I spent 5 days in the Great Smoky Mountains with just a backpack. Here are 9 items I'm glad I packed and 1 thing I didn't need.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
A composite image of a white sheet behind everything the author packed: toiletries, books, clothing and tech gear, and the author smiling in front of a mountain on a foggy day
A backpack was all Business Insider's reporter needed for a five-day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Edtech giant Instructure strikes deal with ShinyHunters hackers prior to ransomware deadline

Mashable : Environment
Instructure logo

Crisis averted?

I hated living at home as a college student. My husband and I saved up so our kids could afford room and board.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment
The author (left) lived at home as a college student, while their kid (right) will live on campus.
The author (left) lived at home as a college student, while their kid (right) will live on campus.

Courtesy of Lisa Galek

9 things landscapers, gardeners, and interior designers would never have in their outdoor spaces

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Style
Grassy backyard with plants and pavement, firepit
Certain kinds of furniture and plants can really detract from a backyard's aesthetic and function.

chuckcollier/Getty Images

We have 3 kids under 3. We left a trip early and realized we needed to reset our expectations.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
The author with her three kids on a wooden boardwalk.
The author and her husband decided to end a family trip early.

Courtesy of Lauren Salles Gumpert

Roomba inventor Colin Angle made robots useful. Now he wants to make them lovable.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Technology
A Familiar and a dog
Familiar Machines designed its robot as an "abstract bear."

Familiar Machines & Magic

The guy with a 'killer idea for an app' can finally build it. So can everyone else.

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Environment
A tech employee visibly looking stressed at a desktop computer

Getty images; Tyler Le/BI

Marines are trying to get ready for punishing future fights, but commanders say they're stretched thin and short on time

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Technology
Marines deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Epic Fury train their marksmanship skills aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, on March 27, 2026.
Marines deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Epic Fury train their marksmanship skills aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli.

US Central Command Public Affairs

A logistics company uses AI to reduce its delivery routes by half and save time on package sorting

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Environment
Net Zero Logistics uses the AI-powered tool Finmile to optimize its delivery operations

Net Zero Logistics; BI

Instructure Canvas hack update: Breach involved a specific teacher account type and interrupted finals

Mashable : Environment
Instructure logo

The hacking collective ShinyHunters says it disrupted a major education platform not once but twice over the past few weeks. And the data breach could not have come at a worse time for students and teachers. These events unfurled during school finals at many of the affected institutions.

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