January 08 2025

1. Automation Sparks New Labor Battleground

2. Meta Scraps Fact-Checking Program as Trump-ally and UFC Chief Dana White Joins Board
3. Algorithms Fix Millions of US Rents, Government Alleges
4. House Passes Bipartisan Illegal Immigrant Deportation Bill
5. Reviving Early 20th Century Expansionism, Trump Imagines New Sphere of U.S. Influence Stretching From Panama to Greenland
   

January 8, 1992: President George H.W. Bush vomits on the Prime Minister of Japan

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1. Automation Sparks New Labor Battleground

When some 25,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association went on strike last October, bringing three dozen container ports on the east and Gulf coasts of the US to a halt, there was widespread alarm. Some predictions were that, because these ports handle one-quarter of the country’s international trade, the stoppage could cost the American economy up to $4.5bn a day, reignite inflation and initiate ripple effects that would be felt across the world. In the event, the panic lasted just 72 hours. Following hurried negotiations and the offer of a salary increase worth nearly 62 per cent over six years, the longshoremen agreed to return to work, albeit temporarily — perhaps “the most lucrative three days in labour-management history”, in the words of Patrick L Anderson, CEO of business consultancy Anderson Economic Group. But in some ways the battle is only just getting started. Although it was the pay rise that caught the attention of the media, the union’s real issue is with automation — specifically proposals by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents port operators and container carriers, to equip more US ports with semi-automated cranes.  The dispute has drawn attention not just because of its potential outsized impact, but because it is one of the first of its kind. As more and more businesses experiment with next-generation robotics, US labour unions representing industries as varied as UPS drivers, Las Vegas casino workers and grocery store employees are fighting for provisions to be added to contracts that focus on retaining jobs and compensating displaced workers in the event of automation. What were previously run-of-the-mill negotiations over pay and conditions have mushroomed into larger, more existential disputes over the relationship between humans and machines. Some 70 per cent of the 12mn people represented by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations now worry about being replaced by technology, estimates AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler: “Workers are fed up with how they’ve been treated for a long time and are scared about what the future might hold.”

Article Source: FT

2. Meta Scraps Fact-Checking Program as Trump-ally and UFC Chief Dana White Joins Board

A. Meta said on Tuesday that it was ending its longstanding fact-checking program, a policy instituted to curtail the spread of misinformation across its social media apps, in a stark sign of how the company was repositioning itself for the Trump presidency and throwing its weight behind unfettered speech online. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said it would now allow more speech, rely on its users to correct inaccurate and false posts, and take a more personalized approach to political content.  

B. Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post Monday that Meta had added Dana White, the chief executive of Ultimate Fighting Championship, and two other executives to its board. Meta is adding Mr. White, a longtime friend of President-elect Donald J. Trump, to the social media company’s leadership amid a series of moves to strengthen its ties to the incoming administration. Last week, the company shook up the top of its policy team, appointing a longtime executive known for his Republican ties as head of global policy. Meta has also donated $1 million to Mr. Trump’s inaugural fund.

Article Source: NYT

3. Algorithms Fix Millions of US Rents, Government Alleges

Millions of rents across the United States may now be set using one company’s algorithmic software, according to a federal lawsuit and a Washington Post analysis. RealPage, a property management software company, uses a trove of data to suggest rental prices to landlords. The software has been widely adopted by property managers — and is now facing strenuous legal pushback. Over the past three years, the company has been sued by the federal government, which alleged in August that it unlawfully decreases competition among landlords; by several individuals; and by the governments of Arizona and D.C., which have accused RealPage and dozens of property management companies of colluding to raise prices. On Tuesday, the Justice Department expanded its suit to sue six large landlords, which it says operate in 43 states and D.C. To assess how widespread use of RealPage’s rent software may be, The Post identified 3.1 million market-rate rental units managed by companies named in the lawsuits. That analysis found 10 counties where more than 1 in 3 multifamily units are managed by a property company allegedly using a rent-setting program from RealPage.  

Article Source: WaPo

4. House Passes Bipartisan Illegal Immigrant Deportation Bill

The House passed a bill on Tuesday that would target undocumented immigrants charged with nonviolent crimes for deportation, an opening salvo from a Republican majority that has vowed to deliver on President-elect Donald J. Trump’s promised crackdown at the border. The measure, which drew the support of 48 Democrats as well as all Republicans, appears to be on a path to enactment, having garnered bipartisan backing in the Senate, which plans to take it up on Friday. It is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed last year in Georgia by a migrant who had crossed into the United States illegally and was arrested and charged with shoplifting, but was not detained.

Article Source: NYT

5. Reviving Early 20th Century Expansionism, Trump Imagines New Sphere of U.S. Influence Stretching From Panama to Greenland

President-elect Donald Trump’s calls to take control of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal reflect his fascination with a 21st-century version of an old idea—that great powers should carve out spheres of influence and defend their economic and security interests by imposing their will on smaller neighbors. In a press conference Tuesday, Trump outlined a second-term foreign-policy agenda that rests not on global alliances and free trade but on economic coercion and unilateral military might, even against allies. With the Panama Canal and Greenland, he suggested he could use force to take them over. With Canada, he suggested he would hit the U.S.’s northern neighbor with extreme tariffs, leaving it no choice but to submit to annexation. “Canada and the United States, that would really be something,” Trump said. “You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like and it would also be much better for national security.”

Article Source: WSJ

January 8, 1992: President George H.W. Bush vomits on the Prime Minister of Japan

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Sources

1. https://on.ft.com/4j4vh1z

2. A https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/07/technology/meta-fact-checking-facebook.html?smid=url-share

B https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/06/technology/dana-white-meta-board-ufc.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2025/realpage-lawsuit-rent-map/

4. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/07/us/house-bill-migrants-crime-laken-riley.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

5. https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-foreign-policy-expansion-canada-greenland-panama-canal-b1cbe478