Under the terms of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Elon Musk and Tesla, Inc. agree to pay $20 million each to financial regulators, and Musk is expected to resign as chairman, but will remain as chief executive. (Market Watch) (HuffPost)
A USMC F-35 jet crashes in coastal South Carolina making this the first crash of the U.S. military’s newest and most expensively developed aircraft. (CBS News)
The government of Pakistan is “rethinking” its dependence on China for the loans it needs to complete its Peshawar to Karachi rail project. This is part of a broader pushback on the ambitions of China’s Belt and Road Initiative throughout the region. (Reuters) (SCMP)
Monday, Oct 1, 2018
U.S., Canada reach deal to update NAFTA, change its name The United States and Canada, with only hours to spare, reached a deal that keeps Canada part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the U.S. and Mexico. Negotiations lasted throughout the weekend, as the White House had imposed a deadline of midnight Sunday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the accord, which will be renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), will result in “freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in our region.” The agreement gives the United States more access to the Canadian dairy market and safeguards Canada should the Trump administration impose tariffs on automobiles. In August, the U.S. and Mexico reached a bilateral deal. Source: CBS News
Murky scope of FBI Kavanaugh probe leads to new partisan battle “FBI agents are experts at interviewing people,” former FBI Director James Comey said in a New York Times op-ed, and “unless limited in some way by the Trump administration, they can speak to scores of people in a few days” in their week-long investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. But there are contrasting indications of what parameters the White House has placed on the FBI’s reopened background check, and reports that FBI agents can interview only four people have drawn complaints from Democrats and demands for clarification. Trump tweeted he wants FBI agents “to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion,” but FBI agents reportedly can’t investigate widespread allegations from former Kavanaugh classmates that he lied under oath about his drinking and yearbook entries, among other topics. Source: NBC News, The New York Times
Sunday, Sept 30, 2018
At least 844 people are now known to have died in the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami. (CNN)
Thirty-one people in Iran die after drinking tainted homemade alcohol, and a further 173 are hospitalized. (Star Tribune)
A referendum is held in the Republic of Macedonia on whether to change the country’s name in order to join NATO and the EU. (Reuters)
More than 90% of votes are in favor of the change, however, the voter turnout is only 36%. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev vows to continue to push forward with the change despite the invalid result. (Reuters)
Saturday, Sept 29, 2018
The FBI reaches out to Deborah Ramirez, the second woman to publicly accuse Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, as part of the investigations into allegations against Kavanaugh. (CBS News)
The New York Supreme Court allows a $45 million loan lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein to resume after pausing it for bankruptcy proceedings for the Weinstein Company to complete. (The Wrap)
A Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone (also known as a “Medicane”) strikes Greece near Kalamata, causing power outages and gale force winds near the capital Athens. In the storm’s formative stages, heavy rains killed four people in Tunisia. (Weather Underground), (The Weather Channel)
Friday, Sept 28, 2018
U.S. President Donald Trump orders an FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. (The New York Times)
Six Palestinians, including a 12-year-old, are killed by IDF fire in Gaza border clashes. (Haaretz)
It is announced that the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a bridge planned to span the Canada–United States border between Detroit and Windsor, will open in late 2024. The project is expected to cost $5.7 billion and create 2500 jobs. (CTV News Windsor) (Tri-City News)
Facebook uncovers a security flaw, impacting 50 million user accounts which may have been compromised. (The Guardian) (Reuters)
http://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/the-fog-of-bad-faith/
Senate Judiciary Committee to vote on Kavanaugh after contentious hearing The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote Friday morning to recommend or reject Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. If he’s backed by the Republican majority, the entire Senate will vote on his confirmation Tuesday. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one of the GOP members of the committee who was thought to be a swing vote, announced Friday morning that he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh. On Thursday, Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school, testified that she is “100 percent” sure it was Kavanaugh who forcibly groped her at a house party in the 1980s. Kavanaugh angrily and unequivocally denied Ford’s allegations. “I never sexually assaulted anyone,” he said in a tearful opening statement. Source: Los Angeles Times, The Week
SEC accuses Elon Musk of misleading investors, hammering Tesla shares The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday sued Tesla founder Elon Musk on charges of misleading investors when he suggested he would take his company private. The SEC is seeking to bar Musk from serving as an officer of a public company. Musk tweeted in August that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share, which the SEC called a “false and misleading” statement. “In truth and in fact, Musk had not even discussed, much less confirmed, key deal terms, including price, with any potential funding source,” the lawsuit read. News of the lawsuit sent Tesla shares plummeting 10 percent. The SEC said Musk “did not inform Nasdaq that he intended to make this public announcement, as Nasdaq rules required.” Source: Bloomberg
Thursday, Sept 27, 2018
Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, testifies before the Senate. (New York Post)
Kavanaugh testifies to the Senate following the testimony of Ford. Kavanaugh denies the sexual assault claim and calls it part of a “calculated and orchestrated political hit” designed to keep him off the Supreme Court. (AOL)
The Supreme Court of India strikes down a law criminalizing adultery as unconstitutional, stating it treated women as property of their husbands. (BBC)
Eric Reid returns to the NFL, signing a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers. (WRAL) (CBS Sports)
The End
Mykobar 