Washington Post cartoonist quits after paper blocks Bezos-Trump drawing
A long-time cartoonist for The Washington Post has resigned after she said her latest cartoon was blocked. Ann Telnaes, who had worked at the paper for 16 years, said she has never had a cartoon scrapped due to its controversial subject matter. She criticized her former employer, calling the decision to pull the cartoon a “danger” to a free press.
In a Substack post, Telnaes shared a rough draft of the cartoon that she said criticized billionaire tech and media executives “who have sought to curry favor with President-elect Trump.”
The cartoon depicted figures kneeling at Trump’s feet with money bags, including The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and Mickey Mouse, the corporate mascot of Disney and parent company of ABC.
Telnaes wrote that while cartoons are sometimes rejected or revised, this was the first time her editor prevented her from holding powerful people accountable.
“That’s a game changer… and dangerous for a free press,” she said. “As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post.”
In response, the Post’s opinions editor, David Shipley, said the paper had recently published a column on the same topic and had already scheduled another related column.
Shipley explained that the request to change the cartoon’s focus was due to the repetitiveness of coverage on tech billionaires’ meetings with and donations to Trump following his election. He added that he had asked Telnaes to reconsider her resignation.
This incident comes amid growing tension within the newsroom. In October, The Washington Post canceled a planned endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, a decision reportedly influenced by Bezos. The move led to the resignation of several high-profile writers.
According to media reporter Oliver Darcy, The Washington Post is also expected to lay off dozens of employees in the coming week. The latest round of layoffs follows hundreds of voluntary buyouts in 2023 and dozens of layoffs in September 2024.
Last year, the paper’s publisher outlined its financial struggles, revealing that The Posthad lost $77 million the previous year and had seen its audience drop 50% since 2020. The publisher described the paper as “being in the hole,” reflecting broader trends in the journalism industry amid a decline in subscribers and viewership in the digital age.
There’s a new term to describe this job market’s vibes
Despite a strong jobs report for November, the job market vibe is mixed. The number of Americans reporting they want a new job is at a 10-year high, but many feel they have nowhere to go.
Gallup is calling it the “Great Detachment,” years after the “Great Resignation” took hold. In workplaces around America, employees feel stuck.
“People are aware that it’s harder to find a job than it was a few years ago, and that if they have a job, their layoff risks are actually very low, so it’s worth holding tight, not worth jumping ship,” said Guy Berger, director of economic research at Burning Glass Institute. “Simultaneously with that, I think there’s some evidence people are much more frustrated in their current jobs.”
According to a recent Gallup poll, more than half of U.S. workers say they are watching for or actively seeking a new job, a 10-year high. Meanwhile, the share of people who report being “extremely satisfied” with their work is 18%, a 10-year low.
“I think until hiring starts picking up a little bit, which may happen next year, or at least stops falling, I think people are going to feel a little like, ‘I want to get out, I want to find something else, but I can’t,’” Berger said.
While employers may be relieved the age of high turnover is over, Gallup warns this period of detachment can come with productivity concerns and future talent loss. They say employees are more likely to resist or be indifferent to organizational changes.
An interesting thing happened when the “Great Resignation” kicked off. The connection employees felt to their workplace’s mission or purpose plunged, and there’s still no sign of recovery, Gallup data shows. Less than half of employees say they even know what’s expected of them at work. But still, employees are hanging on.
“There’s probably some chunk of people that are like, ‘You know what? My pay has gone up. I’m very happy at my job. I’m at low risk of layoffs … They might say this is a really good labor market,” Berger said. “And then you have people in the middle that have a job, they’re at low risk of being laid off, but might want something different. And there’s not a lot of stuff out there. And for them, this is a good, but not great, job market.”
“And that’s probably the biggest chunk of people out there. They’re not worried, but they would like something else, and there’s not something out there, and maybe they’re growing increasingly frustrated. As long as layoffs don’t pick up, they’re in a decent, cushy spot,” he continued.
And then there are people who are out of the labor force. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate is 4.2%. It’s historically on the lower side, though much higher than a year ago.
“The mix of unemployment has gotten a little worse,” Berger explained. “We have more people that are permanently laid off than we did before, and fewer people that are quitters.”
Berger said for those who can’t find a job, the market is more reminiscent of the early 2010s, when the Great Recession still had a grasp on the economy.
“And I think in some senses, maybe more isolating, because these people that are unfortunate enough to have been laid off and are having trouble getting hired, they keep hearing, ‘Oh, this is a good labor market, that employment rates are low, etc,’ and their experience is quite different,” Berger said.
Ford announces thousands of impending layoffs in Europe
Ford Motor Company is ending the year with bad news for European workers. The company has just announced it plans to cut about 4,000 jobs.
Nearly 3,000 of those layoffs will happen in Germany, with another 800 in Great Britain. This amounts to about 14% of the company’s European workforce.
Ford said its biggest struggles are with passenger vehicles, as it deals with financial losses attributed to a shift and emphasis on electric vehicles. The company called that “highly disruptive.”
Ford’s top financial official said a combination of a lack of demand and carbon dioxide emissions regulations are big hurdles.
CFO John Lawler recently wrote a letter to the German government. In the letter, he said the country lacks a clear policy on how to advance e-mobility such as public investment in charging stations, incentives to get consumers to buy an EV and greater flexibility in meeting CO2 compliance targets.
The lower than expected demand will affect the production of the new Ford Explorer and the new Ford Capri. The cutbacks will lead to a reduction in the workforce in Germany in early 2025.
This is the second major labor reduction, announced by Ford, in as many years. Last year, the automaker laid off 3,800 workers in Europe.
Union questions if Harris campaign debt contributed to DNC mass layoffs
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is facing backlash after laying off staff members with just one day’s notice and no severance, according to the DNC Staff Union. The union has sharply criticized the party’s leadership, accusing them of “callous and short-sighted mismanagement” following the mass layoffs, which they argue go far beyond typical post-election turnover.
Many of those laid off had been assured their jobs would be secure after the election. Some of those had even worked for the DNC for decades.
One day’s notice, no severance—the DNC fights for workers, just not their own.
In a statement, the union condemned senior leadership for leaving loyal employees in a difficult position, scrambling to cover essential expenses like rent, medical bills and child care.
The union also pointed out a disconnect between the Democratic Party’s public values and its treatment of its own staff. They said, “the principles we champion on the national stage have been disregarded in our own workplace.”
The layoffs have fueled concerns about the DNC’s financial stability, particularly in light of the financial scrutiny surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
Harris’ campaign raised over $1.5 billion. However, it has come under fire for its spending practices.
Harris’ campaign is also reportedly in significant debt. NewsNation reports the campaign is $20 million in the red.
The Associated Press reported that the campaign continues to send fundraising appeals asking for donations without explicitly stating the funds are to pay off campaign liabilities.
In light of these issues, the DNC Staff Union is demanding two things. The first is severance for the laid-off workers. The second is full transparency from DNC leadership about the layoffs and the party’s financial situation.
‘Big gap’ between what new Boeing CEO is saying and what’s happened
Boeing is looking to take flight after moving on from its worst quarter performance since COVID-19 halted travel worldwide. And the company is doing so with a new captain in the cockpit.
“We’re clearly at a crossroads,” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in his first earnings call. “The trust in our company is eroded. We’re saddled with too much debt. We’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company, which have disappointed many of our customers. But by the same token, we have great opportunities ahead.”
The challenges facing the company are countless. A Boeing-made satellite that exploded in space this week exemplifies the kind of year Boeing has had.
In the third quarter of 2024, Boeing reported a $6.2 billion net loss. Third-quarter revenues were down 1% from a year ago.
“It’s going to take time,” Ortberg warned. “This isn’t something that there’s just a light switch that flips. We’ll continue to work on this. It’s a never-ending process.”
“There was a big gap between what he said, which was exactly in line with what needs to be said, and what’s been happening so far,” aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia said.
The following transcript with AeroDynamic Advisory Managing Director Aboulafia has been edited for clarity. Watch the interview in the video above.
Simone Del Rosario: Richard, for you, what was the most important thing that Kelly Ortberg said today?
Richard Aboulafia: He said what had to be said: The importance of changing the culture and getting out there and restoring the links between people at the top and people who are engaged in the company’s core business of designing and building planes. It was very refreshing, frankly, to hear that and good to hear.
Simone Del Rosario: Did you hear a specific plan or did you hear sentiments?
Richard Aboulafia: Well, here’s the problem. There was a big gap between what he said, which was exactly in line with what needs to be said, and what’s been happening so far. It’s still a baffler why they’ve gone down this path in terms of dealing with the strike. Why hasn’t there been more frequent engagement with the union? Why was the last offer submitted in the way that it was? And also in the middle of it, the announced plans to – literally, according to the Latin term – decimate the company by getting rid of 17,000 out of 170,000 workers, at a time when you think they would need more resources to build planes rather than fewer. So there seems to be kind of a gap between stated intentions and and reality so far.
Simone Del Rosario: He did make a comment about the culture issue of Boeing that stuck out to me. He essentially said that the culture that needs changing at Boeing came from people who are no longer with the company. Do you think that is accurate?
Richard Aboulafia: It’s more than accurate. My God, you look at the devastation inflicted on this company by some of the previous CEOs – certainly the last CEO, Dave Calhoun, but also, Jim McNerney in the 2010s. They regarded the business of building planes as something that they kind of dragged on the back of their shoe while walking out of the executive washroom. It was just not a priority. Money management was effectively the only thing that mattered to them.
My real concern [is] you had, frankly, a close to worst-in-class board of all time that put up with a very bad situation for far too long. Some of them need to be swapped out very badly. And similarly, you had people in fairly senior positions at Boeing Commercial and elsewhere who also, frankly, need to be replaced. And one of the big mysteries of the Kelly Ortberg reign so far is that he hasn’t parachuted in the people we expected him to, people he knew from Rockwell Collins and elsewhere. It would be really good to see some new blood replacing these folks.
Simone Del Rosario: Did you get the hint in this conversation from him that he is looking to do that? He did mention external people and having that outside perspective.
Richard Aboulafia: Yeah, he did. So we’re going to be waiting and watching and hoping because they really need some new blood. The biggest personnel change he’s made so far is firing Ted Colbert from the defense side. I actually thought Mr. Colbert was an improvement. So I was kind of baffled by that, whereas, it’s pretty clear they need some replacement people and senior positions elsewhere that haven’t been dealt with.
Simone Del Rosario: Let’s move on to some of the money management. We heard a lot about how Boeing is beholden to certain defense contracts and Ortberg said they can’t really walk away from those contracts despite profitability issues. How concerning is that as they’re trying to turn their financials around?
Richard Aboulafia: You know, pretty concerning, but we kind of all knew that this was the case. Back in the 2010s under McNerney, they’d had this sort of strategic decision to use ample and endless cash flow from the jetliner business to subsidize money-losing defense contracts that were fixed price. The Pentagon, of course, was happy to say, ‘Oh, you want to subsidize our weapons systems, wonderful,’ and give them those contracts. But now the bills are coming due, and because of inadequate resources, they are having an even harder time executing on those programs. I guess the upshot is that it places an even greater emphasis on restoring their only truly profitable programs, which, of course, are jetliners, led by the 737 Max.
Simone Del Rosario: He talked about the core mission at Boeing, the commercial and the defense. Where should Boeing be trimming the fat? He did say, “We’re better off doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well.” So what needs to go at Boeing?
Richard Aboulafia: I was kind of baffled by that, to be honest. They’re doing a very ambitious jetliner production ramp, cutting people from jetliner programs is not going to happen. Similarly, defense, it’s those resource constraints that have made bad contracts even worse. So I can’t imagine getting rid of people there. Is there enough overhead to get rid of 17,000 people? This is a company that abolished its strategy department back six months ago. If anything, I would be bringing on more people. Is there some fat to cut? Sure, but I just don’t see where it comes from.
Simone Del Rosario: It sounded like he is talking mostly about what we’d call in the corporate world “middle managers.” From what he’s hearing, the people on the ground are saying there is too much overhead; they’re not able to get as much done. Is that the interpretation that you were getting from this?
Richard Aboulafia: I guess. But again, I have my doubts, because resources are necessary. Are some of those middle managers concerned with quality oversight and checks on jetliner production and whatever? Some of them are, some of them aren’t. This takes work, but again, the idea of getting to 17,000 redundancies given the challenges the company is facing, I just don’t know how that happens.
Simone Del Rosario: Does that plan still stay in effect if the strike is over and it’s back to business as usual at Boeing? Or do they rethink that because that layoff announcement came in the middle of the strike?
Richard Aboulafia: Yeah, that’s exactly right. And so we’re all asking ourselves that. Was it one of those, ‘My God, we’ve got to prepare for a siege and outlast these guys and therefore cut lots of jobs?’ And therefore, it goes away when the strike ends. Or was it a strategic and rational decision to get rid of all these jobs? I sure hope it’s the first.
Simone Del Rosario: Taking people out of it, are there programs Boeing should and could drop; programs where the company realizes it is not the best use of their time and resources?
Richard Aboulafia: The nature of these defense contracts, you can’t just walk away from them, right? You sign them, they’re a firm, fixed price. It’s an awful situation in some of them. I think the KC-46 is up to $8 billion in losses or something, but not much you can do.
Space, I’m sure if they could find a buyer, they would sell it. No question. Can they find a buyer? Maybe parts of it. Can they walk away from it? Realistically, I don’t know. One thing they did just a couple of weeks ago was decide to end production at the KC-46’s analog, the commercial analog, the 767 freighter, after 2027. I guess that was done for good reasons, but that was the one obvious one that I would look at. Other than that, I’m not so sure what they could get rid of.
It’s time for Boeing CEO to go straight to union leadership: Expert
Boeing was in tremendous trouble long before the machinist strike, which is in its second month and costing the company $1 billion per month. Since the strike started, things have gone from bad to worse, and it’s not all strike related.
On Friday, Oct. 18, the Federal Aviation Administration opened a new safety review into Boeing as part of its “aggressive oversight to ensure Boeing has the right tools to sustain lasting changes to its safety culture.” The announcement comes after the Transportation Department criticized the FAA’s oversight of the company.
And while Boeing is bleeding cash from the strike, the company secured a $10 billion credit line from banks and told the Securities and Exchange Commission it is considering raising more funds through a stock sale. The company’s credit rating is at risk of becoming “junk.”
But Boeing and its employees, many of whom are facing furloughs or layoffs, aren’t the only ones cut deep from the absence of 33,000 machinists. On Friday, the downstream effect of the strike became clear when Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems announced it would furlough 700 workers for 21 days as the strike eats into its cash and inventory space.
He should meet with the union leaders directly.
Gautam Mukunda on Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is only about two months into the job and inherited most of Boeing’s troubles. But the strike negotiations since he took the reins have backfired and further driven a wedge between the company and its workers.
“It’s fair to say, I’m concerned. I don’t think this is Ortberg so much as Boeing operating the way that it has always operated for the last generation or so, but it may be time for him to step in,” said Gautam Mukunda, leadership expert and author of “Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter.”
“Things are not going better so far for them, and that’s tough,” he said. “Ortberg [has] the opportunity to change the culture. That doesn’t mean that he will. It just means that he could, if he wanted to, and that’s going to be a multi-year process, and this will be the first step.”
While he says it is not typical for CEOs to take center stage in labor negotiations – “He’s got plenty of things that he’s got to manage, including Boeing’s horrific legal difficulties, which they’re still going through” – this might be an instance where that would be beneficial.
“He should meet with the union leaders directly,” Mukunda said. “It’s time for him to go past the negotiators and say, ‘I’m the CEO of Boeing but I’m new, right? I wasn’t here. All the awful things that my predecessors did to you, I didn’t do them. Give me a chance, and we’re going to make this happen.’ Even if that doesn’t resolve the strike immediately, it will at least indicate the seriousness and start to repair the cultural damage.”
But that’s just step one, Mukunda said. For what Ortberg needs to do next, watch the full interview in the video above.
MIT economist claims AI capable of doing only 5% of jobs, predicts crash
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economist warned that the current artificial intelligence boom may only significantly impact 5% of jobs over the next decade. He predicted that companies investing heavily in AI may face challenges ahead.
Daron Acemoglu, a professor of economics at MIT, outlined three potential scenarios for the future of AI, forecasting a combination of a market crash and job cuts that could lead to economic turmoil.
In the first scenario, the excitement surrounding AI gradually diminishes, prompting businesses to focus on more practical applications of the technology.
The second scenario warns of a growing AI bubble, which could result in a sharp crash in tech stocks and widespread disillusionment among investors.
The third and most concerning scenario predicts an unchecked AI frenzy that leads companies to cut jobs, only to scramble to rehire when the technology fails to meet expectations.
Acemoglu emphasizes that current AI models, such as ChatGPT, while impressive, still lack the reliability and human judgment necessary to replace many roles across various sectors.
In just one quarter of this year, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta collectively spent over $50 billion on capital expenditures, much of it directed toward AI initiatives.
Soybeans are having an incredible year. That’s bad for prices.
Everything seemingly went right for growing soybeans this year, which is why prices are going all wrong. Soybean futures are near 4-year lows and down about 45% from its 2022 peak. Corn is also in a similar boat.
The U.S. is in the midst of a farm slump right now, despite very high yields for the country’s two biggest crops.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected net farm income would drop 26% in 2024, affecting not only the farmer but also businesses that rely on the farmer’s income, like John Deere and Kinze. Deere expects its North American sales to continue to slump. This summer, the company has laid off hundreds of salaried employees.
We’re just really good at making bushels. The problem, of course, is we don’t need all these bushels.
Damian Mason, The Business of Agriculture
For a detailed look at what led to the low prices and how farmers may adjust, Straight Arrow News interviewed Damian Mason, host of “The Business of Agriculture” podcast.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Watch the full interview in the video above.
Simone Del Rosario: Damian, why do we have such high soybean yields this year?
Damian Mason: First off, farmers in America are very, very good at doing what they do, which is produce commodities. We’re remarkable at it. On a trend line — granted, there’s been some down years, we’re on a trend line — every year, our soybean production goes up about a bushel per acre, eight-tenths to one bushel per acre.
We’re going to put out about 53 bushels per acre. When I was in high school, we were at about half that. So 53 bushels per acre put on 86 million acres means a whole heck of a lot of soybeans. We’re going to be around 4.6 billion bushels of soybeans produced in the United States of America this year.
Favorable weather patterns; technological advances; the machinery is so good, you mentioned John Deere; the ability for us to get the right seeding population, to get it at the right soil planted depth, to use the right fertility at the right time; it’s just amazing compared to where we were just a long time ago.
As an agricultural person, a farm boy, I always point out, remember, environmentally, we’re doing this with [fewer] units of natural resources per bushel produced than we ever have. So we’re just really good at making bushels. The problem, of course, is we don’t need all these bushels.
It’s just a situation where we’re probably in an oversupply situation. And that’s what happens with commodity production. The cure for low prices is low prices. The cure for high prices is high prices. You’re kind of seeing that this year.
Simone Del Rosario: And exports are up this year, so it’s not that we’re not exporting as much. It’s simply, as you said, these yields are pretty incredible and we’ve seen really favorable weather conditions. How are farmers adjusting to this reality?
Damian Mason: Some are going to, unfortunately, put their head in the sand and say, ‘Oh well, you know what? This will all be fine. It’s just a blip.’ Some people like me out here with the agricultural economics angle, have pointed out [a different trend].
I just pulled something [I printed off] almost a year and a half ago. This is a stat from the United States Department of Agriculture, and it’s from the end of year 2022. China was our No. 1 agricultural customer in 2022 with $36 billion of agricultural products bought from the United States. They’re going to be about half that this year.
So what we’ve got now is a very ascending productive capacity in soybeans, 86 million acres planted and harvested, whereas just 30, 40 years ago, we might have been around 60 or 70 million [acres]. So we’ve got a bunch more acres, growing a bunch more bushels per acre. And we did that, we were conditioned to do that in agriculture, to supply the new China tiger, this whole thing about China over the last 20 years.
The problem is China’s plenty supplied. Brazil ramped up production. Argentina ramped up production. Other Asian countries ramped up production, as well as us. So we’re in this situation.
What are farmers doing to adapt? Well, they could switch acres to something else, but with 86 million acres planted, it tells me they didn’t switch off many acres. They could also figure out new ways to sell their product, and that’s where biodiesel is going to come into effect, although that’s more government-driven than farmer-driven.
Simone Del Rosario: You were on a farm recently where they had said, forget about the soybeans. We’re going to be grazing cattle on this land. Can you tell me about that?
Damian Mason: So think about this, Simone. Soybeans were not really much of a crop until post-World War II in the United States. They were grown in Asia 1,000 years ago. But they didn’t really come into mass acreage, broad acre production here in the United States, until really the 1950s.
So we’re going to have 86 million acres. That’s almost 1/4 of our total cropland acres in the United States, just to put that in perspective. Corn is about 90 million, soybeans are about 90 million, those two commodities occupy about one half of all cropland, food producing acres, not counting rangeland and grassland.
So the intriguing part of that episode, that video that you saw, my friend Kelly Garrett in Iowa, a large-scale farmer, also has cattle as well as a cropland. He ran the numbers with his consultant financial adviser on the farm, and he said, ‘We’ve retooled what we think our cost of production is on these soybeans, and at $9 soybeans, which is where we’re hovering right now, a little over $9 per bushel, we think we can make more money by putting a mix of cover crops and forage crops on these fields and putting cattle on them.’
Right now, beef prices are still pretty high. The consumer’s still paying for steaks and cheeseburgers and so there’s a little bit of a shortage of cattle. So he says, ‘What if I took some of my acres out of soybean production and plant it to an array of forage crops, and then turn the cattle in there, intensively grazing it.’
You’re not talking about one cow per acre. You’re talking about a bunch of cows per acre and moving them, maybe two times a day, and really maximizing that. And it looks like that’s going to work.
Most people wouldn’t think that you could do that in Iowa. They would say, ‘Oh, soybeans in Iowa all day long trump cattle.’ But you know, it looks like the cattle are going to make more money per acre on some of his fields than soybeans.
Simone Del Rosario: That’s certainly economic innovation on the farmer’s part to to make that type of dramatic transformation. But to your point, a lot of other farmers are holding out hope. Do you think that, with this 4-year low in prices, do you think there will be a turnaround? Obviously, low prices cure low prices. Are we going to see fewer acres of soybeans planted in the following crops?
Damian Mason: Most of the hope is hinged on this. I pulled up a couple of things in some agricultural media. This one right here is a big one. United States Department of Agriculture announces $99.6 million, almost $100 million, for biofuels and clean energy projects.
You’ve heard about ethanol. Ethanol is in its 20th year now, generally derived from corn. We invented the Renewable Fuel Standard under the George Bush administration 20 years ago. There are approximately 190 ethanol plants that use corn as their feed stuff as their supply to make ethanol. Ethanol then goes into your gas tank. About 10%, 11% of everything that you burn in your tank, on average, is ethanol derived from corn.
Well, we’re kind of looking at doing that with soy with biodiesel. We’ve had biodiesel products before. The new angle is to use the oil. If you crush a soybean, 80% of it ends up as soybean meal, which is best used to feed to a pig or a cow to make a pork chop or a steak. The 20% becomes oil. That oil would be required then to go straight into a refining process to make diesel.
So there’s a lot of hope for a cleaner diesel, a less emission, a less pollutive diesel, derived from using soybean oil. Of course, then you’re going to have a little bit of a glut of soybean meal, which makes a very cheap feed, which also might help bring down the cattle prices, because that would go then to the beef. So I think that’s the biggest hope right there.
The idea that farmers are going to produce less; no farmer that you will ever meet says, ‘You know what I want to do next year? I want to decrease my yields by 10% by doing a crappy job.’ Most of them are saying, ‘I want to go ahead and get more bushels per acre, and I want to be more efficient. I want to be a star producer.’
Biden, Harris making first trip together since Biden dropped out of 2024 race
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will make their first trip together since the president dropped out of the 2024 race. And Columbia University’s president becomes the latest Ivy League leader to step down following concerns of antisemitism on college campuses. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.
Biden, Harris making first trip together since Biden dropped out of 2024 race
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Maryland on Thursday, Aug. 15, for their first joint appearance since Biden dropped out of the 2024 race. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump will be in Bedminster, New Jersey to host another news conference following his rally in the battleground state of North Carolina on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
The Biden and Harris are expected to focus on efforts to lower prescription drug costs Thursday, Aug. 15. On Friday, Aug. 16, Harris will be in North Carolina to lay out her own economic agenda, which is said to include a plan to “tackle inflation” and “lower costs for middle class.”
The economy is taking center stage in the race this week, as Trump also laid out some of his plans for the economy when he was in North Carolina. He told rallygoers he plans to remove taxes on Social Security and claimed his administration would slash energy costs to ease inflation.
With the Democratic National Convention (DNC) starting on Aug. 19 in Chicago, Trump’s campaign said it plans to offer some sort of counter-programming. Harris’ presidential campaign is launching a $90 million advertising effort over the next three weeks. It’ll be her campaigns’ largest-yet investment in messaging to voters with just two and a half months left until Election Day.
Walz agrees to vice presidential debate on Oct. 1
On the vice presidential front, both Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn, and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, have also been busy. Each hit the campaign trail in solo appearances in rallies and fundraising events across battleground states.
Vance held a rally in Michigan on Wednesday, Aug. 14, and will speak at a veterans event Thursday, Aug. 15 morning in Pennsylvania. Walz held events in Denver and Boston on Wednesday and will be campaigning in Newport on Thursday.
Vance has not formally accepted. He said in an interview he wants to know the debate rules and moderators first to avoid what he called a “fake news media garbage debate” but added he “strongly suspects” he will be there.
Columbia University’s president resigns in wake of recent protests
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik has resigned effective immediately. It comes months after student protests over the Israel-Hamas war turned destructive, leading to multiple arrests and widespread criticism over how the university handled the demonstrations.
In April, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested, and an on-campus tent encampment was removed by New York City police after Shafik gave them the go-ahead. Students pushed back, leading to weeks of protests and widespread tent encampments before students ultimately ended up occupying the university’s Hamilton Hall.
Shafik — who became the first woman and person of color to lead the university in 2023 — is the third Ivy League president to step down in recent months among concern over antisemitism on college campuses.
Hurricane Ernesto heads toward Bermuda after pounding Puerto Rico
A hurricane watch is in effect in Bermuda as Ernesto heads that way after dropping torrential rain on Puerto Rico. That storm also knocked out power to two-thirds of homes and businesses across the U.S. territory.
Ernesto, which is currently a Category 1 hurricane, is strengthening and could become a Category 3 hurricane by Friday, Aug. 16. Its center was expected to pass near Bermuda on Saturday, Aug. 17.
Cisco cuts 7% of workforce amid focus shift
Cisco Systems, one of the world’s largest makers of computer networking equipment, has announced its second round of job cuts this year. The tech company plans to cut about 7% of its workforce, which is expected to affect nearly 6,000 employees.
This comes after the company already laid off around 4,000 workers in February. Cisco said the jobs cuts come as the company pivots its focus to artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
Mars to buy Kellanova for $36 billion
The merger that’s shaking up the snack food aisle is now official. Candy giant Mars has acquired the snack food maker Kellanova.
Mars, the company behind M&Ms and Snickers, is buying Kellanova, the maker of Cheez-Its and Pringles, for nearly $36 billion.
The purchase is not expected to close until next year, but analysts have been discussing what’s in it for mars. Bank of America’s Peter Galbo told CNBC the deal gives Mars three things: Additional space in stores beyond the chocolate section, expansion in international markets and innovative new product opportunities.
“Then third and probably the most fun for the consumer, you’re going to get the fun innovation with the salty and sweet what we’ve seen out of Hershey over the past year with things like chocolate covered popcorn.” Galbo said. “Now Mars will have that opportunity with some of the Kellanova brands.”
The Associated Press suggested the deal could lead to possible combinations like Skittles-flavored Pop-Tarts or Snickers-flavored Pringles.
Trump agrees to ABC News debate with Harris, proposes 2 more
The debate is on. Former President Donald Trump has agreed to the ABC News debate with Vice President Kamala Harris and proposed two more. And bodycam footage has been released showing the police response to the assassination attempt during the former president’s rally in July. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.
Trump agrees to ABC News debate with Harris, proposes 2 more debates
Former President Donald Trump has recommitted to a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris after initially requesting a change of time and place given the change at the top of the Democratic ticket. Trump made the announcement during a news conference held at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday, Aug. 8.
ABC News has confirmed Trump and Harris have agreed to debate on Sept. 10, setting up what is likely to be a high-stakes showdown in an already contentious election season.
His decision to debate on ABC marks a notable change of heart given it was just five days ago he announced the agreement with ABC was terminated. Trump originally suggested he would only debate if Harris appeared on Fox News on Sept. 4.
Trump is requesting Harris accept two additional debate proposals; one would be held on Fox and the other on NBC.
When asked by reporters if he will still do the ABC debate even if Harris turns down the idea of multiple debates, Trump said he didn’t know how that’s going to work and reiterated the need for multiple debates with a new Democratic presidential nominee.
As we saw in June, presidential debates have high stakes. President Joe Biden’s performance at his debate with Trump set in motion calls for his withdrawal and the eventual end to his re-election campaign.
The ABC debate was originally slated to be the second and final debate between Biden and Trump.
Harris released a statement saying she’s glad Trump committed to meeting her on stage.
Harris will be in Arizona for a campaign rally on Friday, Aug. 9. Trump will be in Montana for a rally of his own and fundraiser event.
Bodycam video released of police response to Trump assassination attempt
It’s been nearly a month since the assassination attempt on former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Within that month, questions have been swirling leading to multiple investigations and hearings on Capitol Hill and a change in leadership at the Secret Service.
Now, there is new information directly through the lens of Butler police bodycam. It shows officers responding to the reports of a threat on top of the unsecured building where the shooter propped himself up to take aim.
In newly released body camera video, there is footage of the moments leading up to the shooting, but it’s the audio in the immediate aftermath of the shooting that is providing further confirmation of a major security lapse.
The incident left one rally goer dead and Trump shot in the ear in a near-fatal hit.
The public search for accountability has led to agencies across local, state, and federal levels to finger-point and shift the blame. There are still several ongoing investigations into how it happened in the first place and how to prevent it from happening again.
U.S., Egypt, Qatar call for renewed Israel-Hamas ceasefire discussions
The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are calling for Israel and Hamas to resume cease-fire talks, calling them “urgent.” Fears are growing over a widening Middle East war following high-profile assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been mediating cease-fire discussions since they began.
They want the talks to take place in either Doha or Cairo next Thursday, Aug. 15.
Early Friday, Aug. 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated Israel will take part in those discussions. Hamas’ newly chosen leader has not indicated if the terror group is willing to join.
Columbia University COO’s home vandalized with antisemitic imagery; 3 top admins resign over antisemitic texts
Inverted triangles, which have been used by Hamas to identify Israeli targets and Nazis to tag prisoners during the Holocaust, were painted on the entranceway to Cas Holloway’s apartment building.
Columbia confirmed the resignations of the school’s dean of undergraduate student life, associate dean for student and family support, and vice dean and chief administrative officer after it came to light they exchanged antisemitic messages during an on-campus event about Jewish life at the school.
Paramount laying off 15% of U.S. workforce
Media conglomerate Paramount is laying off 15% of its U.S. workforce. The layoffs, which will impact around 2,000 staffers, are part of Paramount’s bid to cut $500 million in annual costs ahead of its merger with SkyDance Media.
Paramount says it also plans to write down $6 billion worth of its cable television networks.
Steph Curry leads Team USA to rally past Serbia; Noah Lyles wins bronze in 200-meter after testing positive for COVID
The U.S added to its Olympic medal count on Thursday, Aug. 9. Team USA now has a total of 103 medals so far as the Paris games wind down.
The men’s basketball team will be hoping to bring home gold against host France in the final. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James led the team to a come-from-behind victory over Serbia on Thursday after being down 17 points, winning 95 to 91.
On the track, it was not the result American sprinter Noah Lyles was hoping for in the men’s 200-meter final. Lyles, who won his first Olympic gold on Sunday, Aug. 4, in the 100-meter, finished third this time behind Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and USA teammate Kenny Bednarek.
Lyles was taken away in a wheelchair after crossing the finish line. It was later revealed he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 two days earlier.
The USA track and field organization said it followed all Olympic protocols to allow Lyles to compete.
The track star said he is proud of himself to have been able to still win a bronze medal. He posted on Instagram, “It is not the Olympics I dreamed of, but it has left me with so much joy in my heart.”
