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<div type="image" title="Rahul Bhalla" msid="96004490" hostid="261" sizebytes="92878" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Co-founder and CEO Latin Quarters, Rahul Bhalla&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> <ul><li>Lifestyle brand <keyword id="16040" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="latin-quarters" source="Orion">Latin Quarters</keyword>’ CEO <keyword id="1162134" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rahul-bhalla" source="Orion">Rahul Bhalla</keyword> breaks down the “science behind dress shopping” in India. </li><li>Dresses contribute to about 57-58% of total business for Latin Quarters. </li><li><keyword id="13627" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bhalla" source="Orion">Bhalla</keyword> believes Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities will drive future growth for not just Latin Quarters, but also for most players in this category. </li></ul> Latin Quarters, an Indian-origin lifestyle brand known for its dresses in addition to other apparel, bags and jewellery — competes with Western brands. With over 16 years of insights into Indian body types, it claims to have cracked the code for providing Western styles tailored to ‘fit’ the women of the sub-continent. According to Latin Quarters co-founder and CEO Rahul Bhalla, unlike many international brands where the “Indian customer has to fit in,” Latin Quarters curates and designs clothes keeping the Indian woman in mind. “Styles like bling, sequin, shimmer A-line party dresses sell more than counterparts. Colours like black, maroon, dark shades of blues, you know, any earthy tone colours do very well in India, and what reflects well on the Indian skin tone, does well,” shared Bhalla in a conversation with Business Insider India, breaking down what he calls the “science behind dress shopping” in India. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Size does matter" comment="subhead2" text="Size does matter">Size does matter</cmsannotation> It’s not just the colour, but also the cut and cloth of Indianised Western styles that matter for shoppers. Moreso, the preferences and other elements differ across regions and states in the wide Indian subcontinent. Latin Quarters, which is present in nearly 80 cities in India, streamlines its production and distribution based on scientific elements that cater to varying demands of the varied Indian consumers across India. It has collections that suit every specified need. “In the northeast, the average height of a lady would generally be shorter - so, we have a separate petite collection for them, which is exclusively sold to these areas where the length is an issue. In the South, smaller sizes sell more and in the North and West, larger sizes sell a lot more,” said Bhalla. However, choices that marry the Indian sensibility with sartorial aspirations are common across locations - and that’s what allows dresses, specifically longer dresses, to become Latin Quarters’ most popular offering. “Dresses contribute to about 57-58% of our total business. And in those dresses, I would say out of the 57%, close to about 35 (%) would be the longer dresses,” added Bhalla. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The rising demand in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities" comment="subhead2" text="The rising demand in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities">The rising demand in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities</cmsannotation> According to Bhalla, the Covid-19 pandemic brought a major shift in the clothing choices, with comfort wear replacing occasion wear – Latin Quarters’ predominant category, by Bhalla’s own admission – and even workwear. However, with the world going back to normal, Latin Quarters is seeing a lot of action, with sales above pre-Covid levels. As Bhalla puts it, “This year, we should be up by about 20% on pre-Covid numbers, in terms of total revenue as well as profitability and the point of sales across everything.” However, Latin Quarters continues to ‘struggle’ in Mumbai and Delhi, witnessing ‘disappointing’ sales due to greater competition and steep real estate prices, according to Bhalla. At the same time, he added that <keyword id="6354925" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kolkata" source="Orion">Kolkata</keyword> remained one of their biggest markets, along with Hyderabad, <keyword id="2094" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pune" source="Orion">Pune</keyword>, and Bangalore. In terms of growth, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities have shown the most favourable results, which Bhalla believes will drive future growth for most players in this category, including Latin Quarters - because of better real estate prices and aspirational customers who are more willing to experiment. “We're getting a lot of traction from smaller cities. We have six more of our EBOs (exclusive brand outlets) opening up. There's (only) one opening in Bangalore - rest of them are in Indore, Amritsar… just where the real estate is better,” said Bhalla. Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities have been ripe for urbanisation and growth, being pegged as growth drivers, especially for retail and real estate, by both NBFC <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/tier-ii-and-iii-cities-to-be-growth-drivers-over-the-next-2-yrs-sundaram-122021900154_1.html">Sundaram Home Finance </a>and management consulting firm, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/tier-ii-and-tier-iii-cities-to-drive-the-growth-of-malls-in-india/">Kearney Research</a>, among others. Bhalla also shared that after comparing their own sales with other brands in the category, and observing overall trends, he has seen ethnic wear being restricted to special occasions like Diwali and Karwa Chauth - especially for the working woman. Similarly, according to him, more and more millennials and Gen-Zs are adopting Western wear because they see it as a “differentiating factor from their mothers and grandmothers.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Online: no longer for outdated merchandise alone" comment="subhead2" text="Online: no longer for outdated merchandise alone">Online: no longer for outdated merchandise alone</cmsannotation> Bhalla believes that prior to the pandemic, they were ‘lazy’ in their approach to online channels, using it only as a way to liquidate outdated merchandise and styles. But with the pandemic, Bhalla states there has been a ‘change in mindset’, with Latin Quarters investing money, time and energy in building online sales channels, because the “future is going to be about convenience” i.e. how quickly a product is shipped and/or can be exchanged. This perfectly aligns with the recent <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/online-shoppers-drive-e-commerce-in-post-pandemic-india/articleshow/95721588.cms?from=mdr">report by The Economic Times</a>, that stated how “online purchase of shirts, jackets, dresses, tops, jeans, sneakers and boots accounted for 26-50% for some of the largest fashion brands in the country, busting the myth that touch and feel are critical factors in the fashion purchase decision.” Bhalla also believes one of the greatest advantages of online sales channels over offline stores is the wide variety of sizes. As he puts it, “it's very difficult for every (offline) store to have every size of every single listing with us. With online, we can solve that 99% of the time.” Currently, Latin Quarters exists on all major online portals and has 19 EBOs, with plans to add 6 more stores by March 2023, Bhalla said. It is also present across 290 large format department stores - primarily Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle Stores, along with presence in Lulu Hypermarket and Reliance’s Centro (formerly, Future Group’s Central). While Latin Quarters has surpassed pre-pandemic numbers in terms of revenue, the Indian festive season had limited impact on Latin Quarters’ sales, because of its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/one-in-every-five-online-orders-had-a-kurti-or-saree-in-their-cart-redseer/articleshow/95598263.cms">complete lack of ethnic wear</a>. Bhalla is looking to the upcoming winter and Christmas sales season to offset this dip. “So Durga puja was very good - we did about 26% higher than our 2019-20 (sales). Diwali, to be very honest, has never been a very strong Western wear category. Winter wear and Christmas is basically our Diwali,” shared Bhalla. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/kolkata-hyderabad-and-pune-remain-indias-most-affordable-residential-cities-jll/articleshow/96001910.cms">Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune remain India’s most affordable residential cities: JLL</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/women-unemployed-rural-poor-lag-due-to-digital-divide-says-oxfam-india-report/articleshow/96000462.cms">Women, unemployed, rural poor lag due to digital divide, says Oxfam India Report</a>

The science behind selling a dress to an Indian woman, according to the CEO of Latin Quarters

Union Home Secretary <keyword id="2797910" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajay-Kumar-Bhalla">Ajay Kumar Bhalla</keyword> on Friday said the government has not taken any call on allowing <keyword id="437184" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-telecom-companies">Chinese telecom companies</keyword> to enter into the 5G trials in India but acknowledged that the penetration of the neighbouring country into the existing network is too extensive. Bhalla, however, also made it clear that the government is making special safeguards to ensure safety and security of the country's communication network. "On 5G, the government in any case has not taken any call. Discussions are still on...when it will be allowed and who are the people to be allowed. Point is very valid. The penetration of existing telecom hardware and software is too extensive," he said at the Diamond Jubilee webinar organised by National Defence College. He was replying to a question on participation of Chinese telecom players in India's 5G trials. The home secretary said unless India gets a substitute, the existing facilities cannot be closed down abruptly. "Unless we have a substitute available, we just can't switch off and say that this will not be allowed. But the government can definitely make special safeguards and ensure the safety and security of the system of communication of the country. That we are having and we are developing and we will definitely be able to deal with that," he said. The US has banned <keyword id="6357456" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="huawei">Huawei</keyword>, the world's leader in telecom equipment and the number two smartphone producer, over concerns of security and Washington has been putting pressure on other countries to restrict the operations of the Chinese telecom firm. India, however, is yet to take a call on whether it intends to place curbs on Huawei or allow the Chinese telecom equipment maker to participate in the upcoming 5G trials. Telecom Minister <keyword id="6354886" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ravi-Shankar-Prasad">Ravi Shankar Prasad</keyword> had earlier said India has its security issues over allowing Huawei to participate in the upcoming 5G trials. "We will take a firm view on it. There are also security issues...it is not only a matter of technology, as regard their participation in 5G is concerned...Participation of 5G is not conditional upon the trial being started. Whether a particular company is allowed to participate or not, is a complex question, including security issues," he had said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/aws-expands-india-footprint-with-plans-for-a-second-cluster-of-data-centers-in-hyderabad-by-2022/articleshow/79075220.cms">AWS pumps $2.7 billion into India to set up a second cluster of data centers in Hyderabad by 2022</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/india-and-china-slated-to-hold-8th-round-of-military-level-talks-as-troops-gear-up-for-ladakhs-sub-zero-winters/articleshow/79074473.cms">India and China slated to hold 8th round of military-level talks as troops gear up for Ladakh’s sub-zero winters</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/whatsapp-pay-upi-rolls-out-while-google-pay-phonepe-have-already-got-the-first-sting-with-the-npci-cap/articleshow/79075049.cms">WhatsApp Pay UPI is now live while Google Pay, PhonePe have already got the first sting</a>

India is yet to take final decision on China's entry into 5G

<ul><li>E-commerce currently contributes 2% to the FMCG market.</li><li>Metros lead the <keyword id="8408593" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce-fmcg">e-commerce FMCG</keyword> race with a 6% contribution from the channel to total FMCG sales. </li><li>Foods is the biggest contributor with 44%, then it is personal care (40%) and household care (13%). </li></ul><keyword id="6456080" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="nielsen">Nielsen</keyword> India expects the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sales coming from the e-commerce channel to grow to $4 billion by 2022. The channel contributes 2% to the current FMCG market. These are insights were a part of Nielsen’s recently launched <keyword id="8408596" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-trak-index">E-Trak Index</keyword> - a measurement solution that tracks the FMCG e-commerce industry. The solution is created using aggregated ePOS (electronic point of sale) data from co-operating e-commerce players and data science backed estimation for non-cooperating e-commerce players in India. The index adds a crucial element to the Retail Measurement Services that Nielsen provides by adding a view of the FMCG E-commerce space for All India Metros currently - with monthly read for Total FMCG, Super-categories, Category level for about 20 categories and for 11 categories at a top manufacturer level. Manufacturers and marketers get data, information and insights that can be further used to hone their e-commerce channel sales strategy to help shape a smarter market. Metros lead the e-commerce FMCG race with a 6% contribution from the channel to total FMCG sales. Amongst these, Foods is the biggest contributor with 44%, followed by personal care (40%) and household care (13%). Narrowing in on the value contribution of e-commerce to Metro sales categories with the channel, diapers contribute 26% to the sales; followed by skin creams (12%) and shampoo (10%). <keyword id="3017476" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prasun-Basu">Prasun Basu</keyword>, South Asia Zone President, Nielsen Global Connect, said, “Measurement is necessary. Measurement is difficult. Best possible measurement.” Explaining it further, Basu adds, “Data and insights from Nielsen’s Retail Measurement Services continue to provide an essential foundation for manufacturers and marketers to understand their market. In this rapidly evolving world of commerce, India’s FMCG industry is now making its presence felt in the E-Comm channel - appealing to consumers’ need for convenience, and in sync with increasing smartphone and internet penetration. To give a truly complete picture of the changing marketplace, we are happy to announce that Nielsen India has launched a specific E-Trak index that will now measure FMCG consumer offtake in the E-Comm space - marrying this with trends seen in modern and traditional trade to get a read on omnichannel in the country.” <keyword id="8408595" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sharang-Pant">Sharang Pant</keyword>, Head-Retail Measurement Services and Retailer Vertical, South Asia, Nielsen Global Connect said, “While the foundation is taking shape, E-comm’s dynamic nature has made it a disruptor in the marketplace. E-Comm has seen a transformative journey and is now a $1.2Bn Industry growing from 0.5% contribution in 2016 to a 2% contribution in 2019, and slated to be 5% in 2022 - this is in half the time that brick and mortar retail took to evolve. That said, these channels are not cannibalizing each other, and all continue to grow with E-Comm outpacing modern trade and traditional trade. The view that Nielsen presents on understanding channel, category and consumer trends will directly help players understand the right strategy in terms of assortment, pricing and positioning to win with the evolving consumer.” <keyword id="8408594" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nitya-Bhalla">Nitya Bhalla</keyword>, Head- Data Science, South Asia, Nielsen Global Connect, said, “Given the significance of the channel from both a current as well as future perspective, Nielsen has built a unique state of the art hybrid model for estimating this dynamic and growing channel. The methodology involves leveraging data from key collaborating E-tailers in the FMCG space. We then use crowd sourced data coupled with machine learning techniques from a panel of 200K+ consumers to estimate the Ecommerce sales for FMCG products.”

Nielsen expects FMCG e-commerce to grow at 44% CAGR to $4 Billion by 2022

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mahesh+Bhalla&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Mahesh Bhalla</a>, head of business development in of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber+India&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber India</a>, has quit just after four months of his stint in the taxi-hailing company. This is pegged as the first big exit since Uber started building a corporate team in India. 
 
Bhalla joined Uber in May when he left <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Qwikcilver&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Qwikcilver</a>, a gifting card solutions company. Bhalla served as the president in <keyword id="1885090" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Qwikcilver">Qwikcilver</keyword> for nearly two years. Before, he worked for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Dell&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Dell</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Samsung&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Samsung</a>. Bhalla was the executive director of <keyword id="28251" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dell">Dell</keyword>'s consumer and small &amp; medium business in India, where he was the architect of its consumer strategy. 
 
Bhalla’s exit from Uber was confirmed by his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=LinkedIn&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">LinkedIn</a> profile, which says that he left the company in August. 
 India is one of the few markets where Uber has decided to appoint a country head. Since last year the <keyword id="12161" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="San-Francisco">San Francisco</keyword> based company has started bulding a local team regardless of Uber being known for its lean global expansion, with teams of just 3-4 executives in each city and using its global technology. 
 “In July 2015, Uber committed to invest $1 billion in India, a mark that could surpass either the US or China,” company's founder <keyword id="1739133" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Travis-Kalanick">Travis Kalanick</keyword> said. 
(image:indiatimes)

Uber India business head Mahesh
Bhalla resigns

A few months back, we told you about some <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/When-Bollywood-Finds-Some-Doppelgangers-In-Hollywood/articleshow/34784464.cms">doppelgangers that Bollywood finds in Hollywood</a>. However, after the launch of Zindagi, Pakistani actors became famous in India and that is when we realised that few Pakistani actors also share their features with some well-known or not-so-well-known Indian celebrities. Take a look.

When Bollywood Finds Some Doppelgangers In Lollywood

<keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> has appointed <keyword id="2603581" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anup-Uppadhyay">Anup Uppadhyay</keyword> as the new chief executive officer (CEO) and <keyword id="1870239" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Deepak-Bhalla">Deepak Bhalla</keyword> as the new chief financial officer (CFO) of its business process outsourcing (BPO) arm. 
 
Uppadhayay, a veteran at the company, was earlier the global head of the parent company's financial services business. Bhalla, who joined the software giant in 1998, was head of its corporate accounting group. 
 "As BPO is of strategic importance to us, our endeavour is to transform it with process innovation, automation and artificial intelligence to deliver efficiency and business value to our clients," Infosys chief executive <keyword id="6369763" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vishal-Sikka">Vishal Sikka</keyword> said. 
 
Sikka expressed hope that the company's back office operations, under Uppadhyay and Bhalla, would set an example on how to run BPO. 
 
These appointments were made after the resignation of incumbent CEO Gautam Thakkar and removal of incumbent CFO Abraham Mathews. 
"Mathews' departure is in line with our goal of setting the highest standard of corporate governance and adhering to the letter and spirit of our code of conduct," Infosys said in a statement.

Infosys Appoints New CEO, CFO For BPO Wing

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rep. Rob Menendez — the son of Sen. Bob Menendez — just survived a tough primary challenge.</li><li>Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla ran against him, focusing largely on the elder Menendez's scandals.</li></ul>Rep. Rob Menendez of New Jersey— the son of scandal-plagued Sen. Bob Menendez — defeated a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rob-menendez-ravi-bhalla-primary-new-jersey-hoboken-2024-4">well-funded Democratic primary challenger</a> in New Jersey on Tuesday, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://decisiondeskhq.com/results/2024/Primaries/races/new-jersey-us-house-democratic-primary-8">Decision Desk HQ</a> and the Associated Press.It's a significant victory for the younger Menendez, who had found himself in the fight of his life amid his father's lurid corruption scandal. Sen. Menendez has been accused of accepting bribes in the form of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bob-menendez-indictment-cash-hidden-clothing-envelopes-bribery-2023-9">wads of cash</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sen-bob-menendez-charges-bribery-corruption-scandal-gold-bars-2023-9">gold bars</a> in exchange for, among other things, acting as a foreign agent. His trial began last month and remains ongoing.The congressman had been challenged by Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who waged a campaign largely based around the elder Menendez. Though the congressman has not been linked to his father's alleged misdeeds, he has defended him amid the charges, and he pointedly declined to offer an opinion on his father's looming independent Senate bid during an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rob-menendez-ravi-bhalla-primary-new-jersey-hoboken-2024-4">interview with Business Insider in April.</a>"I don't have the capacity to think through, well, what if, what if, what if," Menendez said at the time. "There's a lot that I have to deal with right now."Bhalla would have made history as just the second Sikh American ever elected to Congress, and the first to wear a turban.The primary was also a key test for how candidates will run without the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-jersey-county-party-line-machine-politics-andy-kim-explainer-2024-4">so-called "county line" system</a>, which has enabled machine politics to persist for decades in New Jersey. It's essentially a ballot design trick that has allowed party organizations to hand-pick candidates in state elections for decades.Following a lawsuit from Rep. Andy Kim amid his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tammy-murphy-new-jersey-abolishing-senate-filibuster-2024-1">short-lived primary campaign</a> against First Lady Tammy Murphy, a federal judge struck down the system for the June primary, and it could be invalidated forever. Kim officially became the Democratic nominee for Senate in Tuesday.That system enabled the coronation of Menendez by party leaders in 2022, despite holding no elected office before.During one recent debate, Bhalla alleged that he was essentially pressured into endorsing the younger Menendez that year, and that Sen. Menendez was on speakerphone with his son during the call.

Bob Menendez's congressman son survives fight of his political life amid father's 'gold bars' corruption scandal

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rep. Rob Menendez — son of the scandal-plagued Sen. Bob Menendez — faces a tough reelection race.</li><li>Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, styling himself as an anti-machine candidate, could defeat him.</li></ul>When Rep. Rob Menendez decided to enter politics, his last name was undoubtedly his most valuable asset. Now, it's his greatest liability.Sixteen months into representing a House district in New Jersey just across the river from Manhattan, Menendez is staring down a well-funded, formidable primary challenge from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who styles himself as a progressive urbanist and — perhaps more importantly — is not the son of Sen. Bob Menendez, who's been all but permanently <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/senators-calling-for-bob-menendez-resign-bribery-indictment-2023-9">sidelined</a> by his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nadine-arslanian-wife-bob-menendez-indicted-bribery-car-accident-2023-10">lurid corruption scandal</a> and could face time behind bars.Polling has shown that the younger Menendez could lose, and the congressman has to contend with two dueling headaches ahead of the June 4 primary: separating himself from his scandal-plagued father, and surviving the loss of the state's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-jersey-county-party-line-machine-politics-andy-kim-explainer-2024-4">long-standing "county line" ballot system</a>, which has helped party bosses essentially coronate candidates like Menendez for decades. Running for reelection under what he calls "the most unique set of challenging circumstances you can imagine," Menendez is out to prove that he's able to stand on his own, and that he's more than the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of-political-nepo-babies-2023-6">"nepo baby" caricature</a> that's dogged him for his entire life."For all the times that people have said that I've only been able to accomplish something because of my father, that's now clearly no longer going to be the case when I win reelection," Menendez told me in April, as we sipped beers at the back of a Jersey City pub. "That's what's so exciting about this election."Aside from the last name, one could be forgiven for failing to recognize the congressman as the senator's son — the 38-year-old Menendez comes across as a charming, wonky frat bro. "The best way I've heard myself described is as a geriatric millennial," he told a gathering of voters in Hoboken the day before we sat down. He sports a hi-top fade haircut, wears Nike Air Force 1 sneakers with his suits, is a skilled extemporaneous speaker, and carries himself with the self-assuredness that comes with growing up in a politically powerful family. Indeed, Menendez has never known a time when his father was not an elected official.<div type="image" title="A 21-year-old Rob Menendez looks on at his father's 2006 Senate election victory party." height="1500" width="2000" msid="109842863" hostid="261" sizebytes="112530"></div>His political survival now depends on separating himself from his father, a task that's clearly both politically and personally difficult for him. Menendez, who has not been implicated in his father's scandal, euphemistically refers to the ongoing criminal proceedings as the "challenges he's facing" or his "legal troubles," sometimes flashing a nervous grin when the topic comes up. He won't even comment on his father's stated intention to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/indicted-sen-bob-menendez-independent-reelection-run-rcna144436">run for reelection as an independent</a> if he's cleared of the corruption charges facing him, a move that could jeopardize Democrats' chances to retain the seat."I don't have the capacity to think through, well, what if, what if, what if," Menendez told me. "There's a lot that I have to deal with right now."<h2>'This is a true test for democracy'</h2>The younger Menendez's entry into politics was swift. In 2021, he was nominated by Gov. Phil Murphy to serve as a commissioner overseeing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Six months after Menendez assumed that office, Rep. Albio Sires announced that he would not seek reelection and immediately endorsed the younger Menendez to succeed him. The rest of New Jersey's political establishment quickly followed, including local party organizations, and Menendez sailed through the primary in his deep-blue district with nearly 84% of the vote. Contrary to even some of his supporters, the congressman seems to have difficulty acknowledging how easy it was for him to get to Congress."I think sometimes people look at the result, and look at the support that we ended up with, and they say, oh, well this was all packaged together, this wasn't competitive," Menendez told me. "But you know, we treated it, and we ran it, like a real spirited race, like we were 30 points down every single day."Mayor Bhalla told me that he began contemplating his primary challenge shortly after the elder Menendez was first indicted in September. As a congressional candidate, he's emphasized that Hoboken <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hoboken-nj-eliminated-traffic-deaths-bikes-road-paint-speed-limit-2023-11">hasn't had a single traffic death in over 7 years</a> under his "Vision Zero" strategy, earning the city plaudits from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and a bevy of positive national headlines. Fluent in the language of contemporary urbanism, Bhalla frequently invoked phrases like "daylighting" and "bumpouts" and "class two bike lanes" and "signalization" during our conversation.His candidacy is also historic: If elected, he would be only the second Sikh American ever elected to Congress, and the first one to wear a turban. That facet of his candidacy has also contributed to his ability to outraise Menendez so far — an analysis of Bhalla's contributions shows that the vast majority of his $1.6 million war chest has come from South Asian American donors around the country. A coffee table in his mayoral office features a smattering of books on Sikhs, urbanism, and the city where he's been mayor since 2018.<div type="image" title="Bhalla at an event in Jersey City in February." height="1500" width="2000" msid="109842864" hostid="261" sizebytes="289888"></div>Bhalla is slightly to the left of Menendez — the mayor supports Medicare for All, the congressman does not — but there's not a ton of daylight between the two on policy matters. They're also largely on the same page on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Bhalla told me that like Menendez, he would have voted for a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-house-democrats-republicans-vote-against-israel-gaza-aid-2024-4">recent bill to provide more military aid</a> to the Jewish state.Sitting in his recently opened campaign office, the mayor told me that the most important facet of his candidacy was his fight against New Jersey's party boss-driven political culture. Beyond his bid to unseat Menendez, Bhalla is also staking much of his candidacy on his opposition to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-jersey-county-party-line-machine-politics-andy-kim-explainer-2024-4">the "county line" system</a>, which has been struck down for this primary — and possibly forever — as a result of a lawsuit filed by Democratic Rep. Andy Kim in the midst of his short-lived Senate primary campaign against <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tammy-murphy-new-jersey-abolishing-senate-filibuster-2024-1">First Lady Tammy Murphy</a>. "This is a true test for democracy, to see whether or not we can bring a voice to average residents," said Bhalla, deriding the "top-down party boss-led power" in his northern New Jersey district.Bhalla filed an amicus brief in that lawsuit after coming out against the line, which has been proven to give a massive boost to those who receive the endorsement of local party organizations. Having been endorsed by those organizations, Menendez was set to benefit from the line this primary. Now that the candidates will compete under the "office block" ballot format used by every other state, Bhalla's chances of unseating the congressman have dramatically improved."This election is really a choice between a record of progressive accomplishments versus sort of the epitome New Jersey bosses," said Jersey City Councilman James Solomon, a Bhalla supporter who has long opposed the county line system. "With the congressman, you've got somebody who partnered with his dad's political machine to basically intimidate his way into Congress, is the best way I can describe it."But the mayor hasn't always been a fierce opponent of bossism. Before beginning his crusade against the line in January, Bhalla sought the endorsement of the very party organizations he's now criticizing, in an effort to give him the unfair advantage he now opposes. Bhalla has also acted as a party boss himself, using his influence to place his former chief of staff in an advantageous position on the ballot in a 2023 state assembly race.<div type="image" title="The younger Menendez at an event in Washington, DC shortly after his election in 2022." height="1500" width="2000" msid="109842866" hostid="261" sizebytes="98110"></div>Menendez was eager to highlight that hypocrisy in our conversation, deriding Bhalla as a "political opportunist" who was "calling every single mayor, asking them to put him on the line" after Senator Menendez was indicted and the congressman's own machine support appeared less than certain. "This idea that he is someone who's always fought the line is absurd," Menendez told me. "When he didn't get the line, then he pivoted.""Once the idea of abolishing the line wasn't just a pie-in-the-sky dream, but could actually happen, I stood up and spoke out," Bhalla told me of the apparent hypocrisy. "I'm still waiting for Rob Menendez to do the same."To that point, I pressed Menendez four different times on how he felt about the "county line" system, the ultimate fate of which is still being litigated. Each time, he declined to clearly state whether he preferred keeping the system — which largely helped him get elected in the first place — or favored its abolition. The congressman insisted that he wanted "clarity on the issue" and that he wasn't outright opposed to the abolition of the line."I guess the reason that my answer is not satisfying to you is because I may overvalue consistency," said Menendez. "The decision's done, and I'm actually really good with it, because we're going to win, we're going to have a decisive victory, and no one's going to be able to say it was only because of the line, or it was only because of my father."<h2>'I mean, definitely the name helped'</h2>It's been a nasty primary race, and there's still a whole month left. Bhalla and Menendez have swiped at one another on social media over gold bars, Sam Bankman-Fried, Bhalla's 2022 endorsement of Menendez, and more. The congressman has been particularly incensed by Bhalla's efforts to tie him to his father's corruption scandal.During Bhalla's opening speech at a candidate forum in Jersey City — the duo's first joint appearance at such an event this cycle — Bhalla argued that the district's constituents were suffering from a lack of "connective tissue" with their representation in the House, prompting eye-rolls and smirks from Menendez, seated just feet away.One constant, yet confounding subplot of the drama of this primary has been Bhalla's tensions with his own city council. Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, an opponent of the line who also backed Kim over the governor's wife in the Senate primary, has endorsed Menendez, calling the mayor a "terrible candidate" who has been "dishonest all the time" during his tenure.The day before I spoke with Menendez, Fisher organized a town hall-style event for the congressman in her apartment complex — a waterfront property that once served as a warehouse for the Lipton Tea Company. Five of Hoboken's nine city council members attended, two of whom told me that they view the mayor as uncompromising, headline-obsessed, and inaccessible. "Everything here is a headline or a deadline driving the process," Councilman Paul Presinzano said of Mayor Bhalla. "His agenda has been: me, me, me."It's a perception that Menendez has also leaned on, aided by the conspicuous — and at times, disruptive — presence of a documentary film crew at the Jersey City candidate forum, which Bhalla quickly departed as Menendez stayed to shmooze with voters. "He has a camera crew following him, okay!?" Menendez exclaimed to me. A Bhalla campaign spokesman told me that film crew had reached out to the mayor's team, and that they're profiling several South Asian candidates running for office this cycle.The meet-and-greet, where Menendez easily fielded pre-filtered questions from a crowd of roughly 100, illustrated the challenge the congressman faces in making his case for reelection: his record is thin, and he has yet to put his name on any major legislation, owing to being a freshman member of the minority party. Menendez talked up his constituent services operation, saying that he had solved over 1,500 cases — mostly immigration-related — and had brought back millions of dollars in federal funding to the district. He also talked about landing a "highly coveted" spot on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, touted his efforts to make the nuts and bolts of government work, and even provided an anecdote about how his elementary school science fair was anonymized as a result of claims that his father — then the mayor of Union City — was somehow exercising influence over the judges to help his son win.Yet the congressman is still adjusting to the reality of running in an environment where the power of the machine has been diminished, speaking more about the "durability of the relationships" that he's built than the notion of grassroots support that other politicians, including Bhalla, typically invoke. In front of voters in Hoboken, he spoke at length about how he believes Congress should be "the most boring institution in the entire world," expressing irritation at the fact that his one of the few viral breakout moments of his tenure — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/J-KUgdWlcG4">referring to Donald Trump as "Orange Jesus"</a> during a House Homeland Security meeting in February — got "exponentially more attention than doing the real work."<div type="image" title="Menendez looks on as Bhalla's opening remarks at a Jersey City candidate forum are filmed by a cameraman." height="1500" width="2000" msid="109842868" hostid="261" sizebytes="193612"></div>"Listen, it's a new type of campaign for him," said Fisher, explaining why she helped organize the event. "He hasn't created the brand to win an election in a way that he has to do with this year, versus how he's done it in the past. That's the difference between having the benefit of the line, and having to run on your own record."And despite their misgivings with Bhalla, several of the Hoboken city council members tended to squirm a bit when I asked them about their mayor's primary critique of Menendez — that he's only in Congress at all due to nepotism and the power of the county line."Do I think it was nepotism? I mean, definitely the name helped," said Presinzano."The politics behind it, that allowed him to run in a way that made it difficult for other people, had nothing to do with Rob's willingness to say yes," said Fisher. "Rob's been in the seat now for a year and a half, and he's absolutely earned the right to be reelected."<h2>'I also trust people to distinguish between us'</h2>With the sudden end of Tammy Murphy's Senate bid and the resulting collapse of the "county line," the race to represent New Jersey's 8th district is poised to be the first real test of what the state's post-line politics will look like — and whether the Menendez brand is permanently dead.One common refrain I heard from Menendez's backers is that he doesn't have to do this, that continuing to seek office in this environment — and while raising two young children — is proof of the congressman's commitment to public service. To that point, Menendez's <a target="_blank" href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2022/10047553.pdf">financial disclosures</a> show that he made more than $456,000 in 2021 from practicing law, more than two and a half times the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/members-congress-100000-pay-raise-salaries-174000-2024-1">$174,000 salary</a> he makes as a member of Congress.There are a variety of factors that will work in Menendez's favor in this primary, including the endurance of well-organized turn-out operations run by Democratic machines in places like Union City. He's also maintained the support of several other members of the New Jersey delegation, along with House Democratic leadership, despite those same lawmakers' months-old calls for his father to resign."He's really talented — a leader who has done nothing but earn my confidence," Sen. Cory Booker told me, while praising Bhalla as an "an extraordinary leader as well" who's a "longtime friend."<div type="image" title="Rep. Rob Menendez and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla" height="1364" width="1819" msid="109842869" hostid="261" sizebytes="173524"></div>Bhalla also hasn't gotten help from other reform-minded candidates. Kim has declined to endorse either Menendez or Bhalla, while Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop — a 2025 gubernatorial candidate who's positioned himself as anti-machine — has simply declined to endorse Menendez rather than affirmatively back the mayor.At the same time, the elder Menendez's trial is set to begin this month, guaranteeing that as they head to the polls, voters in New Jersey will once again be reminded of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sen-bob-menendez-charges-bribery-corruption-scandal-gold-bars-2023-9">gold bars</a>, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bob-menendez-indictment-cash-hidden-clothing-envelopes-bribery-2023-9">wads of cash</a> stuffed into pockets, and the allegations that the senator corruptly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sen-bob-menendez-new-claims-indictment-qatar-egypt-2024-1">carried out the interests</a> of autocratic Middle Eastern governments."Some people may be impacted by my father, and the challenges that he's having, and I understand that," Menendez said at the Hoboken meet-and-greet. "But I also trust people to distinguish between us."

Inside Rep. Rob Menendez's fight to be more than a 'nepo baby'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some families are opting to have nannies that speak a different language than them. </li><li>These caregivers can help children connect with the family's native tongue.</li></ul>In our increasingly interconnected world, the decision to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/live-in-nanny-babysitter-judged-parenting-styles-2024-2">hire a nanny</a> is a deeply personal one for families, influenced by socioeconomic, cultural, and comfort-driven factors. These caregivers not only provide attentive care but also serve as profound shapers of a child's development, imparting guidance and nurturing that leaves an indelible mark. For instance, Candi Vajana, an experienced nanny fluent in both English and Italian, has helped countless families in her 30-year tenure learn new languages. "Children learn very quickly, especially in the 0 to 5 age range," Vajana told Business Insider. "We live in a society where <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/raised-bilingual-grateful-family-communication-2023-10">being able to speak</a> multiple languages is now the norm."As a result, some families are intentionally <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nannies-of-color-america-racism-tiktok-2023-1">seeking out nannies</a> who possess the gift of multilingualism, recognizing the invaluable immediate and long-term benefits it can bestow.<h2>A multilingual nanny offers cultural exposure for both the child and the parent</h2>Jayna Patel, a real-estate agent based <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-things-you-should-never-do-according-to-local">in Miami</a>, receives care from a Spanish-speaking nanny for her 3-year-old son twice a week for a total of 10 hours a week.Discovered through the trusted grapevine of word-of-mouth recommendations from the family, Patel's nanny has proven to be a linguistic treasure trove for her son. "Despite our differing parenting styles, I love how she speaks to my son in Spanish, even when conveying the simplest of phrases like 'pick this up' or 'are you hungry?'" Patel told BI.In their home, where Gujarati is the native tongue, Patel's son is immersed in a rich tapestry of languages — English and Spanish at his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/montessori-school-cost-mortgage-payment-2024-2">Montessori school</a>, and Gujarati instilled by his parents, complemented by the cultural heritage found in learning materials like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.moditoys.com/collections/books?gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwzN-vBhAkEiwAYiO7oC9BkRAd8Hr8e9N31XTs4r5hChbasJSL7qTY-z2phOmrmvpCNKW6QBoCJ4gQAvD_BwE">Modi Toys</a>. Yet, it is the introduction of Spanish into her son's everyday vocabulary that captivates her and also helps her improve her own vocabulary."When you live in a diverse city like Miami, it's invaluable to have a foreign nanny, ensuring both you and your child develop a greater understanding and appreciation for inclusivity," Patel said. "I definitely recommend it to families to help their children with their linguistic tools and global appreciation."<h2>Knowing multiple languages helps with social and communication skills</h2>In the cosmopolitan <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-lifestyle-food-shopping-malls-weather-heat-misconceptions-2023-9">city of Singapore</a>, where self-employed business owner Natasha Bhalla Mistry lived for over six years, she sought a foreign nanny to care for her two daughters during their formative years."We intentionally picked a Filipino caregiver who spoke Tagalog for live-in help because of how nurturing and outgoing the community is," Bhalla Mistry told BI. "We wanted our daughters to reflect those traits, and they saw the nanny as a second mother."<div type="image" title="Girls with their nanny posing for photo" height="1512" width="2016" msid="109561979" hostid="261" sizebytes="155636"></div>Plus, the nanny helped Bhalla Mistry feel connected to her new home in Singapore amid a relocation from London during COVID-19; in the absence of family due to pandemic restrictions, her nanny became a steadfast presence in her life, teaching her Filipino customs and traditions. Additionally, the nanny purposefully taught Bhalla Mistry's daughters Tagalog while they learned Mandarin at school and Hindi at home.The family has since relocated to Switzerland, adding French to their daughters' growing communicative repertoire. "Children who grow up multilingual often develop better communication skills and can switch between languages more easily," Bhalla Mistry said. "The girls have cultivated an open-mindedness from a young age that will help them make deeper connections with other kids and adults."<h2>Multilingual nannies can help children connect with their native tongues</h2>Maria Olsson-Tysor of Orange County, California, hails from Sweden and only speaks Swedish to her children, while her husband speaks to them in English. Yet, she decided to hire two Swedish-speaking nannies; this decision was not merely a pragmatic choice but an act of cultural preservation."We visit family in Sweden annually, so it's important for all of our family to speak the same language and understand each other," Olsson-Tysor told BI. "There were times when my children responded only in English when relatives spoke to them in Swedish, and they felt embarrassed to speak the language, but we kept going."Despite living in the States, Olsson-Tysor incorporated multiple immersive experiences like Swedish schools, books, movies, playdates, and, of course, the companionship of the nanny to reinforce linguistic bonds."The more exposure to the language, with different sources, the better, and it will help your children flex their brain muscles and show them new ways of thinking," Olsson-Tysor said.

Some families are hiring multilingual nannies. They say there are clear benefits for their children. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>While traffic deaths are way up across the country, Hoboken, New Jersey, has managed to go years without one.</li><li>The mayor and head of transportation credit a slew of road improvements and policy changes.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vehicle-related-deaths-increase-car-safety-pedestrians-cyclists-2023-9">American roads have gotten a lot more dangerous</a> in recent years.Between 2019 and 2022, traffic fatalities jumped 18%, with pedestrian deaths hitting a 40-year high in 2021, according to data from the Governors Highway Safety Association. Authorities blame the increased fatalities on speeding, impaired driving, and people not wearing seatbelts.But one New Jersey city is bucking the trend. In Hoboken, local leaders have invested in a concerted effort to cut road deaths — and it's working. The city hasn't had a single traffic death since January 2017, and traffic injuries have declined about 40% in that period, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-11-20/this-new-jersey-mayor-ended-traffic-deaths-with-a-vision-zero-plan?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=citylab&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic">Bloomberg reported</a>.Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who was elected in 2017, started the city's Vision Zero effort in 2019. The project has an ambitious goal of eliminating all traffic deaths and injuries n the city by 2030.Hoboken has since pursued a slew of measures to calm traffic, and design roads and intersections to promote safety, while encouraging residents to bike, walk, or take public transit.Hoboken lowered its speed limit to 20 mph citywide in 2022. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/unsafe-at-many-speeds">Research has found</a> that the speed a vehicle is traveling at when it hits a pedestrian has a significant impact on how deadly the accident is. While a pedestrian who's hit by a car traveling at 20 mph has a 93% rate of survival, the survival rate drops to 80% when the vehicle is going 30 mph. Both death and injury rates continue to rise as speeds climb above 30 mph.The city has also installed new crosswalks, bike lanes, and curb extensions, which prevent cars from parking or turning right next to the corners of sidewalks at intersections. Known as "daylighting," these curb extensions provide more visibility to pedestrians and drivers at crosswalks.Bhalla introduced Citi Bike — the popular bike-sharing program — in 2021, and Hoboken now has bike lanes on almost half of its streets.The idea behind Hoboken's Vision Zero is to make its streets less car-focused, and more welcoming and accessible to all kinds of transport, Bhalla told Bloomberg CityLab.The improvements start out simple — sometimes all that's required is a little sidewalk paint, he said. Sturdier and more expensive road alterations come later."Just with a bucket of paint, you can actually create a curb extension; you can create high visibility crosswalks, which create a much safer environment at a very cheap cost," Bhalla said. "And then when you do the next iteration of repaving, you can really amplify and increase on those improvements that you've made."Hoboken began by piloting these changes and then polled residents, who supported the movement."The goal was to make complete streets components as fundamental as a centerline or an ADA ramp," Hoboken's director of transportation and parking, Ryan Sharp, <a target="_blank" href="https://bikeportland.org/2023/04/26/hoboken-leader-shares-secret-sauce-for-vision-zero-success-373939">said</a> at a transportation summit in April.As additions like bike lanes have grown in popularity, city council members who initially opposed them have changed their tune, Sharp said.

A New Jersey city hasn't had a single traffic death in almost 7 years. Here's why.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>New Jersey is one of the last states in the US with powerful party bosses and political machines.</li><li>A key part of that machinery is the Garden State's unusual ballot design.</li></ul>New Jersey is one of the last places in the country where the phrases "party boss" and "political machine" don't just harken back to a bygone era, but describe a present-day reality.In the Garden State, getting the endorsement of local party organizations — a process often controlled by political insiders — can make or break a primary campaign, thanks in large part to the way ballots are designed.But that could all change forever, thanks to a lawsuit filed two months ago by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/menendez-andy-kim-new-jersey-democratic-senate-primary-bribery-charges-2023-9">Rep. Andy Kim</a>, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee for Senate in the deep-blue state.At the end of March, a federal judge sided with Kim, blocking Democrats from using the so-called "county line" system in the state's upcoming June primaries. That's set to bring a stark change to the way ballots look — and potentially, a total overhaul in the state's political culture.Here's what to know about the "county line" and why it may be going away for good.<h2>How the 'county line' steers votes</h2>49 states use so-called "office-block ballots," in which candidates are simply listed beneath the name of the office they're seeking, without any sort of preferential placement.That's not how ballots look in most of New Jersey.<div type="image" title="&quot;Office block&quot; ballots from Nevada and Delaware." height="834" width="1438" msid="109668635" hostid="261" sizebytes="74318"></div>In all but two of the state's 21 counties (Salem and Sussex), local party organizations are able to place all of their endorsed candidates in a single row or column. If you're not endorsed by the party, your name may appear somewhere off to the side, sometimes referred to as "Ballot Siberia."You can see it in the example ballot from the 2020 Democratic primary below — Sen. Bernie Sanders is way off to the side, while then-candidate Joe Biden is on the same row as all of the other party-endorsed candidates.Now, you may be thinking to yourself: Okay, but how does that help cement party control? There's nothing stopping anyone from voting for a candidate who doesn't show up on the line.<div type="image" title="A 2020 Democratic primary ballot in Mercer County, New Jersey." height="932" width="1438" msid="109668639" hostid="261" sizebytes="67254"></div>It's true that nothing's stopping people from voting for candidates that don't appear on the line. But it's a psychologically powerful tool, especially in elections where voters may not know very much about the candidates they're electing.As Kim's lawsuit argues, candidates not endorsed by the party are "harder to find on the ballot, harder to know who they are running against and/or for what office, and may otherwise appear less legitimate on the ballot than the county line candidates."Kim and his co-plaintiffs also provided proof in the form of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.njpp.org/publications/report/does-the-county-line-matter-an-analysis-of-new-jerseys-2020-primary-election-results/">academic research</a> showing that candidates earned double-digit advantages when they ran on "the line," and that incumbents running on the line have almost never lost in recent decades.<h2>It all began with Bob Menendez's gold bars and the short-lived primary to succeed him</h2>In September, long-serving Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted by federal prosecutors in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bob-menendez-indictment-cash-hidden-clothing-envelopes-bribery-2023-9">most cartoonish scandal one could imagine</a>: being accused of accepting bribes in the form of literal gold bars.<div type="image" title="Menendez outside of federal court in New York City last month." height="1333" width="1777" msid="109668642" hostid="261" sizebytes="111056"></div>Menendez's political career effectively came to an end overnight, and Kim launched a campaign for his Senate seat just days after the indictment.But Kim quickly became locked in a tough, personal <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tammy-murphy-new-jersey-abolishing-senate-filibuster-2024-1">primary with Tammy Murphy</a>, the wife of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Because of the power the governor wields over local officials, Tammy Murphy was expected to earn the endorsement of most county party organizations, putting Kim at a disadvantage when it came to the ballot.That's what led the congressman to file his <a target="_blank" href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24609834/kim_v_hanlon.pdf">lawsuit</a> in February, arguing that the system violated the US Constitution. US District Judge Zahid Quraishi ultimately agreed with Kim and issued a preliminary injunction blocking the system's use in the upcoming primary.<div type="image" title="Rep. Andy Kim and New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy." height="1500" width="2000" msid="109668645" hostid="261" sizebytes="163082"></div>Murphy later dropped out of the race, all but assuring that Kim will win the Democratic nomination on June 4 and likely be elected to the US Senate in November.The judge's decision, which applies only to Democratic ballots in the upcoming primary, has been upheld by a federal appeals court — and it signals that the old county line system is likely to be invalidated in future elections as another years-old lawsuit against the line continues to play out.<h2>How the change could affect New Jersey politics in the coming years</h2>While the decision means little for Kim at this point — he no longer has a major opponent — it could have a significant impact on other races in New Jersey, both this year and in the future.Among them is a Democratic House primary between Menendez's son — Rep. Rob Menendez — and Ravi Bhalla, the mayor of Hoboken.Proponents of the county line system have argued that it allows the party to serve an important gate-keeping function, keeping out ideologically extreme candidates who may lack institutional support.Detractors point out that the system is anti-democratic, while arguing that it contributes to a culture of in which party bosses and the political establishment wield undue — and even corrupt — power."These ballot dynamics have predictable downstream effects that encourage backroom dealings and soft corruption, and they directly threaten election integrity, public confidence in our elections, and the fundamental premise of representative government," Kim's lawsuit argued.In its absence, New Jersey's elections could begin to resemble those of other states."I think you'll see a more candidate-centric politics," said Jersey City Councilman James Solomon, a longtime opponent of the county-line system. "I think there are folks [in elected office in New Jersey] who have genuinely never run a real campaign. They've never had to raise money, they've never had to do field, they've never had to do comms."

This state is one of the last strongholds for machine politics. That's about to change.

<ul><li>Gadar, Jailer and OMG2 opening weekend collections are the best the industry has seen in a long time.</li><li>While Deol and Rajnikanth movies charged up single screens, Nolan’s Oppenheimer gave IMAX its biggest ever opening weekend in India.</li><li>Punjabi movie Carry on Jetta 3 entered the Rs 100 crore club while Marathi movie Bhaipan Bharideva is on its way to the landmark.</li><li>Stellar September releases and OTTs slashing budgets bode well for movie theatres, says a research report. </li></ul>Indian movie theatres are dusting off their ‘Housefull’ boards with superhits like Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2, Rajnikanth’s Jailer and a good opening for Akshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi’s OMG 2. Thanks to the Independence Day holiday effect, the opening weekend collections of these three movies zoomed to ₹390 crore — the best the industry has seen in a long time. “August looks promising,” says a research report by Nuvama, adding that strong footfalls are likely for extended days given more holidays and pent-up demand for the sequel of Gadar and Jailer. The good times for movie theatres started in July itself starting with the mega success of Barbenheimer. Karan Johar’s Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani and Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One — added to the collections as the much needed footfalls inched higher. While Sunny Deol and Rajnikanth movies charged up the single screens across the nation, Christopher Nolan’s atom bomb magnum opus Oppenheimer brought the shine back to IMAX. “Oppenheimer scored the biggest IMAX opening weekend ever in a diverse collection of markets including India. As he has done throughout his career, Christopher Nolan pushed the boundaries of IMAX technology to deliver unforgettable storytelling with Oppenheimer and audiences are responding in numbers we’ve not seen in our 50-year history,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Movie </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India Gross collections </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jailer </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹204.3 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gadar 2 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹205 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">OMG 2 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹65 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹157.5 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Satyaprem Ki Katha </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹99.8 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Baipan Bhari </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹89.6 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Carry on Jetta 3 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹55.9 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Oppenheimer </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹124 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Barbie </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹44.7 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Mission Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹127 crore </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: Sacnilk.com Punjabi &amp; Marathi movies add to the coffers The story of silver screen successes in the recent past extends beyond Hollywood, Bollywood and Telugu cinema. The recent months have seen a lot of traction from regional movies — extending beyond the South movies. Punjabi movie Carry on Jetta 3, starring Gippy Grewal and Jaswinder Bhalla, became the first movie to cross the ₹100 crore mark in worldwide collections even as it grossed over half of that in India. A Marathi movie — which also boasts of an all-female lead starring Rohini Hattangadi and Baipan Bhari Deva — has also grossed ₹89.6 crore Added to that, many other recent Hindi releases like Satyaprem Ki Katha also came close to becoming superhits – signalling good times for movie makers, theatre owners and investors of PVR. The stock of PVR ran up by 22% in the last three months, and analysts expect better times ahead. “We continue to reiterate our positive stance on multiplexes over the medium/long-term. PVR INOX continues its focus on expanding F&amp;B offerings (especially for INOX chain) and recently introduced F&amp;B items starting at ₹99, gaining good traction. Ticket synergy benefits shall likely kick in from upcoming quarters while the F&amp;B synergy benefits are already as per plans,” said Nuvama. More movies, fewer OTTs The pipeline of big movies in the coming months is also full — with Ayushmann Khurrana’s Dream Girl 2, Hollywood movie, Grand Turismo, and Malayalam movie, King of Kotha, in August. In September, Shah Rukh Khan who is riding high on the success of Pathaan will release yet another movie Jawan. Conjuring universe movie ‘The Nun 2’ will also release next month along with yet another Prabhas starrer, Salaar Part 1. Added to that, the biggest competitor of theatres, the OTT, is slashing budgets, forcing couch surfers to step out. “Recent Hindi films are hinting towards a revival, and we expect international OTTs to cut India budget by 20–30% in FY24, both of which bode well for PVR INOX,” says Nuvama.

Gadar 2, Jailer, Oppenheimer & more resurrect the big screens as people throng to theatres again

As megastar <keyword id="6357912" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="amitabh-bachchan" source="Orion">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword> turns 80 on October 11, the tickets for his latest release 'Goodbye' has been priced at Rs. 80 to celebrate the thespian's birthday. A post from <keyword id="766823" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="balaji-motion-pictures" source="Orion">Balaji Motion Pictures</keyword> on <keyword id="819905" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="instagram" source="Orion">Instagram</keyword> read: "Big B turns 80 tomorrow and this calls for a grand celebration Celebrate his 80th birthday, his legacy, and his fandom by watching his latest film #Goodbye with your family in cinemas near you at the price of only Rs 80/- on 11th October 2022, Book your tickets now: link in bio!" Released on October 7, 'Goodbye' revolves around the dysfunctional Bhalla family. The film, directed by <keyword id="143066" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vikas-bahl" source="Orion">Vikas Bahl</keyword> also stars <keyword id="1813" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="neena-gupta" source="Orion">Neena Gupta</keyword> with <keyword id="3677061" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rashmika-mandanna" source="Orion">Rashmika Mandanna</keyword> (in her Hindi film debut), Sunil Grover, Pavail Gulati, Ashish Vidyarthi, Elli AvrRam, Sahil Mehta, Shivin Narang, Shayank Shukla, newcomer Abhishekh Khan and Arun Bali play supporting roles. 'Goodbye' is a story that touches every emotional chord in your heart and makes you realise the importance of your loved ones along with the downturns of life. The film is produced by Ektaa R Kapoor's Balaji Motion Pictures in association with Good Co. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/karan-johar-makes-space-for-positive-energy-by-quitting-twitter/articleshow/94761313.cms">Karan Johar makes space for 'positive energy' by quitting Twitter</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/tamil-actress-and-politician-khushbu-sundar-gets-golden-visa-for-uae/articleshow/94758028.cms">Tamil actress and politician Khushbu Sundar gets Golden Visa for UAE</a>

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