The violent protests that shook the largest iPhone factory in the world have apparently changed Apple’s appetite for China. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the company is speeding up plans to shift some production out of the country that dominates its supply chain.

Apple is reportedly telling suppliers to plan for assembly in other parts of Asia, particularly India and Vietnam. The company also hinted at having less reliance on Taiwan-based Foxconn, which runs the Zhengzhou factory at the center of the November COVID-19-lockdown protests.

Counterpoint Research said under normal conditions, this one factory accounts for 85% of production on Apple’s top phone model, the iPhone 14 Pro. And the unrest has caused production delays and shortages just in time for the holidays.

Apple may be looking outside Foxconn to further diversify, but Foxconn is looking to make a change, too. The supplier plans to quadruple its workforce at an iPhone plant in India, according to Reuters.

Both company and supplier are seemingly sick of virus disruptions out of China. Meanwhile, China is starting to lift some of its most crippling restrictions, claiming on state media it is because the virus is weakening, not because of the unprecedented protests seen in the country.

In late November, workers in Zhengzhou clashed with police at the iPhone production plant amid protests over compensation and COVID-19 lockdowns that required workers to live at the facility with no outside contact.

Shortly after that protest erupted, unrest spread throughout the country following a deadly apartment fire in the Xinjiang region, where many believe the lockdown delayed emergency response. Ten people died in the blaze, unable to escape.

The widespread protests that followed in resistance to the Chinese Communist Party are unprecedented since the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in 1989, putting immense pressure on President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policies.

Republicans, Democrats and Elon Musk are all speaking out against former President Donald Trump’s statement that sections of the Constitution should be terminated. Trump’s statement was a response to the release of part one of the so-called “Twitter files.”

On Friday night, Journalist Matt Taibbi shared internal company emails that revealed both the Trump and Biden teams emailed Twitter executives and asked them to fact-check or remove certain tweets during the 2020 presidential campaign. Twitter complied. In one email, a Twitter executive sent a list of tweets to another executive with the note, “more to review from the Biden team.” The recipient responded three hours later, “handled these.”

Taibbi also publicized emails that show Twitter executives struggled to explain how censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story fit their hacked materials policy. They questioned whether their explanations were adequate.

Trump responded with a post on his Truth Social site that stated, “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” 

But Trump is being shot down.

“The Constitution is greater than any President,” Elon Musk responded.

The condemnation has come from both sitting members of congress and those that were just elected in November. 

“Obviously I don’t support that. The Constitution is set for a reason, to protect the rights of every American. So I certainly don’t endorse that language or that sentiment,”  Rep. Elect Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said on CNN’s State of the Union.

“Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation, and should be universally condemned. You cannot only love America when you win,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. 

The newly elected House Democratic Leader, who is taking over for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Republicans must figure out Trump’s role in their party.

“The Republicans are going to have to work out their issues with the former president and decide whether they’re going to break from him and return to some semblance of reasonableness, or continue to lean into the extremism, not just of Trump but of Trump-ism,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on ABC’s This Week.

Musk tweeted Saturday that part two of the “Twitter Files” will be released in the next day or so.

Nevada gambling revenue topped $1 billion for the 20th consecutive month in October, bringing in $1.28 billion in “gaming wins,” according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The Silver State’s hot streak has it on pace to break the annual gambling revenue record set last year.

October’s gambling revenue total is 4.8% higher than a year ago and 25% more than before the pandemic in October 2019. Slots across the state are the biggest money makers, scoring $877 million of the month’s pot. That’s 69% of all October revenue and up 11% from last year.

Meanwhile, within sports betting, mobile betting (+62%), football (+12%) and baseball (+86%) increased in October. Overall sports betting was up 17.7% from a year ago. Still, the sports pool makes up just a small fraction of Nevada’s gambling jackpot at less than 5%.

Despite high inflation and worries of recession, in October, Las Vegas visitors were up 7.3% year over year and are as close as the city has been to reaching pre-pandemic tourism levels, down just 0.8% from October 2019, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

3.64 million visitors descended on Las Vegas in October, thanks in part to the When We Were Young music festival, two Raiders home games and the NASCAR South Point 400 race, according to the authority. And while events and conventions draw visitors in, gambling on the Las Vegas Strip alone accounts for more than half the state’s gaming revenue.

Despite COVID-19, Nevada collected a record $13.4 billion in gambling revenue in 2021, which was 11.6% higher than pre-pandemic 2019 numbers, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The previous all-time high was in 2007 when the state recorded $12.8 billion.

Now, Nevada is on pace to break the record again. So far, the state has recorded $12.3 billion in 10 months of 2022.

The thirst for gambling goes beyond Nevada, too. According to the American Gaming Association, U.S. commercial gaming revenue topped $15 billion for the first time in the third quarter of 2022, with 16 states marking all-time records.

The best soccer players in the world make more than the top athlete in any other sport. Their salaries and endorsement deals eclipse the biggest names in basketball, American football or even boxing. Now, the best of the best are on display at the World Cup in Qatar. Here are the highest paid footballers in this week’s Five for Friday.

#5: Mohamed Salah

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah makes $35 million solely for his efforts on the field, while his sponsorship and endorsement deals bring in an additional $18 million per year, according to Forbes. A total annual pot of $53 million seems warranted for a player who has won three Golden Boots as the top scorer in the English Premier League. Salah has an endorsement deal with Vodafone Egypt and even starred in an advertisement with Rick and Morty for Adidas. His national team, Egypt, didn’t qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, but at 30 years old, he still has time to make another run.

#4: Neymar

Neymar is like Cher or Madonna, an international icon that goes by a single name. The Brazilian superstar was part of a record $263 million transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. Neymar’s on-field compensation is $55 million and he makes another $32 million in endorsements, according to Forbes. He left a big contract with Nike to be the face of Puma in 2020. Now he’s hoping to lead Brazil to its sixth World Cup trophy, but that’s contingent on coming back from a nasty ankle injury he suffered during the group stage.

#3: Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo makes more in endorsements than any other footballer at $60 million per year, in addition to his $40 million salary, according to Forbes. He could be in line for the biggest payday in football if reports are true of his intent to sign a $207 million per year deal with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr FC. That will likely have to wait since his national team, Portugal, is still in the hunt for a World Cup title. Ronaldo has sponsorships with Nike and Clear Shampoo, to name a few. He even has an airport in his home country named after him, but it was a humorous bust honoring him that stole all of the attention. Don’t worry, they rectified the situation (sort of).

#2: Lionel Messi

Like the debate over Michael Jordan and LeBron James, soccer fans have been debating whether Ronaldo or Lionel Messi meet the criteria of greatest of all time, or GOAT. While that spat may never be resolved, Messi edges out Ronaldo in pay for now. The Argentine forward makes $65 million per year with Paris Saint-Germain and another $55 million off the pitch, according to Forbes. As Messi enters the twilight of his storied career, there are rumors he could return to Barcelona or even come stateside and join Inter Miami. He isn’t expected to make a decision until after Argentina’s World Cup run.

#1: Kylian Mbappé

At 23 years old, Kylian Mbappé is the youngest player on the list and the only one to already score a World Cup title. Mbappé shares the pitch with Messi and Neymar at PSG, collecting $110 million per year in salary with $18 million in endorsements, according to Forbes. Mbappé is also on the Nike roster, an ambassador for Dior and has been on the cover of EA Sports FIFA for the last three years. The French national team is hoping to win its second consecutive World Cup, which would surely add more to his bottom line.

Two Republican senators introduced a bill they said will protect small family farmers and ranchers from proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules regarding greenhouse gas emissions disclosures. The Protect our Farmers from the SEC Act would exempt family-owned businesses from value chain reporting.

The SEC-proposed rule would require public companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, including all operations the company owns or controls and any indirect emissions that occur as their products are being made. The practice, known as value chain reporting, could impact farmers and ranchers who provide their ingredients and food to large companies like McDonald’s, Chipotle or Yum! Brands, which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

“The publicly traded corporations overseen by the SEC won’t be the ones tasked with complying with these onerous ‘value chain’ rules. That responsibility would fall on America’s family farmers and ranchers who would be forced to deal with unprecedented amount of unnecessary paperwork,” Agriculture Committee ranking member Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said in a statement.

Sen Boozman and Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., brought the act forward, saying it would keep farmers from having to report granular data and their day-to-day activities. A companion bill was introduced in the House by Oklahoma Rep. Frank Lucas, R.

“I’ve heard from countless Hoosier farmers who are worried about what this regulation means for their farms and their livelihoods. I am proud to introduce this legislation with Sen. Boozman to put a stop to the Biden administration’s federal overreach on Hoosier farms and ranches,” Sen. Braun said.

The SEC rules could be finalized in early 2023, but it’s expected they will be met with fierce opposition and legal challenges.

Just weeks ago, Elon Musk introduced then withdrew Twitter Blue, the program that allows any user to buy a blue checkmark for their account. Local government agencies across the country are concerned. Mainly about the changes affecting their ability to effectively communicate with the public using Twitter.

“There is a reality now that someone could buy a blue checkmark and then they could suddenly say they are a government agency telling you evacuate, for instance. So, even a blue checkmark might not mean what it used to mean,” tweeted the Washington Emergency Management Division. 

“It’s easy to use, it’s free. It’s kind of simplistic in a sense, you know, it’s just short messaging. It provides something that allows municipalities to reach their citizens and other community stakeholders, as they say where they’re at,” Dr. Jeffrey Stone, a professor at Penn State University, said. Stone, a researcher, has investigated municipalities’ use of social media, specifically Twitter.

“There’s always the risk involved with things like misinformation and fake accounts and bots, causing ripples in discussions and things like that. And that’s an ongoing problem. Not just for governments, but corporations and individuals. It will continue to be an ongoing issue. But what I’ve gathered from the interviews I’ve done, and from the surveys I’ve conducted is that municipalities feel it’s worth the risk,” Stone said.

At least, it’s been worth the risk so far. And some government agencies maintain that it continues to be. They are educating users on how to spot a real account. They are doing so by providing tips like: Look for the link to a government website in the bio, check how old the account is and see if there’s an “official” tag under the handle. That tag will hang around with Twitter Blue, according to Twitter.

“Yeah, I mean, there’s no perfect platform. Certainly I know there are municipalities out there, using text messaging. Especially for emergency alerts and things like that and making that available to citizens. But every platform has its advantages and disadvantages. Every technology has its pros and cons. And every technology, while it may have great things that can be accomplished with it. There are also very negative things that can be accomplished with it. And finding that balance and kind of figuring out how to use them in the most effective manner. That’s going to take some time,” said Stone.

The San Diego City Attorney’s Office is one agency that’s decided to leave the platform. It tweeted that “Twitter is moving in a troubling direction.”

Elon Musk says Twitter Blue will tentatively relaunch on Dec. 2, with the following adjustments: Checkmarks for government accounts will be colored gray, checkmarks for individuals will be blue, and checkmarks for companies will be gold.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro won the gubernatorial race by 14 points in a swing state. Shapiro is the first candidate to succeed a governor of the same party there since 1966.

Shapiro made his Jewish faith a central part of his campaign, pitting him against his Republican competitor, Doug Mastriano, who employed Christian themes throughout his messaging. 

“The Talmud teaches us that no one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free from it. I think it means that each of us has a responsibility to do our part,” Shapiro said in Jewish Democratic Council of America video.

With crime a top concern among voters, Mastriano and other Republicans said Shapiro had already mishandled the issue.

However, Shapiro has said he plans to make Pennsylvanians feel safer moving forward.

“We’re going to hire more police officers when I’m governor, but we’re going to make sure they are properly trained from the communities they are sworn to serve and protect and look like the people they are interacting with every day,” Shapiro said at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

When it comes to education, he supports school choice while also saying the state will fully fund public education. His plan to grow the commonwealth’s economy includes further reducing the corporate tax rate and investing in renewable energy.

Congress appears poised to back President Joe Biden in thwarting a potential holiday rail strike that could cost the U.S. economy $2 billion per day. But the deadline on impacts of a looming strike is barreling down the stretch quicker than some may realize.

“While the actual deadline of the railroads being shut down is the 8th [of December], our real deadline is sooner than that,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.

Workers are set to strike starting Dec. 9 if a deal between unions and railroads is not reached, though Congress may force a compromise to avert a costly shutdown.

“Congress, I think, has to act to prevent it,” Biden said. “It’s not an easy call, but I think we have to do it. The economy’s at risk.”

But while the absence of a contract would have workers walking off next Friday, the impacts of the uncertainty begin one week prior, meaning for some industries, the strike effectively starts this weekend.

According to federal safety measures, railroad carriers begin prepping for a strike seven days before the date, prioritizing securing and moving hazardous materials down the line.

The Fertilizer Institute said its deadline is five days before a strike, or Dec. 4, “when ammonia and other fertilizers and inputs will stop moving on the rails.” Chemicals cease to be transported 96 hours before a strike date because they can’t be left unattended en route in case workers go off the job. This practice is particularly impactful for the agricultural industry, as 60% of all U.S. fertilizer moves via rail, according to The Fertilizer Institute.

Critical drinking water and wastewater systems are also at risk, as chlorine would be a part of the early stoppage, threatening water services across the nation.

The American Chemistry Council says $2.8 billion in chemical cargo is moved weekly on the rails. According to an economic analysis by the council, a month-long strike would pull nearly $160 billion out of the economy, while reaching a deal the week of the strike will still have ripple effects throughout the country.

The Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act, sending it back to the House for a final approval before it can be signed by the president. This bill has been on a long journey and required bipartisan compromise.

It does not fully legalize gay marriage like the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision. Instead, it requires state government officials to recognize legally performed marriages from other states regardless of sex or race. It also repeals the Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman and denied federal benefits for same sex couples.

Democrats prioritized the Respect for Marriage Act after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the Obergefell decision should be revisited after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

“We will stand up and defend the vulnerable, that we’ll protect the individual rights of all Americans from a far-right Supreme Court majority determined to turn the clock back by decades,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said during a speech in support of the bill.

Some Republicans expressed concern that it could infringe upon religious freedom. But amendments were added to make clear non-profit religious organizations do not have to help perform same sex marriages.

“Unlike Obergefell, this bill expressly empowers private litigants to sue religious institutions, faith-based organizations and private parties who oppose, for sincerely held religious beliefs, same-sex marriage,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said on the Senate floor.

The House had already passed the bill, but because of the Senate’s amendments on religious freedom, the House needs to approve the new version. 

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for a case that is central to the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration policy, U.S. v. Texas. The two-pronged case focuses on both the validity of this type of challenge and the legality of the DHS’s enforcement policy.

The case stems from a September 2021 memorandum by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that instructed ICE to prioritize deportations for immigrants who are a threat to national security, public safety and border security. ICE contends that because 11 million immigrants are in the country illegally compared to only 6,000 immigration officers, it does not have the resources to go after all of them. This policy marks a change from Trump administration policies that allowed agents to arrest anyone in the U.S. illegally.

The justices heard arguments about two questions. The first question asks whether states have standing to challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration guidelines in the first place. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and some of the court’s liberal justices said the states do not.

“Federal courts should not now be transformed into open forums for each and every policy dispute between the states and the national government,” General Prelogar told the justices.

Arguments for this question honed in on whether the states will incur financial harm.

“If all you need to do is to say, ‘We have a dollar’s worth of costs, and you don’t even need to think about the benefits on the other side…’ I mean, every immigration policy, you let in more people, you let in fewer people, is going to have some effect on a state’s fiscal condition,” Justice Kagan said during a back and forth with Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone.

Stone responded that the state has at least one example where a detainer was removed from an immigrant in the country illegally who then went on to break the law again.

“That detainer was removed, he was released, and then he was re-apprehended for committing human trafficking. That commits that kind of costs, both law enforcement recidivism, that certainly forms the basis of an Article III injury. That is speculative, it occurred,” Stone said. 

The second question in the case was on the merits–that is, do DHS guidelines violate Title 8 of U.S. code regarding the apprehension and detention of aliens?

“The INA [Immigration and Nationality Act] does not create an unyielding mandate to apprehend and remove every noncitizen described in provisions that use the term shall,” General Prelogar said. 

General Stone focused on section 1226c of federal code regarding the detention of criminal aliens.

“The final memorandum is unlawful for multiple reasons, most clearly, because it treats section 1226c as discretionary. Well, both this court and every previous administration have acknowledged it as mandatory,” Stone told the justices. 

A lower court ruled against DHS in this case. The Biden administration is hoping the Supreme Court justices will overturn that decision.