• Board game companies are suing Trump because they say tariffs are affecting their profits.
• Stonemaier Games said in the lawsuit it expects to pay "millions" due to tariffs.
• Trump says the tariffs are meant to boost US jobs, but the cost is often passed on to the consumer.

A group of tabletop game companies is suing President Donald Trump because it says his tariffs are reducing their profits to the real-world value of Monopoly money.

Stonemaier Games, which makes the popular board games "Wingspan," "Rolling Realms," and "Vantage," announced its involvement in the lawsuit this week. The company said the lawsuit would "challenge the unchecked authority" of Trump and his tariffs.

"We will not stand idly by while our livelihoods—and the livelihoods of thousands of small business owners and contractors in the US, along with the customers whose pursuit of happiness we hold dear—are treated like pawns in a political game," the company said.

Lawyers for Stonemaier, which is based in St. Louis, said in a legal complaint that the company estimates it will pay "millions in tariffs" because it manufactures all of its games in a Chinese factory owned by Panda Game Manufacturing, which is based in Canada. Stonemaier has printed its games in China for more than 13 years, the lawsuit says.

At least nine other companies joined Stonemaier in the lawsuit, saying Trump's tariffs will cause substantial harm to their business. XYZ Game Labs, Rookie Mage, Spielcraft, and TinkerHouse Games are all board game companies that are joining the lawsuit.

Spielcraft, an independent Nebraska-based board game maker, paid $4,335 in tariff fees in April, the lawsuit says.

Other small businesses also joined the suit. Clothing company Princes Awesome, which makes inclusive clothing for children and adults, paid $1,041 for dresses imported from China in March, according to the lawsuit.

"Princess Awesome has also ordered additional products from Peru, Bangladesh, and India that they anticipate will arrive in the United States in the coming weeks and are continuing to place new orders for imports," the complaint says.

Trump and his treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, have said that the tariffs are part of a strategy to increase manufacturing jobs in the United States. But that could take a while. In the meantime, tariffs can raise prices and reduce the dollar's purchasing power, leaving consumers with less money to spend.

Experts told Business Insider that supply chain disruptions caused by the tariffs could cause prices to spike and the availability of goods to decrease in as early as a few weeks.

Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing the companies in the lawsuit, said in a statement that Trump's tariffs are unconstitutional and that only Congress should have the power to levy tariffs.

"The Constitution gives Congress—not the president—the power to impose tariffs because policies affecting an entire nation should come from the body most representative of the entire nation," the statement says. "And Congress cannot delegate that core legislative power to the president."

• Julie Beckham is a financial educator and mom of two.
• Her daughter is a high school senior, and her son is about to graduate from college.
• She's had honest conversations about the cost of college since they were young.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Julie Beckham, assistant vice president of financial education and development and strategy officer at Rockland Trust Bank. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in a middle-class family and was lucky to have my parents pay for my education at New York University. NYU was still expensive back in the 1990s, but it was the type of expensive that a middle-class family could still afford with a moderate amount of sacrifice.

Today, as a financial educator, I still consider myself middle class, but there's no way I could pay the entire cost of college education for my two kids, who are 18 and 21. That's true for many families, thanks to the skyrocketing cost of college.

Because of that, I've been very intentional about talking with my kids about paying for college — from the time they started high school.

Here's how we've planned together to manage the cost.

Choose more affordable schools

Schools with a lower profile yet more affordable tuition can offer a better return on investment for many families. Getting kids to consider these can be tricky since colleges are so good at marketing. Sometimes, going to a "name brand" school is less about the degree and more about the swag.

Ask your kids what they love about a well-known school. Then, provide alternatives that have that same characteristic, at a lower price point. Boston College is popular near where I live because of its football culture, but the same vibe can be found elsewhere for a much lower price.

I've told my kids to consider schools that may not be well-known or have all the swag but are nonetheless special. These schools can give talented students more financial aid and a chance to stand out.

Understand what you can afford, and tell your kids

As my kids approached college age, their dad and I talked about the amount that we could afford to pay toward their education. It's based on what works for each of our budgets.

My kids are expected to pay the difference between the cost of their college and what we're able to cover as their parents.

I recommend parents be very honest about what they can afford, so students can decide whether they're willing to take on student loan debt to cover other costs.

Ditch the guilt about what you can't cover

Sometimes I feel guilty that I can't pay for their whole education. But this is my reality and what I can reasonably afford.

Although I'm a financial educator, I didn't have the means to start saving for college until my kids were in their teens. When I did, it was very simple: transferring a small portion of each paycheck to a savings account I named "college." It wasn't a 529 college savings plan, it wasn't a lot of money, and it wasn't very sophisticated, but it was a start.

It's easy to criticize ourselves as parents, but we need to acknowledge we're often doing the best we can for our kids.

Apply for grants and scholarships

Small grants and scholarships might seem insignificant against the huge bill for college, but they add up. You think $500 isn't going to make a dent, but when you're paying $80 for a book, you realize $500 can be helpful.

I helped my kids apply by researching opportunities, reminding them of deadlines, and encouraging them to work on applications. Sometimes they weren't happy to write another essay, but I reminded them it would take an hour and they could get hundreds of dollars.

Ask for more financial aid

Once you've applied to schools and received your financial aid packages, you might notice significant differences in how much aid your student gets from each school. If that's the case, you can ask a school to match what a comparable school has provided.

I've tried this twice. Once, I called the financial aid office, and they said they couldn't make changes. But another time, I was asked to email the other offer, and they'd see if they could adjust the financial aid package. It never hurts to ask.

Consider graduating early

My son is about to graduate from college a year early, which is a huge savings for our family. He did it by taking advanced placement (AP) classes in high school and earning a few extra credits during college. It was hard work, but it will likely save our family thousands of dollars.

College brings up a lot of feelings for parents and kids. There's so much pressure to get this step right. It's helpful to remember that this is just the first of many steps. Although it feels important, it's the decisions we make every day that really impact our lives.

• Tech giants are known for their challenging interviews.
• Google, Meta, and Nvidia top the list of rigorous interviews with multiple rounds and assessments.
• But tough questions show up across industries, according to employee reports on Glassdoor.

It's tough to break into high-paying companies.

Google is notorious for having a demanding interview process. Aside from putting job candidates through assessments, preliminary phone calls, and asking them to complete projects, the company also screens candidates through multiple rounds of interviews.

Typical interview questions range from open-ended behavioral ones like "tell me about a time that you went against the status quo" or "what does being 'Googley' mean to you?" to more technical ones.

At Nvidia, the chipmaking darling of the AI boom, candidates must also pass through rigorous rounds of assessments and interviews. "How would you describe __ technology to a non-technical person?" was a question a candidate interviewing for a job as a senior solutions architect shared on the career site Glassdoor last month. The candidate noted that they didn't receive an offer.

Tech giants top Glassdoor's list of the hardest companies to interview with. But tough questions show up across industries — from luxury carmakers like Rolls-Royce, where a candidate said they were asked to define "a single crystal," to Bacardi, where a market manager who cited a difficult interview, and no offer, recalled being asked, "If you were a cocktail what would you be and why?"

The digital PR agency Reboot Online analyzed Glassdoor data to determine which companies have the most challenging job interviews. They focused on "reputable companies" listed in the top 100 of Forbes' World's Best Employers list and examined 313,000 employee reviews on Glassdoor. For each company, they looked at the average interview difficulty rating as reported on Glassdoor.

Here's a list of the top 90 companies that put candidates through the ringer for a job, according to self-reported reviews on Glassdoor.

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate products and services to help you make smart decisions with your money.

• The Great Recession of 2008 hit hard, but you wouldn't know it from the way I was spending.
• I had a job that paid well, so I ignored economic warning signs and overspent in the coming years.
• My mistakes led to years of financial strain that impacted my family and my wellbeing.

Imagine raising five young children, watching the economy collapse into itself, and not changing your spending habits. I don't have to, because it happened to me during the Great Recession of 2008.

I have to say, I don't recommend it. My naivete led to my financial downfall, a divorce, losing touch with my family, and even becoming homeless for a time.

As many of us are now on the edge of our seats wondering what's next for our current economy, I'm planning to be a bit more cautious this time around. I've learned a lot of hard lessons since the last recession, and I won't be making the same mistakes again.

Life seemed good

I felt economically stable in the late-2000s. I had a good salary as a technical writer at Citigroup. My wife and I owned a four-bedroom house, two cars, and had some discretionary money. Our life was comfortable.

I wasn't anxious about the 2007 subprime mortgage implosion. After all, I had a 30-year fixed-rate loan.

I wasn't concerned about the stock market crash of September 2008. In my mind, that was karma hitting back at the never-ending greed of American businesses.

I didn't worry about Citigroup — a multi-national company with billions in assets. Surely, the nearly two-century-old bank was too big to fail.

Then they weren't.

I pretended everything was fine

I obsessively watched Citigroup's stock losemuch of its value. For the briefest of moments in November 2008, it fell below a dollar a share before rallying.

When this happened, I momentarily envisioned a worst-case scenario: Citigroup might rapidly collapse under its financial weight, taking its thousands of employees with it — including me.

I didn't physically reveal my discomfort at the time. Instead, I moved forward like the economic world wasn't on fire. I put on an impassive face and assured my family that nothing was wrong.

My wife and I didn't have late-night chats on proper budgeting. We didn't talk to the kids about tightening our belts. I didn't speak to a financial advisor or shop around for lower car insurance costs. In retrospect, I should have done everything I could to secure my family's financial future.

Instead, I spent thousands of dollars on a family vacation to Disney World. We refinished our deck, purchased new kitchen flooring, and updated appliances. In 2009, we welcomed our fifth child, adding more expenses.

We purchased some of these items with cash (new baby excluded), but a large percentage was purchased with credit, eventually resulting in thousands of dollars of debt.

Still, it seemed like calm seas for the S.S. Keller. However, I wasn't steering a double-hulled cruise ship. I was rowing a dinghy against the current as a waterfall of denial loomed in front of me.

Now I know better

This life of lying to myself and my family hurt everyone in the end. In my mind, it was okay to tap into the savings and use credit for expenses beyond the budget. I had a steady, well-paying job at a large corporation.

Yet, I repeatedly overextended my finances when I should have been reeling in my family's financial habits. Compounding this was undiagnosed bipolar disorder. This contributed to impulsive spending and magical thinking about unrealistic financial assessments, but not all could be blamed on this eventual diagnosis.

The mistakes I made during this time led to my eventual divorce and a stretch of time that I spent homeless. The transition from a four-bedroom house to a minivan was a devastating blow.

Further, each time I review my credit report I cringe at the history of my financial missteps.

I didn't learn how to be financially responsible until after my bipolar diagnosis in 2020. Before that, I spent money as soon as it was earned. I lied to my family and endangered their financial stability. It has taken years to heal the wounds.

I now know that honesty and open communication with your family, even about difficult topics like finances, are essential for navigating uncertainty. While you don't have to prepare for the worst-case scenario, you must have the necessary monetary tools to withstand economic turbulence. This includes an emergency fund, budget, and debt reduction plan. I know this now, and I will be keeping it in mind in the coming months.

Today, I live in Northern Colorado and work hard to maintain a solid financial foundation. Although I recently lost my job, I don't give up and do the minimum to find a new position like I used to. I put in 100%, even when my neurodivergence wants me to do otherwise.

It's a precarious balancing act, especially for someone in their mid-50s. Nevertheless, I'm determined to live a life of abundance instead of scarcity.

• Facebook is testing a downvote feature for comment sections. It's designed to cut down on spam.
• It would allow you to downvote comments that aren't "useful."
• Facebook has tested a dislike or downvote button before, but it never stuck. Will this be different?

Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to make Facebook great again, and Meta announced a tiny new feature that might be a step toward that goal.

As part of a series of features and policies aiming to cut down on spammy content, Facebook is testing a "downvote" button for comment sections. This would allow people to anonymously downvote comments that they deem less "useful."

This wouldn't be the first time something like this has come up. For nearly as long as the "like" button has existed (since 2009), the masses have yearned for a "dislike" button. Meta has toyed around with testing a feature like this, but ultimately has never done it.

Back in 2016, Facebook added the extra "reaction" emojis (smiling, laughing, hugging, loving). Geoff Teehan, a product design director at Facebook at the time, wrote a Medium post in 2016: "About a year ago, Mark [Zuckerberg] brought together a team of people to start thinking seriously about how to make the Like button more expressive."

Teehan explained why they went with additional reactions instead of just a "thumbs down" emoji:

We first needed to consider how many different reactions we should include. This might seem like a pretty straightforward task: Just slap a thumbs down next to the Like button and ship it. It's not nearly that simple though.

People need a much higher degree of sophistication and richness in what choices we provide for their communications. Binary 'like' and 'dislike' doesn't properly reflect how we react to the vast array of things we encounter in our real lives.

In 2017, Facebook also tested out a "thumbs down" reaction button for Messenger. This would've been similar to the Apple iMessage reactions that launched in the fall of 2016 and included a thumbs-down emoji.

Instagram has also considered something like this. In February of this year, Instagram head Adam Mosseri posted about a test of downvoting Instagram comments:

But will people understand what the downvote arrow actually means? Will they use it on comments that are extraneous and actually not "useful," or will they use it to try to crush comments they don't agree with or don't like?

I asked Meta about this, and a spokesperson told me that, unlike past tests of a dislike or thumbs-down button, this test will explicitly tell users that it's about being useful —a little text bubble below the button will say, "Let us know which comments aren't useful."

The test is still just a test. It might not actually end up being rolled out. Personally, I think that less-useful comments are less of a burning issue than some of the other AI-slop stuff on Facebook. (Facebook is working on combating some of that, too.) But hey, that's just my questionably useful comment.

• Bill Ackman said a fear of looking weak is preventing the US and China from cutting tariffs.
• The billionaire hedge fund manager said tariffs should fall to "more reasonable levels" of 10% to 20%.
• He also questioned the belief that China can "win" a trade war with the US.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has said that China and the United States should dramatically cut their tariffs on one another, and only the fear of "looking weak" is stopping them.

Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square who supported President Donald Trump during the election, made the comments as imported Chinese goods entering the United States face a 145% tariff and American goods entering China face a 125% tariff.

A 10% baseline tariff on all imports into the United States remains in effect, while Trump has paused his raft of country-specific tariffs.

Ackman, who thanked Trump for announcing a 90-day pause on his proposed "reciprocal" tariffs earlier this month, posted on X on Saturday that tariffs were "very damaging in the short term to companies that rely on China for a large percentage of their goods."

He added China and the United States should reduce tariffs to "more reasonable levels — say 10% to 20% — as quickly as possible."

"The only thing stopping the reduction in tariffs to a more sensible level is the fear on the part of both countries' leadership of looking weak," he said.

"A pause, however, would not be a sign of weakness because it requires both countries to take down their tariffs. It is just common sense," he added.

Ackman also questioned the view that China could "win" a trade war with the United States.

"The problem with this assessment is that, the longer the tariffs persist, the more rapidly every company that has a supply chain based in China relocates it to India, Vietnam, Mexico, the U.S. or some other country," Ackman wrote.

"This is true for US and non-US companies. As a long-term player, China must understand this dynamic," he continued.

Ackman added that whatever happened, companies would no longer be willing to keep their supply chains in China. "That cake is already baked," he added.

Trump and China's leadership made conflicting statements this week about the status of trade talks.

"We're meeting with China," Trump said in an interview with "Time" magazine, which was published on Friday but held on Tuesday.

On Thursday, two Chinese officials said there were no ongoing talks.

• Many tech leaders tried to get close to Trump after the election, donating to his inaugural fund.
• One expert told BI that, since then, it's been a "rocky road" for Silicon Valley leaders and Trump.
• Here's where some of tech's big names — and businesses — stand with the president a few months in.

Some of the biggest tech leaders tried to get in President Donald Trump's good graces before he took office for a second time, meeting with him at his Mar-a-Lago resort and snagging prime spots at Trump's inauguration.

A few months into his presidency, many of those tech leaders are now dealing with tariffs and other disruptive policies, like immigration restrictions and funding cuts, that could impact their bottom lines.

At the time of writing, Trump had exempted many electronics from the harshest levies on China and instead said they would be moved to a different tariff "bucket" in the future. Yet other tariffs have caused US CEOs to pause spending and hiring, and they could make it more expensive to build AI data centers.

The stocks of all publicly listed companies included here have dropped since the inauguration, as has the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.

Darrell West, a senior fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, said some of the tech leaders have "probably been disappointed."

"The tech leaders had a buddy-buddy relationship with Trump early in the administration, but since then, it has been a rocky road," he said. Moving forward, he anticipates that tech leaders will still try to remain close to Trump, even if it doesn't guarantee returns.

"The fact that he meets with CEOs does not mean that he follows the advice they give him," he said.

Here's where some of the biggest tech leaders — and their companies — stand with the president now.

Representatives for Meta, Nvidia, and Amazon declined to comment to Business Insider. Representatives for the White House and other companies did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, X, Boring Company, Neuralink

Elon Musk spent at least $277 million backing Trump and Republicans during the election, has influenced policy and personnel decisions, and is the face of the White House DOGE Office — for now.

The world's richest man has remained close to the president in the months since, but his involvement in Washington seems to be waning. Americans are souring on his political involvement, according to public opinion polls, and he has been viewed by some as a political liability. During a Tesla earnings call in April, Musk announced that he would be stepping back from DOGE and devoting more time to Tesla.

Tesla has suffered since Trump took office due to a widespread protest movement and plummeting sales. Musk has publicly criticized Trump's tariffs but said on the earnings call that Tesla is generally "the least affected car company" when it comes to levies. SpaceX could also benefit from new government contracts.

Other than Tesla, Musk's companies are privately held.

Mark Zuckerberg: Meta

Mark Zuckerberg and Trump have a tumultuous history, but the Facebook founder has recently tried to patch things up. The Meta CEO called Trump a "badass" before the election and ended fact-checking on Meta platforms. The company donated $1 million to the inaugural committee.

Court proceedings recently began in the Federal Trade Commission's blockbuster trial against Meta. The government is trying to force Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing that the company operates as an illegal monopoly. Zuckerberg was the first witness and testified for hours.

Before the trial, Zuckerberg tried to have the suit dismissed. The FTC asked for $30 billion to settle, but Zuckerberg offered only about $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Meta could also take a hit from tariffs, since Chinese advertisers buy ads on its platforms. The company could lose $7 billion in ad revenue, the Journal reported.

Sundar Pichai: Alphabet

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago after the election, and Google donated $1 million to the inauguration fund.

The company hasn't been spared from lawsuits — in April, the Department of Justice kicked off a remedy hearing for Google, where it will decide the company's fate after a previous ruling that it's a monopoly. One proposed solution is separating Chrome, Google's flagship search engine. Google has said it intends to appeal the case, and an executive said in a blog post that the DOJ's proposed solutions are "unnecessary and harmful."

Alphabet, Google's parent company, reported first-quarter earnings on April 24 and exceeded initial revenue expectations despite market volatility.

Jensen Huang: Nvidia

Unlike many of his counterparts, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang did not attend Trump's inauguration. He spent the day celebrating Lunar New Year with employees in Asia. He met with Trump shortly after, however, and Nvidia donated $1 million to the inaugural committee.

The chipmaker sources many of its semiconductors abroad, primarily in Taiwan, making the trade environment tricky. Yet in a March interview with CNBC, Huang sounded relatively calm about tariffs, saying that he's "enthusiastic" about building in the US and that "in the near term, the impact of tariffs won't be meaningful."

Morgan Stanley said in April that Nvidia was still its "top pick" in the market.

Tim Cook: Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook personally donated $1 million to the inaugural committee and attended the event. He also had dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after the election.

Apple is vulnerable to tariffs as the company manufactures many of its products in China. Analysts predicted that the original tariffs could massively drive up iPhone prices; It remains unclear exactly how prices will change in the fluctuating trade environment. The company is ramping up production in India.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent Cook a letter asking for more information about his reported efforts to get specific tariff exemptions. She wrote that they "raise fresh concerns" about corporations' abilities to "gain special favors."

Jeff Bezos: Amazon

In addition to his role as the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, Bezos also owns The Washington Post. During the most recent election, he sparked controversy by deciding that the WaPo wouldn't endorse a candidate.

After Trump won, Bezos had dinner with Trump and Musk at Mar-a-Lago. Amazon donated $1 million to the president's inaugural committee, and Bezos and his fiancée attended the inauguration.

Amazon is facing an ongoing antitrust lawsuit from the FTC and tariffs look set to affect it. Some Amazon sellers have had to raise prices, though a representative for the company previously told BI only a "tiny fraction of items in our store" have been impacted.

Shou Zi Chew: TikTok

TikTok is running up against the clock — Trump has repeatedly paused enforcement of a US ban to try and broker a deal with potential bidders for the company in America.

CEO Shou Zi Chew, the company's CEO, met with Trump in December and attended the inauguration. TikTok spent $50,000 on an inauguration party for Gen Z and influencers that helped spread the president's campaign message. The app's future remains uncertain.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a privately owned Chinese company.

Sam Altman: OpenAI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman personally gave $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund and attended the event. He also visited the White House early in Trump's term to announce Stargate, a $500 billion private-sector AI infrastructure investment that spurred a public spat with Musk.

The company gave the White House recommendations for an "AI Action Plan" due to be submitted to Trump in July and advocated for a light regulatory environment.

OpenAI is a privately held company. At the end of March, it announced a new funding round that put its valuation at $300 billion.

Satya Nadella: Microsoft

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella didn't attend Trump's inauguration but did congratulate him online, like many other tech leaders. Microsoft donated $1 million to the inaugural fund.

• My favorite cocktail requires three ingredients and zero stress but produces maximum flavor.
• A key ingredient is pomegranate juice — as a dietitian, I like that it's a source of antioxidants.
• The other two ingredients are triple sec and vodka, though the drink is easy to customize.

Picture this: It's cocktail hour, guests are arriving, and you're ready to impress them with the most delicious drink they've ever had.

Enter: My favorite three-ingredient cocktail.

It's so downright tasty that people I serve it to often assume it's some secret, ultra-complicated mixology masterpiece. I've had many guests sip it, pause mid-sentence, and say things like, "Oh my gosh, what is this? It's amazing!"

The reactions never get old, and neither does this versatile, elegant-looking drink. It's my secret weapon when hosting, and the best part is … it's actually really easy to make.

Here's how to prepare this cocktail and why I like it so much.

The recipe is pretty foolproof and customizable

My glorious concoction includes pomegranate juice, a touch of triple sec, and vodka. That's it!

Here's how I usually make it:

1. Add ice to a cocktail shaker, then 2 ounces pomegranate juice (I prefer POM Wonderful), ½ ounce triple sec, and 1 ½ ounces vodka.
2. Shake it for about 15 seconds.
3. Strain the mixture into your favorite cocktail glass (bonus points for adding fun garnishes, like pomegranate seeds or a citrus slice).
4. Sip and enjoy.

The cocktail is versatile, and its key ingredient makes me happy as a dietitian

As a dietitian, I'm a big fan of using 100% pomegranate juice because it contains no added sugars and is loaded with antioxidants. This means I can feel slightly virtuous while sipping this cocktail (even though alcohol isn't good for you).

This recipe is quite versatile, too. Ratios can be adjusted based on preference and it can be customized.

If you're not a fan of sweet cocktails, ditch the triple sec and use a flavored vodka instead.

I like using Cathead Satsuma mandarin vodka, which has a subtle citrus flavor that beautifully complements the pomegranate juice.

It's also a tasty mocktail if you omit the vodka or swap it out for a splash of soda water.

Overall, this drink is ridiculously simple to make, tastes like a million bucks, and has a stunning deep-red color that just looks impressive. I suggest giving it a chance.

• Reid Hoffman said he uses OpenAI's Deep Research every day to have a "lens" on AI's future.
• He said using "chain-of-thought" models offered an insight into how these products could be "workers in the future."
• He added that "a bunch of folks" were in the race to develop the best agentic AI.

Reid Hoffman has said he uses a specific tool daily to gain insight into how AI products could be "workers in the future."

The LinkedIn cofounder and investor said he did "at least" one prompt daily with OpenAI's Deep Research tool, an agentic tool for automating complex multi-step internet research. He also said there was many companies building "strong" offerings in the race to make AI agents.

Hoffman, who stood down as an OpenAI director in 2023, citing potential conflicts of interest with his other AI investments, was asked about the startup during an interview on Bloomberg Television on Friday.

He said he was using Deep Research once a day, and that it "gives you the lens to the amplification we're going to get with these products as workers in the future."

The rise of agentic AI, which can independently act on a person's behalf and make decisions without human intervention, has fuelled speculation about how and when AI might replace human workers.

A group of Carnegie Mellon researchers ran a virtual simulation designed to test how AI agents fare in real-world professional scenarios. They found that the top-performing model finished less than one-quarter of all tasks.

"While agents may be used to accelerate some portion of the tasks that human workers are doing, they are likely not a replacement for all tasks at the moment," Graham Neubig, a computer science professor at CMU and one of the researchers, previously told BI.

Hoffman, who cofounded Manas AI, said he saw no clear leader in the race to develop agentic AI, saying there was "a bunch of folks who are doing very strong things," and "not just OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google."

Bloomberg interviewer Ed Ludlow told Hoffman he was increasingly talking to AI in voice mode, which he called "a psychological thing that, as a consumer, you kind of have to get over."

• Trump and Zelenskyy met at the Vatican before Pope Francis' funeral.
• This was their first meeting since a heated exchange at the White House in February.
• "Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic," Zelenskyy later wrote on X.

Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on Saturday — their first encounter since a heated exchange at the White House two months ago.

The two leaders held a discussion inside St. Peter's Basilica, ahead of the Pope's funeral, with French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer present during the initial moments.

Zelenskyy and Trump had not met since their heated exchange in the Oval Office on February 28, in which Trump said of Ukraine's war against Russia, "You're either going to make a deal or we're out."

Four days later, Trump announced a pause in US military aid, and the EU declared "an era of rearmament," as it unveiled a defense funding boost.

The Oval Office meeting was in the glare of the world's press, but photos of the Rome meeting show Trump and Zelenskyy seated close together, without aides or interpreters.

Andrii Yermak, a senior aide to Zelenskyy, shared a photo of the leaders in St. Peter's Basilica on Telegram. "Constructive," he wrote.

Steven Cheung, White House communications director, called it a "very productive discussion."

Posting X, Zelenskyy said the encounter had been a "good meeting."

"We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results," he said.

The Rome meeting comes after Steve Witkoff, Trump's designated peace envoy, travelled to Moscow for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov said the talks centered on "the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine."

Following Witkoff's return, Trump said on Truth Social that "most of the major points are agreed to" and that a cease-fire deal between Kyiv and Moscow was "very close."

As he prepared to leave for Rome on Friday, Trump told reporters that the talks were "very fragile." He has also warned that the US might halt its mediation efforts if a deal isn't reached soon.

After the meeting on Saturday, Zelenskyy was greeted with applause when he walked out of St Peter's Basilica after paying his respects in front of the pontiff's coffin.

Trump later wrote a long post on Truth Social, in which he called the war in Ukraine "Sleepy Joe Biden's War, not mine. It was a loser from day one."

The long post ended, "There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through "Banking" or "Secondary Sanctions?" Too many people are dying!!!"

• Pope Francis, the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church, died on April 21 at the age of 88.
• Trump, Macron, Zelenskyy, and other world leaders attended the funeral Mass on Saturday.
• Over 250,000 people gathered to pay their respects to the late pontiff, Vatican authorities said.

After 12 years of serving as the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88.

Thousands of people paid their respects as the pontiff's body lay in state inside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City in the days before his burial in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

Saturday's funeral Mass was attended by world leaders, including President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A new pope will be chosen by the College of Cardinals in a papal election known as the conclave.

Photos show powerful moments from the late pope's funeral proceedings.

After Pope Francis' death was announced on Easter Monday, mourners assembled for an evening rosary prayer in St. Peter's Square.

Visitors left flowers, candles, and photos of the late pope.

The late pope lay in state in an open wooden coffin on Tuesday at Casa Santa Marta, his papal residence.

On Wednesday, his body was transferred to St. Peter's Basilica, one of the holiest sites in the Catholic church, for three days of public viewing.

His coffin was placed in front of the Altar of the Confession, which sits above what is believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter, one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles.

After leading the procession to the Basilica, the Cardinals conducted a service featuring liturgical readings and hymns.

Tens of thousands of people waited in line to enter St. Peter's Basilica and pay their respects to Pope Francis.

On Saturday, Pope Francis' funeral Mass took place in front of St. Peter's Basilica.

Vatican authorities said more than 250,000 people watched on during the ceremony, which included Gregorian chants and Latin verses.

Dozens of world leaders attended the Holy event, including Trump. Macron, Zelenskyy, and Biden also attended.

After the Mass, the coffin carrying the Pope's body was brought to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, his final resting place.

• When my sister was dying of breast cancer, she made me promise I'd live my life to the fullest.
• At first, I didn't follow through, but eventually I found the courage to act on my promise.
• I decided to move on my own to a beach town, where I met my husband.

When my older sister called to let me know that the painful lump in her breast was not a clogged milk duct from nursing her newborn, my world shattered. My 31-year-old sister was diagnosed with stage 3C breast cancer.

I immediately purchased a one-way plane ticket to stay with her and help with my 2-year-old nephew and newborn niece. Over the next two and a half years, I watched my once strong and bossy sister slowly become bedridden. She then became unable to walk or breathe without oxygen.

In our final conversation, I told her I wished I could take her place. After all, I had no children and was in an unhappy marriage. My sister replied that she was glad it was her and not me. She said she wanted me to have children and truly experience life.

She then asked me to promise to live a life for both of us, doing the things she wouldn't be able to do. She encouraged me to create happiness despite whatever difficult decisions I'd have to make. I made her that promise, altering my life forever.

At first, I couldn't handle the grief and ignored the promise I made

Her passing, though ultimately expected, rocked my sense of mortality and shattered me. We had always talked about growing old together in a nursing home and bickering with each other when we were 95, sharing a room like we did when we were kids.

At 27, I was deeply cognizant that I had no guarantee of time. Like everyone else, I thought I had decades before thinking about mortality, let alone a bucket list.

I was in denial for years. I lacked direction, strength, and self-worth.

Running became my outlet for grief. When I'd get tired and wanted to stop, I pictured my sister in her wheelchair, gasping for air, and took another step for her.

After my sister died, I had no mental or emotional energy to deal with my failing marraige. Having a baby didn't fix it.

I wondered if this was the life my sister envisioned for me as she was dying. Suddenly, I knew it wasn't. At 29, I finally admitted I was anything but happy and knew it was time to make a change.

I eventually acted on the promise I made with my sister

Braving the judgment I knew I'd face, I left my marriage and moved states with my infant and two large dogs to fulfill my dream of living near the beach despite having no family nearby to help. I started saying "yes" to more things and tackling my newly created bucket list.

An opportunity to visit Hawaii arose, and I jumped on it. In just one week, I skydived, got scuba certified, hiked a mountain at sunrise, and swam with sharks.

Keeping my promise to her — to say yes, to create happiness — changed everything. I gained confidence and self-esteem. That transformation led me to my life partner and now-husband, whom I met on the beach. We got engaged and married on that same sand.

Having my second child with him and feeling renewed in my career and personal relationships, I now live a life my 90-year-old self — and my sister — would be proud of.

I choose myself daily and remove what doesn't serve me. Every year, I celebrate aging; each birthday I see means I'm still alive, and I will never take that for granted.

I still live near the same beach where I rebuilt my life, and my car is covered in sand, dog hair, kids' toys, and sunscreen — just as I had always hoped.

• Inventor James Dyson has talked about the importance of embracing "failure" in work and life.
• "I've always said mine is a life of failure," the British billionaire told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.
• He's created thousands of prototypes over his career and also scrapped plans to enter the EV market.

Inventor James Dyson is famous for his namesake vacuums which use his patented cyclone technology. His net worth is $16.8 billion per Bloomberg's Billionaire Index.

But he says that, "mine is a life of failure."

In a video interview with The Wall Street Journal published Saturday. Dyson — who said he created 5,127 prototypes over five years before launching his bagless vacuum cleaner in 1993 — said that embracing failure was essential to life.

"It's true for writers and filmmakers and all sorts of people. It's a life of failure. It takes a long time before you find the one that works," he said. "You just have to get used to that."

Dyson, 77, said he enjoyed the misfires and struggles he's had across his career, saying that real wisdom comes from experience.

"At school, you're taught to get the answer right the first time," he said. While a clever student may get to the answer quickly, he said, they are at a disadvantage to those who take their time getting to an answer, as they haven't "viscerally experienced failure and overcoming failure."

For Dyson, resilience and adaptability are some of the most important skills someone can learn. "Life is about making things work," he said.

He continued: "That's what you have to do. It's trial and error. When something works, it's less challenging, it's less interesting."

Aside from the many prototypes it took him to invent the first vacuum with his namesake brand, Dyson famously abandoned plans to enter the electric car market in 2019 after spending more than $600 million on developing a vehicle that he came to realize was not commercially viable.

"The route to success is never linear. This is not the first project which has changed direction and it will not be the last," he wrote in a letter announcing the decision.

He said of his scrapped EV vehicle, "I could see that it was just too risky."

• "You" star Charlotte Ritchie, who plays Kate Lockwood, spoke to BI about the fifth and final season.
• Ritchie reacted to Kate's fate and said she was "on the fence" about what should happen to her.
• The actor also gave her opinion on how Joe's story ends.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for season five of Netflix's "You."

The final chapter of Netflix's hit series "You" has arrived, and star Charlotte Ritchie is (mostly) thrilled that her character, Kate Lockwood, made it out alive.

The fifth season of "You," released on Thursday, picks up three years after Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) and Kate move back to his hometown of New York City at the end of season four. Everything is going well for the now-married power couple, but Joe's dark side can only be suppressed for so long, and once it reemerges and reinvigorates him, their relationship becomes fraught.

Ritchie told Business Insider that Kate has known all along that this is who Joe is — she's just been in denial about it. This season is "a real lesson in accepting the reality of your situation," Ritchie said.

When Kate finally sees clearly, she decides that the only way to stop Joe is to kill him.

"She is genuinely afraid of him and what he can do," Ritchie explained. "I think she just sees how this man consistently gets away with everything, and she's like, 'He has to not exist anymore for us to be safe. There's no system in the world that could keep him from us.'"

Kate recruits Joe's season three love interest Marienne Bellamy (Tati Gabrielle) and season four character Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman) to help her. This is one way the final season weaves together loose ends from the series and provides closure for other fan-favorite characters.

"What I love about this series is that they really lean into the genre. They really lean into the history of the show," Ritchie said. "I think it does the whole narrative justice."

In one dramatic moment in the penultimate episode, after getting into a physical altercation, Kate and Joe end up on the floor of Mooney's basement as the bookstore goes up in flames.

Resigned and more truthful than ever and thinking they've both reached their end, Joe admits that he killed Kate's dad and murdered Love. Relieved, Kate reveals that she secretly recorded Joe's confession and will be sending it to the authorities.

"You got me," Joe says. "You can die happy."

It's a scene that, like many in the show, finds the humor in unconventional moments.

"I love that that's in there, just Kate and Joe both quite dryly commenting on how absurd it is and how sad that they're both going to die," Ritchie said. "I just think it's a great scene. I think it's really well written."

Neither Kate nor Joe dies in that moment, and Ritchie has complicated feelings about her character escaping the fire.

"I was so happy because I've grown to really love this character, and I found it was so fun to get to be right in the midst of getting him," Ritchie said. "But I also felt like if there's ever a poetic justice in death, there was some justice in Kate going down with him."

"I really don't believe in people dying because they've done bad things, but in the world of the justice of this show, there's such a redemptive element to Kate's demise that it would've been OK," she added.

With Joe locked up for life in the finale, Ritchie said she's happy that Henry has a consistent and stable parent. But still, Kate's not innocent.

"She's done some pretty dastardly things and she's got herself into scrapes and been responsible for a lot of people's downfalls," Ritche said. "So yeah, I was on the fence as to what should happen to her, but I was obviously really pleased that she comes through."

"You" co-showrunners Michael Foley and Justin W. Lo previously told BI that they are prepared for fans to have varying reactions to Joe's fate in the finale and their choice to put him behind bars. Ritchie, too, is still grappling with that conclusion.

"I feel so mixed about it," she said.

After multiple seasons of seeing Joe do terrible, gruesome things, she's not sure what ending could adequately bookend his story.

"There is no fate that matches a life like that," Ritchie said. "But I do feel like the isolation is a good punishment for him. The thing is, I just don't get any sense that he's going to reflect or grow. It's not going to be a formative or spiritual experience for him. Broadly, it isn't for people. As far as I can tell, solitary confinement just seems to wear people down, except for some kind of amazing exceptions."

Case in point: in the final scene, Joe reads a creepy fan letter and says that maybe the problem isn't him — perhaps it's society.

"I do find the letter-writing thing quite an interesting twist, and his ability to turn it back onto his admirers and these women who have been asking to be involved with him," Ritchie said. "He'll never accept responsibility."

As the press tour for season five winds down, Ritchie already misses the cast and crew, including her frequent scene partner Badgley.

"I love Penn," Ritchie said. "I think he's such a decent and thoughtful and committed actor. He's such a lovely friend. He's very funny. And he commits to that role in a way that means that when you are working with him, you can do the same."

After seeing Kate go from closed-off and cold to blossoming in the final season, Ritchie is going to miss exploring more sides of her.

"And I'll miss the outrageous scenarios that are constant. Like, the nonstop drama, the daily, different high-octane situations where people are constantly about to extort somebody or about to kill somebody," she said. "That kind of level of high drama, I'll miss."

Season five of "You" is now streaming on Netflix.

• I'm from Maui, and there are spots I recommend for visitors and things I suggest they avoid.
• Some of the best things for tourists to do in Hawaii is visit Haleakala National Park or Twin Falls.
• Proceed with caution if you plan to drive the Road to Hana or go to Makena State Park.

As a born and raised Hawaii resident, navigating the beauty of Maui has been both a privilege and a joy.

While serving as a tour guide for loved ones who've visited, I've crafted a list of must-see attractions and identified spots that don't live up to the hype or, in some cases, may even pose risks.

So, consider this list a local perspective on the best ways to appreciate Maui's wonders — and which places or activities might be worth skipping.

Experience an authentic luau in Lahaina

A luau provides a glimpse into Polynesian culture through traditional cuisine, music, dance, and insightful education on history and cultural practices.

The award-winning Old Lahaina Luau has always been a personal favorite. Although the property sustained fire damage, it has since reopened and continues to welcome guests with its renowned spirit of aloha.

Let the luau staff and performers — many of whom are longtime Lahaina residents — transport the audience back in time to ancient Hawaii with the Pacific Ocean as a serene backdrop.

The evening includes a captivating performance paired with a multicourse meal with dishes like locally sourced ʻulu (breadfruit) hummus, kalua pork cooked in an imu (traditional Hawaiian underground oven), and fresh-caught fish.

Explore rare landscapes and vegetation at Haleakala National Park

One of my favorite activities while growing up on Maui was spontaneously driving up to Haleakala National Park (home to the island's dormant volcano) to watch the sunrise.

The park is a great spot for a sunset or a daytime hike, whether you want to try a short walk to a viewpoint or a full-day hike into the crater.

Drink in the sunset and cocktails at Ocean Organic Vodka

Nestled on the slopes of Haleakala is an 80-acre organic farm and distillery that produces Ocean Organic Vodka and other liquor, including my personal favorite, Kula Rum.

Guests can take a guided tour of the farm and distillery that's followed by a tasting.

Alternatively, head straight to the al fresco Cafe at The Point to enjoy dishes like poke nachos, teriyaki chicken sandwich, and an array of cocktails. With its panoramic views of the Maui landscape, this is the perfect place to catch a sunset.

Connect with the local community at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center is a venue for education and entertainment, including performances of Hawaiian music and dance as well as cultural programs and gallery exhibitions.

Some standout events include the annual Slack Key Guitar Festival, with live music, and the Maui Brewers Festival, with beer and food tastings.

Plus, there are shows by renowned musicians, comedians, and much more all year round.

Have family-friendly fun at the Twin Falls

This leisurely hike through Wailele Farm includes various waterfalls and fresh-water pools that are fun for all ages to swim in.

The path to the upper falls is only about a mile roundtrip and is an ideal place to immerse yourself in some of Hawaii's natural wonders.

The family-owned-and-operated farm also grows more than 350 species of tropical plants. Try a taste of fresh produce like mangoes, lilikoi (passion fruit), coconuts, and more — all of which are available for purchase at the on-property Wailele Farm Stand.

Be sure to check trail conditions before heading out, as there can be closures due to flooding.

On the other hand, don't play in the waves at Makena State Park

Makena State Park, also known as Big Beach, is a popular spot for experienced surfers, but I don't recommend coming here if you want to float around or go for a swim.

The shorebreak can be dangerous, and the powerful waves frequently create hazardous conditions. Although there are sometimes lifeguards on duty, even experienced swimmers can struggle to keep up in the waters here.

The waves may look fun to play in, but the risk simply isn't worth the potential reward.

Be discerning about driving on the Road to Hana

Hana is my favorite place on Earth, but the road to get there is treacherous, with dozens of one-lane bridges and hundreds of curves, many of which are on the edge of a cliff.

This journey is not recommended for novice drivers or those who are prone to getting carsick. Parking is also an issue, as the narrow roads don't provide much room to pull over.

Instead of driving yourself, consider booking an official tour with a professional guide if you want to visit the Road to Hana.

It's better to view the Nakalele Blowhole from a distance

The Nakalele Blowhole is a natural wonder that's caused by ocean waves shooting through an underwater lava tube to create a geyser-like spout.

It's certainly a sight to behold, but witnessing it up close requires hiking across rocky terrain. This can be dangerous if you have children or other curious souls who could venture too close and slip on the rocks or (worst case scenario) get sucked in.

Instead, consider just enjoying the sprays of water from a distance.

A hike on Waihee Ridge Trail can be great, but only in the right conditions

The Waihee Ridge Trail is stunning but fickle. The trail typically has one of two extremes: It's either hot and sunny with minimal shade or covered in slippery mud on a steep slope with no views from the top due to thick clouds.

Even my friend who's an avid hiker wasn't inclined to hit the Waihee Ridge Trail when they visited.

It's really only worth going on this hike if you go early in the morning on a day with great weather. Otherwise, your trek may be a lot more taxing than it might be worth in the end.

Leave jumping off Black Rock to professional cliff divers

At the north end of Kaanapali Beach stands Black Rock, which is a popular cliff-jumping spot about a dozen feet (or more in some places) above the water.

It's frequented by locals as well as hotel employees who light torches along the rocks before diving into the water at sunset most evenings.

However, cliff diving can be extremely dangerous, especially when done without proper precautions, supervision, or prep.

Even if you don't get seriously hurt, it's still painful if you hit the water wrong, and you're sure to hear commiserating cries from onlookers — something I know from personal experience.

There are also strong currents around Black Rock, so please carefully consider entering the water.

• United Airlines is investing in a revolutionary new aircraft type.
• The head of its latest venture, a jet with one big wing, said it will be like a "living room in the sky."
• The 'blended-wing body' plane built by startup JetZero could replace United's older Boeing jets.

United Airlines is investing billions of dollars in funky new aircraft, including electric air taxis and a supersonic jet. Up next? A plane that's essentially one giant wing.

The airline on Thursday unveiled a plan to buy up to 200 of the 'blended-wing body' aircraft from California-based aerospace startup JetZero. The startup wants to compete with Airbus and Boeing by creating a plane that burns half the fuel of a similarly sized, traditional tube-and-wing plane.

The 250-passenger "Z4" aircraft is not yet certified, but the company is aiming for a 2030 commercial launch and successfully flew a subscale prototype in 2024.

Andrew Chang, the managing director of United Airlines Ventures, the division that funds these innovation-focused investments, told Business Insider the Z4's oversized wing could create a "living room in the sky."

"Everything around the customer travel experience — how they sit in the plane, board, and deplane, and how [crewmembers] serve them — can be reinvented around the new space within this new aircraft design," he said.

Chang added that the conditional purchase agreement relies on JetZero's ability to prove its revolutionary design with a full-sized demonstrator by 2027 and meet United's operational and business requirements on things like cost, fuel burn, and safety.

But he was confident JetZero, which the US Air Force has also backed, could deliver: "If you look at the management team, there's a lot of institutional experience and knowledge there from companies like Airbus and Boeing."

More wing means more cabin real estate

JetZero's futuristic plane combines the wings and fuselage into a single lifting surface. This unique airframe dramatically widens the cabin, allowing United to accommodate over a dozen seats per row.

Widebody passenger aircraft today max out at 10-abreast rows. The densest configuration ever proposed was 11 seats across on the world's largest commercial airliner, the Airbus A380 — though no carriers signed on.

The Z4 will be shorter than traditional dual-aisle planes. Chang said that instead of 20 or 30 rows of seats, there may be only 10 or 15.

There would also be more aisles for navigating the cabin, and up to four entry doors, improving boarding and deplaning efficiency.

Chang added that there would be economy and premium seats with Starlink WiFi and media to create a living-room-like vibe and likely some reimagined spaces: "Every square foot of real estate, you want to have revenue passengers on it," he said.

It's unclear what new spaces United could develop, but JetZero competitor Natilus has some ideas for its in-development 200-person blended-wing aircraft design called Horizon.

Speaking to BI in October, Natilus CEO Aleksey Matyushev said Horizon could accommodate lounge or playroom areas. He added that this could offset the possible complaint of the longer rows reducing the number of window seats.

Delta Air Lines is also working with JetZero as a partner developer. It said the cabin could accommodate accessible seats and lavatories, and dedicated overhead bin space for every passenger.

Alaska Airlines' investment, which also has the option for plane orders, said the airframe would provide a quieter flying experience.

JetZero could replace some of United's old Boeing planes

JetZero said its Z4 plane's better lift and lower drag could cut fuel burn by up to 50% per passenger mile while still flying up to about 5,750 miles nonstop. It would use conventional jet engines and run on traditional or sustainable aviation fuel.

Chang said this efficiency and subsequent cost cuts could make the new jet a replacement for midsize airplanes like the Boeing 757 and the Boeing 767. United plans to retire these older aircraft by 2026 and 2030, respectively.

For example, United said in a press release that a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, would use up to 45% less fuel than the twin-aisle aircraft flying the route today.

United's Boeing 767 operates that summer seasonal transatlantic trek. JetZero's new aircraft could take over, and it would fit into the existing airport infrastructure on both sides of the pond.

JetZero's expected commercialization is years away. United plans to take on next-generation aircraft like the Airbus A321XLR and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as more immediate and reliable replacements for the 757 and 767.

If certified, JetZero's aircraft would provide United with another high-range, high-capacity, and cost-effective fleet option that could comfortably sit in between.

It would have more range and capacity than the A321XLR but less than United's 787-9 and 787-10. The Z4 could hold a handful more people than the airline's smallest Dreamliner variant, the 787-8.

"We believe [JetZero] is a game changer; this is a different way to reinvent aviation," Chang said.

• To celebrate my 500th day sober, my husband and I went on an expedition cruise.
• Traveling sober used to be a bit of a struggle, but I realized it makes my vacations so much better.
• I remember more of my trip and feel more physically able to do everything I want to do.

It's been more than 520 days since I last had an alcoholic beverage. It feels like quite an accomplishment, considering in my pre-sobriety days, I'd been known to polish off an entire bottle of wine in one evening or skip my early-morning gym workout due to a hangover. Since I'd hit the legal drinking age, my vacations had been synonymous with cocktails by the pool and rosé on the patio, so one of my biggest worries in my early days of sobriety was what travel would look like when I wasn't drinking.

Soon after I stopped drinking alcohol, I traveled on an expedition cruise, whale-watching in Mexico through National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions. I remember being thrilled for the experience, but also nervous about the all-inclusive alcohol on the ship.

Staying sober on vacation was easier than I thought, but it was a struggle to watch other passengers, including my husband, throw back a few glasses of wine at dinner or sip craft cocktails at the ship's bar.

I've often been told sobriety is a muscle, and the more you exercise it, the easier it gets to pass up booze. It's true: Since my first sober vacation, I've visited an all-inclusive resort in St. Vincent, stayed alcohol-free during a solo trip to London, and even faced my fears at some of my favorite Florida theme park Halloween events without liquid courage. So when my husband and I talked about taking a trip together to celebrate making it to 500 days sober — this time, an expedition cruise around Portugal's Azores islands — I didn't worry at all.

An expedition cruise felt like the perfect vacation for celebrating my sobriety wins

On our cruise around the Azores, we stopped at seven islands and spent our days hiking, walking, and exploring. We learned about Azorean history and culture, ate some incredible local dishes, saw breathtaking views, and hit lots of cafés and shops in quaint Azorean towns. In the evenings, we sat at communal dinner tables with other guests and had great conversations late into the night. The trip was unique and special, and being sober throughout every moment of it felt like the perfect way to enjoy it.

I'm more physically able to enjoy my travels

Expedition cruises are among the most physically demanding trips I've ever taken. Not only are there full days of hiking and walking around towns, but there are lots of stairs aboard the ship and activities like early-morning stretch classes. Most days begin with an early-morning wake-up call around 6 or 7 a.m., followed by a mad dash to get ready, eat breakfast, and disembark the ship for adventure.

Had I been staying up late drinking and waking up hungover, I'd never have enjoyed these activities as much as I did. What's more, I was overwhelmed with pride each time I succeeded at completing a difficult hike, since in my drinking days, my physical health wasn't as good as it is now.

I make more memories now

When I traveled and drank alcohol, there were always parts of my vacation that were a blur. Too many Aperol spritzes in Italy, and I can only remember a day we spent in Florence through photos. Bottles of wine poolside on a Caribbean cruise? There are blocks of that day I barely recall. Traveling sober has allowed me to remember more of my vacations, like when we were picked to sleep overnight in one of the heated igloos on our ship's upper deck.

Where I previously would have had several cocktails and fallen asleep, I'll now remember having a candle-lit sleepover with my husband in a glass igloo as we looked at the stars and watched movies on my iPad. In fact, all of my memories of the trip, from hiking to the top of a volcano to watching dolphins swim alongside our ship, are permanent fixtures in my booze-free brain.

Sobriety has only made travel better

Looking back at the expedition cruise we took last year, when I was only a few months sober, I wish I could tell that version of myself how much better travel would continue to get without alcohol. My biggest focus during travel used to be my next drink, and now I spend vacations breathing in the fresh ocean air, proving how strong my body is through hiking, and appreciating local cuisine, which tastes way better when not drowned in alcoholic drinks.

I'm more present, more relaxed, more energetic, and more ready to enjoy everything I do and see on my trip. Travel has only gotten better in more than 500 days of sobriety, and I've been able to enjoy every moment in every destination.

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back to our Saturday edition! Oscar-nominated actor Demi Moore eats a meat-free diet, but there's one guilty pleasure she can't live without.

On the agenda:

• Why eating too much protein might backfire in the long term.
• Everyone used to want "Instagram face." Now, "K-face" is all the rage.
• The clothes and shoes that successful women swear by.
• A couple spent $1.7 million on two Bali villas that they rent out for parties.

But first: Leave the kids at home.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

Grown-up getaway

There's nothing like a family vacation, but every once in a while, you really do need adults-only fun. Think about it: You can properly relax with no unexpected (well, maybe) interruptions as you unplug.

Lucky for us, there are plenty of options to enjoy kid-free fun — from cruises to hotels.

Adults-only resorts cater to grown-ups, whether you're looking for a tranquil afternoon at the spa, adventure on nearby hiking trails, or delight in fine dining.

Brittany Chang, BI's senior visual features reporter, took readers inside Hyatt Vivid's first-ever adults-only all-inclusive resort in Cancún, Mexico, and it's a perfect paradise for travelers looking for something more casual. It doesn't mean there aren't plenty of activities to do.

"Guests can sign up for mezcal tastings or booze it up at the property's six watering holes, including a swim-up bar in the rooftop pool," she writes, adding that guests can also "sweat it out in an underwater cycling class, or take a 10-minute bus to Ennea Beach Club."

There are also adults-only cruises that still offer the space to act like a kid. BI's travel reporter Joey Hadden went on one with Virgin Voyages and was surprised to find not only a tattoo parlor on board, but also an actual playground.

"The cruise ship playground was surrounded by fun activities, like a human-size chess set, a boxing ring, and a net suspended above an ocean view," Hadden writes. "If there had been children around, I wouldn't have felt comfortable taking up space on this playground. Surrounded by only adults, however, I felt free to enjoy these activities."

Convinced yet? Great! Call the sitter.

POV: protein overload

Protein-maxxing is the latest obsession in health, fitness, and longevity. Still, there is such a thing as too much protein.

Our bodies can't store it past a certain point, and the excess sometimes crowds out other necessary nutrients. Doctors and dietitians told BI what happens when you overdo it.

They also shared how to consume the right amount.

The human cost of "K-face"

Korean plastic surgery, like K-pop and K-beauty, is riding the wave of global South Korean cultural influence. International tourists go to South Korea for procedures at low prices (by US standards, at least) to achieve "K-face."

The quest for K-face is not a grassroots movement, however. It's a carefully executed investment strategy by the Korean government worth more than a billion dollars.

And it profits off endless insecurities.

Working women with great taste

BI asked successful women across industries about the clothes they wear to achieve a chic, professional look.

Their answers ranged from sustainably-sourced favorites to trusted Jenni Kayne sweaters and timeless Gucci loafers. Many said it's not the clothes that matter, but the feeling they give the wearer.

Confidence is key.

Also read:

• 9 office fashion staples Gen Zers think only millennials would wear

No ordinary short-term rental

Justin and Annabelle Parfitt wanted to offer guests luxury stays at their two-villa Bali compound, and they spent $1.7 million to do so.

The five- and seven-bedroom villas boast separate pools, fine dining fare, and butlers, but the best part is the complimentary party-planning services. The Parfitts work with guests and planners to throw extravagant shindigs, especially big birthdays.

See inside the party villas.

What we're watching this weekend

• "You": Netflix's psychological thriller series, starring Penn Badgley, ends with its fifth and final season.
• "Andor": Diego Luna reprises his role as the titular rebel soldier in season two of the "Star Wars" spin-off series.
• "Babygirl": Nicole Kidman plays a powerful CEO who has an affair with her much younger intern in Halina Reijn's 2024 erotic thriller, now streaming on Max.

See the full list

What to shop

• Weekend luggage: Not every trip requires a full set of suitcases. For your next long weekend, quick visit, or overnight stay, these are the best weekender bags we've tested.
• A city-dweller essential: Our team's newest NYC transplant put the viral Hulken rolling tote to the test, and she can't believe anyone lives here without it. Make city-schlepping easier with her favorite find.
• Make ice cream at home: The Ninja Creami has blown up on TikTok as an easy way to make ice cream with any kind of milk or dairy alternative. We tested it, and while it's useful for those with dietary restrictions, it has drawbacks.

More of this week's top reads:

• "You" star Penn Badgley said he almost quit acting at 20 because he was "disillusioned and dried up" after starting work at 12.
• I've been to 45 countries and think every traveler should add these five incredible places to their bucket list.
• A bride chose the first wedding dress she tried on and paired it with a veil made by her grandmother.
• We got dinner at STK Steakhouse. The restaurant's vibe wasn't perfect, but our $636 meal was spectacular.
• I stayed at a luxury lodge in Uganda. The pool and butler service were nice, but one perk has me dreaming of a return trip.
• Kelly Marie Tran says after years of therapy, she can look back on "Star Wars" with "fondness."
• I think of vacations as relaxing on a beach. A solo trip to Iceland changed that.
• The next Golden Bachelor is a 66-year-old former NFL player. Here's everything we know about "The Golden Bachelor" season 2.

The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York City (on paternity leave). Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• Sarah Anderson and her husband have road-tripped through 33 states over the past decade.
• Anderson shared her favorite hidden-gem destinations for summer road trips in the US.
• These destinations offer alternatives to crowded national parks during the summer.

Sarah Anderson and her husband, Myles, have been road-tripping across the US for a decade. Each year, they've traveled roughly 7,000 miles, covering 33 states and countless campgrounds from east to west.

As summer approaches and national parks around the country are bound to get crowded, Anderson shared with Business Insider lesser-known natural destinations that will give you a unique and secluded experience.

Avoid crowded trails in Custer State Park in South Dakota.

Anderson said one of the most underrated trips they've ever taken was to South Dakota in the summer of 2022, where they spent the Fourth of July camping at Custer State Park.

"We were able to get a last-minute camping spot, and it wasn't crowded," she said. "You could spend a week there because it's so beautiful, and there's so much hiking."

It was a sunny 75 degrees Fahrenheit — perfect for hiking, Anderson said. During her hikes, Anderson appreciated the park's unique geographic features.

"Custer Park is known for having these rock spires. I've never seen anything like it," she said. "You get a really good reflection of the rock formations on Sylvan Lake."

The park is also full of grasslands and wildlife, from donkeys to bison, she added.

"You can drive from Custer to Badlands National Park, and you can also stop by Mount Rushmore," Anderson said. "So you can easily make a whole road trip there."

Explore diverse landscapes in eastern Idaho.

In July 2023, Anderson explored hidden gems in eastern Idaho.

"Grand Teton National Park is really popular, but on the other side of the Tetons, the Idaho Teton Valley isn't very popular," Anderson said. "They have amazing wildflower hikes, mountains, and waterfalls."

Anderson said she also explored sand dunes nearby.

"No one was there when we went except for a few people on ATVs," she said. "But for sunset, we had the sand dunes completely to ourselves."

Sedona is quiet in late summer.

"Sedona, Arizona, is obviously a really popular destination, but a lot of people don't visit during the summer because it's really hot," Anderson said. But when she went in late August 2024, temperatures had cooled down a bit, and there were still no crowds.

"It would be a good destination for people who don't mind getting up early to hike and or like hiking at sunset," she said. "We hiked at sunrise and sunset to beat the heat, and we had a lot of the trails to ourselves."

Anderson recommends staying at Ambiente Sedona, an adults-only hotel, and spending the hottest hours of the day at the pool.

In South Carolina, avoid crowds in Charleston with a canoe trip in the Edisto River.

"In South Carolina, everybody goes to Charleston, but we went to this place called Carolina Heritage Outfitters in the Edisto River area of South Carolina," Anderson said.

Carolina Heritage Outfitters is a tour company that offers treehouse camping by canoe. Anderson told BI that her tour guide said it's a popular activity among locals.

"You canoe downstream a very easy 10 miles to a treehouse, stay overnight, and then canoe 10 miles back to the tour company," Anderson said. "That was one of the coolest things that we've done. We travel all the time, and we've never done anything like that."

Check out Wyoming's lesser-known natural escapes.

Anderson said she's been to Wyoming many times.

"I think, in general, it's underrated as a state to visit for tourism. It is obviously popular because of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park," she said. "But you don't really hear about people going other than that."

South of the Tetons in Wyoming, the Wind River Range offers a similar experience and is far less crowded, Anderson said. For maximum privacy, Anderson recommends pitching a tent at the free campsites in the Green River Lakes area, as she did in July 2024.

"You do have to prepare because it is remote, there's no service, and we took a 20-mile dirt road to get there," she said. "But there's nobody else around. You can go swimming, and the landscapes are so beautiful."

Medicine Bow National Forest is another underrated destination in southern Wyoming.

"We went there in the summer of 2023, and they have amazing lakes and mountain peaks that made me surprised that it's not more popular," Anderson said.

Visit a California ski hub in the summer.

"Mammoth Lakes in California is really popular during the winter because it has great skiing," Anderson said. "Fewer people go during the summer, but it's one of the best hiking destinations we've been to."

Anderson went in 2022 and hiked through mountains, swam and kayaked in the lakes, and marveled at waterfalls.

"It's like a quintessential summer experience," she said.

• Handshake data seen by BI reveals federal job interest dropped 40% after a wave of executive orders.
• Meanwhile, interest in state and local jobs grew over 30% year over year in the second half of the school year.
• Some job seekers initially interested in government roles are also going back to the private sector.

A year ago, the hashtag "government jobs" was trending on TikTok, with videos of employees hyping up the stability and perks of the field and explaining best practices to get a job.

Interest in the industry was surging. Not so much anymore.

In a highly competitive year, federal employers were the only industry that saw year-over-year applications decline in the second half of the school year, according to Handshake data shared with BI.

The federal government lost more application share than any industry year-over-year, aside from tech, the platform said.

Government roles, including state, local and federal sectors, received about 4.4% of the Class of 2025's total applications, down from about 5.5% for the Class of 2024 last year, according to Handshake's Class of 2025 report released Thursday.

Last year, the hiring platform reported a significant uptick in job availability and interest from college students to work for the government. At the time, stability was the top priority for graduating students, and government jobs delivered exactly that.

"People presumed at the time, there's nothing more secure than a government job," Handshake chief education strategy officer Christine Cruzvergara told Business Insider in an interview.

Cruzvergara said the class of 2025 was on track to follow and surpass that trend until a series of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump hit the federal workforce in January.

Around mid-January, federal jobs were drawing 2.7 times as many applications as state roles or local roles, despite state and local roles outnumbering federal roles over six to one, Handshake told BI.

But by early April, state employers were receiving 1.5 times as many applications as federal employers, and local employers were just below, the platform told BI.

"January hits and, all of a sudden, government lost a ton," Cruzvergara said, adding that the federal government specifically "lost a ton of applications."

Increased interest in state and local roles

While federal job applications dropped 40% year over year in the second half of the school year, local roles increased by 31% and state roles by 35%.

Cruzvergara said there's essentially been "a flip" between the government sectors. Prior to the executive orders, students were more interested in federal jobs, and there was some interest in state and local roles. This year, interest in state and local jobs went up after mid-January.

That's not a total surprise. Trump implemented a federal hiring freeze just about as soon as he got into office. He also created DOGE, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, which has been on a mission to reduce the federal workforce and dismantle agencies.

Meanwhile, states like New York, California, and Virginia released hiring campaigns within their local and state governments for federal workers. Cruzvergara said that students who were really set on working in government likely ended up looking at state or local positions instead.

The priorities of this year's graduating class may have also influenced their interest in state and local positions. While stability was the top priority last year, it came in second this year, behind location, Handshake said in its report.

State and local roles allow job seekers more flexibility to choose where they want to work.

Back to the private sector

Cruzvergara told BI that some job seekers from the class of 2025 who had high intentions of entering the federal government are shifting back to the private sector. Handshake told BI that there was an increase in applications to roles in tech, finance, healthcare, and consulting among seniors who had previously applied to federal roles before the executive orders.

"You've got students that are going back into finance, back into tech, back into some of the areas that they were leaving to go to the federal government last year," Cruzvergara told BI.

Cruzvergara said that there have also been increases in applications to nonprofits, law, and even real estate, which can also intersect with state and local policy.

The choice to reconsider the private sector often came down to practicality, Cruzvergara. The Class of 2025, in particular, is less rigid about sticking to one path and more open to using their skills across different areas.

Handshake's report found that out of 57% of the Class of 2025 who started college with a "dream job" in mind, fewer than half still have the same goals.