Tag: News

• Did Apple and Meta discuss an AI deal? Or is there no AI deal happening between Apple and Meta?
• Yes! Probably. Maybe.
• You can get at the real answer by parsing two contradictory reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

News: Apple has talked to Meta, its fierce rival, about an AI deal.

Also news: Apple is not talking to Meta about an AI deal, because Meta is a fierce rival.

Which one of these stories is true? Technically, it's possible for both of them to be correct.

My hunch, though, is that the second one is truthier: Apple and Meta aren't doing anything together on AI — or anything else — anytime soon.

Some background: On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal published a report that said Meta and Apple have "held discussions" about connecting Apple's devices to Meta's AI engine, similar to a deal it has already struck with OpenAI.

The key here is the tense: The WSJ said the two companies had talked, which is pretty noteworthy, given that they've been fighting for years. But the paper didn't give any sense of whether those talks were ongoing or headed anywhere.

Then on Monday, Bloomberg reported its own version of the story: Yes, the two companies had talked — but that was months ago, and nothing's happening or going to happen.

Not only that, but people at Tim Cook's company wanted to be clear about their stance re: Mark Zuckerberg's operation, telling Bloomberg (anonymously) that Apple won't work with Meta "in part because it doesn't see that company's privacy practices as stringent enough." Zing!

It's not impossible to walk back that messaging. Apple's clear strategy here is to act as a gatekeeper between its users and various AI companies. And it's possible that at some point Meta will be one of those companies, in the same way that Apple customers use iPhones to access Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Apple reps haven't responded to a request for comment, and Meta declined to comment. But Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist, reposted the Bloomberg story to Threads Tuesday and quipped, "Their loss."

So that's the what-does-it-all mean angle satisfied: There's probably not a lot there.

But if you're a person who gets a kick out of feuds (raises hand), then this story has some bonus pettiness: Not only do we get to watch Apple people (anonymously) dump on Meta people, we get to watch the normally civil tech press dump on each other's reporting. Fun!

• Celine Dion opens up about her struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome in her new Amazon Prime documentary.
• Dion says she tried to perform through pain by increasing her medication dosages, especially Valium.
• "I don't want dramatic, but I could've died," Dion reveals. "Too many pills. The show must go on."

Celine Dion breaks down in tears in her new Amazon Prime documentary, "I Am: Celine Dion," while reflecting on her final concerts before she was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome.

Stiff Person Syndrome, also known as SPS, is a rare, progressive neurological disorder that affects about one in a million people, according to the National Institute of Health. Dion revealed her diagnosis in 2022, although she says in the doc that she began experiencing symptoms 17 years ago.

Dion tells the camera how SPS has tightened her muscles and caused her vocal cords to spasm, causing her voice to crack and sound thin or strained.

The documentary includes footage from performances in 2018 and 2019, including clips when Dion was struggling to hit certain notes.

"I need my instrument. And my instrument was not working. So we started to elevate the medicine," she explains.

Dion recounts one particular moment at a concert, just as she was about to take the stage, when she felt the effects of her medication wear off.

"From my dressing room, getting backstage, saying good luck to everybody, the crowd insane, my adrenaline, my heartbeat, my pressure, I'm like, 'The dream is about to come true again for me tonight. I love it so much,'" she recalls. "But then I feel a spasm, and my voice goes up. The medicine was burned out. It was gone."

At one point on tour, she says she was taking up to 80 or 90 milligrams of Valium every day.

"That's just one medicine," she says. "I don't want dramatic, but I could've died."

"I was taking those medicines because I needed to walk, I needed to be able to swallow. I needed medicine to function," Dion continues. "One more pill, two more pills, five more pills. Too many pills. The show must go on."

Dion completed a 22-show greatest hits tour in 2018 before launching The Courage World Tour in 2019. She postponed the first four shows in Montreal, telling fans she had a throat virus. Later concerts were rescheduled due to a "common cold" before the entire tour was shut down due to COVID-19.

After the tour resumed in 2022, Dion continued canceling and rescheduling shows. When she announced her diagnosis, she decided to cancel all remaining dates.

Dion has said the demands of performing through her pain, as well as the "burden" of lying to her fans, became too much to bear.

"I can't lie anymore," Dion says in the doc. "From a sinus infection to an ear infection to whatever. Sometimes I would point my microphone toward the audience, and I would make them sing it. There's moments where I cheated and I tapped on the microphone like it was the microphone's fault."

The documentary also shows more recent footage of Dion in the recording studio, fighting to project her voice and reach her famous falsetto.

While the producers in the studio with Dion say they're pleased with her vocal progress, Dion says she's not satisfied — especially because she doesn't want to disappoint her fans.

"I'm not quite sure if I'm going to be capable of singing. But I can't live in doubt," Dion explains to the camera. "Maybe I can sing another kind of repertoire. But then it's going to be their choice to still like me or not."

• Fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins and key nutrients like fiber.
• But they can also be expensive, and spoil fast. 
• A longevity expert says if you're looking to get healthy on the cheap, start with two other protein-rich foods. 

We've all heard it: fruits and veggies. The key to better health, longevity, and a balanced diet.

"Five a day" is the recommendation in the UK. In the US, federal experts recommend filling half of your daily plate with nutrient-packed whole fruits and a colorful variety of veggies.

But most people aren't even getting close to that. Roughly 1 in 10 Americans manage to meet these guidelines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cost seems to be at least part of the issue. According to the CDC, low-income people struggle the most to get their veggie prescriptions filled, with only about 6.8% managing to meet the daily dose.

But there are already plenty of people around the world eating in a healthy, sustainable, longevity-forward way without really thinking about it. These people don't spend a fortune on fresh organic produce, or worry about counting up their veggies at the end of a long day. In fact, the cornerstone of many of their meals isn't really fruits and vegetables at all. It's a few cheap, basic staples that will not spoil, even if left in the cupboard for months.

"You hear all the time 'We've got to get more fresh fruits and vegetables into the inner city.' No! That's the wrong thing to do," Blue Zones expert Dan Buettner, who's been studying the diet and lifestyle habits of long-lived people around the world for two decades, said during a recent webinar for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Instead, Buettner encourages Americans to start with two simple, healthy pantry staples that just about everyone, everywhere knows how to cook well.

A complete protein

"Start with beans and a grain," Buettner said.

This is a simple, cheap, and efficient way to deliver a complete protein — providing all nine of the essential amino acids our bodies can't make for themselves — to fuel the body for a day of thinking, moving, and functioning.

Plus, beans and whole grains come with tons of fiber, which is great for both your gut and your waistline.

Buettner says the beautiful thing about this simple bean + grain equation is that we all probably know how to do it already. Unlike figuring out how to incorporate new types of produce into our diet, we don't need to learn the best way to slice zucchini or discover how to dress bib lettuce to get going with this strategy.

"Whether it's beans and corn tortillas, or beans and pasta, or beans and rice," he said, "They're shelf stable, and almost any ethnicity in America knows exactly how to make a bean and a grain taste delicious."

Start with these recipes

A couple of Buettner's own favorite bean and whole grain-forward meals from the Blue Zones include:

Italian minestrone soup

The bean: garbanzo, white, and pinto

The grain: whole grain pasta, or sourdough bread on the side

Costa Rican gallo pinto

The bean: black beans

The grain: brown rice

But it could just as easily be your own favorite twist on the basic equation. You could swap garbanzo for butter beans or fava. Or use bulgur or corn instead of brown rice. What's your favorite bean and whole grain combo and how long does it take you to make it?

• Two federal judges blocked parts of the SAVE income-driven, student-loan repayment plan on Monday.
• The rulings mean that student-loan forgiveness and lower payments set to begin in July cannot move forward.
• The Justice Department is appealing the rulings, and the courts have yet to make final decisions. 

Legal challenges against President Joe Biden's student-debt relief efforts are back — and the latest rulings are bad news for his new repayment plan.

On Monday evening, district courts in Kansas and Missouri handed down rulings blocking parts of the new SAVE income-driven repayment plan, first introduced last summer with the goal of giving borrowers more affordable payments and a shorter timeline for loan forgiveness.

The first lawsuit was filed in March in Kansas by 11 GOP state attorneys general, and the second was filed in April in Missouri by seven GOP state attorneys general. In both cases, the plaintiffs requested that the courts block the SAVE plan and the loan forgiveness that comes with it, arguing that the relief is beyond the administration's authority.

Monday's district court rulings were different, but both dealt blows to the SAVE plan. Kansas Judge Daniel Crabtree ruled that new provisions through SAVE set to go into effect July 1, like lower monthly payments, cannot be implemented as the legal process progresses. Missouri Judge John Ross ruled that the plan's provision to cancel student debt for borrowers with original balances of $12,000 or lower who made as few as 10 years of qualifying is now blocked, as well.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona condemned the rulings on Monday, saying in a statement that "the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously defend the SAVE Plan."

"Republican elected officials and special interests sued to block their own constituents from being able to benefit from this plan – even though the Department has relied on the authority under the Higher Education Act three times over the last 30 years to implement income-driven repayment plans," Cardona said.

"While we continue to review these rulings, the SAVE plan still means lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers – including more than 4 million borrowers who owe no payments at all, and protections for borrowers facing runaway interest when they are making their monthly payments," he added.

Here's what borrowers should know about the rulings.

First ruling: No new payment reforms

Student-loan borrowers who have already enrolled in SAVE can continue making the payments the plan calculated for them. However, the new provisions set to go into effect July 1 — including cutting undergraduate borrowers' payments in half and forgiveness credit for period of deferment of forbearance — are halted.

Here's why: Kansas' Crabtree ruled, in part, in favor of the attorneys general, and he explained in his ruling that the SAVE plan's monthly payment cap and shortening of the payment period for forgiveness "overreach any generosity Congress has authorized before."

However, Crabtree ruled to preserve the provisions of SAVE that have already gone into effect because the plaintiffs failed to adequately show how they suffered harm from parts of the plan already in place. For example, the Education Department outlined in June 2023 its intention to cap monthly payments and announced the shorter timeline to forgiveness a month in advance, leaving the attorneys general with time to challenge the plan earlier.

"All of this is to ask why: if these parts of the SAVE Plan promised an irreparable harm to plaintiffs, why didn't they move to enjoin the SAVE Plan before they took effect?" Crabtree wrote.

However, with regards to the new SAVE provisions set to go into effect July 1, Crabtree ruled that the plaintiffs succeeded in showing harm because there was no delay in challenging the plan's unimplemented provisions, and any forthcoming relief would be irreversible.

So rather than reversing or altering any of the provisions through SAVE already implemented, Crabtree decided to halt any new measures that have yet to be implemented until the court makes a final decision.

Second ruling: No student-loan forgiveness

While thousands of borrowers have already received student-loan forgiveness through the SAVE provision, which cancels debt for borrowers with original balances of $12,000 or less, no more borrowers will be able to partake in that relief for now.

Missouri's Ross handed down a different ruling regarding SAVE. He first said that Missouri's argument that the plan would harm student-loan company MOHELA — based in Missouri — due to lost revenue has standing, given it was the same conclusion the Supreme Court reached when it struck down Biden's first attempt at broad debt relief last summer.

With regards to the fate of SAVE, Ross decided that while already implemented provisions of SAVE can remain, any future student-loan forgiveness through the plan is blocked. He wrote that Congress did not account for the scale of loan forgiveness under SAVE, and as a result, the attorneys general have "a 'fair chance' of success on the merits on their claim that the Secretary has overstepped its authority by promulgating a loan forgiveness provision as part of the SAVE program."

He also said that even without allowing student-loan forgiveness, the other provisions, like lower payments and limited interest accrual, will still provide relief to borrowers. Since the attorneys general did not adequately argue why the other provisions should be blocked, Crabtree said he would only place a preliminary injunction on the debt cancellation.

Cardona said on Tuesday that the Justice Department will appeal the rulings.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the Education Department will "continue to enroll more Americans in SAVE and help more students and borrowers access the benefits of the plan that remain available, including $0 payments for anyone making $16 an hour or less, lower monthly payments for millions more borrowers, and protecting borrowers from runaway interest if they are making their monthly payments."

• The "Bridgerton" season three finale introduces a queer plot twist for Francesca Bridgerton.
• Masali Baduza plays a gender-swapped version of John Stirling's cousin from the book series. 
• Showrunner Jess Brownell got "Bridgerton" author Julia Quinn's blessing to make the change.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for season three, part two of "Bridgerton," and "When He Was Wicked," the sixth Bridgerton book.

The season three finale of "Bridgerton" sets up a major change in Francesca Bridgerton's (Hannah Dodd) love story by introducing a gender-swapped character, and book series author Julia Quinn gave her seal of approval.

"The fact of the matter is, the fan base is not a monolith, and you're never going to please every single side of the fan base," showrunner Jess Brownell told Teen Vogue in a recent interview. "In, for example, deciding to tell a queer story with Francesca, I spoke with Julia Quinn, I got her blessing."

Now, amid fan backlash over the decision, Quinn herself has spoken out to confirm she's happy with the queer romance twist.

Francesca becomes a more prominent character during season 3 as she meets John Stirling, her first husband, and his cousin Michaela Stirling

In season three, Francesca makes her debut in society and seeks a compatible match for marriage. She finds that partner in John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli).

Francesca and John bond through their similarly introverted and reserved dispositions. In the season three finale, they get married in a small ceremony and make arrangements to move to John's primary estate in Scotland.

In the final episode, while at the Dankworth-Finch ball, Francesca is caught off guard by the arrival of John's cousin, Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza), who will be accompanying them to Scotland. When Francesca meets Michaela, she immediately becomes nervous and stutters as she introduces herself.

Fans familiar with Quinn's "Bridgerton" books, specifically "When He Was Wicked," already know where Francesca's story is heading, but the show sets up a different course of events for her.

In the novel, John dies two years into his marriage to Francesca and his cousin Michael Stirling becomes the new earl. Francesca and Michael reconnect years later, get married, and have two children.

Introducing a gender-swapped version of John's cousin will lead to changes in the TV show. Fans hoping for a by-the-numbers adaptation of Francesca and Michael's love story have expressed strong opinions on the queer story, but Brownell isn't surprised.

"I think something that has been a real growth point for me, stepping into the showrunner role, is that I've always been a people pleaser, and someone who wants to give everyone what they want — but in this job, you have to make difficult decisions," she told Teen Vogue.

Brownell said that as a queer woman, she related to Franceca's book. She also felt that it was important to incorporate a queer romance into the show that had a happy ending, "which we don't always get to see in period pieces."

Quinn spoke out about the show's decision to gender-flip Michael and addressed the mixed fan reactions

Brownell, who took over as the showrunner for season three, said that she had been pitching a gender-swapped Michael since season one. When she spoke to Quinn, they discussed the potential backlash.

"We talked about the fact that with almost any single book, there would be a side of the fandom that would be disheartened to see their favorite characters changed," Brownell said. "I don't think that there is any book that wouldn't happen with, so for me, again, it came back to story, and it came back to character. Because Francesca's book resonated [with me] in the way that it did, it felt like a natural adaptation."

In a Facebook post on Monday, Quinn confirmed that she and Brownell talked "more than once" about what that change would mean for Francesca's story.

"I trust Shondaland's vision for 'Bridgerton,' but I wanted to be sure that we could remain true to the spirit of the book and of the characters," Quinn said.

"I made it clear that it was extremely important to me that Francesca's abiding love for John be shown on screen," she added.

The author said that after having those discussions and giving her approval, she thinks the spirit of her book will be preserved when Francesca gets the spotlight.

"I'm confident now that when Francesca has her 'Bridgerton' season, it will be the most emotional and heart-wrenching story of the show, just like 'When He Was Wicked' has always been the true tear-jerker of the Bridgerton book series," Quinn said.

The author concluded by asking fans to "grant me and the Shondaland team some faith as we move forward."

"I think we are going to end up with two stories, one on page and one on screen, and they will both be beautiful and moving," she said.

"Bridgerton" already has a fourth season in the works, but there has yet to be an official announcement about which character's love story will be next — though there are strong hints that Benedict might be giving up his bachelor ways soon.

Fans will likely have to wait a while before seeing how Francesca and Michaela's love story unfolds.

The show hasn't been renewed for additional seasons beyond season four, but Brownell and executive producer Shonda Rhimes already have plans for how they'd tackle future installments. In the case of Francesca, Brownell told The Hollywood Reporter that there "will definitely be a time jump at some point" to adequately show her relationships with John and Michaela.

All episodes of "Bridgerton" season three are now streaming on Netflix.

• Lee Abbamonte, 45, is an ex-Wall Street banker who has visited every country in the world. 
• When it comes to destinations where dollars go the furthest, Southeast Asia is his go-to.
• In Bangkok, Abbamonte paid less than $50 a night for a Shangri-La hotel and loved the street food.

This summer is shaping up to be one of the hottest on record for the US economy.

Household wealth is at a record high, the job market is strong, and wages are rising faster than inflation. Meanwhile, the dollar has steadily gained against rival currencies. Simply put, Americans have dollars to spend. One question they might have: Where, oh where, to spend it?

Lee Abbamonte has some suggestions. Abbamonte, who quit his Wall Street finance job to become a travel blogger in 2002, has visited every country in the world, every US state, plus the South and North Poles.

Abbamonte's go-to for getting the most bang for your travel buck is Southeast Asia.

In countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, luxury hotels can cost under $100 a night and street food can be as delicious as fine dining, Abbamonte said.

One downside is that traveling to Southeast Asia from the US can take anywhere from 15 hours to more than a day.

"The hardest part is getting there," added Abbamonte, who last visited the region between 2017 and 2019. "But once you're there, you're in heaven."

Here, Abbamonte shares six countries — in Southeast Asia and beyond — where your vacation budget can buy some indulgent splurges.

During a past trip to Thailand, Abbamonte stayed in a five-star hotel for less than $50 a night.

Thailand is one of Abbamonte's favorite destinations in Southeast Asia, for good reason.

In Bangkok, he said, street food is world-class and high-quality yet inexpensive compared to comparable meals in the US. Abbamonte stayed at several stunning hotels along the Chao Phraya River, which flows through the heart of the city.

"I remember I paid like $39 for the Shangri-La," he said.

A one-night stay at the Shangri-La in Bangkok is a bit more expensive now, according to its website: $162 as of June 2024.

Outside Bangkok, Abbamonte can't get enough of Phuket, an island off the west coast of mainland Thailand brimming with rainforest and white sandy beaches that look straight out of a postcard.

"Some of the best hotels I've ever stayed at in my life are in Phuket," he said. His favorite is Kata Rocks, an oceanfront five-star hotel that is "one of the most beautiful places" Abbamonte has ever been.

"I don't remember exactly what it cost, but it wasn't that much," Abbamonte said, estimating that he spent "around $100" a night.

In July 2024, a one-night stay at Kata Rocks in Phuket costs more than $490 according to its website. That may not seem cheap, but villas in more expensive locations like the Caribbean can cost a lot more.

Vietnam is exceedingly affordable for its stunning vistas and delicious delicacies, he said.

Vietnam is one of Abbamonte's top countries in South Asia, where "the food is cheap and easy, and it's fantastic."

The country is home to some awe-inspiring natural wonders, including Ha Long Bay, which you can explore via luxury overnight cruises with amenities like pools, jacuzzis, and wine cellars from about $190 a night.

"Ha Long Bay, near Hanoi, is one of the most beautiful places in the world," Abbamonte said.

Tourists can also get great deals, he added, in the artsy and history-rich city of Hanoi, the coastal city of Da Nang, and Vietnam's southern capital, Ho Chi Minh City.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Abbamonte recommends stopping by the War Remnants Museum. Known locally as the American War Museum, an adult ticket costs 40 Vietnamese dong, or around $1.50.

Home to exhibits on the Vietnam War and the First Indochina War, Abbamonte said it's his "favorite" museum outside the US.

Money goes a long way in Cambodia, home to a world-class beach scene that relatively few know about.

Another one of Abbamonte's favorite places to splurge without spending too much is Cambodia.

Sandwiched between Thailand and Vietnam, the country is affordable in all the ways that its neighbors are but is more off the beaten path.

"There aren't the tourists you get in Thailand and Vietnam," Abbamonte said.

Most tourists visit Cambodia to see Angkor Wat, an ancient Hindu-Buddhist temple complex near the city of Siem Reap. Abbamonte said the temple, which costs $37 to visit for a day, is worth seeing, but added that the country has so much more to offer.

"There's a lot more going on outside Angkor Wat," he said. "They have nice beaches, and they've really improved their infrastructure."

Some of the most idyllic seaside spots are situated on the tiny islands off of the coastal city of Sihanoukville, like Saracen Bay, a beach on Koh Rong Samloem.

Argentina has some amazing steakhouses that are generally more affordable than their US counterparts.

Abbamonte said many Americans sleep on Argentina, but that it's one of the most affordable, exciting, and pleasant places to visit in South America.

He's particularly fond of Patagonia, a region of mountains, glacial lakes, grasslands, and rainforests that runs through both Argentina and Chile across the southernmost tip of South America.

It's as close to paradise as it gets for Abbamonte, who loves being outdoors — and it doesn't hurt that food and accommodation are inexpensive.

"You can go down there and live it up real cheaply," he added.

The capital of Buenos Aires is also a must-see, Abbamonte added, because it's home to an array of luxury hotels and high-quality steakhouses where American dollars go a long way.

One of his favorite eateries is La Cabrera, a steakhouse in the trendy Palermo Soho neighborhood of Buenos Aires that offers a daily 40% happy hour discount on food and drinks between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. (One blogger who reviewed their La Cabrera meal during a 2023 trip said, at the time, a 21-ounce ribeye cost the equivalent of $45.)

"I'm a meat eater," Abbamonte admitted. "So if you like steak, there's really nowhere better."

Ethiopia offers affordable safari options in awe-inspiring wildlife reserves.

"Ethiopia is one place that I love," Abbamonte said. "It's definitely in my top five African countries."

In the past, he's flown into the capital city of Addis Ababa and stayed in five-star hotels for $100 a night. "They're really, really nice, and you can eat world-class meals for virtually nothing," he added.

While booking safari-type vacations can be "pretty expensive," Abbamonte said more adventurous travelers can always consider camping, which he did during his first trips 20 years ago.

At the time, he said, buying supplies, organizing transport within the park, and getting camping permits cost him between $100 and $200.

For example, foreign tourists visiting the Simien Mountains National Park pay 90 birrs, or around $1.50, for a 24-hour pass and an additional 40 birrs, less than $1, to camp in a tent with up to four people.

Compared to some luxury lodges, it's incredibly affordable, and "you get all the same animals," Abbamonte said, adding that he felt completely safe, given all the park rangers roaming around.

Abbamonte said there's never been a better time to visit Japan, one of his favorite countries in the world.

Japan isn't typically the first country that comes to mind for affordable travel, but Abbamonte said it's never been a better time to book a trip because, as of June 25, $1 buys 159.72 yen.

It's one of the best conversion rates in recent history.

"It's as cheap as it's ever been for the American dollar right now," Abbamonte said. "In Tokyo, the hotels are slashed to a third less than they normally are."

For example, at the Hilton Tokyo, a five-star hotel in the bustling Shinjuku district, one-night stays start at under $300 a night, according to its website.

Abbamonte said Japan is worth the trek — and the steeper prices compared to Southeast Asia — for the unique experiences it offers.

From the Kobe beef in Kobe and the bustling streets of Tokyo to the omakase scene in Osaka and the tranquility and history of Kyoto, there's "nowhere" in Japan Abbamonte doesn't like.

"It's probably the best country in the world," he said.

• Both Russia and Ukraine are relying on electronic warfare in the ongoing fighting.
• Investing in such capabilities is crucial because the battlefield is full of threats, from drones to precision munitions. 
• One senior Ukrainian official said "every trench" needs tools for close-range electronic warfare.

Russia and Ukraine have relied heavily on electronic warfare tactics throughout the conflict, leaning on cheap — but highly effective — technology to interfere with the targeting process of precision strike weapons like attack drones and guided munitions.

With the battlefield full of such threats, especially the drones that threaten anything that moves, the need for electronic warfare systems is tremendous. One senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv has invested extensively in pumping out these capabilities so that they can be sent to front-line forces.

"In terms of the development of EW systems, we are now doing the same thing we did with drones: scaling domestic production," explained Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, in translated remarks shared with Business Insider.

"To do so, we've started by identifying production needs, capabilities, and challenges," he said, adding, "We liberate the conditions so more private companies can engage, produce, and compete. And it's working. We already see results."

Electronic warfare includes a variety of tools, practices, and techniques designed to interfere with communications, drown out frequencies in noise, and disrupt satellite navigation system information, potentially severing the connection between a drone and its operator or throwing a weapon off course.

"Different EW tools are needed to conduct strategic missions, but there is also a huge need for so-called 'close-range' EW," Fedorov said. "In other words, every trench needs its EW device."

Acting on this urgency, Kyiv purchased 2,000 units of close-range electronic-warfare devices during the spring with the help of UNITED24, a Ukrainian government initiative that has fueled Kyiv's war efforts by raising money to purchase weaponry. Fedorov said "this market is developing very quickly."

Close-range electronic-warfare systems would be particularly useful against enemy drones, specifically the small quadcopters that conduct reconnaissance and strike missions. These drones have been a dominant force on the battlefield.

Both Russia and Ukraine have used explosive-laden first-person-view drones as a cheap way to deliver precision strikes on enemy personnel, equipment, armor, and positions — including in trenches, where some of the most brutal combat has taken place.

Fedorov said the pace of the technology war in Ukraine is very fast, and new developments have short production and life cycles.

This trend especially impacts drones, he said, because there is a constant need to adapt these systems to current electronic-warfare conditions and look for more efficient ways to use them on the battlefield.

"Technology itself is important, but usage of technology has huge impact," Fedorov said. "You can have the best drone, but what's the sense if it can't fly under electronic warfare?"

Partner nations like the US are taking note of Ukraine's achievements in the field. For instance, at a media event last month, Doug Bush, the US Army's acquisition chief, touted Kyiv as a "very sophisticated, highly effective electronic-warfare force."

"They're doing pretty amazing things — some with our help, some on their own," Bush added. "So it's a constant back-and-forth."

The US is also closely studying the application of electronic warfare in the conflict and trying to draw lessons for itself as the Pentagon looks to see what sort of adjustments it may need to make for a future fight against a great-power adversary like Russia or China.

"What we have seen in the Ukraine-Russia conflict is more EW than we have ever seen before," said Col. Nicole Petrucci, a US Space Force commander, at an April event, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

"We've actually been studying this very carefully to see what's going on to see how we can help or not help — and that is unofficially, just because we're trying to see what was the environment like," Petrucci added.

Meanwhile, having observed the drone war in Ukraine, the US military has set up training courses to teach service members how to use close-range electronic warfare systems — like the ones Fedorov mentioned — to engage small unmanned systems on the battlefield.