Welcome to a brand new Saturday! Thank you for reading Morning Brief. Send me a line—Ivan Pentchoukov. |
- Assassination Plot: The FBI thwarted an Iranian plot to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, according to an indictment by the Justice Department.
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‘Unprecedented Circumstances’: A federal judge granted special counsel Jack Smith’s request to clear all court deadlines from the case against President-elect Donald Trump and allowed Smith more time to look into the “unprecedented circumstances” of prosecuting a case against an incoming commander-in-chief.
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Trump’s Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles will become the first female White House chief of staff on Inauguration Day next year. Here are six things to know about her.
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Ready to Talk: Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to start talks with President-elect Donald Trump, a Kremlin spokesman said on Friday.
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On Architecture and Beauty: Our culture column explores the wisdom in one of the foundational treatises of classical architecture. Story below.
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| By Ivan Pentchoukov,
National Editor |
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Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and X, speaks during a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Oct. 27, 2024. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) |
President-elect Donald Trump has many people to thank for winning the election, but near the top of the list should be his young voters, who moved in great numbers toward the Republican since his last election in 2020. While four years ago Gen Z—those aged 18–29—voted for President Joe Biden by a 25-point margin, this time around, they broke for Vice President Kamala Harris by six points only, according to an AP VoteCast exit poll. There are multiple factors that likely caused that shift, some quantifiable, others hardly so. |
- Elon Musk: While the billionaire burned a chunk of his popularity by endorsing Trump, he remained popular among Gen Z with 25-point net favorability in an October YouGov survey compared to a 5-point net favorability overall.
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Memes: Trump appears to have an uncanny ability to produce meme-able content. Starting with his “you’re fired” trope on “The Apprentice” reality show, to his “you’d be in jail” jab during the 2016 presidential debate with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, through to his YMCA dance he has repeated on stage during his rallies, he has become a part of the meme culture.
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During his debate with Harris, Trump said that Haitian immigrants were eating dogs and cats, a claim based on a handful of unconfirmed anecdotes. People turned his comments into songs and memes that quickly went viral. Even when the original intent was to mock Trump in many cases, his supporters embraced the meme, which then became the highlight of the entire debate.
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Officials in states including California, New York, Illinois, Washington, and New Jersey are preparing to contest President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming policies—related to immigration, abortion, and environmental regulations—when he assumes office on Jan. 20.
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A coalition of progressive Democrats met in a virtual call on Nov. 7 to discuss their plans of revamping the Democratic Party in the coming years after the party’s presidential election loss to former President Donald Trump.
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A post-election stock rally following President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory propelled two of Wall Street’s major indexes to their best weekly performance in a year.
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A Texas federal judge on Thursday struck down a Department of Homeland Security’s rule that allows illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for residency. The ruling sets aside a “parole in place” process announced in August that would have meant the illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens could apply for legal status and temporarily remain in the United States. If approved, they could then pursue a green card and, eventually, U.S. citizenship, if they met certain eligibility criteria. |
- The criteria included having lived in the United States continuously for at least 10 years, having no disqualifying criminal history, and being married to a U.S. citizen by June 17.
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In August, the DHS said that the government was trying to keep families together by granting parole in place on a case-by-case basis to eligible illegal immigrants, which they said would be a public benefit of promoting unity and stability of families.
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Shortly after the rule was announced, 16 states, led by Texas, filed a lawsuit arguing that the program would encourage illegal immigration and increase financial burdens on states through health care and law enforcement costs. (More) More U.S. news: |
- Witnesses in the manslaughter trial against Daniel Penny, the NYC subway rider who restrained a mentally ill homeless person, said that the homeless man caused them more fear for their safety than anything before in years of subway riding.
- A federal lawsuit has been filed against the state of Tennessee, challenging laws that require the governor to consider race when appointing members to state medical and chiropractic boards.
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A lawsuit by Project Veritas accusing CNN of publicizing a false statement that Twitter banned Project Veritas for spreading misinformation has been revived, with an appeals court ruling the nonprofit journalism group has plausibly alleged defamation.
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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., will not be held personally liable in lawsuits alleging that social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram contribute to addiction and mental health issues among young users, a federal judge ruled on Nov. 7.
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The victory that Trump scored on election night was sweeping. Let’s break it all down. —Roman |
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Nov. 8 that Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to start talks with President-elect Donald Trump on putting an end to the war in Ukraine—but that Russia’s demands for ending the conflict remain unchanged. |
- “We all heard Mr. Trump say during his election campaign that he intended to reach out to Putin himself. This is why the willingness and openness are there, and the Russian head of state emphasized this yesterday,” Peskov told reporters on Friday, according to Russian state-run media Tass.
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Putin on Thursday congratulated Trump on his election victory and remarked on the prospect of mending ties between Russia and the United States, which the Kremlin says have been badly damaged by U.S. support for Kyiv and sanctions against Moscow.
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The Kremlin spokesperson clarified on Friday that while Putin expressed readiness for dialogue on a settlement, his key demands haven’t changed. Putin’s conditions for ending the war in Ukraine—which he updated in June—include the longstanding condition that Kyiv renounce its ambitions to join NATO and that the West drop sanctions against Russia. These terms have been rejected by Ukraine, which views them as equivalent to capitulation. More world news: |
By Alexander Liao and Lynn Xu Territorial disputes serve as a means to an end for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), whether as a bargaining chip or a diversion tactic to direct the Chinese public’s attention during a governance crisis.
A recent example is Beijing’s concession to New Delhi regarding a territorial dispute that has lasted for more than half a century. |
By Kevin Shelley Your poor back is one of the most tortured, overused structures in your body. Highly flexible, it comprises a whole pile of bones, joints, ligaments, and disks. It connects your body’s upper and lower parts and is the foundation for compound movements. Our backs are amazing—but they can also be an amazing pain if injured.
Beyond the normal wear and tear your back endures, one of the most surprising things I’ve encountered in my patients over the years is that their backs are decidedly overutilized because their legs are weak.
Squatting is often the most appropriate way to access low-level items and tasks. However, those with weak legs tend to compensate by keeping their legs straight and hinging over at their hips. While we may accomplish tasks this way, our backs may eventually be done in. |
The North entrance of the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, built in the Greek Revival style. (Sealy j/CC BY-SA 4.0) |
More than seven in 10 Americans prefer classical federal buildings to modernist ones, a 2007 survey found. Nevertheless, modernist architecture continues to dictate the shape and appearance of most new buildings, from university centers to apartment complexes.
The Debate: Pundits, architects, and cultural commentators debate incessantly over the merits and downsides of different architectural styles, often ignoring ancient thinkers’ contributions to these arguments.
Classical Precedent: Vitruvius was a respected Roman architect with several years of experience as a successful military officer. While Vitruvius’s name isn’t well-known, his “Ten Books on Architecture,” dedicated to Emperor Augustus in approximately 20 B.C., profoundly shaped Western art and architecture.
The tome isn’t only a construction manual. It also discusses an architect’s ideal education, provides a long list of building materials with descriptions of their advantages and downsides, explains the fundamental role of symmetry, and much more. Vitruvius' three principles of architecture: |
- “Firmitas” (strength or durability) — A well-designed structure must be stable and durable to withstand weather and time. Vitruvius emphasized the selection of good materials that suit the building’s purpose and location.
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“Utilitas” (utility) — A structure should be designed to serve its intended purpose effectively. Its layout should suit its occupants’ needs.
- “Venustas” (beauty) — A structure should be beautiful, and beauty requires symmetry. According to Vitruvius, symmetry only creates elegance and grace if it’s added to elements whose balanced proportions mimic those of nature and of the human body.
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Learn more about Vitruvius’ legacy, including his influence in the United States here. |
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Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day. |
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