HONG KONG, Feb 7 — The crack of a gunshot and the blonde man flinches behind the lectern, clutching his ear. But instead of horrified gasps, the crowd erupts in laughter and applause. “It’s a bullet! It wants to put me in the grave,” Hong Kong actor Loong Koon-tin sings, in the high-pitched falsetto that…
Today in History Today is Thursday, Jan. 23, the 23rd day of 2025. There are 342 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 23, 1368, China’s Ming dynasty, which lasted nearly three centuries, began as Zhu Yuanzhang (zhoo whan-zhahng) was formally acclaimed Hongwu Emperor, following the collapse of the Yuan dynasty. …
China and the United States should seek more common ground and avoid strategic misjudgment, the state-run People’s Daily said on Sunday, in an apparent call to the coming Trump administration to deepen engagement. The editorial in the Communist Party mouthpiece came two days after a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US president-elect…
The political circumstances that surrounded the publication of Ultimatum, once a bestselling novel that imagined an American effort to annex Canada, may ring familiar to anyone following recent headlines. A US leader announces tariffs on Canadian imports, signalling a more confrontational relationship, and a prime minister named Trudeau scrambles to respond. But the American, in…
Donald Trump and “first buddy” Elon Musk aren’t even formally in power yet, but they already appear to be chafing at the spending constraints Congress could place on them. So political and economic observers might be wise to familiarize themselves with the wonky concept of “impoundment,” which concerns what happens when Congressionally appropriated money simply…
President Joe Biden celebrates his 82nd birthday today at the White House, surrounded by family and friends. This birthday marks his last as commander-in-chief, following a challenging year in which he stepped aside from reelection efforts, paving the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the Democratic ticket. From his roots in Scranton, Pennsylvania,…