• A broken wind turbine blade caused debris — and beach closures on — Nantucket.
• The detritus came from Vineyard Wind, an offshore clean energy project.
• Other environmental issues facing Nantucket include rising sea levels and erosion, which are threatening homes.

A windmill ruined a beautiful day on the billionaire hot spot of Nantucket.

The blade of an offshore wind turbine broke into pieces last week and washed ashore on tony Nantucket, the Massachusetts island favored by New Englanders and the very wealthy. The debris — sharp fiberglass in some cases — caused numerous beaches to close to swimmers on Tuesday and promoted local media to deploy full coverage as locals pitched in to help clean up.

The litter came from Vineyard Wind, a clean energy project 15 miles off the coast of the nearby island of Martha's Vineyard. The turbines' blades measure more than 350 feet long, meaning damage to just one can leave a lot of trash.

The company, which did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, said in a statement that the blade was damaged on Saturday. In a separate statement, it said it was deploying 35 people to help with the cleanup effort and that all debris was not toxic, though it did not elaborate on why the damage occurred. About 17 cubic yards of debris were found in total.

According to local outlets, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a suspension order to cease operation until the other turbines can be cleared of similar failures.

Still, all Nantucket beaches were fully open by Wednesday, though the island's Harbormaster cautioned people to wear shoes and keep pets off certain areas.

But debris in the water is far from the only environmental problem affecting Nantucket, where rising sea levels, flooding, and erosion are causing multimillion-dollar homes to sell at steep discounts in hopes they have one or two more summers in them before they are washed away.

By 2070, more than 2,300 buildings on Nantucket — 84% of the homes — will be at risk of coastal flooding or erosion, according to projections from the town's 2021 Coastal Resilience Plan.

In April, billionaire Barry Sternlicht's home was demolished due to property damage caused by erosion. Others have paid seven figures to move their homes away from the island's shrinking bluffs or millions of dollars in attempts to keep erosion at bay through various technologies.

The changing climate hasn't caused much of a change to demand on the island, where billionaires like Blackstone's Steve Schwarzman and former Googler Eric Schmidt have homes. Last year's median sale price on the island was $3.2 million — up $1.3 million from five years earlier, according to data from local firm Fisher Real Estate.

It looks like snow, rain, hail, and a little wind turbine debris won't be enough to turn people off of the Gray Lady.

• Mary Beth Wilkas Janke was a federal agent in the Secret Service in the early 1990s.
• She entered without a law enforcement background but was just as qualified as her male colleagues.
• Although it requires sacrifices, Wilkas Janke says women shouldn't be afraid to enter the field.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mary Beth Wilkas Janke, a 59-year-old former Secret Service Agent. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

After taking a criminal justice elective in high school, I decided I wanted to be an FBI agent. I studied criminal justice and Spanish in college and moved to Spain after graduation. At 24, I moved back to the US to become a federal law agent.

I applied to the DEA and the United States Secret Service (USSS). The Secret Service offered me a job after many interviews, an exam, a review of my documents, and a polygraph. I didn't have a military or law enforcement background, but I met the qualifications for the role.

I worked for the Secret Service from May 1991 to June 1992. This wasn't a traditional career path for women in the 1990s. At that time, only 180 of the 2,000 agents were women. Many people judged me, but nobody could dissuade me from pursuing my dream.

It's an intense, demanding job that requires you to carry a weapon, make sacrifices, and know you're in a man's world, but women are equipped to do this job just as well as men.

The training process is the same for men and women, except for the physical fitness evaluation

I spent nine and a half weeks being trained as a criminal investigator and another nine and a half weeks learning the responsibilities of the Secret Service through classroom lectures, practical exercises, physical fitness, firearms, time on the mat, and simulation training.

The hiring and training processes are the same for men and women, except for the physical fitness evaluation requirements. To pass the quarterly fitness test, we have to run 1.5 miles in a certain timeframe. Men between 20 and 29 must complete the run in 10 minutes and 16 seconds, while women can complete it in 12 minutes and 50 seconds.

I don't see anything wrong with having different physical standards for men and women. We're physiologically different, and this job is not about physical strength. Physical standards are different across many agencies and organizations, like the military, any given police force, and even Olympic qualifications.

Nothing else is different between men and women on the job. We all must pass the same tests and be proficient in firearms training, defensive tactics, motorcade driving, arrest methods, emergency medicine, and investigative skills.

My job duties ranged from interviewing suspects to protecting George H.W. Bush's grandchildren

At that time, I was the only agent in the Washington Field Office who spoke Spanish, so I was often placed on assignments involving counterfeit currency from Latin American countries. I would interview Spanish-speaking suspects or participate in raids.

I was also assigned to protect two of George H.W. Bush's grandchildren on a rotating basis. I don't believe, and I never felt, that certain assignments were given to agents based on their gender.

My mother and I had heated discussions about some of the missions I was on because they were so dangerous. Sometimes, I'd ask my mom if we would be having the conversation if I were a man because I didn't think we would. I understood and respected her concern; however, this is my life, and I will always live it on my terms.

When I left the Service, I became an international personal protection agent, doctor of clinical psychology, college professor, and author.

Regardless of your gender, it's a demanding job that's not for everyone

This job requires personal sacrifices, like canceling plans you had to meet friends on Friday night because you got called to an Air Force Base for a vice presidential movement.

I noticed that some of the women I worked with left the agency for "traditional" reasons. One of my best friends from training left after five years to start a family, and another friend left because she wanted a more predictable career.

You must be willing to take a bullet for your protectee at any time. That's the heartbeat of the job, and it can be both exciting and dangerous. I wanted the challenge, and I loved having a career that was anything but boring.

Certain women are equipped to do this job, just as certain men are, but I think it takes more of a special woman than a special man to go into law enforcement because of the scrutiny and commitment.

It's a male-dominated career, but you shouldn't let that stop you from entering it

When I applied, I knew I'd be surrounded by mostly male colleagues, but it didn't intimidate me.

When my male colleagues would make negative or derogatory comments about me, I never showed that what they said bothered me. Instead, it pushed me to work harder.

In training, a fellow agent asked me what I was doing there and said that I didn't belong. I knew he was wrong. I went through the strenuous application process, just like he did, to get the job, and I belonged there.

One guy told me before women were hired, it was the "good old days" when they could enjoy booze, broads, and Buicks. He said that bringing women in messed that up for them. I told him hiring women was the best decision the Service ever made — he laughed and appreciated my standing up to him. We eventually became friends.

Women agents are valuable to the Secret Service

Women often excel in communication and negotiation skills, which are crucial to a USSS Agent's duties. In many situations, women can more easily blend into environments where a male may be more conspicuous.

Having women in the Service also shows that women can perform in demanding jobs that have traditionally been male-dominated.

The head of the Department of Homeland Security is pushing to have more women in law enforcement, up to 30% by 2030, and I think that's great, but I often wonder why it's not at 30% already.

The Secret Service's efforts to increase DEI and female hires is nothing unusual as long as the candidates are qualified. These individuals still have to go through a rigorous hiring and training process and meet the same qualifications as everyone else.

More women who are interested in this line of work should try it

I think many women don't even realize this career path exists. When I was doing a protection advance in 1992 at a hotel, the general manager said to me, "I didn't know there were women Secret Service Agents!"

There are dozens of federal law enforcement agencies, and my advice to anyone is even if you can't get into the one that you want at first, start at one agency and transfer down the road.

Don't let what anybody thinks about whether women belong on the job stop you from applying to a position in law enforcement. You belong there, and if you start to doubt that, find a mentor with the career path you want and lean on them to guide you.

• The Education Department announced $1.2 billion in debt relief for 35,000 student-loan borrowers in public service.
• The relief is a result of ongoing fixes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
• The department is also carrying out targeted relief for borrowers on income-driven repayment plans.

Another batch of student-loan borrowers will soon see their balances turned to zero.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden's Education Department announced that it approved $1.2 billion in student-loan forgiveness for 35,000 public service workers.

The relief is a result of ongoing fixes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years of qualifying payments. Specifically, according to the department, this latest relief comes from the limited waiver that ended in October 2022 that allowed payments previously deemed ineligible for PSLF to count, along with regulatory changes to the program.

"The additional Americans approved for PSLF today are hardworking public servants who will finally receive the financial breathing room they were promised — and all PSLF recipients can easily track and manage the process through StudentAid.gov," Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. "This is relief that will bring real change in their lives and marks another win for this administration's relentless and unapologetic work to fix a broken student loan system."

The Biden administration has now approved $168.5 billion for 4.76 million borrowers, of which 946,000 of them were enrolled in PSLF.

This relief is among the Education Department's targeted efforts to improve repayment programs. For example, the department has also been in the process of carrying out its one-time account adjustments, which gives borrowers on PSLF and income-driven repayment plans an opportunity to ensure all of their payments are credited toward the forgiveness timeline.

With regards to PSLF itself, the department has made a series of changes over the past few months. It transitioned borrowers away from MOHELA, previously the sole servicer of PSLF, to a number of different servicers to facilitate the program better.

Additionally, the new SAVE income-driven repayment plan promised debt relief under shorter timelines, but its fate is uncertain, and conservative groups are currently challenging it in court.

Still, the Education Department has vowed to do what it can to carry out relief. It's planning to finalize its broader student-loan forgiveness plan — expected to benefit over 30 million borrowers — in October.

"From day one of my Administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity," Biden said in a statement following Thursday's announcement. "I will never stop working to make higher education affordable — no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us."

• Ultra-processed foods have been linked to a range of health problems. 
• Dietitian Kat Garcia-Benson avoids UPFs but focuses on "what to add versus what to take away" from meals.
• Garcia-Benson would order a meal with steak and black beans at Chipotle.

A dietitian who avoids ultra-processed foods shared with Business Insider what she would order at Chipotle.

The Mexican-style fast-casual spot is popular among city workers, including finance bros who work long hours. The chain has even launched a limited edition "Chipotle Boy" bowl as a nod to these devoted patrons.

Busy people who rely on fast food joints may worry that they are unwittingly eating ultra-processed foods — which are linked to a host of health problems — as it can be hard to check the ingredients of meals.

The best approach when eating out is to prioritize lean protein and fiber and minimize foods that aren't so nutrient-dense, dietitian Kat Garcia-Benson said.

We can prioritize nutritious food while considering what's available and accessible, she said: "I like to focus on what to add versus what to take away."

In that vein, three dietitians previously shared what they would order from Chipotle for a high-protein meal.

Garcia-Benson shared what she would order at Chipotle if she were grabbing a quick lunch.

Dietitian Garcia Benson's Chipotle order:

• Burrito or salad bowl
• Romaine lettuce
• Brown rice
• Steak
• Black beans
• Guacamole
• Salsa
• Fajita veggies

Pick a burrito on days you need extra energy

Garcia-Benson would choose either the burrito bowl (which comes with rice) or the salad bowl (which has a lettuce base), depending on what she was doing for the rest of the day, how much energy it required, and how hungry she was.

"If I need more carbohydrates, if I need it to be more filling, or if I'm going to work out a couple hours later, then I would get just a regular bowl that has rice versus the salad that won't," she said.

Lean protein and fiber

At Chipotle, she would go for the steak mainly because it's her personal preference.

She also opts for black beans for added protein and fiber. Beans are a great source of fiber and are a staple in the diet of many Blue Zones, areas of the world where residents live around 10 years longer than the country's average life expectancy.

She chooses brown rice over white as it contains more fiber, and fajita vegetables for micronutrients and even more fiber.

Healthy fats

If you're eating out, you probably don't need to worry too much about adding fat to your meal because it'll be there for taste.

"That's the goal of restaurants, to make it taste good, right?" Garcia-Benson said.

But if she's getting a salad bowl, she might add guacamole for extra healthy fats or to make her dish more filling.

As well as healthy fats, avocados contain fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.

• NASA has canceled its VIPER moon rover project.
• NASA will still send a spacecraft to the moon and pay a company $323 million for the trip.
• VIPER was supposed to explore the south side of the moon in search of ice. 

NASA is scrapping a moon rover it spent $450 million to construct, and axing the machine's mission to find water on the moon.

The agency discontinued the development of VIPER — or Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover — because it proved exceedingly expensive.

NASA's statement on Wednesday said that the rover was to be scrapped because of "cost increases, delays to the launch date, and the risks of future cost growth."

It also said that continuing the rover project would result in an "increased cost that threatens cancellation or disruption" to other lunar research missions.

The rover, a car-sized robot that was supposed to explore the south side of the moon in search of "ice and other potential resources," has already been built, The New York Times reported.

However, tests to ensure that it could survive the shaking of the spacecraft and the environment of space have not yet been conducted.

According to the Times, the agency would save at least $84 million by not conducting the testing and not having to operate the rover on the moon.

VIPER's launch, which was scheduled for fall 2025, had already been delayed multiple times.

It was initially set to launch in late 2023. However, that launch was delayed to 2024 to allow more time to test the privately commissioned spacecraft Griffin, which was supposed to carry the rover to the moon.

Although the rover itself has been scrapped, the Griffin Lander will continue with its journey.

And NASA will still pay the company that built the spacecraft — the Astrobotic Technology Inc. of Pittsburgh — $323 million for the task, per the Times.

Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in the science directorate, told The Times that Griffin's landing would still be valuable even without the rover on board.

NASA maintains that it is "committed to studying and exploring the Moon for the benefit of humanity."

"The agency has an array of missions planned to look for ice and other resources on the Moon over the next five years," Nicola Fox, an associate administrator in the agency's science mission directorate, said in a statement.

The statement also added that any US industry and international companies that wish to use VIPER before it is disassembled could contact the agency after July 18.

News of the rover's scrapping comes as two NASA astronauts remain stuck in space after issues were detected with the spacecraft they went up in — the Boeing Starliner.

The duo — Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — arrived at the International Space Station via the Boeing Starliner on June 6 after a series of delays that postponed the craft's launch by a month.

While they were supposed to stay for only eight to 10 days, they have been stuck on the space station for over a month now, with no return date scheduled.

Representatives for NASA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

• Donald Trump might have upended the veepstakes tradition when he picked JD Vance as his running mate.
• Vance, who holds remarkably similar political views to Trump, isn't going to "balance the ticket."
• But experts say Asia is already preparing for the MAGA pair to come to power.

Former President Donald Trump upended the election tradition of "balancing the ticket" when he picked Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate. But the MAGA pair is unlikely to disrupt the calculus for an Asia that's already preparing for the possibility of his victory in November, experts say.

Vance, a former Trump critic turned MAGA stalwart, has voiced foreign policy views in lockstep with Trump. Both men support wide tariffs on China and have criticized US aid to Ukraine.

Yet three experts on the Asia-Pacific told Business Insider that regional leaders — having learned from Trump's shock win in 2016 and his subsequent unpredictability — are already laying the groundwork for a scenario where he wins.

Asia won't be surprised by a Trump-Vance administration

"It would be quite irresponsible if they didn't already countenance this, and I think, to be honest, we will not see the overreactions that we saw earlier or in parts of Europe," said Dylan Loh, assistant professor of public policy and international studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Trump previously reneged on deals he felt were disadvantageous to the US and pressured allies like Japan and South Korea to support US defense costs.

But Loh believes regional stability will prevail.

"I think Trump's tenure has shown that fears of abandonment or ignorance of politics in Asia are overblown," he said.

The most prominent US-aligned governments in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines have been hedging their bets and working carefully to make their economies and supply chains more resilient, said Chong Ja Ian, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore.

"Other Southeast Asian states seem to believe they can weather another Trump administration, perhaps by freezing on the efforts of the northeast Asian US allies and partners plus the Philippines," he said.

It's not just economics. The Philippines, for example, inked a new defense pact with Japan in July as it grapples with the threat of an increasingly belligerent China in the South China Sea. This comes as the Philippines signs maritime agreements with key NATO countries like the UK and France.

US-China relations won't change much, whether it's Trump or Biden at the wheel

Even though Trump started the US-China trade war, experts say that China won't be too bothered if he returns to the White House.

This, NTU's Loh said, is because President Joe Biden hasn't really deviated from Trump's hawkish stance against the Asian giant.

For one, the Biden administration has kept most of Trump's China tariffs in place. In fact, Biden introduced some of his own when he announced a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles in May.

"For China, any preferences for either Trump or Biden is going to be marginal," Loh said.

"I think it is quite clear that regardless of whether a Democrat or a Republican is in office, the general bipartisan mood of seeing China as a threat or a strategic competitor will not abate," he added.

Kevin Chen, a research fellow at NTU's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told BI that China may even prefer to have Trump back in power due to the turmoil he'll bring to the US' foreign ties.

"Given how Mr Trump would likely alienate US allies and partners with his policies, Beijing may prefer that he retake the White House to give them more opportunities to spread their influence," Chen explained.

That said, most Asia-Pacific countries will shy away from appearing to take sides or expressing relief if either candidate wins.

"There's a joke in Japanese diplomatic circles that the outcome of a US presidential election is like opening a Christmas present, except that they must express that 'this is exactly what I wanted' regardless of the result," Chen said.

• Dave Bautista credits Brazilian jiu-jitsu for helping him lose 50 pounds.
• "We did nothing but grapple, like for hours," he said during an episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark."
• The former WWE wrestler isn't the only celebrity who is a fan of jiu-jitsu — remember shredded Zuck? 

Dave Bautista is crediting Brazilian jiu-jitsu for helping him lose weight.

The former WWE wrestler spoke about his weight-loss journey on an episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark," which aired on Tuesday, July 16.

"I put on all this weight for 'Knock at the Cabin.' I was really big, like over 300 pounds," Bautista told co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.

Bautista said he struggled to shed those pounds, so he brought his friend and trainer Jason Manly to Budapest, where he was filming "Dune."

"We did nothing but grapple, like for hours. And so I started shedding the weight off, and I figured, 'I'll just stick with it so I'll get my brown belt,'" Bautista said.

He ended up taking some time off his jiu-jitsu training but has since gotten back into it, he said.

"I'm bringing trainers with me, so I just shed about 50 more pounds," Bautista said, adding that he lost quite a bit of muscle in the process.

"I was trimming down, and I've sacrificed a lot of muscle. But I'm OK with it because I just feel more comfortable," he said.

Even then, there were still spots that he "couldn't get rid of" no matter how much weight he lost, like around his midsection.

"And even in my face, like, I was just holding on to fat," Bautista said. "When I was younger, I would just shed it like that. I could not get rid of it."

The "Guardians of the Galaxy" actor has been practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu since 2010, according to his Instagram posts. He received his purple belt in 2014 and his brown belt in 2023.

Bautista isn't the only celebrity who's a fan of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. 

Mark Zuckerberg also got shredded after picking up the martial art. The tech mogul even won a couple of medals after competing at a tournament in California last May.

The US Army also uses Brazilian jiu-jitsu to rehabilitate its soldiers, as it is a "minimally demanding activity" that helps them remain active and avoid self-destructive behaviors.

A representative for Bautista did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

• Facing a weaker Chinese market, Urban Revivo plans on expanding to the West.
• Urban Revivo's physical stores could help it break through to the US market, where it sells online.
• Other fast-fashion peers have seen successes in the UK and US markets.

A Chinese fast-fashion company is planning a quick global expansion, just as industry heavyweights slow their growth to focus on online shopping.

Zara has been cutting its footprint post-pandemic, with plans to slash as many as 1,200 stores and double down on e-commerce.

But China's Urban Revivo, founded in 2006, is eyeing markets well outside of Asia. Parent company Fashion Momentum Group wants to open in cities including London and New York, CEO Leo Li told Nikkei Asia.

FMG now has over 400 Urban Revivo outlets in mainland China and a handful across Southeast Asia. Its only foothold in Western markets has been via online shopping.

Next year, FMG plans to launch 20 international Urban Revivo stores annually, a number that could accelerate to 50 per year in the long term, Li said.

He told Nikkei he hopes to expand the company to a $13.8 billion valuation — still well below competitors like Zara and H&M, whose parent companies have market capitalizations of around $155 billion and $23 billion, respectively. Zara has about 2,000 stores globally, while H&M has about 3,800.

FMG is also weighing an initial public offering in Hong Kong, which could raise $100 million, Bloomberg reported last month.

FMG's focus on Europe and the US comes as some of its industry peers excel in those markets. Japan's Fast Retailing, the parent company of brands including Uniqlo, reported strong sales from North American and European markets in the first half of 2024, while business in China has declined.

Softening Chinese consumer demand has also hurt Urban Revivo's sales, which relies on brick-and-mortar stores more than its increasingly digital competitors, reported Nikkei Asia.

FMG might fare a little better in the US. The quick adoption of Chinese brands like Shein and Temu shows that US consumers are comfortable with foreign brands, Damien Yeo, an analyst from Fitch Solutions, told Business Insider. But FMG would face a fashion-saturated America, with competition from other domestic and foreign brands like Uniqlo.

US shoppers are "increasingly price-sensitive," Yeo said. "This means that fast-fashion companies are expected to do well as consumers trading down price points is often good news for them, since their products primarily target the mass market."

Brick-and-mortar Urban Revivo outlets could translate to fewer ethical and political concerns than online "ultra-discounters" such as Shein and Temu, said Yeo.

London is not a new stomping ground for the brand, which opened its first-ever UK store in 2018 — a store that has since closed. However, London might be another tough sell. Yeo said that the UK's sticky inflation numbers might spell trouble for Urban Revivo's sales, as consumers are pulling back on discretionary spending.

The company did not respond to requests for comment.