U.S. officials say they asked for — and got — the retraction of an independent monitor's warning of imminent famine in north Gaza.

In the coming days, the U.S. military in the eastern Mediterranean is expected to jab one end of a hulking metal dock into a beach in northern Gaza.

A special House committee dedicated to countering China is beginning its work, with a prime-time hearing on Tuesday designed to awaken Americans to the dangers the Chinese government poses to the United States’ economy and security.