David Sinclair is embroiled in a debate within the longevity community on "reverse aging."
Courtesy of Factory PR
Harvard researcher Dr. David Sinclair is facing backlash in the longevity community.
Critics argue that he took claims about "reverse aging" too far, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Longevity medicine is attracting billions in investment from the world's wealthiest execs.
Harvard researcher Dr. David Sinclair has found himself at the center of controversy within the longevity community.
Sinclair has been a poster child of the longevity movement for years. He's built several biotechnology companies focused on reversing the effects of aging, won acclaim for his research, and cultivated a loyal base of fans who swear by his lifestyle tips.
He's also earned his share of critics who say his research isn't always backed up by sufficient evidence. But over the past months, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sinclair has been battling a new level of backlash from colleagues and researchers who say his claims on curing aging have gone too far.
A matter of semantics?
The controversy began on February 29, when Sinclair's dog-supplement company, Animal Biosciences, issued a press release.
"I am very proud of the teams at NCSU and Animal Biosciences, who, after years of collaborative research and a clinical trial, have developed the first supplement proven to reverse aging in dogs," Sinclair said in the release, according to Newsweek.
Sinclair contends that he was misquoted. "The actual quote that I had approved was 'proven to reverse the effects of aging in dogs,'" he told the Journal, adding, "I felt this was a reasonable statement."
Scientists rushed to contest the claim. "The data is not good, you're calling it the wrong thing, and then you're selling it," Dr. Nir Barzilai told the Journal. "The selling is a step too far." Dozens of scientists resigned from The Academy for Health and Lifespan Research — a nonprofit organization of longevity researchers that Sinclair cofounded and headed as president.
Dr. Matt Kaeberlein — a biologist who was among the throng of resignees — described Sinclair on X as the definition of a "snake oil salesman."
After careful consideration, I have renounced my membership in the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research (@ahlresearch). I find it deeply distressing that we’ve gotten to a point where dishonesty in science is normalized to an extent that nobody is shocked when a tenured…
Sinclair resigned from the Academy in March, the Journal reported based on an email circulated by the Academy. Barzilai has since taken over as president.
Dr. Sinclair did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Animal Biosciences reissued a press release walking back the "reverse aging" claim. But scientists in the field say the issue is even more fundamental: There's no way to reverse aging, much less measure it.
The concept of biological age — the true age that our cells, tissues, and organ systems appear to be, based on biochemistry, according to the National Institute on Aging — is gaining traction in longevity circles. Yet, it's still a fuzzy and controversial concept because there's no standard for normal aging. The way we age varies a lot from person to person.
Experts working to standardize longevity medicine say it could take years before it'll be recognized as an official field like cardiology or neurology, according to the MIT Technology Review. "This is a new field," Andrea Maier of the National University of Singapore and cofounder of the private "high-end" Chi Longevity clinic told MIT Technology Review. "We have to organize ourselves; we have to set standards."
Still, billions of dollars are being funneled into research. Longevity startups drew a global investment of more than $5.2 billion in 2022, according to PitchBook. And those backed by the world's wealthiest executives like Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel are dedicated to studying cellular aging — and its cures. That means debates about the semantics of aging will only become more relevant to our daily lives.
Gold expert Taylor Huff says with the popularity, some buyers might not know what to expect.
Huff recommended three things Costco shoppers should keep in mind when buying gold.
Gold and silver bars are some of Costco's hottest items this year, with the warehouse club selling through its supplies to the tune of $200 million a month.
Each new batch of gold bars sells out "within a few hours" of being released for a small mark-up over its spot price.
The Wall Street Journal reported that some buyers have been getting a crash course in commodity trading as they try to make a quick profit on their gold stash.
But gold expert Taylor Huff, CEO of My Gold Advisor, says that's the wrong approach.
"Some people will just go buy gold from Costco, even though they don't know why they're buying it, or what to do with it," he said.
Huff shared his top three tips that shoppers should remember when buying gold.
1: Gold is for saving, not quick profit
"You don't buy physical gold to flip a profit. You buy physical gold to store wealth and to protect what you've earned," Huff said. "You're trading out your dollars for a physical asset outside of the banking system."
Gold appreciates at around 8% per year on average, according to JPMorgan, which makes it popular among those seeking a hedge against inflation.
But that also means buyers should plan to hold onto any physical gold they buy for a minimum of one year, and preferably much longer. Huff said.
An increase of 8% would also help cover any discounts or expenses necessary to sell the gold for cash since dealers don't always pay spot prices.
2: Start researching dealers early on
While waiting for gold to appreciate, Huff recommends researching and connecting with reputable dealers who would buy the bars at a fair price.
This can be especially helpful if circumstances require an earlier-than-planned selling of the gold stash.
"Whenever the time comes, you already have that in your back pocket. You've already vetted them out and know the process," he said.
In addition, Huff said silver makes a nice complement to gold for a for a simple investing strategy.
"A ratio that we watch is the gold to silver ratio," he said. "When gold becomes cheaper relative to silver, you could sell some of your silver or trade some of your silver for gold and flip-flop your portfolio that way."
3: Keep it safe
While silver can take up a lot of space, Huff said gold is surprisingly compact.
"You could fit a million dollars worth of gold in two hands," he said.
To secure smaller stashes, Huff said a small fireproof safe — preferably bolted to the floor — is likely sufficient. A fully insured self-storage unit is also a reasonable option.
Larger holdings can be kept at private depositories that specialize in precious metals and collectibles and include insurance.
"The approach should be that you never want to sell it. You never want to spend your savings, and gold should be approached that same way," Huff said.
The FTC has ordered Williams-Sonoma to pay more than $3 million.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Williams-Sonoma must pay $3.1 million after the FTC sued it over a violation.
The FTC requires retailers to be truthful about whether their products are made in the United States.
FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said Williams-Sonoma used "deception."
Williams-Sonoma will pay $3.1 million after settling with the US government over accusations of falsely labeling products manufactured in foreign countries as "Made in USA."
The Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice announced the home essentials company's civil penalty in press releases shared on Friday. According to the FTC and DOJ, Williams-Sonoma violated a 2020 order requiring retailers to be transparent about whether products they sell are made in the US. A July 2021 FTC press release notes that the order was implemented to discourage fraud.
The DOJ filed a complaint against Williams-Sonoma on April 24 following a referral from the FTC.
"The FTC sued Williams-Sonoma in 2020, charging that the company advertised multiple product lines under its Goldtouch, Rejuvenation, Pottery Barn Teen, and Pottery Barn Kids brands as being all or virtually all made in the USA when they were not," the press release said.
Court documents attached to the press release showed that Williams-Sonoma admitted the allegations brought forward in the complaint were true. Williams-Sonoma agreed to a settlement, which the FTC said is the largest in a "Made in USA" case so far.
The FTC filed a laws
Sean Zanni/Getty Images
The press release said the FTC learned Williams-Sonoma was advertising mattress pads at Pottery Barn Teens as "Crafted in America from domestic and imported materials" despite being made in China.
"In numerous instances, those mattress pads were wholly imported from China," the court document reads.
The FTC investigated and found six other products being falsely advertised as American-made.
Williams-Sonoma has also agreed to stop using "deceptive claims and follow Made in USA requirements," the press release said.
FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said Williams-Sonoma's business practices had a negative impact on consumers.
"Williams-Sonoma claimed its products were made in the United States even though they were made in China," she said in a statement. "Williams-Sonoma's deception misled consumers and harmed honest American businesses. Today's record-setting civil penalty makes clear that firms committing Made-in-USA fraud will not get a free pass."
Shoppers in Williams-Sonoma.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
The company will be required to submit annual compliance certifications.
Representatives for Williams-Sonoma did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Williams-Sonoma is on the upswing despite this latest setback.
"We outperformed in 2023 despite the slowest housing market in several decades and geopolitical unrest. Although this pressured our top-line trend, we stayed focused on full-price selling, supply chain efficiencies, and best-in-class customer service," she wrote. "We have transformed our business model and as a result, we delivered an operating margin well ahead of our pre-pandemic profitability."
MarketBeat reported in March that the company's stock rose because of "persistent outperformance and quality business."
Sam Mangel, a former convict, now works as a federal prison consultant.
He uses his personal experience to help defendants navigate the system and reduce their sentences.
After spending time in custody, Mangel learned that knowledge is power in prison.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sam Mangel, a federal prison consultant with his own firm. Mangel went into the field after pleading guilty to wire fraud in an insurance fraud scheme and being sentenced to time in prison.
In 2016, I had been retired from my work in insurance for four years. I got a knock on the door of my house in Florida at 7 o'clock in the morning, and it was 17 men and women wearing blue FBI windbreakers and holding guns. I thought for sure they were there asking directions for a neighbor or something. Once I identified myself, they handcuffed me and put me in the back of the car. I had no idea what was happening. I hadn't been in any business during that time period. An FBI agent told me in the car that I was being charged out of Philadelphia with wire fraud and insurance fraud.
I retained an attorney and spent half a million dollars for a big firm. I handed over my check, and I remember him giving me seven phone numbers he could be reached at 24/7. I called him on Monday, and I didn't hear back from him until Thursday. That's when I realized that to a criminal defense attorney, you're just a number. It's a very transactional business.
Six months later, my attorney told me I had to take a plea, but he said he could negotiate for one year non-custodial. I went in for the pre-sentencing interview, and it was contentious. I didn't understand the nuances of it. When it came time for sentencing, the judge looked down at me and said, "Mr. Mangel, you clearly have no remorse." He deviated upward from sentencing recommendations, gave me 60 months, and remanded me to custody.
The only thing that went through my mind was that on a 60-month sentence under the federal statute at the time, I have to serve 85% of that. So, I was going to be away from my family for four years and a few months.
Once I was in custody, I made a sarcastic joke about how I drink like a fish. Because I made that statement to a staffer, out of pure dumb luck, I got into RDAP, which is the 9-month drug and alcohol program. That immediately took 12 months off my sentence. That's how I learned that in prison, knowledge is king. Knowledge is power.
About a year later, I got my initial release, and I ended up with 12 months in a halfway house and home confinement. Then COVID came, and with the CARES Act, Congress was looking to release eligible inmates. Previously, I had helped out a warden with some questions about his bicycle, and he promised me a favor. I called it in, and he made me the test case for the CARES Act. He told me I was the first person in the southeast region to be released under the CARES Act.
I got out in March of 2020 and then got off supervised release early. I convinced a judge in Florida that I was non-risk and compliant, so instead of serving 36 months of supervised release, it was dropped down to about 23 months.
I got into this business because when I was in custody, I met other white-collar offenders who had much lower sentences for worse charges than mine. They worked with consultants.
I thought, "I can do that. I understand the system and the mentality of people dealing with it."
I think being available to a defendant and their family is the most important thing and part of being a consultant. Yes, I can help somebody get designated to the right place or into the right programs. Ultimately, especially before surrender, it's about bringing down the temperature. There's nothing scarier than dealing with the 800-pound gorilla that is the government, an unresponsive attorney, and the unknown. Prison is a black hole, and attorneys don't know about prison because it's not their job to know about it. They've never been there.
I ask myself how can I help clients in a non-legal manner get the best outcome at sentencing? In my case, I was my own worst enemy because I had no humility. How do I help people prepare for that pre-sentence interview? How do we use the number of months the judge reads out as astarting point? I try to get clients out of prison as quickly as possible and back to their families.
I explain to people, mainly spouses, "You'll be OK. You'll make it through it." I'm a firm believer in working with clients and their families on a personal level and actually being available seven days a week. Because your fear doesn't stop on a Friday afternoon when you can't reach your attorney on the weekend.
I'm available for loved ones when you're in prison. Because I got to tell you, you're in prison, you're going to get three meals a day, you're going to get your clothes cleaned, you're going to have a place to sleep. You are not going to be under stress. It's the loved ones you leave behind that have the most stress. My clients want a confidant, they want a therapist, they want somebody that is available to them, and mainly their family when they're not home, to bring down the stress. That's what I do.
Ukrainian pilots using an iPad for Wild Weasel missions
Ukrainian Air Force
Ukraine's pilots are using iPads for combat missions, said a US undersecretary.
The iPads or similar tablets could assist in what are called "Wild Weasel" missions.
It is an example of adapted Ukrainian weapons built by stitching Western and Soviet parts together.
A video released by Ukraine's Air Force appears to show its pilots using a tablet to help it conduct combat missions against Russian air defense systems.
It could be more evidence of the US working with the Ukraine to help it adapt Western technology to its dated Soviet weapons.
US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, William LaPlante, told reporters at a Washington DC conference last week: "Think about the aircraft that the Ukrainians have, and not even the F-16s, but they have a lot of the Russian and Soviet-era aircraft."
He described how Ukraine's aging fighter planes could now take many Western weapons and get them to work on their aircraft as they were "basically controlled by an iPad by the pilot. They're flying it in conflict like a week after we get it to him," he said, per The Telegraph.
The strategy involves jet pilots luring enemy antiaircraft defenses into targeting them with their radars. The radar waves are then traced back to their source and struck by the Ukrainian pilots with weapons like the US-made AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs).
In the video, a jet pilot can be seen flying a Soviet Su-27 plane fitted with an iPad or a similar tablet in the cockpit. The pilot can be seen firing off HARMS, said The Telegraph. The tablet also shows a navigational map, and other flight information.
Business Insider could not independently verify where or when the video was taken or if it recorded a combat mission or a training exercise.
Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker Wild Weasel operations, seen here conducting multiple low level standoff strikes against Russian radars with US-supplied AGM-88 HARMs. pic.twitter.com/7CosjXFNkO
The War Zone stated that the tablets were "vital for the employment of several Western-supplied air-to-ground weapons" as Ukraine's Soviet-era fighters lack the data interfaces that ensure "seamless compatibility" with the latest missiles.
"A cockpit tablet," the publication said, "could provide a kind of visualized radar warning receiver for Ukrainian fighter pilots conducting Wild Weasel missions."
The US Air Force developed the Wild Weasel strategy during the Vietnam War after the introduction of Soviet surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that used radar to pinpoint its targets, where aircraft equipped with anti-radiation missiles could detect and destroy the North Vietnamese guided missiles.
It is the latest example, from the war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, of Ukrainian weapons built by stitching Western and Soviet parts together to make a new system.
They include the "FrankenSAM" air defense systems now operating on the front line. The name is a nod to "Frankenstein" because their manufacture involves cobbling bits of different machines together to make Ukraine's stock of Soviet SAMs more effective.
Mint Butterfield, a 16-year-old from Bolinas, was "safely located and reunited with family," the San Francisco Police Department tweeted on Sunday morning local time.
Butterfield, who uses they/them pronouns, is the child of two tech cofounders. Their parents, Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield, cofounded Flickr in 2004, and Stewart Butterfield went on to confound Slack. Butterfield's stepfather, Jyri Engestrom, is also a tech founder.
The family released a statement expressing "heartfelt thanks to all the family, friends, volunteers and strangers who called in tips and made this recovery possible," The San Francisco Standard reported.
Police had previously indicated that Butterfield was considered a "voluntary-missing juvenile" at risk due to a past suicide attempt. A press release from the Marin County Sheriff's Office said Butterfield left a note and took a suitcase with them, though they didn't have a car or a phone.
The gold-plated pocket watch was sold for a record-breaking $1.5 million
PA Images/Getty Images
A gold pocket watch owned by Titanic's richest passenger sold at auction for around $1.5 million.
The sale is the highest price ever paid for an item of Titanic memorabilia.
The watch was owned by John Jacob Astor IV, a businessman who died when the ship sank in 1912.
A gold pocket watch that belonged to the richest man on the Titanic has sold at auction for a record-breaking £1.175 million, which is roughly $1.5 million.
The watch was sold on Saturday to a private collector in the US by Henry Aldridge & Son, an auction house in Devizes, Wiltshire, South West England.
"Thank you to all of our customers today in the room, online and on the telephone," a post on Henry Aldridge & Son's Instagram read, adding that the sale of the watch had fetched a "new house record."
The watch had belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, a businessman and real estate developer who went down with the ship when it sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.
"Astor is well known as the richest passenger aboard the R.M.S. Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, with a net worth of roughly $87 million," Henry Aldridge & Son says on its website.
Astor IV, who was 47 at the time the Titanic sank, helped his wife, Madeleine, onto a lifeboat and then smoked a last cigarette as the ship went down.
The 14-carat gold Waltham pocket watch, engraved JJA, was found on his body when it was recovered a week later.
The highest amount previously paid for a Titanic artifact had been £1.1 million, or roughly $1.4 million, for a violin that band member Wallace Hartley apparently played to try to calm passengers as the ship went under.
The case for the violin was sold at the same auction on Saturday for £360,000, which is about $455,000.
The RMS Titanic.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The RMS Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. Around 1,500 people are believed to have died as a result of the incident.
The ship was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and was launched on 31 May 1911.
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana is running in one of the most competitive races in the country.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF
The 2024 Senate elections — which will run concurrent with the presidential race — are approaching.
Democrats will have to defend several vulnerable incumbents in swing and GOP-heavy states.
However, the party has held their own in the last three cycles in navigating tough Senate races.
In the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats defied political expectations by holding on to their Senate majority, with every incumbent securing reelection and then-Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman flipping the open seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
The upper chamber in January 2023 then shifted from its previous 50-50 split — with Senate control in 2021 and 2022 resting on Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking abilities — to a 51-49 majority led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. And despite Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema switching from the Democratic Party to register as an Independent late in 2022, she continues to retain her committee assignments through her former party.
However, the class of senators who were elected and reelected in 2018 — a Democratic wave year that saw several vulnerable red-state members of the party win and lose — will face a challenging map in 2024.
Much of the party's performance will likely be tied to President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection to a second term.
Former President Donald Trump, who will once again be the Republican presidential nominee this year, remains unpopular among moderates and suburban voters who often decide close Senate elections.
A major development that boosts the GOP: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia in November 2023 announced that he wouldn't seek reelection in 2024, a major blow to Democrats as he was not only the lone statewide officeholder from the party but the only Democrat who could conceivably have run a competitive race given its conservative lean. The GOP is now in the driver's seat in the Mountain State, which backed Trump over Biden by 39 points in 2020.
In 2024, 34 seats will be up for grabs, including 20 currently held by Democrats, 11 held by Republicans, and three currently held by Independents.
Here are the key states that both parties are set to target:
Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix-area lawmaker, is seeking the Democratic Senate nomination in Arizona.
REBECCA NOBLE/AFP via Getty Images
Arizona
Sinema's decision to become an Independent gave Democrats jitters while they were still rejoicing Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock's runoff victory in December 2022, but since then, her decision hasn't impaired the party's ability to move legislation and approve judicial nominations.
Democrats have made major inroads in Arizona in recent years, and the party is aiming to bolster their political ascent in the state by electing Gallego.
On the Republican side, former television journalist Kari Lake and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb are the leading candidates.
Lake, the 2022 gubernatorial nominee who lost to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs, jumped into the Senate race in October 2023 with the endorsement of Trump.
Meanwhile, Lamb, a conservative who has pushed for stronger security measures at the US-Mexico border, was the first major Republican to enter the race.
Blake Masters, the 2022 Republican Senate nominee who lost to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, is running for the House seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko after the 2024 elections.
Abe Hamadeh, who was narrowly defeated in the 2022 race for state attorney general, had been mentioned as a potential contender but in October 2023 threw his support behind Lake. He is also running to succeed Lesko in the House.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin is running for the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan.
Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Michigan
Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a popular lawmaker now in her fourth term, announced in January 2023 that she would not run for reelection in 2024.
Stabenow, the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was most recently reelected in 2018 by 6.5% against now-GOP Rep. John James. (James, the Republican Senate nominee in both 2018 and 2020, is running for reelection to his House seat anchored in suburban Detroit this fall.)
Republicans would very much like to flip this seat, but Michigan Democrats had a banner year in November 2022 — sweeping the top statewide offices and retaking control of the full legislature. Biden is set to compete hard in the state this year, but he continues to face significant intraparty pushback over the conflict in Gaza, an issue which will play heavily in the presidential race and the Senate contest given the state's sizable Arab-American population.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a moderate Democrat who represents a Lansing-area swing district that stretches to rural and suburban areas northwest of Detroit, announced in February 2023 that she would enter the Senate race.
Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and the acting assistant defense secretary for international security affairs in the administration of President Barack Obama, is the most prominent elected official to seek the Democratic nomination.
The congresswoman, who was first elected in 2018, said in her announcement video that she would focus on bolstering the middle class "in the state that invented the middle class" if voters send her to the Senate.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Reps. Debbie Dingell and Haley Stevens, and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow all ruled out Senate campaigns.
Businessman Nasser Beydoun is also seeking the Democratic nomination.
A number of Republicans are currently in the race, including former Rep. Mike Rogers; Sandy Pensler, a businessman; and Sherry O'Donnell, a physician and former congressional candidate.
Former Rep. Justin Amash, who voted to impeach Trump in 2019, is also running for the GOP nomination.
Rogers, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who served in Congress for 14 years, offers Michigan Republicans their most formidable candidate to date. But his appeal in a Trump-dominated GOP is untested on a statewide level.
Former Rep. Peter Meijer, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role on January 6, 2021, entered the race in November 2023 but withdrew in April 2024.
Meijer served for one term in Congress and was ousted in a 2022 GOP primary by Trump-backed challenger John Gibbs. Gibbs eventually lost the general election race to now-Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who will not seek reelection in 2024, with Tester.
Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call
Montana
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is a political survivor, having first won in conservative-leaning Montana in 2006 before winning tough reelection contests in 2012 and 2018.
And Tester hopes to keep the streak going, announcing in February 2023 that he'd seek a fourth Senate term in 2024.
Despite the GOP lean of Montana, Tester has built a solid political brand over the years and has been able to appeal to many of the state's Independents and Republicans in past elections. GOP leaders have long coveted this seat, though.
Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, a favorite of Republican leaders in Washington, jumped into the GOP primary in June 2023 and has earned the endorsement of Trump.
Rep. Matt Rosendale, a staunch conservative who lost to Tester in 2018, announced in February 2024 that he'd also run for the seat. The decision was poised to set up a competitive — and potentially bruising — primary with Sheehy. But less than a week after entering the race, Rosendale dropped his bid, citing the headwinds he'd likely face after Trump backed Sheehy.
Former Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson has also entered the GOP primary.
Nevada
Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is running for a second term in office in one of the most competitive battleground states in the country. In 2018, Rosen, then a first-term congresswoman, ousted then-GOP Sen. Dean Heller by 5 points.
In 2024, Rosen will be running for reelection when Nevada, a perennial swing state, will be a top target for both Biden and Trump.
Senate candidates on the Republican side include former US ambassador to Iceland Jeffrey Gunter; Army veteran and businessman Sam Brown; former state lawmaker Jim Marchant; attorney Ronda Kennedy; retired Army Lt. Col. Bill Conrad; retired Air Force Lt. Col. Tony Grady; and real estate broker Stephanie Phillips.
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has cultivated a populist political brand in Republican-leaning Ohio, which has helped him stay in office for three terms.
AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib
Ohio
Sherrod Brown, who was also elected to the Senate in 2006, is running for a fourth term. He has maintained a strong populist connection with his constituents despite the continued reddening of Ohio, which only 20 years ago was widely seen as the nation's premier swing state.
Republicans view the Ohio seat as one of their biggest targets, but Brown has proven to be an effective candidate adept at winning over Independents and even a slice of conservative-leaning voters.
In March 2024, businessman Bernie Moreno defeated state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in a hotly-contested GOP primary.
The general election matchup between Brown and Moreno, which could very well determine the Senate majority, is now set to be one of the most expensive races in the country.
Pennsylvania
Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who was first elected to the upper chamber in 2006, is seeking a fourth term in 2024.
Casey, who has won all three of his prior Senate races with relative ease, will likely benefit from running in a presidential year when turnout in the Democratic strongholds of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is poised to be very high.
However, Casey has also generally done well in many of the state's working-class towns and cities, and he could post an electoral performance similar to Fetterman, who dominated in the vote-rich Philadelphia suburbs in 2022.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is running for a third term in 2024.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Texas
The Lone Star State has been firmly in the Republican column since the 1990s.
Democrats have sought to run more competitive Senate and gubernatorial races in recent years but have largely fallen short by sizable margins, with the notable exception being the close 2018 senatorial contest between then-Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. That year, O'Rourke lost to Cruz by 2.6 points, a result that gave Democrats hope that they could once again win the state in the near future.
Cruz has long been a major foil for Democrats; the conservative lawmaker also ran for president in 2016 before his defeat in the GOP primary to Trump.
In March 2024, Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL player and civil rights attorney, easily won the Democratic primary over candidates that included state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, state Rep. Carl Sherman, and former Nueces County district attorney Mark Gonzalez.
Republicans point to the conservative tilt of the state in projecting confidence in the race, but they are also cognizant of Cruz's narrow 2018 victory.
Trump is favored to carry Texas in 2024, which would likely boost Cruz, but Allred was first elected to office by appealing to moderates and flipping a GOP-held district in the Dallas area. The congressman could build on O'Rourke's success and make further inroads in suburbs across the state, especially if abortion remains as potent an issue in 2024 as it was in the 2023 elections.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running for reelection in Wisconsin, a perennial swing state.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Wisconsin
Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced in April 2023 that she'd seek a third term in the upper chamber.
While Wisconsin in recent years has been one of the most politically polarized states in the country, Baldwin was able to win over many rural and exurban voters during her 2012 and 2018 campaigns — while also racking up large margins in the Democratic-heavy population centers of Milwaukee and Madison.
Several of the most prominent Republicans who were thought of as potential candidates — including former Gov. Scott Walker, Reps. Bryan Steil and Tom Tiffany, and former Rep. Mike Gallagher — declined to enter the race.
The GOP candidates currently in the race include Eric Hovde, a businessman, and Rejani Raveendran, the chair of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College Republicans.
JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. have developed a close friendship and communicate "nearly daily," per The Times.
Vance was once a critic of former President Trump but has become a champion of the ex-president.
Per The Times, Vance is on the former president's list as a potential 2024 vice presidential pick.
When Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio arrived in the Senate last year, he was already a well-known figure, boosted by his best-selling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" and its subsequent film adaptation.
For many GOP figures, Vance represents the future of the party, one that embraces the more isolationist "America First" worldview advanced by former President Donald Trump.
Vance's loyalty has not only landed him on Trump's list as a potential 2024 vice presidential pick, but it has also led the Ohioan to develop a close friendship with the former president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., according to The New York Times.
Vance and Trump Jr. exchange text messages or speak on the phone "nearly daily" and the two men also attempt to arrange meet-ups if they happen to be in the same city, per the newspaper.
Perhaps Mike Johnson should stop going on TV and telling the world that Donald Trump endorses every piece of his ridiculous betrayal. https://t.co/D6rMcCIlYE
Trump Jr., in a statement to The Times, heaped further praise on Vance, who was backed by the former president in the 2022 GOP Senate primary in Ohio, an endorsement that helped lift him to the nomination in what was a crowded and competitive race.
During the general election campaign, Trump Jr. also stumped for Vance throughout Ohio.
"In the world of politics, you make a lot of acquaintances, but there are very few actual friends," Trump Jr. told the newspaper. "JD has become a close friend of mine, and I'm a big supporter of everything he's been doing policywise to put America First in the Senate."
Ukrainian SU-27 fighters escort an SU-24 front-line bomber during an air force exercises on Starokostyantyniv military airbase on October 12, 2018.
GENYA SAVILOV | Getty Images
The US has purchased 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Kazakhstan for $1.5m, the Kyiv Post reports.
Kazakhstan, a historic ally of Russia, is engaging more with Western nations.
The planes may be used for spare parts or deployed as decoys in conflict regions.
The US has acquired 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Kazakhstan, the Kyiv Post reported.
Kazakhstan, which is upgrading its air fleet, auctioned off 117 Soviet-era fighter and bomber aircraft, including MiG-31 interceptors, MiG-27 fighter bombers, MiG-29 fighters, and Su-24 bombers from the 1970s and 1980s.
The declared value of the sale was one billion tenge, or $1.5 million, said the Post.
The motive behind the US purchase remains undisclosed, said the Post, fueling speculation about potential use in Ukraine, where similar aircraft are in service.
Given Ukraine's continued reliance on Soviet-era weapons, the aircraft could either serve as a source of spare parts or be strategically deployed as decoys at airfields, said the Post.
The Mikoyan MiG-31 was a supersonic interceptor designed to defend Soviet airspace, according to Airforce Technology. It played a critical role during the Cold War.
Derived from the MiG-23, the MiG-27 was a ground-attack aircraft and saw action in conflicts like the Soviet-Afghan War.
The agile MiG-29 excelled in air-to-air combat. It was widely exported and remains in service with some air forces.
MiG-31
Russian Defense Ministry
Despite its age, the Su-24 – an all-weather tactical bomber – remains in service with several air forces, including the Russian Aerospace Forces and Ukrainian Air Force.
Kazakhstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has maintained close ties to Russia and historically was one of its strongest allies. But the relationship between the two countries has shifted since Russia invaded Ukraine, with Kazakhstan aligning itself more with the West, drawing the fury of some in Russia.
But the Central Asian country's efforts to upgrade its military capabilities coincide with its increasing engagement with Western nations, signaling a shift away from historical ties with Moscow, per the Kyiv Post's analysis.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to Germany in 2023 underscored Kazakhstan's commitment to international sanctions against Russia.
Kazakhstan and Western nations are showing increasing cooperation, with recent diplomatic engagements including a visit from UK Foreign Minister David Cameron to Astana, the capital.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan, on February 28, 2023.
Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the central Asian country in March 2023, where he said that the US "strongly supports Kazakhstan's sovereignty, its independence, its territorial integrity," according to news agency AFP.
Some of Russia's outspoken propagandists have suggested that Russia should look to Kazakhstan next following its invasion of Ukraine.
One notable Russian TV commentator, Vladimir Solovyov, said that his country "must pay attention to the fact that Kazakhstan is the next problem because the same Nazi processes can start there as in Ukraine."
Agreements on trade, education, environment, and mineral supplies reflect the deepening ties between Kazakhstan and Western nations as they navigate geopolitical challenges posed by neighboring countries like Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Iran.