It might seem strange that the leader of the world’s most powerful authoritarian regime would simply hand over the keys to the kingdom. Many may see this as welcome progress: for the first time since the communists came to power, one Chinese leader will pass power to another without the shadow of a deathbed looming in the background. But look behind the curtain of court politics, and the principle for managing this succession is the same as those which came before it: a great Chinese leader always picks the successor....

Chinese state media outlet CCTV reported that the Eastern Theater Command Air Force and the Eastern Theater Naval Air Force had sent “hundreds of fighters, bombers and other multi-type fighters to the airspace” in the northern, southwest and southeast of the island on Thursday. The missions included exercises in joint reconnaissance, aerial assault, support cover and other tasks, the outlet said, according to a translation. In addition, more than 10 destroyers and frigates were deployed in the waters around Taiwan....

Wang Yi made the comments during a joint press conference he held Friday in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. “Now is the time for China to ask the United States not to interfere in China’s internal affairs,” Wang said, according to a transcript released Saturday by the foreign ministry in Beijing. Wang went on to claim that U.S. Congress has “frequently introduced various bills on the internal affairs of China, something its National People’s Congress “has never discussed....

The battle of Chinese President Xi Jinping against corruption has been openly laid out. His takeover of the party was based on strong campaigning and a motto about uprooting corruption from China; his popular tag is the “anti-corruption crusader.” This campaign has led to thousands of arrests; nevertheless, corruption continues to negatively impact China’s business sector. The villainy of corruption in China presents entities with danger, whether they are operating or planning to invest in the country....

It signals a great leap forward for the country’s burgeoning space program, which took its first step beyond Earth’s atmosphere when it launched the satellite Dongfanghong 1, or China 1 in the West, in April 1970. Fast-forward half a century, the People’s Republic of China finds itself among the world’s history-making space powers. Accordingly, it has already articulated plans for prolonged missions in low Earth orbit, then on the moon and Mars....

China’s 57-year-old vice minister of state security has been the subject of much discussion in America’s conservative circles, with the speculation even reaching Chinese social media threads as Beijing’s top spy catcher was not seen or photographed for several weeks. While the Chinese government has yet to publicly address the stories about his alleged defection, its embassy in Washington informed Newsweek on Wednesday that the country’s senior counterintelligence official had attended a cross-regional security dialogue earlier in the day....

Beijing considers the reunification of Taiwan, which it sees as a province of the mainland, an integral part of the country’s future, but many Taiwanese people want complete autonomy. Tensions between China and Taiwan are the worst they’ve been in decades and with the U.S. being a backer of Taiwan, the Pentagon criticized China’s attempts to “intimidate” the island through military exercises. Tensions between China and Taiwan have raised concerns about war breaking out and the potential for the United States to get dragged into an armed conflict....

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Washington ultimately chose current manager Matt Williams, but just how close did Ripken come to actually joining the team? SPECTOR: In defense of the oft-maligned ‘Major League II’ “We had some serious discussions about it and never really got down to the point of choice and those sorts of things,” Ripken told ESPN 980, via The Washington Post. “I think the Mike Rizzo’s done a fantastic job. I like how he thinks, I like how he talks....

Yet this dramatic scheme–and one of the major commissions at Ground Zero–has arrived without the controversy that has accompanied every other design for the site, from Daniel Libeskind’s master plan, to David Childs’s “Freedom Tower,” to the memorial for those who died on 9/11. Though there was no public input and no open competition, Calatrava’s design has drawn almost unanimous praise. The Port Authority–which had always planned to use the rebuilding process to improve the tangle of underground train and subway lines at the site–“wanted this station to be a grand point of entry for lower Manhattan,” says Joseph Seymour, the Port’s executive director....

CCBs can be used in combination with other medications to lower blood pressure. This vasodilatory (widening the arteries) effect is also used to prevent angina, which is chest pain that occurs when arteries in the heart are blocked. Narrow arteries are one of the biggest causes of angina, making the vasodilatory effect so important. CCBs can also lower the heart rate and decrease the heart’s pumping action. The research of all available evidence by JNC 8 (Joint National Commission 8) has demonstrated that CCBs are particularly advantageous for the initial treatment of high blood pressure in African-American people....

Officials with California Independent System Operator (ISO), the nonprofit group that controls 80 percent of the state’s power grid, said Wednesday that residents should be prepared for the possibility of blackouts and participate in efforts to reduce energy consumption despite the chances of a fresh round of forced outages being relatively low. On Wednesday afternoon the group issued a Flex Alert, a step that can precede blackouts, in response to the expected energy demands caused by scorching temperatures forecast in some areas of the state....

The new bill, labeled AB202, states cheerleaders are entitled to minimum wage and overtime, as well as sick leave, according to The Associated Press. MORE: Super Bowl cheerleaders | Retro NFL cheerleaders | Shattuck pleads guilty The bill was introduced by Democratic assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez after Oakland Raiderette cheerleaders filed a wage-theft lawsuit and were eventually granted a $1.25 million settlement last year. The Raiderettes were paid less than $5 per hour as part of contract that didn’t include compensation for public appearances or rehearsals....

Kaleb Bentham, of Grass Valley in Nevada County, had been playing with his pet pit bull “Buddy” near his home off You Bet Road on November 25 when he heard a growl and realized the dog was being targeted by a 350-pound bear, CBS 13 reported. According to Bentham, the bear had the dog’s head in its mouth and was attempting to drag it away from the area when he quickly rushed to Buddy’s aid....

According to a lengthy investigation by Open Vallejo, a so-called “Badge of Honor” was awarded to officers in the Vallejo Police Department each time they killed someone in the line of duty. The report claims at least 14 Vallejo police officers who have been involved in fatal shootings since 2000 have had the points of their badges bent by a fellow colleague, although the figure may be higher. The investigation says officers Sean Kenney, Joe McCarthy and Steve Darden accounted for almost one third of Vallejo’s 30 fatal police shootings over the past two decades....

This past Saturday night in Monterey Park, a predominantly Asian American city in California, the first Lunar New Year celebration since the pandemic began was kicking off when a gunman entered a ballroom dance hall and opened fire, killing 11 and injuring several more. The suspect, Huu Can Tran, 72, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound as police closed in on his white van the following day, authorities said....

The fund includes $75 million from the state and another $50 million from philanthropic sources. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the news on Wednesday. “California is the most diverse state in the nation. Our diversity makes us stronger and more resilient,” said Newsom in a statement. “Every Californian, including our undocumented neighbors and friends, should know that California is here to support them during this crisis. We are all in this together....

The White House said in a statement on Tuesday that Biden “declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires beginning on July 14, 2021, and continuing.” “The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Lassen, Nevada, Placer, and Plumas,” the statement continued....

Officials were called after the 69-year-old woman was discovered by her caretaker at about 1.30 p.m. in the 4000 block of Buckingham Road at a senior apartment complex, triggering a response from the Los Angeles Fire Department and homicide detectives, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Tony Im said, according to NBC Los Angeles. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, with multiple stab wounds, police said. The LAPD didn’t release any information on a suspect....