Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Tuesday, July 30, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some very intriguing stories to share with you today, and here’s what’s going on.
The national debt tops a number never before seen, a noninvasive test that screens for a common type of cancer has just been approved, and another election law regarding absentee ballots is challenged. Also, we have frightening details on how one particular social media platform collects user data, and a global fast food chain says sales are down worldwide.
US National Debt Hits $35 Trillion
This is a historic fiscal milestone for the federal government, albeit not a good one. The national debt is now at $35 trillion for the first time ever. In simple terms, it’s equal to $105,000 per person, which is $266,000 per U.S. household.House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) is calling it “another dubious milestone in the fiscal decline of the most powerful and prosperous nation in its history.” Meanwhile, this past February on “60 Minutes,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell conceded that the federal government is “on an unsustainable fiscal path.”
Interesting to note that two of the big three credit agencies—Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings—downgraded their outlook on the U.S. debt, citing fiscal deterioration, persistent debt ceiling negotiations, and ballooning interest payments. However, the White House has pushed back on the firms’ outlooks, saying the American economy remains strong, and that Treasury securities are the world’s preeminent safe and liquid asset.
So you know, the national debt is measured in current dollars, meaning that it’s not adjusted for inflation. Therefore, to properly compare the debt with the economy, officials also gauge the economy in current dollars. Now, the current-dollar GDP has increased by more than 30 percent since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparison, the national debt jumped by 50 percent in the same period.
By the way, servicing the owed interest on the national debt is now the second-largest budgetary item, topping the national defense budget. Furthermore, ten-year baseline projections forecast that the national debt held by the public, which is a portion of the national debt, will exceed $50 trillion by 2034, swallowing the entire U.S. economy’s output.
FDA Approves New Blood Test for Colon Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new blood test for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening for adults ages 45 and older who are at an average risk for the disease.The FDA’s approval of Guardant Health’s “Shield” test marks the first time that a blood test has been recognized by the FDA as a primary screening option for CRC. The Shield blood test has been in development for more than a decade and the agency’s approval follows a strong recommendation from an advisory committee in May of this year.
You should know that early detection of colon cancer is crucial, as the five-year relative survival rate is 91 percent when CRC is identified early, compared with just 14 percent if the cancer has already spread to other areas of the body.
The screening rate for CRC in the United States stands at about 59 percent, which is significantly below the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable’s goal of at least 80 percent. The FDA says that’s because many people avoid traditional screening methods due to their invasive and unpleasant nature.
By the way, the FDA’s advisory panel says while the Shield test is an effective tool for CRC screening, it “is not a replacement for diagnostic colonoscopy or for surveillance colonoscopy in high-risk individuals.”
Interesting to note that colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with the American Cancer Society estimating that there will be more than 150,000 new diagnoses and 53,000 deaths this year alone.
Guardant Health’s Shield test will be available by prescription and is expected to be covered by Medicare.
Mississippi Law Allowing Ballots to Be Received After Election Day Can Stand: Judge
A federal judge says a Mississippi law that allows ballots that come in up to five days after an election to be received and counted is lawful. The ruling dismissed cases brought against Mississippi officials by the Republican National Committee, the Mississippi Republican Party, and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi.The Mississippi law in question requires officials to count absentee ballots postmarked on or before Election Day, provided that the ballots are received no more than five business days after the election.
In their complaint, Republicans argued that the Mississippi law violates federal laws because it “effectively extends Mississippi’s federal election past the Election Day established by Congress.” They also said that the law was forcing them to spend money to educate voters on the post-Election Day receipt deadline.
In his decision, U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. pointed, in part, to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, which oversees ballots from citizens who live in other countries. He said that “efforts by Congress and the executive branch to ensure that ballots cast by Americans living overseas are counted, so long as they are cast by Election Day, strongly suggest that statutes like the one at issue here are compatible with the Elections Clause.”
You should know that he also cited a different court’s ruling in his decision, which noted that the U.S. attorney general “often seeks court-ordered extensions of ballot receipt deadlines to ensure that military voters are not disenfranchised.”
In the end, he ruled that since there are no violations of plaintiffs’ constitutional rights, the law will stand.
TikTok Has Tool to Collect Information on Users’ Views on Social Issues, DOJ Says
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking a court to reject a lawsuit brought by TikTok, which is owned by China-based parent company ByteDance. The two companies are challenging the constitutionality of a new law signed by President Joe Biden in April, which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok or be banned from mobile app stores and web-hosting services in the United States.In this new brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the DOJ said TikTok employees were able to communicate directly with ByteDance engineers in China via an internal web-suite system called “Lark,” which also went by the name “Feishu.”
The DOJ says it’s concerned about this tool being used by TikTok and ByteDance “to collect bulk user information based on the user’s content or expressions,” including views on hot-button issues like abortion and gun control. You should also know that the data is being stored on Chinese servers and accessible to ByteDance employees in China.
The DOJ’s brief says, “The serious national-security threat posed by TikTok is real,“ adding that ”The Chinese government’s authority over ByteDance enables it to gain access to and exploit that [user] information to undermine U.S. national security, including by developing and recruiting intelligence assets, identifying American covert intelligence officers and assets, and blackmailing or coercing Americans.”
You should also know that Casey Blackburn, a senior U.S. intelligence official, stated that there is evidence showing TikTok has taken censorship orders from Chinese authorities.
Interesting to note that TikTok, in a statement posted on X, said that it remains confident that it will win its lawsuit. It added that the TikTok ban would silence the voices of 170 million Americans and would also violate the First Amendment.”
McDonald’s Sales Fall Globally for First Time in More Than 3 Years
McDonald’s has just reported a surprise drop in worldwide sales, which is its first decline in 13 quarters. Some of the reasons cited include persistent inflation, which has led not only McDonald’s, but other major fast food chains to push value meals to get more customers in the doors or drive-thrus.To offset the low sales, McDonald’s launched a nationwide $5 meal deal last month, which officials say they will extend into August to lure back customers who aren’t going out to eat as often.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said there’s a lot more deal-thinking from consumers and that consumer sentiment in most of its major markets remains low. Interesting to note, an analyst with financial firm Edward Jones says that the biggest hit for McDonald’s is their low-income consumers are cutting back on visits, which is more than offsetting the typical downturn the company normally sees in tougher economic times.
U.S. sales fell 0.7 percent in the quarter that ended June 30, compared with a 10.3 percent jump in sales a year ago. Meanwhile, a slower-than-expected recovery in China and the Middle East conflict also hurt McDonald’s business segment where restaurants are operated by its local partners, as sales declined 1.3 percent compared with a 14 percent jump in sales a year earlier.
By the way, companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks have also suffered from consumer boycotts linked to the Gaza war, which also affected their sales in Middle East markets.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Tuesday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
When you’re out and about today, it would sure mean a great deal to us if you could tell some folks you know about our program. That’s because we’re always trying to grow the News Brief family, and in our family, there’s always room for one more.
Robert B. Goode, a legendary former radio host, was kind enough to check in from what he calls “the boonies of Oklahoma.”
We heard from Dr. King, a Howard University graduate from a few semesters ago.
Andrew W. Hudak sent over a nice note as well.
And thanks a million to the folks who left feedback regarding this program on The Epoch Times app and on our website.
*(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 Jo Walton.
“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.”
Jo Walton is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet.
One last note, today is National Cheesecake Day, and it’s also National Father-in-Law Day.
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 Tuesday, and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. Keep thinking positive thoughts today, let’s all continue to watch out for one another, and as always, have a superb day. Bye for now.
