Ukrainian pilots using an iPad for Wild Weasel missions
Ukrainian Air Force
Ukraine's pilots are using iPads for combat missions, said a US undersecretary.
The iPads or similar tablets could assist in what are called "Wild Weasel" missions.
It is an example of adapted Ukrainian weapons built by stitching Western and Soviet parts together.
A video released by Ukraine's Air Force appears to show its pilots using a tablet to help it conduct combat missions against Russian air defense systems.
It could be more evidence of the US working with the Ukraine to help it adapt Western technology to its dated Soviet weapons.
US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, William LaPlante, told reporters at a Washington DC conference last week: "Think about the aircraft that the Ukrainians have, and not even the F-16s, but they have a lot of the Russian and Soviet-era aircraft."
He described how Ukraine's aging fighter planes could now take many Western weapons and get them to work on their aircraft as they were "basically controlled by an iPad by the pilot. They're flying it in conflict like a week after we get it to him," he said, per The Telegraph.
The strategy involves jet pilots luring enemy antiaircraft defenses into targeting them with their radars. The radar waves are then traced back to their source and struck by the Ukrainian pilots with weapons like the US-made AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs).
In the video, a jet pilot can be seen flying a Soviet Su-27 plane fitted with an iPad or a similar tablet in the cockpit. The pilot can be seen firing off HARMS, said The Telegraph. The tablet also shows a navigational map, and other flight information.
Business Insider could not independently verify where or when the video was taken or if it recorded a combat mission or a training exercise.
Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker Wild Weasel operations, seen here conducting multiple low level standoff strikes against Russian radars with US-supplied AGM-88 HARMs. pic.twitter.com/7CosjXFNkO
The War Zone stated that the tablets were "vital for the employment of several Western-supplied air-to-ground weapons" as Ukraine's Soviet-era fighters lack the data interfaces that ensure "seamless compatibility" with the latest missiles.
"A cockpit tablet," the publication said, "could provide a kind of visualized radar warning receiver for Ukrainian fighter pilots conducting Wild Weasel missions."
The US Air Force developed the Wild Weasel strategy during the Vietnam War after the introduction of Soviet surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that used radar to pinpoint its targets, where aircraft equipped with anti-radiation missiles could detect and destroy the North Vietnamese guided missiles.
It is the latest example, from the war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, of Ukrainian weapons built by stitching Western and Soviet parts together to make a new system.
They include the "FrankenSAM" air defense systems now operating on the front line. The name is a nod to "Frankenstein" because their manufacture involves cobbling bits of different machines together to make Ukraine's stock of Soviet SAMs more effective.
Mint Butterfield, a 16-year-old from Bolinas, was "safely located and reunited with family," the San Francisco Police Department tweeted on Sunday morning local time.
Butterfield, who uses they/them pronouns, is the child of two tech cofounders. Their parents, Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield, cofounded Flickr in 2004, and Stewart Butterfield went on to confound Slack. Butterfield's stepfather, Jyri Engestrom, is also a tech founder.
The family released a statement expressing "heartfelt thanks to all the family, friends, volunteers and strangers who called in tips and made this recovery possible," The San Francisco Standard reported.
Police had previously indicated that Butterfield was considered a "voluntary-missing juvenile" at risk due to a past suicide attempt. A press release from the Marin County Sheriff's Office said Butterfield left a note and took a suitcase with them, though they didn't have a car or a phone.
The gold-plated pocket watch was sold for a record-breaking $1.5 million
PA Images/Getty Images
A gold pocket watch owned by Titanic's richest passenger sold at auction for around $1.5 million.
The sale is the highest price ever paid for an item of Titanic memorabilia.
The watch was owned by John Jacob Astor IV, a businessman who died when the ship sank in 1912.
A gold pocket watch that belonged to the richest man on the Titanic has sold at auction for a record-breaking Ā£1.175 million, which is roughly $1.5 million.
The watch was sold on Saturday to a private collector in the US by Henry Aldridge & Son, an auction house in Devizes, Wiltshire, South West England.
"Thank you to all of our customers today in the room, online and on the telephone," a post on Henry Aldridge & Son's Instagram read, adding that the sale of the watch had fetched a "new house record."
The watch had belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, a businessman and real estate developer who went down with the ship when it sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.
"Astor is well known as the richest passenger aboard the R.M.S. Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, with a net worth of roughly $87 million," Henry Aldridge & Son says on its website.
Astor IV, who was 47 at the time the Titanic sank, helped his wife, Madeleine, onto a lifeboat and then smoked a last cigarette as the ship went down.
The 14-carat gold Waltham pocket watch, engraved JJA, was found on his body when it was recovered a week later.
The highest amount previously paid for a Titanic artifact had been Ā£1.1 million, or roughly $1.4 million, for a violin that band member Wallace Hartley apparently played to try to calm passengers as the ship went under.
The case for the violin was sold at the same auction on Saturday for Ā£360,000, which is about $455,000.
The RMS Titanic.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The RMS Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. Around 1,500 people are believed to have died as a result of the incident.
The ship was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and was launched on 31 May 1911.
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana is running in one of the most competitive races in the country.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF
The 2024 Senate elections — which will run concurrent with the presidential race — are approaching.
Democrats will have to defend several vulnerable incumbents in swing and GOP-heavy states.
However, the party has held their own in the last three cycles in navigating tough Senate races.
In the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats defied political expectations by holding on to their Senate majority, with every incumbent securing reelection and then-Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman flipping the open seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
The upper chamber in January 2023 then shifted from its previous 50-50 split — with Senate control in 2021 and 2022 resting on Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking abilities — to a 51-49 majority led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. And despite Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema switching from the Democratic Party to register as an Independent late in 2022, she continues to retain her committee assignments through her former party.
However, the class of senators who were elected and reelected in 2018 — a Democratic wave year that saw several vulnerable red-state members of the party win and lose — will face a challenging map in 2024.
Much of the party's performance will likely be tied to President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection to a second term.
Former President Donald Trump, who will once again be the Republican presidential nominee this year, remains unpopular among moderates and suburban voters who often decide close Senate elections.
A major development that boosts the GOP: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia in November 2023 announced that he wouldn't seek reelection in 2024, a major blow to Democrats as he was not only the lone statewide officeholder from the party but the only Democrat who could conceivably have run a competitive race given its conservative lean. The GOP is now in the driver's seat in the Mountain State, which backed Trump over Biden by 39 points in 2020.
In 2024, 34 seats will be up for grabs, including 20 currently held by Democrats, 11 held by Republicans, and three currently held by Independents.
Here are the key states that both parties are set to target:
Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix-area lawmaker, is seeking the Democratic Senate nomination in Arizona.
REBECCA NOBLE/AFP via Getty Images
Arizona
Sinema's decision to become an Independent gave Democrats jitters while they were still rejoicing Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock's runoff victory in December 2022, but since then, her decision hasn't impaired the party's ability to move legislation and approve judicial nominations.
Democrats have made major inroads in Arizona in recent years, and the party is aiming to bolster their political ascent in the state by electing Gallego.
On the Republican side, former television journalist Kari Lake and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb are the leading candidates.
Lake, the 2022 gubernatorial nominee who lost to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs, jumped into the Senate race in October 2023 with the endorsement of Trump.
Meanwhile, Lamb, a conservative who has pushed for stronger security measures at the US-Mexico border, was the first major Republican to enter the race.
Blake Masters, the 2022 Republican Senate nominee who lost to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, is running for the House seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko after the 2024 elections.
Abe Hamadeh, who was narrowly defeated in the 2022 race for state attorney general, had been mentioned as a potential contender but in October 2023 threw his support behind Lake. He is also running to succeed Lesko in the House.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin is running for the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan.
Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Michigan
Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a popular lawmaker now in her fourth term, announced in January 2023 that she would not run for reelection in 2024.
Stabenow, the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was most recently reelected in 2018 by 6.5% against now-GOP Rep. John James. (James, the Republican Senate nominee in both 2018 and 2020, is running for reelection to his House seat anchored in suburban Detroit this fall.)
Republicans would very much like to flip this seat, but Michigan Democrats had a banner year in November 2022 — sweeping the top statewide offices and retaking control of the full legislature. Biden is set to compete hard in the state this year, but he continues to face significant intraparty pushback over the conflict in Gaza, an issue which will play heavily in the presidential race and the Senate contest given the state's sizable Arab-American population.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a moderate Democrat who represents a Lansing-area swing district that stretches to rural and suburban areas northwest of Detroit, announced in February 2023 that she would enter the Senate race.
Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and the acting assistant defense secretary for international security affairs in the administration of President Barack Obama, is the most prominent elected official to seek the Democratic nomination.
The congresswoman, who was first elected in 2018, said in her announcement video that she would focus on bolstering the middle class "in the state that invented the middle class" if voters send her to the Senate.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Reps. Debbie Dingell and Haley Stevens, and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow all ruled out Senate campaigns.
Businessman Nasser Beydoun is also seeking the Democratic nomination.
A number of Republicans are currently in the race, including former Rep. Mike Rogers; Sandy Pensler, a businessman; and Sherry O'Donnell, a physician and former congressional candidate.
Former Rep. Justin Amash, who voted to impeach Trump in 2019, is also running for the GOP nomination.
Rogers, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who served in Congress for 14 years, offers Michigan Republicans their most formidable candidate to date. But his appeal in a Trump-dominated GOP is untested on a statewide level.
Former Rep. Peter Meijer, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role on January 6, 2021, entered the race in November 2023 but withdrew in April 2024.
Meijer served for one term in Congress and was ousted in a 2022 GOP primary by Trump-backed challenger John Gibbs. Gibbs eventually lost the general election race to now-Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who will not seek reelection in 2024, with Tester.
Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call
Montana
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is a political survivor, having first won in conservative-leaning Montana in 2006 before winning tough reelection contests in 2012 and 2018.
And Tester hopes to keep the streak going, announcing in February 2023 that he'd seek a fourth Senate term in 2024.
Despite the GOP lean of Montana, Tester has built a solid political brand over the years and has been able to appeal to many of the state's Independents and Republicans in past elections. GOP leaders have long coveted this seat, though.
Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, a favorite of Republican leaders in Washington, jumped into the GOP primary in June 2023 and has earned the endorsement of Trump.
Rep. Matt Rosendale, a staunch conservative who lost to Tester in 2018, announced in February 2024 that he'd also run for the seat. The decision was poised to set up a competitive — and potentially bruising — primary with Sheehy. But less than a week after entering the race, Rosendale dropped his bid, citing the headwinds he'd likely face after Trump backed Sheehy.
Former Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson has also entered the GOP primary.
Nevada
Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is running for a second term in office in one of the most competitive battleground states in the country. In 2018, Rosen, then a first-term congresswoman, ousted then-GOP Sen. Dean Heller by 5 points.
In 2024, Rosen will be running for reelection when Nevada, a perennial swing state, will be a top target for both Biden and Trump.
Senate candidates on the Republican side include former US ambassador to Iceland Jeffrey Gunter; Army veteran and businessman Sam Brown; former state lawmaker Jim Marchant; attorney Ronda Kennedy; retired Army Lt. Col. Bill Conrad; retired Air Force Lt. Col. Tony Grady; and real estate broker Stephanie Phillips.
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has cultivated a populist political brand in Republican-leaning Ohio, which has helped him stay in office for three terms.
AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib
Ohio
Sherrod Brown, who was also elected to the Senate in 2006, is running for a fourth term. He has maintained a strong populist connection with his constituents despite the continued reddening of Ohio, which only 20 years ago was widely seen as the nation's premier swing state.
Republicans view the Ohio seat as one of their biggest targets, but Brown has proven to be an effective candidate adept at winning over Independents and even a slice of conservative-leaning voters.
In March 2024, businessman Bernie Moreno defeated state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in a hotly-contested GOP primary.
The general election matchup between Brown and Moreno, which could very well determine the Senate majority, is now set to be one of the most expensive races in the country.
Pennsylvania
Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who was first elected to the upper chamber in 2006, is seeking a fourth term in 2024.
Casey, who has won all three of his prior Senate races with relative ease, will likely benefit from running in a presidential year when turnout in the Democratic strongholds of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is poised to be very high.
However, Casey has also generally done well in many of the state's working-class towns and cities, and he could post an electoral performance similar to Fetterman, who dominated in the vote-rich Philadelphia suburbs in 2022.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is running for a third term in 2024.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Texas
The Lone Star State has been firmly in the Republican column since the 1990s.
Democrats have sought to run more competitive Senate and gubernatorial races in recent years but have largely fallen short by sizable margins, with the notable exception being the close 2018 senatorial contest between then-Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. That year, O'Rourke lost to Cruz by 2.6 points, a result that gave Democrats hope that they could once again win the state in the near future.
Cruz has long been a major foil for Democrats; the conservative lawmaker also ran for president in 2016 before his defeat in the GOP primary to Trump.
In March 2024, Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL player and civil rights attorney, easily won the Democratic primary over candidates that included state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, state Rep. Carl Sherman, and former Nueces County district attorney Mark Gonzalez.
Republicans point to the conservative tilt of the state in projecting confidence in the race, but they are also cognizant of Cruz's narrow 2018 victory.
Trump is favored to carry Texas in 2024, which would likely boost Cruz, but Allred was first elected to office by appealing to moderates and flipping a GOP-held district in the Dallas area. The congressman could build on O'Rourke's success and make further inroads in suburbs across the state, especially if abortion remains as potent an issue in 2024 as it was in the 2023 elections.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running for reelection in Wisconsin, a perennial swing state.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Wisconsin
Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced in April 2023 that she'd seek a third term in the upper chamber.
While Wisconsin in recent years has been one of the most politically polarized states in the country, Baldwin was able to win over many rural and exurban voters during her 2012 and 2018 campaigns — while also racking up large margins in the Democratic-heavy population centers of Milwaukee and Madison.
Several of the most prominent Republicans who were thought of as potential candidates — including former Gov. Scott Walker, Reps. Bryan Steil and Tom Tiffany, and former Rep. Mike Gallagher — declined to enter the race.
The GOP candidates currently in the race include Eric Hovde, a businessman, and Rejani Raveendran, the chair of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College Republicans.
JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. have developed a close friendship and communicate "nearly daily," per The Times.
Vance was once a critic of former President Trump but has become a champion of the ex-president.
Per The Times, Vance is on the former president's list as a potential 2024 vice presidential pick.
When Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio arrived in the Senate last year, he was already a well-known figure, boosted by his best-selling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" and its subsequent film adaptation.
For many GOP figures, Vance represents the future of the party, one that embraces the more isolationist "America First" worldview advanced by former President Donald Trump.
Vance's loyalty has not only landed him on Trump's list as a potential 2024 vice presidential pick, but it has also led the Ohioan to develop a close friendship with the former president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., according to The New York Times.
Vance and Trump Jr. exchange text messages or speak on the phone "nearly daily" and the two men also attempt to arrange meet-ups if they happen to be in the same city, per the newspaper.
Perhaps Mike Johnson should stop going on TV and telling the world that Donald Trump endorses every piece of his ridiculous betrayal. https://t.co/D6rMcCIlYE
Trump Jr., in a statement to The Times, heaped further praise on Vance, who was backed by the former president in the 2022 GOP Senate primary in Ohio, an endorsement that helped lift him to the nomination in what was a crowded and competitive race.
During the general election campaign, Trump Jr. also stumped for Vance throughout Ohio.
"In the world of politics, you make a lot of acquaintances, but there are very few actual friends," Trump Jr. told the newspaper. "JD has become a close friend of mine, and I'm a big supporter of everything he's been doing policywise to put America First in the Senate."
Ukrainian SU-27 fighters escort an SU-24 front-line bomber during an air force exercises on Starokostyantyniv military airbase on October 12, 2018.
GENYA SAVILOV | Getty Images
The US has purchased 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Kazakhstan for $1.5m, the Kyiv Post reports.
Kazakhstan, a historic ally of Russia, is engaging more with Western nations.
The planes may be used for spare parts or deployed as decoys in conflict regions.
The US has acquired 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Kazakhstan, the Kyiv Post reported.
Kazakhstan, which is upgrading its air fleet, auctioned off 117 Soviet-era fighter and bomber aircraft, including MiG-31 interceptors, MiG-27 fighter bombers, MiG-29 fighters, and Su-24 bombers from the 1970s and 1980s.
The declared value of the sale was one billion tenge, or $1.5 million, said the Post.
The motive behind the US purchase remains undisclosed, said the Post, fueling speculation about potential use in Ukraine, where similar aircraft are in service.
Given Ukraine's continued reliance on Soviet-era weapons, the aircraft could either serve as a source of spare parts or be strategically deployed as decoys at airfields, said the Post.
The Mikoyan MiG-31 was a supersonic interceptor designed to defend Soviet airspace, according to Airforce Technology. It played a critical role during the Cold War.
Derived from the MiG-23, the MiG-27 was a ground-attack aircraft and saw action in conflicts like the Soviet-Afghan War.
The agile MiG-29 excelled in air-to-air combat. It was widely exported and remains in service with some air forces.
MiG-31
Russian Defense Ministry
Despite its age, the Su-24 – an all-weather tactical bomber – remains in service with several air forces, including the Russian Aerospace Forces and Ukrainian Air Force.
Kazakhstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has maintained close ties to Russia and historically was one of its strongest allies. But the relationship between the two countries has shifted since Russia invaded Ukraine, with Kazakhstan aligning itself more with the West, drawing the fury of some in Russia.
But the Central Asian country's efforts to upgrade its military capabilities coincide with its increasing engagement with Western nations, signaling a shift away from historical ties with Moscow, per the Kyiv Post's analysis.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to Germany in 2023 underscored Kazakhstan's commitment to international sanctions against Russia.
Kazakhstan and Western nations are showing increasing cooperation, with recent diplomatic engagements including a visit from UK Foreign Minister David Cameron to Astana, the capital.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan, on February 28, 2023.
Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the central Asian country in March 2023, where he said that the US "strongly supports Kazakhstan's sovereignty, its independence, its territorial integrity," according to news agency AFP.
Some of Russia's outspoken propagandists have suggested that Russia should look to Kazakhstan next following its invasion of Ukraine.
One notable Russian TV commentator, Vladimir Solovyov, said that his country "must pay attention to the fact that Kazakhstan is the next problem because the same Nazi processes can start there as in Ukraine."
Agreements on trade, education, environment, and mineral supplies reflect the deepening ties between Kazakhstan and Western nations as they navigate geopolitical challenges posed by neighboring countries like Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Iran.
A soldier from the drone unit of Ukraine's 108th Territorial Defense Brigade.
Anadolu | Getty Images
Russia plans to introduce drone training sessions in schools in occupied parts of Ukraine, reports say.
The courses will cover UAV design features and assembly.
Drones have played a crucial role for both Russian and Ukrainian forces in the war.
Russia will introduce drone training sessions to schools in occupied areas of Ukraine from September, Ivan Fedorov, the Head of Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, has said.
"On September 1, 2024, a new subject will be introduced in schools in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine — a course on the management of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)," he wrote on Telegram.
"Officially, they may call it 'training,' but in reality, they are preparing young people for murder," he continued, adding that it was "a blatant violation of international law."
It follows a February report by the National Resistance Center of Ukraine, which was set up by Ukraine's Special Operations Forces in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, which said Russia planned to teach children in Ukrainian territories "technologies, design features and assembly of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military purposes."
Fedorov said the Russian plan was to send drones and military personnel to schools to assist with the training.
It is not clear if the potential training sessions would be for all children or for specific age groups.
Drones have played a crucial role for both the Russian and Ukrainian militaries in the war so far, and they have been used for a wide variety of operations, including reconnaissance, guiding artillery, and carrying out airstrikes.
Defense One reported that Russia had set up a training center in occupied Ukraine to train both Russian military and civilian drone operators for combat.
Civilians who undergo training at the center in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine do not officially join the military, it noted, citing the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty.
A 2023 report by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab found that at least 6,000 children from Ukraine had been put through what it called Russian "re-education" camps that aimed at making them "more pro-Russia in their personal and political views."
The report said that children at some of the 43 camps had been given firearms training, although there appeared to be no evidence that the children had been sent to fight.
The pandemic housing boom is yesterday's news, along with the intense buying competition it fueled, subdued by a relentless increase in mortgage rates. It means two things for prospective homebuyers: One, more sellers are likely to slash listing prices to attract buyers. Secondly, buyers now hold an advantage over sellers.
In states like Florida and Texas, where an influx of buyers seeking relatively affordable homes and larger living spaces has led to more new home construction than anywhere else in the US, several metros in March saw the highest share of price drops and the softest median sale price growth compared to elsewhere in the country, according to a new report from Redfin.
Eric Auciello, a Redfin sales manager from Florida, said that the price cuts are partly a result of home sellers facing stiff competition from home builders who are offering concessions — such as money for home repairs or mortgage-rate buydowns — to sweeten their deals.
"My advice to sellers is to price your home fairly; the comps from six months ago don't exist now," Auciello said in the Redfin report. "And if you're a buyer, know that the odds of getting an offer accepted below market value are pretty high."
With builders and sellers competing for buyers' attention by offering concessions and slashing prices, there's a growing possibility that homebuyers previously unable to afford a home may now have an opportunity to purchase one this year — and it might already be happening. According to Census Bureau data, new home sales for March 2024 were at 693,000, which is 8.8% above the revised February rate, and 8.3% above the March 2023 estimate.
To calculate which metros have the highest share of sellers reducing list prices, Redfin analyzed home price data from 85 US metros with populations of at least 750,000. Below are the 10 metros with the largest share of price drops in March, according to Redfin. Notably, not all of these metros have experienced median sale price declines; instead, many have observed a softening in price growth.
9. (tie) Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida.
Joe Daniel Price/Getty Images
Percentage of listings with price cuts: 33%
Median sale price March 2024: $315,000
9. (tie) San Antonino, Texas
San Antonio.
Sean Pavone/Getty Images
Percentage of listings with price cuts: 33%
Median sale price March 2024: $269,000
8. Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas.
John Coletti/Getty Images
Percentage of listings with price cuts: 33%
Median sale price March 2024: $339,000
7. Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon.
James Bentley Photography/Shutterstock
Percentage of listings with price cuts: 34%
Median sale price March 2024: $498,750
6. Orlando, Florida
Numerous cities across Florida, Orlando included, are seeing reductions in home listing prices.
Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images
Percentage of listings with price cuts: 35%
Median sale price March 2024: $395,000
5. Denver, Colorado
Downtown Denver, Colorado.
Kevin Ruck/Shutterstock
Percentage of listings with price cuts: 37%
Median sale price March 2024: $600,000
4. Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral, Florida.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Democratic primary ballots in New Jersey will look quite different this June thanks to a lawsuit from Rep. Andy Kim.
Associated Press; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
New Jersey is one of the last states in the US with powerful party bosses and political machines.
A key part of that machinery is the Garden State's unusual ballot design.
But a judge blocked it for this year's Democratic primaries, and the change could become permanent.
New Jersey is one of the last places in the country where the phrases "party boss" and "political machine" don't just harken back to a bygone era, but describe a present-day reality.
In the Garden State, getting the endorsement of local party organizations — a process often controlled by political insiders — can make or break a primary campaign, thanks in large part to the way ballots are designed.
But that could all change forever, thanks to a lawsuit filed two months ago by Rep. Andy Kim, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee for Senate in the deep-blue state.
At the end of March, a federal judge sided with Kim, blocking Democrats from using the so-called "county line" system in the state's upcoming June primaries. That's set to bring a stark change to the way ballots look — and potentially, a total overhaul in the state's political culture.
Here's what to know about the "county line" and why it may be going away for good.
How the 'county line' steers votes
49 states use so-called "office-block ballots," in which candidates are simply listed beneath the name of the office they're seeking, without any sort of preferential placement.
That's not how ballots look in most of New Jersey.
"Office block" ballots from Nevada and Delaware.
Kim et al v. Hanlon et al
In all but two of the state's 21 counties (Salem and Sussex), local party organizations are able to place all of their endorsed candidates in a single row or column. If you're not endorsed by the party, your name may appear somewhere off to the side, sometimes referred to as "Ballot Siberia."
You can see it in the example ballot from the 2020 Democratic primary below — Sen. Bernie Sanders is way off to the side, while then-candidate Joe Biden is on the same row as all of the other party-endorsed candidates.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself: Okay, but how does that help cement party control? There's nothing stopping anyone from voting for a candidate who doesn't show up on the line.
A 2020 Democratic primary ballot in Mercer County, New Jersey.
Kim et al v. Hanlon et al
It's true that nothing's stopping people from voting for candidates that don't appear on the line. But it's a psychologically powerful tool, especially in elections where voters may not know very much about the candidates they're electing.
As Kim's lawsuit argues, candidates not endorsed by the party are "harder to find on the ballot, harder to know who they are running against and/or for what office, and may otherwise appear less legitimate on the ballot than the county line candidates."
Kim and his co-plaintiffs also provided proof in the form of academic research showing that candidates earned double-digit advantages when they ran on "the line," and that incumbents running on the line have almost never lost in recent decades.
It all began with Bob Menendez's gold bars and the short-lived primary to succeed him
In September, long-serving Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted by federal prosecutors in the most cartoonish scandal one could imagine: being accused of accepting bribes in the form of literal gold bars.
Menendez outside of federal court in New York City last month.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Menendez's political career effectively came to an end overnight, and Kim launched a campaign for his Senate seat just days after the indictment.
But Kim quickly became locked in a tough, personal primary with Tammy Murphy, the wife of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Because of the power the governor wields over local officials, Tammy Murphy was expected to earn the endorsement of most county party organizations, putting Kim at a disadvantage when it came to the ballot.
That's what led the congressman to file his lawsuit in February, arguing that the system violated the US Constitution. US District Judge Zahid Quraishi ultimately agreed with Kim and issued a preliminary injunction blocking the system's use in the upcoming primary.
Rep. Andy Kim and New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Murphy later dropped out of the race, all but assuring that Kim will win the Democratic nomination on June 4 and likely be elected to the US Senate in November.
The judge's decision, which applies only to Democratic ballots in the upcoming primary, has been upheld by a federal appeals court — and it signals that the old county line system is likely to be invalidated in future elections as another years-old lawsuit against the line continues to play out.
How the change could affect New Jersey politics in the coming years
While the decision means little for Kim at this point — he no longer has a major opponent — it could have a significant impact on other races in New Jersey, both this year and in the future.
Among them is a Democratic House primary between Menendez's son — Rep. Rob Menendez — and Ravi Bhalla, the mayor of Hoboken.
Proponents of the county line system have argued that it allows the party to serve an important gate-keeping function, keeping out ideologically extreme candidates who may lack institutional support.
Detractors point out that the system is anti-democratic, while arguing that it contributes to a culture of in which party bosses and the political establishment wield undue — and even corrupt — power.
"These ballot dynamics have predictable downstream effects that encourage backroom dealings and soft corruption, and they directly threaten election integrity, public confidence in our elections, and the fundamental premise of representative government," Kim's lawsuit argued.
In its absence, New Jersey's elections could begin to resemble those of other states.
"I think you'll see a more candidate-centric politics," said Jersey City Councilman James Solomon, a longtime opponent of the county-line system. "I think there are folks [in elected office in New Jersey] who have genuinely never run a real campaign. They've never had to raise money, they've never had to do field, they've never had to do comms."
Tesla boss Elon Musk (L) walks with Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong during the ground-breaking ceremony for a Tesla factory in Shanghai on January 7, 2019.
STR via Getty Images
Elon Musk visits China to expedite Tesla's full self-driving tech rollout, say reports.
Musk is set to meet with senior Chinese officials.
Tesla faces increased competition and scrutiny amid declining revenue and layoffs.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk touched down in China on Sunday in the tech billionaire's second trip in less than a year to the world's biggest market for electric vehicles.
The purpose of the trip is to hurry along the rollout of Tesla's full self-driving technology, the most advanced version of its Autopilot software, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter. Musk is expected to meet with senior officials to discuss the software and gain permission to transfer data overseas, the person said.
Musk also visited China in May last year when he met with China's foreign, commerce and industry ministers. The content of the meetings was not disclosed, though Reuters reported at the time that Musk had discussed the development of electric vehicles.
Earlier this month, Musk said in a post on X that Tesla would be making Full Self-Driving (FSD) available to Chinese customers "very soon."
In an earnings call on April 23, Musk said, "So we plan on, with the approval of the regulators, releasing it as a supervised autonomy system in any market that — where we can get regulatory approval for that, which we think includes China."
Tesla has been facing increased competition from Chinese manufacturers since electric vehicle maker Xpeng said last year that it was upgrading its advanced driver assistance software (FSD equivalent) and planning to make all its functions available to drivers across China by 2024.
Musk's China trip comes after he canceled a visit to India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Musk said he had "very heavy Tesla obligations."
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular working hours.
It has been a tough month for the EV manufacturer. In its earnings call last week, Tesla reported its first decline in quarterly revenue since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays to production and deliveries.
This month, The EV manufacturer said it would lay off 10% of its global workforce as it grappled with waning sales.
US federal safety regulators also said Friday that they were launching an investigation into whether Tesla's recall of more than two million vehicles in the US, which the company announced in December to install new Autopilot safeguards, was sufficient following several crashes.