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I gave my marriage a 2-day mental health break and explored a nearby city solo. It was just what I needed.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Don’t get me wrong — I love my husband, and we’re great companions — at home and on the road. But I was thrilled when he decided not to join me on a trip to Querétaro, a city two hours from where we live part of the year in Mexico.

Barry was afraid it would be too hot. A Brit, he considers anything above 75 degrees a heat wave. And I was not-so-secretly thrilled to be on my own, even if it was only for 48 hours.

This was my chance to explore without worrying if anyone else was tired, annoyed, or hungry. This was my chance to do things my way.


The author and her husband at Canada de Virgen.

The author said she and her husband (shown at Canada de Virgen) have a lot of fun when they travel together. 

Courtesy of Louisa Rogers.



I was excited to explore on my own

Querétaro is one of several Mexican colonial highland cities known for its well-preserved 18th-century architecture and silver-mining history. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, with over 1,400 protected buildings, churches, plazas, and a historic aqueduct. Barry and I have been there several times, but always on the way to somewhere else.

The adventure started when I boarded a bus from Guanajuato to Querétaro. The long-distance buses, with reclining seats, wifi, audio, and video entertainment, feel like flying in business class. My hotel room was also spacious, with two classy balconies.

Since I paint watercolors, the first thing I did was visit the Querétaro Museum of Art, which showcased a series of vibrant acrylic paintings by a Yucatán artist. At another art gallery, I enjoyed an immersive exhibition of erotic sculptures, where visitors were invited to touch the art. I took photos and sent them to Barry, who was just as intrigued. Just because he wasn’t with me didn’t mean I didn’t want to share a few moments with him.


Outdoor Sculpture in Queretaro

While exploring Querétaro on her own, the author visited an art museum and enjoyed painting at restaurants after finishing her meals. 

Courtesy of Louisa Rogers.



Later that day, I strolled around, eventually finding a restaurant near a park with a pianist playing. The waiter recommended zucchini and walnut soup. Divine! After I was done eating, I whiled away an hour painting, with a glass of wine (well, two). Waiters never rush you in Mexico.

My husband wasn’t with me, but I still wanted to share things with him

The next morning, I took another bus, passing the railway maintenance crew working on the train that will eventually go from Mexico City through Querétaro and beyond. Then I explored a Toltec ruins on the outskirts of the city.

My Uber driver into town told me a long story about his other job, burying dead people, sharing many descriptive details about the smells. I told him I had once been attracted to working for a funeral home, but after hearing the visceral details of his job, I’m glad I decided to pass.

I probably would have had the same conversation with the driver if Barry had been there, but like other aspects of the trip, it felt very refreshing to chat on my own. This was another story I’d share with Barry as soon as I could.

When I’m traveling with my husband, I’m not always as focused and aware. For instance, he has a better sense of orientation than I do, so I let him lead. Since I was by myself in Querétaro, I couldn’t be passive; I had to pay attention, which was good for me.

I enjoyed the chance to linger

The best part of my two-day break was not a place, but the freedom of dawdling. For instance, on Sunday, I couldn’t find the restaurant where I’d eaten the day before, so I checked out others. The first three were no-gos: one was mainly meat, which I don’t eat; one was too noisy; and the last had the kind of high tables and chairs where my feet don’t reach the floor, and I feel like I’m in preschool.

When Barry’s ready to eat, he gets irritated checking out restaurants, so he usually sits on a bench while I decide. I often feel a whiff of anxiety knowing I’m keeping him waiting. This time, though, I took my time and finally found an Italian restaurant where I ordered ciabatta, once again laying out my supplies and painting when I was done.


Dancing in the Queretaro plaza.

The author said she enjoyed lingering in the streets of Querétaro, which gave her time to take in the sights. 

Courtesy of Louisa Rogers.



That evening, there was dancing to live music at one of the nearby plazas. I positioned myself near two women who turned out to be a mom and a daughter, and we chatted during the break.

On the bus going home, I kept daydreaming about all the different parts of my weekend escapade, puzzling over why it had taken me so long to go somewhere by myself. After all, Barry and I thrive on time apart, and, in fact, consider it one of the secrets to our long (52 years!) relationship. Every year, I fly to Mexico before him and return after him. Next year, I vowed, I’ll go to Zacatecas, another UNESCO World Heritage city in Mexico that I like more than Barry does — on my own. I can hardly wait.




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Hot boys, bright lights, sweltering city: Inside Seventeen’s Singapore stadium concert

by with No Comment Xpandfy

  • Seventeen kicked off the Southeast Asian leg of their tour on Saturday in Singapore.
  • I was in the stadium — again — to see them live.
  • Sweltering heat aside, it’s an experience I’ll never forget.

Heat — that was the word of the day at the boy band Seventeen’s concert in Singapore.

Heat, with legions of fans clutching bags toting pickets bearing their favorite member’s face, comparing merchandise hauls like the spoils of war. Heat, under the blazing equatorial sun. And heat, on stage, when the nine active members of the 13-person group emerged to thunderous cheers.

Stepping into the stadium on Saturday reminded me of the bigger picture. This band is one of the crown jewels of the K-pop business machine. They’ve been working together for 11 years, playing to hundreds of thousands of people who cross continents just to see their favorite boys.

The concert on Saturday marked the start of Seventeen’s Southeast Asia tour leg

Seventeen’s Singapore concert lasted around three and a half hours, with more than a dozen encore songs.

Pledis Entertainment

I’ve been following Seventeen for just over a year now, which makes me a newbie Carat — the name the group has for its fans. The band, which is down four members because of South Korea’s mandatory military service, has been touring the US and East Asia, playing over 26 shows to date, to close to 800,000 people.

Seventeen kicked off the “NEW_” tour in South Korea on September 13 and 14, and did shows in five US cities. They’re back after a short break following their winter dome tour in four Japanese cities.

Performing at Singapore’s National Stadium is no walk in the park


A composite image of the bag check outside the National Stadium in Singapore and two hands holding Seventeen light sticks.

My friend and I came prepped and ready for the show with our concert light sticks.

Cheryl Teh

The 55,000-seat National Stadium in Singapore is a tough venue to play, in part because of the humidity and the heat. It was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff.

But it’s the stadium of choice for any big act coming to the island. Taylor Swift performed six nights at the stadium in 2024, and Lady Gaga did four shows there in May 2025.

Seventeen played the venue for two nights in January 2025.

The band is touring with nine out of 13 members, but made up for the missing members with an abundance of energy


A group shot of the band Seventeen in Singapore

Seventeen is touring with nine members — four are serving mandatory military service in South Korea.

Pledis Entertainment

At nine people, the band rallied hard. They kicked off the show with tracks from their 2025 album, “Happy Burstday,” which sold over 2.52 million copies in its first week of release.

The group also dug deep into their archives and pulled out tracks like “Hot,” “Hit” and “Rock” for a segment that the members said was particularly hard to get through because of the strenuous choreography.

The fans were treated to some smooth dance moves and pop-rock


A composite image of Seventeen members Dino, Jun, and Vernon in concert.

Seventeen members Dino, Jun, and Vernon.

Pledis Entertainment

Every member of the team got their fair share of airtime with the nine solo songs, each showcasing their personal style.

The group’s youngest, Dino, and Chinese member Jun showed off their slick moves in “Trigger” and “Gemini.” Korean-American member Vernon went full pop-rock and brought out his electric guitar for “Shining Star.”

The band’s vocalists also served up some sweet, heartrending ballads


A composite image of Seventeen members Seungkwan, Joshua, and DK in concert.

Seventeen members Seungkwan, Joshua, and DK performed a set of three ballads during their segment of the concert.

Pledis Entertainment

Joshua — the group’s other Korean-American, and my favorite band member — kicked off a segment of ballads with his saccharine solo song, “Fortunate Change.” Hong is fresh off an appearance at the Golden Globes and this year’s Super Bowl.

His bandmates Seungkwan and DK — who are in the midst of promoting their unit album, “Serenade” — showed off their vocal chops with their solos, “Raindrops” and “Happy Virus.”

The moment the stadium started to feel like a club


A composite image of Seventeen members The8, Mingyu, and S.Coups.

It was party time with dancer The8 and the rappers Mingyu and S.Coups.

Pledis Entertainment

The crowd went wild when the group’s resident Calvin Klein model, Mingyu, strutted down the stage in head-to-toe denim for “Shake It Off.” That was right after the electro-dance party number, “Skyfall,” from his bandmate The8.

The deafening cheers kept coming for the band’s leader S.Coups’ head-banging hip-hop track, “Jungle.” The rapper — like his teammates Joshua, Mingyu, and Jun — is a fashion week regular in Europe.

Some fans flew across the world to see Seventeen live


A group shot of Seventeen on stage.

Seventeen performed in five US cities. The band will wrap its “NEW_” tour in April in Incheon, South Korea.

Pledis Entertainment

S.Coups was the reason Jackie Ko flew in from California. This was Ko’s 11th time at a Seventeen concert and first abroad.

Ko told me she spent around $2,500 for the trip. It was worth it, she said — she heard songs that weren’t on the US set list.

“S.Coups and Seventeen helped me get through some of the toughest times,” Ko told me. “He makes me feel rejuvenated. He’s my motivation to keep going, no matter what life throws at me.”

Seventeen, like many of their peers, have helped rev up the K-pop business machine


A group shot of Seventeen members performing

One of my personal highlights from the concert: “Network Love,” a unit track.

Pledis Entertainment

Seventeen is part of an industry that generates billions in annual revenue. Tickets to their Singapore show started at $199 Singapore dollars, or around $155, and topped off at $320.

The monetizable hype was evident in the run-up to the concert: Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands resort lit up the landmark in the band’s colors, organized a party featuring their songs at the property’s Marquee club, and had half a dozen restaurants curating custom menus inspired by their tracks.

The group’s parent company Hybe is riding Seventeen and similar groups’ success: Shares are up 55% in the last year.

There’s a reason fans shell out for the band — these concerts feel like once-in-a-lifetime experiences


A crowd shot of the Singapore stadium during the Seventeen concert.

There’s really nothing quite like a Seventeen concert.

Pledis Entertainment

For four hours, there is nothing that shines brighter or makes me happier than watching Seventeen perform. In these troubled times, that’s something worth holding onto.

Seth Aw, an artist from Singapore, agreed.

“The feeling of being in a stadium with other fans enjoying the same moment is so healing,” Aw said. “I don’t think anything can compare to how a good concert makes me feel, and that gives me strength to deal with many things in life.”




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I didn’t love Mexico City as much as I thought I would. Luckily, I found a smaller, more charming spot nearby.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

When planning my two-week trip to Mexico, I looked beyond destinations like Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, and Cozumel. I wanted to visit central Mexico instead, which is further away from the busy cruise ports and all-inclusive resorts.

For years, I’d heard nothing but great things about Mexico City, so I put it at the top of my list. Travelers seem to always rave about the city’s atmosphere, culinary scene, and world-class museums. I couldn’t wait to check it out for myself.

However, once I arrived in the city, which is home to about 22 million people, I was totally overwhelmed. The influx of tourists for Mexico’s Día de Muertos celebrations at the time probably didn’t help, either.

There was a lot to do there, but I missed the quieter atmosphere of Santiago de Querétaro, where I’d been just a few days prior.

The smaller city, often shortened to just Querétaro, is home to around 1.5 million people and is located just three hours by bus from Mexico City. I knew little about the area beforehand, but was soon blown away by its colorful historic center and nearby attractions.

Mexico City gets a lot of hype, but in the end, it was the city I’d previously barely heard of that exceeded my expectations.

Querétaro’s city center is exceptionally charming


View of people walking in Querétaro

Querétaro is much smaller than Mexico City, but it has a lot to offer.

Jenna DeLaurentis



On my first morning in Querétaro, I was immediately struck by the atmosphere of the historic city center.

It’s a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it’s full of tree-lined public squares. Each square acts as a meeting point for commerce, culture, and dining experiences.


Figure with sugar skull head and colorful dress

Querétaro’s pedestrian-only streets are ideal for a relaxing walk.

Jenna DeLaurentis



I loved dining outdoors in these public squares. Often, musicians played soft piano music during mealtimes, and the atmosphere was alluring.

Beyond the squares, every street offered something new. On a visit to Querétaro’s Museum of Arts, I was blown away by the building’s Baroque-style architecture. The intricate design of the space was just as impressive as the artwork inside.


Querétaro's Museum of Arts

Querétaro’s Museum of Arts has stunning architecture.

Jenna DeLaurentis



Likewise, a brief visit to the Calendar Museum left me impressed. The small museum, which houses exhibitions on time and space, contains intricately manicured gardens in a restored mansion. The space was serene, adding another special touch to Querétaro’s endearing city center.

In contrast, I found Mexico City to be more overwhelming than charming. With millions of people, cars, and buses zooming around every corner, it was impossible to feel relaxed.

While walking around Mexico City’s maze of streets, I found myself missing the small-town feel of Querétaro.

The city is a convenient home base for day trips to other destinations, too


San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende is a short drive from Querétaro.

Jenna DeLaurentis



Something I loved during my time in Querétaro was the city’s proximity to several exciting destinations. I found it easy to take a day (or overnight) trip from the city.

On my visit, I took a one-night trip to San Miguel de Allende, a small city with well-preserved colonial architecture.

It was the perfect destination for a quick visit. I spent my time wandering around cobblestone streets, dining at rooftop cafes, and marveling at San Miguel de Allende’s prominent pink cathedral.

Querétaro is also within an hour’s drive to two of Mexico’s Pueblo Mágicos, or Magic Towns. There are 177 Pueblos Mágicos within Mexico, and each town has been designated to have significant cultural, historical, or architectural significance within the country.

One of these Pueblos Mágicos, Bernal, is famous for its giant monolith that towers over the town. The other, Tequisquiapan, offers a peaceful getaway where visitors can explore traditional cheese markets, vineyards, and natural hot springs.

Taking day trips from Querétaro doesn’t require a car, either. Uber is convenient throughout the area, and comfortable coach buses can take you from town to town at a low cost.

Mexico City has more to offer overall, but Querétaro is definitely worth a visit


Author Jenna DeLaurentis in Mexico City

I was excited to check out Mexico City for the first time, but it wasn’t my favorite place to visit in Mexico.

Jenna DeLaurentis



Even though I preferred Querétaro to Mexico City, there’s no denying that there’s far more to see and do in the latter.

You could spend months in Mexico City and barely scratch the surface. The city has over 150 museums and galleries along with the palatial Chapultepec Castle, massive Zócalo Square, vast green parks, and more restaurants than you could try in a lifetime.

Its National Museum of Anthropology could take an entire day to see in and of itself!

I expected to fall in love with Mexico City, but I didn’t jive with the city as much as I thought I would. For the most part, though, I’d still agree that Mexico City is worth the hype it receives. The metropolis has an addictive, bustling atmosphere, and the street-food scene is definitely out of this world.

Yet my trip was a good reminder to look beyond the most popular destinations in a particular place. I had never even heard of Querétaro before I planned my trip, but I’m so glad I took the chance to discover somewhere new.




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Panama City wants Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build a tunnel beneath its famous canal

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Mayer Mizrachi, the 38-year-old mayor of Panama City, wants Elon Musk to build him a pedestrian tunnel under the Panama Canal. And Musk’s Boring Company recently announced it just might.

Panama City this week was named one of 16 finalists — the only one outside the United States — in the company’s Tunnel Vision challenge, which offers the winning municipality a free tunnel that can be used for freight, pedestrians, water, utilities or Loop — the electric, underground system that uses Tesla vehicles to transport people.

Mizrachi’s idea is a 0.6 mile pedestrian tunnel under the Panama Canal, which would give city residents a chance to “live” its history and take advantage of the vital maritime trade route that is critical to the global economy. More recently, the canal has been the subject of geopolitical tensions as President Donald Trump threatened to take control of the waterway because, he said, the US was being ripped off by high fees and that it had come under Chinese influence. In February 2025, Panama withdrew from China’s Belt and Road initiative.

The winner will be announced on March 23. Of the 16 finalists, half were in Tennessee or Texas, where the Boring Company is headquartered and where Mizrachi recently went to make his pitch. The project, if chosen, has the potential to tie together Mizrachi, the former DOGE leader, and the Panama Canal that Trump once fixated on seizing.

Mizrachi, the youngest mayor in the city’s history, founded Criptext, a secure email platform, and, like Trump, has styled himself as an outsider. Like Musk, he came to office looking to cut government in the name of efficiency and insists he has succeeded.

In an interview with POLITICO, which is, along with Business Insider, part of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, Mizrachi said the tunnel proposal began as a last-minute response to a Boring Company social media post and ballooned from there.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did the tunnel idea begin, and what exactly was your pitch to The Boring Company?

Mizrachi: I merely just ran into a tweet by the Boring Company in January, and they had this tunnel vision challenge, and they were offering a free tunnel up to a mile long anywhere around the world to the best idea. I did a visit in January to the existing tunnel that’s being built for a subway station in Panama City, and I said, “What if we built a pedestrian tunnel crossing the canal with parks on either side? You can tell the story of how the canal was built and the history of the country, and the biodiversity.”

City planners started working on a proposal, and they kind of really brought the plane in for a landing with a beautiful proposal, and we submitted that on the last minute of the last day.

What did you learn in Texas about how The Boring Company would approach this project?

Mizrachi: We met with Jim Fitzgerald, the VP for global, and we kind of took a 101 on how a Boring Company project works. Tunnels are freaking expensive. But it turns out that the way that they do it makes it actually feasible, and it’s quite a wonder the way that they have put this together.

And as I told Jim, I said, “Listen, I know this is very preliminary, and here are many other projects that they’re considering, but you know, it would be quite a marvel that 100 years ago, you know, the US built the canal, and then 100 years later, that they would build a tunnel that crosses the canal in a modern marvel of engineering in the way that they do it.”

They reuse their tunneling machines. Whereas typically, the tunneling machines are built specifically for a given project, and then they get buried with the project.


The Boring Company's headquarters in Texas.

The Boring Company’s headquarters in Texas.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images



What would this tunnel mean for Panama, especially at a moment when the canal is caught up in broader geopolitical tensions?

Mizrachi: First of all, Panamanians, we’re really proud of the canal, its management, its history, but we seldom get to live it. So it’s like the rest of the world uses the canal. But you know, Panamanians, we don’t live the canal. You could go to the Miraflores Locks, and you go to the tourist center. You can maybe see a ship, but we don’t really live it.

So the vision here is you create a public space where you integrate families, tourists, and they can cross the canal themselves with an underground tunnel that’s 0.6 miles, the distance. It’s quite short, and I can only imagine it being almost an educational experience, where you can have screens, very thin screens, because the space is not that big, but thin screens that are showing the story, the history of how the canal was built, the biodiversity of Panama, and then stats on the canal, the impact that it has on world trade, etc. It started as an idea, but it’s shaping up. And I think it goes above my pay grade. I spoke to the president [of Panama] about this. This needs to be handled by a task force designated by the president in representation with the entire country.

Why do you think Panama City could beat out American cities for this project?

Mizrachi: Well, there’s one very unique thing about this. They don’t have a canal. The Boring Company has never bored underwater, much less crossing a canal. And I think it’s part of the value proposition to show themselves as engineers, how far they can go with their mindset, with their methodology and their ingenuity.

Also it’s a pedestrian tunnel. So it’s not a loop tunnel that is managed and operated by the Boring Company. So if you think of Vegas, they operate the Loop itself. So, here, it’s a lot more hands off. They build a tunnel, and they don’t have to have an active operation.


The Boring Company's Loop in Las Vegas

The Boring Company-built tunnel at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images



You’ve drawn comparisons between your work and DOGE-style cost cutting in Washington. How do you describe your governing approach?

Mizrachi: I mean, honestly, I still consider myself an outsider. I am not subscribed to any political party, and I still very much employ the mindset of the tech entrepreneurial efficiency and try things before you scale things, which is uncommon in politics.

As soon as I came into office in July 2024, I realized people’s money was being wasted on a scale that I was just shocked to see. So we were able to reduce the size of City Hall personnel by 50% so it used to have 6,500 people. We reduced it to about 3,500 people. And by all counts, City Hall is operating faster and better with more impact, tangible, visible impact, with less people. And also, we reduced the budget by about 32%, so we did the biggest budget reduction in the history of the city as well.

This story originally ran in POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook and appears on Business Insider through the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network. The network publishes major stories from the Axel Springer network of publications, a worldwide group of news outlets that includes Business Insider.




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My city was filling up with digital nomads. I saw a business opportunity in our family home.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Nguyen Thị Thanh Thơ, aka Hana Nguyen, 36, founder of Hana’s Coworking in Da Nang, Vietnam. It has been edited for length and clarity

I never planned to work with digital nomads. In fact, three years ago, I didn’t even know what “coworking” meant.

I was born in the countryside of central Vietnam and, in my teens, moved to Da Nang with my family for college. I first studied business administration, and later trained to become a pharmacist.

After graduating in 2016, I found a job in a local pharmacy. It was the typical job for many Vietnamese graduates: stable but low-paying; not especially challenging but also very boring.

I couldn’t get excited about it, and I didn’t see a future for myself there.

In 2023, I met a foreigner on an online forum who wanted to go hiking in the Marble Mountains, a group of cave-like temple structures in southern Da Nang. I decided to join.

At that time, I was curious about foreigners, but my English was poor, and I didn’t really know how to connect with people from other countries.

That small encounter changed everything. A few days after visiting the mountains, my new foreign friend took me to a coworking space. I had never seen anything like it before — people from all over the world working on laptops, speaking in English, and sharing ideas.

Something clicked immediately.


Group of people playing pool in Da Nang, Vietnam.

She began organizing events for both locals and digital nomads.

Provided by Hana Nguyen



I felt drawn to the community

I didn’t have money or experience, but I had motivation. In early 2024, I spoke to a friend who owned a hotel with an unused floor.

I offered to manage a coworking space there. I told her that I could try working there for two months for free. If it worked out, we could talk about money. If it didn’t, we could both move on.

After a few months, the project really took off, and I got some good exposure from Vietnamese TV and visiting content creators.

I worked there full-time for more than a year, doing everything myself — managing the space, cleaning, talking to customers, and organizing events. I negotiated a salary of about $250 a month, which wasn’t much, but I loved it.

Eventually, I realized I was building something valuable and with potential — but I didn’t own it. I began feeling exhausted and knew it wasn’t sustainable. Around the same time, my dad fell ill with cancer. I knew I needed to make more money to help my family, so when another friend offered me a space inside his bar — unused during the day — I said yes.

That was the first coworking space where I felt some ownership.

I didn’t have to pay rent, which worked because I had very little money — I couldn’t even afford to hire staff. But still, I managed to build the community. I organized events, beach trips, yoga, dinners — anything that helped people connect.

Since I wasn’t paying rent, I knew this arrangement could only be temporary, so I worked up the courage to ask my parents if we could convert one of the floors in our three-story family home into a coworking space. I explained that I’d need to borrow money from family members and spend a few months renovating the house.


Hana Nguyễn

Duc Nguyen for BI



Despite the risk, my parents agreed

It wasn’t easy. I was working nonstop and felt stressed, but the top floor, which can seat 18, filled up quickly, so I expanded the coworking space to other parts of the house. I can now fit 30 people and charge $76 a month.

I still manage everything myself. I don’t have employees. My father is a guard at the entrance, and my mother cleans the place, so it’s still very much a family business.

Many people ask me why there are so many digital nomads in Da Nang. I think it’s because the city is friendly, affordable, and super convenient. You have the beach, mountains, urban life, and an international airport close by.


On the beach in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Da Nang has a mix of beaches, mountains, urban life, and an international airport nearby.

Provided by Hana Nguyen



Da Nang is the kind of place where you can go for a walk along the beach in the morning, work during the day, swim in the sea in the afternoon, and eat great food in the evening — and it’s not expensive.

The biggest challenge I’ve seen among digital nomads is loneliness. Many people arrive alone, without friends, and everything feels unfamiliar — the culture, transportation, and daily life. That’s why community is so important. Everyone researches online before they come, but a real connection only happens in person. That’s exactly what I’m trying to foster with my coworking space.

At my events, around 20% of participants are Vietnamese. Many come to practice English, but they also learn about different ways of working and living. Some locals have even found freelance work with nomads in design, tech, and marketing. That makes me proud.

I’m still learning. I don’t have a big master plan. I just know I love connecting people, and I believe community can change lives — including mine.

Do you have a story to share about living abroad? Contact the editor at akarplus@businessinsider.com.




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Pittsburgh’s mayor has cold-called dozens of tech CEOs to get them to relocate their companies to his city.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Pittsburgh’s new mayor is personally cold-calling upwards of 20 founders and CEOs across the country every week to check in on them, or to convince them to move to his city.

“Some people think it’s a prank call, but for others, it’s like, ‘wow, the mayor of Pittsburgh just called,'” said Corey O’Connor, who estimates he has called around 150 people since taking office in January. “If you’re already here, I ask, ‘How can we help you expand?’ If you’re not here, I ask ‘How do we get you to come to Pittsburgh?”

Pittsburgh has historically been known as “the Steel City” and is home to the Pittsburgh Steelers. O’Connor’s father worked as a steelworker before a long career in city politics. However, as O’Connor is quick to point out, there are no longer any steel mills within city limits, while the area is home to some of the most important startups in the U.S.

After predictions of its waning influence during the Covid era turned out to be wildly off, the Bay Area’s tech scene is now hotter than ever, largely thanks to AI. That has not stopped smaller cities like Miami and Austin from trying to grab VC dollars, especially as the cost of living in California skyrockets. Now, Pittsburgh would like to be the next Miami.

Its startups raised $1.48 billion in 2025, still a fraction of major tech hubs, but the region’s strongest venture capital year since 2019, according to PitchBook.

Standouts include Gecko Robotics, valued at $1.7 billion, which builds wall-climbing robots that inspect critical infrastructure, including power plants and industrial facilities. Abridge, valued at $5.3 billion, uses artificial intelligence to automatically generate medical documentation from doctor-patient conversations. It has emerged as one of the most closely watched AI companies in healthcare.

The most high-profile is Skild AI, which is developing foundation models for robotics, training AI systems that allow machines to operate more autonomously in real-world environments. The company raised $1.4 billion in a deal led by SoftBank Group and Nvidia in January, pushing its valuation to $15 billion, according to PitchBook.

“Our goal is to change the narrative,” O’Connor said, adding he will use every opportunity he can get to tout the city’s tech potential, especially as the spotlight will be on Pittsburgh as it prepares to host the NFL Draft in April.

Deep-seated roots in AI and robotics

The city’s AI and robotics credentials stretch back decades. In the 1960s, Carnegie Mellon professors began groundbreaking research in AI. In 1979, the first robotics institute at a U.S. university was started at CMU.

The challenge is keeping the most talented graduates from bolting to Silicon Valley.

“I’m constantly going to meet kids on campus,” O’Connor said.

Affordability is a key selling point. The median price for a single-family home in Pittsburgh and surrounding Allegheny County is 42.3 percent below the national average.

O’Connor is also trying to streamline the city’s permitting process to make it easier for tech companies to expand.

“We can get you a permit in four to five weeks, so you don’t have to wait through the government bureaucracy,” he said.

In January, Factify, a Tel Aviv-based digital document startup, said it plans to expand its presence in Pittsburgh and use the city as a major hub for customer engagement and operations.

Asked if he has successfully convinced any companies to move to Pittsburgh, O’Connor said not yet, but he is focused on the long game.

“They’re going to at least tell 10 friends that the mayor of Pittsburgh called,” he said. “That creates a buzz about the city.”




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Blizzard triggers New York City travel ban as airlines cancel thousands of flights

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The Monday morning commute won’t be messy in New York City. It will be nonexistent.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and a travel ban during a press conference on Sunday as a giant winter storm bore down on much of the Northeast.

The National Weather Service said to expect blizzard conditions and up to 20 inches of snow over the next 24 hours. Parts of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts could get up to 25 inches.

“The state of emergency closes the streets, highways, and bridges of New York City for all traffic,” Mamdami said. The travel ban begins at 9 p.m. Sunday and lasts until 12 p.m. on Monday.

US airlines, meanwhile, are canceling and delaying thousands of flights. As of Sunday afternoon, airlines had canceled over 3,000 flights and delayed over 2,900, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

New York City’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports have the highest number of cancellations, followed by Newark Liberty International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Boston Logan International Airport.

Anyone hoping to catch a flight in the region on Monday can also expect major disruptions, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. At LaGuardia Airport, for example, 82% of flights scheduled for Monday have been canceled.

Adding to what will likely be a chaotic 48 hours for travelers, the Department of Homeland Security announced Saturday night that it was suspending TSA PreCheck and Global Entry due to the partial government shutdown.

Despite the announcement, however, TSA Precheck and Global Entry lanes remained open at major airports on Sunday. In a statement, the Transportation Security Administration said it is evaluating the situation “case-by-case.”

“At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public,” a spokesperson said. “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly.”

The federal government entered a partial shutdown earlier this month, delaying funding for some agencies, like DHS. TSA agents are essential workers, so they’re still working — for now. During the full government shutdown earlier this year, TSA agents and air traffic controllers went 43 days without a paycheck.




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Big Tech wants more data centers. Residents in this New Jersey city said not here.

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Like a modern-day Paul Revere, Ben Dziobek’s voice rang across the night as he ran toward a crowd waiting outside New Brunswick City Hall on Wednesday.

The news? Members of the city council struck down potential plans to build a data center.

“They canceled it! They canceled it!” Dziobek shouts in footage shared by New Jersey’s Climate Revolution Action Network. Loud cheers followed, and then a chant: “The people, united, will never be defeated!”

The New Brunswick City Council had just decided to remove data centers from the list of permitted uses in a plan to redevelop several parcels of land. While no data center had yet been proposed, even the possibility that a data center could someday end up there raised alarm among city residents.

“The city administration is asking the council to amend the redevelopment plan to remove data centers as a permitted use, and to reinsert the requirement for inclusion of a park on the site that’s provided in the prior redevelopment,” New Brunswick’s city planner Daniel Dominguez said at the meeting.

Large, warehouse-style data centers have become a flash point for many communities across America as Big Tech and other AI companies look to power the large language models and chatbots they say are going to change the world. Those data centers, however, can be a drain on water resources and power grids, increase pollution, and decrease the quality of life.

An investigation by Business Insider published last year found that over 1,200 data centers had been approved for construction across the US by the end of 2024. These data centers, the report found, could consume as much power as entire US states and guzzle enormous amounts of water daily in drought-stricken regions.

In New Brunswick, those environmental concerns were top of mind.

“Community members cited concerns over environmental impact, energy consumption, water usage, noise pollution, and the broader implications of allowing large‐scale artificial intelligence and data infrastructure to expand into residential and public community spaces,” the Climate Revolution Action Network, a local environmental activist group that helped organize opposition to the redevelopment plan, said in a press release.

On Wednesday, residents and environmental advocates attended a New Brunswick City Council meeting to discuss the proposal.

During the meeting, Dominguez said the inclusion of a potential data center in the redevelopment plan was intended to “diversify the commercial development site,” but that it was “not critical to the project.”

Attendees cheered after the city council ultimately voted to nix the data center.

“I’d like to thank the council for deciding to scrap what many people did not want in their neighborhoods,” one attendee said. “We don’t want these kinds of centers in here that are going to take resources from the community.”

New Brunswick is one among many communities across the country fighting potential data center developments.

A large group of residents opposing a proposed data center in Clarmore, Oklahoma, turned out for a council meeting to discuss the project last week. Police arrested one of them for speaking for 30 seconds over their allotted three minutes. In San Marcos, Texas, hundreds of residents showed up at City Hall on Tuesday to protest a data center. The city council eventually scrapped that plan after a nearly 9-hour debate, according to local reports.




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