Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.

GM reaches tentative agreement with UAW, ending six-week strike

Summary: Less than a week after US automaker Ford signed a deal with the United Auto Workers union, General Motors has reportedly reached a tentative agreement with them, as well, potentially ending a period in which the industry was roiled by strikes and uncertainty.

Context: This is still just a tentative deal, but it would seem that a 25% hourly pay increase plus cost-of-living allowances may be included in an updated four-year contract, similar to what was agreed with Ford; GM was the last holdout of the three major automakers in the country, and it’s been estimated that the company has already lost about $800 million to the strikes, and could rack up another $200 million in losses per week if strike actions continue.

—Bloomberg

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UN peacekeepers leave Mali in a hurry and under fire

Summary: UN peacekeepers, who were in the region to help local governments deal with militant extremist groups, were ordered in June to fully withdraw from Mali by the end of the year, triggering a frantic effort to destroy equipment that might otherwise fall into militant hands and to get everyone out safely.

Context: That safety component was made more difficult by the enemies this group has made amongst local militant groups over the ten years or so they’ve been operating in the region, and by the sheer number of people—around 15,000 soldiers—that require extraction; nearly 6,000 peacekeepers have reportedly been safely withdrawn, so far, thought the extractions have been made more difficult and precarious by the withholding of flight and travel permits by local officials; the Malian government was overthrown by its military in 2021 and is one of several governments in West Africa currently run by military juntas.

—Barron’s

Republicans delay more than $1 billion in HIV program funding

Summary: A government program called PEPFAR, short for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, has been held up by Congressional Republicans due to unbacked allegations that some of the resources being divvied out by the program are funding abortions overseas.

Context: Pretty much everyone involved with this program has assured lawmakers that the resources PEPFAR provides to healthcare entities is only used to make medicines, testing, and prevention services related to AIDS more widely available, and the program—which was created by then-President George W. Bush in 2003—has been credited with saving more than 25 million lives, costs not quite $7 billion a year, and has typically enjoyed bipartisan support, heralded as one of the most successful medical programs of its kind; PEPFAR can continue to operate without Congress’ go-ahead, but details related to its operation—including how terms like “human rights” are used in the document that outlines the program—are being held up by Congressional Republicans, stymying efforts to keep things going.

—The Washington Post

If current trends continue, by the 2040s, countries in Africa will account for two out of every five children born on Earth—a stark contrast to the aging populations (and ever-lessening fertility rates) seen in on-average wealthier countries around the world.

—The New York Times

~4,000

Approximate number of electric vehicle chargers around the US (DOE estimates say nearly 4,000, other estimates have been closer to 4,700) that were offline as of early October.

That’s an outage rate of more than 6%, and it’s the consequence of a shortage of technicians certified to work on these sorts of chargers.

A lack of functional and reliable charging points is considered to be a significant barrier in consumer adoption of EVs in the US.

—Automotive News

Trust Click

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