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Feds: NY Governor's Aide Was Chinese Agent

Feds: NY Governor's Aide Was Chinese Agent

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
September 04, 2024

Good Wednesday morning. Researchers have found that talented dogs can remember the names of their toys for at least two years. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

DOJ: Hamas charges
Ukraine: Cabinet shakeup
Biden: On the trail
Markets: Big losses
NFL: $35B in projected bets

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Caught red-handed

A former New York state official was secretly working for China, according to federal prosecutors.

The news: Linda Sun allegedly worked on behalf of the Chinese government as an aide for current Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The Department of Justice said she blocked Taiwanese officials from meeting with New York officials, allowed Chinese officials to listen into a government call during the pandemic and influenced actions and policies favorable to Beijing before being reassigned last year.
More details: Chris Hu, Sun's husband, was also arrested in the alleged scheme. The FBI raided their Long Island home in July. The couple is accused of receiving gifts from China, including "Nanjing-style salted ducks," and prosecutors said they laundered payments to buy a $1.9M condo in Hawaii and other luxury goods.
Big picture: Sun will be released on $1.5M bond; Hu's bond will be $500K. They both pleaded not guilty. The charges come as federal prosecutors are also believed to be probing potentially illegal ties between Turkey and New York City Mayor Eric Adams' operation.

2) Ring rancor

Paris' mayor wants to keep the city's Olympic torch aflame.

The news: Anne Hidalgo said she plans to permanently keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower. They were placed on the iconic structure for the Summer Games and the ongoing Paralympics. But the mayor says they will stay there, and she claims she has sole authority on the matter.
Her thinking: Hidalgo said she wants "this festive spirit to remain" because "the French have fallen in love with Paris again" thanks to the Olympics. She plans to replace the current rings with lighter ones equipped to stay on the Eiffel Tower long-term.
The pushback: Some people support Hidalgo, but a whole host of others oppose the idea. Among them: Parisians, politicians and the descendants of Gustave Eiffel, the tower's architect and namesake. They argue the rings were a nice flourish during the Games, but keeping them would negatively impact the landmark.
Big picture: The city owns 99% of the tower, which has featured long-term advertisements before. So the law and precedent are on Hidalgo's side. But the mayor has a long history of proposing controversial reforms, some of which go nowhere, and national laws about historic landmarks could also factor in.

3) Clean connection

Your cell phone is not going to give you brain cancer.

The news: Exposure to radio waves from phones was not linked to an increased risk for the disease, a study commissioned by the World Health Organization concluded. Australian researchers analyzed data from over 5K studies and honed in on 63 different projects over a 28-year period.
Key context: Phones emit non-ionizing radiation, which sparked concerns about cancer risk. And a 2011 report classified radio-wave exposure as a potential carcinogen for humans. But those findings were largely based on observational studies.Researchers have since concluded, for example, that people with brain cancer overstated their phone usage.
Big picture: This systematic review is the strongest evidence yet that wireless technologies are not hazardous to human health. There was no found correlation between use and any upper body cancer, and long-term usage of the devices was also not flagged.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

The Department of Justice has criminally charged six Hamas officials in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. Only three defendants are still believed alive; the indictments are considered largely symbolic (More)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Rancho Palos Verdes. A landslide is threatening homes in the city near Los Angeles; local utility providers have been forced to cut off electricity and gas due to damaged pipes and power lines (More)
At least 142 Cubans have died attempting to reach Miami by sea this year. Migrant deaths along maritime routes from the Caribbean have increased almost 20% YoY, according to an international migration group (More)

World News

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba resigned as President Volodymyr Zelensky reshuffled his cabinet. Kuleba is one of the most prominent officials to step down amid the war with Russia; dozens inside Ukraine were killed in Kremlin airstrikes yesterday (More)
Venezuela issued an arrest warrant for the opposition candidate who appears to have won its contested presidential election. Edmundo Gonzalez is in hiding and will not seek asylum; the U.S. and Brazil condemned the move by embattled President Nicolas Maduro's regime (More)
Over 100 prisoners died in a failed jailbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Officials said 129 were killedand 59 injured at Makala Prison in Kinshasa after gunfire broke out and a fatal crush of people occurred; it was unclear how many inmates may have managed to escape (More)

Campaign News

President Joe Biden will continue to campaign for Vice President Harris this week. He is expected to make appearances in Michigan and Wisconsin after a Labor Day rally with the VP in Pennsylvania; Biden will make more stops on the trail before Election Day (More)
Harris' campaign and the Democratic National Committee will send nearly $25M to downballot candidates. Republican leaders are reportedly considered their congressional candidates will face a cash crunch; the House GOP fundraising arm said it is $35M short of what Democrats have amassed (More | More)
Former President Trump's campaign has reportedly given up on winning New Hampshire's four electoral college votes. Trump lost the state by under 3K votes in 2016, but suffered a seven-point loss in 2020; Harris leads recent state polls by an average of seven points (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed lower as the first trading day of September was rough. The Dow Jones was down over 600 points while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 also plummeted (Dow -1.51%, Nasdaq -3.26%, S&P 500 -2.12%).
The first congressional hearing into the global CrowdStrike outage has been scheduled. A House Homeland Security subcommittee will hold testimony this month on the IT meltdown that impacted about 8.5M Windows computers and wreaked havoc on the airline industry (More)
American Transit Insurance, which insures over 60% of New York City's taxis, is insolvent. The Long Island-based company posted $700M in net losses in Q2; a shutdown could create major transit issues in the region (More)

Entertainment & Sports

The American Gaming Association projects a record $35B in legal NFL wagers this season. That figure would be over 30% growth YoY from the nearly $27B fans bet last season; sports betting is legal in 38 states and Washington D.C. (More)
Saturday Night Live's Michael Che and Colin Jost will host Peacock's first-ever live comedy event. The Weekend Update anchors' special, Colin Jost & Michael Che Present: New York After Dark, will air Sept. 12 at 9 p.m. ET (More)
Actor James Darren died at 88 following cardiac issues. He was best known for his roles in Gidget and T.J. Hooker; he was also a director and worked on Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place and had a pair of Billboard Top-10 singles as a singer (More)

Quick Hitters

Feel Good: A 9-year-old gave his dollar bill to a man he thought was homeless. But the man turned out to be a millionaire who owned a sporting goods store and rewarded the boy's kindness with a shopping spree.
Take Note: Over 70% of Americans admit they are guilty of procrastination, according to a new study. And it does not take long for it to kick in -- most people are dragging by lunchtime on Monday.
Mission Accomplished: An Arizona couple has visited all 430 national parks, wrapping up a decades-long quest that started accidentally. The little-known St. Croix Island International Historic Site got them across the finish line.
Go Deep: Air pollution is not only a major issue for humans. Bees, who are critical to life in many ways, have a hard time finding flowers in contaminated environments.
Life Hack: Want better sleep? Avoid these bedtime positions, according to a feng shui expert.

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