China provides respiratory illness data to WHO: WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/world/china/who-presses-china-for-data-on-wave-of-undiagnosed-pneumonia-cases-68ee349b . As readers will quickly recognize, the WHO is now confronting China over data discrepancies. Its reporting of COVID deaths is absurdly low. As a wave of respiratory illnesses affecting children has erupted in China, WHO has made its request public to show other member countries that it is doing something to bring China in line.
Israel-Hamas 4-day truce to begin Friday at 12:01 Eastern time: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/24/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-continues-gaza-attacks-ahead-of-truce . The truce involves the exchange of 50 Hamas hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. A large flow of humanitarian aid is ready to enter Gaza from Egypt. Israel has offered to extend the truce by one day for each additional 10 hostages released. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/inside-the-secret-israel-hamas-negotiations-to-release-50-hostages-5d54623b .
As I’m writing after 9 pm Pacific time, the truce should have started. By the time of tomorrow night’s newsletter, we should have some idea of whether the hostage exchange is proceeding and whether the ceasefire is holding.
The Journal provides this map-based summary of the Israeli incursion into Gaza: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-strategy-in-the-gaza-strip-mapped-e9186fef . Note that Gaza contains 140 square miles, and would be roughly covered by a rectangle 7 miles wide and 20 miles long, about the length of the Gaza coastline.
The Journal also provides a summary of members retiring from the House: https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/congress-lawmakers-quitting-1acd67af . I believe the summary provided here yesterday is both more accurate and more informative. A comparison strongly suggests the Journal’s research is not as careful as the prior article.
WSJ: Is China facing a “Lehman moment”?: https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/chinese-financial-conglomerate-zhongzhi-has-a-31-billion-problem-50a1c33e . You would think that as a state-planned economy, the government would shore up these “too-big-to-fail” institutions. But that has not happened so far. Zhongzhi could set off a domino string of failures if it is allowed to go under.
WSJ: We really know nothing about college football: https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/jim-harbaugh-michigan-suspension-62633038 . The authors document their self-described “surprising conclusion” that Jim Harbaugh doesn’t do that much on the Michigan sidelines. EVERYBODY knows that, you goofballs. As noted here previously, Harbaugh’s absence probably improves Michigan’s chances. But most informed people believe Michigan is still the underdog here, because their offense is not that strong and Ohio State will expose that. We will see …
Otherwise there is very little news reporting today, most of it involving NFL football, the late John Madden and the turducken. For the uninitiated, a turducken involves 3 deboned birds, a chicken stuffed inside a duck then stuffed inside a turkey. From a male perspective, this is turkey with an all-meat stuffing. It is also a symbol of American excess and poor eating habits …
The strange case of the car that exploded at the US-Canadian border, killing the married couple inside: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/23/us/us-canada-border-rainbow-bridge-explosion-thursday/index.html . Other reports say the car was an ultra-luxury Bentley. So why was the car traveling at a high rate of speed, and at the US border? We will have to wait for the investigation to explain this very strange case. At this time, terrorism is not considered a factor in the case.