Author: Jon Stokes

Over the last decade, an increasingly volatile relationship between the United States and China has slowly escalated; Trade sanctions, naval and aerial confrontations in the South China Sea, and a war of words has weakened foreign relations to what many say is the lowest point since the Cold War. In recent months the pact between Australia, the UK and the United States (AUKUS) for the “exchange of naval nuclear propulsion information” has been presented as the foundation for an enhanced security partnership linked to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and a rules-based international order. The Chinese Government has condemned AUKUS…

Antony Blinken will on Sunday make the first trip to Beijing by a top US diplomat in nearly five years of strained ties between the world’s largest economies. Here are some of the key issues affecting relations between China and the United States: The United States and China spend vast sums on surveillance, with both sides regularly accusing each other of foul play. The US secretary of state’s visit to Beijing had been scheduled to take place in February but was called off when a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted in US airspace — prompting Washington to shoot it…

As Washington appears to be nearing an interim nuclear agreement with Tehran, the US has assured Israel that it will maintain its security edge and freedom to act against Iran, according to a report Friday. Some of the understandings between Israel and the US regarding the emerging Iran agreement were worked out during a Thursday meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Channel 12 news reported. A senior security official told the network that cooperation had increased between Israel and the US on the issue of Iran, and that the joint work involved security officials…

MOSCOW/KYIV, May 30 (Reuters) – Ukrainian drones struck wealthy districts of Moscow on Tuesday, Russia said in what one politician called the most dangerous attack on the capital since World War Two, while Kyiv was also hit from the air for the third time in 24 hours. Since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into its neighbour in February 2022, the war has largely been fought inside Ukraine. Aerial strikes on targets far from the front have intensified amid a ragged stalemate on the ground with Russian forces entrenched along an extended line in Ukraine’s east and south. One of the strategic southern places Russian…

SHENZHEN, China, May 31 (Reuters) – For the ambitious Chinese tech entrepreneur, expanding into the U.S. just keeps getting harder. Before 2019, there were few major impediments to having a Chinese company that did business in the U.S. from China. But amid escalating U.S.-Sino trade tensions, particularly after Washington slapped sanctions on telecom giant Huawei (HWT.UL), some Chinese firms began setting up headquarters overseas – moves that could help them draw less U.S. government attention. Now, some mainland China tech business owners say they need to go further and gain permanent residency or citizenship abroad to avoid the curbs on…

Health providers must advance and adapt to care for individuals on the autism spectrum, experts said in a U.S. News webinar. Supporting individuals on the autism spectrum takes a village, and hospitals across the U.S. are playing a big role in coordinating that, according to a panel of experts who participated in a recent webinar hosted by U.S. News & World Report. About 1 in 36 children in the United States are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase from 1 in 44 two years ago.…

The sacked Fox News host was one figurehead of a misinformation industry that has reshaped rightwing politics across the world It is difficult to begrudge anyone for celebrating the downfall of far-right provocateur Tucker Carlson, ignominiously ejected from Fox News. Slack-jawed, spitting rage, his tirades were calculated at stirring the resentment of angry white America: from declaring that immigrants made the US dirtier and poorer to embracing the “great replacement theory”, which spreads the noxious lie that the authorities were deliberately “undermining democracy” by replacing US-born Americans with immigrants. Fox staff were reportedly jubilant at his departure. Perhaps this quote…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) — A California assemblyman who represents the South Bay is proposing a bill that would give teachers a 50% raise by 2030. Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi at a press conference Wednesday unveiled his plan for Assembly Bill 938, which seeks to keep current teachers in the profession and attract younger people to the field. “Schools across the state are facing a workforce crisis, with many teachers and school employees unable to afford to live in the communities that they work in,” Muratsuchi said. State numbers show midpoint teacher salaries have increased. Last school year they increased about 3.2%…

China has warned against continued U.S.-Taiwan cooperation, responding to reports that the U.S. military is sending officers to help train Taiwan’s counterparts and that a delegation of defense contractors would visiting the self-ruled island next week TAIPEI, Taiwan — China warned against continued U.S.-Taiwan cooperation Wednesday, responding to reports that the U.S. military was sending officers to help train Taiwan’s counterparts and that a delegation of defense contractors would visiting the self-ruled island next week. “We resolutely oppose the U.S. having any form of official or military contact with China’s Taiwan region,” Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office,…

NORTH ALABAMA (WHNT) — News 19 is receiving several reports of damage and people without power as strong storms moved through the Tennessee Valley overnight. Damage has been reported as a result of the storms overnight from the Shoals to Morgan County to Dekalb County and even up into Lincoln County, Tenn. In some parts of the Tennessee Valley, trees and power lines have fallen causing roadway blockages and power outages. The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-2 Tornado touched down in Lincoln County Tennessee overnight. Fayetteville, Tenn. is one area that has been without power for several hours…