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Warnock holds on to Senate seat; Trump organization guilty

December 7, 2022

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock wins his Senate runoff election; Trump organization found guilty; airlines pay for pollution; and San Francisco calls off its killer robots. These stories and more highlight the morning update for Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022.

Raphael Warnock retains Georgia Senate seat

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in the Georgia runoff election.

“It is my honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy, the people have spoken,” Warnock said Tuesday night.

While Democrats already had control of the Senate, Warnock’s win gives his party an outright 51-49 majority.

Supreme Court discusses controversial election theory

While the 2022 midterm election is now at a close after Tuesday night’s results, the landscape of future elections will be debated at the Supreme Court Wednesday.

The high court will discuss a controversial legal theory that declares state legislatures have the final say in how to conduct elections, including redistricting inside their states.

As it stands today, state courts can strike down a state legislature’s proposed redistricting map. That’s what happened in North Carolina. The state legislatures redrew the lines, but a state court threw it out. And Republican lawmakers sued.

It’s now up to the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether state lawmakers have the highest authority or whether oversight is warranted.

The ruling won’t only effect a legislature’s power over redistricting, it could also reshape many aspects of the election process.

Trump organization found guilty of tax fraud

“The former president’s companies now stand convicted of crimes. that is consequential,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday.

His remarks came after two companies within the Trump Organization were found guilty of criminal tax fraud.

The organization faces a possible fine of up to $1.6 million. Top executives were accused of manipulating the books to avoid paying personal income taxes on what they considered write-offs, such as apartments and cars.

Former President Donald Trump was not on trial. The organization’s former finance chief had already pleaded guilty to tax crimes prior to yesterday’s ruling.

China’s Xi Jinping travels to Saudi Arabia today

China’s communist leader, Xi Jinping, will be arriving in Saudi Arabia Wednesday, just five months after Saudi leaders met with President Biden. They are now welcoming America’s adversary for talks on economy and security.

China’s visit is seen as a historic meeting between the two sides. A sign the two countries who share authoritative regimes could enhance a partnership.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have long shared an understanding, but they’ve recently been at odds after Saudi Arabia’s cut to oil production.

Airlines to pay for how much it pollutes

We told you yesterday that airlines are looking to cut emissions but the price of the transition to cleaner energy will fall on customers.

A new law announced Wednesday, puts new pressure on airlines to make that transition happen fast. The European Union took to a vote in the early hours today deciding airlines will now have to pay when their planes produce too much pollution in Europe.

It adds new pressure to the transportation sector to shift away from fossil fuels.

San Francisco reverses robot force

Remember when San Francisco agreed for its police to add robots to its force? Never mind, says the city officials in a drastic U-turn decision after public outcry.

The reversal comes just one week after the board voted 8 to 3 to approve the use of robots only in extreme situations.

Now, in another 8-to-3 vote, the board says they changed their mind, siding with protesters calling for a stop to killer robots.
Apple losing appetite for China, plans to move some production elsewhere

December 5, 2022

The violent protests that shook the largest iPhone factory in the world have apparently changed Apple’s appetite for China. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the company is speeding up plans to shift some production out of the country that dominates its supply chain.

Apple is reportedly telling suppliers to plan for assembly in other parts of Asia, particularly India and Vietnam. The company also hinted at having less reliance on Taiwan-based Foxconn, which runs the Zhengzhou factory at the center of the November COVID-19-lockdown protests.

Counterpoint Research said under normal conditions, this one factory accounts for 85% of production on Apple’s top phone model, the iPhone 14 Pro. And the unrest has caused production delays and shortages just in time for the holidays.

Apple may be looking outside Foxconn to further diversify, but Foxconn is looking to make a change, too. The supplier plans to quadruple its workforce at an iPhone plant in India, according to Reuters.

Both company and supplier are seemingly sick of virus disruptions out of China. Meanwhile, China is starting to lift some of its most crippling restrictions, claiming on state media it is because the virus is weakening, not because of the unprecedented protests seen in the country.

In late November, workers in Zhengzhou clashed with police at the iPhone production plant amid protests over compensation and COVID-19 lockdowns that required workers to live at the facility with no outside contact.

Shortly after that protest erupted, unrest spread throughout the country following a deadly apartment fire in the Xinjiang region, where many believe the lockdown delayed emergency response. Ten people died in the blaze, unable to escape.

The widespread protests that followed in resistance to the Chinese Communist Party are unprecedented since the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in 1989, putting immense pressure on President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policies.
China to ease ‘zero-COVID’ policy after protests

December 1, 2022

China’s “zero-COVID” policy is one of the most stringent in the world. Things could soon change, however, for China’s 1.4 billion residents.

For the last week, unprecedented protests have occurred in at least 23 cities across China, including Shanghai and Beijing.

The protests started after a fire on Nov. 24 killed 10 people and injured 9 others. It’s believed that because of COVID-19 lockdown procedures, rescue crews couldn’t get inside the building to put out the flames.

Protesters want to end the “zero-COVID” policy, and some are even calling for Chinese President Xi Jinping to step down.

In an apparent response to the protests, some leaders in China are signaling their willingness to ease COVID-19 restrictions. Proposed measures include a reduction in mass testing and allowing people who test positive for COVID-19, or were in close contact with a person who tested positive, to quarantine at home instead of in a government-run isolation facility.

It’s a dramatic shift from previous policies which saw entire communities locked down for weeks after just one positive case. The exact timeline for the ease in restrictions is unclear, but Reuters reported the measures would be unveiled soon.

On Thursday, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who oversees China’s COVID-19 efforts, said the virus was “weakening in its ability to cause disease, allowing China to improve prevention efforts.”

This week, authorities in at least seven Chinese districts said they were also lifting some lockdown measures. One district said schools, restaurants and movie theaters could also reopen.

China’s strict methods for containing COVID-19 impacted both China’s and the international economy, causing supply chain disruptions in a number of sectors. With the apparent easing in COVID-19 restrictions though, there is growing optimism China may reopen its borders at some point early next year.

Reuters contributed to this report.
China protests mark rebellion unseen in decades, direct challenge to Xi

November 28, 2022

After nearly three years of unrelenting COVID-19 measures, a growing number of people in China have had enough. A deadly fire in the Xinjiang region this past week fueled the outrage, where many believe a COVID-19 lockdown delayed emergency response. Ten people died in the apartment blaze, unable to escape.

Now protests are sparking up all over the country in widespread resistance to the Chinese Communist Party unprecedented since the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in 1989.

BBC journalist beaten, arrested

As authorities try to squash the uprising, in Shanghai, police are seen in the video above arresting and beating BBC journalist Ed Lawrence.

“It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties,” BBC said in a statement. “We have had no official explanation or apology from Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd. We do not consider this a credible explanation.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian later claimed that Lawrence, “did not identify himself as a journalist and didn’t voluntarily present his press credentials.”

Protesters risk harsh prison sentences

In the crowds, some protesters are publicly calling for President Xi Jinping to resign, a declaration that could land them in prison.

“For Chinese citizens anywhere to be in a public setting, to say, ‘Down with Xi Jinping and down with the CCP,’ that is highly unusual and so this is a test for [Xi],” said Rory Truex, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. “He will feel personally threatened and challenged by this.”

COVID restrictions loosening?

About to enter the fourth year of Xi’s zero-COVID strategy, some think authorities are starting to cave to the public pressure. According to the Associated Press, Beijing city government said it’ll no longer use gates to block access to apartment compounds containing COVID-19 infections, without mentioning the deadly fire in Urumqi. In Guangzhou, some residents will not be required to do mass testing, citing a need to conserve resources. And in the Xinjiang region, where the fire started, businesses considered to be in low risk areas for infection can reopen.

China’s government denies the unprecedented protests have anything to do with the changes.

“What you mentioned does not reflect what actually happened,” Zhao said. “China has been following the dynamic zero-COVID policy and making adjustments based on the realities on the ground.”

Global ripple effects

The uncertainty in the world’s second largest economy sent global markets on a downturn Monday, shaking stocks and oil as China’s COVID-19 cases surge and analysts wonder what Xi’s next move will be.

“I think we haven’t really seen the repressive apparatus fully engaged at this point, but unfortunately, I think that is what we’re going to observe in the days and weeks to come,” Truex said.
Biden, Xi meet; U of Virginia campus shooting; Dems take Senate

November 14, 2022

The highly anticipated meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place overnight; a shooting at the campus of the University of Virginia left three dead; and Democrats maintained control of the Senate with a key win over the weekend. These stories highlight the Daily Rundown for Monday, Nov. 14, 2022.

Biden, Xi meet – President Biden met with President Xi in person for the first time with Biden as president Monday. The goal of the meeting, held on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, was to “manage” differences between the two countries.

“As the leaders of our two nations, we share responsibility, in my view, to show that China and the United States can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict, and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues that require our mutual cooperation,” Biden said at the meeting. “I believe this is critical for the sake of our two countries and the international community.”

Virginia campus shooting – A shooting at a parking lot on the University of Virginia campus late Sunday has left three dead and another two injured. According to a statement from the university’s president, the suspect, a student, was still on the loose as of early Monday morning.

“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” university President Jim Ryan said in the statement. “This is a traumatic incident for everyone in our community.”

Democrats hold Senate – With Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-Nev.) win in a tight reelection race called Saturday night, Democrats secured at least a 50-50 majority in the Senate following the 2022 midterm elections. Democrats could gain a seat in the Senate depending on the results of next month’s runoff election in Georgia.

As of early Monday, House control was still up in the air, with Republicans holding a 212-204 advantage. Republicans need to get to 218 to take control from Democrats.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Loan forgiveness blocked; ammunition to Ukraine; Veterans Day

November 11, 2022

A judge blocked President Joe Biden’s plan to provide student loan forgiveness to millions of Americans; the U.S. will buy ammunition from South Korea to give to Ukraine; and America honors its veterans on Veterans Day. These stories highlight the Daily Rundown for Friday, Nov. 11, 2022.

Student loan forgiveness plan blocked – A Trump-appointed judge in Texas blocked Biden’s plan to provide millions of borrowers with up to $20,000 apiece in federal student-loan forgiveness Thursday. The plan was already on hold as a federal appeals court in St. Louis considers a separate lawsuit by six states challenging it.

“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government,” District Court Judge Mark Pittman wrote in his ruling. “The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country. But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved.”

South Korean ammunition to Ukraine – A U.S. official announced Thursday the country will buy 100,000 rounds of howitzer artillery from South Korean manufacturers. The ammunition will then be sent over to Ukraine to help fight back against Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian leaders have pressed for more weapons and aid to take advantage of a counteroffensive that is pushing Russian forces out of some areas they had taken over earlier in the war. Getting the ammunition from South Korea can be seen as a counter to U.S. accusations earlier this month that North Korea was covertly shipping artillery to Russia.

Veterans Day – Friday is Veterans Day, giving Americans across the country the chance to honor all service men and women of the U.S. military, past and present, who have made up the world’s greatest and largest military force. At the White House, Biden offered his gratitude for vets before traveling abroad for a United Nations summit on climate change happening over the weekend.

“Since our nation’s founding, our veterans have defended our democracy, protected our posterity, shouldered the weight of war on our behalf,” Biden said in a video message. “So many still carry the physical wounds and invisible scars of their service.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
John Kerry to propose expanded carbon credit program at Cop27

November 8, 2022

Government leaders and climate scientists from around the world are in Egypt for Cop27, the UN’s Climate Implementation Summit. John Kerry is the U.S. climate envoy to the summit.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, Kerry is expected to propose a plan he hopes will help developing nations stop using fossil fuels. Under Kerry’s plan, businesses and governments from wealthier nations would give money to developing countries by expanding the use of carbon credits.

A carbon credit is like a permit representing one ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. Traditionally, carbon credits go to renewable energy projects, where the developer can sell the credit to larger companies that are still polluting.

The market for carbon credits is unregulated, and participation is voluntary. Kerry thinks expanding it, however, is still the best option to help third-world countries decrease dependency on fossil fuels.

Right now, carbon credits are awarded on a per-project basis. Mr. Kerry wants to change credit allocation to a more regional basis, which he expects will encourage more wide-scale renewable energy development.

The U.S. and China are the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters. The countries are facing mounting global pressure to assist third-world countries transition away from fossil fuels. President Joe Biden is expected to go to Cop27 later this week. It seems unlikely, though, Chinese President Xi Jinping will go to the climate conference.
Foreign investors dump Chinese stocks as Xi Jinping tightens power grip

October 24, 2022

International investors are fleeing China as President Xi Jinping tightens his power grip on the country. After securing a precedent-breaking third term as head of China’s communist party, Xi shored up his dominance by stacking the Politburo Standing Committee with loyalists.

The Politburo is China’s top governing body and analysts say the sea of allies means there won’t be any checks and balances on Xi’s agenda this next term. Xi previously abolished the presidential two-term limit in 2018, opening the door for him to serve in the role indefinitely.

Eurasia Group Senior China Analyst Neil Thomas called the political appointments “a clean sweep for Xi allies and a consolidation of power unseen since the Mao era,” referring to the reign of Mao Zedong, who ruled China’s communist party for decades until his death in 1976.

Stocks Monday marked their worst day in Hong Kong since the global financial crisis. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index dove 7.3% in one day, the worst ever showing after a Communist Party congress.

Foreign investors pulled $2.5 billion out of China’s domestic stock market, the tech sector hit harder than the market as a whole. Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and other internet and tech stocks were all down more than 11%.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd: -11.28%
Tencent Holdings Ltd: -11.08%
Baidu Inc: -12.09%
Meituan: -14.62%
JD.com Inc: -13.35%

The selloff was sparked by investors’ worries that Xi’s dominance will lead to more policies that are even less friendly to markets and private enterprise.

“Tech stocks have never been the best friend of Xi and it’s clear that the market thinks that purge will continue,” said Justin Tang, head of Asian research at United First Partners.

The poor stock performance Monday occurred despite positive data from a delayed release of China’s third quarter gross domestic product, showing the economy grew by 3.9% from the same quarter a year ago, beating previously downgraded expectations. China had stalled the official release of the numbers without explanation in mid-October.
US Navy chief says China could invade Taiwan by 2023

October 21, 2022

U.S. Armed Forces need to be prepared for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan by the end of the year. The warning comes from the head of the U.S. Navy, Admiral Mike Gilday

U.S. forces were operating under the notion China was gearing up for a 2027 invasion, a timetable proposed by the former head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. But at China’s recently wrapped 20^th National Congress, President Xi Jinping made several statements about “resolving the Taiwan question” and reaffirmed his commitment to use force if necessary to realize China’s complete reunification.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also issued a warning this week, that Beijing was determined to pursue reunification with Taiwan on a much faster timeline. However, neither he nor the Navy chief gave an exact date.

It’s not clear how the U.S. would react if China invades Taiwan. About a month ago, President Joe Biden said U.S. forces would defend Taiwan if invaded, but the White House later walked that statement back. Strategy talks on how to deal with China continue.

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo next week. The three held previous talks in June.

Agenda topics this time around include the potentially imminent Taiwan invasion, the ongoing Ukraine invasion and North Korea’s recent flurry of missile launches.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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