August 26 2024

1 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump
2 Manufacturing Boom Stalled Despite $400bn in U.S. Government Support
3 Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested in Paris
4 Stranded Astronauts to Return on SpaceX Vehicle
5 Israel and Hezbollah Exchange Fire but Halt Escalation to Full Scale War
8/26/1939 First televised Major League baseball game

No Podcast today

1 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would suspend his election bid and endorse Donald Trump, potentially boosting the Republican former president just after Democrats left their convention with renewed hope for a win.  In explaining his decision to back Trump, Kennedy said the principles that persuaded him to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent now led him to back the former president. He cited protecting free speech, among other examples. Trump said Kennedy had called him soon after the attempt on his life in July. Trump vowed Friday to form a presidential commission on assassination attempts to investigate his own attack and release all confidential documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy—Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s uncle—reviving an idea Trump pursued in the White House. He also said he would investigate pesticides, a key issue of Kennedy’s, who spoke to the crowd about what he considers threats to health. Polls indicate that Kennedy’s departure from the race will likely help Trump, providing some welcome news for a candidate who has struggled to counter Harris’s momentum. In remarks earlier, Kennedy suggested that Trump had asked “to enlist me in his administration.” He said he tried to meet with Harris and she declined.

Article Source: WSJ

2 Manufacturing Boom Stalled Despite $400bn in U.S. Government Support

The Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips and Science Act together offer more than $400bn in tax credits, grants, and loans to revitalise the country’s industrial heartlands and rival Beijing on the technologies required to reduce the emissions behind climate change and electrify the world’s largest economy. The two laws have catalysed manufacturing investment, spurring a fierce contest between states to attract corporations eager to build factories and take advantage of the often uncapped federal support. US Census data shows that spending on construction for manufacturing sits at record highs, and the FT estimates that large-scale manufacturing commitments surpassed $225bn in the first year.  But as the two-year anniversary arrives for the legislation, many of these factories face roadblocks linked to deteriorating market conditions, overproduction in China, and a lack of policy certainty in a high stakes election year.  

Article Source: FT

3 Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested in Paris

Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of Telegram who was arrested in Paris, has nothing to hide it is absurd to hold an owner responsible for abuse of the messaging and social media platform, Telegram said in a statement. Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire cast as "Russia's Mark Zuckerberg", was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday from Azerbaijan. The arrest of the Telegram CEO prompted a warning from Moscow to Paris that he should be accorded his rights, and criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack. Though there has been no official French comment on the arrest, French news channel franceinfo said that Durov was still in custody on Monday and that he could remain in custody for up to four days. Telegram, in a short statement released after midnight Paris time, gave no details of the arrest but said the Dubai-based company abided by European Union laws and its moderation was "within industry standards and constantly improving".

Article Source: Reuters

4 Stranded Astronauts to Return on SpaceX Vehicle

Two astronauts parked at the International Space Station since early June will return with SpaceX instead of on the Boeing vehicle that brought them there.  NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the decision at a briefing on Saturday, which means astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain in orbit until next February, when a SpaceX craft is scheduled to return with them on board.   The decision is a setback for Boeing, which has spent years developing the Starliner vehicle that transported the astronauts to the space station on June 6. During its flight to the station, several thrusters temporarily failed and engineers identified additional helium leaks within its propulsion system.

Article Source: WSJ

5 Israel and Hezbollah Exchange Fire but Halt Escalation to Full Scale War

Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah traded heavy fire early Sunday but backed off from sparking a widely feared all-out war, as both sides signaled their most intense exchange in months was over. Hezbollah claimed to hit an Israeli military intelligence site near Tel Aviv as part of a barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones, and Israel claimed its dozens of strikes had been preemptive to avert a larger attack. Neither offered evidence. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the attack, a response to Israel’s killing of a top militant commander in Beirut last month, had been delayed to give the Gaza cease-fire talks a chance, and so fellow Iran-backed groups could discuss with Iran whether to attack Israel all at once. Israeli and U.S. military deployment also played a role. “We will now reserve the right to respond at a later time” if the results of Sunday’s attack aren’t sufficient, Nasrallah said, adding that allied Houthi rebels in Yemen – and Iran itself – had yet to respond. But he told the Lebanese people: “At this current stage, the country can take a breath and relax.”

Article Source: AP

8/26/1939 First televised Major League baseball game

Sources

1. https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/robert-f-kennedy-jr-drops-out-of-presidential-race-endorses-trump-f043e9b9?mod=Searchresults_pos11&page=1

2. https://on.ft.com/3yIb7Is

3. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pavel-durov-has-nothing-hide-telegram-says-arrested-founder-2024-08-26/

4. https://www.wsj.com/science/space-astronomy/nasa-taps-spacex-to-return-starliner-astronauts-dealing-blow-to-boeing-0d267d07?st=y7p777norwghzdf&reflink=article_copyURL_share

5. https://apnews.com/article/52056075daebc9aac6675043f64439ab