The online mortgage platform Better has partnered with OpenAI to launch an app within ChatGPT that the companies said will dramatically reduce the time it takes to underwrite a mortgage or home equity loan, CNBC has learned exclusively. The app, to be announced later Thursday, takes Better's mortgage engine and combines it with OpenAI's models to speed up the underwriting process for loan officers working at banks, mortgage brokers and fintech firms, Better CEO Vishal Garg said in an interview. "Taking the mortgage underwriting process, which so many of us have experienced personally, from 21 days to as little as 47 seconds and enabling it via ChatGPT is a huge unlock for everyone," Giancarlo Lionetti, OpenAI's chief commercial officer, said in a statement provided to CNBC. "OpenAI is proud to partner with Better to build technology that revolutionizes the mortgage industry and makes it cheaper, faster, and easier for American families to finance a home." For decades, creating a mortgage has been one of the most time-consuming corners of American finance, with lenders relying on dozens of steps that can take weeks to complete. After the 2008 financial crisis, big banks like JPMorgan Chase receded from the U.S. mortgage market, leading to the rise of non-bank players including Rocket Mortgage and United Wholesale Mortgage. Better stock jumped as much as 5% on the news, while Rocket Mortgage shares fell more than 6% and UWM shares dropped nearly 4%. Now, in an era where the leading artificial intelligence firms are targeting inefficiencies across the corporate landscape, it's possible that AI agents could reshape a U.S. home-loan market that originates more than $1 trillion in mortgages a year. Garg said the new app is part of Better's pivot from being primarily a lender to consumers to also becoming a "mortgage-as-a-service" tech platform for other mortgage players. The companies are taking direct aim at the dominant mortgage players by enabling competitors to move faster, Garg said. According to Better, lenders can save 21 days of time on average, reducing the costs to underwrite loans and ultimately saving consumers money as well. "AI is now doing mortgages," Garg said. "Rocket, UWM, Pennymac, a bunch of guys that are large public companies, make their money by effectively charging a tax of one and half percent to underwrite mortgages. OpenAI's models, fed with Better's mortgage data, save time by simultaneously running parallel workflows on dozens of checkpoints, including appraisals, title reports, income, credit reports and other metrics, Garg said. "It's not a simple tool call. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Iran's foreign minister said Thursday that his country is "not asking for a ceasefire" from the United States and Israel, "and we don't see any reason why we should negotiate" after nearly a week of war. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also told NBC News in an exclusive interview that Iran is "confident" that it can confront the U.S. military if President Donald Trump decides to invade the nation with ground troops. "And that would be a big disaster for them," Araghchi told NBC. He also said that after six days of war against Iran, "It is clear that the U.S. has failed to achieve its main goal, which was clean, rapid victory." And they have, you know, presented so many different reasons, but none of them worked," Araghchi said. "And now they are talking about, you know, plan B. And I, I believe that, you know, plan B would be even a bigger failure." Araghchi's comments indicate Iran is in for a longer war with the U.S. after Trump has said he foresees it lasting four to five weeks. Trump has criticized his Democratic predecessors for engaging in protracted conflicts in the Middle East. "This is a war of choice by the United States." "Negotiate with the U.S. when we negotiated with them twice, and every time they attacked us in the middle of negotiations? "So there is no request for a ceasefire by us, and there is no request for the negotiation with the U.S. from us." Aragchi, when asked why Iran has launched attacks against nearly a dozen neighboring Arab counties during holy Islamic month of Ramadan, said, "We have not attacked our neighbors. We have not attacked Muslim countries." "We have attacked Americans, targets and American bases, American installations, which are unfortunately located in the soils of our neighbors," he said. "So we have made it clear for them, I have been in touch with their foreign ministers, and I have explained that 'we are not targeting you. We have no problem with you. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

New York Attorney General Letitia James and the top prosecutors of 23 other states once again sued to block President Donald Trump's global tariff regime, just days after a landmark Supreme Court decision struck down his previous effort. Their lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Court of International Trade, seeks to deem Trump's latest tariffs illegal and order refunds to states. Last month, the Supreme Court invalidated most of Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs implemented last year, saying that his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose duties was improper. But the president sought to keep his signature policy alive by immediately announcing a new wave of tariffs, these based on another law, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. That global tariff rate is currently set at 10%, but the Trump administration has said it plans to raise it to 15%. "After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill," James said in a statement provided to CNBC. "President Trump is ignoring the law and the Constitution to effectively raise taxes on consumers and small businesses," she said. A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. On Wednesday, a federal court ruled that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by the Supreme Court are due billions of dollars in refunds. In their lawsuit, James and the coalition argue that Trump is misusing Section 122 of the 1974 trade act, which they say was designed to address specific monetary imbalances possible when the U.S. was under the gold standard, rather than to combat trade imbalances. Last year, James and 11 other states sued the Trump administration to halt his original round of tariffs. That effort was eventually combined with suits from small businesses affected by tariffs in the Supreme Court case that handed Trump one of the biggest legal setbacks of his second term. Trump and James have had their own legal entanglements. His administration's Justice Department indicted James in October on two counts, bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. James, however, faces no charges after a judge threw out her indictment and two grand juries separately declined to revive those efforts. Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the timing of the lawsuit from James and other state attorneys general. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

New York Attorney General Letitia James and the top prosecutors of 23 other states are planning to once again sue to block President Donald Trump's global tariff regime, just days after a landmark Supreme Court decision struck down his previous effort. Their lawsuit, expected to be filed Thursday in the Court of International Trade, will seek to deem Trump's latest tariffs illegal and order refunds to states. Last month, the Supreme Court invalidated most of Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs implemented last year, saying that his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose duties was improper. But the president sought to keep his signature policy alive by immediately announcing a new wave of tariffs, these based on another law, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. That global tariff rate is currently set at 10%, but the Trump administration has said it plans to raise it to 15%. "After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill," James said in a statement provided to CNBC. "President Trump is ignoring the law and the Constitution to effectively raise taxes on consumers and small businesses," she said. On Wednesday, a federal court ruled that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by the Supreme Court are due billions of dollars in refunds. In their lawsuit, James and the coalition will argue that Trump is misusing Section 122 of the 1974 trade act, which they say was designed to address specific monetary imbalances possible when the U.S. was under the gold standard, rather than to combat trade imbalances. Last year, James and 11 other states sued the Trump administration to halt his original round of tariffs. That effort was eventually combined with suits from small businesses affected by tariffs in the Supreme Court case that handed Trump one of the biggest legal setbacks of his second term. Trump and James have had their own legal entanglements. His administration's Justice Department indicted James in October on two counts, bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. James, however, faces no charges after a judge threw out her indictment and two grand juries separately declined to revive those efforts. Correction: The lawsuit from James and other state attorneys general is expected to be filed Thursday. A previous version misstated the timing. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took subtle swipes at rival Anthropic on Thursday and said he thinks it's "bad for society" if companies start abandoning their commitment to the democratic process because "some people don't like the person or people currently in charge." "The government is supposed to be more powerful than private companies," Altman said during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei criticized Altman's relationship with the Trump administration in a memo to employees on Friday, according to a report from The Information. The Department of Defense has clashed with Anthropic in recent weeks over how the agency can use its artificial intelligence models. Negotiations escalated, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Anthropic a "Supply-Chain Risk to National Security" in a post on X on Friday. President Donald Trump also directed every federal agency in the U.S. to "immediately cease" all use of Anthropic's technology. Hours later, Altman announced that OpenAI had formed its own agreement with the DOD. The company has faced criticism for announcing the deal so soon after Anthropic was blacklisted, and Altman conceded that it looked "looked opportunistic and sloppy." "It is complicated, we are busy with other things," Altman said. "But last week, when things started to get into a fight, it became increasingly clear to us that there was a chance things were going to go very badly." OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit research lab in 2015, and it exploded into the mainstream following the launch of its chatbot ChatGPT in 2022. The company has ballooned into one of the fastest growing commercial enterprises on the planet since then, and it announced a $110 billion funding round at a $730 billion pre-money valuation last week. But the company is engaged in a fierce competition with rivals like Anthropic and Google as they race to win even more users and market share. OpenAI's annual revenue run rate (ARR) recently topped $25 billion, while Anthropic has crossed $19 billion, according to sources familiar with the companies' financials who requested anonymity because the details are confidential. WATCH: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says $30 billion OpenAI investment ‘might be the last' Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Joaquin Garcia spent 24 of his 26 years with the FBI working undercover. "I've done over a hundred undercover investigations," he told Business Insider. "Mexican cartels are just simply brutal," he said. See Garcia's interview with Business Insider in the video below and keep reading to learn why he fears the cartel most. From 2002 to 2005, Garcia embedded himself inside the Gambino crime family as "Jack Falcone." New York's five Italian Mafia families — the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno — follow a strict chain of command: boss, underboss, consigliere, captains, soldiers, associates, Garcia explained. Garcia became the driver and close confidant of Gambino captain Greg DePalma. Garcia created a Sicilian backstory and went through an informal "mob school," learning how to pronounce Italian food correctly and practicing in Little Italy. His cartel investigations focused on narcotics trafficking and large-scale drug transactions, where he often posed as an importer or trafficker, he said. What mattered more was: Could he move kilos of drugs? In one deal, Garcia said nine additional men showed up unexpectedly during a cocaine setup. With the mafia, there was total accountability, Garcia said. They needed to know where he was at all times. If he missed a call, for example, they wanted to know why. "You had to make sure your i's were dotted, and your t's were crossed because one slight move, then you're in the back of a trunk of a car," he said. While there was no shortage of violence within the mafia, it did not compare to what he witnessed from the Mexican cartel, Garcia added. He saw cartels cut people's heads off and put them on a spike. "They'll come after your whole family," he said. The cartels' core business is cocaine and heroin trafficking via international distribution networks that generate revenue far beyond traditional mafia rackets. "You should be more afraid of drug traffickers," Garcia said, adding that when he was still with the FBI, "I had to worry about the cartels more than I do with the mob." Agents who remain for 30 years receive a small gold ring, and he didn't see a reason to stay longer just for that milestone. Moreover, his daughter was 6 years old at the time, and he wanted to be present in her life. "It felt good to just be around family," he said. After leaving the Bureau, he briefly returned as a contractor to work on a Boston police corruption case but declined to continue undercover assignments, saying it was time for younger agents to take over. In 2024, he received the FBI Agents Association Distinguished Service Award.

U.S. crude oil prices on Thursday topped $80 per barrel as the escalating Iran war disrupts global fuel supplies, with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz at a standstill due to attacks on tankers. The price of West Texas Intermediate oil surged 8.51%, or $6.35, to close at $81.01 per barrel. Global benchmark Brent rose 4.93%, or $4.01, to settle at $85.41 per barrel. U.S. oil prices have surged about 21% this week. Retail gasoline prices in the U.S. have jumped nearly 27 cents since last week to $3.25 per gallon on average, according to the motorist group AAA. The last time gas prices made a similar jump was in March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, the group said. Iran claimed to have struck an oil tanker with a missile, according to a state media report. Iran's Revolutionary Guard ordered a closure of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week and threatened to attack tankers passing through it, according to state media. The British Navy on Thursday reported a large explosion at a tanker at anchor in Iraqi territorial waters. The crew is safe and no fires were reported. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has come to a standstill since the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began, as ship owners are worried about the volatile security situation. About 20% of global oil consumption is exported through the strait. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will provide political risk insurance for tankers passing through the strait. The Trump administration does not have a timeline for when the strait will be safe for commercial shipping again, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday. "I don't want to commit to a timeline, but certainly it's something that is being calculated actively by both the Department of War and the Department of Energy," Leavitt said when asked during a briefing. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

"The current crisis in the Middle East, the Iran war, this might lead overall, and this is really a gut feeling, to overall increasing demand for defense capabilities in this region," CEO Alexander Sagel said Thursday on a call with analysts. A day earlier, Sagel said the company received its first orders … for prototypes for a new Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) from "a Gulf state," which should be developed in the next two to three years. "It's a kind of indication," he added. The Gulf states have been in the firing line of the war, facing Iranian ballistic missiles that have targeted U.S. bases on their territory, as well as energy facilities, civilian infrastructure and cities. Renk reported fourth-quarter and full-year earnings before the bell on Thursday. "I think this conflict could drive further defense spendings, not only on air and not only on ammunition, and not only on air defense systems, but also on ground-based," Sagel said. Renk specializes in military drivetrain technology, including IFVs, and many larger defense firms count Renk as one of their suppliers. The German mid-cap defense firm reported full-year revenue that grew 19.8% year-on-year, with adjusted earnings before interest and tax expanding 21.7%. Order intake was up 9% over the year, and the order backlog came in at a record high of 6.68 billion euros, compared with 2024's 4.96 billion euros. The company sees 2026 revenue of at least 1.5 billion euros, about 3% below consensus at the low point. European defense stocks have rallied amid heightened geopolitical tensions and the war in Ukraine, which prompted European governments to raise spending on defense. Larger peer Rheinmetall is due to report earnings next week. Renk's largest and most important unit, Vehicle Mobility Solution, drove the 2025 growth, with profitability up nearly 28%. Its Marine & Industry unit also posted double-digit growth on both the top and bottom line, and CEO Sagel sees an opportunity for the naval unit to benefit from U.S. President Donald Trump's push for expanded U.S. defense budgets, noting the lower-than-historical number of U.S. vessels. "If you see the geopolitics in, especially in Asia, or when you see the number of vessels to aircraft carriers striking groups now in the Middle East, they need to build up and to ramp up through frigates, destroyers, and whatever," said Sagel. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Every time Ben publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. After more than 25 years building Palo Alto Networks into a $125 billion security giant, billionaire Nir Zuk is making a contrarian bet again. His new startup, Cylake, is rejecting the cloud-based model he once championed, instead building an AI-powered, hardware-based security system for governments, defense contractors, and other highly regulated customers that can't move sensitive data off-premises. When he started Palo Alto Networks in 2005, he recalled, people told Zuk, "You're crazy, nobody's going to use the cloud to consume cybersecurity services." Zuk's stake is estimated at $1.4 billion, according to Forbes. After serving as chief technology officer for more than two decades, he announced his retirement last year. Just as he was seen as a contrarian for starting a cloud-based cybersecurity company in 2005, he relishes going against the grain in 2026. They raised nearly $14 billion in 2025, according to Pinpoint Search Group. That represented a 47% increase from 2024 and the most funding since 2021. Experts have warned that the war in Iran will lead to more attacks this year. It's not unusual for Silicon Valley VC firms to back a founder on their second or third company. "When one's had a success as large as Palo Alto, that's a high bar," said Asheem Chandna, a partner at Greylock who has known Zuk for 30 years and served on Palo Alto Networks' board for 17 years. "The bar is not a small or medium outcome. The bar is, can we build something even larger?" Chandna sees "a hundred billion dollar plus opportunity," pointing to what he estimates as a third of customers like defense, regulated industries, and sovereign nations that can never use the cloud for sensitive data. He calls Zuk "a magnet for talent," and "a brilliant technologist who's very competitive and very customer-centric." Joining Zuk as cofounders at Cylake are Wilson Xu, who led the engineering team at Palo Alto Networks, and Udi Shamir, who co-founded SentinelOne. Zuk said he got the idea for starting Cylake years ago and finally decided to strike out on his own again when he reached a point last summer at which he felt his work at Palo Alto Networks was complete after it acquired CyberArk, an identity security platform, for $25 billion. "First, I like to build things," Zuk said.

With about six weeks until the April 15 tax deadline, some filers are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for help with returns. "Grok can help with your taxes," Elon Musk said in an X post on Tuesday. Developed by Musk's startup xAI, Grok is a generative AI chatbot that has been integrated with X. Musk's message quoted another X post from xAI's James Burnham, which mentioned someone who Burnham said had used Grok to double-check tax returns and received a bigger refund. "Disclaimer: This/Grok is not tax advice so always confirm yourself too," wrote Burnham, who works as general counsel for xAI and X. However, uncovering a bigger refund doesn't necessarily mean your return is correct, according to Tom O'Saben, director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals. You should always review previous years' returns to understand why refunds or balances due are different from year-to-year, said O'Saben, who is also an enrolled agent, which is a tax license to practice before the IRS. This season, filers have multiple AI options to help with taxes, including tools like Grok, ChatGPT or Claude, as well as chatbots integrated in popular tax prep software platforms. But taxes could be more complex this season amid the 2025 changes enacted via President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill," and some consumers are hesitant to use AI when filing returns. In 2026, only 37% of filers said they would consider trusting AI over a tax professional, compared to 43% in 2025, according to a survey from software platform Invoice Home. Amid changing tax laws, it can be difficult to rely solely on AI for more complicated questions, according to tax experts. "Each of the areas have some nuance," said certified public accountant Michael Deering, a partner and tax services leader at accounting firm Mowery and Schoenfeld. For example, Trump's new tax breaks have phase-outs, which can reduce or eliminate the benefit, depending on your income. Plus, it could be hard for AI to interpret how each tax break may impact the various parts of your return, Deering said. But he said he only recommends using the software for generic queries, without inputting personal data, such as your Social Security number and other sensitive information. It's important that your return is accurate, whether you use AI or not. CNBC's Ryan Ermey contributed to the reporting for this story. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Every time Erin publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Fast-food chicken sandwiches may look similar on the surface, but not all sandwiches deliver the same crunch, flavor, or value. To find out how popular chains compare, I ordered chicken sandwiches from McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Popeyes, and Bojangles and compared them based on taste, texture, toppings, and price. Here's how the five chicken sandwiches ranked from worst to best. McDonald's crispy chicken sandwich, aptly named the McCrispy, was released amid the 2021 chicken sandwich wars and is available in classic, spicy, and — as of January 27 — a new, limited-edition hot-honey flavor. It cost $7.69, excluding tax, at my local chain in Brooklyn, New York. As someone who loves condiments, this was a little disappointing. I was eager to see how it would affect the taste. The lettuce looked a little limp on first inspection, and there also wasn't much of it. While this sandwich impressed me in terms of size, the texture of the chicken filet let it down. Burger King offers a few different chicken sandwiches — this classic Royal Crispy chicken sandwich, a spicy version, one with bacon and Swiss cheese, and its older original chicken sandwich, which is served in a longer bun with just lettuce and mayonnaise. The classic Royal Crispy chicken sandwich costs $7.99, excluding tax, at my local Burger King in Brooklyn, New York. This was different than the more Southern flavor profiles served at chains like Popeyes, McDonald's, and Chick-fil-A. The amount of toppings was generous, I thought. However, the chicken itself really impressed me — it was thick and tender, with a rich, briny flavor that I enjoyed. I was left wishing the sandwich came with just mayonnaise and pickles, so the chicken could really shine through. Popeyes practically invented the chicken sandwich wars after it introduced its signature sandwich in 2019, sparking fistfights, lengthy lines, and a ton of online discourse. The sandwich may not be as talked about as it once was, but it's still a fan favorite. Popeyes puts mayonnaise on both buns, with pickles layered under the chicken filet, which sets it apart from other chains. The chicken filet crunched and flaked with every bite, and the thick pickle slices were actually tart — they certainly weren't just for show. The sandwich was also moist and tender, without being a soggy mess. Its flavor profile is classically Southern, built around fried chicken, pickles, and mayonnaise. Like the other chicken sandwiches, Bojangles' chicken sandwich was topped with mayonnaise, but it was thicker than the mayonnaise from other chains. It also came with two crunchy pickle slices. Bojangles' process of marinating its chicken helped to infuse flavor deep into the meat rather than just coating the surface. The filet was hand-breaded and fried in-store, creating an extra-crispy, craggy coating that delivered a satisfying crunch with every bite. The sandwich also had a subtle kick from the marinade — it wasn't overwhelmingly spicy, but it was enough to add flavor and keep each bite interesting. Together, the crispy breading and flavorful filet created a layered texture and flavor profile that set the sandwich apart from its competitors. The chicken sandwich wars are over — for me at least.

A bipartisan group of Washington, D.C., lawmakers plans to reintroduce a bill on Thursday that would update a federal anti-poverty program that millions of Americans rely on to provide for their basic needs. Supplemental Security Income is a federal program that provides monthly benefits to adults and children who are blind, disabled or age 65 and older who have limited income and financial resources. The forthcoming bill, called the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act, would expand and strengthen SSI benefits at a time when everyday costs are increasing, bill sponsor Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a statement. "SSI is a critical lifeline for millions of Americans — but the program is five decades out-of-date, leaving people behind and even punishing them for trying to save up," Warren said. SSI was created in 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed it into law. It was implemented to help keep individuals out of poverty. Many individuals on SSI experience deep poverty, with children, racial minorities and residents of the South most vulnerable, according to the Roosevelt Institute's research. In 2026, the maximum monthly SSI payments are $994 for individual beneficiaries and $1,491 for eligible married couples, according to the Social Security Administration. That amounts to almost $12,000 per year for individuals and $18,000 per year for couples, according to the agency. Many individuals who are on the program have severe mental, physical and cognitive disabilities that limit their ability to work, said Stephen Nuñez, director of stratification economics at the Roosevelt Institute. "They're just living a bare bones, threadbare existence because basically people forgot about them." SSI recipients are currently limited to $20 per month in non-employment income, such as Social Security benefits or a pension — an amount that hasn't been adjusted since 1974. If income is higher, the Social Security Administration may reduce benefits or restrict eligibility. That threshold would be updated to $158 per month under the new bill, according to the text CNBC reviewed. Another provision proposes adjusting another threshold, the earned income exclusion, that currently makes it so an SSI recipient's first $65 in earnings does not count as income — which was meant as a work incentive when it was set at that level in 1972. The new bill would update that level to $512 per month. It also calls for updating resource limits for beneficiaries — currently set at $2,000 per individual and $3,000 per eligible couple — that apply to certain assets like cash, bank accounts and investments. Those thresholds would be raised to $10,000 per individual and $20,000 per eligible couple, which the proposal says would better enable beneficiaries to save for emergencies. All the new thresholds would be indexed to inflation and adjusted annually. The proposal would also eliminate other penalties for in-kind support, such as food or shelter provided by friends or family. Notably, the bill would also make SSI benefits available to eligible residents of U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa. "Modernizing this program and extending it to Guam and the other territories is about economic fairness and ensuring that every American community receives the basic security SSI was meant to provide," Moylan said in a statement. Lawmakers previously introduced other versions of the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act. That would be about equal to the cost of a single tax provision in the "big beautiful" tax legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law last year, according to the think tank. "As we get further and further from the original purpose and helping seniors and people with disabilities stay out of poverty, there just have to be changes," said Tracey Gronniger, managing director of economic security at Justice in Aging, a national organization dedicated to fighting senior poverty. "We can't just leave the program to kind of just wallow because we don't want to spend any money." For example, the Roosevelt Institute estimates that just increasing benefits would cost $33.8 billion annually. Another bipartisan proposal from 2025, the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, calls for adjusting the asset limits for beneficiaries up to $10,000. Two former Social Security Administration executives — Andrew Biggs, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, and Jason Fichtner, executive director of the LIMRA Retirement Income Institute, a research initiative within insurance trade association LIMRA — called SSI reform "far more cost-effective than fighting poverty through Social Security," in a February op-ed published in The Hill. Expanding SSI would help lift Americans ages 65 and over out of poverty, and thereby help clear the way for lawmakers to have a "rational debate over retirement policy," particularly Social Security reform, wrote Biggs and Fichtner. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Every time Ana publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If Ben Zabihi had started his career five years ago, his workday would have looked very different than it does today. A few years ago, he might have spent much of his time formatting code and writing documentation. Now Zabihi, who has been working as a software engineer at a small New York City startup since December, said a good portion of his day is spent using AI tools — not just to write code, but also as a research assistant to better understand his industry and business terminology. Though Zabihi said that relying too much on AI at the start of his career could result in a weaker foundation for his learning in the long term, he also knows he has to use the technology and optimize his workflow. Instead, he's focusing on the bigger picture: work like understanding business goals, system architecture, scaling, and security risks, which once were the domain of more senior engineers. While many recent grads see AI as a way to gain superpowers quickly, some industry veterans worry that the technology erodes a formative stage of learning that builds judgment and problem-solving skills — a gap that may only become clear as today's engineers advance.When 36-year-old engineer Georgian Tutuianu entered the field a few years ago, he said 95% of the job was painful. For today's junior engineers, though, there are many shortcuts — and he's worried those can come at the expense of deeper understanding. For example, a core part of his job is managing codebases through pull requests, where engineers submit code for review before it's merged into the system. Now, with LLMs, it's easily over a thousand, and he said he sees workers often add layers of complexity they don't understand. He said he worries that junior engineers may be outsourcing the hardest part of the job — wrestling with what they don't understand — to LLMs. Zabihi and Tutuianu's differing experiences reflect a wider shift in the industry. There's no crystal ball to predict where the industry is headed, but one thing is clear: Junior developers are navigating a murky employment market as the industry undergoes a tectonic shift. If AI can handle much of the code itself, the value of an engineer might lie less in perfecting syntax and more in gaining a broader expertise in defining problems and architecting solutions. Matt Kropp, managing director and senior partner and chief AI officer of BCG X, the tech division of Boston Consulting Group, told Business Insider. Keith Ballinger, Google's vice president and general manager of Developer & Experiences, told Business Insider that "nothing beats doing it." Ballinger said that most software engineers didn't enter the field to write code in a specific language or framework. Great engineers have always known how to break down problems into smaller ones, and now agents can help handle the rest, Ballinger said. "That's a skill that we can teach and that people can pick up, but now it's more important than ever, and certainly more important than memorizing how an API works," Ballinger said. As entry-level hiring opportunities shift, Mohit Bhende, the CEO and cofounder of engineering hiring platform Karat, said aspiring engineers should seek out organizations committed to training junior talent. Those opportunities may increasingly lie outside traditional tech, he said. Bhende said he expects more talent to move to sectors like finance and healthcare, where AI adoption is slower, and security concerns elevate the value of human oversight. He said CTOs are also increasingly seeking engineers who understand the business side of their work. Bhende said that aspiring engineers should prioritize developing domain knowledge, whether through on-the-job training or formal education. "Maybe you're graduating not just with the computer science degree, but you're graduating with that, plus a business degree," Bhende said, adding that he thinks "the jobs of the future are going to merge those two."

Every time Aditi publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. US trade groups are pressing President Donald Trump and his administration to quickly pay tariff refunds to small businesses. In a joint press release, the Consumer Technology Association and the US Chamber of Commerce said they had filed a brief on Wednesday in V.O.S. "While this matters for every American company, refunds are existential for the many smaller businesses and startups who shouldered the tariff burden," Ed Brzytwa, CTA's vice president of international affairs, said in the release. The trade groups' filing comes after the Supreme Court ruled, in a 6-3 decision in February, that Trump's tariffs were illegal and that his justification for invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was invalid. And on Wednesday, Judge Richard K. Eaton of the US Court of International Trade ruled that US businesses that were subjected to tariffs are "entitled to the benefit" of the Supreme Court ruling. Even before Eaton's ruling, companies had started demanding refunds. Major companies like Costco, Toyota, BYD, and FedEx filed lawsuits against the administration, seeking billions of dollars in tariff duties since they were imposed last April.

Editor's note: As of late Wednesday, some US embassies in the Middle East have begun providing links for American citizens to request assistance departing the region. American citizens across the Middle East are attempting to follow official advice and evacuate as conflict escalates in the region following US and Israeli attacks on Iran on Saturday. "If you choose to avail yourself of this option to depart, the US government cannot guarantee your safety," said the US embassy, adding that they were sharing the information "as a courtesy to those wishing to leave Israel." President Donald Trump was asked in the Oval Office on Tuesday why evacuations hadn't been planned beforehand, and whether he would charter planes to evacuate Americans from the region. Dylan Johnson, the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, wrote on X on Tuesday that the State Department is "actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East" and has been in contact with "nearly 3,000 Americans abroad." Later on Tuesday, a fire broke out at the US consulate in Dubai after an Iranian drone struck an adjacent parking lot, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "Our embassies and our diplomatic facilities are under direct attack from a terroristic regime," Rubio told reporters at the Capitol. Karen and Bob Carifee, a married couple from Texas who are stuck in Dubai after their cruise got canceled, said they haven't been able to get any help from the US consulate in the UAE city. I watched the news, and we have not heard them saying, 'We're going to work to get the Americans out of there.'" Carifee said she tried calling the State Department hotline for Americans in the Middle East, but that she got a pre-recorded message that said there was no help available. She said the only instructions they've gotten were to "shelter in place." Business Insider also called the hotline on Tuesday afternoon and got a 45-second pre-recorded message that told Americans to check the embassy website, shelter in place, and enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, to get updates. "Please do not rely on the US government for assisted departure or evacuation at this time," the message said. "There are currently no United States evacuation points." In Qatar, where Iranian retaliatory strikes have hit key energy facilities, the country's US embassy issued a travel advisory on Tuesday, also warning American citizens they were unable to help them evacuate, saying that they should "take advantage of commercial transportation options." The US embassy in Qatar advised Americans who chose to stay to create a contingency plan, but said that "these alternative plans should not rely on the US government for assisted departure or evacuation." Most US embassies in the region have suspended normal operations as staff shelter in place, and some have shut down entirely due to heightened security risks. On Tuesday, the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a stark warning to citizens to stay away from its consulate in Dhahran, a coastal city in the east of Saudi Arabia, due to "a threat of imminent missile and UAV attacks" over the city. The US Embassy in the United Arab Emirates similarly issued an update on Tuesday that said its embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulate in Dubai were closed and that "services cannot be provided in those facilities until further notice." "For now, please do not approach the embassy or consulate for any reason," its statement said, adding that US citizens should leave the UAE if they think they can do so safely. International airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi were still operating a small number of flights on Tuesday, but have told people not to approach unless directly contacted by their airlines. On Monday, the US Embassy in Jordan announced that all its personnel had temporarily departed the Embassy compound "due to a threat." Iran has launched a barrage of retaliatory missiles against US allies in the region, hitting sites including US military bases, Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel, and the US embassy in Riyadh. The list of countries Americans are being urged to depart from immediately is as follows: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar have closed their airspaces. Wealthy travelers and expats in the UAE have turned to private jets and chauffeured drivers to help them flee the region, but many have been caught up in lengthy border crossings amid the rush to Saudi Arabia and Oman, where some flights were still departing. Monica Marks, a professor at NYU Abu Dhabi, posted on X, wondering how Americans are supposed to leave the Middle East without government help.

Every time Huileng publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Oil prices have surged after fresh conflict in the Middle East raised fears of supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz — a move that would normally be a windfall for Russia. But this time, it may not be enough, according to an analyst. "The current temporary spike, filtered through sanctions discounts and an unfavorable exchange rate, is unlikely to change the fundamental arithmetic," wrote Alexander Kolyandr, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, in a Wednesday post. International benchmark Brent crude and US West Texas Intermediate were more than 3% higher, trading around $84 and $77.50 per barrel respectively late on Wednesday. Yet Moscow does not receive international benchmark prices for its crude. Its Urals oil trades at a sanctions-driven discount, and the strong ruble means each dollar of oil revenue converts into fewer rubles for the budget. As a result, Brent above $80 does not automatically deliver the revenue Russia needs. "Unless oil prices stay higher for longer and the ruble weakens significantly, the Kremlin's budget problems are here to stay," Kolyandr wrote. Kolyandr's analysis comes as investors weigh whether the latest Middle East escalation will trigger a sustained oil shock, particularly for Asian countries that are reliant on heavily reliant on Middle Eastern energy. Any prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could shift trade flows, potentially increasing scrutiny on whether Asian importers turn further to discounted Russian oil.

Every time Aditi publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. However, they are now issuing notices telling Americans that government assistance is available. Today, a Department of State charter flight of American citizens departed the Middle East in route to the United States, as part of our ongoing efforts to assist Americans return home.Additional flights will be surged across the region and American citizens in UAE, Qatar, Saudi… pic.twitter.com/4egntuuWy3 It added that "additional flights will be surged across the region." Every time Aditi publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! Stay connected to Aditi and get more of their work as it publishes. By clicking "Sign up", you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said in an X post on Wednesday that "Americans trying to get home from Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, or Qatar," should fill out the crisis intake form. The Wednesday notice from the embassy in Doha, Qatar, however, said it's "currently exploring options to assist U.S. citizens in reaching a safe destination," but did not provide a link to the crisis intake form. In a Monday X post, the US Department of State Consular Affairs shared three steps for US citizens in the region to follow: 1) Enroll in http://step.state.gov for security updates from the nearest US Embassy. 2) Follow @travelgov on social media or the WhatsApp channel "U.S. Department of State - Security Updates for U.S. Most airports in the region, such as Dubai International Airport and Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, are telling customers not to come unless their airlines have confirmed their flights. Travellers in the region spoke to Business Insider about feeling stranded and terrified. Some Emirates flights have resumed, prioritizing travelers with earlier bookings. The airline said in a Wednesday X post that it continues to operate a "limited flight schedule," and data from FlightRadar24 shows that Emirates has scheduled flights on Thursday to Warsaw, San Francisco, Chicago, Tokyo, and other destinations.

Every time Lloyd publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. A federal trade judge on Wednesday cleared the path for refunds on President Donald Trump's tariffs, applied through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, after the Supreme Court recently struck them down. Eaton also ordered the US Customs and Border Protection — the agency responsible for collecting import duties — to "liquidate" import entries without regard to the tariffs Trump imposed through the IEEPA, a national emergency law that gives a president broad authority to regulate economic transactions. Any accounting on goods that have already been calculated, or "liquidated," but are not legally final, needs to be redone without the duties, the judge ordered. Importers generally have 180 days after goods are liquidated before the accounting is legally finalized. Trump applied double-digit tariffs through an executive order on nearly every country in April 2025, calling it "Liberation Day." The ruling made no explicit mention of refunds. In the Wednesday order, Eaton indicated he will serve as the sole judge overseeing cases involving refunds of IEEPA duties. The exact dollar figure for refunds remains unclear.

This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Nguyen Thị Thanh Thơ, aka Hana Nguyen, 36, founder of Hana's Coworking in Da Nang, Vietnam. It has been edited for length and clarity I never planned to work with digital nomads. In fact, three years ago, I didn't even know what "coworking" meant. I was born in the countryside of central Vietnam and, in my teens, moved to Da Nang with my family for college. I first studied business administration, and later trained to become a pharmacist. It was the typical job for many Vietnamese graduates: stable but low-paying; not especially challenging but also very boring. At that time, I was curious about foreigners, but my English was poor, and I didn't really know how to connect with people from other countries. I had never seen anything like it before — people from all over the world working on laptops, speaking in English, and sharing ideas. I offered to manage a coworking space there. If it worked out, we could talk about money. If it didn't, we could both move on. After a few months, the project really took off, and I got some good exposure from Vietnamese TV and visiting content creators. I worked there full-time for more than a year, doing everything myself — managing the space, cleaning, talking to customers, and organizing events. I began feeling exhausted and knew it wasn't sustainable. Around the same time, my dad fell ill with cancer. I knew I needed to make more money to help my family, so when another friend offered me a space inside his bar — unused during the day — I said yes. That was the first coworking space where I felt some ownership. But still, I managed to build the community. I organized events, beach trips, yoga, dinners — anything that helped people connect. Since I wasn't paying rent, I knew this arrangement could only be temporary, so I worked up the courage to ask my parents if we could convert one of the floors in our three-story family home into a coworking space. I explained that I'd need to borrow money from family members and spend a few months renovating the house. I was working nonstop and felt stressed, but the top floor, which can seat 18, filled up quickly, so I expanded the coworking space to other parts of the house. I can now fit 30 people and charge $76 a month. My father is a guard at the entrance, and my mother cleans the place, so it's still very much a family business. I think it's because the city is friendly, affordable, and super convenient. You have the beach, mountains, urban life, and an international airport close by. The biggest challenge I've seen among digital nomads is loneliness. Everyone researches online before they come, but a real connection only happens in person. That's exactly what I'm trying to foster with my coworking space. At my events, around 20% of participants are Vietnamese. Many come to practice English, but they also learn about different ways of working and living. Some locals have even found freelance work with nomads in design, tech, and marketing. I don't have a big master plan. Do you have a story to share about living abroad?