Clinton Warns Against N. Korean Missile Launch

Both President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping strongly reject the current U. S.-China competition as a new Cold War. As recently as September, Biden said that he doesn’t “want to contain China” and that “we’re all better off if China does well.” Xi, in turn, proclaimed that “China doesn’t want a cold war or a hot war with anyone,” following a meeting between the two in San Francisco in November.

Punchbowl News: “One of our big questions right now is what happens if Greene or other conservative hardliners keep trying to oust Johnson? Will Democrats keep stepping up to save him?” “We put that question to Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar. They pointedly didn’t say their vow to save Johnson extends beyond this one instance…” “For Greene, the threat of ousting Johnson is in many ways more useful than the reality of actually ousting him.

“The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold Wednesday, but investors will scrutinize Jerome Powell’s subsequent press conference for hints as to the future rate path,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Politico: The Fed thinks time is on its side. That could get awkward.

“President Biden’s push to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug is the latest in a series of administrative policy moves that anxious Democrats hope will bolster his re-election standing with young voters,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Axios: Biden gives cannabis industry a badly needed win.

“President Biden has been personally involved in intense efforts in recent days to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which he sees as a crucial element of a much wider strategy at home and abroad,” Axios reports. “The president’s senior advisers say the deal on the table right now is the only conceivable path to a ceasefire in Gaza and to possibly ending a war that has drawn sharp criticism of Biden among some of his key supporters ahead of the presidential election.”