Ajit Pai is back on the telecom policy scene as chief lobbyist for the mobile industry, and he has quickly managed to anger a coalition that includes both cable companies and consumer advocates.
Pai was the Federal Communications Commission chairman during President Trump's first term and then spent several years at private equity firm Searchlight Capital. He changed jobs in April, becoming the president and CEO of wireless industry lobby group CTIA. Shortly after, he visited the White House to discuss wireless industry priorities and had a meeting with Brendan Carr, the current FCC chairman who was part of Pai's Republican majority at the FCC from 2017 to 2021.
Pai's new job isn't surprising. He was once a lawyer for Verizon, and it's not uncommon for FCC chairs and commissioners to be lobbyists before or after terms in government.
You can use ground beef to make flavorful meatballs.
Linus Strandholm / EyeEm / Getty Images
We asked chefs for some of the best and worst ways to use ground beef in meals.
Tacos, soups, and meat-based sauces can be filling and easy to prepare.
They said you should avoid using prepackaged ground beef to make burgers or beef stroganoff.
Ground beef is a popular base for many meals, but they aren't all created equally.
So, we asked chefs for some of their favorite things to cook with ground beef and a few recipes they'd probably skip.
Bolognese sauce with pasta is simple and delicious.
Spaghetti Bolognese typically contains meat.
Pixabay
Palak Patel, a chef with the Institute of Culinary Education, told Business Insider that one of her favorite easy weeknight dinners is a hearty Bolognese or Italian meat sauce served over pasta.
"It's very easy to make a small or large batch to freeze for later," Patel said, "because all you have to do is combine ground beef with herbs and tomato. You can cook it slowly on the stovetop, slow cooker, or even an Instant Pot."
For a lighter version of this dish that's perfect for warmer months, use fresh tomatoes instead of canned for the sauce.
Ground-beef tacos are easily customizable.
Tacos can be filling.
Billie Schwab Dunn/Insider
Jessica Randhawa, a chef with The Forked Spoon, told BI that ground beef can be a scrumptious taco filling.
"Ground-beef tacos are easy to make at home and can be full of flavor," she said. "Plus, you can control the fat content based on your personal needs by choosing leaner or fattier ground beef."
You can make an easy taco filling by simmering ground beef with tomato sauce and spices like paprika, garlic powder, and cumin. Add chopped vegetables or shredded cheese for extra flavor.
Cajun rice is a cheap and filling way to enjoy ground beef.
You can make the rice spicier if you'd like.
Shutterstock
Cajun rice, also known as dirty rice for its color, is a traditional Louisiana Creole dish made with seasoned rice, chopped peppers, and spiced meat such as ground beef.
"Cajun rice is a great way to use ground beef," Randhawa said. "Though it's usually known as a spicy dish, you can omit spicy ingredients like jalapeño if you're sensitive to heat."
In addition to being a versatile meal that can easily be scaled up or down to feed groups of different sizes, Cajun rice is an ideal way to use up different cuts of meat — toss in leftover steak, sausage, or even chicken gizzards.
Meatballs are a classic way to showcase quality ground beef.
Meatballs can be customized.
Nicole Raucheisen/Insider
Mila Furman, a private chef and recipe developer with Girl and the Kitchen, told BI that meatballs are an ideal way to use high-quality ground beef.
"Meatballs are one of the most versatile meals to have in your [arsenal] as a chef," Furman said. "They're super simple to put together and will always be a hit for the whole table."
Whether you're making classic meatballs with tomato sauce or whipping up a batch of creamy Swedish meatballs, using ground beef with a slightly higher fat percentage will keep them juicy and tender.
Add ground beef to soup for extra protein.
Use ground beef to make lasagna soup.
Shutterstock
If you're struggling to think of ways to use up a small portion of leftover ground beef, putting it in a soup may just be the answer.
"Using ground beef in soups isn't just for chili," Furman said. "Add ground beef — especially in the form of leftover meatballs — into soup with plenty of hearty vegetables for a complete meal."
Lasagna can keep ground beef from tasting dry or overcooked.
Lasagna can contain meat and veggies.
Bernd Juergens/Shutterstock
A great way to infuse prepackaged ground beef with tons of moisture and flavor is to bake it into a lasagna.
"Lasagna is a versatile ground-beef meal because it's very hearty and works well with all kinds of veggies, like mushrooms, squash, or corn," Patel said. "Plus, you can add a fried egg on top to turn leftovers into a weekend brunch."
On the other hand, you shouldn't use a typical package of ground beef to make burgers.
Use high-quality ground beef to make burgers.
Shutterstock
Patel said that using an average grocery-store package of ground beef to make burgers is a mistake.
"It is important to know the type of beef that you're buying," Patel said. "Prepackaged grocery-store ground beef is not processed daily or in-house, so the resulting burgers tend to be dry and chewy."
Instead of grabbing a package of ground beef, ask the deli or butcher to grind a portion of quality beef for you. Cuts such as chuck steak usually have a better ratio of fat to lean meat, which makes for a juicier burger.
It can be difficult to make good beef stroganoff with ground beef.
Beef stroganoff may not be as tasty with ground beef.
LeeAnn White/Shutterstock
Beef stroganoff is traditionally made with sautéed pieces of whole beef, but some recipes call for ground beef instead. Unfortunately, this variation is hard to get right.
"This is a very classic recipe for ground beef, but often the beef is left bland and dry while the delicate egg noodles are overcooked," Patel said.
Patel added that if the ratio of cream to beef is not balanced, this dish can become overly creamy and even soggy.
Steak tartare is tricky to prepare at home, and it isn't always safe to eat.
You may want to stick to ordering steak tartare from the pros.
iStock
Steak tartare is made with lightly seared or raw ground beef, usually served as a patty topped with a raw egg yolk.
Randhawa said home chefs — and restaurant diners — should generally avoid steak tartare for safety reasons.
"Unlike other raw-meat recipes from around the world, steak tartare does not include an acidic citrus juice," Randhawa said. Acidic citrus juice can cause meat to seem somewhat cooked, but it doesn't actually make it entirely safe to eat.
"Uncooked meat can have both dangerous parasites and potentially life-threatening bacteria," Randhawa added.
You may want to avoid adding warm ground beef to chilled salads.
Chill your beef before adding it to a salad.
Shutterstock
Some salad recipes call for ground beef as a topping. But the temperature difference between warm ground beef and a cold salad can cause the melted fats in the meat to solidify.
"Do not put ground beef in your salads if you can help it," Furman said. "You often end up with a situation where beef fat leaks down through the greens and congeals."
You could avoid this stomach-turning scenario by chilling the cooked ground beef beforehand.
This story was originally published on June 2, 2023, and most recently updated on June 9, 2025.
However, some are so inspiring that they are remembered long after graduation.
Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, CEOs, and comedians have all inspired graduates with their words.
Commencement speeches have the ability to inspire and motivate.
They are often an opportunity for media moguls, celebrities, and CEOs to impart wisdom to the graduating classes of colleges and universities across the country.
Presidents have also used commencement speeches as more casual environments to drive home the values of their administrations, such as John F. Kennedy's 1963 speech at American University that called for peace.
Here are valuable pieces of advice from graduation speeches throughout history.
"Our problems are manmade — therefore, they can be solved by man." — John F. Kennedy's 1963 speech at American University
John F. Kennedy at American University.
Ted Streshinsky Photographic Archive/Getty Images
Against the tumult of the early '60s, John F. Kennedy inspired graduates to strive for what may be the biggest goal of them all: world peace.
"Too many of us think it is impossible," he said. "Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable — that mankind is doomed — that we are gripped by forces we cannot control."
Our job is not to accept that, he urged. "Our problems are manmade — therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants."
"Be the heroine of your life, not the victim." — Nora Ephron's 1996 speech at Wellesley College
Nora Ephron.
Joe Corrigan/Stringer/Getty Images
Addressing her fellow alums with trademark wit, Ephron reflected on all the things that had changed since her days at Wellesley … and all the things that hadn't.
"My class went to college in the era when you got a master's degree in teaching because it was 'something to fall back on' in the worst case scenario, the worst case scenario being that no one married you and you actually had to go to work," she said.
But while things had changed drastically by 1996, Ephron warned grads not to "delude yourself that the powerful cultural values that wrecked the lives of so many of my classmates have vanished from the earth."
"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim," she said. "Maybe young women don't wonder whether they can have it all any longer, but in case any of you are wondering, of course you can have it all. What are you going to do? Everything, is my guess. It will be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications."
"We can learn to live without the sick excitement, without the kick of having scores to settle." — Kurt Vonnegut's 1999 speech at Agnes Scott College
Kurt Vonnegut at Agnes Scott College.
C-SPAN
The famed author was one of the most sought-after commencement speakers in the United States for many years, thanks to his insights on morality and cooperation. At Agnes Scott, he asked graduates to make the world a better place by respecting humanity and living without hate. Hammurabi lived 4,000 years ago, he pointed out. We can stop living by his code.
"We may never dissuade leaders of our nation or any other nation from responding vengefully, violently, to every insult or injury. In this, the Age of Television, they will continue to find irresistible the temptation to become entertainers, to compete with movies by blowing up bridges and police stations and factories and so on," he said.
"But in our personal lives, our inner lives, at least, we can learn to live without the sick excitement, without the kick of having scores to settle with this particular person, or that bunch of people, or that particular institution or race or nation. And we can then reasonably ask forgiveness for our trespasses, since we forgive those who trespass against us."
The result, he said, would be a happier, more peaceful, and more complete existence.
"You are your own stories." — Toni Morrison's 2004 speech at Wellesley College
Toni Morrison at Wellesley College.
Lisa Poole/AP Images
Instead of the usual commencement platitudes — none of which, Morrison argued, are true anyway — the Nobel Prize-winning writer asked grads to create their own narratives.
"What is now known is not all what you are capable of knowing," she said. "You are your own stories and therefore free to imagine and experience what it means to be human without wealth. What it feels like to be human without domination over others, without reckless arrogance, without fear of others unlike you, without rotating, rehearsing and reinventing the hatreds you learned in the sandbox."
In your own story, you can't control all the characters, Morrison said. "The theme you choose may change or simply elude you. But being your own story means you can always choose the tone. It also means that you can invent the language to say who you are and what you mean." Being a storyteller reflects a deep optimism, she said — and as a storyteller herself, "I see your life as already artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art."
"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose." — Steve Jobs' 2005 speech at Stanford University
Steve Jobs at Stanford University.
Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News Service
In a remarkably personal address, the Apple founder and CEO advised graduates to live each day as if it were their last.
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life," he said. He'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year earlier.
"Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important," he continued. "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
Jobs said this mindset will make you understand the importance of your work. "And the only way to do great work is to love what you do," he said. "If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."
Settling means giving in to someone else's vision of your life — a temptation Jobs warned against. "Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."
"If you really learn how to pay attention, then you will know there are other options." — David Foster Wallace's 2005 speech at Kenyon College
David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College.
Steve Rhodes
In his now-legendary "This Is Water" speech, the author urged grads to be a little less arrogant and a little less certain about their beliefs.
"This is not a matter of virtue," Wallace said. "It's a matter of my choosing to do the work of somehow altering or getting free of my natural, hard-wired default setting, which is to be deeply and literally self-centered and to see and interpret everything through this lens of self."
Doing that will be hard, he said. "It takes will and effort, and if you are like me, some days you won't be able to do it, or you just flat won't want to."
But breaking free of that lens can allow you to truly experience life, to consider possibilities beyond your default reactions.
"If you're automatically sure that you know what reality is, and you are operating on your default setting, then you, like me, probably won't consider possibilities that aren't annoying and miserable," he said. "But if you really learn how to pay attention, then you will know there are other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred, on fire with the same force that made the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down."
"If it doesn't feel right, don't do it." — Oprah Winfrey's 2008 speech at Stanford University
Oprah Winfrey at Stanford University.
YouTube/Stanford University
The media mogul told Stanford's class of 2008 that they can't sacrifice happiness for money. "When you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid," she said.
She said you can feel when you're doing the right thing in your gut. "What I know now is that feelings are really your GPS system for life. When you're supposed to do something or not supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system lets you know," she said.
She explained that doing what your instincts tells you to do will make you more successful because it will drive you to work harder and will save you from debilitating stress.
"If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. That's the lesson. And that lesson alone will save you, my friends, a lot of grief," Winfrey said. "Even doubt means don't. This is what I've learned. There are many times when you don't know what to do. When you don't know what to do, get still, get very still, until you do know what to do."
"Life is an improvisation. You have no idea what's going to happen next and you are mostly just making things up as you go along." — Stephen Colbert's 2011 speech at Northwestern University
Stephen Colbert.
Joshua Lott/AP Images
The comedian and host of the "Late Show" told grads they should never feel like they have it all figured out.
"Whatever your dream is right now, if you don't achieve it, you haven't failed, and you're not some loser. But just as importantly — and this is the part I may not get right and you may not listen to — if you do get your dream, you are not a winner," Colbert said.
It's a lesson he learned from his improv days. When actors are working together properly, he explained, they're all serving each other, playing off each other on a common idea. "And life is an improvisation. You have no idea what's going to happen next and you are mostly just making things up as you go along. And like improv, you cannot win your life," he said.
"There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized." — Conan O'Brien's 2011 speech at Dartmouth College
Conan O'Brien at Dartmouth College.
Dartmouth College
In his hilarious 2011 address to Dartmouth College, the late-night host spoke about his brief run on "The Tonight Show" before being replaced by Jay Leno. O'Brien described the fallout as the lowest point in his life, feeling very publicly humiliated and defeated. But once he got back on his feet and went on a comedy tour across the country, he discovered something important.
"There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized," he said.
He explained that for decades the ultimate goal of every comedian was to host "The Tonight Show," and like many comedians, he thought achieving that goal would define his success. "But that is not true. No specific job or career goal defines me, and it should not define you," he said.
He noted that disappointment is a part of life, and the beauty of it is that it can help you gain clarity and conviction.
"It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique," O'Brien said. "It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can be a catalyst for profound re-invention."
O'Brien said that dreams constantly evolve, and your ideal career path at 22 years old will not necessarily be the same at 32 or 42 years old.
"I am here to tell you that whatever you think your dream is now, it will probably change. And that's OK," he said.
"The difference between triumph and defeat, you'll find, isn't about willingness to take risks — it's about mastery of rescue." — Atul Gawande's 2012 speech at Williams College
Atul Gawande.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Pushing beyond the tired "take risks!" commencement cliché, the surgeon, writer, and activist took a more nuanced approach: what matters isn't just that you take risks; it's how you take them.
To explain, he turned to medicine."Scientists have given a new name to the deaths that occur in surgery after something goes wrong — whether it is an infection or some bizarre twist of the stomach," said Gawande. "They call them a 'Failure to Rescue.' More than anything, this is what distinguished the great from the mediocre. They didn't fail less. They rescued more."
What matters, he said, isn't the failure — that's inevitable — but what happens next. "A failure often does not have to be a failure at all. However, you have to be ready for it. Will you admit when things go wrong? Will you take steps to set them right? — because the difference between triumph and defeat, you'll find, isn't about willingness to take risks. It's about mastery of rescue."
"Err in the direction of kindness." — George Saunders' 2013 speech at Syracuse University
George Saunders.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Images
The writer stressed what turns out to be a deceptively simple idea: the importance of kindness.
"What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness," he said. "Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded ... sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly."
But kindness is hard, he said. It's not necessarily our default. In part, he explained, kindness comes with age. "It might be a simple matter of attrition: as we get older, we come to see how useless it is to be selfish — how illogical, really." The challenge he laid out: Don't wait. "Speed it along," he urged. "Start right now."
"There's a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness," Saunders said. "But there's also a cure. So be a good and proactive and even somewhat desperate patient on your own behalf — seek out the most efficacious anti-selfishness medicines, energetically, for the rest of your life."
"Do all the other things, the ambitious things — travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes, swim naked in wild jungle rivers (after first having it tested for monkey poop) – but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness."
"Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer." — Shonda Rhimes' 2014 speech at Dartmouth College
The world has plenty of dreamers, she said. "And while they are busy dreaming, the really happy people, the really successful people, the really interesting, engaged, powerful people, are busy doing." She pushed grads to be those people.
"Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer," she advised — whether or not you know what your "passion" might be. "The truth is, it doesn't matter. You don't have to know. You just have to keep moving forward. You just have to keep doing something, seizing the next opportunity, staying open to trying something new. It doesn't have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life. Perfect is boring and dreams are not real," she said.
"Your job is to create a world that lasts forever." — Steven Spielberg's 2016 speech at Harvard
Steven Spielberg at Harvard.
Harvard
"This world is full of monsters," director Steven Spielberg told Harvard graduates, and it's the next generation's job to vanquish them.
"My job is to create a world that lasts two hours. Your job is to create a world that lasts forever," he said.
These monsters manifest themselves as racism, homophobia, and ethnic, class, political, and religious hatred, he said, noting that there is no difference between them: "It is all one big hate."
Spielberg said that hate is born of an "us versus them" mentality, and thinking instead about people as "we" requires replacing fear with curiosity.
"'Us' and 'them' will find the 'we' by connecting with each other, and by believing that we're members of the same tribe, and by feeling empathy for every soul," he said.
"I wake up in a house that was built by slaves." — Michelle Obama's 2016 speech at the City College of New York
Michelle Obama at the City College of New York.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
In her 23rd and final commencement speech as first lady, Michelle Obama urged the class of 2016 to pursue happiness and live out whatever version of the American Dream is right for them.
"It's the story that I witness every single day when I wake up in a house that was built by slaves," she said, "and I watch my daughters — two beautiful, Black young women — head off to school waving goodbye to their father, the president of the United States, the son of a man from Kenya who came here to America for the same reasons as many of you: to get an education and improve his prospects in life."
"So, graduates, while I think it's fair to say that our Founding Fathers never could have imagined this day," she continued, "all of you are very much the fruits of their vision. Their legacy is very much your legacy and your inheritance. And don't let anybody tell you differently. You are the living, breathing proof that the American Dream endures in our time. It's you."
"Not everything that happens to us happens because of us." — Sheryl Sandberg's 2016 speech at UC Berkeley
Sheryl Sandberg speaks during a forum in San Francisco.
Eric Risberg/AP
During the Facebook COO's deeply personal commencement speech about resilience at UC Berkeley, she spoke on how understanding the three Ps that largely determine our ability to deal with setbacks helped her cope with the loss of her husband, Dave Goldberg.
She outlined the three Ps as:
· Personalization: Whether you believe an event is your fault. · Pervasiveness: Whether you believe an event will affect all areas of your life. · Permanence: How long you think the negative feelings will last.
"This is the lesson that not everything that happens to us happens because of us," Sandberg said about personalization. It took understanding this for Sandberg to accept that she couldn't have prevented her husband's death. "His doctors had not identified his coronary artery disease. I was an economics major; how could I have?"
"Empathy and kindness are the true signs of emotional intelligence." — Will Ferrell's 2017 speech at the University of Southern California
Will Ferrell at the University of Southern California.
Jerritt Clark/Getty Images
Comedian Will Ferrell, best known for lead roles in films like "Anchorman," "Elf," and "Talledega Nights," delivered a thoughtful speech to USC's graduating class of 2018.
"No matter how cliché it may sound, you will never truly be successful until you learn to give beyond yourself," he said. "Empathy and kindness are the true signs of emotional intelligence, and that's what Viv and I try to teach our boys. Hey Matthias, get your hands of Axel right now! Stop it. I can see you. OK? Dr. Ferrell's watching you."
He also offered some words of encouragement: "For many of you who maybe don't have it all figured out, it's OK. That's the same chair that I sat in. Enjoy the process of your search without succumbing to the pressure of the result."
He even finished off with a stirring rendition of the Whitney Houston classic, "I Will Always Love You." He was, of course, referring to the graduates.
"Call upon your grit. Try something." — Tim Cook's 2019 speech at Tulane University
Tim Cook at Tulane University.
Josh Brasted/Getty Images
Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered the 2019 commencement speech for the graduates of Tulane University, offering valuable advice on success.
"We forget sometimes that our preexisting beliefs have their own force of gravity," Cook said. "Today, certain algorithms pull toward you the things you already know, believe, or like, and they push away everything else. Push back."
"You may succeed. You may fail. But make it your life's work to remake the world because there is nothing more beautiful or more worthwhile than working to leave something better for humanity."
"As you leave this room don't forget to ask yourself what you can offer to make the 'club of life' go up?" — Issa Rae's 2021 speech at Stanford University
Issa Rae.
Getty/Kevin Winter
In the speech, Rae pulled lyrics from Boosie Badazz, Foxx, and Webbie's "Wipe Me Down," which she said she and her friends played on a boombox during the "Wacky Walk" portion of their own 2007 graduation ceremony at Stanford, to illustrate the importance of seeing "every opportunity as a VIP — as someone who belongs and deserves to be here."
Rae particularly drew attention to one line from the song: "I pull up at the club, VIP, gas tank on E, but all dranks on me. Wipe me down."
"To honor the classic song that has guided my own life — as you leave this room, don't forget to ask yourself what you can offer to make the 'club of life' go up. How can you make this place better, in spite of your circumstances?" she said. "And as you figure those things out, don't forget to step back and wipe yourselves down, wipe each other down and go claim what's yours like the VIPs that you are."
"My experience has been that my mistakes led to the best things in my life." — Taylor Swift's 2022 speech at New York University
Taylor Swift delivers the commencement address to New York University graduates on May 18, 2022.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
In her first public appearance of 2022, Taylor Swift poked fun at her "cringe" fashion moments and her experience of growing up in the public eye, which led to receiving a lot of unsolicited career advice.
"I became a young adult while being fed the message that if I didn't make any mistakes, all the children of America would grow up to be perfect angels. However, if I did slip up, the entire Earth would fall off its axis and it would be entirely my fault and I would go to pop star jail forever and ever," Swift said in her speech. "It was all centered around the idea that mistakes equal failure and ultimately, the loss of any chance at a happy or rewarding life."
"This has not been my experience," she continued. "My experience has been that my mistakes led to the best things in my life."
She also alluded to her past feud with Kanye West, joking that "getting canceled on the internet and nearly losing my career gave me an excellent knowledge of all the types of wine."
She elaborated, saying that losing things doesn't just mean losing.
"A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too," she said.
"Your future is in your hands — all you have to do is listen." — Oprah Winfrey's 2023 speech at Harvard University
Oprah Winfrey.
Taylor Hill//WireImage
Winfrey also spoke to Harvard University's graduating class about how God has guided her throughout her life and the importance of listening.
"Life is always talking to us," she said in her speech. "When you tap into what it's trying to tell you, when you can get yourself quiet enough to listen — really listen — you can begin to distill the still, small voice, which is always representing the truth of you, from the noise of the world. You can start to recognize when it comes your way. You can learn to make distinctions, to connect, to dig a little deeper. You'll be able to find your own voice within the still, small voice—you'll begin to know your own heart and figure out what matters most when you can listen to the still, small voice. Every right move I've made has come from listening deeply and following that still, small voice, aligning myself with its power."
Winfrey also discussed avoiding imposter syndrome, tapping into who you are, and treating others with integrity.
"We also need generosity of spirit; we need high standards and open minds and untamed imagination," she continued. "That's how you make a difference in the world. Using who you are and what you stand for to make changes big and small."
"The soul of America is what makes us unique among all nations." — Joe Biden's 2023 speech at Howard University
President Joe Biden receives an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the 2023 commencement ceremony for Howard University.
Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
The president received an honorary degree and spoke of the values of America at the HBCU, the alma mater of his vice president, Kamala Harris.
"We're the only country founded on an idea — not geography, not religion, not ethnicity, but an idea. The sacred proposition, rooted in Scripture and enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, that we're all created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives," Biden said. "While we've never fully lived up to that promise, we never before fully walked away from it."
Biden also addressed many of the causes his campaign has pushed over the years, including the right to choose and "to put democracy on the ballot."
"We can finally resolve those ongoing questions about who we are as a nation. That puts strength of our diversity at the center of American life," he continued. "A future that celebrates and learns from history. A future for all Americans. A future I see you leading. And I'm not, again, exaggerating. You are going to be leading it."
"Humor is the most powerful, most survival-essential quality you will ever have or need to navigate through the human experience." — Jerry Seinfeld's 2024 speech at Duke University
Jerry Seinfeld.
NBC/Getty Images
Seinfeld's commencement speech made headlines after students walked out in protest of the war in Gaza. Seinfeld has been public about his support for Israel.
Despite the controversy, the speech offered valuable pieces of advice. The comedian and sitcom star's speech addressed the value of not losing your sense of humor, no matter what life throws at you.
"I totally admire the ambitions of your generation to create a more just and inclusive society," he said. "I think it is also wonderful that you care so much about not hurting other people's feelings in the million and one ways we all do that."
"What I need to tell you as a comedian: Do not lose your sense of humor," he continued. "You can have no idea at this point in your life how much you are going to need it to get through. Not enough of life makes sense for you to be able to survive it without humor."
Seinfeld also offered his "three keys to life": "Number one. Bust your ass. Number two. Pay attention. Number three. Fall in love."
"The vast majority of what you need to know about work, about relationships, about yourself, about life, you have yet to learn." — Jerome Powell's 2025 speech at Princeton University
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke to graduates at Princeton University.
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
A graduate of the university himself, the Federal Reserve chair spoke to the 2025 graduating class at Princeton University and offered graceful words to the graduates, saying "each of us is a work in progress" and "the possibilities for self-improvement are limitless."
"We risk failure, awkwardness, embarrassment, and rejection," he said. "But that's how we create the career opportunities, the great friendships, and the loves that make life worth living."
"If you aren't failing from time to time, you aren't asking enough of yourself. Sooner than you think, many of you will be asked to assume leadership roles. It is very common to feel, as I once did, that you are not ready. Just know that almost no one is truly ready," he said. "Be the leader that people can learn from, the one that people want to work for."
Richard Feloni and Rachel Gillett contributed to an earlier version of this story, which was first published in 2016 and was most recently updated in June 2025.
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas—Abigail Lindsey worries the days of peace and quiet might be nearing an end at the rural, wooded property where she lives with her son. On the old ranch across the street, developers want to build an expansive complex of supercomputers for artificial intelligence, plus a large, private power plant to run it.
The plant would be big enough to power a major city, with 1,200 megawatts of planned generation capacity fueled by West Texas shale gas. It will only supply the new data center, and possibly other large data centers recently proposed, down the road.
“It just sucks,” Lindsey said, sitting on her deck in the shade of tall oak trees, outside the city of New Braunfels. “They’ve come in and will completely destroy our way of life: dark skies, quiet and peaceful.”
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have had their ups and downs over the years.
(Photo/Alex Brandon)
Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had a tumultuous relationship over the years.
While the two traded barbs during Trump's first presidency, they've become political allies.
Musk officially joined the administration, but recently criticized Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had something of an on-again-off-again relationship over the years.
The world's richest person and the two-time president of the United States weren't always close, but became singularpolitical allies, with Musk calling himself "first buddy" following Trump's 2024victory and donating more than $200 million toward pro-Trump super PACs.
At the beginning of Trump's second term, Musk was frequently seen on the president's side and served as the de facto head of theWhite House DOGE office, the cost-cutting initiative that made waves throughout the federal government.
In May, Musk started to separate himself somewhat from Trump, saying he'd devote more time to his businesses and spend less money on politics.
"I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy. He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States," Musk said.
The billionaire added that Hillary Clinton's economic and environmental policies were the "right ones."
December 2016: Musk appointed to Trump's advisory councils
Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his feud with Elon Musk in a series of Truth Social posts belittling the billionaire.
Evan Vucci/AP Photo
After he won the presidency, Trump appointed Musk to two economic advisory councils, along with other business leaders like Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Musk received criticism for working with the controversial president, but he defended his choice by saying he was using the position to lobby for better environmental and immigration policies.
"You have to give him credit," the former president said, referring to Tesla becoming more valuable than Ford and General Motors. "He's also doing the rockets. He likes rockets. And he's doing good at rockets too, by the way."
Trump went on to call Musk "one of our great geniuses" and likened him to Thomas Edison.
May 2020: Trump backs up Musk in feud with California's COVID-19 rules
Elon Musk meets Donald Trump at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
As the pandemic gripped the US in early 2020, Musk clashed with California public-health officials who forced Tesla to temporarily shut down its factory there. Trump voiced his support for Musk.
"California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW," Trump tweeted in May 2020. "It can be done Fast & Safely!"
Musk called the ban a "morally bad decision" and "foolish to the extreme" in an interview with the Financial Times. Twitter kicked Trump off its platform following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
The Tesla billionaire has called himself a "free speech absolutist," and one of his key goals for taking Twitter private was to loosen content moderation.
July 2022: Trump calls Musk a 'bullshit artist'
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a "Save America" rally in Anchorage, Alaska, on July 9, 2022
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
In July, Trump took aim at Musk, saying the businessman voted for him but later denied it.
"You know [Musk] said the other day 'Oh, I've never voted for a Republican,'" Trump said during a Saturday rally in Anchorage, Alaska. "I said 'I didn't know that.' He told me he voted for me. So he's another bullshit artist."
On Monday, Musk tweeted that Trump's claim was "not true."
July 2022: Musk says Trump shouldn't run again
Elon Musk co-founded PayPal after his startup X.com merged with Peter Thiel's Confinity.
"I don't hate the man, but it's time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset. Dems should also call off the attack – don't make it so that Trump's only way to survive is to regain the Presidency," he tweeted.
He continued: "Do we really want a bull in a china shop situation every single day!? Also, I think the legal maximum age for start of Presidential term should be 69." Trump is 76 years old.
July 2022: Trump lashes out
Former President Donald Trump gave the keynote address at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual conference in Nashville.
Seth Herald/Getty Images
Trump then went on the offensive, posting a lengthy attack on Musk on Truth Social, the social media company he founded.
"When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it's electric cars that don't drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he'd be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, 'drop to your knees and beg,' and he would have done it," Trump said in a post that criticized two of Musk's ventures, Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX.
October 2022: Trump cheers Musk's Twitter deal but says he won't return
Following Musk's official buyout of Twitter on Thursday, Trump posted to Truth Social, cheering the deal.
"I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country," he said. He added that he likes Truth Social better than other platforms, echoing comments from earlier this year in which he ruled out a return to Twitter.
On Monday, Musk joked about the potential of welcoming the former president back to his newly acquired platform.
"If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Trump is coming back on this platform, Twitter would be minting money!," the Tesla CEO tweeted.
May 2023: Musk hosts Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' glitchy debut
Musk and other right-leaning voices in Silicon Valley initially supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis ended 2022 as Trump's best-positioned primary challenger. In November 2022, as DeSantis was skyrocketing to acclaim, Musk said he would endorse him. In March 2023, after enduring Trump's attacks for months, DeSantis prepared to make history by formally announcing his campaign in an interview on Twitter.
The initial few minutes were a glitchy disaster. Trump and his allies ruthlessly mocked DeSantis' "Space" with Musk and venture capitalist David Sachs. DeSantis' interview later proceeded, but his campaign was dogged for days with negative headlines.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks into his phone as he live streams a visit to the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas.
John Moore/Getty Images
September 2023: A Trump-style border wall is needed, Musk says
Musk live-streamed a visit to the US-Mexico border on Twitter, which he had rebranded as "X." Musk said that one of Trump's signature policies was necessary during his visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, to get a first-person look at what local officials called a crisis at the border.
"We actually do need a wall and we need to require people to have some shred of evidence to claim asylum to enter, as everyone is doing that," Musk wrote on X. "It's a hack that you can literally Google to know exactly what to say! Will find out more when I visit Eagle Pass maybe as soon as tomorrow."
Like Trump and others on the right, Musk had criticized the broader consensus in Washington for focusing too much on Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine in comparison to domestic issues like migration.
March 2024: Trump tries to woo Musk, but the billionaire says he won't give him money.
Trump tried to woo Musk during a meeting at the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort. According to The New York Times, Trump met with Musk and a few other GOP megadonors when the former president's campaign was particularly cash-strapped. After the Times published its report, Musk said he would not be "donating money to either candidate for US President."
It wasn't clear who Musk meant in terms of the second candidate. He had repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden, who looked poised to be headed toward a rematch with Trump.
July 2024: Musk endorses Trump after the former president is shot
Musk said he "fully endorsed" Trump after the former president was shot during a political rally ahead of the Republican National Convention. The billionaire's endorsement marked a major turning point in his yearslong political evolution from an Obama voter. Days later, it would come to light that Musk pressed Trump to select Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.
Trump announced Vance as his vice presidential pick at the Republican National Convention.
The ticket, Musk wrote on X, "resounds with victory."
It wasn't just his public support that Musk was offering. In July, The Wall Street Journal reported Musk had pledged roughly $45 million to support a pro-Trump super PAC. Musk later said he would donate far less, but his rebranding into a loyal member of the MAGA right was complete.
August 2024: Trump joins Musk for a highly anticipated interview
Trump, who ended the Republican National Convention primed for victory, stumbled after Biden abruptly dropped out of the 2024 race. The former president and his allies have struggled to attack Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee.
Amid Harris' early media blitz, Trump joined Musk on a two-hour livestream on X that garnered an audience of over 1 million listeners. The conversation covered topics ranging from a retelling of Trump's assassination attempt to illegal immigration to Musk's potential role with a government efficiency commission.
In August, Trump began floating the idea that he "certainly would" consider adding Musk to his Cabinet or an advisory role. The Tesla CEO responded by tweeting an AI-generated photo of himself on a podium emblazoned with the acronym "D.O.G.E"—Department of Government Efficiency.
"I am willing to serve," he wrote above the image.
September 2024: Musk says he's ready to serve if Trump gives him an advisory role
In September, Trump softened the suggestion of Musk joining his Cabinet due to his time constraints with running his various business ventures, the Washington Post reported. However, he also said that Musk could "consult with the country" and help give "some very good ideas."
"I can't wait. There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go," he wrote.
He later said on X that he "looked forward to serving" the country and would be willing to do with without any pay, title, or recognition.
October 2024: Musk speaks at Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania
Elon Musk spoke at Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Musk joined Trump onstage during the former president's rally, hosted on October 5 in the same location where Trump survived an assassination attempt in July. Musk sported an all-black "Make America Great Again" cap and briefly addressed the crowd, saying that voter turnout for Trump this year was essential or "this will be the last election."
"President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution," Musk said. "He must win to preserve democracy in America."
The next day, Musk's America PAC announced that it would offer $47 to each person who refers registered voters residing in swing states to sign a petition "in support for the First and Second Amendments."
By October, the PAC had reportedly already spent over $80 million on the election, with over $8.2 million spread across 18 competitive House races for the GOP.
The Tesla CEO later told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he might face "vengeance" if Trump loses the election.
November 2024: Trump wins the presidency and names Musk his administration
President-elect Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have been nearly inseparable since the election, going to social and political events together.
Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Musk was by Trump's side on election night at Mar-a-Lago, helping celebrate his victory.
Nearly a week after his 2024 presidential election win, Trump announced that Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were chosen to lead a newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE, as Musk likes to call it, in reference to the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin).
"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pay the way for my Administration to dismantle the Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies," Trump said in a statement.
It's unclear whether the department will formally exist within the government, though Trump said the office would "provide advice and guidance from outside of Government" and work directly with the White House and Office of Management & Budget.
Musk responded in a post on X that the Department of Government Efficiency will be post all their actions online "for maximum transparency."
"Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know!" Musk wrote. "We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining."
Outside of administrative duties, Musk has also attended "almost every meeting and many meals that Mr. Trump has had," the New York Times reported, acting as a partial advisor and confidant. The Tesla CEO also reportedly joined Trump's calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while both men were at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago club, where Musk seems to have settled in.
"Elon won't go home," Trump told NBC News jokingly. "I can't get rid of him."
The two's close relationship has extended to a more personal friendship. Musk was seen attending Trump's Thanksgiving dinner and on the golf course with Trump and his grandchildren, where Kai Trump said he achieved "uncle status."
December 2024: Trump reaffirms he will be the next President, not Musk
While Musk and Trump are both big personalities, the President-elect made it clear that he'll be the one running the country. President-elect Donald Trump dismissed the notion that he "ceded the presidency" to Musk and said that even if the billionaire wanted to be president, he couldn't because he was born in South Africa.
"No, he's not going to be president, that I can tell you," Trump said at Turning Point USA's annual "AmericaFest" in December. "And I'm safe. You know why? He can't be? He wasn't born in this country."
Trump's comments came after Musk flexed his influence to help shut down a bipartisan emergency spending bill earlier that month. Some Republicans questioned why Trump hadn't been more active in derailing the bill, and Democrats baited the President-elect on social media with posts about Musk "calling the shots" and taking on the role of a "shadow president.
Prior to Trump addressing the subject, Trump's team also looked to shut down the idea that Musk is leading the Republican Party.
"As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view," Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition, told BI. "President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop."
January 2025: Musk and fellow billionaires celebrate Trump's inauguration
Elon Musk spoke onstage during an inauguration event at Capital One Arena.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Trump was sworn into office on January 20. Several tech leaders were in attendance, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Google's Sundar Pichai. The "first buddy" was also front and center for Trump's inauguration.
Musk took the stage to celebrate at an inauguration event at the Capital One Arena, where he sparked accusations over a gesture he made that some said resembled a Nazi salute. Musk denied the allegations.
"Hopefully, people realize I'm not a Nazi. Just to be clear, I'm not a Nazi," he said during an interview with Joe Rogan.
February 2025: The White House says Musk isn't running DOGE
Elon Musk is undoubtedly the face of DOGE. It remains clear who exactly is running it.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Though Musk has been the face of the DOGE effort, White House court filings said he has "no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself."
In the filing, Musk is described as a senior advisor to Trump with "no greater authority than other senior White House advisors." Officials have also called him a "special government employee."
Trump told reporters they can call Musk "whatever you want."
"Elon is to me a patriot," Trump said in February. "You could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant, you could call him whatever you want."
Later that month, a White House official told BI that Amy Gleason, who previously worked for US Digital Service, is the acting DOGE administrator.
March 2025: Trump buys a Tesla and calls out protesters
Trump and Musk sit inside a red Tesla Model S in front of the White House.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Despite court filings and White House officials stating otherwise, Trump told Congress that Musk is the leader of the DOGE office.
"I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it, which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight," Trump said during his speech on March 4.
Those questioning the constitutionality of DOGE were quick to respond by letting a federal judge know about their claims that Musk is in charge.
Meanwhile, calls for a Tesla boycott are growing as Musk becomes more involved in Trump's presidency. Protests, boycotts, and vandalism at Tesla dealerships across the US have spread since the beginning of 2025.
Trump stepped in to defend Musk's electric car company on Tuesday, with Teslas on the South Lawn of the White House. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote that he'd purchase a car to show support amid the public outcry.
"The Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World's great automakers, and Elon's 'baby,' in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for," the president wrote.
April 2025: Musk announces he's stepping back from DOGE
Elon Musk said he was going to spend more time on Tesla.
Samuel Corum via Getty Images
Three months into DOGE's mission to reshape the federal workforce, Musk announced that he would be stepping back from the effort. He broke the news during an underwhelming Tesla earnings call, where earnings per share were down 71% year over year.
"Starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla," Musk said during the call. He added that "the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency" had been completed.
At the time, Musk said he would keep spending one or two days each week on governmental duties, so long as Trump wanted him to do so.
May 2025: Musk says he'll be spending less on politics, criticizes the Republican agenda, and announces he's leaving government for good
Musk said he'd be spending a "lot less" on political campaigns in an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum.
Bloomberg
By May, Musk started to step back from his political activity overall. During an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, he said he thinks he's "done enough" in terms of political contributions.
"In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," he said, adding that he didn't "currently see a reason" to pour money into politics. Previously, Musk had said his super PAC would contribute to 2026 midterm efforts.
A few days later, Musk told a reporter that he "probably did spend a bit too much time on politics," and that he'd "reduced that significantly in recent weeks."
Musk took a decidedly more critical tone regarding the overall Republican agenda. In an interview with CBS in late May, he said he wasn't pleased with Trump and House Republicans' "big beautiful" spending bill.
"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said.
And then, on May 28, Musk cut ties with DOGE and the Trump administration. The White House confirmed that it had started Musk's off-boarding process.
"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk wrote in a post on X. "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."
Under federal law, special government employees can't serve for more than 130 days a year. Musk left the administration 128 days after the inauguration.
June 2025: Musk and Trump escalate attacks, after Tesla CEO delivers sharp rebuke against the 'Big Beautiful Bill.'
Musk spoke out against Trump's spending bill.
ALLISON ROBBERT/AFP via Getty Images
Days after stepping away from his job in the White House, Musk delivered his harshest criticism yet of the GOP spending proposal called the "Big Beautiful Bill."
"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk wrote on X on June 3. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."
Some congressional Republicans, including Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee, posted that they agreed with Musk. Meanwhile, Trump has consistently defended the bill on Truth Social, including just hours before Musk's critical post on X.
In an interview with CBS News that aired June 1, Musk said, "I'm a little stuck in a bind where I'm like, well, I don't want to speak up against the administration, but I also don't want to take responsibility for everything the administration's doing."
Musk began to dig up old tweets from Trump, including one where the president said in 2013, "I cannot believe the Republicans are extending the debt ceiling—I am a Republican & I am embarrassed!"
Musk quote-tweeted it with the message, "Wise words," taking a dig at Trump's very different stance on the debt ceiling today.
Trump first shot back with a softer/more diplomatic response, saying that the CEO and he "had a great relationship," but he wasn't sure if it would continue.
Musk shot back within minutes on X, saying that while he thought the EV phase-out was unfair, what he really took issue with was the "MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."
The tone soon took a sharp turn after the president threatened on the same day to terminate the federal contracts that Musk's companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, rely on, and Musk began to take credit for Trump's 2024 electoral victory.
In response to Trump's threat to cancel the government contracts, Musk said on X that he'd immediately decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which provides NASA transport to and from the International Space Station.
Tracking code that Meta and Russia-based Yandex embed into millions of websites is de-anonymizing visitors by abusing legitimate Internet protocols, causing Chrome and other browsers to surreptitiously send unique identifiers to native apps installed on a device, researchers have discovered. Google says it's investigating the abuse, which allows Meta and Yandex to convert ephemeral web identifiers into persistent mobile app user identities.
The covert tracking—implemented in the Meta Pixel and Yandex Metrica trackers—allows Meta and Yandex to bypass core security and privacy protections provided by both the Android operating system and browsers that run on it. Android sandboxing, for instance, isolates processes to prevent them from interacting with the OS and any other app installed on the device, cutting off access to sensitive data or privileged system resources. Defenses such as state partitioning and storage partitioning, which are built into all major browsers, store site cookies and other data associated with a website in containers that are unique to every top-level website domain to ensure they're off-limits for every other site.
A blatant violation
“One of the fundamental security principles that exists in the web, as well as the mobile system, is called sandboxing,” Narseo Vallina-Rodriguez, one of the researchers behind the discovery, said in an interview. “You run everything in a sandbox, and there is no interaction within different elements running on it. What this attack vector allows is to break the sandbox that exists between the mobile context and the web context. The channel that exists allowed the Android system to communicate what happens in the browser with the identity running in the mobile app.”
Every time I write an article about the escalating advertising and tracking on today's TVs, someone brings up Apple TV boxes. Among smart TVs, streaming sticks, and other streaming devices, Apple TVs are largely viewed as a safe haven.
"Just disconnect your TV from the Internet and use an Apple TV box."
That's the common guidance you'll hear from Ars readers for those seeking the joys of streaming without giving up too much privacy. Based on our research and the experts we've consulted, that advice is pretty solid, as Apple TVs offer significantly more privacy than other streaming hardware providers.
These products from Country Crock, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Earth Balance, and Smart Balance are made to taste like butter and spread easily.
Paige Bennett
I tried four different brands of buttery spread from the grocery store to see which I liked best.
I didn't think Smart Balance or Earth Balance were very spreadable or particularly impressive.
Country Crock was my favorite spread, and it was easy to work with.
I grew up on "buttery spreads," butter alternatives typically made with some blend of vegetable oils. We put them on everything from bread and mashed potatoes to corn on the cob.
As I've grown up, I've started using real butter for its rich flavor and creamy texture. I keep some in a covered dish on the counter for a spreadable option and some in the fridge for whenever I need it chilled.
I figured all buttery spreads tasted the same, but I decided to revisit my childhood and try four different brands to see if there are any standouts worth keeping in my fridge.
Since each container retails for just over $3 at Walmart, I didn't factor price into my review.
Country Crock had the lowest percentage of vegetable oil.
Country Crock was the least expensive and had the lowest percentage of oils.
Paige Bennett
I bought a 15-ounce tub of Country Crock, which is the brand we always kept in the house when I was a kid.
The label emphasized that it was churned in Kansas and contains "farm-grown ingredients." It also had the lowest amount of vegetable oil of the brands I tried, at 40%.
Its oil blend consists of soybean, palm-kernel, and palm oils.
It was incredibly easy to spread, but needed a little more salt for flavor.
The flavor wasn't bad, but it could definitely be a little stronger.
Paige Bennett
I noticed right away that Country Crock's butter alternative was easy to spread, even when chilled.
The texture was smooth, and it didn't tear the soft bread at all when I spread it.
I tasted it both plain and on the bread. Although it tasted similar to butter, I think it could've used some more salt for a better flavor — it was a little bit bland.
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter has an AHA seal of approval.
The percentage of oil in the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter wasn't too high.
Paige Bennett
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter's spread has an American Heart Association certification label because it's made with soybean oil (an unsaturated fat) and has about 70% less saturated fat than regular butter.
Aside from the AHA certification, the label also noted that it's rich in omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and contains 45% vegetable oil (a blend of soybean, palm, and palm-kernel oils).
I could believe this wasn't butter, but the flavor was still good.
The product's name was not accurate to how I felt.
Paige Bennett
The texture of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter was very smooth and almost as easy to spread as Country Crock.
As for the flavor, this didn't have me fooled into thinking I was eating real butter. But it wasn't bad by any means.
It definitely had an earthy, vegetable-oil taste, but it wasn't bland, and it thankfully didn't have an oily texture.
Earth Balance had the highest percentage of vegetable oils.
The high oil content in the Earth Balance option affected the spreadability.
Paige Bennett
Earth Balance's spread was highly distinguishable from the others.
The label also noted it's non-GMO, dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan. It contains 78% vegetable oils, the highest of any I tried, including a blend of palm, canola, soybean, flax, and olive oils.
After opening the tub, I noticed right away that this spread was the darkest in color and looked more solid than the other products.
The Earth Balance spread didn't have a lot of flavor, and it was incredibly challenging to spread.
I wasn't impressed by the Earth Balance spread.
Paige Bennett
I found it really difficult to spread Earth Balance, maybe because of the high vegetable-oil content.
Although some of the other spreads were smooth and spreadable even when chilled, this remained pretty solid even after it came to room temperature.
The flavor was fine. It had both a slight buttery taste and an earthiness from all of the oils, but overall it was pretty bland.
Still, as the only vegan product I tried (some of the other spreads contain vitamin D that can be sourced from lanolin, which can come from sheep wool), it's a decent alternative to real butter.
Smart Balance notes health benefits on the label.
The price and high oil content were not great selling points for me.
Paige Bennett
Similar to Earth Balance, Smart Balance has a high percentage of vegetable oils at 64%. Its blend includes canola, palm, and olive oils.
The label says that the product contains 400 milligrams of omega-3 ALA per serving.
This product was really difficult to spread.
It softens as it comes to room temperature, but that defeats the purpose of a buttery spread.
Paige Bennett
It wasn't dark beige like Earth Balance, but Smart Balance's butter alternative was similarly difficult to spread.
When I tried putting it on bread, it started tearing up the piece. It also came out of the container in solid chunks.
It softened up somewhat as it came to room temperature, and the label at least warned that it would be "firm out of refrigeration." But I think the perk of a buttery spread is that it can be used right out of the chilled container, unlike waiting for real butter to soften.
In terms of flavor, Smart Balance had a great butter-like taste at first. But then, as it melted in my mouth, it left an aftertaste I didn't love.
Country Crock was my favorite, but I still plan to stick to traditional butter.
Country Crock is pretty much the only one I'd want to buy again.
Paige Bennett
Of the four buttery spreads I tried, Country Crock was my favorite.
It was the easiest to spread — which is the whole point, in my opinion. It wasn't the most flavorful, but none of the spreads were really rich in flavor.
I thought the flavor of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter was pretty good, but it wasn't quite as easy to spread. I'd probably skip Smart Balance and Earth Balance because of their higher cost and more solid texture.
All in all, I still plan to stick to using traditional butter. But I'd buy Country Crock again if I needed a quick, convenient butter-like spread.
This story was originally published on January 4, 2023, and most recently updated on June 3, 2025.
Business Insider's travel reporter took her first trip to Seattle, and it was full of surprises.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I visited Seattle for the first time in May 2025 after years of dreaming about it.
The city in the Pacific Northwest surprised me as a New Yorker.
I found a strange tourist attraction, a free banana stand, and a tech neighborhood full of nature.
When my train arrived at Seattle's King Street Station on a sunny morning, I didn't expect the one-mile walk to my downtown hotel to feel like a hike.
I didn't think I'd find a chewing-gum-speckled wall in an alley later that afternoon. And when I felt my stomach growl while strolling the bustling streets the next day, the last thing I thought I'd see was a free snack cart.
It was my first time in the Washington city, one I've wanted to visit since I was a kid. As I developed a taste for travel in college, I found myself taking road trips from California up the coast to Portland, Oregon, to see more of the Pacific Northwest.
Still, Seattle was always too far north to include in my itinerary. In fact, I'd never had a chance to visit the state of Washington — until recently.
During a weeklong trip from my home in NYC to the west coast of North America in May 2025, I spent three days in Seattle. As a first-time visitor, I found the city to be full of surprises.
I traveled to Seattle from Vancouver, and I was surprised to find that a train ticket was less than half the price of airfare.
The author took an Amtrak train to Seattle.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I've spent about 100 hours on Amtrak trains from the Northeast to the Southwest. In my experience, traveling by train in the US is typically more expensive than flying, though it depends on the route.
So when I was booking my travel from Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada to Seattle, I was shocked that a coach train ticket cost $50 compared to the $150 basic economy airfare on the same day.
I certainly paid more in hours — the train ride took four compared to the roughly 1-hour flight. Still, I was excited to travel slowly and watch landscapes transform from one country to another.
I was also shocked at how much more comfortable it was to travel in economy compared to planes.
Since the ticket was less than half the price, I didn't expect the train seat to be so much cozier than the stiff, flimsy plane seats I'm used to. I even avoided the neck and back pain I usually get when flying.
On the train, the seats felt wider with more legroom than on a typical economy flight.
Walking a mile in Seattle feels more strenuous than it does in New York.
A hilly street in Seattle.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I stepped off the Amtrak train in Seattle around noon. It was my first time stretching my legs since I'd boarded in Vancouver four hours earlier. With an indie-rock soundtrack in my earbuds and the sun shining above me, I was excited to lug my suitcase on foot to my hotel one mile away.
But I quickly learned that a mile in Seattle doesn't feel like a mile in New York. The route was almost entirely uphill. When I stopped to catch my breath at an intersection, I noticed the street to my right climbed up even taller for as far as I could see.
In my city, I walk a lot, but most of the roads are relatively flat. So I wasn't expecting to feel so exhausted after just one mile.
I was excited to visit the iconic Pike Place Market but surprised to learn that it hasn't always been a car-free space.
Patrons visit Pike Place Market.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Situated next to the coast in Downtown Seattle, Pike Place Market is an iconic outdoor market with over 200 stores and restaurants. I've been hearing about it for decades, so I spent my first afternoon in Seattle perusing the nine-acre shopping hub.
On a sunny Thursday afternoon, the market was crowded with locals and tourists alike. I shuffled my way through what felt like a line to get a peek at the fresh seafood. When I needed a break from the mob, I found refuge inside a used bookstore.
Every so often, a delivery truck would drive through, dividing the crowd into two tightly packed globs, but most cars weren't allowed to drive through Pike Place Market. This made sense to me, since each passing vehicle halted the pedestrian flow.
But I was surprised to learn that the open-air market's cobblestone streets are normally open to all cars — the city is testing a ban on cars aside from vendors, delivery drivers, and those with disabilities, the Seattle Times reported in April. The temporary ban began on April 23 and will continue until the end of summer.
I was lucky enough to inadvertently schedule my trip during the ban. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if cars could freely move through the already crowded market.
I stumbled upon the popular tourist attraction, The Gum Wall, in Seattle.
A snapshot of Seattle's Gum Wall.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
While wandering the narrow alleyways around Pike Place Market, I was slowed down by groups of tourists stopping to take selfies in front of a vibrant brick wall. The wall was spackled with an array of hues from peach to periwinkle.
At first, I thought the specks of color were dried-up chunks of paint. But when I saw a pedestrian pull a gooey wad out of their mouth and stick it on the brick wall, I realized the wall was a gum canvas.
I was shocked and a little grossed out upon my realization, but when I focused on how the wall actually looked rather than the germ-infested materials, I thought it was a playful work of art.
Before you ask, no, I didn't add my own contribution to the Seattle gum wall.
I was surprised to find a three-story target downtown.
A Target in downtown Seattle.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I lost my charging port somewhere between Vancouver and Seattle, so I headed to a Target near my downtown hotel. Back home in NYC, the Targets I frequent are small and offer little more than a drug store.
So, I was shocked to learn that this location was a 96,000-square-foot, three-story establishment. While still smaller than Targets you'll find outside of cities, according to the Seattle Times, the store had a wide variety of groceries, toiletries, and tech products.
There were so many aisles of home goods that I thought I could decorate my entire apartment with its offerings.
I wasn't expecting the tech neighborhood to be so full of nature.
A Google building sits behind a park in South Lake Union.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Seattle has long been known as a tech hub where software engineers move in droves to work at big companies like Amazon and Google.
Locals told me I could find the booming scene in the South Lake Union neighborhood, home of the original Amazon headquarters. The company's presence in more than 30 office buildings led to the neighborhood's nickname, "Amazonia."
Before visiting, I expected to find nothing but business-centric streets lined with glass skyscrapers in a tech-fueled neighborhood. So I was surprised by the large presence of nature in South Lake Union.
The neighborhood borders Lake Union, where I explored a waterfront park filled with runners, bicyclists, picnickers, and geese. Locals said the park is dead on the weekends, but tech workers frequent it during the week. Nearby, the Google building had a whole forest of trees on the rooftop.
I'd never seen a free banana stand before.
A pedestrian grabs a banana from the complimentary stand.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
The pop of color caught my eye while strolling through "Amazonia. In an outdoor space between Amazon buildings in South Lake Union, the bright yellow trailer is hard to miss.
I got a closer look and saw boxes full of bananas beneath the awning, and a sign that read, "Take one — not just for Amazonians but for anyone in the community."
I didn't expect to find a free snack stand in the middle of a city. Amazon previously told Business Insider that founder Jeff Bezos came up with the idea to provide a complimentary healthy snack with no wrapper. The stand first opened in 2015.
I wasn't expecting to see an active volcano so close to a major city.
Mount Rainier is seen from Seattle.
Jeffrey K Collins/Getty Images
From a hotel's rooftop deck, a local pointed to a mountain in the distance and told me it was an active volcano.
I could hardly see the volcano through the haze, but they told me Mount Rainier, which last erupted in 1894, was more visible on clear days.
I was shocked to learn that this city, home to nearly 800,000 people, is so close to what could be a natural disaster. According to the Seattle Office of Emergency Management, the city is a safe distance away from a potential blast's flow, but water and power resources could be affected.
My trip to Seattle was everything I hoped it would be and more.
The author enjoys her trip to Seattle.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Seattle's mix of natural and urban lifestyles reminded me of my previous trips to Pacific Northwestern cities, which comforted me.
But I was surprised by Seattle's unique attributes, from Pike Place Market to the oddly alluring gum wall.
And since it was so different from NYC, I definitely plan to return to Seattle to get another break from the Big Apple.
For the last three months or so, I've been learning to use (and love) a Bambu Labs A1 3D printer, a big, loud machine that sits on my desk and turns pictures on my computer screen into real-world objects.
In the first part of my series about diving into the wild world of 3D printers, I covered what I'd learned about the different types of 3D printers, some useful settings in the Bambu Studio app (which should also be broadly useful to know about no matter what printer you use), and some initial, magical-feeling successes in downloading files that I turned into useful physical items using a few feet of plastic filament and a couple hours of time.
For this second part, I'm focusing on what I learned when I embarked on my first major project—printing upgrade parts for the A1 with the A1. It was here that I made some of my first big 3D printing mistakes, mistakes that prompted me to read up on the different kinds of 3D printer filament, what each type of filament is good for, and which types the A1 is (and is not) good at handling as an un-enclosed, bed-slinging printer.
Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Becoming a franchisee for a fast food restaurant is one road to running a business.
But costs and requirements vary widely depending on the restaurant chain.
Business Insider compiled a list of financial requirements to become a franchisee for 12 major fast food chains.
A fast food franchise can be a lucrative business.
One top performing Chick-fil-A restaurant reported sales of over $17 million in 2021, more than double the average per unit sales volume for the chain, according to Chick-fil-A's 2022 franchise disclosure document. Other chains also say that franchisees can earn millions of dollars a year from a single store.
Opening a franchise requires a hefty amount of cash to cover the startup costs, though. Many chains require franchise fees in the tens of thousands of dollars as well as personal worth requirements in the hundreds of thousands, for instance.
There are also ongoing monthly fees for royalties, advertising, and other services that often get deducted from sales.
Business Insider compiled a list of some basic financial requirements for becoming a franchise owner of 12 of the biggest fast food chains in the USbased on public filings. The values below are based on "traditional" franchise locations, meaning they are stand-alone restaurants as opposed to units in airports, malls, universities, or other buildings.
Following the name of each restaurant chain are the average total startup costs to open one restaurant in the US.
Franchise fee: A $12,500 development fee, a $37,500 license fee
Ongoing fees: Arby's charges a royalty fee of either 4% or 6.2% of sales, depending on store type, plus an advertising and marketing service fee of 4.2% of sales.
Average per-unit sales: $1.1 million to $1.6 million, depending on store type, per franchisee disclosure document
Burger King: $363,400 to $4.7 million
Starting up a Burger King franchise requires a net worth of at least $1 million.
Franchise fee: $50,000 for a 20-year franchise agreement
Ongoing fees: Burger King charges a 4.5% royalty fee and a 4.5% advertising fee (based on monthly gross sales).
Average per-unit sales: $1.66 million for traditional stores, $1.32 million for non-traditional stores, per franchisee disclosure document
Chick-fil-A: $426,735 to $2.3 million
Chick-fil-A employees at a restaurant
Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images
Startup costs: $426,735 to $2.3 million
Minimum liquid asset requirement: none
Minimum net worth requirement: none
Franchise fee: $10,000
Ongoing fees: Chick-fil-A franchisees pay a "base operating service fee" of 15% of sales. Chick-fil-A limits its rent charges to 6% of sales.
However, it's important to note that Chick-fil-A prohibits most of its franchisees from opening multiple units, which can limit potential profits, and franchisees must devote their full time and attention to operating the business. A Chick-fil-A spokesperson previously told BI it selects "a relatively small number of franchisees to operate multiple units."
Average per-unit sales: In 2024, most locations averaged about $9.3 million in annual sales.
Ongoing fees: Base rent depends on when the restaurant opened, along with the acquisition and development costs. The rent for most new McDonald's restaurants ranges between 10% of total gross sales to 15.75% for new restaurants that have opened since January 1, 2020.
Additionally, there are numerous monthly and annual fees franchisees must pay, including a royalty fee of 4% or 5% of sales and an advertising and promotion fee that is a minimum of 4% of gross sales. Franchisees also pay annual fees for various software and digital equipment, such as a $150 annual fee for using self-ordering kiosks.
Ongoing fees:Papa John's charges a monthly royalty fee of 5% of net sales. Papa John's also requires that franchisees spend 6% of net monthly sales on marketing.
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