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I made Ina Garten’s minestrone soup, and it’s the best cure for a cold or the winter blues

  • I made Ina Garten’s winter minestrone soup. 
  • Her recipe is packed with veggies, including carrots, celery, butternut squash, and spinach. 
  • The colorful soup was hearty and comforting, exactly what you need during the winter. 

The dropping temperatures, canceled plans, and empty shelves can only mean one thing — winter is definitely here.

And nothing helps the winter blues, or the flu, more than a piping hot bowl of soup.

There are few celebrity chefs I find more comforting than Ina Garten, so I whipped up her winter minestrone soup to brighten my day.

Here’s how to make it.

Ina Garten’s winter minestrone soup is packed with colorful veggies.

Garten’s winter minestrone soup features butternut squash, carrots, celery, and pancetta.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

To make 6-8 servings of Garten’s soup, you’ll need:

  • 2 cups of cooked small pasta, such as Tubetti
  • 1 26-ounce can or box of chopped tomatoes, such as Pomi
  • 1 15-ounce can of cannellini beans
  • 6 to 8 cups of chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 8-10 ounces of fresh baby spinach leaves
  • 2 ½ cups of peeled butternut squash, ½-inch diced
  • 2 cups of celery, ½-inch diced
  • 2 cups of carrots, ½-inch diced
  • 1 ½ cups of chopped yellow onions
  • ½ cup of good dry white wine
  • 4 ounces of diced pancetta
  • ½ tablespoon of minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
  • 2 tablespoons of store-bought pesto
  • 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped thyme leaves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

My prep began with plenty of chopping.


Chopped veggies for Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

First, I chopped all of my veggies.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten’s recipe requires a lot of prep, but it makes a lot of soup. And all those veggies make the broth so hearty and comforting.

If you can, recruit a loved one or friend to help you chop everything — just bribe them with leftovers.

I also cooked the pasta ahead of time.


Cooked pasta for Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

I cooked my pasta so it would be ready for the soup.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten recommends using Tubetti pasta for this recipe, but I couldn’t find any at my local supermarket. I went with a similar shape and cooked my noodles until they were al dente.

To begin my soup, I first threw some olive oil and pancetta into a large pot.


Cooking pancetta for Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

Garten says to cook the pancetta for 6 to 8 minutes.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I added 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot, which was placed over medium heat.

Then I added the pancetta, cooking it over medium-low heat for about six minutes until it had lightly browned.

Then I added the veggies and herbs.


Adding butternut squash for Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

I added my peeled and diced butternut squash.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I threw my chopped onions, carrots, celery, squash, garlic, and thyme into the pot.

Garten says it’s best to use fresh thyme if you can because it “really makes a difference.”

I cooked everything over medium heat, making sure to stir occasionally.


Veggies in pot for Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

I cooked my veggies for 10 minutes, until they began to soften.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten says you should cook the mixture for eight to 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.

Then I added the chopped tomatoes and six cups of chicken stock.


Adding chicken broth for Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

Then I added the chicken stock.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten recommends using her homemade chicken stock, which I didn’t have time to whip up for this dish.

I will confess that the soup’s broth wasn’t very exciting or rich with store-bought stock. You could add some chicken bouillon to amp up its flavor, but nothing will taste as good as the homemade stock. It’s worth the extra effort!

I added the bay leaf and seasoned my mixture.


Adding bay leaf to broth for Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

I seasoned the broth with salt and pepper.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I added 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 ½ teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper to the pot.

I brought the broth to a boil, then lowered the heat and simmered it uncovered for 30 minutes.


Simmering Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

My boiling broth.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten says you should allow the mixture to simmer until the vegetables are tender, so I let my soup simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Once my broth was done simmering, I took out the bay leaf.


Taking out bay leaf for Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

No one wants to eat the bay leaf.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten says you can use a fresh or dry bay leaf for this recipe.

Then I added the beans and pasta and allowed them to heat through.


Adding beans to Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

My broth with the pasta and beans.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Make sure you drain and rinse the cannellini beans before adding them to the broth.

The pasta will likely absorb a lot of the broth. If your soup looks too thick at this stage, add more chicken stock.


Simmering Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

My soup was almost ready.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten recommends adding two more cups of chicken stock if you’re unhappy with the consistency.

Once I was ready to serve, I added the spinach to my soup.


Adding spinach to Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

Adding the spinach to my soup.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten recommends tossing the spinach with two big spoons to help cook the leaves until they’ve wilted in the broth.

Then I added the white wine.


Adding wine to Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

I chose a pinot grigio wine for this recipe.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten says you should select a nice white wine that you’d want to drink for this recipe.

This is also where you should add the pesto if you’re using it. (I skipped it because my sister is allergic to pine nuts.)

I mixed everything together and gave my soup a quick salt check.


Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

Check the saltiness of your soup before serving.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I was happy with the saltiness of my soup, but Garten recommends adding another teaspoon or two if you feel the broth needs more.

After a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, my soup was ready.


Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

Garten’s winter minestrone soup is packed with bright bursts of color.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten’s winter minestrone soup is a much-needed burst of color on a cold and dreary day. I loved seeing the rainbow of hues from all the vegetables — the soup couldn’t have looked more inviting.

It was time for my first sip.

Garten’s winter minestrone soup is really hearty and comforting.


Ina Garten's winter minestrone soup

Garten’s winter minestrone soup is packed with so much flavor.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

I’m a huge soup fan. I love soup so much that I’m even in a group chat dedicated to sharing photos, recipes, and daily appreciation for soup and its various forms (shout-out to my soup girlz). But minestrone has never been my favorite.

Garten finds a way to infuse this often lackluster soup with flavor. The taste of the tomato shines through, adding a richness to the broth that’s amplified by the final touch of Parmesan and olive oil on top. All the veggies tasted delicious and maintained their texture, even when I ate leftovers a few days later. I also enjoyed the burst of freshness from the spinach and thyme, and how the soup still tasted healthy and light.

Winter is a tough season for everyone. So, if you’re under the weather or just feeling blue, I recommend a bowl of Garten’s colorful winter minestrone soup.




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Everything a heart health dietitian eats in a week, including plant-based protein sources and ‘joy foods’

As a registered dietitian, Lena Beal first learned about nutrition from her own family.

“My great-grandparents were farmers, so they grew nearly everything they ate, made their own preserves, the whole thing,” Beal, a cardiovascular dietitian at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Business Insider.

Her roots inspired her profession. “It was generational wisdom,” she said. “The foods that give us the most nutrients, the most pleasure, they’re the most sustainable and practical.” In her own life, she focuses on a minimally processed, plant-packed diet, incorporating chicken, fish and eggs on occasion.

Still, it doesn’t mean there isn’t room for flexibility.

Once a week, Beal eats what she calls “joy foods”: things she enjoys, like sweets and alcohol, which are best consumed in moderation. A Christian, Beal links joy foods to her Sabbath, or day of rest.

Eating her joy foods on Sundays is her version of the 80/20 diet, helping her stay on track with eating mostly heart-healthy foods — with the occasional treats. “That way, I can enjoy them intentionally, but without feeling like I’m constantly negotiating with myself,” she said.

Beal shared what she eats in a week to get enough protein — and what a typical Sunday of fun looks like.

She leans on plant-based protein sources


Grain bowl

Beal includes lots of beans and legumes to get extra protein.

vaaseenaa/Getty Images



Given her focus on cardiovascular health, Beal said she has always focused on heart-healthy foods to keep her fueled throughout the day.

“It’s subliminal,” she said. “Those things are extremely important to me: making sure I have hearty, fiber-rich, high-omega-3 foods with those macronutrients.”

On a typical day, her meals look like this:

  • A high-protein, fiber-rich breakfast such as oatmeal with nuts and fruit
  • Lunch, her biggest meal of the day, is usually a hearty salad, grain bowl, or soup. She focuses on plant-based protein sources like legumes, dried beans, and chickpeas, but will sometimes include chopped egg or a piece of fish.
  • Snacks such as mixed nuts, granola bars, or fresh berries with yogurt
  • A light, mostly plant-based dinner such as steamed cabbage with brown rice and black-eyed peas

She focuses a lot on protein because she works out at least 3 to 4 days a week, including resistance training, brisk walking, and yoga. She said her target is reaching 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, the recommended goal for most people.

Her diet helps her stay on track. “Because my eating pattern is relatively consistent, it supports strength, energy, and flexibility,” she said.

Cutting down on red meat

Beal was never interested in intentionally following a strict vegan or vegetarian diet. Instead, her diet evolved over the past eight years to naturally involve less red meat.

“I wasn’t a heavy red meat-eater in the first place.” she said. “I no longer enjoyed it. It was heavy for me.” Having it once a week was easier for her because it didn’t feel like much of a sacrifice.

On occasion, she’ll eat leaner animal-based protein sources like chicken or turkey during the week, which have less saturated fat.

Joy meals include mimosas and French toast


French toast

One of Beal’s favorite joy meals is French toast.

Grace Cary/Getty Images



When Sunday rolls around, she doesn’t exactly go all out on sugar or cocktails, either. She still aims to stick to her normal habits, like eating a light dinner, because it ties into better sleep.

“I don’t go too far out of bounds,” she said. Treating herself might look like French toast, a mimosa, or fish in a richer cream sauce than she would pick during the week.

It’s been the easiest way to keep a balance in her life. Beal, who’s taught weight management classes in the past, said that words like “diet” or “cheat foods” can bring up a lot of negative feelings for people.

“I shy away from that language,” she said. “I call them ‘joy foods’ because they absolutely fit if you leave room for them intentionally.”

She focuses on flexibility

Beal takes a few supplements — vitamin D and iron — based on recommendations her doctor made, given her age and medical history.

Otherwise, she gets all her nutrients from her diet, which she feels is easy to maintain because she eats whole foods she loves during the week, while being flexible enough to enjoy a sweet treat or glass of wine, too.

“Healthy eating works best when it leaves room for living,” Beal said. “It ought to feel like when you get up from a meal that you have good feelings, whether it’s nostalgic, whether it satiates you. That’s what food is.”




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The US military’s drone-defense confusion is leaving its bases vulnerable, Pentagon watchdog finds

A Pentagon watchdog report is warning that gaps in Pentagon policy are leaving some US military bases vulnerable to drone threats.

The report, released Tuesday by the Pentagon’s Inspector General, said that the military lacks consistent guidance for defending sensitive “covered assets” — US-based sites legally authorized to use certain counter-drone defenses — against offensive uncrewed aircraft, a problem exacerbated by jumbled, contradictory policies across the services.

While the Defense Department has issued multiple counter-UAS policies — rules governing how the military can detect, disrupt, or disable uncrewed aerial systems — those directives are not standardized, leaving some base leaders unaware that their installations qualify as “covered assets.” The term refers to locations within the US that deal with sensitive missions like nuclear deterrence, missile defense, presidential protection, air defense, and “high yield” explosives.

That lack of awareness derived from confusing policy risks leaving bases exposed to uncrewed threats, a growing concern.

The Inspector General report examines 10 military installations where drone incursions have occurred. The watchdog assessment found multiple examples of “covered assets” left uncovered due to unclear policies.

The Air Force base in Arizona where most F-35 pilots are trained, for instance, is not authorized to defend against UAS incursions because pilot training does not qualify as a “covered” activity under Pentagon policy, despite the Air Force describing the F-35 as “an indispensable tool in future homeland defense.”

Another Air Force facility in California that manufactures aircraft repair parts, conducts aircraft maintenance, and makes the Global Hawk, an ultra-advanced large surveillance drone that costs more than the F-35A, has also been left vulnerable, and the site experienced a series of drone incursions in 2024, the report said.

“Air Force officials told us that the government-owned, contractor-operated facility was denied coverage during the active incursions,” in 2024, the IG report says.

The problem extends beyond determining whether a site is covered. The process for obtaining counter-drone systems — and securing rapid legal approval to use them when needed — is complex and slow, reflecting legal restrictions on using electronic jamming or force inside the US, the report found.


A contractor hand-launches a drone at a counter-UAV training site in California in January 2020.

A contractor hand-launches a drone at a counter-UAV training site in California in January 2020.

PFC Gower Liu/US Army



The growing counter-drone problem

Concerns about drone threats to military installations have grown in recent years as small, inexpensive commercial drones have become dramatically more popular and easy to use. Such systems lower the barrier to entry on surveillance and precision strike from the state level to non-state actors and can create challenges for security personnel who are often constrained in their response options, or improperly trained and equipped to react.

In 2024, multiple bases within the US and abroad experienced strings of drone incursions, events that can involve one or more unmanned aircraft entering restricted airspace or operating close enough to installations to trigger alarms, even when the drones are not linked to foreign adversaries.

“In recent years, adversary unmanned systems have evolved rapidly,” a Department of Defense counter-drone strategy released in the final months of the Biden administration said. “These cheap systems are increasingly changing the battlefield, threatening US installations, and wounding or killing our troops.”

Efforts to address the drone problem have been in the works for years, though a Center for New American Security report released last September said the military’s efforts were “hindered by insufficient scale and urgency.”

Some units have received counter-drone tools such as portable “flyaway kits” — deployable systems meant to be moved quickly between sites — and the “Dronebuster,” a handheld electronic-warfare device that emits a signal to disrupt or disable an offending drone. The Army secretary recently questioned the latter system’s effectiveness, underscoring broader uncertainty about how best to defend US bases from the growing drone threat.

The US military is trying to catch up with the threat, to develop defenses as fast or faster than drone technology is currently developing, driven in large part by the drone-dominant Ukraine war. As he announced the creation of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 last August, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said “there’s no doubt that the threats we face today from hostile drones grow by the day.”

“The challenge for airspace management is how to deter or defeat such incursions without endangering the surrounding civilian communities or legitimate air traffic. That rules out everything kinetic,” Mark Cancian, a defense expert and retired US Marine Corps colonel, told Business Insider in late 2024 during a series of incursions.

“This has become a huge problem for both military and civilian airfields and will get worse and drone usage proliferates further,” he said.




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Nathan Rennolds

Huge winter storm barrels toward East Coast as snow and ice blanket large parts of US

A massive winter storm is battering the US this weekend, bringing heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain to millions of Americans.

The storm, which is set to stretch over 2,000 miles from New Mexico to Maine, hit the south-central US on Friday night and has since been making its way eastward.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned it would move into the Mid-Atlantic states on Saturday night before pushing into the Northeast late on Sunday, leading to “considerable impacts” to much of the eastern half of the US.

Here’s where the storm is set to hit hardest.


US winter storm hits Little Rock, Arkansas, in 2026.

Impact of the storm on Little Rock, Arkansas.

Will Newton/Getty Images



Heavy snow is continuing to fall across large parts of the US on Sunday morning, but it is expected to concentrate in eastern regions by the evening.

The NWS has predicted that more than 12 inches could fall from the Ohio Valley through the northern mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Sunday, with almost double that possible in parts of New England and the inner Northeast.

The agency said power outages, tree damage, and dangerous travel conditions are also likely across parts of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic as a result of freezing rains and lingering icing.

Major cities in the weather system’s projected path include Atlanta, Charlotte, Richmond, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had “authorized all state employees to work remotely on Monday” in an effort to reduce travel.

“I encourage other employers to do the same, just to keep people off the roads and think about this,” she said.

Some of the worst hit states so far include Arkansas, where some areas recorded around seven inches of snowfall through Friday night into Saturday.

The NWS said the state had so far experienced “wave one” of the storm, with a second wave due to hit overnight into Sunday.

Oklahoma, which saw several inches of snow on Friday night, was also bracing for a second round of snow into Sunday.

Speaking to Fox News on Saturday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said the state could deal with the snow and that he was more concerned with power outages.

More than 430,000 customers from New Mexico to Kentucky are without power as of Sunday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.


American Airlines plane during winter storm 2026.

An American Airlines plane pictured during the winter storm.

Ron Jenkins/Getty Images



Moving forward, the NWS said heavy snowfall is likely to lead to “widespread travel disruptions and closures” that could last a number of days.

Travel has already been hit hard this weekend, with airlines canceling thousands of flights across Saturday and Sunday.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International are the worst affected airports on Sunday, per flight-tracking site FlightAware.

Many airlines are waiving rebooking fees for flights to and from affected regions.




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I’m a millionaire living in California. I’m happy to pay higher taxes since I have more wealth — it just makes sense.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Scott Ellis, a 55-year-old millionaire who lives in Silicon Valley, about California’s proposed 5% billionaire wealth tax. Ellis is a member of Patriotic Millionaires, a collection of wealthy Americans who advocate for a fair tax system, a livable wage, and equal access to political power. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I never thought I’d live in California. I grew up in Colorado, went to college in Boston, and lived in Texas. I came out here for business school because I wanted to be at Stanford, and because you could play golf during the winter.

Now I love it here. It has nothing to do with taxes; taxes have never been anywhere on our list of criteria for deciding where to live. I want to live where my family is and love the weather, the jobs, and the dynamism.

Taxes are the price that we pay to live in a civil society. We have to do this together. There are examples all around the world of the power of effective government, and just like anything else, government needs to be funded. We should make it effective and efficient.

I’m proud to pay the taxes I pay. I should pay taxes that are higher than other people because I have more wealth than other people — that makes sense.

My wife and I achieved financial success in our careers

A lot of our financial success has been due to my wife’s success, as well as mine at the beginning of our careers.

I went to Harvard undergrad, worked at McKinsey for three years, and then went to Stanford. I then worked at Hewlett-Packard for almost eight years.

In 2007, my wife was a VP at Yahoo and we had two small kids. I looked at my boss’s job, and at the CEO’s job, and decided I didn’t ever want those roles. I thought, “Uh-oh, I’m on this ladder, and it’s not really where I want to go.”

Ultimately, my wife and I decided that I would step back and be the stay-at-home parent. My wife continued her career, and she’s been very successful in consumer internet at Yahoo, Google, and Pinterest.

I developed an interest in social issues in college

I studied poverty, urban America, housing, transportation, and sociology in college, and started thinking more about questions like: What does fairness look like? What does justice look like? What would it look like to build a great society?

I got busy pursuing my career, meeting my wife, and raising our kids, but as time passed and we progressed in our careers, I got back into thinking about how we help others around us. I did a bunch of volunteer work in different contexts, eventually becoming the COO and then the CSO of a nonprofit called New Teacher Center, which does intensive mentoring programs for new teachers.

Since 2012, I’ve started and run several nonprofits in the education space, and advised almost 200 individuals and organizations on things like strategy, finance, operations, and culture.

I’m also really focused on addressing excessive wealth and its impact on society and thinking about a future vision for American democracy, which is how I came to Patriotic Millionaires, an organization of wealthy Americans who advocate for higher taxes on wealthy people like ourselves, a higher minimum wage, and a broader distribution of political power across our society.

I’ve been struck by the massive accumulation of wealth

In recent years, I’ve been struck by the massive accumulation of wealth enabled by the consumer internet space, globalization, and the structure of the finance industry. It’s different from what it used to be in the ’80s and ’90s; this is a whole new ballgame.

More recently, I’ve been looking around Silicon Valley at all these people who are so incredibly wealthy, talented, and successful, and realizing how few of them are thinking about choosing to build a better society together.

They’re excited about starting new companies and raising new funds, but these are all people who have more money than they could ever spend, and their next goal is to generate even more money, mainly for people who already have more money than they could ever spend.

Meanwhile, 10% of our society is in poverty. It really feels unfair and wrong, and we can do better.

People don’t need more than $30 million

The proposed billionaire wealth tax in California doesn’t impact me and my family directly. People may think, “You’re happy to raise taxes on other people.”

But we need to start with a different conversation, about how much wealth is enough, how much wealth is too much, and what is financial success?

I believe that if you have $30 million in wealth, congratulations, you won capitalism. If you do the analysis of reasonable investment returns and inflation, you can buy a really nice first house, a nice second house, your kids’ college is paid for, your end-of-life expenses are covered, and you have a very, very luxurious ongoing existence.

So much of success in life is luck. Yes, people absolutely get educated and work hard. But it’s been found that the wealthier people are, the more they tend to attribute their wealth to how good they are and how hard they worked.

I look at single moms working three jobs, working the night shift — a heck of a lot of people who have less than $190,000 [the median household wealth] in wealth are working very hard.

Once you get beyond $30 million — and almost no one ever gets there — you get to a point where your life is so good, you really can’t materially improve your life anymore. We should implement a very aggressive annual 50% tax on all household wealth over $30 million. Excessive wealth turns into excessive power through huge campaign donations, which threatens and undermines democracy and capitalism.

The wealth tax is a step in the right direction — but not enough

I’m absolutely delighted that we’re moving in this direction, but I believe changes to wealth taxes need to happen at the federal level.

When wealthy folks bring up moving out of California, it’s a distraction. All of a sudden, instead of us talking about the fact that millions of people are going to be either losing healthcare or paying much more for healthcare, we’re worried about the 200 really rich people who might move.

People move all the time. Companies move all the time for all kinds of reasons — it’s just part of business. These conversations happen all the time — like, “Oh my gosh, there won’t be any more companies in Silicon Valley.” Well, 20 years later, look around. There are still some companies here; it’s just fine.

It’s 65 degrees and sunny here. The CEO of Nvidia recently said they’ll be staying in California because that’s where the talent is. We’ve got the Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood, Tahoe, the Redwoods, the beach, and great weather. I’m really not worried that people aren’t going to want to live in California.

I love it here. My wife and I are thinking about living in different cities for maybe a month at a time, but I have no plans to go anywhere else. Although I definitely love Colorado — I still have my Denver Broncos coasters and will be cheering for my Broncos — I’m from Silicon Valley now, and that’s where I’m going to stay.




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How to make (or lose) money on snowfall predictions

Snowfalls can now beget windfalls.

As Americans rush to buy essentials ahead of Winter Storm Fern, some are also buying shares on prediction markets, like Kalshi and Polymarket, betting on how much snow will fall in New York City.

Traders on Kalshi have bet almost $900,000 as of Saturday afternoon on whether more than 12 inches of snow will fall in New York City on Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, on Polymarket, traders have bet about $210,000 on how much snow New York City will see this weekend. The winning category is now 8 to 10 inches.

The storm is expected to bring heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain to multiple states in the South, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Northeast this weekend. The National Weather Service says the storm could impact some 180 million Americans. Thousands of flights have already been canceled.

Prediction markets allow users to buy and sell shares in the outcomes of future events, such as sports or elections. Polymarket also provides real-time updates, allowing bets to provide insights into how consumers and investors think.

Polymarket bettors correctly predicted nearly the entire slate of Golden Globe winners last week, prompting a celebration from Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan.

“We have a long way to go to educate the public on the value of market-based forecasts, but you can’t deny its accuracy,” Coplan wrote. “People have more clarity about the world because Polymarket exists.”

The new markets are not strictly regulated, and some bets have looked a lot like insider trading. A last-minute bet on Polymarket earlier this month that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro would be ousted netted strong returns after the US captured Maduro in a surprise raid hours later.

Snowfall totals, on the other hand, are perhaps less susceptible to market manipulation.




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Minnesota Timberwolves postpone game amid ICE protests

  • The Warriors and Timberwolves were set to play at Target Center in Minneapolis on Saturday.
  • The NBA said the game was postponed to prioritize safety.
  • ICE agents fatally shot a man on Saturday amid ongoing clashes with Minneapolis residents.

The Saturday game between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves was postponed in a rare move by the National Basketball Association.

The Timberwolves were set to play the California team at Target Center in Minneapolis, a venue that has become a flash point for protests against the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation tactics.

Hours before the scheduled game time, a 37-year-old Minneapolis man was fatally shot by federal agents, officials said in a joint press conference with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection agencies.

The NBA did not reference the shooting in its statement but said “the decision was made to prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community.”

The game was rescheduled to Sunday, 5:30 p.m. local time.

A decision to postpone an NBA game amid civil unrest is rare.

The last time the organization postponed a game during civil unrest was in 2020 after multiple teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks, boycotted games in response to the fatal shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Spokespeople for the Timberwolves, Warriors, and NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.




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ICE’s Minnesota surge is pushing small businesses to abandon business as usual

A second fatal shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis on Saturday has further inflamed tensions in the city.

Immigration agents, in full view of filming protesters, tackled a 37-year-old man to the ground before one shot him multiple times. City officials said in a press conference on Saturday that the man, who they believed to be a US citizen, had died at the scene.

The shooting occurred as thousands of protesters converged in downtown Minneapolis to rally against the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Metro Surge, which has flooded Minnesota with ICE agents since December. Tensions have been high since officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good on January 7.

Caught in the middle of all this are the city’s small businesses, which are typically grappling with a quiet January.

Dan Marshall, the owner of Mischief Toys in neighboring St. Paul, said he usually spends the month cleaning up after Christmas, painting the walls, and doing his taxes.

This year, though, “that’s not what we’re being called to do,” he said. Marshall co-owns the toy and game store with his wife and daughter.

Instead, he said the store has distributed about 4,000 3D printed whistles, which Minnesotans have been using as an alert and protest system against ICE. Marshall said that the store has also served as a space for the community to come in, relax, and process what they’ve been seeing.

“Retail feels totally different right now,” Marshall said. “It feels like a way of connecting with our community that we haven’t really felt before. It’s very raw.”

For small business owners in Minnesota, it’s been an eventful — and not necessarily lucrative — January, as they instead turn their attention to supporting their communities.

Many businesses are also opting into a possible income hit on January 23, when unions and faith leaders are calling for a suspension of work, school, and shopping to protest ICE’s actions. Local news site Bring Me The News compiled a growing list of over 200 local establishments’ social media posts about their plans to participate in the economic blackout day. Some have said they plan to donate that day’s revenue; others are shuttering completely or opening as a free community space.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a January 20 press release, “Since President Trump took office, DHS has arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota, and we are NOT slowing down. Our law enforcement officers are saving countless American lives.” ICE did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

In a statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said that the Trump administration’s immigration operations “have resulted in countless dangerous criminal illegals being removed from the streets.”

“Making American communities safer will create an environment in which all businesses can thrive in the long term and their customers can feel safe,” Jackson said.

Catzen Coffee, a specialty coffee shop with an attached cat lounge, will not be doing business on Friday, but plans to open for those who need a space to hang out — free coffee and cat cuddles included.

Catzen owner Vanessa Beardsley said that the irony of being a business owner and opting out of business for a day never crossed her mind; not making revenue was never part of the calculus.

“We’ve got to do what we can do right now,” Beardsley said.

A topsy-turvy January

“January always sucks,” Matt Cole, the owner of Oh Yeah! Cookie Company, said. “As a business owner, especially in retail business, people spend a lot of money in December and November, and they usually don’t spend a lot of money in January. So January is always a month that’s hurting — and now it’s really hurting.”

National Retail Federation’s spending data shows an average drop in retail sales of 17.3% from December to January over the last five years. January through March has also typically seen the lowest average monthly employment for small businesses across the past few years. An analysis from consumer research firm Consumer Edge of credit and debit card data found that spending in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area by households earning under $100,000 has tracked lower than the national average over the four weeks ending January 10.

This year, Cole estimates he’s donated around $300 worth of cookies to groups distributing treats to kids who can’t go to school amid ICE’s presence. He said that if he does make any money right now, he’ll donate 10% of his sales. The full-time role he works in addition to his homemade baking business has been keeping him afloat.

Cole isn’t the only one pivoting from normal business.

JP Pritchett, the owner of adult store Smitten Kitten in Minneapolis, said that they usually devote January to ramping up for Valentine’s Day, which they described as the “Super Bowl” for adult stores.

“Typically in January, we’re ramping up inventory, getting the store stocked, just getting ready to do commerce,” Pritchett said. “But this year, I don’t care about that. Nobody cares about that.”

Instead, Pritchett said, “We stopped all regular business and created a free store inside Smitten Kitten where people could come get food or send a trusted friend or neighbor to come get food, toiletries, lots of diapers, formula, baby wipes — all the things that are really important to sustain life if you’re in hiding.”

Marshall, the owner of Mischief Toys, said that after promoting the store’s whistle distribution, he received a notice from ICE requesting verification of his workers’ employment eligibility. He said that shuttering on the 23rd sends a message “that our community is much more important than our bottom line,” which he believes is a positive.

“We’d like to sell toys,” Marshall said, adding that he’d prefer to spend January cleaning and painting “because it’s so damn cold here,” but with heightened tensions in the city, “we’re going to step up as much as we can.”




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Lauren Crosby

I moved away from my family in my 30s. When I called crying, my dad dropped everything and came to see me.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ruth Davis, a Creative Director in LA. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2019, I relocated with my 12-year-old daughter and fiancé to Los Angeles, which is two hours away from the “family village” where I had grown up.

All my family — siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents — all lived within 15 minutes of each other. I knew it was going to be a hard move for our nuclear family unit, but I was convinced LA was the right place for us to be.

I didn’t fully understand the impact it would have on me.

My dad is my everything

It was my dad whom I immediately felt I had lost.

Before we moved, my dad was everything to me. He and my mom had split when I was young, so my dad had full custody. It was just the two of us all the time.

When I had my daughter, my dad moved in with us and was there to help with all the practical aspects of raising a child. But he was also just there as emotional support for me. He made me complete.

After we moved, we only saw him once a month, when he’d take the train to visit us. I missed him and felt overwhelmed without him.

In August 2025, I was grieving the loss of two family members, feeling overwhelmed with sadness, but also with life in general. I remember sitting on my bed, losing it, crying.

I called him, crying

My daughter was knocking on the door, asking me when we were leaving the house — we were going out for the day. I snapped at her. I couldn’t leave the bed. I wanted to show up for her in that moment, but couldn’t.

In that moment, I felt like a failure compared to my dad. He had lived through so much grief and so many hard times, and yet I never knew because he managed to hold everything together.

All I could think to do was to call my dad, crying as he answered. He listened to me and then told me he would call me right back.

“Everything is going to be OK,” he said before hanging up. Dad has never been a “words” person.

Not too long after, he called back and told me he had been to the train station to buy a train ticket to come visit the next day.

Knowing he was coming felt like a double-edged sword. I felt incredibly lucky to have a dad who would come and see me at the drop of a hat, but I also felt self-doubt because my elderly dad could get it together, but I couldn’t.

The next morning, when I knew my dad was on the train, bound for my house, I was certain everything would be OK. My dad was coming. With him, life feels normal and complete.

I won’t advise my daughter to move away

I don’t regret the wonderful changes the move afforded me and the position in life it put my nuclear family and me in. But had I known not seeing my dad every day would wreck me as it has, I don’t know if I would have done it the same way.

I had bought into the modern idea that decisions should always be made with the nuclear family in mind, but the distance from him made me realize how much I emotionally value my dad in ways I didn’t think imaginable.

Knowing what I know now, I would never advise my daughter to move away from her village, even if it means she’ll move closer to a partner’s village, as I did. I think as a mother, I did her a disservice by moving her away from my family, her tight-knit community.




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A 58-year-old whose job requires hours of sitting lost 75 pounds in 12 months with these simple changes

When Jerry Clark decided to quit the Army, hit the road, and start driving long-haul truck routes 34 years ago, he had no idea what a dramatic impact the career change would have on his body.

“A truck driver is the worst job in the world for health,” Clark told Business Insider.

Arguably, no one is required to sit more on the job than a truck driver. And we all know sitting is the new smoking.

Clark spent years tag-teaming across the country with his wife on trucker routes. At one point, before she retired, they were logging 8,000 miles together every workweek. The pair would drive almost three full lengths across the continent each week, eating whatever they could find to sustain them along the way.

“We eat at the greasy spoons,” Clark said, explaining the average truck driver’s meal plan. “Everything is grease, or fried.”

All that sitting and eating greasy food can lead to long-term health issues and body imbalances. Clark developed a stronger left leg from operating his clutch and a stronger right arm from being at the wheel for half of the day. He also gained over 50 pounds over the course of three decades.

An employer-offered nutrition program led to big changes


clark with sunglasses, heavier

Clark says when he left the army, he was about 250 pounds. By the time he started his new diet, his weight had crept up to 306.

Courtesy of Jerry Clark



About a year and a half ago, when he heard his employer was offering free nutrition coaching for people with diabetes through Virta Health, he wondered if he might be eligible to join the low-carb program, even though he has normal blood sugar and doesn’t need to “reverse type 2 diabetes,” as the company promises. Sure enough, his employer allowed him to try it out.

Clark has lost over 75 pounds in the program and has discovered he has renewed energy for both work and hobbies, including wood carving. He says he’s trimmer now than he was when he left the Army in his mid-20s. He’s spent the past several months maintaining his weight and working on muscle building.

He’s lost over 75 pounds with diet, exercise, and guidance from a coach


jerry in the mirror

“I go running now without my shirt,” Clark says, something he wouldn’t have imagined doing in the past. “Look at me if you want to. If you don’t, I don’t care.”

Courtesy of Jerry Clark



“I look pretty dang-on good right now for a 58-year-old guy,” he said. “Almost getting a six pack back.”

He has also helped his son lose over 100 pounds using the nutrition techniques he’s learned, which are in line with some of the recent federal nutrition guidelines, released in January.

This is no coincidence: Virta co-founder Jeff Volek helped draft the Trump Administration’s new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which encourage people to skip ultra-processed foods and added sugar, prioritizing animal protein and “healthy” fats.

Now Clark eats more whole foods than he used to, including fruits, vegetables, and meat. He doesn’t fuss too much about fat, especially the kind of fats in nuts, fish, and lean proteins like chicken.

“My journey’s not over, but I am getting there,” he said.


jerry in his truck, face visibly skinnier

Clark still drives a truck, but he’s developed a nutrition plan that makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight, with plenty of leafy green vegetables and lean proteins.

Courtesy of Jerry Clark



You don’t have to eat low-carb to lose weight

Many nutrition experts say low-carb ketogenic diet plans like the one he’s following are not right for everyone. Generally speaking, people without diabetes could benefit from more fiber and whole grains than this style of eating typically provides. Still, there are a few nutrition basics that just about every “healthy” diet plan agrees upon. Virta’s low-carb strategy is no exception. Plants like fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds are good. Extra sugar and empty calories from white bread, cakes, and sodas? Not so much.


harold WL transformation

Clark has helped his stepson, Harold, lose over 100 pounds. “We were all very big,” he said.

Courtesy of Jerry Clark



“There’s this base of knowledge which is pretty translatable between different diet camps,” nutrition scientist and ultra-processed food researcher Kevin Hall, co-author of the book “Food Intelligence,” previously told Business Insider. “All of the camps can sort of agree on non-starchy vegetables and lowering added sugar.”

Hall has performed studies showing that low-carb diets are not any better than low-fat diets, when it comes to how much fat people lose. Low-carb diets can be helpful for stabilizing blood sugar in patients with diabetes, but it’s the quality of a person’s diet that matters most.

“For the vast majority of people, it’s really the processed and refined carbohydrates that they should avoid,” Hall said. Carb-forward beans and strawberries, loaded with fiber and antioxidants, are great choices for most people.

Another big reason for the success of Virta patients like Clark, according to former US Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. David Kessler, is the “built-in accountability” that patients get from Virta’s intensive, personalized coaching model, as he explains in his new book “Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine: the New Science of Achieving a Healthy Weight.”

As for Clark, he has a few evidence-based nutrition moves he credits with helping him make the lasting diet changes that he plans to stick to for the long haul.

Here are his 7 best pieces of diet advice:

Eat more vegetables


green vegetables

“You can eat almost all the green leafy vegetables you want and all the broccoli you want,” Clark said.

bit245/Getty Images



When Clark drives his 600-mile route from North Carolina to West Virginia and back overnight, he brings his own “lunch,” or gets a few essentials from the supermarket. No more greasy spoons. Broccoli, leafy lettuces, and cucumbers are now staple foods at his house for lunch and dinner.

“I’ll pack a chicken breast and some broccoli, and then at around midnight when I get to a truck stop, I’ll pull in and pop it in a microwave, and I’m pretty happy,” he said.

With the help of his nutrition coach, Clark started meal prepping and shopping around the perimeter of the grocery store, a classic pro-nutrition move.

“Most of the crap is in the middle,” he said.

Change your palate — it takes time, but curbs sugar cravings in the long run


salad with egg avocado and tomatoes

Clark says his new eating pattern isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle shift.

Grazziela Bursuc/Getty Images



Clark has found that over time, he is craving less sugar. It helps that he doesn’t keep junk food in the house, since it’s typically loaded with sugar, saturated fat, and refined flour. Now, he finds he wants veggies and other whole foods, including deer and rabbit for dinner, and blueberries as a sweet treat.

“Food itself tastes good as long as you change your taste buds,” he said. “It’s going to take you a month for your taste buds to change.”

Studies suggest that most of our taste buds regenerate about every 10 days, but some take longer to turn over, around three weeks or so.

Avoid ‘added crap’ like refined flour and sugar


junk food

Clark stays away from foods made with refined white flour, or added sugar.

monticelllo/Getty Images



Clark said he still enjoys many of the same foods he used to eat, he just prepares them differently now.

“You can have the same stuff,” he said. “You can’t have all the added crap that America puts on it.”

For him, that means rotisserie chicken instead of fried chicken and homemade ice cream made from whipping cream and eggs, with far less sugar than store-bought tubs.

Though the Clark house generally stays away from fast food and ultra-processed groceries now, there is some occasional wiggle room from time to time for a low-calorie, low-carb, ultra-processed dessert like Cool Whip with Jell-O. Even that’s pretty rare these days, Clark said.

Use your hand to measure meals


hand cupping raspberries

Clark uses the palm of his hand to measure portions. A cup of vegetables fits snugly into one cupped hand.

Nazar Rybak/Getty Images



Clark says one of his biggest challenges in the program has been learning not to overeat. It’s something he’s talked over with his coach.

“I am an over eater — that’s my biggest problem,” he said. “I like mass quantities of food.”

Obesity medicine doctors say that’s likely because Clark’s “enough” point became dysregulated: as he gained weight, his brain sent signals to his body to eat more and store more fat, in protection mode against starvation.

With guidance tailored to his body size and a kitchen scale, Clark started measuring out a recommended 7 ounces of protein for lunch and dinner. But his coach also gave him a quick shortcut for thinking about his portion sizes.

“Your hand is your best tool,” he said. “The palm of your hand without your fingers is approximately 7 ounces, that’s a portion of meat.”

Don’t obsess about the numbers on the scale if you know things are moving in the right direction


bathroom scale

Numbers don’t tell the whole story. Waist circumference can be a better measure of overall health.

Fiordaliso/Getty Images



When Clark started adding regular weightlifting into his workout routine, the number on his bathroom scale stagnated. His coach encouraged him to focus on other metrics instead.

“My muscles are getting bigger, and my waist is getting smaller,” he said. “My coach said, ‘If you’re happy with what you see in the mirror, be happy.'”

Build your tribe


people high fiving

Regular check-ins with buddies, encouraging one another to stay committed to fitness and nutrition goals, can really help.

RealPeopleGroup/Getty Images



Clark has been openly sharing his nutrition strategy with family and friends. His son has lost over 100 pounds using his techniques, and one of his long-haul trucking buddies has lost over 80 pounds.

“We talk every night: ‘Hey man, what’d you eat today? Did you work out?'” Clark said. It’s another time-tested strategy: couples, friends, and families who lose weight together tend to have better long-term success.

Now, Clark’s wife is getting interested in the program.

“She sees me, and she’s like, ‘Man, you’re doing really good. I want to try that.'”

Treat yourself to an hour of movement every day


lacing up

Clark looks forward to his uninterrupted, sacred hour for workouts.

Jay Yuno/Getty Images



Finally, Clark has developed a new routine of working out 6 days a week, alternating heart-healthy cardio (like a run) with weightlifting every other day. Building muscle mass is a great way to maintain the right kind of weight loss, encouraging the body to shed fat instead of muscle. If he’s hungry after, he grabs a protein shake “to fill my muscle stores up.”

“I told my wife: one hour a day, I don’t want anybody to bother me,” Clark said. “No phone calls, no ‘honey, you got to fix the toilet, mow the grass.'”

Now, he looks forward to the dedicated, sacred time for workouts.

“An hour out of a day? Come on. That’s nothing. Give it to yourself and then make it work,” he said.




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