01.18.2023

China's GDP Growth Slows

China’s gross domestic product grew at 3% in 2022, according to data released yesterday, down from an 8.1% rate in 2021 and below the government target of 5.5%. It marks the second slowest pace since the 1970s, as the world’s second-largest economy struggled under strict COVID-zero policies and a decline in the real estate market.

The economy grew 2.9% in the fourth quarter as China relaxed its COVID-19 policies, which had stunted retail sales and disrupted production. Unemployment remains a concern, with the urban jobless rate at 5.5%. To help stimulate a recovery, China has eased its crackdown on the technology sector and is relaxing restrictions on real estate developers. Economists predict close to 5% growth in 2023.

Separately, the country's population shrank in 2022 for the first time since the 1960s, with 1.4 billion people at the end of last year, 850,000 fewer than at the end of 2021.

Suspect in Lawmaker Shootings

Solomon Peña, a Republican candidate who lost an election for the New Mexico state Legislature last year, has been arrested in connection to a series of shootings targeting several homes and offices of Democratic officials. No one was injured in the shootings, although several homes were damaged.

Between Dec. 4 and Jan. 5, the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners, as well as a campaign office, were hit by several gunshots. Authorities announced Monday they believed Peña paid four men to conduct the attacks, one of whom was arrested last week. After Peña lost the state House District 14 race by 3,600 votes in November, several lawmakers reported he came to their homes with documents attempting to prove he had won.

Last month, the Capitol's chief of police reported that threats against members of Congress were up 400% in the past six years. See a report here.

Ex-Mexican Official Faces US Trial

A corruption trial in the US opened yesterday for Mexico's former security chief, Genaro García Luna, who allegedly accepted millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel in return for the safe passage of cocaine shipments into the US. He is the highest-ranking Mexican official to face a US trial on drug-trafficking charges. If found guilty, he faces between 20 years to life in prison. 

García Luna, 54, was the head of Mexico's version of the FBI from 2001-06 and the public security minister under former President Felipe Calderón from 2006-12, vowing to fight against cartels. The ex-official was arrested in 2019 after a Sinaloa Cartel associate, in a separate trial for drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, testified that he had given García Luna at least $6M to allow the cartel to operate. 

The jury trial begins about a week after President Joe Biden met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to discuss priorities, including clamping down on drug cartels. See Mexico's drug cartel history here.

Science & Technology

Business & Markets

Politics & World Affairs

Mapping the most filmed locations in every US state.

Visualizing the productivity of the US Congress. 

The best robots from the Consumer Electronics Show (w/video).

What did dial-up internet sounds before the 2000s mean? 

Seoul, South Korea, launches first public metaverse.

New trailer drops for season three of "The Mandalorian." 

Netflix seeks a flight attendant for one of its private jets.

... or take a chance to become a walrus detective.

Clickbait: Australian woman breaks archery record—using her feet.

Historybook: President John Tyler dies (1862); Actor Cary Grant born (1904); WWI Paris Peace Conference begins (1919); Author Rudyard Kipling dies (1936); Willie O’Ree becomes first Black player in the National Hockey League (1958).