环太平洋

一 |     Hunter Biden and his longtime business partner Eric Schwerin were actively working behind the scenes in 2016 to raise money for a prominent former Biden adviser's congressional campaign while also working on Chinese business deals with the adviser's business partner, Fox News Digital reported on Thursday.,Close connections build business, it seems. According to emails obtained by the outlet, Francis "Fran" Person, who worked in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2014 as a special assistant to President Barack Obama and an adviser to then-Vice President Joe Biden, left the White House in late July 2014 to serve in an advisory capacity at his alma mater, the University of South Carolina. Less than six months later, in January 2015, he reportedly became the president of the Harves Group.,Person still frequently corresponded via email with Hunter and Schwerin of the now-defunct Rosemont Seneca Partners about business dealings connected to the Harves Group in 2015 and 2016, per the report.,He also made numerous trips to the White House during that time, including joining Bo Zhang, the Chinese executive who founded the Harves Group and supposedly had connections to officials at some of the highest levels of the Communist Party of China, at a White House holiday reception in December 2015.,Hunter Biden-Linked Chinese Businessmen Met With Joe Biden at the White House While VP6 August, 03:25 GMT,More to that, Person declared on February 29, 2016, that he would run for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina.,Then, according to the outlet, one day after the announcement, Hunter introduced George Duko, a DuPont executive, to Zhang in an email, outlining a prospective commercial connection between DuPont and Harves. Person and Zhang's aunt were Bcc'd on the email.,"Their reputation is impeccable, and they have strong local, provincial, and national level government relationships - specifically in Shenzhen - which is essential in getting any major project done," Hunter wrote in that email, per the report.,On March 3, 2016, Schwerin allegedly introduced Person to Jeff Cooper, an associate of his and Hunter's in business. A later email from the individual thanked Schwerin for the introduction and stated that given his own "close relationship with VP Biden," there is "a very high anticipation" that he will be a "well funded candidate.",In October of that year, Cooper would reportedly give Person's campaign $2,700. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden reportedly met with Zhang, the chairman and CEO of Harves, on March 30 of that year.,Sputnik ExplainsHunter Biden Records: Does US Secret Service Have Something to Hide?24 July, 15:15 GMT,Next month, the partners, together with the director of communications of the National Basketball Players Association Tara Greco, discussed the possibility of building stadiums in China under the auspices of the NBA. The talk was allegedly about the province of Liaoning in northern China, where Zhang allegedly had close business and political ties.,To meet with Duko of DuPont, Hunter, Schwerin, and Zhang drove to Wilmington, Delaware, on May 4, 2016. Asked by the outlet whether he remembered Fran Person's name coming up during their discussion in Wilmington and whether Hunter, Schwerin, or Zhang had presented any additional business opportunities to DuPont in China, Duko replied: "I did meet with Hunter at their request, they wanted to discuss land we were in the process of selling at that time.,"The transaction was already under contract to be sold and I informed Hunter that we would be proceeding with the transaction as planned," he added. "We did not and have not discussed any other business dealings since that meeting. I do not recall the name Fran Person.",Meanwhile, Hunter allegedly sought help even from Brian Steel, a CNBC executive from 2007 to 2021. In his reply to Hunter's email asking him if he might contribute to Person's campaign in September 2016, Steel made an interesting revelation, per Fox News.,"I look forward to seeing you on Monday. I’d love to support Fran but unfortunately as the EVP of CNBC, I’m not allowed to donate to political campaigns," Steel wrote. "In year[s] past I would get around that by having my wife donate but after CNBC hosted a controversial/aggressive Republican primary debate earlier this year, Breibart [sic] and Rush Limbaugh outed me as the husband of a ‘max’ Hillary donor so I can’t even have Eileen donate anymore.",Sputnik ExplainsHow Bannon's Conviction Opens Door to GOP's Sweet Revenge on Hunter and Joe Biden23 July, 18:01 GMT,According to an earlier report, Hunter referred to Zhang as a "good friend and business colleague" in a letter to an alleged Chinese Communist Party official Henry Zhao, who was also the CEO of Harvest Fund Management.,Soon after, Hunter began to send invitations to his contacts to fundraisers in support of Person multiple times, sometimes writing, "Most of you know what Fran Person means to me and my family and we are excited to support him in his run for Congress," and at least three of them were allegedly addressed by his father, then the vice president of the United States.,At one of the events, according to the publication, Evan Ryan, the current White House cabinet secretary and the wife of secretary of state Antony Blinken, gave $8,100 to Person's campaign. Numerous family members of President Biden, including his wife Jill, sister Valerie, brother James, brother-in-law Jack, nieces Casey and Missy, and Hunter, contributed significantly to Person's campaign in 2016.,However, despite the Bidens' fundraising efforts, Person did not ultimately win. The Democrat candidate faced no opposition in the primary but lost to Mulvaney on November 8, 2016.,'They Should Come & Talk to Us': Hunter Biden Probe May Subpoena US Intel Chiefs, Says McCarthy7 August, 05:19 GMT。    刚刚过去的这个双休日，天气舞台依旧“不平静”。受低涡系统影响，一个水汽“补给站”已经建立，为全省源源不断地输送充沛水汽。大雨不管不顾，下得“豪横”，不少市民也在期盼，何时能重现阳光？根据浙江省气象台发布的消息，本周开场，沿海和浙南的雨水丝毫没有“收手”的意思，继续“发力”，部分地区有中到大阵雨或雷雨，局部甚至暴雨到大暴雨，势头依然不容小觑。本周四至周六，受季风倒槽影响，浙南和沿海地区的雨水“排班”依然密集，阵雨或雷雨时不时来“报到”。好在，末伏天里的酷暑继续被雨水“浇灭”气焰。受冷空气和阴雨联手压制，昨天高温“熄火”，预计全省最高气温基本卡在31℃～33℃，下雨的地方凉快些，没下的地方也不算太热，算是雨水捎来的福利。到了周日，随着副高继续加强，雨水终于肯“休假”了。全省统一切换为“多云+午后分散性雷阵雨”模式，市民朋友可以从容洗晒出游，不用担心降雨临时“闪现”。雨水“退居二线”，高温就准备“补位上岗”。周三起，全省除沿海外，大部地区最高气温将重返34℃～36℃，暑气卷土重来。

二 | 好在这次高温还算“低调”，没有一上来就大张旗鼓地“霸屏”，不过闷热感可一点没打折，黏糊糊的体感照样“在线”，大家防暑降温的功课还得继续做足。具体到杭州，经历了连续几天的强降雨后，昨天终于进入尾声，到了下午，甚至见到了阳光的身影。市气象防灾减灾中心预计，真正的天气转折，将出现在今天。由于副热带高压加强西伸，杭州上空的天气格局将逐渐发生变化，降水从前几天较大范围的阵雨或雷雨天气，转为以午后分散性雷阵雨为主，天气也将逐渐回归夏日应有的节奏。

三 | 需要提醒的是，虽然强降雨进入尾声，并不意味着防范工作可以马上结束。连续多日降雨后，让大片土地喝了个透饱。

四 | 眼下，山体土壤已经处于“超饱和”状态，就像一块吸足了水的海绵，哪怕再飘一阵小雨，都可能渗出水流；若再遭遇强降水冲击，极易诱发山体滑坡、塌方等地质灾害。市民朋友外出时请及时关注最新气象预警信息，务必远离山边、溪边、陡坡边，合理安排出行。