The News Not Noise Letter: China Practices “Seizing Power”
China encircles Taiwan. Also: the ICJ tells Israel to halt the Rafah operation, and we're getting old and that’s ok(ish).
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It never stops being true: the times they are a-changin’. Lately it feels like big changes are coming fast. To help you understand our changing world, we’ll look at a few of the big shifts reshaping our culture and economy over the coming weeks. Today, we start with one of the biggest: more old people, fewer young people. But first, today’s headlines.
Here are your headlines:
China’s War Games: China isn’t hiding its distaste for Taiwan’s new pro-independence president. Since Thursday, China has been practicing war games, encircling Taiwan with large naval ships and fighter jets which Reuters says are carrying live missiles. As part of the event, China simulated how soldiers would attack foreign ships; circulated animated videos of Taipei in flames on the social app WeChat; and announced that it's practicing to “seize power.” Beijing says the drills are meant as “strong punishment” after the new pro-independence president reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereignty at his inauguration. Given global instability, wars in Europe and the Middle East (to name a few), and the strengthening alliance between Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea, these demonstrations are meant to intimidate Taiwan and the West. (And we can’t help but remember Russia’s “military exercises” on Ukraine’s border in early 2022 just before invading). However, China conducts these sorts of drills near Taiwan periodically and held an even larger show of force in 2022. TL;DR: Concerning but not unprecedented. Taiwan is taking it in stride; they’re used to China’s shows of aggression. We’ll continue to watch the situation as it develops.
ICJ Orders Rafah Offensive Halt: Days after the International Criminal Court prosecutor sought arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister (and the leaders of Hamas), the UN’s top court ordered Israel to take steps to reduce harms in Rafah. Specifically: immediately reopen the Rafah crossing, allow international investigators to enter Gaza, and halt any military operations in Rafah that “could lead to the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population, in whole or in part.” Israel responded with a joint statement by the Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry denying that Israel’s Rafah operation is causing such “destruction,” calling genocide allegations “false, outrageous, and disgusting.” The ICJ has no power to enforce its ruling, but if Israel does not comply, it could face sanctions from member nations.
Negotiations Resume? CIA chief Bill Burns met with Israeli and Qatari officials to try to restart ceasefire/hostage negotiations.
US Missionaries Killed in Haiti: Two US missionaries, David and Natalie Lloyd, were killed in Haiti by gangs Thursday. Their organization, Missions in Haiti, Inc., called conditions in Haiti “dire” and previously posted that “it seems the world has turned their backs on Haiti.” Kenyan special forces are expected to enter Haiti soon in a UN-backed effort to restore order, but that effort was delayed this week.
Louisiana Abortion Pills: Here’s another doozy from Louisiana. The governor just signed a law that designates mifepristone and misoprostol, both components of the abortion pill, as “controlled dangerous substances.” This will make it harder for doctors to prescribe these medications. They are used not only for abortion care but also to manage miscarriages.
Uvalde Shooting Second Anniversary: Today marks the second anniversary of the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and 2 teachers. The families of the victims recently reached a settlement with the city of Uvalde and are now suing dozens of officers with the Texas Department of Safety as well as the school district for their response which a DOJ investigation called an “unimaginable failure.” They’re also suing Meta as well as video game company Activision and gun maker Daniel Defense.
NCAA Settlement: It’s been a long time coming for student athletes: the NCAA and the Power Five athletic conferences reached a landmark $2.8 billion dollar settlement of a class-action lawsuit, creating a seismic shift in the world of college sports. Under the settlement terms, schools will be allowed to pay some student athletes directly for the first time. Division I schools will be able to distribute roughly $20 million/year among their athletes. The settlement will also compensate former student athletes for billions in damages over 10 years. It isn’t expected to take effect until the 2025-26 academic year at the earliest.
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Our Changing World: We’re Getting Old
Demographic Shift: America is experiencing a profound demographic shift: our population is aging rapidly. We’re having fewer children and living longer. Some say the scourge of working women is to blame. (Hello, Harrison Butker?) But we think this is a change worth understanding. What’s really going on here:
Where Have All the Youngins Gone? The demographic shift has a few main components – fewer young people being born, and fewer people dying. Birthrates have fallen since 2007 in the US (and even earlier in many high-income countries). This year even the youngest of the Baby Boomers, an exceptionally large generation, are turning 60 (if that’s you, happy birthday!). And extraordinary medical breakthroughs over the past century mean drastically more people survive childhood and live (really) long lives: since 1924, US life expectancy has jumped from 60 to 80.
