• The Biden campaign conducted a survey measuring Kamala Harris' performance against Donald Trump.
• In an internal memo, the campaign insisted that no other nominee would perform better than Biden.
• The survey comes ahead of a make-or-break presser, where Biden will speak unscripted.

Despite President Joe Biden's insistence that he is staying in the race, his campaign is testing Kamala Harris' strength against Donald Trump. The campaign's analytics team conducted a survey this week that measures her performance in a head-to-head battle against the former president, the New York Times reported.

It is seemingly the first time that the Biden camp is measuring Harris' chances after the debate, though other pollsters have been acutely interested in her since the disastrous night. Three sources informed about the survey declined to tell The Times why the campaign conducted it and how they plan to use the results.

The revelation comes ahead of a key press conference this evening, where Biden will host his first solo news conference in eight months. All eyes will be on the president during the unscripted event, which many consider a litmus test for his campaign.

The Biden campaign on Thursday circulated an internal memo arguing that there is a "clear pathway ahead" and claiming there are no signs that another candidate would outperform Biden against Trump.

"Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter," the memo read.

• The Denver Basic Income Project gave cash to more than 800 Coloradans experiencing homelessness.
• They were divided into three groups to see how different payment structures might benefit them.
• Similar findings were reported across groups, including those who got just $50 a month.

Editor's note, July 11, 2024: This story was updated with context about the findings from the Denver basic-income pilot's control group. The story, which originally focused on the pilot's overall findings, now notes that the pilot's organizers did not identify major differences in outcomes between the test groups and the control group. This suggests that giving more money to participants didn't significantly improve their outcomes after 10 months. The story was also updated to clarify findings involving participants' mental health. While some individual participants did report improvements to their mental health, participants on average scored higher on the Kessler 10 test at the pilot's 10-month mark than they did at the beginning, indicating increases in stress.

Jarun Laws lived in his car in a restaurant parking lot near downtown Denver. He worked there as a cook until 2020 and had only $400 a month left after paying bills and child support. That was barely enough to cover his car payments and child support — and not even close to what he would need for rent.

The 51-year-old occasionally spent part of his paycheck on weekend stays at a cheap hotel, where he could spend time with his children. He struggled to afford food, clothes, and medicine — and he had been experiencing homelessness for nearly a decade.

That changed when Laws enrolled in the Denver Basic Income Project. He said the pilot program, which gave him $6,500 up front and $500 each month after, allowed him to secure a temporary apartment with furniture, spend more time with his children, and find a better-paying job.

"I had questioned myself: if I was going to be a good father to my children because I was suffering," Laws previously told Business Insider. "When I got accepted, it changed my life."

Denver's basic-income pilot program — which started payments in fall 2022 — focused on more than 800 Coloradans experiencing homelessness, including people living in cars, temporary shelters, the outdoors, or other nonfixed living situations. Participants like Laws were given direct cash payments, no strings attached, and could spend the money on whatever they chose.

The city's program initially lasted one year and was extended in January for six months. Participants were randomly sorted into three groups: One received $1,000 a month for a year, another got $6,500 up front followed by $500 a month, and a third got $50 a month as a control group.

Overall, the program found similar outcomes among the participants — indicating the two trial groups didn't outperform the control group.

During the program, participants were asked about their housing, food security, finances, and mental health. On June 18, the program released its one-year report, based on the self-reported surveys. It said that 10 months into the program, roughly 45% of participants in each group said they were living in their own house or apartment, up from 6% in both trial groups and 12% in the control group who said the same at the program's start.

The report suggested participants spent less time in places like emergency rooms, hospitals, temporary shelters, and jails during the program than they did before. It estimated that this reduction in public-service use saved the city $589,214.

These savings are a fraction of the $9.4 million it took to fund the program — with money coming from the city, the philanthropic organization The Colorado Trust, and an anonymous foundation.

Basic-income pilots like Denver's have become a trending approach to poverty reduction in US cities. Denver's program results reflect the short-term impact of cash payments on participants. Though researchers described housing gains, it's not clear how the basic income will affect participants in the long term.

Laws, for example, had to return to living in his car after the payments ended.

Results of Denver's basic-income project

Participants in Denver's program told researchers that the basic income primarily helped them pay for immediate expenses like transportation, hygiene, clothes, and groceries as well as recurring bills like rent, health insurance, or debt payments.

Participants in each payment group said they felt more financially stable and relied less on emergency financial-assistance programs than they did before the basic-income program began.

Nick Pacheco, a participant engagement coordinator, said at a press conference on June 18 that basic income helped put low-income families on "an equal playing field." He added that cash payments helped participants get training and resources to establish careers.

The program said participants who received the lump sum or the monthly payments of $1,000 were more likely to report having a full-time job than they were before they received basic income. Meanwhile, the percentage of participants in the control group who said they had full-time employment decreased slightly.

The report said participants in all three groups scored higher on average on a test called Kessler 10, designed to evaluate a person's overall level of psychological distress, at the 10-month mark than they did when the program began. (A higher score indicates more stress.)

But it also said participants in the $1,000-a-month group and the control group reported spending more time on leisure activities, such as being with family and friends, than they did when the program started. It added that parents in the program said they were able to better support their children and grandchildren financially.

These results echo those from the six-month report, which found that, compared with the start of the program, fewer people across all participant groups said they were sleeping on the street, experiencing food insecurity, and feeling unsafe.

Even so, several of the results — including in housing — were similar for both the participants in the two groups receiving higher payments and the participants in the control group, suggesting that giving more money to participants didn't significantly improve their outcomes.

Many families told the researchers that they were anxious about paying bills after the end of the payments. Some said they worried they could lose their housing.

"It is difficult to discern from the DBIP 12-month findings if changes in outcomes were a result of the differential amounts of unconditional cash or were due to other characteristics of the intervention," the researchers wrote in the report. They added that the availability of temporary housing vouchers during the COVID-19 pandemic could have also affected housing outcomes.

Some participants were better able to pay bills in the short term with basic income

Some participants in Denver's program have told BI that basic income was the financial safety net they needed.

Moriah Rodriguez, 38, was working as a youth developer for Denver Public Schools when she got hit by a car and suffered a traumatic brain injury. She lived in public housing with her kids, all of whom have intellectual disabilities, though they were displaced shortly after.

She received monthly Social Security payments, just enough to care for her kids. While staying with a friend, she learned about the pilot program.

Rodriguez used the payments to fix her truck, transport her kids to school and work, buy new clothing, and secure a lifelong public-housing voucher. She also used some of the money to pay for monthly expenses — mostly rent and gas — and some smaller daily purchases. She said that she returned to school to get her GED and that her credit score increased.

Rodriguez said the basic income gave her more time to focus on her children's education and mental health, adding that the program's extension was another lifeline. "I had the space to get them tested and get them diagnosed and connected with the support they need," she said.

Dia Broncucia, 53, and Justin Searls, 45, who received the $6,500 lump sum and $500 monthly payments, said the basic income helped them afford things like an apartment, a new car, clothing, hygiene products, furniture, and mental-health resources. They said they previously lived in a temporary shelter but were able to secure a studio apartment for $1,300 a month.

Broncucia and Searls said last October that though they had some uncertainties about their future, they felt much stronger and less stressed because of basic income.

"Starting with nothing and then being able to receive a lump sum of money and then get our payments once a month is why we were able to get on track and stay on track," Broncucia previously told BI.

Cities are using basic-income pilots to try to address poverty

While Denver's one-year results were mixed, basic-income pilots are increasingly popular in the US. In recent years, lawmakers in California and New Mexico have proposed starting or supporting basic-income programs for various groups of residents.

"The lessons from those pilots are infusing the whole ecosystem of support," Teri Olle, the director of Economic Security California, a branch of the nonprofit Economic Security Project, previously told BI. "People are really seeing the power of those pilots and the power of giving people money and trusting them."

The leaders of Denver's program hope to extend it for a third year and are raising millions of dollars to do so. While the researchers haven't found evidence that giving people $1,000 a month is substantially more effective than giving them $50, they said they hoped to see more-significant differences between participants in the trial groups and those in the control group over time.

Mark Donovan, the project's founder and executive director, said in June that he was paying close attention to results from basic-income programs across the country, adding that it's a "really exciting time in the movement."

"If we're able to move people into housing and out of homelessness at a lower cost and generate better long-term outcomes, why wouldn't we try to expand and build upon that?" Donovan said.

Have you benefited from a basic-income program? Are you willing to share how you spent the money? Reach out to these reporters at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com and nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.

• Tesla is reportedly pushing back its robotaxi day to October.
• The move would throw doubt on one of Tesla's most important promises.
• Tesla's stock fell as much as 6% following the news of the delay.

Tesla is reportedly pushing back its robotaxi event to the fall, according to a report from Bloomberg on Thursday.

Elon Musk's automaker had been aiming to host investors at an event detailing its long-awaited robotaxi business plans on August 8, less than a month from now. Bloomberg reported that the company will now need more time to work up prototypes for the event, pushing the date back to October.

Tesla did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Shares of Tesla, which have rallied in recent months despite worsening financial results, sank more than 6% following the report.

While Musk is famous for missing his own deadlines, pushing back the robotaxi event would throw doubt on the company's most crucial promise right now: AI.

After initially staying above the fray in the industry's electric vehicle slowdown, Tesla is finally starting to feel the pinch of decreased demand. And its strategy to boost demand by slashing prices is taking a toll on the company's bottom line.

Following tough first-quarter financial results, Musk was able to win over investors with a couple of key promises — including a driverless taxi business that would operate like "a combination of Airbnb and Uber." So far, the company has shown off renderings of an app interface and a short video, but no verifiable product.

Powered by Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, fleets of driverless Tesla cars, belonging to the company and to individual owners, would be available for rides by anyone.

Tesla bulls like Wedbush analyst Dan Ives were unphased by the reported delay.

"While the knee jerk reaction will clearly be negative on a delay of August 8th," Ives wrote in a note to clients, "we believe the timing of robotaxis, partnerships, and the ultimate autonomous and AI driven technology does not change at all for our bullish Tesla thesis."

• A new lawsuit accuses Hyundai of artificially inflating its EV sales numbers.
• The lawsuit said one manager told a dealer he had to "hit a number" to appease Hyundai's South Korean owners.
• Hyundai has reported strong EV sales in recent months, even as demand for electric cars has slowed.

Hyundai has been accused of artificially inflating its EV sales in a lawsuit filed by a group of dealers.

The lawsuit says that the automaker encouraged dealers to falsely record sales of unsold electric models and accused one sales manager of telling a dealership he was "up against the wall" and had to "hit a number" to appease Hyundai's South Korean owners.

Hyundai has reported surging EV sales in the US in recent months, with the South Korean automaker's Ioniq 5 and 6 electric models recording record sales in May.

The company and its sister automaker Kia have largely defied a general slowdown in demand for electric vehicles, thanks to their array of hybrids coupled with more affordable battery electric models.

The lawsuit, filed in a district court in Illinois, says sales were inflated by a secret program that advised dealers to falsely report unsold vehicles as "sold" to a customer or placed into loaner service, only to reverse the sale the following month.

It alleges that those dealers who did so were awarded extra allocations of Hyundai's fastest-selling vehicles and other rewards and benefits.

The lawsuit says that in a phone call — a record of which is included in the complaint — a Hyundai sales manager encouraged a dealership employee to participate in the scheme, offering extra inventory of faster-selling gasoline and hybrid models in return. Per the suit, the sales manager apologized for the "slimy" request but stated that "desperate times call for desperate measures."

"We're kinda up against the wall and we gotta hit a number for the press and for the Koreans," the transcript quotes the manager as saying. "So if you can help out in any way, I can help you by giving you those pipeline cars."

Hyundai did not respond to a request for comment.

The company said in a statement to Reuters that it had opened an investigation into the allegations and did not condone falsifying sales data.

Do you work at Hyundai or have a tip? Get in touch with this reporter via email at tcarter@businessinsider.com.

• Obama may be quietly backing efforts for Biden to step aside, according to reports.
• Biden's poor debate performance has led to increased calls for him to drop out.
• A number of people in Obama's circle, including his former aides and George Clooney, have criticized Biden. 

Former president Barack Obama may be quietly supporting — or at least not objecting to — the Democratic push to oust Joe Biden, according to multiple reports.

On the Thursday morning broadcast of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" — a personal favorite show of Biden's — host Joe Scarborough said that the Biden team believes Obama is supporting the Democratic revolt against Biden's reelection campaign.

"What's going on behind the scenes is the Biden campaign and many Democratic officials do believe that Barack Obama is quietly working behind the scenes to orchestrate this," Scarborough said on "Morning Joe," according to The Hill.

Scarborough's co-host and wife, Mika Brzezinski, chimed in, "I think Barack Obama has a lot of influence and there's a lot there."

Ever since Biden's disastrous debate performance — where he struggled to formulate his thoughts, repeatedly trailed off mid-sentence, and appeared confused at times — there have been growing calls from top Democrats for him to drop out of the race.

And major Democratic donor and Hollywood actor George Clooney joined that cacophony of doubt on Wednesday, publishing an op-ed in The New York Times in which he urged Biden to step aside.

Obama — who is close friends with Clooney — reportedly knew ahead of time what Clooney intended to write in his op-ed, sources familiar with the matter told Politico.

Though Politico wrote that Obama didn't orchestrate the op-ed, the outlet said the former president — whom Biden served under as vice president — didn't object to it.

Clooney wrote in his op-ed that he became concerned about Biden's condition weeks before the debate at a Democratic fundraiser in LA that Obama also attended. 

"It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe 'big F-ing deal' Biden of 2010," Clooney wrote in the Times. "He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

Obama may have noticed the same vulnerabilities in Biden that Clooney identified that night.

For example, when Jimmy Kimmel was interviewing Biden and Obama onstage at the June event, Biden struggled to keep up with the pace of questions, and Obama was left to pick up his slack, tying together loose ends in Biden's responses, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Others in Obama's circle have been questioning Biden's ability to win and serve a second term. A number of Obama's former aides have also joined the chorus of doubts about Biden's reelection chances this November.

David Axelrod, a former advisor to Obama, said earlier this week that Biden is "dangerously out of touch" and is "not winning this race" against Trump. And the hosts of the "Pod Save America" podcast, also former Obama aides, have said Biden should seriously consider stepping aside.

Biden, however, has fervently and repeatedly argued that he's more than capable of defeating Trump and serving another four years at the top.

"I'm not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out three and a half years of work," Biden posted on X last week. "I'm staying in the race, and I will beat Donald Trump."

Representatives for Obama and the Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Democratic members of Congress are still calling on Biden to drop out of the race.
• 11 of them have done so as of Thursday, July 11.
• Other lawmakers are flatly predicting that Biden will lose to Trump.

President Joe Biden is facing calls to drop out of the presidential race from House Democrats following his disastrous debate performance in June.

It began on Tuesday, July 2, when Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first member of Congress to call for Biden's withdrawal. In a statement, he praised the president's record of accomplishments but said an "authoritarian takeover" would come if former President Donald Trump won.

"Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now," Doggett said. He later said on NBC that some of his House colleagues privately agreed with him.

That next day, Doggett was joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who told the New York Times that the debate represented an "opportunity to look elsewhere."

"What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race," said Grijalva. Both men are in their mid-to-late 70s and represent solidly Democratic seats.

Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts later joined them, telling a local radio affiliate that Biden should "step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump."

On Friday, July 5, shortly before Biden's interview with ABC News was set to air, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said on MSBNC that Biden should "let someone else do this."

And the following Saturday morning, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota became the first swing-district Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw, saying in a statement that she does "not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump."

Separately, two members of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — said that they believe Biden will lose to Trump, but did not explicitly call on him to withdraw. Sen. Michael Bennett of Colorado went on CNN to say the same thing.

Golden went as far as to say that he is "OK" with Trump winning, saying he rejects the idea that Trump is a "unique threat to our democracy."

On Wednesday, July 10, Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to call for Biden to drop out.

If Biden were to step aside, Vice President Kamala Harris is one of several Democratic contenders who could replace him.

Here's a full list of the 10 House Democrats who have publicly called on Biden to drop out:

• Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas
• Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona
• Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts
• Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois
• Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota
• Rep. Adam Smith of Washington
• Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey
• Rep. Pat Ryan of New York
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon
• Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan

• I grew up in Australia and worked in tourism for many years.
• I've seen many tourists make the same mistakes, like expecting warm weather year-round.
• I've also noticed that many tourists don't sample the local cuisine.

I'm a born-and-bred Aussie who's been fortunate enough to work in travel and tourism, promoting Australia to international visitors. For many years, I attended international conferences, gave presentations at colleges, and ran seminars about Australia.

Tourism is an important part of Australia's economy and is expected to generate $265.5 billion this year. But it's also an incredible way to introduce travelers to everything the country has to offer.

Unfortunately, though, while working in the industry, I've seen visitors believe the same misconceptions about Australia and make similar mistakes over and over again.

Here are the five most common mistakes I see when tourists visit the country for the first time.

Underestimating the size of Australia

Australia is the sixth-biggest country in the world and the only country that takes up a whole continent. Despite this, many travelers aim to cover all of it on a short vacation.

When tourists try to do too much in one trip, they end up spending more time at airports than enjoying the sites.

Focusing on Sydney and ignoring other parts of Australia

The first place most people think of when they hear Australia is Sydney. However, I believe Sydney lacks the depth and culture of other Australian cities.

For example, when traveling to Sydney, you'll likely meet many fellow tourists. For a true Australian experience, I recommend checking out other cities, like Melbourne. After all, there's a reason it was named one of the world's most liveable cities.

Although I'm biased, I believe my home city of Melbourne offers far more to tourists and is always the surprise hit of any visitor I speak with. Here, tourists can expect lots of festivals and events throughout the year, a vibrant café culture, a famed art scene, and friendly people.

I also recommend taking a trip to the Outback before leaving Australia. Despite covering 81% of the country, few people visit this vast unpopulated region brimming with diverse wildlife and natural wonders like the stunning pink lakes. The crystal-clear skies are also magical for stargazing at night.

Visiting Uluru is also a must, as it offers an interesting insight into our history and Indigenous culture.

Thinking Australia is hot all the time

Another thing most tourists don't realize is that Australia isn't always hot. The southern half of Australia experiences a chilly winter, and in some mountainous areas, it snows.

Many tourists arrive in the middle of winter unprepared and are forced to buy warmer clothes because summer in the northern hemisphere is winter down under.

The good news is that if you live in the northern hemisphere, you can take advantage of end-of-season winter sales in your home country before your Australian vacation.

When the weather is warm, though, it's important to wear sunscreen. The sun in Australia is harsher than anywhere else I've been, and it's easy to get sunburned.

Even my Texan wife covers herself in lotion — and she's used to the sun and extreme heat.

Not experiencing the local cuisine

Australia has a diverse range of great food, and tourists are doing themselves a disservice by not sampling the local cuisine.

For a true Australian experience, I recommend trying a meat pie at a sporting event, a "parma" (aka chicken Parmesan) at a pub, and, of course, Vegemite on toast.

Being overly paranoid about deadly animals

When I worked in tourism, a lot of prospective travelers asked me how I survived all the deadly animals in Australia. Although it's true that Australia is known for having deadly snakes, sharks, and spiders, I've never seen one outside a zoo.

In fact, many animals are scared of humans and stay away from the big cities and places where humans are.

Of course, tourists should always exercise caution around wildlife. However, the chances of having an encounter with a deadly animal are quite slim.

• Jensen Huang isn't sitting comfortably atop the world's most valuable company.
• He doesn't want Nvidia to meet the same fate as Cisco or Sun, The Information reports.
• The two other companies were on top in the 90s, but collapsed when the dot-com bubble burst.

For Jensen Huang, unparalleled success has reportedly come with a healthy helping of anxiety.

The Nvidia cofounder has been christened the tech world's Taylor Swift — with a rock-star persona to match the company's unprecedented riches.

Known for his signature leather jackets, Huang was recently pictured autographing a woman's chest at a tech event in Taiwan — this as 31-year-old Nvidia became the world's most valuable company on Tuesday, edging out Microsoft with a $3.338 trillion market capitalization.

But The Information reported that behind the scenes, Huang, 61, is concerned with future-proofing Nvidia, telling colleagues he doesn't want it to meet the same fate as former tech titans Cisco and Sun Microsystems.

Having launched in 1999 as a maker of GPUs for gaming systems, Nvidia has had its stumbles over the years, The Information reports, including a failed attempt at software for self-driving cars.

There's no imminent sign of a slowdown for Nvidia's white-hot chips that are largely powering the AI boom.

But a glimpse at the histories of fallen tech companies illuminates just how quickly fortunes can turn.

Cisco shares plunged when the dot-com bubble burst

Several analysts have drawn parallels between Nvidia and Cisco, which also trafficked in hardware that fueled its day's transformative technology.

Cisco sold routers and other networking hardware during the dot-com bubble. It went public in 1990 and saw its stock crest in 2000, briefly becoming the world's most valuable company with a $569 billion market cap.

Sound familiar?

But then the bubble burst. Data centers built by telecom companies went untapped, and Cisco's hardware went from revolutionary to commonplace.

The company announced layoffs in 2001, and by October 2002, its share price had plunged 90%, according to Investor's Business Daily. While shares have never reached peak levels again, the company continues to operate.

Sun had a $200 billion valuation — and was later acquired for a fraction of that.

Another cautionary tale Huang reportedly heeds is Sun Microsystems.

"He tries to remind people not to get 'Sunned,'" a Nvidia employee told The Information.

The server and computer manufacturer experienced a similar ascent to Cisco during the dot-com bubble, with CEO Scott McNealy and programmer Bill Hoy emerging as celebrities of the tech industry, according to Forbes.

Sun's operating systems were an early hit and eventually led the company to a peak market cap of $200 billion in 2000, according to Marketwatch.

But eventually competitors caught up — and Sun failed to pivot to the lucrative software space, The Information reports.

It was acquired by Oracle for $7.4 billion in 2009.

The Information reports Huang is seeking to avoid the same fate by diversifying Nvidia's business beyond chips, including with cloud server rental and software businesses.

Nvidia AI Enterprise, for instance, is an operating system that trains AI. Whether history repeats itself remains to be seen.

Correction July 11, 2024: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Sun Microsystems' peak market cap. It was $200 billion, not $200 million.

• The first "Gladiator 2" trailer shows Paul Mescal as Lucius fighting Pedro Pascal's Marcus Acacius.
• In the original "Gladiator" movie, the younger Lucius was played by Spencer Treat Clark.
• Here's why Clark doesn't reprise the role in "Gladiator 2."

The trailer for the "Gladiator" sequel dropped on Tuesday, leaving fans wondering why Paul Mescal plays the slave fighter Lucius instead of Spencer Treat Clark, who played him in the original.

Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" starred Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a former Roman general who is betrayed and sold into slavery. Lucius, the heir to the Roman Empire, watches Maximus fight in the Colosseum.

The 2000 movie is one of the most beloved historical epics of all time and won five Oscars, including best film and best actor. Because of this, there's plenty of pressure on "Gladiator 2" to live up to the high expectations set by the original.

The first trailer for "Gladiator 2," which is out on November 22, suggests Lucius disappeared after the events of the original movie and forged a life for himself. But like Maximus, he's forced into becoming a fighter when he's captured by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) and his soldiers.

It's not surprising that Scott cast Mescal as Lucius for the sequel considering the Irish actor has become a rising star after his critically acclaimed performances in"Normal People," "Aftersun," and "All of Us Strangers."

But "Gladiator" fans on social media have said it's odd that Scott didn't ask Clark to reprise the role since he's still working as an actor.

Scott said he needed someone younger to play Lucius in "Gladiator 2"

Clark, who is now 36 years old, also played Joseph Dunn in "Unbreakable" opposite Bruce Willis — a role he later reprised in 2019's "Glass." And he's appeared in several TV shows, including "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D," "Animal Kingdom," and "Manhunt."

In November last year, Scott told Deadline that he wanted to cast a younger actor to play Lucius in "Gladiator 2" and that he was impressed by Mescal, who is 28, in "Normal People."

Scott said: "I'm always looking for someone, something new and fresh. I mean, fresh is terribly important. So they're not carrying … baggage is a terrible word for what they've done before, because it's great stuff, but you will remember he just did this character already.

"I watched this show called 'Normal People.' It's unusual for me, but I saw one and thought, that's interesting. These actors are really good I watched the whole goddamn show and thought, damn."

He added: "So this came up at a time when I need a 23-year-old, 24-year-old to take up the mantle of Lucius. And I just said, 'You want to do it?' He said, 'Yeah.'"

Representatives for Spencer Treat Clark didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Correction: July 11, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated that the first "Gladiator" film won an Oscar for best director.

• I have three grandchildren aged 11, 10, and 7. 
• When they come over to my place, I make sure to have activities for them to enjoy. 
• I'm always overjoyed when their parents call to let us know they want to come stay with us again. 

I am 68 and still working as a travel writer. My husband is a retired professor aged 70 who still dabbles in special projects and teaches online. I love babysitting my grandchildren during school holidays and when their parents need a break.

We spend time playing games that I have created. I spend a lot of time pulling together activities because I get to tap into creativity in a different way than my work and the enjoyment they get out of it is incredibly rewarding. My husband and I have simple fun with the kids and get to be kids ourselves, a reminder of our childhood.

We have a unique connection to our grandchildren. We both embrace our inner child, and it is perfectly acceptable to be silly and laugh outrageously.

We enjoy our time together; time flies by, and everyone has fun. As a bonus, grandparents who engage with their grandchildren live longer, stay more active, and have more purpose, according to a 2016 study.

Our three grandchildren, ages 10, 11, and 7, are two girls and a boy. Every time they visit, I give them a choice of activities I know all of us, including Grandad, will enjoy.

I let them choose what activities they want to do

Every time they come over, I present the choices on a prepared menu, each item in a different color with boxes to check for the young ones to select their preferences. I sometimes make a "choosing clock" with the activities written in a circle on a paper plate or construction paper. The children turn the arrow to each activity in order of their preference. The fun begins just by doing this. They now expect choices and enjoy having a list to choose from and prioritize. If I pick them up in the car, I bring it with me to give them something to do on the way to our house. Sometimes, they jump from one activity to another, and other times, they stick with one for the whole afternoon.

One time, I made a doctor's kit with a toy stethoscope and plastic surgical tools from the dollar store. Grandad is usually a willing patient. Children of all ages love a tea party, and if we want to take it up a notch, we decorate tea party hats.

Playing restaurant is a variant of the tea party. The children draw up a menu on construction paper or a chalkboard. We can play one game of doctor for an hour, then have afternoon tea for another hour. It's mindlessly relaxing because I don't think about anything else while I am with them.

The children love maps, and we often draw maps of our town with them, adding their school, favorite stores, where both parents work, and where other family members live. Trees and cars are added. At times, these maps turn into treasure maps, with one grandparent aging the paper ahead of time, burning the edges to age them, and adding a pirate story to the treasure map.

Recently, my 10-year-old granddaughter came over and mentioned she wanted to paint her bedroom, so we went to the paint store and let her choose as many paint chips as she wanted. She then spread them out on the dining table and prioritized them in piles. We drew the layout of her bedroom, cut out templates for her bed, night table, dresser, and desk, and had her move them around to change the layout of her room. She went home with a rolled-up plan of the new layout, paint chips stapled to the design and was happy with the afternoon she spent with us. Something unplanned and fun for all of us. It's an example of making everything into a game. It encourages creativity and participation.

I love spending time with my grandchildren

The reward for this effort comes every time the parents call and say that the kids are asking when they can come over.

Playing with them is an escape because I play whatever they want to focus on and don't think about anything else. We can play one game of doctor for an hour, then have afternoon tea for another hour.

What's not to love? The children like to come to our house to spend time with us and don't want to leave.