TVs offer us an escape from the real world. After a long day, sometimes there’s nothing more relaxing than turning on your TV, tuning into your favorite program, and unplugging from the realities around you.
But what happens when divisive, potentially offensive messaging infiltrates that escape? Even with streaming services making it easy to watch TV commercial-free, it can still be difficult for TV viewers to avoid ads with these sorts of messages.
That’s especially the case with budget brands, which may even force controversial ads onto TVs when they’re idle, making users pay for low-priced TVs in unexpected, and sometimes troubling, ways.
Mike Myers appeared in the video spot alongside Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Vulture
Canada's Liberal Party brought in comedian Mike Myers in one of its latest political ads.
Myers urged Canadians to "elbow up" with Canada's Prime Minister in an apparent dig at Trump.
The phrase has become a rallying cry among Canadians against Trump's tariff threats.
Mike Myers called on Canadians to "elbow up" in a Liberal Party election ad, seemingly taking a jab at US President Donald Trump.
The Canadian-American comedian, who grew up in Toronto and now lives in New York City, appeared in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's campaign spot on Saturday. Standing outside an ice hockey rink, he asked Carney: "Will there always be a Canada?"
"There will always be a Canada," Carney responded.
"Elbows up," Myers replied — a reference to the hockey term popularized by Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe, which has become a rallying cry among Canadians against Trump's tariff threats.
Myers' jersey appeared to mock Donald Trump's suggestions that Canada could be part of the USA.
MarkJCarney/X
Myers, famous for movies like "Austin Powers" and "Wayne's World," used the phrase in an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" earlier this month.
Now-former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also used it in a speech at the Liberal leadership convention, which marked his transition out of office after 10 years.
Carey, an economist who succeeded Trudeau as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party earlier in March, seized upon that message in a Sunday speech and called a snap election on April 28.
"We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump's unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty," Carney said.
"President Trump claims that Canada isn't a real country. He wants to break us so America can own us," he continued. "We will not let that happen. We need to build the strongest economy in the G7."
Trade tensions between the two countries have escalated, as Trump implemented 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico, with limited exceptions for goods traded under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Trump has also placed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports and plans to issue a series of further tariffs on April 2.
In a March 3 statement, Trudeau said that if Trump's tariffs go into effect, Canada would place a 25% tariff on $155 billion of American goods until they are withdrawn. On March 13, Canada implemented 25% tariffs on goods worth roughly $30 billion.
Carney now heads into a five-week campaign in which he will compete against the Conservative Party and its leader, Pierre Poilievre.
The new prime minister calling an election was widely expected as he lacks a seat in Parliament and his Liberal Party holds only a minority in the legislature.
Meta’s social network Threads, an X competitor with more than 320 million monthly active users, is now rolling out new features related to topics, reply controls, and video playback in the app, among other things. It’s also making political content suggestions more personalized to the user, the company says. Combined, the features aim to make […]
Meta is finally allowing Threads users to set the following feed or any custom feeds as the default. The change is part of a number of new Threads features, including the ability to now limit post replies to followers only, a better video player, and the option to add topics in your bio.
Threads users have been asking to be able to set the following feed as default ever since the social media network launched in December 2023, and Meta is finally giving in. After testing the option to choose a default feed late last year, it’s now rolling out so that you can set a custom feed or following as default, and it will remain even when you close and reopen the app.
Threads is also getting more options for managing how people interact with your posts. You’ll now be able to limit replies and quote-posts to just your followers, which can help limit the amount of people that engage and share your posts.
Meta is also testing the ability to add up to 10 topics to your bio, so you can list favorite communities or interests for others to see. Drafts will also include prompts to suggest adding a trending topic. “According to our internal data, posts with tagged topics generally receive more views than those that without one, making them an effective way to help you reach more people,” Meta says.
Lastly, the Threads video player is getting a much-needed upgrade. It now has pause, play, and skip buttons, and Meta has added a pinned progress bar so it’s easier to scrub through videos.
Discord’s mobile app will have video ads starting in June, the company announced today. The initial pilot for the video ads, which Discord calls Video Quests on Mobile, will offer advertisers the ability to “showcase trailers, make impactful announcements, and highlight premium content” to users, Discord said.
Discord was a proudly ad-free platform until March 2024, when it introduced ads to its desktop and console apps. Those ads offer Discord users rewards for PC games if they play certain games or get people to watch a stream of their gameplay through Discord. Discord followed up with Video Quests, which let developers show Discord users video ads, like trailers and announcements of new seasons and downloadable content. Discord users see prompts for both types of ads on the bottom-left side of their screen and can choose to expand or ignore them.
Discord users can also opt out of personalized promotions and “hide an in-app promotion for a specific Quest or game you’re not interested in,” Discord said.
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Scottie Scheffler of the United States celebrates after winning the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
It's time for one of the biggest sporting events of the spring: the Masters tournament. Set at the historic Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA, the event tees off on April 7 with practice rounds and pre-tournament happenings ahead of the official competition days that run from April 10 to April 13. With some of the world's greatest golfers descending on Georgia, it's a great time to find out how to get Masters tournament tickets.
This year marks the 91st anniversary of the first Masters tournament and the competition is shaping up to be a tough one. Scottie Sheffler of the United States, who won last year's tournament, is expected to return to defend his title against several top-ranked players, most likely including Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy. Contestants will participate in early practice rounds before the competition picks up, culminating in an action-packed weekend. The cut happens on Friday, which will see the top 50 players (plus ties) advance to the weekend. The tournament will conclude on Sunday with the final round and the iconic green jacket ceremony.
The Masters Tournament has proven to be one of the hardest sporting events to get tickets to, rivaling the Super Bowl in terms of exclusivity. We'll explain all of your options below and outline the process of getting tickets for next year.
The only true way to buy original Masters tickets is through the Masters Tournament website, which offers a lottery each summer prior to the tournament. The ticket lottery for the 2025 Masters was held in Summer 2024. Each year, listings also pop up on resale websites like StubHub, Vivid Seats, and Ticketmaster.
However, the Masters Tournament's official policy prohibits the resale of tickets. "Holders of Tickets acquired from third parties, by whatever means, may be excluded from attendance to the Tournament," according to the website, so purchasing resale is at a buyer's own risk.
How much are the Masters tickets?
Prices for original tickets, which are no longer available, vary depending on the date. Business Insider reported in 2023 that lottery tickets in the past few years have gone for about $100 to $140, depending on whether they're for practice or competition days. An exclusive group of people also have lifelong patron badges, but hopefuls can't even get on the waiting list for one right now.
Given the demand, resale listings are definitely more expensive in this case. On StubHub, the lowest US Masters resale listing prices start at $1,131 for the Monday practice round. Vivid Seats offers relatively similar prices, starting at $1,596 for the same date. On Ticketmaster, resale listings start at $2,253 for that same date.
Keep in mind that Georgia's state scalping law doesn't allow selling tickets within 2,700 feet of the venue, so people shouldn't show up at the event hoping to buy last-minute tickets.
How to get Masters lottery tickets in 2026
If you'd rather just try your luck at getting original standard tickets next year, you can always do that. New applicants can now create an account for next year's lottery on the official Masters website. Applications will open June 1 through June 20, and payments will open in late July.
Who will play at the 2025 Masters tournament?
While the official list of players will be officially confirmed over the next few weeks (and competitions are always subject to last-minute changes), the Masters has released a list of invitees who have qualified for the 2025 tournament so far. Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Max Homa, and Hideki Matsuyama join Scheffler, Rahm, and McIlroy on the list of invitees.
Note: Certain services and regions prohibit the resale of tickets. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal reselling of tickets, and entry into an event is at the venue's discretion.
Owners of smart TVs and streaming sticks running Roku OS are already subject to video advertisements on the home screen. Now, Roku is testing what it might look like if it took things a step further and forced people to watch a video ad play before getting to the Roku OS home screen.
Reports of Roku customers seeing video ads automatically play before they could view the OS’ home screen started appearing online this week. A Reddit user, for example, posted yesterday: “I just turned on my Roku and got an ... ad for a movie, before I got to the regular Roku home screen.” Multiple apparent users reported seeing an ad for the movie Moana 2. The ads have a close option, but some users appear to have not seen it.
When reached for comment, a Roku spokesperson shared a company statement that confirms that the autoplaying ads are expected behavior but not a permanent part of Roku OS currently. Instead, Roku claimed, it was just trying the ad capability out.
Reddit has shown a growing commitment to promoting ads on its platform, especially since going public a year ago. But in the interest of not completely alienating customers with incessant, irrelevant, or personally offensive ads, the social media company is giving users the ability to block advertisers for a year.
In a Reddit post last night, a Reddit employee known as cozy_sheets said that clicking “Hide” on an unwanted ad on Reddit will soon result in Reddit automatically hiding “future ads from that advertiser account for at least a year (you can re-hide the ad after that period of time).” The change will debut on the Reddit website and Reddit’s iOS and Android app throughout “the next several weeks,” according to the announcement.
Reddit didn't detail what limits it will use to ensure that users don't block every single advertiser for an ad-free Reddit. Some users have already reported seeing a daily limit for hiding ads, though.
Meta plans to test out X's algorithm for Community Notes to crowdsource fact-checks that will appear across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
In a blog, Meta said the testing in the US would begin March 18, with about 200,000 potential contributors already signed up. Anyone over 18 with a Meta account more than six months old can also join a waitlist of users who will "gradually" and "randomly" be admitted to write and rate cross-platform notes during initial beta testing.
Meta claimed that borrowing X's approach would result in "less biased" fact-checking than relying on experts alone. But the social media company will delay publicly posting any notes until it's confident that the system is working.
Meta will begin testing its X-style Community Notes starting March 18th. The feature will roll out on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in the US – but Meta won’t publicly publish the notes to start as it tests the Community Notes writing and rating system.
Meta first announced plans to replace its fact-checking program with Community Notes in January, saying it would be “less prone to bias.” So far, around 200,000 potential contributors have signed up for the waitlist. Not everyone will be able to write and rate Community Notes at launch, as the company will “gradually and randomly” admit contributors to the program.
In its post, Meta revealed that it’s adopting X’s approach to Community Notes, allowing contributors to write and rate notes, which “won’t be published unless contributors with a range of viewpoints broadly agree on them.” It’s also using X’s open-source algorithm for its rating system.
“When we launched the fact checking program in 2016, we were clear that we didn’t want to be the arbiters of truth and believed that turning to expert fact checking organizations was the best solution available,” Meta writes. “But that’s not how it played out, particularly in the United States. Experts, like everyone else, have their own political biases and perspectives.”
Additionally, Meta says Community Notes will have a limit of 500 characters, and will need to include a link backing them up. Once Community Notes become visible to users, they won’t have author names attached to them to start. “We want notes to be rated based on whether the context they add is helpful, not on who wrote them,” Meta writes.
To contribute to Community Notes, users must be over 18, have an account in good standing over six months old, and have a verified phone number or two-factor authentication. Contributors also won’t be able to write notes on advertisements at launch, but they can still add them to “almost any other forms of content,” such as posts from Meta and its executives, politicians, and more. Community Notes will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese.
Meta will still use its third-party fact-checking system outside the US, though it plans to expand Community Notes globally in the future.
Sonos has canceled plans to release a streaming box, The Verge reported today. The audio company never publicly confirmed that it was making a streaming set-top box, but rumors of its impending release have been floating around since November 2023. With everything that both Sonos and streaming users have going on right now, though, a Sonos-branded rival to the Apple TV 4K wasn’t a good idea anyway.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman was the first to report on Sonos’ purported streaming ambitions. He reported that Sonos’ device would be a black box that cost $150 to $200.
At first glance, it seemed like a reasonable idea. Sonos was facing increased competition for wireless speakers from big names like Apple and Bose. Meanwhile, Sonos speaker sales growth had slowed down, making portfolio diversification seem like a prudent way to protect business.
Cara Celeste West, her husband, and her daughter visited Santorini, Greece.
Courtesy of Cara Celeste West
Cara Celeste West, 33, felt she lacked the support and resources needed to raise a child in the US.
In 2023, West and her husband moved to Portugal for a more affordable and relaxed life.
In Europe, her daughter is thriving, and West feels like she has finally found a community.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cara Celeste West, a 31-year-old content creator who moved from Houston to Portugal in 2023 and is now based on a Greek island. She shares life abroad with her 119,000 Instagram followersand helps people who live overseas find remote work. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
It all started when I became a mom in 2022. The stress of being a new parent in the US, combined with the lack of support and high cost of living, made everything overwhelming.
My husband and I lived in a two-bedroom apartment near downtown Austin, paying $1,600 monthly with utilities included. To save money on childcare, we worked opposite schedules. Despite our efforts, expenses like car payments, insurance, and paying down debt kept us spending around $8,000 a month.
We weren't ready to fully relocate, so I thought living abroad temporarily could be a good option, though I wasn't sure how that would look.
In the summer of 2022, a friend invited me to join a Facebook group for "world-schooling" families. I was amazed to find a community around the idea I'd always had in my head.
I joined the group and asked if anyone kept a home base in the US while traveling part-time throughout the year. A family responded, sharing their experience with the Boundless Life program, which offered housing, education for children, and coworking spaces for a fee of about $3,400. It took them to Portugal, and they were now moving to Greece.
It was exactly what I'd been looking for.
We tested out life abroad before committing to a full-on move
In 2023, my husband and I joined Boundless Life for a three-month cohort in Portugal. Before we left, we took a few steps to prepare.
I kept my job in the travel and hospitality industry while my husband took a three-month sabbatical. To make living abroad more affordable while maintaining a home base in the US, we downsized and moved from Austin to Houston.
We rented a one-bedroom apartment, converting the living room into a bedroom for us and the bedroom into a nursery for our daughter. The rent was $1,410 a month.
When we moved to Portugal, the company provided us with a one-bedroom apartment for $1,572 a month, a schooling program for $1,518, and a coworking space for $488.
We were likely spending the same or a bit more since we were still maintaining our apartment in the US, but our quality of life improved tremendously.
We had more freedom in Portugal
We were pleasantly surprised by how amazing our experience in Portugal was. We lived in Lisbon, which felt like San Francisco but with cleaner streets.
We could walk to everything we needed, and the slower pace of life was refreshing. Most people we encountered, especially the younger generation and those in hospitality, spoke English, making it easy to navigate.
The cost of living in Portugal was significantly lower than in major US cities. Little daily pleasures, like getting a coffee or pastry without worrying about money or driving, made a big difference.
West's husband Harley in Lisbon.
Courtesy of Cara Celeste West
Being in the European time zone was great for personal growth. I worked as a luxury concierge, helping people plan vacations in Europe during Eastern Standard Time hours, which meant I didn't start work until 2 p.m.
The Boundless Life program also provided childcare, which allowed my husband and me to have time for ourselves — me to work on my business and him to work out or handle personal tasks.
After two weeks in Portugal, we knew we'd made the right decision and were ready for bigger changes.
My husband and I became digital nomads
After returning to the US from Portugal, we put everything in storage by the end of June 2023 for about $170 a month. We moved out of our place and joined Noma Collective, a similar program to Boundless Life, in Belize for about a month before heading to Greece.
In Greece, we joined another Boundless Life program in Syros where we had a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment for about$2,006 a month. The city was truly one of the most magical places we've ever been — who wouldn't want to live on a beautiful island in the middle of the Aegean Sea?
West and her husband in Syros, Greece.
Courtesy of Cara Celeste West
After the program ended, we returned to the US but moved back to Greece in the spring of 2024. Within two weeks of being there, we applied for digital nomad visas and officially received our residency cards in June 2024.
Now, we live in a two-bedroom, two-bath home in Syros, Greece, paying $1,464 a month. The summer months are complicated with tourism — it's hot and crowded — so we rent our home to visitors and stay away during that time. Last year, we spent the summer in Albania.
Overall, our monthly living expenses in Europe are about the same as in the US. However, instead of allocating money towards things like insurance or a $450 car payment, we now put that $450 towards paying off our credit card debt.
My husband left his job and is now a full-time stay-at-home dad. I now work full-time as a contractor for an American company and earn income through content creation.
Before, I was an established food blogger, documenting my life through food on Instagram. It was an easy transition to add travel to my content. People are fascinated by our everyday activities, like laundry and grocery shopping, and enjoy seeing what life is like in a different part of the world.
I have several income streams, which can vary from month to month. These include brand sponsorships — often three- to six-month contracts — YouTube AdSense, blogging, and other platforms. However, our biggest source of income comes from digital products; I help people move abroad through eBooks, courses, and one-on-one coaching.
Our quality of life has improved in Europe
A big reason we gravitated toward Portugal and Greece is because of the local attitudes.
A market in Portugal.
3quarks/Getty Images
The people are welcoming, kind, and genuinely hospitable. As a Black woman, I often feel like I'm being watched in the States. In Europe, I feel liberated and able just to be myself.
Another huge difference for me is the absence of gun violence. The first time I went grocery shopping in Portugal, I felt a sense of relief and could finally let my guard down, free from the constant tension I often experience in public spaces in the US.
Watching my daughter grow has been incredible, too.
She's three now, knows words in multiple languages, and has experienced traditions like Portugal's Carnival.
But the biggest takeaway I hope she gets from living abroad in places like Portugal and Greece is kindness. I can't count how often strangers have helped me just because they saw I had a little one with me.
Cara Celeste West moved to Europe for a more affordable life and a better environment to raise her child.
Courtesy of Cara Celeste West
The biggest change for us living in Europe has been building a community.
As digital nomads, it's tough to leave behind a support network, but we've made many friends, both locals and fellow nomads, wherever we've lived. In the US, everything was go-go, and I had to plan lunch dates months ahead. But it's much easier here, especially since many of our friends have the same flexible schedule.
We plan to stay in Greece year-round but travel during the summer. This works well for us, as we want to explore and plant roots. After five years, we'll be eligible for permanent citizenship through Greece's digital nomad visa.
This summer, we're planning to spend a few months in Tbilisi, Georgia, to see if we can establish a second home base.
Meta’s Threads has begun testing a new feature that would allow people to add their interests to their profile on the social network. Instead of only advertising to profile visitors the sort of topics you might post about, the new interests feature will also direct users to active conversations about the topic. The company thinks […]
Researchers at HR and financial consulting firm Mercer analyzed over 200 everyday expenses, including housing, food, healthcare, and entertainment, in 226 cities worldwide to identify the most and least expensive spots. Mercer also weighed safety, infrastructure, environmental friendliness, and connectivity to determine eight cities in Europe, Asia, and the Americas that offer a balance of low living costs and high living standards.
To give readers a feel for day-to-day expenses in each city, Business Insider used cost-of-living data from Numbeo. Numbeo combines user-submitted spending figures with data from government institutions and service companies to estimate prices for various things, such as what it would cost a single person or a family to live in the city center. It also provides typical prices for everyday items like coffee, a meal for two, and a gym membership. While the methodology relies on crowdsourced data, which may vary widely, it can be a useful tool for getting a general sense of what it costs to live around the world.
Read on to learn more about eight cities that offer opportunities to live both cheaply and well, according to Mercer. They are presented in alphabetical order.
Business Insider used the latest population estimates from Demographia for all cities except Ljubljana, which uses a Slovenian government estimate. Numbeo expenses have been converted from local currency into US dollars.
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest, Hungary.
ZoltanGabor/Getty Images
Population: 2.407 million
Known for: Budapest is the largest city in Hungary and the nation's capital. It's known for its Gothic architecture, bohemian nightlife, and historic thermal baths.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom home in the city center: $670
Monthly costs for a single person (excluding housing): $704.40
Monthly costs for a family of four (excluding housing): $2,490.90
Cost of a cappuccino: $2.49
Cost of a three-course meal for two: $52.34
Monthly cost of a gym membership: $54.72
Someone who lives there said:Budapest has a vibrant social atmosphere all year long, according to Sabrina Arnold, who lived there for four months. "There are so many things to do, even in the winter and summer. In the summer, there's lots of street food, festivals, lots of concerts and music, or you can just chill next to the river," she said in a YouTube video posted in late 2023. "In the winter, there's lots of Christmas markets and ice rinks."
It might be hard to live there because: That hustle and bustle may not be for everyone. "It's very touristy. There's always a lot going on in the city especially on the weekends. If you don't like that, then Budapest might not be right for you," Arnold said in her video.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Alexander Spatari/Getty Images
Population: 9.387 million
Known for: The capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is known for its rich multiculturalism, blending native cultures along with Indian, Chinese, and Western influences. The city, nicknamed KL, goes all out for major festivals including Diwali and Lunar New Year.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom home in the city center: $499.60
Monthly costs for a single person (excluding housing): $573.90
Monthly costs for a family of four (excluding housing): $2,035.40
Cost of a cappuccino: $2.89
Cost of a three-course meal for two: $27.13
Monthly cost of a gym membership: $43.56
Someone who lives there said: Kuala Lumpur's range of cultures translates to an unbeatable food scene. "A city after my own heart, the best activity in KL has to be eating! Malaysians love their food, and so do expats! Thanks to the diversity of the city, you'll find Malaysian, Indian and Chinese food all over, as well as western options and everything in between," blogger Lynne Lessar wrote in a post about living in Kuala Lumpur.
It might be hard to live there because: It can require some patience, especially with items and etiquette more common in other parts of the world. "The entertainment industry isn't exactly supported in Malaysia and alcohol is relatively expensive for the region," Lessar wrote. "Still, there are pockets of great nightlife and plenty of great things to do. Just bear in mind that Malaysia is not known for customer service, so keep your spirit light and patience high while you're out, as service takes time here."
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Tuul & Bruno Morandi/Getty Images
Population: 288,382
Known for: Ljubljana is the largest city and capital of Slovenia, a country located just east of Italy and sandwiched between Austria and Croatia. Ljubljana stands out for its charm and ease compared to other major European cities that get more flooded with tourists.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom home in the city center: $931.11
Monthly costs for a single person (excluding housing): $885.40
Monthly costs for a family of four (excluding housing): $3,023.90
Cost of a cappuccino: $2.34
Cost of a three-course meal for two: $63
Monthly cost of a gym membership: $45.45
Someone who lives there said: Aaron Arnold — who moved from Texas to Slovenia, where he lives as an expat — maintains that Ljubljana is one of Europe's best-kept secrets. "Although Ljubljana is growing in the tourism world, it's definitely not as big of a place like Budapest. I think of all the European capital cities that I know — Ljubljana is much more chill and more of a hidden gem," Arnold said in a YouTube video.
It might be hard to live there because: Adapting toSlovenian culture can be an adjustment for Americans, in part because locals may not be especially welcoming right off the bat, Arnold said in a different video. "I didn't actually make a friend from Slovenia until three weeks after my arrival," Arnold added.
Montreal, Canada
Montreal, Canada
Atlantide Phototravel/Getty Images
Population: 3.75 million
Known for:Montreal is a French-Canadian hub known for its vibrant cafés, nightlife, and packed schedule of summer festivals. The city is also dotted with historic architecture and European-style sights.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom home in the city center: $1,201.41
Monthly costs for a single person (excluding housing): $973.10
Monthly costs for a family of four (excluding housing): $3,593
Cost of a cappuccino: $3.52
Cost of a three-course meal for two: $69.93
Monthly cost of a gym membership: $37.12
Someone who lives there said: Montreal is a epicenter of vibrant culture. "No matter which neighborhood you live in, you're guaranteed that a trendy local spot is just around the corner," writer Rosemary Twomey said on the Montreal site MTLblog.com.
It might be hard to live there because:Winters are no joke in Montreal — the city averages 85 inches of snow a year. "Although the snow that never seems to disappear is one of the downfalls of Montreal, the city and the people in it are always up to the challenge of having fun in the cold," Twomey wrote.
Panama City
Panama City.
Rodrigo Cuel/Shutterstock
Population: 2.067 million
Known for: Panama City is the capital of Panama. It is known for its coastal lifestyle and, of course, its eponymous canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom home in the city center: $1,050
Monthly costs for a single person (excluding housing): $831
Monthly costs for a family of four (excluding housing): $2,965.1
Cost of a cappuccino: $3.50
Cost of a three-course meal for two: $55
Monthly cost of a gym membership: $47.43
Someone who lives there said: "The city, Latin America's answer to Miami, is a place where towering skyscrapers meet the ocean, and palm trees sway to the rhythm of a unique cultural blend — Spanish vibes with various splashes of indigenous, African, North American and Caribbean influences," according to a blog post from the Nomad Capitalist, a site with advice and information for people who can work remotely and want to live abroad.
It might be hard to live there because: Panama City's laid-back vibe may be a good thing most of the time. However, expats have shared online that things get done at a slower pace than they're used to.
Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile.
Germán Vogel/Getty Images
Population: 7.099 million
Known for: Santiago's modern city center stands in contrast to the craggy Andes mountains in the distance.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom home in the city center: $503.71
Monthly costs for a single person (excluding housing): $729.50
Monthly costs for a family of four (excluding housing): $2,581.6
Cost of a cappuccino: $3.05
Cost of a three-course meal for two: $52.98
Monthly cost of a gym membership: $35.18
Someone who lives there said: "Santiago's mountainous backdrop makes for one dramatic skyline. I've lived here for a year and a half now, and (when I can see them) these mountains still surprise me every day," Lauren on Location, who calls herself a serial expat, said in a 2017 blog post.
It might be hard to live there because: Santiago is located on the San Ramón Fault and experiences somewhat frequent earthquakes. According to Earthquake Track, the city had 43 earthquakes in the last 365 days.
Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw, Poland.
Alexander Spatari/Getty Images
Population: 2.028 million
Known for: Warsaw is Poland's capital and most populous city. It has a rich history and many cultural attractions.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom home in the city center: $1,052.87
Monthly costs for a single person (excluding housing): $820.20
Monthly costs for a family of four (excluding housing): $2,694.10
Cost of a cappuccino: $3.94
Cost of a three-course meal for two: $50.54
Monthly cost of a gym membership: $39.55
Someone who lives there said: "First and foremost, Warsaw has got some lovely parks and plenty of museums," Richard Blanks, a native of Great Britain living in Poland, said in a blog post about Warsaw life as an expat. "There's no chance that you'll get bored here easily."
It might be hard to live there because: Warsaw can have stretches of fiercely cold temperatures. "The weather can be a significant drawback, with cold and long winters, and relatively short summers," Joshua Wood said on Expat Exchange, a site he cofounded.
Zagreb, Croatia
Zagreb, Croatia.
Shutterstock/Dreamer4787
Population: 691,000
Known for:Zagreb is a city where Central Europe, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Europe meet.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom home in the city center: $748.67
Monthly costs for a single person (excluding housing): $797.50
Monthly costs for a family of four (excluding housing): $2,768
Cost of a cappuccino: $2.18
Cost of a three-course meal for two: $62.87
Monthly cost of a gym membership: $42.35
Someone who lives there said: "Zagreb is the cultural, political, and economic hub of Croatia. While it might be overshadowed by the Adriatic's coastal gems, this city has its own allure: grand Austro-Hungarian architecture, sprawling parks, and a blend of old-world charm and contemporary dynamism," Jonelle Simunich. a California native with Croatian heritage who has lived in cities around the world, wrote in a blog post.
It might be hard to live there because: Zagreb is heavily reliant on tourism, according to blogger Nicola Curtis, and some local businesses shut down during low season. "Most of the bars and restaurants close down from the end of October until the beginning of April, and while it's a chilled-out time, it can be a little boring at times," she wrote.
“Thousands” of complaints about the volume of TV commercials have flooded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in recent years. Despite the FCC requiring TV stations, cable operators, and satellite providers to ensure that commercials don’t bring a sudden spike in decibels, complaints around loud commercials “took a troubling jump” in 2024, the government body said on Thursday.
Under The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, broadcast, cable, and satellite TV providers are required to ensure that commercials “have the same average volume as the programs they accompany,” per the FCC. The FCC’s rules about the volume of commercials took effect in December 2012. The law also requires linear TV providers to use the Advanced Television Systems Committee's (ATSC’s) recommended practices. The practices include guidance around production, post production, metadata systems usage, and controlling dynamic range. If followed, the recommendations “result in consistency in loudness and avoidance of signal clipping,” per the ATSC [PDF]. The guidance reads:
If all programs and commercials were produced at a consistent average loudness, and if the loudness of the mix is preserved through the production, distribution, and delivery chain, listeners would not be subjected to annoying changes in loudness within and between programs.
As spotted by PC Mag, the FCC claimed this week that The Calm Act initially reduced complaints about commercials aggressively blaring from TVs. However, the agency is seeing an uptick in grievances. The FCC said it received "approximately" 750 complaints in 2022, 825 in 2023, and "at least" 1,700 in 2024 [PDF].
Social media giants Meta and X approved ads targeting users in Germany with violent anti-Muslim and anti-Jew hate speech in the run-up to the country’s federal elections, according to new research from Eko, a corporate responsibility nonprofit campaign group. The group’s researchers tested whether the two platforms’ ad review systems would approve or reject submissions […]
Meta announced in a blog post on Thursday that it’s now accepting sign-ups for its Community Notes program on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The announcement follows Meta news last month that it’s going to end its third-party fact-checking program and is instead moving to a Community Notes model similar to the one at X. In […]
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said its Super Bowl ad signals a new era for AI.
OpenAI
OpenAI made its Super Bowl debut with a $14 million ad.
The ad draws a direct line between ChatGPT and some of history's most transformative inventions.
OpenAI said it used a text-to-video model for brainstorming, but human artists made the final version.
OpenAI aired its first-ever Super Bowl ad on Sunday, making a $14 million statement that artificial intelligence belongs in the same category as fire, the wheel, and the internet.
The 60-second spot, titled "The Intelligence Age," aired during the second quarter and used animation to journey through humanity's greatest technological breakthroughs. Viewers saw a montage of defining innovations — from agriculture to space exploration — before culminating in the final moment: ChatGPT on a screen.
"This really is the dawn of a new era," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X after the ad aired.
Visually, the ad leans into OpenAI's brand identity, using a pointillism-inspired animation style, mirroring ChatGPT's signature blinking cursor. The company said its creative team used Sora, OpenAI's text-to-video model, during early brainstorming but confirmed that human artists created the final animation.
OpenAI has largely relied on word-of-mouth and partnerships to grow ChatGPT, which has attracted over 300 million weekly active users since launching in 2022. The Super Bowl ad marks the company's first big swing at mainstream consumer marketing.
Kate Rouch, who became OpenAI's chief marketing officer in December after joining from Coinbase, said the goal was to introduce ChatGPT to millions of viewers who had never used it before.
"Our goal was to pique people's curiosity and help us all realize how AI can open up new possibilities for us, create more fulfillment in our lives, and make us more productive, just as all the tools that came before AI did for those who came before us," OpenAI wrote in an accompanying blog post.
The timing of the ad also comes as tech companies ramp up their AI branding efforts. Google and Meta both aired AI-focused Super Bowl commercials, with Google promoting its Gemini chatbot and Meta showcasing its Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Since its launch, ChatGPT has become one of the fastest-growing consumer applications ever. The company is in talks to raise additional funding from SoftBank, which could see it valued at $300 billion. While OpenAI has been rolling out new models and exploring new revenue streams, it remains loss-making.
By putting ChatGPT in front of 130 million Super Bowl viewers, OpenAI hopes to make AI as familiar as the smartphone.
"We're at the dawn of the intelligence age, and you can participate today," Rouch said.
Nike aired its first ad in the Super Bowl in 27 years on Sunday.
The brand's return to the big game comes as its new CEO looks to reverse a sales slump.
It has shaken up its marketing division and wants to create cultural moments to elevate its brands.
Nike made a surprise return as a Super Bowl advertiser for the first time in 27 years.
JPMorgan analysts stole Nike's thunder by sharing the news in a research note published Thursday following a meeting with the brand's CEO and CFO.
Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The ad featured a who's who of women in sports, including track and field star Sha'Carri Richardson and WNBA player Caitlin Clark, over narration by Grammy-Award-winning rapper Doechii.
"You can't be demanding. You can't be relentless. You can't put yourself first," Doechii can be heard saying. "So — put yourself first."
There’s one guarantee in sport. You’ll be told you can’t do it. So do it anyway.
Nike said in a statement that the company "has a starkly different perspective, offering a call to athletes across the globe: Do it anyway — and redefine the expectations of sport along the way."
The marketing push comes at a high-stakes moment for Nike, which has been struggling to revivelagging sales. And it's an expensive bet: Some Super Bowl advertisers have spent more than $8 million to secure 30 seconds of airtime.
Nike's new CEO, Elliott Hill, detailed a turnaround plan in December. Hill rejoined Nike in October after a four-year hiatus. He was formerly the company's president of marketplace and consumer.
The company is also trying to make iconic sneaker brands like Jordans and Air Force 1s hot again by pulling back on supply to boost demand.
Nike's revenue slid 8% year over year to $12.4 billion during the three months ending November 30, the company said in December. Nike shares are down roughly 30% over the last 12 months.
Nike has also shaken up its marketing department in recent months to elevate its brand storytelling, as Adweek previously reported. Several company veterans returned to or were elevated in the marketing organization over the last year, including former vice president Nicole Hubbard Graham who was named marketing chief.
Nike seems to be banking on big cultural moments to get its brand back on track.
The company debuted a new ad timed around this month's Grammy Awards that highlighted the legacy of its 40-year-old Jordan Brand.
JPMorgan analysts met with Hill and Nike financial chief Matthew Friend at an event on Thursday morning. In a research note recapping the meet and greet, the analysts said Nike execs cited "excitement" around Hubbard's return and the brand's representation at "large consumer moments," including the Jordan campaign and a planned Super Bowl ad.
Hill told investors in December that Nike had to "get back to putting sport at the center of everything that we do." He said the company would invest in "big, bold brand marketing efforts" and important sports moments.
