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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Four <keyword id="20093987" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Republicans" source="keywords">Republicans</keyword> on a <keyword id="19970903" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="task-force" source="keywords">task force</keyword> looking into the <keyword id="22404719" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Trump-assassination-attempt" source="keywords">Trump assassination attempt</keyword> skipped a <keyword id="23011852" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="site-visit" source="keywords">site visit</keyword>.</li><li>The bipartisan group was formed to investigate potential failings on the day.</li></ul>Four Republicans on the task force investigating the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump were no-shows for a site visit on Monday, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/08/26/trump-assassination-house-task-force-butler/">according to The Washington Post</a>. The bipartisan task force was set up by a unanimous <keyword id="19910021" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="House" source="keywords">House</keyword> vote in late July, two weeks after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-butler-pennsylvania-rally-secret-service-2024-7">a would-be assassin fired at Trump</a> during an outdoor rally, grazing his ear. <a target="_blank" href="https://taskforce.house.gov/">The 12-strong task force</a> consists of seven Republicans and five Democrats and has full House investigatory powers, including subpoena powers. But just three GOP representatives were in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday for the group's first visit to the site of the shooting, the Post reported. Aside from Rep. Mike Kelly, the task force's chairman, the only other Republicans present were David Joyce (Ohio) and Laurel Lee (Fla). Reps. Mark Green (Tenn), Michael Waltz (Fla), Clay Higgins (La), and Pat Fallon (Tex) were absent from the group of lawmakers visiting the site, according to the Post. The reason for their absence was not explained at the press conference, the newspaper added. Kelly said there was no substitute for being there. "It's the difference between day and night," he said, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/us/politics/trump-assassination-task-force-visits-site.html">according to The New York Times</a>. "When you're actually here on this surface, when you're actually walking these grounds, when you're actually going to the building, when you're actually up on the roof." The attempt on Trump's life led to a major public outcry and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/secret-service-trump-assassination-attempt-scrutiny-security-detail-2024-7">intense scrutiny of the Secret Service</a> and its potential failings in allowing the shooter to get so close. It was the closest assassination attempt of a US president or presidential candidate since President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. The motives of the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot dead by a <keyword id="20346186" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Secret-Service" source="keywords">Secret Service</keyword> sniper, remain unknown. A video <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1652600631949081">on Waltz's Facebook page</a> suggested that, instead of attending the site visit, the congressman joined Trump at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the deaths of 13 servicemembers killed during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. A spokesperson for Waltz told Business Insider that the Congressman had "already committed" to the ceremony, which "meant a great deal" to him, ahead of the site visit. "He hopes to receive all relevant briefings soon," the spokesperson added. Waltz has previously expressed frustration at the pace of the task force's progress, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://nypost.com/2024/08/22/us-news/rep-mike-waltz-questions-whether-trump-shooter-thomas-crooks-acted-alone/">telling the New York Post</a> just last week that he is "frustrated at how slow and how little we've learned." He has also questioned, without providing evidence, whether the shooter acted alone, the NY Post reported. From their social media posts, it's unclear how Green, Higgins, and Fallon spent Monday. The lawmakers did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Higgins already visited Butler on August 8 in an effort to devise <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://clayhiggins.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Preliminary-Investigative-Report-8.12.24.pdf">a detailed "preliminary investigative report,"</a> which he presented to Kelly on August 12. He is among 16 Republican figures who have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/sixteen-members-of-congress-have-spread-fedsurrection-conspiracy-theory/">criticized for amplifying conspiracy theories</a> allegingthe FBI's involvement in the January 6 insurrection. Alongside the bipartisan effort, MAGA-leaning GOP lawmakers have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?537968-1/house-republican-forum-attempted-assassination-president-trump&amp;live=&amp;vod=">held their own hearing</a> about the attempted assassination, inviting figures including Dan Bongino, a former Secret Servicemember, and Erik Prince, a businessman and former SEAL, to weigh in on the Secret Service's performance. Speaking to the War Room podcast last week, Rep. Eli Crane, who is not on the task force, said that the bipartisan committee couldn't be trusted not to be "political" with its inquiry. "We don't trust the federal government to actually do the job necessary," he added, according to the Times. Correction: August 29, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misidentified one of the Republicans who attended the site visit on Monday. His name is Mike Kelly, not Mark Kelly, and he's the task force's chairman, not its ranking member.

4 Republicans tasked with investigating the Trump assassination attempt didn't show up for a site visit

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nevada is facing skyrocketing housing costs.</li><li>Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve says city leaders should cut regulations that stymie construction.</li></ul>The mayor of Reno, Nevada, argues that the single best thing city leaders can do to help solve one of the country's worst housing shortages is to loosen regulations on housing construction.In recent years, Mayor Hillary Schieve has launched a multi-pronged approach to do just that."Sometimes government needs to get out of the way," she told Business Insider in a recent interview. There's no quick solution, said Schieve, who isn't a member of either major party and has made housing and homelessness a top priority.With the election approaching, Nevada voters <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/business/economy/nevada-economy-unemployment-election.html">cite the economy</a> as among their top concerns. Rising home prices and rents, which have hit the Sunbelt state particularly hard, are a big part of that. Since January 2017, home prices have risen 90% and rents are up 53% in Nevada, far outstripping national growth rates, Alex Horowitz, the director of Pew's housing-policy project, told Business Insider.<h2 id="401ef500-7df2-405a-b9eb-f7ead571dd5b">Greasing the wheels for housing</h2>Nevada had one of the highest rates of home foreclosures in the country after the 2008 financial crisis slammed <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://knpr.org/show/knprs-state-of-nevada/2018-09-10/its-been-a-decade-since-nevada-fell-into-an-economic-abyss">its tourism-reliant economy</a> and burst its severe housing bubble. In the years since, the state has leveraged low taxes and other business-friendly policies to attract major employers like Amazon, Apple, and Tesla. The new jobs have helped attract hundreds of thousands of new residents.The pandemic and the rise of remote work supercharged that trend. With an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/housing/how-many-californians-have-moved-to-nevada-since-2020-3032074/">influx of new residents</a>, demand for housing — and subsequently its cost — has soared. In Reno, the median price of a single-family home has increased <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.washoecounty.gov/assessor/real_property/SalesHistoryChart.php">more than 40% since 2019</a>.As mayor, Schieve has celebrated the new jobs and the growth of arts and culture in Reno and its surroundings. But she's also concerned with the housing shortage and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.rgj.com/story/news/local/2024/05/07/homeless-population-washoe-county/73605507007/">rising homelessness</a>. When it comes to boosting affordable housing, she pointed to cutting red tape and making building easier, including by loosening zoning laws and burdensome environmental regulations.Under Schieve, Reno has loosened some of its regulations by allowing for more density, reducing parking requirements, and cutting fees. Since 2019, the city says it has waived $11 million in sewer hookup fees and $700,00 in building permit fees to help bring more than 2,000 units of affordable housing to the market.Through a program called "1,000 homes in 120 days," the city deferred sewer and permit fees for five years for market-rate housing construction, which the city says helped create more than 500 new homes between its implementation in late 2019 and earlier this year.Schieve, the former chairwoman of the US Conference of Mayors, said Reno's rules regarding affordable housing construction are relatively lenient. However, she argued that some county and state regulations slow down home building, inflating costs and deterring new construction.She took particular issue with county health department regulations that impose lengthy review processes. "Most developers are borrowing money," she said. "So time is money." Schieve's chief of staff noted that swimming pool construction, including in housing developments and hotels, "takes an incredible amount of time and an incredible amount of money" to get approved by the department.Reno has also made some progress on emergency and transitional housing. Schieve received <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/reno-nevada-homelessness-solution-674cee2d">national attention</a> for reducing the number of unhoused people living on Reno's streets by nearly 60% between 2022 and 2023. The reduction was largely due to the construction of a Nevada Cares Campus, an emergency shelter that can house up to 600 people in sleeping pods and a large tent.<h2 id="b9ff010c-649b-4677-a22b-3b02162f6584">Nevada's housing issues take center stage in the presidential election</h2>President Joe Biden has visited Nevada multiple times <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/03/19/in-las-vegas-campaign-stop-biden-details-plans-to-make-housing-more-affordable/">to talk about housing</a>, and his administration's policies have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://mynews4.com/news/local/reno-receiving-35-million-in-federal-funds-to-tackle-affordable-housing-and-homelessness">helped bolster</a> the state's housing efforts.Schieve called the housing funding Reno received through the 2021 American Rescue Plan a "godsend." And she praised the Biden administration for being accessible and responsive to her city's housing needs. "We can pick up the phone and I can call my HUD secretary, I can call someone at the White House," Schieve said. The acting HUD secretary, Adrianne Todman, has visited Reno twice in the last year.Former President Donald Trump's campaign has also emphasized housing issues in Nevada, focusing largely on its proposal to deport millions of immigrants to free up housing. "We've got to build more houses and we've got to deport the illegal aliens so that American homes go to American citizens," vice presidential candidate JD Vance <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPCCh_t4h8">told a crowd in Las Vegas in October</a>.Schieve dismissed this proposal. "We've got to be realistic about how we approach housing," she said. "That's not going to solve anything."There are aspects of housing policy that Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris appear to agree on, including <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/homes-free-government-land-real-estate-housing-prices-harris-trump-2024-8">opening up federal land for additional homes</a>. Nevada has become a focus of this particular solution as 85% of the state's land area is owned by the federal government.Schieve says the issue of opening up government-owned land is complex. It depends on factors like the cost of new infrastructure, including roads and water hookups, the expansion of services like law enforcement, and environmental concerns. She supports restricting home construction in environmentally fragile areas, including wetlands and flood-prone regions.In general, she wants to see cities like Reno invest in rebuilding their urban cores and boosting density rather than sprawl."There's still a lot of blight," she said. "There's still a lot of work for cities to build up and not out."

A Nevada mayor is battling one of the worst housing shortages in the US. Her solution: looser construction regulation.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="22406325" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Trump-shooting" source="keywords">Trump shooting</keyword> was Secret Service's worst failure in decades, director says.</li><li>Secret Service head <keyword id="22406147" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kimberly-Cheatle" source="keywords">Kimberly Cheatle</keyword> declined to answer specific questions about what went wrong.</li><li>She said an investigation would take 60 days.</li></ul>The director of the US Secret Service admitted in a <keyword id="20568525" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="House-of-Representatives" source="keywords">House of Representatives</keyword> committee hearing Monday that the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-shooting-assassination-attempt-secret-service-past-scandals-2024-7">shooting of former President Donald Trump</a> was a disaster for the agency. "The assassination attempt of former President Trump on July 13th is the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades," Kimberly Cheatle said Monday morning. Cheatle had been called to testify before the House's Oversight and Accountability Committee to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/secret-service-scrutiny-shooting-donald-trump-pennsylvania-rally-2024-7">explain</a> how <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-secret-service-agents-how-trump-assassin-could-fire-shots-2024-7">the Secret Service allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks to get close enough to Trump</a> at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, nine days ago to shoot at him. The event had been the first time a president or former president was shot since <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-shooting-reagan-assassination-attempt-parallels-secret-service-2024-7">John Hinckley Jr. shot and injured Ronald Reagan in 1981</a>, two months into his first term. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-crooks-academic-transcript-good-grades-chewing-gum-2024-7">Crooks</a>, 20, climbed onto the rooftop of a building 400 feet away from where Trump stood at the rally podium. With an AR-15, he injured Trump's ear, killed attendee Corey Comperatore, and injured two others before a Secret Service countersniper killed him. At the public hearing Monday, Cheatle said she would "move Heaven and Earth" to ensure a shooting like that never happened again, but she offered few answers about the Secret Service's failure. Cheatle declined to answer substantive questions, citing an "ongoing investigation" from the FBI as well as the Secret Service. Cheatle said the agency would complete its own investigation "within 60 days." Neither the FBI nor the Secret Service have said whether they would make the investigation results public, as the agencies did in the aftermath of the Reagan shooting. The FBI completed and made public its 1,000-page into the Reagan shooting in two months, while the Treasury Department, which oversaw the Secret Service at the time, took five months to complete and publish its own report. Cheatle said Monday that her agency was "still looking into the advance process" plan that the Secret Service used to determine why the roof wasn't properly secured ahead of the rally, and that no employees have been disciplined. She said she had spoken to the countersniper who killed Crooks — with one shot — along with other agency members at Trump's rally, but refused to disclose the content of their conversations. According to Cheatle, Crooks was recognized earlier in the day as a "suspicious" person but not a "threat." Had he been identified as a threat, she said, the rally would have been shut down. Crooks was reportedly on the rooftop for 20 minutes before shooting at Trump. The Secret Service has been criticized for previously denying Trump additional protection at events. At the Pennsylvania rally, however, Cheatle said, "there were no assets denied." Trump has also been the subject of an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/political-assassinations-the-rise-symptom-new-era-global-chaos-trump-2024-7">Iranian assassination plot</a>, according to national security officials. Correction: July 24, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated how long it took for the Treasury Department to complete its report into the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981. It took five months, not less than one.

Secret Service director admits Trump shooting was agency's 'most significant failure' in decades

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-residents-moving-leaving-climate-change-refugees-hurricanes-flood-2023-2">climate crisis</a> is an often-hidden financial risk when buying a house.</li><li>A few online tools can help you assess that risk and possible costs by address.</li></ul>If you're <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-man-refused-leave-hurricane-proof-home-basically-unharmed-milton-2024-10">shopping for a house</a>, you're probably thinking ahead and planning for your future.Here's the thing, though: By the end of a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/mortgages/will-mortgage-rates-go-down-this-year">30-year mortgage</a>, you'll be living on a pretty different planet.Even if companies and governments across the world make some drastic changes — and that's a big "if" — humanity's carbon emissions have already locked in some additional warming for decades to come. That means more intense and sometimes more frequent floods, wildfires, hurricanes, winter storms, and other forms of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-outlook-analysis-prices-rising-extreme-weather-risk-jpmorgan-2024-2">extreme weather</a>.You and your house could suffer everything from headaches and declining <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-higher-home-prices-climate-change-air-quality-impact-2024-2">property value</a> to giant bills and life-threatening events.That's why it's important to take stock of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-housing-market-prediction-sun-belt-climate-change-zelman-2024-7">climate risks your home faces</a> in the coming decades.It's impossible to know exactly what will happen, but a few <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tool-determines-home-climate-risk-heat-wind-bad-air-2024-3">online tools</a> can give you an idea of the risks — as well as the costs you could incur and what you can do about it — depending on which house you buy.<h2 id="f72716a3-6428-4f34-94f8-2f3ebf4d7693">Learn about the possible damages</h2>The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zillow-gone-wild-weird-unique-houses-homes-hot-homebuying-selling-2024-7">most popular real-estate website</a> in the US, Zillow, has a new feature to peer into the potential climate future of each listing. The new "climate risks" tool shows <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/map-shows-united-states-extreme-heat-belt-study-2022-8">how many days of extreme heat</a> and unhealthy air quality a property is expected to see over the next 30 years, assuming humanity is on track to stabilize climate change by 2100. The tool also shows the likelihood of more destructive events: floods, wildfires, and windstorms.<div type="image" title="group of people watch wildfire burning home in the hills with palm trees" height="1771" width="2500" msid="114374425" hostid="261" sizebytes="281278"></div>These assessments come from First Street, a former nonprofit that became a for-profit company this year, which uses computer models to quantify certain weather and climate risks for individual properties. First Street says it incorporates a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maui-wildfires-lahaina-wooden-house-spared-among-rubble-2023-8">building's specific structural characteristics</a>, as well as local infrastructure like roads and utilities."If you don't take stock of the climate risk specifically, you could be in over your head," Jeremy Porter, the head of climate implications research at First Street, told Business Insider.For example, if the cost of flood or wildfire insurance spikes as it already has in places like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/homeowners-california-florida-insurance-issues-natural-disasters-wildfires-hurricanes-2023-10">Florida and California</a>, "all of a sudden your household budget doesn't make any sense for the property that you ended up buying," he said.The new Zillow tool also makes recommendations about insurance based on First Street's analysis.To dive even deeper, you can go to First Street's website and get a free trial of its paid service, which shows ballpark estimates of how much a flood or fire could cost you, expected cooling costs, and projections of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-insurance-hurricanes-extreme-weather-relocate-to-ocala-2023-10">insurance prices</a>. You can also toggle certain renovations to see how they impact those costs.<h2 id="0eef8ad3-480e-4072-aadf-cb64222742c5">Remember those estimates aren't a crystal ball</h2>Climate-science experts outside the company have some reservations about First Street's flood and wildfire estimates, though.Michael Wara, a senior research scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://heatmap.news/guides/zillow-climate-risk-flooding-fire">Heatmap News</a> to take First Street's calculations with "a lot of grains of salt."Heatmap reported that First Street probably underestimates <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-wildfire-burns-multimillion-dollar-homes-in-california-orange-county-2022-5">wildfire risk</a> in wildfire-prone areas and that flood risk is very difficult to accurately model. You can try to cross-check flood risk with other sources like seeing if the town or city has flood maps available."Everything that we're offering are probabilistic risk estimates," Porter said."I think that just in general, the models give you a pretty good indication of which properties are riskier than other properties," he added.<h2 id="ea2c710b-3a7a-45fe-b58f-971596d4b019">Then check local building codes…</h2>Once you know the climate risks, you can assess <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-why-some-homes-survive-hurricanes-lessons-homeowners-2024-10">how well a property is built</a> to withstand them.<div type="image" title="slumping one-story grey and wood panel house with panels ripped away next to a standing yellow house" height="1500" width="2249" msid="114374424" hostid="261" sizebytes="407800"></div>A good indicator of that is the local building code and whether the house is built to its standards. The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes has a tool for checking that at <a target="_blank" href="http://inspecttoprotect.org">inspecttoprotect.org</a>.Not only does FLASH rate the local building code, but the tool also shows information about the area's past <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-how-profit-natural-disasters-hurricanes-wildfires-storms-investors-2023-8">natural disasters</a> and suggests upgrades.<h2 id="03112be6-cab7-49c5-9eed-55cc34037179">... and consider renovations</h2>In the FLASH tool, you can select the year a house was built to see what <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiny-home-renovation-old-abandoned-cottage-scotland-before-after-photos-2022-7">renovations</a> would strengthen it against different natural disasters. Each upgrade has a cost and impact rating.Taking matters into your own hands could make a big difference because, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/building-science/bcat#:~:text=FEMA%20tracks%20the%20building%20code,simply%20by%20its%20acronym%2C%20BCAT.">according</a> to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, only about one-third of US jurisdictions have adopted up-to-date codes to match their natural hazards.Even then, building codes are often designed to protect the lives of people inside the house, but not necessarily to prevent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-homeowner-milton-tearing-through-neighborhood-cant-sleep-2024-10">expensive property damage</a>."You got to at least have a good building code, but that's a starting point. It's not your gold standard, it's your minimum," Leslie Chapman-Henderson, FLASH's president and CEO, told BI.In some cases, renovations and upgrades can even help lower your insurance costs.

Before buying a home, check this hidden financial risk

New Delhi, The <keyword id="6355302" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rupee" source="Orion">rupee</keyword> rose 1 paisa to 83.36 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid foreign fund inflow and softening of the American currency against its major rivals. According to forex traders, positive cues from the domestic equity market also boosted investors' sentiment while the upward movement of crude oil prices weighed on the Indian currency. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.36 against the greenback. The rupee touched the intra-day peak of 83.35 before trading at 83.36 against the American currency, up 1 paise from its previous close. On Monday, the domestic currency settled at 83.37 against the US dollar. "Yesterday, the dollar against its major crosses also traded with low volatility as market participants remain cautious ahead of the important FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) policy statement that is scheduled to be released later this week," <keyword id="12834279" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gaurang-somaiya" source="Orion">Gaurang Somaiya</keyword>, forex and bullion analyst at <keyword id="113829" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="motilal-oswal-financial-services" source="Orion">Motilal Oswal Financial Services</keyword>, said. He said traders will also keep a tab on the domestic inflation data as well as industrial output numbers to be released later in the day. "We expect the USD-INR (spot) to trade sideways and quote in the range of 83.20 and 83.50," Somaiya said. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 per cent higher at 103.58 on Tuesday. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.28 per cent to USD 76.24 per barrel. In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 77.50 points or 0.11 per cent higher at 70,006.03 points. The broader NSE Nifty jumped 32.85 points or 0.16 per cent at 21,029.95 points. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Monday as they bought shares worth Rs 1,261.13 crore, according to exchange data.

Rupee rises 1 paisa to 83.36 against US dollar in early trade

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A $61 billion package of <keyword id="20526560" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-military-aid" source="keywords">US military aid</keyword> for Ukraine is being signed off. </li><li>The aid is set to provide much-needed support for Ukraine over the summer months.</li></ul>Relief swept the front line in Ukraine on Saturday after the US voted to release a long-delayed $61 billion package of military aid to help defend against <keyword id="20549604" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Russias-invasion" source="keywords">Russia's invasion</keyword>. "We thought that our partners had forgotten about us," a Ukrainian intelligence officer with the call sign Bankir told <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/20/world/foreign-aid-bill-ukraine-israel-thank-you-intl-latam/index.html">CNN</a>. The US House of Representatives approved the aid package, having been held up for months amid <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-house-republicans-voted-against-ukraine-russia-aid-2024-4#:~:text=The%20House%20passed%20a%20more,majority%20of%20the%20GOP%20conference.">opposition from far-right Republicans</a>. It's now set to be voted on by the US Senate, where it's widely expected to pass. But while it's likely to help kill Russia's momentum and give Ukraine much-needed support in the coming months, experts are cautioning that it doesn't ensure victory for Ukraine. <h2>A race against time</h2>Mark Warner, the chair of the <keyword id="21398577" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Senate-Intelligence-Committee" source="keywords">Senate Intelligence Committee</keyword>, told CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday that military equipment should be "in transit by the end of the week." It's a race against time for Ukraine. Its military is running low on ammunition and artillery supplies and struggling to fend off intensifying Russian attacks. Meanwhile, its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-finding-gaps-defenses-ukraine-kyiv-trypillya-west-aid-defense-2024-4">air defense systems are short of missiles</a>, meaning Russia is increasingly able to target Ukraine's cities and power plants. In recent weeks, Ukraine's leaders have issued increasingly stark warnings that it faces the prospect of defeat to Russia without more money from its allies. Analysts say the aid bill will bolster Ukraine's defenses against a possible planned Russian offensive this summer. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-shortages-mean-be-choosy-with-himars-targets-us-veteran-2024-4">US-made missiles have been crucial to Ukraine</a> in targeting Russian supply lines and troop gatherings, while artillery has been vital for defending its positions from attacks. The aid would allow Ukraine to replenish its supplies of these vital weapons, which reports say it had to start rationing on the front line in recent weeks. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said Ukraine would "likely be able to blunt the current Russian offensive assuming the resumed US assistance arrives promptly." One senior Ukrainian official told the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/099e668a-61c8-43c0-87a4-546dc09b73c2">Financial Times</a> the equipment would "help to slow down the Russian advance, but not stop it." <h2>Ukraine's future remains uncertain</h2>Experts have long believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to grind down Ukrainian resistance, exploiting the fact that long-term Western support for Ukraine remains uncertain. "Please, don't forget that russian military budget is 100 bln dollars," Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, wrote on X on Saturday evening. "Today we won the time - not the war. We will need to finish the job." <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-trouble-zelenskyy-admit-defeat-russia-war-us-aid-2024-4">George Beebe</a>, a former head of the CIA's Russia-analysis unit, told BI recently that even with the huge injection of money, it was probably not enough to enable Ukraine to launch a campaign to drive Russian forces back. And the long-term future of US aid remains in doubt, with Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, having repeatedly said he <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-will-not-give-penny-more-to-ukraine-orban-russia-2024-3">opposes funding Ukraine's war effort</a>. Ukraine's European allies haven't wavered in their commitment to helping Ukraine but have struggled to produce enough ammunition and equipment to make up for the US aid shortfall this year. Many believe the best Ukraine can hope for is to use the money to reinforce its current position, continue to inflict losses on Russia, and hope that its allies keep the aid flowing next year. "Such a large aid package may be the last this year. Moreover, there is a fairly high probability that all subsequent aid packages for Ukraine will be much smaller in size," a former Ukrainian officer who operates the Frontelligence Insight newsletter said, as cited by the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/099e668a-61c8-43c0-87a4-546dc09b73c2">Financial Times</a>. "The aid provided by the US buys us and the European Union time, about one year," the assessment said. For Ukraine to feel confident in winning the war against Russia, it needs more military aid beyond 2024. There's currently no guarantee it will get it in sufficient amounts. Correction: April 22, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled the surname of the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. His name is Mark Warner, not Mark Warne. It also misquoted Oleksiy Goncharenko's X post.

Ukraine aid will kill Russian momentum but won't win it the war

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ellen Yin quit her job and started a social media marketing agency in 2018.</li><li>Her husband, laid off in 2021, now manages their household, allowing Yin to focus on her business.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ellen Yin, a 30-year-old business owner based in Oregon. Business Insider has verified the financial claims. This story has been edited for length and clarity.During my junior year of college, I cold-pitched an apparel company on Instagram to be a content intern on their PR team. The role was unpaid at first but became a paid part-time position and then my first full-time job.I stayed until they restructured and let go of their staff — that was my first experience getting <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/laid-off-cant-find-job-retirement-worry-ageism-social-security-2024-5">laid off</a>.In March 2017, I landed a marketing and PR coordinator position at a healthcare company. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/met-husband-at-work-worried-look-unprofessional-2024-3">At this job, I met the man</a> who would become my husband. Now, he also manages our household while I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ellenyin.com/">run my own business</a>.<h2 id="4bbf4f58-5bf4-47c3-b638-7414bcf2c2ce">I worked at the second job for less than a year before quitting on my own accord</h2><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quit-6-figure-coo-job-gave-up-apartment-moved-home-2024-8">I quit my job</a> without a backup plan because I felt my creativity was stifled in that role. My husband encouraged me to quit when I wasn't happy.I planned on applying for new marketing positions, but during my job search, I landed a freelance marketing client.He was a former colleague, and he and his wife also owned two local coffee stands. They heard that I understood social media marketing.They were my first clients and paid me $300 for my first project. I landed two more clients through referrals and scaled into a boutique social media marketing agency.<h2 id="86406419-1279-415a-b715-4c870f5f5973">I formed an LLC in January 2019</h2>After finishing 2018 with $88,000 in revenue, I went all in on entrepreneurship. That summer, I started my podcast,<a target="_blank" href="https://cubicletoceo.co/"> "Cubicle to CEO</a>."<div type="image" title="podcast cover art for Cubicle to CEO" height="3000" width="3000" msid="112679458" hostid="261" sizebytes="379918"></div>I let go of all but one of my agency clients by the end of the year and decided to no longer offer services. I created digital products and training courses for freelancers and a product called Hashtag Hacks, which brought almost 9,000 new students into our ecosystem.We now operate as a media business model with our podcast as the flagship product. We have two full-time employees and occasionally use contractors.Our revenue was more than $550,000 in 2023, and I hope to grow that this year. My take-home pay after business expenses is also in the six-figure range.<h2 id="4d0eb53c-dac4-438a-8a1d-713c96b2e5ed">My husband was laid off in late 2021 and hasn't worked since</h2>When I left my corporate job, my husband still worked at my former company. After he was laid off, he started consulting with my dad's biotech company when needed, but for the most part, he's just been responsible for all our household tasks.We decided mutually that he should have that time off. My husband has worked his whole life, so it was nice to give him time to pursue some of his other creative pursuits. He has since finished writing a film script, which he'd never done before.I travel a few times a month for speaking gigs, so having him at home to support and manage the household while I'm gone has been helpful. We're unsure if we want to have children but are open to the idea and leaning toward yes. If we do, we'll re-evaluate our working arrangement.<div type="image" title="a woman with her arm up on a stage" height="2614" width="3486" msid="112679736" hostid="261" sizebytes="368254"></div><h2 id="9cf56fe0-b2fc-43a5-96a9-5f4ca2c83472">We talk about our arrangement often</h2>My husband does everything — laundry, house cleaning, and driving me to places and the airport. He enjoys cooking, but we probably eat out more than we should. In our discussions, he's said he doesn't have any resentment.He's good at taking care of a lot of the household labor in a way that I'm not naturally good at. It allows me to stay in my lane and focus my time and energy on what I'm best at to provide for us financially.He also works one to two hours a week in my business on recurring content tasks, like our podcast transcripts, populating different links in our blog posts, and helping our content manager with anything administrative.<h2 id="99697c87-e7c6-463c-ac69-e662f60e5a66">I started my business when I was 23, and I just turned 30, so it can feel like a lot of pressure</h2>Being the sole income earner in our family can be stressful at times; it would be unrealistic to say that it's not. Over the last few years, we've purchased a home, bought two cars, and had a wedding. I've also made investments as an angel investor. However, this arrangement is what I feel is best for us despite the stress.Being the breadwinner has not impacted our relationship romantically. We're both extremely honest; if we feel something, we'll communicate directly about it to each other, and we don't hold stuff in.It's been helpful to be married to someone who sees our marriage as a partnership and is not intimidated or feels any ego about the financial piece of it.<h2 id="1a42e2d7-d374-4676-af0c-4f4f08af74e6">I'm proud that we're a debt-free household outside our mortgage</h2>We always discuss big life decisions and decide together. Our money is our money; we share it equally, and it's a pooled account.My ultimate goal is to sell my business one day, and we're working toward that.I'm the eldest daughter of 1st generation Americans and immigrants. Growing a business and being a female breadwinner has been my greatest personal development experience.Want to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at lhaas@businessinsider.com.

I financially support my husband while he takes care of our house. Being a female breadwinner can be stressful, but it's my greatest achievement.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China had a gene sequence of COVID-19 weeks before sharing it with the world, US lawmakers said.</li><li>The lawmakers say a Chinese virologist submitted this gene sequence to a US database on December 28, 2019.</li></ul>China likely obtained COVID-19's first known gene sequence weeks before publicly releasing it, contrary to Beijing's claim that it immediately shared the information, the <a target="_blank" href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/e-and-c-investigation-uncovers-earliest-known-sars-co-v-2-sequence-released-outside-of-china">US House Energy &amp; Commerce Committee said on Wednesday.</a>The delay is significant because it may have wasted time for the world to develop COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, causing needless deaths, the committee said.The committee said a Chinese virologist, Lili Ren, submitted the pathogen's gene sequence to the US database GenBank on December 28, 2019, the committee said.The database belongs to the National Institutes of Health, of which Ren is a subgrantee under the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance.Ren's submission, however, was missing some technical information, and the database staff asked her three days later to submit the additional details. If she didn't offer these details, the sequence would be deleted, the staff said, per the committee.The US lawmakers added that Ren did not upload the rest of the necessary information to the database.On January 10, 2020, about two weeks later, China released a gene sequence of COVID-19 that was "nearly identical" to Ren's submission, the committee said, citing the Department of Health and Human Services.The committee said this contradicted China's repeated claims that it released the gene sequence as soon as it obtained the information.China's embassy in the US in 2021 <a target="_blank" href="http://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zmgxss/202111/t20211107_10445198.htm">released a statement </a>attacking "US vicious slanders," responding to dozens of allegations from US media and officials about Beijing's handling of the virus."By upholding a scientific attitude and following the laws of epidemiology, the Chinese government promptly shared the virus genetic sequence and epidemic information with the World Health Organization and the international community," the statement said.The House committee said this example shows that China has been forthcoming with sharing vital medical information for fighting COVID-19."The significant discovery further underscores why we cannot trust any of the so-called facts or data provided by the CCP and calls into serious question the legitimacy of any scientific theories based on such information," the investigating lawmakers wrote.The committee also raised concerns that the NIH had received a COVID-19 gene sequence but "apparently had no idea."It further criticized the Biden administration, NIH, and HHS, saying the information on the sequence submitted by Ren was only released after it was subpoenaed.The chairs of the Energy &amp; Commerce Committee and its Health and Oversight &amp; Investigations Subcommittees, which conducted the investigation, are all Republican lawmakers. They are Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia, and Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky.The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

US House Committee says China delayed releasing COVID-19 information for weeks and lied about sharing it immediately

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Setu Shah coaches new parents on preparing financially for a baby.</li><li>She started after having her son, who is now two.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.financialdoula.com/about">Setu Shah</a>, founder of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/financialdoula/">Financial Doula</a>. It has been edited for length and clarity.When I was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-i-wish-i-knew-about-pregnancy-before-getting-pregnant-2022-10">pregnant with my first child</a>, I was as proactive as possible. Even so, I ended up in a financial situation that I just didn't expect.At my son's birth, I had some complications that led to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-millennials-giving-up-medical-care-cant-afford-costs-2024-2">additional medical costs</a>. A few weeks later, my family had a water leak in our house, leading to expensive repairs. Then, less than three months after I returned from maternity leave, I was laid off.Luckily, I <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-get-medical-bills-reduced-negotiate-challenge-payment-plan-2024-9">didn't go into debt</a> but blew through my savings. I also found myself feeling financially dependent on my husband, which wasn't a plan I ever had. I'd always been very autonomous.Now I work with parents for them to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/am-i-ready-to-have-a-baby-2018-2">be financially ready</a> before welcoming a baby into their lives.<h2 id="90bd853d-82f9-4628-9d1e-2fd6de9a2675">I realized other people were in similar situations</h2>I am savvy with money but still surprised by the financial realities of my first year of parenthood. I realized other parents — moms particularly — were likely struggling too. I wanted to help parents go into parenthood with a firm understanding of the costs, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/status-symbol-items-for-parents-snoo-doona-tripp-trapp-2024-7">not just for baby gear</a> and childcare but also for unexpected items that go hand-in-hand with parenting. I started<a target="_blank" href="https://www.financialdoula.com/"> Financial Doula</a> before my son's first birthday.I've seen that adding a baby to your family can easily cost $2,000 to $3,000 a month, especially if you're <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/family-paid-over-fifty-thousand-dollars-for-childcare-2024-11">hiring childcare</a>. Yet, I encourage my clients to think beyond cost: time becomes even more precious when you become a parent. You have to weigh up the costs of services versus their impact on your life.Here are the three items that all parents should budget for during the first year and beyond.<h2 id="827ee064-654e-4cd2-9808-1e8bfe2eb8a2">1. Childcare changes</h2>Childcare is a massive expense that many parents know to budget for. However, I've learned that first-time parents need to have a lot of flexibility in this budget line.During the first year, changing child-care situations two or three times is normal. You don't know what will work for you or your baby until you live it. So, if you're planning on family watching your child, budget extra for occasional paid childcare. If you're planning on day care, consider creating a buffer in case you need a nanny. Changing your mind is OK; having financial resources can make that easier.<h2 id="b806abbe-7cde-4be9-9386-6fb94a38a975">2. Physical and mental health</h2>In the first year postpartum, there are so many small supports that can help parents, especially moms. A lactation consultant, postpartum doula, or sleep coach can significantly improve your quality of life. Yet, I see a lot of people who don't budget for these services because they're expensive and can be seen as wants, not needs. Still, parents need to take care of their physical and mental health.<h2 id="8505af0b-90fb-41ad-8462-83aa17056d58">3. A paid village</h2>Next are items that can make running a household easier: things like lawn maintenance, a cleaning service, meal delivery kits, etc. If you have two working parents, these are essential.Sometimes, women need help in justifying these costs, especially if their male partner is making more money than they are. I try to remind families that having a baby is a combined, joint decision. Investments in items that make housekeeping and childcare easier benefit both parents, not just the mom. Unfortunately, remembering that requires a shift in our cultural mindset.<h2 id="306b40b2-6be4-44fd-88b7-a6f1d20deda2">These 2 questions can help open money conversations</h2>Having a baby brings a lot of financial stress that many couples haven't faced before. You can never predict all the costs, but having honest conversations about finances and money psychology can help you and your partner understand each other's behavior around money. These questions are a great starting point:<ul><li>What are your priorities during this period of life? For the next two years, where do you want most of your energy directed? Are there ways that you're spending your money, time, or energy that you'd like to shift?</li><li>What does it mean to you to raise and care for a child? What do you envision your family dynamics and interactions as? How can intentional spending and budgeting help you reflect that?</li></ul>These are questions I consider as we think about having a second baby. Right now, my husband has an intense career where he works long hours outside the home. I'm focused on launching my business. We're spending a lot of time thinking about what a second child might mean for the family as a whole and its impact on each of us individually. If we decide to grow our family, I want to be very clear about the costs — those we can plan for and those we can't predict.

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