>>Stopgap Funding Bill Keeps Gov't Workers On The Job
(Washington, DC) -- Millions of federal workers are breathing a sigh of relief after an eleventh hour deal to avoid a government shutdown. President Biden signed a temporary funding bill over the weekend that will fund the government for 45 days. Without it, military members, air traffic controllers and others would have been required to work without a paycheck. Non-essential workers would have been furloughed. The bill keeps the government funded until November 17th, but does not provide additional funds for Ukraine or border security.
>>Student Loan Payments Back
(Undated) -- Student loan payments are back. Payments officially went back into effect Sunday after an over three-year pause brought on by the COVID pandemic. As many as 40-million Americans now are stuck paying back loans, despite constant pushback from the Biden administration. The Supreme Court blocked a policy in June that would have forgiven 20-thousand dollars in student debt for many borrowers, with Biden looking into other ways to cancel debt.
>>UAW Adds Two More Plants To Strike
(Detroit, MI) -- Two more auto facilities are now on strike as the United Auto Workers expanded its work stoppage to seven-thousand more workers Friday. Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant and General Motors' Lansing Delta Township plant were added to bring around 25-thousand workers, about 17-percent of their members, to the strike. UAW president Shawn Fain said Friday contract talks are ongoing and have not broken down. He says meaningful progress, however, has not been made in the talks with Ford and GM.
>>75,000 Workers Prep For Biggest Healthcare Strike In U.S. History
(Undated) -- More than 75-thousand Kaiser-Permanente [[ KYE-zer per-ma-NEN-tee ]] workers are getting ready to go on what would be the biggest healthcare strike in U.S. history. Unions representing the workers notified the company more than a week ago that they could launch a three-day strike this coming Wednesday, October 4th. The strike would affect Kaiser hospitals and clinics in California, Oregon, Washington state, Colorado, Virginia, and Washington DC.
>>Redfin Survey Finds Significant Discrimination Against People Of Color
(Seattle, WA) -- Minority home buyers say they have experienced significant discrimination in their search for a house. A new survey from Redfin asked Black, Hispanic and Asian buyers if they had ever felt that either sellers, their agents or landlords were less eager to work with them because of their ethnicity or race. Thirty-two-percent of Black buyers answered "yes," as well as 36-percent of Hispanics and 20-percent of Asian buyers. Redfin says discrimination isn't uncommon in the housing and rental market.
>>"Paw Patrol" Claws Its Way To Top Of Box Office
(Hollywood, CA) -- "PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie" is helping to get the film industry out of the dog house as the animated sequel tops this weekend's box office. The movie earned 23-million-dollars in its debut, which is more than the combined amount of last weekend's top two movies. Another sequel, the horror flick "Saw Ten," finished second with 18-million-dollars which is also more than last weekend's top two. "The Creator" was third with a disappointing 14-million-dollars, considering the film had an 80-million-dollar budget. "The Nun Two" finished fourth after topping the box office the previous two weeks.
