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Airstrikes resume in Gaza as cease-fire ends: The Morning Rundown, Dec. 1, 2023

December 1, 2023
After a weeklong pause in fighting, the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas comes to an end as Israel said it resumed strikes in Gaza. And a senator takes quick action, using the Heimlich maneuver to help a colleague in trouble. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, Dec. 1.

Cease-fire between Israel, Hamas ends as strikes resume

A weeklong truce between Israel and Hamas, which saw the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages from Gaza and 240 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, has ended. Minutes after the deadline passed this morning, Israel said it resumed its strikes in Gaza after it said Hamas fired rockets hours before the cease-fire was to expire.

Israel’s military said it intercepted a projectile fired from Gaza, which led them to retaliate. Soon after, air raid sirens began sounding in Israel, indicating more rockets or shells had been fired toward the country.

International mediators are not giving up hope of another pause in fighting and said talks of reviving the cease-fire are continuing. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel on Thursday, Nov. 30, his fourth time since Hamas’ terror attack in October.

Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders to try to extend the truce while also urging Israeli officials to reduce harm to civilians and ensure additional humanitarian assistance enters Gaza as Israel looked to restart its mission of eliminating Hamas.

“We support, continue to support, will continue to support Israel’s efforts to do everything possible to make sure that Hamas cannot repeat the horrors of Oct. 7,” Blinken said. “That means, among other things, that Hamas cannot remain responsible for governance of Gaza and cannot retain the capacity to repeat those attacks.”

Ron DeSantis, Gavin Newsom clash in Fox News debate

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faced off with California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom during a debate Thursday night, Nov. 30, that aired on Fox News. Over 90 minutes, the two debated on topics such as President Biden’s record, the COVID-19 pandemic, abortion, and border security.

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When asked by the moderator, Fox News host Sean Hannity, to grade Biden’s performance, Newsom, an ally of the president, gave him an “A.” DeSantis, who is looking to become the next president, gave Biden a “fail.”

DeSantis accused Newsom of running a “shadow campaign,” suggesting Newsom is looking to replace Biden on the November 2024 ballot, an accusation Newsom says is not true.

“Gavin Newsom was mayor of San Francisco, so he took the San Francisco model, turn that into a template for California’s collapse,” DeSantis said. “Now, the left wants to take the California model and use that as a template for America’s collapse. Well, we can not let that happen.”

The California governor pointed to DeSantis’ current standing in the presidential race, citing recent polls showing the Florida governor falling well behind the frontrunner former President Donald Trump.

“But there’s one thing in closing that we have in common, is neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024,” Newsom said.

Rep. George Santos calls latest expulsion effort ‘bullying’

Friday, Dec. 1, the House is expected to hold an expulsion vote for embattled Republican Congressman George Santos, R-N.Y. Santos has survived attempts to oust him from Congress, but following a report released by the House Ethics Committee earlier this month, more of his colleagues believe his actions deserve severe punishment. Still, in a news conference outside the Capitol on Thursday, Nov. 30, Santos said he would not resign, calling the latest expulsion effort a stunt brought by bullies.

“Because if I leave, they win. If I leave, the bullies will take place. This is bullying,” Santos said.

The expulsion vote comes as Santos faces a slew of federal criminal charges alleging that he stole the identities of campaign donors and then used their credit cards to make unauthorized purchases totaling tens of thousands of dollars. Santos has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

To date, there have been just five expulsions of members in the House of Representatives; of them, three were for disloyalty to the Union during the Civil War.

Judge blocks Montana’s TikTok ban from taking effect

On Thursday, Nov. 1, a federal judge blocked Montana’s ban on the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok for violating users’ rights to free speech. In a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said the state’s attempt to implement a first-of-its-kind statewide ban on the app “violates the constitution in more ways than one.”

After Montana passed the ban in April over concerns about China’s access to Montanan’s data, ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, and TikTok users in Montana filed lawsuits against the state. TikTok said in court filings that it has not and would not share user data with China, and the company has taken substantial measures to ensure user privacy.

Following the ruling, the state attorney general’s office defended the state’s ban, adding that the ruling is preliminary and that “the analysis could change as the case proceeds.” A spokesperson for Montana’s state attorney general’s office is considering next steps as the court’s ruling is slated to go into effect on Jan. 1.

Sen. Rand Paul performs the Heimlich maneuver on fellow senator

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is being credited for his quick action after a fellow senator began choking during a Republican conference luncheon at the capitol on Thursday, Nov. 1. The senator from Kentucky successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver on Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

https://twitter.com/SenJoniErnst/status/1730305438585946450

Ernst confirmed a reporter’s account of the incident on X, saying in jest, “Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks, Dr. Rand Paul.”

Paul is a medical doctor specializing in ophthalmology. Ernst was hosting the luncheon of GOP lawmakers, part of a tradition with a different senator bringing in food from their home state each week.

Red Lobster says endless shrimp deal was key factor in $11 million loss

All you can eat, those four words bring a smile to plenty of diners’ faces at restaurants across the country. But one restaurant chain is seeing red after its endless promotion cost them millions.

Thai Union, the owner of Red Lobster, said it experienced an approximate $11 million operating loss in the third quarter. A key factor behind that loss? The restaurant’s “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” deal allows guests to have as much shrimp as they want for just $20.

https://twitter.com/redlobster/status/1720455800919896310?s=20

The once limited-time offer was permanently added to the restaurant’s menu in June as the company hoped to counter a decline in customer traffic. In an investor call in November, Thai Union’s chief financial officer said more people than expected selected the offer, and the plan didn’t work to improve the chain’s economic outlook.

The endless shrimp deal remains on Red Lobster’s menu — now costing $5 more.
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Childhood pneumonia cases spike in Europe following China outbreak

November 30, 2023
A mysterious surge of child pneumonia cases has overwhelmed hospitals in China and sparked renewed fears of another pandemic. Cases now appear to be spreading throughout Europe, as well.

While world health officials are monitoring the situation in China, cases continue to pop up and surge elsewhere around the world. Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands have all recently been hit with similar outbreaks, with Danish health officials already saying that it has reached “epidemic levels.”

In China, new videos and images are surfacing of workers in full hazmat suits spraying disinfectant throughout schools, streets, and in other public areas, bearing similarities to China’s COVID-19 response. Face masks and social distancing are also being recommended.

But it’s those same responses, together with lockdowns, which some experts blame for the new pneumonia cases in the first place.

Health officials in China and Europe say that a lack of exposure to respiratory illnesses during previous COVID-era lockdowns may have made children more vulnerable to threats like this.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says these pneumonia cases do not resemble any new pathogen, even as it continues to press China for more data and information.

Chinese officials attribute the cases to a post-lockdown rebound, and dismiss concerns of this being an entirely new virus. China imposed one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the WHO says deprived Chinese children of the ability to develop natural antibodies against more common seasonal illnesses.
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Beijing court opens hearings for relatives of MH370 passengers

November 28, 2023

A Beijing court held compensation hearings for Chinese relatives of MH370 passengers on Monday, Nov. 27. The flight disappeared in 2014, enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. More than 40 relatives are seeking compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Allianz.

239 people were on board, including 154 Chinese nationals. Everyone on board was declared or presumed dead, and the flight was officially declared an accident by Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation on Jan. 29, 2015.

Jiang Hui, whose mother was on the flight, announced that the court hearings are starting Nov. 27, 2023, and they’re expected to continue into mid-December.

“It has been 10 years that the court finally opened the case, which we think is a relief and a turning point,” Jiang told reporters. “But the deterioration of the living conditions of the families in the past 10 years, and the fact that many of the family members involved have died because of the lack of money to treat their illnesses, that does make us feel very sad.”

https://twitter.com/OliviaSiongCNA/status/1729000747675910620

The court did not disclose case details, but plaintiffs are reportedly seeking up to $11.2 million each.

Malaysian investigators did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft had been deliberately taken off course. Debris believed to be from the MH370 aircraft has washed up along the African coast and on islands in the Indian Ocean in 2015.

Malaysia, China, and Australia concluded a two-year, $135.36 million underwater search in January 2017, yielding no trace of the plane.

The fate of the missing plane and passengers remains unknown after nearly a decade. Similar cases in the United States were dismissed and referred to the Malaysian legal system.
Study claims China can down USAF’s B-21 Raider stealth bomber

November 28, 2023
The United States Air Force flew its newest stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, for the first time in early November. A few weeks later, a Chinese scientist claimed China’s own stealth fighters can shoot down the B-21.

The claim comes from Chen Jun, an associate professor at China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xian. South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the findings.

https://twitter.com/SCMPNews/status/1729104394564653064

According to the SCMP story, Chen led a research team that used computer modeling to conduct a war game between a U.S. B-21 and an unrevealed Chinese stealth fighter jet with advanced capabilities.

In the war game, China’s secret stealth fighter supposedly has what’s known as ‘conformal skin’ which allowed the plane to survey the battlespace without radar and maintain radio silence. Under these conditions, the model showed the Chinese fighter jet could detect the B-21 and take it down with a hypersonic missile that used artificial intelligence to track its target.

Biden and Xi discuss AI, fentanyl, pandas amid heightened tensions

Even though their war game showed China may be able to down the B-21, the Chinese research team said the ensuing U.S. counterstrike and fight for air dominance would lead to a prolonged and complex battle that could take hours to settle.

There’s not a whole lot known about the B-21 raider, other than it’s the most advanced stealth bomber ever made. Unlike those previous stealth bombers, the Raider can carry its own air-to-air missiles and will fly in formation with AI-piloted Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCAs.

The Raider’s radar signature is also similar to that of a mosquito. So, right off the bat, any claim that the Chinese can track the B-21, let alone intercept it, should be taken with a hefty helping of salt.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCAs, can help counter China

That being said, the claim isn’t being made in a vacuum. The Chinese are working nonstop to compete with, and eventually surpass, the U.S. military in every domain.

For instance, the Chinese hold a commanding lead in hypersonic missile technology over the United States. China’s stealth fighter program is also growing. China likely has more J-20s than the U.S. has F-22s. However, the U.S. has far more F-35s than China has J-20s. Fighting China would mean using aircraft carriers, at least to start. The U.S. maintains 11 aircraft carriers across its fleet. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) currently keeps up with two.

https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1726283572003397716

But the PLAN is nearing completion of what will be its third and largest carrier, the Fujian. Like the newest U.S. carriers, the Fujian features an electromagnetic launch system. So, larger aircraft with heavier payloads can take off from its deck.

New imagery taken from a commercial passenger plane and posted online appeared to show one of the carrier’s three catapult launchers being tested at a shipyard near Shanghai. If China is testing the launch system, that means it’s probably preparing the Fujian for its sea trials. Once a ship completes sea trials, it can be commissioned into service.

https://twitter.com/IndoPac_Info/status/1729529314469921114

Getting back to China’s claim it can down a B-21: China is putting the resources in place to hypothetically be able to achieve the claim put forth by the team at Northwestern Polytechnical. However, the claim is based solely on a computer model made by a team of scientists, with questionable motivations, while working at a Chinese university under sanction by the U.S. for its close ties to the Chinese military.
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Chinese rocket crashed into the moon hauling an unknown payload: report

November 28, 2023
A mysterious crash on the moon’s surface last year left scientists wondering what created a pair of craters. A new analysis from the University of Arizona found that the crash involved remnants of a Chinese rocket booster.

The Chinese rocket was hauling an unknown payload that created a second crater when it crashed into the moon.

American scientists say it was a booster that came off a Chinese rocket that went tumbling slowly toward the moon. They found the booster created one crater, and a second crater was formed by a mysterious object attached to the booster.

China is challenging the findings of the U.S. research team and refutes the claim that Chinese spacecraft caused the craters.

The scientists acknowledge that they may never determine the identity of the second device because China’s National Space Administration denies that the object was of Chinese origin.

The American research team contends it has “definitive proof” the space junk that hit the moon was a Chinese booster from a rocket China sent into orbit in 2014.

China claims the rocket booster “burned up upon re-entry to Earth,” but the U.S. Space Command says that is false. Now speculation is centered on what the attached object was that created the second crater.

“Something that’s been in space as long as this is subjected to forces from the Earth’s and the Moon’s gravity and the light from the sun,” the lead author of the study said. “Its impact was almost straight down, and to get those two craters of about the same size, you need two roughly equal masses that are apart from each other.”

According to the author, the rocket body is a big empty shell on one end and a heavy engine on the other, meaning a second object had to have been on the other end of equal weight.

The study warns that as space exploration grows, countries need to be mindful of space debris and consider where it goes and the impact of its landing.
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China sees childhood pneumonia wave; officials tamp down outbreak fears

November 28, 2023
Chinese hospitals are currently experiencing a surge in respiratory illnesses and pneumonia, primarily in children. Health officials say the spike in cases is likely due to the recent lifting of lockdowns, a trend other nations saw when lockdowns were lifted much earlier than China’s.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken notice of the spike in illnesses, saying it held a teleconference with Chinese health officials on Thursday, Nov. 23, and received requested data during the call.

China’s Health Ministry told the WHO that no unusual or unknown pathogens have been detected in the rise in respiratory illnesses, and it is reporting that the illnesses are a surge in pneumonia infections caused by COVID-19 lockdowns recently lifting in China.

A rise in sickness following lockdowns is a trend seen around the world and even in the U.S. When COVID restrictions eased, more people contracted RSV, the flu, and COVID. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed the view that avoiding infectious diseases for a prolonged period makes a population more susceptible when lockdowns, masking, social distancing and other precautions cease.

Health officials in China say the pathogen being most commonly found in its recent wave of patients is building resistance to treatment. Resistance rates in Beijing to this type of pneumonia are as high as 70% to 90%. According to health officials, these factors could also be contributing to this year’s higher levels of hospitalizations.

The WHO is monitoring the pneumonia spike out of China, but for now, according to the information from China’s Health Ministry, the viruses being treated are of known pathogens, which means it does not signal a new pathogen like COVID was or another pandemic.
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WHO investigating uptick in respiratory illnesses in China

November 24, 2023
The World Health Organization is investigating a cluster of respiratory illness cases in children in China following an alert on Tuesday, Nov. 21, calling for more information about undiagnosed pneumonia in China. The standard alert, which looked and read similar to a 2019 alert about the COVID-19, led to some fear the world was looking at the beginning of another potential global pandemic.

Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in influenza-like illness compared to the same period in the previous three years.
The World Health Organization

The WHO, though, is urging caution before jumping to conclusions about a new pandemic.

According to a WHO release, Chinese officials attribute the rise in respiratory illness to lifting COVID restrictions, adding that this is likely a rise in common respiratory illnesses, like the flu, and could be an uptick in COVID cases.

“Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in influenza-like illness compared to the same period in the previous three years,” the release reads.

The WHO added that it always requests additional information when unknown diseases are reported as part of its International Health Regulations System.

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1727452971816935537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727452971816935537%7Ctwgr%5Ed396cd0bfeeaed9815d1766f28599fc74b396657%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsan.com%2Fcc%2Ffour-day-ceasefire-in-gaza-sets-table-for-hostage-release-the-morning-rundown-nov-24-2023%2F

Following WHO’s inquiry for more information, Chinese health officials reported on Wednesday, Nov. 23 that no unknown diseases or viruses have been linked to the uptick in respiratory illnesses in Northern China.

“Chinese authorities advised that there has been no detection of any unusual or novel pathogens or unusual clinical presentations, including in Beijing and Liaoning, but only the aforementioned general increase in respiratory illnesses due to multiple known pathogens,” the WHO said.

Chinese health officials added that the increase in respiratory cases has not resulted in “exceeding hospital capacities.”
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As global emissions reach new high, US, China take climate action before COP28

November 21, 2023
Fossil fuels accounted for 82% of global energy consumption in 2022, and with that came a new record for annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. It is an issue that the United States and China recently agreed to work on together.

When combined together, these countries account for 38% of the planet’s greenhouse gasses. On Nov. 14, representatives from both nations announced a deal that aims to increase clean energy, displace fossil fuels and reduce emissions.

The cooperation between the world’s two biggest emitters is occurring ahead of the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit, set to begin at the end of November. Officials from nearly 200 different countries will be gathering in Dubai to discuss global policies regarding climate action, which there is optimism the U.S. and China will now take a leading role on.

“I think it’s important that COP28 be more successful than expected, and that China and the U.S. show leadership on a range of issues in this regard,” John Quelch, a former associate in research at Harvard’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, told Straight Arrow News.

Leading up to this international conference, the U.N. has released a report detailing how far the world now is from reaching its previously set climate goals.

The report found that even if all countries stuck by their previous climate promises, the emissions total by the end of the decade is set to be considerably greater than the goal amount needed for staying on track to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The amount of greenhouse gasses being sent into the atmosphere come 2030 would total at least 19 billion tons of CO2 equivalent higher than that target number.

The warning comes amid steadily increasing global emissions in recent years. Though restricted travel and other economic activities due to COVID-19 saw greenhouse gas outputs drop in 2020, ultimately things quickly reversed course. The following year, worldwide demand for coal and natural gas were already hitting pre-pandemic highs, and by 2022, emissions from these two energy sources were back to reaching record-breaking levels.

“Obviously, with COVID, there has been some regression towards fossil fuels and away from the green technology commitments that many nations we’re making pre-COVID,” Quelch said.

Out of the $17 trillion spent by world governments on pandemic recovery efforts, only about 10% of that was spent on initiatives that would cut emissions. Meanwhile, close to 30% of the money went towards projects that are expected to increase emissions. Now with COP28 on the horizon, experts are hopeful that joint climate action efforts between the U.S. and China will help spur renewed progress on this issue.

“We’re going to have to take two steps forward to get past the one step back that the last four years represented,” Quelch said. “So China and the U.S. together can help do that, on behalf of the rest of the world.”
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An electric vehicle future needs batteries. China is dominating.

November 17, 2023

China has become a global leader in lithium-ion battery production. Six of the world’s top 10 battery manufacturing companies are headquartered in the country.

China accounted for 77% of the world’s total battery manufacturing capacity in 2022. Poland and the United States each produced just 6% of the world’s capacity. That same year, the U.S. paid out more than $9 billion for Chinese batteries, two thirds of the total money spent on imports of this technology during that timeframe.

China currently controls 60% to 100% of the mining or refining for the minerals needed to make these batteries. Because of the stranglehold Beijing holds over their production, experts believe the U.S. is “10 to 20 years behind Asia in commercialization of battery technology.”

China has bet beg on the lithium-ion battery market. Some experts have predicted demand will increase sevenfold by 2035. Fueling those estimates is the growing worldwide adoption of electric vehicles.

“When we’re talking about battery technology, battery technology is really a derived demand that is responding to the demand level for electric vehicles,” John Quelch, a former associate in research at Harvard’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and fellow of the Harvard China Fund, told Straight Arrow News.

Lithium-ion technology powers EVs, and some reports have forecasted EVs could reach 86 percent of global vehicle sales by 2030. In addition to China dominating the battery sector, the country has been spearheading the global EV transition. The nation further charged up its world-leading electric vehicle sales numbers after rolling out a $72 billion package of tax breaks for the industry over the summer.

“The Chinese have been very aggressive in motivating the purchase of electric vehicles, which represent a much higher percentage of new vehicle sales in China than they do in the United States,” Quelch said.

During the first half of this year, 55% of all electric vehicle sales occurred in China. That figure also represented 31% of all light vehicle sales in the nation over that time. Comparatively, the U.S. was responsible for just 13% of global EV sales, with that figure making up a little over 7% of all domestic new car sales.

As a result, members of Congress have urged the Energy Department to boost U.S. lithium battery production, or face getting left in the dust by China amid an anticipated EV driven future.
Feds failed to investigate illegal China-linked biolab: Report

November 17, 2023
A new report out from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party reveals how several federal agencies failed to properly investigate an illegal biolab in Reedley, California. The lab was run by a Chinese fugitive named Jesse Zhu with ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

“A subsequent investigation revealed that the laboratory was operated by a wanted fugitive from Canada, who is a PRC citizen,” the report said. “The said fugitive had previously stolen millions of dollars of intellectual property from American companies and was part of an ongoing transnational criminal enterprise with ties to the PRC for which he was ultimately charged in federal court.”

The biolab contained at least 20 potentially infectious agents — including HIV, tuberculosis, E. coli and malaria — found in vials. Hundreds of lab mice genetically engineered to catch and carry the COVID-19 virus were also found.

House committee members are criticizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the FBI and other agencies for failing to properly investigate the lab.

The report said that local officials informed the CDC about their concerns, but the CDC declined to test any of the lab’s pathogen samples.

“The CDC’s refusal to test any potential pathogens with the understanding that local officials would otherwise have to destroy the samples makes it impossible for the committee to fully assess the potential risks posed to the community,” the report said.
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