• Coast Guard personnel have set procedures to follow when they're boarding suspected drug boats.
• Not every interdiction plays out the way they think it will, prompting changes in the moment.
• Weather, sea conditions, how smugglers react to being boarded, and the type of vessel all can impact the interdiction.

USCG TACLET SOUTH OPA-LOCKA, Florida — When a go-fast boat loaded with drugs was on the run, elite Coast Guard troops weren't far behind. They'd been chasing this vessel for nearly 50 nautical miles through blinding rain and eight-foot waves, Lt. Matthew Lesyk, officer in charge of Law Enforcement Detachment 404, recalled for Business Insider.

A Coast Guard helicopter had spotted the vessel and fired off warning shots, but the Tactical Law Enforcement Team (TACLET) giving chase could barely see anything.

"That reflects how serious and dangerous this job can be," said Morgan Fussell, an ME3, or maritime law enforcement specialist. It isn't always smooth seas.

And while there's a step-by-step process for drug interdictions, things don't always go to plan.

Not every drug interdiction goes smoothly. Drug runners do unexpected things, and sometimes suspected drugs turn out to be something else entirely. Coast Guard crews have to be ready to change their course of action in the moment.

Both Lesyk and Fussell said they've mostly boarded "go-fast" vessels with some fishing boats and semi-submersibles. Beyond the latter being slippery and riding low in the water, it's also possible someone aboard could pull a scuttling valve, quickly sinking it.

At Coast Guard TACLET South, headquartered just outside Miami, these specialists go out on months-long drug interdiction deployments. In preparation for the high-stakes counter-drug missions, which require boarding potentially dangerous vessels on the high seas, they go through intense training.

"I've trained to the worst scenarios possible so that when we're out there, if something does go left or right, we're ready to react and execute that mission," Lesyk told BI during a recent visit to TACLET South.

The Coast Guard has two TACLETs, one in California and one in Florida. Like the Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Squadron in Jacksonville, Florida, TACLETs are selective and take years to join. Once teams are deployed, their job is to conduct counter-drug operations and enforce maritime law.

"There's definitely a certain mindset that you need to have in order to execute these missions properly," Coast Guard maritime law enforcement specialist Morgan Fussell said. There's a certain flexibility needed should the standard boarding process suddenly go awry.

For TACLETs, the foremost concern during boarding is the safety of their team. If a Coast Guard member falls in the water trying to make the initial boarding, a dangerous process in the open ocean, or is threatened by someone aboard the drug vessel, the mission set changes instantly. Important, too, is keeping the suspected traffickers safe. If a smuggler jumps overboard trying to escape, switching to search and rescue mode is key.

Leysk recalled an incident in which an abandoned runaway boat nearly ran over a crewman who had jumped overboard. A marksman in a helicopter shot out the engine at the last minute to keep the man out of harm's way. TACLETs take similar precautions.

The most difficult part of the boarding process can vary. Sometimes it's how smugglers react, especially if they're armed. Sometimes it is just getting aboard an unusual vessel like a narco-sub. The sea conditions and weather can play a role, too.

With the semi-submersible narco-subs, TACLETs have a tool they bring to pump the water out should the smugglers attempt to sink the vessel. And other boats and safety officers also tag along on the boarding process to keep an eye out and ensure team members are aware of any potential problems.

Once the boarding team has gained control of the target boat, they begin the process of gathering information from the crew, determining the vessel's origin, and searching for drugs, which can be in barrels or hidden in false bulkheads and fuel tanks.

Fussell told BI that one of the craziest interdictions she's been on involved opening bales she assumed had drugs in them but turned out to be carrying tons of sausage, not cocaine or marijuana. "The weird part about that was it was packaged like drug packaging," she said, wrapped up and thrown in bales.

When it comes to expecting the unexpected, sometimes it isn't drugs. Sometimes it's sausages.

The boat was headed southbound, which is less suspicious than vessels headed north toward the US from South America. But it still checked enough boxes for reasonable suspicion as the Coast Guard gathered intelligence on it before beginning the standard interdiction process.

TACLET members may engage in a varying number of interdictions during deployments. They may be on a Coast Guard vessel, like a cutter, with a primary focus on stopping drug runners, or they could be aboard US Navy or international allied vessels, which means interdictions aren't always the priority.

Regardless, they continue to adjust to different tactics traffickers turn to get drugs into the US.

"They're seeking new ways to smuggle contraband at any given time," Cmdr. Chris Guy, commanding officer of TACLET South, told BI during the recent visit, and "the level of sophistication at times has gone up."

With more drugs now being seized at sea by the Coast Guard than ever, he said, getting the right people to do this mission is becoming more important. "We need more people," Guy said, "and we want to make sure when our folks go out and conduct the mission, that they're going to be very best they could be."

• Kim Greene started breeding protection dogs after getting pregnant with twins.
• Her dogs now sell for $175,000 and are fully trained when they're placed.
• The business grew after she divorced and started running the company alone.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kim Greene, founder of Svalinn Dogs. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was a little girl, I got a horrific case of poison ivy from petting and loving on the family dog. After experiencing intense itching from head to toe, I developed a total aversion to dogs. I made my husband agree that we would never have a dog when we got married.

My husband and I both worked internationally, he in defense and me in humanitarian efforts. We met in Afghanistan and later moved to Kenya, which was a region where his harder skillset and my softer skillset could both be utilized.

There, I found out I was pregnant with twins. I gained more than 80 pounds during the pregnancy, which made me feel like a sitting duck in an environment where a lot of things could go wrong. I wanted protection, but I didn't like the idea of having a firearm or a bodyguard. I wasn't thrilled about the idea of a dog, but it seemed better than the alternatives.

I started the business just before having twins

My husband and I imported two security dogs from the US. Right away, we thought we could do it better. I wanted to create a dog that would fill the role of a pet, one that could be snuggled and loved, yet also offer protection. I wanted my dogs to be guardian angels for their families.

My then-husband and I developed a comprehensive business plan with a budget of $5 million. But we could only raise $160,000 from friends and family. That's when I realized this might be harder than anticipated. We officially launched in 2005 and started our breeding program in 2007.

Today, the business is 20 years old, and my twins are 19 years old. The boys and the business grew up side by side. Often, I felt like the business was my needy third child. Twins demanded a lot from me, but the business demanded even more. I put the boys in day care so that I could focus on my career path. That gave me fulfillment, but it was also a necessity: financially, we had nothing to fall back on.

I moved the company to the US, and was shocked at the costs

As my sons started school, it became clear that one of them needed more academic support than he could get in Kenya. In 2012, the boys and I abruptly moved back to the US, while my then-husband stayed in Africa to continue the contract work that was supporting our family.

I felt the business was established in Kenya, but moving back to the US felt like starting over. Our American launch in 2013 was a rude awakening. The cost of running a company in the US was staggering, and we didn't make a profit until 2017.

During those years, I thought about giving up every single day. But I couldn't see a quick exit strategy. People and animals were relying on me. Plus, I still had conviction about the idea of a protection dog. I also felt that at this point, I was the only one stupid enough to keep trying to profit from dogs who needed three years of training. I thought I could outlast the competition.

The business took off after my divorce

My husband and I divorced in 2019. That was a pivotal point for the business. Svalinn wouldn't exist without him, but once I was able to restructure the company on my own, I felt we found our stride. Even before the divorce, I had been a single mom for many years while he lived abroad. Svalinn is all about helping moms and children feel secure, and I felt we were able to really embody that once I was running things on my own.

I also found the confidence to charge more for our dogs. Before that, I was charging about $75,000 per dog. When you consider that it includes up to three years of 24/7 care, support, and training, it really wasn't enough. We were losing money.

Once our dogs were established, the market was willing to pay what they were truly worth — though even now I'm not sure we charge enough. Today, the dogs cost $175,000. We place about 18 to 20 dogs annually. We have 13 employees, and our reputation has taken off.

As for my own finances, I'm getting there. Divorce is an expensive proposition, and so is building a business over 20 years. Yet, I have a job I love. My sons are gritty, hard workers who are true to themselves. That comes from growing up in a family where they had to roll up their sleeves.

My children and I have gleaned important life lessons about hard work — and taking time for fun — over the past 20 years. That's my greatest wealth.

• Oura plans to expand its smart ring into digital payments, keys, and identity tools.
• CEO Tom Hale sees biometric wearables as a solution for secure authentication and payments.
• Integrating NFC chips into small wearables remains an engineering challenge, Hale acknowledged.

Oura, the maker of smart rings beloved by athletes and celebrities, has said it's on course to generate $1 billion in revenue this year. Now it's setting its sights beyond fitness and health tracking as it looks to capture its next billion-dollar opportunity.

Speaking to Business Insider at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon this month, Oura CEO Tom Hale outlined a vision to expand into areas like digital identity and payments.

"The idea is very straightforward: What if this is your key? What if this is your wallet?" Hale said of the company's smart rings, which retail for up to $499.

Hale said there's a lot of friction within enterprises when it comes to validating identity — from office workers remembering their passwords when they log on to their computers, to those with clearance to operate weapons systems getting access to the control room.

"This is a biometric wearable that can identify you," Hale said.

Hale didn't give a timeline for when such features might be brought to the device.

"We're not suddenly going to become an identity provider," Hale said. "It's an additional value of biometric identification and payments as an application."

Oura first signaled its intent to move into the authentication space in 2023, when it acquired the identity technology provider Proxy in an all-equity deal. At the time, Oura said the deal gave it the opportunity to expand its addressable market, although it has largely kept details of precisely what it's working on under wraps since.

Oura raised a $900 million Series E funding round in October of this year, valuing the company at $11 billion. Hale said the fresh investment would primarily be used to support its international expansion.

Frederick Stanbrell, an analyst who focuses on the wearables market at the research company IDC, said Oura has many factors in its favor as it expands into areas like payments and IDs. Many consumers are already accustomed to swiping their smartwatches or using wearables to make payments on public transport, Stanbrell said.

Oura has sold more than 5.5 million devices, the company said earlier this year, and it has an audience base that consists of many ultra-high net worth individuals, which could work in its favor for striking partnerships with payment providers such as Visa and Mastercard.

However, integrating an NFC chip comes with challenges. Its compact size means the signal can be "quite weak," Stanbrell said, adding that skin on the wearer's finger can also "absorb some of the signal."

"Other companies have struggled to do it," he said, pointing to Samsung, which was expected to bring identity and payments tech to its Galaxy Ring but didn't.

Hale acknowledged integrating NFC hardware into a smart ring is "an engineering challenge," but added that NFC "is becoming more and more ubiquitous — it's highly reliable, and it's a low power draw."

• Habit Burger CEO Shannon Hennessy runs the up-and-coming brand in the Yum! portfolio.
• She told Business Insider about her non-negotiable daily routine, from wake-up to sundown.
• Hennessy swears by her morning rituals, from a daily workout to gaining insight from her Oura ring.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shannon Hennessy, the CEO of Habit Burger, the newest chain in the Yum! Brands portfolio, which also includes fast food titans like Taco Bell and KFC. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a mornings-and-margins kind of person. I get my workout in before most inboxes are awake, and I protect my sleep as if it were one of my core KPIs.

When I joined The Habit Burger & Grill in 2022, after serving as CFO of KFC's Global Division for two years, my first focus was to protect the things that make Habit special — the open-flame cooking, consistency, and care — while improving the economics of every restaurant. With that foundation built, I've been able to shift my attention to growth, finding ways to connect Habit's fresh, feel-good food with real, everyday value.

I spend a lot of time in the restaurants, listening to guests and our teams, and I'm constantly looking for inspiration, whether that's from a peer's podcast, a great book, or the design of a patio umbrella.

My belief is simple: people shouldn't have to choose between food that tastes good and food that feels good. If we continue to deliver both consistently and with heart, growth will take care of itself.

Here's what a typical day looks like for me.

I wake around 5:30 a.m.

I'm a morning person. Most days, I wake up around 5:30 a.m., usually a few minutes before my alarm sounds.

I set up my coffee station the night before so I can creep downstairs without waking anyone, flip it on, and grind beans for a hot cup.

Later in the morning, I'll switch to an iced latte — I love playing with flavors, but the first mug is sacred.

Move first, intensity by feel

I plan my workouts every Sunday and block them on my calendar. My anchor sessions are two Orangetheory classes a week.

If I'm home on Saturday, I'll join a strength boot camp outdoors at a local park. On other days, I mix Peloton rides (Cody, Leanne, and Christine are my go-tos), plus Pilates, yoga, and long walks.

I wear an Oura Ring mainly for sleep and recovery. I'm not obsessive, but if my score says "take it easy," I'll swap a HIIT class for a walk. Exercise, for me, regulates energy so I can show up as my best self — not to "win the Olympics."

I focus on protein and fiber as my family's breakfast chef

After workouts, I'll grab a high-protein shake if I'm not home yet, then I make breakfast for the family — often prepped egg-and-veg wraps I batch on weekends.

I upped my protein target this year from around 100g to 120g a day and pay more attention to my fiber intake after realizing how deficient most of us are. I use nutritional macros like a guideline, but I only track my meals closely when I need a mental reset.

In the office by 8:30 a.m. — caffeinated and listening

I try to protect my sleep so I can be sharp in the mornings. Another coffee or two doesn't hurt.

At the office, the "glue" is my longtime assistant, Katie. If her usually calm demeanor shifts, I pay attention: it often signals something brewing that hasn't reached me yet. She's a pulse check on culture and fit, and I'm often bouncing ideas off of her throughout the day.

I spend a lot of time in our restaurants and in meetings with my team to check in on our projects. Recently, I've been focused on our market "glow-ups," where we're updating signage, patios, lighting, and visibility at restaurants across the country, tailoring our approach to each city instead of having one-size-fits-all storefronts.

A quick lunch around noon, then more meetings

Lunch is quick — typically a big salad with protein, if I'm not sampling new menu items in our test kitchen.

Then I spend the afternoon in working sessions with ops, design, and marketing. Sometimes, that means being in front of the camera to film content for our social media channels, or it can involve a brainstorming session with our innovation team to develop new seasonal menu items.

I look for inspiration everywhere

My early career in consulting trained me to seek ideas everywhere, so I curate my own inspiration stream:

• Whenever a restaurant leader peer is on a podcast, I listen to understand how others think about the industry.
• I cycle through podcasts from "The Daily" and Esther Perel, as well as the occasional murder-mystery series for "mind candy."
• You can usually find me reading business books, such as "Unreasonable Hospitality" and "No Rules Rules."
• I also play Wordle, a tiny daily puzzle that resets my brain.

I'm always listening for questions we're not being asked — like how people feel working for me, or how to become a Gen Z "first-choice" employer — and using the answers to build momentum in our business.

I finish work around 5 p.m.

Evenings are for my teenage kids and, ideally, a home-cooked meal.

My husband is the dinner MVP; he's truly an exceptional home cook, so evenings are his domain. I'm grateful to be delightfully surprised by whatever he's making.

I don't micromanage dinner — prioritizing balance across the day lets me enjoy whatever's on the table. If I need a sweet finish, I'm a sucker for great ice cream.

On weekends, I try to avoid being available for work. That's my family's time, and protecting it helps me show up as my best self at the office.

I try to be in bed by 9 p.m.

I skim my sleep trends from my Oura Ring, maybe read some fiction (strong female leads are my jam), and aim to be in bed by 9.

Protecting sleep is non-negotiable. I can power through a day or two short on rest, but beyond that, my patience and mental capacity dip — and my team deserves the best version of me.

• Russia's medium-sized strike drones are flying smaller drones into battle, Ukrainian soldiers say.
• The fixed-wing "Molniya" drones can carry one or two first-person-view (FPV) quadcopters.
• The tactic extends the reach of Russia's FPV drones.

Russia has been using its medium-sized drones to fly smaller drones packed with explosives into combat, extending their range and creating deadly new problems for Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian soldiers who described the tactic to Business Insider said that Moscow uses its fixed-wing Molniya ("lightning" in Russian) drones to carry small first-person-view (FPV) drones; these are typically the quadcopters that have become a dominant presence on the battlefield.

The tactic, while not a new phenomenon, has become a growing concern for Ukrainian forces because it enables the FPVs to operate and strike at greater depths. The war has featured other types of mothership-style drone carriers, but Russia only recently started using the Molinya for this purpose, soldiers said.

A soldier in the 4th Ranger Regiment, a Ukrainian special operations unit, said that the inexpensive Molniya drones act as "an aircraft carrier," bringing one or two FPVs into battle, significantly extending their reach.

The Molniya can also carry an explosive payload, allowing it to function as both a mothership and a strike drone, said the operator, who could only be identified by his call sign Khyzhak ("Predator" in Ukrainian) for security reasons.

After the Molniya releases its onboard FPVs, it can continue flying to strike a target. Russia has sometimes even put anti-tank mines on the drone to increase its explosive potential, Khyzhak said.

"They're cheap, there's a lot of them, and so they can use them any time — at any moment — they want," the soldier added.

Neither Russia's defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to Business Insider's request for comment on the tactic.

A Ukrainian drone unit commander operating in the northeast Kharkiv region described the Molniya tactic as a "dispensable relay." They can often fly for dozens of miles, and the FPVs are remotely piloted after they are dropped off by the mothership.

Russia began using this tactic in the Kharkiv region several weeks ago, taking advantage of the shifting front lines, the commander said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

Another Ukrainian soldier said he suspects Russia does not have many of these Molniya drones and described the threat as still being somewhat "experimental."

The soldier, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Ukraine has similar mothership-style drones that can carry three or even four smaller ones. He declined to detail how widespread their use is, citing operational security concerns.

Ukraine has previously disclosed the use of naval drones to carry FPVs in the Black Sea, with the smaller quadcopter drones taking off from the mothership to attack a Russian-held oil platform.

The introduction of the FPV-carrying Molniyas marks another instance of battlefield innovation, highlighting how drones continue to play an increasingly dominant role in the ongoing conflict.

"War changes. I'm not saying every day, but every year for sure, every half of the year. They're trying new tactics all the time. We are doing the same," Khyzhak said.

Both Ukraine and Russia are constantly trying to outsmart the other in what officials have described as a cat-and-mouse game to field new warfare technology before the other side develops a workable countermeasure.

New warfighting technologies often grants one side an advantage for only a limited window, maybe only a few months before the other side figures out how to respond, Lt. Col. Yurii Myronenko, Ukraine's deputy minister of defense for innovation and a former drone unit commander, told Business Insider recently.

Khyzhak said that Russia is modifying its drones to make them more deadly. He added that "they are improving their weapons — their equipment — nonstop, 24/7, every day."

Earlier this month, Ukraine's defense ministry published combat footage showing interceptor drones — one of Kyiv's newest air defense tools — taking out a handful of Molniyas above the battlefield. It's unclear if they have stopped any of the motherships carrying FPVs.

• Talent firm G&B Digital Management has been hosting creator economy classes for Hollywood pros.
• Traditional entertainment workers are seeking new skills as the film and TV industries slow down.
• Here's G&B's presentation laying out the dos and don'ts of the creator world.

It's a tough time in Hollywood, with TV shows being canceled, shoots moving to cheaper locales, and jobs lost to industry consolidation. Meanwhile, the independent creator economy is booming.

G&B Digital Management, a 10-year-old talent management firm, has been hosting free classes, called "Flipping the Script," aimed at helping Hollywood workers capitalize on new opportunities. G&B founder and CEO, Kyle Hjelmeseth, has put them on in Los Angeles and New York. About 40 people attended a recent event in New York, including film and TV producers and directors.

During the class, Hjelmeseth and G&B's education director, Joey Gagliardi, gave a high-level overview of the creator economy and practical steps people can follow to take advantage of it.

One big takeaway: the new and old entertainment worlds have more similarities than you might think, and even people used to being part of big crews and behind the scenes have transferable skills.

"You've already been trained for all of this," Gagliardi told the New York class. "Because nobody runs a ship tighter than a producer."

Check out slides from the presentation deck they used for "Flipping the Script."

G&B Digital Management encourages Hollywood pros to chart their path

G&B sees creators falling into three main types

One type is lifestyle creators who are known for taking people behind the scenes of their lives.

A second type is industry insiders or educators

G&B says a lot of Hollywood pros who are used to working behind the scenes are well-suited to this approach because it enables them to showcase their professional expertise.

A third type is entertainers

These people perform as characters in monologues, comedy bits, skits, and series.

Do you want to be on camera or off?

G&B says your first big decision is to figure out if you want to be on camera or not. Those on camera tend to be actors, hosts, and performers building personal brands online. Their personality is central to the content, and they use storytelling to connect directly to their audiences.

The off-camera path

G&B lays out ways writers, directors, producers, photographers, videographers, and editors can apply their skills to the creator economy, doing things like translating creative concepts to digital series for themselves or other creators.

Hollywood and the creator economy aren't that different

Many Hollywood terms and skills have their counterparts in the creator economy.

Start with a strong profile

Ask yourself when creating a digital profile: If someone landed on your profile today, would they know who you are, what you do, and why they should follow you?

Consistency is key

G&B stresses that posting regularly and with a consistent tone is important for attracting brand sponsors as well as fans. A creator who does this well is Bonnie Barton, whose home decor account flashesofstyle has a different color palette for each season.

Pairing food and fun

Another is Brandon Gouveia, a chef known for his fun and accessible recipes.

Put your pets to work

For people who don't want to be on camera, a pet can be a worthy substitute.

Have a strong hook

G&B recommends coming up with a good hook to grab people while they're scrolling — a cold open, if you will.

Be human

Carson (Crustbycarson) and Ashby Florence are examples of popular creators who have gained big followings by being natural and unpolished.

Don't reinvent the wheel

Stick with an easily repeatable format and a couple of consistent phrases that people know you for.

Be real and consistent for a winning formula

Carson is an accountant by day who often starts his posts with a quippy intro before sharing his pastimes.

His account is brand-friendly

His account sticks with a few themes — traveling, working out, cooking — making it well-suited to brand sponsors.

Posting shouldn't be a chore: Work it into your daily life

Other dos: Respond to comments and messages, and build your posting activity into your schedule.

Don't oversell or chase trends

Stay yourself if you're doing a product-focused post. Don't change your tone of voice or be too salesy, G&B says.

Figure out who your audience is, and share your life with them

G&B says being consistent will also teach platforms' algorithms what you're about, so they can recommend you to potential future followers.

• In September, Larry Ellison briefly overtook Elon Musk as the richest man in the world.
• Ellison cofounded Oracle and his son recently bought Paramount.
• He's also been a big political donor and has supported several politicians over the years.

You've probably heard Larry Ellison's name a lot lately.

In September, the cofounder and chairman of Oracle briefly overtook Elon Musk as the richest man in the world after his company's stock price soared on news of a blockbuster earnings report.

He also cemented Oracle's role in the American takeover of TikTok, which was approved by President Donald Trump that same month.

And in August, his son David successfully acquired Paramount, a major shake-up of the media industry that led to a string of new acquisitions and the ascent of Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS.

Nonetheless, Ellison is known for keeping a relatively low profile compared to other major tech billionaires.

He's been around for a long time, and over the years, he's made a number of interesting moves. In 2012, he bought an entire island in Hawaii, and he later purchased an airline to help facilitate travel to it.

He also owns several mansions, including properties in Malibu, Palm Beach, and Rhode Island.

And the billionaire has thrown around his money in another way: spending it on political campaigns.

Though he's one of several tech leaders who's fostered ties to Trump, Ellison does not appear to have ever made any direct, public contributions to the president's political operation, according to Federal Election Commission records.

He did host a fundraiser for Trump in 2020 on one of his properties, but has said that he did not attend the event himself.

But Ellison has spent big on some other major politicians — mostly Republicans.

Here are the politicians who've enjoyed Ellison's largesse over the years.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina

Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican senator from South Carolina, has been Ellison's biggest financial beneficiary by far.

From 2020 to 2023, as Scott geared up for a 2024 presidential bid, Ellison poured more than $35 million into Opportunity Matters Fund, a super PAC associated with Scott.

Ellison even attended Scott's presidential campaign launch event in South Carolina in 2023, where the senator gave the Oracle cofounder and shoutout and called him a "mentor" of his.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Long before he became Secretary of State, Marco Rubio was a freshman senator running for President of the United States.

During the 2016 presidential election, Ellison contributed $5 million to Conservative Solutions PAC, a super PAC that supported Rubio's presidential bid.

Ellison reportedly held a fundraiser for Rubio at his mansion in Woodside, a town in the San Francisco Bay Area, in May 2015.

Rubio ultimately dropped out of the race after losing his home state of Florida, and Trump went on to win the nomination and the presidency.

Former Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah

Long before Romney was a senator from Utah, Ellison was a supporter of his 2012 presidential candidacy.

Ellison donated $3 million to Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney super PAC, that year.

Romney, the onetime governor of Massachusetts, ultimately lost to then-President Barack Obama. He was later elected to the Senate in 2018 and retired after 2024.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

Tim Scott isn't the only South Carolina politician that Ellison has supported.

The state's other Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, has also earned Ellison's financial support, including as recently as this year.

Ellison contributed $1 million to Security is Strength, a pro-Graham super PAC, in March of this year.

It was his largest publicly disclosed political donation since 2022. Graham is seeking reelection next year.

Ellison also made a $250,000 contribution to the same group in 2020, the last time that Graham was up for reelection.

A smattering of other politicians have received Ellison's money

Ellison has donated to a variety of other politicians over the years.

In July, he gave almost $50,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the official campaign arm for Senate Republicans.

In 2020, he gave $1 million apiece to super PACs supporting Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine and GOP candidate John James in Michigan. He also gave $1 million in 2022 to a super PAC that spent heavily in a US House primary in Tennessee.

While most of his contributions have been to Republicans, Ellison wasn't always just a GOP donor.

FEC records show that in the 1990s, he made significant donations to Democrats, including a total of $120,000 to the Democratic National Committee, when Bill Clinton was the party's presidential nominee.

In 2000, he was quoted as saying: "We should have amended the Constitution to elect Bill Clinton to a third term."

• The Trump phone was announced in June and was originally set to be released in August.
• It's been months since then, and the phone has yet to hit the market.
• Here's what we know about the Trump phone as of now.

The Trump family's foray into the smartphone business has seemingly hit a snag.

Months ago, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — the president's two oldest sons — announced the creation of "Trump Mobile," a new line of Trump-branded smartphones.

The duo made the announcement on June 16, the 10-year anniversary of President Donald Trump's first presidential campaign launch.

Among the new company's offerings: The T1, a gold-colored smartphone that largely resembles Apple's iPhone and that was originally advertised as being made in the USA.

There was also the "47 Plan," which would offer users services like unlimited texting, calling, and data, roadside assistance, and even tele-health services, all for $47.45 per month — a reference to Trump's status as both the 45th and 47th president of the United States.

Since then, there have been some adjustments.

Within days of the launch, the "MADE IN THE USA" wording was struck from the Trump Mobile website. The phone is now simply described as "brought to life right here in the USA" and made with "American hands."

More significantly, the company has missed its original launch date.

The phone was originally set to be released in August, according to the company's June announcement.

A spokesperson later told USA Today that the phone would launch in October.

It's now late November, and the Trump Mobile website simply says the phone will be available "later this year."

Trump Mobile did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Meanwhile, Trump Mobile's X account has laid dormant for months — the last post the company made was on August 27.

Despite the delay in the release — and the lack of information about when the phone may be available — Trump Mobile is still accepting pre-orders for $100, with the remaining $399 charged when the phone finally arrives.

• A NATO drone maker said smaller, frontline NATO members have two key weaponry needs.
• They need autonomy because they have smaller populations, and cost-effective ways to stop attacks.
• Latvia's Origin Robotics makes drones and drone interceptors, and has systems in Ukraine.

A drone maker that's been arming Ukraine and designing systems to protect NATO says it's learned what the alliance, especially allies sharing a border with Russia, will need to fight — and win — a war.

Drone maker Origin Robotics, which is based in Latvia, one of NATO’s smaller eastern edge allies bordering Russia and Belarus, is among those considered most at risk of a potential Russian attack. Facing a growing threat, countries along that frontier have played an outsized role in shaping NATO’s urgency toward Moscow.

CEO Agris Kipurs recently told Business Insider that these smaller front-line states need to invest in autonomy and lower-cost ways to take down enemy mass.

These are the kind of solutions that the technology company is working on. It has supplied some systems to Ukraine and has R&D contracts with Latvia's defense ministry. And Belgium recently agreed to buy Origin's interceptors.

Origin Robotics produces autonomous aerial and airborne systems, including an AI-enabled drone interceptor called BLAZE and a drone-launched precision-guided weapon known called BEAK. The latter is in use in Ukraine.

Kipurs said the company is using Ukrainian feedback to shape how it's building its new systems with NATO in mind. "We take the learnings of Ukraine, but we adapt those weapons systems specifically to be used in a NATO country," the market they are building for, he said.

Western militaries see real-world experience from Ukraine as key for industry. Luke Pollard, the UK's armed forces minister, said earlier this year that any Western drone companies that don't have their gear in Ukraine "might as well give up."

A need for autonomy

Russia has one of the world's largest armed forces. In Ukraine, Russia has shown a willingness to send waves of soldiers forward to relentless stress and overwhelm defenses — tactics often described as "meat waves." It has roots in Soviet doctrine, though it's not a 1:1 comparison to the fatal forward charges of the Second World War.

Smaller militaries with fewer troops can counter that mass with autonomy, Kipurs said. That kind of tech allows armies to be bigger than their numbers. Autonomy can give life to drone swarms, converting a single operator into an army of their own.

"For a NATO country, you need a scalable solution," he said. Compared to Russia and Ukraine, "our armies, in terms of head count, are a lot smaller." The alliance as a whole commands substantial forces, but force multipliers like autonomy can make alliance military might much greater.

"We have to build systems which can be deployed within a smaller army where one operator has to accomplish way more than an operator in Ukraine is accomplishing," he said. "And pretty much the only answer to that is autonomy."

Autonomy allows militaries to scale, Kipurs explained. "We don't have the numbers in terms of infantry, in terms of any army operator. So they have to be able to accomplish more."

Ukraine, one of Europe's largest countries, is still struggling against Russia's superior manpower and is increasingly turning to autonomy to offset that disadvantage. It also wants technology that protects operators by keeping them farther from the front lines, a crucial need as drone pilots have become top Russian targets.

Low-cost counters

Kipurs said finding cost-effective ways to stop large-scale attacks is also critical for nations with limited budgets, not just smaller militaries.

A key Russian tactic has been launching massive drone and missile barrages across Ukraine. This is something the West is increasingly worried about, with many officials acknowledging a gap in its defenses. There are not enough air defense systems, particularly affordable ones. It's not sustainable to fire a $4 million Patriot missile at a Russian drone worth only thousands.

Kipurs said that "when you look at the current offering for precision strike technology or weapon systems that can deliver precision strikes at the lowest end, you are talking hundreds of thousands per one successful strike." Some missile systems are worth millions, which is what higher-end interceptors are made for.

In Ukraine, both sides have recognized that exquisite precision strike capabilities are simply not sustainable in the long run, so they've been augmenting barrages with cheaper drones and loitering munitions.

It's cheap mass, not the expensive weapons that top armies have prioritized for decades. Addressing this problem, Kipurs said, is an "opportunity" for European entrepreneurs.

Front-line perspectives

Latvia and its neighbors, countries at risk that have grappled with Russian hybrid attacks and airspace violations, warned early on that Russia posed a threat and are now among Ukraine's strongest backers.

They're also some of NATO's most vocal members, warning that Moscow could strike elsewhere in Europe. These nations rank among the alliance's top defense spenders relative to GDP and have built new border defenses to blunt any potential attack.

They're protected by NATO's mutual-defense clause — it essentially states an attack on one is an attack on all — meaning that despite their small size, they have the backing of major militaries like the US, UK, and Germany.

But officials in these countries remain concerned about how quickly NATO could respond, insisting that Russia must not be allowed to seize even an inch of territory. That urgency is driving them to build stronger deterrents and homegrown defenses, a focus shared by companies like Origin Robotics.

The uncertain state of the US commitment to NATO and European security has only heightened those concerns across the region.

• Tesla is stepping up its efforts to get self-driving cars on the road in Europe.
• The EV maker is offering Full Self-Driving ride-alongs in France, Germany, and Italy next month.
• Tesla aims to have FSD approved in Europe by February, but regulators have cast doubt on the timeline.

Tesla is going on the offensive in its campaign to roll out its self-driving tech in Europe.

The EV maker is offering Full Self-Driving (FSD) ride-alongs in Germany, Italy, and France next month, as it inches closer to introducing the self-driving software in Europe.

According to Tesla's website, the ride-alongs will allow Europeans to experience FSD — which the company says can handle almost all driving scenarios autonomously but requires human supervision — during a test drive from the passenger seat.

FSD has been available in the US since 2022, but Tesla has struggled to roll it out internationally.

The automaker said in a Saturday X post that after pushing hard to ship FSD in Europe for over a year, it expected to get approval from the Dutch regulator RDW in February 2026.

However, the regulator quickly fired back, saying that although the agency had drawn up a schedule to grant approval by February, it "remains to be seen" whether that timeline will be met.

The RDW also asked Tesla fans to stop contacting them after the company called on European owners to get in touch with the regulator and "express your excitement."

Tesla has been testing Full Self-Driving for months on European roads, posting videos of cars driving through the streets of Rome and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Business Insider previously reported that Tesla employees working on FSD approval have expressed impatience with the extensive testing required by Dutch regulators, with one employee telling officials that FSD approval was "mission critical" to Tesla's leadership.

CEO Elon Musk has regularly complained that European bureaucracy is holding up Tesla's attempts to roll out its self-driving tech.

In a July earnings call, he said the company was navigating a "Kafkaesque" labyrinth of regulations, and predicted that Tesla's sales in Europe would surge once the company got the regulatory green light.

Tesla could use the boost. The company's sales in Europe have plummeted this year amid backlash over Musk's support for the far-right German party AFD and fierce competition from the Chinese EV giant BYD.

In October, Tesla's European sales were down nearly 50% from the previous year, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, while BYD's sales surged by over 200%.