Today’s Big Story

Disappearing Ink

Why more and more people are removing their tattoos

Tattoos were getting more and more popular. For decades, Americans were covering their bodies with more and more ink. About a third of American adults have tattoos—that’s at least 80 million people. But now, it seems, they’re getting them removed as fast as they can. Why?

Well, the fact is that roughly a quarter of people regret at least one of their tattoos, according to a Pew Research study surveying nearly 8,500 people in the U.S., as well as a smaller, separate study conducted in Turkey published the previous year. But it’s only fairly recently that tattoo removal has become more reliable and widely available.

Celebrities have often drawn attention for their disappearing ink: Angelina Jolie famously removed Billy Bob Thorton’s name after their divorce in 2003; Kaia Gerber has removed a handful of the tiny tattoos she’s acquired; and Pharrell told British Vogue he was trying an experimental alternative that involved growing new skin. Most recently, Pete Davidson appeared newly bare-chested in an ad campaign for Reformation while undergoing removals of some 200 tattoos, though paparazzi shots following the ad revealed he is still sporting lots of faded ink.

So how does the process work? Laser technician and tattoo artist Tim Goergen told CNN laser machines release fast pulses of energy that heat and break the ink down into tinier particles, triggering an immune response that processes them through the lymphatic system. (A recent study in Sweden has linked tattoos—and their removal—with an increased risk for lymphoma, though its authors said more research is needed.) Tattoos that are easier to remove are usually older, made of black ink, have finer lines, and sit closer to the heart where there’s better blood flow, he said.

But why the sudden regret? According to GQ, all of my fellow millennials who started getting inked in their 20s, just as tattoos were evolving from something transgressive into something more commonplace? They’re now inching toward or into their 40s and feeling disconnected from their misspent youths. They’re having babies, paying mortgages, sobering up, getting colonoscopies, and eating clean. They want their bodies to reflect those dramatic existential shifts. And it helps that treatments are less abrasive, much cheaper (anywhere from hundreds to several thousands of dollars, depending on the size and complexity of the ink), and easier on the skin. Even the financial sector is betting on the future of tattoo removal: In 2021, the laser chain Removery received a $50 million investment from a private equity firm. There are now over 150 Removery locations worldwide.

Pentagon Turmoil

Polygraph threats, leaks and infighting is leading to staff exits

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon in January with almost no government experience and huge ambitions to remake the way the military was being run. But in just three months the former Fox News host has instead produced a run of chaos that is unmatched in the recent history of the Defense Department.

The latest twist in an extended period of turmoil at the Pentagon that has included infighting among Hegseth’s advisers, the firing of at least three political appointees and deepening scrutiny of the secretary’s stewardship of the government’s largest agency. Then on Thursday, Hegseth’s chief of staff quit. Joe Kasper, the departing chief of staff, leaves the role voluntarily and will become a part-time special government employee with a focus on science, technology and industry, he told the Washington Post, though his exact role and title were not yet clear.

Defense officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid about the situation, have described Hegseth, 44, as paranoid and increasingly isolated. He’s currently under investigation for mishandling classified information and the Wall Street Journal reports that he accused multiple people of leaking a classified briefing to Elon Musk, including threatening them with polygraphs. President Trump, who in recent days has spoken with Hegseth on the phone and met with him in the White House, has indicated he will stand by the defense chief. But, apparently, he’s begun to ask others about his performance as defense chief.

Threads Is Growing Up

With its spiffy new dot-com domain, the platform announces a slew of new features

Threads, Meta's alternative to X, had almost everything it needed to succeed. It's backed by one of the biggest of the Big Tech companies. It's directly integrated with Instagram—which helps explain why Threads was able to grow to 100 million users in just five days. Of course, it did have one thing nagging it … a .net address. Did you know that studies have shown that internet users still use and trust .com domain names more than any other domain extension?

But as of Thursday, Meta has solved Threads' URL problem. Threads.com now officially points users to the web version of the platform. Along with this change, Meta is making a few updates to the site, as it will now display your custom feeds in the same order you’ve arranged them on mobile. You can also find your liked and saved posts from the site’s main menu icon instead of pinning a column for them on your homepage. And maybe most importantly, it’s also testing a way for users to upload their following lists from other platforms, like X.

That particular feature, according to Engadget, is currently labeled as being in “beta”, and sounds a bit clunky. Meta’s in-app description notes that downloading data from X can take as long as three days, so it’s not exactly a simple process. But in addition to giving users a way to find familiar accounts on Threads, it could also give Meta some valuable insight into users’ habits on other platforms.

An All-New, Affordable EV Brand

The stylish Slate Truck is expected to cost $20,000 after federal incentives

Here’s some great news to end the week: We have a new American automaker startup offering something of a digital detox for electric vehicles. The brand’s stylish Slate Truck has no paint, no stereo and no touchscreen. It’s the bare minimum of what a modern car can be, and yet, The Verge says it’s taken three years of development to get to this point.

But this is more than bargain-basement motoring. Slate is presenting its rugged truck as minimalist design with DIY purpose, an attempt to not just go cheap but to create a new category of vehicle with a huge focus on personalization. It’s engineered to be modular and deeply customizable, the truck strips it down to the essentials with a minimalist, utilitarian design language while giving customers the ability to choose from over 100 accessories to create your ideal vehicle.

What’s more, it’s expected to cost around $20,000 after federal incentives. As for specs, well, it only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. It only does 150 miles on a charge, only comes in gray, and the only way to listen to music while driving is if you bring along your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. It comes in a 201 hp/ single motor, RWD setup with a 52.7 kWh battery pack that is targeting a range of 150 miles or an 84.4 kWh option that offers 240 miles of range.

A Weekend Pairing

‘You’ + an Italian Red Wine

A Weekend Pairing

‘You’ + an Italian Red Wine

Will Joe Goldberg finally get his comeuppance? Penn Badgley’s book-loving serial killer managed to skate by for four seasons and the last one put him with wealthy CEO Kate Lockwood (plaid by Charlotte Richie), but season five teases new girl Bronte (Madeline Brewer) catching Joe’s eye … and the guy is bound to slip up in some capacity, right?

Joe really thinks he’s figured it out this time as he and his wife move back to where the series started—New York. He also hasn’t killed anyone in three years, getting out his murderous impulses by writing about them on an antique typewriter at his apartment above his old bookstore. As his inner monologue states, though, “being good” can get tough at times, especially when he encounters people whom he thinks deserve to be eliminated.

Be open to change.