• Elon Musk's X avoids $500 million in severance after favorable court ruling.
• The court found insufficient evidence of ERISA governance of benefits for employees.
• X still faces multiple lawsuits over severance pay and unpaid bills from vendors.

Elon Musk and his company X, formerly Twitter, just got out of a $500 million in severance pay lawsuit for now, according to a Tuesday court ruling.

A federal judge in the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit brought by former Twitter employees who said the company owed $500 million in severance to those laid off after the Twitter acquisition.

Former Twitter HR boss Courtney McMillian and ex-manager Ronald Cooper filed the lawsuit last July. They argued the company failed to properly compensate over 6,000 laid-off employees under rules set by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

The plaintiffs said in the lawsuit they were only offered one month of severance pay after Musk's 2022 takeover of Twitter.

They said in the lawsuit that was " a fraction" of what they were entitled to under the severance plan."

McMillian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US District Judge Trina Thompson ultimately found insufficient facts to support that the severance plan is governed by the ERISA.

The judge noted in her ruling that the company told employees after Musk took over that laid-off employees would get cash payouts. There were also no promises to continue healthcare benefits or outplacement services following termination, she wrote.

The company told employees after Musk took over that laid-off employees would get cash payouts, according to the ruling. There were also no promises to continue healthcare benefits or outplacement services following termination, the ruling said.

McMillian and Cooper can amend their complaint about insufficient severance in the next 21 days, but any ERISA claim won't hold up in court.

Despite this win, Musk and his social media platform aren't quite off the hook yet.

Several lawsuits have been filed regarding Musk's takeover of X and insufficient severance pay awarded to laid-off employees — and they're ongoing. Some employees also claimed they weren't paid a proper portion of their 2022 bonuses.

Even vendors have accused the social media platform of not paying its bills. Australian project management company Facilitate filed a lawsuit seeking $700,000 for unpaid work it completed in Twitter offices. Twitter's London and Boulder, Colorado, offices were also both accused of not paying rent.

Since taking over Twitter, Musk has slashed about 80% of its workforce and implemented a number of controversial changes that have altered the company's brand, like offering verification to anyone who pays, renaming the company "X," and making users' likes private.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh are in the midst of a nasty primary for a House seat in Arizona.
• Sen. JD Vance, a potential Trump VP pick, has endorsed Masters. Trump has endorsed Hamadeh.
• Vance downplayed the disagreement. "Trump knows that Blake's a friend," he said.

As Donald Trump prepares to announce his vice presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention next week, the former president seems to have found a potential favorite: Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.

"It looks good," Trump said of Vance's signature beard on Fox News radio on Wednesday morning. "He looks like a young Abraham Lincoln."

According to various media reports, Vance, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota are the top three "finalists" for the job.

"I've never heard that word," Vance told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. "I have not gotten a rose, or trinket, or any other gift. But look, I mean, I have no reason to think that reporting is false. I think that they are narrowing the list down."

Vance, a freshman Republican senator from Ohio, is the most ideologically aligned with Trump of the trio. He was among the first GOP senators to endorse his 2024 campaign, and he has gone to lengths that few others have gone to defend Trump during his 18 months in the Senate.

However, there is one place where there's daylight between the two men: The Republican primary in Arizona's 8th congressional district, where Abe Hamadeh and Blake Masters are engaged in perhaps the ugliest GOP primary of the cycle.

Vance endorsed Masters, a friend who shares much of the Ohio senator's same "New Right" beliefs, in October, several weeks before Trump endorsed Hamadeh. Vance and Masters both ran for Senate in their respective states in 2022 with the financial backing of right-wing tech billionaire Peter Thiel: Vance won his race, while Masters did not.

Vance said on Tuesday that he's spoken with Trump about the race. "We've talked about it," Vance said. "You know, I endorsed Blake very, very early, before Trump got involved in the race. I mean, Trump knows that Blake's a friend."

The campaign has since become ugly, with Masters running ads portraying Hamadeh — an Arab American with a Muslim father — as sympathetic to Islamic terrorists.

"Seems pretty dirty," Vance said with a laugh. "Unusually messy for a Republican primary where you have a reasonably safe seat."

Masters has also featured Trump prominently in his campaign materials and ads, despite not having his endorsement. One recent Masters ad notes that Trump endorsed his Senate campaign, prompted accusations that Masters was trying to mislead voters and reportedly spurring a take-down request for Trump campaign manager Susie Wiles.

"Well, he's trying to win, right?" Vance said when asked what he thought of the way Masters was conducting his campaign. "He's trying to win, and you're going to get pretty aggressive sometimes and try to draw contrasts. He has to draw contrasts, he has to give people a reason to vote for him."

Vance also suggested that he had little issue if Hamadeh, Trump's preferred candidate, ultimately prevails in the July 30 primary.

"I think you got two good candidates running there, and we'll see what happens," Vance said. "They're going to fight out their primary, and I think we're going to get a good congressman out of that."

• Nearly half of Gen Zs rely on their families for financial support, a new study found.
• The rising costs of everything is straining Gen Z's financial independence.
• Despite practicing 'loud budgeting,' 57% of Gen Zs lack savings for three months' expenses.

Gen Zs are struggling financially, and nearly half of them rely on their parents for support, a new study found.

And though the TikTok-famous trend of "loud budgeting" may be helping, it's not enough to offset the rising cost of everything from college education to monthly rent to eggs.

Bank of America released a report Wednesday outlining Gen Z's financial health, and things aren't looking too great for these 18- to 27-year-olds.

The report — which is based on an Ipsos survey of more than a thousand young people conducted in April and May — found that 46% of Gen Zs in that age bracket rely on their parents or family members for financial assistance.

It's not just in college, either; the report found that 30% of non-students get help from their families.

And 32% of the Gen Zs who are getting financial assistance from either their families, the government, or their friends say they get $1,000 a month or more, with 44% saying they get $500 or less.

That money isn't funding influencer-style trips to Ibiza — it's just helping them pay for the bare necessities: groceries and toiletries, rent and utilities, phone plans, and health insurance, according to the report.

The report did outline a positive financial trend among Zoomers: their willingness to do "loud budgeting," a trend popularized on TikTok where young people are open with their friends about what they can and can't afford.

The research found that 38% of Gen Zs are OK admitting to their friends that they can't go to certain social events because they can't afford them. And 63% of the group surveyed said they don't feel like their friends pressure them to spend more than they can, "indicating that Gen Z may be drawing firmer financial boundaries compared to other generations at the same age," according to Bank of America's report.

And that's a big change from previous generations — ones that made fun of budgeting.

Take, for example, an episode of "Friends" from 1995, "The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant" in which Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey awkwardly and shamefully confront Chandler, Ross, and Monica about not being able to afford the kinds of activities that their more financially stable friends can. At the time, that type of conversation was totally taboo.

But just because Zoomers are better at being honest about their finances doesn't mean they're better off.

Bank of America's report found that 57% of those surveyed do not have enough money saved to cover three months of expenses, and only 18% had put money into an emergency fund in the last year.

"Though faced with obstacles driven by the cost of living, younger Americans are showing discipline and foresight in their saving and spending patterns," Holly O'Neill, BofA's President of Retail Banking, said in a press release. "It is critical that we continue to empower Gen Z to work toward achieving financial health and meeting their long-term goals."

• Rudy Giuliani interrupted his bankruptcy hearing after an attorney said he would commit fraud.
• He is $152 million in debt, almost all of which is owed to election workers he defamed.
• Giuliani scored a legal win as the bankruptcy judge said he'd likely dismiss the case, allowing appeals.

Rudy Giuliani erupted during a bankruptcy hearing Wednesday morning, interrupting the proceedings to complain it was "defamatory" to suggest he would commit bankruptcy crimes by hiding his assets.

His interruption came as Rachel Strickland, an attorney representing two Georgia election workers whom Giuliani defamed and owes $148 million, urged the judge to dismiss the bankruptcy case and allow the claims against Giuliani to play out in different courts.

Keeping the case in bankruptcy court would inevitably lead to Giuliani hiding his assets and being charged with bankruptcy crimes, Strickland said.

"We will all be stayed while the trustee in this court wades through the morass of sexual assault and other allegations while Mr. Giuliani continues to play golf," Strickland said, her voice scathing.

Giuliani's attorneys appeared in person in Manhattan's bankruptcy court for the hearing, but Giuliani himself called in by phone.

"Ted! Would you get them on the phone and stop—" Giuliani shouted, appearing to refer to his spokesperson Ted Goodman.

"Alright, someone's got a live microphone, and that's not a good situation," the bankruptcy judge said.

As muffled noises continued to emerge from Giuliani's phone line, the judge, Sean H. Lane, tried to silence it.

"We keep having that same telephone pop up," Lane said. "Let me ask in court if we can make sure to have that muted, please."

"Your honor, this is the Rudolph Giuliani," Giuliani said amid the static of his phone. He asked for a break to talk to his lawyers and address Strickland's "defamatory remarks."

Lane asked Giuliani to wait his turn to speak. Later in the hearing, Giuliani's attorney Gary Fischoff assured the court that his client would not commit bankruptcy fraud.

"I just wanted to state something for the record," Fischoff said. "There were some statements that the debtor would commit bankruptcy fraud. So I just wanted to state for the record that Mr. Giuliani, the debtor, would not commit any bankruptcy fraud."

The judge said he'll probably dismiss Giuliani's bankruptcy case

Wednesday's bankruptcy hearing comes at a major turning point for Giuliani's bankruptcy process — where he may actually score a major legal win.

Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, shortly after a jury in Washington, DC, found him liable for $148 million in damages for defaming Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss, the two election workers who he falsely claimed manipulated ballots in the 2020 election.

The bankruptcy filing paused their lawyers from enforcing the judgment against them, which formed nearly all of his $152 million in debt.

It also paused all the other civil cases against Giuliani, including a sexual abuse lawsuit from Noelle Dunphy and another defamation lawsuit from the election technology company Dominion Voting Systems.

Over the past seven months, Giuliani has tried to buy time with motions to slow down the bankruptcy process as he appeals the $148 million judgment.

At the same time, creditors have accused Giuliani of filing misleading and incomplete financial statements, and of hiding streams of income.

They asked Lane to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee, who would have the power to seize legal control of his assets and sell them to satisfy everyone who was owed money. The trustee also may be able to waive attorney-client privilege on Giuliani's behalf, possibly opening him up to further legal risk.

But in court filings this week, lawyers for Giuliani, Freeman, and Moss all agreed that dismissing the bankruptcy case entirely would be the best course of action.

They said Giuliani would agree not to file for bankruptcy again for another year, giving time for appeals in the $148 million defamation judgment to play out.

"It is in the interest of creditors for their claims to be heard in the forum of their choosing" and not bankruptcy court, Strickland said in Wednesday's hearing.

Lane said he was inclined to agree and dismiss the bankruptcy, citing "the difficulties we've had in terms of transparency in this case."

"That's not going to magically change if you continue the case in 11 with the trustee," Lane said.

The judge said that a Chapter 11 trustee could easily liquidate Giuliani's two apartments and jewelry, which comprise the bulk of his estimated $8 million estate.

But liquidating Giuliani's other assets, like his media company and coffee operation, would be difficult to disentangle from the former New York City mayor's personal brand, he said. Dealing with those could incur expenses that would ultimately come out of the pockets of creditors who were owed money, the judge said.

Philip Dublin, an attorney representing the other creditors in the bankruptcy — including Dunphy and Dominion — objected to that plan.

He said the best way to fairly split Giuliani's assets would be to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee who would liquidate Giuliani's assets.

But Strickland said her clients had priority — and they wanted the case dismissed.

"We are the significant focus of the case," she said. "We are $148 million."

The judge said he would issue an order by Friday and asked the parties to meet and figure out how to pay expenses for a discovery vendor, a third-party company that has already done months of work obtaining and organizing Giuliani's records for the case.

Lane also said he would not approve Giuliani's preferred backup plan of converting the bankruptcy process from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, which would allow him to save future income for himself while liquidating his current assets.

Justin Kelton, an attorney representing Dunphy, told Business Insider that she would continue to pursue her sexual abuse claims in court if the judge dismissed the bankruptcy case.

"Our client Noelle Dunphy remains as strong and steadfast as ever in her commitment to pursuing justice," he said. "If Mr. Giuliani's bankruptcy is dismissed, she will continue pursuing her claims in court, and we look forward to the day when we can present this case to a jury."

Giuliani has brought upon himself a barrage of indignities as he falsely insisted that the 2020 election results were rigged.

In addition to his numerous civil cases, the former US attorney and personal lawyer to Donald Trump was disbarred in New York and is on the verge of losing his law license in Washington, DC.

He was also indicted in two criminal cases, in Georgia and Arizona, over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in those states.

• Many tennis players partner with luxury brands like Rolex, Tiffany, or Off-White.
• Stars like Serena Williams and Roger Federer wear outfits worth thousands of dollars on the court.
• These are some of the most expensive outfits seen at tennis matches around the world.

Tennis is one of the few sports where the players are allowed to express their individual style — and many do that by partnering with luxury brands such as Rolex, Tiffany, and Off-White.

It means players like Serena Williams, Emma Raducanu, and Roger Federer have taken to the court wearing thousands of dollars — and in one case, over $1 million — worth of clothes, sneakers, or accessories.

And these are only the items with disclosed values — many tennis stars wear custom creations that it's impossible to put a price tag on.

Here are some of the most expensive outfits worn on the court, from the US Open to Wimbledon.

Emma Raducanu played her opening match of Wimbledon in 2022 wearing tens of thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry.

The British tennis star played her first match wearing £30,000 (around $38,000) worth of Tiffany jewelry, The Daily Mail reported.

Raducanu, who became an ambassador of the iconic brand in September 2021, reportedly wore a pair of pearl earrings worth £7,575, a matching necklace worth £3,875, and a white-gold bangle encrusted with diamonds worth £18,900.

Rafael Nadal sported a $1.1 million watch at the French Open in 2024.

WWD reported that Nadal's Richard Mille watch, called the Carbon TPT B.4 RM27-05M Manual Winding Flying Tourbillon, is worth a staggering $1.1 million. It weighs just 11.5 grams, which means it doesn't interfere with a tennis player's swing.

Serena Williams' 2022 US Open outfit was covered in diamonds.

Williams wore a custom Nike outfit for her final US Open look. She helped design the black outfit, which had a six-layer skirt referencing her six prior US Open wins, according to a Nike press release.

The bodice, which was covered in real diamonds, "alludes to the night sky" at the event, according to the press release. Her sneakers, also custom, had a diamond-encrusted Swoosh and solid-gold shoelace tags accented with "400 hand-set diamonds in black ceramic." The shoes were designed in collaboration with Serena Williams Jewelry.

The shoelace tags alone were worth $1,795 each, Snobette reported, citing Serena Williams Jewelry's website. They are no longer available.

Her 2018 outfit at the same tournament was designed by Virgil Abloh in collaboration with Nike.

Abloh, who died in 2021, worked with Williams multiple times throughout her career.

During the 2018 US Open, she wore a one-shouldered dress with a tulle skirt designed by Abloh for Nike and Off-White. Williams was involved throughout the process, Abloh told Vogue in 2018.

"This is very far from a design-by-numbers project. As you can tell by her personality in her play, she's very much involved in her aesthetic," he said.

A limited-edition dress inspired by Williams' look was available at select Nike stores for $500. A matching jacket like the one she wore off-court was also sold, for $900, according to Vogue.

Roger Federer wore a Rolex at a 2022 Wimbledon celebration.

Federer, a longtime Rolex ambassador, chose a Cosmograph Daytona Rolex covered in orange sapphires for Wimbledon's centenary celebration, according to GQ.

Chrono24, a luxury watch marketplace, currently lists the watch for as much as $382,000.

Maria Sharapova played the 2017 US Open wearing a Swarovski-encrusted outfit.

Sharapova wore a Swarovski-covered black Nike dress designed by Riccardo Tisci for her appearance at the tournament, Vogue reported.

"A lot of it had to do with design and how I wanted to feel and what elements he wanted to bring to this from a completely different background than just sports, from couture, from fashion," Sharapova said of the look.

The dress retailed for $500, and a matching bomber jacket was priced at $700, according to Vogue.

Anna Kournikova played Wimbledon in 2002 wearing an Omega watch.

Kournikova's preferred watch, an Omega Constellation, ranges anywhere from $3,000 to $25,000. According to W Magazine, Kournikova is in good company, as stars like Daniel Craig, Cindy Crawford, and Elvis Presley have all worn Constellations in the past.

Donna Vekic is frequently seen wearing an FP Journe watch.

Vekic, a Croatian tennis player, has repped the Swiss watch brand FP Journe since at least 2019, according to one of her Facebook posts.

In recent years, she's been spotted on the court wearing an FP Journe Elegante watch. Tennis.com reported that the orange watch features two rows of brilliant-cut diamonds. She also wore it at Wimbledon this year.

According to Chrono24, this watch can go for as high as $41,000 on the open market.

Naomi Osaka designed her own Tag Heuer watch that she’s worn all over the world.

Osaka teamed up with Tag Heuer in 2022 to design a limited-edition Aquaracer watch.

"Green is just a color that I like to wear and it flashes and clashes; and it's a nod to my day job," Osaka told Complex. Indeed, the watch is the same shade of green as a tennis court.

There were just 250 of these watches made, according to Complex. Each was priced at $4,050.

Novak Djokovic has worn an impossible-to-miss bright-yellow Hublot watch.

Djokovic signed a deal with Hublot in 2021, GQ reported. Since then, he has worn its signature timepieces across his career. But most notable is this Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic watch, which he wore at the Rookwood Cup in August 2023.

According to Hublot, this watch was first launched in 2021 to pair with one of Pantone's Color of the Year: Illuminating, a bright shade of yellow.

It retails at $29,600.

• Rumors that Prince William had an affair with Sarah Rose Hanbury have circulated since 2019. 
• A new Vulture investigation suggests British outlets have quietly removed mentions of the affair. 
• Lawyers for Hanbury told Business Insider in March that the affair rumors are "completely false."

Reports speculating that Prince William had an affair with British noblewoman Sarah Rose Hanbury have been quietly deleted by UK media outlets, a Vulture investigation suggests.

A royal correspondent for Vulture, Ellie Hall, pieced together a timeline of the erasure or modifications of news stories that stretches from 2019, when the affair rumors first emerged, to March 2024.

The timeline lays out how several British publications published articles about any relationship between William, 42, and Hanbury, 40, that have since been taken down or substantially updated.

The stories amended after publication came from outlets including tabloids like The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, and The Mirror as well as Tatler, a high-society magazine.

The news stories Vulture said were amended after publication range from opinion pieces to aggregated articles, covering everything from rumors that Hanbury was at one point a potential romantic "contender" for William to an apparent falling out between Hanbury and Kate Middleton, 42, over the Princess of Wales seeing her as "rival."

Some of the deleted or updated articles are still accessible in their original form via resources like the Internet's WayBack Machine, Vulture reported.

Hanbury, through her lawyers, said in a March email to Business Insider that the affair rumors were "completely false."

Vulture also said it is unclear if the outlets that erased or edited stories did so at the request of representatives for William or Hanbury, who is the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

The only publication to issue a statement to Vulture was The Guardian. That newspaper removed a reference to a joke talk-show host Stephen Colbert made on air about the affair rumors in March. The Guardian told Vulture it had adjusted its story "after internal editorial consideration and not following external outreach."

The publications, Kensington Palace, and representatives for Hanbury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rose Hanbury has close ties to the royal family

As BI previously reported, Hanbury has been linked to William, Kate, and the royal family for years.

Her maternal grandmother was one of Queen Elizabeth II's bridesmaids. In 2019, she officially became a noblewoman, after marrying David Cholmondeley (pronounced "Chumley"), the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley.

Affair rumors have been bolstered by the fact that William and Kate were briefly neighbors with the Cholmondeleys.

Before making Windsor Castle their primary home, the couple was living at Amner Hall in Norfolk, about a 10-minute car ride from the Cholmondeley residence at Houghton Hall.

After rumors first sprung up online in 2019, the Daily Beast reported that lawyers representing William issued a warning to "at least one British publication" that covering the gossip was not only "false and highly damaging" but would infringe upon his privacy in line with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the law protects an individual's "private and family life," and can only be interfered with in certain instances, such as if the information concerns "public safety" or "the rights and freedoms of other people."

While the William-Rose rumors have ebbed and flowed over the years, they hit a boiling point when Colbert dedicated part of his opening monologue on the March 12 episode of "The Late Show" to speculation that the alleged affair was connected to Kate taking months off from public appearances.

She said later the absence was due to her cancer diagnosis and treatment.

• Democratic members of Congress are still calling on Biden to drop out of the race.
• Eight of them have done so as of Wednesday, July 10.
• Other lawmakers are flatly predicting that Biden will lose to Trump.

President Joe Biden is facing calls to drop out of the presidential race from House Democrats following his disastrous debate performance in June.

It began on Tuesday, July 2, when Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first member of Congress to call for Biden's withdrawal. In a statement, he praised the president's record of accomplishments but said an "authoritarian takeover" would come if former President Donald Trump won.

"Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now," Doggett said. He later said on NBC that some of his House colleagues privately agreed with him.

That next day, Doggett was joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who told the New York Times that the debate represented an "opportunity to look elsewhere."

"What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race," said Grijalva. Both men are in their mid-to-late 70s and represent solidly Democratic seats.

Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts later joined them, telling a local radio affiliate that Biden should "step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump."

On Friday, July 5, shortly before Biden's interview with ABC News was set to air, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said on MSBNC that Biden should "let someone else do this."

And the following Saturday morning, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota became the first swing-district Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw, saying in a statement that she does "not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump."

Separately, two members of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — said that they believe Biden will lose to Trump, but did not explicitly call on him to withdraw. Sen. Michael Bennett of Colorado went on CNN to say the same thing.

Golden went as far as to say that he is "OK" with Trump winning, saying he rejects the idea that Trump is a "unique threat to our democracy."

Democratic politicians who don't hold elected office have also called on Biden to step aside.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, one of Biden's competitors in 2020, said that Biden needed to "allow a stronger Democratic candidate to prevent a disastrous second Trump term.

Another 2020 Biden competitor, former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, published an op-ed calling for Biden to be replaced with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris is one of several Democratic contenders who could replace Biden if he stepped aside.

Here's a full list of the 8 House Democrats who have publicly called on Biden to drop out:

• Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas
• Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona
• Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts
• Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois
• Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota
• Rep. Adam Smith of Washington
• Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey
• Rep. Pat Ryan of New York

• I have camped with my five kids for years, and it was difficult to turn them into campers at first.
• Once I let the children get in on the planning of the trips, they loved it. 
• To help your kids love camping too, you should choose the right campsites and focus on nature.

My husband and I were campers before we had five kids. When we became parents, we didn't want to stop our travels.

We wanted to show our kids the beauty of national and state parks across the US without spending our life savings. We decided to drive to our destinations and stay at campgrounds. We learned to save money along the way. It took us a lot of time and patience to turn our kids into campers. But it was all worth it because we've had the opportunity to share this country with our whole family.

If you're interested in taking your children camping, it may be difficult, but these quick tips might help.

Start when the kids are young — and start small

To get our kids — ages 3 to 9 — interested in exploring nature, we took them on short day hikes, giving them some control over where we went and what we did. We took our time and allowed for questions, resting often and enjoying salty snacks and water.

We also made it a game. The kids watched us set up a tent in our backyard. We all squeezed into it for the night. Luckily, a neighbor was selling an old 1967 canvas tent trailer that slept six adults. We bought it. The only thing that needs to be new in camping equipment is your bedding.

We started by taking the kids camping locally. We also took weekend trips to family campgrounds. Eventually, we lengthened our stays and expanded on the activities we did: pools, fishing, hay rides, camp activities, and farm visits.

Let the kids be a part of the planning

Eventually, the kids helped plan weeklong adventures in different states — with activities the whole family would enjoy. In addition to hiking national and state parks, we allowed the kids to choose which activities they wanted to try: tubing down streams, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, and visiting town festivals. We even headed to amusement parks.

The kids loved making checklists before we departed. They made lists for the kitchen, bedding, clothing, food, and toiletry. We loaded the vehicle and our camper before the day of departure, except for perishables. We brought bug spray, sunscreen, hats, raincoats, and maps.

Choose the right type of campgrounds for your family

Through the years, we have used a mix of camping experiences, primarily staying at commercial campgrounds. These have all the amenities: playgrounds, pools, game rooms, showers, and laundromats right on-site. Commercial campgrounds also have full hookups available: electric, water, and sewer. Most commercial campgrounds now have cabins for rent, with barbecues available. All you need are sleeping bags, towels, and kitchen utensils.

As we headed across the country, we interspersed commercial campgrounds with cheaper primitive campsites found in state forests and national parks without hookups, electricity, or showers. Most have flush toilets, and all have drinking water available. At these campgrounds, we used Coleman lanterns to light our camp and flashlights to walk to the toilets and sinks. Campfires or our propane stove provided meals.

Primitive campsites have less light pollution, allowing for star-filled nights. We lay on blankets in a field or on the beach of a lake, gazing up as the stars explode at night.

Focus on nature and each other

The key to making kids campers is to let them be a part of the journey and have interesting things for them to look forward to. Point out the ragged mountaintops in the Rocky Mountains above the tree line dressed with snow in July. Show them the towering trees, as thick and tall as skyscrapers in the California Redwoods — trees all seven of us could not surround.

Our camping experiences were free from television, social media, computers, the internet, and extended family obligations. All we had was each other and nature to enjoy. We experienced the country from the ground. We allowed time for campfires, making s'mores, and sharing stories. We discovered what our children were thinking and feeling.

Yes, making kids campers is tough initially, but it gets better with age — the kids' ages, not the parents'. And the memories can fill a lifetime.

• Buckingham Palace's East Wing is opening to the public for the first time.
• The East Wing, refurbished over many years, includes the famous royal balcony and Centre Room.
• Visitors can see over 3,500 objects, but won't be able to go on the balcony itself.

At seemingly every major state event in the UK, key figures from the British royal family line up on a balcony at Buckingham Palace to wave to the public.

It's where then-Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana shared their first public post-wedding kiss, and where — years later — the "fab four" waved to crowds before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's rift with his family emerged.

But until now this part of the building has never been open to the public.

Starting from July 11, and running until September 29, visitors to the palace will be able to pay around $95 for a guided tour of Buckingham Palace's East Wing, which has just emerged from a lengthy refurbishment.

Tickets sold out within hours of being announced in April, Sky News reported. The palace is considering whether to repeat it next year.

The East Wing covers the building's main facade and includes the Centre Room, which offers a glimpse out onto the balcony.

Built in 1847, it was commissioned by Queen Victoria to accommodate her growing family, closing off what had been a horseshoe-shaped courtyard.

The balcony itself was the idea of Prince Albert, the queen's consort, in order to "connect with the people," Caroline de Guitaut, a palace surveyor, told The Guardian.

But you won't be able to give a royal wave from it yourself, according to the BBC.

This may be due to safety reasons, it suggested — the balcony barrier is below waist height.

The space is also surprisingly cramped, the outlet reported.

Even King Charles seems to have worried about toppling over at his coronation, The Mirror reported in 2023, citing a lip-reader who said he had spoken about not standing too close to the edge.

But even Harry and Meghan can't make appearances there now after the late Queen decided that it was for working royals only.

You might not be able to access the ultimate selfie location, but you can still see a great deal.

Those touring the East Wing can take in more than 3,500 objects, with the Centre Room's crowning feature a giant, lotus-shaped glass chandelier that has hung over the heads of many royals.

Many objects on view are Chinese-themed, reflecting King George IV's love of the country's art and design.

These include recently restored hand-painted wallpaper dating to the 18th century in the room where Queen Elizabeth II sat for many of her portraits, per The Guardian.

The refurbishment of the East Wing cost $475 million, leading to questions in the UK parliament when it was first announced in 2016.

It was ultimately paid for through a massive uptick in the Sovereign Grant, the money that working royals are given to fulfill their public duties.