• Nintendo set a date for Switch 2 pre-orders in the US and apologized for a previous delay.
• The gaming giant isn't hiking the price of the game console for now but is increasing accessory prices.
• Nintendo said the higher prices were due to "changes in market conditions."

Nintendo gave an update to its American customers on Friday — and it's a good news/bad news situation.

The good news: The company isn't raising the price of the Switch 2 game console (for now).

The bad news: The extra accessories that many shoppers buy alongside the game console, such as controllers, are getting more expensive.

"Retail pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 will begin on April 24, 2025. At launch, the price for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will remain as announced on April 2 at $449.99, and the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle will remain as announced at $499.99," the company said on Friday.

"However, Nintendo Switch 2 accessories will experience price adjustments from those announced on April 2 due to changes in market conditions," Nintendo added. The company published a full pricing list, which you can view here.

Nintendo is also keeping the door open to future price hikes, including for the Switch 2.

"Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions," it said.

The much-anticipated update arrives after Nintendo found itself in a tough spot. The same day that it announced preorder pricing for the Switch 2, President Donald Trump unveiled his "Liberation Day" tariffs, which impacted the countries that manufacture Nintendo's game consoles.

Nintendo decided to pause US preorders, originally scheduled to begin on April 9, to "assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions."

Nintendo apologized for the delay in its Friday update and said it hopes its release of the pricing details "reduces some of the uncertainty our customers may be experiencing."

The path to working on Wall Street is a long and rigorous obstacle course.

Young people who aspire to become dealmakers, traders, or investors must now begin as soon as they arrive at college. From there, it's an immediate dash to join campus finance clubs, hobnob with industry professionals, and fill a résumé with pre-internship accolades — all while maintaining a perfect GPA.

The steps are an unofficial yet unspokenly understood requirement among students at top target schools (plus those elsewhere with the fortune of being in the know). Some financial institutions — namely investment banks, where most Wall Streeters start out — now scout young talent during their sophomore year of college. That means those who wait, or don't learn the recruiting game quickly enough, risk being left behind altogether.

"It forces students to focus very early at a time when, in my opinion, they should be not focusing, but actually broadening their perspectives," Gustavo Schwed, an NYU professor who worked in investment banking and private equity before switching to academia, said.

A Wharton student who recently signed a 2026 internship offer at an investment bank put it this way: "I am a sophomore in college, and it's kind of outrageous that we have to decide at this age — I just turned 20 — what my first job is out of college."

The new finance career path

Business Insider talked to college students, recruiters, finance executives, professors, and many others about what it takes to build a career in finance in 2025. We compiled what we learned into a series of stories and videos that started rolling out on April 16 and which will continue through May. The series seeks to help students better understand what it takes to break into Wall Street and what to expect once they get there.

Check back here to see the latest. We will delve into what it's really like to work for a hedge fund, how the face of Wall Street has changed, and the challenges of getting into the college clubs needed to snag that all-important internship, among other topics.

Want to share your career path with us? Fill out this quick form.

_{Article credits
Reporters: Emmalyse Brownstein, Bradley Saacks, Alex Morrell, Alex Nicoll, Bianca Chan
Editors: Kaja Whitehouse, Michelle Abrego, Jeffrey Cane, Jamie Heller
Copy Editors: Kevin Kaplan
Graphics and art: Alyssa Powell, Annie Fu, Randy Yeip, Andy Kiersz,}

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau terminated 90% of its staff.
• A termination notice seen by BI said employees would lose access to work systems on Friday night.
• It's Trump's latest move to gut a federal agency created to prevent another financial crisis.

President Donald Trump is moving forward with his promise to slash a top federal consumer watchdog.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began sending termination notices to nearly 90% of its employees on Thursday night, slashing the agency spearheaded by Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2011 with the aim of preventing another financial crisis like the one that sparked the Great Recession.

Over the past decade, the CFPB has filed lawsuits against major companies, including student lenders and banks like Capital One, over accusations of predatory behavior. It has also returned billions of dollars to consumers and introduced new rules to crack down on medical debt and overdraft fees.

"I regret to inform you that you are affected by a reduction in force (RIF) action," a copy of the notice viewed by Business Insider from Russell Vought, the acting director of the CPFB and the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said. "This RIF action is necessary to restructure the Bureau's operations to better reflect the agency's priorities and mission."

The notice added that employees will "retain access to work systems" until 6 p.m. ET on Friday, and that after that deadline, "system access will be discontinued, and you will be placed in an administrative leave status through your official separation date as outlined above."

The National Treasury Employees Union wrote in a legal filing on Thursday that Vought sent reduction-in-force notices to "the vast majority of CFPB employees." The notices, as first reported by Fox Business, went out to about 1,500 employees, slashing the agency's workforce by nearly 90%. The CFPB sent those numbers to BI.

"As one would expect with a RIF of that size, the plaintiffs have been told that entire offices, including statutorily mandated ones, have or soon will be either eliminated or reduced to a single person," the NTEU wrote in the legal filing.

These termination notices come just one week after a federal judge ruled on April 11 that the CFPB could move forward with firing some employees deemed unnecessary to carry out the CFPB's "statutory duties." It followed an earlier ruling from a federal judge that froze the CFPB's earlier attempts at terminations, calling them a "hurried effort to dismantle and disable the agency entirely."

Business Insider reported on Wednesday that the CFPB laid out new priorities for the agency in an internal memo sent to employees. The memo, viewed by BI, said the CFPB would "shift resources from enforcement and supervision that can be done by the States."

That included plans to "deprioritize" student-loan oversight, medical debt, consumer data, and digital payments.

These changes are part of Trump and the DOGE office's efforts to slash the government workforce to reduce spending. Elon Musk, DOGE's unofficial leader, has previously said he wanted to "delete" the CFPB entirely, writing "CFPB RIP" in a February post on X.

Warren wrote in a statement on Thursday night that "Trump just gutted almost all CFPB staff, so the agency can't do its job of helping Americans who get scammed by big banks and giant corporations."

"Dismantling the CFPB in the face of a court order blocking an illegal shutdown is yet another assault on consumers and our democracy by this lawless Administration, and we will fight back with everything we've got," she said.

The OMB and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Have a tip or story to share? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at asheffey.97. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• I spent 12 hours in a regular seat on an overnight train from Berlin to Vienna.
• For less than $50, I got a reclining seat in a seating carriage cabin with five other people.
• I've traveled on Amtrak sleeper cars in private rooms, but I didn't adjust well to the shared space.

In October 2022, I spent 12 hours in a sleeping carriage on an overnight train traveling from Berlin to Vienna.

I had taken overnight trains in the US before, where I'd booked private cabins on Amtrak trains.

But this was my first time on a sleeper train in Europe — and my first time in an accommodation shared with other guests.

Since I wanted to maximize my time exploring during the day, I thought an overnight train would be the best way to travel through Europe. And at $40, it was the cheapest overnight train ride I've ever booked. But ultimately, the ride was too uncomfortable to sleep, and I arrived in Vienna feeling too exhausted to explore.

To get from Berlin to Vienna in 12 hours, I took the Austrian Federal Railway's OBB Nightjet train.

The rail line operates overnight routes between Austria, Italy, France, and the Netherlands, and it goes as fast as 143 miles per hour, according to the company's website.

Nightjet trains have sleeper cars with seating carriages and bunks of three, four, or six.

I booked the former, which are cabins with six regular assigned seats that deeply recline. Some routes have private cabins, but mine didn't.

"We recommend the sleeper or couchette car for night travel. There is enough space to stretch out. Seated carriages are recommended for shorter journeys," OBB Nightjet wrote in a statement to Business Insider.

"The quality of travel depends not only on the carriages, but also on the route," the statement also said.

To travel by train, I bought a Eurail pass for $477, which gives access to most European trains for a set number of days.

Some trains only require a Eurail pass to ride, while others, including overnight trains, incur an additional discounted price.

Without the pass, the ticket would have been about $40.

With my seven-day Eurail pass, the train trip cost $14. It was the cheapest overnight accommodation.

My journey began at Germany's Berlin Ostbahnhof train station.

I arrived about an hour and a half before my 6:53 p.m. train, so I had ample time to find the platform.

Since my ticket didn't include a meal, I grabbed food from the McDonald's inside the station.

McDonald's in Germany has different menu items from locations in the US, like the hash brown burger.

Then, I went to platform three after viewing on a screen that it was where my train would be arriving.

The train arrived on time and I found and boarded my assigned car, number 254.

Once inside the seating carriage sleeper cars, I saw narrow, dimly lit corridors that opened to small enclosed cabins with six seats in each.

I made my way to my assigned seat in one of these cabins.

During my leg of the journey, three travelers were already in my room when I boarded.

Two others arrived within the first few hours.

I thought the seat was slightly wider than a typical train coach seat.

It had two cushions and reclined far enough to almost lie flat, but not fully.

Each seat came with a small table that slid out from the armrest.

It was just large enough to hold my ticket and phone.

Right away, I thought the room was cramped and lacked enough legroom for each traveler.

However, I was surprised to find ample luggage space on two rows of storage racks above the seats.

I wanted to charge my phone, but I only saw two outlets next to the window in my carriage. I had to communicate with other passengers to take turns using them.

An OBB Nightjet rep told BI that new cars that began running in 2023 have more outlets.

Even though my ticket didn't include a meal, I checked the menu to see what was available for purchase.

I thought it had a wide selection with snacks, pasta, and wraps.

Since I had already eaten, I skipped the food and used one of the two shared bathrooms in the car to brush my teeth. The bathroom looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a while.

"Toilets are always cleaned when the trip starts," OBB Nightjet said in a statement to BI. "In addition, our staff is doing regular checks during the night."

Back in my room, someone had turned the lights off. I tried to fall asleep but found it impossible with the constant bumps on the ride and so many people around me.

I hardly had any personal space.

I reclined my seat all the way, but I thought the gap between the back and the bottom of the seat made it tough to get comfortable.

I didn't see any pillows or sheets provided for guests, either.

The rep for OBB Nightjet told BI that pillows and sheets are only provided for guests in the bunk-style sleeping cars because the seating carriage is not recommended for long-haul trips.

Although seats were assigned, I noticed other passengers moving around the car to find less crowded rooms. I followed suit.

I ended up switching to a different cabin with only two other people.

But I knew that someone boarding at one of the many overnight stops could kick me out at any time if I switched to a seat assigned to them.

Even in a less-crowded cabin, I couldn't get comfortable on such a bumpy journey or with the knowledge that someone might wake me up to move.

I ended up staying awake until the morning.

My train arrived in Vienna at 7 a.m., and I was so exhausted that I ran around town looking for any hotel that would take me in so early in the morning.

Splurging on a hotel room upon arrival for a few hours of sleep made me feel like the cheapest ticket on an overnight train ultimately wasn't worth it.

Next time, I'll book a flight or take a train with private cabins.

• Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon used an Air Force One plane known as SAM 970.
• The first jet-powered presidential aircraft featured an office and a safe for the nuclear codes.
• The retired plane, used from 1959 to 1996, is on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

President Dwight Eisenhower became the first US president to travel by jet when he flew on a new Air Force One plane in 1959.

The jet, known as SAM (Special Air Missions) 970, was customized to meet the needs of the president and White House staff. It included a presidential stateroom, a conference room, seats for members of the press, and a safe for the nuclear codes.

Retired in 1996, SAM 970 now lives at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. I visited the museum in July to tour the old Air Force One and see how presidents once traveled.

Take a look inside.

Four US presidents flew aboard the Air Force One plane known as SAM 970.

In 1959, the customized Boeing 707-153 known as SAM 970 became the new presidential aircraft, replacing the propeller-powered C-121C Super Constellation used by President Dwight Eisenhower. SAM 970 was part of the VC-137 series of planes.

SAM 970 was used by Eisenhower as well as Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon.

In 1962, a newer VC-137C plane replaced it as the primary presidential aircraft, but it still transported vice presidents and other VIPs. The SAM 970 remained part of the presidential fleet until 1996.

The retired aircraft is on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Admission to the museum costs $26 per adult. Tickets can be purchased on the Museum of Flight's website.

The exhibit featured figures of Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai of China shaking hands, recreating the moment the two leaders met.

Nixon took Air Force One to visit China in 1972, becoming the first US president to visit mainland China while holding office.

The cockpit included seats for a pilot, copilot, flight engineer, and guest or auxiliary crew member.

The plane's maximum speed was 590 miles per hour. The top speed of the current Air Force One, the VC-25A, is 630 miles per hour.

The communication station featured state-of-the-art radio and communication equipment.

From the plane, the president could reach the White House Situation Room and the National Military Command Center and send secret communications.

Across from the communication station, the briefcase containing codes to initiate a nuclear strike was kept locked in a safe.

Known as the "nuclear football," every president since Eisenhower has been accompanied by the briefcase at all times.

The safe also held military communication center codes.

In the forward galley, crew members prepared food and drinks for the president and other crew.

The two galleys on Air Force One included ovens, refrigerators, and open-burner stovetops. Drink dispensers also served coffee, water, and other beverages.

A phone in the crew compartment came with a warning against discussing classified information.

A plaque next to the phone read "Caution. This phone has no security provisions. Sensitive or classified material should not be discussed."

A narrow hallway led to Air Force One's meeting areas.

Presidents met with staff, received briefings, and took phone calls while traveling on Air Force One, earning it the nickname of the "flying Oval Office."

The flight crew added fake temperature controls to the presidential stateroom to appease Johnson, who often complained about the cabin temperature.

Whenever Johnson adjusted the fake temperature dial, it alerted the captain, who could then decide to change the cabin's temperature or leave it the same, a Museum of Flight guide said.

Johnson had a doggie door installed in the stateroom to accommodate his restless pet beagles.

Johnson's beagles would often howl if they were left in the conference room too long, according to the Museum of Flight.

The stateroom room included its own private bathroom.

The private bathroom was much more spacious than the lavatories used by the flight crew and members of the press.

The presidential conference room featured more space for larger meetings.

The seating booth featured seat belts in case of rough air.

White House staffers and cabinet members who joined the president on trips sat in the staff seating area.

The roomy sets of four seats featured tables between them.

A separate secretary station provided more workspace for staff.

The workstation was outfitted with a lamp and typewriter.

Members of the press sat further back on the plane.

The staff seating area looked the most similar to regular economy cabin seats.

The aft galley in the back of the plane served food and drinks to senior staff and the press.

Like the forward galley, the aft galley was furnished with kitchen appliances and drink dispensers.

The tail of the plane was decorated with an American flag.

First lady Jackie Kennedy chose Air Force One's blue, white, and metallic color scheme.

During his first term, President Donald Trump proposed new Air Force One colors of red, white, and navy blue for Boeing's long-delayed new Air Force One plane. The Air Force rejected his design since the darker colors would have cost more and caused overheating issues. The plane was supposed to be ready in 2024, but its completion timeline has been pushed to 2027.

• I've visited 86 countries and seen a lot of beautiful places around the world.
• Wānaka, New Zealand, has an incredible natural landscape.
• I loved the architecture in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.

In January 2016, I took my first solo trip to Hawaii and instantly fell in love with this form of travel. Now, nearly 10 years later, I run a travel blog, No Man Nomad, and have solo traveled to 86 countries across all seven continents.

Throughout my travels, I've been lucky enough to visit some truly beautiful locations. From the second largest canyon in the world to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, here are five of the most beautiful destinations I've been to.

Valle d'Aosta is one of the most underrated regions in Italy.

Valle d'Aosta, Italy's smallest and least populated region, took my breath away when I visited in September 2024.

Located in the northwest corner of the country, the region shares a border with Switzerland and France, creating a majestic mountainous backdrop thanks to Mont Blanc straddling all three countries.

I recommend staying in the capital, Aosta. Nicknamed "little Rome of the Alps," it's not just Mont Blanc that's worth viewing — Aosta is full of historic ruins, like Porta Pretoria and Criptoportico Forense.

Wānaka, New Zealand, is ideal for immersing yourself in nature.

In January 2019, I traveled to New Zealand and rented a campervan for a road trip from Queenstown to Aoraki/Mount Cook.

My first stop was Wānaka, where I frolicked through fields of flowers and tasted local honey at Wānaka Lavender Farm.

I also hiked Roys Peak — a 5,177-foot summit where I saw plenty of sheep as I made my way to the panoramic views of the town.

Each morning, I sipped coffee on Lake Wānaka and admired the lone willow tree that grows in the water. As a New Yorker, I really enjoyed being able to lose myself in nature.

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, is a peaceful escape.

When I visited Buenos Aires in January 2023, I decided to take a ferry to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, for a day trip.

The town is full of white, stone, and pastel-colored buildings, many of which are adorned with flowers. Together, they contrasted beautifully with the cobblestone streets.

Colonia del Sacramento's historic quarter is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, you can head to the San Miguel Bastion for views of the sea or Ruinas del Convento de San Francisco for the only remnants left from a convent built in the 1690s.

Fish River Canyon in Namibia, left me speechless.

On another international road trip, I visited Fish River Canyon in Namibia, which is the largest canyon in Africa and the second largest in the world after the Grand Canyon.

There were barely any tourists when I visited on a hot day in April 2024. Looking out at the massive, colorful gorge was an experience I'll never forget. It was extremely quiet, and I sat by the edge to take it all in.

Jeju Island, South Korea, is gorgeous.

In March 2019, I scored a $12 flight from Seoul to Jeju Island, South Korea.

One of my first stops was to see Oedolgae, a unique rock formation that's believed to have been formed by a volcanic eruption. As I walked there from my hostel, I passed plenty of waterfalls and witnessed early signs of the island's blooming cherry blossoms.

When I arrived, I watched as the waves crashed into Oedolgae and the other massive volcanic rocks that jarred from the ocean's floor.

Ryan Coogler has dazzled audiences with big-budget Marvel movies (the "Black Panther" franchise), introduced a new generation to the Rocky Balboa saga ( "Creed," "Creed II"), and painted a devastatingly human portrait of a real-life tragedy ("Fruitvale Station"), but his newest film unlocks his true potential.

Coogler's fifth feature, "Sinners," marks the first time the director is working with a completely original concept, and it's an ambitious, genre-hopping ride worthy of all the early praise (the film has a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes as of publication).

The film, which Coogler also wrote, tells the story of identical twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan), who leave their posts as muscle in the 1930s Chicago underworld and return to their home state of Mississippi to run a juke joint. Everything is going according to plan on opening night, with top-notch blues musicians and smooth tasting hooch, until a trio of vampires shows up and turns everything upside down.

But even as the movie veers sharply from period piece to vampire flick (blood-sucking included), in Coogler's hands, "Sinners" is more than a thrilling genre movie. With eye-popping cinematography of the Mississippi Delta, a moving score from Coogler's longtime collaborator Ludwig Göransson, and subplots focusing on religion and the generational influence of the blues, "Sinners" is chock-full of well-executed big ideas. It's Hollywood filmmaking on an epic scale — and the secret sauce is that it's grounded in a personal, heartfelt story.

In the latest interview in Business Insider's "Director's Chair" series, Coogler discusses how the project came to be, what led to the movie's memorable music sequence, and what motivated him to make a deal with Warner Bros. so he'll one day own the rights to "Sinners."

Business Insider: You've spoken about "Sinners" being a love letter to your grandfather and uncle. How did you go from celebrating family to vampires and the blues?

Ryan Coogler: I never knew my grandfather. He died shortly after my parents got married. He was from Mississippi. Born there, raised there. Then he moved to Oakland and married my grandmother who was from Texas. My grandmother had two little sisters and one of her younger sisters married a man who was from Mississippi, a different part, and that was my Uncle James.

My Uncle James, for a large portion of my life, was the oldest male member of my family. What he loved to do was three things: listening to Delta Blues music, he loved drinking all types of whiskey, and he loved the San Francisco Giants, watching them on TV and listening to them on the radio. So if you went and spent time with him he was doing one or all three of those things.

I loved my uncle. I associate that music with him. He passed away in 2015, and after that, I oftentimes found myself playing blues records to remind myself of him. And that act of listening to that music and feeling he was there with me is kind of what inspired the period setting and the blues. And that is why the movie is so personal. 

It's so personal, in fact, that you made a deal with Warner Bros. to get the rights to the film in 25 years. The reason for that is because this is a story of what Smoke and Stack do at the start of the movie — open a juke joint in the Jim Crow South. The idea of Black ownership motivated you, correct?

Yeah. That was the reason for that ask. That was actually the only motivation.

Do you have the rights to any of your other movies? Is this a first time for you?

No. It's the first time.

Do you want to continue owning the rights to your movies going forward?

No. It was this specific project.

One of the movie's most memorable moments is a sequence where everyone is dancing in the juke joint, and suddenly, past, present, and future musical influences of the blues appear — a guitarist playing an electric guitar, a DJ on turntables, ancient chants. How long had you been thinking about doing that?

It was in the original script, but the specifics of it, the nature of it, I came up with while I was writing. So it existed in every form of the screenplay but it was a concept that came to be. Like, it wasn't in the outline. I was writing the script, and I was listening to the music, trying to conjure a time, and thinking how I would use that music. I would think about my uncle and wonder what my uncle was thinking of when he was listening to it. 

Was that sequence always ambitious from the start?

The ambition evolved as I was researching it and digging into it. I realized the epic nature of the story as I researched it. At first, I thought it was small. As I researched and dug into blues music and how it was developed and why, when I got to Mississippi and stood on some plantations, that's where the form was born. These people whose parents were enslaved and were living in back-breaking societal conditions created an art form that was so incredible that it transcended the planet. We are still making incarnations of that music. And so my mind kind of blew up and I saw the movie showing that creation. 

There was a report that the post-production process on "Sinners" was longer than usual because you shot on film and there aren't many film labs left.

That's not the whole reason. We wanted to make film prints but we also wanted to make the movie in the best way possible. We actually did this fast. 

Are you concerned about shooting on film going forward? There are definitely fewer labs than there were 10 or even five years ago.

There are enough filmmakers who believe in the format that I have faith. I actually hope there's a resurgence. My first movie, "Fruitvale Station," was shot on film. It was shot on Super 16mm, so the format has always mattered to me. And I was so happy to get back to it. But with the epic nature of the story, I was also happy to shoot large format. 

I was going to ask about shooting on IMAX. Was that something you thought about doing back in the script stage?

No. When I first came up with the concept of "Sinners" I thought we were going to shoot it on Super 16mm. I thought it was going to be a down-and-dirty movie. 

Oh, so originally "Sinners" had a grimy, dirty South feel?

Exactly, bro. But this was before I went to Mississippi and really learned about the story I was telling. During that time I realized the story has to be epic and mythic. That's when an executive at Warner Bros. reached out and asked if I considered large format. And he was asking from a business sense, seeing how complicated it's become to convince folks to come out of their house and watch something that's original. So he was thinking about it from that side. But as soon as he said that, it unlocked something in me. It was the missing link to what the movie needed. 

I mean, America is a fucking beautiful landscape. It's gorgeous, and the natural landscapes totally dictate the people you are interacting with. The Mississippi Delta felt that way. It is the single most African place I've ever been to that wasn't Africa in terms of the feeling that I had. The epic feel of that flat pastoral landscape. You stand in some of the places in the Delta and it's so flat you felt you could see the Earth bending on the horizon. 

Are you hooked on shooting on IMAX cameras going forward?

I loved the experience. I think it's something I could see myself definitely doing in the future. It's incredibly addictive.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

"Sinners" is in theaters now.

• Many US residents don't have to travel far to see gorgeous waterfalls.
• From New York to Alaska and beyond, plenty of states have cascades worth visiting.
• Some are easily accessible, but others require a trek.

Waterfalls are one of nature's most awe-inspiring sights. The sound of pounding water, the feel of mist, and the visual of cascading water all combine for an unforgettable experience.

The US has some amazing cascades, from New York to Alaska to Tennessee.

These natural marvels can draw millions of visitors a year, propping up local economies. Visitor spending in Niagara County, New York, which is home to Niagara Falls, reached a record high of $1.082 billion in 2023, according to data from Tourism Economics.

However, not all of the country's most beautiful waterfalls are major tourist attractions. Some require arduous hikes that reward visitors with picturesque views. Others are visible from the roadside, perfect for snapping unforgettable photos without much effort.

Here are 17 of the US's most jaw-dropping waterfalls.

Bridal Veil Falls, Alaska

For over 40 years, daredevils have been climbing the icy walls of Keystone Canyon as part of an annual festival. Located near Valdez, east of Anchorage, the canyon also contains more than a dozen waterfalls. Bridal Veil Falls is among them, its rushing water suspended in a frozen tableau during the winter. It's over 600 feet tall and is viewable from Richardson Highway.

Havasu Falls, Arizona

The contrast of teal water and dusty orange rocks makes Havasu Falls a memorable sight. The waterfall is one of several on the Havasupai Indian Reservation. Over 60 miles from Grand Canyon Village, it's a 10-mile hike to see the vivid scenery. Temperatures can get scorching, as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit. The popular spot also requires a reservation in advance.

Burney Falls in, California

Volcanoes and erosion shaped Northern California's Burney Falls. The craggy rocks are remnants of basalt lava flows, with nooks and crannies that hold flowing water. Snow melt and springs feed the 129-foot cascade, upping its intensity in the spring and summer. They end in a misty reservoir below the falls. Sightseekers pack the park during warmer months, so expect lots of traffic if you visit.

Yosemite Falls, California

Melting snow turns into the pounding Yosemite Falls in spring. By late summer, it's like someone has turned off the tap. Three cascades make up the Yosemite National Park's falls, which are among the tallest in the world at 2,425 feet. Full moons in April and May produce an effect known as a moonbow, when the Lower Yosemite Falls' splashing water creates a lunar rainbow. Visitors can take a 1-mile path to the bottom or a more taxing 7.2-mile hike to the Upper Falls.

Bridal Veil Falls, Colorado

Telluride is known for its skiing, but it's also home to Colorado's tallest free-falling waterfall. Like Alaska's Bridal Veil Falls, it freezes in the winter. Snow enthusiasts come for the spectacular views as well as ice climbing. In summer, hikers, bikers, and four-wheelers arrive for a peek at the 365-foot flow. Atop the falls sits a hydroelectric power plant, built in 1907.

Wailua Falls, Hawaii

Two streams meet and part in the Kauai's Wailua Falls, depending on the amount of water flowing. The trail to the falls is dangerous, and hiking is prohibited — however, tourists barely have to leave their cars to get a glimpse of the twin falls. In the mornings, rainbows dance in the falls' mist. It's a hugely popular spot for wedding photos, and park officials have had to create guidelines to keep it from getting overrun with couples on their big day.

Waimoku Falls, Hawaii

It's no easy feat to reach Maui's 400-foot Waimoku Falls. After a twisty drive to Haleakalā National Park, hikers take the Pīpīwai Trail through a bamboo forest. Moss coats the trees, and the water thunders over the precipitous cliff. There can be rock falls and flash floods in the park, so visitors should be alert.

Shoshone Falls, Idaho

Outside Twin Falls, what's known as the "Niagara of the West" spans 900 feet and plummets from 212 feet. It pours into the Snake River, which winds through a basalt canyon. Kayakers and canoeists travel along the river when it's warm. Spring means melting snow adds oomph to the flow, which slows in summer when some of the water is used for irrigation. Viewing decks offer opportunities for breathtaking photos, and there are hiking trails and picnic areas in the park as well.

Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

Like Yosemite, Cumberland Falls produces lunar rainbows when the 125-foot-wide expanse of water catches the light during full moons. Crowds make their way to the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park to see the moonbow, either hiking the challenging trail for a closeup or staking out a spot in the parking lot, which has a view of the falls.

Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan

Winters are cold in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but the Tahquamenon Falls don't freeze over every year. They're nicknamed the "Root Beer Falls" because cedar tannins have turned the water soda-pop brown. Water also foams as it drops nearly 50 feet, like the foam on a freshly poured soft drink. There are two sets of falls, located about 4 miles apart.

Niagara Falls, New York

Arguably the most famous falls in North America, Niagara flows through both Canada and the US. One of its cataracts, Horseshoe Falls, thunders down 180 feet and is located in both Ontario and New York. There are plenty of vantage points for watching the three waterfalls, including bridges and an observation tower. Perhaps the most unique is the Maid of the Mist boat tour, which has been ferrying passengers past the falls since 1847.

Rainbow Falls, New York

Niagara Falls doesn't have a monopoly on New York's pretty waterfalls. Near Lake Placid is the 150-foot Rainbow Falls, located in the Ausable Chasm, a sandstone gorge. True to its name, a spectrum of colors dazzles on the rock wall as the light catches the mist. Visitors need a reservation if they're going to make the 8.5-mile roundtrip hike from May through October. The Route 9 bridge also crosses nearby.

Dry Falls, North Carolina

For those who like to peer at waterfalls from behind the curtain of water, Dry Falls is a spectacular option. A trail through the Nantahala National Forest takes hikers around the back of the 75-foot waterfall. Visitors can also see the front view after a short walk from the parking lot, but either way, this is a popular attraction that gets crowded.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

A short drive from Portland brings travelers to the state's tallest waterfall. Underground springs supply the two-tiered Multnomah Falls, which crashes down over 600 feet. Though that flow is heaviest in winter and spring, tourist traffic peaks in the summer. Visitors need a permit for admittance at the end of May through early September.

Ruby Falls, Tennessee

Take an elevator ride into a limestone cave in Lookout Mountain, and follow the trail to Ruby Falls. It's named not for its color but for the wife of Leo Lambert, who found the waterfall in 1928. Raining down 145 feet, the underground waterfall is a popular attraction that's not far from Chattanooga. Today, lights illuminate the cave, and tickets are needed to enter.

Snoqualmie Falls, Washington

The gushing waterfall in the opening credits of the '90s show "Twin Peaks" is Snoqualmie Falls. Less than an hour from Seattle, it cascades 268 feet against a backdrop of granite cliffs. Sightseers can enjoy them from an accessible observation deck or check into the Salish Lodge, which overlooks the falls.

Yellowstone Falls, Wyoming

Hydrothermal vents aren't Yellowstone's only stunning water feature. The Upper and Lower Falls carry the Yellowstone River to the park's Grand Canyon. Each tumbles roughly 100 feet into the canyon, which is over 20 miles long and a rich mix of reds and yellows. Roads with viewpoints run along both the Upper and Lower Falls.

• A Utah family is suing Southwest Airlines, saying their young son was burned by a hot coffee.
• They claimed the flight attendants were unapologetic and unsure how to treat his injuries.
• The four-year-old has since had difficulties sitting and missed weeks of preschool.

Southwest Airlines is being sued by a couple who say their young son suffered second-degree burns after hot coffee was spilled on him during a flight.

Ryan and Kamrie Wong filed the lawsuit in Chicago on Wednesday. Reuters reported that their son, known as K.W. in the suit, is four years old.

The family was flying from Orlando to Chicago last September when a Southwest flight attendant was "precariously" carrying a drinks tray with one arm, the suit stated.

It adds that a coffee then spilled on the boy, who screamed, "It's so hot!"

The child was crying and screaming, suffering second-degree burns to his buttocks, per the suit.

It also claimed that the flight attendants were unapologetic and unsure how to treat the boy's injuries.

"K.W. was in significant, visible, and vocal pain and distress throughout the rest of the flight," the complaint added.

After landing in Chicago, the family then had to wait for another flight to Utah, where they live.

The lawsuit says a Southwest gate agent made the situation worse by placing K.W. directly on his buttocks, which caused one of his burn blisters to burst.

Among other activities, the complaint adds that K.W. has had difficulties sitting in his car seat, using the bathroom, and getting dressed since the incident.

The boy is said to have missed about two weeks of preschool due to the pain and treatment for his burns.

"When K.W. did return to school, he struggled to sit for extended periods of time," the suit stated.

The Wongs accused Southwest Airlines of negligence and were seeking unspecified damages in excess of $75,000.

Southwest told Business Insider it did not comment on pending litigation.

• Google just upgraded its latest AI model, Gemini 2.5.
• Flash is an AI model that allows you to give it a "thinking budget."
• Developers can now calibrate how much thinking Google's Gemini model does for any task.

Google just rolled out an upgraded version of its latest AI model, with a new feature letting you "turn thinking on or off."

On Thursday, the tech giant rolled out an early version of Gemini 2.5 Flash, an updated version of the 2.5 model it released in March.

That model — a so-called "thinking" model — was dubbed Google's most intelligent one to date, given its ability to reason through ideas before responding.

However, Google is now ready to let you choose how much this new model thinks. And if you really want to, you can tell it to stop thinking completely.

In a blog post, Google Gemini's director of product management, Tulsee Doshi, said that developers can "set thinking budgets to find the right tradeoff between quality, cost, and latency."

The new feature aims to address the intense processing and computing requirements of a new wave of "reasoning" models that have spurred interest across the AI industry, including OpenAI's o3, released on Wednesday.

Google's new model aims to ensure that its reasoning model uses only as much processing power as necessary and applies it only when needed.

Doshi noted that not all tasks require the same reasoning. For example, the reasoning needed to answer "How many provinces does Canada have?" is different from asking AI to calculate the maximum bending stress on a cantilever beam of particular dimensions, she said.

To allocate different levels of reasoning abilities to user queries, Google will allow developers to set a "thinking budget" that Doshi said will offer "fine-grained control" over the number of tokens — units of data — a model generates while operating.

The move to introduce a "thinking budget" also follows a wider shift in the industry to become more "efficient" in the use of computing power.

This followed the release of a reasoning model in January from Chinese startup DeepSeek that claimed to use less computing power.

• About seven years ago, I moved from one of the cloudiest US cities to one of the sunniest — Reno.
• Instead of only spending half of my year in the sun, I spend around 70% of it basking in sunshine.
• I miss living near family, but the pleasant year-round outdoor lifestyle I have now is hard to beat.

In 2018, I moved from Youngstown, Ohio — one of the cloudiest cities in the US — to Reno, Nevada — one of the sunniest.

Whereas my hometown of Youngstown averages about 200 days of cloudy skies each year, Reno averages over 250 days of sunshine.

Moving across the country for graduate school was an exciting new start, and I couldn't wait to leave Ohio's dark, gray skies behind.

At the time, I was still a bit hesitant to leave my friends and family in the Midwest, but I hoped moving to a sunny climate would be a major lifestyle boost.

It was. Although I miss some parts of living in Ohio, I'm still based in Reno seven years later.

The sun is almost always shining in Reno — and the city still experiences all 4 seasons

Reno is regularly ranked among the top sunniest cities in the United States. The city, located in a high desert valley, typically sees sunny skies for the majority of the year.

During my first few months in Reno, I was shocked by how consistently I experienced sunshine and clear skies. The sky shined a vibrant shade of blue nearly every day — I had never seen such predictable weather in Northeast Ohio.

The weather also had a positive effect on my mood. I always dreaded Ohio's gloomiest days, and Reno's sunshine made me feel more cheerful and motivated.

Plus, I like that the city still experiences changing seasons — mild temperatures in spring and fall, heat in the summer, and even the occasional snowfall in winter.

I mostly enjoyed the changing seasons in Ohio, especially the state's stunning fall foliage. Winters, though, could be especially harsh with overcast skies and frigid temperatures.

In Reno, I can experience all four seasons while still enjoying the near-constant sunshine. A bit of sun definitely makes chilly winter days more pleasant.

I love the city's outdoor access — and the active lifestyle is hard to beat

After moving from Youngstown to Reno, I couldn't help but notice the lifestyle differences between a cloudy and sunny city.

With excellent weather and spectacular scenery, Reno's culture seems to revolve around outdoor activities.

Nearly every person I met here seemed to enjoy a variety of active hobbies, whether skiing, cycling, backpacking, or rock climbing. The sunshine just helps foster an active lifestyle.

Back in Ohio, I had trouble finding motivation to get outside on those dreary, cloudy days. In Reno, I relish the opportunity to explore the outdoors.

I've taken up road cycling and take any chance I can find to pedal through the valley and nearby Sierra Nevada mountains.

Plus, Reno's easy access to Lake Tahoe has put even more outdoor adventures at my fingertips when I want to go hiking, kayaking, or scuba diving.

I miss living near family, but I can't imagine living in a cloudy city again

After living in Nevada for years, the state feels like home. I love walking my dog on sunny hiking trails (even in winter!) and knowing I can expect relatively pleasant weather year-round.

That being said, I don't love everything about living here. The weather can be exceptionally windy at times, and summers come with a risk of smoke from nearby wildfires.

I miss living close to family, and the distance has been harder to handle since becoming an aunt to my adorable niece and nephews back east.

Even still, I can't imagine moving back. The outdoor lifestyle in Reno is unlike anything I experienced in the Midwest, and the sunshine keeps me feeling happy and motivated.

Although the future is uncertain, I know one thing for sure: I'd never choose to live in such a cloudy place again, and I'm happy to call sunny Reno my home.

• President Donald Trump compared the US to a department store that everyone wants "a piece" of.
• In Oval Office remarks on Thursday, he said trade deals could be concluded in a matter of weeks.
• He said there would be a "little bit of transition" before tariffs are successful.

President Donald Trump compared the US to a "big beautiful department store, before that business was destroyed by the internet."

In Oval Office remarks on Thursday, he said that he felt each country wants "a piece of that store."

"China wants it, Japan wants it, Mexico, Canada — they live off it, those two, without us, they wouldn't have a country," he added.

Trump was responding to questions from reporters about US trade deals with other countries.

Asked how much time he thought the US needed to make deals, Trump said, "I would think over the next 3 to 4 weeks."

"I think maybe the whole thing could be concluded" by then, he said.

But Trump said that, at a certain point, if a deal isn't made, a tariff will just be set and the country or the market may find the tariff rate too high.

"They'll come back and say, 'Well, we think this is too high, and we'll negotiate,' or they're going to say something else, they're going to say, 'Let's see what happens,'" Trump said.

Trump's recent tariff announcements have roiled global markets and affected relationships between the US and other countries worldwide.

Trump said any country has the right to decide not to shop in the "store of America" in order to avoid the tariffs, but that "we have something that nobody else has, and that's the American consumer."

In his remarks on Thursday, Trump also said that he may not raise tariffs on China if it goes beyond the 125% duty it currently has on American goods.

"At a certain point, I don't want them to go higher because at a certain point, you make it where people don't buy," he said.

• Melinda French Gates feared her family's vast wealth would result in entitled children.
• The billionaire philanthropist sent them to local schools, and they all took part in community work.
• Bill Gates' ex-wife used an allowance and chores to keep them grounded, she told a podcast.

Melinda French Gates knew her three children were at high risk of being detached from reality, so she says she took pains to keep them grounded.

With Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates as their father, Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe Gates were surrounded by a "crazy amount of wealth" and lived in an "extraordinarily large house," French Gates told NPR's "Fresh Air" podcast this week.

The philanthropist is worth about $14 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. She said she reflected on her own childhood, and the tenets her middle-class parents instilled in her, to figure out how to stave off entitlement and elitism in her kids.

"I wanted them to have deep values. And I wanted them to know they were lucky," French Gates said in the interview, part of the publicity tour for her new book: "The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward."

French Gates, who divorced Gates in 2021 and stepped down as cochair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last year, said she enrolled her children in local schools instead of homeschooling them. She wanted her family to be part of the community, and believed it would benefit her children, she said.

Her kids did take some "knocks" as she moved them between numerous schools in search of the "right school for the right kid," she said.

French Gates, who launched The Giving Pledge with Gates and Warren Buffett, made sure to expose her kids to the outside world whether they were overseas or at home.

"We went out and saw what life was like for other kids," she said. "And even in the Seattle community, we would go out and work with the homeless, work in a community shelter, be on the lines where they're feeding people."

Those experiences opened their eyes to how lucky they were and made them think about their role in society, French Gates said. She added that her younger daughter, Phoebe, worked in Rwanda for several summers in middle and high school and lived with a local family there.

French Gates said that seeing the world gave her kids perspective about the harsh realities of life and the fact that Seattle was just a "tiny speck on the map."

"And so I tried to ground them in that, ground them with chores, ground them with an allowance," she said, adding that she made sure the hired help had good values too.

French Gates also discussed why she values community work on the "On With Kara Swisher" podcast this week. She said that helping the homeless, mentoring or helping kids with their homework, and serving food to the less fortunate teaches valuable lessons and makes people feel better for helping out.

• I always wanted to be a journalist even though I knew it was a tough industry.
• I landed a full-time job right after graduating from college.
• Having work experience and realistic expectations helped.

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a print journalist. In high school, a few teachers tried to steer me in a different direction because getting a job in the media was so difficult even then, but I was determined to make it happen.

I studied for a double degree in journalism and business management and graduated in 2007. Despite the naysayers, I immediately landed a full-time cadetship job at a newspaper. I believe three things got me over the line.

I did as much work experience as possible

When I wasn't at university, I did as much work experience as I could. While my friends were busy enjoying their time off school by going to the beach or the movies, I was cutting my teeth in a newsroom. My degree required a minimum of one internship, but I wanted to do extras.

I often found it super intimidating and felt out of my depth, but I gained real-world experience that proved to be invaluable. Doing work experience meant that by the time I graduated and was out there looking for a job, I already had my byline published in multiple publications and a portfolio of work to show prospective employers.

In my one and only job interview, the chief of staff wasn't interested in my university grades. In fact, I don't think he even asked about them. He wanted to see examples of my published work. The work experience I'd done definitely paid off.

I persevered

Where I lived on the Gold Coast in Australia, there was only one daily newspaper, the Gold Coast Bulletin, and I was desperate to work for them.

Back then, there was a scholarship program that high school seniors could apply for. It was a four-year program alternating work and study, with a guaranteed position as a newspaper journalist upon completion. Successful candidates could study for their Bachelor of Journalism at Bond University and work as a paid cadet journalist at the Gold Coast Bulletin on a semester-on, semester-off basis. I applied, but I missed out.

Even though I was extremely disappointed, I didn't let it discourage me. They say that there are many pathways to the same destination, and it's so true. I went to university for four years, then reapplied for a job with the Gold Coast Bulletin in 2007.

When I called and asked the chief of staff if they had any work available, he said they didn't. I dropped off my résumé and portfolio anyway with reception. Later that afternoon, he called me back and said to come for an interview.

The chief of staff gave me a chance and offered me a position on the copy desk, which basically involved answering phones and writing about kids' sporting achievements. It opened a door, and I was grateful that my perseverance paid off.

I was realistic about having to work my way up

Though the copy desk wasn't exactly where I wanted to be, the newsroom was, and I knew that I had to start somewhere.

I'd also conceded that if I didn't land a job at the Gold Coast, I was willing to move elsewhere to get started in a career in journalism. I think that being flexible and having realistic expectations about working your way up to where you want to be is really important as a graduate.

I ended up working at the Gold Coast Bulletin for three years, then traveling and working odd jobs while overseas. I returned to a newsroom as a print journalist in Melbourne in 2014, and then in 2015, I started my own copywriting business. Nowadays, I work from home and write freelance parenting, travel, and lifestyle articles for a range of publications. I still love my work.

I always tell my kids to reach for the stars and follow their dreams, even if they seem difficult to achieve. I did, and I never looked back.

• NATO has ramped up its presence in the Baltic Sea, sensing a threat from Russia.
• Countries that border the strategic waters are also ordering more vessels.
• The sea is important both to Russia and to NATO.

NATO countries that share a strategically important sea with Russia have boosted their presence there and are buying more warships, as they eye Russia warily.

Denmark, which sits at the mouth of the Baltic Sea, announced plans to buy dozens more ships amid rising threats in the Baltic and the Arctic.

The Baltic Sea is a major trade and telecomms route that has seen increased patrols and alleged sabotages of undersea cables since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Many European officials say they believe Russia is behind the severing of cables.

Lithuania, which borders Russia and the sea, announced this month that it is buying two new attack boats. Poland is also building new frigates and is planning to buy submarines. Estonia, which has only eight ships and one of the world's smallest navies, aims to purchase up to 12 new vessels.

Sweden, which joined NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine, is also procuring four more surface vessels.

Much of Sweden's military was designed with a fight against Russia in mind, and it has even issued its citizens a booklet advising them about how to prepare for such a war.

Pål Jonson, Sweden's defense minister, told BI in February that Sweden is "in the process also of procuring four new surface vessels," saying they will "be significantly bigger" than its existing Visby class corvettes.

Bryan Clark, a naval operations expert at the Hudson Institute who served on the US Navy headquarters staff, said the vessels, combined with Sweden's submarines, would be "very useful for closing off the Baltic Sea if they wanted to, using the combination of the submarines and those surface combatants."

The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration said last year that two of the ships were planned to be delivered to the Swedish Armed Forces in 2030.

The country's admission to NATO boosted the alliance's maritime presence, particularly in the Baltic Sea, which is flanked by countries including Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.

Russia's naval presence in the Baltic as of December 2023 included one attack submarine, five guided missile destroyers, one guided missile frigate, and 35 smaller ships, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

However, Russia moves its naval assets around, changing what is based in each port.

Many alliance members have started calling the Baltic the "NATO Sea," after Sweden and neighboring Finland joined NATO.

Sweden brings submarine capabilities that few other NATO members in the region have. Estonia, Latvia, Denmark, Finland, and Lithuania have no submarines, while Poland has just one.

Sweden's submarines are also well suited for the Baltic Sea in particular, according to naval warfare experts.

Steven Horrell, a former US naval intelligence officer and now a warfare expert at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told BI that Sweden's small and quiet submarines are perfect for a sea with "smaller inlets, small islands, small shallow waters."

Jonson said Sweden could bring "unique capabilities" to NATO's operations in the Baltic Sea, underwater and on the surface.

Sweden also knows the sea well: Jonson described operating there as "something we've been doing for hundreds of years, and we like to think that we know the Baltic Sea inside out."

He said "a lot of things" were being done to protect critical infrastructure on the seabed, adding that Sweden was using its own navy and coast guard, but NATO had also stepped up its efforts.

Sweden is part of NATO's Baltic Sentry operation, which has put more ships and control vessels in the sea. But Jonson said more could be done.

Sweden's defense minister warned last year that, even though Russia's forces were "tied up" in Ukraine, "We cannot rule out a Russian attack on our country."

In addition to boosting defense spending, Sweden is giving Ukraine its biggest-ever support package this year, worth about $1.6 billion.

Jonson described that as a message to its allies: "We have to all step up and provide more assistance to Ukraine."

He called supporting Ukraine "the right thing to do and the smart thing to do because it's really also an investment into our own security because the stakes before us are enormous."

• Many consultants and accountants strive to become a partner at one of the Big Four firms.
• BI asked executive recruiters and a former PwC partner for their tips for making it to the top rank.
• Their advice includes developing a commercial mindset, being a team player, and learning to navigate internal politics.

Making it to partner at one of the Big Four professional services firms — Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG — is the pinnacle of success for many consultants and accountants.

Partners are the firms' most senior employees. Those who hold equity in the business traditionally get a vote in strategic matters and a share of annual profits. That meant each of Deloitte's equity partners in the UK received the equivalent of $1.3 million last year.

Becoming a partner is notoriously difficult, and is only getting more competitive as structural shake-ups and slowing growth have reduced partner numbers and annual payouts.

Business Insider asked two recruiters who place partners at the Big Four firms and a former PwC partner who recently left the firm for the advice they'd give early-career employees who want the coveted role.

Networking

James O'Dowd, founder of the global executive recruiter Patrick Morgan, which specializes in senior partner hiring and industry analysis, told BI that two key traits were needed to become a Big Four partner: a "commercial nature" and an understanding of "the politics within the business."

"A lot of your success is about the support and encouragement you get from senior individuals and the individuals around you as much as it is your competence," he said.

You can be technically good, but unless you invest time building those internal networks, you won't progress as quickly, O'Dowd said.

Mohamed Kande, who made it all the way to become PwC's global chairman last year, wrote in a 2021 LinkedIn post that several executives in the firm helped him "learn the many areas of our business" and "helped me grow and provided me with tremendous opportunities to advance my career."

As a junior, you should start putting your hand up to do the tasks other people don't want to do, said O'Dowd. Over your career, that will build you a reputation as someone who can get stuff done, he added.

Paul Webster is a former EY employee who's now a managing partner at Page Executive, a senior talent recruitment firm. He said there was no doubt that networking was a necessary skill at the Big Four.

Webster, who has worked in the advisory world for the past 20 years, advised employees to start incorporating more networking and client events into their schedules, and "be good at schmoozing."

You should also draw on these social skills to be a team player, Webster added. Whereas other industries have more of a focus on individual performance, he said the Big Four don't want to see you trying to get ahead by stepping on someone else's toes.

"You're trying to help the team win so that the firm gets ahead. They particularly venerate collaboration and an extremely collegiate style."

Develop a commercial mindset

"Ultimately, a partner in a Big Four is a sales role," O'Dowd told BI. "Your sole focus is on winning and nurturing client relationships."

He said a Big Four career meant transitioning from doer to revenue generator to seller.

"As you progress through those levels, you're increasingly managing people and then eventually the onus is on not only managing but bringing in money," so developing those skills from an early point will help to set you apart, O'Dowd said.

Even if everyday tasks don't require commercial skills, he advised junior employees to get as much exposure as they can to the commercial side of projects by attending client-facing meetings and connecting with people who are known for doing it really well.

O'Dowd added that senior partners tend to frown on those who work from home, preferring people to demonstrate the interpersonal skills necessary for commercial business, so going to the office is a good idea.

Webster said the focus on business skills has become even more pertinent over the past decade.

"Even when you're getting up to senior manager grade, they now start to expect you to have some level of a Rolodex or some contacts or some sort of ability to bring in business even before you get to partner," he said.

Climbing the ranks isn't the only option

Working your way up the ranks internally isn't the only way to a Big Four partnership.

Alan Paton joined PwC as an equity partner from Google. He worked in AI cloud capabilities in its financial services division before leaving the Big Four firm this year.

He told BI that joining the firm required more than a year of individual interviews, panel interviews, personality and academic references — and that was while being "fast-tracked."

Every hiring decision is based on the business case, so to become a partner from an external company, you have to have specific skills the firm is lacking, Paton told BI.

He added that the firms are desperate for high-quality people with cloud, AI, data, and tech skills, but anything else will not get you very far.

He added it was "pretty tough" to break into the Big Four from a smaller consulting firm if your work consists only of "generic consulting."

O'Dowd said Big Four employees should be thinking carefully about positioning themselves and their skill sets.

"Think strategically about your progression and the area you're filling versus who else is in the organisation," he said. "If I'm smart and I'm still developing my capability, I might position myself into an area where I know there's a gap."

In response to a request for comment, KPMG US's vice chair of talent and culture, Sandy Torchia, said the firm aimed to empower partners with three essential mindsets.

"These mindsets — referred to as 'owner, operator, steward' — are vital to the partnership's strength and provide our partners with meaningful connections to KPMG throughout their careers and beyond," she said.

We also recognize that career aspirations evolve. By fostering a multi-disciplinary firm with diverse career pathways, we not only better support our clients but also offer our professionals layered opportunities throughout their journey."

PwC, EY, and Deloitte did not respond to requests for comment.

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• In March 2024, I moved from New York City to Seattle.
• I expected to love it, but it had a lot of challenges.
• After a little over a year, I returned to New York and am much happier now.

In early 2024, I decided to leave my life in New York City and embark on a new adventure on the West Coast in Seattle.

After visiting my mom's cousin in western Washington as a teen and seeing the area that was depicted in my beloved "Twilight" franchise, I vowed I would live there one day — and I finally had the chance.

Plus, I had been in New York for about 10 months after moving from the UK and felt a lack of stability because I couldn't get a lease — I lacked a record of rental history in the US to qualify — and therefore was subletting. I needed a change.

I moved to Seattle expecting to love it but the reality was very different. A year later, I returned to New York City.

I loved my apartment with a water view, but the public transportation was lacking

I signed a six-month lease (which I later renewed for eight months) on an apartment in Kitsap County, which is about 15 miles outside Seattle by ferry.

My apartment was nothing short of incredible — it overlooked the Puget Sound, and I could often see sea lions and, if I was really lucky, orcas from my window.

I was situated a short walk from the Washington State Ferry terminal, with access to Seattle via a 30-minute $2 fast ferry ride or an hour's journey on the larger free ferry.

The time spent on the ferry was nothing I wasn't used to in New York, where it can easily take an hour to get from some parts of Queens to Brooklyn.

However, the major difference is that there were only eight larger ferries a day, often at odd times. The fast ferry was very small and often required waiting in line for upward of an hour at peak times if you wanted to snag a seat.

If I had a meeting in Seattle, I would need to account for an extra two hours, and if I ever wanted to go for dinner or a night out, I would have to catch the 10 p.m. ferry home or wait until after midnight — which did happen.

One evening, I met a friend visiting from out of town and, sure enough, missed the 10 p.m. ferry and had to wait for the 12:50 a.m. ferry, which got me home around 2 a.m.

While the ferries felt safe, I was still uneasy being out so late alone.

The public transportation was annoying but not my main issue with Seattle

I also thought that living in Washington would mean more exploring with long hikes and trips to the beach.

I had visions of myself frequently venturing to the Olympic National Park, but as I don't have a driver's license, this was nearly impossible without taking several buses on a journey that would take close to half a day to complete.

My mom's cousin still lived in the area, but despite having her and other distant family relatively nearby, I would rarely see them, and I found it difficult to make friends.

Before moving to the West Coast, several people warned me about how difficult it can be for newcomers to make friends — a phenomenon called the "Seattle freeze."

Oftentimes, I would smile and ask people about their day while grabbing a coffee or in a store. Most people were shocked that I even spoke to them and would ignore me.

I also tried Bumble BFF and joined Facebook Groups like Seattle's Girl Group, but nothing ever came from it. I would chat with people and arrange to meet up, but they either stopped responding or the unreliable ferry schedule made it unfeasible to meet up at a bar or club night — the type of outing a lot of people suggested.

I missed the hustle and bustle of NYC

Although it can be overwhelming at times, I really missed the hecticness and excitement of New York.

In Washington, there were times when I would go almost a week without leaving the house because I had no one to hang out with.

My small Kitsap County town was mainly made up of people in the military and retirees, and many venues closed by 8 p.m. And events I wanted to attend in Seattle sometimes didn't align with the ferry schedule.

On the other hand, when I lived in NYC, I would attend media events and hang out with friends at least three times a week.

The social aspect is what I missed the most.

So, in April, just over a year after first moving away, I headed back to New York City.

I don't regret my time in Seattle, but New York is home

The year I spent in Washington doesn't feel like wasted time. I learned a lot about myself and those around me.

It helped me realize that I was made for big city life, and I love being an honorary New Yorker. I truly feel alive in this city.

• Tesla owners have found themselves in the crosshairs of political protests across the world.
• Elon Musk's involvement in the Trump administration has had a knock-on impact on his EV company.
• One Tesla owner sold his Cybertruck, another told BI they sold company shares but kept the car.

In recent months, backlash against Elon Musk has spurred a Tesla boycott movement, pushing some owners and shareholders to ditch the brand — and, in some cases, leading to vandalism incidents.

Business Insider spoke to four Tesla owners about their concerns on ownership amid a growing campaign against the EV giant.

While one owner returned his Cybertruck as a precaution for his kids, the other three owners said they don't plan to get rid of their vehicles, despite the rise in anti-Tesla sentiment.

The following stories are based on transcribed conversations with Tesla owners. Business Insider has verified their identities and vehicle ownership. Their words have been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a big Tesla fan, but returned my Cybertruck because my daughter was worried about getting bullied

Ben Baker is a Tesla owner living in Sacramento, California, who sold his Cybertruck.

I'm a huge fan of technology. I already own a Tesla, which I absolutely love, and I really wanted a Cybertruck.

I think Cybertrucks are freaking awesome. They're really fun to drive. They're roomy and spacious. I wasn't buying it for other people, I was buying the Cybertruck because I wanted to drive the future.

Not too long ago, after the election, somebody keyed my Tesla Model Y, and I was like, "OK, that's no big deal." I live in California, which is a Democratic state, and so I kind of figured that there would be some of that stuff. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal until I went and bought a Cybertruck.

The first week I drove the Cybertruck, I took my family to Starbucks in it. My family went in and I took some cool pictures. As I was doing that, three people walked behind me and started looking at me and laughing. Then one of them called me a Nazi.

I go, "What are you talking about? I'm just buying this awesome truck. I think it's awesome. I'm not a Nazi." They were like, "Whatever, Nazi."

I thought was weird.

Later on, one of my daughters told me that if I kept the Cybertruck, she was going to get bullied. My son, who leans right, said I should be able to drive the car I want.

I started thinking about if one of them is driving the Tesla Cybertruck and someone started vandalizing it. My daughter is young, she's had her license maybe a year. That's terrifying to me.

I'm a father and I have to do the right thing by my kids. If I could afford to own a Cybertruck myself and then send them to school with another vehicle, then great, it would be on me if it got damaged. But I can't have that happen to them in that vehicle. And who knows how far these guys will take it. They could harm my kids physically — and I couldn't live with myself if that happened. To me, it just wasn't worth seeing my daughter live in fear of the vehicle getting vandalized at their school.

I ended up taking it back, and Tesla was really cool about it. I was able to unwind everything.

I think people should have the right to protest — but they should have the right to protest without destruction. That's where the lines have been crossed.

Read more about Baker's story here.

I no longer align with Tesla, but I have no interest in taking down the company or selling my cars

John VonBokel is a 45-year-old Tesla owner living near St. Louis, Missouri. Business Insider has verified his shareholder status.

I have appreciated and admired Tesla for some time. I was under the impression that it aligned with my personal beliefs in terms of environment, which also overlaps with my personal political beliefs.

Now I feel as though I was wrong all along, or something has changed — but I certainly don't feel like I align with the company and the brand anymore. The shift has been uncomfortable and difficult.

As of October last year, I had hundreds of Tesla shares, and I sold all of them in the last few months.

My decision to sell was primarily financial. After the election, the stock just started going up, and I couldn't figure out how Elon Musk and Trump being together was beneficial to Tesla — and certainly not to the degree that warranted its market capitalization to nearly double.

For me, that meant it was overvalued and I needed to cash out. But I'm under no illusion that selling my shares had any impact on Elon's personal wealth or are somehow a repudiation of his actions.

I feel like what Elon Musk is doing politically is negatively impacting the brand and the company. But I'm more interested in protests that are focused on Elon Musk and Donald Trump's specific actions, or politics in general.

The name "Tesla Takedown" itself evokes something negative to me. They're trying to take down a company that I believe is still full of good people who just happen to be led by somebody I don't support anymore.

While I'm not interested in taking down the company, I'm also not interested in supporting it.

I drive a Tesla pretty much daily and haven't experienced vandalism, so I'm not worried about that. But I certainly would struggle to buy a new Tesla now.

Coincidentally, though, they don't have anything that I really want. I have multiple Teslas that I'm happy with. I have test-driven the newer versions, but there aren't any improvements that make me want to get a new loan at current interest rates.

The future is difficult to predict. My decision to purchase another vehicle would depend partly on what they come out with.

I've been laughed at for my Tesla, but I'm not deterred from buying another one

Mitchell Feldman is a Telsa owner living in the UK.

I'm a gadget enthusiast, and I was drawn to buying a Tesla because it had all the things I wanted in a car. It was easy to use and environmentally friendly. I liked the idea of never having to go to a gas station again. The safety features, like assisted driving and situational awareness, also drew me.

I bought my Model Y in 2022, and it's performed over and above my expectations.

In March, I experienced the first negative reaction to my Tesla since I've had the car. I went to a concert in London, and while I was in the parking lot, I saw a guy with his wife and daughter pointing at my car and laughing.

The guy came up to me in a very confrontational way and said, "Do you support Elon Musk, then, driving a Tesla?"

I was quite aghast. I felt quite violated by the question and didn't know what to say.

I've always admired Elon Musk because I think that a lot of the technology he creates is for betterment. I like that his businesses are data-driven, whether it's Neuralink, SpaceX, or Tesla.

I hadn't considered the impact his work at DOGE was having on the US government; as someone based in the UK, I'm somewhat removed from what's happening. I think Trump has brought in someone who will look at the situation through the lens of a CEO.

The incident made me realize how the perception of Musk impacts his brands. It hasn't put me off from buying another Tesla, however. I'm hoping to have the new Model Y in a few months.

Everyone is allowed an opinion, but I'm proud of the fact that I don't conform to the crowd and choose my personal preferences over listening to what everyone else says.

Read more about Feldman's story here.

I don't think people should make assumptions about my politics because I own a Tesla

Michele Pierog, a 57-year-old Tesla owner from New Hampshire.

I got myself a Tesla Model Y in 2023. I wanted something that was convenient, and I didn't think that any competitor brands had charging infrastructure as robust as Tesla's.

I wanted to try out the car, but thought I'd probably sell it in two years. After three months of driving it, I was amazed by how much I enjoyed never having to go to a gas station.

The utility has been great. I often use its self-driving driving capabilities. There's plenty of room, and it has a "frunk" — a trunk and the front where I keep games for my granddaughter when we're traveling. We call it the "frunk of fun."

I'm not a huge news watcher, so I wasn't really aware of the Tesla controversy. I knew Elon Musk had been put in a position of power, and people weren't happy, but I wasn't aware this impacted Tesla drivers until a friend called me a couple of weeks ago. She asked how I felt about driving my Tesla.

My response was that nothing had changed for me. The utility of the car was the same.

I did some research afterward and saw that there were protests at Tesla dealerships and some violent acts around Teslas. Regardless of what people's political views are about my vehicle, I think it's wrong that people are vandalizing Teslas.

Recently, when I was driving my granddaughter, someone in a truck behind me drove up aggressively close to me and sandwiched me between them and the car in front. They started beeping and yelling at me. I don't know if this was because of my Tesla, but I assumed that it was because it coincided with media reporting of Tesla vandalism, and there aren't many other Teslas in my area.

Even though this is speculative, I'm now wondering whether my vehicle choice is putting me in a bad position safety-wise.

I don't yet feel unsafe enough to get rid of my Tesla, but it saddens me that I may have to make a decision about changing my car based on other people's perceptions.

Driving a Tesla doesn't automatically mean I support what Elon is doing or have a particular political view. I don't think people should make assumptions about me because of the car I drive.

Do you have a story to share about the anti-Tesla movement? Contact these reporters at at [email protected] and [email protected], or via Signal at aalt.19 and charissacheong.95.

• We all know burnout, but you may have "boreout" — being uninspired and detached from work.
• A Wharton psychologist has said it was on the rise as hybrid work reduced in-person interaction.
• This is what managers and employees can do about it.

Every employee knows what it is to be burned out. But do you know if you have "boreout"?

The term describes feeling purposeless and disengaged because of a lack of meaning at work. It was coined by two Swiss business consultants in a book in the late 2000s, but it may be having its moment.

The Wharton psychologist Adam Grant told CNBC last month that "boreout" was on the rise thanks to remote work. That comes after Gallup warned in January that a combination of a bad job market and rising cost of living meant American workers were "sticking with their current employer while feeling more disconnected than ever."

Kelli Thompson, an executive coach and the author of "Closing the Confidence Gap," didn't know the term boreout when she was feeling "itchy" after 11 years in her banking job.

"I love this company. This is great. All my coworkers are great, but I just feel like I'm going through the motions," Thompson recalled thinking in an interview with Business Insider. "Ultimately, you just start to feel disengaged."

Boreout isn't necessarily anything to do with the company or the people you work with, Thompson added. You may just be "bored because you've mastered whatever it is you're doing," she said.

After her own bout of boreout, Thompson started running her own business and coaches people who are experiencing it.

Boreout can arise when people fear leaving a job in an employers' market.

But Thompson said she encouraged people not to think that quitting a job they were disconnected from was the only solution.

"Actually, it's like 'no, I can be grateful that I have a job and also advocate to my employer that we should be making sure that we are aligned in our work,'" she said.

Kacy Fleming is an organizational psychologist and founder of The Fuchsia Tent, a private membership group for professional midlife women. She told BI that while boreout isn't discussed as much as burnout, she believed it was more common.

Fleming said boreout can happen for various reasons. Sometimes, people tire of their days being the same when they have tasks that impose a rigid routine. Other times, people become more senior and are given responsibilities that don't interest them, she added.

Office v home

Fleming said burnout and boredom can occur when someone's work life is suddenly taken over by tasks that overshadow the reasons they got into a profession in the first place, such as spreadsheets over creative pursuits.

Whether you're working in the office or at home is also a factor.

Fleming said flexibility and autonomy in working arrangements were important for productivity, and removing them could be detrimental, especially if leaders don't clearly explain the reasoning.

"It's a symptom of employees being given what they wanted briefly and then having it taken away," she said, adding that the reasons for RTO mandates should be more than "because I said so."

Incentives to come to the office, like free lunches, aren't enough, Fleming said. "If we're not taking care of the needs that really underpin people's feelings of safety and significance, Taco Tuesday is a slap in the face," she said.

But Lisa Walker, a Chicago-based strategic business executive who leads DHR's global industrial practice, told BI that the kind of communication the office facilitates can help identify boreout.

When five days in the office was more common, workers garnered a lot from informal conversations there, but remote work makes it harder to recognize when someone isn't as responsive or detect shifts in their tone, she said.

Walker said that if someone who is usually open about bringing up any issues suddenly becomes silent, that could be a sign they've checked out. The same applies if those who've been eager to be part of new projects become withdrawn, she added.

Walker said managers of remote or hybrid workers should ask themselves, "Have you created that informal social network? And if so, when was the last time you talked to them? Are we creating those social networking bonds through real, face-to-face interactions, not just text?"

'1% closer'

Thompson said that the people she works with who suffer from boreout are often risk-averse, or those who advocate for other people, but not themselves.

She said she encouraged them to think about what they want their work life to look like a year from now, and how they can move "1% closer" to the big change they want in it. "I think sometimes where they get caught up is they think they have to make this big sweeping change overnight."

When Thompson quit her banking job after 11 years, she took a pay cut to become the HR lead for a tech company. She said the move instantly felt right, even on the hard days.

"It just felt so easy," she said. The challenges were "worth it because I'm actually doing work that I think is fun and enjoyable and exciting."

Thompson added that the opposite of boreout isn't never having a bad day: "It just means that the harder days are more tolerable."

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

• Zack Isaacs became an associate product marketing manager at Google UK at age 19.
• He gained experience through mentorships and a Google apprenticeship instead of going to university.
• Isaacs now runs OnSocial, which focuses on performance-driven advertising and is expanding to the UAE.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Zack Isaacs, the 23-year-old founder of a paid media and creative agency and former Google employee in London. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In England, we decide what subjects to pursue during secondary school GCSEs. I've always been entrepreneurial and loved tech, so I studied computer science but hated it because I couldn't code.

I enjoyed self-taught graphic design platforms like Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, so I started designing logos for friends, family, and local businesses during secondary school and built a portfolio.

Brands began to request social media help. I fell into marketing and a successful freelance career at age 17.

I chose not to go to university

I wasn't the most academic person and thrived more by actually doing than sitting in lectures. I decided to skip university and join the ORT Jump mentorship program I heard about during a school assembly. This unpaid program matches students with working professionals for an academic year of mentorship.

They paired me with Andrew Scrase, the head of digital marketing at Meta. I met with him about four times over the year. Spending time with Andrew gave me a real look at how social media worked from a business and advertising perspective.

I learned how media budgets are managed, how ad creative impacts performance, and what it takes to run campaigns at scale. That exposure at a young age helped me figure out what I wanted to do before I turned 18.

It was my dream to work at Google

After the mentorship program ended, I applied to Google's digital marketing apprenticeship and passed the first screening stage. Then, I progressed to Google's internal interview stage.

I designed and submitted a bespoke CV with a QR code linking to my online portfolio to stand out. In December, I got a call from someone at Google. They jumped into an impromptu interview, asking, "What does SEO stand for? What social media campaign have you worked on?" and more.

I must've answered well because I got into the program at 18, making me one of the youngest members and employees at Google in the UK overall.

I started in B2B ads marketing in a 15-month program. My job was to run events and talk about AI product adoption. Later, I worked on the YouTube Social Team to help launch YouTube Shorts with creators across the UK.

I wanted to stay at Google full-time

After the apprenticeship, I applied for the associate product marketing manager program. It's essentially Google's entry-level marketing department program, but it was a pretty senior role.

The process involved a five-stage interview process, including case-based and strategy interviews and behavioral assessments focused on "Googleyness."

Even though I had no degree, I got in. I was hired as an associate product marketing manager at age 19.

Within that role, I was the influencer and talent partnerships lead for the UK marketing team. This was a direct-to-consumer role, working on content for the Google UK social handle. I was given a budget to find and work with the most culturally relevant creators across campaigns for Pixel, Chrome, and Google Lens.

Eventually, my role pivoted to talent-focused, managing influencer relationships and partnerships and building community.

I quit my job at Google in 2023

After almost four years at Google, I left in March 2024, mainly because I felt stuck. My role was fun, but the progression was hard to see.

I wanted to do more on the social side, but there were budget restrictions and layoffs. It got complicated, and social wasn't as much of a priority as it was when I started. If I couldn't work at optimal budgets, I preferred to do my own thing.

I started my own business

I founded OnSocial, a specialist paid social media and creative agency focused on driving measurable growth through performance-driven advertising, in April 2024. I funded it through my savings. Now, just over a year in, we've grown to a team of four.

We combine high-quality creative production and advanced paid media strategies led by ex-Google and Meta specialists.

The most significant change from working at Google is moving from a buzzing office environment to being in a room alone as a founder. I'm currently working from home and coworking spaces in London and am in the process of relocating to the UAE. We've already built a great client base there, and expanding OnSocial in that region is a natural next step.

I don't regret any of my decisions

I've always dreamed of running my own agency, and now I have total freedom. For some people, university is the right path, but I knew early on that I learned better through doing.

Mentorship, apprenticeships, and self-education gave me the skills and clarity I needed faster than any classroom ever could. If anything, I gained more time and experience that helped me build something of my own.