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Biden administration to host international AI safety meeting
( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “in South Korea.”
Government scientists and artificial intelligence experts from at least nine countries and the European Union will meet in San Francisco to coordinate on safely developing AI technology and averting its dangers.
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Out-cue: in South Korea]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: The meeting will take place after the November presidential election. The two-day international AI safety gathering will happen just over a year after delegates at an AI Safety Summit in the United Kingdom pledged to work together to contain the potentially catastrophic risks posed by AI advances. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says it will be the “first get-down-to-work meeting” after the U.K. summit and a May follow-up in South Korea.
AM Radio Bill Moves Forward In House
Democrats Diminish Focus On Anti-Semitism At “Hate” Hearing
Senator Tuberville Calls For More Agent To Protect Trump
UAW fight with Stellantis escalates as union files unfair labor charges
( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to be competitive.”
The United Auto Workers’ rift with Stellantis has widened as the union filed federal labor charges over possibly moving production of an SUV out of the country.
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Out-cue: to be competitive]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: The union said it filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board accusing the company of refusing to release information about plans to build the Dodge Durango at a plant in Detroit. It also has filed grievances over the delayed reopening of a vehicle assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois. Stellantis denied violating the contract and said it’s managing when it brings new vehicles to market in order to be competitive.
Boeing considering temporary layoffs to save cash during strike
( )-q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “late last week.”
Boeing says it’s considering temporary layoffs to save cash during the strike by machinists.
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Time: 27s
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Out-cue: late last week]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The walkout came after workers rejected an offer with pay raises of 25% over four years.
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VERBATIM: The company has told employees it will freeze hiring, reduce travel and reduce spending on suppliers. Chief Financial Officer Brian West says the company is also considering “the difficult step of temporary furloughs for many employees, managers and executives in the coming weeks.” About 33,000 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers began a strike late last week.
Meta bans Russia state media outlets over “foreign interference”
( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “from the Kremlin.”
Meta is banning Russia state media organization from its social media company platforms, alleging that the outlets used deceptive tactics to amplify Moscow’s propaganda.
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Out-cue: from the Kremlin]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: Meta owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. It says it will roll out the ban over the next few days, in a fresh escalation of its efforts to counter Russia’s covert influence operations. Meta said it’s expanding its “ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets which are now banned from its apps globally for foreign interference activity.” The announcement drew a rebuke from the Kremlin.
Senator Blackburn Calls For Passage of Kids Online Safety Act
Senate To Vote On Bill Guaranteeing Right To In Vitro Fertilization
Will the Fed cut interest rates fast enough to deliver a ‘soft landing’?
( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “all but defeated.”
Will they or won’t they?
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Time: 23s
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Out-cue: all but defeated]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting Meanwhile, plenty of uncertainty still surrounds this week’s Fed meeting. How much will the policymakers reduce their benchmark rate? By a traditional quarter-point or by an unusually large half-point? Will they keep cutting when they meet later this year and into 2025?
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VERBATIM: American consumers and home buyers, business people and political leaders have been waiting for months for what the Federal Reserve is poised to announce this week. Financial experts believe the Fed will say it’s cutting its key interest rate from a two-decade peak. It’s likely to be just the first in a series of rate cuts that should make borrowing more affordable now that the Fed has deemed high inflation to be all but defeated.
Air Canada and pilots union reach a tentative agreement
( ) -v-31- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”
Air Canada and the union representing its pilots have come to terms on a labor agreement that is likely to prevent a shutdown of Canada’s largest airline. Correspondent Jeremy House reports.
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VERBATIM: The airline said talks betwen the company and the Air Line Pilots Association produced a tentative, four-year collective agreement. Air Canada says terms will remain confidential until ratification by union members and approval by the airline’s board of directors over the next month. Union leaders say they approved the agreement on behalf of more than 5,400 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge pilots in anticipation of a $1.9 billion increase for the employees over the period of the agreement…JH reporting.
Coast Guard to hear from former OceanGate employees about Titan implosion
( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “among those killed.”
The U.S. Coast Guard officials investigating the implosion of a submersible en route to the wreck of the Titanic is hearing from former employees of the company that owned the experimental watercraft.
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Out-cue: among those killed]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The company immediately suspended operations after the implosion.
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VERBATIM: The hearing will include testimony from a former engineering director, finance director and contractor of OceanGate, the company that owned the Titan submersible. The Titan imploded in the North Atlantic in June 2023, killing all five people on board and setting off worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration. OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush was among those killed.
Congress targets Chinese influence in health tech
( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “linked to China.”
A San Jose-based biotechnology company that helps doctors detect genetic causes for cancer is among those that could be cut out of the U.S. market over ties to China.
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Time: 26s
Title: CONG-CHINA-BIOTECH-CO-house-q-FRIam
Out-cue: linked to China]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Some China-based companies work with U.S. drugmakers to develop and make new medications.
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VERBATIM: The potential removal underscores the possible tradeoffs between health innovation and a bipartisan push in Congress to counter Beijing’s clout. The founder of Complete Genomics (jee NOM icks) is frustrated that geopolitics is interfering with science and calls it “a loss for the research.” The U.S. House this week passed a measure citing national security to prevent federal money from benefiting five companies linked to China.
China bans, fines PwC accounting firm ban over audit
Chinese authorities have banned the accounting firm PwC for six months and fined it over $56 million for its involvement in the audit of collapsed local property developer Evergrande.
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Time: 23s
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Out-cue: ongoing property crisis]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. PwC has been the largest of the “big four” accounting firms operating in China.
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VERBATIM: The punishment is the heaviest yet for international accounting firms operating in China. PwC will be banned from signing off on financial results in the country for six months. Already, it has been losing clients. The auditor came under Beijing’s scrutiny after the January collapse of Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer and a symbol of China’s ongoing property crisis.
Wholesale inflation mostly cooled last month in latest sign that price pressures are slowing
( ) -q-19- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “increase in July.”
U.S. wholesale price increases mostly slowed last month.
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Time: 19s
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Out-cue: increase in July]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The report is the latest evidence that inflation pressures are cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates next week.
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VERBATIM: The Labor Department says its producer price index rose 0.2% from July to August. That is up from an unchanged reading a month earlier. And measured from a year ago, prices were up 1.7% in August, the smallest such rise since February and down from a 2.1% annual increase in July.
US companies see record-low profits in China
( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “over two decades.”
A report by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai has found that U.S. companies in China are seeing record-low profits.
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Out-cue: over two decades]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. China and the U.S. have in recent years clashed over issues like trade and manufacturing, as well as China’s claims over the South China Sea. China is also grappling with a slowing domestic economy post-COVID.
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VERBATIM: The low profits are the result of business confidence being at an all-time low amid U.S.-China tensions and a slowing Chinese economy. Out of 306 companies polled, a record-low 66% were profitable in 2023. The report also found that only 47% of respondents were optimistic about their business outlook in China over the next five years, the lowest in the survey’s history of over two decades.
Fed official broke ethics rules but didn’t violate insider trading laws
( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “his financial disclosures.”
A government investigation into Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic’s securities trades and investments has found he violated several of the central bank’s ethics policies.
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Out-cue: his financial disclosures]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: The violations created the appearance that Bostic acted on confidential Fed information and that he had a conflict of interest. But according to a report, the Fed’s Office of Inspector General concluded there was no violation of federal insider trading or conflict of interest laws. In 2022, Bostic acknowledged that many of his financial trades and investments inadvertently violated the Fed’s ethics rules and said he took action to revise all his financial disclosures.
Norfolk Southern fires CEO for inappropriate relationship with employee
( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “the last decade.”
Norfolk Southern says it has fired CEO Alan Shaw for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.
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Out-cue: the lase decade]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Activist investor Ancora Holdings tried to take control of the railroad earlier this year and fire Shaw. The railroad’s board on Wednesday said it promoted Chief Financial Officer Mark George to be its new CEO.
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VERBATIM: Shaw’s departure ends two difficult years on the job and comes just days after the company’s board announced it was investigating his alleged ethical lapses. Shaw was leading Norfolk Southern in February 2023 when one of its trains derailed, spilled toxic chemicals and caught fire in East Palestine, Ohio. The fire was the worst railroad disaster in the last decade.
Senate GOP Election Arm Reports Strong Poll Numbers
European business confidence in China is at an all-time low
( ) -v-31- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”
A European business group says China must re-prioritize economic growth and reforms and boost investor confidence by leveling the playing field for all companies in the country. Correspondent Jeremy House has more on the story.
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VERBATIM: The annual European Business in China Position Paper published by the European Chamber of Commerce in China says many European businesses are deciding that the returns on China investments are not worth the risks. It says business confidence is at an all-time low due to issues, including an economic slowdown and a politicized business environment. The report called on China to allow a more free market to determine resource allocation, and to introduce policies aimed at boosting domestic demand…JH reporting.
Flights grounded at Kenya’s main airport amid workers’ protest
( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “who will remain.”
Hundreds of workers at Kenya’s main international airport are demonstrating against a planned deal between the government and a foreign investor.
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Out-cue: who will remain]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: Planes have remained grounded with hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport. The government revealed that the build-and-operate agreement with India’s Adani Group would see the airport modernized and an additional runway and terminal constructed in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years. Kenya Airport Workers Union said that the deal would lead to job losses and “inferior terms and conditions of service” for those who will remain.
A Boeing strike is looking more likely
( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “in Washington state.”
There might be a strike at Boeing this week after all.
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Time: 25s
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Out-cue: in Washington state]
TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Unlike strikes at airlines, a walkout at Boeing wouldn’t result in canceled flights. It would, however, shut down production and leave Boeing with no jets to deliver to the airlines that ordered them.
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VERBATIM: The president of the machinists’ union local district in Seattle says he expects workers to vote down a contract negotiated by the union and the company. Voting takes place Thursday and covers about 33,000 workers, most of them in Washington state. The tentative agreement would give workers 25% raises over four years and a promise that Boeing’s next new airplane will be built by union members in Washington state.