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Organic eggs at 25 Costco stores were recalled for Salmonella risk

2024-11-29T00:48:56Z

The FDA announced that 10,800 retail units of 24-count organic eggs sold under Costco's Kirkland brand are being recalled.

Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Photography/Getty Images

The FDA said organic eggs sold in some Costcos are being recalled for Salmonella concerns.
Handsome Brook Farms found that eggs not intended for distribution were packaged and sold.
No illnesses have been reported so far. Salmonella can cause hospitalization.

It's time to check your fridge if you picked up organic eggs during your last Costco run.

Due to Salmonella concerns, organic eggs sold at Costco are being recalled in five states.

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that 10,800 retail units of 24-count organic eggs sold under Costco's Kirkland brand are being recalled.

The announcement came after Handsome Brook Farms, based in New York, determined that eggs "not intended for retail distribution" were packaged and sold in 25 Costco stores starting on November 22.

The recall specifically applies to Costco organic eggs with the Julian code 327 and a "Use By" date of Jan 5, 2025. The eggs were recalled from Costcos in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

So far, the FDA said there are no illness complaints. Salmonella symptoms usually include diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fever and some past Salmonella outbreaks led to hospitalizations.

The FDA said that in rare cases, Salmonella can be fatal in very young children, older people, and those with weakened immune systems.

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Tired of Chicago winters, this Gen Xer retired at 46 and moved to Bangkok. It cut his monthly spending by half.

2024-11-29T00:14:02Z

Chris loved his hometown of Chicago but wanted a hard reset.

Chris

In 2018, at 46, Chris retired and left Chicago for Bangkok.
He spent two years planning and saving for his move by investing in real estate.
He enjoys the affordability of living in Bangkok and how easy it is to make friends.

As he soaked in the pool of his Airbnb in Bangkok, Chris wondered, "How can I make this my home permanently?"

It was 2016, and he had spent the past 25 years in the toy industry overseeing product development. His routine was the same: wake up, go to work, come home, play a video game, and sleep. At 44, retirement was weighing on his mind.

"There was nothing else I needed to really do," said Chris, now 52, who asked to be identified only by his first name to protect his privacy. "I mean, could I have worked longer to buy a cooler car? Maybe. Could I have bought a bigger house? Maybe. But nothing like that was really important to me."

At the same time, Chris knew he didn't want to retire in his home state of Illinois. He loved the city but couldn't stand the long and bitter winters. Most of his friends — unlike him — were married with kids. He wanted to challenge himself with a hard reset.

Chris had taken many business trips to Asia and started to love that part of the world. So, he mapped out a plan to save up, quit his job, and then live there full-time.

The first thing he did was tell no one

He didn't want to deal with negative reactions, he said. So, he kept his plan a secret for almost two years.

But behind the scenes, Chris worked feverishly to make his plan a reality.

First, he ramped up his real estate investments. Chris got more involved in the real estate market in 2014 after paying off the mortgage of his first home 17 years early. "When you pay off a house, it's the coolest feeling for a couple of weeks — you don't have a mortgage payment. And then you're like, what do I do?" he recalled.

He decided to invest in more property. By 2018, he had nine properties earning around the same amount as his full-time job.

He also visited Thailand eight times to ensure it was where he wanted to be. He had considered Hong Kong and Japan but eventually decided against them due to the higher cost of living.

"I wouldn't do touristy things. I would sometimes spend days just hanging out at the condo I was renting as if I already lived here," he said.

By September 2018, he had a six-figure safety net in the bank — in case he "didn't survive" and had hired a property manager to look after his properties. With a Thai Elite Visa — a long-term tourist visa that permitted his residency for the next five years, he left frosty Chicago for sunny Thailand.

The first six months were hard

Chris said he was used to being in a job where he had a team and worked on multiple projects.

"It was very strange to be fully retired and not have any responsibilities at a young age," he said. "I definitely, in the beginning, had some panic attacks where I'd wake up at 3 in the morning and be like, 'What did I just do?'" he recalled.

Things improved when he followed a friend's suggestion to explore a site for meeting people with the same interests. Through meetup.com, Chris was able to connect with other expats and make Thai friends. Playing pickleball was a great way to connect with new people, he said.

"Bangkok is such a massive city. It's so easy to walk up to almost anybody and say hello," he said. "I don't do it as much as I used to because I have a lot of friends now. I'm like, I can't handle more friends," he said with a laugh.

Chris met his girlfriend while living in Thailand.

Chris

Living in Thailand is more affordable

Chris lives in an 882-square-foot two-bedroom apartment in Thonglor, a hip neighborhood in Bangkok with trendy bars and shopping centers. His rent is 62,000 Thai baht, or around $1,785 a month.

Before he left the US, he had set a budget of around $3,000 a month based on three factors: his age, lifestyle, and health. Describing his lifestyle as "semi-luxury," Chris said that he's increased his budget year after year to adjust to his changing circumstances. Now, his budget is at $3,800.

Still, it's almost half of what he spent in Chicago, which was over $6,000 a month.

Chicago is the most expensive place to live in the Midwest. Among 32 Midwestern cities, Chicago has the highest Cost of Living Index score, the Council for Community and Economic Research found last October.

"I get so shocked every time I go home once a year to visit my mom and see how it's gone up even more exponentially over the last couple of years," said Chris, who would spend a few weeks with his 82-year-old mom.

He recalled that his parents were more shocked about his early retirement than his move.

"I think this is important for people that move away from family," he said. "You can't think of it as how many years you have left with somebody. You have to think about it as how many visits you have left with that person."

Thailand is a popular retirement destination

Chris is not the only one who has found a retirement haven in Thailand.

According to the World Bank, the number of foreigners over 50 who received retirement visas to stay in Thailand doubled between 2013 and 2018 to nearly 80,000.

Retirees enjoy the country's slow pace of life and low cost of living.

John Walker, 73, moved from Australia to Chiang Mai, a province in northern Thailand, in 2019. He lives on an annual pension of around $18,000 and saves around 40% of his income. "People from all different countries come here," he told BI. "It's got a huge retirement community."

Similarly, Jeffrey Odgen, 75, decided to retire in Hua Hin, a beach town south of Bangkok. "The people here are very respectful. They respect their elders, whereas you don't get that in other European countries," said Odgen, who is originally from the UK.

Chris also travels to other parts of Thailand for vacation.

Chris

For Chris, being able to live any type of lifestyle is his favorite part of living in the city.

"If you want to be a recluse and just hide in your condo all day and get everything delivered, you can do that. If you want to explore the city, the public transportation is amazing," he said. "There's a lot of great culture, and everything is just right at your fingertips."

Although he's been in the city for six years, Chris says it only feels like six minutes.

"It has been the fastest and the best six years of my life living here," said Chris, who has since extended his visa for 20 more years. "I absolutely want to stay as long as I possibly can."

Do you have a story about moving abroad to retire that you want to share? Get in touch with the reporter, Erin: [email protected]">[email protected].

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Winter storms could disrupt travel in the Northeast this Thanksgiving weekend

2024-11-29T00:11:36Z

Parts of New England could see up to one foot of snow by Friday morning.

AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

Winter storms may disrupt Thanksgiving travel in the Northeast US this year.
Heavy snowfall is forecast in New England and Great Lakes.
Lake effect snow could bring up to five feet of snow in northern New York.

Winter storms could disrupt Thanksgiving weekend plans for some of the record 80 million Americans who traveled more than 50 miles from home this year.

Heavy snowfall is expected in New England through Friday morning and areas along the Great Lakes through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Parts of New England could see up to one foot of fresh snow by Friday morning. And over the weekend, a lake-effect snowstorm downwind of Lake Ontario could total up to five feet of snow in northern New York. The lake effect snow is expected to cover from Cleveland to Buffalo.

The lake effect snow is expected to start over the weekend and will likely continue through the next week.

"You can often get thundersnow with it and extremely high rates of snow, so it's a spectacular thing but a relatively small-scale thing," William Churchill, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, told Business Insider.

Thundersnow occurs when there is lightning during a snowstorm.

The vast majority of Thanksgiving travelers travel by car, according to the American Automobile Association. This year, 71.7 million people were expected on the road.

The number of Americans expected to travel more than 50 miles for Thanksgiving this year was up from pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, there were 77.8 million travelers, according to AAA.

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The most auspicious year for Chinese births is almost over. For dragon babies, the competition is just getting started.

2024-11-29T00:08:02Z

Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

Being born in the year of the dragon is auspicious, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.
Dragon babies are regarded as smart, successful, and natural leaders.
Experts say that being born in this year can make life harder at work and in school.

Jackson Koh was born in Singapore in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. Growing up, he says he was his aunts' and uncles' favorite — and he knows why.

"When I was young, every Chinese New Year, my relatives would ask, 'What zodiac is your child?' And my parents would say, 'Oh, he's a dragon,'" said Koh, a 23-year-old student at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

"And then all the relatives were, like, 'Wow! He's going to grow up to be very rich and very successful,'" he added.

"Obviously, listening to all this every year, it'll build up your ego. You just think, 'Oh, I'm a dragon, I'm special,'" Koh said.

Why the Dragon Year is special

There are 12 Chinese zodiac animals, arranged in the following order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The cycle repeats every 12 years.

Under the lunar calendar, 2024 is the year of the dragon.

The dragon is the only mythical creature among the dozen animals. It's considered the most auspicious zodiac by the Chinese — and people in Asia make it a point to procreate, with hopes of birthing a child in those 12 calendar months.

2024 is the year of the dragon, the only mythological creature in the Chinese zodiac.

Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images

According to Singapore's Department of Statistics, births went from 36,178 in 2011 to 38,641 in 2012, the most recent dragon year. The number of births in the following year, 2013, dipped back down to 35,681.

A similar trend of dragon-year birth spikes was observed in 1988 and 2000.

People born in the dragon year are said to be natural leaders, intelligent, and charismatic.

"Dragon babies are, for the most part, intensely desired and prized by their parents. Culturally, dragons are held in the highest esteem — they were symbols of the emperor," Ee Cheng Ong, an associate professor of economics at the National University of Singapore (NUS), told Business Insider.

Special attention, but more competition

Several dragon babies in Singapore told Business Insider they were a source of pride for their family elders, who showered them with more attention because of their birth year.

Melissa Anne Lim, a self-employed 23-year-old, said that, like Jackson Koh, she was doted on growing up.

"My grandma loves that I'm a dragon," said Lim. "Being a dragon baby kind of gave me a little more special attention, from the aunties especially."

Dragon babies are also likely to face more competition in school and in the workplace from their direct peers.

"Because schools have limited resources, including numbers of classrooms, facilities, and teachers, it is indeed correct that people born in such years may face disadvantages in terms of having larger class sizes and more competition in accessing 'top schools,'" said Kelvin Seah, a senior economics lecturer at NUS.

And it's not just schools. Seah said dragon babies will also have a tougher time looking for jobs after graduation.

"There are only so many jobs available in the economy. The larger cohort size means more competition for the limited number of jobs after graduation," Seah said.

In 2017, researchers from NUS published a study on the life outcomes of dragon babies in Singapore.

The study — which had a sample size of 4,608 and is based on local birth, employment, and university admissions data from 1960 to 2015 in Singapore — found that Chinese dragon babies earned 6.3% less than other Chinese birth cohorts upon entering the workforce.

The study also found that Chinese dragon babies were 2.3% less likely to gain admission to local universities in Singapore.

A numbers game

In other places where the lunar year is observed — and accorded cultural significance — people born in the year of the dragon also face a unique set of challenges.

In China, for instance, dragon babies taking the gaokao, the country's marathon university entrance exams, may face more intense competition with a larger cohort, said Stuart Gietel-Basten, a professor of social science and public policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Every year, batches of Chinese high school students study intensely for the gaokao, an examination that will define their future.

CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

China also sees birth rate spikes in dragon years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in 2012, China's birth rate reached 14.57 births per 1,000 people. That was an increase from 13.27 births per 1,000 people in 2011. Births dipped the following year, to 13.03 births per 1,000 people in 2013.

But the latest crop of dragon babies may have it easier, with competition evening out as birth rates drop.

And cultural expectations may be changing, Gietel-Basten added. Dragon babies might have once been subject to great pressure to exceed expectations, but Gietel-Basten says he'd be "surprised" if that same level of pressure would be applied to 2024's dragon babies as they grow older.

"You could even say that if you're a dragon baby, you become more confident," Gietel-Basten said. "And so you could prosper not out of the pressure that's been put on you, but because of that confidence."

Dragon baby spikes aside, birth rates remain low

Whether it's hard to be a dragon baby or not, one thing is clear: Asian countries — including Singapore and China, both of which follow the lunar year — are facing a birth rate problem.

In 2023, China's population fell for the second year in a row due to record-low birth rates. Singapore recorded a total fertility rate of 0.97 in 2023, the first time it had ever fallen below 1.0.

Policymakers across Asia are resorting to a wide range of measures to try to convince people to have more children.

In 2016, China dropped its controversial one-child policy and allowed couples to have two kids. The government changed its rules again in 2021 to let couples have up to three children.

China has made multiple drastic pivots to its population policy and now wants people to have more kids.

Chen Qibao/Xinhua via Getty Images

Tokyo's government said in June that it was investing $1.3 million to launch its own dating app for residents. Japan's total population has declined for the 15th straight year in 2023.

Seoul is offering up to $730 in incentives to people looking to reverse their vasectomies and tubal ligations. South Korea in 2023 recorded the world's lowest fertility rate, at 0.72 births per woman.

Some leaders are using the allure of the dragon baby in their messaging to encourage more children.

In February, then-Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his annual Chinese New Year message that it is a good time for families to "add a 'little dragon.'"

"I hope my encouragement prompts more couples to try for a baby, although I know that the decision is a very personal one," Lee said.

But higher than ordinary birth rates in a given year can also stress social systems.

"If there's still a bunching of baby deliveries in dragon years, that will create tension within schools and public educational resources," said Qian Wenlan, a finance and real estate professor at the National University of Singapore. Qian co-authored the 2017 study about life outcomes for dragon babies in Singapore.

"In some years, you just have to employ more teaching staff — such as adjunct teachers, for example — to accommodate and to educate more students," Qian added.

Still, even if the road is paved with challenges, sometimes being born a dragon is little more than a happy accident.

"At the end of the day, there are many other factors to take into consideration when we family plan," Lim, the 23-year-old dragon baby, said. "I have a niece and nephew who were both born in the year of the dragon. Did their parents plan for them to be dragons? Not exactly — but it was a pleasant surprise."

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Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu

2024-11-28T23:57:51Z

SimonSkafar/Getty Images

Two batches of raw milk from a trendy California brand have tested positive for bird flu this week.
Bird flu has been spreading rapidly among cattle in the US.
Experts say drinking raw milk is dangerous, and can cause food poisoning.

Another batch of raw milk just tested positive for bird flu in California.

Last Sunday, Fresno-based Raw Farm voluntarily recalled a first batch of cream top whole raw milk with a "best by" date of November 27. By Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that a second batch of Raw Farm cream top, with a "best by" date of December 7 had also tested positive for bird flu, based on retail sampling.

"We're not making a big deal about it, because it's not a big deal," Kaleigh Stanziani, Raw Farm's vice president of marketing, said in a short video posted on YouTube after the farm's first voluntary recall was announced earlier this week.

She said there had only been an indication that there might be a "trace element of something possible," emphasizing that there had been no reported illnesses of Raw Farms cows or positive tests from the cattle.

Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee later told the LA Times that the California Department of Food and Agriculture had requested that his company "hold delivery of further products" until Friday, after conducting thorough testing of two Raw Farms and one creamery on Wednesday. (McAfee could not immediately be reached for comment by Business Insider during the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Raw milk may be helping bird flu spread — but not in the way you might think

Containers of Raw Farm raw milk on a shelf at Berkeley Bowl on November 25, 2024 in Berkeley, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Scientists suspect that cross-contamination of raw milk between animals may be one reason the H5N1 virus is spreading rapidly among cows in the US — and could even contribute to the human spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that dairy workers might be able to contract bird flu by infected raw milk splashed into their eyes.

There is no definitive evidence yet that humans can get bird flu from drinking contaminated raw milk. Instead, health authorities generally recommend avoiding raw milk because of other serious health risks, including food poisoning with bacteria like Salmonella, E.coli, or Listeria.

There are no known health benefits of drinking raw milk. Instead, all evidence suggests that pasteurized milk is just as nutritious, and is safer to consume.

Still, raw milk has become a trendy product among some influencers. Gwenyth Paltrow says she has it in her coffee in the morning.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump's pick for Health and Human Services secretary, says he wants the US Food and Drug Administration to stop its "war" against raw milk.

Over the summer, "Carnivore MD" Paul Saladino released a raw milk smoothie in partnership with the elite Los Angeles health foods store Erewhon featuring unpasteurized (raw) kefir from Raw Farms, and powdered beef organs.

California has some of the loosest rules around raw milk in the country; it's generally fine for California retailers like health foods stores and grocers to sell it, raw milk products just can't be transported across state lines, per FDA rules.

Dr. Paul's Raw Animal-Based Smoothie includes Raw Farm kefir milk, beef organ powder, as well as blueberries, honey, bananas and other ingredients. It's $19.

Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Michael Payne, a researcher at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security, told The Guardian that people consuming Dr. Paul's $19 smoothie were "playing Russian roulette with their health," and ignoring pasteurization, "the single most important food safety firewall in history."

California dairy farms have been seeing an uptick in bird flu cases since August. The state has reported 29 confirmed human cases of bird flu, and all but one of those was sourced back to cows.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first confirmed case of bird flu in a California child from Alameda County. The child had no known contact with infected farm animals, but may have been exposed to wild birds, the California health department said in a statement.

The child had mild symptoms and is recovering well after receiving antiviral drugs.

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Billboard apologizes to Taylor Swift after fan backlash over a video

2024-11-28T23:49:41Z

Taylor Swift.

Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Billboard used a clip from Ye's 2016 music video "Famous" to recap Taylor Swift's career.
The clip featured a nude wax figure of Swift lying in bed with Ye and other celebrities.
After backlash from fans, Billboard apologized for including it.

Over the past few months, Billboard has revealed its rankings for the best pop artists of the 21st century. On Wednesday, Billboard announced that the No. 2 spot belongs to Taylor Swift and published an Instagram video recapping her career.

While some Swifties were disappointed to see her in second place, the real backlash against Billboard involved a short clip within the video.

Referencing a yearslong feud between Swift, Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), and Kim Kardashian, the clip featured the infamous wax figure of Swift in Ye's 2016 music video "Famous." In it, Swift's figure is nude and lying in bed next to Ye and other celebrities.

The backlash from fans prompted Billboard to remove the clip from its video and apologize to Swift on Wednesday.

We are deeply sorry to Taylor Swift and all of our readers and viewers that in a video celebrating Swift's achievements, we included a clip that falsely depicted her. We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error.
— billboard (@billboard) November 28, 2024

The inclusion of the clip, which critics have described as "revenge porn," prompted fierce criticism on social media. On X, Swifties started the hashtag #BillboardIsOverParty, a nod to #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty in 2016 (also connected to "Famous.")

'Famous' ignited Swift and Ye's ongoing feud

Ye and Taylor Swift have been feuding on and off since 2009.

Arnold Jerocki / Getty Images / Kate Green / Getty Images

In 2016, Ye released "Famous," which featured the lyric, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous." The lyric referenced the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when Ye stormed the stage and said Beyoncé should have won the Best Female Video award instead of Swift. The "Famous" music video included the naked figure of Swift.

After Swift disputed Ye's claim that she approved the lyric, Kardashian (at the time married to Ye) posted short clips of a phone call between Swift and Ye, showing Swift approving of the line "I feel like Taylor Swift might owe me sex."

Swift was called a snake on social media, and the incident partly inspired her 2017 album, "Reputation."

The feud was reignited a few times: first in 2020 when a longer clip of the phone call revealed Swift being opposed to Ye using the word "bitch." The next time was in 2024 when Swift released several tracks about Ye and Kardashian in "The Tortured Poets Department."

Swifties united with other fans

Many Swifties were angered by Billboard using the clip. X user @ryoqko referred to the move as "Just nasty, disrespectful and unprofessional."

Fans of other top artists, such as Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, and Nicki Minaj, also tweeted at and about Billboard.

Swift's fan base has a history of banding together for a cause. When Ye surpassed Swift as Spotify's top global artist, Swifties collectively streamed Beyoncé's "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" to push Ye out of the No. 1 spot.

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I uprooted my life and moved across the world to teach at a Japanese high school. These are the 3 things I learned, and why I'd do it again.

2024-11-28T23:42:02Z

Nic Lim left his life in New Zealand to become an ALT, or Assistant Language Teacher, in Japan. He loved the country so much that he wrote a book about it.

Nic Lim

Nic Lim, a New Zealand author, uprooted his life in New Zealand to become a school teacher in Japan.
During his four years there, he weathered a pandemic and dealt with cultural and language barriers.
There are three things people interested in moving to Japan should be aware of, he said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nic Lim, an author from New Zealand who moved to Japan for four years to work as an English teacher. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified his employment history.

In 2019, fresh out of university, I left home in the thick of winter. After a long plane ride, I found myself sweating in the heat of a blazing Japanese summer, en route to what would be my home for the next years.

Before I left home in New Zealand, I'd lived in the same house, in the same city, for my entire life.

I won't sugarcoat it: I wanted more opportunities, and to go out into the world and see what it had to offer.

I've always loved manga, anime, and other aspects of Japanese culture. And having graduated with a media degree, I felt Japan was the place for me.

So, when I was 21 and fresh out of college, I decided to move. I applied for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, which brings foreign graduates to Japan to work as assistant English teachers.

I was accepted to the program and moved to Koshigaya, a town in the central Saitama Prefecture.

There, I was suddenly exposed to a new culture, a new city, and a new language.

Here are three big lessons I learned from my four years living and working in Japan.

You're going to have to adjust to your new life, and fast

A view of the Japanese countryside during a walk he took to get to his job as a visiting teacher in Yoshikawa Minami, another part of Saitama.

Nic Lim

When I got to Japan, I noticed how limited the use of technology was in the classroom.

For example, our morning meeting notes were always printed on paper. Some of my fellow teachers didn't know how to use email, and that was one of the things that prevented us from switching up the system from printed meeting notes to digital documents.

On top of that, we were using ancient computers that were still running Windows 7. Some of the data was still stored on floppy disks.

Also, the scenes you see in manga where kids draw on blackboards are accurate. In the school where I taught, blackboards were the norm. I developed a hatred of having chalk on my fingers because it'd end up staining my suit with white smears.

The way people work at school was also a cultural gap I had to bridge.

Teachers in Japan also behave very differently from how I did, having grown up and gone to school in New Zealand. More traditional teachers conduct themselves strictly, and go by the book.

Meanwhile, I liked chatting in the hallways with the students, and my style of building rapport with the kids caused a bit of friction with some other staff members.

But I'm proud to say that my students began to trust me, and think of me as a friendly face they could approach. I think it's because people are more willing to mess up in front of their friends than they are in front of their teachers — and, by extension, more willing to learn.

Being proficient in Japanese before you leave for Japan is a major plus

Before I went to Japan, I did not know a lot of Japanese. I had a basic grasp of hiragana and the numbers, and in my part-time job at a sushi shop, I would count the pieces of sushi in Japanese to try to practice.

But that was about the extent of my proficiency.

Obviously, one of the advantages of being in Japan is that you're surrounded by Japanese people. It's a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the language — and I tried my best to learn as much of it as possible when I got there.

But my first language struggle hit pretty early on when there was a typhoon. While the government did a good job of offering information in English, at certain points, my phone would light up, an emergency alert would pop up, and it would all be in Japanese.

I'd look at it and think: "Do I need to run?"

It was daunting, being bombarded with emergency alerts that I just could not understand at all.

I also happen to have an extensive list of dietary restrictions. I'm allergic to wheat, gluten, eggs, nuts, and fish.

Lim has a long list of dietary restrictions, which made living in Japan more challenging.

Nic Lim

If you know anything about Japanese cuisine, eggs, wheat, and fish are core culinary components. When I first got to Japan, I couldn't read the food labels in shops.

So that was rough — because I had no idea if food would potentially kill me without looking it up on a translator.

You may think you know Japan from the touristy photos people post on Instagram. You don't.

I think the image that a lot of people have of Japan is what you see in the media — the glitzy streets and neon lights of Tokyo and the shrines and red torii gates of Kyoto.

Beyond Japan's most romanticized elements, there are regular towns where people just go about their lives in their suburban neighborhoods.

Nic Lim hiked Mount Adatara in Fukushima to reach the source of an onsen.

Nic Lim

I've also traveled to places off the beaten track. I've hiked to the source of an onsen on Mount Adatara in Fukushima, and seen some of the more rural parts of the country that tourists don't often think to visit.

Some days, I would take my bike, pick a direction, and ride until I couldn't go any further. It was intensely freeing — and I encourage people to leave their comfort zone, and go on adventures like this at least once.

Living in Japan inspired me to write a book, "Gate at the End of Summer." I wanted to capture the feeling of the best days of one's high school life. It's rooted in the idea of enjoying one's youth, as best as one can — and not wanting summer to end.

I'd go back in a heartbeat

The view from outside Lim's apartment.

Nic Lim

Of course, life in Japan wasn't perfect — no country is perfect — but I take the good with the bad. But what's stuck with me since I left in 2023 were the great experiences I had there.

I spent a lot of energy trying to make sure that my students could make the most of their time at school, and leave with happy memories. But I came out of it with beautiful memories of life in high school, too.

My teaching contract has ended, but I'd love to go back — if I ever get the opportunity to do so.

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Biden cautions Trump over imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada: 'I hope he rethinks it'

2024-11-28T23:35:33Z

President Joe Biden is nudging President-elect Donald Trump to reconsider his trade policy.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Joe Biden said that he hopes Donald Trump "rethinks" imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
Trump has said he may impose a 25% tariff on the two allies' imports after he retakes office.
The president-elect has long had protectionist trade views.

President Joe Biden on Thursday expressed hope that President-elect Donald Trump would back down on his plan to impose tariffs on two of the US' closest allies.

"I hope he rethinks it, I think it is a counterproductive thing to do," Biden told reporters on Thanksgiving.

Days before the holiday, Trump pledged to enact a 25% tariff on all Mexican and Canadian imports until the two countries do more to address illegal drugs and immigration. He said the tariffs would be among his first actions upon taking office, reopening the door to a national security law that lets the president impose tariffs with few limitations.

Trump's vow threatens to roil relations between the US and its two neighbors and may call into question the USMCA, a rewriting of the North American Free Trade Agreement that stands as one of his biggest first-term achievements.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris teed off on Trump and his tariff threats throughout the 2024 campaign. Trump never retreated from more protectionist policy, a break from traditional GOP policy.

The US, Biden said, can't afford to alienate its two North American neighbors.

"The last thing we need to do is screw up those relationships," the president said.

It remains to be seen what Trump will do. His first administration imposed various tariffs on US allies' imports, including on Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum.

In May 2019, Trump threatened to impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports with the chance for additional escalation if the nation failed to do more to stop illegal immigration. His threat briefly roiled financial markets, but such tariffs never came to fruition.

Mexico is mostly moving to de-escalate.

Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum not long after he made the new tariff threat.

Both sides seem happy with the conversation.

"Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. "She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."

Sheinbaum later said in a statement on X that she had not agreed to effectively close the border. She told reporters on Thursday that she was confident a trade war could be avoided.

"There will be no potential tariff war," Sheinbaum said, according to The Associated Press.

Read the original article on Business Insider

I didn't like how I looked growing up. I regret not having photos of special moments because of it.

2024-11-28T22:26:01Z

The author, not pictured, regrets not documenting important moments in her life because she felt she didn't look good.

Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61

Back in the 80s, my dad gifted me a camera because they were big on documenting our lives.
I was uncomfortable being in front of the camera, and I didn't have many photos of my teen years.
I learned that documenting life is not about how good you look in the photos.

My fondest memory is that of my father gifting me a Pentax 35mm photo camera as a birthday gift way back in the 80s. It was a special moment and one of the coolest gifts I'd ever received because my parents were big on documenting everything.

They kept over 12 photo albums that reflected our journeys from childhood to adulthood. It was easy to flip through the pages and see my first birthday, prom pictures, our first vacations, and many other memories.

I always thought that I'd follow in their footsteps and document important memories for my kids, but that wasn't the story of my life.

I didn't like to be in photos when I was young

Growing up in the supermodel era as a Black girl who spotted a unibrow, curvy hips, and strong thighs, I didn't enjoy time in front of a camera. I was a teenager before the smartphone era, which meant that every photo taken through film would have to be processed by a chemist.

So, every picture taken back then was a great pose or reflected a moment of self-realization. Both of these things made me uncomfortable. Whenever we had to take a family photo, I would make my way to the back or talk myself out of it because I was not confident enough or didn't like the way I looked.

Just like that, my younger years flew by, and I didn't have a lot, if any, photos from my teenage years. Then, I was getting engaged, and for some reason, my fiancée had to talk me into taking a few photos. My wedding was no different. As my husband and I eloped, there wasn't time for grand photo ops.

The fact that I didn't have any memories to show hit me hard when I started having kids. I had two sons a few years into my marriage, and they would constantly ask for pictures of myself, my family, and, as they would call it, "my old life." They never really understood when I told them I didn't have pictures to show. I felt like I let them down in some ways. I didn't even take birth pictures of my sons because I felt like I didn't look good enough during those moments.

Remembering special moments is not about how I looked

What I learned too late was that taking pictures and documenting special moments in my life was never about how good or bad I looked, it was about capturing moments that matter, that we could all look back to and enjoy.

Whenever I look at the few pictures I have, I see a young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. I wish I cared less about people's opinions of my appearance and realized that aging was a huge privilege and that life is worth recording.

It's never about how overdressed or underdressed I was. There are bigger and more important reasons to capture moments that matter. It tells the story of your life, where words will fail you.

The most important lesson I've learned through life, and as I'm now in my 60s, is that there's no excuse not to treasure the moment and be present in it. Without photos, the world would be bleak and mundane.

Although I embarrassingly have a limited understanding of technology and how smartphones work, I don't shy away from taking photos that will help me remember special and unique moments in my life. I especially love taking photos of my grandchildren. Albeit late to the party, at least they'll look back and see me on some of their favorite occasions.

These days, I don't pass up an opportunity to get photographed. No matter how old and goofy I look, I'll share the picture online with my friends, family, and strangers. It's important for me to capture these moments not only for myself but for everyone who cares about me. I do it as much for myself as I do it for them.

Life is too short not to record the things that are important.

Read the original article on Business Insider

A timeline of Mark Zuckerberg's history with Trump

2024-11-28T21:46:35Z

Donald Trump has threatened to imprison Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg if he wins the presidential election in November.

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images; Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg might be cooling their long-simmering feud.
Zuckerberg and Trump shared a Thanksgiving eve meal at Mar-a-Lago.
Here's a look at the timeline of Trump and Zuckerberg's rivalry.

Donald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg breaking bread together could signal a new chapter in their relationship.

On Wednesday night, Trump and Zuckerberg shared a Thanksgiving eve meal at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump previously threatened to jail the Meta CEO if he won the 2024 election, illustrating just how important their tête-à-tête might be.

Trump and his conservative allies have long criticized Zuckerberg, putting the head of one of the nation's largest companies under a microscope at a critical time.

"It's an important time for the future of American Innovation. Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming Administration," a spokesperson for Meta previously said in a statement to Business Insider, confirming the dinner.

Meta is facing an antitrust trial next year. There's bipartisan support for a major rewrite of Section 230, a law that shields Big Tech companies from liability. Zuckerberg has previously supported changing Section 230, but his company could be dramatically affected by how the law is changed.

Like many in Silicon Valley, Zuckerberg quickly expressed concern for Trump after he narrowly survived a July assassination attempt. Trump reciprocated by falsely claiming Zuckerberg endorsed him, but that was a major departure from threatening to jail the tech executive if he tried to influence the 2024 campaign.

Here's a look at how their relationship evolved over the years.

Trump and Zuckerberg have met on multiple occasions.

‪Nice meeting with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook in the Oval Office today.
Posted by Donald J. Trump on Thursday, September 19, 2019

They had a previously unannounced meeting at the White House in September 2019.

"Mark is in Washington, D.C., meeting with policymakers to hear their concerns and talk about future internet regulation. He also had a good, constructive meeting with President Trump at the White House today," a Meta spokesperson said at the time.

"‪Nice meeting with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook in the Oval Office today," Trump said of their meeting.

Trump and Zuckerberg met again the following month.

PayPal Mafia member Peter Thiel also attended the private dinner with Trump and Zuckerberg.

Getty Images

Trump, Zuckerberg, and Peter Thiel had a secret dinner in October 2019.

Thiel, who cofounded PayPal and Palantir, was the first outside investor in Facebook; he was a vocal supporter of Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

"We talked about a number of things that were on his mind, and some of the topics that you read about in the news around our work," Zuckerberg said of the dinner in an interview with "CBS This Morning."

Zuckerberg was in DC to testify before Congress about Facebook's cryptocurrency, Libra.

Trump has said he would've banned Facebook while president, but Zuckerberg "kept calling" him.

Trump congratulated Nigeria for its ban on Twitter, which the country has since lifted.

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency

In 2021, Trump praised Nigeria for banning Twitter.

"More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech — all voices should be heard," Trump said in a statement at the time.

"Perhaps I should have done it while I was President," he added. "But Zuckerberg kept calling me and coming to the White House for dinner telling me how great I was."

Nigeria lifted its ban on Twitter after seven months.

Trump has lambasted Zuckerberg for indefinitely suspending his Facebook account after his remarks contributing to the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

Donald Trump (left) and the Facebook logo on mobile (right).

Chip Somodevilla, NurPhoto/Getty Images

In 2021, Meta "indefinitely" suspended Trump's accounts following the January 6 Capitol riots, citing "use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government."

"His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world," Zuckerberg wrote in a post at the time. "We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect -- and likely their intent -- would be to provoke further violence."

Meta in 2023 reinstated Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Meta uses public Instagram and Facebook photos to train its AI models

Anadolu

In the time since the suspension, Facebook's Oversight Board examined the decision.

Eventually, Meta decided to reinstate Trump's account.

It did so while putting "new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses," including bigger penalties for any violations of Meta's rules.

As of July 2024, the company has lifted its final restrictions on Trump's account in the run-up to the November presidential election.

Meta removed "heightened suspension penalties" from Trump's account in July.

picture alliance/Getty Images

In July, Meta removed the additional guardrails that remained in place on Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts following their reinstatement.

"In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis," Meta said in a statement at the time. "As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties."

Meta added that it would "review accounts subject to this protocol on a periodic basis to determine whether heightened suspension penalties for Community Standards violations remain appropriate."

Trump has expressed interest in suing Facebook.

Trump would later sue Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

Scott Olson/Getty

"We should be suing Google and Facebook and all that," he said in a June 2019 interview with Fox Business. "Which, perhaps we will."

Trump made the remarks in the context of fines the European Union has levied against big tech firms like Google for breaching the bloc's antitrust rules.

In 2021, Trump did just that.

A combination photo of Facebook Google and Twitter logos.

Reuters

Trump filed suit against Facebook, Google, Twitter, and the companies' respective CEOs in July 2021, alleging they unlawfully censor him and other conservatives.

In May 2022, Trump's lawsuit against Twitter was dismissed.

So far in 2024, Zuckerberg has said Trump's reaction to being shot at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was "badass."

Trump was shot in the ear on July 13 while on the campaign trail.

Evan Vucci/AP

Zuckerberg expressed awe over Trump's response to getting shot.

"Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I've ever seen in my life," Zuckerberg told Bloomberg of the attempted Trump assassination. "On some level as an American, it's like hard to not get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight, and I think that that's why a lot of people like the guy."

But the Meta CEO said he wasn't planning to endorse any candidate for president this election cycle.

Trump says Zuckerberg called him to apologize after Meta's AI chatbot denied the assassination attempt happened.

Meta AI's new integration gives you search suggestions.

Business Insider

When asked about the shooting, Meta AI, in some widely-circulated instances, claimed Trump wasn't shot.

"He actually apologized; he said they'd made a mistake," Trump said on "Mornings with Maria" on Fox Business. "He actually announced he's not going to support a Democrat because he can't because he respected me for what I did that day."

A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment but didn't dispute that the two had talked. The spokesperson also referred BI to Zuckerberg's statement last month that he wouldn't be endorsing any presidential candidate in 2024.

As for the Meta AI posts about the shooting, Meta said in a July blog post: "In both cases, our systems were working to protect the importance and gravity of this event. And while neither was the result of bias, it was unfortunate and we understand why it could leave people with that impression. That is why we are constantly working to make our products better and will continue to quickly address any issues as they arise."

Trump had threatened to imprison Zuckerberg if he's elected in November.

Trump has threatened "Zuckerbucks" with prison time if he's elected in November.

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Trump says, if elected, he'll "pursue Election Fraudsters" and they "will be sent to prison for long periods of time."

"We already know who you are. DON'T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!" Trump wrote on Truth Social in July.

Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated roughly $400 million to nonprofits in 2020 to help state and local governments conduct a presidential election during an unprecedented pandemic. Republicans have remained furious over the donations. Meta has repeatedly tried to repair relationships, but many in the GOP remain incensed even though there's no evidence that the funds favored Democrats.

Amid continued criticism of his donations, Zuckerberg announced he would not make a similar contribution ahead of 2024.

Trump mentioned Zuckerberg in his book, "Save America," and didn't mince words.

Donald Trump appeared to threaten Mark Zuckerberg with prison time.

Michael Ciaglo/ Getty Images; Carlos Barria/ REUTERS

Politico reported that Trump included a picture of himself with the Meta CEO, with the caption, "He would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT."

It's unclear when Trump wrote the caption, though he appears to be referring to a $420 million contribution Zuckerberg and his wife made to fund election infrastructure in 2020.

Trump changed his mind on a TikTok ban, seemingly because of how it would likely benefit Meta.

Trump backed a TikTok ban while in office but now says he is "for TikTok" because the alternatives are Zuckerberg's Facebook and Instagram.

NurPhoto/Getty Images

While in office, Trump signed an executive order to ban TikTok, which President Biden revoked upon taking office after Trump.

Trump now views a TikTok ban differently.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm for TikTok because you need competition," Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek in July. "If you don't have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram, and that's, you know, that's Zuckerberg."

In March, he made similar comments in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" and referred to Facebook as "an enemy of the people."

"There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad with TikTok," he said. "But the thing I don't like is that without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger. And I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people."

Zuckerberg quickly congratulated Trump on his 2024 win

Zuckerberg was among many high-profile CEOs who quickly congratulated Donald Trump after news organizations projected the former president had won the 2024 election.

Screenshot/Threads

Like other major CEOs, Zuckerberg quickly praised Trump after it became apparent that the former president had won the 2024 election.

"Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory. We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country," Zuckerberg wrote on Threads on November 6. "Looking forward to working with you and your administration."

Trump and Zuckerberg share a pre-holiday meal

Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago club was the site of their meal.

Saul Martinez/Getty Images

Zuckerberg, a Meta spokesperson said, was invited to dine with Trump on Thanksgiving eve.

The Meta CEO traveled to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach club nicknamed "The Winter White House." Trump has been holding meetings there with potential cabinet picks and other top staffers as he prepares to retake the White House in January.

The New York Times reported that Zuckerberg "initiated" the meeting.

Some in Trump's orbit are taking notice of Zuckerberg's efforts.

"Mark Zuckerberg has been very clear about his desire to be a supporter of this and a participant in this change that we're seeing all around America, all around the world with this reform movement that Donald Trump is leading," longtime Trump advisor Stephen Miller, who will also return to the White House, told Fox News on Wednesday.

Miller cautioned, "We'll see what comes" of Zuckerberg's rapprochement, but made clear that the Meta CEO "understands" the change Trump is seeking.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Why Glassdoor's CEO doesn't answer work emails around his kids

2024-11-28T21:42:18Z

SolStock/Getty Images

Many parents struggle with putting their smartphones down and paying full attention to their kids.
Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong told CNBC that he stays offline around his children.
He only works in his home office, going in there for emergency calls or after his kids go to bed.

Teens aren't the only ones who are heavily enticed by smartphones; plenty of parents struggle to put their devices down, too.

A 2024 Pew Research Center report found that 46% of teens said their parents are "at least sometimes distracted by their phone" when they try to talk to them.

That's why Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong has a simple rule at home: he doesn't answer texts or emails in front of his kids.

"I want to lead by not having digital products all around," Sutherland-Wong, 44, said in a CNBC interview. He said he doesn't want to be "distracted by my email and text messages all the time" and gives his kids his undivided attention.

He stays offline when he's around his kids

Smartphones aren't just magnetizing because of work emails and apps like Slack; parents often use phones for everything from scheduling playdates to managing extracurriculars.

To reduce his chances of getting sucked into his phone, Sutherland-Wong gets fully offline when he spends time with his kids. He works remotely from his home office, which makes it easier to pick up on work once the kids are asleep.

Otherwise, he makes it a point "to be there when my kids come home from school, to be able to get offline, spend quality time with them, put them to bed, and then get back online."

He models clear boundaries around work

Not all work emergencies happen between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. To create "space" between his role as a father and as a CEO, Sutherland-Wong returns to his home office when an urgent work task arises.

He feels his kids "pick up on" how he takes work calls. Privately firing off emails not only helps him maintain a work-life balance as a father but also models healthier habits around technology for his kids.

Read the original article on Business Insider

As many as one in 10 coders are 'ghost engineers' Stanford researcher says, lurking online and doing no work

2024-11-28T21:02:13Z

Getty Images

A Stanford researcher says his algorithm pinpoints employees who are doing the bare minimum.
Roughly 9.5% of coders are "ghost engineers" according to his research, which has not been peer-reviewed.
The research underscores tech's newfound mania with rooting out low performers.

Quiet quitting. Lazy-girl jobs. Bare-minimium Mondays.

Over the past two years, employees have expressed repeatedly that they are fed up with being asked to do too much.

Tough luck. The latest catchphrase to describe working less is "ghost engineer" — and it comes not from burnt-out employees but from a Stanford researcher whose team has developed an algorithm to help tech companies identify freeloading coders.

Stanford researcher and former Olympic-level weightlifter Yegor Denisov-Blanch ran the algorithm, which grades the quality and quantity of employees' code repositories on GitHub, on the work of more than 50,000 employees across hundreds of companies.

Roughly 9.5%, he found, "do virtually nothing."

Measuring output is difficult

Denisov-Blanch calls these workers "ghost engineers," defined as software engineers who are only 10% as productive or less than their median colleague.

His research began as an attempt to find a better way to grade the performance of software engineers, he said in an interview with Business Insider.

"Software engineering is a black box," Denisov-Blanch said. "Nobody knows how to measure software engineers' performance. Existing measures are unreliable because they rate equal work differently."

"It's not fair when someone's doing a very complicated change that's only one line of code. And the person doing the very simple change that's 1,000 lines gets rewarded," he continued.

His algorithm attempts to resolve that tension, giving high ratings to engineers who write many lines of code only so long as that code is maintainable, solves complex problems, and is easy to implement.

Denisov-Blanch's research has not been peer-reviewed.

There are other caveats. Industry-wide, the 9.5% figure could be an overstatement because Denisov-Blanch's research team ran the algorithm only on companies that volunteered to participate in the study, introducing selection bias.

Conversely, while Denisov-Blanch's team didn't classify employees whose output is only 11% or 12% of the median engineer's as "ghost engineers," there's a strong argument that those employees aren't contributing much either, which could mean the 9.5% figure is an understatement.

Why does this matter?

It’s insane that ~9.5% of software engineers do almost nothing while collecting paychecks.

This unfairly burdens teams, wastes company resources, blocks jobs for others, and limits humanity’s progress.

It has to stop.
— Yegor Denisov-Blanch (@yegordb) November 20, 2024

The hunt for underperformers

Rooting out underperformers has lately become something of a mania among some in Silicon Valley.

In September, Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham published an essay lauding a management style he called "founder mode," which he distinguished from the conventional wisdom of, in his words, "hire good people and give them room to do their jobs."

"In practice, judging from the report of founder after founder, what this often turns out to mean is: hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground," Graham wrote.

Heading the charge has been Elon Musk, who has spoken proudly about firing 80% of Twitter's employees after buying the company in 2022. Twitter, now X, didn't appear to experience significant outages or service interruptions following the staff reduction.

"Were there many mistakes along the way? Of course. But all's well that ends well," he told CNN. "This is not a caring-uncaring situation. It's like, if the whole ship sinks, nobody's got a job."

More remote workers were superstar coders

Musk now aims to apply that same ruthless efficiency to the federal government. As co-chair of a new Department of Government Efficiency, he pledged in a Wall Street Journal op-ed to slash federal staffing, including by ending remote work to spur resignations.

"If federal employees don't want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn't pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home," Musk wrote.

Denisov-Blanche's research showed mixed results for remote work. On one hand, he found that the prevalence of "ghost engineers" among remote workers was more than double that among in-person workers.

But he also found that many more of the most effective engineers — employees whose performance was at least five times better than their median colleague — were working remotely than were in-person.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Rachael Ray's 5 tips for turning Thanksgiving leftovers into delicious family meals

2024-11-28T20:58:16Z

Rachael Ray shared her go-to recipes to transform Thanksgiving leftovers into delicious meals, including pasta ragu and a savory stuffing waffle.

Tom McCorkle/The Washington Post/Getty Images; John Lamparski/Getty Image

Rachael Ray shared her go-to recipes to transform Thanksgiving leftovers into delicious meals.
You can make a savory waffle out of leftover stuffing, she told Business Insider.
Curry, chili, and ragù are a few of Ray's favorite methods for using up leftover turkey.

You don't need to let a fridge full of Thanksgiving leftovers go to waste.

Business Insider spoke to celebrity chef Rachael Ray at last year's Burger Bash, an event during the New York City Wine & Food Festival, about her go-to recipes for transforming Thanksgiving leftovers like turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce into delicious meals.

Ray built an empire after her "30 Minute Meals" classes were noticed by a local news station at a food market. She secured her own Food Network contract with multiple shows, bestselling cookbooks, and a successful magazine, and she also has a home-goods brand under her belt. Her recipes include quick weeknight dinners, comfort foods, budget-friendly meals, and ways to get creative with leftovers.

Here are five easy ways to transform your Thanksgiving leftovers, according to Rachael Ray.

Curries and chilis are an excellent way to utilize leftover turkey.

Turkey curry in a bowl with white rice.

Bartosz Luczak/Shutterstock

Turkey curry and chili are two great options for day-after-Thanksgiving recipes because of how easy they are to prepare.

"Curries, chilis ... those are your basics," Ray told Business Insider.

Ray's recipe for turkey corn chili takes only 25 minutes to prepare and uses simple ingredients like cooked turkey meat, chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, crushed tomatoes, chicken stock or broth, and frozen corn.

Ray said "any kind of ragu" is a useful way to use up leftovers.

Ragu pasta with cheese.

Beliphotos/Shutterstock

Who doesn't love the smell of a pot of ragù simmering on the stove during the colder months?

Ray's recipe for turkey porcini ragù uses dried, sliced porcini mushrooms, a pound of leftover Thanksgiving turkey, turkey or chicken stock, red wine, onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and more.

She recommends making a matzo-ball-style soup out of leftover stuffing, cooked meats, and vegetables.

Balls of stuffing in broth.

Ludica/Getty Images

For this recipe, Ray recommends rolling leftover stuffing into a ball and dropping it into broth like a matzo ball.

Add "leftover vegetables, any sort of meat, turkey, chicken, or ham, and you have the equivalent of a matzo-ball soup," Ray said.

Ray also suggests making a burrito with your leftover turkey.

A turkey wrap with cheese, lettuce, and tomato.

zkolra/Shutterstock

One of the simplest ways to reuse leftover Thanksgiving turkey is to make a sandwich, wrap, or even a burrito, which Ray said is one of her favorite methods.

You can add other Thanksgiving fixings like turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and gravy to your tortilla, or you can go a more standard route with fillings like shredded cheese, turkey, lettuce, and tomato.

You can also make a waffle out of leftover stuffing.

A waffle made out of leftover stuffing and topped with cranberry sauce.

Tom McCorkle/The Washington Post/Getty Images

One of the most unique ways to use leftover stuffing is to make her recipe for savory stuffing waffles.

"You can put your leftover stuffing in your waffle iron, and then just put the turkey or the pheasant on top of the crispy stuffing once you take it out of the waffle iron," Ray said.

"[Top it] with a little bit of fruity maple syrup, like cranberry sauce and maple syrup, or some sort of warm honey drizzled over the top."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Leading Democrat who represents Silicon Valley encourages liberals to stay on X amid Bluesky exodus

2024-11-28T18:35:34Z

Rep. Ro Khanna of California represents large parts of Silicon Valley.

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

A top Democrat urged fellow liberals to remain on Elon Musk's X platform.
This month, millions of users have joined Bluesky, which bills itself as a liberal alternative to X.
Khanna told Politico that his relationship with Elon Musk is an example of finding common ground.

Rep. Ro Khanna, a leading progressive lawmaker representing the heart of Silicon Valley, said liberals shouldn't flee Elon Musk's X, instead urging his fellow Democrats to engage with those who share opposing beliefs.

Khanna made the comments on an episode of Politico's Power Play podcast this week amid an exodus of liberal users from X to Bluesky.

The social networking platform, which has billed itself as a progressive alternative to Musk's site, surpassed 21 million users this month, up from 13 million in October.

"I don't think the answer is for progressives to disengage," Khanna told Politico. "The idea is that in a marketplace of ideas, over the long term, the truth emerges."

The California lawmaker described himself as a "free speech person" who uses X "all the time" and suggested Democrats remaining on the platform is akin to liberal lawmakers appearing on conservative news outlets like Fox News to share their message with as wide an audience as possible.

Khanna, who has a longstanding relationship with Musk, cited his own interactions with the billionaire on X as evidence of the kind of common ground people can find online.

On Monday, Khanna posted a clip of himself on CNN talking about the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which President-elect Donald Trump has tasked Musk and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy with leading.

"When it comes to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse and opening the 5 primes to more competition, there are Democrats on HASC who will work with @elonmusk and @DOGE," Khanna wrote on X.

Musk subsequently retweeted the post, saying, "Cool!"

Cool! https://t.co/5WiVyOHAw6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024

Khanna reiterated his willingness to work with Musk, who has become an advisor to Trump in recent months, on Politico's podcast this week. He said he agreed with cutting costs, citing defense spending.

"That is an area, being on the armed services committee, where I will work with someone like Elon Musk or Vivek Ramaswamy if they can actually help break the monopolies of these defense contractors," Khanna said.

Last year, Khanna praised Musk as an entrepreneurial "genius" but criticized the Tesla CEO's controversial online behavior, including his posting of edgy memes.

Khanna has described himself as a "technology optimist" and said he supports a balance of regulation and ethics in the digital space. The lawmaker introduced an Internet Bill of Rights in 2018 focused on online privacy, but the legislation has been stalled in Congress.

Read the original article on Business Insider

'Big Four' salaries: How much accountants and consultants make at Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY

2024-11-28T18:23:26Z

Even an entry-level consultant at the "Big Four" can earn over $200,000.

Luis Alvarez/Getty Images

The "Big Four" accounting firms employ about 1.5 million people worldwide.
Many of these employees make six-figure salaries and are eligible for annual bonuses.
Business Insider analyzed data to determine how much employees are paid at these firms.

The so called "Big Four" accounting firms — Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), KPMG, and Ernst & Young (EY) — are known for paying their staff high salaries.

An entry-level consultant who just graduated from business school can make over $200,000 a year at the four firms when you include base salary, bonuses, and relocation expenses.

Several of these firms have faced layoffs and implemented hiring freezes over the past year as demand for consulting services has waned. Still, they're a good bet for anyone looking to land a six-figure job straight out of school.

Business Insider analyzed the US Office of Foreign Labor Certification's 2023 disclosure data for permanent and temporary foreign workers to find out what PwC, KPMG, EY, and Deloitte paid US-based employees for jobs ranging from entry-level to executive roles. We looked through entries specifically for roles related to management consulting and accounting. This data does not reflect performance bonuses, signing bonuses, and compensation other than base salaries.

Here's how much Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY paid their hires.

Deloitte paid senior managers between $91,603 to $288,000

Deloitte offers its top manager salaries close to mid six figures.

Artur Widak/Getty Images

With 457,000 employees worldwide, Deloitte employs the most people of any of the 'Big Four.' It pulled in close to $64.9 billion in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year, marking a 9.4% increase from 2022.

Deloitte did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for consulting and accounting roles:

Analyst: $49,219 to $337,500 (includes advisory, business, project delivery, management, and systems)
Senior business analyst: $97,739
Audit and assurance senior assistant: average $58,895
Consultant: $54,475 to $125,000 (includes advisory, technology strategy, and strategic services)
Global business process lead: $180,000
Senior consultant: average $122,211
Manager: average $152,971
Tax manager: average $117,268
Senior manager: $91,603 to $288,000
Managing director: average $326,769
Tax managing director: average $248,581
Principal: $225,000 to $875,000

Principals at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) can make well over $1 million.

PwC.

Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is a global professional services firm with over 370,000 employees worldwide. The firm reported a revenue of more than $53 billion for the 2023 fiscal year, marking a 5.6% increase from 2022.

PwC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for both consulting and accounting roles.

Associate: $68,000 to $145,200
Senior associate: $72,000 to $197,000
Manager: $114,300 to $231,000
Senior manager: $142,000 to $251,000
Director: $165,000 to $400,000
Managing director: $260,000 to $330,600
Principal: $1,081,182 to $1,376,196

KPMG offers managing directors anywhere between $230,000 to $485,000

KPMG managing directors can earn close to half a million.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

KPMG has over 273,000 employees worldwide. The firm reported a revenue of $36 billion for the 2023 fiscal year, marking a 5% increase from 2022.

KPMG did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for consultants, accountants, and leadership at KPMG.

Associate: $61,000 to $140,000
Senior associate: $66,248 to $215,000
Director: $155,600 to $260,000
Associate director: $155,700 to $196,600
Specialist director: $174,000 to $225,000
Lead specialist: $140,500 to $200,000
Senior specialist: $134,000 to $155,000
Manager: $99,445 to $293,800
Senior manager: $110,677 to $332,800
Managing director: $230,000 to $485,000

Statisticians at Ernst & Young (EY) make salaries ranging between $66,000 to $283,500.

EY spends $500 million annually on learning for its employees.

TOLGA AKMEN / Contributor / Getty

EY employs close to 400,000 people worldwide. For the 2023 fiscal year, the firm reported a record revenue of $49.4 billion, marking a 9.3% jump from 2022.

The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for consultants, accountants, auditors, and chief executives at the firm:

Accountants and auditors: $54,000 to $390,000
Appraisers and assessors of real estate: $166,626 to $185,444
Computer systems analyst: $62,000 to $367,510
Management analyst: $49,220 to $337,500
Statistician: $66,000 to $283,500
Financial risk specialist: $62,000 to $342,400
Actuaries: $84,800 to $291,459
Economist: $77,000 to $141,000
Logisticians: $72,000 t0 $275,000
Mathematicians: $165,136 to $377,000
Computer and information systems manager: $136,167 to $600,000
Financial manager: average $320,000

Aman Kidwai and Weng Cheong contributed to an earlier version of this post.

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US economy could face higher inflation and slower growth when Trump takes office, 'Dr. Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini says

2024-11-28T17:12:30Z

Economist Nouriel Roubini is known as "Dr. Doom" for his bearish takes on the economy.

John Lamparski/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

Nouriel Roubini thinks higher inflation and slower growth are coming on the back of Trump's policies.
He pointed to Trump's plans to levy steep tariffs and deport millions, which could stoke price growth.
The pace of inflation could nearly double to 5% in the coming years, Roubini speculated.

Trump's policies are raising the risk for a handful of troubling economic consequences, according to one of Wall Street's most pessimistic forecasters.

Nouriel Roubini — also known as "Dr. Doom" for his bombastic and frequently bearish takes on the economy — said he believes some of Trump's policies could raise prices and slow growth in the US. That could involve inflation rising as high as 5% in the coming years,

he said speaking to Bloomberg on Wednesday, about double the current pace of price growth in the US.

Roubini said interest rates could also rise due to Trump's economic agenda. He predicted that long-end bond yields, which partly reflect interest rate expectations in the economy, could reach as high as 8%.

"Some of the economic policies may lead to higher economic growth," Roubini said, pointing to Trump's push to loosen regulation and slash the corporate tax rate. "But unfortunately, many of the other policies have the implication of higher inflation and lower economic growth."

Roubini pointed in particular to Trump's tariff plan, with the president-elect vowing to levy steep tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China, and a 10%-20% blanket tariff on most US imports. Experts have said the cost of tariffs could be passed onto buyers, with some businesses already floating future price increases.

Trump has also promised to slash corporate taxes and eliminate taxes in other areas, such as income from tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits. Roubini suggested that could spell trouble given the overarching picture of the US debt, as debt is inherently inflationary.

Trump's agenda could raise the national debt by as much as $15.5 trillion from 2026 through 2035, according to an analysis from the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget.

Trump's plan to carry out mass deportations could also impact the outlook for inflation and growth, Roubini noted, given that immigration has bolstered the workforce and helped tame inflation.

"So definitely mass deportation is stagflationary," he added.

Roubini has repeatedly warned that Trump's second term in office could raise the risk of stagflation, a scenario involving stubborn prices, sluggish economic growth, and steep unemployment. Some analysts describe the situation as even worse than a recession due to the chaos that unfolded the last time the US was in the midst of a stagflationary crisis.

Other forecasters have also warned of the potential for higher inflation in Trump's second term. Deutsche Bank analysts floated a potential inflation increase in 2025, adding it was possible the Fed may not lower interest rates to keep high prices in check.

Trump, though, has repeatedly disputed the idea that his policies are inflationary and said he would lower prices for Americans. He enacted tariffs in his first term as president without a significant inflation increase, but experts say that his policies this time around are far more wide-reaching, explaining the difference in inflation forecasts.

"Trump will once again cut taxes and unleash American energy to lower prices on groceries and other goods when we send him back to the White House," Taylor Rogers, a spokesperson from the Republican National Committee, previously told BI.

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Trump may be more likely to get a deal from Russia if he backs Ukraine's resistance

2024-11-28T16:44:56Z

Keith Kellogg at a White House briefing in 2020. He'll be leading the Trump administration's Ukraine policy.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Donald Trump has pledged to broker peace in Ukraine.
However, analysts say it relies on Ukraine being in a position of strength.
Trump allies have questioned US support for Ukraine.

Donald Trump may be more likely to get a peace deal from Russia if he places Ukraine in a position of strength, according to analysts.

The President-elect has said his priority is to end the war in Ukraine and stop what he believes is a drain on US military resources.

On Wednesday, he selected retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as his special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, where he'll likely lead the drive to broker peace talks.

It's a move that may concern the US' European allies, with Kellogg previously having suggested handing over Ukrainian territory to Russia.

Military and political leaders in Europe are warning that a deal that hands too much to Russia will likely just be a prelude to further conflict.

Analysts told Business Insider that a meaningful peace deal can only be brokered by backing Ukraine and ensuring it can negotiate from a position of strength.

John Lough, associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, said abandoning Ukraine could make Trump appear weak and embolden the US's main global competitors.

"If he abandons Ukraine and says, 'I'm not going to fund this anymore, the US doesn't need this,' and as a consequence, the Russians make a strategic advance in Europe, and take a further step to dismantle the US-led security order in Europe, that would undoubtedly look weak," said Lough.

Instead, say experts, Ukraine must be placed in a position to deter Russia.

In recent months, Russia has exploited Ukraine's lack of manpower and artillery, making significant advances in east Ukraine.

At the same time, it's intensified its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine's cities and infrastructure, with one million civilians without power after strikes this week.

Kellogg's position is more complex than that of President Joe Biden, who backed arming Ukraine to push Russia back and left it up to Kyiv to decide when to negotiate.

Instead, Kellogg argues that Ukraine's aid should be cut if it refuses to negotiate with the Kremlin, but US aid to Ukraine should be boosted if Russia won't take part in talks.

Evelyn Farkas, executive director of the McCain Institute in Washington, DC, in an interview with CNN Wednesday warned that Putin has little incentive to seek peace with Ukraine if he believes support for Kyiv is weakening.

"If President Trump is credible in basically threatening to provide Ukraine with what it needs to retake territory and to hold on to the Russian territory, then that puts pressure on Putin because this war is not popular in Russia," said Farkas.

"So every day he has to wait, and if he thinks that Ukraine now has time on its side, meaning President Trump will back Ukraine, he will then be more motivated to seek a deal."

Ultimately, achieving a lasting peace deal in Ukraine will depend on deterring Russia, not on walking away.

"Any deal is still going to involve US support in some form to keep the peace. Ukraine needs to maintain effective armed forces to deter further Russian aggression," said Lough.

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Amazon workers plan global protests during the Black Friday shopping weekend for the fifth year in a row

2024-11-28T16:32:16Z

Amazon workers in the UK picketed outside a warehouse earlier this year, part of a steady increase in labor activism at the retail behemoth.

Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images

Amazon workers in more than 20 countries are set to protest between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
It's the fifth year Amazon workers have protested during the major shopping weekend.
The company has downplayed the actions while separately taking some steps to meet workers' demands.

Workers in more than 20 countries, including the U.S., are set to protest or strike between Black Friday and Cyber Monday over wages, working conditions, and Amazon's environmental impact.

The protests are part of the fifth annual Make Amazon Pay campaign, organized by a coalition of labor and progressive organizations.

In New Delhi, where employees said Amazon kept them working during a heat wave this spring, workers plan to march on Parliament demanding higher wages and job protections. Workers in several German warehouses are set to walk off the job.

In New York City, workers affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union are marching on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' penthouse.

Have the protests worked?

Yes and no.

Amazon has downplayed the protests, characterizing them as small-scale and saying the labor groups organizing Make Amazon Pay are presenting a misleadingly negative portrait of working at the company.

"The fact is at Amazon we provide great pay, great benefits, and great opportunities—all from day one," spokesperson Eileen Hards said in a statement. "We've created more than 1.5 million jobs around the world, and counting, and we provide a modern, safe, and engaging workplace whether you work in an office or at one of our operations buildings."

Separately, it has also taken steps that respond to some of protesters' demands, though not all workers say they're pleased with the company's rate of progress.

As labor groups make inroads into Amazon's U.S. fulfillment network, the company has boosted wages and broadcast its commitment to safety.

Over the past year, the Teamsters Union has scored several organizing victories in Amazon's American logistics operation. The Amazon Labor Union, which represents roughly 5,500 workers in a Staten Island warehouse, voted in June to affiliate with the Teamsters. Delivery drivers and air hub operators in California, Kentucky, and Atlanta also joined the Teamsters.

In September, Amazon raised wages for warehouse and transportation workers to an average of $22 per hour. In a post on its website, the company did not cite labor activism as a reason for the raises, saying they were "part of an annual process where we review our wages and benefits to ensure that they stay competitive."

What about Amazon's climate footprint?

This summer, Amazon also announced that it had met an ambitious climate target, of "matching" the electricity consumed by its global operations with renewable energy, while reducing its carbon footprint 3% from the prior year.

The company said it met that target seven years earlier than it had anticipated, in part by becoming the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the world.

In 2019, thousands of Amazon employees and other tech workers in Seattle walked out in protest of the company's carbon policies.

Karen Ducey/Getty Images

Members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, an organizing group of largely corporate workers, said the company's calculations did not include emissions from third-party merchants, who account for more than half the sales on Amazon's online store. Amazon has disputed the group's findings.

Amazon focused on "all the low-hanging fruit projects that it could. But now those are all done, and what we're seeing is they're not doing the hard stuff," Eliza Pan, a former Amazon employee and member of the climate group, told The Seattle Times in July.

Hards, the Amazon spokesperson, said Amazon is not done reducing its carbon footprint.

"Some actions will have immediate carbon savings, while others will take years to demonstrate results — and we will continue to invest in both proven and new science-backed solutions to help solve this crisis," Hards said.

What do the protests mean for Black Friday shopping?

Significant delays haven't occurred as a result of Make Amazon Pay protests in prior years, and it seems unlikely they will impact shipping times this year.

The holiday season is a significant revenue driver for the online retail giant. Amazon charted "record-breaking" holiday sales in the last three months of 2023. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said on an earnings call earlier this year. The company reported $170 billion in revenue that quarter, up 14% from the year prior.

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Australia passed a law banning social media for kids under 16. Tech companies will need creative solutions to avoid $32 million fines.

2024-11-28T16:28:30Z

Australia voted to ban social media for kids under 16.

Getty Images

Australia's government approved a law that would ban social media for kids under 16.
The legislation puts the onus on tech companies to keep children off their platforms.
But how exactly companies are supposed to comply remains a big question.

Australia's government agreed to a sweeping social media ban this week in an attempt to protect young people from online harm, though exactly how tech companies like TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat would verify users' age remains a giant question mark.

The law gives tech companies one year to figure out how to keep children under 16 from using their social platforms or risk up to $32 million in fines.

The legislation is among the strictest of its kind as countries around the world increasingly target social media as the next frontier for child safety laws.

"The law places the onus on social media platforms — not parents or young people — to take reasonable steps to ensure these protections are in place," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a November 21 press release.

The country's House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the bill in a 102-13 vote on Wednesday, while Australia's Senate voted 34 to 19 in favor of the legislation on Thursday.

Some pornography websites and online gambling platforms have implemented ID checks in recent years to comply with a wave of legislation requiring online age verification in several US states, asking users to submit a selfie with a government-approved ID.

Australia's new law specifically bars social media companies from asking for users' IDs in an effort to protect privacy rights.

Julie Inman Grant, Australia's eSafety commissioner in charge of implementing the new law, told The New York Times that age verification technologies are improving daily and expressed faith in tech companies' ability to comply.

"They've got financial resources, technologies and some of the best brainpower," she told the outlet. "If they can target you for advertising, they can use the same technology and know-how to identify and verify the age of a child."

A government-commissioned trial looking into technologies that could be used for age verification, including biometrics, is underway in Australia and is set to deliver its report next summer.

Google and Meta had lobbied to delay the vote until the commission delivered its report. Snap Inc., which owns Snapchat, said "device-level age verification" was the best possible option to meet the requirements. Meanwhile, X CEO Elon Musk suggested the legislation was "a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians."

Other critics of the legislation, including opposition lawmakers and some mental health experts, have expressed concern that the bill could have unintended consequences, especially for marginalized young people who have historically used social media to find online support.

Support for the legislation appears to be high in the country. A YouGov poll released ahead of the vote last week found that 77% of Australians backed the ban.

"This is a landmark reform," Albanese said. "We know some kids will find workarounds, but we're sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act."

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Tariffs and sanctions could disrupt the tech supply chain. Here's how to derisk it.

2024-11-28T17:12:39Z

Getty Images

SolidIntel CEO advises clients on derisking supply chains amid tariff concerns.
China's dominance in rare earth minerals poses risks to tech supply chains.
Friend-shoring and nearshoring are strategies to enhance national security and tech resilience.

Megan Reiss has been very busy since the election. The CEO and founder of SolidIntel, a D.C.-based supply chain advisory firm, has been fielding calls from current and prospective clients looking to understand what Trump's second term could mean for their manufacturing, supply, raw materials, foundry, and businesses across sectors.

SolidIntel's clients also want to know how to derisk their operations as talk of tariffs sends markets into a volatile turn.

"People concerned about tariffs are very interested in moving their supply chains out of China as quickly as possible because they see it as the potential for everything to get really expensive, really quickly," Reiss told Business Insider.

The rare earth minerals and raw materials underpinning the AI boom and its countless clusters of chips may soon be in the spotlight because of where they're produced. Though President-elect Trump's Monday post named Mexico and Canada, all eyes are on China.

"Our technology is dependent on these rare earth minerals. China has a lot of opportunity to turn off the spigot," Reiss said.

Friend shoring to allies

Friend shoring, or moving supply chain, manufacturing, and operations to non-adversarial countries to have continuity, is one step to derisking tech's supply chain.

The potential for export controls and sanctions are also top of mind for SolidIntel's rare earth mineral clients. These raw materials serve as the building blocks for wafters, and semiconductors that power advanced AI chips. The vast majority of these minerals are commercially mined in China or quarries owned by Chinese companies.

Rare earth minerals used to make AI chips are almost exclusively imported from China.

Department of the Interior

In 2023, the U.S. imported more than 95% of rare earth compounds and minerals from China, Malaysia, Estonia, and Japan, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Nearshoring and friend-shoring manufacturing and vital supply chains away from China are also important for national security and could bolster a sovereign tech sector. The near-term investment is difficult but ultimately more beneficial in the long term.

Since 2023, SolidIntel, which uses generative AI and machine learning to identify supply chain risks, has helped companies track how bad actors end up in supply chains and connects companies with compliant suppliers.

"The more these supply chains are not hung over our head, and we make national security choices that are in the best interest of the U.S., the less afraid we are that an adversary is going to try to kill our commercial sector, that's a good thing," Reiss said.

There are closer to home alternatives that could become more viable depending on the incoming administration's policies, how relations with China play out, and if Trump makes good on his tariffs talk.

"My fear is not that we will not find alternative sources because there are a lot of rare earth minerals, and they're not just in the U.S.; they're in friendly and allied countries. I'm worried about us doing it fast enough. It can take a decade or more to bring a mine online, and it can't take that long in this case," Reiss said.

Create redundancy in manufacturing

To derisk the supply chain, create redundancy. In other words, reducing parts of supply chains that are dependent on one country is a way to cut down on risks and diversify manufacturers' options.

"If I were a manufacturer and I had a couple of chokepoints in my supply, say two of three, difficult-to-source parts that are only produced in a couple of countries, you would ideally want to have production lines in multiple countries," Reiss said.

Though streamlining production to fewer or one country can be cheaper and more efficient, it only works until something goes wrong she said.

Regulation of the supply chain may increase, but tech companies and their suppliers could find solutions in data. "Technology cannot do it unto itself, because you can only rely on the data you can get to understand the whole length of the supply chain. It's about open-sourced intelligence and closed data sets, " Reiss said.

"It's not just 'is this a foreign manufacturer, it's 'what are the foreign ownership control and influence risks in partnering with a company or in having a certain investor," Reiss said. "There's a lot more to it that people are just starting to build out their understanding of."

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