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Today:
Judge temporarily blocks Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax
NEWS | 11 August 2026
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax was temporarily blocked by a state judge on Monday after homeowners sued the city last week. The Staten Island judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the city from proceeding with enforcing the tax, which is intended to be levied on non-primary homes worth at least $5 million. The ruling came after New York homeowners sued over the rollout of the tax, which included the publishing of a property roll that the lawsuit said "caused mass confusion" and "facilitated, invited, and amplified unwanted scrutiny of homeowners' personal information." Matt Rauschenbach, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said in a statement to Business Insider that the city would appeal the ruling. "You know, there are few things more certain in New York City than death, taxes and Randy Mastro filing a lawsuit against this administration," Mamdani said at a press conference.

Top Stories:
What smart people are saying about Meta's open-weight model Muse Glimmer and Mark Zuckerberg's AI manifesto
NEWS | 11 August 2026
On Monday, much of the tech world was thrilled that Meta returned to open models with the release of Muse Glimmer. On top of that announcement, CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined his views on the future of AI in a more than 6,500-word essay. Zuckerberg made the case for open models and a broader belief in granting society access to powerful AI, rather than letting companies limit access by imposing their own safeguards. The news marks a major moment for Meta, which is widely viewed as lagging behind OpenAI and Anthropic in the frontier race. Here's what everyone from Yann LeCun to the White House is saying

World:
SpaceX reclaims its IPO price as jitters about insider selling dissipate
NEWS | 11 August 2026
SpaceX stock rose on Monday to reclaim an important milestone: its $135 IPO price. Shares had dropped below the IPO price for the first time on July 15. Friday's net selling of SpaceX could be a case of taking some chips off the table or a short-term rotation. Malhi noted that while the SpaceX lockup period expiry likely created a larger pool of sellers, the selling pressure was nowhere near as strong as it could have been. SpaceX investors last week told Business Insider that they were conflicted over whether to sell as the first of several planned lockups expired.

Current Events:
Kevin O'Leary said he messed up the messaging on his massive Utah data center plan
NEWS | 11 August 2026
Kevin O'Leary says he could have done a better job selling his plan for a hyperscale data center to the people of Utah. Critics can extrapolate the impact of his fully built data center from those plans, he said. The original plan for his data center was gargantuan — occupying a full 40,000 acres of land. O'Leary has also been posting on social media about the data center and his plans for the area. As of the end of 2025, there were 1,416 data centers built or approved for construction in 45 US states and Washington, DC, according to Business Insider's data center tracker.

News Flash:
This map shows the 26 states where Taylor Farms has recalled foods that could be contaminated with salmonella
NEWS | 11 August 2026
The map below shows the 26 states where Taylor Fresh Foods, which operates as Taylor Farms, recalled ready-made items containing fresh jalapeños, including pico de gallo salsa, spicy guacamole, and rice and bean burritos. Hover over each state on the map to see the respective number of individual products recalled and their retailers, per Taylor Farms. Taylor Farms jalapeño products were recalled from retailers including WalmartTaylor Farms' products are sold directly to consumers but also used in pre-made food items sold in grocery stores and restaurants. The peppers were grown at a farm in Sinaloa, Mexico, the same one previously used by Taylor Farms. Most people experience symptoms, including watery diarrhea that might contain blood or mucus, and stomach cramps that can be severe.

Sponsored:
Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 11 August 2026
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Latest:
What RTO personality type are you?
NEWS | 11 August 2026
"You want to set the example that you value the office," Zhou said. The office touristStephen Napolitano's employer asks workers to come into the office between two and eight days a month. The office recluseThen there are the employees who come into the office — yet spend their days cooped up behind a closed door. Even though he comes in regularly, the software developer spends most office days working alone in a private room, even as the workplace around him is mostly full. Most of the seven or eight people on his team work remotely, so he rarely collaborates in person.

Breaking:
The Ball in OpenAI's court
NEWS | 11 August 2026
The current White House official contested this account, saying Ball had little impact on the AI Action Plan's policy process or wording. In the AI safety and policy world, Ball has driven the discourse as much as he's been an object of it. Nathan Calvin, an AI policy researcher who opposed Ball in the California bill fight but has since come to see him as a friend, said he hopes Ball can act as a counterweight to the global affairs team. This fits a prediction I heard from David Krueger, an AI safety researcher who thinks Ball doesn't take the idea of powerful superintelligence seriously enough. Ball tells me that his opinions haven't changed much since his start at OpenAI, and that if anything, he's more pro-regulatory.

Trending:
I Paid $300 for Someone to Teach My Kids to Ride Bikes
NEWS | 11 August 2026
I'm going to admit something here that's probably going to get a lot of parents up in arms: I paid a guy $300 to teach my two kids to ride a bike. We tried to teach our kids ourselves and totally failedMy kids are 6 and 8. Just knowing how to ride does not necessarily equip a parent to teach it to a tiny, easily frustrated human being. I'm a full-time working parent, and it's important to me to be involved in my kids' development and education. For me, the bike lesson was a good reminder that even the most involved parents have their limits, and sometimes it's better to outsource to an expert.

This Just In:
I'm a doctor who studies longevity. Here are 8 things I always put in my Trader Joe's cart — and 4 I never buy.
NEWS | 11 August 2026
I'm a board-certified internal medicine physician who studies longevity, so I'm used to people asking me how to live longer. Often, they expect a prescription, a supplement stack, or some expensive scan. Mine gets filled at Trader Joe's most weeks, and I'm not chasing superfoods or miracle ingredients. Rather, I'm looking for foods that deliver fiber, healthy fats, and protein without the sodium and added sugar that can easily accumulate in a modern diet. Here are a few things that always go in my cart, plus what I intentionally leave out.

Today:
Super savers share the strategies to keep more than 50% of their income without feeling deprived
NEWS | 11 August 2026
Saving more than half your income doesn't have to mean living in your parents' basement and subsisting on ramen. That's what Berman and his wife, Lauren, found when they began saving more than half their income in pursuit of financial independence. "If you were to interview one of my friends during that time and ask, 'Are Cody and Lauren doing all these weird things to save money?' Berman and other super savers told Business Insider that a handful of intentional choices — particularly around their biggest expenses — helped them build high savings rates without feeling like they were constantly sacrificing. For the past four years, he's lived and taught in China, where he's also experienced a lower cost of living.

Top Stories:
We wore shorts to the office. Our boss didn't.
NEWS | 11 August 2026
We decided to test how summer shorts look in our own office. On Friday, 10 Business Insider journalists, myself included, wore shorts to our New York headquarters — much to the chagrin of Editor in Chief Jamie Heller. "The one time I wore black jeans to the office, on Christmas Eve, I immediately regretted it," she said. "I like wearing shorts as much as the next guy, but we live in a society with rules," he said. I wrote this newsletter in the office while wearing shorts and felt woefully underdressed in a way I have only ever felt once before.

World:
Forget saving up for retirement. They're saving up for burnout.
NEWS | 11 August 2026
For years, she says, she saved about half of every paycheck, building what she now calls a burnout fund. I didn't want to do anything, see friends, or speak to them," the marketing professional, based in northwest England, told Business Insider. Courtesy of Tasmin LofthouseLofthouse started saving money in 2022 and opened a dedicated burnout fund in 2024. For some, a 'burnout fund' allows for a career changeStacy North, 54, knew she was on the precipice of burnout when she first created her fund. There's no one-size-fits-all amount for a burnout fund, Jon Zetlmaier, a financial advisor and founder of Seattle-based Zetlmaier Wealth Management, told Business Insider.

Current Events:
A woman built her parents a 725-square-foot cottage in her backyard so they could be closer to their grandchildren
NEWS | 11 August 2026
Caitlin Swann doesn't have to look far when she needs a babysitter. In fact, she can just walk into her backyard and knock on her parents' door. Swann's parents live in an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on her Connecticut property. Their one-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage is mere steps away from Swann's home. "It's the best," Swann told Business Insider of their multigenerational home.

News Flash:
The 25 best state universities in the US, ranked
NEWS | 11 August 2026
Every state has some sort of public school system, though they're not all created equal. Just as private schools have the Ivy League, some state schools stand above the rest — Forbes now releases its own list of "Public Ivies" each year. Public schools are also generally cheaper than private schools, especially if you stay in-state. We used US News & World Report's ranking of best national universities to identify the top 25 public schools in the country. Here are the 25 best public universities across the US.