Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, and we have some really compelling stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
Another mass shooting takes place at a high school—this time in Georgia—Social Security is dealing with trillions in unfunded liabilities, and China’s consul general in New York is no longer there. Also, a popular beer company says no more DEI, and U.S. job openings are at their lowest level since early 2021.
4 Dead, Suspect in Custody After Shooting at Georgia High School
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has confirmed that at least four people are dead and nine others have been injured as a result of a shooting at Apalachee High School yesterday in the city of Winder, which is located about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta.The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office says they responded to an active shooting at the campus at around 10:30 yesterday morning. The sheriff described a “chaotic” post-shooting situation and refrained from answering a lot of questions, saying he was going to let the investigation run its course.
So you know, authorities arrested a 14-year-old suspect, who’s currently in police custody.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp responded to the tragedy, saying that he directed all available state resources as needed to Apalachee High School and that his office will work with local, state, and federal partners.
You should know that the FBI’s Atlanta office says its agents are also on scene coordinating with and supporting local law enforcement.
Attorney General Merrick Garland described the incident as a terrible tragedy and says he’s devastated for the families who’ve been affected.
You should also know the White House put out a statement saying President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting and is coordinating with law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels.
Social Security Facing $63 Trillion in Unfunded Liabilities
The 2024 Old Age, Survivors, Disability Insurance (OASDI) trustees say that Social Security is facing $63 trillion in long-term unfunded liabilities.Their report assessed how much money will be missing indefinitely—which gives them the nearly $63 trillion amount—and how much will be missing in the next 75 years—which they determined to be nearly $23 trillion. So you know, officials say that these numbers reflect annual shortfalls in the years following the depletion of trust fund reserves.
OASDI trustees point out that the shortfall could be eliminated if the combined payroll tax rate was raised to around 17 percent or if there was a 26.5 percent permanent reduction in benefits for all current and future beneficiaries.
A professor of economics at Boston University told The Epoch Times that assessing the current infinite unfunded liability is imperative. He said, “There’s nothing in economics that says you should just look at 75 years and assume everybody’s going to be dead the day after,” which is essentially what the report is doing.
You should know that this is not the first report pointing out the declining state of the fiscal retirement process and other federal programs. In February, the Treasury Department released the Financial Report of the United States Government, which concluded that U.S. taxpayers face more than $78 trillion in long-term unfunded obligations for Social Security and Medicare.
One more thing before we move on. Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office forecast that a critical Social Security trust fund, called the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, will be exhausted by 2033, and the Disability Insurance Trust Fund balance could run dry by 2064.
NY’s Chinese Consul General No Longer in Position
Yesterday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that Chinese consul general Huang Ping has left his position after she consulted with the U.S. State Department to have him removed. Hochul says she reached out to the White House and U.S. Secretary of State following the arrest and indictment of Linda Sun and her husband.Hochul said her request was meant to convey a message and that Sun’s arrest showed that governments at all levels should be more vigilant.
To refresh your memory, Sun was charged with acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), visa fraud, alien smuggling, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Her husband Christopher Hu was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, bank fraud, and misuse of means of identification.
According to the indictment, Sun found ways to allow CCP officials to gain access to leaders in New York during the pandemic. In fact, at one time, she even called an official on her phone during a private conference call between multiple state departments, warning a CCP official to “keep your phone muted.” That person later told Sun that the call had been “very useful.”
The indictment also alleges Sun received millions of dollars in exchange for her work for the CCP, and never declared her role as a foreign agent or the benefits she received.
Sun and her husband pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearance in Brooklyn Tuesday and were released on bond.
Interesting to note, Sun was dismissed from Hochul’s office in March 2023 for alleged misconduct and Hochul’s office is cooperating with the investigation.
Molson Coors Cuts Back on DEI Policies
Beer giant Molson Coors is joining other corporations that have similarly dialed down their DEI initiatives, according to the company’s CEO Gavin Hattersley.Earlier this week, Hattersley said the company will discontinue its practice of linking executive compensation to employee diversity representation and quit participating in the organization called the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equality index.
Molson Coors is also shifting its approach to Employee Resource Groups, renaming them Business Resource Groups, and ensuring their focus is on professional development, business objectives, and consumer dynamics.
Additionally, Hattersley said the company will do an audit to ensure that all of its training programs are focused on key areas of growth and a strong workplace where everyone can thrive.
So you know, according to a Harvard Business Review 2022 survey, around 60 percent of U.S. companies have a race- or gender-based DEI program.
Interesting to note, Molson Coors joins a growing list of U.S. companies, including Ford and Harley-Davidson, that are rejecting DEI initiatives and cutting ties with the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equality index.
US Job Openings Drop to Their Lowest Level Since January 2021
U.S. job openings fell to their lowest level in July since January 2021, suggesting the labor market is slowing down and may trigger the Federal Reserve to issue a large rate cut later this month.July’s job openings, which are considered a key measure of labor demand, fell to just over 7.6 million for the month. That’s according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which came out yesterday.
You should know that many economists had forecast about 8.1 million job openings for July. The report also said that layoffs rose to 1.76 million, which is the most since March 2023.
You should also know that yesterday’s numbers point to fewer companies looking to add more employees despite recent data showing that consumer spending is still growing.
In fact, just last week, the government estimated that the economy expanded at a healthy 3 percent annual rate in the April–June quarter.
One final note, this latest jobs report didn’t appear to have an immediate impact on the Dow Jones or Nasdaq, since it came out after both stock indexes fell by more than 1 percent each on Tuesday.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Thursday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who said: “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
Before we go, today is National Cheese Pizza Day. The greatest thing about pizza is that when it’s good, it’s really good, and when it’s bad, it’s still pretty okay.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
Enjoy the remainder of your Thursday, and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another, and have an absolutely superb day today! Bye for now.
