>>Strikes Continue In U.S.
(Undated) -- Seventy-five thousand Kaiser Permanente workers walked off the job Wednesday in multiple states in what is gearing up to be the largest health-care strike in U.S. history. Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers strike is now in its 21st day. The union is demanding higher wages and a shorter work week. And although the Hollywood writers strike is over, the actors strike is dragging on.
>>First Witness Speaks In Sam Bankman-Fried Trial
(New York, NY) -- The fraud and money laundering trial of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried [[ freed ]] has heard from its first witness. On Wednesday, Marc-Antoine Julliard took the stand and explained how he lost roughly a-hundred-thousand-dollars in cryptocurrency that he thought was safe with FTX. Julliard said he was drawn into FTX by their savvy marketing, which included ads featuring super models and Formula One racers. Bankman-Fried, who was once a crypto-billionaire, has pled not guilty to federal charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. If convicted, several of the counts come with sentences of 20-years in prison. The trial is expected to last about six weeks.
>>Ford Announces Third Quarter Sales
(Dearborn, MI) -- Increased sales of hybrid vehicles and trucks help Ford Motor Company see a third quarter sales increase of seven-point seven percent. The automaker says they sold over 500-thousand vehicles in the quarter which included nearly 21-thousand electric vehicles. F-150 hybrid truck sales jumped by nearly 47-percent while Maverick hybrid sales were over 56-percent higher. Officials say overall sales for the first nine months of the year are over nine-percent higher compared to 2022.
>>Pope Calls Out Big Oil For Slow Action On Climate Change
(Vatican City) -- Pope Francis says fossil fuel companies are not doing enough to fight climate change. The Pope released a new document yesterday that calls for greater efforts to attack the climate crisis. The landmark document criticizes oil and gas companies, and says, "the necessary transition towards clean energy sources such as wind and solar energy, and the abandonment of fossil fuels, is not progressing at the necessary speed." Francis also criticizes Western nations, and calls for "a broad change" in their "irresponsible lifestyle."
>>Clorox Says Q3 Sales, Profits Took Big Hit From Cyberattack
(Oakland, CA) -- Clorox is warning that its third-quarter sales and profits took a big hit because of a cyberattack that significantly cut into its operations. The bleach and cleaning products company said on Wednesday it expects a 23 to 28-percent decline in net sales. It also expects to post a loss per share of 35 to 75 cents. Clorox said the cyberattack that was discovered in August is still hurting production, although the effect is lessening.
>>Google Launches New Pixel 8 Smartphone
(Menlo Park, CA) -- Google is launching a new smartphone that makes greater use of its artificial intelligence technology. The Pixel 8 phone introduced Wednesday uses a new custom chip with more A.I. and machine learning capabilities. Google executives said the A.I. features can help with photography, summarizing web pages, and blocking spam calls. Prices for the Pixel 8 will start at 699 dollars and the Pixel Pro 8 will start at 999 dollars. The phones will be available on October 12th.
