NEWS AND OPINION:
The ghastly and unthinkable term “World War III” has surged in news coverage in recent days as fighting in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine and Russia continues and threatens to escalate.
The news media is on it — so to speak — and here are a few headlines from the last week alone from a variety of sources: “Joy Behar warns silent ‘View’ studio audience about World War III” (Entertainment Weekly); “Biden keeps showing up late to World War III” (The Hill); “World War III: Is a U.S.-China Conflict Truly Mankind’s Fate?” (National Interest); “Elon Musk warns World War III could arise from current conflicts” (The Wall Street Journal); “Elon Musk fears the West is foolishly ‘sleepwalking our way into World War III’ and calls for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine” (Fortune); and “Why Israel-Hamas war leading to World War III is not an alarmist view” (the Iowa State Daily).
Current press interest in the unthinkable situation has been going on for quite some time, however.
“Shhh! Nobody talk about World War III,” advised The American Conservative — on Jan. 27.
THE TRUMP PROMISE
Former President Donald Trump spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas on Saturday — and here’s just a tiny portion of what he had to say.
“To every American who is terrified that President Joe Biden’s weakness will bring our country to ruin, I make you this promise: As your president, I will restore peace through strength — and yes, I will prevent World War Three,” Mr. Trump advised.
“When I am back in the White House, America’s enemies will know once again that if you try to kill our citizens, we will kill you. If you spill a drop of American blood, we spill a gallon of yours. I will terminate every open-border policy of the Biden administration,” he noted.
THE DESANTIS PROMISE
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, also a 2024 presidential hopeful, has revealed some big-picture thinking too in a speech delivered Friday at the Heritage Foundation titled “We Win and They Lose.”
Here’s just a tiny portion of what he had to say.
“Chaos abounds, dangers are gathering, America lacks direction, and leadership is in short supply. The world is getting more dangerous as conflicts mount,” Mr. DeSantis said.
“We’ve seen the ruling class in this country empower China for a generation. I’m here to tell you, decline is not inevitable. Decline is a choice. We cannot raise the white flag of surrender. We have time to get this right. But time is running out,” the governor continued.
“Just as we don’t want to be mired in pessimism and accept the idea of an inevitable American decline, we also can’t be deluded with happy talk. Decline will not be averted by looking at our situation through rose-colored glasses, telling Americans that everything is fine. Our goal from a national security perspective vis-a-vis the Chinese Communist Party is very simple. We win. They lose,” Mr. DeSantis advised.
This is the sixth major policy announcement Mr. DeSantis has made since starting his presidential run, his campaign said in a written statement.
“It follows his plans to stop the invasion and secure the border, return to a mission-first military, declare America’s economic independence, revive American energy dominance, and support America’s veterans,” the statement said.
A WHITE HOUSE TEMPLATE
Carving a pumpkin this year?
The White House is offering free pumpkin-carving templates for those so inclined. One features a silhouette of the White House itself, and the other a well-known phrase from President Biden that may not appeal to Republicans.
Yes, well.
Curious? Find the templates at www.whitehouse.gov/halloween/.
SCIENCE CORNER
An international study led by the University of Granada in Spain has identified for the first time the optimal number of steps at which most people obtain the greatest benefits, and also shows that the pace at which you walk provides additional benefits.
“The idea that you should take 10,000 steps a day originated in Japan in the 1960s, but had no scientific basis. Researchers have now shown that, if we focus on the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, most of the benefits are seen at around 7,000 steps,” the university advised in a statement to Sciencedaily.com.
“An international study led by the University of Granada has provided the first scientific proof for how many steps you need to take per day to significantly reduce the risk of premature death: 8,000. Given the average length of a human stride (76 centimeters for men and 67 centimeters for women), taking 8,000 steps is equivalent to walking approximately 6.4 kilometers a day,” the school said.
“Researchers have also shown that the pace at which we walk has additional benefits, and that it is better to walk fast than slow. With regard to the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, most of the benefits are seen at around 7,000 steps,” it noted.
The study was first published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
POLL DU JOUR
• 49% of U.S. adults are “not very or not at all” confident they will have enough savings for retirement.
• 32% are “somewhat confident” and 18% are “extremely or very confident” they will have the savings.
• 42% of U.S. adults are not very or not at all confident they will have enough savings to pay an unexpected medical expense.
• 31% are somewhat confident and 26% are extremely or very confident they will have the savings.
• 37% of U.S. adults are not very or not at all confident they could find a job if they lost their current job
• 35% are “somewhat confident” and 27% are extremely or very confident.
• 26% of U.S. adults are not very or not at all confident they can keep up with their personal expenses.
• 42% are somewhat confident and 32% are extremely or very confident.
SOURCE: An AP-NORC poll of 1,163 U.S. adults conducted Oct. 5-9 and released Sunday.
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• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.