Author: openjargon

• Biden sent a stern letter to congressional Democrats reiterating that he has no plans to drop out.
• He said questions about him have "been well-aired for over a week" and "it's time for it to end."
• The list of Democrats calling for Biden to drop out is likely to grow this week.

As lawmakers head back to Washington today after their one-week recess, President Joe Biden is issuing a stern warning: I'm not going anywhere, time to pipe down.

In a letter to Democrats in both chambers, Biden struck a defiant tone, even as he acknowledged "good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election."

"The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now," Biden wrote. "And it's time for it to end."

Five House Democrats have publicly called for Biden to drop out, and more are likely to do so this week.

According to several media reporters, several high-ranking House Democrats — including Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, Mark Takano of California, Adam Smith of Washington, and Joe Morelle of New York — said that Biden should step aside during a private call with colleagues on Sunday.

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

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leonid Shteyn. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Last year, I started looking for ways to make more money from my retirement savings. I'm 70, and my wife, who is also retired, is 68. We were worried about having enough money to live with rising inflation. We also wanted to have something to leave our four grandchildren, two of whom have special needs.

I researched investment options online and eventually reached out to a friend. He connected me to a company he was investing in. I checked the company out online, and everything seemed above board. I spoke with a professional financial planner tied to the company.

Still, I was cautious. I opened an account with just $250. Then, I transferred $10,000. When that investment began to grow, I wanted to go all in. I withdrew $100 from the account to make sure it was legit. After that withdrawal was processed, I transferred all my money: $256,470.

Things quickly became strange

After that, things started to get strange. The so-called investment company asked me to take out a line of credit. They encouraged me to invest in bitcoin and started charging me steep commissions.

One day, I got an email, reportedly from a blockchain, the digital wallet where people keep bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. When I looked closely, I noticed that one digit in the email was off—it was a scam meant to look like an official blockchain communication.

That's when I knew something was very wrong.

I trusted the big bank that the scammers used

Still, the so-called investment company called me, asking for more money. I got my own lawyer, who looked up the company's legal representation. He couldn't find any licensed lawyer with the name I'd been given. Next, I hired a private investigator. He tracked one scammer to Bulgaria and another to the US.

My lawyer realized that I had sent most of my funds to an account at Bank of America. As an immigrant, I trusted Bank of America intrinsically. I never would have transferred money to a small bank or international establishment, but if you can't trust them, who can you trust?

Unfortunately, I feel Bank of America failed me terribly. Even after my lawyer alerted them to what was happening, they cleared a check I'd written to the scammers. They ignored requests from my bank to look at the fraud, and after three requests, my bank gave up.

Within three months, I went from having a healthy retirement savings to having $20,000 in the bank. With lawyer fees and the private investigator, I was out nearly $300,000.

Older people, like myself, need help to protect themselves

This whole debacle is no one's fault but my own. The thing is, I'm a smart guy. I ran a major business for 30 years. I am good at vetting people—or at least I thought.

What frustrates me is that the lack of government oversight allows scams like this to thrive. I contacted my local police department, and they said they'd investigate. I didn't hear from them, so I called back. They told me they have 600 cases like this and only three investigators. When I heard that, I knew the chances of my case being solved were slim to none.

People always ask me what advice I'd give other seniors, but I think that's the wrong question. Scammers will always exist, and people, especially older people, will always be vulnerable. We need to be able to trust the government and major institutions like Bank of America to stop this fraud. I believe they don't because they make money in interest and fees from these fraudulent accounts.

My retirement looks a lot different now

I've started from scratch a lot in my life. I immigrated from the Czech Republic to New York in 1989 and later moved from New York to Texas. But it's hard to start over at 70. I've been sending out my résumé and looking for work as a consultant, but I haven't had any leads.

I'm lucky to have a house and cars that are paid off and still have some money in the bank. I've abandoned my dream of helping my grandkids or traveling in retirement. I'm just hoping my wife and I have enough to live on.

Editor's note: In a statement to Business Insider, Bank of America said: "We don't want any bank's clients to become victims of scams. We try to work with victims and their banks to return the funds when feasible, but unfortunately, this is not always possible. We encourage clients to do thorough due diligence to ensure that they are transferring funds to legitimate businesses."

• Hungary's prime minister said the war's next two or three months will be "far more brutal."
• Viktor Orbán cited the volume of weapons, troops on the battlefield, and commitment on both sides.
• He said he is on a "peace mission" tour to create a cease-fire to speed up peace talks.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the next two or three months on Ukraine's front lines before the US presidential elections will be "far more brutal" than they have ever been.

The Hungarian leader made the prediction in an interview Sunday with Axel Springer media outlets. Business Insider is owned by Axel Springer.

"The energy of the confrontation, the number of deaths, the lost lives, and the casualties will be more brutal than it was in the last seven months, even though the previous period was also very brutal," Orbán said.

Orbán mentioned the volume of weapons on the battlefield, Russian troops "consistently moving ahead" on the front lines, and the overall commitment on both sides.

"So, what is ahead of us is far worse than we think now," he said.

The Hungarian leader has paid visits to Ukraine and Russia, and is now in China as part of a peace mission, per an X post on Monday.

In the one-on-one interview, Orbán said the purpose of his meetings with world leaders was to create a "limited-time" cease-fire to speed up peace talks.

To achieve that goal, Orbán said he is trying to change what he described as the US "war policy" and the policy of Europe, which he said copies that of the US, so that world leaders can converge toward a "peace policy."

"If China, the United States, and Europe would like to have peace, it's far easier for the Ukrainians and the Russians to find a solution on how to stop fighting, how to save lives, how to negotiate, and find a durable solution," he said.

Orbán said that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, both of whom he spoke to, have a "clear vision" of how their respective countries will win the war. But the prospect of defeating Russia on the battlefield right now is "totally out of any calculation," he said.

Hungary will take on the EU Council's rotating presidency for the next six months, and Orbán said the European Union cannot afford the "luxury" of staying on the sidelines.

"My motivation is that if we would like to do something and change from war policy toward a peace policy, now is the right time to do so," he said.

Orbán's visit to Moscow last week was met with fierce criticism from other EU and European leaders, who said Orbán had no mandate to engage with Russia on the EU's behalf.

His administration has also repeatedly sought to restrain Western and NATO support for Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, notably blocking billions in funds for months.

In May, Orbán told Hungarian state radio that his lawyers and officials were "hard" at work to alter its membership in the Western military alliance, so that it could avoid further aiding Ukraine in its fightback against Russia's invasion.

NATO members are set to meet in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to mark the 75th anniversary of the military alliance, while also tackling some of its current challenges.

• The NATO summit is being held in Washington, DC, this week. 
• It comes amid rising global conflict and turmoil. 
• But questions about President Joe Biden's political future will overshadow the meeting. 

NATO leaders are gathering in Washington, D.C., this week amid global conflict and rising tensions from Ukraine to the Taiwan Strait.

But it's the political future of the alliance's most powerful member, the US, that will be among the core focus of discussions.

Following his disastrous debate performance against former US President Donald Trump on June 28, President Joe Biden's political future is in question just months before the November election.

NATO faces growing threats

European governments have been discussing how to "Trump-proof" NATO. One official told The Associated Press the mood ahead of the summit was "gloomy."

The 23-member alliance was formed during the Cold War as a bulwark against Soviet aggression. Under President Vladimir Putin, it faces the most potent threat from Russia in decades.

The alliance is handing money and weapons to Ukraine to defend against the Russian invasion, with leaders believing that if Ukraine is defeated, Putin could move on to Europe in a matter of years.

While Biden has been a staunch defender of NATO and has handed Ukraine billions of dollars to help it defend itself against the Russian invasion, Trump, who is now surging in polls, has questioned both US commitment to NATO and to helping Ukraine defend its territory.

During Trump's four years in office, he has accused NATO members of freeloading off the US, threatened to withdraw from the organization, promoted baseless conspiracy theories about Ukraine, and repeatedly praised Putin.

After decades of unbroken US backing for European security, Trump's presidency threw NATO into turmoil.

And on the campaign trail, he's offered, at best, ambivalent commitments to NATO and to Ukraine.

Moves to 'Trump-proof' NATO

It has prompted some European leaders, including France's President Emmanuel Macron, to call for greater strategic autonomy for Europe to reduce its dependence on US wealth and military power.

The US Congress also moved to safeguard the US's NATO commitment, passing legislation requiring presidents to have Congress' backing to withdraw from the alliance.

Trump, if reelected, could bypass this by cutting off NATO funding and military aid.

According to The Wall Street Journal, NATO members are expected to announce a range of new measures to "Trump-proof" NATO this week, including taking the lead in coordinating the training and equipping of Ukrainian forces.

And while NATO members have boosted their spending in the wake of the Russian invasion — with nearly all members meeting their 2% of GDP defense spending goal — a lack of US support would leave a huge hole.

In the first few months of the year, there was a stark warning of what losing US support could mean for Ukraine.

As Trump-supporting Republicans blocked a US aid bill, Ukraine's military came perilously close to collapse as they ran out of ammunition on parts of the front line. Ukraine's European allies were unable to make up the shortfall.

The prospect of a second Trump term means that NATO members are once again asking hard questions about the alliance's future.

• "The Man with 1000 Kids" claims that Jonathan Jacob Meijer mixed sperm samples with another donor.
• Meijer denied the claim in several YouTube videos.
• Meijer demanded that Netflix remove the allegation from the docuseries, and threatened legal action.

The prolific sperm donor at the center of Netflix's "The Man with 1000 Kids" has denied claims that he mixed his sperm with another donor's to see who the babies would resemble.

The three-part docuseries, which was released on July 3, details how parents who used Jonathan Jacob Meijer as a sperm donor brought a case against him in his native Netherlands for fathering 550 children.

In April 2023, Meijer was banned from donating sperm to new parents worldwide, and he faces a fine of €100,000 for every future violation of the ban.

In the second episode of the series, a woman called Patricia, who says she is Meijer's friend, claims he and another donor named Leon mixed their semen samples together before giving them away to unsuspecting couples on several occasions.

Patricia described it as a game. Describing the pair's alleged approach, she said: "Let's do a sperm roulette and see who wins."

Since the docuseries was released, Meijer has denied the claims in several videos on his YouTube channel.

On July 3, Meijer appeared in a livestream interview with Patricia on the Down the Rabbit Hole YouTube channel and challenged her accusation that "he swapped sperm with Leon." Patricia said that she only recounted what Leon told her, but accepted she couldn't prove the claim.

"I didn't say that. I said it was mentioned by Leon and it could be possible. I never said… Because I wasn't there. I wasn't there to witness it," Patricia said.

On July 4, Meijer said in a YouTube video that he planned to take legal action against Netflix.

"I filed the report against slander for the statement that I swapped or mixed sperm with another donor, Leon. I've never done that," he said, without clarifying what "the report" referred to. "It's a blatant lie, and Netflix will have to remove it, or I will make a legal case. Money money!"

It's the second time this year that the subject of a high-profile Netflix project has threatened legal action against the streamer.

In June, Fiona Harvey filed a defamation suit against Netflix over the abuse she faced online after audiences identified her as the person stalker Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) is based on in "Baby Reindeer."

Meijer's response to "The Man with 1000 Kids" has been watched on YouTube over 100,000 times since July 5, which indicates that audiences want to know the truth about the sperm-mixing allegations. If Meijer can prove that it didn't happen, he may have grounds for a similar defamation case.

Netflix did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• Gen Z has ditched traditional flirting methods.
• Dating apps and the pandemic reduced in-person flirting skills.
• Experts say it could be a positive change as the younger generation are direct about what they want.

Gen Zers have put their stamp on many things, but flirting doesn't seem to be one of them.

"I think flirting is dying," Nikki Sanjongco, a 24-year-old from Los Angeles, told NBC News' Daysia Tolentino.

"If someone thinks you're cute, they just ask for your Instagram these days and then DM you or swipe up on your story to show they're interested," Sanjongco said.

Generation Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 —have grown up with the internet. Most of them don't remember a time before smartphones.

For many, interacting with people online is as natural as doing it in person.

That means that it has become less common for young Americans to receive compliments from strangers or to be asked out by someone they just met in real life, experts say — but that may not be a bad thing.

The fall of the flirt

"People are not flirting anymore. I hear this from clients of all ages," Eimear Draper, founder of Kindling Dating Coaching, told Business Insider.

Draper, who works with clients between the ages of 26 and 73, said the rise of dating apps and the impact of the pandemic could be to blame.

"For a long time, that 'chatting to strangers' muscle wasn't exercised, and potentially for some, social anxiety has developed," she said.

The popularity of online dating has grown steadily over the past six years. According to the online data platform Statista, the online dating industry was worth $1.89 billion in 2019 and is predicted to grow to $3.15 billion in global revenue by the end of 2024.

Dating apps are most popular in the US, where the industry made almost $1.4 billion in 2023, according to Statista.

Maxine Williams, the founder of single events group We Met IRL, told NBC that social isolation during the pandemic prevented young people from developing the skills required to form meaningful connections.

Speaking to BI, relationship coach Railey Molinario said many Gen Zers feel "more comfortable expressing interest through texts, emojis, and social media engagement" rather than "direct, personal encounters" that can be attributed to traditional flirting.

Young people are also less inclined to date strangers than the generations that came before them.

A survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life, previously cited by BI, found that 43% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 were friends with their partner before they started dating.

In comparison, an estimated 21% of people over 65 said they were friends with their partner before getting into a relationship.

Molinario said the lack of traditional flirting could lead to a decrease in social skills, "like reading body language, picking up on social cues, and engaging in spontaneous conversation."

"This can make it more difficult for young people to form deep, meaningful relationships in person," she said.

The dating landscape has changed for good

Nonetheless, Molinario said the switch to digital has benefits. For example, she said those expressing a romantic interest in someone online can do so "without the immediate pressure of in-person rejection."

"It also provides a layer of safety, as interactions can be more easily controlled and monitored in digital spaces," she said.

That's not to say that rejection doesn't exist online. "Ghosting" — when someone abruptly cuts off communication — and "quiet quitting" — when someone does the bare minimum without officially ending the relationship — can be hurtful. Williams told NBC that the internet has created a buffer for young people when it comes to rejection.

It's clear there's an appetite for the return of in-person interactions. Eventbrite reported that searches on its ticketing platform for in-person events increased by 1.5 million over the last year, according to NBC.

Williams told the outlet that attendees at her singles events group told her they are "more open to going into events alone."

However, it's worth noting that the fall of traditional flirting isn't entirely dependent on the rise in digital dating.

Briana Paruolo, a psychotherapist and founder of On Par Therapy NYC, told BI that traditional flirting has been replaced with a more direct and open communication style that she has witnessed both online and in person.

"The way Gen Z approaches flirting and relationships has certainly shifted from other generations, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing," she said.

Paruolo said she works with Gen Z clients who approach dating with self-awareness, assertiveness, open communication, and intentionality. She added that young people are more open and explicit about their intentions and desires, "eliminating potential misunderstandings."

According to Paruolo, Gen Zers have a greater understanding of their preferences and boundaries when dating compared with other generations, which means they are more likely to form real emotional connections.

"There is a new form of digital flirting that is also more suited to Gen Z's communication style and preferences," she said.

"This generation's approach often emphasizes an emotional connection and understanding, which can happen in real life or a digital landscape."

• Estonia's president said Ukraine joining NATO is "non-negotiable" and "irreversible."
• NATO must send a strong message that it will support Ukraine for as long as it takes, Alar Karis said.
• Trump is reportedly open to a deal with Russia that would block Ukraine from the alliance.

Estonian President Alar Karis said Ukraine joining NATO isn't negotiable and that the Western military alliance must send a strong message that NATO will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.

"Ukraine's NATO membership is non-negotiable, and the process of becoming a member is irreversible," he said, according to Estonian news outlet ERR.

Karis' comments came after reports that former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, would consider stopping Ukraine's NATO progress as part of a peace deal with Russia.

Trump-aligned national security experts told Politico last week that, if elected, Trump is considering negotiating a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that would see Russia getting some territory and NATO committing to not expanding membership to Ukraine or Georgia.

Sources told Politico that Trump is unlikely to quit NATO outright, but members worry that, if elected, he could downplay the US role, block aid for Ukraine, or try to strike an unpopular peace deal with Russia.

Ukraine and the majority of its allies don't want a peace deal that gives Russia territory. They say it's not right, as Russia invaded a sovereign country, and that Russia can't be trusted in such deals.

Ukraine has taken steps toward joining NATO but has not yet been given a clear road map. Estonia has been a strong backer of its membership, saying that it would help protect it from Russia.

In his comments, Karis said that "if Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty are not respected, it will lead to new and larger wars in the future. Russia and other aggressors will only be emboldened to attack again."

"NATO has successfully overcome previous hesitations regarding military aid to Ukraine," he added. "No limits should be set on further assistance."

Being a member of NATO would offer Ukraine strong protection due to the alliance's mutual protection policy, which means that if one member is attacked it can call on other members, like the US and UK, for help.

Many NATO states have called for Ukraine to be granted membership of the alliance.

But any single member, such as a Trump-led US, could block it, as new membership needs consensus support.

Trump has long been critical of NATO, and threatened to withdraw from it during his presidency.

Trump long complained that many NATO members did not spend the recommended 2% of their GDP on defense.

(Members' spending has soared since — but experts told Business Insider that Trump's protests were not the reason.)

The Associated Press reported this week that European leaders are trying to "Trump-proof" NATO and its Ukraine support, in case he is reelected.

Member states like Estonia are also preparing in case Russia attacks them next.

"Russia will be more hostile in the next decade than it was in the previous one," Karis said. "NATO must be prepared for this. NATO has good collective defense plans, which need to be backed by necessary forces and weapons systems."

• Apple is planning to revamp the Watch as its 10th birthday nears.
• The improvements include larger displays and thinner builds, Bloomberg reported.
• The revamped watches may also get a new chip, which could enable some AI enhancements.

The Apple Watch is about to turn 10, so Apple is planning a birthday revamp including larger displays and thinner builds, Bloomberg reported.

Both versions of the new Series 10 watches will have screens similar to the large displays found on the Apple Watch Ultra, according to the report.

The revamped watches are also expected to contain a new chip that may permit some AI enhancements later on.

Last month, Apple pulled back the curtain on its generative AI plans with Apple Intelligence.

It hopes the AI features will prove alluring enough to convince consumers to buy new Apple products.

The announcement has been generally well received by Wall Street.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote in a Monday note that the "iPhone 16 AI-driven upgrade could represent a golden upgrade cycle for Cupertino."

"We believe AI technology being introduced into the Apple ecosystem will bring monetization opportunities on both the services as well as iPhone/hardware front and adds $30 to $40 per share," he added.

Apple stock closed on Friday at just over $226 a share, up 22% this year and valuing the company at $3.47 trillion. That puts it just behind Microsoft, which was worth $3.48 trillion at Friday's close. The pair have been vying for the title of the world's most valuable company in recent months — with chip maker Nvidia also briefing claiming the crown.

Apple also announced some software updates for the Watch at its Worldwide Developers Conference last month.

The latest version of Apple's Watch software, watchOS 11, emphasizes fitness and health, introducing new tools that allow users to rate workouts and adjust effort ratings.

WatchOS 11 will also use machine learning to curate the best photos for users' displays.

Apple has used product birthdays to release new versions of devices in the past.

The iPhone X was released to mark the 10th anniversary of the smartphone. However, it's not clear exactly when Apple plans to release the revamped watches, per Bloomberg.

Apple announced the Watch in September 2014, with CEO Tim Cook calling it "the most personal product we've ever made."

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

• I went to the world's biggest Starbucks — the Reserve Roastery on Chicago's Magnificent Mile.
• It sells food and drinks not available at normal Starbucks stores, which diners can take to its rooftop terrace.
• I ordered avocado toast, tiramisù, tea, and a strawberry spritz. It came to $43 with tax and tips.

While I was in Chicago for a conference in May, I decided to check out the world's biggest Starbucks — the Chicago Reserve Roastery.

It opened in late 2019, making it the sixth and most recent Reserve Roastery to open. It joined two other Reserve Roasteries in the US — New York and Seattle.

The upscale coffee houses roast their own coffee beans, sell food, drinks, and merchandise not available at normal Starbucks stores, and host tours and classes as well.

The 35,000-square-foot Reserve Roastery is located on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. It's just a couple of minutes from the iconic John Hancock Center, since renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue.

Source: Starbucks

The store has four floors, each serving a range of hot and cold drinks — including coffee and alcoholic beverages — and food from the exclusive Starbucks Reserve menu.

I got my meal from the second floor, which hosts the Princi café and bakery. This is the main place to get food at the Reserve Roastery.

Savory items on the menu include pizza, focaccia sandwiches, and croissants with prosciutto and fontina cheese. Most are priced at just under $10 pre-tax.

There's a huge selection of desserts, too, with most selling for around $10 pre-tax. They include cheesecake, chocolate tarts, olive oil cake, and pastries.

I opted for avocado toast with cherry tomatoes, tiramisù, and tea.

The Reserve Roastery is much more upmarket than regular Starbucks stores, but there still wasn't table service. Customers were given buzzers, though, so that they could find a seat while they waited for their orders.

The food was served on a wooden tray, but it wasn't served with proper silverware. Instead, there was disposable — but compostable — cutlery for customers to take.

I took my tray up to the rooftop terrace on the fifth floor. It was a bit difficult to take my tray with a cup of tea up to the top floor in an elevator and open the door to the terrace.

The avocado toast was delicious. I opted for one served with cherry tomatoes, arugula, and herbs. The toppings were generous, but I was disappointed in the overall portion size for $9 pre-tax. It also, strangely, wasn't served on a plate.

There was no English Breakfast tea on the menu, but a staff member advised me to get the Golden Monkey black tea instead, which I ordered with steamed oat milk.

In the UK, black tea is just served with a splash of milk, but what I ended up with was a cup of very milky tea that was lacking in flavor. I didn't enjoy drinking it — and neither did the Brits sat opposite me, sipping at their own tea.

I wanted to order whatever the most popular dessert was. A member of staff told me that it was the tiramisù, followed by the cheesecake.

The tiramisù was the most expensive thing I ordered, at $11.50 pre-tax. I enjoyed the creamy mascarpone filling, but the cake layers were a little bit dry and not as strongly flavored as I'd expected.

This little bird enjoyed my leftovers, though.

Starbucks is a cold drink pioneer. Though many of its most popular iced drinks contain coffee, like its cold brew and lattes, it's also known for its Refreshers and Frappucinos. On my way out, I decided to try something available only at the Reserve locations — the Strawberry Balsamic Spritz.

It was made up of sparkling water, "muddled" strawberry, and balsamic vinegar, and cost $7 for a grande. It tasted nice and was really refreshing, but I couldn't taste the vinegar at all. The portion of the lightly mashed strawberry was generous — this is how much was left when I finished the liquid.

I was glad I'd kept my fork from my lunch. I used it to scoop out the tasty chunks of strawberry.

I loved being able to sit on the roof terrace with views of Chicago's skyscrapers, though it did get really busy up there. And I thought the avocado toast was delicious.

But my toast, tiramisù, and two drinks came to $37, or $43.09 including tax and tips. For that price, you could get a deep-dish pizza for two, garlic bread to share, and a drink each from Chicago pizza staple Lou Malnati's, which has a location just down the street. I know which I'd pick.

• Europe has been dependent on Elon Musk's SpaceX to reach space — but that could be about to change.
• The Ariane 6, Europe's answer to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, is set to launch on Tuesday. 
• Officials hope it will compete with SpaceX's rockets, but Elon Musk isn't so sure.

SpaceX is dominating the global space industry — but Europe is hoping a new rocket will change that.

On Tuesday, the 200-foot tall Ariane 6 rocket plans to launch for the first time after years of delays from a spaceport in French Guiana, carrying the hopes of Europe's space industry and its ambition of competing with Elon Musk's rocket firm into orbit.

Over the past few years, Europe has been largely dependent on SpaceX to launch satellites into space, thanks to lengthy delays to Ariane 6 and the war in Ukraine, which left European nations unable to use Russia's Soyuz rockets.

In 2023, European Union officials struck a reported $195 million deal to have SpaceX launch four of its Galileo global navigation satellites.

More recently, the Ariane 6 suffered a major blow when European weather satellite operator Eumetsat announced it would use SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to launch its next-generation weather satellite, rather than the Ariane 6 as planned.

That decision stunned European officials, with French space agency head Philippe Baptiste calling it a "quite brutal change" and criticizing Eumetsat for not buying European.

Those officials hope a successful launch will lessen Europe's reliance on Elon Musk, with the billionaire's satellite internet service Starlink already playing a crucial — and controversial — role in Ukraine's fight against Russia.

"This powerful rocket is the culmination of many years of dedication and ingenuity from thousands across Europe and, as it launches, it will re-establish Europe's independent access to space," said Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency, in a press release.

It remains to be seen whether Ariane 6 is capable of competing with SpaceX, which dominates the global space industry.

Arianespace, the firm behind the rocket, says it will offer prices that are competitive with SpaceX's current rockets.

But unlike Space X's Falcon, the Ariane 6 is not reusable, with ESA executive Toni Tolker-Nielsen telling Space News that there aren't enough launches planned to justify building a multi-use rocket.

That decision has attracted criticism from Musk. "They need to go all-in on reusability or be utterly uncompetitive," he wrote in a post on X last year.

"Rockets are no different from other transport technologies," he said, adding: "No one would buy a single-use airplane."