• Vail Resorts was in the hot seat this month when a Park City ski patrol strike disrupted holidays.
• For years, Vail's rapid acquisitions and high costs have sparked criticism from skiers and locals.
• Here's how the company grew to be the biggest in skiing — and the enemy of some ski bums.

If you want to know just how loathed Vail Resorts is, just look at the lyrics of Grammy-nominated artist Noah Kahan's "Paul Revere."

"This place had a heartbeat in its day," the native Vermonter sings. "Vail bought the mountains, and nothing was the same."

Or look around the parking lots at the ski behemoth's various properties, which include Park City, Beaver Creek, and Stowe, where cars are frequently adorned with "Vail Sucks" stickers.

Gripes that the company has made skiing less accessible and more corporate were amplified this month after a ski patrol strike shut down much of Park City, causing chaos for vacationers over the holidays.

The company's stock dropped 6% amid news of the strike. But while the work stoppage has ended, the company's challenges are far from over. Since reaching a peak in 2021, Vail's share price is now down more than 50%.

After two decades of acquisitions and partnerships, Vail Resorts owns or operates 42 ski resorts around the world. The company is now facing decreased margins after a 2021 reduction in the price of its Epic Pass, which provides access to Vail's network of mountains, and the lack of cheap acquisitions available, Chris Woronka, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, told Business Insider.

"The stock had gotten ahead of itself valuation-wise," Woronka said. "The days of easily created growth are kind of behind the company."

Meanwhile, it's earned a reputation among passionate skiers as a place where crowds clutter the trails and lift lines and where grabbing a burger on the mountain could cost you $25.

A spokesperson for Vail Resorts told BI the company continuously invests in its properties to improve the guest experience and make skiing more accessible.

"Vail Resorts has transformed the industry through unprecedented investments in employees and guests, made the sport more accessible to more people, and created stability for our resorts, employees and communities in the face of climate change," the spokesperson said.

A skiing behemoth

Vail Resorts is the largest ski company in the world, granting its pass-holders unlimited access to dozens of resorts worldwide, including its upscale flagship, Vail, located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. During its 2024 fiscal year, which ended in July, 17.6 million skiers visited its mountains.

Those visitors pay big bucks for the privilege of skiing at some of the most popular destinations: The Epic Pass had a starting price of $982 for the 2024-2025 season. A lift ticket at Park City alone can get up to about $300 per day.

A spokesperson for Vail Resorts said the company now has over 2 million pass-holders.

Luke, a former Vail Resorts employee who asked to go by his first name to avoid professional repercussions, told BI there were two main reasons Vail Resorts gets so much hate. First, it's buying up resorts at an "alarming" rate. Second, as a result of that strategy, many skiers do not believe the company invests enough in the quality and operations of each individual resort, instead relying on their "cash cow" properties.

"It feels like the end game is not necessarily to make any one area successful, but to eventually own the ski world," Luke said. "So then it's like if you're skiing anywhere, you're skiing Vail" properties.

Jaimie Nichols, a 35-year-old accountant from Florida who now lives in Denver, has been skiing with her family in Crested Butte, Colorado, since the early 2000s, when the resort was family-owned. She remembered lift tickets for kids cost as much as their age — $8 for an 8-year-old — and a large base lodge where families could find affordable food options or use a microwave to heat up packed lunches. Crested Butte itself is lovingly called "Colorado's Last Great Ski Town" due to its authentic mountain town vibe.

But Nichols said since Vail Resorts acquired Crested Butte Ski Resort in 2018, it just hasn't been the same.

The resort's "persona changed," she said. "It's a completely different place."

The Mueller family, which owned Crested Butte, previously said selling to Vail was a difficult decision.

"When you start to look 10, 20, 30 years down the road and what that means for a small ski company like us, and not being as heavily financed like Vail, it's only getting tougher," Erica Mueller told Powder magazine in 2018.

When Vail takes over

Now, most of Vail Resorts' properties are in the US, spanning from California, Utah, and Colorado, through Midwest states like Wisconsin and Michigan, and all the way to the Northeast in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Its many acquisitions have turned the company, which was taken public by Apollo in the 1990s after the private equity shop bought it out of bankruptcy, into a financial behemoth in the hospitality space. It has a market cap of $6.7 billion and generated $2.9 billion in revenue and $230 million in profit in its 2024 fiscal year. Investors were rewarded with $8.56 in dividends per share.

A common complaint from skiers and snowboarders when Vail takes over a resort is a more crowded mountain and long lift lines. The problem, Nichols said, is that when a resort gets added to Vail's Epic Pass, it becomes a destination. Epic pass-holders who previously wouldn't have driven four-plus hours from Denver to Crested Butte now make the trip, as do pass-holders from other states who make a vacation out of it.

As a result, Nichols said the locals of the area have fewer opportunities to ski on their home mountain, and, for families who aren't season pass-holders but would like to ski once or twice a season, day passes get too expensive and out of reach.

Some of these problems are compounded by factors that are affecting many towns in the West that don't even have a ski resort: an increase in short-term rentals and transplants from cities moving to small towns in the age of remote work, both of which have contributed to higher home prices and costs of living.

Vail has said it is committed to reinvesting in the resorts it acquires, estimating its capital investments in the 2024 fiscal year to be between $189 million to $194 million. For instance, at Whistler Blackcomb, the company said it was replacing a four-person lift with a six-person high-speed lift. At Park City, the company said it was replacing a lift with a 10-person gondola. It also said it planned to invest in snowmaking capabilities at Park City and Hunter Mountain.

A spokesperson for Vail Resorts said the Epic Pass has also added stability to an industry that was previously "ruled by weather."

"That means in a good snow year, the industry would prosper, but in a year with low snow, skiers and snowboarders would opt not to visit, and ski resorts would suffer, along with the employees who worked there and the surrounding communities," the spokesperson said. "This meant that resorts couldn't predict their business — thus were not investing in infrastructure or their employees."

When Vail introduced the Epic Pass in 2008, it was cheaper than many season passes offered at individual resorts.

The spokesperson also said the company's Epic Day Passes, which offer more flexibility than traditional lift tickets, are significantly discounted if they are purchased before the season begins.

"By incentivizing guests to buy their skiing and riding ahead of the season, we lock in revenue before the snow falls, which has allowed us to continually invest back into our resorts, our employees, and our communities, and the environment, no matter the weather," the spokesperson said.

Many Vail critics still buy Epic Passes

The company's biggest competitor is Alterra Mountain Company, which owns mountains like Steamboat and Deer Valley and is owned by private equity shop KSL and investment firm Henry Crown. Alterra runs the Ikon Pass, which is even more expensive than the Epic Pass, starting at $1,249.

The Epic and Ikon passes' value depends on how much one uses them. It can be a good deal for folks who ski frequently and would like to visit different mountains — which is part of the argument the companies use when they increase the pricing on nearly everything else, including day passes, ski school, rentals, and on-mountain dining and amenities.

In addition to offering a good deal with the Epic Pass, Woronka, the Deutsche Bank analyst, said Vail also still has a strong brand name going for it and great assets.

"These are really terrific mountains. It's some of the best terrain out there," he said. "They have this big, nice, wide portfolio across the country."

The problem is, "trying to cater to everyone and do it profitably can be a difficult proposition," Woronka said.

With the luxury experience that Vail is selling, the increase in crowds on the mountain can make the guests feel a little less special, he said.

Still, Vail's dominance means that many who complain about the company still buy Epic Passes. It often makes the most financial sense for those who plan to ski most weekends, and if all their friends are doing the Epic Pass, they don't want to miss out.

Luke, the former Vail employee, said running a ski operation is costly and complicated. And, he added, there's no denying that some of the resorts bought up by Vail may not have survived otherwise. But he said part of the reason for that is the relatively low cost of the Epic Pass has drawn many away from their local mountains.

"These mountains wouldn't have survived," Luke said.

But he also said he thinks having to compete with a large company like Vail is part of the reason some family-run resorts were struggling in the first place.

• Wildfires are burning across Los Angeles County.
• Hundreds of thousands of people are under evacuation orders or warnings.
• Insured losses could top $20 billion, JPMorgan analysts estimated — the most-ever in California.

The Los Angeles area is battling a series of massive wildfires that continue to rip through its picturesque mountains and hillsides — creating a hellscape of burned-out neighborhoods and upended livelihoods that could ultimately be the most costly fire disaster in California history.

Authorities on Friday night expanded the evacuation zone related to the largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, east toward Santa Monica, less than 1.5 miles from the iconic Santa Monica Pier. The zone now encompasses the famous Getty Center, home of the Getty Museum.

Officials have now ordered over 150,000 residents to evacuate and warned another 166,000 to be ready to leave if the fires continue to spread. More than 35,000 acres have burned, and the LA County Medical Examiner has reported 11 deaths related to the fires so far.

At a press conference on Friday evening, officials managing the Eaton fire, which now spans almost 14,000 acres and is one of the largest and deadliest, said they don't expect the blaze to spread significantly over the weekend due to more moderate wind conditions. However, officials said they are anticipating another high-wind event early next week. It was strong Santa Ana gusts of up to 90 miles per hour that first whipped the fires into a frenzy earlier this week.

JPMorgan analysts said the blazes tearing through the region could lead to over $20 billion in insured losses — and about $50 billion in total economic losses. That would make these conflagrations "significantly more severe" than the Camp Fires that struck the state in 2018 and racked up $10 billion in insured losses, the current record.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman described the scene in LA as apocalyptic, as thick bands of smoke surrounded the city. Los Angeles County is home to about 10 million people.

"Not since the 1990s, when Los Angeles was hit with the fires, the flood, the earthquake, and the riots, have I seen such disaster occur here in our city," Hochman said at a briefing, referring to the Northridge Earthquake and the disturbances in the wake of the Rodney King verdict.

Erroneous emergency alerts telling residents to evacuate areas unaffected by the fires further heightened panic in the region. Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, apologized for the messages at Friday's conference.

"There is an extreme amount of frustration, anger, fear, with regards to the erroneous messages that have been being sent out through the wireless emergency alert system. I can't express enough how sorry I am for this experience," he said.

He reassured residents that resolving the issue is his "top priority" and that he has technical specialists working to identify the root cause. "I implore everyone to not disable the messages on your phone," he said.

Late Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration warned civilians against flying unauthorized drones in areas undergoing firefighting efforts, after a firefighting plane sustained wing damage from a civilian drone and had to be grounded.

Satellite images of the LA fires showed the destruction left in their wake.

Starlink, Elon Musk's SpaceX subsidiary that provides satellite internet service, said Thursday that people in the Los Angeles area can use the company's network to text loved ones, contact 911, and receive emergency alerts.

Here's a look at the latest happenings in the main fires spreading throughout the area:

Palisades Fire

The Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area north of Santa Monica was the first fire to strike the region on Tuesday morning. It has spread to nearly 20,438 acres, Los Angeles City's Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said a Friday press conference.

Five people have died in the Palisades fire, according to the medical examiner's office.

Due to favorable weather conditions on Thursday night, firefighters managed to contain about 8% of the fire, Crowley said Friday.

Crowley said at an earlier briefing that the Palisades Fire had so far damaged or destroyed over 5,300 structures.

Crowley would not confirm reports that the fire started in a resident's garden, saying the origin is still under investigation.

Some celebrities have lost homes in the blaze, including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal.

On Thursday, a drone hit the wing of one of two Super Scooper planes fighting the wildfires, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at Friday's press conference. He said the plane was under urgent repairs and set to be flying again by Monday. "If you fly a drone at one of these brush fires all aerial operations will be shut down," he said.

Eaton Fire

The second-largest fire in Los Angeles County is the Eaton Fire, which started on Tuesday evening in the Pasadena-Altadena area at the foothills of the Angeles National Forest.

Six people have died in the Eaton fire, according to the medical examiner's office.

The blaze has spread to over almost 14,000 acres, Marrone said Friday afternoon. Only 3% of the fire has been contained and at least 7,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed.

Marrone said the fire had pushed toward Mount Wilson, where a number of communications towers are located. No buildings were damaged.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has 1,527 firefighting personnel assigned to the incident. One firefighter suffered a significant injury after a fall on Thursday but is expected to make a full recovery.

Marrone said the cause of the fire remains "unknown."

Hurst Fire

The Hurst Fire, which began late on Tuesday night in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley, spread to 771 acres and is 37% contained as of early Friday, Crowley said at the press conference.

In an X post on Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the mandatory evacuation order for the Hurst Fire had been lifted.

Kenneth Fire

On Thursday, a small brush fire erupted at the Victory Trailhead near the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Marrone said that fire has been stopped, with 35% containment. It burned about 1,000 acres, but no structures were reported damaged.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued for several neighborhoods near the fire.

LAPD said it had detained a possible arson suspect but could not confirm any connection to the fire.

An evacuation notice intended for residents impacted by the Kenneth Fire was mistakenly sent out across LA County due to a "technical error," County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in an X post.

Sunset Fire and others

The Sunset Fire broke out in the Runyon Canyon area of the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday evening, quickly spreading to scorch over 40 acres and threaten major LA landmarks.

As of Thursday morning, firefighters were able to stop the fire's forward progress, Crowley said.

All evacuation orders related to the Sunset Fire were lifted as of 7:30 a.m. Thursday, she added.

A large structure fire consumed two large homes in the Studio City area but firefighters were able to stop its forward growth at just one acre and prevent another brushfire, Crowley said.

Yet another fire, the Lidia Fire, started Wednesday afternoon in Acton near the Antelope Valley, about 20 miles northeast of the San Fernando Valley. It consumed 394 acres but is now 75% contained, according to CalFire.

The Woodley Fire, which began Wednesday morning in the southern part of the San Fernando Valley, has been suppressed and there are no current threats, Crowley said.

Patrols were monitoring the area for any flare-ups, she added.

Events canceled and landmarks closed as smoke chokes LA

Major and minor events alike have been canceled or postponed across the Los Angeles area as the city battles the fires.

The 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards, set for Sunday night, were rescheduled for January 26. A National Hockey League game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Calgary Flames, scheduled for Wednesday night at Crypto.com arena, was postponed. The LA Lakers rescheduled Thursday night's game.

Music venues across the city were also canceling or postponing their shows, including The Troubadour, The Wiltern, The Echo, the Kia Forum, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and others.

Flights into and out of LAX, Hollywood Burbank Airport, Ontario International Airport, and Santa Ana's John Wayne Airport were also experiencing delays and cancellations. LAX, however, remains open.

The fires are also shuttering tourist destinations in and around Los Angeles, which attracts nearly 50 million visitors a year.

The fires forced some Los Angeles-area landmarks to close, including the Hollywood sign, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Broad Museum, the Norton Simon Museum, the Getty Villa and Getty Center, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk, and the Griffith Observatory.

Airbnb told CNN that it would be allowing refunds for bookings in areas affected by the wildfires, following a viral social media post from a customer who said the company refused to offer her a refund.

California already struggled with an insurance crisis

The devastating fires this week will likely only worsen California's ongoing insurance crisis, where many homebuyers already struggle to get approved for loans, home insurance, and fire insurance — even in areas outside the typical risk zones.

In recent years, some insurance companies, like State Farm, have stopped accepting new home insurance policies in the state entirely, as wildfire risks have only increased.

Experts told Business Insider that prices are likely to continue rising for those who can still get insurance.

"I've seen numbers go up 200%, 300%, even 500% in a year," Nick Ramirez, the owner of a California insurance agency, told BI.

And as the fires' estimated damages already climb into the billions of dollars, some homeowners will have to rebuild without the help of insurance payouts.

• Strong winds and wildfires in Los Angeles are disrupting air travel.
• Several airlines have waived change fees for flights to Los Angeles and Orange County.
• Some flights to Burbank were diverted, and passengers photographed the fires from the skies.

The wildfires devastating Los Angeles and the strong winds intensifying them are disrupting air travel in and around the city.

Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, has remained open throughout the fires and continues to be operational, a spokesperson told Business Insider on Friday.

The airport is advising passengers to check their flight status with their airline.

Since the fires erupted on Tuesday, 126 flights have been canceled at LAX, FlightAware data showed.

Wednesday was the worst day at the city's main airport, with one in five departures being delayed, according to FlightAware.

LAX typically has about 700 flights a day. It's more than 10 miles away from the largest blaze, the Palisades Fire.

Other airports in the area also remained open but faced disruption.

A spokesperson for Hollywood Burbank Airport told Business Insider that on Wednesday, 41 of its scheduled 70 departures were canceled due to winds. It recorded gusts above 80 miles an hour. Officials expect winds to be moderate over the weekend but said they could pick up again early next week.

Several carriers have issued waivers for change fees, including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue. The waivers apply to travel to or from LAX, Hollywood Burbank Airport, Ontario International Airport, and Santa Ana's John Wayne Airport.

Santa Monica Airport is the closest to the wildfires, about three miles south of an evacuation zone for the Palisades Fire. It is a general aviation airport, which means commercial flights don't typically operate there.

Aviation is also playing a key role in fighting the wildfires. The Los Angeles Fire Department said 12 helicopters and six fixed-wing aircraft were in operation.

The FAA issued two temporary flight restrictions on Thursday near the fires in order to keep the area clear for firefighting aviation operations.

At least 10 people have died and over 150,000 have been ordered to evacuate due to the wildfires. Another 166,000 have been warned to be ready in case winds pick up again and the fires spreads.

• The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance have struck a deal.
• This deal averted a potential strike involving thousands of dockworkers.
• The strike would have crippled shipping lines along the East and Gulf Coasts.

The International Longshoremen's Association and the US Maritime Alliance said Wednesday they had agreed on a new six-year master contract.

The two sides said in a joint statement that this will allow them to avoid any work stoppages on January 15.

"This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coast ports — making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong," the joint statement read, adding that the deal was a "win-win agreement."

The ILA and USMX said they would get their members to review and approve the agreement before it is released publicly. For now, both sides will continue to operate under their current contract until the terms of the new agreement are ratified via a vote.

The strike would have potentially paralyzed shipping lines along the East and Gulf Coasts.

Details of the agreement were not made public, but the joint statement said dockworkers received some protections against having their jobs replaced by automation, which was one of the union's key concerns.

The ILA had the support of President-elect Donald Trump, who said in a Truth Social post in December that the amount of money saved by automation on US docks was "nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen."

Members of the ILA previously went on strike in October for three days. The strike ended when the union secured higher pay, while other contract negotiations continued, and members returned to work. That agreement provided a 62% pay increase over the next six years.

• The Palisades and Eaton fires are devastating parts of Los Angeles, destroying entire communities.
• Photos offer a glimpse at the scale of destruction that occurred in just a day and a half.
• The situation is still ongoing and dangerous, with evacuation orders in many areas.

The Palisades and Eaton fires are ripping through parts of Los Angeles and causing mass destruction.

Firefighters are still struggling to contain the blazes, which grew rapidly and have continued for more than 24 hours.

The fires have destroyed at least 1,000 homes. Five people are reported dead. These counts are preliminary, as the situation is still dynamic.

It's difficult to grasp the scale of these fires, but emerging photos paint a grim picture.

The massive Palisades and Eaton fires ripping through Los Angeles show how quickly brush fires can escalate under dry, windy conditions.

More than 70,000 people were under evacuation orders on Wednesday afternoon. Officials have warned that people in many other surrounding regions should prepare to leave their homes at a moment's notice.

Pat Durland, a wildfire-mitigation specialist and instructor for the National Fire Protection Association with 30 years of federal wildfire management experience, told Business Insider that if he lived in the area, he would leave before evacuation orders even hit his home.

"I would have left and gone to the beach or gotten a hotel," he said.

A giant smoke plume was rising over Santa Monica within an hour of the Palisades Fire igniting Tuesday morning.

UC San Diego's ALERTCalifornia camera network captured it from the other side of Santa Monica. At that time the fire covered about 200 acres.

So many people had to evacuate that Palisades Drive was gridlocked.

Many people abandoned their cars and fled on foot.

Since then, the Palisades Fire has burned through more than 15,800 acres. This was the area with evacuation zones early Wednesday afternoon.

That's where the acreage stood at 2:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday. Throughout the morning it was increasing hour by hour.

The most up-to-date evacuation orders and warnings are available through CalFire.

Photos are emerging from areas where the Palisades Fire has burned its way through.

The Eaton Fire in nearby Pasadena also rapidly ballooned overnight and Wednesday morning.

The Eaton Fire covered 10,600 acres as of 1 p.m. PT on Wednesday.

Images from that area show a similar situation to Pacific Palisades: frantic evacuations and destroyed homes.

The smoke from the fires filled the Los Angeles area, darkening the skies and causing unhealthy air quality.

A powerful windstorm spread the flames quickly, sending embers flying and igniting new spots, even jumping across roads.

Hurricane-force winds peaked overnight and Wednesday morning, and firefighters were unable to contain the blazes.

"Despite the efforts we put in with well-trained firefighters and equipment and aircraft, the wind and the weather still are ruling these situations," Durland said of major, fast-moving fires like these.

Another ALERTCalifornia camera captured the rising smoke from a ridge on the other side of the fire about an hour after it started.

This was the view from the same trailhead Tuesday night. This camera has since gone offline.

Bone-dry vegetation provided abundant fire fuel due to a phenomenon called weather whiplash.

The last two winters in Southern California have been quite wet, even causing flooding. That led to an explosion of grasses and shrubs, nearly twice as much as a normal season, according to the UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain.

However, this winter has been different. Months without precipitation have dried out all that vegetation, blanketing the LA hillsides with fire fuel.

Grasses and shrubs help spread the fire, but it's "human fuels" that ignite homes, Durland said.

"It's bark mulch, it's ornamental grasses, it's structures that are readily flammable," Durland said.

"This is an urban fire. We're burning urban fuels," he added.

That means that cities and homeowners can do something about it. More fire-resistant landscaping and construction can help protect homes from future firestorms like this.

There are always houses that survive wildfires, Durland said, and everyone can learn from that.

It helps to build homes with ample space between them and maintain a perimeter of at least five feet that's totally free of dry or flammable vegetation or mulch.

Homeowners can also keep their roofs and gutters clear and remove anything flammable from underneath porches and decks.

The Palisades were full of multi-million-dollar homes, which means this could be the costliest fire in US history, Swain said.

According to a preliminary estimate from JP Morgan, insured losses alone could amount to $10 billion.

The Eaton fire, burning in Pasadena and Altadena, was at 0% containment as of Wednesday afternoon.

• Wildfires have broken out in Los Angeles and are raging through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
• Stars including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, and Milo Ventimiglia have lost their homes.
• The average house price in the northern LA area is $4.5 million, per Realtor.com data.

The biggest of the wildfires in Los Angeles is tearing through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Stars, including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal, have lost their homes.

The area, located between Santa Monica and Malibu in northern Los Angeles, is home to some of the country's most expensive real estate. The average house price is $4.5 million, according to Realtor.com data. Ben Affleck, for instance, bought his $20.5 million mansion there in July.

Other celebrities, including Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Keaton, Adam Sandler, Miles Teller, and Eugene Levy, also live in the neighborhood.

The fire started on Tuesday in the Pacific Palisades before spreading west toward the Malibu stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. On Wednesday, the city of Malibu issued a statement on X advising residents to prepare to evacuate. By Thursday, it had spread to 27 square miles in the area.

Milo Ventimiglia of 'Heroes' watched his home burn down on security cameras: 'Your heart just breaks'

Milo Ventimiglia, who's known for starring in "This is Us" and "Heroes," watched his home in Malibu burn via security cameras with Jarah Ventimiglia, his wife, who is nine months pregnant.

Speaking outside of his home on Thursday, he told CBS it was "heavy" seeing the extent of the damage.

He said: "You start thinking about all the memories in different parts of the house and whatnot. And then you see your neighbors' houses and everything, kind of around, and your heart just breaks."

Ventimiglia also recalled watching his house burn down: "I think there's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real, and this is happening.' And then at a certain point, we just turned it off. What good is it to continue watching? We kind of accepted the loss."

He added: "We've got good friends, and we've got good people we're working with. We'll make do. Wife and baby and dog are most important."

Actors Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung, who are married, confirmed on Thursday that their home had burned down, but that their family was safe.

Greenberg shared a photo of the wreckage on his Instagram story, writing: "It was all a dream. Thankfully the family is safe. Thank you to all of the firefighters risking their lives. Stay safe out there."

Mel Gibson said his house burned down while he was recording 'The Joe Rogan Experience'

Mel Gibson told NewsNation on Thursday, that he learned about the fires in his Malibu neighborhood while recording an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" in Texas.

He said: "I was doing the Rogan podcast, and kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn't there."

Gibson added: "Obviously, it's kind of devastating. It's emotional. You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff. "

He said the fact his family was"out of harm's way" was "all I can care about, really."

Paris Hilton said she 'built precious memories' at her destroyed Malibu home

On Wednesday, Paris Hilton shared on Instagram that she was "heartbroken beyond words" to learn that her Malibu home had been destroyed in the fire.

"Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience," Hilton wrote. "This home was where we built so many precious memories."

Although the loss felt "overwhelming," she said she was grateful that her family and pets were safe.

On Thursday, Hilton returned to her home and posted a video of the wreckage on Instagram.

In the caption, she said: "The heartbreak is truly indescribable."

She added: "This house wasn't just a place to live— It was where we dreamed, laughed, and created the most beautiful memories as a family."

Hilton also noted she wasn't alone in dealing with the destruction and the loss of the "irreplaceable pieces of our lives."

Melissa Rivers, the daughter of late actor and comedian Joan Rivers, said her home burned down in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

"My family and I have safely evacuated, and we are deeply grateful to be unharmed," she wrote. "I am heartbroken by the devastation caused by the fires, which have tragically destroyed my home."

She also shared more details about her evacuation and urged others to be prepared in an live interview with CNN.

"To be 100% honest, I grabbed my mom's Emmy, a photo of my dad, and a drawing that my mother had done of me and my son," she said.

Photos obtained by People showed actors John Goodman, Anthony Hopkins, and Miles Teller lost their homes due to the fires.

The home actor Jeff Bridges shared with his family in Malibu was also lost, the Associated Press reported.

Billy Crystal's home, where he'd lived with his family for 46 years, was burned to the ground.

"We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can't be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this," Crystal said in a statement to Business Insider.

"The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people and we know in time it will rise again. It is our home," he said.

The Oscar-nominated actor James Woods wrote on X Wednesday: "All the smoke detectors are going off in our house and transmitting to our iPhones. I couldn't believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one."

"The Hills" stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt also lost their home.

"I'm so sad our house is gone. I wish I could have gone back and got more," Montag said as she broke down crying in a video she posted on TikTok on Wednesday.

TMZ meanwhile published footage of Adam Brody and Leighton Meester's home in flames, as well as a photo of Anna Faris' home in ashes.

Rainn Wilson, the actor who played Dwight Schrute on NBC's "The Office," said that his Palisades home had burned in the fire. In a video shared on TikTok on Thursday, Wilson was shown walking through the "remains" of parts of his home that burned. "This is not something I ever thought that I would be doing," he said.

"There's some kind of valuable lesson here, I'm not sure what it is — kind of, death and fire teaches you a lesson about the impermanence of life and the preciousness of what we have, so I hope you all stay grateful today for what you have," he added.

Wilson said he was "grateful" that most of his house was still intact.

The songwriter Diane Warren, a 15-time Oscar nominee who has worked with stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, shared on Instagram that her beach house of nearly 30 years was likely gone.

"It looks like it was lost in the fire last nite. There's a rainbow shining on it which I'm taking as a sign of hope for all creatures who have been affected by this tragedy," Warren wrote. "The animals and the rescue ranch are OK tho which is the most important thing. Stay safe everyone."

On Wednesday, "The Princess Bride" actor Cary Elwes wrote on Instagram that he and his family evacuated the area safely, but said their house was destroyed.

He wrote: "Sadly we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire. Our hearts go out to all the families impacted by this tragic event and we also wish to extend our gratitude to all the fire fighters, first responders and law enforcement who worked so tirelessly through the night and are still at it."

Ricki Lake, the star of the original "Hairspray" movie and her self-titled talkshow, wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday that her "dream home" overlooking Malibu was "gone."

In the caption Lake said she and her husband escaped from the house with Dolly, their dog, "and not much else."

Mark Hamill evacuated his home and described the fire as 'horrific'

Among the at least 130,000 LA residents asked to evacuate their homes was the "Star Wars" actor Mark Hamill. He said on Instagram that he had left his Malibu home on Tuesday with his wife, Marilou, and their dog, Trixie. He described it as the "most horrific fire since '93."

"Evacuated Malibu so last-minute there were small fires on both sides of the road as we approached PCH," he wrote.

Levy told The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that he got stuck while trying to leave his neighborhood. "The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon," Levy said. "I couldn't see any flames but the smoke was very dark."

Chet Hanks, the son of actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, wrote in an Instagram story on Tuesday: "The neighborhood I grew up in is burning to the ground rn. Pray for the Palisades."

Actor and singer Mandy Moore said in an Instagram story posted on Tuesday that she was among the residents ordered to evacuate. By Wednesday, the singer said in a follow-up story that she was unsure if her home "made it."

"Honestly, I'm in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family," she wrote in an Instagram post. "My children's school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too."

Jamie Lee Curtis said 'many' friends had lost their homes

On Wednesday night, "Halloween" actor Jamie Lee Curtis appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and said, holding back tears: "Where I live is on fire right now."

She added: "It's just a catastrophe in Southern California. Obviously, there have been horrific fires in many places. This is literally where I live. Everything — the market I shop in, the schools my kids go to, friends.

"Many, many, many, many, many friends now have lost their homes."

Kate Beckinsale wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday that "the whole of the Palisades being destroyed is unthinkably horrific.

"My daughter and I lived there for most of her childhood and most of her childhood is gone."

The "Serendipity" actor shared several other posts, including one thanking local firefighters and another sharing information about assembling an emergency bag.

Haley Joel Osment thanked those who 'helped as we lose our home'

On Thursday, actor Haley Joel Osment shared that he had lost his home to the Eaton fire in Altadena.

"My heart would be so full every time I drove home - it was such a special place - I loved living there - our forest and our mountains and our homes - all gone," Osment wrote in an Instagram story.

"I am so sorry for the losses that thousands of people are suffering," he added. "I'm trying to etch in my mind the unique details of this lovely town that are gone forever."

Industry events in Hollywood have been canceled

The Palisades Charter High School was also affected, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The campus was used for films including "Carrie," "Freaky Friday," "Project X," and MTV's "Teen Wolf" TV series.

The premieres for "Wolf Man" and "Unstoppable," scheduled for Tuesday, were canceled.

'It's fire year'

The fire that started on Tuesday spread quickly thanks to the Santa Ana winds, which created up to 100 mph gusts. The drought in Southern California also exacerbated the situation, creating dangerously dry conditions.

Wildfires in the western US have been steadily growing bigger and more severe for decades, while the time of heightened risk known as "fire season" has been getting longer each year.

A paper published in 2023 by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, found the human-caused climate crisis is the "major driver" for the state's increase in wildfires over the last quarter century.

"November, December, now January — there's no fire season, it's fire year. It's year-round," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Back in 2018, the Woolsey Fire burned almost 100,000 acres of land in California, affecting famous Malibu residents like Lady Gaga, Gerard Butler, Miley Cyrus, and several members of the Kardashian family.

Kim Kardashian and her then-husband Kanye West were widely criticized for hiring private firefighters to protect their $60 million home in Hidden Hills.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• Meta said Tuesday it plans to drop third-party fact-checkers in favor of a community notes feature.
• Meta CMO Alex Schultz told Business Insider that the election of Donald Trump to the presidency influenced the shift.
• He also said a change in how Americans view censorship and content moderation played a role.

After Meta announced it was ditching fact checkers, Alex Schultz, the company's chief marketing officer, said in an interview with Business Insider on Tuesday that the election of Donald Trump as president influenced the decision.

"Look, we're going to adjust to any administration and we always do and that, I think, is appropriate," Schultz said at CES 2025 in Las Vegas on Tuesday, adding, "We've worked with the Biden administration through its term. We'll work with the Trump administration through its term. Elections have consequences."

Earlier on Tuesday, Meta announced it would stop using third-party fact-checkers in favor of user-generated community notes.

The company also said it was moving some of its content moderation teams from California, which typically votes Democratic, to Texas, which typically votes Republican. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the move would "help remove the concern that biased employees are overly censoring content."

Schultz added that in addition to the incoming administration playing a role, the timing of the decision was also influenced by a shift in "the vibes in America."

Schultz said there's a change in how Americans broadly view censorship, free speech, and content moderation, which he said was signaled by the results of the election.

"It's a big, big shift," he said. "So I think, yeah, we're responding to that at this time because that's the logical time to do it."

Zuckerberg said the new community notes feature would be similar to the one used on Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, which allows users to add notes to posts that potentially contain misinformation or are missing context.

Schultz told BI the announced changes also bring Zuckerberg "back to the core of what he cares about."

"I think fundamentally he's been pushed into a place that was further than he wanted to be in terms of censorship and in content moderation," Schultz said, adding Zuckerberg was "taking advantage of the moment to do what he thinks is right."

Meta's content moderation policies have been scrutinized for years. Four years ago, Facebook banned President Donald Trump from the platform for policy violations, sparking the ire of Republicans, who have accused the site of silencing conservative views.

Schultz said he thought those complaints of bias were fair and that Meta could not find fact-checking organizations on the political right at the same rate as left-leaning ones. He said community notes on X have been more successful at getting people from across the political spectrum to contribute.

However, he said Meta will take a different approach than X when it comes to relations with the brands that advertise on their platform.

"We're not going out there denigrating our advertisers and putting them in terrible positions," he said, alluding to critical comments Musk has made about some of X's advertisers. X sued a group of advertisers in August, accusing them of antitrust violations.

Schultz said Facebook would maintain its brand safety tools that allow companies some control over the kinds of content their ads appear next to.

He also said the primary concerns for their big advertisers are around hate speech and adult nudity, rather than content addressed by fact-checkers, and that the brand safety tools will remain focused on those areas.

"We're going to focus on precision and not be taking down things we shouldn't be taking down," he said.

• Sam Altman's estranged sister, Ann Altman, filed a lawsuit against the OpenAI CEO alleging childhood sexual abuse.
• She had previously accused her brothers of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse on social media.
• On Tuesday, the Altman family issued a statement denying the accusations.

Sam Altman's estranged younger sister, Ann Altman, filed suit against the OpenAI CEO on Monday, accusing him of childhood sexual abuse.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sam Altman posted a statement on social media, signed by his mother, Connie, and younger brothers, Max and Jack, denying the allegations.

In Monday's complaint, Ann Altman alleges her older brother sexually assaulted her multiple times during the 1990s and 2000s, beginning when she was three years old, resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder and physical injuries.

"At all times relevant herein, Defendant, Sam Altman, groomed and manipulated Plaintiff, Ann Altman, into believing the aforementioned sexual acts were her idea, despite the fact she was under the age of five years old when the sexual abuse began and Defendant was nearly a teenager," the complaint reads.

In addition to the physical and psychological impacts of the alleged abuse, the suit says Ann Altman has "suffered a loss of enjoyment of a normal life as a consequence of her emotional injuries."

The complaint seeks unspecified damages in excess of $75,000 in addition to legal fees.

In Sam Altman's post on Tuesday, he and the family write:

"Our family loves Annie and is very concerned about her well-being. Caring for a family member who faces mental health challenges is very difficult," the statement reads. "Over the years, we've tried in many ways to support Annie and help her find stability, following professional advice on how to be supportive without enabling harmful behaviors."

The statement indicates the Altman family has offered Ann Altman, who is nine years younger than Sam, monthly financial support and "attempted to get her medical help" in addition to offering to buy her a home through a trust "so that she would have a secure place to live, but not be able to sell it immediately."

"Despite this, Annie continues to demand more money from us. In this vein, Annie has made deeply hurtful and entirely untrue claims about our family, especially Sam," the statement continues. "We've chosen not to respond publicly, out of respect for her privacy and our own. However, she has now taken legal action against Sam, and we feel we have no choice but to address this."

Ann Altman had previously made her accusations public through posts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

In November 2021, she posted that she "experienced sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, financial, and technological abuse from my biological siblings, mostly Sam Altman and some from Jack Altman."

"I feel strongly that others have also been abused by these perpetrators," Ann Altman wrote in 2021. "I'm seeking people to join me in pursuing legal justice, safety for others in the future, and group healing. Please message me with any information, you can remain however anonymous you feel safe."

A 2023 profile about Sam Altman in The Intelligencer, a New York Magazine publication, highlighted the tense relationship between the Altman siblings, including Sam's estrangement from Ann, but did not detail the abuse allegations.

The Altman family statement denies the allegations against Sam Altman and other members of the Altman family, reading: "All of these claims are entirely untrue. This situation causes immense pain to our entire family. It is especially gut-wrenching when she refuses conventional treatment and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help."

A lawyer for Annie Altman said the denials were expected.

"By this lawsuit, Annie is seeking what every survivor of sexual abuse wants – justice and accountability," said Ryan J. Mahoney.

Representatives for OpenAI did not immediately respond a to request for comment from Business Insider.

• Consumer tech spending could hit $537 billion in 2025, the Consumer Technology Association said.
• However proposed tariffs by President-elect Donald Trump could cut into that projected revenue.
• The CTA said tariffs could increase tech prices and lower consumer purchasing power by billions.

Consumer spending on tech could hit a record high of $537 billion this year, according to a new report from the Consumer Technology Association.

But those projected retail revenues might not be met if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on promises of sweeping tariffs.

The CTA's report found the proposed tariffs could lead to tens of billions of losses in revenue, if not more. Trump has said he would institute a blanket tariff of 10 to 20% on all imports and an additional 60% or more tariff on goods from China.

"Such sweeping tariffs could have serious consequences on the market for consumer technology, greatly reducing demand for devices that are heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing," the report said. "Additional tariff costs on tech products could also reduce consumer purchasing power by $90 billion, to $143 billion."

The CTA's current consumer tech spending projection would amount to an increase of 3.2% compared to 2024.

The CTA has previously found that under Trump's tariffs the average price of laptops and tablets could increase by 45% and of smartphones by 25%. Televisions could see a 9% price increase while video games and consoles could cost almost $250 more than their current sale price.

Brian Comiskey, a futurist at the CTA, said at CES 2025 in Las Vegas this week that without the tariffs the industry was headed for a "super cycle" as consumers seek to upgrade their tech hardware to access the latest AI offerings, TechCrunch reported.

Many economists have previously said that Trump's proposed tariffs would raise prices for Americans, and at a time when many are still feeling the impacts of inflation.

It's still unclear how the incoming administration plans to implement tariffs. After a report from The Washington Post said Trump aides were discussing ways to roll out less wide-ranging tariffs, the president-elect denied it.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the story "incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back. That is wrong."

• About 200 ski patrollers are on strike for better wages at Utah's Park City Mountain Resort.
• Large swaths of the mountain have been closed, and lift lines have been long, frustrating customers.
• Some customers told BI they won't return to corporate resorts, instead opting for family-run spots.

Skiers at Utah's Park City Mountain Resort say their vacations were spent waiting in painfully long lines and navigating overcrowded trails after hundreds of ski patrollers and mountain safety personnel walked off the job.

The work stoppage over wages at one of the nation's largest ski resorts came as more than two feet of snow blanketed Park City in the last week — normally, a skier's dream. But for Jim Lebenthal, the snow was mostly experienced from the back of a line.

"It started out bad, and it got worse," said Lebenthal, a partner at a wealth management firm.

Lebenthal, also a CNBC contributor, said that 75% of the mountain was closed on his family's first day of skiing on December 27. By December 30, he said 80% of the mountain was closed.

"The lift lines were interminable," Lebenthal said. "It got to the point where it was one run an hour, and a run takes probably seven minutes, and the rest of that is sitting in lift lines."

TF Jenkins, a managing director at a Florida-based wealth management firm, said the closures resulted in limited options.

"There wasn't a ton of terrain open, and we were just doing the same thing over and over again," Jenkins said.

A bad day of skiing can feel especially frustrating given the cost of the sport — lift tickets alone at Park City Mountain Resort can cost more than $300, not including rentals and lodging. Many resort guests took to social media to complain about the conditions.

Vail Resorts Inc., which owns the resort, saw its stock drop about 6% in the last week.

A strike during peak ski season

The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) said it has been in contract negotiations with Vail Resorts since April and is trying to secure wage increases to match inflation, among other things.

About 200 ski patrollers, represented by the union, went on strike on December 27 after negotiations with Vail Resorts broke down.

The resort remained open, "with safety as its top priority," the resort said in a statement.

A spokesperson from the resort told BI that December 30 was "especially challenging" due to early season conditions.

"Each day, we open the terrain we can safely open with the team members we have," Sara Huey, Vail Resorts' Director of Community and Government Affairs, told BI in a statement. "We have had impacts to terrain as a result of the patrol strike."

The union's demands

Vail Resorts said in a statement that it had reached agreements on 24 out of 27 contract terms. The remaining issues were contract length, wages, and benefits — often considered by members to be the most important parts of a contract.

Bill Rock, the President of Vail Resorts' Mountain Division, said the resort has made "significant investments" in its staff.

"Our wages and benefits are strong, as demonstrated by the high return rate among patrol teams across our company and by the number of applicants we get for any patrol opening," Rock said in a statement.

But that doesn't match up with the lived experiences of ski patrollers, said Margaux Klingensmith, a business manager for the union and six-year patroller at Park City Mountain.

"We have patrollers who cannot afford to continue doing this job if they are not compensated better for it," Klingensmith told BI.

The union wants patroller base pay raised from $21 to $23 with an included cost-of-living adjustment.

It also wants to combat wage compression, which Klingensmith said has allowed five-year patrollers to be making the same amount as 15-year patrollers, who are significantly more experienced. Better compensation would help retain those experienced patrollers, which Klingensmith said the resort is losing "at an atrocious rate."

"Trying to keep that experience around with a better compensation package is the real goal. But overall, the reason we're fighting for this is to make sure that we have members of our unit able to afford groceries and afford to pay their rent," Klingensmith said.

The union is also seeking better benefits for its members, including a healthcare stipend, accruing paid time off, and parental leave.

Customers say they won't be back

The PCPSPA said its members unanimously passed a strike authorization vote on December 13. In the days following, Deirdra Walsh, the VP and COO of Park City Mountain, issued several statements on Park City's website stating that the mountain would remain open "regardless of the union's actions."

Still, customers told BI that they felt Vail Resorts did not effectively communicate to them that their visit could be impacted by a strike.

"They should have let us know that this was potentially going to happen," said Lebenthal, who added that he would seek a refund if possible.

Jenkins also said he was frustrated by what he called a lack of communication from Vail Resorts. Jenkins, who bought four-day passes for his family eight months in advance, said he has reached out several times for a refund.

Jenkins added that there were also communication issues regarding wait times for the lifts.

"It would give you the wait times on the app for each lift that was open, and it would say five minutes, and you'd get there, and it'd be like 40 minutes."

He said it's common for mountains to be crowded, but this week's experience at Park City turned into a safety issue with skiers of varying levels zipping down crowded trails.

"This was a human-created situation without a whole lot of communication. I mean, we would've been fine sitting in and playing games all day if it was just not great snow and not great weather, but it was more frustrating when it's created by two different parties," Jenkins said. "It's all kind of been a zero-sum game."

Going forward, Jenkins said he will only ski at smaller, family-owned resorts.

"There may be a little more driving because they don't necessarily have lodging right next to the mountain, but I would rather support smaller local communities than this type of stuff," Jenkins said. "We won't go back to a corporate mountain."

• Franchises and sequels dominated the 2024 box office, including "Inside Out 2" and "Deadpool & Wolverine."
• The only movie in the top 15 not based on an existing film was "Wicked," which was based on a Broadway musical.
• Sequels and franchises continue to be lucrative for studios.

Franchises, sequels, and adapted stories dominated the box office in 2024. Not a single original story cracked the top 15.

The highest-grossing films worldwide, according to numbers compiled by Box Office Mojo, included sequels like "Inside Out 2," "Dune: Part Two," and "Gladiator II," and franchise titles like "Deadpool & Wolverine," "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," and "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes."

"Wicked," based on a popular Broadway play, was the only film in the top 15 not based on an existing movie. "It Ends With Us," based on a popular book, came in at number 16, while "The Wild Robot," based on a kids' book, came in at number 18.

The top-grossing film not based on an existing movie, play, book, or comic was John Krasinski's "IF," which earned over $190 million globally and came in at number 24.

Films based on existing intellectual property have generally dominated the box office in recent years, though not always quite as much as in 2024.

In 2023, the top three highest-grossing films were "Barbie," "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and "Oppenheimer." While those were based on a toy, a video game, and a book, none were sequels or part of an existing film franchise, unlike the top three in 2024. Two movies in the top 15 in 2023 — the Chinese film "No More Bets" and Pixar's "Elemental" — were original stories.

A survey commissioned by the streamer Tubi found that 74% of millennial and Gen Z respondents preferred originals to remakes. The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll in late 2023 and early 2024, included over 2,500 adults who streamed at least one hour of video a week.

The box office numbers, however, show that sequels and franchises tend to pay off for studios. That was true for Pixar in 2024. And despite indications of superhero fatigue, the success of "Deadpool & Wolverine" showed moviegoers aren't yet finished with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners, told The New York Times about 76% of Americans aged 12 to 74 saw a movie in a theater in 2024.

"We feel very good, which is not something many of us would have said last year at this time," he said.

Plenty more sequels and franchise flicks are set to come out in 2025, from "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" to a live-action "Lilo & Stitch" remake.

• Justin Baldoni sued The New York Times over its story on Blake Lively's sexual-harassment claims.
• The Times stood by its reporting and said it would defend against the lawsuit.
• Lively also filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni of retaliation for her harassment claims.

Justin Baldoni is taking legal action against The New York Times after the paper reported about his costar Blake Lively's allegations of misconduct against him.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Los Angeles Superior Court, named Baldoni, his publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, and the "It Ends With Us" producers Jamey Heath and Steve Sarowitz as plaintiffs.

The lawsuit, obtained by Business Insider, accused the Times of relying "almost entirely" on what it described as "Lively's unverified and self-serving narrative" and said the newspaper disregarded "an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives."

The lawsuit, embedded in full below, included screenshots of messages that it said contradicted the Times' reporting.

The lawsuit said the plaintiffs suffered damages that amounted to at least $250 million.

In a statement provided to BI, a Times spokesperson said the outlet stood by the reporting and would "vigorously defend against the lawsuit."

"Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article," the statement said.

The spokesperson also said the paper published Baldoni's full response statement to its story and said he and other subjects "have not pointed to a single error" in its reporting.

Lawyers for Lively said in a statement provided to BI: "Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively's California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today."

The federal suit, also reviewed by Business Insider, named Baldoni and members of his PR team. It was based on the California civil-rights complaint and accused Baldoni and others of orchestrating a campaign to retaliate against her for speaking up about what she said was sexual misconduct.

The lawyers also said they encourage everyone to read Lively's full lawsuit, which is embedded below.

Representatives for Baldoni did not address Lively's lawsuit directly when reached by BI.

Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Baldoni and the other plaintiffs suing the Times, told BI in a statement that Lively and her team had orchestrated a "vicious smear campaign" against his clients and that the Times had "cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites."

The Times' bombshell story, "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine," was published December 21 and detailed messages exchanged between Baldoni and his PR team.

Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni at about the same time, where she accused him of sexual harassment and of coordinating a smear campaign to tarnish her reputation.

Baldoni's lawyers argued in their complaint Tuesday that the Times' story was based on "a premise that is categorically false and easily disproven," saying the Times had access to messages proving that Lively and not Baldoni was at fault.

Read Baldoni's lawsuit against the Times:

Read Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni and others:

• Bleisure travel is rising as employees extend work trips to add on leisure activities.
• One bleisure traveler said he views it as a supplement to his dedicated vacation time.
• AllFly, which helps book corporate group travel, said demand for bleisure trips keeps growing.

When 25-year-old Josh Nichols had a short work trip to Hamburg, Germany, he and a coworker decided to add a couple extra days to stop by Belgium and France, two places he'd never been.

"I was already in Europe," Nichols, who works as an analyst for United Airlines, told Business Insider, "so I'm like, 'Let me just hop down and see these other countries.'"

The combination of business and leisure travel has become so popular that it has a name: bleisure travel, also referred to as blended travel.

While the trend has been growing for years, it got an extra boost during the pandemic when travel restrictions were lifted and business travel picked up again. In early 2022, American Airlines said more than half of its recently booked trips had been a mix of business and leisure travel, up from a historic average of around 20 to 25%.

A survey published by the American Hotel and Lodging Association in 2023 found nearly half of business travelers said they'd extended a work trip in the previous year, and 84% said they were interested in bleisure. Hilton's 2025 Travel Trends Report said nearly 30% of global travelers now take trips with "frolleagues" — colleagues who are also friends.

Kenny Totten, founder and COO of AllFly, which specializes in corporate group travel, told BI that companies are embracing the trend and making it easier for their employees to do it as a way to attract and retain talent.

"About one in four corporate travelers will either come early or they'll extend their trip later, so it's been a very big trend for us," he said.

Bleisure can take several forms, but it often occurs when an employee is already on a business trip. While on the work trip, the employee might do sightseeing in their free time or meet up with a friend or family member who lives in the place they're visiting. Many bleisure travelers extend their trips to have full days to explore while off the clock.

"Anything that lets me try something new when I would otherwise just kind of sit in my hotel and wait for the next day of meetings to come is something I'd consider bleisure," Nichols said.

Companies are adapting to meet bleisure demand

AllFly, which books travel for companies ranging from 50 to over 10,000 employees, has adapted the way it books trips in response to the growing demand for bleisure. It has added features that make it easy for its clients to let employees book flights for several days before or after the actual planned work event.

"The more luxurious the destination, the more people extend," Totten said, adding when AllFly coordinates work trips to Hawaii, 42% of people extend their trip.

The company also added a split pay feature, which allows employees to book all the travel through their platform but then easily split up how much the employer covers. For instance, if someone wants to bring their spouse on a work trip to Hawaii, they can easily book together while having the company cover only the employee's flight.

Some business travelers adding leisure to their trip also like to upgrade their seats to first class, so the split pay system allows the company to cover the base price and the employee to cover the upgrade cost.

Totten said the demand for bleisure has consistently grown year-over-year, and that AllFly expects to book more hybrid trips in 2025 as well.

Nichols, who travels frequently for work, said bleisure is a great way to get the most out of his business travel, but that it doesn't replace dedicated PTO. He still uses all of his vacation days and views bleisure as a "supplement."

He said the one potential downside is that travel can be tiring, so sometimes extending a work trip may not be the best move.

"Sometimes I do sit down and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I haven't slept in my bed in 10 days. I would like to be in my own bed a little bit.'"

• Walmart, Target, Trader Joe's, and Costco plan to open new stores in 2025.
• New store openings are planned in over 10 states, including California, Texas, and Michigan.
• Walmart told Business Insider it plans to open six Supercenters and three Neighborhood Markets.

Some of America's favorite grocery store chains could open up stores near you in 2025.

Walmart, Target, Trader Joe's, and Costco have all announced several new stores they expect to open in the new year across more than 10 states.

Here's the full list.

Walmart

Walmart has more than 4,600 locations in the US and plans to open nine new stores in 2025 and one Sam's Club, which Walmart also owns. Walmart told Business Insider it plans to open in the following locations in 2025:

Walmart Supercenters

• Mountain View, California
• Eastvale, California
• Cypress, Texas
• Frisco, Texas
• Melissa, Texas
• Celina, Texas

Walmart Neighborhood Markets

• Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Milton, Florida
• Pace, Florida

Sam's Club

• Tempe, Arizona

Target

With 1,963 locations in the US, Target says most American households are located within 10 miles from at least one of its stores. Still, the grocery giant plans to open more than 30 new locations. A Target spokesperson said the company could not confirm when those stores were expected to open, but at least three are expected to open in 2025, according to the hiring page on the company's website. Those three are located in:

• South Lake Tahoe, California
• Surprise, Arizona
• Denton, Texas

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's, which has hundreds of locations around the US, said it expects dozens more to open in 2025. The company's website lists 12 new locations expected to open soon, though it does not specify an exact date. The locations include:

• Northridge, California
• Sherman Oaks, California
• Tarzana, California
• Seattle, Washington
• Bellingham, Washington
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
• Berwyn, Pennslyvania
• Staten Island, New York
• Hoover, Alabama
• Two locations in Washington, DC
• Rockville, Maryland

Costco

As of November 2024, Costco had 896 locations worldwide, with 616 in the US. The wholesale warehouse giant has said it plans to open about 30 new locations in 2025, with six set to open in March. The locations set to open in March are:

• Brentwood, California
• Genesee County, Michigan
• Highland, California
• Prosper, Texas
• Sharon, Massachusetts
• Weatherford, Texas

• PwC hosts "prompting parties" to help employees experiment with generative AI tools.
• The firm's chief learning officer said employees needed a safe, low-stakes format to experiment with it.
• PwC announced last year it was investing $1 billion over three years to expand its AI capabilities.

Generative AI is reshaping the workplace, but many employees are still unsure how to use it.

PwC, a Big Four professional services firm, is addressing that gap with "prompting parties."

In 2023, PwC announced it was investing $1 billion over three years to expand its AI capabilities. Later that year the company launched My AI, an upskilling initiative for employees to get trained on how to use AI responsibly.

But Leah Houde, the chief learning officer at PwC, told Business Insider that after the initial AI trainings, there was still a skill gap when it came to employees actually putting the technology to use, even though employees wanted to know more about how to use it.

In 2024, AI was among the top five terms searched in PwC's internal learning and development platform, compared to being in the top 15 in 2023 and not even in the top 100 in 2022, PwC represenatives told BI.

"The cognitive load that it takes to just try something new in the course of doing what you're normally doing is hard," Houde said, adding that many employees just didn't know where to start with AI prompts, which are the written instructions given to an AI tool in order to elicit a useful response.

People needed a safe, low-stakes place to play with the tools. That's where the AI prompting parties came in.

The group sessions, which can be run independently amongst teams or by a company AI leader, are aimed at making employees comfortable using AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatPwC — the company's internal version of ChatGPT.

The sessions focus on real use cases, so employees can collaboratively experiment with using AI to help them solve a problem or accomplish a task that's specific to their team.

Houde said the sessions are like a "playground where I'm not working on a client deliverable or writing an email to my boss or something that might give me anxiety that I don't want to mess up with AI."

She said experimenting in a group setting also allows employees to learn from each others' prompts, giving them new ideas about what AI can do. It's also made them more likely to try out AI on their own time too, Houde said.

Since launching in March, PwC said it has hosted nearly 500 prompting parties and over 880 more have been requested, so they are scaling up to meet the demand.

Houde said becoming familiar with AI was especially important for employees at PwC as a professional services firm, since the company's clients often turn to its employees to get their own questions about AI answered.

Workforce experts previously told BI's Tim Paradis that getting employees up to speed with AI is necessary, and that it will require the help and investment of employers.

A survey published by Slack in November found the rate of AI adoption among desk workers had plateaued, despite companies continuing to invest heavily in AI for their business.

But Houde said it's not just AI or other technical skills that employees at PwC want more training on. Terms like "inclusion" and "inclusive mindset" are among the top searched on the company's training platform every year.

"The thing that it says to me is that the human interaction is always going to matter," she said.

Going forward, Houde said she's most excited about how AI can be used to create personalized learning and development plans for people based on their current skills and where they want to go in their careers.

Instead of generically recommending the same trainings to everyone, AI can flag trainings that are most relevant to each individual.

"AI is now enabling us to understand the skills our people have and make connections between the skills that they have and the skills that they're going to need to progress," Houde said.

Have a news tip or a story to share? Do you work in consulting or have you worked with a consulting career coach? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• The Big Four firms reported revenue growth in 2024, but consulting lagged behind other services.
• The firms reported more growth in tax and legal services as demand for consulting slowed.
• PwC cited market factors and political uncertainty as reasons for slower growth in consulting.

The Big Four professional-services firms — PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG — all reported revenue growth this year, but growth in their consulting arms lagged compared with their other services.

After experiencing a boom during the pandemic, the consulting industry has faced economic headwinds and slowing demand over the past couple of years. Major firms have conducted layoffs, delayed start dates, and cut partner pay.

Financial reports released by the Big Four professional-services firms throughout the year indicated that their consulting arms grew slightly, but not as much as their legal, tax, and assurance businesses.

In October, PwC said several factors were contributing to the slower growth in consulting.

"A continuing slow market for mergers and acquisitions, sluggish economic growth in a number of key markets and political uncertainty holding back investment in some key projects meant that the growth of our advisory operations slowed over the last twelve months," its report said.

KPMG, the last Big Four firm to report 2024 financials, reported the highest overall revenue growth, at 5.1% year over year.

Here's a breakdown of how the Big Four firms performed this year.

Deloitte

• Fiscal year end: May 2024
• Global revenue: $67.2 billion
• Revenue growth year over year: 3.1%

• Revenue growth by category:

  • Tax and legal: 8.7%
  • Audit and assurance: 4.1%
  • Consulting: 1.9%
  • Financial advisory: - 3.8%
  • Risk advisory: 3.2%

PwC

• Fiscal year end: June 2024
• Global revenue: $55.4 billion
• Revenue growth year over year: 3.7%

• Revenue growth by category:

  • Tax and legal: 6.3%
  • Assurance: 3.4%
  • Advisory: 2.6%

EY

• Fiscal year end: June 2024
• Global revenue: $51.2 billion
• Revenue growth year over year: 3.9%

• Revenue growth by category:

  • Assurance: 6.3%
  • Tax: 6.3%
  • Strategy and transactions: 2.3%
  • Consulting: 0.1%

KPMG

• Fiscal year end: September 2024
• Global revenue: $38.4 billion
• Revenue growth, year-over-year: 5.1%

• Revenue growth by category:

  • Tax and legal: 9.6%
  • Audit: 6.2%
  • Advisory: 2%

Have a news tip or a story to share? Do you work in consulting? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• This summer, controversies around 'It Ends with Us' overshadowed the film's press tour.
• Fans criticized Blake Lively's promotion methods and speculated she and costar Justin Baldoni had fallen out.
• Four months later, Lively filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni.

The "It Ends With Us" press tour this summer was overshadowed by rumor and speculation.

Ahead of the film's release in August, fans suspected a feud between lead star Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, her costar and director.

Some blamed Lively without knowing what caused their apparent falling out and criticized her on social media.

The film survived the backlash and became one of the biggest hits of the summer, grossing $350 million worldwide.

Over the weekend, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni.

Here's everything we know about the situation.

Baldoni did not interact with other cast members at press events.

Fans suspected that something was amiss when Baldoni and Lively didn't interact during the press tour, despite playing partners in the film.

Lively teamed up with costars Brandon Sklenar and Isabela Ferrer for press events and with Colleen Hoover, the author of the book the film is based on, for interviews and TV spots. Meanwhile, Baldoni did a lot of solo press.

Even when they both attended the New York premiere on August 6, they were not photographed together.

Lively posed with her castmates, Hoover, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman, his "Deadpool & Wolverine" costar. Meanwhile, Baldoni was only photographed with his wife and some of the other producers who worked on the film.

While speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the carpet at the New York premiere, Baldoni explained why he was stepping back from the limelight.

"This isn't my night — this is a night for all the women who we made this movie for," he said." This is a night for Blake, this is a night for Colleen. I'm just so grateful that we're here, five years in the making."

Regardless of his comments, fans theorized about the potential drama between the two on social media.

This speculation intensified after a user on the r/ColleenHoover subreddit posted on August 6 that Lively and Hoover do not follow Baldoni on Instagram. Fans also noticed that the film's other stars, including Sklenar, Ferrer, and Jenny Slate, did not follow Baldoni.

Business Insider could not verify whether they previously followed him.

For his part, Baldoni followed all of them except Hoover.

Fans wondered if the apparent beef was one-sided or if Baldoni was at the center of a wider fracture, especially since, during pre-production, Hoover and Baldoni appeared on each other's Instagram feeds multiple times.

Adding to this theory was a clip of Slate seemingly sidestepping a question about Baldoni at the movie's New York premiere. Asked about having Baldoni as both a scene partner and a director, she responded by not mentioning Baldoni and instead speaking about how "intense" it must be to do both jobs.

News reports fueled the speculation.

The Hollywood Reporter on August 8, citing unnamed sources, reported that the feud on set originated when two movie cuts emerged during the postproduction process.

Multiple sources told the outlet that Lively commissioned one of the cuts to be done by "Deadpool & Wolverine" editor Shane Reid. He was the same editor Lively previously used when she directed the music video for Taylor Swift's "I Bet You Think About Me."

However, the film's final cut was credited to editors Oona Flaherty and Robb Sullivan.

It's unclear if Reid's cut was used in the film version that showed in theaters, but according to one source who spoke to THR, the team agreed on the final cut.

A day later, Page Six reported, citing an anonymous source, that the two stars didn't see eye-to-eye while shooting the movie. Page Six reported that one source said Baldoni made Lively feel "uncomfortable" about her postpartum body during filming. Another source said Baldoni created an "extremely difficult" environment for the entire cast.

"It's not just Blake. None of the cast enjoyed working with Justin," the source was quoted as stating. "They certainly didn't talk to him at the premiere."

On August 13, People reported that a source close to the set said, "All is not what it seems," and that the principal cast and Hoover didn't want anything to do with Baldoni.

Fans turn on Lively.

Many fans blamed Lively for the feud, accusing her of trying to take over the film.

This theory was supported by Baldoni and Lively's interviews in the lead-up to the movie's premiere.

On August 9, Baldoni told Today that Lively and Reynolds, who was not a producer on the film, contributed significantly to it.

"You can't summarize Blake's contribution in a sentence, because her energy and imprint is all over the movie and really, really made the film better, and from beginning to end," Baldoni said.

Baldoni also said he struggled to balance allowing collaboration and having his voice drowned out entirely.

He said: "You don't have to listen to everybody, and that didn't happen all the time, but there were just moments where I would get out of the way too much."

Baldoni said Lively should take over as director to adapt the sequel to the "It Ends With Us" novel, "It Starts with Us."

Meanwhile, Lively told E! News on August 7 that Reynolds helped pen the opening scene of "It Ends With Us."

The film's screenwriter Christy Hal told People a day later that she wasn't aware that Reynolds had written some of the dialogue used in the final version of the script.

"When I saw a cut, I was like, 'Oh, that's cute. That must have been a cute improvised thing,'" Hall said. "So if I'm being told that Ryan wrote that, then great, how wonderful."

Fans' other grievance was about how Lively promoted the movie.

The film is about a florist whose husband becomes abusive, and fans criticized Lively for speaking about the film's romantic elements during the press tour and less about the domestic abuse plot. This was in line with the film's marketing.

Baldoni was the only cast member who consistently spoke about the domestic abuse element.

Baldoni recruited a PR crisis manager who represented Johnny Depp against Amber Heard.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on August 13 that the actor hired veteran PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan, who represented Johnny Depp during the Amber Heard trial in 2022.

Nathan launched her agency in 2024, specializing in crisis communications and reputation management.

A clip of Lively acting hostile toward a reporter in a 2016 interview resurfaced amid the 'It Ends With Us' drama.

Journalist Kjersti Flaa released a clip of an interview with Blake Lively on August 10, titled "The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job."

"It actually took me a while to get over the experience," Flaa told Business Insider in an email on August 19.

"Every time I entered a room after this I got nervous that something similar might happen again," she wrote.

Lively's costar put out a statement asking people to stop focusing on 'what may or may not have happened.'

Sklenar, who plays Lively's other love interest in "It Ends With Us," spoke out about the backlash toward the film in an Instagram post on August 20.

"Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves. Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about," he said.

"This film is meant to inspire. It's meant to validate and recognize," Sklenar added. "It is not meant to once again, make women the 'bad guy,' let's move beyond that together."

Representatives for Baldoni, Lively, Reynolds, Hoover, and Sklenar did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment.

On December 20, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, inflicting "emotional distress," and conspiring to damage her public reputation.

The complaint also named Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni's production company, and Jamey Heath, the company's CEO, as two of the 11 defendants in a legal complaint.

In the complaint, Lively said an all-hands meeting about Baldoni and Heath's behavior on set was held in January 2023. She accused him of showing her nude videos and images of women, improvising kissing scenes or intimate scenes, and entering her trailer while she was naked.

Lively said she held the meeting for all the female cast members and requested that an intimacy coordinator be hired.

Lively said Heath and Baldoni responded by orchestrating a "multi-tiered" plan to "destroy" her public reputation and stop her or anyone else from speaking out about what happened on set.

Lively said Baldoni hired the crisis PR, Nathan, and a Texas-based contractor named Jed Wallace, both defendants in the complaint, ahead of the film's premiere to carry out this plan. She said it involved feeding theories on social media to shift the narrative against Lively.

She also claims in the complaint that the cast agreed to a marketing plan created by the film's distributor, Sony Pictures Entertainment, to avoid talking about the sad parts of the movie, which Baldoni broke away from.

"What the public did not know was that Mr. Baldoni and his team did so to explain why many of the Film's cast and crew had unfollowed Mr. Baldoni on social media and were not appearing with him in public," the complaint said.

Baldoni's attorney said Lively blamed Baldoni in the hope of improving her reputation.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, told BI in a statement: "It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation, which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions."

Freedman said Nathan was hired because Lively made multiple demands and threatened not to show up to set or promote the film if they were not met.

A representative for Lively referred BI to a statement shared with The New York Times on Saturday: "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."

In the following days, Hoover and other stars react to the lawsuit.

Lively's costars from 2005's "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" — America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel — shared a joint statement supporting Lively after she made the complaint.

Hoover and Sklenar, who worked on "It Ends With Us," seemed to both throw their support behind Lively by sharing her links to her allegations on their Instagram stories.

"@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," Hoover wrote in her story post. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt."

The complaint has affected Baldoni's career.

On Saturday, The New York Times reported that Ari Emanuel, chief executive of the parent company that owns Baldoni's talent agency, William Morris Endeavor, said the agency had stopped representing him.

On December 9, before the complaint was released, Vital Voices, a nonprofit organization that supports women leaders, awarded Baldoni the Voices of Solidarity Award to honor his advocacy work for women.

On December 23, Vital Voices said in a statement on their website that they had rescinded the award.

"The communications among Mr. Baldoni and his publicists included in the lawsuit – and the PR effort they indicate – are, alone, contrary to the values of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award," the statement read.

Baldoni's lawyer said the actor plans to file a counter-suit that will 'shock everyone.'

On Saturday, The Daily Mail reported that Baldoni and Heath, the Wayfarer Studios CEO, and publicists identified in Lively's complaint planned to file a countersuit on January 2. The outlet reported the countersuit would claim that Lively's PR team in fact smeared Baldoni, and WhatsApp messages used in the complaint were taken out of context.

Leslie Sloane, founder of Vision PR that represents Lively, told Deadline: "It's clear that Mr. Baldoni and his Wayfarer Associates are suggesting that I originated press stories about HR complaints on set, which is false. Please read Ms. Lively's Complaint and the Complaint filed by Jonesworks LLC and Stephanie Jones, which provides the details of the campaign against my client."

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, told Deadline on Saturday: "I am not going to speak to when or how many lawsuits we are filing but when we file our first lawsuit, it is going to shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative.

"It will be supported by real evidence and tell the true story. In over 30 years of practicing, I have never seen this level of unethical behavior intentionally fueled through media manipulation."

Freedman and Sloane did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Baldoni and others filed a lawsuit against The New York Times

Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and others mentioned in a New York Times story that detailed Lively's accusations against Baldoni filed a lawsuit against the newspaper on December 31, Variety first reported.

The lawsuit, which was obtained by BI, said the Times' story, which was published December 21, "relied almost entirely on Lively's unverified and self-serving narrative." It also accused the Times of "disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives."

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, contained screenshots of messages that it said contradicted the Times' reporting.

In a statement provided to BI, a Times spokesperson said the paper stood by its reporting and would "vigorously defend against the lawsuit."

"Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article," the statement said.

The spokesperson also said Baldoni and other subjects of the article "have not pointed to a single error" and that the outlet published their full statement responding to the allegations.

In a statement provided to BI after Baldoni's lawsuit was filed, Freedman, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said Lively had orchestrated a "vicious smear campaign" and that the Times "cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites."

Freedman also said that in addition to the Times they would sue "those individuals who have abused their power to try and destroy the lives of my clients."

In a statement provided to BI about Baldoni's suit against the Times, lawyers for Lively said: "Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively's California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today."

Lively filed her own lawsuit in New York

The same day Baldoni filed his lawsuit against the Times, Lively filed a lawsuit against him, Wayfarer, and others in New York federal court, The Hollywood Reporter first reported.

Representatives for Lively said the lawsuit, which was obtained by BI, was based on the legal complaint Lively previously filed with the California Civil Rights Department. The lawsuit accuses Baldoni and his PR team of engaging in a campaign to retaliate against her for speaking out about sexual misconduct.

"Unfortunately, Ms. Lively's decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks," her lawyers said in a statement provided to BI. "As alleged in Ms. Lively's federal Complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns."

Representatives for Baldoni and Wayfarer did not address the lawsuit filed by Lively when reached by BI.

• Jobs in management consulting can be difficult to land, especially at prestigious firms.
• Management Consulted offers coaching from former MBB consultants and online courses.
• The COO said case interview prep and keeping options open can help aspiring consultants break in.

Jobs in management consulting can be notoriously difficult to land, especially for job seekers hoping to join a prestigious MBB firm — McKinsey, Bain, or BCG.

That's where career coaches come in.

Some aspiring management consultants call in the professionals to walk them through every phase of the application process, from choosing which firms to apply to, submitting their resume and cover letter, and prepping for case study interviews.

Management Consulted, founded in 2008, has worked with more than 15,000 candidates and helped them land jobs at over 170 different firms, according to Namaan Mian, chief operating officer. In addition to online curriculums, the company has around 25 coaches, all of whom formerly worked at an MBB firm.

A top coaching package offered by Management Consulted costs $4,500 and is aimed at those who are at least six months away from actually submitting job applications to firms. The package includes 20 hours of 1:1 sessions with coaches, edits on your resume and cover letter, and access to their online classes.

According to Management Consulted, 80% of their premium clients get at least one job offer from a consulting firm.

For anyone interested in getting into consulting, with the help of professional coaches or not, Mian emphasized a few things that all candidates should focus on.

Don't put all your eggs in one (MBB) basket

Some people interested in consulting are set on joining a prestigious firm, like an MBB or a Big Four — EY, PwC, KPMG, and Deloitte.

While some Management Consulted clients do land at those firms, Mian said it's important applicants keep their options open, and that there are often great opportunities at lesser known firms.

"There are literally hundreds of consulting firms out there doing amazing work," he said. "Some of them pay just as well as the MBB or the Big Four, and nobody's ever heard of them."

Mian noted that Management Consulted's salary report, which includes salary data from more than 100 firms, shows there are plenty of lesser-known companies with high-paying starting salaries.

He said they generally advise clients to identify and focus on six to eight firms. The goal is for clients to have several offers at the end of the process that they can leverage against one another.

Timing is key

Hiring in consulting works on pretty specific timelines, which vary depending on where the applicant is in their schooling, Mian said.

For undergraduates, applications are typically due in June or July, interviews are conducted in August, and offers are given by September or October for positions that start the following summer.

That means undergraduates should ideally figure out by the second semester of sophomore year that they want to go into consulting, so they can start prepping and applying to land internships for their summer after junior year.

For first-year MBAs seeking internships, application deadlines are typically in November, with interviews in January, and offers extended by the end of January for positions that summer.

For second-year MBAs looking for a full-time role. Application deadlines are in August and September, followed by interviews and offers.

Mian said being aware of these timelines so you can prepare and network well in advance is key to landing a consulting role. He said how long you've prepared is "the number one determinant in terms of success."

"If you wait to start preparing for the interview until you already have one, it's almost always too late," he said.

Focus on mastering case studies

Case interviews are a unique and notoriously tough part of getting hired in consulting.

In a case interview, candidates are presented with a business problem and need to develop a plan to solve it in real time. Preparing for case interviews can be the most time-consuming part of getting a job in consulting.

"Case interviews are a skill that I would say don't come naturally to any human being," Niam said, adding, "You have to talk, you have to think, and you have to write at the same time."

Getting to the level of competency needed to succeed in a case interview requires a lot of practice, and specifically practicing out loud with a friend or coach.

That's why starting to prepare early, well before you even submit your application, is crucial, he said. If you wait until you get an interview there won't be enough time to get good as case studies.

Make sure you actually love business

Mian said that although it may seem obvious, before deciding to become a consultant you need to make sure you love business — reading about business, thinking about business, and talking about business.

"At the end of the day, you are solving business problems for larger organizations, and all of your projects have one of three outcomes: You are either working to increase revenue, decrease costs, or update the organizational design," Mian said. "That is my second-grade definition of what a consultant does."

Plenty of people are drawn to consulting because of the prestige and high-paying salaries, he said, but find once they are actually in the job, often spending the majority of their days as a new consultant in Excel, they don't enjoy it.

"If you don't like solving business problems, you're not going to like consulting," he said.

Have a news tip or a story to share? Do you work in consulting or have you worked with a consulting career coach? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• Republicans in Congress withdrew a spending bill after pressure from Elon Musk.
• The bill aimed to keep the government funded through mid-March.
• Trump had also called on Republicans to renegotiate the bill.

Congressional Republicans scrapped a last-minute spending bill that would keep the government funded thought mid-March after a pressure campaign from Elon Musk.

CNN and The Washington Post reported the bill had been killed.

Earlier on Wednesday, Musk wrote in a post on X, "Your elected representatives have heard you, and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed!"

The bipartisan bill was backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had said he spoke Tuesday with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy about their criticisms of the bill. Musk and Ramaswamy are set to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which will serve as an advisory group to the Trump administration focused on cutting government spending.

In a post on X, Musk endorsed the idea of shutting down the government until January 20, when President-elect Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated.

Shortly after Musk's post, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance issued a statement calling on Republicans to renegotiate the bill.

Trump threatened that Republican lawmakers who failed to fall in line would face political consequences.

"If Republicans try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without all of the Democrat 'bells and whistles' that will be so destructive to our Country, all it will do, after January 20th, is bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration, rather than allowing it to take place in the Biden Administration," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried," Trump added. "Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, prior to my taking Office on January 20th, 2025."

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told CNN Republicans scrapped the bill after Trump came out against it.

The Biden administration subsequently accused Trump and Vance of "playing politics," hurting "hardworking Americans," and creating "instability" with the last-minute rejection of the legislation.

"Triggering a damaging government shutdown would hurt families who are gathering to meet with their loved ones and endanger the basic services Americans from veterans to Social Security recipients rely on," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. "A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word."

Some Democratic senators blamed Musk for the package falling apart, suggesting the billionaire already has an outsized influence on Congress' ability to pass legislation.

Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat who lost his re-election bid, told CNN that Wednesday's series of events were "bizarre, disturbing, and dangerous."

"Just the fact they're even talking about this because of a comment by one person that triggers this kind of result, it doesn't bode well for the new Congress or the new administration," he told the outlet.

• Wing and DoorDash launched drone deliveries from malls in Dallas-Fort Worth this week.
• The launch came as drone sightings have been reported around the US, including in Texas.
• Wing said its drones operate during the day and have been in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 2021.

Wing and DoorDash launched drone deliveries from some local malls in Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas this week, just as mysterious drone sightings keep getting reported on the East Coast — and even in the Lone Star state.

Wing, which is owned by Alphabet, Google's parent company, said in a statement the company was partnering with DoorDash and Brookfield Properties to deliver goods from two local shopping malls in a "first-of-its-kind service."

The company said customers can order delivers from more than 50 stores. When checking out via DoorDash customers can choose to have the product delivered by drone, which can be as fast as 15 minutes. The drones can fly 65 mph at a cruising height of around 150 feet.

Wing drones have made more than 400,000 commercial deliveries worldwide since 2019. Wing and DoorDash have previously provided drone delivery services in Melbourne, Australia and Christiansburg, Virginia. Wing has also previously partnered with Walgreens and Walmart for drone deliveries in the Dallas-Fort Worth areas.

The launch of deliveries from malls comes at a time of heightened awareness and concern about drones. Since mid-November, US authorities have received thousands of reports of mystery drones on the East Coast, primarily in New Jersey, The White House has said only about 100 required further investigation, and that the drones do not pose a threat.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Wing spokesperson said its drones have been operating around Dallas-Forth Worth since 2021 and that the company has done extensive community outreach in the area.

"We always inform the community and work closely with local officials before launching a service," the statement said, adding, "There is no connection between our operations and the recent sightings in New Jersey."

The spokesperson said the company, which in the US operates drones in Texas, Virginia, and at a test facility in California, complies with all regulations and that the drones only operate in approved areas.

"Wing also complies with the FAA's requirements for the remote identification of unmanned aircraft to ensure transparency of our flights so that others, including law enforcement, know when and where we are flying," the statement said, adding, "We do not operate at night."

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

The White House has said the reported sightings on the East Coast, which have primarily been at night, have included a mix of commercial, hobbyist, and law enforcement drones. Some of the reported sightings have actually been commercial aircraft and even stars that citizens have mistaken for drones.

A day before Wing and DoorDash announced their new drone deliveries in Dallas-Fort Worth, drone sightings were reported in the area.

Police in White Settlement, located west of Fort Worth, said officials were investigating after multiple drones were spotted flying over local neighborhoods in the city, which hosts the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.

Christopher Cook, the White Settlement police chief, said Wednesday in a post on X the department was working with federal officials, including the FBI, "out of an abundance of caution."

"While we do not believe there were any immediate threats related to last night's activities, it is concerning due to operating in "NO FLY ZONES" near federal and military properties," Cook said.