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Xi Sends Warning to Trump Over Taiwan
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The language from Xi was blunt. It may not be surprising, but it will be interesting to see how much Xi will push and the degree to which Trump and the U.S. will hold our ground. Wall Street Journal: Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned President Trump that any mishandling of Taiwan could lead to “an extremely dangerous situation,” directly raising a point of tension that has loomed over what the U.S. president said at the start could be “the best summit ever.” Xi’s remarks, while in line with China’s longstanding position, threatened to dim the mood of a visit both countries hoped would stabilize ties. The meetings that began Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing were billed as a gathering of superpowers to quell economic and trade disputes…. Xi, however, aims to weaken the U.S. commitment to Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing seeks to bring under its control. “Handled well, relations between the two countries can maintain overall stability,” the Chinese leader said, according to the Foreign Ministry. “If handled poorly, the two countries will collide or even clash, putting the entire U.S.-China relationship in an extremely dangerous situation.” “‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water,” Xi said. “Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the U.S.” Trump didn’t publicly respond to Xi’s statement ( Wall Street Journal).
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‘Taiwan is everything Donald Trump says he wants in an ally’
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That’s the opening line from Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, Ret. as he makes the case that we need to stay the course with our democratic ally. More: [Taiwan ] is investing unprecedented sums in its own defense, including billions spent on American-made weapons. It manufactures the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips, which power U.S. commercial products and cutting-edge weapons, such as the F-35 stealth fighter…. Taiwan’s contributions to American prosperity are so fundamental that their loss would reverberate through every sector of the U.S. economy. Two Taiwanese companies, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and United Microelectronics Corporation together account for nearly three-quarters of the semiconductor chips produced world-wide…. President Trump should recognize that Taiwan is offering the far better deal. It has already done what Washington would want from an ally.” It is a democracy. It is spending over 3 percent of GDP on defense and committed to 5 percent. It is buying American weapons specifically designed for its threat environment. It is standing daily against a U.S. peer adversary. And it is the source of the semiconductor chips that energize American economic and military power in the twenty-first century. Trading Taiwan’s security for rhetoric from Beijing would be a strategic blunder of historic proportions, one that every American ally watching the summit, from Tokyo and Seoul to Warsaw and Tallin would remember for a generation ( Defense One).
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Trump Has the Upper Hand on Xi
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Our war against Iran has exposed China’s weakness.That’s the argument from Lee Smith: Six months on, Trump has gained the upper hand. His tariffs on China are decreasing the U.S. trade deficit, with the imbalance at its lowest level since 2004. “January, February, and March were all very good months for the U.S.,” said [trade analyst Alan Tonelson]. In January, the United States seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a Chinese ally, and took over the Venezuelan oil industry, which China bought at a discount and which accounted for between 3% to 5% of its oil exports. Iranian oil, also discounted for Beijing, makes up another 12% to 15% of China’s oil, meaning that nearly one-fifth of Beijing’s oil imports reach China at Trump’s discretion. Now the Chinese aren’t saying much about rare earth minerals. China is hurting. “It’s a loss of face seeing their Iranian ally crushed like that,” said Tonelson…. Given the damage Trump has inflicted on not just Iran but also China, he could walk away now and declare victory. Together with Israel, the United States has decimated Iranian leadership, destroyed its navy and air force, and collapsed most of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles facilities. Trump could withdraw forces and promise to return if the regime tests his warnings, or he could leave it entirely to the next administration to stop what he’s described as an existential threat that plagues not only Israel and other U.S. regional allies but also Europe and soon the American homeland. But Trump says he isn’t leaving until he gets all the uranium Iran has enriched and dismantles all its nuclear facilities. It seems he really doesn’t care about the polling, gas prices, or even threats to his future freedom, because he’s not budging. The American president Xi is meeting in Beijing is dug in ( Tablet).
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Trump Invites Chinese Leader Xi to Visit White House
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The announcement came before the state banquet at the close of the trip: President Trump formally invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife to the White House as he touted “the rich and enduring ties between the American and Chinese people.” “It is my honor to extend an invitation to you and Madame Peng [Liyuan] to visit us at the White House this September 24, and we look forward to it,” Trump said at the conclusion of a 10-minute toast ahead of a state banquet in the Chinese capital’s Great Hall of the People ( New York Post). Bloomberg notes two additional potential meetings of the two leaders: The two presidents also have another two chances to meet this year at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen this November, and the Group of 20 conclave in Miami the following month ( Bloomberg).
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Iran Strikes, Sinks Indian Vessel Sinks Near Oman
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Yet another provocation from the mullahs. Iran International: An Indian-flagged cargo ship sank off the coast of Oman after an attack sparked a blaze aboard the vessel following a suspected drone attack, Indian authorities announced on Thursday, as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was visiting New Delhi ( Iran). The Wall Street Journal reports that the crew was rescued: India’s Foreign Ministry said Omani authorities had rescued all the crew after the incident, without saying who was behind it or which day the attack occurred. Windward, a maritime-data company, said the vessel sank following a suspected drone attack. Two Omani officials familiar with the matter said the ship was carrying goats. The officials said the circumstances of the sinking were being investigated ( Wall Street Journal).
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Iran Terror Proxies No Longer Have Weapons Support From Tehran
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That news comes from CENTCOM’s Brad Cooper and his appearance before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services Thursday. It’s a big win in and of itself. If we can starve the terror proxies of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, we will have come a long way towards weakening the radical Iranian regime’s ability to project power. Times of Israel: Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors and US interests in the region have been dramatically reduced, a senior US admiral says. “Iran has a significantly degraded threat, and they no longer threaten regional partners, or the United States, in ways that they were able to do before, across every domain,” Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command tells a Senate committee. “They’ve been significantly degraded.” Cooper notes that Iran’s armed proxies launched over 350 attacks on US troops and diplomats in the 30 months before the recent war, an average of one every three days, killing four American soldiers. “Today, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are all cut-off from Iran’s weapons supply and support,” Cooper asserts. “This result was not foreordained” ( Times of Israel).
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Israel to Sue New York Times Over Latest Blood Libel From Nicholas Kristof
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The way to limit the most egregious and outrageous lies being propagated is to make it costly to do so. Times of Israel: Israel will sue The New York Times over an op-ed alleging widespread sexual abuse and rape against Palestinian prisoners, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in a joint statement Thursday. They called the piece by columnist Nicholas Kristof “one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press” ( Times of Israel). Ed Morrissey: Can Israel seek justice against defamation by Nicholas Kristof and the New York Times in a US court? You better believe they’ll try. Whether they succeed depends on a number of factors, but just the effort may make the point. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had enough of the Paper of Wreckard’s coverage of Israel, and Kristof’s allegations are the last straw. Netanyahu announced this morning on X/Twitter that he would sue the paper and Kristof for defamation over the “blood libel” of training dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners…. Even if Israel doesn’t win the suit, though, they can force the NYT and Kristof into discovery that will prove expensive and likely embarrassing ( Hot Air).
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The Final Report on Minnesota Fraud Has Come In; ‘Shocking levels of fraud’
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The damning document comes from the Minnesota Fraud Prevention and Oversight Committee. From their Executive Summary: The Walz Administration ignored and consciously downplayed shocking levels of fraud across more than a dozen Medicaid waiver programs…. Governor Walz created a culture that enabled fraud by failing to hold anyone in his administration accountable, despite years of credible whistleblower and OLA reports and actual federal criminal indictments and convictions ( House). Fox News: The committee concluded that the scale of fraud in Minnesota is “massive and unprecedented,” costing taxpayers an estimated $300 million in federal meal program fraud and up to $9 billion in Medicaid fraud. The report asserts that the total amount stolen across multiple programs, including childcare and SNAP, is significantly higher than previously believed…. The report offered a strong critique of [Rep. Ilhan Omar (D)], asserting that her MEALS Act “took the guardrails off” federal nutrition programs by allowing for-profit restaurants to participate and permitting “grab-and-go” flexibilities that made it nearly impossible to verify if children were actually being fed by the Feeding Our Future program ( Fox News).
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Supreme Court Preserves Access to Abortion Pill
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At least an interim defeat for the pro-life community. Justices Alito and Thomas dissented. Though it is a loss, the case now returns to the 5 th Circuit. The case could be back before the high court on their normal docket. The Hill: Abortion pills can remain available through the mail for the immediate future after the Supreme Court on Thursday paused a lower court ruling that would have blocked access while a lawsuit proceeds…. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented separately. “The Court’s unreasoned order granting stays in this case is remarkable. What is at stake is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision” overturning constitutional abortion rights, Alito wrote. “Applicants are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise. They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes,” Thomas wrote…. It is not a final decision in the high-stakes dispute. The case now heads back to the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit, and it could ultimately return to the justices on their normal docket ( The Hill).
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NYU Students Press for Jonathan Haidt Be Disinvited as Grad Speaker
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And the irony is: Haidt is a critic of cancel culture and longtime champion of viewpoint diversity on the university campus. He also a professor at NYU ( NYU; NYU). But he’s not sufficiently leftist for NYU students who have launched an effort to disinvite Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation and critic of cancel culture, from delivering the commencement address. College Fix: Student government leaders at New York University are demanding that administrators disinvite the 2026 commencement speaker, famed social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, arguing the cancel culture critic is too divisive and controversial to platform. Haidt, a business professor at NYU, is an outspoken critic of radical leftism in higher education. He is a widely respected expert on social media’s effects on adolescent mental health and the author of two best-selling books on fragility among today’s young people, “The Coddling of the American Mind” and “The Anxious Generation.” But NYU’s Executive Committee of the Student Government Assembly called on campus leaders in a recent memo to disinvite Haidt, saying his selection has created feelings of “disappointment, disgust, unenthusiasm, defeat, and embarrassment” among the student body ( College Fix). John Sexton at Hot Air: In short, they’d rather have a DEI lecturer pushing junk science than someone doing actual research. But the real irony here isn’t the rejection of Haidt’s most recent book but the way in which these students are proving the thesis of his earlier book: “In his breakout book, ‘The Coddling of the American Mind,’ he and his co-author, Greg Lukianoff, argued that schools cultivated a mentality of fragility, making personal safety paramount, while de-emphasizing problem-solving skills” ( Hot Air).
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