Authored by Naziya Alvi Rahman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A fundraising “game” created by prominent anti-abortion campaigner Joanna Howe has sparked political backlash in South Australia.

It has now been referred for investigation by the Attorney-General after questions were raised during a heated debate on late-pregnancy abortion laws.

The bingo-style fundraiser was launched on Nov. 12, as the Legislative Council prepared to debate a bill seeking to restrict abortions later in pregnancy.

Supporters were invited to “buy” parliamentary words and phrases—from $1 to $70—that MPs might use during the debate.

Examples on her list included phrases such as:

• pregnant person ($70)
• abortion care ($70)
• misinformation ($50)
• late-term abortions are rare ($10)
• trust the experts ($10)

On her website, Howe wrote that “the beautiful irony is that politicians will be inadvertently funding us every time they attack us.”

The fundraiser was raised in parliament within hours.

Greens MP Robert Simms asked whether the scheme complied with South Australia’s lottery and fundraising laws. He told the chamber that “followers are being encouraged to buy words … in relation to a debate that is due to occur in the parliament this afternoon.”

“My question to the Attorney-General is: is he aware of this fundraiser, and does it raise any concerns for him?” Simms asked.

Attorney-General Seeks Examination

Attorney-General Kyam Maher confirmed he had seen the reports about the fundraiser. He told parliament its legality depended on “a whole range of circumstances,” including whether it fell under South Australia’s Lotteries Act.

“There are certain requirements around things depending on the value of the prizes,” he said.

“Whether it is a major lottery and licences need to be applied for, or whether it is a minor lottery.”

Maher said he would refer the matter to Consumer and Business Affairs.

A spokesperson for the agency later confirmed it was aware of the concerns raised.

“Consumer and Business Services is aware of the matters raised in Parliament this week and is considering them,” he told The Epoch Times.

The issue emerged during an emotional debate, with several Members of the Legislative Council visibly distressed. The late-pregnancy abortion bill was ultimately defeated 11 votes to eight.

Long History of Tension

Howe has held several federal advisory roles, including positions on the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration in 2021, the panel reviewing Australia’s Migration Program in 2022, and an International Labour Organisation (ILO) working group on temporary labour migration in 2019.

Her activism has also brought her into repeated conflict with Parliament.

She is currently banned from the South Australian parliament precinct over what officials called “threatening and intimidating tactics’’ during an earlier abortion bill dispute.

Howe denies the allegations, saying that “no formal complaint or allegation has actually been put to me’’ and that she had been denied “procedural and substantive fairness.’’

She has also been a central figure in multiple conservative-backed attempts to wind back abortion access, including working with former One Nation MLC Sarah Game on the bill to restrict abortions after 22 weeks and six days.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, will be releasing new dietary guidelines in December to reset America’s food supply chain away from toxic seed oils and highly processed foods toward real food, the kind our grandparents and parents ate many decades ago.

Ahead of next month’s release, a new Bloomberg report on Thursday night says the administration may roll out a revamped food pyramid centered on protein and whole foods. Sorry, Bill Gates, fake food and insects are not on the menu.

The food pyramid was retired in 2011 and replaced with MyPlate, but RFK Jr., according to the report, could make the food pyramid great again. 

America’s top health official has long criticized previous nutrition advice, arguing that saturated fat was wrongly vilified. 

Health and agriculture officials say the forthcoming 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines will be rooted in better “science,” focus on reducing chronic disease, and support the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” theme, which will be supercharged in the midterm election cycle. 

The only major hurdle to eating real food that isn’t grown on massive commercial farms drenched in chemicals is cost. That’s why the Trump administration rolled out Operation Affordability this week, an effort to cut tariffs and strengthen trade deals to boost imports of staple foods and drive grocery prices lower next year.

The administration should also place more emphasis on rebuilding local food supply chains by strengthening small farms and ranches.

Americans are long overdue to push back against the globalist food giants on the food system (see here), a system saturated with chemicals and additives that have left the nation in a health crisis.

One of the simplest acts of rebellion is to plant your own “MAHA Garden” during the Northern Hemisphere’s next growing season. Also, purchase chickens and other farm animals … time to know where your food comes from. 

Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Nearly every American adult has a health condition that could lead to heart failure, yet nine out of 10 have never even heard of it. Now, the American Heart Association (AHA) is sounding the alarm on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a newly defined cluster of interconnected diseases that doctors have been treating separately for decades.

The condition encompasses a cluster of interconnected conditions—including heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity—that often occur together, significantly increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. It was first defined in a 2023 AHA Presidential Advisory. Despite affecting roughly 90 percent of U.S. adults, few people have heard of it, according to a recent AHA survey.

In early 2026, the AHA will release its first-ever clinical guidelines on the syndrome to help health care providers better identify and treat this widespread condition.

Study Reveals Widespread Prevalence of CKM Syndrome in U.S. Adults

“It’s really common to have risk factors for heart, kidney, and metabolic disease [like diabetes] at the same time, and they’re interconnected,” Dr. Stacey E. Rosen, national volunteer president of the American Heart Association, told The Epoch Times.

The problem, Rosen noted, is that care for people with multiple conditions is often fractured, with various specialists and primary care clinicians working in silos. Through the AHA’s CKM Health Initiative, the association aims to help doctors work together and treat cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic risk factors together, because that’s how patients experience them, she said.

The Numbers Behind the Problem

A comprehensive analysis of U.S. adults based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning 2011 to 2020 showed that nearly 90 percent of adults had signs indicating early stages of CKM syndrome. They carried risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, or problems controlling blood sugar.

About 15 percent of adults were classified as having advanced stages, which include having blood vessel damage or kidney disease. Older adults—particularly those aged 65 and older—were most affected, with more than 55 percent classified as having advanced stages.

The study found that the prevalence of CKM syndrome remained steady over the decade, with no significant improvements in reducing the overall burden of disease. Even younger adults aged 20 to 44 showed notable risk, especially among black adults and men, who were more likely to be in higher stages of CKM syndrome.

The condition stems from overweight and obesity in its initial stage and progresses to multiple risk factors and advanced disease, warranting early recognition, Dr. Eugenia Gianos, director of cardiovascular prevention at Northwell Health and director of women’s heart health at Lenox Hill Hospital, told The Epoch Times.

How Heart, Kidney, and Metabolic Systems Are Connected

CKM health involves three critical systems: the heart, kidneys, and metabolic system.

The heart pumps blood to supply oxygen and nutrients; the kidneys filter waste, regulate fluids, and help control blood pressure; and the metabolic system turns food into energy and manages blood glucose levels.

When one system functions poorly, it can create a domino effect, worsening the others. For example, reduced heart function can lower blood flow to the kidneys, impairing their ability to filter waste and regulate blood pressure. Conversely, kidney dysfunction can lead to high blood pressure and fluid overload, which increases strain on the heart.

Additionally, metabolic issues such as high blood sugar and excess weight contribute to inflammation and damage across these systems.

This interconnected cycle can escalate silently, often without obvious symptoms, until significant damage occurs.

Current guidelines emphasize cardiovascular screening beginning at age 40. “Yet the early drift in blood pressure, glucose, and lipids often begins much earlier, especially among young adults with sedentary lifestyles,” Akshaya Bhagavathula, associate professor of epidemiology at North Dakota State University, told The Epoch Times.

While metabolic syndrome has gained attention as a warning stage, he noted, chronic kidney disease can go unnoticed. “Nearly nine in 10 adults with kidney impairment are unaware of it until significant damage has occurred,” Bhagavathula said. The CKM model encourages integrating prevention, screening, and treatment of the metabolic, renal, and cardiovascular systems together, rather than waiting for the disease to declare itself.

Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

Many people expect heart disease to appear with dramatic chest pain, but early warning signs are far subtler, Bhagavathula said.

Less obvious symptoms include unusual fatigue or weakness that isn’t proportional to activity level and mood changes—such as depression or brain fog—which might also be early indicators. Other symptoms that may indicate trouble include swelling in uncommon areas such as the abdomen or the back of the ankles, which may be caused by fluid retention related to heart or kidney issues.

Something else to watch for is changes in urination patterns, including foamy urine indicating protein loss, dark urine, or decreased urine output, which can be signs of kidney problems.

Toxin buildup from impaired kidney function may cause a metallic taste or bad breath, and difficulty sleeping can stem from fluid overload or breathing difficulties.

Elevated blood pressure that develops gradually without noticeable symptoms is another warning sign.

“Women may present with jaw pain, nausea, or extreme tiredness rather than classic pressure pain,” he added.

“Even small rises in resting heart rate, post-meal glucose, or inflammatory markers predict future cardiac events years in advance,” Bhagavathula said. “These patterns reflect the systemic nature of CKM syndrome; the heart rarely fails in isolation.”

How to Improve Heart and Kidney Health

Most people with CKM syndrome can reverse or slow down the disease process with lifestyle changes and appropriate medications to reduce their risk for heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, Rosen said.

These lifestyle changes include:

• Adopt a Heart-Healthy Diet: Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, while limiting salt intake to help control blood pressure.
• Stay Physically Active: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly to significantly improve overall health.
• Monitor Health Regularly: Track blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, weight, and kidney function through routine checkups to catch potential issues early.
• Avoid Tobacco and Limit Alcohol: Both habits significantly increase risk across all three systems.
• Manage Stress Effectively: Use mindfulness or relaxation techniques and ensure adequate sleep.
• Follow Medical Advice: Take prescribed medications and attend routine checkups.

People should also be cautious with over-the-counter medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which can harm kidney health if used excessively.

The AHA offers educational resources and tools through its CKM Health Initiative website to help people understand these connections and take early action to prevent serious complications such as heart attacks or strokes.

It’s no secret that Japan and China have had a long history of animosity, which at times appears to cool but at others flares up to intensity again. The past week has seen historic tensions explode to the forefront once again, resulting in China summoning the Japanese ambassador in Beijing to vehemently denounce some recent statements by Tokyo leadership.

The spat started when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made comments in a parliamentary meeting which made clear Japan could possibly intervene militarily in the scenario of China invading Taiwan.

This represents a public first, and potential initial move abandoning the US ally’s longstanding ‘strategic ambiguity’ on the Taiwan issue.

China’s foreign ministry had been quick to blast the comments as “egregious” – related in the following:

The current tensions were sparked at a parliamentary meeting in Japan last Friday, when an opposition lawmaker asked Takaichi what circumstances surrounding Taiwan would count as a survival-threatening situation for Japan.

“If there are battleships and the use of force, no matter how you think about it, it could constitute a survival-threatening situation,” Takaichi responded.

A “survival-threatening situation” is a legal term under Japan’s 2015 security law, referring to when an armed attack on its allies poses an existential threat to Japan. In such a situation, Japan’s self-defense forces can be activated to respond to the threat.

Now, a week after the initial provocative remarks, and China has further escalated the spat by formally advising its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future over ‘safety concerns’.

The foreign ministry specifically invoked PM Takaichi’s incendiary Taiwan-related comments, going so far as to say her words created “major risks” to the safety of Chinese nationals in Japan. The ministry further cited “a surge in crimes against Chinese citizens and numerous attacks against them.” 

The NY Times reviews how this could set off deteriorating relations less than a month in to Takaichi taking office:

The abuse abruptly ended a honeymoon between Ms. Takaichi, in office for less than a month, and China. She had met China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, just last month in South Korea, with the two leaders warmly shaking hands and smiling.

It also ended China’s turn away from so-called wolf warrior diplomacy, an aggressive, in-your-face approach to foreign relations that took shape after Mr. Xi rose to power in Beijing in 2012 but had largely faded in recent years.

Relations between China and Japan have for decades been prone to intemperate feuds fueled largely by bitter Chinese memories of World War II, when the Japanese army committed multiple atrocities, including the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, crimes for which Beijing believes Tokyo has never sufficiently apologized.

The drastic move further followed a Thursday social media posting by China’s foreign ministry – issued in Japanese and English – which warned Tokyo must “stop playing with fire” and that it would be “act of aggression” if Japan “dares to meddles in the cross-Strait situation.“

Our message to Japan is clear: Japan must fully repent for its war crimes, immediately stop its wrong and provocative statements and moves that interfere in China’s internal affairs, and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan question. Those who play with fire will perish by it! pic.twitter.com/F0G6FvU6qD

— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) November 13, 2025

As for Japan, it has been most angered at a social media post issued last Saturday by China’s consul general in the Japanese city of Osaka, Xue Jian. He had shared article about Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks on X with his own words, “the dirty head that sticks itself in must be cut off.” Tokyo quickly lodged its own diplomatic protest over the “high inappropriate” commentary.

But China has still maintained all of this ultimately stems from the “extremely wrong and dangerous” words of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi related to defending Taiwan.

Via Open The Books,

If you were told a business increased their staff headcount by 5% over four years but its payroll rose 24% over that time, all the while withholding the names of 39% of their staff, would you invest in that company?

Unlikely. But that’s just what the United State government does, funded by taxpayer dollars and operating as if accountable to no one.

Open the Books analyzed the FY 2024 payroll records of executive agencies and found that 2.9 million federal employees were paid $270 billion, compared to 2.8 million employees paid $217 billion in FY 2020. While the civilian employee ranks grew 5%, pay grew nearly 5 times as much, 24%.

The Office of Personnel Management provided the pay for over 1.5 million executive agency bureaucrats; Department of Defense provided pay for its 761,624 civilian employees; and United States Postal Service gave its 638,007 employees’ payroll, via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Not included are pay for judicial branch employees; the 535 members of Congress and their staff; the 1.3 million active-duty military members; the Office of the Vice President (which claims itself entirely exempt from FOIA); nor the staff of several intelligence agencies.

While payroll records don’t include benefits, adding an estimated 30% to the $270 billion payroll brings total costs to $351 billion.

That means the disclosed federal workforce costs the American taxpayer $673,000 per minute, $40.4 million per hour, and just under $1 billion per day.

Meanwhile, more than a million civilian names were redacted from payroll productions produced by Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense.

The Trump administration has a historic opportunity to bring much-needed transparency to the administrative state. While federal employees don’t add as much to the debt as safety net programs, defense, and overall agency spending, they are an indicator of government growth.

A New Minimum Wage? $100,000 Earners

These employees are now being paid more than ever before.

The average pay exceeded $100,000 in 117 of 127 executive agencies and the White House.

In FY 2024, there were 31,452 federal employees who out-earned every governor of the 50 states. That includes the highest paid, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who collects a $250,000 salary.

Even worse, there were 956 federal employees who outearned the president himself.

The vast majority — 939 people — are medical officers at the Veterans Health Administration, while another 15 doctors at the National Institutes of Health earning more than $400,000.

Two more people outearned the president: Micah Nix, an emergency room doctor with the Indian Health Service, part of Department of Health and Human Services and one other redacted employee working at Bureau of Prisons, part of Department of Justice.

The highest paid federal employee is cardiologist Gary H. Gibbons, Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. He earned $519,246 last year.

Lest one think these highly paid doctors are the only ones raking in big checks, the payroll is top-heavy across the board.

Of the 2.1 million non-DOD employees in FY 2024, 793,537 people made $100,000 or more, a 49% increase from 532,784 people in FY 2020.

There were 68,445 employees who earned $200,000 or more – an 82% increase from 37,631 in FY 2020.

Those making $300,000 or more numbered at 14,144 – an 84% increase from 7,692 in FY 2020.

At least 20 federal agencies have an average pay above $150,000. Topping the list is Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where the 721 staffers make an average of $236,006.

The obscure Public Buildings Reform Board and Arctic Research Commission each pay their staff an average of $192,000, while the 1,851 employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earn an average pay of $187,120.

Boards for Civil Rights Cold Case Review, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight, and Surface Transportation have average pay between $166,091 and $181,903.

The Swamp Gets Larger

In the largest federal agencies, there’s little correlation between employee headcounts and increased pay.

In most cases, even a decrease in headcount still led to an increase in total pay for that agency.

For instance, the Post Office lost 6% of its staff between FY 2020 and FY 2024, yet payroll increased 11% during that time.

At Department of Justice, headcount decreased less than 1% but its payroll nonetheless increased 16%.

Social Security Administration and Department of Commerce both lost staff in those years, 4% and 8%, respectively, but their payrolls still increased 11% and 13%.

At the agencies where headcount increased, payroll soared past them. Department of Homeland Security increased its staff by 6% but its payroll went up 26%. Department of Transportation saw its staff grow by 3% but its payroll by 19%.

Those that grew headcount significantly saw their payroll skyrocket, including a 19% staff increase at both Department of Health and Human Services and Department of State, with 39% and 35% increased payrolls, respectively.

A 20% increase in Department of Energy headcount led to a 37% increase in paychecks.

Top 20 Departments and Agencies by Employee Count

FY 2024 Compared to FY 2020

“Name Withheld” for 39% of Staff

The secrecy of the federal bureaucracy has worsened.

It’s bad enough that Department of Defense redacted all 761,624 civilian employee names from their payroll, and that records production excludes pay for 1.3 million active-duty military members.

When Open the Books requested the FY 2022 federal payroll, the Biden administration had redacted the names of 350,860 rank-and-file employees.

In the most recent FY 2024 production a record-breaking 383,000 names were redacted in 58 federal agencies. Back in FY 2016, a mere 2,300 names were redacted. What gives?

Many of those include investigative and law enforcement roles in agencies including Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Treasury and Veterans’ Affairs — which account for 97% of the redactions.

But still, dozens of additional agencies redacted names, from two each at U.S. Agency for Global Media, Office of National Drug Control Policy and Armed Forces Retirement Home, to over 1,000 each in Departments of Labor, Agriculture, Transportation and Health and Human Services. At Department of Interior, 2,331 identities were redacted.

The payroll report also contains no information about staff in the Office of the Vice President.

That’s because the Office of the Vice President claims not to be subject to FOIA and is not listed on the FOIA website.

Open the Books has tried unsuccessfully in the past to obtain the salaries through open records requests, and has accessed limited payroll information in the semi-annual Report of the Secretary of the Senate.

In the most recent report covering Oct. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025, we can see that Kamala Harris ended her stay in the office with 43 staffers, while J.D. Vance began his vice presidential term with 23 staffers.

As the federal headcount and payroll grow, there are far too many redactions and blind spots that DOGE should have identified and fixed. We can’t have accountability for the federal workforce without better transparency.

With less than two months left until the Berkshire Hathway becomes just another company after the 95-year-old Warren Buffett exits as CEO at the end of the year, there is still some (waning) interest in what this massive long only fund with a record $382 billion in cash, is buying and selling, or as we recently discussed, mostly selling. Which is why today’s 13F deadline is usually a reason for the Berkshire faithful to promptly check out the company’s latest stock holdings on Edgar.com.

What it showed was a total of $267.3 billion in long-only positions, an increase of $10 billion from the previous quarter, with, a handful of notable changes. 

Most notable was that in Q3, Berkshire acquired 17.9 million shares of Google parent Alphabet, the first time it has accumulated a position in the search engine,  while further trimming its holdings in Bank of America by 7% to 568 million shares, and Apple by 15% shares to 238 million shares or $60.6 billion as of Nov 30. At this rate, Apple which has been a mainstay at the top of Berkshire’s investments, will soon be surpassed by #2, American Express, which was untouched for another quarter at 151.6 million shares, or roughly $50 billion.

Berkshire’s Alphabet stake, representing 0.31% of the outstanding shares, was worth $4.3 billion as of Sept 30, and about $4.9 billion as of the market close on Friday.

Some other notable movers, starting with additions:

• Added 20.2 million shares of Chevron, boosting the value of that holding to $19 billion at the end of the quarter. 
• Added 4.3 million shares of insurer Chubb, boosting the value of that holding to $8.8 billion 
• Added 400K shares of Coke, bringing the total value to $26.5 billion.
• Added 497.9K shares of Capital One, bringing the total value to $1.5 billion
• Added 348K shares of Dominos Pizza, bringing the total value to $1.3 billion

And the reductions:

• Sold 41.8 million shares of Apple, reducing the value of that holding to $60.7 billion at the end of the quarter. 
• Sold 42.2 million shares of Bank of America, reducing the value of that holding to $29.3 billion 
• Sold 1.6 million shares of Davita, reducing the value of that holding to $4.3 billion 
• Sold 4.3 million shares of Verisign, reducing the value of that holding to $2.5 billion 
• Sold 1.1 million shares of Constellation Bands, reducing the value of that holding to $1.8 billion 

Buffett also liquidated his entire small stake in DR Horton, which stayed on the books for a very brief 3 months, after it was initiated in Q2, 2025. However it wasn’t a complete homebuilder capitulation, as Berkshire added a tiny 2,007 shares to its holdings in Lennar. 

Overall, as noted previously, the company was a net seller of equities during the period, offloading $6.1 billion of stocks. 

Buffett, 95, who will step down as CEO at year-end, has been finding ways to deploy some of Berkshire’s gargantuan cash pile, which rose to a record $382 billion at the end of the quarter. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate recently reached a deal to buy Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s petrochemical business for $9.7 billion and acquired a $1.6 billion stake in UnitedHealth Group Inc.

The full summary of his holdings is below.

Source

Authored by Rachel Roberts via The Epoch Times,

The United States agreed a $330 million deal for the sale of fighter jets and other aircraft parts to Taiwan on Nov. 13 in the first such deal since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, prompting anger from China.

The announcement of the proposed arms deal follows last month’s meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in a diplomatic bid to secure a trade deal amid the ongoing tariff war between the world’s two largest economies.

Red Line

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory. Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters that the Chinese regime’s claim over Taiwan is at the core of China’s interests and is a red line that must not be crossed in China–U.S. relations.

He said the arms sale undermines Beijing’s sovereignty and security interests, sending what he called a “wrong signal” to Taiwan’s leaders.

The United States cut official ties with Taipei in 1979. While Washington has formal diplomatic ties with Beijing, its ties with Taiwan remain unofficial as the island nation maintains its own democratic government, military, and distinct way of life.

The United States is the main supplier of arms to the island nation and is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te delivers his address during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei on Oct. 10, 2025. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times

‘Cornerstone of Peace’

The Pentagon said in a statement that the proposed sale will improve Taiwan’s “capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient’s fleet of F-16, C-130,” and other aircraft.

“The deepening of the Taiwan-U.S. security partnership is an important cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Taiwan’s presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement, noting the arms sale was the first announced by the current administration.

The statement thanked Washington for continuing its policy of regularized arms sales to Taiwan and supporting the island in enhancing its defense capabilities.

The deal, expected to take effect within a month, will help maintain the air force’s fighter readiness and bolster air defenses, strengthen resilience, and enhance the nation’s ability to respond to China’s “gray-zone” incursions, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island.

Taiwan’s government strongly refutes Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

A U.S.-made F-16V fighter jet taxis on the runway at an air force base during Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military drills in Hualien on July 23, 2024. Sam Yeh / AFP via Getty Images

Trump said in August that Xi told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader remains in office.

He made the comments in an interview with Fox News, ahead of a planned talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Russia–Ukraine war.

“I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here,” Trump said of a potential invasion of the island nation.

“He told me, ‘I will never do it as long as you’re president,’” Trump said, regarding Xi.

“But he also said, ‘But I am very patient, and China is very patient.’”

Trump said he told Xi, “Well, that’s up to you, but it better not happen now.”

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in March that China planned to pursue the “reunification” of Taiwan and would oppose external interference. The CCP has never ruled Taiwan.

Military Exercises

The CCP’s military stages regular exercises in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, which the government in Taipei regards as a way of putting pressure on the island, while stopping short of actual combat.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has repeatedly offered to have talks with China, but Beijing has refused, calling him a “separatist.”

The history between China and Taiwan is long and complex. The island nation, with an estimated population of around 23.9 million to China’s 1.4 billion, is known officially as the Republic of China, and most nations only recognize it unofficially.

Taiwan, which uses the official name the Republic of China (ROC) as shown on its citizens’ passports, is the last territory of the republic that also ruled mainland China from 1911 to 1949.

After being defeated by the CCP in 1949 on the mainland, the ROC’s nationalist government, led by Chiang Kai-shek, retreated to the island of Taiwan, which was returned to China from Japanese occupation in 1945. The Republic of China has remained Taiwan’s official name since then. Meanwhile, the CCP established the communist regime, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on the mainland in 1949.

Polling in Taiwan consistently shows that the vast majority favors the status quo, with younger people more in favor of declaring full independence from China. In a poll from earlier this year, 82.5 percent of respondents rejected Beijing’s claim that “Taiwan is part of China’s territory.”

It didn’t take long for the words Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela, and chemical weapons to show up in the same US government national security memo. We’ve examined before various possible ‘justifications’ Washington might use for some kind of future military action on Venezuela, or even a full regime change operation.

From Vietnam to Iraq to Libya, Washington is always looking for some kind of casus belli – even if it has to be manufactured – to sell war to the American people. And now we’re quickly in WMD territory at a moment that unprecedented US Naval power is parked off Venezuela’s coast.

“A classified Justice Department brief authorizing strikes on drug-smuggling boats describes fentanyl as a potential chemical weapons threat, according to a House member and another person familiar with the memo,” a Friday Wall Street Journal report says.

It cites a lengthy document by the department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which lays out the legal justification of the Trump administration for continuing military operations in the southern Caribbean with an eye on Venezuela. 

Revelation of the classified memo comes less than 12 hours after US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth late in the day Thursday announced a new major US military campaign, dubbed “Operation Southern Spear,” ordered by President Trump.

“Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” the Pentagon chief described. He added “The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it.”

But the chemical weapons angle is unlikely to be very convincing to Congressional leaders, much less the American public:

The main argument in the memo is that President Trump’s designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorists makes them legitimate military targets, asserting that the groups are smuggling drugs to fund deadly and destabilizing actions against the U.S. and its allies, according to lawmakers and others who have read it.

So there are ‘terrorists’ who possess a substance classified as a ‘chemical weapon’. WSJ continues, “The mention of fentanyl is one of many points in the brief, which was drafted over the summer to justify the use of military force against drug traffickers. The legal case for military action doesn’t rest on concerns about chemical-weapons use.”

Still, it’s very questionable whether Venezuela is actually at all involved in the fentanyl trade, as the report notes further:

Venezuela, a base for one of the criminal groups designated as a terrorist organization, has long been a transit route for Colombian cocaine. There is no evidence it produces or traffics fentanyl, which is typically made in Mexico and smuggled over land, experts note.

“It is an incredible stretch,” said Brian Finucane, a former legal adviser to the State Department during the Obama administrations and first Trump administration said of the memo’s warning about fentanyl.

Fentanyl as a “chemical weapon”…

The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has written that “Fentanyl depresses central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory function. Exposure to fentanyl may be fatal.” It has a potency at least 80 times that of morphine.

Going back several years, the single biggest sources of the world’s fentanyl trade have been consistently identified as China and Mexico. At this point it’s impossible to know, and hasn’t been disclosed, whether any of the some 20 boats blown up by US military action off Latin America since September have been loaded with fentanyl, or in what quantities. 

Authored by Cynthia Cai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Waymo has launched driverless robotaxi rides on freeways in the United States, a first in the country for autonomous ride-hailing services.

In a Nov. 12 announcement, the Alphabet-owned company said it will provide some riders with routes that include freeways in California’s San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles as well as in Phoenix, Arizona.

The expansion will also include curbside service at San Jose Mineta International Airport. The company is still in the testing phase at San Francisco International Airport.

Users need to opt in to Waymo’s new services and features through the app to be able to try this kind of trip.

“The open road symbolizes freedom and unlimited possibility—highlighted especially by the ease and speed by which freeways allow us to get where we’re going,” the company said in the announcement.

Waymo has been rapidly expanding its autonomous ride-hailing services domestically and abroad. Earlier this month, it announced plans to launch robotaxi services in San Diego, Detroit, and Las Vegas.

London is also slated to welcome these fully driverless vehicles to its streets in 2026 as a pilot project.

“Over the coming months, we’ll lay the groundwork for our service in collaboration with our fleet operations partner Moove, and continue to engage with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions for our commercial ride-hailing service in London,” Waymo said.

In April this year, Waymo brought its vehicles to Tokyo, where the company began adapting its technology and operations to the busy roads of Japan’s capital city.

Waymo isn’t the only company aiming to bring autonomous ride-hailing to the public, as Tesla recently launched limited self-driving cab services in Austin, Texas. However, with Tesla rides, a human safety operator sits in the front passenger or driver’s seat. Most Waymo cabs are unmanned.

Tesla’s website says its Robotaxi fleet is currently invite-only and consists of Model Y vehicles, and riders are required to stay out of the driver’s seat.

Earlier this year, California greenlit Tesla’s autonomous ride-hailing services for limited operation in pre-arranged trips available to company employees. Tesla obtained a charter-party carrier permit, which allows the company to work towards expanding its service to members of the public, the California Department of Motor Vehicles stated in March.

Tesla’s self-driving technology relies on exterior cameras for 360-degree visibility and artificial intelligence (AI) to navigate roads. Its AI system works to identify objects on the road and maintain speed to keep up with traffic conditions.

Meanwhile, Waymo’s autonomous technology uses a combination of lidar, cameras, radar, and computing to create a 3D picture of the car’s surroundings for the Waymo Driver system to make decisions while on the road.

Over the years, Waymo has faced obstacles while trying to make autonomous ride-hailing widely available.

In 2024, the company temporarily paused expansion plans in California after public officials in San Mateo and Los Angeles counties raised concerns about Waymo cars potentially stalling and causing public safety issues by blocking firefighters and police.

The U.S. Department of Transportation in 2024 probed Waymo’s autonomous driving system following reports of crashes and violations of traffic safety laws.

These cars have also been the target of vandalism. A mob surrounded, smashed, and set on fire a stopped car in San Francisco during Lunar New Year celebrations last year.

Similarly, protesters destroyed several Waymo vehicles during riots in Los Angeles earlier this year. Videos and photos showed rioters calling for the vehicles on apps. When the cars arrived, rioters sprayed graffiti, tore the cars apart, and set them ablaze.

The Mountain View, California-based company currently has over 1,500 cars in its fleet spread across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, with the goal of building 2,000 more fully autonomous I-PACE vehicles through next year.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth late in the day Thursday announced a new major US military campaign, dubbed “Operation Southern Spear,” which he said was ordered by President Trump at a moment of unprecedented build-up of naval assets and troops in the southern Caribbean.

“President Trump ordered action – and the Department of War is delivering,” Hegseth began in his message on X. “Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR.”

The message was not accompanied by any additional escalation or military action against Venezuela, other than the drone boat strikes of late which have become typical. Some 21 alleged drug boats have been blown out of the water off Latin America in operations stretching back to September.

“Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” the Pentagon chief described. He added “The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it.”

Simultaneously in its own post on social media, SOUTHCOM announced that the US Marines were conducting artillery training onboard the USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean in support of the commander-in-chief’s “priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland.”

The USS Iwo Jima is the type of amphibious assault ship which could theoretically land on Venezuela’s coast and deliver troops, though this is unlikely at this stage. Any Trump-ordered assault would likely stay at the level of aerial strikes on land targets.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday rejected criticism of US attacks on narco-vessels from G-7 allies. He emphasized that Europeans will not dictate how Washington chooses to defend US national security.

“I don’t think that the European Union gets to determine what international law is, and what they certainly don’t get to determine is how the United States defends its national security,” he told a reporter while fielding a question. “The United States is under attack from organized criminal narco-terrorists in our hemisphere, and the President is responding in the defense of our country.”

#Readiness:
A U.S. Marine with @22nd_MEU conducts battery training aboard USS Iwo Jima. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the #SOUTHCOM mission, @DeptofWar-directed operations, and @POTUS‘ priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect… pic.twitter.com/kLaxdHcNKq

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) November 13, 2025

“I do find it interesting that all of these countries want us to send and supply, for example, nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to defend Europe, but when the United States positions aircraft carriers in our hemisphere where we live, somehow that’s a problem,” Rubio added.