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Recently, the deployment of the National Guard to subway stations has become a hot topic among New Yorkers. Even New Yorkers do not deny that the New York subway is dangerous. Not long ago, I saw a civic group teaching ‘subway safety rules’ in an educational program. But was security so dangerous that the military was deployed? This is a point that makes even the reporter, who rides the New York subway almost every day, tilt his head a little.

On the 6th, New York Governor Cathy Hocal announced that the National Guard would be stationed at major stations in the city and that random checks would be strengthened to ensure security in the New York subway. In fact, the image of soldiers is strong, but if you look at the actual announcement, it is not much different from the plan to expand the deployment of police personnel.

The background to this policy is that a series of violent crime incidents occurred in the subway, increasing citizen anxiety. Of course, there is controversy here. This is because ‘numbers’ (statistics) tell a somewhat different story. According to the New York Police, the number of serious crimes in February this year was 169, down 9.1% from a year ago.

During the same period, the number of subway users increased by more than 10%. Based on these statistics, New York Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, is making efforts to publicize that the New York subway, which is used by 4 million people a day, is becoming safer. Mayor Adams has already pledged to create a subway that citizens can use with confidence in October 2022, and has significantly increased the deployment of police officers at subway stations and strengthened inspections. Whether citizen anxiety has actually increased can be judged differently depending on one’s perspective.

According to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s ‘Citizen Satisfaction Survey Results’, in a survey conducted from November 6 to 20 last year, satisfaction with subway cabin safety was 54%, up 4 percentage points from six months ago. Satisfaction with subway station safety was 51%, up 3 percentage points from half a year ago. Although half of the population is still anxious, it is positive that there is improvement.

Of course, it is difficult to say that statistics truly reflect the anxiety felt by actual citizens. For example, last summer, New York City closed Rockaway Beach for a period of time after a shark attacked a woman and injured a woman.

The probability of being attacked by a shark at a beach is quite slim, but even if an incident like this happens just once, people become reluctant to go to that beach. The same seems to apply to the New York subway. This is because several violent crimes remain in the minds of citizens and increase anxiety. After an incident occurred in January 2022 at the Times Square subway station where a mentally ill homeless man pushed an Asian woman to death by pushing her onto the tracks, New Yorkers still get nervous and take a step back every time the subway enters the platform.

In January of this year, a man in his 40s who was trying to break up a fight on the subway was shot dead twice by an assailant. Citizens learn from experience that if they see someone making a fuss or fighting on the subway, they should not get involved and should quietly move to another carriage.

Administration is based on numbers, but politics is based on emotions. In the U.S. media, Governor Hocal’s decision to ‘deploy the National Guard’ is being evaluated as being based on political motivation. The Republican Party’s point of attack is that ‘the Democratic Party only puts political correctness first and puts public safety second’, and the intention is to break this perception ahead of the November election. Let’s stop talking about politics in other countries.

If you ask, ‘So, can I ride the New York subway?’, I will answer like this. “It is true that the New York subway is dangerous, and you have to be careful, but it is not as dangerous as you think. Of course, it is best to avoid using it alone late at night.”

On my way home from work last Friday, I heard an announcement that ‘operation was stopped due to a breakdown’ on a crowded New York subway. This is the answer I thought about as I got off the plane. This is also a daily life in New York that I am becoming accustomed to.

New York City Council member Linda Lee has begun to prepare regulations to strengthen vehicle theft prevention. The ‘Int 0610’ ordinance proposed by Rep. Lee on the 7th aims to mandate the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) vehicle theft prevention program and establish a program to provide devices that help prevent vehicle theft, such as a ‘steering wheel lock’, and to provide vehicle theft prevention programs.

It contains information such as aiding with software updates to prevent easy theft. Assemblyman Lee, who serves as chair of the City Council’s Mental Health, Disability, and Addictions Committee, said, “The constant theft from vehicles has reached a level where it is impacting public safety in the community.” He added, “With the passage of the ordinance, vehicle theft prevention programs will be mandated, vehicle thefts will decrease, and public safety will be reduced.” “I hope this will provide a foundation for strengthening safety,” he said.

If enacted, the ordinance will take effect 60 days later. Meanwhile, major crimes in New York City decreased compared to the previous year in 2023, but thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles without ‘engine immobilizers’ increased rapidly.

It was reported that in 2023, thefts of Kia vehicles in New York City increased by 890%, and those of Hyundai vehicles increased by 766%.

With the U.S. stock market soaring, Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates (hereinafter referred to as Bridgewater), the world’s largest hedge fund, said on the 29th in response to some analysis that the U.S. stock market has recently been overvalued, “It doesn’t look like there’s much of a bubble.”

In an article posted on LinkedIn that day, Dalio said that compared to various criteria for evaluating stock market bubbles, the recent overall situation in the U.S. stock market remains in the middle category compared to past history.

His conclusion is that although the stock market has shown a significant upward trend since last year, it is difficult to say that it is in a bubble situation.

Regarding the ‘Magnificent 7’ (M7), which refers to the seven American Big Techs (giant technology companies), it was judged that “although it is evaluated as slightly foamy, the overall conditions are not considered a bubble situation.” However, he cautioned, “You could still imagine a significant correction in these stocks if generative artificial intelligence (AI) does not live up to expectations as first reflected in the stock price.”

In making this statement, he assessed that Alphabet and Meta are still “somewhat cheap” and that Tesla is “somewhat expensive.” Dalio has internally developed indicators that can measure the economic situation and the possibility of a crisis and has been warning of the possibility of a crisis due to increased debt since early 2007, just before the financial crisis. However, some say that predictions are not always accurate as they do not respond properly to the rebound immediately after the financial crisis and the rapid recovery of the stock market during the pandemic.

Analysis suggests that although former President Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, has virtually driven a wedge into the presidential race in the Republican primary, he is having a hard time collecting donations. He said donors are reluctant to give money because they fear it will be used to cover his legal costs.

On the 24th, the Washington Post (WP) reported that there is growing concern among high-ranking Republicans and some supporters in Washington DC that former President Trump is spending too much political money on legal fees and that small donations are slowing down. Currently, former President Trump is lagging President Joe Biden in both the amount of donations and the number of donors. As of the end of last month, the Biden camp had secured $56 million in cash, but the Trump camp had only $30.5 million in cash.

In addition, according to WP’s analysis, the number of donors was 172,000 for the Biden camp as of November last year, surpassing the 143,000 for the Trump camp. The Trump campaign suspended TV advertising for a significant period during the 2020 presidential election due to financial difficulties. However, this time, the WP diagnosed that there were further setbacks in fundraising due to the possibility that a significant portion of the campaign funds would flow to former President Trump’s legal fees in several criminal and civil trials.

Some major donors have expressed concerns about donations being used to pay for legal fees, according to two prominent Republicans. “They will donate to Trump, but they won’t give as much if they think the money is being wasted,” said one of these Republicans, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They want to win the election, not pay lawyers.” He said.

However, one Trump adviser said he had not heard such concerns directly. Former President Trump relies on ‘Leadership PAC’ ‘Save America’ and ‘MAGA Inc.’ for legal fees. Leadership Packs are permitted to raise funds to support travel, fundraising and other political expenses. Last year, the two leadership packs spent more than $55 million on former President Trump’s legal fees, or 23% of their total spending.

‘Save America’ spent $2.9 million on former President Trump’s legal fees last month alone this year. Faced with having to pay huge legal fees but receiving only a small amount of donations, former President Trump is actively raising funds. WP reported that he has been ‘talking to donors’ for 3 to 5 hours a week for over a year. He also regularly writes personal letters to donors and signs thank-you notes, according to Trump’s advisers. He also reportedly agreed to a small dinner and question-and-answer session with some major donors.

In fact, former President Trump held an event last week at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, gathering 1,000 donors, and this week he held donation events in Nashville, Tennessee and Greenville, South Carolina, generating $10 million.

Trump has signaled his willingness to continue calling even people he believes are unlikely to donate and has reportedly even asked some of his associates to raise money for him. WP reported that this is an unusual move that is different from the past.

Former President Trump’s donations fall short even compared to his primary rival, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Former Ambassador Haley is repeatedly losing in the primary but appears to be ahead in the competition for donations. The Financial Times (FT) reported last month that former Ambassador Haley raised $11.5 million, surpassing the amount raised by former President Trump ($8.8 million).

Additionally, the FT reported that in South Carolina, where the Republican primary was held on the 24th, he spent $11.4 million on advertising, more than $10 million more than Trump. According to Politico’s analysis, 55,000 donors gave more than $200 to Haley’s campaign last month alone. Analysis suggests that the reason donations continue to continue despite former Ambassador Haley falling behind in the primary is because she is seen as an alternative to the aging President Biden or former President Trump.

According to The Times, former Ambassador Haley’s supporters said that her wide range of donors shows that Haley is a candidate who can appeal to a wide spectrum of Americans and a candidate who can unite the United States after years of polarization. South Carolina residents Travis and Angela Bass, who donated $350 to Haley, said, “Are you going to vote for your grandfather? Absolutely not. There are two elderly narcissists running for president. They both have the decency to resign. “It must be equipped,” he pointed out.

Studies have shown that survivors of myocardial infarction can develop several other diseases, including heart failure, kidney failure, diabetes, and depression. The research team, led by Professor Mallus Halls of the Department of Cardiovascular Epidemiology at the University of Leeds Medical School in the UK, analysed the medical records of patients aged 18 years or older who received hospital treatment at 299 medical institutions under the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) between 2008 and 2017.

Medical Express reported on the 17th that this fact was revealed. Among these, there was data showing that 433,361 people (average age 67 years, 66% male) who were hospitalized for their first myocardial infarction were hospitalized and treated for 11 non-fatal diseases within 9 years after the myocardial infarction.

The research team compared and analysed the medical records of 2,001,310 control subjects with no history of myocardial infarction who were matched for age and gender. As a result, the myocardial infarction group showed significantly higher rates of 11 diseases, including heart failure, renal failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, peripheral artery disease, severe bleeding, type 2 diabetes, and depression, than the control group.

Up to one-third of the myocardial infarction group developed heart failure and renal failure. 7% had recurrent myocardial infarction. The incidence of heart failure was 29.6% in the myocardial infarction group and 9.8% in the control group, and the incidence of renal failure was 27.2% in the myocardial infarction group and 19.8% in the control group.

The incidence of atrial fibrillation was 22.3% in the myocardial infarction group and 16.8% in the control group. In the myocardial infarction group, 17% were hospitalized for diabetes. The control group was 14.3%. In addition, serious bleeding occurred in 19% of the myocardial infarction group and 18.4% of the control group, cerebrovascular disease occurred in 12.5% of the myocardial infarction group and 11.6% of the control group, and peripheral artery disease occurred in 6.5% of the myocardial infarction group and 4.06% of the control group. All-cause mortality was 37.8% in the myocardial infarction group and 35.5% in the control group.

The incidence of depression was also higher in myocardial infarction at 8.9% than in the control group at 6%. Women had a greater risk of depression than men, and women who had suffered a myocardial infarction at a young age had a particularly high risk of depression. When a myocardial infarction occurred, 21.5% of women under the age of 40 were hospitalized for depression. Men accounted for 11.5%. However, the cancer incidence rate in the myocardial infarction group was 13.5%, which was significantly lower than the 21.5% in the control group. It is unclear whether there is a specific reason for the lower risk of cancer after myocardial infarction, and further research is needed, the researchers said.

There was little overall difference in the incidence of dementia. However, the incidence of vascular dementia was slightly higher in the myocardial infarction group at 2.3% than in the control group at 2.1%. The research team said that the overall results could be valuable information for survivors of myocardial infarction as it tells them what their risk of developing certain diseases is in the future and will help them deal with them in consultation with their doctors.

The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the online scientific journal ‘Public Science Library – Medicine’ (PLoS Medicine).

U.S. energy companies are increasing their size through large-scale mergers and acquisitions. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 12th that Diamondback Energy is conducting an M&A with Endeavor Energy Resources, a rival U.S. crude oil drilling company.

Endeavor Energy is a company known to have secured the largest drilling area in the Permian Basin of Texas, a major crude oil production area in the United States. After the merger, Diamondback Energy is expected to produce approximately 816,000 barrels of crude oil and gas per day. Due to the positive outlook on the merger, Diamondback Energy’s stock price soared nearly 10% on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). When the merger is completed, Diamondback Energy’s market capitalization will reach $53 billion.

American energy companies extracting shale oil from the Permian Basin were once on the verge of going out of business but escaped the crisis thanks to technological advancements and a surge in crude oil prices following the Ukraine war. The explanation is that companies that have recorded outstanding performance in recent years are expanding their size in order to cope with government regulations on fossil fuels in each country.

The plan is to increase size to prepare for rising costs due to the introduction and strengthening of various regulations. This is because the cost of crude oil drilling decreases as the drilling area expands. Diamondback Energy, which decided to pay about $26 billion for this contract, will also be able to significantly reduce the cost of crude oil drilling in the future. Experts are analysing that Diamondback Energy may drop the cost of crude oil drilling below $40 per barrel.

Considering that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is trading at around $76 per barrel, this means that the company has secured profits to continue its business even if the cost rises sharply or the price of crude oil plummets. “The industry’s leading leaders have come together to create a powerful oil company,” said Travis Stice, CEO of Diamondback Energy.

LS Electric announced on the 5th that its electric vehicle parts subsidiary, LS E-Mobility Solutions, has secured a production base to target the North American electric vehicle market with the recent completion of the Durango, Mexico plant.

The Durango factory has a total floor area of 35,000 m2 and has the capacity to produce 5 million EV relays and 4 million battery disconnect units (BDUs), which are key components for the safety of electric vehicles. This is the first overseas factory built by LS E-Mobility Solutions after its physical spin-off from LS Electric in April 2022.

LS Electric said that Durango, a city in northern Mexico, has advantages in production and logistics in its North American localization strategy. With this, LS E-Mobility Solutions has secured its third production base following Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and Wuxi, China. LS E-Mobility Solutions plans to achieve 700 billion won in North American sales and 1.2 trillion won in company-wide sales by 2030 by continuing its cooperative relationships with major North American automakers such as Ford and Stellantis and expanding its production lines through additional investments.

LS Electric Chairman Koo Ja-kyun said at the Durango factory completion ceremony, “We expect great results as we have boldly and quickly secured a production base to target the North American market, the world’s largest electric vehicle market.”

Chairman Koo emphasized, “As investment in the electric vehicle business is recognized as essential in the era of electrification, LS E-Mobility Solutions will grow into the best electric vehicle parts company in North America and play an important role in our future core business.”

Previously, LS E-Mobility Solutions continued to receive large orders, including signing an EV relay supply contract worth 250 billion won with Hyundai Motor Company and Kia in August last year, and accumulated orders exceeded 1 trillion won in just one year after the spin-off. An official from LS E-Mobility Solutions said, “In line with the demands of the North American market, which requires the establishment of local production facilities, we have established an electric vehicle parts production line in Mexico for the first time in the domestic industry.”

He added, “By adding a localization strategy to the world’s highest level of product reliability, we have become the best in North America.” “We will grow into an electric vehicle parts company,” he said.

New York City has launched an operation to eradicate illegal brothels operating in secret in Queens. On the 25th, the New York Police Department (NYPD) conducted a series of raids on prostitution establishments operating illegally in the Corona area of Queens and shut down seven establishments.

In particular, New York City Mayor Eric Adams personally accompanied the crackdown on this day and expressed the city government’s strong will to crack down on prostitution by attaching a ‘closure order’ issued by the court to the entrance of the cracked down brothel.

According to the NYPD, in the Corona area of Queens, prostitution establishments disguised as massage parlours are thriving along Roosevelt Avenue. On this day, the NYPD used the crackdown on a prostitution establishment located on 95th Street along Roosevelt Avenue as a signal to crack down on seven nearby prostitution establishments and suspend their operations.

Mayor Eric Adams pointed out on this day, “This area, where prostitution establishments are mushrooming, is only 50 feet away from the school, and there have been constant complaints from the community since last summer,” and added, “We will prevent human trafficking, etc. through stronger crackdowns on prostitution establishments.” “We will protect the victims and ensure the quality of life of the local community,” he said.

The crackdown on this day began in line with the court’s issuance of a ‘closure order’ to businesses where evidence of prostitution was secured. In cases where businesses did not open their front doors, the crackdown team even resorted to physical methods, such as breaking and destroying the front door glass and doors, to forcibly enter the business and enter the business. Closure was announced.

Queens 115th Police Station and the NYPD crackdown team said, “Today’s crackdown on illegal brothels is just the beginning. “We will continue to carry out strong crackdowns in the future,” he said, adding, “However, this crackdown on brothels is focused on shutting them down rather than arresting those involved.”

Actor David Gale, who appeared in the 1990s American drama ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’, passed away at the age of 58, the New York Times (NYT) and NBC reported on the 22nd. Gail’s younger sister, Katie Colmenares, posted his death on her social media account on the 20th.

“My best friend, always my helper and ready to face anything, is no more, but I will miss him every moment of every day and hold him tight in my heart,” Colmenares wrote. The date and cause of Gail’s death are unknown.

A native of Tampa, Florida, Gayle made his television debut in 1990 and became widely known when he appeared in season 4 of the hit drama ‘Children of Beverly Hills.’ In this drama, he played Stuart Carson, the wealthy fiancé of Brenda Walsh, the female protagonist played by actress Shannen Doherty. He appeared in a total of eight episodes, but ultimately left the show after breaking up with Brenda Walsh and failing to marry her.

Afterwards, he gained popularity by appearing as Joe Scanlon in the medical drama ‘Port Charles’, which aired from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. He had a romantic relationship with Dr Karen Wexler, one of the main characters in the drama, and appeared in 216 episodes.

He also acted in the TV drama series ‘Robin Who’ and ‘Savannah’.

Boeing, which was recently criticized for an accident in which part of the fuselage was torn off during a passenger flight, once again received world attention due to problems with its aircraft. Since defects in aircraft are discovered frequently, it seemed like they could have been quietly resolved and moved on, but this was the plane that the U.S. Secretary of State would be flying.

According to Bloomberg News and CNN, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland, left Zurich on the 17th (local time) on a modified Boeing 737 (US Air Force plane). He was scheduled to return home but was informed that the aircraft appeared to be unsafe. Secretary Blinken and his party completed boarding but had to disembark after receiving notification that ‘an oxygen leak was detected, but repairs could not be completed.’

In the end, Secretary Blinken returned home using a smaller aircraft procured from Brussels, Belgium, and his staff and reporters accompanying him on his European business trip took other commercial flights. Previously, on the 5th, an accident occurred on a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines where a ‘door plug’, which acts as a wall blocking an emergency exit hole that is not normally used, fell off during flight.

As a result of this incident, U.S. aviation regulators banned the operation of about 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft indefinitely, and Boeing decided to strengthen quality control for the model.