Black Market Cigarette Shipments Seized in Connecticut

Connecticut and other states have seized shipments of illegal cigarettes from China and other countries under a settlement with the U.S. Postal Service to resolve claims it wasn’t doing enough to crack down on tobacco smuggling. 

A new report by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said between January and March the Postal Service seized 3,000 packages containing a total of 10,000 cartons of cigarettes shipped from overseas in violation of federal laws. Most of the illegal shipments were mailed from China, Israel and Russia, the AG’s office said. 

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Commentary: China Builds the New World Order with Biden Asleep at the Wheel

China is rapidly growing economically, militarily, and influentially, and none of this is good for the United States. Since diplomatic ties with China were officially established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, each president has done a fair job (some better than others) of keeping China in check on the international stage, despite China’s growth. All with the exception of President Joe Biden, who has allowed China to lead a global coalition and a new world order against the United States of America, which has fulfilled our worst fears.

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Over 60 Members of Persecuted Chinese Church Saved, Bound for Texas

A persecuted Chinese Christian church has been freed from Thai prison and is bound for Texas, human rights advocates told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Friday.

Over 60 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church, is scheduled to arrive at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport late Friday evening, ending the church’s three year-long quest for asylum after fleeing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecution in 2019, Pastor Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, told the DCNF. Despite applying for asylum in Thailand in August, the members of the Mayflower Church were arrested last week for overstaying their visas, prompting international concern that the church might be deported back to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and face persecution.

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Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley Demands Biden Administration Release All Information on China Spy Balloon

Recent reports that China’s claimed “weather” balloon was taking multiple images of U.S. military sites and sending them back to the communist nation are raising greater national security alarms. 

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is demanding the Biden administration release all information available on the spy balloon that invaded U.S. air space in late January and early February. 

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China Spy Balloon Gathered Intelligence About Military Sites, Despite U.S. Preventive Efforts: Report

by Madeleine Hubbard   The Chinese spy balloon that traversed much of the continental United States in early February was reportedly able to gather intelligence from multiple sensitive military sites, despite the Biden administration’s efforts to foil any espionage activity. China guided the balloon to pass over sensitive sites multiple times, even making figure-eight formations at some points, two senior U.S. officials and one former senior administration official told NBC News on Monday. The balloon transmitted the information, which was mostly electronic signals, back to Beijing live, the officials said. The electronic signals likely included base communications or were detected from weapons systems. China could have detected far more intelligence from the sites has the administration not moved potential targets and blocked the balloon’s detection ability, the officials also said. When asked about the report, the Defense Department directed reporters to remarks from February in which senior officials said the balloon’s intelligence-gathering abilities were “limited,” and were similar to what Beijing is likely able to collect through objects such as satellites. The U.S. military shot down the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean on February 4. The debris was fully recovered nearly two weeks later. – – – Madeleine Hubbard joined Just the News as a fast…

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GOP Rep Demands State Department Rescue Chinese and American Christians Detained in Thailand

A Republican congressman is calling on the State Department to intervene on behalf of Chinese and American Christians detained by Thai police currently facing imprisonment in China, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Thai police arrested 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church, for overstaying their visas during an early morning raid in Pattaya, Thailand, on Thursday. They are now preparing to deport the Chinese congregants, along with two women from Texas who’d been visiting church members, back to China, where they face imprisonment and likely torture, ChinaAid, a Christian human rights group, told the DCNF.

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63 Christians Face Deportation Back to China

Influential members of Congress and top human rights advocates in Washington are urging the Biden administration to take immediate action to ensure the safety of a group of Chinese Christian dissidents and two Americans detained by Thai authorities Thursday.

The group of refugees, including 35 children and 28 adults, fled China in 2019 to escape persecution. They initially sought refuge in South Korea and then Thailand while seeking emergency asylum in the United States. But the U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security have declined to grant the church members emergency asylum, as it has done for many others, including tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing their war-ravaged countries, and the first group of Afghans airlifted into the United States amid the chaotic U.S. evacuation in August 2021.

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Border Authorities Detail Smuggling Routes, Warn of Greater Surge in Chinese Illegally Crossing Into US

Border authorities in the U.S. are expecting a further increase in the number of Chinese migrants crossing illegally at the southern border, and have identified key ways they are entering the country, according to an internal U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) document exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The document, which was circulated via an internal email to CBP personnel, warns of more Chinese nationals entering the U.S. via the southern border due to a broader message from smugglers about routes into the country. The document details key smuggling routes, and notes that the Chinese nationals are entering in higher numbers due to religious persecution against the Christian faith.

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As Pentagon Struggles to Fill Military Requests, Funding Goes to Diversity, Critical Race Theory

The Pentagon is increasingly struggling to fill the weapons and equipment requests for the war in Ukraine. At the same time, taxpayer funds are going to pay for ongoing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts in the military, most recently one controversial Pentagon official pushing anti-police and pro-critical race theory books at schools for the children of military families.

The New York Times recently highlighted the Pentagon’s manufacturing problem with a story headlined: “From Rockets to Ball Bearings: Pentagon Struggles to Feed War Machine.”

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TikTok Not the Only China-Controlled App Thriving in America: Report

The top four downloaded applications in the past 30 days in the U.S. Apple App Store and Google Play Store are owned by Chinese-tied companies, according to data from Apptopia analyzed by Axios.

While these Chinese-tied apps are thriving in the U.S., American apps are typically not permitted to operate in China due to the country’s strict censorship, according to Axios. China has over one billion internet users according to Statista, so the U.S. is missing out on a massive market while China has exclusive access to it.

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‘Six Smoking Guns’: Doctor-Turned-US-Senator Roger Marshall’s Reasons for His Wuhan Lab Leak Theory

Long before key components of the intelligence community acknowledged they believed COVID-19 came from a lab leak, Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall had drawn a bull’s-eye around the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Marshall, a doctor turned politician, argued early and often that the virus’ emergence and genetic characteristics did not seem like those of a naturally evolving animal-to-human virus. But senators like him and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul were marginalized and even demeaned early on by detractors ranging from Dr. Anthony Fauci to TV comedian Stephen Colbert.

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States Push for Harsher Fentanyl Penalties amid Uptick in Overdose Deaths

Several states are advocating for harsher fentanyl penalties as overdose deaths surge in the U.S.

Nevada, Oregon, Alabama, Texas, West Virginia and South Carolina have all pushed to increase the length of sentences for fentanyl dealers, according to the Associated Press. Fentanyl is largely responsible for the more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths that occurred in 2021 up from 93,331 drug overdose deaths in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: Once Vaunted as the Best in the Word, Stanford University’s Wayward Record is Growing Infamous

Stanford was once one of the world’s great universities. It birthed Silicon Valley in its prime. And along with its nearby twin and rival, UC Berkeley, its brilliant researchers, and teachers helped fuel the mid-20th-century California miracle.

That was then. But like the descent of California, now something has gone terribly wrong with the university.

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China Enters Artificial Intelligence Arms Race, Flops Disastrously

by Jason Cohen   China released its main Chat GPT competitor, developed by search engine giant Baidu, Thursday in Beijing, but its debut of the bot was a failure and led to the company’s shares falling, according to CNBC. During the unveiling, the bot named Ernie “summarized a science fiction novel and analyzed a Chinese idiom,” but in the middle of the presentation that Baidu promoted as live, CEO Robin Li, revealed the company prerecorded the presentation for time management purposes, according to The New York Times. Li also made clear that Ernie bot was not flawless and will get better when users provide feedback, according to CNBC. Baidu’s shares then plummeted at least 6.4 percent and as much as 10 percent in Hong Kong, in contrast to a previous rally when the giant announced it had been developing a ChatGPT competitor since 2019, according to the NYT. Baidu said 30,000 corporate clients signed up on the waitlist to access Ernie bot in less than an hour following its announcement, but media and the public did not get access, according to CNBC. Meanwhile, OpenAI announced ChatGPT-4 this week, as the updated version of the AI behind its highly popular and disruptive ChatGPT chatbot that the public has accessed…

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Trump, Mastriano Well Ahead of Respective Potential Rivals in Pennsylvania

In the first public poll on Pennsylvania’s 2024 Republican Senate primary, State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) has an 18-point lead against Dave McCormick.

The same survey shows former President Donald Trump besting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by the same margin in the state’s GOP presidential contest. While only Trump has officially declared his candidacy, a robust movement for a DeSantis bid has long been afoot while both Mastriano and McCormick have strongly suggested they are considering a Senate run. 

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Former President Donald Trump Stumps in Iowa, Vows to Evict Biden from the White House and ‘Prevent World War III’

Former President Donald Trump was back in Iowa Monday night and he was loaded for bear, taking aim at woke liberals, the mainstream media, the Deep State, “Paul Ryan RINOs” and the current unpopular top resident of the White House. 

And Trump, arguably the leading contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, made the crowd packing Davenport’s 2,400-seat Adler Theatre some big promises. Chief among them:  He’ll always have Iowa’s back and he’ll “stop World War III.” 

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Wows Iowans at Packed ‘Book Tour’ Event

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may still be mulling over a run for president, but the Republican looked and sounded every bit a contender for the GOP presidential nomination Friday evening in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

DeSantis joined fellow Republican, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. at a packed, standing-room only stop at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, ostensibly to promote his new book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.

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At Iowa Foreign Policy Event, GOP Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley Says War in Ukraine is a War ‘We Have to Win’

Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley asserts the war in Ukraine is about freedom and “one we have to win.” 

The former South Carolina governor discussed national security and foreign policy with U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) Friday morning in suburban Des Moines at an event sponsored by the Bastion Institute.

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Former New York Times Science Editor Testifies Fauci ‘Not Too Pleased to Hear’ Virus May Have ‘Escaped from Research His Agency Had Funded’

The former science editor at The New York Times testified Wednesday morning before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic there is now strong evidence the COVID-19 virus escaped from a Wuhan lab, but that “powerful scientific officials, such as [Anthony] Fauci and [National Institutes of Health Director] Francis Collins, kept researchers “in line” with their natural origins narrative with the knowledge the scientists were dependent on government grants to continue their research.

In his testimony, Nicholas Wade, who not only served as former science and health editor at the Times, but also as former editor at Science and at Nature, quickly got to the heart of the matter: the campaign to suppress the lab leak narrative.

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Poll: Plurality of Americans Believes We Are Heading for Next World War

As the war in Ukraine and tensions with China intensify, more Americans fear we’re on the brink of World War III, according to a new Convention of States Action poll. 

The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. voters, conducted Feb. 22-26 by The Trafalgar Group, finds more than 43 percent of respondents worry that Russia’s continued war and threats against other European nations, as well as China’s aggressive actions, have put the world on the precipice of another global conflict.

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Top American High School Received More than $1 Million from Groups Tied to China

A prestigious U.S. high school reportedly received more than $1 million in donations from Chinese-linked organizations, a report from watchdog group Parents Defending Education indicates.

Thomas Jefferson High School, situated in Fairfax County, Va., focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and ranks among the nation’s best high schools.

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Bill Aims to Protect American Sovereignty Against World Health Organization’s Pandemic Plan

As negations move forward on an international pandemic treaty, Republican House members are pushing a bill that would check the pandemic powers of the World Health Organization. 

U.S. Representatives Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) joined a dozen of their Republican colleagues in introducing the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act.

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Attorney General Skrmetti on TikTok’s Refusal to Provide Documents: If a Company’s Behavior Is Sufficiently Egregious, State Law ‘Allows Me to Ask a Court to Ban That Company from Ever Doing Business in Tennessee Again’

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to the newsmaker line to discuss the amicus brief filed against Chinese-owned TikTok and the possibility of litigation that could outlaw its platform in the state.

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Lawmakers Demand Biden Declassify COVID Origins Investigations

Lawmakers are demanding that President Joe Biden declassify documents related to the origins of COVID-19, in particular federal investigations into the matter.

The Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent that would require Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify documents related to COVID’s origins. Republicans have a majority in the House, giving the legislation a chance, but whether Biden would sign it is in doubt.

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Gallagher Reintroduces Bill Demanding Biden Administration Declassify Docs on COVID and Wuhan Lab

In the wake of growing support for the idea that COVID-19 originated in a lab in China, U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) is reintroducing a bill requiring the Biden administration to declassify intelligence related to links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the pandemic. 

Gallagher’s COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 comes back as the U.S. Department of Energy concludes at least with some confidence that the COVID-19 pandemic most likely arose from a lab leak. The agency came to that conclusion based on a classified intelligence report provided to the White House and certain members of Congress.

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Biden Administration Reverses Course on Efforts to Regulate U.S. Investments in China

The Biden Administration is planning to scale back planned regulations that would have cracked down on American investments in China, even despite rising tensions between the two nations.

According to Politico, at least five anonymous sources “with knowledge of the White House discussions” said that Biden will not sign the executive order as originally planned; instead of outright restricting such investments, the new order will instead simply attempt to increase the transparency of such deals.

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Gallagher Calls on Biden Administration to Declassify Intelligence on Origins of COVID-19

It’s time to open up the classified pandemic files, says U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. 

With revelations the U.S. Department of Energy now believes a lab leak was the likely cause of the COVID-19 outbreak, Gallagher is calling on the Biden administration to declassify the intelligence surrounding the origins of the deadly coronavirus. 

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Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Calls for China to Pay Reparations for COVID Lab Leak

In the wake of revelations the U.S. Energy Department now believes the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China, Republicans are calling for investigations and accountably. One presidential candidate, health science entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, says China owes reparations  and should be expelled from the World Trade Organization. 

“Now we know what we should have known all along: COVID-19 began in a lab in China,” Ramaswamy, who launched his campaign last week, said in a statement. “As President I will extract reparations from the Communist Chinese Party, using every financial lever available to us.”

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Legislation Would Block Hostile Actors from Land Purchase Near U.S. Military Bases

Legislation in Congress would block China and foreign adversaries from buying land around U.S. military installations, including six major bases in North Carolina.

U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, is cosponsoring Protecting Military Installations and Ranges Act, which was reintroduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX. The legislation targets efforts by hostile actors from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea to acquire U.S. land close to U.S. military installations or areas.

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New Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Barnstorms Iowa to Campaign on His Unapologetic Message of American Exceptionalism

Running on four hours of sleep from his trip to New Hampshire the day before, newly announced Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy crisscrossed central and eastern Iowa Thursday, bringing the first-in-the-nation caucus state an unapologetic message of American exceptionalism he believes will take him all the way to the White House. 

The 37-year-old Ohio entrepreneur crowned by The New Yorker as the “CEO of Anti-Woke Inc”, paid a call on Republican lawmakers Thursday morning at the Iowa Statehouse, then joined a Republican Women’s group for lunch in the Quad Cities, was back in the Des Moines metro for an afternoon business roundtable at a production plant in Ankeny before capping the day at a Polk County Republicans event in Urbandale. 

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China Calls for Russo-Ukrainian Peace Talks as War’s One-Year Mark Arrives

China called for a ceasefire in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict this week and for the start of peace negotiations as the war’s one-year anniversary approaches Friday.

Beijing unveiled its proposals as part of a 12-point plan to end the conflict that would also see the end of Western sanctions on Russia and a number of allowances for humanitarian relief, according to the New York Post.

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Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson Reignites Effort to Protect America’s Sovereignty Against World Health Organization’s Pandemic Treaty

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) reintroduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to protect the sovereignty of the United States against the World Health Organization’s (WHO) attempt to push through a pandemic treaty onto its member states.

Johnson led other Republican senators as he reintroduced the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act.

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Former Ambassador to China Terry Branstad Says Biden’s Handling of Spy Balloon a ‘Disaster’

A former U.S. ambassador to China says President Joe Biden’s handling of the recent spy balloon affair has been a “disaster.” 

Ambassador Terry Branstad, former longtime Iowa governor and President Trump’s top diplomat in China, tells The Iowa Star the Chinese Communist Party “respects strength” and the only thing Biden has shown them is weakness. He said it’s the latest in a long line of foreign policy blunders by the administration. 

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Arizona State Representative Introduces Legislation to Prohibit TikTok from Devices Used by the State

State Representative Matt Gress (R-Phoenix) is introducing an amendment at the Wednesday House Governance Committee meeting dubbed the “No TikTok on Arizona Government Devices Act.”

“When I was sworn into office, I took an oath to defend my constituents and all Arizonans from enemies both foreign and domestic,” said Gress. “This legislation fulfills this promise as the security risks associated with the use of TikTok – an application owned and operated by the Chinese Communist Party with the capabilities of gathering crucial details about personal, private internet activity – can’t be ignored.”

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Wisconsin Congressman Sponsoring TikTok Ban Pleased to See Senate Effort Is Now Bipartisan

U.S. Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8) this weekend expressed heightened optimism about the prospect of banning all American use of the video-sharing application TikTok after the Senate version of his bill to do so gained bipartisan support. 

Last week, Senator Angus King, an independent who is a member of his chamber’s Democratic Caucus, joined Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in cosponsoring the legislation, known as the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act). The measure has enjoyed bipartisan backing in the House of Representatives since its introduction in December, being cosponsored by Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8). 

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Three in a Week: Two Objects Shot Down by Fighter Jets Believed to Be Balloons, Officials Say

U.S. fighter jets shot down two objects believed to be surveillance balloons over the weekend, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other U.S. officials on Sunday.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that national security advisor Jake Sullivan told him that “they believe” the objects shot down Friday and Saturday over Canada and Alaska were surveillance balloons.

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NFL Lures Millions to TikTok Despite Rising Security, Privacy Concerns About the Chinese Platform

The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off Sunday in the Super Bowl, but their competition extends beyond the gridiron to the social media stage, where the two teams are vying, along with the NFL’s other 30 franchises, for followers and engagement on TikTok, the controversial video-sharing app that reportedly has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Although spy balloons are currently dominating the headlines, the wildly popular TikTok appears to be China’s premier Trojan Horse.

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National Security Expert Bill Gertz: Biden’s Weak Response to China Spy Balloon Yet Another Example of America’s Current ‘Woefully Inadequate’ Leadership

Live from Music Row, Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Washington Times reporter and national security expert Bill Gertz to the newsmaker line to comment on the Chinese spy balloon and the intentions of current U.S. leadership.

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Report: China Has More ICBM Launchers than U.S.

A new report from the United States military asserts that China is now in possession of more land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers than the U.S., further reflecting China’s ongoing military escalations as part of its quest to become a superpower.

The New York Post reports that the Armed Services Committees in both houses of Congress were notified of this development on January 26th by General Anthony Cotton, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command. However, even despite having more launchers, the U.S. still has more ICBM missiles, whereas many of the Chinese launchers are empty. The U.S. also maintains superiority over China in the size of its nuclear fleet, despite China’s continuing efforts to increase the size of its own nuclear arsenal.

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New Poll Shows Overwhelming Disapproval of Biden’s Handling of Spy Balloon Affair

While he made time to attack Republicans during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden failed to note his handling of the Chinese spy balloon affair. A new poll might just explain why the Democrat avoided the topic. 

More than 63 percent of voters say they disapprove of the Biden administration’s handling of the spy balloon episode, according to the poll conducted by The Trafalgar Group for Convention of States Action. 

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U.S. Notches Record Trade Deficit in 2022

The U.S. trade deficit increased to its highest recorded level in 2022, thanks in part to a surging trade deficit with China.

The U.S. registered a roughly $948.1 billion goods and services deficit for the year, including a $382.9 billion goods deficit to China, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) revealed Tuesday. This 12.2% surge over 2021 marks an all-time U.S. trade deficit record, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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US Tech Giants Funding China’s Race to Supremacy in AI

A recently leaked memo from Gen. Mike Minihan, the head of the U.S. Air Mobility Command (AMC), suggested that, within the next two years, the U.S. would be at war with China over Taiwan.  

“I hope I am wrong,” wrote the four-star general, before adding that his gut feeling is that “we will fight in 2025.” The leaked memo comes at a time when, according to a recent article in The Economist, tensions between the U.S. and China are at an all-time high — a conclusion amply reinforced by recent headlines about the test of wills between the two nations over a Chinese spy balloon the Pentagon believes was overflying sensitive U.S. military sites. 

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China Chreatens U.S. for Popping Balloon as American Military Begins Recovery Operation

China on Sunday threatened to respond after the United States shot down a suspected spy balloon that flew over sensitive military sites while U.S. armed forces are currently recovering the aircraft.

“China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the company concerned, and reserves the right to make further responses if necessary,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has insisted the balloon was a civilian research airship that went off course, said.

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