Cody Bellinger credits Clayton Kershaw — who said Thursday he’d retire following this season — as a key reason the Dodgers won so much during that span.
Day: September 19, 2025
On October 22, 2025, Rivian’s micromobility spinoff, Also, is set to unveil what it terms “transcendent mobility,” raising expectations for its innovative e-bike after a teaser video leaked showing a unique design, reports 24brussels.
The teaser suggests a compact pedal-assisted commuter that doubles as a utility vehicle, featuring an optional cargo rack, integrated lighting, and 20-inch wheels. This new vehicle reportedly merges attributes of both a Gocycle electric bike and a Cake electric scooter. Also, which operates independently from Rivian but is chaired by the company’s CEO RJ Scaringe, holds a significant minority stake from Rivian.
Expert analysis by Micah Toll from Electrek highlighted additional details from the teaser video, revealing several blurred images that reveal the bike’s potential functionalities. Anticipation builds not only around its unique features but also around whether it will include easily swappable batteries and a folding capability for seamless transportation on public transit.
Also has indicated plans to launch its flagship product in early 2026, focusing initially on markets in the United States and Europe. The announcement on October 22 is expected to initiate a pre-order phase, reflecting industry norms for electric vehicle launches, even if the product is a bicycle.
This upcoming release aligns with increasing trends in sustainable transportation, demonstrating a shift towards micromobility solutions that could significantly impact urban transport models. As cities around the world look to reduce congestion and carbon emissions, innovations like Also’s e-bike represent both a commercial opportunity and a response to environmental challenges.
YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images
- Kyiv says Cuba is “at the very top” of countries supplying thousands of foreign mercenaries to Russia.
- Ukrainian intelligence said the average Cuban mercenary is 35 years old and is paid $2,000 a month.
- Their assessment was for a briefing by US lawmakers aiming to pressure Cuba’s ties to the Krmelin.
Ukrainian intelligence officials told Congress on Wednesday that Russia has recruited at least 20,000 Cuban citizens to fight as mercenaries.
Andriy Yusov, a representative for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, or HUR, told US House representatives in a national security briefing that Cuba is ranked “at the very top” among countries from which Russia sources its mercenaries.
“Currently, our good intelligence tells us about at least 20,000 people from Cuba that have already filled the documents and have been recruited to fight for Russia,” Yusov said, per one of his colleagues who translated his presentation for the congressional panel.
His assessment underscores the challenges that both Russia and Ukraine face in keeping their front lines staffed as the war drags into its fourth year. Moscow has increasingly turned to foreign troops from areas such as North Korea, the Middle East, and Africa as it launches frequent but costly ground assaults.
Yusov said that Ukraine has confirmed the identities of at least 1,038 Cuban mercenaries who signed contracts between June 2023 and February 2024.
He did not detail how HUR obtained this information, though Ukrainian officials later at the briefing implied that many of these fighters were killed or captured.
The average age of the Cuban fighters is 35, and their average monthly wage is $2,000, Yusov added.
“This is the age where people should be building families and working hard, but unfortunately, they choose to go for war,” he told the panel.
The spokesman said that Ukraine also had records showing that at least 250 Cuban fighters had remained on the front lines even after their contracts expired.
Yusov said HUR’s information on the mercenaries’ survivability isn’t complete, but added that current data shows the typical contracted foreigner who is killed while fighting for Russia meets their death within 140 to 150 days.
“It is beneficial for Putin’s regime to attract Cuban mercenaries,” Yusov said. “So if a foreigner dies, there are no social payouts and no responsibility. There are no relatives inside Russia who are unhappy with the war.”
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has enacted several new laws since 2022 that codify payouts for wounded soldiers and families of those killed in the war. While the Kremlin doesn’t officially publish data on these expenses, independent analysts say they’re likely placing a significant strain on Russia’s economy.
Maryan Zablotskyy, a Ukrainian parliament member attending the panel, also displayed several documents that he said shed insight into how Cuban mercenaries are being treated, including a list of fighters’ names, ages, the date of their death, and when they signed their contracts.
Another document showed a plea from a Cuban woman to a Russian ombudsman for the location of her husband, contracts for Cuban women, and Russian judicial records of a local recruiter who testified that she helped to hire 6,000 to 7,000 Cuban people.
“You can even see just from one confirmed recruiter how many in thousands they are promising to Russia, in terms of mercenaries,” Zablotskyy said.
The briefing on Wednesday, held by Republican representatives for southern Florida, aimed to pressure the international community to impose punitive measures on the Cuban government for its ties to the Kremlin.
Both US representatives and Ukrainian officials accused Cuba’s government of at least implicitly supporting Russia’s war effort due to the number of Cuban citizens joining Moscow’s ranks.
Cuba’s foreign ministry said in 2023 that it had launched proceedings against a group that it accused of trafficking its citizens to recruit them for the war.
However, researchers who study the country closely told Business Insider that year that it’s unlikely a large mercenary ring could have operated in Cuba without the government’s knowledge.
The Cuban and Russian foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Exclusive: Interior Design Landscape, which faced closure by HMRC early this year, made donation in June
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has received a £100,000 donation from a design and architecture firm that faced a winding-up petition from the tax authorities earlier this year.
The party, which is leading in the polls, has been raising money from a wider range of private sources in recent months, with its treasurer, Nick Candy, talking of targeting high net worth individuals both in the UK and in low-tax jurisdictions.