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| Here are our top stories today: - Federal prosecutors indicted Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on corruption charges
- Canada's belief that India may have been behind the murder of a Sikh-Canadian activist was partially based on intercepted communications between Indian diplomats
- The U.S. government will begin shipping free COVID rapid tests again starting next week
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you! Have a great weekend! Your faithful IDB writer, Daniel
p/Dan-Smith | |
| 1 | | Ford stock gained over 2.5% after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union said it had made substantial progress in contract negotiations with the automaker. 
What happened: Last week, over 10,000 UAW workers went on strike in plants operated by Ford, GM, and Stellantis. On Friday, the union announced that the strike would expand to 38 GM and Stellantis parts distribution centers across the U.S. But UAW President Shawn Fain said that Ford is "showing they're serious about reaching a deal," sending Ford stock up. GM shares were down slightly during trading hours on Friday, while Stellantis stock was up. Relevance: 12,700 people working for the legacy automakers in three Midwestern states have been on strike since September 12. Fain's announcement that parts distribution facilities employing approximately 5,600 workers have joined the walkout turned the protest into a nationwide event. Prolonged and widespread industrial action could cut the revenues of the Big Three and hurt the U.S. economy since about 3% of the country's GDP depends on the auto industry. Q: Do you think Ford, GM, and Stellantis will reach a deal with the UAW in the short term? Or will the strike drag on? Join the conversation here. |     | |
| 2 | | Federal prosecutors indicted Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on corruption charges. Prosecutors said they found $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in hidden cash at Menendez's home. More: - According to the indictment, Menendez and his wife Nadine took "hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes" as well as gold bars, home furnishings, and a luxury vehicle.
- Prosecutors say Menendez provided sensitive U.S. government information to protect Egyptian-American businessman Wael Hanna and the government of Egypt, and used his political influence to enrich several businessmen.
- Federal prosecutors tried Menendez in a separate corruption case that ended in a hung jury in 2017.
Zoom Out: - If Menendez resigns from the Senate before his term expires in January 2025, Democratic New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy will have to name a successor to fill the seat.
- He will likely have to step down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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| 3 | | The U.S. government will start shipping free COVID-19 tests on Monday, September 25. The offer of up to four free tests per household comes as the government prepares for a likely wave of COVID-19 cases in the winter months. More: - Over each of the past three years, COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked in January.
- The government is promoting booster vaccinations and encouraging people to get tested to thwart the spread of the virus in the coming months.
- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has allocated $600M for COVID-19 test manufacturing.
- HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said the money would help strengthen U.S. supply chains while reducing American dependence on foreign test manufacturers.
Zoom Out: - The federal government's first round of free COVID-19 rapid tests was sent out in January 2022.
- At the time, the Omicron variant was spreading, and the rate of COVID-19 infection across the U.S. hit an all-time high.
- Roughly 755 million free tests were sent out through the program, which was renewed several times.
Visit COVIDtests.gov to order free tests. | | | |
| 4 | | GOOD NEWS: Crews will remove four dams from a river in Northern California as part of efforts to "rewild" the area. The dams are on the Klamath River, from which much of California's water flows. One of the dams was removed earlier this year and the rest will be demolished by the end of 2024. More: - Mark Bransom, the CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, said the project will help restore the natural ecosystem in the river.
- He said his team wants to "stabilize the remaining sediments [in the riverbed] using native vegetation."
- Advocates point to the successful 2011 dam removal on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, which allowed salmon to return to the Elwha River.
- Ann Willis, the California regional director for American Rivers, said: "One of the fastest ways to heal a river is to remove a dam."
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| 5 | | Canada's claim that India is behind the murder of a Sikh separatist activist near Vancouver in June was based on intercepted communications between Indian officials, the Associated Press reported. An unnamed Canadian official told the AP about the alleged communications intercepts but did not reveal details about the content. More: - Some of the intelligence reportedly came from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, which includes Canada, the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K.
- On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there are credible allegations that India could have been behind the murder.
- India barred Canadians from receiving visas on Thursday amid an ongoing diplomatic spat over the accusations.
Zoom Out: - Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the 45-year-old Sikh activist who was murdered, was an avid proponent of the Khalistan movement.
- The movement advocates for the creation of a Sikh nation in the Indian state of Punjab, where Sikhs make up a majority of the population.
- A Sikh insurgency in Punjab killed tens of thousands of people in the 1980s and 1990s before the Indian government suppressed it.
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| 6 | | Home sales decreased by 0.7% from July to August, the biggest slowdown in home sales since January. Just over 4 million homes were sold in August, a 15.3% drop from the same month last year. More: - The median home price for a home sold in August was $407,100, up 3.9% from a year prior.
- 1.1 million homes were for sale or under contract in August, the lowest inventory for August since at least 1999.
- The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.19% this week, according to Freddie Mac.
- Housing starts fell by 11.3% from July to August, with new starts falling to the lowest level in three years last month.
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| 7 | | QUICK HITS *This is a sponsored post. | | | |
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 | Writer | | Dr. Daniel Smith is an Inside writer with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow him on Twitter @DJS12321 or email him at Daniel@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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