Author: openjargon

• Metros in the Sun Belt are notching the steepest rent declines in the country, Redfin reported.
• The pandemic-era demand that led to accelerated construction has since subsided, leading to more vacancies.
• These declines are happening as rent rises nationwide.

The country's steepest rent declines are happening in metro areas across the Sun Belt as pandemic-era demand spikes subside, Redfin reported Friday. 

Leading the regional trend is Austin, Texas, where rent fell 6.6% on an annual basis last month. Runner-ups included Nashville, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Miami, and San Diego.

"The Sun Belt has built a ton of new apartments in recent years, partly to meet the surge in demand brought on by the flood of people who moved in during the pandemic housing boom," Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in the report. "But the boom is over, and now property owners are struggling to fill vacancies, which is causing rents to fall."

For renters, it's a welcome sight: in recent years, a lack of apartment units, the rise of remote work, and a hard-to-breach housing market have sent rent pricing soaring. 

Nationally, the biggest rent drop actually took place not in the Sun Belt, but in Seattle, Washington. Median asking rent fell 7.3% year-over-year in the Northwestern city, Redfin cited. But the reasons were no different — like the Sun Belt, the metro witnessed a boom in construction. 

Outside of these areas, the trend isn't a nationwide phenomenon. In fact, US asking rent rose 1% to $1,648, marking its first gain in a year as home builders grapple to catch up with demand. 

According to CBRE's 2024 market outlook, 440,000 new units are expected to come online this year, potentially helping slow rent growth. At the same time, construction is expected to slow through the year, worn down by weak fundamentals and high interest rates.

As with rent, Redfin separately found that a property surplus has also sent housing prices lower, at least in Florida and Texas. Both Sun Belt states sped up construction during the pandemic to make room for a wave of remote workers, but years later, that's left behind a supply glut.

• The Subaru Ascent is a midsize, all-wheel-drive, three-row family SUV.
• I recently reviewed a $50,000 2024 Subaru Ascent in the Touring trim.
• I loved the Subaru Ascent's powerful engine, Symmetrical AWD system, and EyeSight safety system.

Competition is fierce among carmakers for family SUV sales. Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, and Kia have all recently introduced all-new or updated three-row family SUVs.

Subaru threw its hat into the ring in 2019 with the Ascent, giving loyal Forester, Impreza, and Outback drivers a legitimate three-row SUV option.

After a few years on the market, Subaru updated the Ascent with edgier styling and upgraded tech.

I recently spent a week driving a 2024 Subaru Ascent in the top-spec Touring Trim. I really enjoyed its revised styling, an impressive suite of standard safety features, and powerful engine.

Here's a closer look at some of my favorite features.

1. Subaru's 2.4-liter, turbocharged engine.

Power for the Ascent comes from Subaru's F24F 2.4-liter, turbocharged, horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine. The motor, which debuted back in 2019 with the Ascent, produces a stout 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque. The engine felt strong and robust, with a solid punch off the line.

2. The 3-camera driver assist system

Subaru's EyeSight suite of driver assistance features includes adaptive cruise control with lane centering, lane departure warning, pre-collision braking, automatic emergency steering, and pre-collision throttle management, which reduces engine power when it detects potential danger ahead.

Subaru updated the system in 2023 to include a new wide-angle camera mounted above the rearview mirror for improved pedestrian and cyclist detection.

I found the updated system excellent, building upon the strong performance of previous iterations.

3. Subaru's signature Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive.

Most of Subaru's rivals offer all-wheel drive as a pricey optional extra. However, the Ascent comes standard with the brand's Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system.

What also sets the Subaru apart is that its AWD system constantly sends power to all four wheels. In most of Ascent's competitors, their AWD systems only send power to the rear wheels when they detect traction loss.

4. The Starlink infotainment system and 11.6-inch touchscreen.

The 2019-2022 Ascents' Starlink infotainment system lived in a standard 6.5-inch or optional 8.0-inch touchscreen. Starting in 2023, all Ascents come with an 11.6-inch vertical touchscreen. The updated setup also comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The updated Starlink Infotainment looks great and is intuitively organized. However, I did experience some occasional lag in response time, especially with the wireless Apple CarPlay.

5. The 360-degree camera system.

The optional 360-degree camera system can stitch together images from its front, rear, and side cameras to create a birds-eye view of the Ascent.

6. The rearview mirror camera

The Ascent is available with an optional rear-vision camera display embedded into the mirror. The rear camera itself is located on the tailgate at the top of the rear window. This feature really comes in handy when the Ascent is loaded up with cargo and you can't see out of the back window.

7. Quality interior.

The Ascent's overall interior fit and finish are outstanding. Everything feels solidly put together with quality materials. The Ascent Touring's perforated Nappa leather seats and wood grain trim inject a dose of luxury into a cabin that puts a premium on utility.

8. The Harmon-Kardon surround sound stereo

The Ascent can be optioned with a Harman-Kardon QuantumLogic surround sound system. We enjoyed the rich and powerful sound put out by the system's 14-speakers and 792-watt amplifier.

9. A Panoramic power moonroof

The Ascent can be had with a large, powered panoramic moonroof that fills the cabin with light. I found it to be a worthwhile option even though it robbed the first and second-row occupants of about an inch of headroom.

10. The MySubaru App

Ascent owners can remotely start, lock, and unlock their vehicles using their smartphones through the MySubaru App. You can also pre-set climate setting, get status reports on the all of the vehicles various systems and schedule service appoints using the app.

11. All kinds of power plugs

The Ascent not only offers a large number of charging options throughout its cabin, but it also offers charging in a variety of options. Up front, there are both USB-A and USB-C plugs, along with a traditional cigarette lighter-style outlet in the dash. Second- and third-row passengers have dedicated USB-A and USB-C plugs. There is also a 120V AC power socket located in front of the second row.

12. The panoramic rear-view mirror

Near the rearview mirror is a sunglass holder with an integrated panoramic mirror handy for keeping tabs on the rest of the cabin. The panoramic mirror complements the cabin connect feature on higher-trim models that amplifies the driver's voice to passengers in the back.

13. Lots of cargo room

Open up the powered tailgate and you'll find 17.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row. With the third row folded, capacity increases to 42.1 cubic feet.

And with all rear seats down, the maximum cargo capacity behind the driver's seat is 72.8 cubic feet.

14. Built in sunshades

The Ascent can be optioned with sunshades built into its back doors. These come in handy when you run into an afternoon or morning glare.

• Lauren Boebert was in New York to support Trump's criminal trial on Thursday.
• But reports say she's been absent from her son Tyler's court hearings in her home state of Colorado.
• Boebert's son faces multiple felony charges, which she previously said "breaks my heart."

Rep. Lauren Boebert made headlines with her show of support at former President Donald Trump's hush-money trial on Thursday, but has been conspicuously absent for her own son's court appearances, according to multiple reports.

The Colorado congresswoman joined a gaggle of Freedom Caucus loyalists at the Manhattan criminal court on Thursday, writing on X: "I'll never stop standing up for President Trump, even if I'm the last one standing."

Speaking at a makeshift press conference outside the court, Boebert was heckled with chants of "Beetlejuice" — a reference to when she was thrown out of a Denver theater showing the film after vaping and apparently groping a male companion.

While Trump is facing criminal charges of falsifying business records in relation to a hush-money scheme to silence porn actor Stormy Daniels, Boebert's 19-year-old son Tyler has also had court dates.

Tyler Boebert was arrested in February on multiple felony charges including the criminal possession of identity documents, criminal trespass, and possession of a financial device.

He's had two court hearings to date — one on April 11 and another on May 9.

During the April hearing, Boebert was in Congress voting against the passage of the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act, records show.

Boebert also wasn't in the Colorado courthouse last week, according to the Daily Mail. Local reports of both hearings made no mention of the congresswoman being there, and she was not visible on a video feed of the proceedings.

BI wasn't able to independently confirm the reports and Boebert's office didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

Records show that the day before the May hearing, Boebert spoke in a House debate.

At that latest hearing, Tyler Boebert was rebuked by the judge for not having legal representation. He explained that he had only just filed the paperwork for a public defender.

In April's hearing, the teen described having difficulty "with the prices" of finding someone to defend him.

As news of her son's arrest broke, Boebert released a statement saying: "It breaks my heart to see my child struggling and, in this situation, especially when he has been provided multiple opportunities to get his life on track."

Tyler should be held accountable for "poor decisions just like any other citizen," she said.

It is not clear if she holds the former president to the same standards.

Showing up to support Trump in court has become something of a pilgrimage for many GOP figures in recent weeks.

But the latest cohort's visit did not sit well with some in the party, with anonymous GOP sources telling The Daily Beast that it opened the party up to losing votes in Congress.

An Oversight Committee vote was postponed in order to accommodate the visit, according to The New York Times.

• The Fed has a strong case to lower interest rates, according to BlackRock's Rick Rieder.
• The bond chief said high rates may stoke inflation, as the economy has shifted to being a net creditor.
• "I would lay out an argument that actually, if you cut interest rates, you bring down inflation," Rieder said. 

It might sound counterintuitive, but the Federal Reserve should cut rates to tackle inflation. 

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, BlackRock's bond chief Rick Rieder argued that the Fed needs to loosen monetary policy before inflation falls. 

 That's partly because high interest rates may actually be stoking inflation, thanks to the huge transfer of money in the economy from borrowers to lender, Rieder said. 

Cash in the economy has shifted from the public sector to the private sector, which is a net creditor, Rieder said. That means those companies — and the middle- to high-income workers at those firms – are actually benefitting from high interest rates, as they're benefiting from interest payments.

In theory, that could raise spending among middle- to high-income consumers, raising prices throughout the economy.

"I'm not certain that raising interest rates actually brings down inflation. In fact, I would lay out an argument that actually, if you cut interest rates, you bring down inflation," Rieder said. 

Others on Wall Street have made that argument despite it going against conventional wisdom. High interest rates could also be responsible for keeping shelter costs elevated, JPMorgan strategists recently said, suggesting that rate cuts were needed for any "meaningful downward pressure" on shelter inflation, which has been a big input into the elevated consumer price index readings in recent months. 

Inflation has come down dramatically from its peak, another reason rate cuts are in order, Rieder added. Central bankers have raised rates 525 basis points since March 2022, and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge clocked in at 2.5% in March, close to its official 2% target.

The economy also looks pretty stable, another green light for the Fed to pivot from its restrictive policy, Rieder said.

"As long as you're price-stable, employing a lot of people, growing the size of the workforce, and moderating a little bit on the growth side, it's pretty good," he added of the economy.

Yet, Fed officials have suggested interest rates are staying higher for longer, and markets have already dialed back their expectations for rate cuts this year. Investors see just one to three rate cuts by December, according to the CME FedWatch tool, down from as many as seven expected at the beginning of the year. 

• Michael Cohen has been one of Donald Trump's closest associates for years.
• Trump's former "fixer" is now a key witness in the former president's historic criminal trial.
• "What I was doing, I was doing at the direction of and benefit of Mr. Trump," Cohen testified.

Michael Cohen was once so loyal to former President Donald Trump that he vowed "to take a bullet" for him. He's now one of the marquee witnesses in Trump's history-making Manhattan criminal trial.

"It means that if somebody does something Mr. Trump doesn't like, I do everything in my power to resolve it to Mr. Trump's benefit," Cohen told ABC News in a 2011 interview. "If you do something wrong, I'm going to come at you, grab you by the neck, and I'm not going to let you go until I'm finished."

Cohen endeared himself to Trump, first as the treasurer on the board of Trump World Tower in New York and now as his personal attorney. As a lawyer to the then-future president, Cohen described himself as a "thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer." Cohen brokered what prosecutors have described as a 2016 hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. Trump has repeatedly denied Daniels' claims.

But Cohen has turned dramatically against Trump. In 2019, he told Congress that the then-sitting president was a"con man" and a "cheat." Cohen later went to prison for lying to Congress about a failed Trump Tower Moscow project and other financial crimes. He emerged as a self-styled changed man who used a book and podcast to further his turn from a Trump ally into a wannabe resistance member.

"What I was doing, I was doing at the direction of and benefit of Mr. Trump," Cohen testified about the hush money payments he made before the 2016 presidential election.

Cohen's fascination with the Trump brand began in back 2001

Cohen would quickly become one of Trump's most ardent supporters — but has since become one of the biggest legal threats to the Trump presidency. 

 

Cohen tried to goad Trump into running for president in 2012.

Trump, then-just a New York businessman and reality TV star, had long flirted with running for president. Ahead of the 2012 election, Cohen launched a website called "Should Trump Run." Trump ultimately passed, but he began to lay the groundwork for his shocking 2016 upset.

Despite being Trump's "fixer," Cohen sometimes created problems for the 2016 GOP hopeful.

Like many in Trump's orbit, Cohen was thrust into the greater spotlight and onto the 2016 campaign trial. It didn't always go well. Cohen threatened a Daily Beast reporterfor unearthing Ivana Trump's comments that described an encounter with her then-husband as "rape."

"You're talking about the frontrunner for the GOP, presidential candidate, as well as a private individual who never raped anybody," Cohen told the outlet. "And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can't rape your spouse."

Cohen's comments sparked a firestorm, leading Trump, then the GOP frontrunner, to declare, "He's speaking for himself."

But Cohen affirmed his loyalty to Trump with behind-the-scenes hush-money payments.

It was what Cohen did privately that remains his biggest 2016-related legacy.

In the wake of The Washington Post publishing the "Access Hollywood" tape, Cohen testified that the Trump campaign was on the edge about any other stories regarding Trump's history with women.

Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, had been shopping around her story that she had an affair with Trump at a 2006 celebrity golf tournament. Trump has repeatedly denied that he had an affair. In the wake of the tape's publication, prosecutors said Trump wanted to "lock down the Stormy Daniels story."

Just weeks before the election, Cohen and Daniels' lawyer brokered a $130,000 hush-money payment. 

 

Copies of checks Donald Trump signed to pay Michael Cohen

Cohen testified that he opened a new bank account to hide his payment to Daniels from his wife. After the election, prosecutors said the now-President Trump agreed to a series of installments to pay Cohen back, disguised as legal fees.

The episode remained private until a 2018 bombshell Wall Street Journal article uncovered the payment. Cohen, now the president's personal attorney, was about to have his life upended.

Michael Cohen listens to a call following the FBI's reported raids on his home, office, and hotel room

Then-special counsel Robert Mueller makes a referral to the FBI. In April 2018, federal agents raided Cohen's home, office, and hotel room. Trump blasts his own Justice Department over the decision. 

Cohen testified during Trump's 2024 criminal trial that the president called his longtime attorney to reassure him that he had his back.

"Don't worry, I'm the President of the United States, there's no — nothing here," Cohen testified that Trump told him. "Everything is going to be ok. Stay tough. You'll be okay."

According to Cohen, it was the last time the pair spoke directly. Trump, according to his former attorney, used intermediaries and public tweets to convey that Cohen should remain loyal to his longtime boss.

Michael Cohen is accompanied by his wife and children as he arrives to his 2018 sentencing hearing

Despite his bravado, Cohen testified that he was "scared." For some time, the Trump Organization paid his legal fees. He was part of a joint defense agreement. Ultimately, Cohen said his family questioned why he was willing to risk so much.

"We're in this unique situation that I've never experienced," Cohen said. "And my family, my wife, my daughter, my son, all said to me, why are holding onto this loyalty? What are you doing? We're supposed to be your first loyalty?"

In August 2018, Cohen reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors. He now said that Trump directed the hush-money payments, a claim that contradicted the then-president's direct denials. It was, as the Associated Press reported, "the first time that any Trump associate has gone into open court and implicated Trump himself in a crime."

 

A screenshot of a Donald Trump tweet calling Michael Cohen "a 'rat'"

Trump's reaction was swift. Within months, he called Cohen "a 'rat'," a term more commonly used in mafia-related business than in presidential communications.

After over a decade together, the pair's relationship was shattered.

 

Michael Cohen became emotional at times during his 2019 congressional testimony

Cohen underlined his break with Trump during his combative February 2019 testimony before Congress.

"I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man," Cohen said. "I have fixed things, but I am no longer your 'fixer," Mr. Trump."

Cohen further testified he not only made the illicit hush-money payments at the direction of Trump, but testified that Trump directed him to threaten news outlets and others with litigation "at least 500" times — even threatening the schools Trump attended not to release his grades or SAT scores.

At the end of the hearing, Cohen was moved to tears when then-Rep. Elijah Cummings, the chairman, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, expressed sympathy for Cohen's situation.

"I know it's painful being called a rat," Cummings said in his closing statement. "I live in the inner city of Baltimore. When you call someone a rat, that's one of the worst things you can call them … because that means snitch."

 

Republicans took every opportunity to tear into Cohen, which Trump's allies have repeated during the criminal trial.

Republicans repeatedly blasted Cohen throughout his testimony. They painted him as a jilted former aide who turned on Trump because he didn't get a job in the White House. (Cohen said he wanted to stay outside the administration.) 

Trump allies also emphasized Cohen's admission that the former Trump attorney had lied to Congress before.

"Mr. Cohen, here's what I see, I see a guy who worked for 10 years, who is trashing a guy he worked for 10 years, didn't get a job in the White House, and now you're behaving just like everyone else who got fired or didn't get the job they wanted," Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, then-the top Republican on the Oversight committee, said during the hearing.

A few months later, Michael Cohen had to report to federal prison.

Cohen reported to thefederal prison near Otisville, New York in May 2019. Before that, he was also formally disbarred. Cohen was sentenced to three years behind bars, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was able to serve out a lot of the time via home confinement.

Cohen continued his turn against Trump as a free man. By his admission, it's made him millions.

Cohen's turn against Trump has been lucrative for his former lawyer. Cohen testified that he has made roughly $3.4 million off of two Trump-related books. He also hosts a podcast on behalf of the anti-Trump group Meidas Touch. 

Since breaking with Trump, Cohen has repeatedly trolled his former boss. One of his favorite insults is calling Trump Donald "Von ShitzInPantz."

Trump had not seen Cohen for years before they were reunited in a New York courtroom.

Trump and Cohen had not seen each other for five years before Cohen testified in Trump's civil fraud trial.

Cohen said that the former president directed him to defraud banks and insurers.

"I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected," Cohen testified.

New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron later ordered Trump to pay over $355 million. Engoron issued a scathing verdict.

"The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience," Engoron wrote in his decision.

Trump is limited in how much he can attack Cohen during the New York criminal trial.

Cohen repeatedly barbed Trump in the lead-up to his then-expected testimony in Trump's Manhattan criminal trial.

Justice Juan Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump, which bars the former president from commenting on likely witnesses in the case. Merchan has held Trump in contempt and ordered him to pay $10,000 in fines. If Trump violates the order again, Merchan has warned he could jail the former president.

One of Trump's violations was when he posted on Truth Social, "Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING?" 

 

Cohen is a key witness in Trump's criminal trial.

The Manhattan trial is the first time in history a former president has faced criminal charges. Prosecutors have relied on Cohen to testify to Trump's direct involvement in hush-money payments and in helping falsify business records to cover them up.

If Trump himself doesn't testify in the case, Cohen could be the last major witness to testify. 

Trump's lead attorney, Todd Blanche, has grilled Cohen over his past statements about Trump, including when Cohen called the former president a "cheeto-dusted cartoon villain."

• The Ukraine war exposed problems in US weapons systems. 
• Precision-guided weapons have been jammed by Russian electronic warfare units. 
• It's not been able to produce ammo and artillery quickly enough. 

The release of $61 billion in US aid in April was a boost to Ukraine's hard-pressed forces battling the Russian invasion.

But Ukraine isn't the only beneficiary of the deal. Analysts say the US is gaining invaluable insights into the flaws of some of its most important weapons and military production systems.

Since the start of the war in 2022, the US has been Ukraine's single most important ally, providing a total of $107 billion in aid to the Ukrainian government.

From the jamming of missiles to drones and artillery, the US is gaining valuable insights into its weaknesses in the brutal battlefields in east and south Ukraine.

Electronic warfare

One area in which the US has revealed its shortcomings is in electronic warfare. Russia's jamming systems have created major issues with Western precision weaponry, including GMLRS rockets and Excalibur artillery shells, as previously reported by Business Insider.

Russia's electronic warfare units have become increasingly adept at scrambling the GPS navigation systems used to guide the missiles and shells to their targets, sending them off course and rendering them useless.

"The war has revealed that some of the US precision-guided munitions fail in a highly contested electromagnetic environment," Stacie Pettyjohn, a military analyst at the Center for a New American Security, told BI.

In contrast, cheap, off-the-shelf drones have played an enormously important role in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has used the drones to offset some of the disadvantages in manpower and equipment it faced against Russia. It has used them to surveil enemy positions, guide artillery strikes, and fitted them with grenades or explosives to attack enemy positions.

Ukrainian drones are also susceptible to electronic warfare, but Ukraine has produced technology to evade jamming signals and exploit gaps in Russia's electronic warfare defenses.

The use of drones on the battlefield

Maneuvering, concealing, and supplying troops on battlefields under constant drone surveillance is another conundrum Pentagon experts are grappling with, said Pettyjohn.

According to reports, the Pentagon is rapidly seeking to improve its ability to deploy drones to support troops and take out enemy drones, which military analysts believe will be ubiquitous on the battlefields of the future. At the moment, said Pettyjohn, US army units have only a few, old drones per unit.

"One of the key lessons from this conflict is the democratization of precision strike weapons is making the battlefield incredibly lethal," said Pettyjohn.

A shortage in weapons

The Ukraine war has exposed problems not just with the quality of weapons, but with the US' capacity to produce them in the quantity Ukraine needs.

For decades, the US prepared for war against militant groups such as the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the Ukraine war more closely resembles conflicts such as World War I, with two militaries in well-defended positions firing tens of thousands of rounds of artillery a day at each other to wear the opponent down. And the US military is yet to adjust.

In contrast, Russia has placed its economy on a war footing, massively increasing the amount of military equipment it is able to produce and placing Ukraine at a serious disadvantage.

"The biggest problem that the Ukraine war has exposed with American weapons is that the Pentagon simply does not buy enough munitions for a large-scale protracted conflict," said Pettyjohn.

She added that the recent Ukraine aid bill, which also contains billions for US weapons production, doesn't fix the problem.

"This a Band-Aid that doesn't fix the fundamental problem. The Pentagon simply needs to buy more weapons on an annual basis," she said.

During the recent US aid block, Ukraine was being outfired at a rate of 10-1 on parts of the front line. Throughout the war, Ukraine's Western allies struggled to provide enough artillery and ammunition rounds.

But though the war has posed serious conundrums for Pentagon chiefs, it's also shown that many of its weapons systems remain much better than those of its opponents.

US Patriot air defense systems have shielded Ukrainian cities from mass Russian drone and rocket attacks. And though some have been intercepted, HIMARS long-range missiles continue to do devastating damage well behind the Russian front lines. Meanwhile, the Switchblade 600 exploding drone has been an important weapon for Ukraine in targeting Russian artillery batteries and troops, according to reports.

A high cost

A problem with US air defense systems, though, is that the missiles cost much more than the cheap drones they're often being used to shoot down, Pettyjohn said, presenting US military planners with another problem to grapple with.

"Firing expensive missiles at cheap drones and missiles is not a sustainable strategy or one that will enable the United States to prevail in these fights which require endurance," she added.

A core lesson, said Pettyjohn, is that quantity matters as much as quality.

"The US should have learned that mass matters in addition to precision. The US military needs more artillery shells, missiles, and drones than it currently has and an industrial base that can scale production of these critical systems," said Pettyjohn.

• Some universities have gone hybrid or canceled graduation ceremonies amid pro-Palestinian protests.
• During the Vietnam War, they did the same thing.
• One expert said colleges end the year earlier in the Spring now in part to avoid "protest weather."

April showers bring May flowers — and idyllic protest weather.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have erupted at universities across the country in recent weeks, prompting harsh responses from some college administrators.

The University of Southern California and Columbia University, most notably, called in the police to clear protest camps. Police this week also took back a lecture hall occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters at the Univerity of California, Irvine.

Some schools, including Columbia, canceled graduation and commencement ceremonies, citing security concerns.

Ralph Young, an expert on American dissent, told Business Insider that it's not the first time colleges have made major scheduling adjustments to avoid a protesting crowd.

While students nationwide protested the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s, colleges shut down their semesters prematurely — a decision that has impacted academic calendars to this day, Young said.

The change came after the National Guard fired on student protesters at Ohio's Kent State University on May 4, 1970, killing four students and wounding others.

"One of the interesting things about Kent State is that after that happened, almost all the universities in the country closed down for the rest of the semester," Young said. "It used to be that college semesters usually ended in maybe the third week of June, and now they all end in early May."

Before canceling its school-wide commencement ceremony, Columbia University also offered students a virtual learning option in late April. On Thursday, hundreds of faculty members passed a vote of no-confidence against university president Nemat Shafik, who previously authorized police to clear the student encampment on campus, The New York Times reported.

"One of the thinkings behind closing the schools early back then was that May and June are good protest weather," Young said. "They're nice days and it'll get more people out and protesting, and that was one way to try to put a break on all that."

• Billionaire entrepreneur Josh Kushner is married to supermodel and coding advocate Karlie Kloss.
• Kushner's brother is Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and a former White House advisor.
• Kushner and Kloss have each revealed they didn't vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

Model Karlie Kloss and venture capitalist Josh Kushner may seem like an odd pairing on the surface, but they've been together since 2012 and have become partners in both life and business.

The couple has kept their relationship under the radar since they first started dating. Kloss and Kushner got married in October 2018 and held a second Western-themed wedding eight months later.

Kushner also happens to be the younger brother of former White House advisor Jared Kushner, whose father-in-law is former President Donald Trump. Josh and Jared Kushner's father, real estate developer Charles Kushner, was also pardoned by Trump in 2020.

Charles Kushner pleaded guilty to tax evasion, retaliating against a federal witness, and one count of lying to the FEC in 2005 and served two years in prison. As chairman of Kushner Companies, Charles Kushner admitted to filing false tax returns and recruiting a prostitute to seduce the husband of his sister, who cooperated with authorities, and film the encounter.

Although Kushner and Kloss haven't publicly spoken out against Trump, they have said they didn't vote for him in the 2016 election.

Here's a look at the relationship between Josh Kushner and Karlie Kloss, including their ties to former president Donald Trump.

This story was originally published in March 2018. It was updated in 2020 and 2024.

Josh Kushner, 38, founded a venture capital firm called Thrive Capital in 2009 that helped make him a billionaire.

Thrive Capital has made some of its biggest investments in tech startups like grocery delivery service Instacart, stock-trading app Robinhood, and insurance company Lemonade, according to PitchBook.

Because of his investments, Kushner sits on the boards for shaving product maker Harry's and wedding planning platform Zola.

The firm has also invested in companies like Instagram, Stripe, and ClassPass.

Kushner's savvy investments have made him a billionaire with a net worth of $3.6 billion, Forbes reported. Thrive Capital is valued at $5.3 billion.

Kushner has also helped start two companies: He cofounded health-insurance startup Oscar in 2012 and real-estate investment company Cadre in 2014.

Oscar, which aims to use tech to provide a more consumer-friendly insurance option, secured $375 million from Alphabet, Google's parent company, in 2018. It is now the third-largest for-profit health insurance company in the US, Forbes reported.

Meanwhile, Cadre was valued at $800 million in 2019, according to Forbes. Kushner founded it with his brother, Jared Kushner.

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Karlie Kloss began working as a model in her teenage years and went on to become a coding advocate.

Kloss skyrocketed to prominence as a Victoria's Secret Angel and became one of the highest-paid supermodels in the industry, Forbes reported.

She also runs a free coding camp for girls. In 2015, Kloss started Kode With Klossy, a charity that encourages girls to get involved in coding and tech.

Kloss and Kushner met and began dating in 2012.

On June 8, 2016, Kloss shared a photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, of her and Kushner revealing that she had met Kushner exactly four years before, placing their first encounter on June 8, 2012, although it's not known exactly how they met.

Their relationship became public when Kushner was spotted on Kloss' arm at a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show after-party in November 2012, Us Weekly reported.

They have tried to keep their relationship relatively private since then.

In 2013, Kloss said she appreciates Kushner is "so not in fashion" in an interview with People.

"It's really refreshing to leave all the fashion shows and shoots and chaos totally behind," Kloss told People magazine.

Kloss deflected questions about her relationship in a 2016 interview with Elle.

Elle magazine's Lotte Jeffs asked Kloss if she and Kushner have a "no phones in the bedroom" rule. Kloss answered by shaking her head and saying, "I keep my phone pretty close to me." She added that she tries to digitally detox once a week.

When asked if technology ever causes arguments in their relationship, Kloss "deftly deflects the question," Jeffs wrote.

The couple has largely avoided talking about politics, which is notable given their ties to the Trump family.

Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law to former president Donald Trump and former senior White House advisor.

Josh Kushner told Forbes in April 2017 that he and Jared Kushner spoke every day, but refused to comment for an Esquire article about his brother in 2016 because he "did not want to say anything that might embarrass him."

However, the couple has publicly stated they didn't vote for Trump in 2016.

Kloss posted a photo of herself on Instagram in November 2016 filling out an absentee ballot. She included the hashtag #ImWithHer in support of Clinton.

Kushner's spokesperson told Esquire he's a lifelong Democrat and that he didn't vote for Trump.

"It is no secret that liberal values have guided my life and that I have supported political leaders that share similar values," Kushner told Forbes in 2017. 

Neither Kushner nor Kloss were present at Trump's inauguration in 2017. Instead, Kushner was spotted at the Women's March in Washington, DC, that weekend.

Kushner told other marchers he was there to observe, The Washingtonian reported.

Kloss also posted a photo on Instagram from the same Women's March, along with an Audre Lorde quote: "Women are powerful and dangerous."

In a 2018 interview with Vogue, Kloss made it clear she doesn't agree with the Trump family's conservative political views.

"At the end of the day, I've had to make decisions based on my own moral compass — forget what the public says, forget social media," Kloss told Vogue. "I've chosen to be with the man I love despite the complications."

Kloss also pointed out the sexism in the questions she's frequently asked about her relationship with Kushner. 

"It's frustrating, to be honest, that the spotlight is always shifted away from my career toward my relationship," she said. "I don't think the same happens in conversations with men."

Kloss and Kushner have also shown their support on social media for gun control.

The couple was spotted in March 2018 at the anti-gun-violence March for Our Lives protest in Washington, DC.

Kloss and Kushner didn't hide their presence at the march: They posted photos on Instagram from the March for Our Lives rally. A few weeks earlier, Kushner made a $50,000 donation to the anti-gun-violence group, Axios reported.

While Trump's presidency was unpopular in Silicon Valley, Kushner's proximity to the White House didn't appear to slow his career as an investor.

"There is a lot of discussion in the Valley about political tests on both who you'll take money from and who you'll work with," the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen told Forbes in 2017. "Having said that, I haven't yet seen an instance of anyone hesitating to take money from Josh because of the affiliation with his brother."

In July 2018, Kloss and Kushner got engaged after six years of dating.

Kushner proposed "during a romantic weekend together in upstate New York," People magazine reported at the time.

"I love you more than I have words to express," Kloss captioned a photo on X announcing their engagement. "Josh, you're my best friend and my soulmate. I can't wait for forever together. Yes a million times over."

Kloss converted to Judaism shortly before getting engaged to Kushner, who is Jewish.

Kloss confirmed she had converted to Judaism in a March 2019 appearance on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happened Live."

The couple got married in October 2018 in upstate New York.

The wedding was a small Jewish ceremony with fewer than 80 people in attendance, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

"So much love for you both as you begin forever together," Ivanka Trump wrote in a post on X. 

Kloss wore a custom Dior wedding gown with lace sleeves and a flowing train.

"The wedding was intimate and moving," a friend at the ceremony told People magazine. "The couple was beaming with happiness."

 

In June 2019, the couple held a second wedding celebration at a ranch in Wyoming.

Kushner and Kloss' second wedding celebration was held at Brush Creek Ranch, an all-inclusive ranch resort near the Wyoming-Colorado border. The weekend included activities such as horseback riding, paintball, and off-road ATVing.

Photos shared from the wedding show that guests wore Western-themed outfits instead of traditional gowns and tuxedos. Attendees included Diane Von Furstenberg, Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, Princess Beatrice, and Ashton Kutcher.

Kloss and Kushner's relationship was publicly flamed on a 2020 episode of "Project Runway," which Kloss hosted for two seasons.

Brandon Maxwell, a judge on the fashion design reality competition show, criticized contestant Tyler Neasloney's creation. The assignment had been to design a look for Kloss to wear to a fashion event in Paris, but Maxwell told Neasloney that he couldn't see Kloss wearing the outfit "anywhere."

"Not even to dinner with the Kushners?" Neasloney replied, eliciting gasps from other contestants.

"Keep it to the challenge," Kloss responded. "You really missed the mark here, on all accounts."

When asked about the viral moment on "Watch What Happens Live" with Andy Cohen, Kloss said "the real tragedy of this whole thing is that no one is talking about how terrible that dress was."

She added: "Andy, I'm sure I'm not the only person in this country who does not necessarily agree with their family on politics. I voted as a Democrat in 2016 and I plan to do the same in 2020."

The couple has two sons, Levi and Elijah.

Kloss and Kushner welcomed their first child, Levi, in March 2021.

Kloss revealed her second pregnancy on the red carpet of the 2023 Met Gala while wearing a black Loewe dress designed by Jonathan Anderson. Their son Elijah was born a few months later in July 2023.

Kloss occasionally shares photos of Kushner on Instagram, where she has more than 12.6 million followers, but she doesn't show her children's faces.

Kloss has posted photos of the couple traveling the world and celebrating Kushner's birthday, but she doesn't share much else about their relationship. She also keeps the faces of her young sons hidden in photos.

"I know in my life what really matters to me," Kloss said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2018. "I'm not trying to hide that from the world. I just really like having a more private life."

In 2024, Kushner and Kloss bought Life magazine and announced their plans to revive the iconic photography publication.

Kushner and Kloss bought the publication rights to Life magazine through Bedford Media, their media startup that also acquired i-D Magazine. They plan to revive the brand as both a print and digital publication.

"We see Life as an uplifting and unifying voice in a chaotic media landscape," Kloss, who serves as CEO of Bedford Media, said in a statement. "While Bedford is a new media company, we are deeply inspired by Life's iconic legacy and ability to connect diverse audiences with universal narratives of humanity."

• Elon Musk has a lot going on in China right now.
• Amid dwindling Tesla sales, he's building closer relations there and putting focus on robotaxis.
• It's a move that present a lot of uncertainty for his EV company.

Elon Musk has plenty on the line in China right now.

A global slowdown in demand for Teslas has been exacerbated in the country, where consumers have been presented with a parade of electric vehicles from domestic rivals like BYD and Xiaomi at a time when they're watching their spending.

China is Tesla's biggest market outside the US, which means dwindling interest has had a clear knock-on effect.

The company delivered about 387,000 vehicles in the first three months of the year, marking a 20% drop from its previous quarter. Tesla's earnings last month also raised concerns, as it reported a nearly 9% year-on-year drop in quarterly revenue to $21.3 billion.

So Musk's response in recent weeks — a seeming boost in focus on the Far East — is at least grounded in some logic.

A trip to Beijing last month to meet China's premier, Li Qiang, came along with news that the billionaire had managed to pull off a huge deal for Tesla to partner with Chinese internet giant Baidu on robotaxis.

The deal, which has been reported to give Tesla access to mapping and navigation software that supports full self-driving (FSD) cars, has clearly helped. Tesla's stock jumped 15% following news of a tie-up that supports Musk's fresh focus on autonomy.

It's a move that Musk now seems intent on doubling down on.

According to a Reuters report on Friday, Tesla is seeking to build a data center in China that could be used "to train the algorithm needed for more fully autonomous vehicles."

Musk's reasons for doing this are getting clearer. As the billionaire recently wrote on X, "Going balls to the wall for autonomy is a blindingly obvious move. Everything else is like variations on a horse carriage."

But in heading in this direction, Musk risks walking a fine line.

For one, self-driving technology has proven tricky to produce at a global scale. One of Tesla's main challenges is the brutal price war it's waging with Chinese competitors that are trying to win buyers with cheaper vehicles.

But by prioritizing a lofty goal of millions of self-driving Teslas cruising streets worldwide, Musk pursues a high-risk bet that might only pay off in the distant future.

Using China as a test bed for self-driving technology may spark anxieties in Washington, too. Competent FSD capabilities for Teslas globally could depend on using quality data transferred between the US and China — a complex proposition during times of heightened tensions.

Tesla has not shared any details about the reported tie-up, let alone how it would manage the security fears that could be triggered if Beijing gets oversight of the data being fed into its vehicles in the name of FSD.

What many investors have pleaded for instead is the long-awaited, sub-$30,000 Tesla model Musk has previously talked about as a means of opening up Tesla to the mass market.

Indeed analysts at Wedbush last month said it's "crucial" that Tesla delivers a more affordable model in the next 18 months, calling a pivot to robotaxis a "risky gamble."

But with China seemingly at the top of Musk's mind, Tesla is driving into an uncertain future.

• Google is one of America's most highly sought after companies to work for.
• But Google is also notoriously competitive and selective about employees.
• Google hires people with relevant job skills, intelligence, leadership abilities, and "Googleyness."

For years, Google has cultivated a reputation for being one of the best US companies to work for. 

With consistently high rankings in areas like compensation, office perks (the Googleplex famously boasts amenities like swimming pools, gardens, massage rooms, and more), innovative and meaningful work, and low stress, it's no wonder tech industry workers have clamored for roles at Google.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, had more than 182,500 employees as of 2023, and not all of them were tech jobs. Google also offers roles in sales, marketing, business strategy, finance, maintenance, legal, and more.

It's not all roses, though. Like much of the tech industry, layoffs at Google have become more commonplace in recent years. Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees in 2023, and CEO Sundar Pichai warned of more layoffs in 2024.

Still, the Google Careers website lists hundreds of job openings worldwide, across all sorts of divisions — some roles are specific to Google's search engine, others are for YouTube, and others are for projects within Google's suite of productivity apps, like Google Classroom.

Here's what you need to know to land one of Google's open jobs.

How to get a job at Google

Getting hired at Google is notoriously competitive.

One former Google recruiter said the company primarily uses an internal database to find candidates, but the second-most popular way to scout potential employees is LinkedIn — build out your profile and use it to connect with people who already work there and can give you a referral.

The recruiter said one of the best ways to stand out among Google's candidate pool is to network with a "giving approach." For example, job candidates should email hiring managers directly to make a connection and then steer the conversation to express interest in a specific role.

The recruiter also encouraged job applicants to tailor their resumes to individual job descriptions and, during the interview process, describe details of how they solved a problem in a past role.

Is it difficult to get hired at Google?

Google is known throughout the tech industry for having a lengthy, difficult hiring process, and for being ultra-selective about its candidates. Of the 2 million job applications Google receives each year, it hires roughly 4,000.

Google bases its hiring decisions on four key metrics: job-related skills, general cognitive ability, leadership abilities (even for non-managerial roles!), and what the company calls "Googleyness" — meaning how well your personality will fit in at Google.

Former Google executives and recruiters have defined "Googleyness" as a mixture of proactiveness, positivity, humility, playfulness, conscientiousness, and openness to learning.

Google also has a multi-step hiring process. It encourages people to start by self-reflecting on what they truly want out of a career. Then, search and apply for a job on the company's website.

Google suggests applicants build a job-specific resume that ties their skills and experience to the job requirements. Including data to illustrate your successes in managing projects will help your resume stand out. 

One Google engineer who shared the resume that helped him land a $300,000 job at the company recommended de-emphasizing educational credentials, emphasizing items that are more relevant, and adding a section for interests or hobbies — you never know if it could spark conversation and help break the ice.

Google's hiring process has been revamped in recent years to reduce delays, particularly for tech roles like software engineers and UX designers. Candidates used to labor through months of interviews, then fail at the stage where Google matches the candidate with a team.

Now, candidates are assigned teams much earlier, and some can skip over certain stages. It's common for applicants to undergo at least three or four interview rounds before receiving an offer, however.

Can I work at Google from home?

Like most companies, Google allowed employees to work remotely throughout the pandemic. But Google cracked down on remote work in 2023, and implemented a new policy requiring workers to return to the office at least three days a week on a hybrid schedule.

Google now offers remote opportunities by exception only. The company has even said it would tie in-office attendance to an employee's performance review. 

Do you need experience to work at Google?

The experience Google requires for job candidates varies by role, as does education. 

There's no one particular college degree that will get you in the door at Google — and, in fact, company executives have said they'll hire "exceptional" candidates who have no college degree at all. But don't get too excited; experts say college degrees are still the most reliable pathways to high-paying tech jobs.

If your goal is to become a software engineer at Google, it makes sense that a computer science degree might be beneficial. But Google does not explicitly require one for most software engineering roles.

Google offers jobs with a range of experience requirements, from interns, to mid-career, to executive level. Here are some examples:

• A data center technician role requires two years of experience in "operating systems and networking protocols," with maintenance and monitoring of server systems and troubleshooting servers and network hardware.
• A supply chain program manager requires five years of experience in program or project management and systems and hardware product design or manufacturing. A supply chain, manufacturing, or similar degree is also required.
• A staff software engineer requires a bachelor's degree, eight years of software development experience, five years of testing and launching software products and machine learning algorithms and tools, and three years of software design.