A proposal to reclassify some contractors unveiled Tuesday by the Biden administration could disrupt the gig economy.
Meanwhile, NASA said its historic planetary defense mission was successful.
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Balance/Sustainability – Half of global reefs could be unfit by 2035 New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies to more families seeking coverage
Labor unveil contractor reclassification rule
The Labor Department on Tuesday unveiled a proposed rule that would reclassify some independent contractors as company employees, a move that could disrupt the gig economy.
The much-anticipated rule targets companies the Biden administration says are “misclassifying” their employees as contractors. By becoming salaried workers, these workers would be covered by overtime and minimum wage laws that do not apply to contractors.
“The misclassification deprives workers of their federal labor protections, including their right to be paid their full, legally earned wages,” the Secretary of Labor said Martin Walsh said in a statement.
- Unions have been urging the Biden administration to go after industries that rely on contractors, including ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft, noting these workers will lose key benefits and have trouble organizing because of their contractor status.
- The Labor Department said Tuesday that misclassification is a problem in a variety of industries, including home care, janitorial services, delivery, trucking and construction. The department said the widespread problem makes it difficult for some companies to compete with those who classify their workers as contractors.
Read more here.
Balance/Sustainability – Half of global reefs could be unfit by 2035 New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies to more families seeking coverage
NASA hail Asteroid Mission how a success
NASA said Tuesday that its historic planetary defense mission was successful after a spacecraft that deliberately crashed into a tiny asteroid called Dimorphos last month changed its orbit by 32 minutes.
At a press conference, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) team said that before the impact, Dimorphos orbited a larger asteroid called Didymos in 11 hours and 55 minutes – after the impact, astronomers observed that the orbital period was now 11 hours and 23 minutes amounts to .
- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson noted that the DART mission caught the world’s attention and “felt like a movie plot.”
- “But that wasn’t Hollywood,” Nelson said. “We showed the world that NASA means business as defenders of the planet.”
- The DART spacecraft struck Dimorphos, an asteroid weighing about 5 billion kilograms and located about 11 million kilometers from Earth, on September 26 traveling at more than 22,000 km/h.
Read more here.
Balance/Sustainability – Half of global reefs could be unfit by 2035 New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies to more families seeking coverage
MUSK denies speaking to Putin before tweeting
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has denied claims by Ian Bremmer, president of political risk research firm Eurasia Group, that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin before releasing a controversial tweet implying that Ukraine is no longer a country should be recaptured by Russia when she lost this year.
Musk has had a “direct conversation” with Putin about the war, Bremmer wrote in a newsletter on Monday, and is convinced that the Russian dictator will use nuclear weapons against Ukraine if the smaller country doesn’t back down.
- Bremmer, a well-known foreign policy analyst, wrote that he spoke to Musk two weeks ago and that Musk told him about the conversation with Putin.
- But shortly after a message about Bremmer’s newsletter was published in Vice News, Musk tweeted that he denied the claims.
- “I only spoke to Putin once, and that was about 18 months ago. The theme was outer space,” Musk wrote.
Read more here.
Balance/Sustainability – Half of global reefs could be unfit by 2035 New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies to more families seeking coverage
BIDEN ADVERTISES PLANNED BATTERY PLANT
President Biden on Tuesday announced plans for Honda to build a joint-venture battery factory in Ohio, saying new investments are part of the backbone of his economic agenda.
“Just as my CHIPS and Science Act is spurring record investments in communities across the country, my Inflation Reduction Act is fueling an electric vehicle manufacturing boom. This has been the backbone of my economic plan: America will lead the world again and rebuild our supply chains, infrastructure and manufacturing here at home,” Biden said in a statement.
Honda will partner with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution to build the $3.5 billion joint venture battery factory in southern Ohio. The factory is expected to employ 2,200 people.
Additionally, Honda announced it would invest $700 million and create 300 jobs at three of its Ohio factories so they can begin manufacturing electric vehicles.
Read more here.
Balance/Sustainability – Half of global reefs could be unfit by 2035 New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies to more families seeking coverage
BITS & PIECES
A guest comment to chew on: The CHIPS Act alone will not secure US semiconductor supply chains
Notable links from the internet:
The Amazon union faces the next test with new momentum (The New York Times / Noam Scheiber and Karen Weise)
The Bizarre Duality of Meta’s New Quest Pro VR Headset (Wired / Lauren Goode)
Rising premiums, limited cyber insurance coverage pose major risk for businesses (CNBC / Bob Violino)
Balance/Sustainability – Half of global reefs could be unfit by 2035 New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies to more families seeking coverage
🐍 Easy click: The cutest snake
Balance/Sustainability – Half of global reefs could be unfit by 2035 New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies to more families seeking coverage
One more thing: no more emojis for Harris
Vice President Harris told late-night host Seth Meyers Monday that she hasn’t been able to use emoji or group chat since taking on her role.
“Obviously there are sacrifices to be made, but is it true that you can’t send emoji anymore?” Myers Harris asked during an interview on NBC’s Late Night.
“OK, first rate problems,” Harris replied jokingly. “I haven’t received an emoji directly in a year and a half.”
The interview marked Harris’ late-night television debut during her vice presidency. Since taking office, she has appeared on another late-night show, Comedy Central’s Tha God’s Honest Truth, hosted by Charlamagne Tha God last December.
Read more here.
Balance/Sustainability – Half of global reefs could be unfit by 2035 New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies to more families seeking coverage
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