TikTok is Bytedance's most popular product, with over a billion users worldwide.
Jaap Arriens/Getty Images
TikTok announced a partnership with AXS to sell concert tickets.
A new feature in the app allows users and artists to promote tickets to live events.
This move follows TikTok's previous partnership with Ticketmaster for a similar feature.
You can now buy concert tickets for your favorite artists on TikTok through AXS.
The social media site announced that users in the US, UK, Sweden, and Australia will soon be given access to a feature that allows people to discover and score AXS tickets to events, the company announced in a press release.
What the company calls Certified Artists will also be able to use the feature to promote and link directly to tickets for their own AXS live shows, the outlet reported.
"TikTok has become one of the most important global platforms for music content attracting an incredible community of artists and fans." Marc Ruxin, Chief Strategy Officer for AXS, said in the press release. "By combining the reach and influence of TikTok artists with AXS' global ticketing platform, the partnership will provide seamless ticket-buying access to some of the world's most iconic venues, festivals, and tours."
The feature is similar to one offered by TikTok and Ticketmaster — whose parent company, Live Nation, could face an antitrust lawsuit by the DOJ over allegations that the company is stifling competition among other ticket sellers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Ticketmaster feature, which launched on TikTok in 2022 and expanded globally in 2023, is another example of the app's outreach to music artists.
Music executives are keenly aware of how the app can bring artists from obscurity to fame — or make old hits popular once again, as Business Insider's Dan Whately reported — and are leaning into TikTok as an influential music marketing tool.
TikTok has recently drawn the ire of the music industry as well — the social media app and massive record label United Music Group are locked in a battle on how much artists should be paid to have their music on TikTok.
Meanwhile, TikTok's fate in the US remains uncertain as lawmakers push for a ban on TikTok should its Chinese parent company ByteDance fail to divest from the app.
TikTok redirected BI to its press statement, as did AEG, the parent company of AXS.
A US Air Force fighter aircraft F-35 performs aerobatic maneuvers on the second day of the Aero India 2023 at Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, Tuesday on Feb. 14, 2023.
AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File
The US military's F-35 program is very expensive — and beset with challenges.
A new watchdog report found that the lifetime cost for the stealth fighter has topped $2 trillion.
The jet's availability has decreased, and the Pentagon also plans to use it less.
The US military is cutting future flight hours for the F-35 — already not available as often as it should be — as the program's price tag grows, a new watchdog report revealed this week.
The Pentagon estimates that the full life-cycle cost for the F-35, which consists of purchasing, operating, and sustaining the aircraft over the next several decades, has now surpassed more than $2 trillion, the US Government Accountability Office noted in a Monday report.
The eye-popping figure from the GAO for what was already the world's costliest weapons program is much larger than the previous estimate of $1.7 trillion. The Department of Defense currently fields around 650 F-35s — of which there are three variants for the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps — and it plans to procure around 2,500 in total by the mid-2040s.
The GAO also said that sustainment costs for the F-35 program grew from around $1.1 trillion in 2018 to about $1.58 trillion in 2023 — a 44% increase that comes, in part, as a result of the aircraft's extended service life from 2077 to 2088. Inflation and use play a role as well.
An F-35B Lightning II jet at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, April 20, 2023.
US Marine Corps/Staff Sgt. Theodore Bergan
The Pentagon's planned future use of the F-35, as well as the stealth aircraft's overall availability over the past few years, have both decreased.
Changes to planned future use keep the costs down. "The military services have lowered the number of hours each aircraft is estimated to fly, which has contributed to reduced cost estimates and the services' ability to meet their affordability targets," the GAO said in its report.
The F-35 Joint Program Office reported in a 2020 Annual Cost Estimate that the advanced fifth-generation aircraft would fly 382,376 hours each year at "steady state," which was identified by the GAO as occurring in the mid-2030s. In a 2023 Annual Cost Estimate, however, the steady state flight hours decreased by nearly 82,000 per year to 300,524 — a 21% decrease.
The F-35 Joint Program Office and various military service officials told the GAO "that this reduction in planned flight hours reflects lower than anticipated use up to this point and evolving projections about future use of the aircraft," the report said.
US Air Force F-35s over the US Central Command area of responsibility on Sept. 30, 2020.
US Air Force/Senior Airman Duncan Bevan
But there are other challenges. The GAO said it has consistently found that the F-35 fleet is not meeting availability and performance goals, even as projected costs for the program go up. Indeed, a 2023 report revealed that the aircraft was only capable of flying missions just over half the time, thanks to a plethora of serious and widespread maintenance issues.
The Pentagon "has pursued cost savings efforts and continues to look for new ways to reduce costs," the GAO explained in its report. However, it cautioned, "officials generally agree that these efforts are not likely to fundamentally change the estimated costs to operate the aircraft."
The Lockheed Martin-manufactured fighter is the second fifth-generation jet in the US arsenal after the F-22 Raptor, and was built for air-to-air combat and ground attacks. Several US allies also operate the aircraft.
The F-35 has so far only seen actual combat experience in the Middle East, with its most recent engagement occurring over the weekend, as Israel used the fighter in an air-defense role to defend against an unprecedented Iranian missile and drone attack.
Future submarine commanders come from candidates who have low college entry exam scores.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese submarine officers — except for engineers — tend to have the lowest entry exam scores.
The lack of selectivity is remarkable. Submarines are likely to be critical in a conflict.
The Chinese navy seems to have doubts about its ship and submarine commanders.
The job of commanding a nuclear submarine should go to smart and well-qualified officers. Or at least that's the case in Western navies.
Not so in the Chinese navy. Chinese submarine officers — except for engineers — tend to come from candidates with the lowest college entrance test scores, according to a US analyst. This suggests that People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) sub commanders are not the best and the brightest officers most poised to cope with the stresses and challenges endemic to submarine warfare.
"Based on Gaokao national college entrance exam scoring information for PLA [People's Liberation Army] academic institutions, the PLAN Engineering University on average ranks number two on test scores across PLA academic institutions," according to a paper written by Roderick Lee, an expert on the Chinese military, for the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College. "Meanwhile, the Submarine Academy consistently ranks among the bottom three of all PLA institutions."
"Assuming a student's Gaokao score is generally indicative of overall performance potential, this suggests that PLAN submarine officer cadets tracking towards non-engineering department positions are inferior to their engineering brethren," Lee said.
Rivalry between the engineers on the lower decks who keep the ship's engines running, versus bridge officers such as captains, navigators and weapons officers, isn't unusual in any navy; in the US, by contrast, all submarine officers and commanders are trained in nuclear engineering. By the time a Chinese officer reaches submarine command, they've had more than a decade of training and fleet experience since taking their college entry tests.
Still, the selectivity disparity inside the Chinese navy is remarkable, given that submarines would be one of China's most important weapons in a conflict with the US, Japan or Taiwan. The PLAN currently operates around 60 submarines, including 6 armed with nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, plus 6 nuclear- and 46 diesel-powered attack subs armed with a variety of anti-ship missiles and torpedoes.
Whether academic prowess equates to military competence has always been up for debate. History is full of commanders — such as George McClellan in the American Civil War — who proved more impressive in the classroom than on the battlefield. On the other hand, the legendary George Patton nearly flunked out of West Point.
Regardless, the Chinese navy seems to have had doubts about those commanding its surface ships and submarines: higher-level officers would often sail with them to supervise. "Historically, a PLAN submarine captain's authority could be eroded by the presence of more senior officers onboard," Lee noted. "The issue of flotilla-level leadership deploying to single-ship formations and 'babysitting' ship captains was such an issue for the PLAN surface fleet that the PLAN explicitly prohibited the practice in 2019."
It is not clear to what degree senior officers continue to babysit submarine skippers, who already have to share authority with a political commissar aboard each vessel. There is evidence that having a senior officer effectively take command of a submarine breeds resentment among a sub's crew. Perhaps not coincidentally, Lee notes that flotilla commanders and staff were aboard when the Ming-class diesel sub SS-361 sank in 2003, as well the near-loss of the Kilo-class SS-372 in 2014.
Chinese sailors salute on top of a submarine during the fleet's review of the China-Russia joint naval exercise in the Yellow Sea on April 26, 2012.
China Daily/Reuters
Submarine duty is already arduous and isolating, and command conflicts only exacerbate what appears to be a mental health crisis among Chinese commanders and crews. When researchers from China's Second Military Medical University conducted a survey in 2021 of submarine crews in the PLAN's South China Sea fleet crews, 21 percent reported experiencing mental health issues. Sailors and officers "in the submarine force in the South China Sea are facing mental health risks and suffering from serious psychological problems," concluded the study, which listed education — along with age and experience — as the best predictors of mental health for sub crews.
"Life in the PLAN submarine service is difficult," Christopher Sharman, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute, told Business Insider. "Conditions are challenging and China has suffered submarine accidents in the past. These variables contribute to making a life in the submarine force less attractive."
The thought of a submarine — especially one powered by a nuclear reactor or even armed with nuclear missiles — being commanded by an officer with a low SAT score is less than reassuring. Nonetheless, Lee believes that China's submarine fleet is still a capable force. There are "no clear and glaring flaws in how the PLAN leads its submarine force. Although its educational system underwent some turmoil in the beginning of the 21st century and continues to encounter challenges today, these challenges do not appear to be substantial enough to dramatically affect operational performance."
Yet the poor educational qualifications of Chinese sub skippers may be a vulnerability that US anti-submarines can exploit, Lee suggests. China's submarine force is more likely to make mistakes since it "draws its leaders from some of the worst-performing officer cadets," Lee said. "Even if the Gaokao score is not indicative of overall human performance, it does reflect some level of intelligence and individual dedication. The PLAN submarine force must therefore rely on its least talented officers to lead forces that may be cut off for days if not weeks at a time."
By stressing Chinese submarine commanders, such as confronting them with multiple or unexpected challenges, they could be goaded into making a mistake. "This may make PLAN submarine officers more likely to suffer from the error precursors of poor proficiency, poor problem-solving skills, inappropriate attitudes towards tasks, imprecise communication habits, and inability to handle stress."
On the other hand, a Chinese submarine captain will have had years of experience and additional training before assuming command. It remains to be seen if his college test scores impact his combat performance.
Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the amount of feed Acipenser produces each month. It is about 60 metric tons per month, not kilograms.
Limitless on Monday announced its $99 AI pendant, a wearable that records everything you hear throughout the day.
Limitless
A new AI gadget clips on to your clothing and records everything you hear in your day.
The $99 Limitless pendant became available for pre-orders on Monday; it'll ship later this year.
It's meant to serve as a memory aid and personal assistant by recalling conversations and taking notes.
There's a new entry in the growing AI wearables market, and this one records everything you say or hear.
The AI-powered Limitless pendant, unveiled Monday, can be worn like a necklace or clipped onto your clothing with its magnetic clasp. It's meant to serve as a memory aid by recording meetings and other conversations throughout the day for you to replay later.
While the device is recording, an LED is visible to signal it's recording. Of course, the idea of being recorded might creep some people out, but Limitless says its "Consent Mode" should take care of any issues.
The pendant uses voice identification to "only capture the voice of people who have given consent to be recorded," Limitless CEO Dan Siroker said in the product announcement. He said anything a person says before they give consent isn't recorded. Once they verbally agree, the pendant will start recording what they say. Data from the pendant will be stored securely in the cloud, according to the company.
It isn't clear what happens if more people enter a conversation that the device has already started recording, or if the pendant would record any stray voices that might be audible in the background of a conversation; BI contacted Limitless to ask for more information and it didn't immediately respond.
Also, certain states have different laws pertaining to the recording of conversations — in some states, all parties must give consent to be recorded; in other states, only one of the parties needs to know a conversation is being recorded. It's not clear if or how the laws would apply to this device.
The Limitless pendant is available in eight colors.
Limitless
The pendant comes in eight colors and costs $99. It's now available on Limitless.ai for preorder, with the first units expected to ship in August.
You can use the pendant alone and get unlimited audio storage and 10 hours a month of AI functionality, including audio transcriptions, notes, and meeting summaries. For $20 a month, you get unlimited audio storage and unlimited AI functionality.
The gadget is WiFi- and Bluetooth-enabled, works with USB-C charging, and Limitless said it has a 100-hour battery life.
Some other AI wearables, like Humane's AI pin, have been panned by reviewers; they'll no doubt be keeping tabs when the Limitless pendant comes out.
On Sunday night, Elon Musk sent a company-wide email to Tesla staff announcing a workforce reduction of more than 10%.
One laid-off Tesla worker said they moved about 6 months ago for the job before being let go.
They moved cross-country after Tesla offered them a stipend to do it.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a former Tesla employee who was laid off on Sunday night and requested anonymity to protect their privacy. Business Insider has verified their identity and employment. A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I started at Tesla as a commercial field services technician during the pandemic. I handled the troubleshooting and maintenance for Tesla's energy department.
I started out with the company in California and since have moved twice while working for Tesla.
I just moved across the country for the job six months ago.
Tesla transferred me to one of its southern regions to service its energy department. The company needed someone in the region and hadn't had anybody on the ground there for over a year. People had to fly out to the area periodically to service it.
For a while, I was flying out. For like a period of three months, I was two weeks on, two weeks off, just picking up the slack.
Then Tesla asked me if I'd consider moving out there with my wife. I told them I'd only consider it if they paid for our move. They ended up helping with the relocation process and offered a stipend.
We packed up and left in about a week. We sold most of our stuff and rented a big U-Haul to drive down.
I was completely blindsided when I woke up on Monday morning to the layoff notice.
I woke up on Monday morning, trying to clock in to work. And my phone said something along the lines of: password error, contact IT.
So I went to my laptop to try to log in and I was locked out of my computer too, with the IT number right there on the screen. I called IT and they said I needed to contact HR. Then I went to my personal email account and I saw an email from Tesla that was sent out overnight. It was that generic letter — one that a lot of other people have said they got.
I felt like I was doing well and receiving positive feedback from my managers. In that layoff letter they said the cuts were due to redundancy, but I didn't feel like my role was redundant.
I feel like Tesla could have handled the layoffs better. It was impersonal and abrupt.
Now my wife and I feel like we're kind of stuck.
We're in a town where I probably won't be able to find a lot of other opportunities without having to commute around an hour and a half to work both ways because of the rural location. We're also far away from family and without a nearby support system to help us out.
We lost some of our safety net when we moved. We rented a home that was well within our budget with my Tesla pay, but less so now that I've been laid off. Now we're stuck in the lease for six more months.
When we moved for Tesla we didn't take it lightly, but we didn't expect this. Leaving was tough because we'd been living near family. I have two children, a 17-year-old and a 9-year-old, and we had to uproot them.
Now I feel like we rolled the dice and we've kind of shot ourselves in the foot as a result.
Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at gkay@businessinsider.com
When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
1Password
Password-related security breaches seem to be a dime a dozen these days. They become all the more of an issue when you use the same couple of passwords for multiple accounts, making one data breach a multi-platform issue. Fortunately, password managers can help protect your online security and prevent you from having to remember dozens of different passwords at any given moment.
1Password, a top-rated password manager, is offering a free trial. All you have to remember is one lone password to log into 1Password; from there, the service takes over. 1Password will suggest and store highly secure passwords (which you can also create through their Strong Password Generator) for all of your accounts, from your email to streaming services to your credit card company.
Each time you want to sign into one of your accounts, you just log into 1Password (or use the browser extension). 1Password can auto-fill your password information to simplify the process. The service also has a Watchtower feature that monitors and alerts you to any security issues, such as compromised websites and vulnerable passwords.
Below, we'll lay out all of the 1Password free trial details and a comparison of the four different paid plans (plus the fifth big business option) if you choose to keep a subscription after the trial period is up.
1Password free trial
The 1Password free trial offers 14 days of free use for any of its four plans. All you have to do is choose which plan you want to try on their pricing page and create an account. You'll then have access to all the merits of a regular account for two weeks.
Once your free trial is up, you can lock into a paid subscription. Check out the plans below and see which works best for you. For the purpose of this article, we'll highlight how much a plan would cost per month if you select annual billing.
Individual
At $2.99 per month, the Individual plan is best for people who are just looking to beef up their own security. The plan comes with 1 GB of storage space and allows unlimited devices to use it. This is probably the best option for most users.
Families
The Families plan, which costs $4.99 per month, is very similar to the Individual plan, except it's available to five family members. Additional family members can be added for $1 per user.
But the individual tier offers unlimited devices, so why pay more for this one? Yes, but it's worth remembering that each user on a family plan gets their own 1Password login to keep their passwords private from the rest of the family – that wouldn't be an option if you're all sharing one account via an individual plan.
Teams Starter Pack
The Teams Starter Pack functions like Individual and Families plans, but it's for groups of up to 10 people. At $19.95 per month, this is an affordable option for small companies. Plus, it will identify threats via a domain breach report.
Business
Business takes everything that the Teams Starter Pack offers and applies it to larger groups of people working for one company at a rate of $7.99 per user per month. It also increases storage to 5 GB per user and comes with a suite of business features, like additional custom reports, proactive threat prevention, and free family plans for all users.
Enterprise
If your business has over 75 people using 1Password, you'll want to select the Enterprise plan. There's no set price for this, and you'll need to get a quote, but the plan comes with a dedicated customer success manager and customized onboarding and training for the duration of your subscription.
FAQ
What if I get locked out?
If you forgot your account password or secret key, don't fret. Every 1Password account comes with a special Emergency Kit to help users store their information in PDF or printed format when they first make an account so that there are no surprises down the road.
What else can I store on 1Password?
You can store lots of information other than passwords on 1Password. You can use 1Password to keep track of information regarding your driver's license, passport, crypto wallet, and much more.
If you'd like to try any of these tiers (except Enterprise) for free, head on over to the 1Password website to sign up for a 14-day free trial. If it's not for you, just cancel within that time period, and you won't have to pay a thing.
New research from the real-estate marketplace Zillow shows where in the US the standoff could ease. It boils down to some hard-to-change factors:Many current homeowners have a "rate lock-in," meaning their current interest rate is lower than what they would be quoted if they tried to get a new mortgagetoday.
These homeowners are financially disincentivized from moving, even if they found a house similarly priced to their current one.
The key to opening up the market might be the lucky households that are free from this "rate lock-in." Zillow found that boomers, aged 60 to 78, and the Silent Generation, aged 79 to 96, had the highest percentage of homeowners "free of rate lock-in," at 17% and 14%, respectively. Meanwhile, millennials (28 to 43) and Gen Z (27 and younger) were at the bottom, with 6% and 4% "free of rate lock-in," respectively.
Zillow went further and identified 10.8 million homeowners, or nearly 13% of the national total, who it labeled "mortgage-free and mortgage-ready," meaning these households are not only mortgage-free but could "comfortably afford" a new one at current rates as well.
These are the households best positioned to move, and if they choose to, could open up new inventory for prospective buyers —which are often younger generations trying to get a foothold in the housing market.
Zillow found that the five cities with the largest clusters of these households tended to be in the former Rust Belt of the Northeast and Midwest, defined by its manufacturing legacy. Those areas also top lists of the regions in the country with the lowest cost of living.
Here are the five cities Zillow highlighted with the most homeowners primed to move and list their homes — giving worn-out younger buyers the best shot at buying a home.
5. Detroit, Michigan
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Percentage free of rate-lock: 20%
Total homeowners: 1,227,113
Mortgage-free homeowners: 524,087
Mortgage-free and mortgage-ready homeowners: 239,813
4. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Marcus Elwell/Getty Images
Percentage free of rate-lock: 21%
Total homeowners: 344,916
Mortgage-free homeowners: 143,428
Mortgage-free and mortgage-ready homeowners: 70,763
3. Cleveland, Ohio
Yuanshuai Si/Getty Images
Percentage free of rate-lock: 22%
Total homeowners: 561,134
Mortgage-free homeowners: 241,587
Mortgage-free and mortgage-ready homeowners: 123,707
2. Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York.
Getty Images
Percentage free of rate-lock: 23%
Total homeowners: 332,770
Mortgage-free homeowners: 160,048
Mortgage-free and mortgage-ready homeowners: 76,078
1. Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania
The Pittsburgh skyline.
Steven Adams/Getty Images
Percentage free of rate-lock: 27%
Total homeowners: 699,477
Mortgage-free homeowners: 341,063
Mortgage-free and mortgage-ready homeowners: 188,486
There are a few products I love to get at Sephora, like the Drunk Elephant B-Goldi bright illuminating drops.
Jimena Venegas
I've worked at Sephora for over a year, and there are some products I absolutely love buying there.
The Drunk Elephant B-Goldi bright illuminating drops make for a beautiful, glowy makeup base.
I always recommend the Benefit Cosmetics Fan Fest fanning-and-volumizing mascara to customers.
Over the past couple of years, consumers have cut down on spending in many categories — but beauty was not one of them. In fact, beauty and cosmetic products were the fastest-growing retail category last year.
There are tons of great brands and products on the market, but as a Sephora employee, I have my own opinions on which ones are worth shoppers' hard-earned cash.
I regularly test new beauty items, so I've probably tried at least half of the makeup on my store's shelves. Because of this, I'm often asked which products I recommend for a full face of makeup.
If I had to pick, these are the eight beauty products I couldn't live without.
The Rare Beauty Brow Harmony flexible lifting and laminating brow gel stays in place all day.
I use the Rare Beauty Brow Harmony flexible lifting and laminating gel to shape my brows.
Jimena Venegas
Rare Beauty Brow Harmony is my all-time favorite clear brow gel because it's waterproof and lifts and shapes the hair without leaving a crunchy, dried texture.
It's also the only gel I've tried that will lay my thick brow hairs down without leaving a white cast.
The Saie Sun Melt natural-cream bronzer leaves my skin looking tan and glowy.
The Saie Sun Melt natural-cream bronzer has a beautiful, lightweight formula.
I use it when I want glowy makeup that's not too sheer and will practically melt into my skin.
The Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin medium-coverage liquid foundation makes my face look flawless.
The Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin medium-coverage liquid foundation leaves a natural-looking finish.
Jimena Venegas
I love this Charlotte Tilbury foundation because it can last up to 16 hours on the face and has medium, buildable coverage.
This product seamlessly blends into my skin and makes it look smooth and healthy. It's perfect for people who want coverage that still looks natural.
The Drunk Elephant B-Goldi bright illuminating drops make a perfect glowy base.
I use the Drunk Elephant B-Goldi bright illuminating drops under makeup or alone.
Jimena Venegas
The Drunk Elephant B-Goldi bright drops are an illuminating serum with 5% niacinamide, which can treat acne and help even skin tone.
This serum is perfect as a glowy base under makeup or a brightening product on the skin by itself.
The Milk Makeup Hydro Grip hydrating makeup primer has great skincare ingredients.
The Milk Makeup Hydro Grip hydrating makeup primer contains hyaluronic acid and niacinamide.
Jimena Venegas
This Milk hydrating primer is one of my favorite base products because it can hold makeup in place for up to 12 hours.
It's formulated with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to hydrate skin and create a dewy finish.
I cover blemishes and dark circles with the Too Faced Born This Way super coverage multiuse concealer.
The Too Faced Born This Way super coverage multiuse concealer feels lightweight.
Jimena Venegas
The Too Faced Born This Way concealer has lightweight, full coverage, so it's perfect for covering dark spots and highlighting natural features.
The brand also carries a wide range of shades, so there's something for almost every skin tone.
The Huda Beauty Easy Bake loose baking and setting powder blurs texture and fine lines.
I swear by the Huda Beauty Easy Bake loose baking and setting powder.
Jimena Venegas
This lightly pigmented, silky powder from Huda Beauty is my go-to for setting and baking makeup. I reach for it when I need to blur texture and fine lines while preventing under-eye creases.
When it comes to eye products, I always recommend the Benefit Cosmetics Fan Fest fanning-and-volumizing mascara.
The Benefit Cosmetics Fan Fest fanning-and-volumizing mascara is one of my go-to products.
Jimena Venegas
If my clients want a volumizing mascara, I point them to this product. Benefit's Fan Fest fanning and volumizing mascara perfectly fans out my lashes and makes them look voluminous.
It doesn't even smudge or flake on me if I wear it to the gym.
Former President Donald Trump appeared wide awake in this shot in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday — but he's apparently had some time staying awake during the proceedings so far.
Pool
Donald Trump is apparently having difficulty staying awake during his first-ever criminal trial.
I relate to Trump's struggle to stay awake!
And most Americans must, too. They told Gallup they needed more sleep.
I am not facing 34 felony charges stemming from hush-money payments to an adult film actress I allegedly slept with.
But besides that? Right now, I feel closer to Donald J. Trump than I ever have before.
Give me a seat and a place where not much is happening? There's a very good chance I'm going to doze for a bit.
This has been happening to me at least since high school — which, coincidentally, is when I stopped going to bed at a sensible time. If I was in a classroom where the lights dimmed for a movie or a filmstrip or a grainy VCR showing of Romeo and Juliet? Snooze time. College lecture halls when I hadn't done the reading and couldn't follow what my professor was saying? Sawing logs.
Sometimes, my naps were intentional: Like when I entered the work world and discovered that I could lie down under my cube and get a 10-minute afternoon power nap and either no one noticed or cared.
Less ideal was when I drifted off while interviewing someone — while sitting in front of them. I don't know how long I was out for — probably just a few seconds — but definitely long enough for them to notice, and for me to notice that they noticed. I think they were Swedes selling ringtone software or something like that, and in any case, they were too polite to say anything, so we all pretended it didn't happen.
Later on, when I had kids and started taking them to movies, I became so used to sleeping mid-Pixar that I started to embrace the idea: I was paying to take a nap.
But cinema-sleep isn't specific to kids' films: A comfy theater is Ambien for me, even when I'm really into the movie, like when I went to the new "Dune" last month. (Not all movies: I was wide awake and gripping my chair for "Civil War" last week.)
And yes, I definitely slept for a few minutes Tuesday afternoon on the subway. Then I caught a second wind and started writing this.
My hunch is that I'm not alone here and that some of this resonates with some of you. News item:
"For the first time in Gallup polling since 2001, a majority of U.S. adults, 57%, say they would feel better if they got more sleep, while 42% say they get as much sleep as they need. This is nearly a reversal of the figures last measured in 2013, when 56% of Americans got the sleep they needed and 43% did not."
I'm not a doctor, and I don't play on TV, but I'm pretty sure none of this is anything like actual narcolepsy. It's just that we probably — OK, almost certainly — don't get enough sleep many nights, and our bodies need to even things out during the day.
I don't know when Donald Trump goes to sleep, but I do know that during his Twitter era, he tended to do a lot of late-night scrolling — also relatable — and posting. And again, I've never faced felony charges and multiple trials, but I bet that if I did, I'd have a hard time sleeping.