“A federal judge has sided with the United States Department of Justice in motions aimed at precluding the testimony of seven witnesses on behalf of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF. In a Sept. 21 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan granted in limine motions from prosecutors that would bar certain witnesses from testifying in SBF’s criminal trial. Kaplan provided different legal grounds for granting the DOJ’s motions against certain witnesses, which included the proposed testimony being ‘not at all clear,’ irrelevant to the trial, or would otherwise seemingly obfuscate the facts of the case for the jury.” (09/21/23)
“Azerbaijan on Tuesday unleashed an artillery barrage and drone attacks against outnumbered and undersupplied pro-Armenian forces on the mountainous territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. France’s foreign minister blasted Azerbaijan’s military operation in the ethnic Armenian enclave as ‘illegal, unjustifiable, unacceptable.’ ‘I would like to emphasise that we hold Azerbaijan responsible for the fate of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,’ Catherine Colonna told journalists on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. But Abdullayeva rejected France’s allegations, claiming that Azerbaijan’s ‘anti-terror’ operations were ‘legal and legitimate.'” (09/21/23)
“GM on Wednesday laid off about 2,000 Kansas assembly plant workers due to a shortage of parts caused by the UAW strike. Stellantis laid off about 370 workers at three parts factories supplying its Toledo Jeep plant. Meanwhile, UAW President Shawn Fain announced during a video social media post a new strike deadline of Friday unless substantial progress is made toward a new fair labor contract. … The UAW’s position is that the union gave significant concessions when the automakers were financially strapped in 2008-09, and now that they have many years of record profits, it’s time to share the prosperity with the workers whose labor made those record profits possible. The auto companies allege that despite record profits and CEO annual salaries of $21 million to $29 million at the Detroit Three automakers, they cannot afford to reward their workers as the UAW demands.” (09/21/23)
“China’s top leadership is cranking up the pressure on provincial authorities and state-owned enterprises to pay back money owed to private companies, calling on them to ‘shoulder the responsibility’ as the country eyes a sustainable solution to its overall debt load. A special campaign on ‘triangular debt,’ which refers to a chain of delayed or partial payments, has been launched to untie the multi-trillion-yuan knot that is ensnaring struggling businesses and hindering the country’s growth momentum. ‘State-owned enterprises must take the lead,’ Premier Li Qiang said at a State Council meeting on Wednesday. ‘We must make sure that debt owed is paid.'” (09/21/23)
“A military pilot whose advanced fighter jet went temporarily missing over the weekend is heard repeatedly requesting an ambulance in a perplexing 911 call from the South Carolina home where he had parachuted to safety, according to audio recording released Thursday to The Associated Press. The four-minute recording captures the bizarre circumstances for the three unidentified people involved: a North Charleston resident calmly explaining that a pilot just parachuted into his backyard, the pilot who doesn’t know what became of his jet, and a puzzled dispatcher trying to make sense of it all. … The pilot, who said he was 47, reported feeling ‘OK’ after falling what he estimated was 2,000 feet. Only his back hurt, he said. The resident said the pilot looked fine.” (09/21/23)
“U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in eight months last week as the labor market continues to show strength in the face of elevated interest rates. U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 201,000 for the week ending Sept. 16, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the lowest figure since the last week of January. Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week. The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell by 7,750 to 217,000. … Earlier this month, the government reported that U.S. employers added a healthy 187,000 jobs in August. Though the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.8%, it’s still low by historical measures.” (09/21/23)
“Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of the board of both Fox Corp. and News Corp., the company said on Thursday. The move will be official in November. Murdoch, 92, will be appointed chairman emeritus of each company. Lachlan Murdoch, one of his sons, will become sole chairman of News Corp and will continue as Fox Corp.’s executive chair and CEO.” (09/21/23)
“Five people suspected of spying for Russia are to be charged in the UK with conspiracy to conduct espionage. Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Ivan Stoyanov, and Vanya Gaberova will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. The Bulgarian nationals are accused of conspiring to gather information which would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023. It follows an investigation by the Metropolitan Police. The defendants are alleged to have worked in an operational spy cell for the Russian security services and that this work involved conducting surveillance on targets. They are accused of working on active operations in the UK and Europe and collecting and passing information to the Russian state. Mr Roussev, 45, is alleged to have run operations from the UK and acted as the link to those who received the intelligence.” (09/21/23)
“Pakistan’s election oversight body announced on Thursday that it will hold the next parliamentary elections in the last week of January, delaying the vote which was to be held in November under the constitution. However, the announcement by the Election Commission of Pakistan has ended uncertainty about the fate of the vote. Earlier, some political parties had feared that the election could be delayed for an indefinite period. Pakistan has been in deepening political turmoil since April 2022, when then-Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office through a parliamentary vote of no confidence. … Pakistan’s electoral map is being redrawn to reflect the latest census. In a brief statement, the election commission said a final list of constituencies would be published on Nov. 30. The Election Commission will announce the exact date of the vote later.” (09/21/23)
“A group of 25 state governors that make up the U.S. Climate Alliance and the Biden administration are expected to announce a pledge Thursday to quadruple the number of heat pumps in U.S. homes by 2030, from 4.7 million to 20 million. Heat pumps use little electricity, yet are able to heat and cool buildings. Since they often replace oil or gas furnaces that add greenhouse gases to the air, they can meaningfully address climate change. Buildings account for more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The pledge on heat pumps is a collection of state initiatives to work toward the goal of ramping down emissions to zero by 2050. Pennsylvania and seven other states, for example, will look into developing a standard for how non-polluting a heater needs to be.” (09/21/23)
