• A new social media trend is urging users to "look between" certain letters on their keyboard.
• People are spelling out messages like "U," "WE," and "JK" in all sorts of different contexts.
• Not everyone is thrilled about the trend, and some are calling it engagement bait.

If you've been on social media at all recently, chances are you've been opening your keyboard more than usual.

That's because of a new trend that is enthralling — and irritating — thousands of users on X and other similar platforms.

The trend, which urges users to "look between" certain letters on your keyboard, apparently originated with a post on 4chan in May 2021 according to a submission to Know Your Meme. That post included a picture of Yui Hirasawa, the main character of a popular anime series, along with the caption "look between t and o" on your keyboard, yielding the character's first name.

It's not clear how that post led to the trend exploding years later — but with viral memes like this, stranger things have happened.

Many of the posts start with an unlikely or outlandish detail and then tell you to look between the H and L keys, which falls on the letters "JK" — in other words, "just kidding."

But others are using it in more creative ways — everything from labeling their favorite sports players a "G" (for "GOAT", or Greatest of All Time) to filling in the words of Jesus. Brands have even gotten in on the trend to promote their own products.

Some on social media have used it as a tongue-in-cheek way of spreading positive or motivational messages.

But more than a few posts that have jumped on the trend for sillier purposes:

That doesn't mean the trend is popular with everyone. In fact, many people seem to have gotten annoyed by it pretty quickly.

Some online have suggested that the trend is "engagement bait," claiming that when you click the reply button to check your keyboard, it is read by the X algorithm as an engagement with the original post — even if you don't actually reply.

(It's unclear if that's actually how the algorithm actually works; X did not return a request for comment)

In any case, there are plenty of users who are tired of looking at their keyboards.

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• Leon Cooperman, a billionaire Columbia donor, weighed in on the crisis on the University's campus.
• He called the student protesters ignorant, though expressed his support for the school's president.
• Unlike megadonor Robert Kraft, Cooperman said he's not pulling his donations.

Wall Street titan Leon Cooperman is the latest billionaire to weigh in on student protests over Israel's war in Gaza.

But unlike megadonor Robert Kraft, Cooperman said he'll continue to give to Columbia even as he trashed student demonstrators.

During a CNBC interview on Tuesday, Cooperman, a Columbia University donor, was asked about the demonstrations on its campus, which have grown heated over the past week and resulted in more than 100 arrests.

"Many of the college kids have shit for brains," he said, doubling down on comments he made last year and saying the students are "ignorant."

(He apologized for his language during the interview, saying, "I grew up in the Bronx when it was more of an accepted terminology.")

"They are advocating for the destruction of Israel," he said. "Israel is the only reliable ally the United States has in the Middle East, the only democracy in the Middle East."

Cooperman also said Israel is the only country in the Middle East that "allows gays and lesbians to practice what they want to practice." While LGBTQ+ people experience discrimination in many countries, some nations in the region — including Cyprus, Jordan, and Turkey — have not criminalized same-sex activity.

Cooperman blamed part of the unrest on people unaffiliated with Columbia who "are getting access to the school and creating this hoopla."

He added that he believed Columbia's president Nemat "Minouche" Shafik and leadership are "trying to do the right things."

Shafik appeared before Congress last week and took a strong stance against antisemitism, denouncing a professor who voiced support for Hamas and another who called the October 7 terror attacks "awesome."

The same day as her remarks on Capitol Hill, a coalition of student groups — Columbia University Apartheid Divest, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace — set up "Gaza Solidarity Encampments" on Columbia's campus, protesting both the war in Gaza which has claimed thousands of civilian lives and demanding the university divest financially from Israel.

The groups say the protests were peaceful and within their rights.

When the students would not move as requested, Shafik requested the New York Police Department break up the protest, which led to the arrest of more than 100 protesters. Columbia and Barnard suspended students involved with the protest.

That move sparked increased tensions, with separate antisemitic demonstrators taking to the area surrounding the campus, according to videos posted on social media. Jewish leaders at the school allege that Jewish students have been targeted with hateful rhetoric by demonstrators.

On Monday, Columbia announced classes would be held virtually, and the campus has been closed to the public.

Cooperman, who attended Columbia Business School, donated $25 million to the school in 2012 and has said he's donated closer to $50 million in total.

"I try to give money to those schools that have made a difference to me in my lifetime. I don't think it's right, but I probably couldn't have gotten into Wall Street from Hunter College, where I got my undergraduate degree," he said. "I got an MBA from Columbia, and the very next day, I joined Goldman Sachs."

He said he will continue to give to the school, though he will bookmark his gifts to stay within the business school.

Kraft, the billionaire owner of the Patriots and another Columbia alum, announced he would be pulling all donations to the school "until corrective action is taken."

He did not, though, specify what he meant by "corrective action." Kraft said he'd continue to support the school's Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, which is named after him.

Representatives for Cooperman and Kraft did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider prior to publication.

The conversation around giving and the relationship between billionaire donors and universities has been reignited in recent weeks following protests at Columbia, Yale, and New York University.

Following the October 7 attack, tensions on college campuses erupted, prompting megadonors to criticize the responses of various university administrators. At Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, billionaires including Apollo CEO Marc Rowan, Estée Lauder heir Ronald Lauder, and former Victoria's Secret Les Wexner pulled funding.

Eventually, the presidents of the schools, Claudine Gay and Liz Magill, respectively, stepped down.

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• On Tuesday, the Lyrid meteor shower happens to line up with the April full moon, AKA the "pink" moon.
• But this bright supermoon could make it harder to see the Lyrids streaking through the sky.
• Here are some tips to give you the best chance of seeing the Lyrid meteor shower.

The Lyrid meteor shower is in full swing this week. Every year from April 15 to April 29, dozens of shooting stars streak through the sky in this spectacular show.

The meteor shower was most active from Sunday night to Monday morning, but it will remain visible for the next week.

On Tuesday night, the Lyrids align with the April full moon, otherwise known as the "pink moon," which will rise at 7:49 p.m. ET.

This supermoon isn't actually pink, but it is very bright. It's a stunning sight all on its own, but seeing it during a meteor shower is a rare astronomical opportunity.

This moon shines so bright that it could make it difficult to see the Lyrids streaking through the sky. But you might be able to see a few.

Here are some tips to give yourself the best chance of spotting some shooting stars.

Timing is key

In the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to see the Lyrids is during the early morning hours after the moon sets and before the sun rises, according to NASA.

If you're willing to get up before dawn on Wednesday, around 5:45 a.m. ET, that would give you the best chance of seeing the Lyrids. At that time, the moon won't blot them out with its bright glow.

But if you're hoping to spot some shooting stars while the pink moon is still shining on Tuesday night, you'll want to make sure your surroundings are as dark as possible.

Get out of town

Light pollution can make it harder to see a meteor shower. If you can, it's best to find a viewing spot far away from city and street lights, NASA advises.

Once you've picked your spot, lie flat on your back with your feet facing east and look up at the sky with as wide a view as possible — try not to have tree branches or buildings obstructing your view.

After that, be patient. It will take about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark, and then the meteors could begin to emerge.

But again, because of the bright "pink" supermoon, stargazers may not see as many as they hope. Nevertheless, the moon will offer a show of its own.

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• Karen Edwards has traveled to 93 countries, and 57 of them have been with her young children.
• Edwards said that her family has had more fun exploring underrated spots than the popular ones.
• Her favorites include Tanzania for its safari tours and Abu Dhabi for its vibrant festival scene.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Karen Edwards, who blogs about her family's travels around the world. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Since 2000, I've visited 93 countries and 57 of them have been with my four children who are all under the age of 10.

I am a nurse by background, but I have been blogging about traveling with my husband and kids since 2014. I cover a lot of off-the-beaten-track destinations and write itineraries for places I've been to, explaining how they work for families with children.

Many popular family destinations tend to be overcrowded. They're usually the ones that get a lot of media exposure or are shown in viral videos on social media. In America, it'd be places like Disneyland in California or Disney World in Florida, while for Europeans, it might be some of the Spanish resort areas.

Although my family and I have visited these places, we have always come away disappointed. They often lack educational experiences, feeling like pointless affairs.

I think traveling to underrated spots makes trips feel more exclusive and you can learn more about the cultures of the countries you visit — it also keeps you away from tourist traps.

We went on a safari tour in Tanzania

Our family visited Tanzania in 2019 in collaboration with a tourism brand. We were there for 12 days.

Our flights to the country were kind of expensive; we paid about $9,000 for our then-family of four, including a stop in Zanzibar at the end of the trip for a few days. However, overall, the entire trip didn't end up costing us that much.

We had some really unique experiences in Tanzania. We went to Mto Wa Mbu village, which is beneath a banana plantation, and we went on a safari tour in its Lake Manyara National Park.

Interestingly, Tanzania is one of the few places in the world where lions are known to climb trees. I remember seeing them sit in tall trees; it was quite unusual, but my kids really enjoyed how close they were to the animals.

Throughout our trip, we actually felt like we were experiencing life in Tanzania. Our campsite was on a river's edge in the depths of nature. It was nice not to feel surrounded by tourists.

My kids fell in love with Abu Dhabi's culture

Many people mistakenly believe that Dubai is a country, but in reality, it's a city in the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi being its capital.

My family and I moved to Abu Dhabi in 2021 and lived there for 18 months. The city does have a lot of similarities to glitzy and glam Dubai, but you get a more down-to-earth experience.

There are amazing festivals in Abu Dhabi where they display their culture in different formats, whether that be through local food or crafts. It does feel authentic because it's usually mainly locals participating and organizing them.

The city sits at the foot of Jebel Hafeet, one of the tallest mountains in the region. Along the way up, you'll find many ancient artifacts, such as beehive huts, which have been there for thousands of years. At the top, you can watch incredible sunsets.

The city also has the Al Ain Oasis, which uses an ancient irrigation system. It has these beautiful paved pathways that look like cobbled streets.

My kids loved Abu Dhabi and are constantly asking me to go back — they really liked all the cultural celebrations.

We love Sri Lanka so much, we're building a villa there

In 2022, my family and I moved to Sri Lanka from Abu Dhabi. We thought we'd have more family time here, and it was going to be an affordable place to live.

We're building a family-friendly villa here that should be completed by August. The area where we are building has a lot of nice cafes, bars, and restaurants nearby.

Overall, Sri Lanka is an amazing country that has so many diverse experiences. There are tea plantations, mountains, and beaches. As for wildlife, their national parks have loads of elephants and leopards.

On one occasion, we went on a safari boat tour to an isolated national park where we watched elephants swim across a lake and onto a tiny island. It was amazing.

The beaches in Sri Lanka are pristine. They have beautiful scenery with swaying coconut palm trees, clear water, and perfect waves. Our favorite is Kabalana Beach.

Because we're always on the beach, my children have learned how to surf. I think it's the most fun thing that we do on the weekends as a family.

The ski resorts and spas are amazing in Andorra

We visited Andorra in 2018 for about six days. It's a tiny country nestled in the Pyrenees between Spain. It's a two-hour drive from Barcelona and three hours from Toulouse, France.

The city has a unique fusion of cultures, though I think Catalonian is the strongest influence. During our trip, my family and I toured many ancient churches.

We also went to some amazing spas and resorts in Andorra. The hotel and ski system there is really family-friendly.

During our visit to the Grandvalira ski resort, my daughter learned how to ski and my husband got to snowboard — the resort has a kindergarten at the foot of its mountain, where kids can play or ski.

Andorra also has amazing spa facilities that are suitable for families and are sectioned off for different age groups.

Our trip was in collaboration with Andorra's tourism board, but I feel like it wasn't overly expensive in comparison to some other places around the world.

I was treated like family in Macedonia

Macedonia is a Balkan country just north of Greece. I haven't been there with children, but I wouldn't have any issues taking my kids there.

It has many beautiful small villages and it's great for skiing too.

The country is also home to one of the oldest and deepest lakes in Europe named Lake Orchid, which borders Albania. There's this beautiful, small village on the lake that has charming restaurant and a lovely atmosphere for relaxing and enjoying good food.

I visited the country in 2008, and then again in 2012 with my then-boyfriend and now-husband.

The first time I visited, I went with two girlfriends, and we were backpackers. We arrived in the middle of the night by bus and had no idea what we were doing. The bus driver just made a call, and a stranger came and picked us up in his car — I thought I was going to die.

The opposite happened. He took us back to his home with his family, and we stayed there with them for a few days. We ended up extending the trip because he and his family were so amazing.

They didn't speak a word of English, and we couldn't speak a word of their language either. We'd just gesture at each other, and they'd give us food and red wine.

I just totally fell in love with them and their country.

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• Palantir has taken an unusual approach to sales, traditionally avoiding hiring a large salesforce.
• It's been putting on boot camps to attract customers, per Bloomberg.
• CEO Alex Karp has likened them to "a rock concert;" they've included perks like racetrack drives.

Palantir has shunned the traditional means of software sales for many years, and though the company has a salesforce now, it's still using a bit of an unconventional approach to drum up business.

The data mining company, cofounded by PayPal Mafia member Peter Thiel, has been holding software boot camps to recruit new customers, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

At one such camp in Pontiac, Michigan, speakers gave presentations, attendees tried out Palantir's software for themselves, and happy hour even featured a professional driver taking attendees for rides on a racetrack outside, according to Bloomberg.

Palantir has been leaning into the events to sell its Artificial Intelligence Platform, or AIP. The company put on over 500 boot camps last year and expects to average five camps a day globally this year, according to Bloomberg.

"We can't do enough of them," CEO Alex Karp said in the company's Q4 earnings call. "We're limiting the number of people who can come. It's like a rock concert. It's like, yeah, yeah, if you know somebody, we can get you backstage."

"We're already overfilled for our AIP boot camp," he added in the earnings call. "And it's just we don't know how to deal actually with this demand."

Still, one thing Palantir is hoping for is that the people who attend the camps then go away knowing how to use its tools — and how to show others how to use them. But some analysts think they need to do more to support growth.

"Right now they need more manpower," Morningstar analyst Malik Ahmed Khan told Bloomberg. Meantime, Rishi Jaluria, managing director of software for RBC Capital Markets, pointed out that "this is very complex software."

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• Andrew Ibrahim moved from Florida to Portugal for a better life for himself and his family.
• The cost of living wasn't adding up for Ibrahim, so he got more bang for his buck in Portugal.
• The inviting culture and beautiful weather are reasons why he's enjoying his decision so far.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andrew Ibrahim, 31, who moved from Gainesville, Florida, to the most southern region of Portugal, the Algarve, in November 2023. Ibrahim still owns a business consultancy firm for property owners in Florida and also sells luxury real estate in Portugal. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Moving to Portugal was a decision that was basically like an early midlife crisis.

At the time, I was 30, and I said, "Thankfully, I've accomplished what I've wanted to do before I was 30, but I'm not necessarily happy day-to-day with the direction that I see that the country's going."

I wanted to be able to find a place where it would be perfect for me to raise my children — and that decision came fairly easy.

I was tired of the personalities in Florida. There are a lot of social issues that I'm not in line with, and the cost of living has just skyrocketed.

And over time, and I'd say after the pandemic, it just became worse.

When I rented in South Florida, I rented a one-bedroom apartment that cost me about $2,600 a month. When I moved to Gainesville, I was able to purchase a four-bedroom property of my own, and mortgage, insurance, and taxes cost close to $3,000 a month — which was a little bit expensive for a normal middle class.

Then I moved to a much bigger, 5,900-square-foot, five-bedroom house. It was on 1.2 acres of land, which was very nice, but that was costing me close to $4,500 a month.

Thankfully, I lived a very good life, but I could have lived a 10 times better life for 50% of the cost of living in Portugal.

I can have a similar quality of life to Florida for a fraction of the price

Originally, I was born and raised in Montreal, and I moved to Florida when I was 17 years old, but I have Portuguese citizenship through my mother, who is Portuguese. So, it was fairly easy for me to get paperwork to be able to move and become a citizen.

Portugal checks the box for safety, for the potential of new businesses, and it also checks the box for me being able to provide the best future for my children and, in turn, myself.

My family has had real estate here for a few years — and it's fully paid off — so it was a little bit easy for us, but we've looked at purchasing a property for ourselves.

For groceries, if I'm spending 200 euros (or about $213) here, I'm able to eat for close to two weeks. But if I were to spend $200 or $250 in Florida for groceries, I'd be eating for a week at best.

If I want to go to a very nice restaurant in Portugal with top quality steaks or top quality meat or fish for my wife and me, I'm spending maybe $70 with a glass of wine.

In the United States, that's not really possible.

The food options in Portugal are not as abundant as in the US. In South Florida, you have so many different options for different cultures of food. Here, you do have options, but it's not like having a Southern restaurant on every corner. Or if you want to go and eat Peruvian food or ceviche, you're going to get something similar to it, but it's not going to be as authentic as if you were in South Florida.

Public education here is free. My daughter, luckily, doesn't have to pack her own lunch — the school provides lunch. That's a cost savings for us over time.

Health insurance is also very, very economical here. We pay about 50 euros a month; in the United States, I was paying close to $300 a month and not really getting the best healthcare that I thought the United States touts. In Portugal, the doctors are incredible. It's cheap and it's top quality service.

I'm enjoying the culture and values in Southern Portugal

The south of Portugal is, I'd say, 350 days a year of sunshine. That was a big factor because it's absolutely beautiful here. Christmas feels a little bit different because there's no snow around — and maybe I miss a little bit of hockey — but other than that, I don't miss the freezing rain, and I also don't miss having to shovel my driveway every day.

Also, it's one of the golfing capitals of Europe, so just from a demographic standpoint, there are a lot of good people that live here, and it has an incredible culture.

Southern Portugal is kind of like island living because you have so many beaches around you, so it's very similar to living in South Florida. However, there's a completely different culture that's been preserved over so many years.

The Portuguese culture is just incredible, and you're by beautiful beaches, beautiful real estate, beautiful golf courses, and it's not densely populated. It's different than living in a big city because it's quiet.

There's also the family aspect. When you go out to a park, you see families playing together. When you go to a restaurant, you see families eating together. You go to church on Sunday, and families are all together. That's something that I think has been lost over time from my experience living in Florida.

The Algarve has always been very popular amongst tourists. They've been, for many years now, really accustomed to foreigners and tourists coming to visit and purchasing property. A lot of people come from other European countries to retire here.

Generally, I'd say the Algarve is more of a melting pot of cultures. It preserves the Portuguese culture but is much more welcoming to foreign culture than the north or Lisbon.

I see a lot of Americans visiting. If you're going to a golf course in the Algarve, I'd say 90% of the people are American. You have a lot of English as well, so it's a nice mix here, but it's growing.

As much as people have said the area cooling down, I don't see it cooling down.

And based on what's happening with elections coming up in the States next year, we are seeing in the last few months that people are calling and making decisions to move. I think it is starting to pick up again.

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• Modern robotics technology is providing innovative ways to restore forests.
• Companies are using drones and special software to plant trees and overcome reforestation pain points.
• This article is part of "Build IT," a series about digital tech trends disrupting industries.

A quiet revolution is taking root. As the world grapples with deforestation and environmental decay — Earth lost almost 70,000 acres of forestland in 2023 alone, according to Global Forest Watch — modern robotics technology provides innovative ways to restore forests.

Technology and land-management companies, in particular, are harnessing tech such as drones and seed-tracking software to plant seeds and seedlings — an approach that excels over the time-consuming method of manual planting.

Robotics making reforestation more efficient

The tech-driven company Mast Reforestation uses drones and biotechnology to help landowners restore forestland after wildfires. Matthew Aghai, the company's vice president of research and development, said that as wildfires and other disturbances hit more areas, conventional reforestation methods, such as planting nursery-grown seedlings, face setbacks, including poor germination and low survival rates once seedlings are transferred to reforestation sites.

Wildfires' immense heat, Aghai added, limits the forests' natural abilities and compromises the growing environment. "That is why we need innovative solutions to intervene and ensure regeneration," he said.

To ensure seedlings survive and grow in nurseries — and in a forest, once replanted — Mast Reforestation plants its FirePlug seedlings, a biological and logistical solution for growing plant stock from native tree seed in a more controlled environment.

These seedlings are optimized for growth before they're transferred to a site that needs reforestation. Mast Reforestation leverages maneuverable, battery-powered drones to survey those sites, taking high-quality aerial images to assess areas and landscape conditions before planting. This helps the team identify the best spots to plant the seedlings.

Another company using robotics to plant trees is Flash Forest, which employs automated drones to restore burn sites and other damaged forest areas. Chris Ireland, its senior vice president of product, said Flash Forest uses heavy-lift drones with advanced features such as terrain following, obstacle avoidance, and ground control.

One pilot can navigate four drones, which can fly far, even in treacherous terrain, with a payload of up to 150 pounds. How far they fly depends on factors such as regional aviation regulations, obstacles, and operational requirements. Ireland told Business Insider the Flash Forest team stayed within 2 kilometers of a planting site in Canada based on payload, battery depletion, and safe-operation requirements.

According to Flash Forest's website, its drones can plant an average of 1,000 to 2,000 trees per hectare, or 405 to 809 trees per acre. Ireland added that 22,000 trees could be planted a day per pilot, as opposed to traditional methods of 2,000 to 4,500 trees planted a day per person.

The company's reforestation projects also provide communities with employment opportunities such as seed acquisition and harvesting, as seed banks don't always have the inventory required for specific areas. "It's seen as a spinoff benefit," Ireland said.

Flash Forest has a partnership with the Indigenous-owned natural-goods company Boreal Heartland, an initiative of the Keewatin Community Development Association in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

Ireland said Flash Forest offered opportunities for Indigenous-community engagement, including seed harvesting and planting operations. Rather than purchase seeds from seed banks, Flash Forest extends these opportunities to the community to help meet the demand.

"The Indigenous people of boreal regions are concerned with the impacts of increased wildfires," Randy Johns, Boreal Heartland's manager, told BI.

Ireland said Flash Forest hopes to scale to larger Indigenous-land reforestation projects and provide more jobs and STEM opportunities. "We also have purchased Indigenous products like teas and spices, which these communities have harvested and produced," he added. "We give these products to our commercial partners to increase appreciation and awareness of our reforestation efforts."

Using tech to bolster seed supply and growth

Even with efficient, tech-driven methods of mass tree planting, there's still a major issue: a shortage of seed supply.

To combat this issue, Mast Reforestation uses its custom-built software as a seed-inventory and seed-collection logistics platform. It lets the team view real-time conditions of its seed-bank inventory and a map that shows information such as seed zones and soil-related conditions.

Aghai told BI the proprietary system also provides data and insights to help Mast Reforestation capture seeds at the right time, such as during periods of mast seeding, a large and synchronized production of seeds from plant populations.

The software helped Mast Reforestation collect enough seeds last year to reforest about 2,100 acres on Sheep Creek Ranch in Montana. The seeds were collected on and near the project site, making them more resilient and adaptable to the climate. "Without this software, it would have been very difficult to collect seed for Sheep Creek, Montana, delaying the reforestation efforts significantly, if not forever," Aghai said.

Meanwhile, Flash Forest uses technology to produce high-quality seedpods, which are carried by drones to target sites and planted with precision. Each eight- to 12-minute flight plants about 10,000 seedpods, with drones reloaded, recharged, and rechecked in under 90 seconds for seamless operations.

The pods are made of "water-retention polymers that improve resistance to drought conditions in the early stages of germination," Ireland said. The self-sustaining seedpods are also formulated and field-validated to give seedlings a jump-start during the critical phase of the early growth cycle. "This type of tech allows for small footprints, extreme output, and minimal operators," he added.

Time is of the essence

Jeff Renton, Flash Forest's silviculture director, told BI tech integration means improved reforestation timelines. Traditional planting projects take eight to 26 months, while Flash Forest can complete projects, including planning and execution, in less than six months, he said.

Recent research underscores the critical need for effective and timely reforestation. Understocked forests inhibit valuable ecological processes such as timber production and carbon sequestration. But using technology to accelerate reforestation shows promise of revitalizing land for a healthier, more vibrant planet.

"We can save our planet faster," Ireland said.

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• Amazon Prime members can now get unlimited grocery deliveries for $9.99 per month.
• Shoppers can get free delivery on orders over $35 from Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, and more.
• The cost is still higher than comparable offerings from Walmart and Target.

Summer is approaching, and the competition for same-day grocery delivery is heating up.

Amazon is now the latest major retailer to enter the fray with a new subscription option for Prime members to get unlimited delivery on orders over $35 from stores, including Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and other local shops.

Starting Tuesday, Prime members can sign up for a free 30-day trial of the $9.99 a month service, and customers with a registered EBT card can use the service without a Prime membership for $4.99.

"We have many different customers with many different needs, and we want to save them time and money every time they shop for groceries," Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide grocery stores, Tony Hoggett, said in a statement.

The news out of Seattle follows a similar offering from Target, which launched its Circle360 membership earlier in April for an introductory price of $49 a year.

And the highlight of the Bullseye's first-ever paid membership option? Unlimited free delivery of groceries (and other stuff) via the company's Shipt service on orders over $35.

Of course, both are following the course set by grocery juggernaut Walmart, whose $98-per-year Walmart+ membership includes grocery delivery among its perks. Walmart, like Target and Amazon, requires a minimum purchase of $35 for the free delivery option. Walmart also offers a half-price option for qualifying recipients of government aid.

The company will even have a blue-vested associate put your produce and perishables right into your fridge for an extra $7 a month.

At $259 a year — between the $139 annual Prime membership and the $120 total delivery membership — Amazon's offering is by far the most expensive of the three companies.

Even so, considering the fact that 75% of shoppers already have a Prime membership, that all-in number might not make much of a difference.

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• I've sailed on Royal Caribbean's newest and largest cruise ships, Wonder of the Seas and Icon of the Seas.
• Both mega-ships are jam-packed with amenities, dining options, and people.
• They might not be for you if you want a quiet cruise to unique destinations.  

Before booking a vacation at sea, travelers should always research the best cruise line and ship for their needs.

If you're looking for an ultra-cheap and fast trip, try Margaritaville at Sea. Craving something more upscale? Consider Oceania Cruises.

And if you're looking for high-end sailing to unique destinations, I'd suggest avoiding Royal Caribbean's mega-ships.

Royal Caribbean has become synonymous with giant, family-friendly cruise ships

According to its current expansion plan, by 2028, about a third of Royal Caribbean's fleet will consist of mega-ships.

The latest addition, the 1,196-foot-long and 248,663-gross-ton Icon of the Seas, set sail in January, unseating its less than two-year-old predecessor, Wonder of the Seas, as the world's largest cruise liner.

Together, the two vessels can accommodate a whopping 19,238 people — 4,554 crew and 14,684 guests.

At almost all times of the year, these throngs of travelers can be seen running around the ships' eight neighborhoods, lining up for waterslides, and indulging at a combined 29 bars and 48 eateries.

I've attended complimentary sailings on Wonder and Icon, the longest being three nights on the latter. From their colorful pool decks to their inescapable crowds, as a solo adult traveler, I was equal parts entertained, overwhelmed, and overstimulated the entire time.

But admittedly, I had fun. I do love a good waterslide — and Wonder has three of them, while Icon has six.

If you plan on cruising with your children — and if they, like me, love activities like rock climbing and mini-golfing — Royal Caribbean's mega-ships could be your best option.

Its two largest and newest vessels are jam-packed with things to do. They each have more than 20 dining options and dozens of unique activities, a shortlist of which includes ice-skating rinks, ziplines, and shopping mall-like walkways.

But don't expect a peaceful retreat. The rowdy bar-hopping adults and screaming children at the water playground aren't exactly conducive to a relaxing vacation.

Mega-vessels might not be for you if you want a quiet, itinerary-focused cruise

If you want a relaxing and upscale vacation — maybe one that doesn't involve crowds of children — Royal Caribbean's behemoth vessels shouldn't be your top choice.

There are many ways to have a luxury vacation on Icon of the Seas. But unless you want to pay for upcharged amenities at every turn, you might be better off spending more upfront to reserve a more premium cruise line — especially if you're interested in cruising for the destinations, and not the ships.

After all, like most of Royal Caribbean's largest vessels, both Icon and Wonder are exclusively sailing in the Caribbeans.

Many desirable destinations like French Polynesia have set restrictions on cruises, including limits on ship size, amid concerns of pollution and overcrowding.

If stopping at these ports — or really anywhere outside the Caribbean — is at the top of your vacation wish list, you'll have to prioritize a smaller Royal Caribbean ship or go with higher-end companies like Oceania, Silversea, and Regent Seven Seas.

You might not get a waterpark, but at least you'll get a quieter vacation to destinations no mega-ship will likely ever be allowed to visit.

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• California hit a record last week as battery storage became the biggest power provider in the state.
• Batteries beat out renewables, nuclear, natural gas, and other sources two evenings in the past week.
• It's the latest example of growing battery capacity in US power grids.

Batteries briefly became the biggest source of power in California twice in the past week.

The first time — Tuesday last week around 8:10 p.m. PT, according to GridStatus.io — batteries reached a record peak output of 6,177 megawatts. For about two hours, that made electricity generated earlier and stored in batteries the single largest source of power in the Golden state, eclipsing real-time production from natural gas, nuclear, renewable sources like wind and solar, and all other sources of energy.

The news was reported earlier by Renew Economy.

It happened again on Sunday evening, this time for a few hours around 7:10 p.m. PT, per data from GridStatus.io. In that instance, which broke Tuesday's record, batteries reached a peak output of 6,458 megawatts.

Battery storage has become a key part of the push to produce more electricity using renewable sources. By connecting huge, rechargeable batteries to power grids, power utilities can store energy generated during the day by solar panels and wind turbines.

Then, they can distribute the energy during later periods of high demand — think evenings, when people fire up appliances to make dinner, flip on the TV, or turn on lights as it gets dark.

California had about 6.6 gigawatts of battery storage last October, the state's energy commission said. By 2045, state officials want all of California's power to come from carbon-free sources, a goal that will require about 52 gigawatts of battery storage, Renew Economy reported.

California isn't the only state where battery storage is growing quickly. Oil-rich Texas is challenging California for battery capacity and is expected to have 30 gigawatts of storage by the end of this decade, Business Insider reported last year.

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