Fed Lowers Interest Rates

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it was lowering interest rates for the third time this year. The Fed cited weakness in exports and business fixed investment as the reason for the cut.

More Iran Sanctions

The United States and six Gulf countries that comprise the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – announced yesterday that they would be imposing joint sanctions against 25 entities linked to Iran’s support for militant networks. The U.S. Treasury said in a statement that this will be the largest-ever action by the center.

Chile Cancels Summits

The Chilean government announced yesterday that it was pulling out of hosting two major international summits amid mass protests that have been ongoing in the country for nearly two weeks. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, a 21-member intergovernmental forum to promote free trade, was scheduled for mid-November, and a U.N. Climate Change Conference was set for December.

Share the Road

Peugeot owner PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler have agreed on the terms of a merger that would place Fiat Chrysler’s Chairman John Elkann as chairman of the newly combined company. The merger will create a company with a total market value of nearly $50 billion – Fiat Chrysler’s shares rose 9.5% in response to the move, and Peugeot’s shares rose 4.5%.

Separation of Tweet and State

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced Wednesday that the social network will no longer allow political ads to run on its platform, effective November 22. This move contrasts Facebook’s political ad policy, which does not fact-check or remove ads run by politicians.

Contamination allegation

A former Juul executive filed a lawsuit claiming the e-cig maker knowingly shipped about one million contaminated pods to retailers earlier this year without informing customers. The lawsuit also alleges he was fired for complaining about the move – a Juul spokesperson has denied the claims, saying in an email that the executive was fired after failing to demonstrate the necessary leadership qualities for his role and that the company plans to “vigorously defend this lawsuit.”

Wheel and deal

Late last night, Ford Motor Co. and the UAW reached a tentative agreement on a 4-year labor contract following three days of negotiations. The move comes less than a week after the UAW ratified an agreement with General Motors following a six-week strike – the UAW-Ford deal is said to largely follow the pattern set by GM.

Tackling the odds

At 13 years old, football-obsessed Casey O’Brien got some news that could have completely derailed his world: he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer with just a 30 percent survival rate. Instead of paying attention to the odds – or even allowing anyone to tell him what they were – Casey steeled himself for a fight, and kept on practicing.

Over the next several years, Casey’s cancer returned three times – he spent more than 300 nights at the University of Minnesota’s children’s hospital and underwent 14 surgeries. But at every turn, Casey met the disease with the same determination to beat the odds. He also never gave up playing football – he’s now a redshirt sophomore playing for the same college that treated his cancer. Every chance he gets, he visits the kids at the hospital to encourage them, and he wears their names around his wrist while he plays.

Last Saturday, Casey played in his first college football game as a University of Minnesota Golden Gopher. As he jogged off the field, his teammates roared and slapped him on the back, his parents yelled from the stands, and his coach gave him an emotional, congratulatory hug. “This is what I dreamed about,” Casey told the Big Ten Network, “and tonight it got to come true.”

Waste not, want not

Wouldn’t it be cool if garbage trucks could be fueled by the garbage they collect? Well, in Toronto, that’s about to become a reality.

Thanks to a new processing plant, the organic waste and food scraps that the city’s garbage trucks collect will be put through a special anaerobic digestion process that captures the biogas from the waste and turns it into fuel. So when the trucks drive up to dump a load of trash, they’ll be able to fuel up on site.

As if that’s not good enough, the process is cheaper than the alternatives. And the fuel extracted from the organic waste is seen as carbon-negative since using it displaces fossil fuels that would otherwise be required to get the job done. The energy can be used for more than just filling up garbage truck’s gas tanks, too – once it’s injected into the natural gas pipeline, the fuel can be used to heat houses and businesses or to keep the lights on. A great deal all around!