By Madeline Holcombe, CNN

(CNN) — It’s exciting to think of bionic humans who have cracked the code to stop aging. But perhaps less glamorous and much more important to the longevity game is tackling chronic disease.

About 6 in 10 young adults in the United States report having one or more chronic conditions, but by older adulthood, that number grows to 9 in 10, according to a 2025 study.

Even as people pursue methods to add more years to their lives, conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer are major drivers of both mortality and disability, particularly in later life.

While a wave of tech investors is pushing gadgets, supplements and programs designed to make people feel like they will live forever, journalist Kara Swisher has been investigating the methods that actually lead to healthy long lives in her series, “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever.” Her latest episode, premiering Saturday, May 2, at 9 p.m. ET, investigates medical advancements that offer some promise against chronic disease for more of the population.

“What I’m interested in is increasing longevity for everybody,” Swisher said. “Healthy longevity, not just longevity for longevity’s sake. It’s longevity for good living and healthy living, and that you don’t die of stupid diseases. … It’s so preventable.”

Think of it similarly to how improving sanitation meant later generations in the United States didn’t have to experience cholera, she said. Or medications that we now may take for granted changed life-threatening conditions into illnesses with reliable treatment, said Dr. Steven Austad, scientific director of the American Federation for Aging Research and distinguished professor and endowed chair of healthy aging research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“Antibiotics changed everything, and these could potentially change everything,” Austad said, speaking of the latest medical developments against chronic disease.

The link between disease and aging

Many of the tech entrepreneurs investing in the longevity space misunderstand the science of aging, Austad said. Primarily, they don’t get that there is no simple code to crack, and the biology behind the aging process is complicated.

Aging is something that happens to everyone, even the healthiest people, and it makes them more vulnerable to developing chronic disease, he said. “Aging is not a disease, but it makes us more vulnerable to diseases.”

Not only does aging make people more vulnerable, it also makes it more difficult for people to recover from chronic diseases.

Aging can bring out conditions that a person may be predisposed to from birth, said Dr. Nir Barzilai, president of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research and professor of medicine and genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

A person may be born with a gene that makes it more likely they will develop dementia, but cognitive problems won’t emerge until their 60s, 70s or 80s, Barzilai said. “You need the aging process to bring it out,” he noted.

Although chronic diseases do not solely impact older populations, preventing these diseases could mean longer lives and more enjoyment of the years added.

Changing the body’s response to chronic disease

Some of the most promising technologies for longevity will need to be prescribed, not bought.

Alzheimer’s disease, for example, may one day be prevented through a technology called CRISPR, a gene-editing tool codeveloped by Nobel laureate in chemistry Dr. Jennifer Doudna, who is Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in Biomedical and Health Sci

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN

(CNN) — Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) on Saturday reported $11.35 billion in operating earnings and a record cash pile in the first quarter under CEO Greg Abel, the successor to famed investor Warren Buffett.

Berkshire Hathaway’s massive cash pile rose to more than $397 billion in the first quarter, up from the $373 billion at the end of 2025. Operating earnings were up nearly 18% from last year, but fell short of estimates that Berkshire would earn $11.56 billion, according to FactSet data.

Net income attributable to Berkshire shareholders in the first quarter rose to roughly $10.1 billion, more than double from $4.6 billion last year.

Berkshire earned $1.7 billion from insurance underwriting — a 28% increase from the same time last year — though Geico, which leads the conglomerate’s insurance underwriting business, reported a 34% drop in earnings.

This is Abel’s first quarterly report as the head of Berkshire. He stepped into the role at the start of 2026 and penned the annual letter to shareholders in February. Abel will take center stage on Saturday at Berkshire’s so-called “Woodstock for Capitalists” in downtown Omaha, Nebraska — former chief executive Buffett’s hometown.

Abel has big shoes to fill. Buffett, 95, attracted huge crowds to the event, with thousands flocking to hear the Oracle of Omaha’s market wisdom. Buffett frequently turned into a brand mascot for the likes of Squishmallow, Fruit of the Loom and other Berkshire companies.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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By Auzinea Bacon, CNN

(CNN) — Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) on Saturday reported $11.35 billion in operating earnings and a record cash pile in the first quarter under CEO Greg Abel, the successor to famed investor Warren Buffett.

Berkshire Hathaway’s massive cash pile rose to more than $397 billion in the first quarter, up from the $373 billion at the end of 2025. Operating earnings were up nearly 18% from last year, but fell short of estimates that Berkshire would earn $11.56 billion, according to FactSet data.

Net income attributable to Berkshire shareholders in the first quarter rose to roughly $10.1 billion, more than double from $4.6 billion last year.

Berkshire earned $1.7 billion from insurance underwriting — a 28% increase from the same time last year — though Geico, which leads the conglomerate’s insurance underwriting business, reported a 34% drop in earnings.

This is Abel’s first quarterly report as the head of Berkshire. He stepped into the role at the start of 2026 and penned the annual letter to shareholders in February. Abel will take center stage on Saturday afternoon at Berkshire’s so-called “Woodstock for Capitalists” in downtown Omaha, Nebraska — former chief executive Buffett’s hometown.

Abel has big shoes to fill. Buffett, 95, attracted huge crowds to the event, with thousands flocking to hear the Oracle of Omaha’s market wisdom. Buffett, who now serves as chairman of Berkshire, frequently turned into a brand mascot for the likes of Squishmallow, Fruit of the Loom and other Berkshire companies.

Berkshire owners are still getting to know Abel, who has been with the conglomerate since 2000 and was named to the board in 2018, but was less visible than Buffett and former vice chairman Charlie Munger. Abel officially took over as CEO on January 1, 2026.

“Warren brought this amazing commitment to Berkshire and deep understanding. And I want (owners) to know that remains, that there’s a team — myself included — that are absolutely committed and have a deep understanding of Berkshire, and we bring that same passion every day,” Abel told CNBC.

Abel said the event will include speaking about Berkshire’s “evolution” and introducing other managers.

Buffett, who led Berkshire for six decades, attended the annual meeting on Saturday.

“Greg is doing everything I did and then some, and he’s doing it better in all cases. He’s the right person. So that decision, we score 100%,” he said from his seat in the crowd.

Berkshire’s largest holding is in Apple, Buffett noted Saturday. The tech giant reported better-than-expected earnings and iPhone sales were up 22% compared to a year ago. The company’s stock is now up about 36% from a year ago and Tim Cook recently announced he would step down as CEO.

Such investments provide returns “without any work by us, which is our preferred way of operating,” Buffett said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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By Chris Isidore, CNN

(CNN) — Spirit Airlines, the pioneering discount airline that shook up the budget travel business, is shutting down its operations.

The company is in its second bankruptcy and was in serious financial trouble well before the Iran war sent jet fuel prices surging. America’s eighth-largest carrier tried to reach a deal with the Trump administration on an 11th-hour rescue package, but a key group of creditors balked at the proposal.

Spirit is the first major US airline in 25 years to go out of business because of financial problems. Its demise has stranded thousands of passengers who have to adjust plans and millions who have tickets for future dates — Spirit canceled all flights, shut down its customer service and instructed customers not to go to the airport. Customers with Spirit tickets will be issued refunds, and they have been instructed to rebook travel on other carriers.

“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” Spirit said in a statement. “It is with great disappointment that on May 2, 2026, Spirit Airlines started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”

The decision will put 17,000 workers out of a job, including 14,000 Spirit employees and thousands of contractors and other people whose jobs depend on Spirit. Eliminating the airline’s flights may also result in higher fares across the entire US airline industry.

Stranded passengers

Passengers holding Spirit tickets will have to scramble to make other travel arrangements.

In a note to its customers, Spirit said it is not able to help rebook flights to another airline, but it will automatically issue refunds to passengers who bought tickets through Spirit with a credit or debit card. Passengers who booked flights via a travel agent “should contact the travel agent directly to request a refund,” Spirit said.

Customers who booked flights using any other method, including a voucher, credit or Free Spirit points, may be out of luck. Companies that go out of business typically stop honoring rewards, coupons and vouchers after they cease operations. Spirit said potential refunds of those payment methods will be determined in the company’s bankruptcy court process.

Passengers in the middle of a trip must now find a seat on another airline. That could be a costly problem: Last-minute “walk-up” fares are the most expensive in the industry, and Spirit said it wouldn’t reimburse customers for incidental travel costs associated with canceled trips — but insurers might cover the cost for customers who purchased travel insurance.

Several US carriers announced they would support affected Spirit passengers, including fare caps for nonstop routes that Spirit had flown.

Out of money; out of time

Spirit has been unprofitable since the pandemic, warning repeatedly in recent years that there was “substantial doubt” over its ability to continue flying. Spirit had filed for bankruptcy twice, most recently in August 2025.

The company announced it had reached a Read more

Por Kaanita Iyer, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn y Aleena Fayaz, CNN

Cuando los turistas vean esta primavera una estatua de Gustavus Cheyney Doane, un explorador del siglo XIX, en un centro de visitantes del Parque Nacional Grand Teton, la placa que solía estar debajo ya no estará.

La exposición preguntaba a los visitantes: “¿Cómo reconocemos lo bueno y lo malo de una figura?”, señalando que la expedición de Doane condujo a la designación del primer parque nacional, pero también que ayudó a liderar una masacre de al menos 173 miembros de los Piegan Blackfeet, un acto del que se jactó durante toda su vida.

Su eliminación fue citada en una demanda contra el Departamento del Interior, que administra los parques nacionales del país, como uno de los muchos cambios provocados por el decreto del presidente Donald Trump de marzo de 2025, que ordenaba a la agencia “tomar medidas” contra el contenido público que “menospreciara inapropiadamente a los estadounidenses, tanto del pasado como del presente”.

La administración Trump argumenta que el decreto garantiza que la historia estadounidense se presente de forma positiva. Pero los críticos afirman que está borrando elementos del pasado de la nación.

“Los estamos matando de nuevo”, declaró Tom Rodgers, miembro de la Nación Blackfeet, conocido como “El Que Cabalga hacia el Este”, refiriéndose a las víctimas de la masacre, que calificó como una de las “experiencias históricas más despreciables” para los nativos americanos.

“Creo que hemos llegado a un punto en nuestro país donde la gente piensa que si dices la mitad de la verdad, es como si hubieras dicho toda la verdad, y eso, en sí mismo, es una mentira”, afirmó. “Es orwelliano”.

A medida que el país se adentra en la temporada alta de turismo, las pruebas de la reforma cultural sin precedentes impulsada por la administración se harán patentes en los parques nacionales de todo el país.

La eliminación de las palabras en Grand Teton es uno de los al menos 45 cambios que se llevaron a cabo en virtud de la orden ejecutiva, según Save Our Signs, un grupo que monitorea las modificaciones en las exhibiciones del Servicio de Parques Nacionales.

Por ejemplo, en el Monumento Nacional Muir Woods de California, se han retirado los letreros sobre las contribuciones de los nativos americanos y las mujeres, incluida una nota que informaba a los visitantes que John Muir se refirió en una ocasión a los pueblos indígenas con un lenguaje racista en sus diarios e ignoró “el genocidio que sobrevivieron”.

“Esto contribuye a la idea de que los pueblos indígenas no pertenecen a los parques”, decía el cartel en una ocasión.

La administración también ha arremetido contra las advertencias sobre el cambio climático, un factor que afecta a los monumentos ubicados en paisajes naturales.

En el Monumento Nacional Fort Sumter de Carolina del Sur, se ha retirado por completo un cartel que incluía detalles sobre los inminentes impactos del cambio climático, incluida información sobre cómo “el aumento del nivel del mar podría inundar la mayor parte de las murallas del fuerte y anegar la histórica plaza de armas”.

El Departamento del Interior declaró a CNN que en Fort Sumter “actuó para sustituir los materiales que no se basaban en la ciencia real por información precisa, basada en pruebas y acorde con el funcionamiento real del mundo”.

Mientras tanto, en Washington, una exposición sobre George Mason, uno de los padres fundadores, ha eliminado las referencias a que, paradójicamente, poseía esclavos a pesar de ser un defensor de los “derechos individuales”.

Estas demoliciones se producen en un momento en que Estados Unidos atraviesa una etapa repleta de oportunidad