The seven-time world champion has parted ways with some of the most jaw-dropping cars.
Day: September 19, 2025
These reprobates are threatening the integrity and viability of the MAGA coalition, which no one did more to hold together than Kirk.
Pedro’s photograph sparked alarm when posted to Reddit with one user suggesting they were “waiting for another soul to leave.”
Here’s a look at the itinerary — which costs $4,200 out of pocket and takes about four hours and 15 minutes to complete.
The man who wants to be mayor of New York has a peculiar interest in injecting himself into India’s political issues — kicking a hornet’s nest each time he does.
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- Business Insider spoke to five Gen Xers who turned to self-employment after struggling to find full-time work.
- While some are supplementing lower-paying jobs, others have given up on the job market.
- A Business Insider analysis of data found 12% of employed people ages 44-59 were self-employed in 2024.
Since losing his job as a Walmart manager, 50-year-old DJ Perdue has applied to about 10 jobs a day for the past year and a half. After months of rejections, he decided to launch TeenyTown, an indoor play space for kids in Union City, California.
“I had to do something,” Perdue told Business Insider. “And it was something that I had always wanted to do.”
DJ Perdue
Perdue wanted to focus on his four children. He said he used his severance package and bonus from his last job to build a business while he was out of work.
While attendance at TeenyTown has been steady, he said it isn’t enough to support his family yet. Perdue said he makes enough to cover rent and utilities at the play space, but has had trouble affording anything else. His fiancée, who is still employed, has taken on most of the burden, he said.
“I’m basically two months away from losing my business if I don’t find a job soon, because I can’t keep eating off of that money,” said Perdue. He added that he recently had to sell his home and move to a less-expensive rental property.
Perdue isn’t alone in turning to self-employment after a job loss. Business Insider spoke with three other Gen Xers who said they made such a pivot.
For some, personal ventures are a temporary stop-gap. For others, self-employment feels like a lifeline while job searching in a stagnant-feeling labor market.
Regardless of the reason, self-employment is a relatively common choice for Gen X. A Business Insider analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey showed that 12% of employed people aged 44 to 59 were self-employed in 2024.
Giving up on the job hunt
While the job market is tough for everyone, it can be especially challenging for seasoned workers who have pay and title expectations. Many also face concerns about ageism or being seen as overqualified.
Rick J. Sanchez, 49, began his career in hardware and software distribution sales before opening an Allstate insurance and financial services practice. He later moved to working in business development and startups. But when he reentered the job market in 2023, he struggled to land a role.
“You can’t put founder or president or board chair of anything on your résumé and get a call back,” Sanchez said.
After a year and a half of job hunting, Sanchez launched Mentratik, a PR and crisis communications firm.
“We’ve only been in existence for about a year,” Sanchez said. “But it sure beats pounding the pavement looking for work every day.”
Making a pivot
In the first quarter of 2024, 3% of all businesses had fully shut down within the previous year, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Even with businesses’ high failure rate, some pursue personal projects to stay active and reclaim a sense of purpose when the system feels stacked against them.
After being laid off in April, 48-year-old Rob Santoliquito also decided to strike out on his own, opening a a Screenmobile franchise in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which specializes in screen replacement. Similar to Sanchez, he’s appreciated the fresh start. Santoliquito said he told his wife when he began his last job, “If this doesn’t work out, I’m never going back.”
Santoliquito said he has no regrets about his career, which offered him a stable path and high compensation while it lasted. In recent years, however, he’s viewed the overall labor market as a “shrinking pie” and said that companies are eager to reduce head count, especially for more expensive workers.
Sallie Griffiths, a former C-suite leader who spent decades building business development teams and training realtors, said she’s also noticed as she’s gotten older that the same types of opportunities are no longer as plentiful.
After her last layoff in May 2024, Griffith was hired full-time at a franchise, making around a quarter of what she used to make. She continues to take on side gigs, piecing together a living through part-time work like managing a law firm in the US Virgin Islands and dog sitting.
Griffith also started a consulting business to help guide entrepreneurs in starting new businesses and created a foundation to help underserved women in her community get higher-paying jobs.
“Right now, I’m spinning about five different plates at any given time,” Griffith said.
Madison Hoff contributed to this article.
Have you struggled to find a job? We want to hear from you. Reach out to the reporter via email at aaltchek@insider.com or through the secure-messaging app Signal at aalt.19.
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On September 18, 2025, Sky News reported that Essex police in the UK arrested three individuals on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence. The suspects were taken to a London police station and detained under the National Security Act. They were later released on bail. The charges are linked to allegations of aiding foreign intelligence services, a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Increased concern over Russian espionage activities
Dominic Murphy, the head of London’s counterterrorism unit, commented on the rising number of individuals being recruited as “proxies” by foreign intelligence agencies. He highlighted the case of two British nationals who were recruited by the Russian Wagner group last year for a firebombing operation at a warehouse connected to Ukraine in East London. Murphy clarified that the recent arrests were not related to the firebombing case.
These developments come amid heightened scrutiny of Russian intelligence operations in Europe following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. UK intelligence officials have previously accused Russia of conducting so-called hybrid operations in Britain and other European nations, allegations which Russia has denied.
In May 2025, six members of a spy ring operating in the UK were sentenced. The group, composed of Bulgarian nationals, was found guilty of spying for Russia. Their targets included investigative journalists such as Roman Dobrokhotov and Hristo Grozev, the latter of whom was reportedly targeted for kidnapping and assassination. The group was allegedly coordinated by former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek, who, according to investigations, had been recruited by Russian intelligence services.
Russia’s ongoing espionage efforts in the UK and beyond
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has continued its espionage activities in the UK and other Western countries, with these operations intensifying following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The objectives of these activities are not limited to gathering confidential information on politics, economics, and science and technology. They also include acts of arson, sabotage, intimidation, and discrediting Russian opposition figures and investigative journalists who expose the activities of Russian intelligence agencies. This forms part of a broader strategy aimed at weakening countries supporting Ukraine and destabilizing the West.
Russian intelligence services have shown increased interest in companies that produce weapons and military equipment for Ukraine, as well as military bases in Europe, to gain information on the defense capabilities of Western allies. The data on the volumes, types, and routes of military supplies help Moscow plan its military operations on the Russian-Ukrainian front.
Escalating counterintelligence measures needed
The active operations of Russian agents in the UK require a ramping up of counterintelligence efforts, expanding both technical and human intelligence capabilities. It is crucial not only to detect Russian spies but also to prevent their activities in a timely manner.
Additionally, Russian intelligence services are actively using cyberattacks for espionage and sabotage. As such, protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats has become an urgent priority. Western countries must strengthen the cybersecurity of their government and commercial networks, encouraging the private sector to invest in protective mechanisms. This will help mitigate the level and capabilities of Russian cyber espionage.
Diplomatic and economic consequences of Russian espionage
Every confirmed case of Russian espionage should have diplomatic and economic repercussions. This applies to both the direct accountability of individuals suspected of espionage and the imposition of additional sanctions against Russia.