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The Ports Are Back In Business

The Ports Are Back In Business

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
October 04, 2024

Good Friday morning. A North Carolina woman knows she will lose her bid for a state legislative seat next week. And, she says, that is the point of her run. Have a great weekend!

In Today’s Brief

Louisiana: TikTok murder charge
Mexico: Convoy shooting
VP debate: Ratings dip
Boeing: Stock sale possible
Rust: World premiere

... and more

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Top Tips

1) All ported out

East and Gulf Coast dockworkers will be back on the job today.

What happened: The International Longshoremen’s Association suspended its three-day strike last night, agreeing to end a work stoppage that shut down several dozen ports and halted most national sea imports brought in by container. The union reached a tentative deal with the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents port authorities, shipping lines and terminal operators. The recently-expired contract was extended to Jan. 15 in the meantime.
The details: Both sides have tentatively agreed to a new six-year deal with a 10% wage hike in Year 1 and 62% raises by the end of the contract. There was no immediate news about terms on automation -- a key issue for the union -- or other benefits. The 45K workers still have to ratify the finalized deal, so the strike could eventually resume. The labor group was seeking a 77% wage hike over six years.
Big picture: President Joe Biden praised the deal, and understandably so. Analysts roughly estimated each day of the strike translated to ports and supply chains being a week behind -- a scenario with potentially significant economic and political impacts weeks before November's election. He also now avoids a potential showdown with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had announced plans to order the National Guard to operate the state's ports.

2) Let it Chagos

The United Kingdom has one less sunset in its portfolio.

The news: Great Britain has agreed to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, its former colony. The remote Indian Ocean chain remained a UK territory after Mauritius gained independence, leading to a decades-long dispute. It was the last British colony in Africa.
Big catch: The deal guarantees Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-UK military base on one of the islands, can operate for at least 99 years. The airbase is a strategic asset; it was used to launch raids during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and serves as a counterweight to China in the region. The U.S. technically controlled the island and base through a lease with the UK, but President Biden supported the deal with Mauritius. The deal could allow displaced native Chagossians to return home.
Also note: There was a kerfuffle in July when the U.S. prevented the UK from holding a hearing on the detainment of Sri Lankan migrants on the island.
Big picture: The move has plenty of critics. Some have wondered whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the new ruling Labour government may next give the Falkland Islands to Argentina, a far more controversial matter. There are also fears Mauritius, which has trading ties to China, will eventually renege and hand the base to Beijing. The State Department insisted protections against such a possibility exist, but analysts say the deal will still allow China to threaten the efficacy and safety of the base.

3) Power play

Justin Trudeau may soon be out of moves.

The news: Canada's embattled prime minister is effectively being held for political ransom. Bloc Quebecois, a Quebec nationalist party, is threatening to collapse the Labour Party's minority government unless its legislative demands are met, and quickly.
Catch up: BQ has helped Trudeau survive two parliamentary non-confidence votes called by Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre. BQ Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet had said Trudeau had until the end of the month to get bills addressing dairy farmer protections and pensions across the line. But BQ may now break as early as next week.
Big picture: A successful non-confidence vote will trigger a snap election that Poilievre and the Conservatives would be favored to win in a landslide. But BQ and the New Democratic Party, which set the stage for the current machinations by ending a supply-and-demand deal with Labour, also have reason to go to the polls. NDP is running neck-and-neck with Labour in national polls while BQ is set to win more seats in its province.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

A social media personality allegedly killed a Louisiana therapist. Terryon Thomas, known as "Mr. Prada" on TikTok, is accused of bludgeoning the man and dumping his body inside a tarp near a highway north of New Orleans; Thomas was arrested in Texas (More)
A rabbi and Jewish students were held at gunpoint during a Rosh Hashanah dinner at the University of Michigan. The at-large suspect stole a bag and fled the scene; police believe the home invasion was "a crime of opportunity" and did not indicate a hate crime investigation (More)
The Biden Administration is not expected to extend a program granting legal status to some Venezuelan migrants. The program will continue for migrants from other nations; former President Donald Trump said he would end a separate but similar program and deport some legal Haitian migrants if re-elected (More | More)

World News

Mexican troops opened fire on a migrant convoy near the country's border with Guatemala, killing six and wounding 10. President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed the "deplorable" incident will be investigated; but some reports suggested the troops were fired upon first (More)
President Biden said the U.S. and Israel are discussing airstrikes on Iran's oil infrastructure. He did not comment on whether the White House would support such operations; the president previously said he would not back attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities (More)
The Department of Justice and Microsoft have seized dozens of internet domains used by hackers tied to Russian intelligence. The 107 domains were used to target defense contractors and civil society and government employees; the tech giant has previously said Kremlin-aligned groups attack at least one client a week (More)

Campaign News

Tuesday's vice presidential debate drew an estimated 43M television viewers. It was about a 30% drop from the 2020 VP debate; the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump drew 67M viewers by comparison (More)
A former Colorado county clerk received a nine-year prison sentence for crimes related to a voting system breach. Tina Peters gave a person tied to MyPillow CEO and election denier Mike Lindell access to the Mesa County election system, misusing another official's security badge (More)
The International Association of Fire Fighters will not make a presidential endorsement. It is the second major labor group to abstain from supporting a candidate; the Teamsters Union has also declined to make an endorsement (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed lower yesterday. The markets are awaiting today's fresh jobs report amid oil price spikes due to the Middle East conflicts (Dow -0.44%, Nasdaq -0.04%, S&P 500 -0.17%).
Boeing may sell $10B in new stock amid an ongoing strike by its factory workers. The aerospace giant is seeking to generate revenues and avoid a credit rating downgrade; other fundraising options are being explored (More)
OpenAI has secured a $4B revolving credit line. The artificial intelligence firm now has $10B in liquidity on top of its $157B valuation after a $6.6B investment round; nine banks combined to provide the credit (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Rust will make its world premiere next month at a film festival in Poland. It is not clear when the controversial Alec Baldwin-led movie may have its domestic debut; the release will be accompanied by a panel discussion about cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' on-set death (More)
QVC has landed pickleball broadcast rights. The home shopping network has signed a multi-year deal with USA Pickleball and will carry next month's national championships on its streaming service; the pact also has a retail exclusivity component (More)
Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty owner Joe Tsai is in talks to buy a minority share of the Miami Dolphins. Ares Management may also take a stake in the NFL team; the league is reportedly in media rights talks with RedBird and Skydance Sports (More | More)

Quick Hitters

Real Heroes: When guests at a wedding in North Carolina realized the animals at their venue were imperiled by flooding from Hurricane Helene, they sprung into action. Their efforts paid off.
Incredible Find: Generations of people in Northern Ireland claimed a small church sat on soil with healing powers. Researchers tested the dirt and discovered several bacteria strains used in antibiotics, including a previously unidentified one.
Live Life: A content creator wanted to see Moo Deng in person. So she booked a plane ticket on a whim and flew from New York to Thailand to check out the baby pygmy hippo and viral sensation.
Take Note: Swallowing activates sensors that generate happiness in the brain -- a physical phenomenon scientists believe could be a trigger responsible for instances of overeating.
Life Hack: Keep your bread in the refrigerator. Not only will it last longer, but it may also make it healthier to eat by reducing the food's absorbable calories.

Watch This

America's leaders tend to be very old. Probably too old.