• Michael Burry said Nvidia made "straw man arguments" in a private memo addressing his critiques.
• The investor of "The Big Short" fame said he owns bearish put options on Nvidia and Palantir.
• Burry wrote on his Substack that AI companies may be exaggerating the lifespan of Nvidia chips.

Michael Burry has doubled down on his critique of Nvidia and other AI giants, and revealed he's betting against both it and Palantir.

In a Tuesday post on his new Substack, the investor of "The Big Short" fame called out Nvidia's recent memo to Wall Street analysts, saying it was responding to claims he didn't make.

Burry, in a post titled "Unicorns and Cockroaches: Blessed Fraud," wrote that he couldn't believe Nvidia's responses had come from the world's most valuable public company. He said the document contained "one straw man after another" and the memo "almost reads like a hoax."

The market veteran, who recently closed his hedge fund to outside cash and turned his focus to writing, said he'd never suggested Nvidia was dragging out the depreciation of its property, plant, and equipment (PP&E), as it's primarily a chip designer with minimal capital expenditures, not a manufacturer.

"No one cares about Nvidia's own depreciation," he said. "One straw man burnt."

Burry also dismissed Nvidia's argument that its older-generation chips are still being used, saying his concern is that newer chips could become functionally obsolete between 2026 and 2028.

"I am looking forward because I see problems that are relevant to investors today," he wrote. "A second straw man burnt."

Burry added that Nvidia's rebuttal to him was "disingenuous on the face, and disappointing."

He disclosed in his latest post that he's placed wagers against the chipmaker and another AI darling: "I continue to own puts on Palantir and Nvidia, both of which will be discussed at another time."

Nvidia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Burry's latest post.

The depreciation question

One of Burry's chief concerns is AI companies' depreciation accounting, or how quickly they're projecting their assets will decline in value and how much they'll be worth at the end of their useful life.

Companies can increase their short-term profits and the stated value of their assets by spreading those costs over five or six years, rather than three. But that could pave the way for hefty writedowns in the future, Burry wrote on Substack.

He also highlighted a recent interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in which Nadella said he had slowed the company's data center buildout earlier this year because he was wary of overbuilding infrastructure to serve one generation of AI chips, as the next generation will have different power and cooling requirements.

"The hyperscalers have been systematically increasing the useful lives of chips and servers, for depreciation purposes, as they invest hundreds of billions of dollars in graphics chips with accelerating planned obsolescence," Burry wrote.

He hinted that between the memo and wider market reaction, his depreciation comments have sparked a bigger reaction than he anticipated: "I have been drawn into something much bigger than me."

Nvidia shares have slumped 14% from their November 3 high, as investors have grown more concerned that AI companies are overspending and overvalued.

Burry shot to fame after his massive bet against the US housing bubble was immortalized in the book and movie "The Big Short. Known for his dire warnings about crashes and recessions, he returned to X after a two-year break in late October, making the case that AI stocks are in a bubble.

His Scion Asset Management firm first revealed on November 3 that it held bearish put options on Nvidia and Palantir at the end of September. The bets had a combined notional value of $1.1 billion, but Burry wrote in his latest post that they only cost him around $10 million each.

• Thanksgiving air travel is set to break records as 31 million people are expected to fly.
• With the government reopened, it's unlikely lingering shutdown chaos will affect flights.
• Here's some tips in case your flight schedule is disrupted.

Hopefully, the only thing stuffed this Thanksgiving is your turkey, not your flight schedule.

Airlines for America, the main lobbying group for major US carriers, is predicting a record-breaking year for holiday travel as an estimated 31 million people fly between November 21 and December 1.

That's about 2.8 million passengers a day queuing at check-in and security and vying for lounge space. The demand requires about 45,000 more daily seats, with the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving being the busiest days to fly.

United Airlines said in its holiday forecast to the media that it expects 6.6 million customers — its busiest Thanksgiving to date. It said Orlando, Las Vegas, and Boston are its top destinations.

American Airlines said it plans to operate nearly 81,000 flights over the Thanksgiving holiday and has added late-night flights to Phoenix and Chicago to meet demand.

More seats booked mean a greater chance for your flight to be delayed or canceled.

Air traffic control facilities are staffed again after the weekslong government shutdown, but the workforce remains about 3,000 controllers short and still utilizes outdated technology.

This caused mass disruptions at airports like Newark and Washington, DC, before the shutdown led to even greater chaos.

Because Thanksgiving is notoriously busy compared to a normal day, it's not uncommon for bottlenecks to develop and spread throughout the system.

Winter weather is the main threat this year. The weather forecasting company AccuWeather warned that strong thunder, snow, and wind storms could impact flights across the country. The Dallas/Fort Worth area experienced hundreds of delays on Monday after thunderstorms hit the city.

During the 2024 Thanksgiving week, a snowstorm caused thousands of flight disruptions. Still, volume-related problems were largely absent from last year's Thanksgiving travel period — and airlines and customers are hoping for a similarly tame week.

However, it's good to know your passenger rights and your options when things don't go according to plan.

Know your rights as a passenger

If your flight is canceled and you choose not to rebook, the airline is legally required to provide you with a cash refund — not a voucher or credit.

However, things are different for delays. The Trump Administration recently killed a proposal that would have required airlines to compensate passengers for long delays, so flyers largely have to rely on airline goodwill or their credit cards to get anything for the inconvenience.

Some airlines have committed to providing accommodations, transportation, and food during a controllable overnight delay or cancellation, as outlined in the Airline Customer Service Dashboard.

Controllable disruptions include issues such as maintenance or crew staffing. Frontier Airlines is the only carrier that does not offer accommodations in the event of a controllable overnight delay or cancellation, but it will provide a meal voucher.

It still doesn't hurt to ask for a meal or hotel voucher during a non-controllable issue, such as the weather. The worst they can say is no.

Use your airline's mobile app to change or cancel your flight

During disruptions, airlines often allow you to make changes via their mobile app or website, rather than having to wait on clogged phone lines or in long customer service lines.

If this isn't an option, try an online chat. Carriers like Delta Air Lines allow you to text a representative for help.

You can put yourself in the virtual queue and wait in line at the airport, potentially upping your chances of speaking with an agent sooner.

Here are the phone numbers for each airline:

• Alaska: 1-800-252-7522 or text 82008
• Allegiant: 1-702-505-8888
• American: 1-800-433-7300
• Avelo: 1-346-616-9500
• Breeze: No phone number to call, but you can text the airline at 501-273-3931.
• Delta: 1-800-221-1212
• Frontier: No phone number. The best way to contact Frontier is via online chat or email.
• JetBlue: 1-800-538-2583
• Southwest: 1-800-435-9792
• Spirit: 1-855-728-3555
• Sun Country: 1-651-905-2737
• United: 1-800-864-8331

Check if you have travel insurance through your credit card

Travel credit cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the American Express Platinum, offer built-in insurance that reimburses travelers for hotel, meal, and transportation expenses incurred during certain flight disruptions.

Weather is typically a covered event. For this to work, the traveler would have needed to book their flight with that travel card.

If your credit card doesn't provide travel insurance, it can be worthwhile to buy a separate trip insurance policy before traveling. This type of insurance can help reimburse costs you might lose due to flight problems, such as prepaid hotel stays or cruise bookings.

However, you must purchase this insurance before any travel disruptions occur — once you know a flight might be affected, it's likely too late.

• The 'Schengen shuffle' allows non-EU citizens to stay in Europe for extended periods of time.
• Eric and Christina Schwendeman, both Americans, have made Italy their base since 2022.
• "It's the best of both worlds for us," Christina told Business Insider.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Eric and Christina Schwendeman, who left the US in 2022 to retire in Italy. The couple now does the "Schengen shuffle." Schengen countries allow non-EU visitors to stay for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. The "Schengen shuffle" refers to the practice of non-EU travelers hopping between both Schengen and non-Schengen countries indefinitely. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Christina: We had gotten our elective residency visas, which allowed us to live in Italy full time. Those were valid for two years, so after that period was up, we decided for a variety of reasons that we wouldn't renew them.

Eric: A lot of the motivation was that we're traveling so much and we want to see so much of the world.

Christina: We started the Schengen shuffle in December 2024. There are 29 countries in the Schengen Agreement, which essentially are countries in Europe that allow free and open borders between them. So, if we want to drive from Italy to France, we don't go through passport control.

We decided we wanted to do that instead of being full-time residents of Italy. Italy is one of the 29 countries in the Schengen area, so we said, "Okay, we can keep our house in Italy, stay there for 90 days, then go travel for 90 days, and come back."

It's the best of both worlds for us.

The Schwendemans have visited around 12 new countries this year

Eric: We've seen around 12 new countries this year, far and wide, from Southeast Asia to the Balkans.

We did Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia. We went to Hong Kong and Macau. Then, we flew down to the Philippines for two weeks. We spent almost two weeks in India and then came home to Italy.

One of the things that we committed to was spending ample time in areas that allow us to see it, to experience it, and give ourselves days of rest in between, instead of just racing nonstop 24/7.

Christina: It allows you to become more a part of communities and — I think a lot of people use this phrase — more of a traveler than a tourist.

A great example for us is that we spent a month in Perast, Montenegro. It's a very small town. By the time we left, we knew everyone. Like Eric said, we made friends that we've seen again since we left. We could go into any restaurant and know everybody by name. To be able to do that in a different community is just something really special.

Eric: I would say that 85% of the time we're staying in Airbnbs.

Christina: If you get an Airbnb with your own kitchen, you can go grocery shopping and cook at home. That makes a big difference for us. If we're staying anywhere longer than a week, it's Airbnb because we want to feel like we have a base.

Transportation can get tricky, but we try not to fly a lot because it's obviously the most expensive option. A lot of countries have phenomenal train systems, so we try to take advantage of those.

And packing is interesting. For 90 days at a time, we committed to each other that we would only each take one medium-sized suitcase.

Christina and Eric's best tip for doing the Schengen shuffle: plan

Eric: Plan, plan, and plan some more when you think you're done.

Christina: And then be ready to realize that something will inevitably go wrong with that plan. Flexibility is key. Travel is never without hiccups, so just be ready to roll with the punches.

It's something you'll remember for the rest of your life. We try never to think that anything that happens through this is ever bad. It's just part of the adventure.

• Tech and business leaders are divided on whether AI will replace jobs.
• Anthropic's Dario Amodei stands behind his dire prediction of AI job displacement.
• From Elon Musk to Sam Altman, here's what AI leaders are saying about the AI jobs debate.

AI and business leaders are split on whether AI will take over jobs or create new roles that mitigate disruption.

The spectrum of predictions ranges from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who thinks AI could eliminate up to half of white collar, entry-level jobs in the next five years, to Elon Musk, who sees a future that resembles heaven.

From Jensen Huang to Jamie Dimon, here is what some of the biggest names in tech are saying about how AI will impact jobs.

Dario Amodei

AI may eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years. That was the stark warning from Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI startup Anthropic, in May. Despite backlash from some in Silicon Valley, Amodei hasn't backed down.

"The first step towards solving these problems is kind of being honest with the population that these problems exist," Amodei told Axios during an event in September.

Amodei said the rate of AI advancement and its adoption by society make predicting the actual timetable for job displacement difficult.

"As with most things, when an exponential is moving very quickly, you can't be sure," he said. "This could happen faster than I imagine, this could happen slower than I imagine, or something very different could happen. I think it is likely enough to happen that we felt there was a need to warn the world about it and to speak honestly and in candid terms about it."

The disconnect, Amodei said, is that some people think because of what AI is capable of now that such a mass displacement isn't possible.

"What I'm really worried about is where the technology is going," he said. "And I think there's a little disconnect here where people will say, 'Oh you're worried about AI is going to do to jobs, but AI can't do this, AI can't do that,' well we're talking about today's AI."

Elon Musk

Elon Musk compared AI to a "supersonic tsunami" that will upend the labor market.

"I think there will be actually a high demand for jobs, but not necessarily the same jobs," Musk recently told Joe Rogan on the comedian's podcast. "So I mean this is actually, this process has been happening throughout modern history."

Musk said desk jobs are likely to be among the first to be replaced.

"Anything that's physically moving atoms, like cooking food or farming, anything that's physical, those jobs will exist for a much longer time," he said. "But anything that is digital, which is just someone at a computer doing something, AI is going to take over those jobs like lightning."

Ultimately, Musk is bullish on AI but cautions that there will likely be "trauma and disruption" along the way. In one scenario, he discussed with Rogan, society reaches an almost utopian level of existence because wealth is so accessible that there's a "universal high income."

Jensen Huang

Jensen Huang, the CEO of chipmaker Nvidia, was withering when asked about Amodei's comments. "I pretty much disagree with almost everything he says," Huang said. Amodei "thinks AI is so scary," but only Anthropic "should do it," he continued. An Anthropic spokesperson told BI that Amodei had never made that claim.

Huang said it's more likely that an AI user replaces a job than AI itself.

"It's very likely that the companies that use AI first, that use robotics technology first, will be the most successful first, and they will end up hiring more people," he said in late October. "You're going to lose your job not to somebody — not to a robot, you're going to lose your job to somebody who uses a robot. You're going to lose your job to somebody who uses AI."

Jamie Dimon

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said AI will shorten the work week.

"My guess is the developed world will be working three and a half days a week in 20, 30, 40 years, and have wonderful lives," Dimon said in November at an event in Miami.

That being said, Dimon said society needs to prepare itself for job displacement. He said governments and the private sector need to prepare "today" for a response that consists of retraining, income assistance, and relocation programs.

"It will eliminate jobs," Dimon said. "People should stop sticking their heads in the sand."

Sam Altman

"AI is for sure going to change a lot of jobs" and "totally take some jobs away, create a bunch of new ones," Altman said during a May episode of "The Circuit" podcast.

The OpenAI CEO said that although people might be aware that AI can be better at some tasks, like programming or customer support, the world "is not ready for" humanoid robots.

"I don't think the world has really had the humanoid robots moment yet," he said, describing a scenario where people could encounter "like seven robots that walk past you" on the street.

"It's gonna feel very sci-fi. And I don't think that's very far away from like a visceral 'oh man, this is gonna do a lot of things that people used to do,'" he added.

Speaking at the Snowflake Summit in June, Altman said AI agents are already acting like junior employees.

Jim Farley

Like Amodei, Ford CEO Jim Farley sees major changes coming.

"Artificial intelligence is going to replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the US," Farley said during an appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Farley said he's concerned that too much of the American education system is focused on four-year degrees instead of trades.

Andy Jassy

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that AI is already changing workflows. He said it will soon lead to a reduction in some jobs.

"As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done," Jassy said in a memo posted to the Amazon website. "We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs."

Yann LeCun

Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist, wrote a short LinkedIn post just after Huang dismissed Amodei, saying, "I agree with Jensen and, like him, pretty much disagree with everything Dario says."

LeCun has previously taken a more optimistic stance on AI's impact on jobs. Speaking at Nvidia's GTC conference in March, LeCun said that AI could replace people but challenged whether humans would allow that to happen.

"I mean basically our relationship with future AI systems, including superintelligence, is that we're going to be their boss," he said.

Mustafa Suleyman

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman said it's clear AI will upend the labor market. It's just a question of how soon it will be.

"The question is time horizons. Is it 50 years, or is it 10 years? The trajectory is clear," Suleyman said at a Paley Center for Media event in October, per Forbes.

Suleyman is optimistic about what super-intelligent AI will mean for society. He said that AI could replace many jobs that humans may not even want to do.

"I don't believe that the majority of people do want to work on a toothpaste packing line, just screwing in the top of a toothpaste tube," Suleyman told podcaster Marina Mogilko in November. "I think people want creative work. I think people want to pursue their passions."

Demis Hassabis

Demis Hassabis, the cofounder of Google DeepMind, said in June that AI would create "very valuable jobs" and "supercharge sort of technically savvy people who are at the forefront of using these technologies." He told London Tech Week attendees that humans were "infinitely adaptable."

He said he'd still recommend young people study STEM subjects, saying it was "still important to understand fundamentals" in areas including mathematics, physics, and computer science to understand "how these systems are put together."

Geoffrey Hinton

You would have to be "very skilled" to have an AI-proof job, Geoffrey Hinton, the so-called "Godfather of AI," has said.

"For mundane intellectual labor, AI is just going to replace everybody," Hinton told the "Diary of a CEO" podcast in June. He flagged paralegals as at risk, and said he'd be "terrified" if he worked in a call center.

Hinton said that, eventually, the technology would "get to be better than us at everything," but said some fields were safer, and that it would be, "a long time before it's as good at physical manipulation.

"So a good bet would be to be a plumber," he added.

Brad Lightcap

Like Altman, OpenAI's COO Brad Lightcap doesn't see the sky falling.

"We have no evidence of this," Lightcap said during the "Hard Fork" podcast taping. "And Dario is a scientist. And I would hope he takes an evidence-based approach to these types of things."

Lightcap said that every technology changes the job market.

"I think every time you get a platform shift, you get a change in the job market," he said." I mean, in 1900, 40 percent of people worked in agriculture. It's 2 percent today. Microsoft Excel has probably been the greatest job displacer of the 20th century."

Eric Yuan

Eric Yuan's Zoom played a significant role in transforming the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said AI will upend it even more.

"I feel like if A.I. can make all of our lives better, why do we need to work for five days a week?" Yuan told The New York Times in September. "Every company will support three days, four days a week. I think this ultimately frees up everyone's time."

Yuan said that some jobs will be replaced, but there will still be a need for workers.

"For some jobs, like entry-level engineers, we can use A.I. to write code," he said. "However, you still need to manage that code. You also create a lot of digital agents, and you need someone to manage those agents."

Aravind Srinivas

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said he sees a middle ground between Amodei's prediction of near-immediate doom and overly rosy projections of how soon AI will create new jobs.

"More entrepreneurs need to emerge to create new jobs, because every company is going to need fewer people," Srinivas told Matthew Berman during a recent interview. "Either the other people who lose jobs end up starting companies themselves and make use of AIs, or they end up learning AIs and end up contributing to new companies that need to hire some people."

Srinivas said there will be a "temporary phase" of job displacement. He said there's no need "to sugarcoat" what will happen.

"During that phase, you're going to see some people struggling," he said.

• Retailers across the US are gearing up for the peak sales event of the holiday shopping season.
• For Target, this means loading stores up with toys, electronics, apparel, and more.
• Target took Business Insider inside a warehouse where products are sorted and sent to regional stores.

Target really needs a win this holiday season.

The company has struggled in recent years with declining comparable sales, and it has cautious expectations for the all-important fourth quarter of this year.

One aspect of the business that incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke is keenly interested in improving is making sure products are actually available on shelves for shoppers to buy.

"If you've trusted us with a trip to the store, we can't let you down by being out of stock, and we haven't been good enough over the last several years on that front," he said during a November earnings call.

Few days are more unforgiving of out-of-stocks than the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday has changed a lot in recent years, but it's still the marquee sales event of the holiday shopping season.

That means stocking stores with the right quantities of toys, electronics, apparel, and other items.

The bullseye retailer invited Business Insider to take an exclusive look behind the curtain at one of its distribution centers, where merchandise from suppliers gets sorted and sent to individual stores across the region.

Target also fulfills more than 97% of its e-commerce orders from one of its retail stores, so that means almost everything the company sells online or offline must first pass through one of these distribution facilities.

Business Insider visited the warehouse a week before Thanksgiving and saw firsthand the overwhelming volume of items that go into ensuring each Target store has exactly what it needs each day.

Here's how Target is gearing up for the holiday rush.

Target's regional distribution center is located a half hour outside Milwaukee in the town of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

The 1.5 million square foot facility serves 81 stores across four states: Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Senior site director Julie O'Clary started her career with Target as an intern at this facility and has worked at several locations over the years.

O'Clary says her facility typically processes about 600,000 cartons of merchandise in a normal week, but that number balloons to 800,000 a week during the holiday rush.

An additional 300,000 cartons also flow through the facility without active sorting, bringing the holiday volume to well north of a million cartons this week.

The sprawling warehouse could fit nearly 26 football fields and runs like a small city with more than 1,050 employees.

Trucks arrive from suppliers with inventory that must be unloaded and sorted. The warehouse handles roughly 45,000 different product codes.

A shipment of toys is unloaded from the truck onto conveyor belts and scanned with a laser rig.

Here's where pallets of toys like these Cozy Coupe cars from the Little Tikes brand arrive.

The inbound loading docks are a ballet of people and forklifts in the days leading up to Black Friday.

"We see a lot of brown boxes here, but inside that brown box, there's toys or cosmetics — something that our guests want, something that brings them joy — so that's our job," Clary said.

All around the facility, towers of best-selling Black Friday items can be seen — such as these flat-screen TVs.

The warehouse also gives a sneak peek into what could be the next viral toy, like these child-sized Target shopping carts.

Here, pallets of Mario Kart racing toys are stacked next to electric scooters and kid-sized four-wheelers.

Almost everything in the building needs a label, and these printers spool off barcodes nonstop.

The company also routinely tracks all problems — and potential problems — on whiteboards throughout the facility, which are updated hourly.

Though it's not a store, some employees still wear Target's classic red plaid shirts.

This facility is also where Target tailors inventory orders to give each individual store the exact number of items it needs.

For example, each box here is headed to a different store, and each contains different quantities of apparel in the right sizes and colors.

Items are then sent upstairs to a network of conveyor belts that guide each box to the correct truck.

Boxes pass by at high speed, and the system automatically slows down to allow items from multiple belts to merge into one.

As one of Target's higher-volume distribution centers, the flow of goods continues around the clock.

Some shipments take a detour for extra labeling.

An elevated conveyor belt carries sorted merchandise to trucks waiting at the loading docks. Other big and bulky items are stored near the outbound docks for quicker access.

Boxes are automatically tipped onto rollers that feed right into a waiting truck.

The parade of boxes are then loaded into tractor-trailers like a life-size game of Tetris.

More evidence of the holidays is on display in the form of a pallet of Target-branded artificial Christmas trees on the loading docks.

O'Clary says the facility processes about 40 million outbound cartons a year. Some stores receive a truck every day, but during the holiday rush, they may take multiple deliveries a day.

O'Clary says her team is putting in thousands of hours of overtime this week to make sure Target customers have well-stocked shelves for their holiday shopping.

• US Coast Guard helicopter pilots and precision marksmen are constantly training and evolving their strategies.
• The squadrons are instrumental to the drug interdiction process, hunting drug boats from the air.
• They adjust plans on-the-fly, sometimes switching from airborne use of force to search and rescue.

USCG HITRON JACKSONVILLE, Florida — In the eastern Pacific and Caribbean waters, Coast Guard helicopter teams are chasing down suspected drug boats, putting vessels out of action, and setting the stage for boarding.

The elite pilots and precision marksmen of the Helicopter Interdiction Squadron, or HITRON, have to be prepared for drug interdiction operations to go sideways. It could be night, the drug boat could be zigging and zagging everywhere trying to get away, and suspects could be jumping overboard.

No matter what the pilots have to be ready to keep up the chase, and the shooters on board have to be able to make the shot when it matters.

Business Insider had the opportunity recently to see them in action, training for these missions, aimed at curbing the flow of dangerous narcotics into the US.

"It's like running with ankle weights on," Lt. Com. Jamel Choker, a pilot and mission commander at HITRON, told Business Insider, speaking on the intensity of the training that goes into preparing for actual missions. "You want to train as hard as possible so that when you get out in the real world, it's kind of easier."

The Coast Guard formally stood up HITRON in 2003 at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Over the recent decades, it's been involved in over 1,000 interdictions resulting in billions of dollars worth of drugs seized from smugglers.

HITRON's helicopter pilots arrive as trained and experienced aircraft commanders. No matter what they flew before, they learn the ins and outs of Coast Guard helicopters like the MH-65 Dolphin — older airframes that go through a dedicated maintenance pipeline, leaving Cecil Field and returning looking brand new.

Choker described the job as unique because it's both aviation and law enforcement, and the missions can quickly change from hunting drug boats to search and rescue in the water to flagging suspected drug cargo if it goes overboard.

Split-second decisions

Just last week, Choker and his crew received an award for a pursuit in which a drug boat was making "tight turns and zig-zags and everything," he said, before its passengers suddenly started jumping overboard.

"All four of them jumped in the water," Choker said. "They left the throttle engaged, and they left the wheel cut to the right."

Coast Guard personnel then switched to search and rescue mode, deploying life rings. As they were trying to help, they saw the renegade vessel circle around beneath the helicopter out of view. The boat was heading right for one of the smugglers in the water. It would've been a serious hit.

"We made a split-second decision that we were going to use the precision rifle to disable the boat," Choker shared. It took the gunner nine rounds in under five seconds to cut the engines. "It came within five feet of running him over," he said.

At Cecil, Coast Guard pilots and marksmen are constantly flying and training when they're not on deployments, which regularly last months at a time. They practice against a team pretending to be drug traffickers, who will change up tactics based on what's been observed from recent real-world runs.

The actual piloting of the Dolphin is something that's "predictable and intuitive to you when you've been training for thousands of hours," Choker told Business Insider. "It does take a lot of training in order to know that I need the helicopter to do an extreme angle of bank, and I need to only move my hand three-fourths of an inch in order to do that."

Precision marksmen are likewise constantly training to get the perfect shot while maintaining clear communication with the pilots. The training pipeline requires knowledge of what weapons to use for specific purposes.

The mounted machine gun on the Dolphin is for firing warning shots when a suspected drug vessel doesn't stop after initial verbal warnings. Other rifles, like the M107 semi-automatic .50 caliber sniper rifle and M110 Semi Automatic Sniper System chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO-standard rounds, are useful for knocking out vessel engines depending on the size.

The M107 is effective at longer range against harder targets, like enemy vehicles, while the M110 is suited to engaging personnel and lightly protected material targets.

Petty Officer Second Class Phillip McCarty, an avionics electrical technician and precision marksman at HITRON, told Business Insider that training, both on land and in air, is designed to prepare marksmen for the challenges of shooting effectively during interdictions, when a helicopter flies alongside a moving boat and pilots help the marksmen line up their shot.

The pilots have to match speed and attempt to maneuver to provide the best shot, but the shooters have to be prepared to overcome vibrations, jarring movements, and other potential impacts.

While they want to make every shot count, getting a clean hit to disable the vessel is easier said than done, especially when suspected drug boats try to make a run for it.

He said he's had cases where it only took four rounds to stop a smuggling boat, but there have been others where the drug runners were "very erratic and driving all over the place and at nighttime." That took 32 rounds to kill the engine.

Depending on the circumstances, environment, and drug runner tactics, the marksmen find themselves having to embrace HITRON's adapt and overcome strategy. "You've got to change your methodology on the fly out there," McCarty said.

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

• For Love & Money is a column from Business Insider answering your relationship and money questions.
• This week, a reader's girlfriend wants to move in together, but his parents disapprove.
• Our columnist suggests first figuring out what he himself wants, and then communicating with his girlfriend.

Dear For Love & Money,

I've been with my girlfriend for two years. She thinks it's time we take the next step and move in together. My parents, who are old-fashioned and religious, don't think couples should live together before marriage.

They told me I shouldn't expect any support if I move in with my girlfriend, including the substantial down payment they'd always promised to help me buy my first house with. I am not surprised because they have always been clear on their beliefs.

I'm ready to propose and get married, but my girlfriend says she won't even consider marrying someone she hasn't lived with first. I don't care either way about the order we do things, but in this economy, rejecting a 20% down payment just to prove a point seems irresponsible.

Sincerely,

Caught Between Parents & Girlfriend

Dear Caught Between,

From the sound of your letter, you seem to think you have two options before you — move in with your girlfriend against your parents' wishes, or get married and live together the way your parents want you to.

But I'm confused why you think the latter is even an option, because while you may want to please your parents and get your down payment for your future home, you simply cannot make your girlfriend marry you. Breaking up with her doesn't seem to be on the table either, so, as long as you "don't care either way," you really only have one option: do things your girlfriend's way.

If you read that suggestion and thought, "That doesn't seem fair," I don't blame you. This is one of the most significant life decisions you'll make; you should have an opinion. My guess is, deep down, you probably already do. The key is in uncovering it.

I'm familiar with this struggle because I often face it myself. When I feel stuck between two people I love with opposing ideas, picking which one I prefer feels impossible because all I really want is for everyone to be happy — more specifically, happy with me. Even more specifically, I don't want them to be upset with me or blame me for future regret.

But the unfortunate truth is that when I forgo making hard decisions in favor of trying to keep everyone else happy, I'm the one who ends up upset. I'm the one blaming myself for my regrets. Because, just as you do in your case, I also have an opinion, even if I sometimes don't realize what it is until later, when it's too late.

There are a few methods I've found for figuring out what I want that you might try.

The coin toss trick

Assign each option heads or tails, promise yourself you'll abide by the outcome, close your eyes, and toss it into the air. When you open your eyes and see which option won, your sense of disappointment or relief should be a great indication of what you wanted to happen.

Consult a counselor

While going to counseling to help you make a single decision may feel dramatic, not all therapy involves crying about your mother in weekly sessions for the rest of your life. You can find a counselor who practices brief, solution-focused therapy. Your job might even offer a few free therapy sessions through their EAP.

Having a third-party professional who's trained to provide you with a non-judgmental space to explore why you may feel caught between your girlfriend and your parents could help you step back and look at your situation from a new angle.

Talk through the decision with a trusted friend

You could also talk through the decision with a trusted friend. You may wonder why I say "trusted friend" instead of "your girlfriend". This is indeed a major decision that will impact both of you greatly, and it will be essential that you reach a final, mutually agreed-upon decision as a team.

But to be part of that decision, you have to know what you want first; otherwise, it's not your decision at all, is it? Sometimes, when we go around and around issues inside our heads, our true opinions get lost in the internal noise. Processing your situation aloud with a friend will allow you the space to hear your thoughts and feelings. Just make sure you listen to yourself with curiosity and attention.

That said, I wouldn't suggest bringing your parents into this decision-making process at all. Your life with your girlfriend is shared between the two of you. Your actual lived experiences immediately outrank any notions your parents have about propriety and morality.

I'm sure the kind of life-changing money they're offering must feel tempting, but remember, it's a gift, not a prize. You can't earn it, nor should you try. Whether your parents choose to give you that gift is up to them. Any attempt on your part to persuade them to provide you with the down payment will only create a toxic cycle of mutual manipulation, where they treat the money like puppet strings while you treat your own life decisions like they can be exchanged for your parents' approval in the form of cash.

Meanwhile, your girlfriend's wishes don't factor in at all, aside from her free will to leave you and the whole mess behind her if she feels your desire for a down payment is overshadowing your care for her needs and preferences.

If that's not what you want — and it sure sounds like it isn't — keep the decision between the two people affected by it: you and your girlfriend. Once you know what you want, tell your girlfriend what that is, so you can work together to figure out how both of you can be happy.

If, like your girlfriend, you want to move in together before you get married, this conversation will be mostly logistical. Or perhaps you realize that you share your parents' values after all, and you prefer to get married first. If this is the case, one potential compromise could be to live together during your engagement. Or, you could ask your girlfriend if she has any ideas for mutually acceptable compromises.

No matter what you choose to do, remember that a lifetime with the person you love eclipses a five-figure down payment every time. It's far more responsible to attend to your needs and desires, and those of the person you'll share your life with, than to try to pry open your parents' purse strings — even in this economy.

Rooting for you,

For Love & Money

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• Gregg Salkovitch transitioned from sales to running a sales and recruiting company.
• He reflected on hiring two candidates who bombed their interviews, but ended up as top performers.
• He said it's important to give people a second chance and the opportunity to explain themselves.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gregg Salkovitch, founder of Right Choice Resources, a recruiting company based in Chicago. His identity and employment have been verified by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I used to be a top sales performer, but one day I had a midlife crisis and wanted to try something different.

Sales recruiting combined two things I loved — helping people and being passionate about sales. I wanted to get into it, but it felt like nobody would take a chance on me. I basically had to start my own company because nobody would hire me.

I founded a sales and recruiting company called Right Choice Resources. We focus on hiring anyone from a junior-level salesperson to a sales leader.

I recently reflected on my background and remembered a couple of people who reminded me of myself at my last company. They didn't really have the right background — and they both bombed the interview — but I think they had the right skills.

Poor interviewers

The first candidate had to give a presentation, and he read off notecards the whole time, word for word. It wasn't a good presentation. He just sat there reading. I could have read his note cards just as well.

He also had nothing special about his application. He had no bachelor's degree and was a job-hopper.

When we asked why, he said, "I'm a perfectionist. I really want this job. I don't want to miss anything."

The second candidate was nervous and shaking throughout the entire interview.

But he kept going through the interview process. He showed up early to every interview, acted professionally, took notes, asked questions, and sent thorough thank-you letters. When we said he seemed nervous, he said he really wanted the job.

We decided to take a chance on him. He was a college athlete, which we always like for sales roles because athletes are used to working in teams and tend to be competitive. We figured he just needed some at-bats and he would be fine.

He was still a bit nervous when he started the role, but he was incredibly gritty and did whatever it took to get the job done. If you were going to make 50 sales calls, he would make 100. He was a high performer, and his work ethic was an A+.

Six months after those interviews, both candidates were in the top 10% of sales performers of our company.

Why I gave them a chance

When I see a concern, like job-hopping or reading off of notecards, the most interesting part is asking the candidate, "Why?"

There's usually a good reason. For example, after I got to know the first candidate well enough to ask him why he didn't finish his degree, he told me he had to drop out of school to earn money and take care of his single mom, who got sick.

Everybody has a story.

I also used to be really nervous in interviews. It's nerve-racking to talk to a bunch of people who are 20 years older than you when you're new to the interview process.

We still put a lot of weight in the interview process and use that time to ask about any concerns or reservations that we have. We also have dealbreakers, like swearing on the call, not doing research beforehand, interrupting the hiring manager, or leaving without asking any questions.

In general, though, the interview process is tough, and sometimes people need a second chance.

Somebody might not be a clear fit on paper, but they might still be a great salesperson. I know from personal experience that the biggest challenge is finding somebody who will give you a shot. I like to give others the benefit of the doubt.

• As a first-time flyer on Frontier Airlines, I was hesitant but hopeful.
• The flight to New Jersey was affordable and better than expected, but the seating was uncomfortable.
• Frontier is a decent, budget-friendly option for short trips when saving money is a priority.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. In this economy, my desperation to get from Georgia to New Jersey on a budget led me to Frontier Airlines — and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Frontier has been ranked at the bottom of many lists in terms of comfort. On the other hand, and much to my surprise, WalletHub listed it as the second-safest airline of 2025. With all of the mixed reviews online, I asked the people closest to me about their personal experience before booking my first Frontier flight.

My sister, who primarily flies Delta, took a Frontier flight to Jamaica earlier this year. It was her first time flying with the airline, and she said the seats were small and uncomfortable; however, it was one of the smoothest flights she's been on in a while. I also asked my editorial director about her Frontier experience, and she didn't have anything overwhelmingly negative to add.

With those two insights, I booked a $112 round-trip ticket from Atlanta to Newark Liberty International Airport. I wouldn't choose Frontier over my go-to airline again, but now that I've experienced it for myself, it's an OK last resort when all else fails, and money is tight.

The basic round-trip ticket from Atlanta to Newark was the best deal I could find.

I found my ticket on Google after searching for cheap flights from Atlanta to New York. The $100 deal caught my attention, and I immediately went to Frontier's website to complete my last-minute booking.

However, when I got to the site, reality hit — this wasn't going to be my usual flying experience.

I quickly realized the ticket wasn't a deal; it was a compromise.

As soon as I got on Frontier's webpage, I was bombarded with options to add-on things that I considered basic amenities.

Bringing a carry-on bag costs extra. Choosing an assigned seat costs extra. Even getting a boarding pass from the ticket counter was going to run me an extra $20 each way.

Of course, these were just options. If I wanted to fly cheap, all I had to do was decline the offers.

The bundle package almost convinced me to upgrade until I read the fine print.

Once I learned that bringing a carry-on bag would cost an extra $120, I considered purchasing the bundle package.

For that same $120, Frontier would've allowed me a personal item, carry-on bag, priority boarding, and the option to choose my own seat. That addition would've brought my total ticket to $220, which was about what I would've spent if I booked a Delta flight with my SkyMiles.

A standard seat and a personal item were good enough for me.

I had to remind myself that I was purchasing my ticket for the price, not the comfort. Ultimately, I stuck with my basic seat and personal item.

Luckily, I got a tiny aisle seat when I flew out of Atlanta and a window seat when I returned.

I regret not having paid for the upgraded seats.

As I made my way to the back of the plane, the seats went from cushy and spacious to questionable. I started to wonder if I should've just paid the extra $72 for upfront plus seating.

I shook off my regret and remembered my commitment to the budget.

My sitting area was very tight.

The seats didn't recline, and I didn't have any wiggle room, but it wasn't horrible for a short two-hour flight.

I was nervous about my personal item being accepted.

On the website, Frontier advises passengers to consider personal items to be purses, totes, computer bags, briefcases, diaper bags, or kids' backpacks. At the same time, the website considers large backpacks as carry-ons.

I grabbed the largest kid's book bag I could find from my niece and squeezed 48 hours' worth of clothes and toiletries inside. Then I prayed it would make the cut as a personal item.

Paying for a carry-on at the gate costs more than purchasing it online. I decided, in the spirit of cheapness, that if my bag didn't make the cut, I would go to the restroom, slide my backpack under my hoodie, and either return to the boarding gate with a hunch back or a pregnant belly.

My personal item passed the test, but I noticed the gate agents weren't very strict.

Frontier has bins to test the sizes of carry-ons and personal items. I watched as a couple of people shoved, bent, and folded large-sized duffel bags into the tiny space.

Those gate agents didn't seem to care as long as the item eventually fit. I don't think every agent would let this slide, but it's possible.

Boarding was easy, and the flight was smooth.

I was in the fourth boarding group out of six.

The flight was packed, boarding was easy, and the trip was smooth. When the flight attendants came down the aisle selling snacks, me and my cheap-minded compadres didn't even look their way.

As I sat in my seat, I wondered how much everyone else paid for their tickets.

Flying Frontier wasn't a treat, but it was affordable.

As far as customer service is concerned, the gate agents and flight attendants were friendly and had an unbothered attitude. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

When the plane landed, passengers from the rear rushed to the front. I didn't hear the familiar "please remain seated" instruction or a friendly reminder to deboard by row. Maybe that costs extra, too.

• OpenAI is working on a mysterious AI hardware device with famed iPhone designer Jony Ive.
• We don't know what this device will be, but there are some other AI devices out there that could give us a clue.
• I'm having a hard time getting excited about buying this.

Trust me when I say that I am absolutely thrilled by the chance to blow some money on a new gadget. I really am. I love a gizmo, a device, a widget, or a doohickey. When I see some new electronic thingamabob that might make my life easier or more enjoyable, I want it.

And yet, I am really scratching my head about why I would want or need the new device that OpenAI is working on — whatever it is.

We don't know much about this mysterious piece of hardware — not exactly what it will do, what it will look like, or what new things it's capable of. Legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive is working on it, which is, of course, intriguing. Earlier this year, my colleague Alistair Barr rounded up a bunch of predictions about what the device might look like or do, and the ideas ranged from an iPod Shuffle-sized device to some sort of "companion" wearable.

In a recent interview with Laurene Powell Jobs, Sam Altman and Ive talked about the new device, giving away very little detail other than that they expect it to be ready in two years and they want it to pass a "lick" test (ew, but I get it).

But we still don't really know what it will be. No one knows what might be more useful than your smartphone, which is kind of the most useful thing you can have!

The most boring scenario, which I fear sounds fairly likely, is that it's some sort of audio device that uses ChatGPT, like a small speaker you can talk to as an assistant that listens and learns. (OpenAI did not respond to my request for comment or for more information on the device.)

We've seen some examples of devices like this. The AI Pin was a small clip-on wearable that could see and hear the world around you to give you AI-powered information. (An interesting example was holding up a fruit to it in the grocery store and asking it how much sugar it contained.) The AI Pin crashed and burned, plagued by bad reviews and buggy service. It was, perhaps, just ahead of its time.

I never tested it, but I had a mixed reaction when it launched: I have enormous hesistations about the idea that voice control is the way of the future — I just would be far too embarassed to talk out loud to a device in the grocery store, and I also know my coworkers would ring my neck if I were using it in our open office. And yet … I still kind of wanted it. It looked cool!

More recently, the Friend necklace, another wearable that listened to your conversations and would chat to you as a "friend" (???) had an ignoble launch. The startup bought a massive ad campaign in the New York City subway, and its posters were immediately vandalized by those who found the concept of an AI friend dystopian (whether the backlash was encouraged as part of some 4D chess master marketing plan, that's something I simply don't care to put too many brain cells into considering). The Friend necklace also suffered from bad reviews about its buggy service and unappealing concept.

There are also more low-key and less ambitious AI audio devices that perform straightforward tasks. The Plaud Note is a slim device that listens to your meeting or school lecture and takes notes. This is the kind of task AI is great for — making bullet-point summaries of a larger piece of text or audio. You can imagine how great this is for college students, or for people who have a lot of meetings and sales calls.

And yet, this really still doesn't have a ton of appeal to me. As a journalist, recording and transcribing conversations is an important part of the job, and something that AI tools have helped immensely with (transcriptions especially). But that's a small part of my day, and like people in many other professions, I also have conversations that I absolutely do not want recorded in any sense.

In my personal life, I'm just not sure I want this kind of speaker device. I already have an Alexa — which I do use! And enjoy! And yes, I wish "she" were smarter and better at doing tasks — but I can't imagine expanding my use of a smart audio device that far past asking for reminders, the weather, or how many milliliters are in a cup. And though I look at my phone constantly, I can't imagine vocally chatting with a device — that's just a huge lifestyle change I can't wrap my head around.

Maybe this device will do something far more exciting and amazing than just being a souped-up Siri that takes notes. Two years from now is a long time — perhaps some amazing new thing will happen that will totally blow our minds. Or maybe it's just going to be a really nice version of a souped-up Siri. Which, I'm sad to say, just doesn't really thrill me.

There's too much unknown right now about this to pass any kind of judgment. But I'm pretty skeptical that this is going to be something that delights me. As a gadget lover, I am really hoping to have my mind changed.