Robert Frank

When Todd and Brittany Gunderson decided to build a wheelchair ramp for Todd's brother Travis, to help him visit their home, they did what homeowners do.

CNBC's Robert Frank joins ‘Squawk Box' with the latest news.

A version of this article appeared in CNBC's Inside Alts newsletter, a guide to the fast-growing world of alternative investments, from private equity and private credit to hedge funds and venture capital.

Key Points Sotheby's sold a Tyrannosaurus rex specimen for $50.1 million.

Baby boomers are expected to transfer around 100 trillion dollars in wealth inheritance in the coming decades, but Visa is warning that number could be a lot smaller.

CNBC's Robert Frank joins ‘Squawk Box' with a closer look at the talent shortage for household staff for the wealthy.

Key Points Cerulli Associates has estimated that older generations will leave over $100 trillion to heirs in the coming decades.

Robotic surgery is increasingly integrated into general surgical practice, creating a need for standardized training methods that objectively assess technical skill acquisition. Current robotic simulation curricula often rely on psychomotor tasks that may not reflect clinically relevant reconstructive procedures. Enterotomy repair requires precise tissue handling and suturing and may serve as a practical benchmark for robotic training. This study evaluated whether a standardized robotic enterotomy repair task could demonstrate reproducible skill acquisition among junior residents. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted involving PGY-1 and PGY-2 general surgery residents performing a standardized two-layer robotic enterotomy repair on a porcine small bowel model using the da Vinci Xi platform. Participants completed three sessions spaced 1–2 weeks apart. The primary outcome was time to task completion. Secondary outcomes included leak testing, technical errors, and exploratory comparisons by postgraduate year and prior robotic training. Changes in performance across sessions were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model accounting for repeated measures. Thirty-eight residents participated, with 30 completing all three sessions. Mean completion time decreased from 18.47 ± 4.87 min in session 1 to 14.90 ± 6.00 min in session 2 and 13.20 ± 5.60 min in session 3 (p < 0.001). Leak rates declined from 26.3% in session 1 to 20.0% in session 3. Logistic regression analysis accounting for repeated observations demonstrated no significant association between completion time and leak occurrence (OR 1.0003, 95% CI 0.9988–1.0019; p = 0.671). PGY-1 residents demonstrated greater improvement, with convergence between PGY levels by the final session. Residents with prior robotic training demonstrated numerically faster repair times, though differences were not statistically significant. A short, standardized robotic suturing curriculum using a procedure-based enterotomy repair task produces reproducible improvements in technical efficiency among junior surgical residents without compromising repair integrity. This model provides an objective and practical framework for assessing robotic skill acquisition early in surgical training.

Key Points Summer charters in the Med are down 20% to 30% from last year, yacht brokers say.

CNBC's Robert Frank joins ‘Squawk Box' with a look at the art and collectibles market in the first half of the year.