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I love Disney with my kids — but going without them is even better in some ways

by with No Comment Xpandfy

I love visiting Disney World with my kids — seeing that first Mickey hug, the hysterical photos from Tower of Terror, their amazement at the castle lit up by sparkling fireworks.

But, I also love visiting kid-free — trips for work, solo trips, with friends, and as a multi-day date with my best friend.

My husband and I bundled up for a late January visit and four days of experiences geared toward adults.

The Swan Reserve was the perfect resort for cocktails, late nights, and strolls to the parks

One of the newest hotels at Walt Disney World, the Swan Reserve is bright, airy, and very kid-friendly.


Swan Reserve room

The one-bedroom signature suite at the Swan Reserve was quiet and spacious. 

Courtesy of the author



Though run by Marriott, it has a lot of Disney perks, including bus and boat transportation, early entry, and an on-site Cast Member to help with all things Disney Parks. There’s even complimentary childcare when dining at specific restaurants.

It’s a beautiful walk to EPCOT or Hollywood Studios. The rooms are huge, flooded with natural light, and pretty much Disney-theme free.

The best part is the lobby lounge, Stir. Anyone who has tried to find food or a relaxing cocktail after braving the post-fireworks crowd at Magic Kingdom knows how hard it can be to find late-night food at Disney.

Almost every night, we visited Stir for a snack and cocktails like the fruity and delicious Garden Party cocktail for me, and the whimsical Banana Hands for my husband.

Our top priority was the Disney magic we love, the food

In just four days, we ate at 10 different spots — artsy bites and sips at EPCOT International Festival of the Arts Food Studios, brunch at Art Smith Homecomin’, dinner with stunning firework views at California Grill, and cocktails with pirates at The Beak and Barrel.


The author and her husband dining at The Beak and Barrel.

We had prime seating in front of the fireplace at The Beak and Barrel. 

Courtesy of the author



There is finally a lounge at Magic Kingdom. I felt like I needed an eyepatch, a parrot, and the lyrics to “Yo Ho” memorized when stepping into the immersive world of The Beak and Barrel.

We had prime seating in front of the fireplace with battling ships-in-a-bottle above us. The Beak and Barrel is not a spot for lounging — there are special effects, a two-drink limit, and a maximum of 45 minutes.

Dinner at EPCOT’s Takumi-Tei was elegant, and for guests ages 8 and up

The complete opposite of the noise and rushed feeling of The Beak and Barrel was the tranquil, soothing Takumi-Tei at EPCOT.

Takumi-Tei is tucked away in the Japan pavilion with subtle signs leading to the heavy wooden doors. Once inside, we were transported down a tranquil hallway, away from the hustle and bustle of EPCOT.


tableside tea service at Takumi-Tei

The tableside tea service at Takumi-Tei is a highlight of the meal. 

Courtesy of the author



There are five different dining rooms, and we were in the washi paper room. Pink cherry blossoms, softly lit from behind, lined the walls.

Takumi-Tei is omakase — or “leave it up to the chef” — style. There’s no kids’ menu.

Every dish was beautifully plated, and each course was creatively and carefully prepared. Our elegant and knowledgeable server, Sakura, was soft-spoken, adding to the tranquil, exquisite ambiance.

A visit to the adults-only GEO-82 lounge was magical

Disney World is adding more experiences for grown-ups, like the adult-exclusive EPCOT lounge GEO-82.

There are no strollers, no kids’ menu, and no lack-of-a-nap meltdowns. What it does have is sophisticated homages to Spaceship Earth, stunning views, a stellar cocktail menu, and delicious bites.


Woman at Epcot restaurant

My favorite dining experience was GEO-82, an adults-only lounge at EPCOT. 

Courtesy of the author



There was no time limit at GEO-82. We relaxed and took in the details like the Spaceship Earth on the ice cube in the Brown Butter Old Fashioned. I took my time sipping my Peach Shrub Whisky Smash, savoring the accompanying cookie. The only cocktail that comes with a cookie!

We were out late every night

With just the two of us, there was no one dragging behind and sighing. No one was falling apart because they were over-tired.


Disney Starlight parade

The castle provides a stunning backdrop for the 10 p.m. Starlight parade. 

Courtesy of the author



We did late-night dinners, raced onto rides right before the park closed, and saw the 10 p.m. Disney Starlight nighttime parade. Cast Members directed us to one of the best spots to watch the parade — in Liberty Square near Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe.

I had the time to find magical Disney details I usually miss

We walked right onto Star Tours and meandered slowly through the queue to warm up from the frigid mid-30s temps. Finding Disney easter eggs in the baggage screening area — like Genie’s lamp and a Buzz Lightyear toy — were a bonus of taking our time, finding details we’re usually rushing past.


easter eggs in the Star Tours queue

We had time to find hidden details like easter eggs in the Star Tours queue. 

Courtesy of the author



With no one to amuse while waiting in line, we made spontaneous attraction decisions. A pre-dinner journey on “It’s a Small World” was perfectly timed, and we were under the clock when it struck 7 p.m. — a new experience for us both.

It was finally a Disney vacation, so I didn’t make a ton of plans, book Lightning Lanes, or have a specific schedule for each day. We weren’t rushing from one reservation to another or stalking the My Disney Experience App wait times. We lingered over meals, had new experiences, and enjoyed the magic our way.




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Here are 3 big ways that parents and youth differ on AI

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Most parents think that using AI for schoolwork is unethical. Most kids and teens think it should actually be encouraged.

That’s just one place where parents and youth differ in their views on AI use, according to a new report from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that aims to promote the well-being of families and children when it comes to technology use.

According to the report, which centered around a survey of over 1,200 parents and 1,100 kids and teens between the ages of 12 and 17 across the United States, there are some significant gaps between parents and youth when it comes to AI.

Here are three key gaps the survey identified.

The ethics of using AI for schoolwork

One of the most significant gaps between parents and youth is on usage for schoolwork.

Fifty-two percent of parents believe that the use of AI for school assignments is “unethical and deserves consequences.”

On the other hand, just 34% of youth hold that same position, while 52% think that using AI for school work is “innovative and should be encouraged.

Parents have some incorrect assumptions about how youth use AI

The survey asked parents what they thought kids between the ages of 12 and 17 were mainly using AI for. Then, they asked youth in that same age bracket what they were actually doing.

That revealed some interesting discrepancies. For example, 23% of adults said that youth use AI primarily for companionship, while just 8% of youth said so.

Parents also underestimate how much youth use AI for more basic tasks. Thirty-five percent of youth said they use AI mainly to brainstorm ideas, while just 21% of parents thought that was the case.

Additionally, 59% of youth said they use AI for searching for information and facts, a full 17 percentage points higher than the 42% of parents who said they thought youth were mainly using AI for that purpose.

The ability to tell whether something is AI-generated or not

It turns out that parents have less faith in youth’s ability to tell AI apart from humans than youth do.

Just 42% of parents said that youth can tell if they’re interacting with an AI system or a human, while 70% of kids and teens said that they could.

Both groups have only moderate confidence in the ability of parents to recognize AI-generated content.

Fifty-eight percent of kids and teens are confident in their parents’ ability to do so, while just 53% of parents said the same.




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Tech jobs are getting demolished in ways not seen since 2008 and the dot-com bust

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It’s a tech bloodbath in the job market.

Friday’s shockingly weak jobs report showed a loss of 92,000 jobs in February across the broader economy, far below the expected gain of 55,000 jobs. After the release, economist Joseph Politano posted on X that the tech sector has had an especially rough couple of years.

“For a while, you could at least say we’re not gaining jobs the way we used to, but we’re not losing them. Everything’s kind of stagnant,” Politano told Business Insider. “That has, over the last year, completely changed, where it’s losing jobs again at one of the most rapid rates of the last 20 years.”

Tech job losses now outpace past downturns in 2008 and 2020, per Politano. Historically, Politano said, the US would usually be adding around 100,000 to 300,000 jobs in tech annually; even when there have been some pullbacks, there’s generally a quick rebound. But not this time.

Already, Politano said, this moment is clearly and significantly worse for the sector than the 2020 recession, and slightly worse than 2008. He thinks the most apt comparison is to the dot-com bust, although today’s situation still isn’t quite as dire.

“The fact that the only thing that you can compare it to is the worst tech job recession of all time is pretty bad,” Politano said. “The length is really important here. It’s been three years of job losses. It took only about four years for recovery to start from the dot-com bust, for tech to start rehiring at a semi-normal rate again. The fact that we’re now three years into this and it’s actually getting worse is a really big deal.”

Of course, as Cory Stahle, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, notes, it’s not just tech that’s down in the dumps. Manufacturing, which has been cooling for the last couple of years, saw employment fall, as did the government sector. Healthcare, which had been propping up the job market, lost jobs in February, exacerbated by a roughly monthlong Kaiser Permanente strike. “Everything was looking pretty weak by different industries,” Stahle said.

ZipRecruiter economist Nicole Bachaud said February’s losses in tech-related sectors were similar to recent trends. “When we look at information continue to see a decline, and then the professional and business services, a little bit soft, but I wouldn’t say that was necessarily an out-of-place movement for that industry,” Bachaud said. “There’s been a lot of headlines looking at layoffs in tech or big changes at certain employers in tech, but overall, the layoff rate has been very low and stable.”

New college grads who leaned into STEM and other people seeking their first jobs could be especially hard hit by the tech hiring downturn.

“We’ve seen a lot about recent graduates struggling to find jobs,” Stahle said. “You really feel for those people who started studying computer science four or five years ago and were told that, ‘Hey, this is a surefire way to get in the labor market, make a good salary,’ and now we’re seeing just a continuation of this trend of fewer and fewer hires being made in the tech sector,” Stahle said.

The latest job numbers also don’t yet reflect the sweeping layoffs from Block, which excised nearly half its workforce last week. In his announcement outlining the cuts, CEO Jack Dorsey cited AI as a reason, saying that “the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working.” Some laid-off Block employees were skeptical about AI claims; many told Business Insider that they had already been using AI at work, and didn’t believe it could replace them outright.

Politano said that, in his view, AI is likely behind at least some of the tech labor market’s losses.

“How much of it you want to ascribe is really hard to tell, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that computer system design is one of the industries that’s losing the most jobs,” Politano said. And, while AI firms are hiring, they’re bringing on far fewer employees than Big Tech behemoths. The types of jobs lost, and the timing of those losses, point, for Politano, to at least some impact from AI.

“We clearly haven’t seen the end of this right now,” Politano said of the future of the tech sector. “I expect that it will be this dribble of bad news for the near term going forward, but I just think that there’s no positive evidence that we’re breaking out of this post-2022 cycle that tech has been stuck in. Until you see that kind of evidence, I think there’s very little chance of a reversal.”




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I tested 3 popular ways to batch cook eggs — there’s just one method I’ll use for all of my future meal prepping

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  • I used the same few ingredients to batch prepare eggs three ways, testing each method’s results.
  • During the experiment, I baked egg muffins, cooked a large omelette, and made a sheet pan of eggs.
  • I’d skip the egg muffins and omelette next time but gladly repeat the sheet-pan method.

Every morning, at least one person in my family cooks eggs.

Whether they make them scrambled or sunny-side-up, the results tend to be inconsistent. One day, the eggs are runny; the next, they’re sticky. It’s a complete gamble.

In search of a fail-proof method for making eggs that allows me to avoid chaotic, messy morning breakfasts, I attempted to meal-prep them three different ways: baking them as muffins, frying them into an omelette, and cooking them in the oven on a sheet pan.

For each method, I used the same ingredients — six eggs, ¾ cup egg whites, 1 cup of chopped red bell peppers, a small onion, and 2 ounces of crumbled feta cheese. Each batch yielded between eight and 12 servings.

Here’s how the eggs stacked up in terms of flavor, texture, and cook time.

Oven-baked egg muffins seemed like an easy-to-prep meal.

I divided the ingredients into 12 sections using the muffin pan.

Jennifer Messineo

I combined all the ingredients in a bowl, then used a ladle to distribute them evenly into a 12-cup muffin pan.

It proved difficult to distribute the ingredients evenly between the cups without making a mess. Some ended up with extra feta, and others got more peppers.

I planned to cook the muffins for 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, but they were done after 15.

After this test, I’ll never make these egg muffins again.


egg muffin plated

My muffins were too puffy and had too many air pockets.

Jennifer Messineo

I used to make eggs in a muffin tin sometimes, and the results from this test reminded me why I stopped.

Although I liked that they cooked quickly and were easy to portion, the muffins puffed up more than I expected, creating a fluffy egg with a few too many air pockets.

Also, the ingredients didn’t distribute evenly (disappointingly, I had a bite with no cheese!).

The cleanup wasn’t ideal either, as most of the egg stuck to the pan. After soaking it for days, I considered throwing it out.

By the time I finally got it clean, I’d lost the time I saved cooking eggs to scrubbing the muffin pan.

Cooking the eggs into one big omelette should’ve been straightforward.


eggs from meal prep raw but cooking in pan

I kept the eggs cooking over very low heat.

Jennifer Messineo

When it came time to use the stovetop, I decided to make a large omelette in a 12-inch pan using the same five ingredients.

I poured the mixture into the hot, buttered pan and realized how tricky it would be to manage. To accelerate the cooking process and create a fluffy, layered dish, I tilted the pan to lift the edge of the omelette, letting the uncooked egg flow underneath.

I kept the heat low so the bottom wouldn’t overcook. After 10 to 15 minutes, I covered the pan so the center would cook through. Then, I cooked it for about 10 more minutes until the center looked firm.

I ended up having a hard time handling so many eggs in one pan.


eggs from meal prep test in pan

The omelette’s consistency and flavor left much to be desired.

Jennifer Messineo

Lesson learned: Omelettes aren’t meant to be batch-cooked.

I knew cooking a large volume of eggs might be an issue on the stovetop, but I was still surprised that this method took the longest, clocking in at almost 25 minutes from start to finish.

It had an overcooked, eggy smell and taste, and the texture was inconsistent, with a crispy bottom layer and soft center.

Even though I usually fry my eggs on the stovetop, this test made me reevaluate my ways. I also found it difficult to portion the omelette into equal pieces for storage.

I didn’t know what to expect when I pulled out the sheet pan.


sheetpan eggs in oven

The ingredients spread out evenly in the pan.

Jennifer Messineo

Before this test, I’d never made eggs in a sheet pan. I poured the combined ingredients into the greased, stainless-steel pan and was pleased to see the vegetables and cheese spread evenly.

After baking it for 18 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, the mixture was cooked through.

It was by far my favorite way to meal-prep eggs.


sheetpan eggs cut into squares

I found it easy to portion and store the sheet-pan eggs.

Jennifer Messineo

The eggs cooked evenly in the sheet pan, and the results had a perfect consistency.

I liked their texture, as they were fluffy but still denser than the airy muffins and omelette. The vegetables weren’t quite as soft as they were in the other methods, but they tasted fine.

I also found it so easy to remove the egg from the pan. The stainless-steel sheet’s surface distributed heat evenly and prevented any crusty edges from sticking to the pan, so cleanup was very easy.

Moving forward, I’ll skip the muffins and omelette and stick with the sheet-pan eggs.


comparison of meal-prepped eggs

I didn’t have to clean very much after making sheet-pan eggs, which I consider a huge bonus.

Jennifer Messineo

As I expected, this test reinforced my belief that eggs are tricky to prepare.

The large omelette I made on the stovetop tasted overcooked and lacked the height I got from the oven. All factors considered, it was my least favorite (although I was nearly as disappointed by the airy, messy egg muffins).

After extensive testing, I can confidently say the sheet-pan eggs were the meal-prep winner. They stayed firm, were easy to divide into 12 even squares, and stayed in one piece when I transferred them to the freezer.




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I moved from Southern California to Michigan so I could afford to buy a home. Living here changed me in surprising ways.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Born and raised in Orange County, I never considered leaving California until I got married.

We wanted to buy a house and start a family, but generally, the ones we could afford were fixer-uppers in neighborhoods we didn’t love.

So, we began looking at other states where we had family. My husband, who moved from Michigan to Los Angeles in middle school, swore he would never go back — and I couldn’t identify Michigan on a map or tell you one fact about it.

We didn’t want to be beholden to a big mortgage, though, and in Michigan, we could purchase an affordable home in a town known for having some of the state’s top public schools. Even better, we’d be welcomed by my husband’s big Italian family, who lived nearby.

When we told our friends we were moving to Michigan, they were shocked. All any Californian knew about Michigan was that it was cold and snowy — why would anyone choose that?

Now, 20 years later, I can confidently say it was a great decision.

When I first moved to Michigan, I experienced some culture shock


Fresh produce at a farmers market in Michigan.

At first, I had to adjust to the feeling of making small talk at markets and shops.

Kristi Valentini



In Orange County, I was the kind of person who would bury my nose in a magazine to avoid chatting with a hairdresser. I rushed through the checkout line and never said, “How are you doing?” to someone I didn’t know.

If small talk was ever forced upon me, I gave away as little about myself as possible. I never understood the point in discussing my life — or even something as simple as the weather — with someone I didn’t know.

In Michigan, though, small talk is unavoidable. I quickly learned that there’s no getting around friendly cashiers and shop owners. I was begrudgingly polite, but it initially took some effort to hide my impatience.

Chatting with neighbors feels much more commonplace here, too, especially because my subdivision doesn’t allow fences.

I was shocked to go from Orange County’s 6-foot cinder-block backyard walls to wide-open lawns and zero privacy, practically forcing me to interact with my new neighbors any time I gardened or enjoyed a glass of wine on the patio.

Over time, I noticed that having friendly neighbors and being a part of a community made me feel safer and more relaxed


A green backyard in Michigan with several trees.

My new neighborhood has less privacy than my old home did, but I’m glad I’ve gotten to know my neighbors.

Kristi Valentini



The kindness of Michiganders started to change me.

In my first year of living in Michigan, our mailbox got hit by a car while my husband and I were at the gym. Our neighbors had cleaned up the mess and gotten the driver’s info for us by the time we got home.

I was so surprised they would do that for us; it struck me as something that probably wouldn’t have happened back in California.

Then, when we had a baby three years into living here, another neighbor further down the street — one I hadn’t even met yet — brought us dinner just because she saw a baby announcement sign in our yard. I was touched that a stranger would go out of their way to do that for us.

When we started taking our kids trick-or-treating for Halloween, I discovered that Midwesterners do that differently, too. They didn’t just spoil the kids. They set up tables of spiked hot chocolate and Jell-O shots for the adults and invited people to warm up by their driveway bonfires. It became a community event.

Eventually, I found myself initiating connections with neighbors, too — and even starting up some small talk. It began with other dog-walkers in my neighborhood as our pups sniffed each other, and at the grocery store as a pleasant way to pass the time while being rung up.

Living in Michigan has changed what I value in a hometown


The writer posing with her two children in costumes on Halloween.

Living in Michigan has made me appreciate community in a new way.

Kristi Valentini



When I visited California to see friends and family a few years after living in Michigan, I could tell how much I’d changed already. It seemed rude to me when people didn’t say hi when passing me on a sidewalk, or when cashiers didn’t make chit-chat.

Because now, I’m the kind of person who makes caramel apples for my neighbors. I chat with fellow shoppers about candle scents in Crate and Barrel and know about my hairdresser’s children and chickens.

I even decorate my front porch — something I’ve noticed that nearly everyone in my neighborhood does. Seasonal wreaths and flowerpots, chairs with pillows and throw blankets, encourage people passing by to come on up and say hi.

I do sometimes miss California’s backyard privacy, and I’ll never stop using SoCal slang like “cool” and “dude.” Still, I’m glad I moved to a place that helped me become a friendlier person and taught me the value of community. I couldn’t imagine raising my children anywhere else.




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A Google Cloud exec shares the two ways she evaluates creativity in job interviews

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Google executive Yasmeen Ahmad is looking for something specific when hiring engineers — and it’s not just technical know-how.

Ahmad told Business Insider that the typical software engineering interview used to focus on detailed coding tests and test suites. Now, as she hires for a forward-deployed engineering team, which will work with customers, she said she’s prioritizing people with fresh ideas.

The strongest candidates are “able to think outside the box,” Ahmad, director of Google Cloud’s data cloud, said. “They’re able to think outside the frame of how we would have normally described a problem.”

The executive added that candidates who take a traditional approach to engineering aren’t performing as well in her team’s interviews. The ideal candidate nowadays, she said, can demonstrate creative problem-solving by using AI to reimagine traditional processes. She said she evaluates that type of thinking in two ways:

1. Constant experimentation

Ahmad said she looks for candidates who are constantly “tinkering” with new tools. That gives her an immediate signal that they’re creative thinkers.

“When you’re interviewing them, they’re naturally immediately talking about, ‘oh, last week I had tried AI in this context, and this is how it made me better at doing my job in this way,'” Ahmad said.

These candidates aren’t trying new tools because their boss told them to or because it’s the new cool thing to try, she said.

“They’re the early adopters,” Ahmad said.

Tech executives have told Business Insider that side projects are becoming increasingly common for candidates to demonstrate their aptitude in interviews. However, Ahmad said candidates don’t need to have a GitHub repository of projects they’ve worked on in their spare time.

“It doesn’t have to be pet side projects, because people are busy,” Ahmad said, adding that workers can experiment on the job by trying out new ways to speed up their work.

2. Scenario testing

AI is being used more often throughout the interview process — in some cases, illicitly by job seekers, and in others, as a way for employers to test candidates’ AI capabilities. As these tools reshape hiring, Ahmad said scenario-based testing has become central component to the interview process, giving hiring managers a better way to assess creativity.

Ahmad said she’ll ask candidates how they would approach a scenario involving AI tools in an industry where they have no domain knowledge.

For example, if the example related to healthcare, a traditional candidate might say that they would take all the patients’ unstructured PDFs, feed them into a single LLM prompt, and ask it to generate a summary for the doctor. That would be a “massive liability,” Ahmad said, because in that scenario the candidate assumes AI can inherently understand the timeline of events or clinical context of an image by looking at it.

Ahmad said she’s looking for a candidate who can “find solutions in a way that breaks the chains of how that workflow process has traditionally gone.” So someone might suggest building the semantic context for the imaging data before the model sees it. Next, they would build a specific framework to ensure the agent is operating in the right time frame of data. Then, they would recommend designing a multi-step process that includes a continuous evaluation loop.

“We aren’t just hiring people to write prompts,” Ahmad said. “We are hiring people who can foresee how a model might silently fail in a high-stakes environment, and who know how to build the automated evaluation loops to catch it before it does.”

She said asking these sorts of questions to vet creativity is especially useful as AI transforms the software engineering industry by automating core parts of the job.

“We’re seeing the human role is evolving to more of an orchestrated role,” Ahmad said. “So rather than having to write all of the detailed code, it’s ‘how do I actually express my intent to a multi-agent system now and have that multi-agent system execute on that intent?'”




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A doctor shares 3 ways women can lower their cancer risk, starting in their teens and 20s

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Over the past five to 10 years, OB-GYN Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi noticed an uptick in younger cancer patients in her practice.

Suddenly, more in their 30s and 40s were getting diagnosed with breast, uterine, and colon cancer, the latter of which is now the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50.

As to the causes, Aliabadi has her own theories.

“I think our lifestyles, our metabolic changes, the rates of obesity, the increase in insulin resistance, our poor diet, lack of exercise, chronic inflammation — these have all played a huge role,” she told Business Insider. She also mentioned environmental pollutants that can disrupt the endocrine system and the fact that women are getting pregnant later or not at all, which can change hormone exposure and increase the risk of breast cancer.

In better news, she also said higher rates of diagnoses also mean “we’ve gotten better and better at cancer detection and risk assessment,” as awareness around early symptoms have also improved.

While so many factors can feel out of our control, “I wish every woman knew that cancer is not always completely random,” Aliabadi said. In some cases, “we can actually see risk long, long before the disease appears.”

Aliabadi shared her three tips for preventing cancers in women (such as breast and ovarian cancer), from analyzing your risk to focusing on your metabolic health.

Improve your metabolic health with diet, sleep, and exercise


People on treadmills

Regular exercise can lower the risk of multiple cancers.

skynesher/Getty Images



In terms of overall prevention, Aliabadi said starting a few healthy habits as early as possible is key.

“If you want to lower your risk of cancer, number one on the list is to maintain a healthy metabolic profile,” she said. It means lowering cholesterol, inflammation, and visceral fat — the fat surrounding your internal organs.

She said exercise, such as strength training and cardio, improves insulin sensitivity, reduces inflammation, and balances hormones, lowering the risk of multiple cancers.

Eating a diet “rich in whole foods” and cutting back on ultra-processed foods can also make a huge difference by boosting gut health and cutting down cholesterol.

Other good habits for metabolic health include stress reduction and getting adequate sleep. “Sleep deprivation is poison to our longevity, and persistent stress can affect our hormones and our immune pathways,” she said.

These habits don’t just decrease cancer risk — they also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.

Cut down on carcinogens where you can


Pouring wine

Even moderate drinking increases cancer risk.

Elena Noviello/Getty Images



Aliabadi said environmental toxins, like chemicals in food packaging, can be “a little tougher” to be aware of because of how ubiquitous they are.

However, there are still ways to reduce exposure to carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) and endocrine disruptors. A commonly spoken about one is tobacco, so abstaining from smoking cigarettes or vaping “can significantly lower many cancer risks,” she said.

The one she really emphasized cutting back on is alcohol, as even moderate drinking can increase cancer risks.

“In my office, I have zero tolerance for alcohol,” she said. “Not even a couple of glasses a week.”

Collect data on your body


Young woman mammogram

Depending on risk factors, you might need to start screening earlier.

German Adrasti/Getty Images



While cancer screenings have recommended starting ages — some of which have been recently lowered to reflect an uptick in younger patients — Aliabadi says you shouldn’t rely on them.

“We need to stop thinking that prevention starts at 40, that mammograms start at 40,” she said. “Prevention starts in our teens and in our 20s, believe it or not.”

She urges women to take a two-minute online test and learn their lifetime risk assessment score for breast cancer, which uses information like family history, genetic mutations, and breast density to more accurately estimate when you should get screened. Olivia Munn, a patient of Aliabadi’s, famously took the test and was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer despite having no symptoms.

Aliabadi said that testing for seemingly unrelated conditions, like PCOS, endometriosis, fertility, genetic conditions, and insulin resistance, can all play a role in evaluating your cancer risk and give you a better idea of how vigilant you should be.

Aliabadi, who herself had a high lifetime risk assessment score for breast cancer and was initially dismissed by doctors, said a patient knowing their body helps them better advocate for themselves and seek out second opinions if needed.

“If someone at the front desk tries to scare her away, she will be her own health advocate,” Aliabadi said. “She will know exactly why she’s there and why she needs that mammogram.”




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A new report found nearly 4 in 10 cancers are linked to preventable causes. Here are the best ways to lower your risk.

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A new report from the World Health Organization found that nearly 7 million cases of cancer worldwide were preventable.

Analyzing 18.7 million new cancer cases in 2022 (the most recent data available to them), researchers found that nearly 4 out of 10 cases were linked to 30 modifiable risk factors, including smoking tobacco, infections like HPV and hepatitis B, and consuming alcohol. Stomach, lung, and cervical cancer accounted for almost half of all preventable cancers in the report.

The findings are a comprehensive assessment of cancer cases globally, which vary greatly by region, so while promising, they come with limitations.

The news comes less than two weeks after it was revealed that colon cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50.

Cancer can be caused by a variety of factors, including family history, genetic mutations, and environmental pollutants — all things out of our control — but some risk can be mitigated with lifestyle modifications.

Follow a diverse, Mediterranean-ish diet


Salad

Eating whole, fiber-rich foods can lower cancer risk.

Organic Media/Getty Images



Research shows that diets involving lots of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are linked to higher cancer risk. They can increase inflammation and disrupt the gut microbiome, increasing the risk of colon and ovarian cancer.

A diet rich in whole foods is the best way to go. Dr. Daniel Landau, an oncologist specializing in genitourinary cancers, previously told Business Insider that he mostly follows the Mediterranean diet, focusing on lean protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes while limiting red meat (which might be carcinogenic), dairy, alcohol, sugar, and UPFs.

Gut-healthy foods are also important. Dr. Susan Bullman, an associate professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center who specializes in gut health and cancer research, previously told Business Insider that she eats fiber-rich foods like pears and probiotics like kefir to feed beneficial gut microbes. Eating a wide variety of plants, such as swapping out vegetable sides or sprinkling seeds on top of salads, can also improve gut health.

Work out at least 30 minutes a day


Person walking

Even a quick walk counts as exercise, which reduces cancer risk.

Carlos G. Lopez/Getty Images



Exercise has long been associated with a reduced risk of cancer. One 2025 trial found that a strict workout regimen for preventing colon cancer resurgence than expensive treatments like chemotherapy. While scientists are still exploring the reasons why exercise is so effective at cancer prevention, they have their theories. Dr. Paul Oberstein, a medical oncologist at NYU Langone, previously told Business Insider that exercise is probably reducing inflammation, which may help slow tumor growth.

Dr. Sue Hwang, an oncologist who was diagnosed with breast cancer, said you should aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day, whether it’s strength training or cardio.

If you can’t make it to a gym every day, she said, even taking a walk or playing with your kids in a playground helps. Even vigorous daily movements, like climbing up stairs or carrying heavy groceries, can cut down cancer risk. Still, the best thing you can do is pencil in real workouts.

Be proactive about screenings


Mammogram

Getting screened can catch cancer earlier.

ruizluquepaz/Getty Images



Being aware of early cancer symptoms, like blood in your stool for colon cancer, can help you seek screenings earlier than the recommended starting age.

It’s also important to be aware of your family history, any genetic mutations like Lynch syndrome that increase risks of several cancers, or other factors like PCOS for endometrial cancer.

Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, an OB-GYN who helped Olivia Munn get diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer, said collecting data on your body, such as previous biopsies or breast density, can help you better assess your risk.




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Headshot of Ben Shimkus

All the ways Elon Musk’s companies are already intertwined, from a Tesla ‘collab’ with SpaceX to Grok in vehicles

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Elon Musk has for years blurred the lines between the companies he leads.

The intermingling of Elon Inc. businesses — a number which shrank from six entities to five when xAI acquired X last year, and from five to four when SpaceX acquired xAI on Monday — is something of signature for the CEO.

Over the past three years, his companies have stepped up their internal dealings, investing billions in one another, agreeing to buy up each other’s products, and exchanging software and materials.

The result is a tightly knit corporate ecosystem centered on Musk, where work — and even employees — can flow between the various entities in the name of vertical integration.

Here are some of the recent sharing agreements, purchases, and investments between Musk’s companies.

Musk’s employees often work between companies


Elon Musk took over Twitter about a year ago.

Shortly after acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk brought Tesla engineers into the offices to work on its code base.

Photo by -/Twitter account of Elon Musk/AFP via Getty Images



Musk has repeatedly drawn on employees from one company to support others in his portfolio.

In 2022, about a month after Musk bought Twitter — now known as X — he sent roughly 50 Tesla employees to the social-media company’s headquarters to help overhaul its code-review systems, according to court filings.

Musk later argued in court that the Tesla employees had “volunteered” to do the work and that their temporary reassignment should not concern Tesla’s board.

Executives share overlapping functions on several of Musk’s companies, too, according to insider org charts obtained by Business Insider.

For example, Charlie Kuehmann, the vice president of materials and engineering at Tesla, also holds the same title at SpaceX.

SpaceX contributes to Roadster, Tesla provides SpaceX with energy-storage systems


A Falcon Heavy rocket from SpaceX takes off from a launch pad in Florida during a clear day.

SpaceX is lending rocket-boosting tech to Tesla’s upcoming hyper-powered sports car, Musk said.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images



SpaceX is a major customer of Tesla’s energy business, purchasing batteries for robotics power and Megapack energy-storage systems.

It also reportedly invested $2 billion into xAI as a part of a previous funding round.

Musk has also said that Tesla’s long-awaited next-generation Roadster will be a “Tesla/SpaceX collab” and feature SpaceX-built cold-gas thrusters. The hyper-powered sports car’s launch event is penciled in for April 1.

“It’s gonna be really cool, and it’s gonna have some rocket technology in it,” Musk also said during a 2024 sit-down with Don Lemon.

SpaceX and Boring Company buy Tesla cars


Boring Company Tesla entering tunnel

A Tesla entering the Hawthorne Tunnel, made by Elon Musk’s Boring Co.

Robyn Beck/Pool via REUTERS



Aside from full-blown investments or acquisitions, the most publicly visible example of Musk’s companies coordinating might be Tesla’s vehicle sales to his tunnel-building start-up.

The Boring Company, which operates tunnels in Las Vegas and Texas, uses fleets of Tesla vehicles to transport passengers through its underground systems. The tunnel builder has also constructed tunnels around Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas.

It isn’t alone. SpaceX also purchased an unspecified number of Musk’s Cybertrucks.

Tesla and xAI’s ‘framework agreement’ follows Grok integration into cars, Optimus demo bots.


A person in light blue jeans sits in the front passenger seat inside a self-driving Tesla.

Tesla wants to build out its AI software, including its self-driving ambitions. CEO Elon Musk said a $2 billion investment in his software company would help.

Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images



Tesla’s earnings on Wednesday disclosed that it had agree to invest $2 billion in xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, with a related “framework agreement” to explore additional collaboration opportunities.

Tesla has already integrated xAI’s Grok into its vehicles, allowing drivers to chat with the AI and use it to add and edit navigation destinations.

Videos have shown early versions of Tesla’s in-development Optimus robot using xAI’s Grok AI chatbot for its voice.

xAI has also reportedly told investors that it’s working on AI that could power Tesla’s forthcoming Optimus humanoid robots.

Tesla executives said the $2 billion investment supports the automaker’s push into self-driving technology. For example, the earnings deck explained that xAI-developed software will analyze vehicle interiors and assist with route planning, including adding high-occupancy-vehicle lanes when the car is full.

For xAI, the investment adds capital to the cash-hungry buildout of data centers and their energy needs.

The deal marked one of the clearest examples of capital flowing from Musk’s public company into a privately held firm he controls.

It’s all par for the course for ‘Elon Inc.’

The growing web of internal deals has fueled discussion among investors and analysts about whether Musk’s companies are evolving into something closer to a single, vertically integrated enterprise.

And it’s not clear if it’ll stop at SpaceX combining with xAI.

There’s also been recent reports that Tesla could combine with SpaceX.

“In Tesla’s case, an important factor to consider is that investors are buying into Elon Musk’s vision for the future as much as they are buying into an automaker or clean energy company,” Lou Whiteman, a contributing analyst at The Motley Fool, told Business Insider.

“Since this group of companies, public and private, combine to represent Elon Musk’s full vision of the future, I’d bet that many investors are happy to see Tesla involved in all aspects of ‘Elon Inc.'”




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