“New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced on Tuesday that she’s suing Amazon
on antitrust grounds, alleging the online retailer abuses its power over third-party delivery contractors to suppress competition and harm workers. Amazon prevents delivery workers from unionizing, restricts contractors in its delivery network from hiring each other’s drivers, and limits competition for their labor, leading to lower wages and causing employees to ‘endure harsher working conditions than they should,’ Davenport’s office said in a release.” (08/04/26)
“Twenty-five states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday over a wave of tariffs against dozens of countries. The US says the tariffs, which range between 10% and 12.5%, were imposed due to trading partners – including the UK, China and the European Union – failing to properly tackle forced labour. In a legal document seen by the BBC, the coalition of Democratic states said the decision was ‘arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law’. In response, White House spokesman Kush Desai said the US was ‘using its lawful authority’ to address practices that burden American businesses. Desai added that any foreign countries failing to deal with the importation of goods produced with forced labour was ‘unreasonable’ and ‘must be addressed’.” (08/04/26)
“US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday declined to pause a $655.5 million judgment against the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization over attacks that killed and wounded Americans in Israel during the Second Intifada. Sotomayor rejected the emergency request without providing an explanation and without sending it to the full court. The decision allows the plaintiffs to continue trying to collect the money while the PA and PLO prepare to ask the Supreme Court to review the judgment. … The case was brought by American victims and relatives of victims of shootings and bombings in and around Jerusalem between 2002 and 2004. The attacks killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more.” (08/04/26)
“Residents of two villages have evacuated their homes near Guatemala’s Fuego volcano following an eruption, the country’s disaster management agency says. Video of the eruption shows clouds of gas and ash over the volcano as lava and pyroclastic flows roll down. The eruption began Monday morning and continued throughout the day, leading to the evacuation orders for the villages on the southern side of the mountain., according to Claudinne Ogaldes, executive secretary of the Guatemalan disaster managing agency, CONRED. During a previous eruption of the Fuego volcano in June 2018, hundreds of people were killed and a whole village was destroyed. That episode affected as many as 1.7 million people, according to authorities. The Fuego volcano is one of the most active in Guatemala. Another eruption in June last year spurred preventive evacuations.” (08/04/26)
“A Russian soldier in Crimea opened fire on his colleagues, killing one and wounding another, before turning his weapon on civilians and killing three, an official said on Tuesday. Three other people were wounded, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of the Sevastopol region. He said the attacker had been arrested. There was no information on the motive for the attacks.” (08/04/26)
“Oil prices fell to a three-week low on Tuesday as senior US officials raised hopes of a deal with Iran to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz waterway. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both announced talks had progressed to allow shipments to potentially resume as soon as this week. The cost of a barrel of brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, fell by almost 5% to under $80 on the news of supply disruptions potentially being eased. But the failure of previous negotiations in recent months to de-escalate the conflict between the US and Iran has led to a volatile oil market, with drivers ultimately being hit by higher fuel prices at the pumps. On Tuesday, along with the drop in Brent crude, US West Texas Intermediate prices were down more than 5%, to $76 a barrel.” (08/04/26)
“More than eight years after Boeing organised the maiden flight of the 737 MAX 7, US authorities announced Monday that they certified the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced certification of the smallest version of the single-aisle MAX plane, a process that had been significantly prolonged by new requirements under federal legislation following two fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. The action, which Boeing and regulators had telegraphed in recent weeks, sent Boeing shares sharply higher. The MAX 7 is Boeing’s first new aircraft to be cleared since the crashes and other problems sent the company into a multi-year slump.” (08/04/26)
“A man who went to prison for killing his father in 2010 has been charged with intentionally setting the largest of the wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of buildings in and around Washington state’s second-largest city and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. Aaron F. Farinacci, of Spokane, was arrested Monday and booked on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, the biggest of the three blazes in and around the eastern Washington city, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said. His bond was set at $1 million and he’s due in court later Tuesday. The fires, which hadn’t been contained at all as of Tuesday morning, have destroyed at least 700 buildings and forced about 67,000 people to evacuate. Authorities haven’t said what might have caused the other two blazes.” (08/04/26)
“A Rochester homeowner shot and killed a man who allegedly broke into his house early Monday morning. … the homeowner told police he was awakened when someone entered through the rear of the residence. The homeowner then used a legally-owned and legally-registered handgun to shoot the intruder.
The intruder was located in the kitchen and was pronounced dead at the scene …” (08/03/26)
“Conflicting signals from the United States and Iran over the status of talks to end their five-month-old war boosted uncertainty on Tuesday, with the latest attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz highlighting risks to global energy flows. U.S. President Donald Trump said the talks were under way on Monday, warning of a ‘last chance’ for Tehran to sign a good deal, but Iran denied that negotiations were being held or planned. … One cargo vessel broadcast it had been hit by an unknown projectile near the strait off Oman’s coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.” [editor’s note: I don’t think the status is “uncertain.” On this issue, at this time, the Iranian regime is clearly more credible/believable than the US regime – TLK] (08/04/26)
