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☆ First the bubbly, then the layoffs. Inside Better's latest round of job cuts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

(Excluding Aurora's stock price, shares of the Nasdaq-listed Better Home & Finance are down more than 59% from the opening day.) In an emailed statement, Schaefer said that the company plans to replace at least some of the laid-off employees. Employees were given 30 days of pay, and up to three months of company-provided COBRA coverage, according to two laid-off employees. The mortgage industry has been hit hard by rising rates, leading to revenue declines and layoffs across the industry. Both former employees told Insider that they were optimistic that the cash infusion might offer some relief after a year of what felt like constant layoffs.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Kevin Ryan, Jessica Schaefer, Schaefer, Jay Powell, Garg, Slack Organizations: Staff, Aurora Acquisition Corp, Aurora, Nasdaq, Finance, Employees Locations: India

☆ Former US Army general says Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin likely isn't dead. If he were, Putin wouldn't be keeping it a secret.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A former US Army general told Insider that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin likely is not dead or jailed. If he were, Russian President Vladimir Putin wouldn't be keeping it a secret, the retired general said. "We are getting bits and pieces from different people, not from Putin directly and not from Prigozhin directly." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters this week that Putin met face-to-face with Prigozhin and his commanders on June 29, five days after Wagner's rebellion. The retired US Army surmised that it is most likely the Kremlin is keeping Prigozhin, a billionaire businessman, around while it "dismantles" Prigozhin's vast empire.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin wouldn't, Kevin Ryan, he's, Ryan, Putin, Prigozhin, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov Organizations: US Army, Service, Group, United States Army, Russian Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Prigozhin, Ukraine

☆ Zelensky Lands in Japan for G7 Summit, Seeking Military Aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( David E. Sanger | Natalia Yermak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, President Biden told the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that he could not have American precision missile systems. Washington’s pattern of saying no before saying yes has repeated itself enough times over the past 15 months that Ukrainian officials say they now know to ignore the first answer and keep pressing. White House officials insist this reflects not indecision, but changing circumstances — and changing assumptions about the risks involved. And after China’s leader, Xi Jinping, explicitly warned late last year against threatening the use of nuclear weapons, Mr. Putin has quieted down. Some experts warn that Mr. Putin hasn’t dropped his nuclear threats; just delayed them.

At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, President Biden told the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that he could not have American precision missile systems. It all raises the question: Are there any conventional weapons in the American or NATO arsenals that the president would not, eventually, provide to Ukraine? Washington’s pattern of saying no before saying yes has repeated itself enough times over the past 15 months that Ukrainian officials say they now know to ignore the first answer and keep pressing. And after China’s leader, Xi Jinping, explicitly warned late last year against threatening the use of nuclear weapons, Mr. Putin has quieted down. Some experts warn that Mr. Putin hasn’t dropped his nuclear threats; just delayed them.

At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, President Biden told the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that he could not have American precision missile systems. Washington’s pattern of saying no before saying yes has repeated itself enough times over the past 15 months that Ukrainian officials say they now know to ignore the first answer and keep pressing. But White House officials say the shifting positions reflect not indecision, but changing circumstances — and changing assumptions about the risks involved. And after China’s leader, Xi Jinping, explicitly warned late last year against threatening the use of nuclear weapons, Mr. Putin has quieted down. Some experts warn that Mr. Putin hasn’t dropped his nuclear threats; just delayed them.

☆ I quit Goldman Sachs after only a year. Here's how I knew leaving for a tech startup was the right career move.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Chris Hladczuk | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Chris Hladczuk leads growth at Meow, a fintech startup, after quitting Goldman Sachs. I picked a weird day to quit — it was my 24th birthday and I called my boss to tell her I was leaving Goldman Sachs. The power of Goldman SachsI love Goldman because it taught me how to win. With my future career in mind, is my pace of learning higher at Goldman in investment banking or at an early-stage startup? Chris Hladczuk currently leads growth at fintech startup Meow.

☆ MAGA-world is rushing to defend Jack Teixeira, the accused Pentagon leaker who allegedly dumped secret documents online to impress his teenage gamer buddies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The leak represents the worst military intelligence breach in roughly a decade. To them, Teixeira is a martyr for revealing the truth about the stalemated war in Ukraine to the American people. "Tonight, the news media are celebrating the capture of the kid who told Americans what's actually happening in Ukraine," Carlson said. The leaks could hurt Ukraine on the battlefieldThe leak of the documents allegedly perpetrated by Teixeira represents the worst US military intelligence breach in roughly a decade. The secret documents offered details on US spying on friends and foes alike, many of which pertained to the war in Ukraine.

☆ What's in the leaked Pentagon documents that could hurt Ukraine and has US officials panicking
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Dozens of secret Pentagon documents were leaked online in recent weeks. Many of the documents appear to be intelligence briefing materials on a wide range of subjects, dating back to around early March. When were the documents leaked and who leaked them? But Bellingcat reported that some of the materials date back to January and may have been leaked online earlier. Leaked documents claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to attack Russian troop deployments inside Russia with drones.

☆ Russia has screwed up over and over in its war in Ukraine, and Western militaries need to learn from its mistakes, former US Army general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The West needs to learn from Russia's screw-ups in its war with Ukraine, a former US Army general said. "Russia has shown us what kinds of problems a large army can have if it hasn't done its homework," he said. The US and the West, Ryan emphasized in discussions with Insider, should be learning from Russia's mistakes. "We should be preparing our own militaries for a possible war with Russia and or China," the former general said. Looking at the future of the war in Ukraine and Western involvement, Ryan said "the West will probably increase its reactions to Russia's actions as they unfold."

☆ Putin was so worried about a conflict with the West that he basically ended up starting one, former US Army general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Putin has wound up basically creating a proxy war with the West, a former US Army general said. Putin's long-held "fear" about a conflict with the West "encouraged" him to invade Ukraine, he said. "Putin believed that war was inevitable with the West," Ryan said. With his attack on Ukraine, Putin has essentially "created this reality of the war with the West," he said. "The Russian leadership believes it is in a war with the West, that the West wants to destroy them," the former general said.

☆ The war in Ukraine could be decided this year, former US Army general says, warning of dire consequences if Russia faces defeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia's war with Ukraine could come to a conclusion this year, according to a former US Army general. The Kremlin would likely turn to nuclear weapons if Moscow faces defeat in the conflict, he said. Ryan explained: "Both sides are still too strong to agree to say that they don't have a shot at winning this war. Or is it more dangerous that the Russian military should be defeated in the field and destroyed?" Russia suffered a brutal defeat at the end of World War I and "it helped bring to power the communist regime in Russia," Ryan said, adding, "Russia being destroyed — its military being destroyed — would greatly weaken the country and cause internal revolt."

☆ Putin took cancer drugs that warped his decision-making on Ukraine, Danish intel says, reviving disputed theories about his health
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Danish intelligence official said Putin was taking thyroid-cancer drugs in February 2022. He told Danish media the drugs can cause "delusions of grandeur" and may have warped his thinking. The claim was reported by the Danish newspaper Berlingske based on an interview with the head of the Russia analysis team for its national defense intelligence agency, Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste (FE). He told the newspaper that Putin was taking hormones to treat thyroid cancer in February 2022, and that it likely affected his mental capacity. The Danish official also spoke to Berlingske in guarded language, asserting that reports of Putin having had thyroid cancer were "definitely a good bet."

☆ US says it told the Kremlin that Russia will face 'catastrophic consequences' if it uses tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US told Russia it will face "catastrophic consequences" if it uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Russia maintains the world's largest nuclear arsenal, which consists of strategic nuclear weapons for use against targets like bases and cities and tactical nuclear weapons for battlefield use. With an operational nuclear triad, Russia has the ability to conduct nuclear strikes from land, air, and sea. Sullivan's remarks come after Putin delivered a rare televised address last week announcing partial military mobilization of the country's reservists and threatening to use nuclear weapons. Gen. Kevin Ryan, a former defense attaché to Russia, told Insider in mid-September he's now "even more concerned" about nuclear-weapon use by Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the partial mobilization of his country's reservists. According to Russian officials, 300,000 reservists will be drafted immediately. Conscripts and students will not be called up and will affect only those with combat experience, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. In his speech, Putin reiterated that the goal of Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the liberation of the Donbas region. Ukrainian officials in response slammed the referendum as a "sham" and said it won't change anything.

☆ Russian state media airs lawmaker's threat to nuke Britain and Germany
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian lawmaker threatened Britain and Germany with nuclear strikes on state TV. The host suggested that Russia should have hit the Queen's funeral, taking out many heads of state. "60 Minutes" is a vehicle for pro-Russian propaganda and frequently airs misleading and false information about the war in Ukraine. Russian talk of nuclear strikes has been dismissed by some experts as irresponsible "saber-rattling," as Insider reported in March. Putin made a veiled threat to the west in his speech at the outbreak of war on February 24.

☆ Moscow could be pushed toward 'nuclear escalation' if the US overreacts to Russia's disastrous invasion of Ukraine, new report warns
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US should not overreact to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a new Costs of War Project report warns. The report underscores that the war has shown Russia's military is much weaker than previously thought. The report states that the "greatest threat of nuclear war could lie in the West's overreaction to Russia's aggression." "Rather, cognizant of Russia's conventional military weakness, the US military budget can instead be trimmed," it adds. He said the Russian military is "not nearly as powerful as we thought it was."

☆ Former US general says he is 'even more concerned' about Putin using nukes as Ukraine makes astonishing progress in its counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Western officials and experts have said Putin may use nukes in Ukraine if he gets desperate enough. After failing to take Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in the early days of the war, Russia shifted its focus to Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which is made up of Donetsk and Luhansk. And as we know, that is a trigger for using nuclear weapons." But not everyone is convinced that Putin would do something as drastic as using a nuclear weapon to achieve his goals in Ukraine. If Russia used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, it could trigger a military response from the US, which could spiral into a direct conflict between Russia and NATO — a 30-member alliance.

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