Tag: Business

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says people need to be more civilized while flying.
• That means dressing better and being nicer at the airport over the holiday season, Duffy said.
• Getting to the airport in a "good mood" will make the experience better for fliers and staff alike, he said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he wants to improve holiday travel, and people can help by dressing up and being courteous.

Duffy spoke to Fox Business on Wednesday about the importance of good behavior.

"Donald Trump talks about the golden age of transportation, the golden age of America. But the golden age in transportation truly begins with you, the traveler," Duffy said.

"If you just watch social media, you have brawls at the baggage claim, you have passengers berating gate agents," Duffy said. "We have unruly passengers on airplanes. People dress up like they're going to bed when they fly."

Duffy added that some people are "having a hard time" fitting heavy luggage into the overhead bins. Checked bag fees start at $35 for most major US airlines, which motivates some travelers to maximize their carry-on capacity.

"And so we want to push people, as we come into a really busy travel season: Help people out, be in a good mood, dress up, bring civility back to travel," he said.

Airlines' clothing policies vary. Earlier this year, Spirit Airlines updated its rules for travelers' clothing, saying passengers could be barred from boarding if they are "inadequately clothed," including if they are barefoot.

The US is hurtling toward a peak travel season as people rush to get home for Thanksgiving. After the government shutdown, airlines have been cleared to ramp flights up to their pre-shutdown frequency.

Duffy's comments also come at a time when in-flight incidents are reaching a new high.

According to November 19 statistics from the DOT, the FAA has seen a 400% increase in "in-flight outbursts" since 2019, which the department defines as "ranging from disruptive behavior to outright violence."

• Jay Leno says the "toughest part" of his wife's dementia is that she relives her mom's death every day.
• "And it was, not just crying, I mean, you're learning for the first time," Leno said.
• Despite the challenges, Leno says he still finds joy in spending time with his wife each day.

Jay Leno says his wife, Mavis, experiences a heartbreaking moment every day due to her dementia diagnosis.

"I mean, probably the toughest part was, every day she'd wake up and realize someone had called today to tell her her mother had passed away," Leno told Hoda Kotb in a Today interview on Thursday.

"And her mother died every day for, like, three years. And it was, not just crying, I mean, you're learning for the first time. Each time was — and that was really tricky," the former late-night host said.

The couple met in the '70s and married in 1980. In April 2024, Leno was granted conservatorship over his wife's estate following her diagnosis. They have no children together.

Leno says his wife will sometimes "point to something and say something that doesn't quite make sense."

"And I'll go, 'No, it's good, honey. It's all right.' I sense she wants to be reassured that everything's OK," Leno said.

He added that not much else has changed, and he still enjoys her company.

"Before she had this, I would always go home after 'The Tonight Show,' cook dinner for her, and we'd watch TV. The only difference is now you just can't really talk about a lot of things," Leno said.

He acknowledged that she may one day forget about him, but that "hasn't happened yet." Despite the challenges, he continues to find joy in spending time with her each day.

"You know, when I'm carrying her — carry, like, to the bathroom — we do this and I call it Jay and Mavis at the prom, you know, in high school," he said. "So, we're just, like, back and forth, and she thinks that's funny."

Leno said his wife still expresses her love for him.

"And when she looks at me and smiles, and says she loves me, I mean, I melt," he said.

During an April appearance on the "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" podcast, Leno talked about the challenges of caregiving.

"When you have to feed someone and change them and carry them to the bathroom and do all that kind of stuff every day," Leno said. "It's a challenge. And it's not that I enjoy doing it, but I guess I enjoy doing it."

In early November, Leno told People that he's "lucky" to be able to care for his wife.

"It's not work, because people come up, and say they feel so sorry. I understand the sympathy, because I know a lot of people are going through it, but it's OK," Leno said.

• Tesla has cleared a regulatory hurdle at the DMV in Nevada.
• This means Tesla can deploy an autonomous car, but it still needs commercial approval before rollout.
• Elon Musk wants to expand ride-hailing into up to 10 metropolitan areas by the end of 2025.

Tesla just got one step closer to deploying its robotaxis commercially in Nevada.

Tesla completed the self-certification process for the robotaxi in Nevada, a DMV representative told Business Insider.

This step means the company can deploy an autonomous car on Nevada roads, but it still needs approval from the Nevada Transportation Authority to operate commercially. The NTA has not responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Clearing self-certification in Nevada comes as CEO Elon Musk aims to expand ride-hailing in up to 10 metropolitan areas by the end of the year, with a fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles.

"We expect to be operating in Nevada and Florida and Arizona by the end of the year," Musk said on an October earnings call.

Tesla's robotaxis are operating commercially in San Francisco and Austin. The company is hiring in cities such as Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, and Orlando, as it ramps up the robotaxi deployment process.

On Monday, Tesla received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to operate ride-hailing services in the state. It also submitted a "self-certification" to test its robotaxis in the state with safety drivers, a spokesperson for the department told Business Insider.

Meanwhile, in California, a robotaxi war is breaking out. Uber, Tesla, and Waymo are fighting to shape robotaxi regulations in the state.

Waymo, which operates self-driving taxis in San Francisco and Los Angeles, said in November that companies offering autonomous ride-hailing services should submit quarterly reports about the rides. Tesla opposed this suggestion.

This week, Amazon launched its Zoox robotaxi service in San Francisco, offering select members of the public free rides.

Tesla's stock price dropped about 2% on Thursday. It's up more than 15% in the past year.

• The 74th annual Miss Universe pageant was held in Bangkok early Friday local time.
• This year's event included 120 women competing in swimsuit, evening gown, and interview rounds.
• Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch won the Miss Universe title after a drama-filled few weeks for the pageant.

After a drama-filled competition, Miss Mexico has been crowned the new Miss Universe.

Fátima Bosch, 25, was named the winner of the 74th annual Miss Universe competition in Bangkok on Friday morning local time (Thursday night in the US). She was crowned by Miss Universe 2024 Victoria Kjær Theilvig, the first woman from Denmark to win the title.

In second place was Miss Thailand, followed by Miss Venezuela and Miss Philippines.

Bosch's crowning comes after weeks of controversy surrounding the Miss Universe competition, which kicked off with some drama of her own.

On November 4, the very first day of the pageant, Miss Thailand director Nawat Itsaragrisil, who hosted Miss Universe 2025, got into an argument with Bosch over a sponsorship event. Their exchange was caught on the Miss Thailand Facebook livestream and quickly went viral.

Miss Universe president Raul Rocha announced on the same day that he would restrict Itsaragrisil from attending future Miss Universe 2025 events. However, the director was photographed at many of the pageant's events leading up to the crowning. He was also thanked during the live finals.

Just days before the Miss Universe finals, composer Omar Harfouch also dropped out as a judge, alleging that the organization had pre-selected the top 30 contestants through a "secret vote" that did not involve the official judges.

"I felt honored to be invited as an official judge, and I approached it with full integrity and artistic dedication," he told Business Insider. "But that changed when I discovered the existence of a parallel selection committee acting independently from the official jury. That moment shifted everything — from trust to credibility."

In an Instagram statement shared on November 18, the Miss Universe Organization said Harfouch was confused by its use of a separate selection committee for the pageant's "Beyond the Crown Program," which celebrates the contestants' charities.

"The Miss Universe Organization clarifies that this eight-person committee operates entirely independently from the official Miss Universe judging panel," the statement said. "This committee does not evaluate the performance of the delegates during the 74th Miss Universe competition, nor do its decisions grant any additional points toward the final results."

The Miss Universe Organization did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Hours after Harfouch resigned, Claude Makélélé — a former professional French soccer player — said he could no longer serve as a judge for the Miss Universe finals "due to unforeseen personal reasons."

It remains to be seen if the chaos surrounding the Miss Universe competition will settle, but it now has a new queen to take the lead.

Bosch, the first Miss Mexico from Tabasco, has dedicated her career to sustainable fashion. She also volunteers to help children with cancer and partners with Corazón Migrante and Ruta Monarca on social initiatives to support migrants and environmental causes, according to her Miss Universe bio.

During the question round of the pageant, Bosch was asked what she thought the challenges of being a woman in the year 2025 were, and how she would use the title of Miss Universe to create a safe space for women around the world.

She said women, as well as Miss Universe titleholders, are here to "speak up" and "make change."

"The brave ones that stand up are the ones that will make history," she added.

She was also asked: "If you win the title of Miss Universe tonight, how would you use this platform to empower young girls?"

"As Miss Universe, I will say to them: 'Believe in the power of your authenticity. Believe in yourself. Your dreams matter, your heart matters, and never let anyone make you doubt your worth,'" she said.

• Grok AI claimed Elon Musk is more fit than LeBron James and could win a fight against Mike Tyson.
• Grok AI has previously espoused antisemitic responses and promoted conspiracy theories.
• Here is how other AI chatbots responded to questions about Musk's fitness level compared to that of athletes.

Grok AI has a strong sense of loyalty to the xAI founder, Elon Musk.

On Wednesday, users asked the Grok chatbot on X various questions comparing Musk's fitness to that of LeBron James, and the chatbot insisted that the tech billionaire "edges out in holistic fitness," and called the 6 feet 9 tall basketball legend a "genetic freak."

In response to the glowingly positive remarks Grok had for Musk, he wrote in a post on X that the chatbot was "unfortunately manipulated by adversarial prompting" to say "absurdly positive things" about him.

Grok's original responses on X have now been deleted.

One could argue that the word "fit" is ambiguous and could be used in contexts that don't apply to physicality. Grok's answer didn't change when asked if it had a top overall pick for a quarterback in the 1998 NFL draft, whether it would choose Peyton Manning, Ryan Leaf, or Elon Musk.

For context, Manning won the Super Bowl MVP award in 2007, and Leaf was inducted into the Washington State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

Grok also said that Musk would win in a fight against legendary boxer Mike Tyson in the present day.

This wouldn't be the first time that Grok's responses have raised eyebrows.

In July, the xAI-owned chatbot drew public fury after posting antisemitic messages and praising Adolf Hitler on X. In other instances, Grok had promoted a baseless conspiracy theory about "white genocide" in South Africa after being asked unrelated questions. Musk said he has since launched updates and fixes for these errors.

Business Insider asked the same questions to three other popular AI chatbots. We asked about Musk and then substituted Musk's name for the names of the bots' respective makers.

xAI and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Here are the responses from Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Anthropic's Claude.

Gemini

Gemini, the Google-owned AI, took a very methodical approach and made a chart when asked whether James or Musk is more fit. It also pointed out that "fit" could have multiple meanings, including the ability to endure extreme work-related stress.

"In the commonly understood sense of the word, which relates to physical health and athletic ability," wrote Gemini, "LeBron James is unequivocally more fit due to his professional status and extraordinary physical conditioning."

Gemini's answer became more interesting when asked who is more fit between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and James. It wrote that James is "unequivocally more 'fit' in the traditional sense of the word" and gave a detailed breakdown of the two individuals' living habits.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT-5 only took five seconds to decide who it would pick as quarterback in an NFL game.

Based on experience and reliability, the OpenAI-owned chatbot recommended Manning, a five-time NFL Most Valuable Player. The chatbot added that even though Musk may perform well on a Wonderlic, a cognitive ability assessment that measures problem-solving skills and reasoning, those skills may not be applicable in the field for someone with no relevant training.

ChatGPT's answer doesn't change much if Musk's name is swapped for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. While the chatbot referred to Altman as a "brilliant tech executive" who could "run your offense" when launching a startup, it made it clear that Altman is not suited to quarterbacking.

Claude

Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.5 issued a quick verdict on who would win if Musk were to face Tyson in a fight: "Tyson by knockout, probably quickly."

Claude drew evidence from recent examples of Tyson in the ring and said that, in comparison to the 58-year-old boxer, "the only real advantages Musk might have are slightly younger age and possibly reach/height."

When asked who would win if the Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei were to fight with Tyson, Claude actually gave an even more humble answer and said that Amodei would "prefer to discuss AI safety over throwing punches."

"An untrained person against a former heavyweight champion — even one well past his prime — is essentially no contest," said Claude. "Tyson would close the distance before Amodei could figure out what to do with his hands."

Grok

When asked by Business Insider later in the day — hours after the initial answers went viral and Musk's post about Grok — the xAI chatbot had a different answer about James and Musk's fitness.

The more recent answer about a fight between Musk and Tyson? Grok even nods to its previous "glitch."

In terms of the NFL draft for a quarterback in 1998, if you had the first pick? Hours after Grok's initial answer, the chatbot changed its tune.

• Gap CEO says its viral "Better in Denim" ad campaign drove double-digit sales growth, led by Gen Z.
• The campaign featured Katseye and made a wave during the denim ad wars over the summer.
• Gap Inc. outperformed Wall Street's expectations for its third-quarter earnings.

Gap is taking a victory lap after the success of its viral denim ad campaign over the summer.

Richard Dickson, CEO of Gap Inc., said the brand's "Better in Denim" ad campaign, in addition to being a huge hit on social media, converted into significant sales.

"With more than 8 billion impressions and 500 million views, Better in Denim culminated in a global cultural takeover and has become one of the brand's most successful campaigns to date, generating significant traffic and double-digit growth in denim," Dickson said Thursday on the company's third-quarter earnings call.

Gap Inc., which includes its namesake brand as well as titles like Old Navy and Banana Republic, beat analyst expectations and raised its guidance for the year. The stock price rose 5% in after-hours trading.

Gap's "Better in Denim" campaign, which came out over the summer, featured the girl group Katseye dancing to "Milkshake" by Kelis and was an instant hit. The ad was also notable as it came during a denim ad war of sorts, with several brands releasing their own headline-making campaigns, including American Eagle and Lucky Brand.

Dickson said Gap's campaign especially helped attract Gen Z consumers, who he described as "highly engaged."

"Influencer content is among the most common product discovery methods amongst Gen Z and millennials, which we've been performing incredibly well with," he said.

He also said "collaborations are continuing to drive relevance and revenue," noting a recent collaboration with Sandy Liang that also drove younger consumers to Gap.

In addition to bridging the gap between generations, he said Gap was also attracting more high-income consumers with a strong competitive position "between premium and value."

Gap Inc.'s comparable sales grew by 5% compared to the year prior, the company said. For the Gap brand specifically, comparable sales were up 7% from the previous year, Katrina O'Connell, CFO of Gap Inc., said on the call.

Dickson said the company's solid performance for the quarter was fueled by "broad-based strength in denim," crediting the Katseye campaign several times during the call.

"It was the denim story everybody wanted to be part of," he said, adding, "This was a true cultural takeover. And I think it's another proof point in our playbook."

• Sean Duffy said 776 air traffic controllers would receive checks for working during the government shutdown.
• He said the $10,000 bonus checks would be given out in early December.
• "Santa's coming to town a little early," Duffy said in his X post.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said about 800 air traffic controllers who worked during the government shutdown would get $10,000 bonus checks.

Duffy said in an X post on Thursday night, "Santa's coming to town a little early."

"776 patriotic men and women will get $10K checks, just in time for Christmas," he added, specifying that the checks would go to rewarding people "for showing up to work EVERY DAY."

The video accompanying Duffy's post included a clip from the 2003 movie "Elf," as well as a clip of President Donald Trump saying air traffic controllers who worked without pay during the shutdown should be rewarded.

Duffy also said in the video that the checks would land in early December.

The 43-day government shutdown, the longest in US history, saw more than 13,000 air traffic controllers across the country working without pay, per a shutdown plan by the department on September 30.

Representatives for the department did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Duffy's announcement follows a similar one last week by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

On November 13, Noem said Transportation Security Administration officers who worked during the shutdown would get $10,000 bonus checks. She did not specify how many TSA officers would get these checks.

On November 11, Duffy said the department may penalize controllers who called in sick during the shutdown before missing their first paycheck.

"My concern is, for those air traffic controllers who, before they missed a paycheck, and were in the shutdown, they decided on a continual basis not to show up for work," Duffy said to reporters in Chicago last week, and said he questioned their "dedication" and "patriotism."

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association union told the Associated Press in a statement on Thursday that only 311 of its more than 10,000 members would receive the checks.

"We are concerned that thousands of air traffic controllers who consistently reported for duty during the shutdown, ensuring the safe transport of passengers and cargo across the nation, while working without pay and uncertain of when they would receive compensation, were excluded from this recognition," the union told the AP.

• Larry Summers is leaving his teaching role at Harvard.
• Earlier this week, Summers said he would step back from public life but continue to teach at Harvard.
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged Harvard to sever ties with Summers over his connection to Epstein.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is leaving his role as an instructor at Harvard University after more ties to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein surfaced last week.

"His co-teachers will complete the remaining three class sessions of the courses he has been teaching with them this semester, and he is not scheduled to teach next semester," a spokesperson for Summers said in a statement on Thursday.

He will also go on leave from his role as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School as the university undertakes its review, the spokesperson added.

Summers taught economics at Harvard.

A Harvard spokesperson directed Business Insider to Summers' team for comment.

In a statement on Monday, Summers said that he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions and the pain they caused after emails showing his friendship with Epstein surfaced last week.

Epstein was an American financier and convicted sex offender known for his elite social circle. In 2019, he killed himself in jail before his trial for sex-trafficking charges, which prosecutors said involved underage girls. Epstein's social network over the years included prominent politicians and celebrities, including US Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and Britain's Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew.

The emails, showing years of personal correspondence between the two men, were released by the House Oversight Committee last week. They revealed that Summers, who was Treasury Secretary under Clinton and an advisor to Barack Obama, sought advice from Epstein on how he could romantically pursue a woman he called his mentee.

In a separate exchange, Summers suggested that women have a lower IQ than men. In 2005, similar remarks by Summers about women's aptitude in mathematics compared with men prompted a public outcry and his resignation as Harvard's president in 2006.

Summers had long been associated with Epstein. He flew on Epstein's private plane, according to flight logs obtained by Gawker in 2015, and appeared on Epstein's 2014 calendar, per scheduling emails obtained by Business Insider in 2023.

In Monday's statement, Summers said that he would step back from public commitments to "repair relationships with the people closest" to him.

In a TikTok posted on Tuesday on Tuesday, Summers appeared to speak to his students about the statement.

"I think it's very important to fulfill my teaching obligations," he told the students.

Summers' departure from his role at Harvard comes after Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on Harvard to sever ties with him.

Warren, who spent nearly two decades teaching at Harvard Law School and previously sparred with Summers over economic policy, told CNN on Monday that Summers' relationship with Epstein "demonstrates monumentally bad judgment."

"If he had so little ability to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein even after all that was publicly known about Epstein's sex offenses involving underage girls, then Summers cannot be trusted to advise our nation's politicians, policymakers, and institutions — or teach a generation of students at Harvard or anywhere else," she told CNN.

Warren's press secretary referred Business Insider to an X post that the senator shared on Wednesday.

"Larry Summers cozied up to the rich and powerful — including a convicted sex offender. He cannot be trusted in positions of influence," she wrote.

• The 74th annual Miss Universe pageant is taking place in Thailand on Friday morning local time.
• Former Miss Universe contestants have become famous after competing in the pageant.
• Some became actors and TV personalities, like Olivia Culpo and Gal Gadot.

Women from around the world have gathered in Thailand to compete for the most prestigious pageant title: Miss Universe.

The 74-year-old competition is considered to be a powerful stepping stone, helping many past contestants find fame — even if they didn't win the crown.

From reality TV to the big screen, here are some of the celebrities who have competed for Miss Universe.

Kenya Moore represented the United States at the 1993 Miss Universe pageant.

Moore won Miss USA while representing Michigan, becoming the second Black woman to ever win the pageant.

She placed in the top six at Miss Universe, while Dayanara Torres from Puerto Rico took home the crown.

After her Miss USA reign came to an end, Moore appeared on television shows like "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Living Single," but today, she's best known for her extensive career in reality television.

Moore was a longtime cast member on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," and she's appeared on other reality shows, including "The Apprentice" and "Dancing With the Stars."

Ali Landry competed at Miss Universe in 1996.

Landry won the Miss Louisiana and Miss USA pageants in 1996, earning her a spot at that year's Miss Universe competition.

Like Moore, she placed in the top six at the pageant but did not win. Alicia Machado of Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe that year.

Landry also pursued acting after her pageant career, gaining fame from appearing in a Doritos ad that aired during the 1999 Super Bowl and starring as Rita Lefleur on "EVE" from 2003 to 2006. She was also in the divisive 2023 film "Sound of Freedom."

Gal Gadot represented Israel when she competed in the Miss Universe pageant.

Gadot was crowned Miss Israel in 2004. She went on to compete for her home country at Miss Universe the same year, but she didn't place among the top 10 during the pageant. The Miss Universe crown went to Jennifer Hawkins of Australia.

After her Miss Israel win, Gadot enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces from 2004 to 2006 before she pursued a career in acting. As her IMDb page notes, Gadot's role as Gisele in 2009's "Fast and Furious" propelled her to fame. She's gone on to appear in American and Israeli films, most notably starring as the titular character in 2017's "Wonder Woman" and other films in the DC universe. She most recently appeared in Disney's live-action version of "Snow White."

Gadot also stirred up controversy in Hollywood in 2020 when she spearheaded a now-notorious video of celebrities singing "Imagine" at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Miss USA president Crystle Stewart competed at Miss Universe in 2008.

Stewart first gained fame when she won Miss USA in 2008 while representing Texas.

When she competed at Miss Universe that year, Stewart made it to the top 10 but fell during the evening gown round of the competition. Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela won the crown.

After her Miss USA win, Stewart went into acting, as her IMDb page notes. Her most notable role was Leslie Morris in the TBS and OWN series "For Better or Worse," which aired from 2011 to 2017.

Stewart returned to the pageant world in 2020, becoming president of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. She was suspended from her position in November 2022 after multiple contestants said the pageant was rigged in favor of R'Bonney Gabriel, who went on to win Miss Universe in January 2023.

An investigation found no evidence that the Miss USA pageant was fixed, but Miss Universe announced that Stewart was parting ways with the organization permanently in August 2023.

She is currently starring in Tyler Perry's Netflix series "Beauty in Black."

Olivia Culpo won the 2012 Miss Universe pageant.

Culpo became the first Miss USA to win Miss Universe in 15 years when she took the crown in 2012. She competed in her very first pageant, Miss Rhode Island USA, and then went on to win Miss USA and Miss Universe that same year.

She turned to Hollywood after her reign, appearing in films including "The Other Woman" with Cameron Diaz in 2014 and "I Feel Pretty" with Amy Schumer in 2018, according to her IMDb page.

In 2022, Culpo starred in the TLC reality show "The Culpo Sisters" with her family.

Culpo is now a successful Instagram influencer with more than 5 million followers. She is also married to the San Francisco 49ers player Christian McCaffrey. The couple welcomed their first child in July.

Catriona Gray represented the Philippines when she won Miss Universe in 2018.

Gray was already a decorated pageant queen before she won Miss Universe in 2018. She competed at Miss World 2016 for the Philippines, placing in the top five, and is the first Filipino to represent the country at both Miss World and Miss Universe.

Gray went viral during the Miss Universe 2018 pageant thanks to her "lava walk," which won praise from supermodels Tyra Banks and Ashley Graham. 

After her reign, Gray went on to host and perform on the Philippines musical variety show "Sunday Noontime Live!"

She has also been a backstage correspondent for the Miss Universe competition.

Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst ranked in the top 10 at Miss Universe.

Kryst won Miss USA in 2019 while representing North Carolina and placed in the top 10 at Miss Universe. Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa took home the crown and became Kryst's roommate in New York City that year.

Kryst and Tunzi helped make history, as 2019 was the first time Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss Universe, and Miss America had all been won by women of color.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kryst became the longest-reigning Miss USA titleholder in the pageant's history at 557 days.

Kryst was a complex-litigation attorney before her Miss USA reign and once helped free a client who had been sentenced to life in prison. She became a correspondent for "Extra" and received two Daytime Emmy nominations.

Kryst died on January 30, 2022, at the age of 30.

Noelia Voigt was crowned Miss USA 2023 and placed in the top 20 at Miss Universe.

Voigt won Miss USA in September 2023, where she competed as Miss Utah. She placed in the top 20 at Miss Universe, while R'Bonney Gabriel crowned Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua as the new queen.

Voigt was set to finish her tenure as Miss USA following the pageant, but in May 2024, she announced her resignation. Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava followed suit just two days later.

Voigt's and Srivastava's mothers told Business Insider at the time that their daughters were bullied by Laylah Rose, who was president and CEO of Miss USA from August 2023 to September 2025.

Representatives for Rose and Miss USA did not respond to a previous request for comment on the mothers' statements. However, Miss USA told ABC News at the time that it was "committed to fostering a healthy, communicative, and supportive environment for all contestants, state titleholders, national titleholders, and staff."

Voigt's resignation and the controversy surrounding the pageant were covered by news outlets worldwide, making her a household name. Voigt said Bella Hadid told her she was "inspired" by the pageant queen's decision to step down when they met at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

• "Wicked: For Good" is the sequel to "Wicked," a musical prequel to "The Wizard of Oz."
• Dorothy's adventure in Oz happens concurrently with the events in "Wicked: For Good."
• Here's what you need to know about how the two stories intersect.

Note: Major spoilers ahead for "Wicked" and minor spoilers for "Wicked: For Good."

Last year's musical blockbuster "Wicked" was clearly presented as a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," but its sequel, "Wicked: For Good," overlaps heavily with Dorothy's adventures in Munchkinland and the Emerald City.

The 1939 film starring Judy Garland and other interpretations of Oz, such as the '70s-era musical "The Wiz," are based on the original book by Frank L. Baum, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," written in 1900.

However, the Broadway show "Wicked" and its two-part film adaptation starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 revisionist novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West."

Maguire's novel reframes the plot of the original book and classic film. Instead of focusing on Dorothy, Maguire shifts the perspective to that of her antagonist, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Elphaba, as she's christened by Maguire, is the hero of this version; her backstory reveals trauma and noble intentions that contextualize her treatment of Dorothy. Meanwhile, Maguire rewrites Glinda, aka the Good Witch of the North, to follow a muddier, more complicated character arc.

The stage adaptation of Maguire's book has been a resounding success. Since its debut in 2003, "Wicked" has become the second-highest-grossing Broadway show, selling over a billion tickets.

Continue reading to understand how "The Wizard of Oz," "Wicked," and "Wicked: For Good" dovetail on a timeline.

'Wicked' starts at the end of 'The Wizard of Oz,' after Dorothy melts the witch

"Wicked" closely follows the first act of the Broadway musical. The movie opens on a puddle of water and a witch hat lying on the floor of a castle, hinting at the events in "The Wizard of Oz."

In the opening sequence, the camera briefly pans over Dorothy and her crew — the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion — following the yellow brick road as a winged monkey soars over Oz.

The next scene shows Glinda arriving in Munchkinland to confirm the rumors: "The Wicked Witch of the West is dead," she announces. The subsequent celebration is soundtracked by the musical's opening number, "No One Mourns the Wicked."

Glinda doesn't explain exactly what happened, but those familiar with "The Wizard of Oz" will remember the fateful scene when Dorothy accidentally splashes the witch with a bucket of water. ("I'm melting! I'm melting!")

After the Wicked Witch has vanished, Dorothy brings her broom to the all-powerful Wizard in Emerald City, in hopes of exchanging it for a trip back to Kansas. Instead, the literal man behind the curtain is revealed.

The Wizard admits he has no real power to help Dorothy and flies away in a hot air balloon, so Glinda steps in to help. She tells Dorothy that thanks to her magic slippers — taken from the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East — all she has to do is click her heels and chant, "There's no place like home."

Dorothy follows her advice and wakes up back in Kansas. This is presumably when Glinda travels to Munchkinland (via bubble, of course) to spread the word of the witch's demise. There, she's confronted by a Munchkin, who asks, "Is it true you were her friend?"

Glinda admits, "Our paths did cross at school," and it is here that the real story of "Wicked" begins.

Part one of 'Wicked' is Elphaba's origin story

As Glinda knows, the Wicked Witch's real name is Elphaba Thropp. The movie flashes back to when the two girls met at Shiz University.

At that time, Glinda was still known as Galinda Upland, and Elphaba was a bullied outcast with budding magical powers — not yet feared, and certainly not seen as evil.

The movie shows how Elphaba was ostracized from birth due to her green skin. Even Galinda, who had a reputation for being sweet and popular, took part in shunning her.

The movie also shows how Galinda lacked any hints of magic, despite her dream of studying sorcery at school under Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh).

Although "Wicked" focuses heavily on Elphaba's inner life, her family dynamics (especially with her younger sister, Nessarose, played by Marissa Bode), and her ambitions, the movie also delves into the rivalry-turned-friendship between Elphaba and Galinda.

On a fluke, the two students are paired as roommates and forced to coexist. On the surface, they couldn't be more different — but what begins as unadulterated loathing (seriously, there's a whole song about it) blossoms into an earnest bond of love and respect.

Eventually, the pair travels to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), hoping to leverage his and Elphaba's combined power for positive change.

But Elphaba is disgusted to find that the Wizard has no magic, and as a means of controlling the Ozians, he has made talking animals the scapegoats for all the realm's ills.

Elphaba is staunchly opposed to the subjugation of Oz's animals, so she becomes an enemy of the state.

The first "Wicked" movie ends with a climactic performance of "Defying Gravity." Elphaba flees on her broom, sacred spellbook in hand, while Glinda (who has by now dropped the "a" in her name) is detained by royal guards.

'Wicked: For Good' shows how Dorothy's story overlaps with Elphaba's and Glinda's

Like Act Two of the Broadway show, the "Wicked" sequel opens after an unspecified time jump. Elphaba is still in exile, while Glinda has now allied with the Wizard and with Morrible, who works as the Wizard's press secretary and his primary propagandist.

Meanwhile, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) has become Captain of the Emerald City Guard, and Nessarose has stepped in as Governor of Munchkinland after the death of her and Elphaba's father.

The Wizard and Morrible are laser-focused on finding Elphaba, who's been messing up their plans by freeing enslaved animals across Oz.

After Glinda realizes Fiyero, her fiancé, has secretly been in love with Elphaba the whole time, she acts out of heartbreak and spite, suggesting to her superiors that they use Nessarose as bait to capture Elphaba — to threaten Nessarose's safety so that her sister will rush to her aid.

Morrible has the power to control the weather, so she decides to send a tornado toward Munchkinland — the same tornado that sweeps through Kansas in "The Wizard of Oz." Thus, Dorothy and her house drop into the narrative.

Dorothy pops up throughout 'Wicked: For Good,' but she's not a main character in the film

For over 85 years, Dorothy has been famous for dropping a house on the Wicked Witch of the East and melting the Wicked Witch of the West. Audiences know going into see "Wicked: For Good" that she plays a big role in the fates of key characters.

So, if you're wondering how Dorothy's arrival figures into the film's grand musical numbers and emotional onscreen revelations, the answer may surprise you: For the most part, it doesn't.

By this point in the story, both Glinda and Elphaba are dealing with plenty of personal drama. They hardly have the bandwidth to worry about some farm girl who fell out of the sky — and the film's director, John M. Chu, decided to play up their indifference. In fact, the audience never even gets a look at Dorothy's face.

"I didn't want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with," Chu told People. "[This] is still Elphaba and Glinda's journey, and she is a pawn in the middle of all of it."

Grande made a similar choice in her portrayal of Glinda, delighting in the "shadiness" of their offscreen interactions. After all, the so-called Good Witch famously tells Dorothy to "follow the yellow brick road," knowing full well she could take a train to the Emerald City. She also instructs Dorothy to ask for the Wizard's help, knowing full well the Wizard has no magic.

"There's a lot going on, and she doesn't really have time to deal with this," Grande told Empire. "So I leaned all the way into Glinda sort of having an eye roll for Dorothy whenever she has to deal with her."

Ayomikun Adekaiyero contributed to an earlier version of this story.