海角大神

The richest person in the world is taking aim at the federal bureaucracy, looking to cut waste and reduce regulations. Will Elon Musk bring real change or just a slew of conflicts of interest?

鈥� Biden and Trump meet:听President Joe Biden hosts President-elect Donald Trump at the White House for a meeting designed to demonstrate a smooth transition between administrations.
鈥� China鈥檚 mass killing:听Authorities in Zhuhai are removing wreaths, candles, and other offerings laid at the scene of the deadliest mass killing in the country in a decade as the government scrambles to respond and censor online reactions.听
鈥� Senate rushes on judges:听The U.S. Senate鈥檚 Democratic majority begins a crusade to confirm as many new federal judges as possible to avoid leaving vacancies that Republican Donald Trump could fill after taking office Jan. 20.听
鈥� Guardian quits X:听British news publisher The Guardian says it will no longer post to X, citing 鈥渄isturbing content鈥� on the social media platform, including racism and conspiracy theories.
鈥� U.S. prohibits flights to Haiti:听The Federal Aviation Administration is prohibiting U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gangs shot at two planes.

Read these news briefs.

By picking South Dakota Sen. John Thune as majority leader, Senate Republicans elevated an institutionally minded, old-school conservative. Mr. Thune promised to enact President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 agenda.

After a record defeat in Britain's last parliamentary election, many Conservatives decided that they needed to be more populist and right-wing. Their selection of Kemi Badenoch as party leader locks in that agenda.

In times of peace, Lebanon鈥檚 stability depends on a frail political balance. Now for many Lebanese enduring a punishing war with Israel, Hezbollah鈥檚 unique status as a heavily armed state-within-a-state is increasingly a problem.

Polls show most Americans view climate change as a threat, but they put pocketbook concerns first.听A test for whether the clean energy transition can succeed is by tying it to economic benefits.

As delegates at COP29 express both urgency and optimism, our progress roundup takes a look at what鈥檚 been accomplished around the world to fight climate change so far.听

When young people in America are disgruntled with their economic prospects, they can vote against the ruling party. In the Nov. 5 election, for example, men under 30 years old opted against incumbent Democrats. Yet in China, where elections are nil, what do unhappy youth do?

They ride bikes at night. En masse.

On Nov. 8, more than 100,000 university students 鈥� many with grim hopes of finding a job 鈥� pedaled more than 30 miles from Zhengzhou in central China to the historic city of Kaifeng. The nocturnal spin, mostly on rental bikes, was for the joy of it. At first, the Chinese Communist Party praised the spontaneous swarm of bright-eyed bicyclists. Kaifeng is known for its soup dumplings, its ancient temples, and a theme park. Tourists are welcomed.

Yet many of the riders were also glad to be part of a mass movement that expressed their values. 鈥淵oung people in mainland China are very eager to take part in public life,鈥� Zhengzhou-based teacher Li Na told Radio Free Asia.

They are also well connected through social media. In the days that followed, young people in other Chinese cities began to copy this exuberant expression of freedom by taking nighttime rides together. The ruling party鈥檚 security forces quickly put an end to all the fun.

Any large gathering outside the party鈥檚 control, especially among youth, is seen as a threat. In 1989, the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests were led by students. Many had biked to the Beijing square.

Today鈥檚 young Chinese people know the limits of staging protests driven by fear or anger, even if they are experiencing record-high unemployment. Instead, their public expressions are often affirming, even joyful.

鈥淚 want to be a normal person in an abnormal society,鈥� one woman told China expert Ian Johnson in a book last year about the country鈥檚 unofficial historians. 鈥淚 want to be able to say truthful things and express what鈥檚 in my heart.鈥�

The real foes of the Communist Party, writes Mr. Johnson, are 鈥渢he lasting values of Chinese civilization,鈥� such as righteousness and freedom of thought. 鈥淎s strong as the party is, is it stronger than these deep reservoirs of resilience?鈥� he asks. Independent thought lives in China, he states, and has not been crushed.

When China鈥檚 leader Xi Jinping said after taking power in 2012 that young people should dream big, he probably did not imagine they would take night rides by the tens of thousands. One of the riders to Kaifeng, Xia Tian, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp., 鈥淚鈥檝e been feeling a bit down and anxious lately, and when I saw a night cycling event, it looked so spirited and free.

鈥淚 decided to tell my friend and join in and unwind.

鈥淓veryone was so polite, cheering each other, and even people at the intersections were giving us encouragement.鈥�

The pedalers and their supporters were living democracy. Even if they don鈥檛 live in one.