• The Midwest leads in desirable metros with homes priced under $300,000, per Realtor.com.
• As home prices still remain high, affordability is a key factor for prospective homebuyers.
• Coastal cities tend to be more expensive while the Midwest is gaining appeal for its lower costs.

Home sale prices across the country have actually decreased since their peak in 2022, according to data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, home prices still remain unaffordable for many.

During the second quarter of 2020, the median sales price for a home was $317,100. Fast forward to that same timeframe in 2023, and the price jumped to $418,500. As of 2025, the amount has decreased slightly to $410,800.

Some areas continue to see increases in price, like Miami Beach's Fisher Island neighborhood, where the median listing price for a home is $11,925,000. Other regions, like the Sun Belt, have cooled off as buyer demand has decreased.

One region that's becoming more desirable is the Midwest. With household incomes not far off from home listing prices, there are many affordable options available below the national median of $424,200. Realtor.com highlighted the 10 most desirable metros with homes under $300,000, and a large majority of them are Midwestern cities.

While not every city listed is considered Midwestern, the metros are concentrated toward the middle of the map. East- and West-Coast elitists may (or may not) be shocked to find that no coastal cities made the cut. The farthest east city is in northeast Pennsylvania, and the most western city is in Kansas.

Here are 10 desirable metros with homes under $300,000, according to Realtor.com. Metros are in descending order of median list price. Median household income numbers come from the US Census Bureau.

• Daily lunches with my grandmother eased my loneliness as a single mother at 26 years old.
• Her support and routine meals helped me adjust to new motherhood and postpartum challenges.
• When she moved away, I had to face single motherhood alone, but she prepared me.

When my son was born, I spent the first six months of his life away from work. I was so happy that I could stay home to take care of him, but I was also alone all day.

I was a single mother at 26 years old, and my other good friends, who lived out of the area, didn't have kids yet. I felt isolated in new motherhood, but I did have some family nearby.

My grandmother, who only lived 15 minutes away, began inviting me over for lunch nearly every day. Having a lunch date gave me something to put on my schedule. It gave me a place to be, a reason to get dressed, and leave the house.

Eating lunch with my grandmother was exactly what I needed

My grandmother always ate at the same time and ate well-balanced, healthy meals. Eating lunch with her held me accountable to a routine and a conscious diet.

Talking to her was what was really nourishing. I didn't even realize how much I needed to talk about adjusting to life with a child until I showed up for lunch. I was also starving, sometimes living off of crackers and apple sauce at home in between feedings.

I found myself lingering more and more during our visits, as we talked and took turns holding the baby. It was nice getting to do small things hands-free, like eat a sit-down meal, but I also experienced myself missing my son when my grandmother held him for a while. It was the first time that I finally got a break, but then I instantly missed my son like crazy.

I worried about losing my daily lunch dates

I'd end up staying until the late afternoon, taking my son for a walk after lunch or resting with my grandmother while he napped. I did this for months and knew it was coming to an end, because she was a snowbird. She would come down to Florida during the winter and head back up north for the summer.

I was already dreading her departure when another family member asked what I'd do without her.

I got the sense that maybe others found it odd that I had become so close to my grandmother, given that I was 26 and she was in her 70s. But I just felt lucky to have spent that time of my life with her. Since I lost my mother at a very young age, spending that time with my maternal grandmother was really valuable to me. I'll never get to ask my own mom for advice, but my son and I got to spend time with my mom's mom, and I think that's really special.

It was difficult for me after she left for the summer because that was when I really began to adjust to life as a single parent.

Connecting with my grandmother during postpartum helped me feel capable

I really missed spending time with my grandmother, and that's when I realized how much her support had kept me grounded during those first six months of postpartum.

I can see now that my grandmother was looking out for me and that the connection I experienced during those visits made my postpartum experience so much more manageable. Having her support during the beginning of my son's life and of my parenting journey gave me the strength to begin doing it all on my own that summer.

She didn't have to go out of her way to host all of those lunches, but I think in doing so, she was just doing her best to take care of me in her own way.

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back! One 93-year-old works out five days a week. She credits three essentials for feeling like she's in her 50s.

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On the agenda:

• If waking up has ever felt like a punishment, a BI reporter has good news.
• Gen Z's favorite vacation: wherever their boss sends them.
• Novak Djokovic is winning titles at 38. He credits his longevity to 3 simple changes.
• One of the most divisive dining trends of the 2010s is making a comeback.

But first: What's cooking?

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If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.

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This week's dispatch

We're talkin' turkey

For many American families, there are five staples you're almost sure to see on their Thanksgiving dinner tables: turkey, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

And I know, I know, I'm leaving off a lot of yummy menu items. I can already hear you wondering, "Where's the green beans?"

Business Insider has been testing, tasting, and serving up recipes to help readers finalize their Thanksgiving menus based on the most popular dishes.

In case you were head down in Q4 and missed them (relatable), here's your cheat sheet to the ultimate Thanksgiving menu.

Turkey: There's still time to order your bird online. Here are the best places to buy one — from organic to fried to smoked.

Macaroni and cheese: We tried Ina Garten's overnight mac and cheese recipe, which features Gruyére and white cheddar. Yum!

Stuffing: One writer put four stuffing recipes to the test, and the favorite was the easiest to make. The recipe also called for fennel and apricot.

Sweet potatoes: Inside "Good Lookin' Cookin'," Dolly Parton's new cookbook with her sister, Rachel Parton George, is a sweet potato recipe with a nutty twist. One BI reporter brought it to a friendsgiving, and it was gone within minutes.

Pumpkin pie: A writer put three different pie recipes to the test, and Bobby Flay's came out on top thanks to a creamy, sweet topping.

Good luck in the kitchen! Or if all else fails, just order it up.

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Becoming a morning person

BI's Kim Schewitz has always struggled with waking up in the morning. She realized that starting her day in a constant fight or flight state left her feeling low energy, anxious, and a little disoriented.

Schewitz began her odyssey to become a morning person about a year ago. It wasn't until after a recent trip, when she got the good kind of jet lag — going to bed early and waking up early — that she really started to notice a difference.

Yoga and long walks before work.

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You better work (trip)

Some Gen Zers are turning bland work trips into vacations by tacking on extra days at nice hotels and taking advantage of corporate rates.

Done right, it's a nice way to earn extra credit card points, see a bucket-list destination, and maybe even get some quality time with a plus one. Done wrong, however, it's a sure way to upset your coworkers.

Business tripping with Gen Z.

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Long live the Djoker

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic is still at the top of his game at 38. The 24-time Grand Slam champion continues to beat players who are more than 10 years younger than him.

Djokovic told Business Insider the lifestyle choices he thinks have kept him on the court, from his famously disciplined diet to prioritizing emotional health.

Lessons from the GOAT.

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They ate with that

Shared tables and communal dining are so back, and young people are driving the trend.

The practice of seating different groups of people at the same long, banquet-style tables has some notable perks post-pandemic. For one, it makes it a lot easier to talk to strangers.

Let's feast.

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What we're watching this weekend

• "Good Boy": On Shudder, check out one of the most unique horror movies made in some time, as this haunted house story is told through the perspective of a dog.
• "The Bad Guys 2": Now available on Peacock, Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, and Zazie Beetz voice a group of crooks on one last heist.
• "Champagne Problems": It's that time of year when Netflix starts putting out its holiday movies. In this rom-com, Minka Kelly stars as a businesswoman who travels to France for some luxury Champagne and finds love in the process.

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What to shop

• Black Friday streaming deals: From annual plans under $3 to live TV bundles, this season's top streaming deals deliver serious savings without cutting any of the good stuff.
• Rare discount alert: SKIMS has put a ton of styles on sale ahead of Black Friday. Popular pieces, like the viral Soft Lounge Slip Dress and core cotton tees, are already up to 50% off, but sizes are selling quickly.
• Backpack today, tote tomorrow: We found the best convertible backpack-totes for commuting, traveling, and everything in between.

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The status symbol hoodie for teen girls

Gen Z and Gen Alpha girls are obsessed with a $90 pastel sweatshirt from Pink Palm Puff. For Katie Notopoulos's "Well Spent" podcast, she spoke to Lily Balaisis, the clothing brand's 17-year-old founder.

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More of this week's top reads:

• "Wicked: For Good" tries too hard to make Ariana Grande the star.
• I'm the founder and CEO of Anastasia Beverly Hills. My day starts with TikTok and ends with red light therapy.
• A dietitian shares how the "80/20 rule" helps her eat enough protein, fiber — and pastries.
• I tried making a French omelette. This surprisingly easy breakfast dish is my new favorite way to eat eggs.
• We paid over $14,000 for the cheapest room on an ultra-luxury cruise. Take a look inside our ship and 350-square-foot suite.
• My husband and I were on "House Hunters International." Here are five things that surprised me most about being on the show.

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The BI Today team: Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York.

• Grip strength is associated with greater longevity and lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Grip strength is also linked to strength training, such as pulling or carrying heavy weights.
• Exercises like farmer's carries and dead hangs can boost grip strength.

Easily popping the lid off a jar can mean you'll live longer — but not for the reasons you think.

Great grip strength is regarded as a key indicator of longevity, with one 2019 study linking stronger grip strength with lower rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive impairment.

The iron-gripped among us also experience day-to-day health benefits. "Those same people tend to have just better metabolism as well," Sarah Crawford, a physical therapist and owner of Anchor Wellness in Cincinnati, told Business Insider. "So better blood sugar regulation, better hormonal balance, reduced inflammation."

What do these people all have in common (besides giving firm handshakes)? Staying very active, she said. Grip strength is formed by building small muscles in the hands and forearms, which is harder to do than building larger muscles like your hamstrings or quadriceps.

"So if you're keeping smaller, deeper muscles strong, you have to be keeping bigger muscles strong, too," she said.

This is why squeezing a stress ball throughout an otherwise sedentary day won't do anything for grip strength.

"Grip strength is really a by-product of living an active lifestyle," W. Zach Smith, a physical therapist and owner of HIDEF Physical Therapy in Seattle, told Business Insider. He compared it to a person's walking speed, another sign of longevity: "It's based on all of the things they do in their life to stay healthy."

Try farmer's carries and dead hangs

The relationship to grip strength and strength training is fairly simple: grip strength is vital to progressing in pull-ups or heavy deadlifts, Crawford said. As you challenge yourself in those exercises, your grip strength improves over time.

Smith said popular exercises like bent-over rows, kettlebell swings, or sled pulls (where you hold a handle instead of tying the sled around your waist) all naturally build your grip strength because they involve pulling or carrying motions.

"Even rowing on a machine is going to take quite a bit of grip strength, having to pull," he said.

Crawford said farmer's carries — holding a heavy kettlebell in each hand and walking — "build grip endurance, shoulder stability, and core control all at once."

Similar exercises, such as a suitcase carry (holding only one weight) or using a trap bar (a hexagonal barbell that you can grip on its sides), also boost grip strength, Smith said.

"Even a simple dead hang from a bar is a great grip-builder," he said, which involves simply holding on to a pull-up bar for as long as you can.

If weight-training isn't your thing, Smith said other workouts, like bouldering or gymnastics, also build your strength — including your grip.

Desk accessories can work — on one condition

Because of the grip strength longevity buzz over the past few years, Smith has seen devices like hand grippers and squeeze balls become trendier.

With his own clients, he's seen little success when using them without additional strength training in the mix. "Building grip strength for the sake of grip strength using grip trainers rarely works, and we have had many clients try," he said.

However, if you're already strength training, Crawford said it doesn't hurt to do a few desk exercises in between Zoom meetings. The hand gripper "targets the primary muscles of the hand and forearm and can be used just about anywhere," she said. She also recommended therapy putty, which comes in different resistance levels and "helps strengthen the smaller, intrinsic muscles of the hand that we often neglect."

Sneak in grip exercises throughout your day

You can also get creative in challenging your grip strength throughout the day. "If you're parking further away in the grocery store parking lot and carrying your groceries out of the store instead of pushing them in a cart, that in and of itself will have an impact," Crawford said.

Even fine motor tasks, like coloring with a pencil, add up over time. "Daily practices that are pretty easy to implement will positively impact grip strength," she said — as long as you're still hitting the gym.

• I let my 14-year-old son skip school to attend the opening of a new Lego store together.
• It was a special bonding experience, and I don't regret it.
• While in line, I realized he's interested in Legos again for the same reason I wanted to take him.

Two weeks ago, I let my 14-year-old son take a day off from school so we could go to the grand opening of our new Lego store.

I know it sounds frivolous. And I'm not the kind of parent who encourages blowing off school for a trip to the mall. But for us, it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment — one of those small, strange, wonderful opportunities to make a memory I know we'll both hold onto.

Going to the new Lego store was a good chance to spend time together

My son was big into Lego blocks when he was little, but like many kids, his interest tapered off as video games became more appealing. And then, out of nowhere, it roared back with teenage intensity. He started following new releases, quoting "price per piece" statistics, and making regular visits to our local secondhand Lego shop for a "quick look."

Until two weeks ago, the closest official Lego store was over two hours away, so the idea that one was opening practically in our backyard felt big. When he told me the date for the grand opening, I half-jokingly asked if he wanted to go. His eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.

So we went.

We stood in line for almost two hours just to get in the door — surrounded by a huge, good-natured crowd of mostly adults, some with young kids — but it honestly didn't feel that long to me. My son and I spent the time chatting about everything from what he was hoping to buy to what we were looking forward to doing on the upcoming holiday break.

I realized in line why he was into Legos again — and why the day felt so special

It struck me as we waited in line: he's clinging to Lego for the same reason I wanted to take him to the store opening that day. We're both holding on to something that feels simple and uncomplicated in a world where everything seems to be accelerating for him.

At 14, he's in this place between childhood and adulthood. He's mature and focused, and more self-aware than I ever was at his age. He earns good grades, is on the student council and the Model UN team at his school, volunteers at the library every week, and has recently told me he feels like he has a lot on his plate. He's busy in a new, adult way, and Lego is his way of decompressing, something that lets his brain (and emotions) take a break.

Seeing the little kids waiting with their parents, I was reminded of just how quickly time passes. My son and I often talk about the future and his college and career aspirations. He's forming his own opinions and priorities, and I'm grateful that he still wants to talk about (almost) everything with me. But I'm also aware that the window for spontaneous weekday adventures is rapidly narrowing.

Taking him out of school for the day was about showing him that, as he grows up, there's still room for joy and silliness. He got to experience the child-like excitement of being a kid with no responsibilities for a few hours — and I got to match his excitement just by watching him be completely in his element.

When we finally made it into the store, he took his time wandering around to see all of the displays and make his choices. He didn't get the Gingerbread AT-AT Walker Lego set he really wanted — we would've had to have been closer to the front of the line for that coveted purchase — but he found a couple of other sets he liked, as well as one for his brother, and even one for me.

More than the stuff, we came home with a shared new memory. One that we'll pull out at holiday meals and visits home from college — "Remember that time we waited in line for hours at the new Lego store? That was wild!"

I don't regret taking him out of school for a day. In fact, I imagine I'll do it again a few more times before he graduates. Grades matter. Attendance matters. Preparing for the future matters. But so does carving out space to connect with my kid before the time slips away.

• Donald Trump signed a bill that will release the DOJ's files on Jeffrey Epstein.
• It's the latest in a long line of Epstein documents that have been released.
• But this one stands to be different. Here's how.

More than six years after his death in jail, Jeffrey Epstein is still alive and well in the public discourse.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act after months of pressure from members of Congress, including some in his own party.

The law requires one of the most radical acts of transparency in the Justice Department's history, requiring it to make public its records related to Epstein, the notorious and well-connected pedophile financier who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

The department has 30 days to comply, setting a deadline of Saturday, December 19.

Epstein counted Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and other titans of finance, law, politics, and science among his acquaintances. His alleged victims and other members of the public hope the files will shed light on those relationships and law enforcement's handling of the case.

Here's what sets this release apart:

Haven't we already seen a whole lot of 'Epstein files'?

In recent months, the House Oversight Committee has made public Epstein-related documents it obtained through subpoenas, including emails provided by his estate.

Other documents have been made public through the federal prosecution of Epstein's co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Civil lawsuits involving Epstein, Maxwell, banks affiliated with Epstein, and the US Virgin Islands government have shaken loose even more records about his life. Various drips and drabs have also entered the public domain through Freedom of Information Act requests, government reports, and an inquiry from the Senate Finance Committee.

All of that may pale in comparison to what the Justice Department has in its possession.

OK, so what's new here?

The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the Justice Department to publish "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" about Epstein and Maxwell.

Those could include more emails and text messages, as well as internal prosecutorial records. The Justice Department has overseen two different criminal investigations into Epstein's sexual abuse of teenage girls. The first took place in Florida and led to a widely criticized deal where Epstein pleaded guilty to a single sex offense in 2008. The second was the Manhattan-based investigation, which led to Epstein's 2019 arrest and Maxwell's prosecution.

During Epstein's 2019 arrest, the FBI searched his Manhattan townhouse and his home in the US Virgin Islands. In the process, they obtained more than 70 computers, iPads, and hard drives, along with financial documents and binders full of CDs.

Those seized materials form the heart of the "Epstein files," which could shed even more light on the deepest, darkest secrets of the notorious pedophile. According to The New York Times, the FBI had already prepared 100,000 pages for public release before the Justice Department decided to keep them secret earlier this year.

That's pretty wild. Is there anything else the Justice Department might release?

Yes! A whole bunch of stuff, including:

• Any deals between the government and Epstein associates, including non-prosecution agreements and sealed settlements.
• Records tied to Epstein's death in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, such as transcripts of interviews with people in neighboring cells the night he died.
• Records into what has widely been criticized as a "sweetheart deal" for Epstein by Southern District of Florida prosecutors.
• Material surrounding calls victims say they made to the FBI as early as the 1990s about Epstein's conduct, which did not lead to any known law enforcement investigation.
• Additional flight records from Epstein's private jets.

That's a lot? Is there anything the government isn't releasing?

While the law requires the Justice Department to make its records publicly available, other federal agencies are off the hook.

The Treasury Department, for example, is in possession of more exhaustive records related to Epstein's finances, including Suspicious Activity Reports some banks filed about his fund transfers. A separate bill proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden would force more transparency there.

The Federal Aviation Administration possesses flight records that it has so far kept from the public. And to the degree that intelligence agencies like the CIA or National Security Agency have anything, the bill doesn't cover them.

Doesn't the DOJ have loopholes to keep this stuff secret?

The Epstein Files Transparency Act permits the Justice Department to redact or withhold documents for victim privacy and for national security purposes.

'National security'? That sounds fuzzy.

Well, sure, but there are limits.

Four people who have had access to the seized material previously told Business Insider that nothing in them indicated Epstein had any kind of domestic or foreign intelligence role. Nothing in the discovery process or court proceedings for Maxwell's criminal case, which involved those records, indicated that there was anything of national security importance.

Furthermore, the Epstein Files Transparency Act requires all redactions to be accompanied by a written justification submitted to Congress.

The law specifically prohibits the Justice Department from withholding, delaying, or redacting any documents "on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary." It also requires the department to produce material "concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement, or concealment" of Epstein-related records — meaning Congress wants to know if there are signs of a cover-up.

What about that new investigation I heard about?

A provision in the law allows the Justice Department to withhold records that "would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution."

Days before the bill's passage, Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into the links between Epstein and JPMorgan Chase, as well as a slew of perceived political enemies. Bondi handed the investigation over to the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York.

But even if the Justice Department withholds any of those records from the public, it's still required to hand them over to the House Oversight Committee, which subpoenaed them.

Any perceived attempts by the Justice Department to use this investigation as a shield could lead to backlash from both Congress and members of the public. A number of Epstein's victims have pushed for the release of the files, seeking to understand more about the circumstances of their own abuse and the Justice Department's handling of the case.

• Investor Harry Stebbings secured Marc Benioff as a podcast guest after 53 cold emails.
• Cold emailing is a skill that's "super learnable" and one he still uses, Stebbings said.
• Stebbings shared his cold email strategy, emphasizing clarity, credibility, and personalization.

Harry Stebbings isn't shy about sliding into inboxes. And he's persistent — just ask Marc Benioff.

Stebbings, the 29-year-old founder of venture capital firm 20VC, interviewed the Salesforce CEO in 2023 for his podcast. He wasn't the easiest guest to score, but Stebbings was committed to getting him on the show.

Stebbings spoke about his strategy for getting Benioff to say yes — which involved sending 53 cold emails over a year — during a November 12 episode of the "Biography" podcast with Wouter Teunissen. It's a skill that Stebbings has honed over the years of hitting up potential guests.

Stebbings shared his winning formula for landing Benioff.

"Do you know how few people cold email well?" Stebbing asked the host. "It's super learnable."

It starts with a clear subject line that doesn't sound needy, he said, and an introduction that skips the filler phrases like, "'I hope you're well.'" You should state your objective almost right away after your salutations.

Then, he said, you'll want to give your claim some validity and explain why the receiver should say yes, using some brief background information.

"'We have X amount of subscribers, followers, you name it, and I have had guests like X, Y, and Z,'" Stebbings said.

After letting them know how much time is required of them, Stebbings wraps it up with a personal touch. For his emails to Benioff, he tested different options. For some, he'd offer to gift him his favorite whiskey. For others, he'd mention his holiday home, favorite vacation destination, or Salesforce's quarterly results.

In the era of AI, Stebbings said you can use LLMs to quickly find out little-known facts about your intended recipient that could show you've done your homework.

If you've already met them at a dinner or a chance encounter, Stebbings said, don't make the mistake of waiting to email them the next day.

"It's so important because it just shows them that you're on it, and it's fresh in their mind," he said.

Some of 20VC's other notable guests include Scooter Braun, Bill Ackman, and Sam Altman. Ultimately, it's about putting yourself out there for connections and new opportunities.

"I just always think, always take the option which has another door opening," he said.

It's also clear that Benioff was aware of the sheer number of attempts.

In a 2023 post on X after the release of their interview together, the Salesforce CEO highlighted the value of not giving up.

"Harry must have texted and emailed me 100 times before I agreed to be on his podcast," Benioff said. "Persistence pays Harry."

• Market watchers can't get enough of Michael Burry's crusade against the AI giants.
• Nvidia's stock reversal on Thursday sparked memes featuring the investor of "The Big Short" fame.
• Burry, a vocal skeptic of the AI boom, has bet against Nvidia and Palantir in recent months.

Michael Burry is officially a meme.

The investor of "The Big Short" fame is lighting up social media after he bet against Nvidia and called out the chipmaker and other AI companies on X, which may have contributed to the stock market's slump on Thursday.

Why Michael Burry is having a moment

Burry is best known for predicting and profiting from the collapse of the mid-2000s US housing bubble. His massive, contrarian wager was immortalized in the book "The Big Short" and a movie adaptation starring Christian Bale as Burry.

Known for his dire warnings of crashes and recessions, Burry goes by "Cassandra" on X — a reference to the priestess from Greek mythology who was cursed to speak true prophecies but never to be believed.

He burst back onto X in late October after more than two years of silence, and wasted no time firing off several warnings about a dangerous bubble in AI stocks.

His hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, revealed days later that at the end of September it held bearish put options on Nvidia and Palantir with a combined notional value of $1.1 billion.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp called the bets "batshit crazy" in a televised interview, spurring Burry to fire back that the AI company's boss couldn't "crack a simple 13F."

In later posts, Burry said that he wasn't short and had exited the Palantir puts in October. He also terminated Scion's SEC registration, closing it to outside cash.

Most recently, he took aim at Nvidia after its third-quarter earnings beat on Wednesday. He questioned the longevity of its chips, its "give-and-take deals" with other AI companies, and its stock dilution.

Some market watchers rushed to ridicule his bearish stance on the AI boom after Nvidia shares popped more than 5% following its earnings beat.

Other commenters poked fun at Burry's defiance, and his willingness to go up against technology titans and the dominant market narrative.

Still others have defended Burry, saying he's many things but foolish isn't one of them.

Shares of Nvidia opened higher on Thursday but swung to a 3% decline by the market's close, and fell another 1% on Friday.

Nvidia is the world's most valuable public company with a market capitalization above $4 trillion, so its sudden downswing dragged the entire stock market lower on Thursday.

The S&P 500 gave up a 1.9% gain to close 1.6% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite went from a 2.6% rise to a 2.2% fall, marking the indexes' largest intraday swing since April. Both closed less than 1% higher on Friday.

The reversal led some market watchers to rally behind Burry, celebrating his surprise comeback and suggesting he may have been right to be skeptical.

They also gave him kudos for cashing in on the chaos, even though Burry hasn't said whether he holds Nvidia puts or profited from Thursday's selloff.

Burry also received praise for his Palantir bet, as the AI stock has tanked 25% since November 3, when it reported earnings and Burry disclosed his puts.

By no means was Burry solely responsible for the market slump. Investors also soured on Nvidia after analysts flagged increases in inventories and deferred revenues, raising concerns the company's growth may have been frontloaded and could slow in future quarters. Moreover, delayed economic data showed US unemployment rose to an almost four-year high of 4.4% in September.

Burry is yet to post about the online furor surrounding his crusade against the AI giants. But his followers may hear more from him very soon, as his X bio reads: "'Unchained' coming maybe sooner than Nov 25th."

• Staying active with daily walks may help prevent symptoms of Alzheimer's as you age, research suggests.
• Cognitive decline and memory loss happen as we age if certain proteins build up in the brain.
• Walking just 3,000 – 5,000 steps a day helps to stave off these toxins and keep the brain healthy.

Every weekday afternoon, Harvard neurologist Jasmeer Chhatwal gets up from his desk, heads out of the office, and walks about three-quarters of a mile to get a cup of coffee from a neighborhood cafe.

There's a perfectly good coffee maker in the office, but the afternoon ritual isn't (just) about caffeine. The 20-minute stroll is helping to stave off symptoms of brain aging like memory loss, according to Chhatwal's research.

His latest study, published November 3 in Nature Medicine, helps pinpoint how little movement you can get away with and still see benefits for the brain.

The goal? 5,000 steps a day — around two miles.

"People don't need to run marathons," Chhatwal told Business Insider. "In terms of things that you can do for yourself and your brain, this is a pretty easy one."

Here's why walking may help to make your mind more resilient to aging, and how to get the most out of your daily steps.

Why walking is linked to better brain health

Your risk of cognitive decline as you age can be influenced by your lifestyle, your genetics, and even the environment around you.

But increasingly, researchers are finding that a higher risk doesn't make Alzheimer's inevitable — and small lifestyle changes may have a huge impact.

The latest study, led by Chhatwal and colleagues from Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham, looked at nearly 300 cognitively healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 90.

To understand how their brains changed over time, the researchers scanned for key markers of Alzheimer's risk, including deposits of amyloid and tau proteins, which can accumulate over time and disrupt nerve cells.

Amyloid tends to show up in the brain first, sometimes many years before symptoms develop. Tau, which appears later, has been linked to the development of memory loss, behavioral changes, and cognitive decline.

Using brain scans, they found that people who got between 5,000 and 7,000 steps a day had a healthier, better-functioning brain over time, and a slower build-up of disease-causing tau protein, compared with people who were more sedentary.

That was true even for people who started the study with higher levels of amyloid plaque build-up in their brains already.

For this high-risk group, even a little activity paid off, with benefits starting around 3,000 steps per day (roughly a mile and a quarter).

While previous research has linked exercise to lower Alzheimer's risk, this study stands out because it followed participants for up to 14 years to see how changes in their brains slowly developed.

Chhatwal is excited to move this research along, to refine the benefits even more — especially for people who are at high risk for Alzheimer's.

But, for now, he is keen to spread the word that this study suggests it's not too late to get more active for a healthier brain, and every little bit counts.

• Trump has proposed sending $2,000 tariff checks to Americans in mid-2026.
• He's got a lot of work to do to convince his allies in Congress to go along with it.
• Many Republicans would prefer to see any tariff revenue used to reduce the national debt.

President Donald Trump wants to send $2,000 tariff checks to Americans next year.

But to do that, he'll have to get Congress to go along with it — and even some of his top allies are skeptical.

"We're facing a deficit this year around $2 trillion," Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told reporters. "I think whatever revenue we get, from whatever source, ought to go to try and bring down those deficits."

Trump's proposed tariff checks have received a cool response from most Republicans on Capitol Hill, with many saying they'd prefer to see the national debt addressed first.

That's a big problem for Trump, considering it takes an act of Congress to actually send the checks.

Even those who aren't outright rejecting the proposal — it's always risky to oppose Trump as a Republican — are politely signaling that they'd prefer a different path.

"I mean, everybody's got their own idea," Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona told BI. "I would prefer we reduce the overall tax rate, and make that permanent."

"You know, my focus would clearly be paying down the $38 trillion of the debt," Sen. Rick Scott of Florida told Business Insider. "But I have to see what he proposes."

Trump's getting more specific — but lawmakers aren't budging

Throughout the first year of his second term, Trump has at times flirted with the idea of sending checks to Americans. It began in February, when Trump said that "DOGE Dividends," checks paid for by purported DOGE savings, were "under consideration." The tariff rebate talk picked up in August, when Trump embraced the idea, seemingly in response to a question from a reporter.

"We're thinking about that, actually," Trump said at the time.

The president in recent weeks has begun to speak more seriously about the idea, bringing it up multiple times in public remarks and Truth Social posts. On Monday, he said he was eyeing a rollout in mid-2026. And in calling for $2,000 checks, he's gotten more specific than before.

That's all been music to Sen. Josh Hawley's ears, who introduced a bill to send a tariff rebate to lower-income Americans in August.

"This is my pet idea," the Missouri Republican told reporters on Wednesday. "I just think it's a terrific way to give relief to working people."

And other Republicans have been forced to soften their opposition. In February, when asked about potential DOGE dividends, House Speaker Mike Johnson was relatively firm in saying he preferred to see the national debt reduced.

This month, he's struck a slightly more conciliatory tone.

"Well, I think there's some merit to it," Johnson said on Fox Business earlier this month. "I mean, we'll have to figure that out."

"The discussion would be: If you have trillions of dollars in new revenue, what's the best use for it?" Johnson continued. "Should you pay down the debt? Because that saves families a lot of money in the long run and puts us back on a sound fiscal trajectory."

Still, plenty of other Republicans are holding firm. In July, when Trump was merely floating the idea, Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio told reporters that the proposal would "never pass" given the soaring national debt.

On Wednesday, he reiterated his opposition.

"I think we should pay down the deficit," Moreno told Business Insider.

'There are ways that they could maybe spin this'

Aside from the politics of it all, there are more basic problems with Trump's proposal.

First, there's the math: Several independent analyses of the proposal have found that there's not nearly enough tariff revenue to fund Trump's plan.

An analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that the program could cost $600 billion — about double the $300 billion in projected annual tariff revenue. And that's assuming the Supreme Court doesn't strike down any of Trump's tariffs.

There's also the fact that stimulus checks are likely to be inflationary.

That's a pill that Republicans in particular are unlikely to want to swallow, according to Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the libertarian Cato Institute.

"Republicans have spent five years railing against the Biden administration for cutting people checks and sparking inflation," Lincicome told Business Insider. "Now in power, they're going to start cutting people checks and maybe sparking inflation?"

Still, Lincicome predicted that Republicans might try to find other ways to satisfy Trump's demand, including by simply rebranding tax refunds that Americans are expected to receive as a result of the "Big Beautiful Bill."

"There are ways that they could maybe spin this," Lincicome said. "You know, have a big press conference and some really nice poster board, that makes it look like they're actually giving people tariff rebates, when in reality, it's just One Big Beautiful Bill tax cuts."