Scarlett Johansson said she'd turned down OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's offer to voice its AI model in September. But the company later released a model in May that featured a voice that was similar to her's.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images; Patricia J. Garcinuno via Getty Images
Sam Altman may want to consider ringing up Marvel if the AI thing doesn't pan out.
"Black Widow" star Scarlett Johansson said the OpenAI CEO could well make a decent Marvel villain.
"Maybe with a robotic arm," Johansson quipped to The New York TImes' Maureen Dowd.
"I guess he would — maybe with a robotic arm," the "Black Widow" star told The New York Times' Maureen Dowd in a story published Saturday.
Johansson made the quip after talking about her dispute with Altman and his company, OpenAI. The company released its latest GPT-4o model in May, which came with several voice options.
But the AI model soon drew the ire of Johansson after many social media users pointed out that one of its voices, "Sky," sounded just like the AI chatbot she voiced in Spike Jonze's 2013 film "Her."
"When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference," Johansson said in a statement on May 20.
In her statement, Johansson said she'd initially turned down Altman's offer to voice the AI model back in September. Altman, she said, approached her again in May, "two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released" on May 13.
"Before we could connect, the system was out there," she said.
On May 19, OpenAI said in a blog post that it pausing "Sky's" release.
"The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson's, and it was never intended to resemble hers. We cast the voice actor behind Sky's voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson," Altman said in a statement the following day. "We are sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn't communicate better."
We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky. We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them.
In her interview with Dowd, Johansson said that "it was surreal" when OpenAI released "Sky" to the world.
"I had actively avoided being a part of the conversation, which was what made it so disturbing," Johansson told The Times. "I was like, 'How did I get wrapped up in this?' It was crazy. I was so angry."
"I think technologies move faster than our fragile human egos can process it, and you see the effects all over, especially with young people. This technology is coming like a thousand-foot wave," she said.
Representatives for Altman and Johansson didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
For Costco, deflation tends to come a bit earlier, since the company prides itself on adhering to an ultra-low markup strategy that leaves less room for experimentation than a traditional retailer might have when prices are falling. (Given its size and buying power, Costco is credited with helping prices come down too.)
In periods of normal inflation, Costco prefers to make more money by simply selling more stuff: "We're a top line company, we want to drive sales," former CFO Richard Galanti was fond of saying.
When Costco is looking for more fee revenue, its preference is ordinarily to simply sell more memberships (which it has been doing aggressively for the past year).
The other option is to raise the price of the membership — a move the company resisted until this week when it announced the basic membership would go up by $5 in September for the first time in seven years. Executive memberships will increase by $10.
With 52 million paid memberships affected by the move, that translates to roughly $390 million of additional revenue per year, which the company says will be largely reinvested into the business.
As CNBC's Jim Cramer noted, "Management said it wasn't going to raise its membership fee until they saw inflation under control."
While Cramer pointed out the company's statements that it didn't want to add further pressure to members' wallets during high inflation, Costco's business model shows it stands to benefit from the timing of this hike. Plus, it's an option that few other retailers have.
So what does it mean for US households' grocery bills that Costco chose to pull this financial lever? It could be that the years-long run of rising prices is finally nearing an end.
Almost immediately after arriving, while driving intodowntown Los Angelesfrom the airport, they were surprised at the sheer number and variety of fast-food chains along the highway.
InAustralia, we have several major fast-food chains, but our sons, Charlie and Thomas, couldn't believe how many different chains there were in the US. They were surprised that there was a need for dozens of different burger chains, fried chicken restaurants, and fast food joints. We let them pick one to try, and they chose the iconic In-N-Out.
They couldn't understand why all the dollar bills looked the same
Every Australian bill is a different color, making it easy to distinguish. Charlie and Thomas were surprised that everyAmerican dollar billlooked the same. This concerned them, as they were worried they would accidentally hand over a 20-dollar bill instead of a one-dollar one and lose money. I solved this by only giving them one-dollar bills.
They also had a problem with tax being added at the cash register which they weren't used to.
Determined to maximize their spending, they were frustrated by the pricing system. In Australia, the price displayed is the final price (including tax and tip), so they found it challenging to determine what an item would cost. We explained they needed to add tax (and occasionally a tip), but the differing state taxes necessitated using a calculator each time, which diminished their shopping experience.
Being asked to repeat themselves annoyed them
I don't believe our Aussie accents are very strong, but many Americans found it difficult to understand Charlie and Thomas and were often asked to repeat themselves. A few people even asked if they were speaking English.
Both hate tomatoes, so when ordering, they always ask for "no tomatoes." However, they pronounce it as "to-mah-to" rather than how Americans pronounce it, often leading to confusion. Another word that caused an issue was water, which we pronounce "war-ta."
By the end of the trip, they had learned to say tomatoes and water in an American accent.
The fast food novelty eventually wore out, leading to a surprising conversation
As we traveled across several states, we endeavored to eat healthy food but found this a challenge among the spate of cheap (but generally fried) fast food options. Midway through our second week of vacation, Charlie, who loves his junk food and is known for avoiding vegetables, shocked me. While choosing where to eat, he turned to my wife and me and said, "Can we please go somewhere with vegetables and where the food isn't fried." I was stunned.
Another thing that stood out to them was the patriotism of Americans
During our visit, they remarked on the number of houses and businesses that proudly displayed the American flag — it is rare to see an Australian flag outside an official place back home. We also attended a few sporting games, and they didn't expect the anthem to be sung — in Australia, we sing the anthem only before major events. Both boys enjoyed the spirit and passion the crowd had when singing the song and the respect shown to veterans.
My in-laws live in Texas, and the boys loved spending time in their backyard shooting BB guns at targets. They loved it so much that they requested BB guns for Christmas. Unfortunately, they are illegal in Australia, so their request had to be denied.
Since that first trip, Charlie and Thomas have been back several times, so there isn't much that surprises them anymore. Now that they are 17, they have stopped asking for a BB gun — instead, they ask for 100-dollar bills to spend. I guess they are no longer worried about the sameness of the bills.
The Japanese Akizuki-class destroyer Suzutsuki, pictured here in 2019, sailed into Chinese waters on July 4 for about 20 minutes.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
Japan is investigating one of its naval destroyers after it sailed into Chinese waters near Taiwan.
Japanese media reported that the incident occurred on July 4 as China conducted live-fire drills.
Authorities say it might have been a mistake, but are still questioning the warship's captain.
Japan's defense ministry is investigating officers of a naval destroyer that entered Chinese territorial waters for about 20 minutes on July 4, according to local reports.
Kyodo News reported on Thursday that the Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Suzutsuki was monitoring Chinese live-fire drills on the coast of China's Zhejiang province when it pushed into Chinese territory.
Zhejiang's maritime authority issued a notice on July 3 saying it would conduct live-fire drills from 6 a.m. on July 4 to 10 p.m. the next day, designating a no-sail zone on the coast.
Per Kyodo News, the Suzutsuki approached the no-sail zone on July 4 and was told by Chinese vessels to turn back, but accelerated and continued deeper into Chinese territory.
The vessel was about 12 nautical miles from Zhejiang's coast, the outlet reported, citing two anonymous officials.
Zhejiang is one of mainland China's closest provinces to Taiwan.
The Suzutsuki departed Chinese waters about 20 minutes later, and Kyodo News sources said they suspected the accident may have been caused by a "procedural error."
However, Japanese authorities have yet to publicly explain exactly what caused the maritime incident. Kyodo News reported that the captain of the Suzutsuki is being questioned by Japan's defense ministry.
International law allows ships from one state to pass through another's territory as long as the vessel does not threaten the latter's security.
"At the very least, there is no legal problem," a Japanese government official told local outlet Sankei Shimbun.
However, Kyodo News cited Chinese diplomatic officials saying that Beijing believes the Suzutsuki broke Chinese laws by failing to request entry.
According to Reuters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday that his office had lodged a complaint with Japan's government over the Suzutsuki's "illegal and improper actions."
The Suzutsuki is an Akizuki-class destroyer, which is about 500 feet long and can take a crew of about 200.
Sankei Shimbun reported that the destroyer was scheduled for several public viewings in Akita, Hachinohe, and Aomori throughout July, but these showings have since been canceled.
The maritime incident comes as Sino-Japanese relations remain tense over territorial disputes in the East China Sea.
China has repeatedly sent armed coast guard vessels to patrol waters around the Senkaku islands, which are under Japanese control. Beijing claims the islands are China's, and calls them the Diaoyu islands.
Belinda Jiao/Getty Images and JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images
Elon Musk resumed using a government program to hide his private jet travels in June.
A special FAA privacy program allows private planes to fly incognito with temporary IDs.
Musk had briefly used the program in 2022.
Two years after appearing to give up on hiding his private jet travels, Elon Musk has once again taken steps to keep his travel history private.
According to data from the flight-tracking site JetSpy, the billionaire started using a government program designed to allow aircraft to fly incognito in late June.
His jet, a Gulfstream G650ER, has been on 14 different flights since the, JetSpy data shows.
Musk first signed up for the free "privacy ICAO aircraft address" program, also known as PIA, through the Federal Aviation Administration in 2022, but hadn't used it since August 20, 2022.
The special program allows private jet owners to fly cloak their travels using a temporary aircraft registration number. In 2022, Musk applied for a new aircraft registration number four times, JetSpy told Business Insider.
The FAA first launched PIA in 2019. Last year, the FAA told BI it had about 390 alternate ID codes since the program began.
A representative for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mark Dombroff, a partner and aviation attorney at Fox Rothschild LLP and a former FAA lawyer, told Business Insider that it's unclear why Musk would begin using the program again, as the FAA has yet to make any apparent changes to it that could further benefit Musk.
This recent implementation of PIA exposed its identity immediately. The PIA ICAO code was installed, but they then proceeded to broadcast N628TS as the callsign with the PIA then switch to a third party callsign.
The PIA program is far from perfect. According to the FAA, it allows aircraft owners to switch out their registration numbers every 20 days, but it can be a laborious process.
Christian Renneissen, Collins Aerospace's manager for flight deck connectivity, previously told the trade publication AV Buyer that while the PIA program is essentially free, it's a hassle due to a substantial amount of paperwork. What's more, the entire process would have to start all over again if the new registration number is exposed and tied to the owner.
Planes are also required to ditch the PIA for their permanently assigned ICAO address when they fly internationally.
"The PIA program limits the ability to identify an aircraft in real-time using inexpensive, commercially available receivers," an FAA spokesperson previously told BI. "This does not prevent parties from using alternative methods (plane spotting, movement correlations, etc.) to identify PIA participants."
However, growing security concerns from the likes of Musk and Swift prompted the FAA to further its camouflage efforts, thanks to new language in the FAA Reauthorization passed in May. This includes adding PIA protections for international flights, among other privacy enhancements.
But it's still likely not enough to fully block private planes from the public view. Sweeney previously told BI that celebrity private aircraft can still be spotted using context clues, such as the airports their jets commonly fly from.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looking at former US President Donald Trump during their meeting in 2019.
SAUL LOEB/Getty Images
President Zelenskyy has been in the middle of several awkward moments in US history.
Biden on Thursday mistakenly called Zelenskyy "President Putin."
In 2019, he was put in a tough spot when Trump told him to "get together" with Putin to solve their problems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has, through no fault of his own, found himself in some of the most acutely awkward moments in modern US history.
On Thursday during a NATO summit in Washington DC, he stood onstage as President Joe Biden made an embarrassing gaffe — calling him "President Putin."
"And now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination," he said, introducing Zelenskyy. "Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin."
As the summit audience launched into awkward applause, Zelenskyy looked conflicted as he stood rooted on his spot instead of moving to the podium.
Biden backtracked quickly, correcting himself by saying: "President Putin? He's going to beat President Putin. President Zelenskyy."
He added: "I'm so focused on beating Putin, we gotta worry about it."
Zelenskyy quipped: "I'm better," as he shook Biden's hand and walked to the podium.
Biden responded: "You're a hell of a lot better."
The Ukrainian president has endured other embarrassing exchanges with US politicians.
While speaking with former President Donald Trump at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in 2019, he maintained a cold silence when Trump leaned towards him and loudly said: "I really hope that you and President Putin get together and can solve your problem.
OMG -- get a load of the look on Zelensky's face as Trump tells him, "I really hope that you and President Putin can get together and solve your problem." pic.twitter.com/IIefxLdXvB
Trump added: "That would be a tremendous achievement, and I know you're trying to do that."
Ukraine is at the center of one of the most complex geopolitical conflicts unfolding now
Much like how he has been caught in awkward moments, Zelenskyy has, at numerous occasions, been at the heart of major political tensions in the US.
The president and his country were majorly embroiled in Trump's first impeachment. In 2019, Trump was impeached on accusations that he solicited the interference of the Ukrainian government in the 2020 election.
The articles of impeachment also accused him of withholding vital military aid and a White House meeting that Zelensky desperately wanted.
At present, Zelenskyy finds himself at the center of one of the biggest geopolitical conflicts of the modern day as the Russia-Ukraine war stretches into its third year.
The US has stood with Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022 and has committed to sending more than $52 billion worth of aid.
"Reality is beyond parody!" Elon Musk said in response to a clip of President Joe Biden accidentally referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images; Kent Nishimura via Getty Images
Elon Musk couldn't hide his amusement at President Joe Biden's latest gaffe.
Biden accidentally referred his Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."
"This is real!!??" Musk said in an X post on Thursday.
President Joe Biden's press conference on Thursday was hotly watched by the nation, including one Elon Musk.
The billionaire, who has frequentlyderided the president and his administration, couldn't stop himself from poking fun at Biden's gaffes on his social media platform, X.
"This is real!!??" Musk said in response to a clip where Biden had accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."
During the press conference, Biden was asked if he had any concerns about Harris' ability to beat Trump if she took over from him when he misspoke.
"I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, if she's not qualified to be president," Biden said on Thursday.
The mixed reaction to Thursday's press conference would probably be a downer for Biden, whose team saw it as an opportunity for him to quell the growing doubts surrounding his mental acuity.
During a press briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby repeatedly referred to the event as Biden's "big boy press conference," a term coined by Bloomberg reporter Justin Sink.
That said, Musk has stopped short of endorsing Biden's rival, former President Donald Trump.
"I think I would not vote for Biden. I'm not saying I'd vote for Trump," Musk told moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin at The New York Times Dealbook Summit in November.
It's worth noting that Musk has used X to platform several GOP figures. In May 2023, he helped launch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' failed presidential bid via an X stream riddled with technical difficulties.
And while Musk has stopped short of endorsing Trump, he's admitted to meeting privately with the GOP candidate.
"I was at a breakfast at a friend's place, and Donald Trump came by, that's it," Musk told former CNN host Don Lemon in an interview that aired on March 18. "I'm not paying his legal bills in any way, shape or form. And he did not ask me for money."
On June 28, the Supreme Court overruled the Chevron doctrine, a 1984 decision that allowed federal agencies to interpret laws as long as they did not violate Congress's language.
This means that courts will now have the power to decide what a law means rather than defer to federal agencies with expertise on the topic.
It'll cast a lot of uncertainty over all federal agencies. When it comes to higher education, the ruling will impose more barriers on regulations that are particularly controversial, like efforts to forgive student debt.
Jon Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations and national engagement at the American Council on Education, told Business Insider that Chevron's overruling places students, institutions, and the government in a "Wild West situation."
"It's not a guarantee that every regulation gets thrown out, but what it does is it says the field of what's open to challenge just got a whole lot bigger," Fansmith said.
"There are almost no existing regulations that are simply direct implementations of what's written down in the statute. All of them, to a varying degree, but in some cases, very large degree, rely on the agency's interpretation," he said. "So they're all subject to challenge, and you can't look at the compliance environment you're in right now and say with any certainty what that's going to look like in six months or a year or three years from now."
While federal agencies typically craft regulations to ensure they're in accordance with Congress's language and can withstand legal challenges, the Supreme Court has now made that process a lot more difficult by handing over interpretation power to the courts. Experts told BI that lawmakers could help solve the issue by making the language in laws like the Higher Education Act more clear, but that's unlikely to happen given the partisanship and slow-moving nature of Congress.
"Having some level of basic certainty for a number of years is far more preferable to trying to constantly stay on top of a shifting environment and not knowing whether you are in compliance or not," Fansmith said. "It is a difficult situation to be in, and I think for most people, the significant new chaos that's introduced is going to be really, really hard to work with and operate under."
'Huge implications for American life'
Since President Joe Biden announced his first plan to cancel student debt broadly in 2022, conservative groups haven't stopped trying to block the relief — and some of them succeeded. The Supreme Court struck down Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers last June, and district courts placed preliminary injunctions on the new SAVE income-driven repayment plan just weeks ago.
The Education Department is working on finalizing its second attempt at a broader debt relief plan, which it hopes to implement this fall. It's highly likely to face legal challenges. But striking down Chevron could pose even more barriers to debt relief and many higher education regulations borrowers rely on.
Those include reforms to the borrower defense to repayment process, which allows debt relief for borrowers who prove they were defrauded by the school they attended, and the gainful employment rule, which ensures borrowers do not graduate from a school with too much debt compared to post-graduation earnings.
All of those rules could be at risk. Neal Hutchens, a professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky, told BI that the Chevron ruling is "really going to empower individual judges to weigh in and interpret the law in a way that we haven't seen in 50 years."
"This means that it's even harder for an administration to come up with a rule or regulation around student debt relief because now it can be challenged in a way that it couldn't just a couple of weeks ago," he said.
That's good news for some Republican lawmakers. After the Supreme Court's Chevron ruling, Sen. Bill Cassidy — top Republican on the Senate education committee — sent a letter to Education Sec. Miguel Cardona asking how the Education Department would comply with the ruling.
"For too long, Chevron deference has let agencies make broad decisions governing a diverse country of over 330 million people," Cassidy wrote.
Fansmith said that Congress could help matters by writing laws with clear, specific language on intent so there's no room for ambiguity — but typically, big bills have a lot of gray areas, and it's difficult to get both parties to agree on particulars.
Ultimately, the ruling has opened the door for significant uncertainty, and removing agency authority to make decisions could have "huge implications for American life moving forward," Hutchens said.
"I think it makes it harder for the average person, the average consumer, to hope that agencies will be able to do things on their behalf," Hutchens said. "They're not necessarily going to be winners in this system."
Warren Buffett with his kids Peter and Susie in 2017. The billionaire recently announced his three children will be responsible for giving away his money upon his death.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images
Warren Buffett's $130 billion fortune will go to a charitable trust when he dies.
His three children, who each manage their own foundations, will have to agree on its distribution.
This setup could lead to disagreements — each child seems to have different philanthropic priorities.
Warren Buffett is one of the richest men on the planet — he's also quite old.
Last month, the 93-year-old Oracle of Omaha announced that when he dies, most of his fortune — which sits at $130 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations — will go into a new charitable trust to be run by his three children. They must unanimously agree on how to spend the funds, he said.
"I feel very, very good about the values of my three children, and I have 100% trust in how they will carry things out," he told The Wall Street Journal, announcing the plan.
Their rather vague mandate: "It should be used to help the people that haven't been as lucky as we have been," Buffett said.
This could raise a problem: Buffett's kids — Susan, Howard, and Peter — are in their late 60s and early 70s, and each runs a foundation of their own. Looking at their individual organizations, the Buffett children could make for some strange charitable bedfellows once their father dies.
Recently, Buffett has been giving each of his children's charities the same injection of money each year. Now, when he dies, his remaining money will all go into one big pot, he told the Journal — and the three children will have to agree on how to spend it.
Susan, who goes by Susie, and Peter didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, and Howard, whose family calls him Howie, declined to comment through his foundation. Still, you can sketch out a world where there could be some disagreement, with a version of a philanthropic "Succession" brewing under the surface.
And with such a huge pile of money to be managing, any disagreements among the Buffett children will go beyond familial, as the direction they take will "have plenty of practical implications for philanthropy and the nonprofit sector," Jacob Harold, an expert in philanthropy and the former CEO of GuideStar, told BI over email.
What the Buffett children do now
Susie runs the Sherwood Foundation, which has given more than $1 billion to build equity in her native Nebraska across social justice, education, and healthcare. In 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, the foundation brought in $366 million and spent $239 million.
She also chairs the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for her mother, which gives college scholarships and to reproductive rights organizations; is on the board of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, which focuses on early childhood development and education; and Girls, Inc., an organization that works with and advocates for girls. She also has a history of giving to Democrats and Democratic causes.
Howard Buffett is set to take the reins as Berkshire Hathaway non-executive chairman when his father Warren Buffett steps down.
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images
Howie, the middle Buffett, focuses his time on food security, as well as conflict mitigation and combatting human trafficking, through his Howard G. Buffett Foundation. His political donations have run the gamut. A farmer and former sheriff and "sworn law enforcement officer," he's devoted his attention to crime and security on the southern border — reportedly paying to arm private police, as well as writing a book and producing a film about the topic.
Peter, Buffett's youngest child, is a musician and composer. He also heads the NoVo Foundation, which works with Indigenous communities and to combat food insecurity in Kingston, NY. Like his sister, his political donations have favored Democrats.
Practically, the fact that these charities are already set up could actually make matters easier. One answer to the giving conundrum is that the kids split up the trust evenly and have the money flow to their existing foundations. Buffett has already given over $2 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares to each of his children's organizations, and it's natural for them to want to use the resources that will be at their disposal upon his death for their own charities.
Susie told the Journal that she could "imagine it will be probably some continuation of what we've been doing."
Harold, the nonprofit expert, said the worldviews of the Buffett children should serve them well.
"My sense, though, is that while they have different programmatic priorities, they have similar principles," he said. "So my hypothesis is that they will be able to come to an agreement on how to distribute the resources."
This has happened before with a big charity
It's not the first time something like this has happened: Take the Helmsley Charitable Trust. During their lifetime, Harry and Leona Helmsley gave mainly to health initiatives, but upon their deaths, their money went to a trust — now worth $8 billion — managed by people of Leona's choosing — who seem, like the Buffetts, to have different philanthropic concerns.
The trust's focus areas are, therefore, varying: One trustee has two kids with Type 1 Diabetes and leads programs funding global access to insulin and modernizing care. Another trustee is interested in Israel and has led donations to various causes there. The third trustee, a grandchild of the Hemsleys, focuses his energy and funds on children in sub-Saharan Africa.
In the end, the giving may seem fragmented, sure. But with billions of dollars at hand, there's enough to go around.
Dietitian Linia Patel eats a healthy diet 80% of the time, and whatever she likes the other 20%.
Linia Patel/Getty Images
The average American gets more than 60% of their calories from ultra-processed foods.
Eating lots of UPFs has been linked to serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease.
A dietitian who doesn't eat many UPFs has lunches including soup and salad.
A dietitian who researches ultra-processed foods and only eats them occasionally shared what she has for lunch with Business Insider.
Linia Patel, who is part of a team at the University of Milan that studies UPFs, believes people are eating "far too many" of these foods that have been linked to a range of health problems.
At the same time she appreciates they're a prominent feature of the Western diet, making them hard to avoid for even the most health conscious. The average American gets more than 60% of their calories from UPFs, and they make up around 73% of the US food supply.
So Patel limits her UPF intake without cutting out any food groups entirely by following the 80/20 rule. She tries to cook from scratch at home and stick to a healthy diet 80% of the time, and the other 20%, she eats whatever she wants, including UPFs.
Patel also highlighted the limitations of classifying foods as ultra-processed, as it groups together very obviously unhealthy foods, such as candy, with dietary staples, such as pre-packaged bread.
According to the NOVA system, which was created by Brazilian scientists to categorize foods by their level of processing, UPFs are highly marketed, convenient, and made using industrial processes.
"It clumps breakfast cereals in the same group as sugary drinks and crisps," Patel said.
With all this in mind, here's what Patel eats for lunch.
Vegetable soup with beans
Vegetable soups are easy to make and you can cook a big batch to eat throughout the week, Patel, who is also the author of "Food For Menopause," said. It's a great way to eat lots of vegetables too.
To boost the protein and fiber content of her soup and make it more filling, Patel adds lots of beans and legumes.
She might pair the soup with a slice of sourdough, wholewheat, or seeded bread for extra fiber and energy.
You can also buy pre-made soups from the grocery store, but it's important to look at food labels because some might be ultra-processed, she said.
Grainy salad
Other times, Patel whips together a quick salad for lunch. She always includes lots of vegetables, some protein, and some healthy carbohydrates.
Usually, she uses a bag of pre-cooked grains as the base of her salad because they're super convenient. "I don't have to boil the rice, I just chop the top off and microwave them for two minutes," she said.
Although some pre-cooked grains could contain additives, for Patel it's worth it because they save her time. "Even as a dietitian, I want to have foods that make it easier to put together a healthy plate," she said.
Sardines on toast
Another of Patel's go-to lunches is sardines on toast with a side salad.
Tinned sardines are an inexpensive store cupboard staple that you don't have to cook. Plus, they're a great source of protein, healthy fats, and omega-3 fatty acids.
For the salad, Patel typically uses pre-washed salad leaves from the store, which helps her put the meal together quickly, she said.
A manager at a FAANG company says he's gotten more attention since he started working in Big Tech.
Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
A 35-year-old FAANG manager's career in Big Tech has negatively impacted his dating life.
He says work demands, long hours, and his company name make maintaining relationships difficult.
Once he finds a partner who likes him for the right reasons, he wants to marry and have kids.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a 35-year-old manager at a FAANG company in Silicon Valley. The source's name and employment history are known to Business Insider but are not named to protect their privacy. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I work at a FAANG tech company and have been an employee and manager at three other Big Tech firms over the last 10 years. Working in Big Tech has taken a major toll on my dating and personal life.
When I first started in the industry, I was focused on work and wasn't looking for a romantic relationship. Now that I'm more interested in dating, I'm finding it very difficult.
A few years into my career, I ended up in a "situationship"
I was working for a company known at the time for work-life balance. It was a different time — no recession, no hiring freeze, no layoffs — and I was younger, so I wasn't as interested in climbing the corporate ladder.
I spent my time outside work in theater groups, writing, acting, and making short films. I met a woman in one of these creative spaces with whom I started a two-to-three-year situationship.
It ended when I decided to move for a better job, and she felt I didn't consult her. When I asked myself why I was stuck in the same company, salary range, and location while people with me at university were in a much better place from a career standpoint, the answer was that I'd been prioritizing her when I felt I shouldn't.
A few years later, my dating life halted again
In my next job, I couldn't date much because I was overworked. We had meetings in different time zones, so my mornings and nights were very busy. I'd get some time off in the afternoons, but it's hard to date at that time.
I was using dating apps, which I like to some extent because they expose you to people you otherwise wouldn't meet. They also allow you to see a different perspective of the same person. A girl projecting herself to be a certain way in real life or a friend circle can be different on an app.
In addition to apps, I meet women at conferences, through custom matching services, and through family or friend introductions.
I worked at that company for just over a year before joining my current company.
My first year here was a good time for both work and dating
When the managers who hired me left and new managers took over, my work and personal life were affected. Like most of the biggest tech firms, there was a strict return-to-office mandate.
Returning to the office meant my dating life was suddenly limited to one geographical area, and my previous dating plans went kaput. I'd been traveling and working remotely sometimes from different locations, even on the East Coast.
Dating in New York is much different than dating on the West Coast. I don't prefer one place over another, but I feel New York has more variety of people. I've had an equal number of matches here on the West Coast, but they're all of the same personality type.
I've had to stop chatting with some people I wanted to date just because I know they won't fit in my geographical area restriction.
While working here, I did meet someone, and it was going smoothly until last year
I was dating a woman who lived in Boston for a while, but I couldn't visit her often after I had to return to the office. We tried a long-distance relationship, but that wasn't sustainable.
Eventually, the spark and chemistry died — when you aren't with each other daily, you start drifting. We also had arguments and differences of opinion, which led to a reduction of sexual or romantic tension.
She knew the relationship would end even though I said it could work out. With layoffs looming, I didn't have the luxury of choosing her over my career, which was a big deal for her.
I've noticed women care about a company's brand name
I get much more attention now than before I had my Big Tech job and lived in Silicon Valley, and I can tell it's because I work for a FAANG company. It feels like most girls in the Bay Area are sussing guys out based on their educational background, earning potential, and company brand name.
It's fair that company status matters to some of them because they themselves are making that kind of money, but it's off-putting to me. Just like a girl wouldn't want someone to be with her just for her looks, a guy wouldn't want someone to be with him just because of his employment tag — at least I wouldn't.
One girl I was seeing was very impressed with where I work, and I had to explain to her that I could be fired any time and the guy who's at a random company today could be the CEO of Amazon in 10 to 20 years. My instincts told me I should've just shut up and enjoyed my status and what it brought me, but it didn't feel right. No wonder I'm single.
I haven't yet found a super supportive person who doesn't care about these things and just cares about what kind of human being I am. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.
My work has to be my priority
Finding another job wouldn't be easy right now. I've dealt with being on a performance improvement plan (PIP), which I just completed this spring. I'm still worried about being on shaky ground, particularly because I'm here on a visa, which spills over into my personal life.
For a new relationship to blossom, you need time for long calls and chats — and with work stress, I just haven't been able to do that. I also feel responsible for not leading someone on when I could move again or soon be unemployed.
If I were to go somewhere with lower pay but isn't a cutthroat culture, I could still be laid off due to cost cutting or other factors. Even though it hurts my personal life, I'm sticking to my job as long as possible.
But one day, I want to have kids — that's one of the top three reasons to get married, and it's just as important to me as financial stability and achievement.
Is your Big Tech job affecting your dating life? Email Lauryn Haas at lhaas@businessinsider.com
Ashley Archambault was a single mom for seven years and it taught her how to budget.
Courtesy Ashley Archambault
I was a single mom for seven years and learned to shop on a budget.
I've since remarried, but I still use the skills I learned during that time when I grocery shop.
I make sure to buy healthy food for my family without overspending.
Asa single mom, I had to learn how to make my income work for my son and me. When it came to buying groceries, I was determined to prepare healthy meals for us without having to go broke in the process.
I have since remarried, but on a recent trip to the grocery store with my son, as he watched the self-checkout process closely, he asked, "Mom, how did you buy so much food for so little money?" That's when I noticed that I still retain a knack for shopping smart, both in terms of health andour budget.
While I now have a partner to split the costs of living with, our grocery bill has the potential to soar asfood prices seem to riseweekly. After the mortgage, the cost of our monthly groceries is our next highest bill, so I've continued to use the skills I developed as a single mom when it comes to shopping for our food. Here's how I avoid sacrificing the health of our diet while maintaining our budget.
I shop for our groceries at multiple stores
When I first started comparing prices across different stores, I kept a notebook where I would jot down the prices of certain items I bought regularly, such as milk or peanut butter. Since then, I have memorized these prices and can tell you how much the same item costs at three different stores.
Whileshopping around at multiple storesmight seem inconvenient and can take time, depending on whether you need to get all your shopping done the same day, it also saves me a lot of money. If I know I can get something for much less at another store we're going to soon anyway, I'll wait.
I've embraced meal planning on the spot
When shopping, I take advantage of sales and plan our meals for the week based on what's priced lowest. With meat, in particular, I buy what's on sale and then plan our dinners around that main dish. I do the same with vegetables. While certain produce items, like fresh carrots, are always affordable, other things, like asparagus, are not.
I typically rely on produce that's always within ourgrocery budget, but when something we can't normally afford is on sale, I jump on the opportunity. This helps me switch up our dinners so that our meals don't feel monotonous, and we're also benefiting from eating a variety of foods.
With bulk items, I don't make assumptions
I have found that buying in bulk isn't always the best deal. If I have the choice between buying a six-pack or a 12-pack of the same item, I figure out the price-per-unit in each pack. Most of the time, I actually find that I wouldn't save enough money per item to make choosing the larger pack a better choice.
In fact, once I got in the habit of doing this, I found that thebulk packages may even cost more. Also, buying in bulk can make the bill soar beyond what we should be spending that week, so if it isn't a really good deal, I opt for the practical pack in terms of both budget and our storage at home.
Because I know I'm saving money, I also feel OK buying occasional treats
When I'm saving money overall, I can afford a few treats or higher-priced items. My son and I really love salmon, but it's rarely on sale. It's too pricey to buy every week, but I try to get it at least once a month.
Since it isn't something we get to have regularly, my son and I appreciate it and enjoy it even more. There are also seasonal items that we love, like cherries or spaghetti squash, but since they're on the expensive end, I try to only buy them when they're in season and at a lower price.
I know which foods I can rely on
I've grown to learn which foods are always affordable, nutritious, and enjoyable for my family. For example, bananas are always inexpensive, and they're good in so many ways, whether on the go as a snack with some peanut butter orthrown into a smoothie. There was a time in our life when my budget was particularly tight, and we ate a lot of baby carrots, frozen peas, canned black beans, and apples. For meat, bone-in chicken drums and thighs are the least expensive kind and can be elevated when roasted in the oven with some seasoning.
Most importantly, I still focus on buying what I know my family will enjoy eating. If something is cheap but we don't love it, then to me, that's just a waste of money. From being forced to work within a tight budget for so long without wanting to sacrifice our health and pleasure around food, I still analyze which items we love that are most affordable and know when it's appropriate to spend a little more.
Chad Willardson left Merrill Lynch in 2011 to start Pacific Capital, a wealth management firm.
Industry changes post-Great Recession and corporate bureaucracy drove him away from Wall Street.
Now he runs multiple businesses and doesn't regret leaving the comforts of corporate life.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation withChad Willardson, a 45-year-old entrepreneur, investor, and author in Orange County, California. It has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2011, I left my job at Merrill Lynch after nine years to start Pacific Capital, a wealth management firm for entrepreneurs with at least $10 million to invest.
It was not easy to leave the comfort of my corner office, corporate perks, and awards and recognition at a big Wall Street bank. I was a high performer and earned over $1 million a year by my late 20s.
However the changes in our industry after theGreat Recessionchanged much of our day-to-day work. The bureaucracy and slow-moving corporate mothership eventually frustrated me to the point that I questioned how long I could keep working there.
At the time, I was being recruited by other top banks
I considered going somewhere likeMorgan Stanley, UBS, or Goldman Sachs, which offered major signing bonuses. It would've been a lot of money for me at the time, but trading one corporate Wall Street uniform for another one across the street didn't feel like the right long-term move.
I was tired of wearing a suit and tie and being told what the big company wanted to push on us. It was time for a drastic change. I felt like I needed to take a bigger leap and start my own thing, but I had no idea how to start a business.
I packed up my stuff and walked out with my assistant on a Monday morning. It felt like a major risk as a married 32-year-old with a big mortgage and a growing family. I didn't know how I would make it — I was just determined that I eventually would. My wife was also very nervous, but she believed in me.
I was under a lot of pressure when I started my business
I signed a lease on an office, hired a few employees, and had many expenses with zero revenue. I used my savings, borrowed against my house, and opened up a business credit card — I scrambled to figure it all out.
I spent all my time contacting potential clients via phone calls, emails, and postcards, walking business to business, and posting on social media — just like I had done in 2003 when I started as a rookie at Merrill Lynch.
The big advantage I found of being on this side of the industry was I could completely design the services around my ideal clients rather than trying to find clients to fit into the box of what a big corporation wanted. I started by targeting entrepreneurs with at least $1 million to invest.
I was profitable by the middle of 2012. I now have a team of 20 full-time employees and four part-time employees. One major upside of entrepreneurship I underestimated was the opportunity to build a great culture and teamwork within the firm.
There's no such thing as an average workday for me anymore
The Willardson family.
Oxanadia Photography
I now have an entrepreneurial coaching business. I also cofounded a sports complex in Southern California in 2019 and a fintech company dedicated to helping kids and teens gain financial education in 2021.
Every day is unique. I travel a ton, both for work and pleasure, so I work from wherever my family is. I don't go to the office much anymore, though most of my team chooses to go into the office. My team and I also fly all over to see clients and potential clients.
Try to start your entrepreneurial journey as a side hustle before making the full leap
Starting Pacific Capital as a side hustle wasn't possible for me because the securities brokerage business is a very strict industry that almost allows zero other activities besides your full-time employment. But in most situations,starting your business as a side hustleis possible. This approach allows you to validate your business idea, understand your market, and build a customer base with less financial risk.
I also recommend you identify your niche and leverage your current skills and passions to solve a specific set of problems for that niche. My target market is a very small subset of the population, and specializing in this market gives us a very distinct advantage over most financial advisors who are generalists.
Once you have a target market,build your online presence. I've consistently engaged on LinkedIn for years, and it's paid off. I've hired more than a dozen people through LinkedIn and have attracted new business there, too.
Your people are your most important asset. One of my biggest mistakes was holding on to atoxic employeein a key position for too long because he was very intelligent. I tried to justify the damage to the team culture and chemistry because he was talented. Be very careful with who you hire because that will make or break your future.
I've grown my net worth to over $50 million by taking risks
One key trait of successful entrepreneurs is going all in on opportunities when most people are paralyzed by fear. For example, when real estate was in a downturn from2007 to 2009, I aggressively borrowed to invest in underpriced properties.
My personal real-estate portfolio grew to include everything from duplexes and apartment complexes to skilled nursing facilities andcar washes.
Follow the wise counsel ofWarren Buffett: "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful." My biggest leaps in net worth have always come when I took big chances while others stood still.
Entrepreneurship is not the only path to success
To become wealthy, you invest your income into assets that will grow in value over time and eventually pay you an income or a large lump sum. You don't have to be an entrepreneur.
What you don't see behind the scenes of entrepreneurship is a ton of failure, doubt, and hard times. There's a reasonmost businesses failwithin the first five years. You must be fully invested and committed to succeed because it will likely take longer, require more sacrifice, and cost more money than expected.
I have zero regrets about leaving Merrill Lynch to become an entrepreneur. Had I stayed at a big Wall Street bank, I never would've been able to start my other businesses. I also don't wish I left sooner because I needed those nine years to learn and prepare. I believe I left at just the right time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
In a move likely to anger the US, Modi is visiting Russia.
The move signals strong ties between Delhi and Moscow, and shows the world India is pursuing its own agenda.
Modi is aiming to correct the trade imbalance and address China's Indo-Pacific activities.
In a move likely to anger the US, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Russia on Monday for his first bilateral trip after winning a historic third term in office.
Modi's two-day visit to Russia — where he is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin — is significant in that it signals strong ties between Delhi and Moscow. It also shows the world that India is not afraid to pursue its own agenda.
Vinay Kwatra, India's foreign secretary, told reporters in New Delhi that issues between Russia and India have "piled up" and "need to be addressed," per Bloomberg.
Kwatra underscored that the two countries' trade relationship has remained "resilient."
Still, Modi's trip will "rankle many Western observers," Ved Shinde, a researcher and contributor to Australia's Lowy Institute think tank, wrote in a note on Wednesday.
"Since the Ukraine war began, India's purchase of cheap oil from Russia has been seen as profiting from troubles in the heart of Europe," Shinde added.
The US has raised "some concerns" about India's relationship with Russia with New Delhi, Kurt Campbell, the US Deputy Secretary of State, said last month.
However, Washington acknowledges that India's ties with Russia are different from its ties with the US.
"We have many areas of alignment, but it is not surprising that there would be areas where we've had perhaps different perspectives, views, historical ties," Campbell said about America's relationship with India.
India, for its part, is looking to balance its relationship with the world's key powerbrokers — the US, Russia, and China.
"There are different degrees in India's multi-alignment. Make no mistake — the United States and its allies are more consequential for India's future than its relationship with Russia," wrote Shinde.
India needs to leverage its historical ties with Russia to secure its economy and security, so Modi isn't just in Russia for a goodwill trip.
Reducing the trade imbalance
A key agenda item for the visit is to reduce a huge bilateral trade imbalance, said Kwatra.
India imports about $60 billion of goods a year from Russia, but Russia buys less than 10% of this amount from India, per Bloomberg.
Modi may also touch on China's activities in the Indo-Pacific region, said Kwatra.
India is trying to manage its relationship with China, which has been testy since a border dispute in 2020. Modi skipped the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan last week.
There's also the matter of Russia's ties with China.
Modi now needs to cozy up to Putin to counter China's advances.
"The reason for the time-tested stability in India-Russia ties is to maintain a continental balance in the Eurasian heartland. That is, to balance China," wrote Shinde.
"Or to put it another way, don't go around making new adversaries when there are already two open fronts — China and Pakistan," Shinde added.
Robert Rivani has bought and sold more than $750 million in real-estate deals.
Shumanev Production
Mohawked real-estate investor Robert Rivani moved from California to Florida in 2022.
Rivani, who dropped out of high school, went on to transact over $750 million in commercial deals.
He described a typical day in his life in Miami, from intermittent fasting to trying to never drive.
Robert Rivani got a taste for business flipping shoes as a teenager in his hometown of Los Angeles.
At first, he said, he sold his own Air Jordan and Nike shoes to just afford other shoes, but when business took off, he was making $10,000 a month before he could legally drink. He dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. At 18 years old, Rivani said he was approached to sell his shoe collection for over $150,000 and he took it.
"The hustle came young because my family wasn't wealthy or rich by any means, and I wanted to be able to afford nicer things in life," Rivani, now 34, told Business Insider. "The only way for me to go about getting that done was by making it on my own."
He started working in property management, helping run buildings in Los Angeles, and has stayed in real estate ever since. He specializes in buying more dated buildings, from restaurants to offices, and revamping them.
"I consider myself somewhat of an artist when it comes to designing the properties," he said. "Painting a building a certain way or making it more aesthetically pleasing, from the facade or the landscaping, and then being able to have tenants buy into the vision. It was an amazing thing to turn around these dilapidated properties into something special or unique."
Rivani left California in 2022 to make his mark in Miami, where he's grown his real-estate portfolio.
His investment group, Black Lion, has a portfolio of restaurants, office buildings, and mixed-use buildings in South Florida totaling 500,000 square feet of space owned.
His hospitality real-estate investment firm has completed $750 million in transactions, he said.
In April, he paid $62.5 million for a building in Miami Beach with stores at its base and offices above. He plans to renovate the interior and exterior and rebrand it at The Rivani. So far, West Elm and Williams Sonoma are retail tenants.
"To buy my own office building at 34 years old for 60-some-odd million with no investors or no partners was a huge milestone in my career," Rivani said. "It was a dream of mine since I was a kid to have that and then also have the building named with my last name."
Robert Rivani posing in front of his former Beverly Hills mansion.
1Ten Media
Rivani is also known for his California home — a Beverly Hills castle inspired by "Harry Potter" and "Game of Thrones," including a $50,000 replica of the latter franchise's iron throne — which he sold for $22 million in 2023.
Rivani now lives in a 9,000-square-foot mansion in Miami. He let Business Insider take a peek inside a typical day, and described how he sets his life up for success.
5:30 a.m.
Although Rivani left California for South Florida, he still sticks to his West-Coast rituals and wakes up around 5:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. While working in California, he still had properties to worry about on the East Coast, so he had to be up early to stay efficient. Now it's just a habit.
"I get anxiety if I sleep until 8 a.m. or 9 a.m.," Rivani told BI. "I feel like I'm missing things. I feel like I'm being disrespectful."
6 a.m.
Once awake, Rivani immediately spends 30 minutes to an hour catching up on emails he didn't get to the night before and researching current market trends. He also takes time to meditate and visualize what's ahead in the day.
Around 7 a.m. every morning he has tea with his wife, Krystal.
Rivani and his wife, Krystal.
Anna Orsborn
"I can't stress how important it is to have a healthy, stable marriage when you're trying to do what you do in real estate because you're always so busy 24/7," he said. "I make sure I spend quality time with her in the morning."
8 a.m.
Rivani usually hits the gym in the morning for about an hour.
"I'm a big, big believer in going to the gym at least four to five days a week — or at least staying active, whether that's hitting weights or playing paddle or tennis or physical therapy to keep my body," he said. "As I've gotten older, I've realized that without your health, there's no wealth."
9 a.m.
Rivani leaves his home in Miami to his office in Miami Beach — which can take up to 45 minutes depending on traffic. Even that 45-minute drive is valuable time, so his personal assistant or wife drives while Rivani texts and takes calls.
"I'd rather not text and be on phone calls," he said. "A lot of the good old residential brokers do, and I see them on their phone. I'd rather be safe than sorry."
10 a.m.
Rivani is a believer in intermittent fasting and has his first meal, usually a protein shake, at 10 a.m.
His next meal won't come until dinner.
"I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting, so that's why I decided to drink tea versus other drinks because I fast for 14 to 16 hours every single day," he said. "I won't eat any food or have any special breakfast routine."
1 p.m.
On Mondays, Rivani is usually slammed with a gauntlet of meetings from the legal team, to the construction team, to designer meetings, so he's usually in the office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Throughout his meetings he'll meet with his legal team and go over the status of pending deals. Meetings with the construction team checking in to see where they're at with bids on new projects and ensuring current projects are on track. He'll have interior design meetings to go over renderings for projects and help with furniture selection.
However, he's a little more active every other day of the week. Tuesday through Friday, Rivani meets with tenant companies, potential vendors, and contractors.
Rivani has the luxury of having restaurants, including Delilah Miami, as tenants and can host multiple meetings in one location instead of bouncing around Miami.
Rivani posing in an all-red outfit.
Michael Timzil Nio
"I'll set back-to-back meetings at one of my restaurant properties where I'll just have people coming there," he said. "So I try to be as efficient with my time. I'm never lapping the city to go to a meeting and going to another meeting — that's just an inefficient use of my time."
7 p.m.
About 65% of the time, Rivani eats dinner at home, he said.
"My wife loves to cook, and if I decide to eat out too much she'll kill me," he said. "On the weekends, that's when we're going out and having dinners. I'll be having dinners much later than that, unfortunately."
After dinner, Rivani winds down by watching TV for about an hour — he's on his third watch of the History Channel's Viking-age drama "Vikings," he said.
Rivani said that because of the nature of the job, he's still fielding calls up until bedtime.
"There's no cutoff," he said. "There are times when I'm talking to people right up until bed. I had a really bad habit where I would leave my phone on at night. But now it's on silent and I don't pick up anyone's call. Once it gets to 9 o'clock-ish, my phone just goes on silent and time's up."
