• Selena Gomez has shut down rumors that she's looking to sell her makeup brand, Rare Beauty.
• The line has been valued at $2 billion and has earned more than $70 million from blush sales alone.
• During the Time100 Summit, Gomez said she's "enjoying this a little too much."

The rumors aren't true, according to Selena Gomez. She's not eager to sell her makeup brand.

In March, Bloomberg reported that Gomez's company, Rare Beauty, had hired financial advisors to join meetings with potential investors and buyers.

The report came after The Business of Fashion named Rare Beauty one of the top merger and acquisition targets in January and valued the brand at $2 billion, citing $300 million in sales last year.

But during an appearance at the Time100 Summit in New York City on Wednesday, Gomez hinted at a strong future for her company — one that intrinsically involves her.

"I don't think I'm going anywhere. I am enjoying this a little too much," she told Time senior editor Lucy Feldman. "I just want to continue building what we're doing."

Gomez went on to describe Rare Beauty as her "pride and joy" and said there are "so many fun things coming up."

"I'm just looking forward to being a part of this," she said.

Rare Beauty has seen major success since launching in 2020 with TikTok-viral products and Sephora bestsellers. As Bloomberg reported last year, it "moved 3.1 million units" of its Soft Pinch Liquid Blush alone in 2022, earning the company around $70 million in revenue.

The fan-favorite product is so popular that Rare Beauty launched a new version — the $26 Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush — in April.

Rare Beauty is also known for its Rare Impact Fund, an initiative Gomez founded that's dedicated to raising $100 million over the next 10 years to expand mental health services across the world.

Other celebrity beauty brand founders have famously sold their own cosmetic lines and often earned serious cash in the process.

Bobbi Brown sold her namesake beauty company to Estée Lauder in 1995 for a reported $74.5 million, and Kat Von D sold her shares of her former brand to Kendo in 2020.

Though Gomez might not be planning to join them anytime soon, the possibilities — and dollars — in the future are seemingly endless.

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• Buy now, pay later company Affirm is starting to offer loans for elective cosmetic procedures.
• BNPL works differently from a credit card — critics say it can encourage people to pile on debt. 
• It's not just available for Botox, though. Dental and vet bills can be paid this way, too.

"Buy now, pay later" company Affirm has identified a new category for growth, according to a new report from Reuters: elective medical procedures like Botox, nose jobs, and even dental treatments.

Buy now, pay later options like Klarna and Affirm have become ubiquitous at checkouts on e-commerce retail sites for some time. Klarna even had a Super Bowl ad. But until recently, these companies have largely focused on retail purchases.

Now, BNPL is moving into the medical arena — a first for a major buy now, pay later company, according to the Reuters report:

Over the past year, Affirm has more than doubled the number of elective medical merchants on its network, reaching around 130 at of the end of 2023. The San Francisco-based company is hoping to tap growing consumer demand for financing for cosmetic treatments, dental services, medical devices and veterinary procedures.

"A lot of these price points are about $2,000 and above, so that suits our installment product … really well," Pat Suh, Affirm's senior vice president of revenue, said in an interview.

On one hand, financing cosmetic procedures is nothing new. A plastic surgeon or dentist may offer their own financing plans, and certainly, people use personal credit cards or other personal loan products for these things.

BNPL can appeal to people who don't have a credit card, perhaps because they're young and don't have a credit history or have bad credit. This can be a good thing, giving purchasing power to those who wouldn't otherwise have it. But BNPL apps typically don't help people build credit. They don't send positive payment information to the credit bureaus, but if your account goes into collections, it can negatively affect your credit score.

They can also trip those same people up. In 2022, a LendingTree report found that 42% of people who had used BNPL had at least one late payment. And those late payment fees can start to add up.

The services can also lead young people down a bad road, encouraging overspending with the allure of a seemingly low monthly payment. Business Insider reported recently how BNPL loans grew by 10 times between 2019 and 2023, creating a significant amount of "phantom debt" in the US economy since it's not typically reported to credit bureaus.

I know: It can be hard to sympathize with someone who's using lip filler they can't afford by putting it on Affirm. But go back to what it's actually being used for: "cosmetic treatments, dental services, medical devices, and veterinary procedures."

That means it's not just lip filler and Botox.

People who might need a root canal or a crown for a chipped tooth — the kind of necessary care that can be very expensive even with dental insurance — might be using Affirm. Or veterinary bills: any pet owner knows the horrible choice they face if their dog or cat needs an expensive surgery.

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• The US economy is facing a rare and difficult bifurcation, says Piper Sandler's head economist.
• Big companies have withstood or even benefited from high rates, while consumers are feeling the squeeze. 
• The economist forecasts 53% odds of recession but adds that one is needed to bring down inflation. 

The US is navigating a "bifurcated" economy that's only been seen twice before, with both times ending in a recession, according to a top economist.

Nancy Lazar, Piper Sandler's chief global economist, told Fox Business Network on Wednesday that the current economic backdrop is "very difficult" and "very unusual," and occurred only during the energy crisis in 1978-1979 and the latest Great Recession in 2008. 

"You have those that are benefiting from higher interest rates. You have those that are suffering from higher interest rates, those that can pay for these higher prices, and those that are really getting squeezed," Lazar said.

She said large businesses have been riding high on interest income, favorable financial conditions from locking in low-cost debt, surging stock rallies, and hefty government support.

Meanwhile, consumers are feeling the squeeze, facing mounting debts at elevated interest rates while inflation eats into wage gains. 

"At the end of the day, the interest rate structure had to go higher for longer, and in turn, eventually, you did have a recession, and that's how you eventually crushed the excesses and inflation," she said. 

Lazar forecasts a 53% odds of a recession, but she emphasized that we "need a recession" to tackle the inflation problem. 

"[Otherwise,] you're going to have a big group of people, a big group of companies continue to spend, continue to bid up these prices. And so I think it's a fine line, and I worry more about sticky inflation than I worry about recession."

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• Google delayed the removal of third-party cookies from Chrome again.
• The move gives companies more time to prepare for the removal of cookies, following pushback.
• Google plans to phase out cookies in 2025, subject to approval from the CMA and ICO.

Google is delaying its removal of third-party cookies on Chrome — again.

The company has delayed rolling out the removal multiple times since announcing the change in January 2020. It cited industry and regulatory pushback as the "significant considerations" behind the delay in a statement Tuesday.

"We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

Third-party cookies are small data files stored on a user's device. Companies use cookies to track consumers across websites and target them with ads. They also use the tool to track whether campaigns are working effectively.

In recent years, Google joined companies like Apple and Mozilla in phasing out cookies to increase consumer privacy protections. Google developed its Privacy Sandbox, a collection of technologies to protect consumers while allowing companies to advertise successfully.

But the path to do so hasn't been simple.

Google is dependent on ads, and companies use cookies to target consumers and evaluate whether the ads are working. As the owner of the biggest search engine, the tech giant has received backlash from companies for planning to remove the feature because of its impact on advertising.

In January, Google experimented with phasing out cookies for 1% of Chrome users, which is about 30 million people. Various adtech companies said the new technology didn't adequately compensate for lost features from cookies.

Google has also faced regulatory complications that have prevented it from moving forward with the change. Google can't eliminate third-party cookies in Chrome until the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is satisfied with the new technology and approves it as anticompetitive.

"It's also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence including results from industry tests," a Google spokesperson said. "Which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June."

Previously, the CMA said it was in the process of evaluating the impact of the changes, which it planned to wrap up halfway through 2024. Once it approves the Privacy Sandbox technologies, Google has to wait between 60 to 120 days before it can switch off cookies.

"We welcome Google's announcement clarifying the timing of third-party cookie deprecation," a CMA spokesperson told BI. "This will allow time to assess the results of industry tests and resolve remaining issues."

Google originally said it wanted to eliminate cookies by the end of 2024. The company said it now aims to start phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome in early 2025, hinging on approval from the CMA and the UK's privacy regulator, which is called the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

The ICO will work with Google and the CMA to ensure that the end of web cookies means beneficial privacy results for web users, Stephen Almond, the executive director of regulatory risk at ICO, told BI.

"Consumers benefit when businesses meet the requirements of data protection and competition law," Almond said.

Do you have a Google tip? Email the reporter from a non-work at aaltchek@insider.com.

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Apple announced this week that it will host a video-streamed online event on May 7, where the company is expected to reveal new iPads and iPad accessories. The big giveaway is the animation included in the event announcement on Apple's website, which shows a hand flicking around an Apple Pencil. 

There are no official details on what Apple will announce or release on May 7. However, a significant update to the iPad Pro and iPad Air series, an upgraded Apple Pencil, and an updated Magic Keyboard are expected, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, one of the most reliable sources when it comes to unreleased Apple products. 

The last time new iPads were released was in 2022, when some models got a refresh, including a standard 10th-generation iPad and iPad Air and Pro models. The iPad Mini hasn't been updated since 2021. In 2023, the only iPad-related devices Apple released included a USB-C Apple Pencil.

New iPad Pros with OLED displays

The expected upcoming iPad Pros could be quite a significant update. The most exciting and plausible update coming to the new iPads is sharper OLED displays for the Pro models, according to Gurman — the same kind of displays found on iPhones since 2017.

If accurate, OLED displays have the potential to bring dramatic improvements to viewing videos and whatever you do on an iPad that uses the display. At the same time, OLED displays could hike the minimum price even further for the iPad Pro models, which are already the most expensive devices among the best iPads, starting at $799. 

Beyond a totally new display, the new iPad Pros are said to have noticeably thinner designs, according to 9to5Mac. 

The iPad Pros are widely expected to run on Apple's M3 processor, which was introduced with the latest MacBook Air and base MacBook Pro models. 

A new, larger iPad Air

Alongside a refreshed iPad Air with a typical display size of around 11 inches, Apple is expected to release a new iPad Air model with a 12.9-inch display for the first time, according to Gurman, matching the display size of the larger iPad Pro model.

It's widely expected that the upcoming iPad Air models will be upgraded from Apple's M1 processor to Apple's M2 processor, which was introduced in 2022 for various Mac laptops, like the 2022 MacBook Air and 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro. It would be a welcome upgrade for professionals using the iPad Air for creative visual work, but it's unlikely to make much of a difference for basic iPad use, like video streaming, social media scrolling, web browsing, emailing, or even playing games. 

An Apple Pencil you can squeeze

An expected new Apple Pencil could register squeezes from your fingers to do different things, according to 9to5Mac, which referenced evidence of a new squeeze gesture in the iPadOS 17.5 beta version. The new squeeze gesture would likely activate customizable functions.

An upgraded Magic Keyboard

A new Magic Keyboard that's supposedly designed for the new iPad Pros will reportedly have an aluminum top to address the poor durability of the current Magic Keyboard, according to Gurman. A larger trackpad is also said to be expected. The whole package could make the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard combination look similar to a Mac laptop. 

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• Celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z, and Justin Bieber are flaunting Tesla's Cybertruck.
• Famous folk have been spotted taking the truck to concerts, church, and through downtown Miami.
• Here's a list of celebrities that have been spotted with Tesla's Cybertruck.

Celebrities have been flexing the latest four-wheeled status symbol — Tesla's Cybertruck.

Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z, and Justin Bieber have all been spotted with the truck in recent months. In March, Steve Aoki joined the ranks of owners, posting an enthusiastic video that was later re-shared by Elon Musk.

And "American Idol" judge Katy Perry posted about receiving her own Cybertruck delivery Tuesday.

Despite the hype, some experts have questioned if the spottings are just a grand marketing plan orchestrated by Tesla after it launched the vehicle in late 2023. Either way, the high-profile endorsements appear to be working in the EV company's favor.

"It's got this image of a must," Winston Chesterfield, the founder of Barton, a London consulting firm focused on the wealthy, previously told Business Insider. "If you are a high-end person that wants to be seen around, you have to have the Cybertruck."

Kim Kardashian

Kardashian was one of the first celebs to publicly show off the truck.

In February, she posted a picture of the Tesla Cybertruck on her Instagram story with the caption "Cool Carpool Mom."

Justin and Hailey Bieber

Justin Bieber and his wife, Hailey Bieber, have been spotted driving Tesla's new vehicle to church.

In images circulating online, the pair can be seen through the windows and climbing out of the pickup in a series of snaps.

Jay-Z

Music superstars Jay-Z and Beyoncé also appear to have received a Cybertruck, which they quickly wrapped in matte black. The makeover even received Tesla CEO Elon Musk's seal of approval.

Steve Aoki

A video posted by Musk in March showed that Steve Aoki received a Foundation Series Cybertruck.

Aoki gushed over the size of the truck in the video, calling it a "Cyberbeast."

Bad Bunny

In late February, Bad Bunny was spotted pulling up to the Utah leg of his tour in a Tesla Cybertruck.

Pharrell Williams

In early January, Pharrell Williams was photographed trying to park the truck in downtown Miami.

Williams, who appeared to be trying to parallel park the vehicle, ultimately had to leave it in the street after his failed attempt, a witness said.

Theo Von

Stand-up comedian and podcaster Theo Von was spotted driving his Cybertruck as he pulled up to a stop sign.

The host of the "This Past Weekend" podcast was filmed through the truck's windows in a video that made the rounds on social media.

NBA star Anthony Edwards

The Minnesota Timberwolves star was filmed pulling up to an NBA game in his Cybertruck.

Katy Perry

In a post on X, the "American Idol" judge posed in front of her Cybertruck and thanked Musk for the delivery.

"Looks good," the Tesla CEO replied.

Jason Kelce

Philadelphia residents have reported seeing retired Eagles player Jason Kelce driving around the city in his Cybertruck. The former athlete also appeared in a video where he pointed out the decal stickers on the back.

Kanye West

Ye and his wife Bianca Censori were spotted in April being driven around Los Angeles in a Cybertruck. It's unclear if the vehicle belongs to the rap mogul, but West and Musk have had a hot-and-cold friendship over the years.

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• As an interior designer, I've mastered ways to make even the smallest spaces feel grand and open. 
• People often make rookie mistakes, like hanging curtains too low and getting a rug that's too small.
• But the right paint shade can brighten a room, and mirrors can make it feel like it extends forever.

Use large artwork to create an illusion of grandeur.

When your artwork is large, it draws the eye upward and outward.

Adding a sizable piece to your wall creates the illusion of depth, especially if it's a beautiful snapshot or landscape painting that resembles a view you might see out of a window.

Think of it as a statement piece that doubles as the room's focal point.

When you're working with a small space, it's important to choose a piece that packs a punch. You want to make sure it's the star of the show, so keep the surrounding decor minimal and let the art speak for itself. 

If you're not sure where to hang it, place it on a wall opposite the entrance. That way, when someone walks into your space, they'll be wowed by the piece and forget all about how small your space is.

Mirrors are the most effective way to trick the eye and open up a room.

Think of mirrors as a magical portal to another dimension, one where space is infinite and your living room is the size of a ballroom. 

They give the illusion of continuity and are one of the most powerful tools for tricking the eye.

When placed in the proper spot, they have the ability to reflect the surrounding space, making it seem like a room extends beyond its actual boundaries. This optical illusion makes your small space feel more open and vast.

It's important to strategically place mirrors in areas where they'll bounce light around the room. I recommend hanging yours directly across from a window or perpendicular to a window for the most effective outcome.

When choosing paint shades for a small space, look for colors with an LRV of 50 or higher.

Light Reflective Value measures how much light a paint color reflects on a scale of zero to 100. This value is important when considering how a paint color will influence a room's mood, atmosphere, and perceived size. 

Paint colors with a higher LRV reflect more light, which can make a room feel brighter and more open. And when a room feels brighter and more open, it automatically feels larger.  

When choosing paint colors for a small space, look for colors with an LRV of 50 or higher. White is a classic choice for tight quarters because it has a high LRV, but not all white paint is created equally. Two shades that look nearly identical can have different LRVs.

You also don't have to stick to white to get a light, airy feel. Light pastels, soft neutrals, and even some mid-tone colors can have high LRVs.

Just be sure to check a color's LRV before you buy it to ensure that it'll reflect enough light to make your space feel larger.

Floor-to-ceiling curtains make your walls look much taller.

Hanging curtains right above a window is a common design mistake I've seen many rookies make. It breaks up the wall space, creating a visual barrier that shortens the distance between the ceiling and the floor. 

It's like taking a pair of scissors and snipping down your room's height, which isn't exactly going to make it feel more spacious.

Instead, hang your curtains as high as you possibly can. Floor-to-ceiling curtains make your windows look larger and your walls look longer. It's like putting a pair of stilettos on your room.

Take advantage of vertical real estate for all of your small-space storage needs.

Anyone living in a small apartment or home can attest that storage can be a big issue. Every inch of space counts. But fear not — the solution to your storage woes is right above your head. You just need to embrace the power of shelves and cabinets.

Using closed, wall-mounted cabinets for storage frees up valuable floor space, making your home feel more organized and spacious. Not to mention, it'll also feel less cluttered.

Closed storage allows you to keep your not-so-pretty items, like old tax documents, out of sight but easily accessible.

Translucent furniture maximizes space without sacrificing style.

Unlike bulky wooden furniture — which can make a space feel heavy, cramped, and cluttered —  translucent furniture allows the eye to travel through it, creating an unobstructed view of a room.

Translucent furniture creates a sense of spaciousness and depth that can make even the smallest room feel larger and more open. 

Let's not forget that these pieces let in more light as well, brightening your room and making it feel more inviting.

From acrylic chairs to glass coffee tables to lucite bookcases, these items are both stylish and functional. 

As an added bonus, they're often lightweight and easy to move around, making them perfect for renters or anyone who likes to frequently switch up their decor.

A rug that doesn't fit your space can make your room look smaller, too.

Rugs can make or break a room. Unfortunately, one of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to rugs is choosing one that's too small for their space. 

It can be tempting to go for a smaller rug. After all, they're often cheaper and easier to find. 

However, a rug that's too small will create an awkward negative space around the edges of the room, drawing the eye inwards and making the room feel cramped and unbalanced. 

A rug that's large enough for your space creates a sense of harmony and balance, pulling the eye outward and making the room feel more spacious.

There are plenty of options, from natural jute rugs to low-pile wool rugs, that can give you the look and feel you're after without breaking the bank.

Painting your ceiling and walls the same color can actually make your room appear larger.

The days of painting your walls a bold color and leaving the ceiling white are over. 

When it comes to creating a seamless, cohesive look, painting your walls and ceiling the same color is the way to go. 

This design choice eliminates any harsh lines or color transitions, creating a sense of continuity and flow that reminds me of the way the sky and the horizon blend together. It can also make your room feel like it goes on forever.

Of course, choosing the right color is key. White is always a classic choice, but don't be afraid to experiment with other shades. Soft blues, greens, and grays can also work wonders and create a serene, calming atmosphere.

When it comes to creating a spacious and inviting room, less is definitely more.

If you find yourself hoarding nicknacks, it's time to declutter. 

Every item in your room takes up space. The more stuff you have, the less free space you have to move around in. 

Letting go of clutter is the first step to creating a room that feels more open and spacious. By only keeping the essentials, you'll have more breathing room and allow your space to shine. 

I recommend combing through your decor with a fine toothcomb and critical eye, keeping only your most prized possessions.

Play around with multiple light sources to brighten your home and make it feel more expansive.

The secret to crafting a space that feels open and expansive is thinking about lighting in three tiers: ambient, task, and accent.

Ambient lighting provides overall illumination, task lighting focuses on specific areas, like a reading nook or desk, and accent lighting highlights architectural features or artwork.

Incorporating all three tiers of lighting into a space brings a sense of height and dimension that makes any room feel larger. It's an easy, cost-effective way to add some drama to your space.

This story was originally published on March 3, 2023, and most recently updated on April 24, 2024.

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• Desk workers' weekly meeting hours have decreased by 31% since 2021, says a survey by Reclaim.ai.
• We might have fewer meetings than a few years ago, but the time can still cut into productivity. 
• Despite the drop in appointments, workers only attend 83% of them, often because they're too busy.

We're spending less time in meetings than just a few years ago. Yet, like a dieter who's cut a few pounds but can't see it, our extra free time isn't always obvious.

According to Reclaim.ai, which makes an AI-powered calendar app, desk workers' time in meetings has dropped to 14.8 hours a week in 2024 from 21.5 hours a week in 2021. That's a 31% decrease, according to data from 1,300 workers it surveyed.

That reduction might surprise those of us who twitch when we hear a meeting reminder go off. Of course, many people are still beholden to too many calendar events, but it seems it could be worse.

The change can be partially explained by Covid. There was a jump in meetings, especially one-on-ones, during the depths of pandemic lockdowns because so many people were working from home, Henry Shapiro, Reclaim.ai cofounder and COO, told Business Insider.

"There was this big spike and almost overcorrection," he said. "Then people kind of settled out and said, like, 'Wait, what are we all doing here?'"

But while some of us have managed to shed meetings, we still attend an average of 17.1 a week. And they're taking longer, with the average meeting length at 51.9 minutes, up from 50.6 in 2021. Thanks, "just one more thing" crowd.

All of this time can be costly. The survey, which focused on tech companies, found that employees spend 37% of their work hours in meetings. Reclaim.ai said that, based on the average pay in the US, those get-togethers add up to about $29,000 per worker yearly.

The biggest culprit: team meetings. There are an average of 6.7 a week, though about eight in 10 workers canceled or rescheduled one of those in the past year because their calendars were bursting.

Shapiro said the rise of remote work during the pandemic — and its relative endurance even now with hybrid setups — meant many of us saw meetings as an essential way to connect with others. Some workers believed they had to revive ties with colleagues after years of working apart, Shapiro said.

"Those relationships used to get built inside of the office in all these sort of serendipitous ways. And now, the only real function for them to do that is through some kind of recurring touchpoint," he said.

Shapiro said meetings have their place, especially because not all workers are together every day. Yet they need to be a good use of time, he added. "There is such a thing as bad meetings. There is such a thing as good meetings," Shapiro said.

The business of managing your calendar itself can drain productivity, he said. The survey, which was conducted from February through April, found that workers spend about three hours a week booking and rescheduling meetings.

Many workers are so overcommitted that they attend only 83% of what they're supposed to. We're canceling, declining, or skipping 3.5 meetings a week, the survey found. The main reason — cited by more than eight in 10 respondents — was a conflict with, you guessed it, another meeting. A slightly smaller percentage said they opted to ditch the meeting to focus on something more important.

Tiresome as they can be, meetings are often essential, Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at the research firm Lightcast, previously told BI.

"People rip on meetings," he said. "But there's a value in meetings." Hetrick said workers — particularly those early in their careers — use meetings to mature and learn what happens when people might disagree. "I'm seeing how problems get worked out," he said.

Shapiro works remotely most of the time but is in the office on Wednesdays. On those days, he schedules only a few meetings, like a handful of one-on-ones, where he might grab coffee and go for a walk with a colleague.

"The way I've described it to the team is Wednesdays are some of my least productive days," Shapiro said. "And yet they're also like my best days in a lot of ways."

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• US lawmakers have finally cleared the way for Ukraine to receive additional security assistance.
• Officials say as part of the influx in weaponry, Ukraine will receive a fresh batch of ATACMS.
• Kyiv used these long-range missiles to batter Russian helicopters in multiple strikes last year.

The US is slated to send Ukraine more of the powerful long-range tactical ballistic missiles that Kyiv's forces have used to devastate Russian airfields in strikes deep behind the front lines.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday cleared the last obstacle for Ukraine to receive additional aid, including MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS, as part of a crucial influx of military aid to the country.

Ukraine secretly received a shipment of ATACMS earlier this year and recently used them in long-range strikes, according to multiple reports, and US lawmakers have suggested that more of the deadly missiles could be on their way to Kyiv within a matter of days.

Ukraine has previously demonstrated it could effectively target Russia's high-value assets in the rear with ATACMS, which experts say presents a significant dilemma for Moscow. More such missiles could allow Kyiv to continue this trend.

"This is going to cause the Russians to change a lot of their strategy and tactics," Dan Rice, a former US Army artillery officer, told Business Insider.

Throughout the war, Ukraine has routinely pressed Washington to provide ATACMS so it could hit high-value Russian targets deep behind enemy lines. After secretly obtaining a small number of the missiles from the US, Kyiv eventually debuted them last fall by striking two Russian airfields in occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv used the M39 ATACMS variant in those attacks. A highly lethal cluster missile with a range of around 100 miles, the M39 is packed with 950 anti-personnel and anti-materiel M74 bomblets, which are released mid-flight and dispersed over a large area, giving the weapon the ability to cause significant damage.

The two strikes destroyed more than a dozen Russian helicopters, assets critical to Moscow's operations, as well as an air defense missile launcher, vehicles, and ammunition depots, according to Western intelligence. After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked that ATACMS had "proven themselves."

Since last fall, there has not been any public confirmation from Kyiv or Washington of additional Ukrainian strikes involving the missiles.

But on Wednesday, The New York Times and Reuters reported that the Biden administration had secretly shipped long-range ATACMS variants to Ukraine earlier this month as part of a $300 million security assistance package announced in March. Kyiv then immediately used the missiles to strike a Russian military airfield in the occupied Crimean peninsula last week, US officials told the outlets.

Over the weekend, House lawmakers passed legislation that requires the transfer of additional ATACMS to Ukraine as part of a crucial $61 billion aid package for the war-torn country that has spent months in limbo.

With this legislation having finally cleared its toughest hurdle, Sen. Mark Werner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that he hoped ATACMS would be in transit by the end of this week.

And after speaking with Biden on Monday, Zelenskyy said, with regards to an agreement on ATACMS, that "all the details have been finalized."

It is unclear exactly which ATACMS variants Ukraine will receive going forward. Beyond the 100-mile-range M39, the US has two other versions that can both travel up to 190 miles; one ATACMS variant scatters some 300 little bomblets, while the other has a unitary warhead.

Ukraine has repeatedly pressed Washington for the longest-range versions of the missile, which were reportedly used in last week's strikes in Crimea. It's unclear if Kyiv used the cluster missile variant or the one with a unitary warhead in the attack to hammer Russian air defense systems and radar stations.

All of the ATACMS can be fired from Ukraine's existing inventory of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, but different ATACMS variants could be used to go after different targets, said Rice, who previously served as a special advisor to Ukrainian military leadership.

The cluster variants, which are known as area weapons, can be used to target large troop concentrations — exposed or in trenches — while also destroying fuel, ammunition, and armored vehicles kept in the immediate vicinity.

The unitary warheads, on the other hand, can be used to go after targets like bridges, command and control facilities, supply depots, or well-protected bunkers because they release one large explosion instead of dispersing submunitions over a broader area.

"Having the combination just makes these HIMARS launchers more lethal [and] puts more pressure on the Russians in all of the areas within 300 kilometers of the front lines," Rice, a longtime advocate for sending various cluster munitions to Ukraine and now the President of American University Kyiv, said.

Regardless of the variant, the arrival of additional ATACMS will likely compel Moscow to change its strategy and tactics. Experts previously assessed that Russia's military leadership will have to balance how to protect and relocate vulnerable assets that are within range of the missiles without actually reducing their combat value.

Rice said the anticipated arrival of more ATACMS could force the Russians to push its supply depots, command and control nodes, and attack helicopters even farther from the front lines. By doing this, he added, Ukraine is going to make it "very difficult" for Moscow to wage war against Kyiv's forces.

The passage of additional funding for Ukraine this week comes at a critical time for Kyiv's forces, who have been facing an increasingly grim outlook on the battlefield as they run low on much-needed artillery ammunition and air defense munitions.

Russia, meanwhile, has made notable advances over the past few months. US, Ukrainian, and Western officials, as well as war experts, have warned that without additional security assistance from Washington, Kyiv may continue to lose ground.

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a Tuesday briefing that with the passage of the Ukraine aid package, the US can at last "surge life-saving security assistance" to Kyiv "as quickly as possible."

"Much more to follow in the days ahead," he added, "but needless to say we understand the importance and the urgency and are doing everything we can to be poised to respond quickly."

After Biden signed the legislation into law on Wednesday, the Pentagon immediately announced a $1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine. While the statement did not specifically mention ATACMS, it said the package contains "additional ammunition" for the HIMARS, which could include ATACMS.

This massive military aid package also includes air defense interceptors, artillery ammunition, armored vehicles, anti-tank weapons, and other lethal equipment.

If Russian President Vladimir Putin "triumphs in Ukraine, the next move of Russian forces could very well be a direct attack on a NATO ally," Biden said on Wednesday. "That's why were supporting — and surging support — now to Ukraine, to stop Putin from drawing the United States into war in Europe and in the future."

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• Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, has been one of the wealthiest people in crypto.
• His rivalry with Sam Bankman-Fried nearly saw Binance save FTX from bankruptcy.
• But Binance had its own issues: Zhao has pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering charges, and could be imprisoned for up to three years.

Sam Bankman-Fried isn't the only crypto king to see his empire fall.

Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, was one of the wealthiest people in the industry as founder and CEO of crypto exchange Binance. In November, however, he stepped down from his role and pleaded guilty to charges that Binance violated US anti-money laundering requirements. 

On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice said in a sentencing memo that prosecutors recommend he serve three years in prison and pay a $50 million fine.

Here's the story of Zhao's dramatic career rise and fall:

Changpeng Zhao is the founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Zhao — who's often known as CZ — is one of the most prominent people in cryptocurrency, and has been the wealthiest person in the industry.

With a net worth of $42.6 billion, he's listed as the 29th-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

But crypto winter has taken a toll across the industry, and Zhao is no exception. His real-time estimated net worth is a far cry from the peak of his personal wealth: His net worth peaked at $95.9 billion earlier in 2023, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows.

Zhao's interest in cryptocurrency began in 2013 when he first learned about Bitcoin, according to a 2018 Forbes report. His career in the up-and-coming digital currency industry started at Blockchain.info, where he served as the head of development.

Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and powered it to become the biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The exchange handles some $76 billion in daily trading volume, Protocol previously reported. In 2021 alone, Binance generated over $20 billion in revenue, according to Bloomberg.

Editor's note: This story was first published in October 2022 and has been updated to reflect recent developments.

Zhao was born in a rural village in Jiangsu province in China in 1977 to a family of teachers.

Zhao, who is Chinese-Canadian, moved to Vancouver in the late 1980s with his family, according to Forbes.

Zhao's father, Shengkai, was a professor who was exiled to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution in China, according to the Maclean's report.

Zhao said in a September blog post that his family had to wait in line outside the Canadian embassy for three days to procure visas. He added that he was "lucky to have been able to leave at that time."

Shengkai immigrated to Canada to pursue a doctorate degree at the University of British Columbia, per Maclean's. After the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, Zhao and his family followed his father and moved to Vancouver. 

Zhao said he experienced food rationing growing up in rural China. "You get a ticket to buy meat," Zhao told Fortune in a March interview. Zhao told Maclean's that it wasn't until he moved to Canada that he ever drank fresh milk, because it was so rare to find it in China.

When Zhao moved to Canada, he held a number of part-time jobs, according to the Maclean's report.

He started working at McDonald's when he was 14 and worked there for two years, Dewi Mustajab, a spokesperson for Binance, told Business Insider.

Zhao also worked at a Chevron gas station and as a referee for volleyball games in his teens to earn money, per Maclean's.

Zhao said in the blog post that moving to Canada "changed my life forever." He added that he spent his "best years as a teenager" growing up in Vancouver.

Zhao is known to be frugal: He doesn't own cars, yachts, or luxury watches. Instead, he has digital watches like the Apple Watch, and he recently bought a Toyota Velfire van, Mustajab said.

Zhao studied computer science at McGill University in Montreal, the same school where his father worked as a visiting scholar.

Zhao's interest in technology was fueled by a $14,000 286 DOS computer that his father — "a math whiz and programmer" — bought when was Zhao was in his teens, per Maclean's. Before attending McGill, Zhao enrolled in programming classes in high school and started coding when he was just 16 years old, per Bloomberg.

After graduating from university, Zhao worked first on the Tokyo Exchange, and from 2001 to 2005, on Bloomberg's Tradebook, Mustajab said.

In 2005, Zhao quit the corporate life and moved to Shanghai to become a partner at the trading system company Fusion Systems. According to Zhao's LinkedIn page, he left the company in December 2013.

The vast majority of Zhao's multibillion-dollar wealth comes from his controlling stake in Binance Holdings, per Bloomberg.

While Bloomberg estimates Zhao is worth around $42.6 billion from his majority stake in the cryptocurrency platform, it's not a complete picture of his wealth. Bloomberg said it does not include cryptocurrency directly held by Zhao in his net worth, as the amount is not publicly available. 

Zhao has personal cryptocurrency holdings in Bitcoin and Binance Coin, per a September report by Bloomberg. In 2021, Binance had over 90 million users, Bloomberg reported, citing an estimate from Zhao.

Zhao is said to have a considerable amount of wealth from Bitcoin, having bought $1 million worth of the digital currency when it was just $600 a unit, per Maclean's.

Binance declined to confirm Zhao's net worth and the source of his wealth to Business Insider.

But Zhao's journey at Binance has been far from smooth sailing — the company has been embroiled in several controversies.

In October, some $570 million worth of cryptocurrency traded on Binance was stolen in a blockchain hack, according to the New York Times. Zhao told CNBC in an October interview that no users had lost money in the attack, and that "software code is never bug free." The Binance hack is one of the biggest cryptocurrency hacks of all time.

Binance said in a blog post that in the event of a hack in the future, its validators will decide if the hacked funds will be frozen. The decision would be made through a series of "on-chain governance votes" — the system that manages and implements changes to the blockchain. Binance added they would also consider implementing a "bug bounty reward system," so users are incentivized to report bugs.

"Nearly $570 million were minted and taken by the hacker, $100 million are unrecovered and moved off chain by the hacker. No users or users funds affected," Mustajab said.

Binance has also been criticized for its ties to China. Binance only delisted Chinese yuan-based trading pairs on the exchange in 2021, and served customers in China for several years, according to September article by Protos. Chinese authorities banned all crypto-related transactions in September 2021.

Zhao responded to these allegations in a blog post published in September, where he clarified that Binance was never incorporated in China and said it does not "operate like a Chinese company culturally." He added that he is "a Canadian citizen, period."

Binance also garnered controversy for enabling Iran-based users to trade cryptocurrencies on the exchange despite US-imposed sanctions, according to a July report by Reuters. Binance informed traders in Iran to liquidate their accounts in November 2018, but seven traders continued until September 2021 to use the account even after the ban. Binance did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment at the time.

Zhao was known for his rivalry with FTX cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried. In 2022, Binance looked set to rescue SBF's firm from bankruptcy, before backing out of the deal.

Binance signed a non-binding agreement to acquire FTX, Zhao said in a Twitter post on November 8, 2022. At the time, FTX was the third largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume after Binance and Coinbase, before filing for bankruptcy three days later.

It all started with a public spat on November 6, 2022, when Zhao announced on Twitter that Binance would be liquidating its FTT tokens, the cryptocurrency of FTX.

Anthony Scaramucci, who sold 30% of his business to FTX, told Business Insider in January 2023 that Bankman-Fried had been saying "nasty things" about Zhao during a fundraising tour in the Middle East – which may have prompted Binance to sell off its FTT holdings.

In a Twitter post, Bankman-Fried said that Zhao was "trying to go after us with false rumors," and that FTX and its assets "are fine."

But then Binance pulled out of the deal, and FTX filed for bankruptcy. SBF was later found guilty on multiple fraud charges and has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Binance then ran into legal troubles of its own, after the CFTC alleged it had violated trading rules.

In March 2023, the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission sued Zhao, Binance, and its former chief compliance officer, Samuel Lim, for allegedly violating trading rules. 

It alleged a "willful evasion of federal law" because Binance ignored requirements to register the exchange, and helped customers to evade its "ineffective compliance program."

The CFTC said Binance didn't require customers to provide ID, and "failed to implement basic compliance procedures designed to prevent and detect terrorist financing and money laundering."

The filing shows officers discussing transactions from the Palestinian militant group Hamas. "Like come on. They are here for crime," Lim said in internal communications, per the filing. 

Zhao has split his time between Dubai and France. He was previously based in Singapore.

Zhao moved to Dubai in late 2021, where he leases an office to run what Bloomberg described as "a new phase" of Binance. Zhao also owns an apartment and a minivan in the city, the publication reported. 

"I have always liked placed with diverse cultures," Zhao told the Gulf News in an August 2022 interview. He described the city as "very pro-crypto," according to a 2021 interview with Bloomberg.

Previously, Zhao lived in Singapore from 2019 to 2021. The city-state spent hundreds of millions of dollars investing in the sector amidst a crackdown on the industry in the US, UK, and China.

In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering charges and stepped down from his role as CEO of Binance.

Binance will pay a $4.3 billion fine in response to the verdict.

Part of the fine will go toward settling the lawsuit brought by the CFTC earlier this year, which accused Binance and Zhao of failing to stop illegal trading activity on the crypto exchange. 

The crypto exchange is also pleading guilty to related charges, which could potentially put an end to a five-year Department of Justice investigation.

In April 2024, the Justice Department recommended Zhao be sentenced to three years in prison and have to pay a $50 million fine.

Zhao's attorneys in response suggested he be sentenced to probation, arguing, "No defendant in a remotely similar [Bank Secrecy Act] case has ever been sentenced to incarceration. Mr. Zhao should not be the first."

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