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Happy Friday! Here's hoping you have some fun MDW plans. But if they involve seeing some savagery at the NYC-Dublin portal, you might be disappointed.

In today's big story, we're looking at the push for WFH Fridays and how that plays into the "quiet vacationing" phenomenon.

What's on deck:

• Markets: Wall Street is suspicious of how cloud giants might be juicing their cloud revenue numbers.
• Tech: OpenAI's defense of the ScarJo debacle isn't much better than what we initially thought.
• Business: How to spice up your cold emails.

But first, I won't be in the office today.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Anti-office Fridays

With all due respect to summer Fridays, we've found a year-round replacement: WFH Fridays.

Fridays are a ghost town at many offices, as white-collar workers declared the last day of the workweek best spent at home, writes Business Insider's Juliana Kaplan and Noah Sheidlower.

It's not just about working from your PJs on Fridays. Workers are sneaking in midday spa treatments and booking workout classes.

The result is a bustling work-from-home Friday economy, giving some businesses a noticeable boost at the end of the week. For a country that's seen many of its downtowns decimated, it's a welcome change.

And it's not just impacting mom-and-pop stores. Big chains like Starbucks and Sweetgreen have even seen an uptick on Fridays.

But WFH Fridays' staying power remains to be seen.

Companies have worked hard to pull workers back to the office to ensure "collaboration" and "culture." Some workers have fought back against losing their remote privileges.

Solidifying Friday as a remote day could be the middle ground employees and employers have struggled to find during the hybrid-work era.

WFH Fridays coincide with another growing workplace trend: "quiet vacationing."

More than a third of millennials recently polled said they've taken time off without telling their boss, writes BI's Kelsey Vlamis.

Starting your vacation a bit early without burning a full day of PTO isn't an entirely new concept. Let those who haven't left work early to catch a flight or avoid traffic cast the first stone.

Remote work has supercharged the concept, though. Employees have gotten strategic about scheduling messages or keeping their statuses active, even if they're only working on cocktails and a good tan.

Which brings us back to WFH Fridays. As summer approaches, it's not hard to see employees leveraging their remote privileges to get a jump start on weekend travel plans. Driving to the shore during Friday rush-hour traffic is a special kind of hell.

But how far will employees push it? Because let's be honest, they're going to push it.

What starts as cutting out a few hours early on Friday suddenly turns into missing the whole day. Do you know the best way to beat Friday traffic? Leave Thursday night!

That evolution might be tough for companies to stomach. We're still a long way from fully adopting four-day workweeks.

The end result could be employers saying abuse of WFH Fridays means they need you back in the office… for good.

3 things in markets

1. Getting a foot in the door at Goldman Sachs remains incredibly hard. Only 0.9% of applicants nabbed a summer internship this year, a record low. It shows the prestigious bank is still a top target among aspiring bankers despite some of its recent turmoil.
2. Wall Street is asking tough questions about Big Tech's cloud revenue numbers. A recent note from RBC Capital asked if big investments in AI startups were artificially boosting cloud growth figures. It's called revenue round tripping, and it's when money is invested in something that uses the cash on services from the initial investor.
3. Germany has a solar panel problem. The country has installed more solar capacity than demand requires, SEB Research found. That's pushed prices into negative territory during peak solar production hours.

3 things in tech

1. Good news: OpenAI wasn't lying about using a fake Scarlett Johansson voice. Bad news: It's just incompetent. OpenAI's response to the ScarJo saga is Sam Altman didn't know what he was doing, which is troubling, to say the least. That kind of bumbling argument works for a young startup but is tougher for a company meant to lead us into the future.
2. A LinkedIn Copilot might be on the way. According to a planning document viewed by BI, Microsoft lists "LinkedIn" among existing Copilots. It's unclear what the reference to LinkedIn Copilot exactly means, but a person familiar with the planning said it suggests the company has bigger plans than its existing AI tools.
3. Keep it secret, keep it SAFE. AI startups are reviving the funding mechanism, pioneered by Y Combinator, to raise money in a more founder-friendly way. Rather than a conventional equity investment, investors commit a certain amount of funding, like a warrant, and in return, receive stock in the company at a future date.

3 things in business

1. How a former Meta and Google employee got Mark Cuban to respond to his cold email. They may seem daunting or even pointless, but a Meta and Google alum says cold emails helped him secure those jobs and grow his network by 100x. He shared the magic formula he uses — which includes a great hook and a clear ask.
2. Why did Vivek Ramaswamy invest in BuzzFeed? The former presidential candidate owns a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed. But why? We have some unverified theories, including one involving the massively popular show Hot Ones.
3. It's the summer of meal deals. Burger King is launching its own $5 meal, just two weeks after it was reported that McDonald's would roll out a similar promotion. The set will include a sandwich, chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink and will run for several months, according to an internal document seen by Bloomberg.

In other news

• James Gorman is bringing his 18-year stint at Morgan Stanley to an end.
• Elon Musk's X is making 'likes' private so people can like NSFW posts without worrying.
• Pet insurance is booming. It's also mostly worthless.
• 'AI revolution just getting started': Here's what Wall Street is saying about Nvidia's 1st-quarter earnings blowout.
• 14 music-tech startups helping to shape the business as it's shaken up by AI.
• A sports bettor scored an 80,860% gain on a $100 parlay ticket for the NBA Championship.
• China's military is surrounding Taiwan, sending its new president an unmistakable message.
• Elon Musk says he didn't ask for Biden's tariff on electric vehicles from China.
• From more inventory to lower prices, here are 3 signs the housing market may be getting better for buyers.

What's happening today

• G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting continues.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London. Grace Lett, associate editor, in Chicago. Laine Napoli, associate producer, in New York.

• A Taiwanese crypto expert is accused of running a $100 million dark web drug market.
• Feds say he operated the drug marketplace and blackmailed its users in its final days.
• Just two months ago, he lectured police on tracing cryptocurrency and fighting cybercrime.

A 23-year-old Taiwanese crypto expert known for posting his qualifications on LinkedIn, working at an embassy, and lecturing police officers on cybercrime, may have been leading a questionable double life.

Lin Rui-siang stands accused of running a $100 million dark web drug market, attempting to blackmail its users, and instructing others on how to evade anti-money-laundering investigators.

According to the Department of Justice, Lin was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday, and was charged with engaging in a continuing criminal conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication, and money laundering.

Federal prosecutors say that he owned and operated Incognito Market, a dark web drug market selling heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and other illicit substances.

According to WIRED, which was the first to report on this, two months ago Lin led a course for St. Lucia Police titled "Cyber Crime and Cryptocurrency" about how to trace cryptocurrency.

In April, the Government of St. Lucia published a press release praising the four-day course, sponsored by the Taiwanese government, which it said 30 members of the police force had completed.

The press release said Lin had "used his professional background and qualifications in the field" to help the Royal St. Lucia Police Force enhance its cybercrime-fighting abilities.

While this likely referred to Lin's role as a diplomatic IT specialist at the Taiwanese embassy, the DoJ alleges that his cybercrime expertise had more nefarious origins.

Since Incognito Market was launched in October 2020 and closed in March of this year, the marketplace sold more than $100 million worth of narcotics, the DoJ said. The DoJ said Lin used the pseudonyms "Pharoah" and "faro."

According to the Justice Department, the website had its own "bank" to facilitate transactions, which allowed users to deposit cryptocurrency.

In a criminal complaint against Lin, an FBI investigator said customers and vendors used Monero, which uses privacy-enhancing technologies, and bitcoin.

The indictment claims that Lin closed the drug marketplace in or around March, and that he refused to return money stored in the "bank" to vendors and customers.

It also said that he threatened to leak users' transaction history unless they paid a fee.

According to the indictment, a message on the website landing page read: "YES, THIS IS AN EXTORTION!!!"

WIRED reported that Lin also operated a web service called Antinalysis, which charged users a fee to check whether their crypto could be linked to criminal transactions.

The outlet said that "Pharoah" posted on a dark web market forum that its aim was to help users evade anti-money-laundering investigators.

If convicted, Lin faces life in prison.

The investigation was led by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, and the New York Police Department.

"This arrest underscores the dedicated, ongoing efforts of law enforcement to identify and dismantle illicit drug networks operating from every shadowy recess of the marketplace," NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said in a statement.

• Millennials in the FIRE movement are emphasizing financial independence over traditional early retirement.
• Many say they want to retire from their 9-to-5 jobs but continue working in lower-stress positions.
• Five millennials on track to reach financial independence share why they're not set on retiring early.

Shelly October, 41, thinks she'll have the financial means to retire early by her mid-50s. But she has little intention of doing so.

October, a speech-language pathologist for New York City Public Schools, started her journey toward financial independence a few years ago. She says she's always practiced the movement's central tenets — working and saving toward a point at which she'll have enough to retire and live comfortably.

She started alongside her three older sisters and still has a few years to go as she works toward her pension. She moved to Yonkers, a city north of New York City where the cost of living is much lower, and she's kept her daily spending low. She found a townhouse through the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, which had no down payment or closing costs and a 1.625% mortgage rate.

By 55, she anticipates having enough between her pension and retirement accounts to retire. But fully leaving the world of work is not in the cards, she says. She's already working toward monetizing her passions with a tutoring small business. When she retires from her current role, she plans to turn her efforts toward raising awareness of dyslexia across the US and empowering other Black women to achieve their financial goals.

"When I first started listening to podcasts, I got really excited about potentially retiring early. I was like, I could potentially build up my business, and I started really calculating numbers trying to figure that out," October said. "Then, I realized I can actually have a really good lifestyle while I'm working without feeling like I'm kind of killing myself."

October is one of many millennials who are working toward achieving financial independence, one of the main goals of the FIRE — financial independence, retire early — community. The traditional FIRE movement, which dates back to the 1990s, stressed working hard and building a large nest egg through various income streams to stop working years, or even decades, before 64.

Some millennials who successfully achieved financial independence told BI that a traditional retirement was overrated. They're instead embracing working in lower-stress positions, creating podcasts, caring for young kids, and following their passions.

"The thing I have noticed shift most is the emphasis on FI and less on RE," Scott Rieckens, the executive producer of the film "Playing With FIRE," previously told BI. "I think it's awesome to see, as it signals that financial independence is the key motive, which it is, and that work and purpose are actually really important. Retiring early to nothing is a bad idea."

This philosophy has motivated five millennials who told BI that getting to "FI," not "RE," was the more important part of the equation. All say their hard work to reach financial independence won't suddenly stop, nor will a retirement on a beach or a cabin in the woods bring them joy. Instead, they hope to give back to their communities while striving to build their careers further.

Striving for financial independence

Millennials who haven't quite achieved FI yet are experimenting with a more balanced approach and aren't setting strict timeline goals.

Oz Chen, a designer for a financial technology company who's living in Los Angeles, tested out living as a digital nomad for two years after getting laid off from a job in his mid-20s. But the 35-year-old realized he wanted more consistency and a stronger social network, leading him to shift his goals from retiring early to accomplishing career milestones, even with $1.5 million in investments.

He's enjoyed being in a work-optional position, allowing him to set healthier boundaries, though he still hasn't reached many of his life goals. He continues to put aside money for experiences over material things — other than coffee — but he intends to keep working on bettering himself and those around him.

"The whole time I've been thinking in terms of my financial independence as what I call single-player mode. I'm not married yet and don't have kids, so I was thinking, well, I might need more money for that," Chen said.

Gabriela Ariza, 31, also has plenty of life goals she wants to hit, and she already knows she's not going to retire anytime soon. She sees financial independence as an extension of her drive to fulfill passion projects. The Illinois resident, who's moving from Chicago to the smaller city of Rockford, says she's on track to reach financial independence before 40 but has no desire to stop working in cybersecurity and real estate.

She plans to build new affordable homes using her years of experience in real-estate investing and expand technology and education in Haiti as part of her nonprofit, The HaITian Common Space. Her husband hopes to leave his 9-to-5 job to be a full-time business owner.

"I've seen a lot of people sacrifice their health, and that's something that I never, ever want to do if I'm trying to achieve financial independence," Ariza said.

Even with no desire to stop working entirely, the prospect of pursuing lower-stress work is itself a benefit — but it takes effort to unlearn the constant drive for financial success.

David and Jill Pawley, 36 and 34, are set to retire in seven years, though both care more about following their passions. The couple, with a net worth of $820,000, still save 55-65% of their annual income as municipal government employees in Michigan. They say their area's low cost of living and their frugal upbringings have given them financial stability, even with the costs of raising two kids.

"When I go back 12 months, our savings rate is 64%, and since we don't want to retire, that seems too high," David Pawley said. "We are trying to back that number down and finding a way to spend the difference because our goal is not to die with $10 million."

Because both of them feel they'll keep working until they get little satisfaction from work, they've questioned whether their high savings are worth it. They implemented a rule that they can't base their choices at, for example, a restaurant, off of price. It's allowed them to follow what they actually want, which has changed their parenting styles.

"Last month, I told Jill she had to spend $300 by the end of the month," David Pawley said, "and I swear she was sweating."

Are you part of the FIRE movement or living by some of its principles? Reach out this reporter at nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.

• The Demilitarized Zone established after the Korean War separates North Korea and South Korea.
• North Korean and South Korean soldiers, as well as United Nations Command forces, guard the site.
• Despite being one of the most heavily guarded borders in the world, it's also a tourist attraction.

In 1953, an armistice agreement established a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border of North Korea and South Korea. While the agreement brought an end to the battles of the Korean War, the conflict is still ongoing.

Tensions remain high between the two countries. On multiple occasions earlier this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tested new rockets capable of hitting Seoul in South Korea. In December, Kim said his army should "thoroughly annihilate" South Korea and the United States, if provoked, the Associated Press reported.

Take a look inside the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea.

The Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953 divided North and South Korea along the 38th parallel and established a Demilitarized Zone at the border.

At 148 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, the strip of land includes territory from both North and South Korea and acts as a buffer between the two countries.

The Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone is managed by North Korea and the United Nations Command.

The United Nations Command was established when the Korean War began in 1950 as a multinational force made up of 22 countries supporting South Korea, according to its official website. The UN Command continues to enforce the armistice agreement and aid efforts to maintain peace in the region.

Despite being one of the most heavily guarded borders in the world, it is also a popular tourist attraction.

Located about 30 miles north of Seoul, the DMZ is open to visitors who book organized tours. In 2019, CNN reported that 1.2 million people visit the site each year, citing figures from the Korea Tourism Organization.

In the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjom or Truce Village, a monument memorializes the casualties that led up to the 1953 armistice agreement.

"On July 27, 1953, in the small building approximately 1000 meters to the front of this marker, representatives of the United Nationals Command, the Korean People's Army, and the Chinese Peoples Volunteers signed a Military Armistice agreement that brought the Korean War to a halt," the plaque reads.

The plaque adds that the Republic of Korea lost 150,000 soldiers and the United Nations Command suffered 40,000 casualties.

The room where the agreement was signed is also open to view.

One of the tables displays flags from the United States, South Korea, and the United Nations.

North Korean soldiers watch closely from outside.

By walking around the conference table inside the building, tourists can say they have, technically, been in both North and South Korea.

Soldiers on South Korea's side of the DMZ stare into North Korea.

Tourists visiting the site are instructed not to wave or point at North Korean soldiers and to only take photographs when instructed.

North Korea stares right back.

North Korea offers its own tours of the DMZ. Travis Jeppesen, the first American to complete a university program in North Korea, wrote in his 2018 book, "See You Again in Pyongyang: A Journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea," that the tour is surprisingly less tense on the North Korean side with no strict rules about how to interact with soldiers on the other side.

The Military Demarcation Line is indicated by a block of concrete.

In the above photo, North Korea is on the left and South Korea is on the right.

Nearby, at the Goseong Unification Observatory Tower, visitors can use binoculars to look into North Korea.

The Goseong Unification Observatory Tower is the northernmost observation point in South Korea.

North Korea has built what South Korean forces call a "propaganda village" near the border.

Known as "Peace Village" on the North Korean side, the buildings appear to be empty. The village was built in an attempt to encourage defectors from the South to join the North.

North Korea also flies its flag on a 525-foot flagpole across from the Demilitarized Zone — a symbol of the still-simmering tensions between the two countries.

When South Korea constructed a flagpole that was 321.5 feet high in the 1980s, North Korea built a taller one at 525 feet, the BBC reported.