern, something I personally have rarely experienced at chains like Applebee's or TGI Fridays, which tend to have a moodier, more classic bar-and-grill feel with dim overhead lighting and deeper colors like red throughout.

Dine Brands partnered with the Ramzi Hakim Group, led by vice president Danny Hakim, as the franchisee for the first Applebee's-IHOP restaurant.

"These are the new looks for both IHOP and Applebee's," Danny Hakim told BI. "We are very excited to release these looks across the board."

Nation's Restaurant News reported that the Hakim group has been operating IHOP franchises in the San Antonio area since 1991.

Over the years, the group has expanded to 37 IHOP locations and recently added nine Applebee's restaurants to its portfolio. The group plans to open five more dual-branded restaurants this year.

"They're great innovators and they know that this is a test-and-learn restaurant," Peyton told BI. "This is No. 1 in the US, and we're both aligned in the fact that the next one we build might not look and feel exactly like this one. We're going to learn together and make changes together."

There's just one menu, which includes favorite dishes from both chains as well as items exclusive to the dual-branded restaurant.

The menu includes popular dishes from both Applebee's and IHOP menus, plus five dishes available only at the hybrid restaurant.

Breakfast is served all day and night, and the restaurant itself operates from 5 a.m. until 1 a.m. every day, so restaurants that convert from a single-brand concept gain more hours in the morning and at night to serve customers.

"IHOP owns the morning, and Applebee's owns dinner," Peyton said. "It was an IHOP franchisee who was busy in the morning and quiet at night. This activates the restaurant all day long. Their economics are so much better."

I was surprised by the affordable prices on the menu, from egg dishes to appetizers.

The chain's omelets were all priced under $15, and the build-your-own omelet started at $10.29, which I thought was an affordable price point.

The chain's sirloin steak and eggs, which includes an 8-ounce steak, three eggs, and two pancakes, cost $19.99, which I thought was reasonable.

Peyton said that winning over cost-conscious customers is something every chain is thinking about, and also this year's biggest challenge.

"The casual dining customer is really managing their wallet closely," he said. "Applebee's and IHOP are working really hard to be relevant to our guests at a time when we know they're thinking a lot about their wallet."

For many chains, that fight for value-conscious customers is an uphill battle.

Applebee's year-over-year same-restaurant sales declined 5.9% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter the year before, while IHOP's declined 2.1%.

Peyton said that the word value "is thrown around a lot," but could be key to winning over customers and boosting revenue.

"It's important that we don't lose sight of the fact that value's got a very specific definition for us, which is great food, a really generous portion, and great service at an accessible price," he said, adding that "we have to focus on those four things to yield to our guests more than ever in 2025."

I started my meal with a mimosa.

One of the biggest draws of this new restaurant concept is a full bar menu, which includes brunch cocktails like mimosas, a bloody mary, and espresso martinis, plus all the classic cocktails and brews you'd expect to find at an Applebee's.

The Good Morning Mimosa, made with IHOP orange juice and Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée, cost $8.99.

It was light and fresh, and the perfect start to the morning.

I also tried the chain's Ultimate Breakfast Burger, which is exclusive to this restaurant concept.

Applebee's is known for its burgers, while IHOP does breakfast. Therefore, it made sense for both chains to combine for an elevated breakfast burger.

The burger, which cost $13.99, reminded me of a classic New York deli favorite: a bacon, egg, and cheese with a hash brown sandwiched into it.

The burger was moist and cooked perfectly medium-rare, while the hash browns added a salty, savory flavor.

I thought the egg added even more moisture to this sandwich, as did the bright and tangy poblano hollandaise sauce. The bacon was crispy and added a deep smoky flavor, balanced by a soft, fluffy bun. I would definitely order this again.

It was a standard breakfast sandwich kicked up a notch — paired with seasoned fries, this burger set me up for the day.

The concept of exclusive menu items that can only be ordered at dual-branded Applebee's-IHOP restaurants could easily appeal to Gen Z customers, who love limited-time offers and menu hacks.

I finished my meal on a sweet — and affordable — note.

The strawberry waffle sundae, which includes two Belgian waffle pieces, glazed strawberries, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream, cost $2.99.

The sundae had the ideal amount of sweetness.

The waffles' crispy texture was balanced by the sweet and flavorful vanilla ice cream, and the strawberries added a tart bite to the dish.

I couldn't help but be impressed by the meal and the overall restaurant concept.

While the first restaurant may be located in a small Texas city, I could see this concept working well in larger metropolitan areas with a younger, more brunch-obsessed crowd.

Brunch, which can sometimes be seen as an upscale meal, needs to be accessible when people are tightening their budgets. As a member of Gen Z myself, I was sold on the concept.

I was impressed by the restaurant's affordable pricing and extensive menu selection. With options ranging from burgers and eggs Benedict to omelets and steak dinners, there was something to satisfy any craving.

I look forward to seeing the chain expand with new locations in the coming year.

• After "Barbie," toy company Mattel is turning more of its famous brands into movies.
• Upcoming movies will be based on Barney, Uno, and Magic 8 Ball.
• Here are 17 live-action movies that have been announced and are in development.

Mattel is building its own cinematic universe after its blockbuster success with the "Barbie" movie.

In 2018, the toy company behind Barbie and other famous brands created a division to make movies inspired by its toys, games, and brands and appointed Robbie Brenner, an acclaimed film producer, to oversee it.

"Barbie" was the first movie to be co-produced by Mattel Films, and it made $1.4 million in ticket sales, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023.

In 2023, The New Yorker reported that Mattel is developing 45 more movies, but only 19 have been announced.

Here is everything you need to know about Mattel's upcoming movies.

Will there be a "Barbie" sequel?

While Mattel hoped the "Barbie" movie would be successful, its level of success was almost unprecedented.

With a total of $162 million, it had the largest opening weekend at the US box office in 2023 and the largest opening weekend ever for a female director.

Mattel CEO Ynon Kriez told Variety in 2023, ahead of the movie's release, that its success could lead to numerous sequels and spinoffs.

"Barbie, as a brand, has many different iterations. The product lines of Barbie is a very broad brand. In addition to the main Barbie figure, she has family, she has a lot of elements around in her universe," Kreiz said.

Kriez added that Mattel had not started developing a sequel yet because they didn't want to jump the gun until the movie was released.

Greta Gerwig, who directed the movie, told The New York Times in 2023 that she wasn't sure about making a sequel.

"I feel like that at the end of every movie, like I'll never have another idea, and everything I've ever wanted to do, I did," Gerwig said. "I wouldn't want to squash anybody else's dream but for me, at this moment, I'm at totally zero."

An A24 film about Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

A24, an independent production company and distributor, has built a reputation for making original, artistic movies. Now, it's teaming up with Mattel and Daniel Kaluuya's company, 59% Productions, to produce a film about the friendly purple dinosaur Barney.

Kaluuya, known for roles in "Black Panther," "Get Out," and "Widows," was first attached to the "Barney" movie in 2019 when it was reported he would produce the project through his company, 59% Productions.

In 2023, Kevin McKeon of Mattel Films told The New Yorker the movie would be "surrealistic" and an "A24-type" film before A24 was confirmed to be involved.

On Tuesday, a representative for A24 told Business Insider that the production company was involved in the project. Ayo Edebiri, who will star in the upcoming A24 release "Opus," will write the screenplay for "Barney" and is in talks to star, the rep said.

A live-action "Masters of the Universe" movie.

The first attempt at a "Masters of the Universe" live-action movie, based on the He-Man toys, animated series, and comics, was released in 1987. It was a critical and commercial failure at the time and only gained a cult fandom much later.

In the years since, successful animated series and movies based on the franchise have been produced, and Mattel is trying again to make a new live-action movie.

Speaking to The New Yorker, Kreiz said he believes the film could spawn a franchise "as big as Marvel and DC."

This is the only movie on Mattel's slate that is in production, and is due to premiere on June 5, 2026.

The movie, co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and directed by Travis Knight, follows Prince Adam, who is stuck living on Earth until he finds a magical sword that whisks him back to his home planet, Eternia. When he returns home, he must protect Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor.

The full main cast includes Nicholas Galitzine as He-man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, and Idris Elba as Duncan.

A new "Bob the Builder" animated movie

In January 2023, Variety reported that Mattel Films was making a film about "Bob The Builder," the kids cartoon about a construction worker and his living, anthropomorphic vehicles.

Variety said Jennifer Lopez will produce the film, and Anthony Ramos will voice the lead character. In the movie, Bob travels to Puerto Rico for a major construction job and learns more about the culture there.

Felipe Vargas, an up-and-coming writer-director, will write the script for the movie.

Ramos told Variety that elements of the film were inspired by his own life: "For years, Bob the Builder's characters have inspired young people around the world."

A movie about Major Matt Mason.

Another live-action movie first announced in 2019 is "Major Matt Mason," based on the 1960s astronaut action figure of the same name.

Variety reported that Mattel is partnering with Paramount Pictures to bring the story to life with Tom Hanks playing the lead role.

Ironically, according to the New Yorker, Major Matt Mason was the inspiration for Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story," in which Hanks also starred as the voice of the spaceman's cowboy friend, Woody.

Variety reported that the script will be written by Akiva Goldsman and Michael Chabon.

A live-action Monster High movie.

Goldsman is also working on another project for Mattel — the live-action Monster High movie.

The doll brand, which imagines folklore monsters like werewolves and mummies as teen girls, has already been adapted into multiple animated specials, a web series, and movies for the small screen.

In June 2021, Variety reported that Mattel has partnered with Universal Pictures and Goldsman company, Weed Road, to develop the first theatrical film.

A Polly Pocket family comedy.

In 2021, Deadline reported that Lena Dunham planned to write and direct a movie about the micro-doll line, Polly Pocket.

Lily Collins was set to star and produce, and Mattel and MGM were teaming up to create the movie.

Brenner told Variety in 2023 that the script for the family comedy has been completed.

But in July 2024, Lena Dunham told The New Yorker that she had pulled out of making the film after the success of "Barbie."

There have been no updates since Dunham's interview about the "Polly Pocket" movie, so it is unclear if it is still in development.

An Uno heist comedy.

You read that right. In 2021, Variety reported that Mattel is developing an action-heist comedy about the card game Uno with rapper Lil Yachty being eyed for the lead role.

The script for the movie was written by Marcy Kelly.

Kelly told The New Yorker she was asked to pitch Mattel a script based on the card game and wrote a heist movie set in Atlanta's hip-hop scene.

"The first draft that I sent in was 'fuck'-heavy," Kelly said, explaining that each swear word was flagged by an executive. "And then the next draft had one. I got my one, well-placed, PG-13 'fuck.'"

A true story drama called "Christmas Balloon."

Not all of Mattel's movies will be about their toys.

In 2021, Deadline reported that Mattel is developing its own live-action holiday movie, "Christmas Balloon."

The family drama, based on a true story, follows a young girl living in a Mexican border town who tries to send a Christmas list to Santa via a balloon but instead, the list is found by a couple in Arizona grieving the loss of their child.

Gabriela Revilla Lugo, who produced "Palm Springs," is writing the script, according to Deadline.

A 'gritty' Hot Wheels movie.

In 2022, Mattel announced that it would team up with J.J. Abrams' production company, Bad Robot, to produce a Hot Wheels movie.

Variety first reported in January 2022 that a movie based on the toy car brand is at the script stage, but the film was initially announced in April. Deadline reported in April 2022 that the film will be made through a partnership between Mattel Films and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Abrams said the franchise will be "emotional and grounded and gritty."

Brenner told Variety the movie will have "real characters that you can relate to, that are three-dimensional, that have emotional journeys."

She added: "Look at any J.J. Abrams movie. All of his movies have an incredible story and incredible characters. That was something that was important to him — to make a movie that's not just going to be fun and exciting, but that has real emotion and real stakes to it."

A live-action "Thomas the Tank Engine" movie.

Marc Forster, who directed "World War Z" and "Quantum of Solace," is making a film about Thomas the Tank Engine.

Deadline reported in 2020 that Mattel Films is teaming up with Forster's production company 2Dux² to turn the children's cartoon into a movie that is a mix of live-action and animation. 

Forster has turned a children's franchise into a feature film before, having directed the 2018 movie "Christopher Robin," which is about the legacy of Winnie the Pooh.

A Magic 8 Ball horror movie.

Mattel has been trying to create a Magic 8 Ball movie for almost 20 years.

The Guardian reported that, in 2006, Universal tried to make a Magic 8 Ball rom-com, and later Paramount tried to make a "National Treasure"-style movie about the fortune-telling ball.

Neither project came to fruition but Mattel is trying to create a horror movie instead.

Deadline first reported in 2019 that Mattel was partnering with Blumhouse to create the horror movie. However, in 2022, CNBC reported that Blumhouse is no longer attached to the project.

The New Yorker reported that "Cocaine Bear" screenwriter Jimmy Warden is turning the movie into a horror-comedy.

Mattel's Robbie Brenner told the publication: "We're not going to make any rated-R movie. We're not going to make anything that feels violent, or that is alienating to families. We want to stay within the parameters of what Mattel is."

Brenner later told Variety that the movie will "probably be a PG-13 thriller."

A movie based on Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.

"Fast & Furious" star Vin Diesel has been pegged to star in and produce a movie based on the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.

In 2021, Deadline first reported that Mattel Films, Universal, and Diesel are creating the live-action movie. The publication reports that "Rampage" writer Ryan Engle will write the script, and the story will follow a father and son who bond with an advanced war machine.

Brenner told Variety that they are still working on a script, but that Diesel was excited about the project.

An American Girl doll movie.

"Saturday Night Live" may have joked about an American Doll movie in 2023 but there are actual plans to turn the doll brand into a live-action movie.

Deadline first reported that a movie from Mattel and MGM was in the works in 2019. At the time, neither a director nor a writer was attached.

In an update, per a recent New Yorker article, Mattel's Kevin McKeon said that a screenwriter is writing a script that would be like "Booksmart" meets "Bill & Ted."

Brenner later told Variety the movie is a family comedy.

American Girls are 18-inch dolls that depict various young girls across history.

A Big Jim movie.

Mattel is not restricting itself to its most famous toys, because the company is also bringing back toys from the last century. One of which is the muscly action figure, Big Jim, which was created in the 1970s.

In 2022, Variety reported that a film based on the toy will be developed by Dan Mazer, who wrote "Bridget Jones's Baby," cowrote both "Borat" films, and directed the latest "Home Alone" reboot.

A movie based on the Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy dolls.

Variety also reported in 2022 that Jason Bateman's production company, Aggregate Films, is making a movie based on Mattel's Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy dolls.

Chatty Cathy was a pull-string doll created by the inventors of Barbie, Ruth and Elliot Handler, in 1959. According to Time magazine, the dolls could speak 11 phrases, and brunette and African-American versions were created a few years later.

Meanwhile, Betsy Wetsy was another doll brand created by Ideal Toy Company, which later became part of Mattel through multiple acquisitions. This one, created in 1934, was a baby doll that you could feed and had to change after it urinated.

No further details have been provided for the plot of the film.

A live-action movie about the Matchbox toy car brand.

The New Yorker reported that Mattel is working with Skydance to create a movie based on toy car brand Matchbox.

A movie about View-Master.

MGM and Mattel are teaming up to produce a live-action movie about the View-Master, The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2019.

View-Masters were a 20th-century gadget that offered 3D images.

A movie about the PBS TV series "Wishbone."

In 2020, Deadline reported that Mattel and Universal Pictures are rebooting "Wishbone." 

The upcoming movie is based on a '90s PBS TV series about an ordinary Jack Russell Terrier who dreams about being the protagonist in famous books.

Deadline reported that Roy Parker will write the script with two-time Oscar-winner Peter Farrelly producing.

A "Gremlins"-like movie about Boglins toys.

The New Yorker reported that Mattel is turning the gruesome toy hand puppets known as Boglins into a new movie, and there are already numerous "millennial" directors and screenwriters who want to work on it.

Mattel's Kevin McKeon said he thinks the Boglins could be the star of the company's "big Halloween movie."

"We're thinking 'Gremlins'-ish, but with a twist," McKeon said.

• West Elm is a popular retailer known for its home decor and modern, high-quality furniture.
• I visited the West Elm Outlet in Industry City, Brooklyn, and loved the variety of discounted items.
• I found ottomans for 95% off, affordable light fixtures, dining sets for 40% off, and more.

As an interior designer, West Elm is one of my favorite retailers for clean, modern designs — but it's not exactly known for affordability.

Enter: West Elm Outlet. There are fewer than a dozen of them in the US, and I went to the location nearest me in Industry City, Brooklyn.

As an interior designer, I was excited to find it offered a broad selection with steep discounts and tempting deals on everything from furniture to accessories.

Here's what it was like shopping at the West Elm Outlet for the first time and why I'll definitely be back.

The West Elm Outlet in New York City was huge and appeared to be in a massive warehouse.

It had organized displays, plus sections and boxes of seemingly random items to dig through. This made shopping feel more like a treasure hunt.

A few minutes into my trip, I grabbed a $9.97 pillow insert that would usually cost more than double that price.

I couldn't find a cover big enough for it, so I grabbed a discounted curtain panel I could use to sew one myself.

The next display was filled with dinnerware sets for an additional 40% off their ticketed price.

Some sections of the store looked well-organized, like this shelf with sculptural lighting for 70% off.

When I looked up, I found a beautiful chandelier that was reduced to $576. After the extra sale, it was just $172.

Across from the lighting, I found bedroom furniture on sale for an additional 50% off the ticketed price.

There were multiple aisles of nightstands and dressers.

I appreciated the variety, from options with drawers to ones with doors. Many looked like they were in perfect condition.

They weren't all winners from a design perspective, though.

The store even had a few kid-sized furniture pieces.

There were a lot of accent chairs on display for shoppers to test out.

I found a leather chair that had been on my radar for months at West Elm's regular store.

At the outlet, items are extra discounted if they have imperfections. The chair was an extra $200 off because of a tear in the leather.

The sofa section was packed with options.

They seem like a really popular item here — tons of them had "Sold!" signs.

I found great coffee-table deals, too. Most were a few hundred bucks off of the original price — plus an extra 40% off.

As I walked around, I found more popular styles that were heavily discounted because of small blemishes.

One of the best deals I found was a large $1,500 ottoman for only $70. I can't even find similar ottomans for that price at Target.

I left feeling impressed by the selection and all of the money I saved. I will definitely be back … ideally with a big car.

• Dallas is now home to Goldman Sachs' largest US workforce outside of New York City.
• 5 Goldman employees, from partner to analyst, share what living and working there is like.
• They said career opportunities in Dallas have grown as the hub takes on more front-office functions.

In 2017, Goldman Sachs' president and co-chief operating officer, David Solomon, had a big ask of one of his fellow bankers: Move to Goldman's outpost in Dallas, Texas. At the time, Dallas was home to roughly 900 Goldman employees, and the bank hadn't had a full-time partner stationed there since the 1990s.

The lifelong New Yorker tasked with building out the Dallas office, Aasem Khalil, didn't know what to expect. The experience, he said, has exceeded his expectations — both personally and professionally.

"If you think back to the mid-90s, to the mid-2010s in New York City, it had this incredible golden era," Khalil told Business Insider in a recent interview. "Dallas is in the very early innings of a similar run, with a financial-services renaissance, a cultural explosion, and continued population growth," he said, adding, "All of these things are really exciting."

When one thinks of Goldman Sachs, they tend to think of New York City — where Wall Street was born. Today, Dallas is Goldman's largest US office outside of New York City, home to 4,600 Goldman employees and growing.

Khalil, who was Goldman's global head of chemicals banking when he moved to Dallas, is now head of the Dallas office. He is helping to oversee the construction of a $500 million state-of-the-art office campus, which will house roughly 5,000 employees when it opens in 2028.

Goldman is not alone. A number of companies have either moved to or expanded their offices in the Lone Star State in recent years, attracted by the business-friendly environment, favorable tax policies, and a skilled workforce bolstered by the region's universities and burgeoning business scene. Elon Musk made headlines when he moved electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla to Austin from California in 2021, citing frustrations with the latter state's COVID-19 lockdown policies.

Dallas, meanwhile, has become a hub for financial firms like JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, and Wells Fargo. According to the law firm Foley & Lardner, investment-banking and securities employment in Texas has surged by 27% since the coronavirus pandemic.

BI spoke to five Goldman Sachs employees in Dallas, including Khalil, to understand what it's like to work in the bank's fastest-growing US hub. They discussed the challenges of being away from headquarters, the social and professional culture, and what it means to build a career in finance outside of Wall Street.

More than a back-office hub

Prior to Khalil's arrival, Goldman's Dallas office, established in 1968, was largely focused on real estate and private wealth, as well as middle- and back-office support functions. In 2020, however, Goldman announced plans to slash more than $1 billion in costs, in part by shifting staffers from higher-cost centers like New York City and London to more affordable cities like Dallas, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

As a result, the Dallas office is now home to a much wider array of career opportunities, including investment banking, wealth management, asset management, real estate, and sales and trading, executives told BI. Some of the firm's top executives are also now based there, including Khalil, who is global head of investment-banking services in addition to leading the Dallas office, and Rob Kaplan, who rejoined Goldman last year as vice chairman of the bank and a member of its management committee following a stint as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

"One of the things about the Dallas presence is we are well represented across every division of the firm," Kaplan told BI, adding: "You'll see us grow across divisions."

The company declined to provide a breakdown by division, but a review of the bank's careers portal showed more than 250 open posts in Dallas as of late February. Positions ranged from a Java full-stack developer to associates focused on direct lending. Sixty-four job listings were in the AWM group, versus 36 in global banking and markets, and 31 in the next biggest group, the risk division.

The office's junior bankers get deal experience just like they would in New York, Khalil said. The Dallas-based investment-banking team advised Celanese, a global chemicals company, on its $1.15 billion acquisition of Exxon Mobil's business Santoprene in late 2021, and Tyler Technologies, a software firm, in its all-cash, $2.3 billion purchase of NIC, a government solutions and payments company, the same year.

Dallas' young bankers also get pulled into the deals being handled by other teams, Khalil said.

"We get a lot of calls asking for our junior resources to help execute M&A transactions for clients that are in and around the southwest," Khalil said, adding: "It happens all the time where other regions call us and say, 'Hey, can we borrow so-and-so? Or can we have so-and-so work on this?'"

Where opportunity meets connectivity

Despite efforts to make Dallas a microcosm of 200 West Street, where Goldman is headquartered, employees said the southern hub feels more intimate as a result of its smaller size.

"Forty-five hundred people doesn't sound small and cozy, but the truth is you can get to know everyone here, you can get your arms around the place, and we have a lot of mentors and coaches," said Kaplan, the vice chairman. "I spend a lot of my time mentoring and coaching young people early in their career in the Dallas office and across the firm."

Longtime Dallas resident Oksana Beard — a managing director in asset and wealth management and the firm's global head of debt capital markets for real estate and Goldman Sachs Asset Management — likes to help new arrivals get settled in the city.

"When people come, the feedback that I hear quite a bit is that they are overwhelmed by that southern hospitality and open-door culture that we tend to have," she said. The challenges tend to arise along personal lines as they adjust to their new home, she added. "It's just on a personal level of, which community do you want to plug into the most as far as where you're going to buy your house or kids' schooling and things like that," Beard explained.

Kaplan, meanwhile, has taken to hosting receptions at his Dallas home roughly once a month for employees ranging from analysts to vice presidents and managing directors. "We'll get a hundred people, as much as I can fit, into my apartment," he said.

Living in Dallas

Goldman's website paints Dallas as the perfect combination of laidback and urban living. A guide to the city displayed on the website until recently said it's home to the largest arts district in the country, over 160 miles of urban hiking and biking trails, and four major league sports teams.

Another perk of life in Dallas is the low cost of living. According to the Economic Research Institute, New York is 150% more expensive than Dallas, and a person making $30,000 per year in Dallas would need to make about $75,000 to preserve an identical living standard in the borough of Manhattan.

For Maggie Kravchuk, an analyst in the asset-and-wealth-management group, the ability to work from Dallas was a key selling point when she joined the bank full time in 2022. Kravchuk attended the nearby Baylor University so had already built a life there.

"I went to college in Texas and was able to build connections here throughout my time at undergrad," Kravchuk said. "It was amazing to be able to pursue the career in finance that I wanted without having to leave a place that had become home for me and where a lot of my friends were."

Despite having friends in the area, Kravchuk said she has also cultivated close bonds with members of her analyst class. Recently, a group of them traveled to Florida to run a half marathon.

"There's a group of us who love running," she said. "We train for a few races every year."

The highlights of the Dallas office

Perks of Goldman's Dallas office include a suite at the American Airlines Center where the Dallas Mavericks NBA team and the Dallas Stars NHL team play, employees said. Sometimes, Goldman's Dallas staffers are invited to take in a game from the suite, which is primarily used to entertain clients.

Employees get free access to the Nasher Sculpture Center, a gallery featuring more than 300 pieces of modern and contemporary work by noted artists like Picasso, Matisse, and Rodin.

Paige Richey, chief of staff for the Dallas office, said that working in Dallas has afforded her and her three kids a quality of life they might not have elsewhere.

"I tell them all the time how fortunate we are to be able to pop into the city, go to the museum, hit the Dallas Mavericks game," she said. "This feels a little bit New Yorker-ish that my girls right now — their favorite thing to do is to get onto their rollerblades and meet their friends and they go to Starbucks. So that feels a little bit like an urban lifestyle."

Goldman has a 5-day in-office policy across its offices, including the Dallas site. Still, Richey said her life there affords her the flexibility to have a career and raise her kids, thanks to supportive bosses and a short commute.

"I never thought that I'd be able to be at Goldman as a working mom with three kids and have a career that I feel is on the up, and feel like I am getting to raise our daughters and not having somebody else do that for me."

Reed Alexander is a correspondent at Business Insider. He can be reached via email at [email protected], or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.

• About 81% of US workers are "non-AI users," a Pew Research Center survey said.
• Tech giants are betting hundreds of billions of dollars on businesses increasing their AI adoption.
• Over half of those surveyed said they were more worried than hopeful about AI's long-term impact.

Tech giants are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI, promising it will transform the workplace. However, a new survey suggests that most American workers aren't yet using it.

While about one in six workers use AI to do at least some of their jobs, the remainder were considered to be "non-AI users," a Pew Research Center survey published Tuesday said.

The non-AI user group is broken down by 63% of respondents who rarely or never use AI in their jobs, and 17% who have not heard of AI use in the workplace.

The research, which surveyed 5,273 employed US adults in October, suggests that for all the hype around AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini, tech giants still have some persuading to do to ensure their massive bets pay off.

Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta are collectively planning to spend more than $320 billion on AI-related capital expenditures in 2025. They are doing so on the premise that business demand for AI tools will continue to grow, requiring more chips and data centers to power those services.

Google has made AI a central part of its business strategy, integrating tools like Gemini Advanced and NotebookLM into its Workspace enterprise plans. More than 100,000 customers have already adopted Google's AI tools, the company said in January.

Microsoft is making a similarly aggressive push with its Copilot AI assistant. However, Copilot has faced challenges. Last year, Business Insider reported that the reviews of Copilot — both inside and outside Microsoft — indicate that the new product is struggling to live up to the hype.

OpenAI kicked off the AI boom in late 2022 with ChatGPT, its chatbot that captured the attention of businesses and consumers alike. However, the Pew Research Center survey said that only about one in 10 workers use AI chatbots every day or a few times a week in their jobs.

One reason for the seemingly slow adoption of AI tools could be the lack of an integration strategy among businesses, said Doug Winter, the CEO and founder of Seismic, the sales software company.

"There's a constant stream of new AI tools promising to revolutionize the workplace," Winter told BI. "Many businesses rush to adopt them without clear integration strategies. This applies pressure on employees to quickly adapt and utilize multiple new technologies, often leading to tool fatigue."

The Pew survey also asked employees how they thought AI would affect the job market in the coming years. More than half — 52% — of those surveyed said they were more worried than hopeful about AI's long-term impact on the workplace.

• US special operators need cheap weapons for future conflicts, and they need a lot of them.
• The war in Ukraine has shown the value of having lots of cheap weapons, such as drones.
• Operators and industry will need to work closely together to develop the right capabilities.

US special operators are going to need a bunch of cheap, expendable weapons to fight a fast-paced, high-intensity, and materially demanding future war, US military leaders said recently.

And those weapons are going to need to be able to be rapidly modified to adapt to ever-changing battlefield threats.

At the National Defense Industrial Association's US Special Operations Symposium last week, special operations leadership and other military officials spoke about the shift from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency to great-power competition and the challenges and opportunities that presents for the US military's elite special operations forces, or SOF.

Looking at a potential future conflict between the US and a major military power, like China or Russia, officials said a war like that would be fought across a range of contested domains, such as space, cyberspace, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Dominating these warfighting domains will be decisive, they said.

Preparation for this fight has led to increased demand for innovation and the acquisition of new weapons and combat technologies.

Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, the director for Joint Fore development, pointed to Ukraine's success in crippling Russia's Black Sea Fleet with uncrewed surface vessels as an example. There are lessons to learn from the Ukraine war, he said, especially when it comes to drones.

The general said "there are a lot of cheap things you can do to have an asymmetric advantage."

US special operators are often among the first American troops to get their hands on new technologies, and they work closely with the defense industry to develop new systems.

Anderson said that he wants to see "technologies that are truly cheap in the hands of the operators" so that they can "experiment" with them and offer feedback.

Getting tech acquisition right

The key to developing these capabilities, he said, is rapid-cycle iteration. Industry and operators should work closely to develop new systems, edit them based on observations, and switch out capabilities quickly for different missions, he suggested.

But these systems need to be affordable, Anderson said, capable of being bought on a large scale for relatively low cost.

That's been important in Ukraine, where soldiers burn through thousands of drones and where new drone companies are constantly building newer, cheaper hardware and updating software based on current battlefield challenges.

In recent years, the Pentagon has been moving to achieve mass through drone warfare, as seen in Ukraine. The Replicator Initiative, announced in 2023, is the Department of Defense's effort to streamline the development of uncrewed systems with key industry partners, with the goal of deploying thousands of multi-domain drones at speed and scale.

The biggest challenges, though, lie in how DoD obtains new systems and works with the defense industry. Similarly, technologies related to artificial intelligence, autonomy, uncrewed systems, and electronic warfare are moving at breakneck speed, meaning what is innovative today may be obsolete tomorrow.

Chris Brose, the chief strategy officer at Anduril Industries, said that a potential solution to this problem is the creation of flexible systems that can be updated quickly.

Brose said that Anduril's work with DoD on countering drones with US Special Operations Command largely began with trying to solve problems that operators were experiencing on the field.

"It started with units that were deploying," he said, with "capabilities that were not working, with threats that were outpacing them, with technology that was rapidly getting better but they were incapable of incorporating."

Those challenges led to an understanding that operators and industry need to work together and quickly, adjusting in real time in different locations against different threats.

While much can be learned from the war in Ukraine, there are still unanswered questions, especially about how AI will evolve and what humans will actually be needed for in certain combat roles. SOF leadership said that autonomous capabilities and AI may potentially change what roles operators play on the battlefield, such as flying drones.