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<ul class="summary-list"><li>France is going to send Ukraine Mirage fighter jets, the second Western jet type it will receive.</li><li>The jets can carry Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles, and Ukraine's jets will reportedly have them.</li></ul>The new Mirage fighter jets France promised to Ukraine will give it another combat platform able to launch the Western Storm Shadow missiles it has been using to frustrate Russia.Ukraine has long been using the Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles given to it by the UK and France to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-did-russia-invade-ukraine-putin-politics-mhttps://www.businessinsider.com/why-did-russia-invade-ukraine-putin-politics-motive-2023-6otive-2023-6">fight back against Russia's invasion</a>, hitting a range of targets, including Russian <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/storm-shadow-missile-central-to-ukraine-counter-offensive-expert-2023-6">factories</a> and, it seems, a navy <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-likely-used-storm-shadow-missiles-strike-russian-ship-2023-12">warship</a>, as well as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/storm-shadow-missile-central-to-ukraine-counter-offensive-expert-2023-6">fuel and ammo depots</a>.Ukraine's recently acquired American-made F-16s aren't configured to fire Storm Shadows, leaving it reliant on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-shares-first-video-storm-shadow-missiles-combat-decade-report-2024-8">its Soviet-designed Su-24 aircraft</a> to launch them. The delivery of the French Mirage 2000s would give it another aircraft able to employ these weapons.<div type="image" title="Two Storm Shadow missiles just after they were dropped from a jet over brown fields." height="1548" width="2228" msid="115083878" hostid="261" sizebytes="70180"></div>France's armed forces minister, Sébastien Lecornuhas, said earlier this month that his country aimed to send French-made Mirage 2000 jets, manufactured by Dassault Aviation, in the first half of 2025, and the French newspaper La Tribune <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/la-france-va-livrer-debut-2025-trois-mirage-2000-5-a-l-ukraine-1009418.html?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1729656105">reported</a> that those jets will be armed with Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles.Tim Robinson, a military aviation specialist at the UK's Royal Aeronautical Society, told BI it is beneficial for Ukraine to get more aircraft that can launch the missiles."Obviously, you want to get the Storm Shadow, but you need an air platform to launch it from," he said, adding that the ability to launch it from a higher altitude offers greater range.<h2 id="d7a2e779-2ed4-4de6-abe8-2e146ba3b0af">Capable cruise missiles</h2>Retired US Army Maj. Gen. Gordon "Skip" Davis, who served as NATO's deputy assistant secretary-general for its defense-investment division, told BI that "it's a good thing, the fact that the jets will be capable of launching the SCALP cruise missiles.""That's a big deal," he said, explaining that the "biggest thing" with the Mirages pledged to Ukraine is that they'll already be able to launch the Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles the UK and France have been providing.<div type="image" title="Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi speaking into microphones with his hand over his chest. F-16 fighter jets are behind him." height="3333" width="5000" msid="115083869" hostid="261" sizebytes="445220"></div>The stealthy air-launched cruise missiles were developed jointly by the UK and France and manufactured by the multinational European defense outfit MBDA. While the UK calls them Storm Shadows, France calls the weapons SCALP missiles.The long-range missiles can hit targets up to 155 miles from where they are launched. Each missile costs almost $1 million, according to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rwkk9r51jo">BBC</a>.<a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-leading-being-bolder-less-timid-helping-ukraine-than-us-2024-7">The UK was the first country to give</a> Kyiv the weapon, with the first deliveries of Storm Shadows/SCALPs taking place in May 2023. France announced deliveries two months later in July. Since the first deliveries, the missiles have become a key weapon in Ukraine's arsenal.<h2 id="404c7f87-a2fc-4e15-abc9-5ccdb1dcb4f8">New fighter jets</h2>The La Tribune report said that France will deliver the first three Mirage jets to Ukraine in the first quarter of next year. France has not said how many it will send.It is unclear how many Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles France may commit as part of the effort. It also not clear how many of the missiles Ukraine currently has. Ukraine often ends up running low on key types of weaponry before allies decide to replenish its stocks.But even if it does get more to go with its new jets, the impact of the weapon could be blunted unless allies change their long-standing stance on Ukraine not being allowed to use the long-range weapons they send to strike Russian territory.Ukraine has long been seeking permission to use Storm Shadows/SCALPs to hit military targets in Russia, with many warfare experts arguing that the restrictions hand Russia a huge advantage because Ukraine has to stop attacks after they are launched instead of destroying the attacks at the source.<div type="image" title="A white STORM SHADOW/SCALP, a conventionally armed long-range deep-strike weapon, is displayed at the MBDA exhibition hall during the Farnborough International Airshow." height="3250" width="5000" msid="115083873" hostid="261" sizebytes="253376"></div>Politico <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/23/ukraine-biden-weapons-restrictions-00176210">reported</a> in August that a Biden administration national security official said Russia's forces had moved some of their military assets out of range of Ukraine's Western-provided Storm Shadow/SCALP and ATACMS missiles.The UK indicated in September that talks with the US over whether to give permission for Ukraine to use Storm Shadows/SCALPS to hit Ukraine were underway.As for why the US is involved, the US needs to give permission because the Storm Shadows have an American system on board to frustrate Russia's jamming efforts.France has said that Ukraine should be allowed to hit military targets inside Russia with its long-range weaponry, but it hasn't indicated that it will try to bypass US restrictions.Regardless, the Mirage will be "added value" for Ukraine, Gordon said.He was critical of how long the decision to send them has taken but said they will still help Ukraine. "It would've been nice if they had thought of this maybe a year and a half ago, so they'd be flying right now, but they provide some key advantages," he said.

This French fighter jet Ukraine will get next can launch the stealthy Storm Shadow missiles that have frustrated Russia

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The UK and Germany signed a new defense agreement on Wednesday.</li><li>The agreement includes a commitment to develop new deep-strike weapons.</li></ul>The UK and Germany signed a "first-of-its-kind" defense agreement on Wednesday as the two countries committed to "deepen" their defense cooperation.The agreement includes a pledge to work together on developing new <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-deep-strikes-inside-russia-meant-to-weaken-war-machines-2024-10">deep-strike weapons</a> and new drones, among other things, according to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-uk-germany-defence-agreement-to-strengthen-our-security-and-prosperity">press release</a> from the UK government.UK Defense Secretary John Healey said in a statement that the deal marked "a milestone moment in our relationship with Germany and a major strengthening of Europe's security.""It secures unprecedented levels of new cooperation with the German Armed Forces and industry, bringing benefits to our shared security and prosperity, protecting our shared values and boosting our defence industrial bases," he said.As part of the agreement, the UK and Germany will aim to develop a new weapon system with a greater range and accuracy than current missiles, such as the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-shares-first-video-storm-shadow-missiles-combat-decade-report-2024-8">UK's Storm Shadow</a> and the German-made Taurus, which have ranges of around 155 miles and 310 miles respectively.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long asked Western allies to allow the use of such long-range systems on targets deep inside Russia.But the UK has continued to refuse Ukraine such permission, while Germany has repeatedly ruled out sending the Taurus missile to Kyiv.Wednesday's agreement will also see the UK and Germany begin working to equip German Sea King helicopters with modern missile systems and allow German P8 aircraft to "periodically operate" from Scotland to defend the North Atlantic."The UK-German 'Trinity House Agreement' is not only an important element of the UK Government's 'reset' with Europe - it is an elevation of the UK-German defense and security relationship that is far more ambitious than its predecessors," Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow for European Security at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said in a press statement.It comes as the UK <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-strengthens-national-security-and-bolsters-ukraines-war-chest-with-226-billion-military-loan">announced</a> a new £2.26 billion (roughly $2.9 billion) loan to Ukraine.Business Insider has contacted the UK Ministry of Defence for comment.

The UK and Germany are teaming up on a missile to outclass their powerful Storm Shadow or Taurus     

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"Shang-Chi" star Simu Liu called out two boba tea entrepreneurs who appeared on an episode of "Dragons' Den."</li><li>They were promoting their new drink, which they said was healthier than regular boba tea.</li></ul>Simu Liu is in the middle of a brewing business feud over a popular Asian drink.The "Shang-Chi" actor called out a pair of entrepreneurs from Québec during a Thursday episode of "Dragons' Den," the Canadian version of "Shark Tank."Entrepreneurs Sébastien Fiset and Jess Frenette, who founded the bottled popping <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-original-boba-tea-starbucks-chun-shui-tang-competition-tptea-2024-7">bubble tea</a> brand called Bobba, were asking for funding in exchange for 18% of their company's ownership, per <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/simu-liu-criticizes-bobba-cultural-appropriation-rcna175209">NBC</a>.The duo was marketing it as a healthier alternative to the "trendy, sugar drink you are queuing up for, and you are never quite sure about its content."The judges were given the drink to taste. When asked if he liked the drink, Liu, who joined the show as a panelist in its 19th season, said, "I thought it was fine.""But I'm concerned about this idea of disrupting or disturbing bubble tea," he said in response to the duo's marketing strategy.When his co-judge Manjit Minhas argued that not everything had to remain traditional, Liu said: "But there's also the issue of cultural appropriation.""There's the issue of taking something that's very distinctly Asian in its identity, and quote-unquote, making it better, which I have an issue with," Liu added.Liu, a general partner at the venture capital fund Markham Valley Ventures, called Fiset and Frenette out for not including the origins of boba, which is a Taiwanese drink, on the cans of their products.According to Liu's LinkedIn, Markham Valley Ventures invests in minority-led startups and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) businesses.Liu said on "Dragons' Den" that he started his venture company for a lot of reasons but "primarily to uplift minority entrepreneurs.""And not only do I feel like this is not happening here, but that I would be uplifting a business that is profiting off of something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage," he said of Bobba.Liu further asked how the duo were paying respect to "this very Asian drink" and who was on their staff and "cap table."Fiset told Liu that the Canada-based duo had traveled to Taiwan to meet with their partners there, who he called "part of our team."The exchange on "Dragons' Den" has gone viral on social media, with people on TikTok and Instagram calling Bobba out and accusing the brand of cultural appropriation.As of press time, the most viewed clip of the exchange, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@cbcgem/video/7424242804861324549?lang=en">posted</a> by CBC Gem on TikTok, has been viewed more than 8.2 million times.The clip has sparked parodies on TikTok.One TikTok clip, posted by user Winniedapoo, has been seen 3.1 million times as of press time. In the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wenniedapoo/video/7424908191114235168">clip</a>, the TikTok user films himself drinking boba with the overlaid caption: "Felt like drinking my ethnical drink today that 'I'm never quite sure about its content.'"In an apology statement on Bobba's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.instagram.com/bobbaofficiel/p/DBFG-Z5xE-8/?img_index=1">Instagram</a> on Monday, Fiset and Frenette said that Liu "raised very valid points regarding cultural appropriation" and that they "welcome this learning opportunity.""When we said, 'You're never quite sure about its contents,' we were not referring to the traditional bubble tea formula found in specialized shops, nor were we criticizing it," the statement said."What we were comparing it to is the other ready-to-drink products like ours found in big box stores," it added.<h2 id="f35e0085-1744-4a9d-9b02-fd2f8e852100">Not the first time Liu's been vocal about race</h2>Liu on Saturday posted a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@simuliu/video/7424961636139666730?lang=en&amp;q=simu%20liu%20bubble%20tea&amp;t=1728967087373">TikTok</a> saying he appreciated the outpouring of support for his stance, but that he condemned any harassment and death threats directed toward the owners of Bobba."It's never OK to make threats, it's never OK to bully and harass online," he said.Liu has been outspoken about race issues.In 2021, he <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shang-chi-simu-liu-response-film-as-experiment-comment-2021-8">clapped back at</a> Disney's former CEO Bob Chapek, who said that the upcoming "Shang-Chi" release would be an "interesting experiment."Liu took to Instagram and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/SimuLiu/status/1426464028138762245">X</a> to address Chapek's comments, writing, "We are not an 'interesting experiment."In June 2021, he said a show he was on, "Kim's Convenience," had a team of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/simu-liu-kims-conveniance-writers-never-gave-asian-actors-stories-2021-6">"overwhelmingly white" writers.</a>The global boba tea industry — or bubble tea as it is known in Asia — is estimated to be worth billions. In July, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/bubble-tea-market">Allied Market Research</a> pegged its value at $3.1 billion in 2023, and projected that the industry would be worth $5.4 billion by 2033.Representatives for Liu and Bobba didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside business hours.

A boba business storm is brewing, and a 'Shang-Chi' star is in the middle of it

<ul class="summary-list"><li>North Korea's troops in Russia are largely thought to be from Pyongyang's elite Storm Corps.</li><li>But as more sightings of them emerge, doubts are rising about their true status as special forces.</li></ul>As questions arise over the quality of Kim Jong Un's troops in Russia, a former soldier who served in North Korea's special forces said they're likely the country's elite troops.Lee Woong-gil, who defected to South Korea in 2007, told the Seoul-based outlet <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/11/103_385749.html">The Korea Times</a> that he believes the North Korean men sighted in Russia are, indeed, special forces."They do not appear to be the finest members, however," he told the outlet.Washington and Kyiv believe that about 11,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to aid its war in Ukraine, including some 8,000 dispatched to the Kursk region.The exact makeup of the deployment is unclear, but many of the troops are said to be Kim's elite branch, also known as the "Storm Corps" or "Black Berets." As early reports of the transfers emerged in mid-October, South Korea's intelligence agency had said that it observed an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-special-forces-sent-russia-disguised-with-fake-identification-2024-10">initial wave of 1,500 special forces</a> entering eastern Russia.The spy agency later said that it believed North Korea <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://m.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20241018139000504">planned to send four brigades worth of elite forces</a>, numbering 12,000 troops in total, to Russia.<div type="image" title="North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a military demonstration in North Korea" height="1311" width="2000" msid="115166552" hostid="261" sizebytes="188396"></div>Lee told The Korea Times that those who survive a deployment in Kursk would gain valuable combat experience, a potential benefit for Kim's calculus in sending troops to fight Ukraine."Among them, the elite forces are deployed overseas on highly dangerous missions, such as the kidnapping and assassination of North Korean defectors, missionaries, and covert South Korean agents," said Lee, who <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-soldiers-russia-ukraine-war-651ac7615c3124fde657043a9193d6b1">The Associated Press reported</a> served in the Storm Corps from 1998 to 2003."However, the troops sent to Russia do not seem to be Tier 1 team members," he added.<h2 id="f457edcc-2585-4ac4-8606-fe72339b1ef1">The Storm Corps' elite status in question</h2>Still, there's been debate as to how well these troops measure up to modern standards for special forces, or if the North Korean men in Russia are even from the country's prestigious unit.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mnd.go.kr/user/mnd/upload/pblictn/PBLICTNEBOOK_202303070948276600.pdf">South Korea's defense ministry</a> estimates that the Storm Corps has 200,000 members in total, a staggering number for a special forces branch.During a September visit to a training base, Kim <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/b9243d11f2d74891bab7867dcaf965f0.kcmsf">lauded</a> the division's members as each being worth 100 typical North Korean soldiers.But Seoul has also described these troops in Russia as young, inexperienced men sent to be "mere cannon fodder."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-appears-show-north-korean-soldiers-gearing-up-in-russia-2024-10">Videos</a> on Russian social channels appearing to show the North Korean soldiers <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/25/world/asia/north-korea-russia-ukraine-video.html">seem to depict relatively shorter men</a> with smaller frames, leading to assessments that they arrived <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/05/north-korea-troops-russia-ukraine-war-kim-jong-un-putin">malnourished and vulnerable to disease.</a>Lee told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-soldiers-russia-ukraine-war-651ac7615c3124fde657043a9193d6b1">the AP</a> in late October that the Storm Corps was generally better supplied than other units during his time there, but that its members still suffered from tuberculosis and malnutrition.James JB Park, a former South Korean defense and national security official, told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/north-korean-soldiers-arrive-on-russias-front-line-how-ready-are-they-to-fight-84f885fa?mod=WSJ_Euronews">The Wall Street Journal</a> that Kim may have sent a first wave of more expendable soldiers to test the waters with Ukraine."They will pave the way for the more experienced ones," he told the outlet.Ukraine said that its troops had already launched attacks, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-details-first-ukraine-attack-north-korea-troops-russia-kursk-2024-11">including an artillery strike</a>, on North Korean soldiers in Kursk, where many of Pyongyang's troops are believed to be stationed to support the front lines."It was an ordinary combat engagement in the Kursk region," Andrii Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, told Business Insider's Mia Jankowicz.<div type="image" title="North Korean troops in combat training with their shirts off. Kim Jong Un stands behind them in the background." height="413" width="636" msid="115166549" hostid="261" sizebytes="39588"></div>Kovalenko also warned that as they were stationed in Russia, North Korea's troops were being taught <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-passing-deadly-drone-techniques-to-north-korea-ukraine-official-2024-11">how to operate strike and reconnaissance drones.</a>An injection of 11,000 North Korean troops isn't likely to be a game changer for Russia, which was estimated by the UK to have lost about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-suffered-1500-average-casualties-a-day-october-uk-official-2024-11">1,500 troops per day in October.</a>But it stands to be yet another source of manpower and resources for the Kremlin to continue its strategy of trying to overwhelm Ukraine with mass in a war of attrition.Pyongyang's direct involvement has sparked renewed concerns about the war escalating on a global front, with Seoul now saying that it won't rule out reversing a law that prevented the<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hanwha-aerospace-arms-manufacturing-howitzer-twice-fast-western-competitors-2024-6"> export of its weapons to Ukraine.</a>That comes as South Korea has become home to one of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-ships-jets-mark-rise-of-south-korea-defense-industry-2023-3">world's fastest-growing defense industries</a> in recent years. It is moving to become the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://eng.president.go.kr/speeches/R09h4tXx">globe's fourth-largest defense exporter by 2027</a>, up from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/fs_2403_at_2023.pdf">10th place in the 2019 to 2023 period.</a>

A former North Korean special forces soldier said Kim Jong Un's elite 'Storm Corps' in Russia likely isn't his A-team

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Hurricane Milton has intensified into a Category 5 storm, the highest classification.</li><li>It's set to make landfall on Wednesday in Florida, which is still reeling from Hurricane Helene.</li></ul>Floridians are staring down the barrel of another serious storm.Hurricane Milton intensified into a Category 5 storm — the most severe classification — in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday. That's less than two weeks after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/before-after-satellite-photos-hurricane-helene-destruction-florida-2024-10">Hurricane Helene</a> tore through the state along the Gulf Coast on its way into Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The severe flooding in those states stretched funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — and another storm could put further strain on the federal disaster agency.Milton reached peak wind speeds of 160 mph on Monday, according to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/152801.shtml?key_messages#contents">National Hurricane Center</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml#Milton">,</a> and is expected to create "a life-threatening storm surge" along Florida's west coast near Tampa Bay.Heavy rainfall beginning on Monday could result in moderate to major river flooding risks, the National Hurricane Center said.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.flgov.com/2024/10/06/memorandum-executive-order-number-24-215-emergency-management-amending-executive-order-24-214-tropical-storm-milton/">state of emergency for 51 counties</a> on Sunday, and millions of Floridians could soon be under orders to evacuate.DeSantis also said Monday that debris from Helene must be cleared to avoid being kicked up again by Milton, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-milton-helene-florida-557c5c512135e0a8661b298e45e17c92">The Associated Press reported</a>.Helene caused over 220 deaths, and Moody's Analytics estimates its damage could total between <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/analysts-estimate-up-to-34-billion-damage-from-hurricane-helene-2024-10">$20 billion and $34 billion</a>.The timing is problematic for federal agencies. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters last week that FEMA did not have enough funds to make it through hurricane season, which runs through the end of November, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-helene-congress-fema-funding-5be4f18e00ce2b509d6830410cf2c1cb">the AP reported</a>.President Joe Biden suggested last week Congress may need to pass a supplemental spending bill, though members are not expected to return to Washington until after the election. In a letter to congressional leaders on Friday, Biden said FEMA has the resources it needs for the "immediate emergency response phase" in the wake of Helene but that the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program was on the verge of running out of money.And that was before Milton intensified in the Gulf Coast and threatened to deal Florida another crushing blow.The succession of weather events has also underscored the rising cost of home insurance <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-home-insurance-prices-premium-effect-from-hurricanes-2024-9">in Florida</a>, the most at-risk state for hurricanes, with premiums skyrocketing.While Florida remains one of the most popular states to move to, Business Insider previously reported that the high cost of insurance — and homes — has caused some to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-real-estate-worth-it-home-prices-insurance-hurricane-helene-2024-10">reconsider their residency in the state</a>.

Hurricane Milton, now a Category 5 storm, threatens an already battered Florida

Photos show the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Florida's 2nd massive storm in 2 weeks

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Hurricane Helene destroyed Maples, a coffee shop in Burnsville, North Carolina.</li><li>Opened in 2015, Maples served as a community hub, hosting music and art events.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Susan Scoggins, 61, the owner of Maples, a coffee shop in Burnsville, North Carolina, that was destroyed by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quartz-mine-computer-chips-hurricane-helene-spruce-pine-semiconductor-2024-9">Hurricane Helene.</a>The following has been edited for length and clarity.We opened Maples in 2015 because there was no food or drink in the area. At the time, I was taking a business class, and we were talking about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-find-a-niche-side-hustle-6-figure-entrepreneur-2020-10">filling a niche</a>.Maples did that, but it also did so much more, it filled the need of a community. It quickly became a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/loneliness-happiness-cure-coffee-shops-dense-housing-parks-walkable-neighborhoods-2024-2">community hub.</a>We didn't just have food and coffee — we had music jams every Saturday morning, and knitters and crochet groups came in weekly. It's where people would hold their meetings.We were looking forward to celebrating our 10th anniversary.<div type="image" title="Maples inside" height="1024" width="768" msid="113857598" hostid="261" sizebytes="92850"></div>When we knew bad weather was on the way, we started to prepare.We had lived on the coast for 30 years, so we knew how to take precautions in case of a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-helene-electric-vehicles-evs-owners-fire-risk-safety-tips-2024-10">hurricane.</a>When we heard it was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mom-didnt-hear-from-daughter-asheville-for-days-2024-9">coming to North Carolina</a>, we started making sure that we'd have enough food and water and began putting our important things in the shop.Maples was on a cement slab; it had steel girders, and we really thought it was a safer place than anywhere else.The rain started coming, and we had all of the necessities in the building, and there was still power.I stayed there until about 10 p.m., and I was planning on staying there overnight because I couldn't get up to my home, which is higher up on a mountain.I wanted to be available to make coffee in the morning in case things got bad for our neighbors.My hope was that Maples would be a little safe haven for people to come to after the hurricane passed. But now, the building is just gone.There's nothing left.<div type="image" title="Susan Scoggins inspects the damage" height="690" width="682" msid="113857601" hostid="261" sizebytes="102432"></div>I'm grateful that my granddaughter talked me into staying with her that night because, if she hadn't, I also wouldn't be here.All of the customers know my two-year-old great-granddaughter, who has been the little greeter for the coffee shop since she was born. She had all of her toys there.When we first saw the building, things were scattered all over the parking lot, including her toys. We also had a 30-foot water tower. That was just washed into the intersection.There are a lot of people without food, water, power, medicine, and all of the necessities, yet they continue to be kind, and everyone is helping everyone.I don't know where we'll go from here. Right now, I have no concept of time, I don't even know what day it is.I also have no concept of what it would take to rebuild Maples. I just don't know.I know that my store was insured, but I have to get around <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-elon-musk-starlink-hurricane-helene-fema-2024-9">disaster relief</a> and other things.But at the moment, it's most important to me that we help the community rebuild <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-damage-port-strike-could-hurt-us-economy-2024-9">after Hurricane Helene.</a>

I wanted my coffee shop to become a haven for Hurricane Helene survivors. The storm totally destroyed it.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The UK privately backs Ukraine's call to lift a targeting ban on Storm Shadow missiles, reports say.</li><li>But it first wants to persuade the US to support the green light to strike inside Russia.</li></ul>The UK wants to let Ukraine use its Storm Shadow missiles on Russian soil, but isn't giving Kyiv permission out of concern that the US won't back the call, according to multiple reports.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/27/uk-backs-ukraine-use-storm-shadow-missiles-russia/">The Telegraph</a> and the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/274d8994-c0fb-4f9b-8572-0ffb00b5de23">Financial Times</a> reported Tuesday that London officials have privately been asking the US for the go-ahead this summer.But Ukraine has yet to receive the green light to launch the British and French-made cruise missiles on targets inside Russia — a move that it's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/jul/19/volodymyr-zelenskiy-cabinet-russia-sanctions-keir-starmer-uk-politics-live">championed as the next crucial step for the war effort.</a>Both The Telegraph and FT reported that the US has some say in the decision because Ukraine's Storm Shadow strikes likely rely on American capabilities.The FT, citing an anonymous source familiar with the discussions, wrote that the missiles need US intelligence and reconnaissance to circumvent Russian GPS jamming.The Telegraph mentioned that the missiles work in tandem with unnamed "classified US systems."The new deliberations also come as the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-labour-party-back-in-power-rishi-sunak-concede-defeat-2024-7">UK's Labour Party in June replaced the Tory government</a>, which was aggressively at the forefront of pushing the West for more advanced vehicles, munitions, and aircraft to Ukraine.But UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is, according to The Telegraph, choosing a more "consultative approach" with the US, which has often trailed its European allies in providing Ukraine with more powerful weapons.US officials have long cited concerns of escalation with Russia when it comes to delivering devastating and long-range munitions to Kyiv.The Pentagon and British and Ukrainian defense ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.Storm Shadow missiles, which are air-launched and have a range of about 155 miles, have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/storm-shadow-missile-central-to-ukraine-counter-offensive-expert-2023-6">touted as one of Ukraine's most effective tools in the war.</a>"Its accuracy and ability to deliver successfully the payload, as sent and designed by the Ukrainians, has been almost without fault," said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-06-26/debates/EF532F39-3608-4471-B004-90357E338835/details#contribution-117F2255-1F0D-4AC2-A98A-827F9DBF1D7B">then-UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace in June.</a>Russia, meanwhile, has been playing down its impact on the battlefield, with leader Vladimir Putin saying the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-said-storm-shadow-missiles-not-doing-critical-damage-russia-2023-7">missile isn't inflicting "critical" damage.</a>The UK allowed Ukraine to hit Russian ships and naval facilities in Crimea with Storm Shadow missiles in 2023, marking one of the first major Western endorsements of deep strikes.Washington later sent Kyiv its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/atacms-ukraine-could-make-crimea-militarily-worthless-russia-expert-2024-4">long-range ATACMS missiles</a>, but has so far restricted Ukraine from firing its advanced weapons into Russian territory.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-missile-attack-shows-us-must-drop-weapon-restrictions-ukraine-2024-8">urged the US and UK this week to lift the ban</a>, saying it's become a severe handicap as Russia rains drones and bombs on Ukraine."The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other partners have the power to help us stop terror. We need decisions," he said.France, which also delivers Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, has been supportive of allowing Kyiv to strike deep into Russia."We are in fact telling them that we are delivering weapons to you, but you cannot defend yourself," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-macron-weapons-e308755a31716ee0123b441bb9b548b0">French President Emmanuel Macron said in May,</a> criticizing the situation.

Ukraine can't use the UK's Storm Shadow missiles on targets inside Russia because the US is standing in the way: reports

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ukraine shared footage of its aircraft launching Storm Shadow missiles.</li><li>Footage of the powerful, long-range missiles in action is extremely rare.</li></ul>Ukraine released its first official video of Western <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/storm-shadow-hits-2-crimea-bridges-scalps-missile-arrive-france-2023-8">Storm Shadow missiles</a> being used in combat.Ukraine's air force on Sunday shared footage celebrating its 20th anniversary.Buried in the clip were visuals of the Storm Shadow being launched from a jet, and then flying through the sky.You can watch the video here:The video showed one missile with a UK flag and one with French branding, using an alternative name for the missile, SCALP, which is common in France.Ukrainian outlet Defense Express <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://defence-ua.com/news/vpershe_na_video_pokazali_jak_povitrjani_sili_zapuskajut_storm_shadow-16206.html">reported</a> that it was the first-ever video showing Storm Shadows being deployed in live combat.It said they were shown being fired from an Su-24, one of the jet types Ukraine uses to carry the missiles.Business Insider couldn't immediately verify those claims, but footage of them in action is very rare.A 2015 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um0Se9CvHrE">video</a> by the missile's maker, MBDA, shows Storm Shadows in action but doesn't specify whether the footage shows test scenarios or real warfare.Ukriane's military also called it the first official footage that captures a live launch of the missile.Storm Shadows are cruise missiles developed jointly by the UK and France.Both countries have been giving Ukraine the missiles and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-leading-being-bolder-less-timid-helping-ukraine-than-us-2024-7">the UK was the first country to give Ukraine cruise missiles</a> when it gave Kyiv the first Storm Shadows in May 2023.Ukraine has used them for far-reaching strikes, including an attack where those missiles were seemingly<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-officers-sold-black-sea-fleet-intel-ukrainian-fighters-report-2023-9"> used to hit the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Crimea</a>, the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.The footage in the video by Ukraine's air force appears to show that strike.

Ukraine released its first official footage of its devastating Storm Shadow missiles in combat

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Houston got hit by a line of thunderstorms with hurricane-strength winds.</li><li>At least 4 people are dead and almost 1 million are without power.</li></ul>A series of powerful thunderstorms packing hurricane-force winds smashed through Houston on Thursday, leaving at least 4 people dead and nearly 1 million without power.And damage to the grid could leave some parts of Texas's largest city without electricity for weeks, one county executive said.Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said on Friday that the storm flipped an 18-wheeler and toppled power transmission towers. She said the recovery effort would take time."We are going to have to talk about this disaster in weeks, not days," Hidalgo commented at a press conference.CenterPoint Energy said that more than 700,000 customers are still without electricity.The storms plowed through Texas around 7 p.m. Thursday, packing winds of up to 75 miles per hour, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/weather/2024/05/17/487829/dozens-of-houston-area-school-districts-closed-friday-after-damaging-storms/">Houston Public Media reported</a>, citing the National Weather Service.Photos from the area revealed the extent of the damage: downed trees, crushed cars, and even a partially collapsed building. <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/houston-texas-severe-weather-storms-d14447267de0a8900e1475a8ad7ed8ba">The Associated Press reported</a> that windows in skyscrapers were blown out by the powerful gusts, and glass littered the sidewalks.<div type="image" title="Glass windows were blown out at this downtown Houston skyscraper." height="2136" width="3810" msid="110216476" hostid="261" sizebytes="206912"></div>Videos on social media show debris smashing through glass storefronts and driving rain inside Houston's Minute Maid Park baseball stadium — even though the roof was closed.School districts across the area canceled classes on Friday, and Houston Mayor John Whitmire warned people not to go to work unless they were essential workers.<div type="image" title="Debris fills the feeder road near Interstate 10 and Interstate 45 near downtown Houston after severe storms passed through the area Thursday, May 16, 2024" height="681" width="1024" msid="110216477" hostid="261" sizebytes="157338"></div>Texas has been battered by powerful storms recently. Heavy rains pounded the region earlier this month and caused severe flooding in the Houston metro area.Texas has also suffered <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-from-texas-power-outage-ercot-energy-grid-winter-storm-2023-12">a series of power grid issues in recent years</a>, both in summer and winter. That's led some people to move state.

Houston could be without power for weeks after hurricane-force storms smash through

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Iran is believed to have weaponized pharmaceutical agents to kill or incapacitate.</li><li>These chemical weapons affect a victim's central nervous system.</li></ul>Iran has developed <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nerve-agents-chemical-weapons-how-they-work-2018-3">chemical weapons</a> based on synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, warns a US expert, powerful agents that could incapacitate soldiers or civilians when added to grenades or artillery.Pharmaceutical-based agents, or PBA, are essentially weaponized medicines that incapacitate or kill their victims depending on the exposure. Iran may have given PBA to its proxies such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-naim-qassem-longtime-deputy-now-leading-hezbollah-2024-10">Hezbollah</a>, which could use them to kidnap Israeli troops and civilians."At a time of growing regional instability in the Middle East, largely the result of the militancy of Iranian proxies, the threats posed by Iran's weaponized PBA program can no longer be overlooked," wrote Matthew Levitt in an <a target="_blank" href="https://ctc.westpoint.edu/tehrans-tactical-knockout-weaponized-pharmaceutical-based-agents/">article</a> for the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point.The U.S. Government Accountability Office defines PBAs as "chemicals based on pharmaceutical compounds, which may or may not have legitimate medical uses, and can cause severe illness or death when misused." They include opioids such as fentanyl and tranquilizers for animals.These drugs affect a victim's central nervous system. "Once inhaled, these agents cause victims to lose full consciousness and enable the forces deploying them to advance quickly and quietly and/or take captive the unconscious victims," Levitt wrote.Iran was a victim of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-uses-chemical-weapons-against-ukraine-cause-panic-war-report-2024-4">chemical warfare</a> during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, when Iraqi chemical attacks — including <a target="_blank" href="https://thebulletin.org/2024/07/iraq-once-devasted-iran-with-chemical-weapons-as-the-world-stood-by-governments-still-struggle-to-respond-to-chemical-warfare/">nerve gases</a> such as Sarin, and mustard gas — contributed to as many as 1 million Iranian casualties. But Iran employed its own mustard gas on a few occasions during the war. Israel believes Iran used PBAs against rebels in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drones-usher-in-a-brutal-new-phase-syrian-civil-war-2024-3">Syrian Civil War</a>, while there are reports that pro-Iranian militias in Iraq may have unleashed them against anti-government protestors."The problem is that Iran is right when they said they've been victims of chemical weapons in terrible ways during the Iran-Iraq war," Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute think tank, told Business Insider. "But the reality is they themselves have been using these as well."The US and its allies have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elysee.fr/admin/upload/default/0001/05/2ffa826926cd72354b90a05f7de765bfcc9908b6.pdf">warned</a> for years that Iran is developing pharmaceutical-based weapons in breach of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the manufacture and use of "toxic chemicals," defined as "chemical action on life processes [that] can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals." Treaty signatories — including Iran — are obligated to destroy existing stockpiles.Still, evidence suggests Iran is pursuing PBAs. "In 2014, Iran's Chemistry Department of IHU [Imam Hossein University] sought kilogram quantities of medetomidine — a [veterinary] sedative it has researched as an aerosolized incapacitant — from Chinese exporters, according to a 2023 US State Department's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.state.gov/2023-condition-10c-annual-report-on-compliance-with-the-chemical-weapons-convention-cwc/">report</a>. "The Chemistry Department has little history of veterinary or even medical research, and the quantities sought (over 10,000 effective doses) were inconsistent with the reported end use of research."In September 2023, Iranian anti-government hackers "posted confidential documents detailing an Iranian military university's development of grenades meant to disseminate medetomidine," the State Department said.Of particular concern were references in Iranian literature to the 2002 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.history.com/news/opioid-chemical-weapons-moscow-theater-hostage-crisis">Dubrovka incident</a>, when Russian security forces pumped pharmaceutical-based gas — probably fentanyl or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-07/hq092216_attach.pdf">carfentanyl</a>, another synthetic opioid vastly more potent — into a crowded Moscow theater to subdue Chechen rebels who had taken almost a thousand hostages. Commandos then stormed the building and killed the incapacitated rebels — but the gas also killed more than 130 hostages.Yet restricting PBAs is difficult because they overlap with products used for legitimate law enforcement and medical purposes. For example, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vox.com/2020/6/3/21277995/police-tear-gas-protests-history-effects-violence">tear gas</a> has been used by law enforcement as a riot control agent since the First World War, while US troops used it in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thenmusa.org/articles/tunnel-rats-of-the-vietnam-war/">Vietnam War</a> to smoke out enemy tunnels. Tear gas is still legal when employed for riot control, but not as a battlefield weapon.Stopping nations from manufacturing PBAs is " very, very difficult, which is why you've seen such a focus on diplomatic efforts, sanctions and some law enforcement actions," said Levitt.Iranian PBAs are a particular problem if Tehran has supplied them to proxies such as Hezbollah. "Deploying weapons produced with dual-use items, and then providing said weapons to proxies, provides Iran with multiple layers of cover and reasonable deniability for having done so at all," the CTC article noted.Israel feared that Hezbollah would use PBA weapons as part of an alleged plan to seize the Galilee region of northern Israel and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gaza-israels-special-forces-rescue-woman-on-a-motorbike-hostage-and-3-others-2024-6">kidnap Israeli citizens</a>. "Maybe you just use them to incapacitate the border guards and reach the now unprotected civilians," Levitt said. "Or, you actually target and incapacitate the soldiers so you can kidnap or capture them."Israel's recent military <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-launches-ground-offensive-into-lebanon-destroy-hezbollah-targets-2024-9">offensives in Lebanon</a> have badly hurt Hezbollah, including its huge arsenal of missiles. But PBAs can be added to hand grenades and mortar shells, of which Hezbollah still has ample stocks. And there remains a possibility that US forces could clash with Iran and its allies and encounter pharmaceutical-based agents. (The US, in contrast, completed the destruction of its chemical weapons in 2023.)However, Levitt emphasizes that PBAs are not in the same league as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rangers-are-training-to-neutralize-enemy-nuclear-sites-2024-11">weapons of mass destruction</a> such as nerve gas, which is potent enough to kill widely across exposure areas. "This is not a strategic threat. It is a tactical weapon."Nonetheless, chemical weapons do have a frightening aura, even if fentanyl gas is nowhere near as deadly as nerve gas. "I think that many, many people would see it that way because you're talking about chemical weapons," Levitt said.Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.twitter.com/@mipeck1">Twitter</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mipeck/">LinkedIn</a>.

You Searched For "Storms" and got 11 results

This French fighter jet Ukraine will get next can launch the stealthy Storm Shadow missiles that have frustrated Russia

Sinéad Baker

The UK and Germany are teaming up on a missile to outclass their powerful Storm Shadow or Taurus

Hannah Abraham

A boba business storm is brewing, and a 'Shang-Chi' star is in the middle of it

Aditi Bharade

A former North Korean special forces soldier said Kim Jong Un's elite 'Storm Corps' in Russia likely isn't his A-team

Matthew Loh

Hurricane Milton, now a Category 5 storm, threatens an already battered Florida

Geoff Weiss

Photos show the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Florida's 2nd massive storm in 2 weeks

Talia Lakritz,Gabbi Shaw

I wanted my coffee shop to become a haven for Hurricane Helene survivors. The storm totally destroyed it.

Joshua Nelken-Zitser

Ukraine can't use the UK's Storm Shadow missiles on targets inside Russia because the US is standing in the way: reports

Matthew Loh

Ukraine released its first official footage of its devastating Storm Shadow missiles in combat

Sinéad Baker

Houston could be without power for weeks after hurricane-force storms smash through

Paul Squire

Iran has developed fentanyl-based chemical weapons

Michael Peck

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