Author: openjargon

• Biden supporters are raising Trump's associations with Jeffrey Epstein — again.
• Recently-released docs in the Epstein investigation make no mention of Trump.
• Democrats have tried deflecting concerns about Biden's age by bringing up Trump's past.

Some Joe Biden supporters are employing a tried-and-true strategy to fend off rampant debate over the President's age and mental acuity: deflection.

On social media — and even in the halls of Congress — certain Biden supporters are using Donald Trump's associations with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as an argument to disqualify him.

Discourse about Trump and Epstein was reignited after documents from Epstein's first Florida investigation in 2006 were released last week.

But the 158-page document — a grand jury transcript showing prosecutors heard testimony that Epstein raped girls as young as 14, then still cut him a sweetheart plea deal — makes no mention of Trump himself.

Still, some seized the news cycle as a way to counteract doubts about Biden's own fitness to run for office in 2024.

Why no one's writing about Trump and Epstein

During a press conference on Tuesday, Rep. Ted Lieu of California urged more media coverage of the "Epstein files," adding that a "highly disturbing" hashtag about Trump and Epstein was trending on X.

Trump had previously been photographed with Epstein, Lieu said, had flown with him on planes with young girls on board, and the two were listed on call logs together.

"It shows that Donald Trump is unfit for office," the congressman said, adding Trump was also convicted of sexual abuse in civil court.

Ben Meiselas, the cofounder of liberal news network Meidas Touch, also posted on X about "the release of new Epstein files with Trump's name on it." Other Biden boosters have suggested a coordinated media cover-up to boost Trump's chances or doom Biden's.

But Trump isn't named in the latest records, a fact reiterated on X by Julie Brown, the Miami Herald investigative journalist who helped break the Epstein story.

Media outlets haven't reported on Trump's connection to the new Epstein files because there isn't one.

What we know about Trump's relationship with Epstein

Trump has appeared in previous unsealed and uncovered documents connected to the Epstein case.

Trump was also connected to 14 different numbers in Epstein's little black book of contacts that surfaced before the financier's arrest on sex trafficking charges in 2019. Among the contacts were Trump's wife, Melania; ex-wife, Ivana; and daughter, Ivanka.

The contact book also included the names of high-profile celebrities like Courtney Love, Alec Baldwin, and Naomi Campbell, as well as politicians and dignitaries like John Kerry, Michael Bloomberg, Henry Kissinger, and Prince Andrew.

Unsealed flight logs in 2019 revealed Trump took a flight on Epstein's private jet in 2017; billionaire couple Glenn and Eva Dubin joined him on the flight from Palm Beach to Newark.

And in January, a Business Insider analysis of then-unsealed court records determined Trump appeared in the documents multiple times under the moniker "Doe 174."

However, the mentions in those documents weren't all damning for the former President, BI's Jacob Shamsian reported at the time.

In one instance, a woman denied in a deposition that she'd massaged Trump. In another, a woman claimed — then recanted — that her friend had had sex with him. And Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of the key accusers of sexual abuse by Epstein and his associates, said in one document that she didn't think Trump was involved.

Trump had previously faced allegations by an anonymous woman that claimed he had violently raped her at an orgy when she was 13 years old. The woman — who went by the pseudonym "Katie Johnson" — even filed a lawsuit against Trump, twice.

The first was a civil rights suit in April 2016 that was thrown out on a technicality. Vox noted that the original suit listed the woman's apparent address as an abandoned home.

She filed a second lawsuit that removed some of the lurid details. Still, the case was connected to strange characters, including a Jerry Springer producer who tried to sell a video of the purported accuser to news outlets for $1 million and an anti-Trump activist who promoted the lawsuit — and had a history of spreading untrue gossip.

The woman abruptly dropped the lawsuit in November 2016, just days before the election that Donald Trump would win. Her lawyer didn't share a reason for why the lawsuit was dropped at the time.

Trump had publicly praised Epstein before his sexual abuse allegations came to light. He called Epstein a "terrific guy" in 2002, adding, "It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."

But the Washington Post reported the two men had a falling out in 2004 after they both wanted to buy a prime Palm Beach property.

After Epstein's arrest, Trump told reporters, "I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you." Trump has also said he barred Epstein from Mar-A-Lago.

• Apple is expecting AI to give iPhone sales a big boost.
• It expects AI to drive shipments of 90 million iPhone 16 devices this year, Bloomberg reported.
• It means Apple is betting on AI to reverse an overall slide in iPhone sales.

It seems Apple is quietly confident about the power of AI to sell iPhones.

The tech giant expects to ship at least 90 million units of the iPhone 16 models set to be revealed in September, Bloomberg reported, as it banks on Apple Intelligence to drive sales.

That would represent a 10% boost in sales compared with the existing generation of iPhones, according to an unnamed source familiar with Apple's discussions with suppliers and partners quoted by the outlet.

For CEO Tim Cook, who declared generative AI a "new chapter" in Apple's history of innovation after revealing Apple Intelligence last month, such a boost would come at a crucial moment.

Apple's biggest revenue stream has been stuck in a downward spiral of late, so the rollout of a hyped technology that could arrest that decline would be a gift to the company.

But while Apple is banking on AI as its future, it might want to tread carefully for a few reasons.

Apple's AI ambitions face challenges

For one, Apple's sagging iPhone sales have been no short-term blip. The downward trajectory has been the case for some time — and could take more than hype to reverse.

In its last full financial year, iPhone sales were down to $200 billion from $205 billion the previous year. It was a similar story in the first six months of this financial year, with sales down to just under $116 billion.

Though the overall decrease has been marginal, Apple has faced much more serious declines in recent months in some of its most important markets such as China, where iPhone sales dropped 19% in the first three months of 2024, per data from research firm Counterpoint.

This has all taken place against a backdrop of changing consumer trends in the smartphone market, as users have been less inclined to upgrade their phones as soon as a new device goes on sale.

These trends are not deeply entrenched by any means, but they are too significant to ignore. It means Apple will need its AI offering to be strong enough to change consumer behaviour.

Samsung — and Google too

Then there's the problem of competition.

While Apple boldly presented its vision of generative AI at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, it did so several months after some of its main competitors.

Google has also been busy rolling out its AI model Gemini to its Pixel devices this year, while South Korea's Samsung heralded Galaxy AI with the launch of its flagship S24 smartphone range back in January.

Not only that, Samsung has made its AI compatible with older smartphones such as the S23 and Z Fold 5, which means users can try out buzzy new AI features without shelling out for a new gadget.

That may hurt Apple's chances of making a fresh dent in the Android market with Apple Intelligence. However, Apple could see an upgrade upsurge as it's only making its new AI features available on newer devices like the upcoming iPhone 16 and existing iPhone 15 Pro.

The bigger question looming over Apple is whether users care about AI enough to shell out for upgrade.

While it's partnered with ChatGPT maker OpenAI and put AI at the heart of its devices, it's not clear if users will be willing to buy a new phone for software that they might deem useful only for basic tasks such as writing emails and editing photos.

Apple won't have to wait long to find out.

• US rugby player Ilona Maher is headed to her second Olympics.
• BI asked the star athlete what essentials she'll be bringing to Paris.
• Maher told BI she's packing sunscreen, lipstick, mascara, and products from her own brand, Medalist.

TikTok's favorite Olympian, Ilona Maher, is ready to return to the Olympic stage with USA Rugby in just a few short weeks.

Maher, 27, went viral sharing her Olympic Village experiences during the 2020 Games in Tokyo and has since built a brand around fashion, body positivity content, and advice for young girls and women in sports.

One of Maher's most prominent messages is that girls and women in physical sports like rugby don't need to sacrifice their femininity or beauty.

"That's a little bit why I wear the lipstick when I play," Maher said at the Team USA Media Summit in April, as reported by NCAA.org. "I can tackle hard and run hard but also, you know, still feel beautiful and still bring that into it. It's not like you have to sacrifice that."

So, when former Division I swimmer and founder and CEO of Odyssey Public Relations Ann Ragan Kearns approached her with an idea for a skincare brand by athletes for athletes, Maher was on board.

Business Insider spoke with Kearns and Maher to learn more about their brand, Medalist, and all of Maher's must-have beauty essentials for Paris.

Of course, Maher will be packing products from her new skincare brand, Medalist.

Medalist's products so far include an anti-chafe balm, face wipes, and a hydrating facial spray, which comprise "The Locker Room Essentials" kit.

Maher said she plans on using the hydrating spray during her post-match routine in Paris.

Speaking to BI about Medalist's launch, she said it was interesting to learn about different athletes' specific needs, which informed the products they should prioritize.

"We interviewed a lot of soccer girls, and they were like, 'Oh, you know, we like to come off the field and I want to wipe away the sweat, the sunscreen, the dirt,'" she said.

She said the hydrating spray was "for everybody" but could be especially useful to swimmers who may feel "extremely dry" coming out of the pool.

"It was just kind of finding these things that everyone can universally use, but also that they need and these certain sports needs," Maher added.

Sunscreen is not negotiable for Maher.

Maher said sunscreen will be important in the Paris heat — Olympics.com reported the city's average daily high in July and August is about 77 degrees Fahrenheit with an average humidity of 66%.

"We've already been doing heat acclimation, we've been doing sauna and all sorts already to get ourselves ready for that," she said. "So definitely sunscreen to really protect myself."

Her go-to brand is Sun Bum, she said.

Sunscreen is a key form of protection against skin cancer and sun damage. New York-based dermatologist Marisa Garshick previously told BI that "even on a normal routine day, it is important to be reapplying, every day, every two hours, even if somebody is just in the office or going for a walk."

"The bottom line is when buying facial sunscreen, find one that is broad spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, see if it's water resistant, and if not, plan accordingly," Garshick added.

Maher's go-to lipstick is the Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick.

Maher, who is sponsored by Maybelline, told BI she loves "wearing makeup on the field."

"That's my main thing. I love wearing lipstick and feeling feminine and kind of doing that while I play such a tough sport," she said.

Her go-to shade for game day is De-Stressor, a bright coral pink that retails for $10.99.

"I wish it was a better beauty routine, but honestly, that lipstick is so good, I just leave it on the whole day," Maher said.

Her game-day makeup routine also includes the Tarte Tartelette tubing mascara.

"I'm really into Tarte mascara. That's what I wear when I'm on the field," Maher said.

The Tartelette Tubing Mascara retails for around $27 at retailers including Ulta Beauty, Sephora, and Target.

Maher is also planning to purchase a signature scent for the Olympics.

"I'm gonna get a scent, a perfume, at the store before I go in the duty-free in the airport and wear that perfume as my Olympic perfume," Maher said.

"It reminds me of the Olympics, which could be good and bad, we'll see — I cry every time I put it on," she joked.

• I moved to the US from the UK in 2005 after landing a job in New York City.
• I've adapted to the US culture pretty well during the 19 years I've lived here.
• But three things continue to confuse me about the nation and its people.

It's not very often that you're offered a job in an exciting new country — at least in my case.

So, in 2005, I seized the chance to move from England to the US to work for a former colleague.

The plan was to stay for a maximum of two years. I couldn't bear the thought of being away from my friends, family, and homeland any longer.

It took a while to adjust. But homesickness aside, I enjoyed my fresh start in the US.

Then, I met my future husband in a bar in Manhattan. Before we knew it, we were married, had two children, and I got US citizenship.

People often ask about the biggest differences between the UK and the US. Drawing on my 19 years of experience, they include politics and healthcare, the size of the meals and the cars, and, of course, the English language application.

Nonetheless, I've acclimated well. I eat Buffalo chicken wings, cheerfully wave the flag at July 4 parades, and have stopped telling my kids to call me "Mum" instead of "Mom."

But a few random things about America and its ways befuddle me. Here are three that I'm still trying to figure out.

Americans love road trips

I can't quite understand the appeal of "The Great American Road Trip," in which you drive 700 miles in one day while singing along to rock ballads.

I grew up 250 miles from London, and the thought of driving to the capital in one go horrified me. Edinburgh was roughly 100 miles from my hometown, yet a day trip was inconceivable.

You can imagine my reaction when my husband suggested a 2,000-mile round trip between northern Florida and New York for spring break last year.

I felt mean, but I got a cheap flight and flew there alone. But, on the way back, I was trapped in a car for 15 hours with the family. The journey on I-95 felt like a rolling traffic jam.

My husband — who played ZZ Top on loop — had a ball. The kids showed their British side with endless whining.

Still, there is hope. Last week, we drove 360 miles to mid-coast Maine. It took seven hours. Our au pair downloaded an app for "License Plate Bingo."

We spotted 43 states, and it was fun. "You're a real American now," my husband said as I gleefully claimed Alabama.

There are so many time zones in the US

The UK — comprised of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Island — covers 94,354 square miles. There is one standard time zone for all four countries.

Meanwhile, there are six in the US, which encompasses 3,532,316 square miles, including Alaska Standard Time and Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time.

Math has never been my strongest subject. As a journalist who interviews people in different parts of the US daily, I've lost count of the times I've contacted them too early or too late.

Confusingly, 12 states have two time zones. I'm not arguing against physics and geography. But it messes with my mind.

My American-born husband reckons it's because, unlike him, I wasn't raised to know the difference between Mountain and Pacific.

It's gotten me off the hook a few times. But 17 years into our marriage, my mother-in-law (who lives in Oregon) has become less relaxed about my forgetful phone calls at 6 a.m.

The amount of snow we get in the UK doesn't compare to what the US gets

When I was first offered a job in America, I could choose between living in Los Angeles and New York City.

My mother — who did some nursing in California in the 1950s — said it was a no-brainer. "The climate is perfect there," she said.

But LA was 5,500 miles from London, 2,000 more than New York. I didn't want to be a 10-and-a-half-hour flight away from my loved ones.

I picked New York without really thinking about the weather. I arrived in May during a heat wave, moving into my apartment when it was 95 degrees.

The first winter was brutal. I once made the mistake of walking 15 blocks to a holiday party wearing a short skirt and thin tights. The heat went out in my building on a 15-degree day.

It snows in Britain — in fact, my home county in the north has one of the snowiest areas in the UK — but it's nothing compared to New York. Few homes have air conditioning. Extreme weather is rare.

"Some things you get used to, some things you don't," goes the old saying about making a big change. But a fellow ex-pat recently told me that trying your best is important. I'll follow her advice in the future.

Do you have an interesting story about living outside your native country that you'd like to share with Business Insider? Please send details to jridley@businessinsider.com

• Biden's union allies are questioning his candidacy, according to The Washington Post.
• The publication said union leaders want Biden to spell out his plan for beating Trump. 
• Biden is coming under increasing pressure to step aside after his disastrous debate against Trump. 

Joe Biden this week described himself as the most pro-union president in US history.

"I think of you as my domestic NATO — not a joke," the president said during a speech on Wednesday to the executive council of the AFL-CIO, America's largest federation of trade unions.

Biden regularly plays up his support from unions, and he may just be counting on it for his survival.

But that support could be about to break.

According to The Washington Post, top union leaders have privately expressed concerns about Biden's ability to beat Trump in November.

The Post, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the comments, said union leaders repeatedly asked Biden campaign officials for their plan on how to defeat Trump in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.

The report said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, and Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, were among the most outspoken attendees.

The Association of Flight Attendants and the United Auto Workers did not immediately reply to a request by Business Insider for comment.

More members of Biden's senior campaign staff are also beginning to doubt his future, the Post said.

"Overwhelmingly a majority of senior campaign staff are despondent and don't see a path," a Democratic strategist familiar with the conversations told the publication.

For now, union leaders are continuing to publicly support the president. In a statement Wednesday, AFL-CIO leadership said it had "unanimously voted to reaffirm its commitment," adding that "no president has been more invested in helping workers than Joe Biden."

United Steelworkers International President David McCall said before Wednesday's meeting that his union "proudly supports" Biden and that his "record of delivering for working people stands for itself."

Losing support from labor

According to Politico's Jonathan Martin, support from the unions is likely Biden's only path to survival against Trump.

Just days ago, Anita Dunn, Biden's longtime advisor, told Politico: "The people Joe Biden fights for — middle-class labor union members, Blacks, Latinos — they know he fights for them, and they're going to stay in the fight for him.

Biden and other Democrats have regularly touted the president's pro-labor credentials.

The AFL-CIO told the Associated Press on Thursday that Biden's "fighting spirit" was on full display during his meeting with union leaders this week.

The AP noted that some statements of support were worded diplomatically in case Biden caves in to pressure to drop out.

That pressure is growing after Biden's disastrous performance in the June 27 presidential debate against Trump, which has raised questions about his age and mental agility.

CBS/YouGov poll on June 30 found that 72% of registered voters believe Biden does not have the mental and cognitive health to be president, while reports say that behind closed doors, Biden has also shown signs of aging, including fumbling remarks and appearing forgetful at a recent D-Day event with world leaders

Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, in an op-ed in the Post on Wednesday, became the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to step aside, saying it was "for the good of the country."

Hollywood actor and Democratic supporter George Clooney, in an op-ed in The New York Times, said that the Biden he met at a fundraising event three weeks ago wasn't the Joe Biden of 2010.

He "wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020," said Clooney."He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer privately told donors he's open to replacing Biden as the party's presidential nominee, Axios reported, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

And on Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi, who stepped down as speaker early last year, failed to clearly endorse Biden as the Democratic candidate.

If union leaders join the chorus of voices asking Biden to step down, other key supporters may quickly follow.

• A Biden aide suggested Biden has greater stamina than George Clooney, a CNN correspondent said.
• The aide said that the president had stayed three hours longer than Clooney at a recent fundraiser. 
• This was the fundraiser mentioned by Clooney in his devastating op-ed.

The Biden campaign reportedly hit back at George Clooney's devastating op-ed on Wednesday by suggesting that the president had more energy than the actor.

Clooney's op-ed, published in The New York Times, expressed his commitment to the Democratic Party's values as well as his personal affection for President Joe Biden — but still called for Biden to step down.

"We need a new nominee," Clooney wrote.

He described seeing Biden at a recent fundraiser, where he said the president "was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

Clooney and Biden attended a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles on June 15, just days before Biden's disastrous debate with former President Donald Trump.

That performance has led to questions about Biden's health and calls for him to step down as the Democratic Party nominee.

But according to CNN White House correspondent Kayla Tausche, a Biden campaign aide pushed back on Clooney's piece.

Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper, Tausche said that a campaign official who had been at the same fundraiser told her that "George Clooney left three hours before the president."

"Clearly the gloves are off," she added.

Asked to clarify what that was meant to convey, Tausche gave her interpretation: "The point of that is to suggest that Biden's stamina is better than Clooney's, and Clooney didn't have eyes on the entire event," she said.

Tausche also said that the aide had pointed her toward Biden's "aggressive" campaign and fundraising schedule, which is set to take in stops in Michigan, Nevada, Texas, California, and Colorado.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, sent outside of normal working hours.

Trump has also weighed in on Clooney's intervention, calling him a "fake movie actor" in a post on Truth Social.

While Trump didn't question Clooney's views about Biden's fitness for the campaign, he accused Clooney of using a Democratic "talking point" in the op-ed, in saying that Biden had "saved democracy."

• George Vukasin Jr. is the president and CEO of a company his grandfather started.
• He says the family legacy is important, but he's not sure he wants his kids to work there.
• One of his sisters works at the company too, but his other sister doesn't.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with George Vukasin Jr., president and CEO of Peerless Coffee and Tea. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Growing up, the warehouse of my parents' coffee and tea company, Peerless, felt like Disneyland. There were open concrete floors where I could ride my bike indoors. The 150-pound bags of coffee beans were stacked high — a personal jungle gym for myself and my two sisters.

My dad ran the business but was also very hands-on when buying and roasting beans. That meant he tasted a lot of coffee. Sampling coffee is called cupping, and my dad did his cupping at the same table that his father (who founded the company) used. When my dad poured himself a taste of coffee, he always filled a cup of hot chocolate for me, and I drank it while I listened to him slurp samples — the best way to get the taste of the beans.

I grew up physically close to the company, playing in the warehouse. My parents were always talking business at home since my mom was a co-owner. Despite that, I felt a step removed from the operations.

My parents encouraged me to get outside experience

My grandfather founded Peerless back in 1924. He had two sons. My oldest uncle went to law school and set out on a career that had nothing to do with beverages. My dad wanted to become an FBI agent and put away bad guys, but he had no choice. My grandfather told him, "You're going into coffee." Coffee wasn't nearly as cool or sexy as it is today, and my dad was basically forced into it.

Because of that, my parents never pressured me to enter the business. In fact, they encouraged me and my two sisters to get professional experience outside the family business. I went to college to study economics and then went to culinary school in France for a year.

After that time away I found I really wanted to join the family business. My timing was good because my dad needed a coffee buyer, and he knew I had the skills. I started working at Peerless when I was 23.

I had been considering getting a master's in business administration. There wasn't a better business school than learning from my dad. He really was my best friend. Sometimes, working and living together, we got frustrated, but we were both able to admit when we were wrong.

My parents only wanted blood relatives to run the company

I made my career at Peerless. My sister, Kristina, went to law school and worked for the district attorney's office — getting that outside experience my parents always said was important — before coming back to Peerless. Now, she's the executive vice president of the company. We talk every day and see each other most days, but we make sure to leave work at work and keep family separate.

Fifteen years ago, Kristina and I bought Peerless from our parents. Our other sister, Michelle, doesn't work for the company but has a smaller ownership stake. My parents wanted ownership to pass to blood relatives, not spouses. Running a family business is complicated enough without more people involved. Luckily, that's something we all agreed on.

I'm not sure there will be fourth-generation ownership

Kristina has three kids, who are now young adults. I have an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old. None of the kids seem to have an interest in joining the family business. I'm hearing that from other people I know who own family businesses, too.

To be honest, I'm not sure whether I would want the kids to follow in our footsteps. Running a business is really difficult. I want my kids to be successful and happy — that's more important than having a fourth generation join the business.

My dad has passed away, but he would be OK with that. He would be very proud that the company turned 100 this year — my grandfather would be absolutely flabbergasted. My dad was a very practical man and just wanted the people he loved to be happy.

Still, I'm teaching my kids how to roast coffee. They love doing it, and it's a skill they'll be able to have in their back pocket throughout their lives, one they can always fall back on. They roast with the same roasters their great-grandfather used in the 1940s, although digital technology now manages the process. There's a bit of romance to see them enjoy the same sights, smells, and routines that were part of my childhood.

• The consumer price index increased 3.0% in June from a year earlier.
• It was expected to cool off slightly — from a year-over-year increase of 3.3% to 3.1%.
• CPI declined 0.1% month-over-month.

The consumer price index rose 3.0% year-over-year in June, the lowest headline year-over-year rate in a year.

The expected increase noted on Investing.com was 3.1%.

Inflation had been cooling for the previous few months; the CPI rose 3.3% for the 12 months ending May, down from the 3.4% increase in April and the 3.5% increase in March.

A news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics published on Thursday said the CPI declined 0.1% month-over-month. It was expected to increase 0.1% after no month-over-month change in May.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.3% for the 12 months ending June. This follows the 3.4% year-over-year increase in May and differs slightly from the forecast of 3.4%.

Additionally, core CPI rose 0.1% from May to June. The forecast was 0.2%, which would have matched the previous month-over-month increase.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

• Russian submarines have recently been spotted in Cuba and the Baltic Sea.
• US and allied anti-submarine warfare planes can collect valuable information on these vessels.
• Building an acoustic profile of the submarine can help make it easier to identify and track them.

Russian submarines have surfaced on the doorsteps of the US and other NATO allies in recent weeks. Though not particularly alarming, anti-submarine warfare planes were dispatched to keep tabs on them.

Shadowing the submarines offers a chance to gather data on the vessels, giving the US and its allies a better understanding of how to identify and track them.

Data collected recently could be useful in particular for understanding more about the acoustic profile of submarines like the Kazan, one of a relatively new class of stealthy strike submarines that has long concerned US and Western militaries.

The Kazan, a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile sub, arrived in Cuba last month for a five-day official visit along with other vessels, including the Admiral Gorshkov frigate. Before the warships docked in Havana, at least three US guided-missile destroyers and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft monitored their movements as the vessels sailed in waters near the US.

A few weeks later, a Portuguese P-3 Orion anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance aircraft captured photos of a Russian submarine operating in the Baltic Sea. It was spotted around the same time Russia said it was conducting maritime training exercises with two submarines in the region. The photographs showed the Russian sub surfacing in the water and were shared by NATO on X.

Both cases provided potentially useful opportunities to gather "acoustic intelligence" on the vessels, Bryan Clark, a retired US Navy officer and defense expert at the Hudson Institute, said.

Such intelligence could include the various acoustic elements, how to differentiate it from other feedback in noisy or compromised environments, and information beneficial in training the aircrews on how to identify and track them.

The P-8A Poseidon and P-3 Orion are anti-submarine warplanes designed for maritime intelligence and the surveillance of submarines, among other missions. The P-8A, introduced to the US Navy in 2013 as a P-3 replacement, is considered one of the most advanced and highly regarded maritime-patrol aircraft currently in service. It features a variety of technical capabilities on board for detecting, tracking, and learning about subs and ships.

Both planes are used by the US and its allies and have — along with other anti-submarine-warfare capabilities — seen increased use in recent years, as NATO countries look to manage Russia's submarine threat more closely.

Searching the seas for submarines

Submarine hunting can be complicated and involves sweeping large swaths of open ocean for possible threats. Much of the time, the role of P-8s and P-3s is surveillance and deterrence rather than any sort of escalation. The presence of sub-hunter planes indicates a navy's ability to maintain awareness and threat detection.

A US Navy captain previously told Business Insider the process typically involves dropping sonobuoys into the water and then using those to listen around for the submarine and that it's both "an art and a science" due to complexity of the process.

When the Kazan sailed to Cuba last month, it was a useful opportunity for the US to get data on one of Russia's more capable submarines.

Gathering acoustic information, as Tom Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a retired US Navy submarine officer, said, is helpful for identifying the submarine against its larger, noisier environment, a "proverbial needle (a quiet submarine)" in "a haystack (the big, loud ocean)."

The Kazan is the second sub of the Russian navy's newer Yasen class, also known as the Severodvinsk class, but the first of the new, upgraded design, the Yasen-M design featuring a smaller design and a quieter reactor. Western officials have previously said that their naval forces have trouble finding these subs and have sometimes lost track of them at sea.

The Yasen-class submarines are also a threatening strike capability, heavily armed to strike land- and sea-based targets with little to no warning. The Kazan can carry Oniks and Caliber cruise missiles and, eventually, the new Zircon hypersonic missiles.

With the recent trip to Cuba, Russia appears to have calculated that exposing the Kazan to US aircraft — thereby letting the West gather more information on it — was worth it to project naval power.

Clark said the move carried risks since Russia wasn't able to sanitize the area, or minimize the potential exposure of the sub to US vessels, planes, and other surveillance capabilities.

That's potentially not unlike the Russian sub recently spotted by Portugal in the Baltic Sea right around the time Russia said two of its submarines, the Kilo-class, diesel-electric subs Novorossiysk and Dmitrov, were conducting training in the area.

Russia noted the exercises were occurring in the Baltic Sea, a body of water almost entirely surrounded by NATO allies.

It is unclear if either the Novorossiysk or Dmitrov is the submarine photographed by the Portuguese P-3 plane, but the Russian sub drills in the Baltic Sea would have been an ideal opportunity for NATO partners to gather acoustic information and other data.

Submarine tracking by maritime patrol aircraft is a routine practice for the US and its allies aimed at helping maintain their military edge in the undersea domain. US rivals have similar capabilities.

• Big Tech hiring processes involve rigorous technical assessments and interviews.
• Companies like Google, Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft evaluate coding, design, and problem-solving.
• Here'a a breakdown of the hiring processes of some Big Tech firms to help you land a job there.

Landing a job at a Big Tech firm can be extremely challenging.

Companies like Google, Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft set the bar high for candidates, who must pass a range of technical assessments, interviews, and problem-solving exercises designed to test the limits of their expertise.

Google is known to have a difficult and competitive hiring process. A software engineer recently told BI that she was rejected seven times by Google before landing a job. Applicants must get through a series of rigorous, structured interviews and answer open-ended questions designed to identify their strengths and personal interaction skills.

Nvidia, meanwhile, emphasizes technical exercises such as HackerRank coding assessments, while Microsoft evaluates candidates' problem-solving, design, coding, and testing skills.

Navigating these multifaceted interviews requires more than just technical know-how — it also demands a good understanding of each company's unique culture and values.

Here's a summary of Big Tech firms' hiring process guides to give you an idea of what to expect.

Google

Once you've applied for a job and a recruitment team member thinks you might be a good fit, they will be in touch to start the hiring process.

According to Google's guide, the first step typically involves taking a Google hiring assessment to test your skills. If you've applied for a technical role, you might have to complete a coding exercise, too.

The next stage is having one or two short phone or video conversations with a recruiter, hiring manager, or team peer during which your skills will be assessed.

Some candidates might be asked to submit a small project before an in-depth interview. Google says it could range from a case study to writing or coding samples to help them understand how candidates solve problems.

The actual interview stage involves between three and four interviews over a day, either in person or on video. This stage involves structured interviews, where applicants are asked open-ended questions to identify strengths and show how they interact with a team.

Google says if a candidate hasn't heard back in two months about their application, it's likely they haven't progressed.

A former Google recruiter, Nolan Church, previously shared with BI the five ways that candidates can stand out and how best to prepare for interviews.

Nvidia

Nvidia's hiring process has three stages:

1. Apply online for positions you're interested in. You can apply for up to five roles that align with your background.
2. If Nvidia thinks you might be a good fit, you then meet with a hiring manager or team members via phone, in person, or on video.
3. Applicants might then have several interviews. In the final interview, they can talk to a community resource group member for 15 minutes to learn more about Nvidia's culture. Interviews typically last 30 to 60 minutes, and they could be in a small group, one-on-one, or with a panel. Candidates who have applied for technical roles could be asked to complete a HackerRank coding exercise on a whiteboard or laptop.

Applicants can expect to hear if they were successful within a few weeks. At this point, a recruiter will make an offer.

A Nvidia software engineer told BI that the technical interviews can be "pretty hard" and that it's important to "focus on building your data structures and algorithm knowledge."

Microsoft

Microsoft's interview process is entirely virtual. If you've applied for a technical role, you'll be assessed on various technical methods and your problem-solving ability and asked competency-based questions.

Interviews last 45 minutes, and budding Microsoft engineers are evaluated in four areas:

• Problem-solving: Interviewers want to see how candidates would make decisions and tackle problems.
• Design: You're assessed on whether you have the know-how to create and design a new platform or system.
• Coding: You'll only be required to code in a language you feel competent in, but your code must be clean, concise — and bug-free.
• Testing: You might be asked to test code to determine whether you can stress-test your solutions.

Meta

Meta's interview process for software engineers is similar to that of Microsoft.

The Facebook and Instagram owner has compiled a comprehensive guide about its "Full Loop Interview" process, which includes three to five conversations. Applicants will have several coding, design, and behavioral interviews, each lasting 45 minutes.

The coding part of the interview is over two sessions again of 45 minutes each. The design interview can be up to two sessions and the interviewer will ask candidates a broad question and evaluate their solution.

Then, there's a 45-minute "getting to know you" session during which candidates will be asked questions about their background, interests, and experience.

A senior software engineer at Meta told BI that his interview preparation involves creating a list of technical topics that he revises a week before the interview. The day before the interview, he goes online and looks up questions that might have come up for other candidates who recently interviewed at a company he's applying to.