Author: openjargon

• A US commander appeared to suggest UK special forces were operating in Ukraine.
• Gen. Bryan Fenton told The AP that the US was "taking a lot of lessons" from UK special forces in Ukraine.
• The UK Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the report.

A US commander has appeared to suggest that UK special forces were operating in Ukraine.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Gen. Bryan Fenton, the Commander of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), spoke about plans to restructure Green Beret teams based on lessons from British special forces in Ukraine.

"A 12-person detachment might be up-gunned," Fenton said, explaining that as warfare becomes more high-tech, there may be a need for teams to have a cyber expert, an Air Force pilot, or a cryptologist, for example.

He said the ideas had come from "lessons learned out of the experience in Ukraine, mostly through the eyes of our UK special operations partners, who not only have done that in their formations, but they've also learned very quickly that they needed other elements of their joint force."

Fenton said that British commandos have required Royal Air Force pilots' advice on drone operations and needed navy personnel "to help them understand, more than a SOF (special operations forces) teammate could, the way a ship in the Black Sea navigates."

There has been much speculation over the covert presence of Western troops in Ukraine. Indeed, the possibility of Western powers openly sending military units to fight Putin's forces has gained momentum in recent months, with President Emmanuel Macron saying he'd consider dispatching French soldiers.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "It is the long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment on UK Special Forces."

United Kingdom Special Forces comprises several elite units, including the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group, 18 Signal Regiment, and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing.

The Royal Marine Commandos and the Ranger Regiment also include special operations–capable forces.

Ukrainian commanders told The Times of London in April 2022 that special forces were in Ukraine to train Ukrainian recruits on British-supplied anti-tank missiles known as NLAWs.

One senior European defense official told the Financial Times in February: "Everyone knows there are Western special forces in Ukraine — they've just not acknowledged it officially."

Meanwhile, the radical idea of Western troops being officially sent to Ukraine has been floated by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Speaking to The Economist at the end of April, Macron said: "I'm not ruling anything out because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out."

"We have undoubtedly been too hesitant by defining the limits of our action to someone who no longer has any and who is the aggressor," he added.

Macron said he'd consider sending troops "if the Russians were to break through the front lines" or "if there were a Ukrainian request—which is not the case today."

Russia had previously issued stark warnings in response to some of Macron's claims, saying troops sent to Ukraine would meet the same fate as Napoleon's army, which lost more than 300,000 men when it invaded Russia in 1812.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this week, Dmitry Medvedev, a former prime minister of Russia, also threatened that Russia would use nuclear weapons against Western states if NATO sent troops to Ukraine.

• Psychological warfare, or PsyOps, aims to influence public opinion and wage the war of words.
• PsyOps missions range from leaflet drops to deceiving the enemy and shaping opinion on foreign soil.
•  The US Army, struggling to fill the ranks of its PsyOps units, released a haunting recruitment video.

In late 2021, the Army Special Operations Command leaders and special forces recruiters had a problem: they needed more enlistees for their Psychological Operations groups.

Experts in persuasion and influence, psychological warfare, or PsyOp, soldiers don't often fit the stereotypical mold of an Army recruit. These individuals tend to live and think outside the norm, and recruitment must meet them via non-traditional means.

In May 2022, recruiters released their first eerie recruitment video: "Ghost in the machine: Psywar." Last week, they released their second: "Ghost in the machine 2."

"Ghosts in the Machine 2" takes the viewer on a journey of introspection. Quotes, both spoken and on screen, music, images and ideas are layered on top of one another to create tension and draw the viewer in.

While the first video focuses on psychological warfare and the shadows, "Ghosts in the Machine 2" emphasizes that words and ideas can be powerful weapons.

The final scene in the second video displays the text "See you at Selection" and provides viewers with the web address of the US Army Special Operations Recruiting website (GoArmySOF.com).

"We're all nerds for sure"

The videos are designed to garner curiosity from the specific type of recruit that they're looking for.

"We're all nerds for sure," the Army major who created the ad and a member of the 8th Psychological Operations Group based at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, told the Associated Press. "But we're all nerds in different ways."

Usually, those who are drawn to the job are "planners," he said. "They're writers, they're great thinkers. They're idea people."

He said they are often creative — artists and illustrators — but others are tech experts who can bring ideas to life in online messaging.

Trying to make PsyOps understood by potential enlistees

In March, a report found that due to "burnout" issues among psyop soldiers, units were unable to fight both China and Russia in the information war.

But part of the recruitment issue is that people who could be good candidates don't fully understand what PsyOps is or what it involves.

The video aims to recruit future PsyOps soldiers and show applicants what their jobs will entail.

" 'Ghost in the Machine' tells you what psychological operations is, and shows you it, without telling you in words," Lt. Col. Steve Crowe, commander of the Special Forces Recruiting Battalion, told AP.

"You watch the video, and you're like, OK, this is how I'll influence and change behavior."

Recruiters told AP that about six months after the first video was released, 51% of soldiers who applied for the PsyOps mission and got into the assessment and selection course said the video had a medium to high influence on their decision to try out for the job.

The US has been using PsyOps for years

One of the most renowned psychological operations occurred during World War II. The US Ghost Army deceived the Germans using inflatable tanks, radio deception, disguises, and impersonations.

In what was known as Operation Viersen, they deployed inflatables, sound trucks, and fake headquarters to divert German forces from the actual crossing point of the Rhine River.

PsyOps soldiers have more recently advised Ukrainian troops in their attempts to counter Russian disinformation campaigns since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. 

After the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukrainian forces used a variety of tactics to convince Russian soldiers to surrender. Leaflets and social media posts told Russian troops how and where they could give themselves up.

• LongHorn Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse are two chains serious about serving the best meat.
• I visited both chains in August to see how each handled the ultimate steak lover's cut, the bone-in rib eye.
• Even though LongHorn delivered the better meal this time, I'd sooner go back to Texas Roadhouse.

It's no secret that Americans love steak.

Look no further than the booming growth of national chains such as LongHorn Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse, which have both seen substantial gains in new locations and sales in the past year, even as other full-service restaurants are having a rougher time.

Although neither brand has actual origins in the Lone Star state — LongHorn was founded in Georgia in 1981 and Texas Roadhouse in Indiana in 1994 — both have adopted Texas-inspired identities and a mission to serve the best meat.

To put the two porterhouse powerhouses to the test, I visited locations of both chains near Madison, Wisconsin, in August to see how each handles the ultimate steak lover's cut, the bone-in rib eye.

This prime cut is one that every grill master worth their seasoning salt takes great care and pride in getting right, making it a sure measure of a kitchen's talent. Of course, that's only one (obviously important) piece of the puzzle in the restaurant business.

I started off with LongHorn Steakhouse.

This location is open for lunch on weekdays, unlike the Texas Roadhouse nearby.

I was promptly greeted and seated by an exceptionally friendly staff.

My server took my order and quickly brought me ice-cold sweet tea and bread to snack on.

As a Southerner, I like my iced tea with a pronounced flavor, a lot of sugar, and a fresh lemon. LongHorn gets it right.

I had to resist stuffing myself with the bread, which was a warm, fresh multigrain loaf served with whipped butter.

The dimly lit dining rooms in the 572 locations the company operates look about the same.

Darden Restaurants, which also owns Olive Garden, opened 18 LongHorn locations in the past year.

The decor evokes a Western ranch lodge, with cowboy chaps and bull horns adorning the walls.

The styling feels a bit dated compared with recent refreshes at other brands, but other diners seemed comfortable with the consistency.

I was impressed by the size and heft of the steak knife — it was huge!

The blade was a bit cumbersome for spreading butter, but it definitely got me in the mood for meat.

My medium-rare bone-in rib eye landed with a sheen of lemon butter and a side of corn on the cob. It smelled delicious.

I had intended to get fries on the side for a better comparison and to keep the focus on the steak, but this corn simply looked too good to pass up.

The color and char looked just right, and I carved off a large piece to check the temperature.

The pink was more on the "medium" side of "medium rare" but still within the range of what I'd expect from a major chain.

With the first bite, my taste buds were hit with juicy steak flavor, enhanced by bright notes from the peppery rub and citrus butter.

Dubbed the "Outlaw Ribeye," this steak packs a whopping 1,250 calories (790 from fat), according to LongHorn's nutrition guide. The 22-ounce LongHorn porterhouse is slightly larger but leaner.

The texture was nice and firm, with bits of grill char and marbled fat complementing one another.

Turning the bone over, I noticed it was cut to reveal the marrow, which helps transfer some flavor to the meat.

The fire-grilled corn was laden with a crème sauce and panko seasoning, pairing nicely with the steak.

Other sides that caught my eye included the crispy Brussels sprouts, steakhouse mac and cheese, and fried okra. I'll have to go back for those.

Having eaten my fill, I requested the check and a box for the remaining steak.

The steak cost $29.29, plus the tea and a markup for the corn, for a total of $35.47 before tax and tip.

After a genteel pause — about two hours to digest and catch up on emails and phone calls — I headed to Texas Roadhouse for round two.

This location is one of 29 new ones to open in the past year, bringing the total to 647.

Even though it was before dinnertime, the well-staffed restaurant was getting busy with diners.

The average Texas Roadhouse location does roughly $164,000 in weekly revenue, significantly higher than LongHorn's $106,000 average.

The famous display of hand-cut steaks, which are prepared in-house daily, stood near the entrance.

I didn't see a rib eye on display, but the offerings looked tempting.

A host grabbed a basket of warm, sweet rolls and led me to a booth.

Each table had an electronic mini kiosk for ordering, paying, and even playing video games.

The dining-room ambiance was more New Country than Old Western, with exposed wood and neon signs instead of leather and paintings.

The layout was centered on a U-shaped bar, with plenty of TVs showing sports and one playing music videos of the country hits booming over the speakers.

My server brought over an iced tea, which was plenty sweet but less flavorful than the one at LongHorn.

The rolls were also sweeter and less flavorful than LongHorn's loaf, and the steak knife was disappointingly basic, too, but I digress.

My medium-rare bone-in rib eye arrived quickly, with servings of corn and green beans on the side.

I went with corn to try to match the LongHorn meal, but unfortunately, it was not served on the cob. The green beans were generously flecked with pieces of bacon.

The steak had a lighter color, less char, and larger fat portions than the Longhorn version.

Rib eyes get most of their flavor from the marbling of fat, but that can cause the steak to have more gristly bits than some diners like.

A similar initial cut revealed a temperature that was more on the "rare" side of "medium rare."

I interpreted the rareness as a sign the chef was averse to overcooking a steak.

The first bite was phenomenally tender, with an aroma and flavor that had a more pronounced garlic and onion profile.

The seasoning was also a bit salty for my taste, and the sides were somewhat bland.

The restaurant's manager stopped by my table a few minutes later to see how I was enjoying the meal and told me he had cooked my steak personally.

The manager later told me the saltiness of the seasoning is a common critique, but it's one of the only food items that is delivered as is rather than made from scratch in-house. He also said meat prices had been going up, but he was doing his best not to pass that on to customers all at once.

I could also see how the same seasoning and cooking process that would lift a more common steak cut could be a bit of overkill on one as rich as the rib eye.

Plus, I'd bet the seasoning pairs nicely with one of the restaurant's signature margaritas.

At the end of the day, LongHorn came out on top in terms of preparing a more satisfying meal for die-hard steak lovers.

LongHorn's seasoning allowed more of the meat and fire flavors to take center stage, and the sides were more interesting.

The knife wasn't bad, either.

Seriously, just look at that thing.

But when I think about which one I'd rather come back to first — and bring my kids — my choice would be Texas Roadhouse.

The difference between the rib eyes wasn't dramatic, and the prices were comparable. The Texas Roadhouse steak cost $28.99 with two sides — $0.30 less than Longhorn — and the tea was $2.99 for a total of $31.98 before tax and tip. Beyond price, Texas Roadhouse felt more lively and welcoming, with a wider variety of menu options to try for different diners.

That could be why, even as both chains post strong growth, Texas Roadhouse is ahead and extending its lead.

For the most recent quarter, Texas Roadhouse saw same-store sales increase by 8.4% on a 4.3% increase in guest traffic compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, LongHorn's delivered a very respectable 5.2% sales increase, even with a 2.7% decline in guest counts.

For Texas Roadhouse, the slowdown affecting other casual dining brands is proving to be an opportunity to gain share — and I can definitely see why.

• Alma Rex-Ezonfade took a yearlong sabbatical after years of working non-stop.
• She saved $51,300 for her sabbatical, which she spent on travel and exploring personal interests.
• Despite initial struggles, she found joy in her time off and plans on taking more sabbaticals in the future.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 31-year-old Alma Rex-Ezonfade based in Toronto, Canada. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

On my 29th birthday, I opened a savings account and put $500 in it. I had told myself that for my 30th birthday, I would gift myself a one-year sabbatical, and this was my first step in making that dream of taking an "adult gap year" a reality.

I was tired of working and always being on top of things. I immigrated to Canada from Nigeria when I was 22 for my master's degree and started working right after graduating. It felt like I had been running on a hamster wheel, and I was just going, going, going, going.

I calculated my budget for the year

Before taking my gap year, I was a customer success manager at Astreya, making around 110,000 CAD ($80,500). I was also a content creator and was making nearly 200,000 CAD ($146,600) a year between my 9-to-5 salary and my income from working with brands and doing campaigns.

I calculated how much I actually needed to save based on my spending at the time.

For necessities like rent, car payments, groceries, gas, phone bill, and utilities, I estimated around 4,200 CAD ($3,100) a month. I also decided I wanted to travel, which I knew would be a bit pricey because I'm not a budget traveler. I planned for 18,000 CAD ($13,200) for two big trips and a number of smaller ones.

Altogether, I calculated that I would need to save around 70,000 CAD ($51,300) for my sabbatical, which I did by putting most of my content creator income into my sabbatical fund. If I didn't have my job as a content creator, I would've picked up a part-time job to generate that supplemental income.

I also cut back on expenses. I was never too shy to just say, "I can't afford that" or "I can't do that activity," because I was planning for something that had way higher priority than going out and spending $200 in one night.

I left my job but struggled to not do anything

Saving up took me a little longer than I had planned, but in April 2023, I quit my job.

The day I quit, I just spent the whole day at home, watching the TV blankly. I didn't do anything else; I just needed my brain to shut off.

On Monday, I woke up at 8 a.m. as usual because I forgot that I didn't have a job. Then I remembered I could sleep in, but I was already awake, so I tried to figure out what my new routine would be.

I started to put together a plan, and then I realized that would just defeat the whole purpose. The plan was to let go.

Still, I didn't feel like I could just not do anything. I found myself planning for my upcoming trips, brainstorming content ideas for my YouTube channel, and posting more regularly on my Instagram page. I had thought about starting my own clothing brand for years, so I started working on ideas for that too.

One of my friends said to me, "The whole point was for you to not work. Why can't you not work?"

The week after I quit, I checked myself into a hotel for a couple of days, ordered room service, and cried the entire time. They were tears of gratitude, tears of exhaustion, tears of relief. I was letting myself feel like, "Okay, I did it, and I'm here."

I was used to being a high performer, managing a team, having deliverables, and doing all these things. I had to get used to the idea of not working and get over feeling like I wasn't useful because I wasn't being productive. I had to shift to having my validation come from my own happiness and seeing my value beyond my work output.

Three weeks into my sabbatical, one of my former bosses reached out to me to tell me about a contract role at Google that she wanted me to interview for. Honestly, I almost took it because I wasn't used to the idea of not having work.

It took some getting used to, but eventually, I was able to go a whole week without doing any work.

Did I make the right decision?

The first few months when I was on sabbatical, I was so sad.

I looked at all the money that I had put in my sabbatical account and thought of everything else that I could have done with that money rather than lounge for a whole year.

Maybe I should just take it out and buy a house, I thought. I even asked my real-estate agent friend to look up properties for me, but I knew that if I bought the house instead, I'd be miserable, always wondering what I could've achieved if I just took the year off.

I remember talking to my therapist and trying to validate the decision time after time. At the end of the day, I realized that I was at the best point of my life to give this gift to myself. And when I settled with that a few months later, I started to have fun with the idea that I was on a sabbatical.

I learned to enjoy myself

I enjoyed having the luxury of time to do whatever I wanted.

I fell in love with working out again. I started coloring, drawing, and doing ceramics. I started reading again and got back into writing. I spent more time with myself and with my family. I picked up childhood hobbies again, like building Legos and taking Polaroid photos. I also cooked more and tried new coffee spots in Toronto.

Some of my favorite memories from my sabbatical are the many days I spent just sitting on my couch watching TV and only getting up to eat. I finished all six seasons of Downton Abbey in one week. I also watched all of Schitt's Creek as well as a lot of Korean shows.

Working on my clothing brand became a passion project. I learned about fabrics and the fashion industry — I enjoyed just learning things for the sake of learning.

I visited friends and family in other countries, did some birthday trips with friends, went on a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean, and spent four weeks traveling Europe.

I plan to take many more sabbaticals

After a full year of my sabbatical, my sabbatical funds are almost fully drained, and my income as a content creator is keeping me afloat now. I thought I would be panicking about my finances, but taking this time off helped me develop a mindset shift; I know I'll figure it out one way or another.

My fashion brand is launching this month, so I'm giving myself until around September to figure out what's next. My plan is to then work in a corporate job for another three years to get more experience and knowledge, and then take another year off at 35, and I'll repeat that cycle until I retire.

One of the biggest things I'm taking away from this sabbatical is realizing that a lot of things are not that serious. When you're an immigrant, a lot of things are that serious; I had to start life over again in Canada and I had to excel at this life. But I realized that I needed to enjoy life.

I've never been this happy, and I'm the most broke I've ever been. To me, this year has really been about redefining what happiness looks like at different points in my life. My loved ones have pointed out that I'm less grumpy and controlling, and I shout less.

I just feel kind of sad that I had to take a whole year off of work to find joy in my life.

If you took a sabbatical and would like to share your story, email Jane Zhang at janezhang@businessinsider.com.

• A military unit called "Bars Kaskad" is recruiting Russia's elite, the UK Ministry of Defence said.
• The unit is mostly involved in drone operations far from the front lines in Ukraine.
• It likely allows recruits to "sidestep" usual service requirements "with guaranteed safety," said the MoD.

A special Russian military unit is recruiting Russian elites, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

According to the department, the unit, called "Bars Kaskad," was created by the Russian State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, and it contains an "unusually high" number of pro-Putin United Russia Party members and sons of Kremlin elites — "up to 10 in total."

The unit is primarily involved in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations far from the front lines in Ukraine, likely allowing Russian VIPs to "sidestep usual military service requirements with guaranteed safety," the MoD said.

Members of the squadron are also thought to be provided with bodyguards.

Sitting in the rear and drinking tea

Some analysts believe Russian officials see the unit as a way to exploit publicity opportunities.

"Kaskad is specially created for all kinds of famous people and officials who are looking to publicly demonstrate that they have gone to war and stood up for their country," Ruslan Leviev, a military analyst with the Conflict Intelligence Team, told The Guardian.

"You sit somewhere in the rear, drink tea, come back with a medal and titles, and go on to build your political career as a participant in the war," he added.

The unit, which has been active since around October 2022, rose to prominence in April after it emerged that the husband of Russian influencer Yelena Blinovskaya had enlisted to try to prevent her from going to prison on tax evasion charges.

Alexei Blinovsky was pictured serving with Bars Kaskad on April 16, per the MoD.

While thousands of Russian convicts have joined Vladimir Putin's forces in a bid to atone for their crimes and secure their freedom, Blinovsky's case is thought to be the first time someone enlisted in the war to help a family member avoid prison.

• More than a dozen car brands have been discontinued over the past 25 years.
• Some of the brands fell victim to corporate restructuring, while others came from failed startups. 
• Dead brands include Pontiac, Plymouth, Oldsmobile, and Mercury.

Over the last 25 years, as a slew of new carmakers have popped up —such as Tesla, Lucid, and Rivian — while more than a dozen other car brands have disappeared.

Pontiac and Plymouth are long-standing American car brands that fell victim to corporate restructuring, while Oldsmobile and Mercury failed to generate fresh consumer interest.

Saturn and Scion were created by their corporate owners as experiments to reach new customers that ran their course.

CODA was a novel EV startup that simply ran out of cash.

Regardless of the reason for their failure, each one of these brands still created memorable vehicles that helped move the automotive industry to where it is today.

Here's a closer look at 15 car brands that disappeared over the past 25 years.

Eagle

Eagle was launched by Chrysler Corporate in 1988 following its acquisition of American Motors Corporation (AMC) one year earlier. The Eagle name was pulled from AMC's eponymous line of crossovers. In the early years, it became a place where Chrysler could sell models developed by AMC such as the Eagle Premier and the still AMC-badged Eagle Wagon. Eagle also sold re-branded Mitsubishis such as the Eagle Talon and Eagle Summit, which were re-badged Mitsubishi Eclipse and Mirages. Chrysler shuttered the brand in 1999 due to lagging sales.

Plymouth

Chrysler originally introduced Plymouth in 1928 as an entry-level brand in the marketplace. Over the years, Plymouth was home to a litany of iconic models, including the Barracuda muscle car and Prowler roadster, as well as popular family offerings like the Neon sedan and Voyager minivan. Chrysler shuttered the Plymouth brand in 2001 following its merger with Daimler.

Oldsmobile

Ransom E. Olds brought his original Oldsmobile to the market in 1897. General Motors purchased the automaker in 1908, and it served as one of the company's leading luxury brands for nearly 100 years before it was shuttered in 2004 due to declining sales.

Rover

For a century, Rover was a consummate presence in the British car industry. However, the Rover brand struggled to compete in the two decades before its demise in 2005.

Even though Land Rover continues today as part of India's Tata Group, the Rover name has remained dormant.

Pontiac

Pontiac, one of America's most storied automotive brands, was first incorporated in 1926. Pontiac was responsible for some unforgettable cars in American lore, such as the Firebird and the GTO. Unfortunately, Pontiac was one of three brands dissolved as part of GM's financial crisis restructuring in 2010.

Mercury

Ford Motor Company established Mercury in 1938 to bridge the gap between its mass-market Ford brand and luxury-focused Lincoln line. Ford discontinued the Mercury line in 2010 due to diminished market share.

Hummer

GM launched the Hummer division in 1999 to sell the AM General-made H1, a civilian version of the US military's High Mobility Multipurpose Wheel Vehicle (HMMWV). In the subsequent years, GM introduced the H2 and H3 models before shuttering the Hummer division in 2010.

GM revived the Hummer name in 2021, but not as a stand-alone car brand. Instead, it's an EV truck made by GMC.

Saturn

Formed in 1982 and branded in the '90s as "a different kind of car company," Saturn was created mainly to compete with smaller Japanese brand models. By the early 2000s, GM had stopped developing standalone models for the brand and re-badged existing GM products. After years of lagging sales, production was halted in October 2009.

Scion

Toyota's Scion experiment attempted to create a smaller car that appealed to younger customers. Its lineup of small, quirky economy cars failed to make as much of an impact as Toyota had originally hoped. Sales declined substantially following the 2008 recession, and the brand was dissolved in 2016.

Daewoo Motors

Daewoo Motors was once one of South Korea's largest carmakers before a financial scandal at its parent company, followed by a bankruptcy in 1999. General Motors acquired Daewoo Motors in 2002. The company was rebranded as GM Daewoo before becoming GM Korea in 2011. Daewoo vehicles continued to be sold for years after its acquisition by GM, but the brand has been dormant for more than a decade.

Fisker Automotive

Before the current Fisker Inc. there was Fisker Automotive. Fisker Automotive was founded in 2007 and came to market in 2011 with a stylish range-extended EV called Karma. However, slow sales strained the company's finances, which worsened after much of its inventory was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy. Fisker Automotive filed for bankruptcy in 2013 before being sold to China's Wanxiang Group in 2014.

Saab

The Swedish automaker was founded in 1945, and GM took a $600 million stake in 1989, acquiring the remaining shares in 2000. After years of poor financial results and a global recession, GM sold the brand in 2009. A collection of European car companies owned the troubled brand until it dissolved in 2016.

CODA Automotive

CODA Automotive was an American EV startup that was founded in 2009. In 2012, the company launched an affordable EV based on a small Chinese internal combustion economy sedan but fitted with an all-electric drivetrain. CODA Automotive went bankrupt in 2013 after only a handful of customer deliveries.

Holden

Holden was arguably Australia's most iconic car brand. It was founded in 1856 as a saddlemaker and moved into the car business in 1908 before becoming a part of General Motors in 1931. Holden had a popular lineup of muscle cars and utes, but it wasn't popular enough for GM to keep it in business. GM ended automotive production in Australia in 2017 and shuttered the Holden brand at the end of 2020.

Borgward

Borgward was once one of Germany's largest carmakers before going bust in 1961. The Borgward brand remained dormant until Chinese automaker BAIC revived the brand in 2015. The new Borgward proceeded to launch a line of modern crossover SUVs. But the brand struggled to gain traction in the marketplace and filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

• Donald Trump made a $1 billion fundraising pitch to oil executives, The Washington Post reported.
• Trump promises to dismantle Biden's environmental policies if reelected.
• His campaign needs the funds due to lagging behind Biden and legal expenses.

Former President Donald Trump recently hosted a high-stakes dinner at his Mar-a-Lago Club, where he boldly pitched to top oil executives, The Washington Post reports. 

Last month, he asked for a $1 billion contribution to his reelection campaign, and in return, he pledged to dismantle President Joe Biden's environmental policies that have been a thorn in the side of the fossil fuel industry.

Trump's forward approach came as reports suggested the size of his reelection campaign war chest lags behind his Democratic opponent. Meanwhile, the former president, who is facing 88 criminal counts, indicted in four separate prosecutions, has been spending millions on legal fees and drawing on campaign funds to pay his lawyers.

A billion dollars would dramatically exceed Biden's fundraising. In March, the president's campaign said it had $192 million in the bank.

Anonymous sources with knowledge of the meeting with two dozen oil bosses told the Post that Trump assured them of immediate action to reverse Biden's environmental regulations and prevent the enactment of new ones.

The transactional campaign promise indicates what a second Trump presidency would mean for the White House's environmental agenda. 

While Biden has positioned the climate crisis as an existential threat and championed aggressive environmental regulations, Trump has dismissed it as a hoax and systematically dismantled environmental protections during his tenure.

Since taking office in 2021, Biden has swiftly reversed many of Trump's environmental actions, including blocking future oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic. 

Within his first month at the helm, Biden began unraveling Trump's oil legacy, revoking a key permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, directing the EPA to revamp regulations for methane emissions, and introducing more ambitious fuel-efficiency standards, BI's Benji Jones reported.

However, despite oil industry grievances over Biden's policies, the US has experienced record oil production, leading to substantial profits for major energy companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron, said The Post.

At the Mar-a-Lago dinner, Trump promised a "deal" that would be a boon for the oil giants, vowing to expedite permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and auction off more drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, said The Post

While some in the industry initially favored alternative Republican contenders, Trump's steadfast commitment to pro-oil policies has garnered reluctant support.

Trump's "drill, baby, drill" mantra and promises of deregulation continue to resonate within the oil patch, contrasting starkly with Biden's green-energy agenda. 

In January, Trump, in a Fox News town hall on the eve of the Iowa primary, said, "We have more liquid gold under our feet; energy, oil, and gas than any other country in the world," and called clean energy a "new scam business."

Oil execs are disillusioned by Biden's failure to defend their industry's interests despite spending $400 million to lobby the administration last year, the sources told the Post.

As the campaign trail heats up, Trump's message to the oil industry remains clear: support him, and he'll deliver on their demands.

• I fell in love with a coworker — through coffee breaks and shared deadlines.
• When our relationship ended, I had to continue working in close proximity to my ex.
• The break-up was the push I needed to quit my job and become a successful freelancer.

Two weeks after a painful breakup, being assigned a new project offered a much-needed boost. I returned to the newsroom tired and weary but ready to dive into work.

I was invited to join a team of reporters who would spend the next few months investigating a select group of politicians we believed was likely wasting taxpayer money. After a few initial meetings, my editor mentioned another reporter whose beat overlapped with our mission would be joining the team. The door opened, and he walked into the meeting with his laptop and notebook — and his head down.

Two weeks prior, that same man had left my apartment in the middle of the night with all the belongings he'd been keeping in a drawer at my place. We tried to make our relationship work, but we couldn't.

Now here I was, in our shared office, sitting opposite the man who'd spent Christmas under my parents' roof a mere few weeks before but with whom I was no longer on speaking terms.

Sharing an office allowed us to develop a relationship

We met soon after he joined the company. He overheard a conversation I was having with one of his desk mates. He looked up, smiled, and the rest unfurled from there. We quickly became friends, but then it turned into something more.

We fell in love through coffee breaks, stolen glances, and Slack messages. Somehow, we managed to keep our ill-fated little love story to ourselves. With this being a small newsroom — where everyone knew each other — we felt it best not to make our relationship public.

Working together was exciting when we were dating but excruciating after we broke up.

Everything that paved the way for our dating — running into each other in the coffee room, sharing reporting interests — was now the bane of my existence. Every time I overheard his voice when I was trying to focus on my work, my heart broke piece by piece.

One day, my manager took me into a meeting room to ask what was going on. I haven't been my usual eager self, she said. I was distracted, and she didn't recognize this version of me. I confessed I was going through a break-up — stopping short of pointing my ex out to her as he walked by the meeting room.

Something needed to change.

The break-up became the push I needed

Ever since I'd graduated from college, I had been harboring a dream I was always too scared to face. After working in newsrooms for a while, I wanted to branch out on my own as an independent reporter, to fashion a life of my own design, and to see how far I could take it. But the thought of leaving full-time employment behind was terrifying.

Having to deal with the presence of my ex in my place of work created a sense of urgency, a need to leave as soon as possible that did not accommodate the lengthy process of looking for another job. Two months after our break-up, I resigned.

He came into my life for a reason — just not what I had thought

The night I handed in my notice, I celebrated over dinner with a close friend. I was not afraid but beaming with excitement. For years, I daydreamed about freelancing, feeling it was never the right time to take the leap. When I had no choice left, I realized there never would be the right time.

So, I jumped. And even though I felt leaving was necessary, the safety of a full-time job was no small thing to leave behind.

I have now been a freelancer for a year — a year that exceeded my wildest expectations of what life as a roaming journalist could have in store for me.

Without the break-up, it's possible I never would've found the kick in the behind I needed. He did not come into my life for the reasons I had thought he had. But he did play a role, unwittingly pushing me towards the life I'd always wanted. For that, I could not be more grateful.

• Donald Trump is entering the home stretch of his vice presidential selection process.
• He could have a new running mate as soon as June.
• Trump has a lot of factors to weigh in his decision. 

Former President Donald Trump is entering the final stretch in his vice presidential selection process.

There are now less than six months until Election Day. Republican delegates, including Trump's family, will gather in Milwaukee in just over two months to formally hand him his third straight GOP presidential nomination.

Even if he wins in November, Trump will reenter office as a lame duck. It means his apprentice will have the inside track to replace him in 2028 — a fundamentally different reality than the one he faced in 2016.

Trump is no longer a political neophyte. As he recently told Time Magazine, the former president claims he knows what to do differently this time. He no longer needs a running mate to unite his party's base. It's his show. But as recent primary results illustrate, there is still a subsection of the Republican Party that isn't thrilled by their choices.

A rematch between the two most recent men who have held the title of the oldest president in history is also sure to put a focus on their No. 2s.

So with that in mind, here's Business Insider's initial vice presidential power rankings. Like all good predictions, we'll update it as it gets closer to happening to ensure greater accuracy.

If we're wrong, just remember that offseason polls don't matter. (Trust me, I'm a Nebraska fan.)

Here's where things stand:

1. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina:

Scott has been on Trump's shortlist from the beginning. He's a former presidential candidate himself, a fact many recent vice presidential nominees share (though Trump ignored that in 2016). The 58-year-old has also shown a fundraising prowess that could be greatly appreciated given Trump's at-times cash-strapped campaign. It helps that he has a relationship with Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who, according to CNBC, is pushing Scott to get picked.

Scott would also be a historic choice. He's already the first Black Republican elected from the South since Reconstruction. Some Trump aides have urged the former president to balance out his 2024 ticket by picking a person of color.

Polls during Scott's brief run show that GOP voters like him. He receives a similarly warm reception on Capitol Hill, though his bipartisan push for sweeping policing reform failed. He voted to certify the 2020 election, a fact he shares with the overwhelming majority of GOP senators, but recently was cagey when asked if he would accept the results this November.

That all being said, we've talked up Scott before. And he dropped out before the Iowa caucuses.

2. Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota

Burgum's biggest moment in his brief presidential run was arguably when he injured his leg before a primary debate. Despite that inauspicious moment and a forgettable primary effort, he's receiving serious consideration. Burgum's momentum has surprised even his fellow home-state politicians. Sen. Kevin Cramer told Politico his governor deserved the spotlight but also summed up Burgum's biggest drawbacks by pointing out he's a "white male from a state with three electoral votes that haven't gone to a Democrat since LBJ does not seem to bring a lot of electoral value to the ticket."

Trump tried a Midwestern governor straight out of central casting who was supposed to outshine him. Unlike Pence, Burgum blazed a path in business before getting into politics. The North Dakotan sold his software company to Microsoft for over $1 billion in 2001. As CNBC pointed out, Burgum could write a massive check to Trump's campaign.

3. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida

Rubio would be the most obvious choice for a Trump pick poised to carry the former president's legacy forward in 2028. After all, the Floridian was once proclaimed the future of the Republican Party. He did vote to certify the 2020 election results but found ways other ways work with his former 2016 primary rival while in office. Rubio has also shown he'll shift his views, most notably he was one of the main architects of the bipartisan, sweeping 2013 immigration legislation that would have offered undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship. Like many 2016 foes, Rubio is also on record hammering Trump — including his cringey mocking of the future president's hand size (Rubio later apologized for that).

The biggest hurdle for Rubio isn't likely anything in his past. Instead, he faces very real concerns about residing in the same state as Trump.

As Politifact explained, the Constitution has been interpreted not to allow electors from the same state to vote for a president and vice president who also reside in that state. That means a Trump-Rubio ticket could lose out on Florida's 30 electoral votes, even if they won the state.

According to the Bulwark, Rubio would be willing to move but he might have to make his mind soon.

4. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York

Stefanik has clearly staked her ground as a Trump ally. She was the first member of House leadership to have endorsed Trump for his 2024 run. She endeared herself to his political base for her defense of the president during his first impeachment trial. Stefanik garnered national attention recently for grilling college presidents over their handling of antisemitism. She was once more liberal than Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, but her rise in the GOP has coincided with a reinvention as a Trump-aligned Republican.

Stefanik hails from a state that is never going to back Trump. But scores of studies show that the home-state boosts for vice presidents isn't all it's cracked up to be. Perhaps it's not surprising then that none of the top-tier names on Trump's list hail from a current swing state. Still, Stefanik's selection would be historic. She would be only the fourth woman to share a major party's ticket. Republicans, especially Trump, have struggled with suburban women, but it's not clear that tapping a woman would automatically cure that problem.

Biden may also delight in the selection of a House GOP leader. The president has repeatedly called attention to the drama that has gripped the lower chamber. Voters are likely to care more about the economy than Speaker Mike Johnson's job status, but the level of in-fighting in the GOP is so bad that multiple sitting lawmakers have quit their jobs early.

5. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio

Vance has used his powerful perch to push the GOP more in Trump's direction. He serves in a chamber that, unlike the House, is more likely to defy the former president. Despite just joining the Senate last year, the 39-year-old has been repeatedly mentioned as a potential running mate.

As a former venture capitalist, Vance has ties to the more conservative Silicon Valley leaders who could help buck up Trump's fundraising. Like many on this list, Vance has questioned the results of the 2020 election. He's gone even further recently by suggesting that former Vice President Mike Pence has overplayed the extent to which his life was under threat during the Capitol riot.

The rest of the pack

6. Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida: Donalds has risen rapidly in the eyes of many of his House GOP colleagues. He has close relationships with the House conservatives that forced former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster and have frustrated Speaker Mike Johnson, but he hasn't participated in either effort to challenge the men directly.

7. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy: Ramaswamy staked out the most pro-Trump territory of any GOP presidential hopeful. So much so that it got him noticed. Ramaswamy shares Trump's love of sparing with the media. He also tried to act like the former president on the debate stage, though his fellow candidates' patience grew thin as time wore on. Having never held elected office, the Roivant Sciences founder would have one of the least conventional resumes of any recent major party vice presidential nominee. He would also be a historic pick.

8. Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii: Gabbard has reinvented herself since briefly running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Gabbard made a major show of leaving her party over "wokeness." Trump's interest is serious enough that she reportedly brushed off RFK. Jr's entreaties to become his vice presidential nominee. Still, there's already one former Democrat on any Trump ticket. Is there really room for another one?

9. Former HUD Secretary Ben Carson: Trump still has close feelings for his former Cabinet official. Carson also hails from the key state of Michigan. He's also still an avowed supporter of a national abortion ban, a topic Trump has tried everything in his power to avoid.

10. A wild card like Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia: Youngkin skipped out on a late 2024 run to focus on state legislative elections. The Republican was supposed to show how the GOP can talk about abortion in competitive areas. It didn't work out. Still, he has the personal wealth and connections to seriously help a Trump campaign. Plus, per CNBC, Rupert Murdoch likes him.

11. Anyone else.

12. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem: Noem could have been a contender. But when your top Google results are about dog killing, it's safe to say your chances are pretty much over. The prediction markets seem to think so, too.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back to our Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories. Ever dream of packing it all in and moving to Southern Europe? You may have to rethink: The golden age of golden visas is already over.

On the agenda today:

• Chess is taking over modern culture. It's never been more toxic.
• Meet the best early-stage investors of 2024.
• Blackstone's high-profile real-estate fund could be in trouble.
• Want to sell your home? Get ready for disappointment.

But first: Apple's advertising flub reveals how Silicon Valley, and we, have changed.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

Apple under pressure

A Space Invaders arcade game. Brightly colored paint cans. A cute squishy toy. Each slowly succumbs to a hydraulic press. What's left is a new iPad.

Apple's ad, titled "Crush," was meant to show how the new tablet can be a creative tool. Instead it debuted to derision. The company responded by pulling the ad from TV and apologizing, saying it "missed the mark."

The damage to Apple's business is likely to be minimal. First quarter iPad sales came in at $7 billion. In comparison, iPhone sales were almost 10x that. Apple is a $2.8 trillion giant.

The reputational damage is to be seen. Thanks to the almost instantaneous backlash, the ad didn't air widely. If the ad has changed your perceptions of Apple, let me know at mturner@insider.com.

But the ad, and the reaction to it, highlights our changed relationship with our devices.

Apple's iconic 1984 Super Bowl ad was about the promise of technology, of breaking free from drudgery, of revolution.

Forty years on, creatives are concerned that AI will coopt their work or replace them entirely. Vinyl sales are booming. Teenagers are choosing dumb phones. Digital cameras are back. We're tracking and limiting screen time for our kids.

It shouldn't come as a surprise then that an ad portraying a powerful machine crushing much-loved tools of human creativity hit a nerve.

Apple's mistake should serve as a lesson to every tech company.

The dark heart of modern chess

Chess has never been more popular, but its ugly side has also never been more exposed.

The same characteristics that have driven its popularity online — an easy-to-understand eight-by-eight grid, a strategy without chance or luck — have also made it a cheater's paradise. Meanwhile, rampant sexism festers at chess' heart.

One reporter's quest to understand chess' degeneration.

2024 top seed investors

Behind most startup founders is an investor who saw their potential, nurtured their ambition, and backed their ideas. Now in its fourth year, our list celebrates these figures, from Y Combinator's Dalton Caldwell to Verge Genomics' Alice Zhang.

Plus, we're also highlighting the top 40 women early-stage investors, including Cowboy Ventures' Aileen Lee and Array Ventures' Shruti Gandhi.

Meet the kingmakers:

• The Seed 100: The best early-stage investors of 2024
• The Seed 40: The best women early-stage investors of 2024

Trouble at Blackstone

Blackstone's $114 billion real-estate fund has veteran analysts worried. The private-equity giant found success pitching ordinary investors on BREIT, a commercial real-estate fund.

But some veteran analysts, accountants, and investors believe Blackstone's estimates of BREIT's assets are wildly inflated, making it essentially a house of cards.

Inside the growing alarm over BREIT.

Home sellers' summer from hell

Sellers have had the upper hand for the last few years, but that's about to change.

Home prices are still rising, but buyers are slowly starting to have more options — meaning the days of desperate dealmaking are over. Plus, mortgage rates have spiked back up to 7%, which is deterring prospective buyers and changing the calculus for many sellers.

More on why it'll be a rough summer for sellers.

This week's quote:

"I think what we all would want is some acknowledgment about what happened, and at least not completely dismiss the fact that it could have been work-related."

• A junior banker at Bank of America, after the death of a 35-year-old BofA associate.

More of this week's top reads:

• How spending has changed for young adults in the last 30 years.
• "Seriously underwater" mortgages are on the rise throughout the US.
• I've been offered every job I've interviewed for. I always ask five questions.
• Three reasons Norwegians are so effective at work.
• OpenAI destroyed a trove of books used to train AI models.

• Meet the millennials who accidentally gamed the economy and wound up wealthy.

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  The Insider Today team: Matt Turner, deputy editor-in-chief, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.