December 5 2024

FLASH…BITCOIN HITS $100k…
1 - Chinese Espionage in U.S. Telecoms Ongoing: Agencies Unable to Secure Networks
2 - Speaker Johnson's Slim Republican Majority To Further Erode in January
3 - OpenAI Partners with Anduril on Drone Warfare
4 - UnitedHealthcare CEO Assassinated on NYC Street, Killer Still At Large
5 - French Government Falls
December 5, 1945: Aircraft squadron disappears in the Bermuda Triangle

See the new Ad Astra Podcast! Released on Apple and Spotify around 10a CST.

FLASH…BITCOIN HITS $100k ON EXPECTATIONS OF PRO-CRYOTO TRUMP ADMIN…

1 - Chinese Espionage in U.S. Telecoms Ongoing: Agencies Unable to Secure Networks

U.S. officials said Tuesday they had not been able to expel Chinese government hackers from telecommunications companies and internet service providers, warning concerned users to turn to encrypted messages and voice calls and giving no timeline for securing carriers.  The downbeat press briefing came more than three months after the first report of Chinese spies deeply penetrating major carriers for espionage, and after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) met with scores of companies to help them shore up defenses and hunt for hackers in their networks.  “Given where we are in discovering the activity, I think it would be impossible for us to predict a time frame on when we’ll have full of eviction” of hackers from the networks, said Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA.  The hackers were able to penetrate some of the carriers’ portals that law enforcement uses to submit court orders for monitoring specific telephone numbers, the officials said. They acknowledged that intelligence officials use the same portals for some foreign surveillance. That access would give the intruders some idea about what other Chinese operatives and projects were being scrutinized, a standard counterintelligence objective.

Article Source: WaPo

2 - Speaker Johnson's Slim Republican Majority To Further Erode in January

Speaker Mike Johnson’s small majority just got even smaller. On Tuesday night, the final House race was called after Representative John Duarte of California, a freshman Republican, conceded to Adam Gray, a Democrat, cementing a 220-215 majority for Republicans in a margin even slimmer than they have now, at 220-213. Those margins will erode even further in January, when Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz of Florida resign to take jobs in the Trump administration. Former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida has also given notice that he will not return. Republicans will then be down to a 217-215 majority, on par with the narrowest controlling margin in House history. If all Democrats are present and united in opposition to a measure, Mr. Johnson won’t be able to afford a single defection on the House floor until those vacancies are filled later this spring. Even then, no more than three Republicans can break ranks without dooming a bill’s passage.

Article Source: NYT

3 - OpenAI Partners with Anduril on Drone Warfare

OpenAI, the artificial-intelligence company behind ChatGPT, is getting into the business of war. The world’s most valuable AI company has agreed to work with Anduril Industries, a leading defense-tech startup, to add its technology to systems the U.S. military uses to counter drone attacks. The partnership, which the companies announced Wednesday, marks OpenAI’s deepest involvement yet with the Defense Department and its first tie-up with a commercial weapons maker. It is the latest example of Silicon Valley’s dramatic turn from shunning the Pentagon a few years ago to now forging deeper ties with the national-security complex. OpenAI, valued at more than $150 billion, previously barred its AI from being used in military and warfare. In January, it changed its policies to allow some collaborations with the military.

Article Source: WSJ

4 - UnitedHealthcare CEO Assassinated on NYC Street, Killer Still At Large

Brian Thompson, chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, had been steps from the Hilton’s entrance at 6:44 a.m. when an assassin wearing a dark hoodie and gray backpack stepped from behind a parked car in the predawn darkness, calmly pursued him for a few steps, and then shot him with a 9-millimeter pistol. Thompson staggered, appeared to turn toward his pursuer, and then collapsed. The killer fled down an alley and then escaped on a bike, according to police. No arrests have been made, police said early Thursday, as the hunt for the suspect dragged into a second day.  

Editors note: I typically do not cover crime in this newsletter. However, this story stands out for its shocking and brazen disregard for the rule of law—a cornerstone that distinguishes America's economy from much of the world. This is not something one would expect to see in New York City; it’s more reminiscent of Moscow or Rio de Janeiro.  

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO

Article Source: WSJ

5 - French Government Falls

Emmanuel Macron pitched himself as a bulwark against the rise of the far right in France when he burst onto the highest political stage and became president in 2017. The leader of the European Union’s second-biggest economy has instead ushered in a period where far-right leader Marine Le Pen is not only the chief power broker in Paris, she’s closer than ever to the ultimate prize: the Elysee Palace. Macron’s grand plans are now stuck in a cul-de-sac of chaotic failure after she allied with other parties on Wednesday to topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier. He was appointed just three months ago by Macron to lead a minority government and keep the project alive. France now has no fully-empowered government — and no obvious way to form a stable one for months — the public is frustrated, and there’s a growing budget crisis. Investors have driven up risk premiums on French assets over peers to levels not seen in more than a decade and sent stocks plunging. The benchmark equity index is on track for its worst year relative to Europe’s Stoxx 600 since 2010. Macron’s loosening grip on his agenda and Le Pen’s ascent mark the apex of a years-long battle between two visions of France and the European Union. For the country, it heralds a shift away from years of business-friendly policies that transformed its image, helping lure global finance to Paris after Brexit and bring in foreign money to spur an industrial revival. But those policies angered ordinary workers, who’ve steadily been won over by Le Pen’s promises to do more for them. The uncertainty over France’s direction couldn’t come at a worse time for the EU, with the Russian army threatening its threadbare defenses, its companies outgunned by the financial muscle of American and Chinese competitors, and the prospect of a hostile US president about to return to the White House.

Article Source: Bloomberg

December 5, 1945: Aircraft squadron disappears in the Bermuda Triangle

At 2:10 p.m. on December 5, 1945, five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. After having completed their objective, Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for an additional 67 miles, then turn north for 73 miles, and back to the air station after that, totaling a distance of 120 miles. They never returned.  

Sources

2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/12/03/china-hack-salt-typhoon-telecom/

3. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/us/politics/mike-johnson-smallest-house-majority.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

4. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-enters-silicon-valleys-hot-new-business-war-7beccf6e

5. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/united-healthcare-ceo-killed-what-happened-33cf8452?st=453cvo&reflink=article_copyURL_share

6. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-12-04/france-no-confidence-vote-what-next-for-macron-barnier-le-pen