A wall of white granite towered above a small team of engineers gathered in a California quarry. The ancient, ultra-hard material before them was, to most things, completely impermeable.

Then the rock-melting tunnel-boring machine (TBR) roared to life.

“It’s kind of like igniting a rocket,” says Troy Helming, founder and chief executive of EarthGrid, as he describes the initially loud process of lighting up three plasma torches at the front of his company’s machine.

Those torches, set within a spinning head, soon quieten down as they produce a stream of super-heated plasma reaching 27,000C – significantly hotter than the surface of the Sun.

During the California test this January, EarthGrid’s cigar-shaped boring machine chewed through three metres of granite. “We create, basically, a tornado – a violent vortex inside the tunnel,” says Helming, as he explains how this helps the machine to suck away debris, which at times takes the form of lava.

“I actually got a little bit emotional watching it,” adds the entrepreneur. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for 10 years.”

Emerging technologies like this could make tunnel boring quicker and easier. Putting electricity or telecommunications cables, substations, data centres and other critical infrastructure underground, while good for securing such equipment, has long been a very expensive and difficult option.

Engineering firms told BBC News they are seeing rising demand for undergrounding, in part due to Russia’s war with Ukraine, which has revealed just how vulnerable above-ground facilities can be to drone attacks.

Helming says he has fielded interest from companies that want to use his tunnel boring machine for power and fibre optic cables, or pipelines that could transport water, natural gas, or ammonia, for example.

One project the company has eyed up would involve boring tunnels for an underground freight-distribution system around airports and warehouses. “To take more trucks off the road,” says Helming.

The January TBR test went well, though the machine “over-bored” slightly to the top and left of the tunnel, says Helming. His team plans to adjust the machine so that it will create a vortex that spins in alternate directions every five minutes or so, in order to correct this, and they hope the TBR could see commercial deployment as early as next year.

The Supreme Court has denied Verizon’s request for rehearing in its fight over a $46.9 million Federal Communications Commission penalty tied to the telecom giant’s former customer location data program.

The justices denied the petition Monday without explanation, leaving the court’s earlier judgment against Verizon in place, according to the court’s Aug. 17 order list.

The denial closes off Verizon’s effort to alter the disposition of a June Supreme Court ruling that upheld the FCC’s forfeiture process against a Seventh Amendment challenge. 

The court found that an FCC penalty order does not automatically force a company to pay. If a company refuses, the government must go to federal court to collect, where the company can fully challenge the case before a judge or jury.

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The exterior of Verizon and AT&T stores, Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In that June 4 ruling, the Supreme Court left the lower court’s decision against Verizon in place but sent AT&T’s separate case back to the Fifth Circuit for further review. That difference in how the two cases were resolved became central to Verizon’s rehearing request.

The FCC imposed the nearly $47 million forfeiture in 2024 after finding that Verizon failed to adequately protect customer location information made available through a program involving third-party location service providers.

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Verizon paid the penalty under protest and challenged the FCC’s order in federal court. The Second Circuit rejected the company’s challenge last year, including its argument that the device-location information at issue fell outside the customer-information protections of Section 222 of the Communications Act.

Verizon said Monday, Sept. 30 that it is “aware of an issue impacting service for some customers.” (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In its rehearing petition, Verizon argued that the FCC’s forfeiture order appeared to impose an immediate obligation to pay within 30 days, while the government later maintained before the Supreme Court that carriers could decline to pay and instead await enforcement action.

The Supreme Court’s June opinion did not decide whether the carriers had been misled into paying or whether a refund could be appropriate. The justices said they expressed no view on the merits of that argument, what relief might be available or in what proceeding.

In this photo illustration, the Verizon Wireless logo is seen displayed on a smartphone and in the background.  (Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Verizon then asked the Supreme Court to send the case back to the Second Circuit so the appeals court could consider whether the company had been misled into paying the penalty and whether it should receive a refund.

The Supreme Court’s denial Monday leaves the Second Circuit judgment affirmed and Verizon’s requested remand off the table.

FOX Business reached out to Verizon and the FCC for comment.

The broader dispute over the FCC’s authority remains active. T-Mobile and Sprint have separately asked the Supreme Court to review their own location data penalties, challenging, among other issues, whether the location information at issue falls within the Communications Act’s definition of protected customer proprietary network information. 

Their petition was filed June 22 and remains pending.

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The continuing litigation could have implications for how the FCC applies federal customer data protections and structures large civil forfeitures against telecommunications companies.

Financial markets and investors are reacting to the rapidly growing U.S. national debt, which is approaching a record of $40 trillion, by requiring greater returns for those who invest in America’s debt obligations.

Yields on U.S. Treasurys have been elevated recently, in part due to the growth in debt, with the federal government projected to run a roughly $2.1 trillion budget deficit this fiscal year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Two recent Treasury auctions in the last week drew attention due to the yields reaching historic levels – the sale of 10-year notes cleared at a high of 4.683%, the highest in 19 years, while the 30-year bond auction stopped at 5.216%, a 25-year peak.

Demand from investors has remained steady despite the higher yields, as they navigate concerns over the growing debt, widening budget deficits and inflation – with the higher yields attracting investors.

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The higher yields at last week’s auctions showed no sign of an abrupt decline in demand from domestic and foreign investors for Treasurys. Analysts also indicated there weren’t signs that so-called bond vigilantes, who are concerned with fiscal policy and inflation risks and demand higher yields to invest, are actively selling Treasurys.

Yields on U.S. debt are higher than those on the debt issued by other developed countries like Japan, contributing to the stronger demand for Treasurys.

Jim Barnes, director of fixed income at Bryn Mawr Trust in Pennsylvania said in a Reuters report that the “appetite for Treasurys is still there and it’s just a matter of – at what yield,” adding that the “10-year at close to 5% and the 30-year at multi-decade highs will attract more buyers for risk-free Treasurys.”

Treasurys are considered to be “risk-free” in theory, because the federal government is perceived as having little to no chance of entering into a formal default because of its ability to tax and control its money supply through the Federal Reserve. In practice, they do carry some risks for investors that owe to shifts in inflation and interest rates, despite the unlikely prospect of default.

US DEBT SET TO CRUSH WORLD WAR II RECORD AS ANNUAL DEFICITS EXPLODE TO $3T WITHIN DECADE

The growth in the national debt has contributed to higher Treasury yields, and higher debt servicing costs for the government. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)

Elevated yields on U.S. debt do pose a challenge for consumers, as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note is a key guide for mortgage rates and they typically move in tandem. 

Higher mortgage rates can make it harder for buyers to afford monthly payments and can discourage existing homeowners whose current mortgages are at lower rates from moving, while also weighing on construction activity.

Other types of consumer debt, including auto loans and other fixed-rate loans, also tend to rise with market rates, though there is a lag in the pass-through of the higher borrowing costs, and it’s less exact than in other types of consumer borrowing. Credit card rates are more closely linked to banks’ prime rates, which tend to follow the Fed’s monetary policy moves.

Higher yields on Treasurys can also contribute to bigger budget deficits – and in turn, a larger national debt – as the federal government’s debt service costs rise due to the higher yields.

US NATIONAL DEBT SURPASSES SIZE OF THE ECONOMY FOR FIRST TIME SINCE WORLD WAR II

Investor demand for Treasurys has persisted despite higher yields. (Getty Images)

A 10-year budget and economic outlook released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) earlier this year projected that the government’s net interest costs are projected to exceed $1 trillion in fiscal year 2026, amounting to about 3.3% of GDP and nearly 14% of federal spending this year.

Interest costs are forecasted to continue to rise over the next 10 years, with the CBO projecting the annual interest expense will rise to $2.1 trillion in fiscal year 2036, when it would amount to 4.6% of GDP and account for 19% of federal spending that year.

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Reuters contributed to this report.

A domain name is one of the cheapest purchases you’ll make for your business, but also one of the hardest to replace. Change your host and few people notice.

Change your web address after years of building brand recognition and search visibility, and the cost can be significant. A .co.uk domain costs less than a round of drinks, but most registrars advertise heavily discounted first-year prices. What matters is the total cost over time, not the introductory offer. This guide compares the main UK registrars on the factors that matter most over the life of a domain.

The market has become increasingly competitive, with most registrars offering similar basic features including DNS management, domain forwarding and automatic renewals. As a result, the biggest differences are often hidden in the details: how much the name costs after the first year, whether privacy protection is included, how easy it is to transfer elsewhere and whether managing the domain becomes simpler if you later buy hosting from the same company. Choosing well at the start can save both money and unnecessary administration for years to come.

How UK domains work

The .uk family, including .co.uk, is run by Nominet, which has operated as the .uk registry since 1996. You do not buy from Nominet directly in normal circumstances. You register through an accredited registrar, which files the registration on your behalf and holds the commercial relationship with you.

That distinction matters when things go wrong. Your rights, including the right to transfer your name elsewhere and to receive clear information about pricing and renewal, sit with the registrar under the registry’s rules and, for generic extensions, under ICANN’s framework for registrant rights. Whoever you choose, the domain is yours, not theirs.

1. one.com: best value with hosting

If you intend to build a website rather than simply park a name, buy a domain from one.com and the arithmetic changes. Hosting plans include the domain free for the first year on eligible extensions, so the registration line disappears entirely at launch. Standalone domain pricing is competitive rather than market leading, with one.com’s own guidance putting a typical name at around £10 a year at standard rates. The value case rests on the bundle: register the name, get hosting from roughly £1 per month, and pick up email addresses on that domain and an SSL certificate without a separate purchase. Practically, the registration completes at checkout and DNS, email and SSL are configurable from the control panel within minutes. There is no requirement to buy hosting, but doing so is where the saving sits. Our fullone.com review covers what the rest of the bundle includes.

Best for: anyone registering a domain and building a site at the same time.

2. Namecheap: most transparent pricing

Namecheap has built a following by keeping renewal pricing close to the registration price. For .co.uk domains, that narrow gap can save meaningful money over long-term ownership. Free WHOIS privacy is included, the management interface is straightforward, transfers are uncomplicated and support is available 24/7 via chat and tickets. The trade-offs are a lack of UK phone support, pricing in US dollars and a hosting platform that’s less comprehensive than all-in-one providers.

Best for: buyers who want predictable long-term pricing and free privacy.

3. GoDaddy: widest extension range

GoDaddy is the world’s largest registrar, offering one of the broadest selections of domain extensions and the deepest aftermarket for already-registered names. Privacy is now included free of charge, but renewal prices are considerably higher than introductory offers, and the checkout still includes pre-selected add-ons for services such as email and security. Neither is a dealbreaker, but both make it worth checking the basket carefully and keeping an eye on renewal dates.

Best for: unusual domain extensions and aftermarket purchases.

4. 123 Reg: most UK focused interface

123 Reg remains one of the simplest places for UK businesses to register a .co.uk, with a familiar interface, UK support and additional services including hosting, email and Microsoft 365. Two caveats: it’s now owned by the same group as GoDaddy, and its headline introductory prices usually require multi-year registrations before higher renewal rates apply.

Best for: UK buyers looking for a familiar, all-in-one provider.

5. IONOS: best if you need infrastructure too

IONOS combines competitive first-year domain pricing with extras such as an SSL certificate and email account. Its platform also scales from shared hosting to VPS and dedicated servers as a business grows. The biggest advantage is integration. If you’re already using IONOS hosting—or expect to later—keeping everything in one account makes management easier. If you only need a domain, the purchase journey includes more upselling than many buyers will want. Our one.com vs IONOS comparison sets the two side by side in detail.

Best for: businesses already using, or planning to use, the IONOS platform.

What to check before you buy

• Compare renewal prices, not just registration. A £1 first year followed by £16 renewals is often worse value than paying £8 every year.
• Check whether privacy is included. Some registrars include WHOIS privacy for free, while others charge annually.
• Review the transfer policy. You should be able to move your domain without unnecessary fees or delays.
• Enable auto-renewal. An expired payment card is one of the easiest ways to lose a domain.
• Buy the right name, not the cheapest one. Saving a few pounds isn’t worth years of explaining or correcting your web address.

The short answer

If you’re building a website, registering your domain with your hosting provider is usually the simplest option, and one.com’s bundle offers strong value in the first year. Ultimately, the best registrar depends less on the domain itself than on what you intend to do with it. Most companies can register exactly the same .co.uk name, but the ownership experience varies considerably over the following years. Pay attention to renewal pricing, support quality and how easy it is to leave if your needs change. A domain should be a long-term business asset, not a subscription that becomes increasingly expensive or difficult to manage as your business grows.

California regulators on Monday approved new rules that will restrict which replacement tires can be sold across the state in an effort to meet energy-efficiency standards.

The new regulations, unanimously adopted by the California Energy Commission (CEC), will phase out tires that fail to meet these standards — a move that could restrict a large portion of the tires currently available to drivers.

“This ultimately is about protecting consumers,” said David Hochschild, Chairman of the California Energy Commission, as reported by KCRA-TV. “I see this as sheltering the public from higher costs in the long run.”

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A tire at a manufacturing plant.  (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Fox News Digital has reached out to several tire manufacturers, including Goodyear, Michelin, and Bridgestone.

The new rules target rolling resistance: the amount of energy it takes for a tire to roll down a road. Lower rolling resistance allows vehicles to consume less gasoline or electricity.

While factory-installed tires on new vehicles typically feature low rolling resistance, drivers often replace them with cheaper, less efficient tires. The new rules aim to ensure that replacement tires maintain energy efficiency levels similar to those of original factory tires.

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A mechanic fits a wheel on a car in Heilgersdorf, Bavaria, on Oct. 4, 2024. California regulators on Monday approved a new set of rules that would limit the kinds of replacement tires consumers could purchase. (dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The first phase of the program begins in 2029, targeting the most inefficient replacement tires on the market. The allowable rolling-resistance threshold drops even further starting in 2033.

According to the CEC, California drivers could save $79 in fuel or electricity costs over four months during Phase 1, and about $153 over seven months during Phase 2. The CEC estimates that Phase 2 rules will add an average of about $6.50 to the cost of each tire, the New York Post reported.

“These regulations are a tool within our authority that can save money for every Californian,” said Commissioner Nancy Skinner.

Goodyear voiced concerns over the mandate, arguing that it would pass additional costs onto consumers. Representatives noted that around 70% of tires currently sold in the state would be eliminated by 2033.

Used vehicle tires are piled outside an auto repair shop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 26, 2026.  (Getty Images)

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Several categories are excluded from the new rules, including snow tires, used and retreaded tires, deep-tread off-road tires, motorcycle tires, and tires sold for emergency vehicles.

The regulations stem from Assembly Bill 844, a 2003 California law requiring the commission to set state tire-efficiency standards.

This is the comparison most UK small businesses end up making. Both providers are European, both start at about a pound a month, and both promise a domain, a website and email in one place. From the outside they look interchangeable.

They are not. One has built its business on simplicity and bundling, the other on infrastructure and scale, and the right answer depends almost entirely on how much complexity you are willing to manage in exchange for capability.

The domain question first

Start here, because it is where the two providers differ most in practice and least in marketing. Both include a free domain for the first year with hosting plans, and both charge standard rates from year two.

The difference is what surrounds it. In practice, buying a domain name from one.com puts the registration, DNS, SSL and email in a single control panel with one renewal date, and the interface assumes you are not a systems administrator. IONOS gives you more control over DNS records, more extensions and an included mailbox with the registration, inside a considerably busier account area.

For a business registering one .co.uk and pointing it at one website, one.com’s approach removes decisions you did not want to make. For a business managing several names across several projects, IONOS gives you tools you will actually use. Our wider guide to where to buy a domain in the UK puts both against the specialist registrars.

Price, and what happens next year

Both providers open at roughly £1 per month for entry level hosting. That is where the similarity ends.

IONOS renewals land in the region of £8 to £9 per month depending on the plan, which is a substantial increase but relatively moderate by industry standards, and the company is comparatively clear about it upfront. one.com also raises prices at renewal, and the honest advice with either provider is identical: calculate three years, not one.

Where one.com pulls ahead is on what is included at that price. Email addresses on your domain come with every plan rather than as a separate subscription, and the AI Website Builder is part of the package rather than a paid tier. With IONOS, the equivalent capability often means a higher plan or an add on.

Where IONOS pulls ahead is on resources. Even its shared hosting allocates dedicated CPU and memory rather than pooling everything, so performance is more consistent under load. If your site is doing real work rather than sitting as a brochure, that is worth paying for.

Infrastructure and reliability

IONOS wins this section clearly. Its data centres are Tier IV certified in the UK and across the EU, run on renewable energy, and hold ISO 27001 certification. Independent testing regularly puts its response times among the fastest for UK visitors. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which brings a level of disclosure smaller competitors do not offer.

one.com’s position is more modest. It has operated from Denmark since 2002, is subject to EU data protection law, and independent reviewers report performance that is good for the price bracket. They also note that it does not publish an uptime guarantee, which is a fair criticism if you need a contractual commitment rather than a track record.

If uptime is a business risk you have to document, IONOS gives you something to point at. If it is a practical concern rather than a compliance one, both will keep a small business site online.

Support

Both offer 24/7 cover. one.com provides chat, phone and email support in several languages, and reviewers consistently rate the experience as friendly and quick for straightforward problems.

IONOS does something structurally different by assigning every account a named personal consultant at no extra charge, alongside standard 24/7 phone, chat and email support. For a business owner who wants one person who understands their setup rather than a fresh agent each time, that is a genuine advantage and the single feature IONOS customers mention most.

The counterpoint is that one.com’s product is simpler, so there is less to need support for.

Website building

one.com’s builder leads with AI: describe the business, receive a structured site with drafted copy, then edit by dragging. It is straightforward and fast, and it is included in the hosting plan rather than priced separately. The limitation is depth, with a narrower template range and less design control than the specialists offer.

IONOS also offers an AI builder with a personal consultant attached to every plan, and its SEO controls cover the basics competently: editable titles, meta descriptions, alt text and automatic sitemaps. It lacks built in SEO analysis and offers limited control over URL structure.

Neither will satisfy a designer. Both will produce a credible small business site in an afternoon. Our roundup of the best AI website builders puts them against Wix and Squarespace, which is the more revealing comparison if design is your priority.

Growing beyond shared hosting

Both providers offer an upgrade path, and both handle it reasonably.

one.com provides managed VPS and cloud server options with dedicated resources and NVMe storage, positioned as a step up rather than a developer playground. IONOS goes considerably further, running a full cloud portfolio from VPS through dedicated servers and enterprise infrastructure, with pricing that stays competitive at the higher tiers.

If there is any chance your requirements will become genuinely technical, IONOS has more room above you. If the ceiling you are worried about is a busy brochure site outgrowing shared resources, either will do.

Complexity, which is the real deciding factor

The honest summary is that IONOS offers more and asks more. Its product range is enormous, its control panel reflects that, and buyers regularly report that the sheer number of options and upsell paths makes the early experience harder than it needs to be.

one.com offers less and asks less. Fewer plans, fewer decisions, a simpler panel, and a shorter path from signing up to a live website. For a plumber, a consultancy or a shop owner doing this alongside running the business, that is not a compromise. It is the feature.

Who should choose which

Choose one.com if you want your domain, hosting, email and site builder in one plan with one renewal date, you value a simple interface over granular control, and your priority is getting online affordably without managing infrastructure. Our full one.com review covers the bundle in detail.

Choose IONOS if you need certified data centres and documented reliability, you want a named consultant rather than a support queue, you are running something resource intensive, or you expect to scale into serious infrastructure later.

The verdict

IONOS is the better hosting company. one.com is the better product for most UK small businesses, which sounds contradictory until you notice they are answering different questions. IONOS optimises for capability and gives you the tools to use it. one.com optimises for the owner who wants a professional website, a working email address and a bill they understand.

Neither choice is wrong. Both appear in our ranking of the best web hosting UK businesses can buy, and the deciding question is simply how much you want to be responsible for.

LONDON — Remarks Kate, the Princess of Wales, made nearly a decade ago about the isolation many new mothers experience have resurfaced online, offering what commentators describe as a timely reminder that feelings of loneliness in motherhood are far more common than they may appear.

Speaking on April 20, 2017, at the opening of Global Academy, a new school in west London, then-Duchess of Cambridge addressed the emotional difficulty many parents face after having children. “It is lonely at times, and you do feel quite isolated,” she said. “But actually, so many other mothers are going through exactly what you are going through. It is being brave enough, like you obviously were, to reach out to those around you.”

The remarks were directed specifically at Katie Massie-Taylor and Sarah Hesz, the co-founders of Mush, an app designed to connect new mothers with one another. The two women had built the platform after becoming genuine friends themselves while supporting each other through the isolation that often accompanies early motherhood. The event took place as part of the royal family’s Heads Together mental health campaign, and Kate’s husband, Prince William, along with his brother Prince Harry, were also present that day, both speaking openly about their own experiences with grief and mental health following the death of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Kate has returned to the theme of maternal isolation on more than one occasion since that 2017 appearance, often drawing on specific personal experience rather than speaking in general terms. During a separate visit to a children’s center in Cardiff, she described the period immediately following the birth of her eldest son, Prince George, when William was still serving as a search and rescue helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force. “I was chatting to some of the mums, I had just had George and William was still working with search and rescue, so we came up here when George was a tiny, tiny little baby, in the middle of Anglesey,” she said. “It was so isolated, so cut off, I didn’t have my family around me, he was doing night shifts.”

That specific, personal account has continued to lend particular weight to Kate’s broader public comments on motherhood and mental health, distinguishing her remarks from the kind of generalized advice more commonly associated with royal engagements. Rather than speaking about isolation as an abstract concept, she described a concrete period during which she personally experienced the kind of disconnection many new parents report.

Kate has continued to speak on related themes of connection and isolation in subsequent public appearances. In other remarks attributed to her, she has warned more broadly about the paradox of modern connectivity, observing that current generations may be simultaneously more digitally connected than any before them while also experiencing greater isolation and loneliness. She has also spoken about the importance of early childhood development, saying she believes the experiences children have in their earliest years carry lasting effects throughout the rest of their lives, a theme that has anchored much of her public work, including her long-running early years initiative through the Royal Foundation.

Kate’s 2017 remarks and subsequent related comments have taken on renewed relevance in recent commentary examining the gap between the public perception of motherhood and the private reality many parents describe experiencing. Coverage of her remarks has noted that motherhood is frequently portrayed publicly through milestones and family moments, while more difficult aspects, including exhaustion, uncertainty and loneliness, often remain unspoken. That silence, according to the commentary, can create a misleading impression that other parents are managing the transition to parenthood with relative ease, leaving individual mothers feeling as though their own struggles are unusual or isolating in a way others do not share.

Public health experts and parenting researchers have separately noted that the transition to parenthood often brings substantial disruption to a new parent’s existing social routines and relationships, even when family, friends or other parents remain physically present nearby. The shift in daily responsibilities that accompanies caring for a young child can significantly reduce opportunities for the kind of regular social contact that previously helped maintain a person’s sense of connection, a dynamic that can produce feelings of emotional isolation even in the presence of considerable practical support.

Kate’s broader public engagement around maternal mental health has continued in the years since her original 2017 remarks, including through her work establishing the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which has focused on raising awareness of the formative importance of a child’s earliest years of development. Her public statements on the topic have generally emphasized both the significance of early childhood experiences and the importance of parents receiving adequate emotional and practical support during that period.

Kate has also spoken publicly about maintaining a positive outlook during difficult periods in her own life, including remarks she made regarding the importance others placed on her mindset during a personal health challenge. “Everyone said to me, please keep a positive mindset, it makes such a difference,” she has said, reflecting a broader pattern in her public commentary of connecting personal experience to wider themes of resilience and emotional wellbeing. She has also spoken about her professional work bringing her genuine fulfillment, saying in past remarks that her work “has always brought me a deep sense of joy,” and expressing eagerness to return to public engagements when circumstances allow.

Kate’s continued willingness to speak candidly about difficult personal experiences, including isolation during early motherhood, has been credited by commentators with helping normalize public conversations around maternal mental health, a topic that has historically received less open discussion in public life despite affecting a significant proportion of new parents. Her remarks continue to circulate in commentary examining parental mental health nearly a decade after they were first delivered, reflecting the resonance many parents have found in hearing a public figure describe personal struggles with isolation in terms that closely mirror their own experiences.

As renewed attention returns to Kate’s original 2017 comments, the broader message embedded in her remarks — that reaching out for support represents an act of courage rather than a sign of struggling to cope — continues to be cited by parenting advocates and mental health commentators as a meaningful counterpoint to the isolation many new parents report experiencing, even while surrounded by supportive family, friends and communities.