• The House passed a resolution on Friday condemning calls to defund the police.
• Several progressive House Democrats voted against it.
• The resolution also blamed progressive policies for an uptick in violence against cops.

The House of Representatives easily passed a resolution by a 337-61 margin on Friday that condemned calls to defund the police and blamed progressive policies for an uptick in violence against officers.

61 House Democrats voted against the resolution, while 134 — along with other Republicans present — voted for it.

The resolution, authored by Republican Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota, included several noncontroversial provisions, such as clauses expressing "condolences and solemn appreciation" for the families of slain officers and recognizing "the mental stress and strain law enforcement officers suffer."

But it also included language that Democrats took issue with, including blaming "decreased penalties and no-bail policies" for opening the door to "record criminal activity in cities across the country."

Many progressive district attorneys have supported efforts to reform bail policies, arguing that the status quo leads to poorer people who are accused of crimes being stuck in jail while the wealthy are able to buy their freedom.

Many Democrats voted against the resolution, arguing that it was an unserious effort to address police safety. Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland, a former prosecutor, listed off several previous bills that Democrats had supported and passed when they controlled Congress, including legislation to extend benefits to officers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Several of the Democrats who voted against the resolution have also expressed support, in various forms, for efforts to shift resources away from traditional policing and toward alternative community safety approaches.

This story will be updated with a list of House Democrats who voted against the resolution when it becomes available via the House Clerk.

• House committee hearing disrupted as Rep. Taylor Greene and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez clashed.
• Greene criticized Jasmine Crockett's appearance, prompting AOC to demand her words be struck.
• The dispute began during a vote to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress.

A House Oversight Committee was disrupted on Thursday evening when Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez exchanged barbs that led to nearly an hour of disorder.

The war of words broke out as the committee voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over an audio recording of President Joe Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

Georgia Republican Rep. Greene asked if any Democrats on the panel were employing the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York.

"Please tell me what that has to do with Merrick Garland," Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett asked, adding, "Do you know what we're here for?"

Greene responded: "I don't think you know what you're here for. I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you're reading."

New York Democrat Ocasio-Cortez then stepped in, saying Greene's comments were "absolutely unacceptable" and asking her: "How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person?"

Ocasio-Cortez called for Greene's words to be struck from the record.

The pair traded jibes until Ocasio-Cortez told Greene, "Oh, girl, baby girl, don't even play."

She was then cut off by Chairman James Comer calling for order. At one point, Comer was forced to gesture to his ears and say, "I don't know if you noticed, but I have two hearing aids. I'm very deaf, I'm not understanding, everyone is shouting. I am doing the best I can."

Greene then said: "Baby, girl? I don't think so." Ocasio-Cortez replied: "We are gonna move and we are gonna take your words down."

Chairman Comer suspended the hearing while they decided whether to strike Greene's words. 

While they discussed it, Ocasio-Cortez could be heard saying "No way is that being allowed, not today."

She added: "We're not going to do a smarmy apology. She has to actually apologize. And that needs to be up to Ms. Crockett as well. It needs to be sincere."

Greene later said she would strike her words but refused to apologize and called Ocasio-Cortez "not intelligent."

Business Insider did not immediately receive a response from Greene's office regarding her comments.

Jasmine Crockett posted on X later that evening: "So MTG wanted to talk about my appearance in COMMITTEE?!"

"This is what happens when mentally deficient people who can't read and follow rules or just don't give a damn… somehow end up in CONGRESS!" she wrote.

The committee eventually voted to hold Merrick Garland in criminal contempt. It means the motion will move to the full House for a vote. 

AOC and Greene have a long history of animosity

In 2021, Greene attacked Ocasio-Cortez with a slew of offensive remarks. She called her a "little communist" and "not an American" to then labelling her a "hate-America terrorist sympathizer."

Ocasio-Cortez replied on X, writing, "First of all, I'm taller than her."

The pair clashed again last year when Greene accused Ocasio-Cortez of acting like a "teenage girl" after the latter accused the Republican of "trafficking in antisemitic conspiracy theories."

"I have repeatedly asked you to debate me, but you have been a coward and can't even respond. But you go on CNN and lie about me," Greene tweeted in response.

"When are you going to be an adult and actually debate me on policy instead of run your mouth like a teenage girl?"

• Interior designer Jade Joyner, cofounder of Metal + Petal, shared her best interior-design swaps. 
• To upgrade a living room, she recommended replacing mismatched throws with coordinating blankets. 
• She also suggested occasionally switching up your living room layout to keep things fresh. 

Swap out matching throw pillows for fresh patterns and designs.

According to Joyner, an easy way to change up your living-room design is to swap out matching pillows that may have come with your sofa for coordinating ones.

"Mix velvet and linens, add in silk, and bring in an animal print to keep the couch fresh," Joyner told Business Insider. 

Joyner also recommended collecting throw pillows from your favorite shops to create your own bespoke or custom-made look. 

Introduce real plant life into your home.

Though artificial plants can make your life easier, Joyner recommends swapping out all faux foliage and flowers for real ones to enhance your space and even your life.

"Live plants are key to any good room," Joyner told BI. "They clean the air and can sharpen the focus."

Replace floor lamps with sconces to add interest to a room.

To give your living room a little more flair, consider changing up your lighting. 

"I love a good sconce because it adds such interest to a room," Joyner said. "I use them often in bedrooms with adjustable arms, so you really have task lighting for reading."

Joyner also suggested using scones to add light to a dark hallway or to frame a mirror.

Upgrade your window treatments to something more custom if you have the budget.

Not only is going the custom route a great way to avoid poor-fitting window coverings that don't control the sunlight as you may wish, but also it tends to look nicer.

"Store-bought drapes are usually pretty thin and not very luxe," Joyner told BI. "Custom drapes upgrade your space immediately."

Joyner also said that with custom window treatments, you can also add puddling and widths together to create a more full appearance.

Exchange old throws with a lush cashmere or linen blanket.

Swap out your old throw blankets that don't match your interior aesthetic and invest in something that does. 

"Think cashmere or linen," Joyner said. "Spend a little more money on one great throw blanket that works with the room, and then you never have to hide them."

Though your sofa may not be expensive, a quality throw blanket could upgrade the look.

Make a statement by replacing your mismatched lamps with coordinating ones.

Joyner suggested making a statement by getting lamps that are either oversized or super scaled-down. 

"I love a good lamp, and search high and low for the right ones for the right space," Joyner said. "Lately, I have been obsessed with lamps in the kitchen. They could not be more perfect for adding low light to any kitchen."

Make your home more eco-friendly by changing out all of your bulbs to LEDs.

According to Joyner, the glow from LEDs is softer and prettier, and much more energy-efficient

"I want my rooms to read clean, not yellow," Joyner told BI. "Plus, they last so much longer."

Start an art collection by swapping out your posters for real art pieces.

"Find up-and-coming local artists that you love and start a collection you can grow over time," Joyner said.

Joyner recommended ordering affordable art prints from places like Juniper Print Shop and Artfully Walls and having them custom framed to make a lovely piece for your walls.

Add fun and fabulous wallpaper to your home in place of plain, painted walls.

"While I do love a good paint color, wallpaper can transform the space," Joyner told BI. "Textured papers specifically can add so much warmth to a space."

Though there are many options to choose from, Joyner recommended adding texture to a space through a print or grasscloth.

Move your layout around each season to keep your space feeling fresh.

It's free to rearrange your living space. For instance, you can move your sofa to face the fireplace in the winter and the windows in summer. 

Joyner suggested also suggested angling your furniture and adjusting your sofa and chairs before you have guests.

"I touch every piece of furniture before guests arrive to make the room feel fresh," Joyner said.

Replace machine-made rugs with unique vintage ones.

To bring more character to your living room, swap any manufactured rugs for something vintage. 

"Find a great vintage rug at an estate sale to bring in character and age," Joyner told BI. "I recently found two 10-by-14-foot rugs at an estate sale for $200 each. They aren't high quality, but they have lovely colors and a beautiful design." 

Machine-made, manufactured rugs are great, but if you really want to add some character, Joyner said, think about incorporating a hand-knotted rug.

Invest in a marvelous light fixture to replace your old ceiling fan.

One way to (literally) brighten a room is with a beautiful ceiling-light fixture.

To do so, Joyner suggested swapping your ceiling fan out in your living room for a marvelous light fixture.

Even if it needs to be ceiling-hugging, Joyner said, just finding something unique or vintage is a great way to add character to a new home.

This story was originally published on April 2, 2022, and most recently updated on May 17, 2024.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. The 3-camera driver assist system

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. The 360-degree camera system.

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

6. The rearview mirror camera

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

7. Quality interior.

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

8. The Harmon-Kardon surround sound stereo

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

9. A Panoramic power moonroof

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

10. The MySubaru App

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

11. All kinds of power plugs

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

12. The panoramic rear-view mirror

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

13. Lots of cargo room

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

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

14. Built in sunshades

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Copies of checks Donald Trump signed to pay Michael Cohen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

Michael Cohen became emotional at times during his 2019 congressional testimony

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Electronic warfare

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

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

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

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

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

The use of drones on the battlefield

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

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

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

A shortage in weapons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A high cost

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

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

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

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