Tag: News

• Erin Vaughan, 41, went back to college when she was 32.
• It allowed her to find a new career path she wouldn't have considered otherwise.
• It was challenging to get a degree later in life, but she said it was well worth it. 

It's not an exaggeration to say going back to school changed Erin Vaughan's life.

Vaughan, 41, completed two semesters of college in her mid-twenties, but she wasn't able to afford to further her education at the time, so she dropped out and began pursuing her passion for the culinary field. She moved to Los Angeles, worked in restaurants, and started her own business as a personal chef — and she said she loved working with her clients, who were primarily older adults who needed nutritional meals.

However, given her older client base, Vaughan wanted to further her knowledge of nutrition. At the age of 32, she went back to school and graduated in 2020 with a bachelor of science degree in food science and technology.

She had to take out $20,000 in student loans to afford the program, but she said it was well worth it.

"It is truly one of the hardest things I've ever done, but the most rewarding thing," Vaughan told Business Insider. "It has changed how I think about myself. It has changed how I think about my abilities. It has definitely changed my career."

The restaurant industry had a heavy drinking culture, Vaughan said, and once she started school and grew committed to the program, she decided to become sober.

"It's the biggest thing I've ever done for myself," she said. "There's four years where I've worked toward one goal, and it empowered every aspect of my life."

Vaughan now works as a project manager for quality assurance at a men's personal care brand. According to documents reviewed by BI, she's already received a series of promotions at the company that have boosted her paychecks by hundreds of dollars per month. She said it's a role where she feels like she can bring a lot of value and continue to grow.

She's among a growing number of older adults who have decided to return to school later in life to give themselves another shot at higher education. A recent paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that about 70% of the rise in college completion from 1990 to 2010 is a result of the growing share of adults getting degrees after their mid-twenties. On top of that, a report from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation on the state of higher education in 2024 found that "adults' interest in pursuing some form of higher education is at the highest level" the organizations ever recorded.

Going back to school opened Vaughan's eyes to the possibility of a different career path, and she now has a steady job, bigger paychecks, and a sense of fulfillment with the opportunities her degree opened up for her.

"If you have that inkling, do it. It will be rewarding," Vaughan said. "It'll be hard, but it's kind like, you don't enjoy doing squats. You enjoy it afterward. You enjoy the results. And I think anybody who's in their head about going back, the only way to move through that is actually do it."

'It's opened up a world of potential'

Going back to school hasn't made things perfect for Vaughan. Graduating at the beginning of the pandemic, Vaughan said she had to accept a job with a very low salary because she had no other option, and she went through three different jobs in search of better pay before landing her current role.

But a few years of instability set her up for a steady future where she can look toward achieving her goals.

"I can shine in my job, and I know that I can use the skills I have in the future and blaze my own trail," she said. "It's opened up a world of potential for me."

Of course, going to school later in life doesn't always pay off. BI previously spoke to a Gen Xer who pursued a degree in his 40s, but he was unable to land a job and ended up saddled with over $100,000 in student debt. The high cost of college is also a key factor as to why many Gen Zers have chosen to skip higher education altogether, instead choosing to pursue careers that do not require college degrees.

Given the financial barriers, some adults have opted to complete some or all of their programs at a community college to lessen the costs. Vaughan started her program at a community college, and she said that had she not done otherwise, she would have had a much bigger student-debt balance.

Going forward, Vaughan said she's looking forward to discovering where else her career can take her — and she's hoping to pursue other interests now that she has a job that gives her a good work-life balance.

"I'm able to actually go to yoga classes, take care of my health, write as a hobby or maybe even as a side hustle someday, or maybe I'll pick up photography," Vaughan said. "You don't have to stop now that you have your degree."

Did you go back to school later in life? Did it pay off, or do you regret it? Share your story with this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

• 2024 has been a great year for true crime fans so far.
• Shows like "Baby Reindeer" and "The Asunta Case" have dramatized shocking true stories.
• While documentaries including "American Nightmare" and "Quiet on Set" have given viewers fresh insights.

2024 is shaping up to be a big year for true crime.

The genre has grown to new heights in the past decade, as streaming services and podcasts feed audiences' fascination with the darker side of humanity. This year that has included stalking in "Baby Reindeer" to child exploitation in "Quiet on Set."

Here are the best true crime shows and documentaries so far this year.

• A diet high in ultra-processed foods is linked to poor health. 
• But you don't need to cut them out to be healthy, dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine said.
• She shared an average day of eating to show how to strike a healthy balance. 

Registered dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine is on a mission to help people understand how to limit ultra-processed foods (UPF) while enjoying their lives.

While the term UPF has become more prominent in recent years as research has grown about their potential harms, Ludlam-Raine says the public is confused about how to shop and eat to avoid them.

In her new book, "How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed," published in the UK and Germany on July 18, Ludlam-Raine aims to arm people with the knowledge they need to decipher food labels and make informed decisions.

It's not a case of never eating anything ultra-processed — generally considered to be a food containing ingredients you wouldn't have in your own kitchen — but minimizing your intake and choosing predominantly whole foods.

There are many reasons UPFs are considered harmful: they tend to be hyper-palatable thus easy to over-eat, and were linked to a higher risk of 32 health problems, including type 2 diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular disease, in a recent study.

As Ludlam-Raine explained to Business Insider, when choosing what to eat, it's not necessarily about what the foods are, but what versions you choose. One brand of cream cheese might be a UPF, but another won't, for example.

To help show how you can eat a predominantly non-UPF diet, Ludlam-Raine shared how she eats on an average day with BI.

Oatmeal is a healthy breakfast

Ludlam-Raine has oats for breakfast but chooses whole rolled oats rather than instant, which can be ultra-processed.

She cooks her oatmeal then tops it with frozen berries, nuts, and seeds, so she's eating a diverse range of plants, Ludlam-Raine said. The aim is to add goodness into your meals when trying to eat more healthily, rather than cutting out foods, she said.

When it comes to the milk she uses to cook her oats, the least processed choice is usually dairy. However, Ludlam-Raine's son is allergic to dairy, so she doesn't use it.

"These foods have got a real place in people's lives who literally cannot consume certain things," she said, referring to UPFs. "So if my son didn't have UPF oat milk, he wouldn't be meeting his calcium and his iodine goals."

This is an example of a small amount of UPF in an otherwise whole-food meal being nothing to worry about, Ludlam-Raine said.

She often has some Greek yogurt on the side for a protein boost too, which is a better choice than flavored yogurts which tend to be ultra-processed.

Fruit, nuts, and cheese are good morning snacks

Ludlam-Raine said she drinks tea and coffee in the morning and often snacks on dried fruit with nuts, or fresh fruit such as an apple with a piece of cheese.

Depending on the product, cheese tends to be processed not ultra-processed, she said.

Sourdough toast is a versatile lunch base

For lunch, Ludlam-Raine uses sourdough bread as a base, but makes sure to choose one that is genuine sourdough as opposed to "sourfaux." Sourdough bread should only feature flour, water, and salt on its ingredients list.

"All you have to do is look at the label on bread and if there's no emulsifiers or preservatives, if it's based on whole foods, then that's non-UPF," Ludlam-Raine said.

She toasts her sourdough and tops it with smashed avocado or a non-UPF hummus.

"The majority of hummus out there is non-UPF, but some is," Ludlam-Raine said. "However, the amount of additives, again that's on the spectrum. I was mortified when I looked at some of these ingredient lists."

She said some brands of hummus may only include a small amount of one preservative, whereas others have many additives.

Other days, Ludlam-Raine has eggs on toast with a side salad, she said.

Look for snack bars that are non-UPF

When it comes to an afternoon snack, Ludlam-Raine's choice depends on whether she is out or at home.

She looks for the least processed option: A chocolate bar would likely be UPF, while chocolate-covered almonds might also be UPF but would be more nutritious. So she would choose a snack bar that features whole foods mixed together.

Ludlam-Raine, who is based in the UK, likes brands including Nakd and Deliciously Ella.

Spaghetti bolognese can be a non-UPF meal

An average dinner for Ludlam-Raine would be homemade Bolognese sauce made from lean ground beef, kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, and spices, served with spaghetti.

If you make your Bolognese using a pre-made pasta sauce, however, it may contain UPF.

"Although these meals could be 100% non-UPF, actually there's a decision to be made on the oat milk, the bread, the pasta sauce," Ludlam-Raine said.

Greek yogurt and dark chocolate for dessert

To satisfy her sweet tooth after dinner, Ludlam-Raine often eats Greek yogurt topped with a combination of dark chocolate, homemade granola, strawberries, or honey, she said.

"Sugar isn't UPF, but because it's non-UPF doesn't mean that you can have as much of it as you like," Ludlam-Raine said.

She encourages people to eat unprocessed foods freely while being mindful of the sugar and fat content.

Take potato chips, for example: You can get non-UPF potato chips, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't watch your portion size, Ludlam-Raine said.

This is why Ludlam-Raine thinks it's a mistake to consider only whether a food is a UPF when choosing what to eat, when there are many factors that determine how healthy something is.

• Ncuti Gatwa started out as Eric Effiong in Netflix's teen drama "Sex Education." 
• His career rose to new heights after he starred in "Barbie" and "Doctor Who."
• The actor told Business Insider that he has to 'fight' to prioritize his health.

Ncuti Gatwa has had a busy year between starring in "Barbie" and taking on the lead role in "Doctor Who." But with success comes pressure, and the actor told Business Insider he has to "fight" to protect his physical and mental health as his star continues to rise.

Like David Harbour, Jonathan Bailey, and Jenna Ortega before him, Gatwa has used Netflix as a launchpad to secure even bigger roles off the streaming platform.

Gatwa played the charming and charismatic Eric Effiong in Netflix's teen drama "Sex Education," which ended last year, before being cast as a Ken alongside Ryan Gosling in "Barbie," 2023's highest-grossing movie. Last winter, Gatwa took the reigns as the new lead of "Doctor Who," the longest-running sci-fi series of all time.

Over the last year, Gatwa has also appeared in a season of "Masters of the Air," and lent his voice to a "David Copperfield" audiobook.

"One thing that I've had to watch out for is burnout. I love to work, and I often have to wrestle with my own ambition," Gatwa said. "I won't realize that I've got a year booked up, and I'm like, 'Oh, when will I sleep?'"

Gatwa added that he's learned to leave space in his schedule to rest.

"You got to fight for it. Because other people won't do it for you, so you need to make sure that you are prioritizing your physical and your mental health," Gatwa said. "Make sure that there's time carved out for that in your day. But yeah, I'm very blessed to have a team that will listen to that."

But Gatwa is also able to savor the special moments.

In March, he and the other Kens joined Gosling onstage to perform the Oscar-nominated song, "I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie."

Gatwa said the rest of the "Barbie" cast didn't know he would appear in the performance, but the director, Greta Gerwig, might have figured it out.

"I think maybe Greta did. I saw Greta the night before our agent's party, and she was like, 'Are you here for the performance?'" Gatwa said, laughing.

Gatwa said he was surprised that Gosling decided to share his big Oscars moment with the other Kens.

"I was shooting that week, and I had to fly out mid-production. I think I had two rehearsals, but the madness was all part of the joy of it all," Gatwa said. "I was dancing in front of Greta and Margaret, so it felt like my own personal tribute to them."

"Doctor Who" season 14/season 1 is available to stream on Disney+.

• Dr. Michael Roizen is 78, but says his "biological age" is 57.6.
• He's the chief wellness officer at Cleveland Clinic, and takes his own advice on staying healthy.
• Dr. Roizen shared his diet principles with Business Insider, including sticking to the Mediterranean diet.

An expert in healthy aging who claims to have reversed his biological age by 20 years shared his diet principles with Business Insider.

Dr. Michael Roizen, an anesthesiologist and the chief wellness officer at Cleveland Clinic, is 78 years old. But he told BI his "biological age" is around 57.6, meaning that based on his risk of dying and or developing age-related chronic illness, his body appears to be decades younger. (It's important to note there is no consensus on the definition of biological age or how to measure it.)

Roizen used the same principles that he says have kept him young to develop a wellness institute at the Cleveland Clinic, giving employees financial incentives to implement healthy lifestyle changes. The program has saved Cleveland Clinic up to $200 million a year on the healthcare costs of 101,000 employee patients since 2008, according to Roizen, and informed their research initiatives on healthy aging.

Here are the diet principles Roizen follows.

Eat a Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet primarily consists of whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, legumes, low-fat protein and dairy, and limits red meat, processed foods, and alcohol. It has been named the healthiest diet for seven years in a row by the US News & World Report, and research has linked it to better heart health, weight loss, and preventing cognitive decline.

Trout and salmon are his major sources of animal protein, which contain vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.

Eat a big meal at lunch

Roizen has his biggest meal at lunch and eats "very little" at dinner — usually just a salad. He can't sleep well after a heavy meal and then feels "much worse the next day."

A 2024 study by researchers at the University of Alagoas, Brazil, found that eating most of your calories at lunch could help to prevent and treat obesity, regardless of the quality of a participant's diet. Eating this way may align better with the body's natural rhythms, the team suggested.

Restricts calories five days a month

Roizen also follows the Longevity Diet developed by Valter Longo, a professor of gerontology and director of the University of Southern California Longevity Institute. He's been doing this for seven years. The diet involves restricting calories five days a month to mimic the effects of fasting.

Calories are dropped to 1,100 on the first day of the "fast," then to about 700 on days two to five. A 2024 study by Longo's team at USC found that participants on the fasting-mimicking diet had lower biological ages by an average of two and a half years after three months on the diet.

David Clancy, who studies the biology of aging at Lancaster University, UK, who wasn't involved in the study told BI at the time: "It's not unreasonable to think that, during ages 40 to 60 at least, this regime twice per year may add three to four years of healthy life, maybe more, in those with higher BMI, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc."

But he added the diet was "harsh" and working people may struggle to follow it. "Scheduling days four and five for weekend days would be sensible," he said.

Eat in an eight-hour window

Roizen intermittent fasts by eating between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day.

He said that while the data on the impact of intermittent fasting on longevity is much less solid than the data on calorie-restricted fasting, but he said he likes how he feels.

"By the end of that 16-hour period, I'm feeling great and very energetic. I sleep much better and I seem to have much more energy as well," he said.

BI previously reported that research on the potential benefits of intermittent fasting aren't conclusive. One controversial study released earlier this year suggested that it may actually shorten person's lifespan, and others have suggested that it doesn't have benefit our health.

• The British Army is now smaller than those of Romania and Bangladesh.
• Its size raises questions about the UK's ability to support NATO, confront Russia, or fight a war.
• "Right now, the British Army cannot generate a single division, let alone two," an expert told BI.

What has happened to the redcoats that defeated Napoleon and helped win an empire that stretched across a quarter of the Earth's surface?

The British Army has shrunk to its lowest level since the early 1800s. Years of relentless budget cutbacks have left it with just 73,000 active-duty soldiers. That's a far cry from the Chinese army of 2 million soldiers, Russia's 1.3 million, or the 460,000 active-duty troops of the US Army.

Britain's Army is now smaller than those of Romania and Bangladesh, and just slightly larger than those of Canada and Armenia. Until now, its lowest manpower level over the last two centuries came in 1823, when it had just 72,000 soldiers. But that understates the current problem. Britain's population in 1823 was just over 20 million, versus around 67 million today. Adjusted for population, the British Army of 1823 would have around 225,000 soldiers today.

This raises questions about the ability of Britain to support NATO, confront Russia, or to engage in any major or long-term conflict. "As things stand, the British Army is a one-trick pony," Nicholas Drummond, a British defense expert and former infantry officer, told Business Insider. "It would deploy, fight for a maximum of six months, and then be fully depleted."

The British Army has never had it easy. For centuries, it was the poorer cousin of the Royal Navy, which was seen as the guardian of an island nation and its empire. The writer Rudyard Kipling pointed out in poems like "Tommy" that Britain doesn't support its army until there's a war:

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"

But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;

Thus the British Army's muster rolls have fluctuated depending on the world situation, and the perpetual parsimony of His Majesty's Treasury. In 1812, when it fought Napoleon and burned down Washington, DC, it had 246,000 soldiers. In 1918, it ended the First World War with 3.8 million personnel, and 2.9 million in 1945.

In 1989, the British Army had 156,000 soldiers, or more than twice its present size. Like many armies after the end of the Cold War, it was downsized due to a perceived lack of need, difficulties in recruiting soldiers, and the belief that precision-guided weapons meant fewer boots on the ground.

However, the shocking casualties and trench warfare in the Ukraine conflict suggest that future wars will be attritional, with victory going to the nations that have the most stamina, industrial might and resources to sustain losses. Yet with just 28,000 Army reservists, Britain lacks manpower to flesh out undermanned units in wartime, or to replace losses. Even the Army's current two combat divisions aren't fully capable.

"Right now, the British Army cannot generate a single division, let alone two," Drummond said.

"It simply doesn't have the supporting units needed to sustain it when deployed."

"We have no second echelon force to provide a third, reserve division, casualty replacements, or to create the basis of a larger wartime Army."

Drummond argues that today, Britain needs two readily deployable mechanized divisions, one using tracked vehicles and a lighter unit on wheels, each of 25,000 troops. "In addition to this, we need training regiments and Army schools, and a regular reserve. Historically this has required 30,000 to 40,000 additional personnel. So the irreducible peacetime strength of the Army is 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers."

If money is the root of all evil, then the British armed forces have been sinned against for 35 years. In 1984, the UK's defense spending was 5.5% of GDP. It is currently a bit over 2 percent, with the newly elected Labor government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledging to honor the previous Conservative government's to raise the defense budget to 2.5%. This is less than America's 3.5% spent on defense, though it exceeds NATO's goal — which many members have yet to fulfill — of 2% of GDP allocated to the military.

It's not just the Army that is struggling. The British armed forces have been cut back to 183,000 personnel, and even then, they can't find enough recruits. A shortage of sailors has forced the Royal Navy to decommission warships, and the Royal Air Force can't attract enough pilots.

To be fair, the problem is caused by more than stingy government bean-counters. With many nations abolishing conscription, and civilian careers seen as more lucrative, this is not a good time to be a military recruiter anywhere. But as a nation past its imperial glory, Britain has prided itself on punching above its weight. A skeleton army won't help.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

• Bari Tessler is a financial therapist who helps clients navigate issues like inheritance.
• She shared tips she often gives them to help them understand their relationship with money.
• Tessler recommends not spending any part of an inheritance for at least six months.

Millennials are set to inherit from their boomer parents over the next two decades, and many are already getting windfalls.

Inheritances can cause friction between families. One sibling might inherit more or be resented after being named the executor of the estate. Even when assets are split equally, family members might butt heads over how money should be invested or spent.

Bari Tessler, who's been a financial therapist for 23 years, told Business Insider that inheritance can often bring up a lot of emotions, such as guilt, betrayal, and shame.

She shared advice she gives clients to help navigate their emotions and family conflicts.

1. Pause before spending anything

Tessler told BI that, while you might have the urge to spend an inheritance quickly, it's important to give yourself time to adjust to the change in circumstances. She suggested waiting between six months and a year before taking any big decisions on how to spend the money.

This period can help people work out any emotions it brings to the surface, she said. "You need some transition time to process and understand," she added.

2. Figure out your relationship to money

Even people with the same upbringing can have different approaches to handling their money and this can create conflict, Tessler said. "How you earn, save, spend, and invest will be different," she said.

Understanding your emotions around money can help to navigate tricky inheritance conversations, Tessler said. "Know your money story. Know where your challenges and triggers come from," she added.

People might feel that they don't understand money or that their siblings don't see them as financially responsible.

She said people are sometimes given a "financial identity" by others. She recalled how she was seen as the sibling who spent rather than saved, when she was younger. Tessler eventually realized she could be both a spender and a saver. She said that challenging a family's narrative of your relationship with money can help build your confidence.

3. Try to understand how their relationship with money might relate to yours

Tessler said it could be helpful to try and understand how your family members' relationship with money might interact with yours.

Using personality tools, such as the Enneagram, can help people figure out where their family members are coming from when disagreements arise, she added.

Tessler said she has previously advised clients to wait 24 hours before reading emails from "intense and challenging" family members. She has previously read such emails with clients to help them make sense of it.

"It's about learning how to have better money conversations with the people closest to you and how to negotiate better with challenging siblings," Tessler said.

• We live in Australia, but my wife is from Texas, so we visit her family regularly.
• We took our twin sons to the US for the first time when they were 11.
• They were amazed at the lack of healthy food options and the dollar bills all being the same color. 

The first time we took our twin sons to the US from Australia, they were surprised by how different things were between the two countries.

Almost immediately after arriving, while driving into downtown Los Angeles from the airport, they were surprised at the sheer number and variety of fast-food chains along the highway.

In Australia, we have several major fast-food chains, but our sons, Charlie and Thomas, couldn't believe how many different chains there were in the US. They were surprised that there was a need for dozens of different burger chains, fried chicken restaurants, and fast food joints. We let them pick one to try, and they chose the iconic In-N-Out.

They couldn't understand why all the dollar bills looked the same

Every Australian bill is a different color, making it easy to distinguish. Charlie and Thomas were surprised that every American dollar bill looked the same. This concerned them, as they were worried they would accidentally hand over a 20-dollar bill instead of a one-dollar one and lose money. I solved this by only giving them one-dollar bills.

They also had a problem with tax being added at the cash register which they weren't used to.

Determined to maximize their spending, they were frustrated by the pricing system. In Australia, the price displayed is the final price (including tax and tip), so they found it challenging to determine what an item would cost. We explained they needed to add tax (and occasionally a tip), but the differing state taxes necessitated using a calculator each time, which diminished their shopping experience.

Being asked to repeat themselves annoyed them

I don't believe our Aussie accents are very strong, but many Americans found it difficult to understand Charlie and Thomas and were often asked to repeat themselves. A few people even asked if they were speaking English.

Both hate tomatoes, so when ordering, they always ask for "no tomatoes." However, they pronounce it as "to-mah-to" rather than how Americans pronounce it, often leading to confusion. Another word that caused an issue was water, which we pronounce "war-ta."

By the end of the trip, they had learned to say tomatoes and water in an American accent.

The fast food novelty eventually wore out, leading to a surprising conversation

As we traveled across several states, we endeavored to eat healthy food but found this a challenge among the spate of cheap (but generally fried) fast food options. Midway through our second week of vacation, Charlie, who loves his junk food and is known for avoiding vegetables, shocked me. While choosing where to eat, he turned to my wife and me and said, "Can we please go somewhere with vegetables and where the food isn't fried." I was stunned.

Another thing that stood out to them was the patriotism of Americans

During our visit, they remarked on the number of houses and businesses that proudly displayed the American flag — it is rare to see an Australian flag outside an official place back home. We also attended a few sporting games, and they didn't expect the anthem to be sung — in Australia, we sing the anthem only before major events. Both boys enjoyed the spirit and passion the crowd had when singing the song and the respect shown to veterans.

My in-laws live in Texas, and the boys loved spending time in their backyard shooting BB guns at targets. They loved it so much that they requested BB guns for Christmas. Unfortunately, they are illegal in Australia, so their request had to be denied.

Since that first trip, Charlie and Thomas have been back several times, so there isn't much that surprises them anymore. Now that they are 17, they have stopped asking for a BB gun — instead, they ask for 100-dollar bills to spend. I guess they are no longer worried about the sameness of the bills.

The alarm bells have been sounding throughout the war in Ukraine, warning loudly that if Kyiv falls, an emboldened Russia could set its sights on NATO next. In such a devastating fight, airpower and airspace control could be decisive.

The Russian air forces have underwhelmed over the past 2 ½ years of war, but they also have rapidly adapted and scored wins through tactics such as stand-off bombing and synchronized drone and missile barrages. Other elements of the aerospace forces have also effectively denied Ukraine the chance to shift the battlefield from the skies.

"It's been surprising they're adapting over time through trial and error," Justin Bronk, an airpower expert at the UK's Royal United Services Institute, said.

From what this war has shown, to counter the Russians, NATO needs more air defenses, new ways of countering drones, and new basing concepts. Without these, the alliance could face a nastier fight should the worst come.

That's according to interviews with a dozen air-warfare experts, including former fighter pilots and current and former Western military commanders and officers.

Experts told Business Insider the Ukraine war has underscored how some elements of modern air combat are radically changing. Advancing technologies have upended the operating environment in the skies, and extensive surface-to-air-missile networks are creating battlespaces almost impenetrable for older aircraft and still daunting for newer, more-advanced planes.

Russia's air force hasn't done as well as expected

The intense fighting in Ukraine has given the West a better picture of the Russian military's capabilities and revealed that many earlier assessments of its strength were overblown.

Some vaunted Russian weapons, such as S-400 air defenses, T-90M tanks, and "hypersonic" missiles deemed unstoppable, have not always lived up to the hype.

But Russia's problems have extended beyond its weapons. Russia botched the initial invasion by failing to establish air superiority from the start, and it has been unable to synchronize its air and ground forces.

While Russia has some fairly capable systems and weapons in Ukraine, "the employment is extremely poor," Bronk said, highlighting unforced errors like Russia shooting down its own aircraft despite rigid command structures that should prevent such mistakes.

On the battlefield, effective airpower should aid the advance of armored combat vehicles and infantry by striking an enemy's strongpoints, as well as the reinforcements and supplies they depend on. To do this, aircraft must fly overhead of ground forces — or nearby — to target enemy positions.

Russia has failed to achieve this kind of coordination or secure air dominance.

Andrew Curtis, an independent defense researcher, described Russia's support for its ground troops, especially in the early days of the war, as "little short of woeful."

"I think that surprised quite a lot of Western observers," he said.

Russia has demonstrated that it's unable to suppress or destroy enemy air defenses, fly effective counterair missions, or run complex composite air operations like those the US Air Force pulled off in the opening days of Desert Storm in 1991 and then in the Iraq invasion in 2003.

These failures have thwarted Russian efforts to overcome Ukraine's air defenses and enable significant breakthroughs on the ground, Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said.

"The Russian air force is a lot more vulnerable than we thought it would be," Guy Snodgrass, a former TOPGUN instructor and retired US naval aviator, said.

"What the Ukraine war has shown is that their capabilities were significantly overstated," he added, though he said it would be a "mistake" to dismiss the Russian threat.

Russian air forces have also scored some wins

Despite its inadequacies, Russia's airpower has scored some wins that shouldn't be understated, and it still holds some capabilities in reserve.

Russian bombers have pummeled Ukraine with long-range missiles fired from within its airspace, and fighter-bombers have bombarded Ukraine's defensive lines with guided glide bombs. The glide bombing has shattered defenses and contributed to Ukraine's battlefield losses and withdrawals in recent months.

Russia has developed bombs fitted with guidance kits that can be launched from beyond the reach of ground-based air defenses or air-to-air missiles.

It's now ramping up production of these devastating weapons, and it has yet to deploy some of its more-advanced air assets.

Russia has also shown it can field a robust air-defense umbrella — similar to the one Ukraine has built with Western help — layered with powerful radars, electronic-warfare systems, and missiles.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine has managed to secure lasting air superiority because both sides can detect each other's aircraft and eliminate them with a large arsenal of surface-to-air missiles.

Ukraine has lost at least 135 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, while Russia has lost nearly double that figure, the open-source intelligence site Oryx reported in February. The destruction of so many fighter, bomber, and transport aircraft on both sides underscores the threat posed by air-defense systems.

Russia could challenge NATO's historical air dominance

Since the end of the Cold War, the US and its Western allies have enjoyed the clear advantages of having the superior air force — or the only air force — in conflicts they have fought around the world, from Europe to the Middle East. And in fights like Desert Storm and the Iraq War, the West established air superiority by taking out its opponent's air defenses.

Russia would be a very different opponent. It has the territory and industry to build and field massive and sophisticated air defenses that an opponent may struggle to destroy.

And "should the Russian military succeed in a limited land invasion, it would immediately establish surface-to-air missile (SAM) coverage over any captured territory," Can Kasapoğlu, a Hudson Institute nonresident senior fellow, said recently. "In this scenario, NATO airpower would need to fly intensive missions focused on the suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses."

Experts and Western military officers have said that in such a fight, the US and its allies, even with fleets of fifth-generation stealth fighter jets, likely would find it difficult to establish the same level of air dominance they've largely had since the end of World War II.

Giorgio Di Mizio, an air-warfare expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that a fight with Russia would likely be "quite different from all the scenarios that we have faced over the last decades, where there was no contestation of the air domain."

In future fights, it may be possible for the US to achieve air superiority only in bursts — small windows in a specific time, place, and location where air defenses are missing, destroyed, or out of ammo, Gen. David Allvin, the US Air Force chief of staff, said on the "War on the Rocks" podcast in January.

"It's not a given, and it's been a given for the last 30 years," Gen. James Hecker, the commander of NATO's air command, said earlier this year. He said NATO hadn't been serious about fighting Russia since the end of the Cold War, but the military alliance was taking steps to strengthen its air capabilities.

"If we can't get air superiority, we're going to be doing the fight that's going on in Russia and Ukraine right now," Hecker said. "And we know how many casualties that are coming out of that fight."

An initial Russian attack could surprise

Russia failed to execute a decisive shock-and-awe blow at the start of the war in Ukraine. That doesn't mean NATO can expect the same, but it would be a vastly tougher enterprise against 32 states, many of which are armed with advanced fighter jets and air-defense networks, than it was in Ukraine.

The Russian air force can't meet Western air forces air to air in a major attack without being "shot to pieces," Bronk said. But that's not all that Russia brings.

The Russians could attempt a surprising and impactful opening attack, experts said. For example, the Russians could target vulnerabilities like satellites to try to disrupt the space-based communications and navigation NATO airpower depends upon.

And if Russia made "a dash for the Baltic republics, for example, in the first few hours or days of the war, there would be a lot to do for Western air forces," Fabian Hinz, an IISS missile expert, said.

In this nightmare scenario, the Baltic states would need NATO airpower to stop a large Russian combat force from advancing, and the greatest threat to that endeavor likely would not be Russia's air force but other capabilities, such as its air defenses.

Russia could be expected to use any aerial sanctuary to attack the Baltic defenders and inbound NATO troops with the drone and glide-bomb attacks it has used in Ukraine, as well as to menace Western Europe with an even larger missile campaign than Ukraine has faced thus far.

Col. Riivo Valge, deputy commander of Estonia's air force, said "to decisively blunt this kind of theoretical attack, NATO should collectively invest into the air defenses of the whole Eastern flank."

Crowded airspaces

The proliferation of drones and varying precision-guided missiles has dramatically changed warfare, driving a greater need for extended interceptor-missile inventories.

"The focus on UAS — unmanned aerial systems — and cruise missiles has been much greater than any conflict we've seen previously," Mattias Eken, a missile-defense expert at the RAND Corp., said of the Ukraine war.

The conflict in Ukraine has heavily stressed stockpiles of precision-guided munitions, but Russia has supplemented its arsenal with Iranian-made and homemade one-way attack drones, particularly for strikes on cities and critical infrastructure. And, like Ukraine, the Russians have employed loitering munitions and cheap exploding first-person-view drones.

These threats collectively require layers of air defenses, electronic-warfare options, and more to defeat. As air-defense batteries fire away at higher-end threats, troops on both sides of the conflict have taken to defending their trenches from the FPV drones with shotguns.

Experts told BI that the West needs more systems to counter such threats, including inexpensive options to down cheaper missiles and drones instead of using million-dollar interceptor missiles. One option could be the interceptor drones Ukraine is developing.

Future fights will strain air defenses

Ukraine's air-defense network is widely credited with stopping Russia from achieving greater gains and forcing it to fight a grinding ground war that has cost Russia absolutely staggering losses.

But the demand has been insatiable, and Valge, the Estonian air-force officer, said these defenses were the "most visible deficiency" in Western forces.

Others agreed. A former Western air force intelligence officer described Europe's current missile defense network as "kind of patchy with a few Patriots here and a few Patriots there." This person spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak about what he learned in the role.

Cancian said that the West stopped investing significantly in air defenses after the Cold War and took its focus off the Russians, adding that it was considered a given it could achieve air dominance "in pretty much every environment that they were going to be operating in."

In Ukraine, the world has seen that Western air defenses can shoot down incoming drones and missiles when they have sufficient coverage and enough ammo, and the performance has quelled doubts about the Patriot.

Demand for Patriot missiles is up, as demonstrated by several European countries' requests to purchase them earlier this year and the new Western pledges to send Ukraine more Patriot batteries and components.

But the strain on air defenses is certain to be high in future fights. The ubiquity of drones and long-range missiles suggests that advancing armor columns will need to move forward with shields of electronic warfare and air defenses, assets that are even more important if these forces can't count on friendly aircraft overhead.

In the opening phase of Ukraine's highly anticipated summer 2023 counteroffensive, for instance, its advancing combat vehicles, among which were Western tanks and armored vehicles, were marred by Russian attack helicopters because of the lack of mobile air defenses that proved their worth elsewhere. And later, as Russia launched new assaults in the fall, Ukraine's defensive response was hamstrung by ammunition shortages for its air defenses.

Lockheed Martin is ramping up its Patriot missile production, pushing for 550 annually, but in a fight with the Russians, more could be needed depending on how the West prioritizes its defense; each Patriot interceptor missile costs about $4 million.

There are other air-defense assets out there, but they face similar limits on manufacturing capacity and arsenal size as well.

"I don't think we are learning the whole entire lesson just yet," Timothy Wright, another missile expert at IISS, said.

Spreading out

Another lesson of the Ukraine war is that fixed bases are easy-to-find targets. Eken of the RAND Corp. said Ukraine managed to prevent its air force and air defenses from being destroyed in the first days of the invasion by spreading them out.

He described it as having units dispersed over a wide area but with a command-and-control system that could get them all to work together to defend or attack and urged the West to give the tactic additional consideration.

Russia didn't start noticeably embracing this tactic until Ukraine began scoring hits against its air bases with long-range attack drones. While the West practices disaggregation to a certain extent, such as through highway operations and austere basing, it still heavily focuses on permanent bases.

Jarmo Lindberg, a former Finnish fighter pilot who previously served as the commander of the Finnish Defense Forces, said the idea of dispersal has been core for Finland as it formulates its military strategies with the threat of neighboring Russia in mind.

He said Russia's invasion showed all frontline NATO states should adopt it.

But the shift wouldn't be easy for all of NATO. An air base centralizes fuel and munitions storage, spare parts to repair planes, and the mechanics and air-traffic controllers who keep flight operations running. Dispersal increases the challenge of keeping all these airfields supplied and may spread its talent too thinly.

The former intelligence officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that it's "a cultural thing that most Western air forces are used to operating from centralized bases." But he advocated for a shift in how the West treats aircraft and command centers, saying that "lining them all up to get whacked is not really an option."

NATO's next move

A war where the much-larger and more-powerful NATO faces off against Russia would look different from Ukraine's fight. But experts said the West must invest in its militaries now. Russia may be deterred if the West appears strong enough.

Bronk said that "it's so much cheaper and easier" to invest now in the capabilities to deter Russia than it is "to actually invest in the forces capable of fighting an extended war for six months, a year, two years."

Specifically, NATO needs to boost its air-defense capabilities along the alliance's eastern flank, where member states have said they could be the first ones targeted by Russia should it succeed in Ukraine, and place a greater focus on force dispersal to make aircraft and their accompanying support assets less vulnerable to attacks.

Valge, the Estonian air-force officer, argued that "Russia understands strength." The stronger NATO's eastern flank is, he said, "the less room there will be for any fatal misunderstanding."

That's not to say NATO doesn't already have a highly capable fighting force, including sophisticated air-defense systems available across Europe and fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 and F-35, as well as other stealth assets such as the B-2 bomber and the B-21 that's set to eventually replace it. There are also a ton of combat-ready fourth-generation aircraft, including F-16s, F-15s, Mirages, Eurofighter Typhoons, and Gripens. And surface-to-surface missiles are making a comeback. But there are questions of whether it has the arsenal and manufacturing base for an extended war.

"Nobody really wants an air war with Russia," said John Baum, a Mitchell Institute expert and retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel. "It is not a highly desirable thing, I think, from either side, to want to have this air war." But the West can't afford not to be ready for it.

• Meta announced plans to remove its January 6-era restrictions from Donald Trump's accounts.
• Trump had been banned and then reinstated on Meta's Facebook and Instagram as well as X and YouTube.
• Though his old social media accounts are now unrestricted, Trump is sticking with Truth Social.

Donald Trump's social media accounts have returned to pre-Capitol riot status.

Meta on Friday announced plans to remove a heightened suspension penalty from the former president's accounts. The restriction, which increased the punishment for rule violations to include automatic re-suspension of his account, had been put in place when Meta first reinstated his account in January 2023 following a two-year suspension.

The social media giant had originally banned Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts "following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6."

"With the party conventions taking place shortly, including the Republican convention next week, the candidates for President of the United States will soon be formally nominated," read Meta's press release regarding its decision. "In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis."

The statement said that the penalties were considered "a response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances" and ultimately were never needed because Trump didn't continue to violate the platform's terms after reinstatement.

The reversal of restrictions on Trump's accounts comes just days after Trump threatened Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with prison time if he's elected again, escalating the pair's yearslong public feud.

When reached for comment by Business Insider, a spokesperson for Meta declined to answer specific questions regarding the timing and rationale behind the decision or whether any other restrictions remain on the former president's social media accounts.

Meta appears to be the final major social media platform to roll back the last of its January 6-era restrictions on Trump's accounts. Trump was originally banned from Meta's platforms, X (formerly Twitter), and Google-owned YouTube days after the Capitol riot.

After Elon Musk purchased Twitter, he reinstated Trump's account in November 2022. Meta reinstated his Facebook and Instagram accounts in January 2023 with the now-terminated restrictions — and YouTube gave Trump his channel back in March of the same year.

Though his old social media accounts are now unrestricted and boasting tens of millions of followers, Trump is still primarily sticking with his own company, Truth Social.

After being removed from mainstream sites, Trump founded an alternative social networking site and has used it as his primary platform since its launch in February 2022.

Truth Social went public in March, initially boosting Trump's net worth by billions, but the company has faced financial woes and an uncertain share price following SEC disclosures that revealed massive losses.

Representatives for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.