Category: Business

• A reporter found documents that appear to show details of Ted Cruz's donor meetings.
• They show how rich donors can get serious face time with influential lawmakers.
• It's not just Cruz — lots of politicians in both parties do this.

On Tuesday, reporter Pablo Manríquez discovered a collection of documents that appear to belong to Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign.

The documents, discovered in a food kiosk on the first floor of the US Capitol, appear to include information about a series of meetings between the Texas Republican and campaign donors.

The details of those meetings — including the requests Cruz is expected to make of donors, the amount of time each donor gets with the senator, and a curious reference to "outside efforts" — offer a rare window into how money in politics really works in America.

That's true not just for Cruz — a 2016 presidential candidate who faces a competitive reelection fight against Democratic Rep. Colin Allred this fall — but for many American politicians in both parties who rely on big donors.

Spokespeople for Cruz did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

The details of the documents

The documents included information about several mid-week meetings, the first of which was a dinner with eight lobbyists and PAC officials at the Capital Grille in Washington, DC.

Each individual at the dinner had pledged between $1,000 and $2,500 to Cruz's campaign, according to the documents. The Texas senator's briefing materials included professional biographies of each person, along with a bold-face description of which special interest they represented.

On Wednesday, Cruz appeared to have six meetings with major donors in New York City — like many Americans, senators got the day off for Juneteenth.

For each of those New York meetings, Cruz was supplied with detailed biographies of his interlocutors, a list of their recent political contributions, and directions on how much money to ask for.

One GOP operative who's managed several outside groups in Senate races, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said there was "nothing out of the ordinary" with the documents.

"It's obviously embarrassing to have it out there, because your donors trust you to be responsible with their information," the operative quipped.

Donors get a lot of access in exchange for money

We all probably know it, but it's striking to see on paper: Money can buy you access.

For the price of as low as $1,000, you and seven other people can have dinner with Cruz on a weekday night, just a stone's throw from the Capitol.

Cruz is the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, which deals with transportation and telecommunications issues, among other things. Sure enough, several of the attendees are from groups that have financial interests in those fields, including the telecommunications firm Ericsson and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.

There's no guarantee that the Texas senator will do your bidding just because you gave him a couple of thousand dollars, but he may be more sympathetic to your viewpoint if you're given the time to offer it over drinks and some steak.

Meanwhile, Cruz's Wednesday in New York was stacked — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. — with more intimate, one-on-one meetings with megadonors, offering a look at just how much time fundraising can take.

Those meetings, held in wealthy donors' homes or other glamorous Manhattan restaurants, each lasted between 45 minutes and two hours.

On paper, donations are capped at $6,600. In reality, you can go way higher than that.

Under federal campaign finance law, there are fairly tight limits on how much money individuals are allowed to contribute to political campaigns.

The idea is to limit the degree of influence that one person can have over a candidate: The more a politician owes a single person for campaign contributions, the more indebted they are.

This year, it's $6,600 — $3,300 for the primary and $3,300 for the general election.

But in practice, that number can go way higher, as the documents show. For some meetings, Cruz is directed to ask a single donor whether they will contribute $119,200 to his race.

As Saurav Ghosh, the director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center, noted on X, that's because it's really a donation to several different groups working to reelect Cruz, including his own campaign, his "leadership PAC," the Texas GOP, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Also, if your spouse donates too, you can double that sum.

Candidates can't legally coordinate with super PACS — but they can get kind of close

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising portion of the documents is a line included in briefing materials for several of the New York megadonor meetings: "Ask [donor] to talk to your team about outside efforts."

In this case, the phrase "outside efforts" likely refers to super PACs, which can accept unlimited donations but are legally barred from coordinating with or donating directly to politicians' campaigns.

Cruz is already in some hot water for a financial arrangement between his podcast and his super PAC. But the GOP operative who's worked on outside groups before says the arrangement is likely squarely within the bounds of the law.

"Candidates are prohibited from soliciting contributions. Candidates are not prohibited from teeing up conversations," the operative said. "The critical thing is: No explicit ask, and no explicit dollar amounts being discussed."

Ghosh, the campaign finance expert, made a similar point.

"Ask [donor] to talk to your team about outside efforts" isn't a 'solicitation' under federal campaign finance law," Ghosh wrote on X.

• Re-wearing outfits is popular at red-carpet events and in everyday life.
• Christian Siriano wants people to embrace repeating outfits they love.
• He recommends accessorizing and styling looks differently and disregarding fashion "rules."

It's official: Re-wearing outfits is in.

While "outfit repeater" was once an insult hurled at Hilary Duff's character on Disney Channel's "Lizzie McGuire," re-wearing items of clothing has even become a red-carpet trend with celebrities including Emma Stone, Cate Blanchett, and even Kate Middleton recycling their looks from years past.

Just ask Christian Siriano, who's dressed numerous celebrities for red-carpet occasions. The 38-year-old designer and past "Project Runway" winner is gearing up to host a Wardrobe Refresh Hotline event on TikTok Live as part of his partnership with Persil laundry detergent. Beginning June 26 at 6 p.m., Siriano will take live questions on Persil's TikTok account about re-styling outfits and maintaining the quality of beloved pieces.

"I love the idea that if you have something that you love or loved before, why are you not recycling your wardrobe?" Siriano told Business Insider. "Even actresses are saying now, 'It's OK to re-wear things, even on the red carpet,' so if you're just in your day-to-day life, why not?"

Siriano attributes the popularity of repeating outfits to efforts to curb overconsumption, hearkening back to a time when people had smaller wardrobes comprised of quality items that would last.

"I make clothes that are special and unique. So yeah, you're not going to wear this every day," he said as he gestured to a sparkly pink tulle piece behind him, "but I don't want you to not wear it ever again. I want you to be able to wear your special Christian Siriano gown to other things throughout your life."

Rewearing looks can also be a status symbol if the item is no longer available, Siriano said.

"I think it's kind of cool if you're with your friends and you're all hanging out and everyone's like, 'Oh my God, I love that jacket,' and you're like, 'Oh yeah, I bought it at a vintage store 10 years ago and I love it,' and people are jealous because they can't get it," he said.

Here are some of Siriano's top tips for repeating outfits with style.

Use accessories to change up an old outfit

Accessories can help breathe new life into an outfit that has been worn again and again.

"The idea here is, how do you make it new and fresh and feel different?" Siriano said. "I think that it's all about your confidence and how you can put a look together. So it's your bag, it's your shoes, it's accessories, hair and makeup."

Style the look — don't just wear it

Re-wearing a piece of clothing doesn't have to mean wearing it exactly the same way as last time.

"If you bought a beautiful blazer that you used to wear to work every single day, maybe you should wear it when you go out to dinner, and belt it and make it a dress," he said.

Forget the fashion 'rules'

Wearing an outfit again doesn't have to be a complicated decision. If you like it, wear it, regardless of what you perceive the rules or etiquette to be.

"It shouldn't be so scary like, 'Oh my god, can I wear this dress? I wore it last week,' Siriano said. "Yes, of course you can."

• "Bridgerton" star Luke Newton said the cast shares tips on surviving the spotlight each season.
• "We've now agreed that everything that goes from sibling to sibling is top secret," Newton said.
• Newton said he'll pass on his knowledge to whichever costar becomes the main character in season four.

The cast of "Bridgerton" is so tight-knit that they share confidential tips on how to survive the spotlight each season.

"We always talked about there being a book passed down through Bridgerton siblings," Luke Newton, who stars as Colin Bridgerton, said during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Wednesday. "And it never actually happened. It was all just through voice notes."

Netflix's TV show adaptation of Julia Quinn's book series focuses on the intertwined lives of eight Bridergton siblings. Like the novels, each season centers on a different sibling's love story.

Season one followed Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) and season two focused on Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). Season three, which recently concluded, showed Colin and Penelope Featherington's (Nicola Coughlan) friends-to-lovers romance.

During an appearance on the "Tonight Show" in May, Bailey spoke about each season's leads experiencing a new level of popularity, and the importance of staying grounded throughout the experience.

When it came to passing the torch to Newton for season three, Bailey said that his costar "didn't really need any advice, but I've been there on WhatsApp."

"And I will be for the siblings because we are bonded by this extraordinary thing," Bailey said.

Newton confirmed to Fallon that Bailey made himself available to share words of wisdom despite being busy juggling multiple TV and film projects. Season four is already in the works, but the leading Bridgerton sibling has yet to be officially announced.

"We've now agreed that everything that goes from sibling to sibling is top secret," Newton said. "It's like a Bridgerton secret. So now I will pass on to whoever the next sibling is going to be the secret code of how to survive it."

• Many Costco employees have stayed on and built long careers at the retailer.
• A manager who has been with the company over 20 years shared his best tip for getting promoted.
• "Move to some of the areas where they're growing," he told Business Insider.

Costco is a relatively uncommon employer in the retail industry in that many of its workers have started in entry-level positions and built decadeslong careers with the company.

Most notably, CEO Ron Vachris' first job was as a forklift driver 40 years ago.

So how do you get ahead?

Business Insider spoke with a manager who joined the company more than 20 years ago slinging hot dogs in the warehouse food court to make money for college.

He has since worked in multiple states and held a variety of positions, and he shared his best tip for advancing a warehouse career. BI has verified his identity but is not naming him as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

"If you seriously want to get promoted and want to grow in the company, move to some of the areas where they're growing into," he said, highlighting Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas in particular. "They have a really difficult time getting people to move there."

The company has just eight locations across those three states — less than half of what it has in New York alone. In addition to a new location slated to open in Louisiana in August, new warehouses are currently in the works for Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Washington, and California.

The manager said he knew one colleague who joined the company four years ago and took the opportunity to move to Oklahoma after just a year on the job.

"She's already an assistant warehouse manager," he said.

He added that her rise was likely based not just on her qualifications for the job, but also her willingness to go "where nobody wants to live."

"She ended up getting promoted a lot quicker than most anyone I've ever heard of," he said.

Historically, Costco has added around two dozen new US locations per year, and more recently execs have discussed locating new openings closer together in order to alleviate the pressure on popular warehouses dealing with long lines and crowded parking lots.

As a company, Costco has shown a distinct preference for internal hires — most of the C-suite is made up of longtime insiders — and existing warehouses are typically tapped for talent to make sure new locations have enough experience in the building to operate successfully.

"It's very, very rare that they hire a supervisor or a manager in a warehouse off the street," the manager told BI.

Veteran award-winning actor Donald Sutherland, who played the villainous President Snow in "The Hunger Games" franchise, has died.

He was 88.

In a statement on X, Kiefer Sutherland, Donald's son, confirmed his father's death.

"I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film," Kiefer Sutherland wrote. "Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.

Sutherland was known for his decades-long career in Hollywood, where he starred in films like "MASH," "Animal House," and "Don't Look Now."

This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.

• The US military has been moving forward on developing AI pilots in recent groundbreaking tests.
• The AI is making "dramatic" progress as it learns from flight and mission data, an Air Force officer said.
• AI is an affordable, mass solution to problems facing the Air Force and future battlefields, Shield AI's CEO said.

Last month, two US Air Force fighter jets battled in the skies above California in an intense dogfight. Air-to-air combat training isn't unusual, but what made this event strange is that one of the planes didn't have a human pilot at the stick.

The fighter, flown by an artificial intelligence agent with the Air Force secretary riding in the back, squared off in a dogfight with a manned F-16, demonstrating the rapid progress of the Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's AI fighter pilot program.

An Air Force commander and the CEO behind the company that developed the AI, Shield AI, told Business Insider the moment was a monumental step in the program's development.

The Air Force spoke highly of it as well. Col. James Valpiani, Commandant of the Air Force Test Pilot School, told BI "Secretary [Frank] Kendall's flight marks an important milestone" for the program and speaks to growing "confidence in the state of combat autonomy."

Kendall hopped in the X-62A Variable In-flight Simulation Test Aircraft (VISTA), the Air Force's highly modified F-16, at Edwards Air Force Base on May 2 and flew for about an hour, "witnessing several AI agents as they autonomously maneuvered the X-62 against a manned F-16 in dogfighting engagements," Valpiani said.

Throughout the testing of this emerging technology, the Air Force has been impressed by how quickly the AI can learn new information and change based on hoards of data and flight experiences.

"This interactive process allows the team to rapidly mature AI agents, often generating dramatic performance improvements from one test flight to the next," Valpiani.

Across the Pentagon, defense officials and leadership are pursuing affordable, mass AI capabilities at a breakneck pace. It's been described as a major element of great power competition with China, an arms race of sorts to keep the US at the apex ahead of future conflict.

Kendall himself called his flight in May "a transformational moment," marking the transition from when autonomous air-to-air combat had only been "a distant dream" to becoming reality.

Shield AI CEO and co-founder Ryan Tseng told BI the US should undergo a Manhattan Project approach to getting the resources, personnel, and technology for mass-implementing AI, and the autonomous pilots are just the first step.

"What we see [from Kendall's flight] is excellent progress in the performance, the trustworthiness, and the safety of AI pilots," Tseng said. "There's a tremendous amount of activity and investment on our end toward the application of AI pilots to missions that are relevant to the security challenges that are facing us around the world."

He added that AI pilots answer DoD's call for intelligent, affordable mass AI, solving concerns about the number of pilots and training needed to get them flying, as well as remaining effective in a challenging modern battlespace where GPS and communications are potentially degraded or denied.

Tseng co-founded Shield AI "to bring the best of AI and autonomy technology to the DOD and our allies to protect service members and civilians," per the company's website.

Its work with the Air Force and DARPA on the AI flying the X-62A involves trial and error, massive amounts of data, simulated dogfights — which, of the ones operated by Shield AI, see AI win-rates of 99% — and real-world applications.

But throughout all of this, the AI pilot, named Hivemind, has been maturing quicker than expected. "I think things are going much faster than people probably appreciate," Tseng said.

Lt. Col. Ryan Hefron, the Air Combat Evolution program manager for DARPA, held a similar sentiment back in April, when the Air Force announced that AI had completed a landmark real-world dogfight against a manned aircraft in September 2023. That event was the first time such a test had occurred.

Although officials were mum on whether AI or the human pilot had won the dogfight, they were eager to share a progress report.

"Things are progressing as well or faster than we had hoped," Hefron said at the time.

Much of that may be attributable to how quickly AI agents can be adjusted based on new data or performance.

Training AI for flight begins with basic maneuvers and foundations, like a human pilot; then, new missions, skills, and capabilities enter its repertoire. Many changes to the program can be made within a few hours or overnight if the AI shows "unexpected behavior," Valpiani said.

"These changes often concern the 'sim to real gap,' a common challenge in machine learning research where AI agents perform differently in real-world application than they do in a simulator due to inevitable discrepancies between the simulator and real-world environments," he explained.

Such errors can prompt the team to replicate the dogfighting scenario in a simulator, identify what went wrong, update the scenario, and retrain the AI agent. The interactive process means that the AI system is always learning and relearning.

But there are major questions about what the role of AI will be in the US military. Recent events — such as accusations that the Israel Defense Forces used AI programs to target Hamas operatives in Gaza, indiscriminately bringing civilians into harm's way — have only increased anxieties about a future war fought by AI.

DoD has made explicitly clear that AI won't make life or death decisions and that those will be left to a human being. But there are concerns about how that distinction may change as AI continues to develop at a rapid pace.

• A Tesla employee posted a video of a ride-hailing platform on LinkedIn, following previous teasers.
• The video shows the employee requesting the car on the app, adjusting its settings, and getting in.
• Elon Musk has said that Tesla will officially reveal its Robotaxi at an event on August 8.

We're less than two months away from Tesla's Robotaxi unveiling, but we're already getting an early glimpse at the ride-hailing platform on which the autonomous vehicles are expected to operate.

Rosalie Nathans, whose LinkedIn profile says she's a senior manager for used cars and online sales at Tesla, shared a video of the ride-sharing experience that's "Coming soon" in a Saturday post.

Still pinching myself that I got to demo Tesla's ride-hailing platform!" she wrote.

The video shows Nathans requesting the service by pressing a black-and-white circle with the word "Summon" within an app. Within a few seconds, the app shows a map of a car three minutes from her pickup location along with the vehicle's seating capacity and temperature. The video shows Nathans adjusting her preferred temperature before the car arrives.

Once she's inside, the video shows a central screen display with a map of the route at the top and what seems to be her arrival time, the number of minutes until her arrival, and the number of miles to the destination below. The display also seems to allow passengers options to personalize their experience by listing the current car temperature, audio volume, and song playing on the display.

At first glance, it looks a lot like Uber or Lyft — although there's not a human driver visible in the video.

Nathans did not respond to a request for comment.

Nathans's video gives us our best look yet at Elon Musk's vision for an autonomous Robotaxi service that may one day offer Tesla owners the ability to earn money on the side by adding their vehicles to the fleet. The Tesla CEO has said in the past that they could earn around $30,000 a year from doing so.

The EV giant previously teased what the ride-hailing service could look like in a longer video posted on X in late May about Tesla's goals for the future. That video was posted with a caption asking shareholders to vote on proposals at the annual shareholder meeting, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk's $55 billion pay package and moving the company's headquarters to Texas. Both were approved at the meeting last week.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving software, which is still in beta, is the underlying software technology that the company is working on to power a stand-alone Tesla Robotaxi service.

The software, which costs Tesla owners $15,000 or a monthly fee of $99 to $199, currently requires drivers' constant supervision and has drawn regulator scrutiny and lawsuits. It can currently switch lanes, recognize stop signs and traffic lights, self-park, and enter a highway without a driver's direct input.

The Robotaxi has become a main priority for the EV giant. Reuters reported the carmaker had pivoted away from a cheaper $25,000 to focus on Robotaxis — which Musk denied. The Tesla CEO has hyped up the potential for FSD as a key pillar of Tesla's valuation for years, and said in 2021 that "the day FSD goes to wide release will be one of the biggest asset value increases in history."

Tesla hasn't revealed too many other details about what the Robotaxi will look like. Musk has previously voiced the desire to have it forgo mirrors, pedals, and steering wheels, according to his biographer Walter Isaacson.

Musk has said there will be a Tesla RoboTaxi unveiling on August 8.

• Boeing and the US Air Force face further delays on their multibillion-dollar Air Force One project.
• The first flight of the new Boeing 747-8i has been pushed back 16 months to March 2026.
• This is yet another delay and Boeing has already suffered over $2 billion in overrun costs.

Boeing and the Trump Administration struck a $3.9 billion deal in 2018 to replace the country's aging 747 presidential fleet with two new Air Force One planes. They're already years behind schedule and are now expecting further delays.

An Air Force spokesperson told the military website Breaking Defense that the first flight of the next-generation Boeing 747-8i — set to replace the old 747-200Bs first put into service in the early 1990s — has been pushed back 16 months from this November to March 2026.

The spokesperson said Boeing is creating a revised schedule, expected later this summer, noting it "may result in changes to any dates provided." It's unclear when the deliveries will now occur.

Boeing initially expected to deliver the first new 747 in late 2024. However, a mix of labor shortages, a bankrupt supplier, and some quality issues have since forced Boeing to reschedule the first delivery for September 2026 at the earliest and the second for February 2027.

At the time, the USAF provided a one-year buffer for the planes' delivery, pushing the second's delivery to as late as 2028. This means the eventual delivery of the new VIP fleet will be at least three to four years late, and possibly more with the latest delay announcement.

According to Breaking Defense, the delays surround ongoing problems with ground-based subsystem testing to "power on" the plane, which was originally scheduled for May 2024 but is now set for July 2025.

The USAF did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Boeing declined to comment and referred BI to the USAF.

Once eventually put into service for presidential use, the new VIP fleet will consist of bigger and more fuel-efficient 747-8i planes. The planes were originally destined for the now-defunct Russian carrier Transaero 2013 but were never delivered.

However, the old 747s are flying later than expected, thanks to continued program problems. In 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported that continuing to fly the old fleet may cost taxpayers $390 million.

The setbacks have already cost Boeing more than $2 billion, raising the total project expense to around $5.3 billion.

Boeing's financial strain stems from the fixed-price agreement it made with the Trump Administration, which made the manufacturer responsible for any overrun costs.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said during a 2022 investor call that the deal posed "a very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldn't have taken" but remained committed to delivering the aircraft.

Issues with the current fleet

The call sign "Air Force One" applies to any aircraft carrying the president, but it is most directly associated with a specially configured 747 known as VC-25. This aircraft is unlike any standard 747 and has a number of added capabilities, ranging from electronic and communications equipment to an executive suite.

The new VC-25B program, based on the 747-8i, will replace the Air Force's current VC-25A fleet. These aging aircraft face "capability gaps, rising maintenance costs, and parts obsolescence as it ages beyond 30 years," according to a Department of Defense report.

"The Boeing 747-8 aircraft will be uniquely modified to provide the President, staff, and guests with safe and reliable air transportation with an equivalent level of communications capability and security available in the White House," the report said.

The modifications will include an "electrical power upgrade, dual auxiliary power units that are usable in flight, a mission communication system, an executive interior, military avionics, a self-defense system, autonomous enplaning and deplaning, and autonomous baggage loading," the report added.

The VC-25B fleet is also slated to have a longer range, cruise speed, and maximum takeoff weight than its predecessor.

• I'm an interior designer in NYC, and I renovated my bathroom last spring for $13,000.
• The bathroom is gorgeous, but after living with it for months, I have four regrets.
• The built-in shower niche, glass shower panel and shallow tub are pretty but not functional.

As an interior designer based in New York City, I've worked on countless bathroom renovations for clients, but nothing prepared me for the lessons I learned while redoing my own.

Redesigning my bathroom taught me that even with expert knowledge, practical considerations sometimes take a back seat to aesthetics.

I spent months planning and $13,000 to renovate my bathroom last spring and although it's gorgeous, I have four big regrets.

Here's what I'd do differently next time — and what you should know before dropping five figures on your next bathroom remodel.

The built-in shower niche looks good but isn't practical

I was excited about incorporating a built-in shower niche into my bathroom. It looked incredibly sleek and added a modern touch to the shower area.

However, the reality of using this feature didn't quite meet my expectations.

The niche, while aesthetically pleasing and minimalistic, turned out to be not spacious enough to accommodate all my toiletries and shower essentials.

Pinterest-worthy bathrooms and hotels fill these niches with cute refillable shampoo bottles to keep them aesthetically pleasing. But I quickly realized my shower routine required way more products that weren't so cute, but I didn't want my niche to look like a shelf at T.J. Maxx. In hindsight, I should have considered larger or multiple niches to better suit my needs.

Another issue with the shower niche is maintenance. It needs to be wiped down after each shower to prevent mold buildup. This extra step adds to my cleaning routine, making it more of a hassle than I initially anticipated.

Not adding storage above the toilet was a missed opportunity

When designing my bathroom, I wanted a clutter-free wall above the toilet to maintain a clean and open look. Although this decision was driven by aesthetics, it didn't account for practicality.

I opted for a two-drawer vanity from Ikea to handle all my storage needs, but it's not sufficient. The limited storage space has forced me to leave some items out in the open, contradicting my goal of a tidy, minimalist bathroom.

Installing shelves or cabinets above the toilet could have provided much-needed additional storage without compromising the overall design.

The single glass shower panel is beautiful but impractical

The single glass shower panel was another choice that appealed to my design sensibilities. It gave the bathroom a sleek, open feel and looked fantastic. However, it's not the most practical feature for everyday use.

Cleaning the single glass panel is particularly challenging. To avoid water spots and soap scum, it needs to be wiped down regularly.

The biggest inconvenience, however, is that cleaning it often results in getting wet again after a shower. A full enclosure or even a double panel might've been a more practical choice, balancing both form and function.

A deeper tub would've been a better investment

A realtor once advised me that having a tub in the bathroom could add more value to my home than a stand-alone shower.

This advice, combined with my love for the occasional bubble bath, led me to include a tub in the remodel. However, I regret opting for a shallow one.

Although the tub is perfect for my once-a-year bubble bath, it's not deep enough to provide the luxurious soaking experience I had envisioned.

As someone who primarily showers, the shallow tub doesn't see much use, and when it does, it feels inadequate. A deeper tub would've been a better investment, offering a more satisfying soak and potentially increasing the bathroom's appeal to future buyers.

Overall, consider more than just aesthetics when designing a space

If you're planning a bathroom renovation, take it from an interior-design expert: Think beyond looks and prioritize how a space will work for you daily.

This way, you can avoid some of the pitfalls I encountered and create a bathroom that's both beautiful and practical.

• Netflix has announced the locations for its first two "Netflix House" venues.
• The streaming service will use spaces in two malls formerly occupied by department stores.
• It's the streaming service's latest venture into events, dining, and merchandise based on its content.

Netflix is joining the ranks of pickleball courts as it tries to make use of all that empty space in America's malls.

The streaming service said Tuesday that it's planning its first two "Netflix House" locations in shopping malls — one at the Galleria Dallas and another in the King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia.

Both "experiential entertainment" locations will open in 2025 and occupy spaces formerly held by department stores. That will give each over 100,000 square feet, Netflix said.

Within that space, you can expect to find a theme park-like variety of attractions, Netflix said last year. Back then, the streaming service said, patrons would be able to dine at restaurants themed around Netflix shows and buy corresponding merchandise at shops on the premises.

Netflix's latest announcement paints an even more vivid picture of what these first locations will look like.

"Imagine waltzing with your partner to an orchestral cover of a Taylor Swift song on a replica of the Bridgerton set — and then walking around the corner to compete in the Glass Bridge challenge from Squid Game," a post from Netflix said.

Netflix has already offered limited-time events for fans of its shows. It hosted a series of balls in major US cities in coordination with Season 2 of Bridgerton, for example.

The company said the Netflix House concept will offer those kinds of experiences year-round. "We've launched more than 50 experiences in 25 cities, and Netflix House represents the next generation of our distinctive offerings," its post read.

Much of America's retail space, including malls, has emptied out since the pandemic forced businesses to close. And while commercial real estate occupancy remains low in many parts of the US, retail landlords and their creditors are usually reluctant to lower rents and fill those storefronts.