In this release of YugabyteDB, a new feature has been introduced that allows for document data modeling using the native JSON data type available in the YCQL API. This enables developers to benefit from both the structured query language of Cassandra and the document data modeling capabilities of MongoDB in a single database. The JSON data type is supported natively by YugabyteDB's DocDB storage engine, which makes it easy to search and retrieve attributes inside documents. The new feature allows for flexible schema management, fast data access, and efficient querying of attribute values using various operators such as `->>` and casting to integers or strings. This release provides a powerful tool for developers to build scalable and flexible applications that can handle complex data structures. With the introduction of JSON support, YugabyteDB is now more competitive with other NoSQL databases that offer native document data modeling capabilities.