USA – Voice of America
U.S. House Republicans voted 113-99 Wednesday to nominate Representative Steve Scalise to serve as speaker. But their narrow majority in the lower chamber of Congress and divisions within their own party leave it uncertain when and if Scalise will ascend to the leadership post. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports.
USA – Voice of America
High school students’ scores on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest in more than three decades, showing a lack of student preparedness for college-level coursework, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the test.
Scores have been falling for six consecutive years, but the trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in the class of 2023 whose scores were reported Wednesday were in their first year of high school when the virus reached the U.S.
“The hard truth is that we are not doing enough to ensure that graduates are truly ready for postsecondary success in college and career,” said Janet Godwin, chief executive officer for the nonprofit ACT.
The average ACT composite score for U.S. students was 19.5 out of 36. Last year, the average score was 19.8.
The average scores in reading, science and math all were below benchmarks the ACT says students must reach to have a high probability of success in first-year college courses. The average score in English was just above the benchmark but still declined compared to last year.
Many universities have made standardized admissions tests optional amid criticism that they favor the wealthy and put low-income students at a disadvantage. Some including the University of California system do not consider ACT or SAT scores even if submitted.
Godwin said the scores are still helpful for placing students in the right college courses and preparing academic advisors to better support students.
“In terms of college readiness, even in a test-optional environment, these kinds of objective test scores about academic readiness are incredibly important,” Godwin said.
At Denise Cabrera’s high school in Hawaii, all students are required to take the ACT as juniors. She said she would have taken it anyway to improve her chances of getting into college.
“Honestly, I’m unsure why the test was ever required because colleges can look at different qualities of the students who are applying outside of just a one-time test score,” said Denise, a 17-year-old senior at Waianae High School.
She’s looking at schools including the California Institute of Technology, which implemented a five-year moratorium on the standardized test score requirements during the pandemic. Denise said she knows the school is not considering scores but she doesn’t want to limit her options elsewhere.
About 1.4 million students in the U.S. took the ACT this year, an increase from last year. However, the numbers have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Godwin said she doesn’t believe those numbers will ever fully recover, partly because of test-optional admission policies.
Of students who were tested, only 21% met benchmarks for success in college-level classes in all subjects. Research from the nonprofit shows students who meet those benchmarks have a 50% chance of earning a B or better and nearly a 75% chance of earning a C or better in corresponding courses.
USA – Voice of America
The United Auto Workers union significantly escalated its strikes against Detroit’s Big Three automakers Wednesday by going on strike against a major Ford truck plant in Louisville, Kentucky.
In a surprise move, the 8,700 members left their jobs at about 6:30 p.m. at the plant, which makes profitable heavy-duty F-Series pickup trucks and large SUVs.
UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement that the union has waited long enough, “but Ford hasn’t gotten the message” to bargain for a fair contract.
Ford called the strike expansion “grossly irresponsible” but said it wasn’t surprising given the UAW leadership’s statements that it wanted to keep Detroit automakers hobbled with “industrial chaos.”
The UAW began striking against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis on Sept. 15, with one assembly plant from each company. The next week, the union expanded the strike to 38 GM and Stellantis parts warehouses. Assembly plants from Ford and GM were added the week after that. All told, about 25,000 workers have walked off their jobs at the three automakers.
Thus far, the union has decided to target a small number of plants from each company rather than have all 146,000 UAW members at the automakers go on strike at the same time.
Last week, the union reported progress in the talks and decided not to add any more plants. This came after GM agreed to bring joint-venture electric vehicle battery factories into the national master contract, almost assuring that the plants will be unionized.
Battery plants are a major point of contention in the negotiations. The UAW wants those plants to be unionized to assure jobs and top wages for workers who will be displaced by the industry’s ongoing transition to electric vehicles.
Since the start of the strike, the three Detroit automakers have laid off roughly 4,800 workers at factories that are not among the plants that have been hit by the UAW strikes.
The companies say the strikes have forced them to impose those layoffs. They note that the job cuts have occurred mainly at factories that make parts for assembly plants that were closed by strikes. In one case, layoffs have been imposed at a factory that uses supplies from a parts factory on strike.
The UAW rejects that argument. It contends that the layoffs are unjustified and were imposed as part of the companies’ pressure campaign to persuade UAW members to accept less favorable terms in negotiations with automakers. The factories that have been affected by layoffs are in six states: Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Indiana and New York.
Sam Fiorani, an analyst with AutoForecast Solutions, a consulting firm, said he thinks the layoffs reflect a simple reality: The automakers are losing money because of the strikes. By slowing or idling factories that are running below their capacities because of strike-related parts shortages, Fiorani said, the companies can mitigate further losses.
“It doesn’t make sense to keep running at 30% or 40% of capacity when it normally runs at 100%,” he said. “We’re not looking at huge numbers of workers relative to the ones actually being struck. But there is fallout.”
In a statement, Bryce Currie, vice president of Americas Manufacturing, at Ford, said, “While we are doing what we can to avoid layoffs, we have no choice but to reduce production of parts that would be destined for a plant that is on strike.”
Fain countered in a statement that the automakers were using layoffs to pressure the union into settling the strike. With billions in profits, Fain argued, the companies don’t have to lay off a single employee.
Striking workers are receiving $500 a week from the union’s strike pay fund. By contrast, anyone who is laid off would qualify for state unemployment aid, which, depending on a variety of circumstances, could be less or more than $500 a week.
“Their plan won’t work,” Fain said. “The UAW will make sure any worker laid off in the Big Three’s latest attack will not go without an income.”
Fiorani said that if the strike widens, more workers will likely be laid off at non-striking plants. Once metal stamping factories that supply multiple assembly plants have produced enough parts for non-striking facilities, the companies would likely shut them down.
“Once you’ve filled up the stocks for the other plants you supply,” he said, “you have to lay off the workers and wait out the strike.”
Separate companies that manufacture parts for the automakers are likely to have laid off workers but might not report them publicly, said Patrick Anderson, CEO of the Anderson Economic Group in Lansing, Michigan.
A survey of parts supply companies by a trade association called MEMA Original Equipment Suppliers found that 30% of members have laid off workers, and that more than 60% expect to start layoffs in mid-October.
Fiorani said that while larger parts suppliers can likely withstand the strike, smaller companies that make parts for the bigger companies might not have enough cash or the ability to borrow to outlast the job actions. Some, he said, may have a couple dozen workers “and don’t have billions in value to use as collateral in loans,” he said.
USA – Voice of America
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel in a show of solidarity and support as the country responds to devastating cross-border attacks by the militant group Hamas. Blinken is meeting with senior Israeli officials to inquire what Israel needs as it seeks to free hostages held by Hamas, regain control of its border with Gaza and destroy Hamas’ operational capacity. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. Warning: This video contains graphic images.
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The Representative from Louisiana has quickly risen through the ranks of House Republicans.
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Semiconductors are looking undervalued, thanks to the selloff in some parts of the sector, according to Morningstar. The research firm said in a report released on Oct. 11 that it views semiconductor stocks as 15% undervalued on a median price or fair value estimate basis as of Oct. 3. That’s even more undervalued than the wider tech sector, which it believes is 5% undervalued. Morningstar noted such stocks have sold off a little in September, especially in analog and mixed signal names — two types of chips in the semiconductor industry — and even in artificial intelligence chipmakers. It noted Nvidia was down 10% for the month. Still, Morningstar remains positive on semiconductors, especially when it comes to the artificial intelligence trend. “There is no bigger story in semis in 2023 than the massive rise in revenue in AI accelerators, led by Nvidia’s data center GPU business,” said Morningstar’s director of technology equity research Brian Colello and associate equity analyst Jack Keegan. “We see the world’s leading cloud computing providers racing to buy enough GPUs to run generative AI for themselves and their customers, and we don’t see this demand slowing anytime soon,” they wrote. The outlook is bright regardless of how the economy does, Morningstar said. “If the global economy remains strong, we expect companies to invest in generative AI,” it said. “If the economy weakens, we expect companies to invest because of the potential efficiencies gained by implementing AI.” Outside the AI sector, the firm also likes autos, expecting more chips to be used in cars, especially electric vehicles, in the years to come. Top picks Short-term selloffs in analog and mixed signal chip stocks are “often good times” to buy this subsector, as it has many businesses “that can weather any looming storm,” said Morningstar. The firm’s top picks in this subsector are Infineon Technologies and NXP Semiconductors . Morningstar said it’s particularly bullish about Infineon’s opportunities in autos, which make up over 40% of its revenue. “[Infineon] should be well positioned to aid in automotive powertrain development over the next decade,” said Morningstar. It also likes NXP’s exposure to the automotive end market — where it gets 50% of its revenue. It described NXP as being “well diversified” in autos, and set to gain its fair share in electrification and safety auto products, such as radar and battery management systems. “Overall, NXP’s auto business is well tied to the secular tailwinds of rising chip content per vehicle, and we think the market is too focused on a near-term slowdown in demand,” Morningstar said. In other subsectors, it named Taiwanese stock MediaTek , which produces chips for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, wireless communications and others. It said MediaTek is trading at a “steep discount” to its fair value estimate of 1,400 New Taiwan dollars ($43.6). Currently, its stock is trading at NT$814. “We think short-term worries about MediaTek ceding smartphone chipset market share to Qualcomm provide ample entry opportunity, as MediaTek still has plenty of headroom to expand its product portfolio on midrange to high-end 5G smartphones,” Morningstar analysts wrote. Finally, Morningstar named Skyworks Solutions , saying its radio frequency products — which have enabled the adoption of 4G and 5G mobile networks — will remain essential as an increasing number of 5G phones enter the market. That will enable the company to achieve high single-digit long term revenue growth, Morningstar said.
USA – Voice of America
It has been 25 years since the body of Matthew Shepard was discovered in Laramie, Wyoming. The gay college student had been tied to a fence post, tortured, and left to die.
The murder drew national attention to violence against gay people, and attracted the interest of theater director Moises Kaufman, who turned the horror into art with “The Laramie Project.”
This 25th anniversary has triggered deep sadness for Kaufman, founder and artistic director of the New York-based Tectonic Theater Project. He wonders about all the things Shepard could have become.
“Every year around this time, it’s painful to remember, but this one has hit particularly hard,” Kaufman told Theh Associated Press.
After Shepard’s 1998 killing, Kaufman and members of Tectonic traveled to Laramie and wrote the play based on more than 200 interviews. “The Laramie Project” is a poignant mix of real news reports and actors portraying friends, family, police officers, killers and other Laramie residents.
This week, Tectonic is marking the anniversary by gathering the original cast and creators, and some of the people represented in the piece for a staged reading and conversation as part of the 2023 Shepard Symposium at the University of Wyoming.
“The Laramie Project,” one of the most frequently performed plays in high schools, has been performed in more than 20 countries and translated into more than 13 languages. It is among the top 10 most licensed plays in America.
“Precisely because it wasn’t about Matthew Shepard, precisely because it was about the town of Laramie is why it continues to resonate,” said Kaufman.
“We were hoping that it wouldn’t be relevant anymore. But it is every day more relevant. Hate crimes all over our nation are at much higher rates than they were when Matthew Shepard was killed.”
He pointed to an increase in anti-Asian incidents since the pandemic began, and assaults on transgender and gender-nonconforming people.
In 2009, Kaufman was on hand as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed by then-President Barack Obama. The act expanded the 1969 federal hate-crime law to include crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
“The Laramie Project” has consistently been the subject of pushback by some conservative school districts, and this year faces banishment from Florida stages due to what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Elsewhere, theater creators across the nation say school censorship is getting worse, particularly around material with LGBTQ+ themes. Cardinal High School in Middlefield, Ohio, canceled a production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” due to content issues.
Kaufman is also alarmed that the Lansing Board of Education in Kansas voted to remove the script of “The Laramie Project” from the school curriculum.
“There has always been — since the inception — a couple of theaters every year where the board of the school says no. All right. But this last year was the first time that the book itself was banned from a classroom.”
Kaufman has always been cheered by the students who find a way to perform the play despite barriers, becoming what he calls artist-activists. “My belief is that the best art occurs at the intersection of the personal and the political,” he said.
A confrontational blogger known as “Turtleboy” was charged Wednesday with witness intimidation and conspiracy related to a criminal case against a woman accused of running over and killing her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, with her vehicle.
Aidan Timothy Kearney wore a hoody emblazoned with the message “Free Karen Read” when he was led handcuffed into a courthouse to be arraigned on multiple counts of intimidation of a witness, juror or law enforcement official, and a single count of conspiracy.
Kearney, who pleaded not guilty, was released on personal recognizance — with a requirement that he not have contact with people tied to Read’s murder case.
MANHUNT UNDERWAY FOR THIRD SUSPECT IN MASSACHUSETTS SHOOTING THAT LED TO DEATH OF BABY
Saying his client “vehemently denies” the accusations, Kearney’s lawyer told the judge Wednesday that Kearney’s opinions were protected by the First Amendment.
Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney has been charged with witness intimidation over his conduct regarding a Massachusetts homicide case.
The charges in Stoughton District Court stemmed from Kearney’s advocacy on behalf of Read, who’s accused of running over her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, and leaving him unconscious on the lawn of a home in Canton, southwest of Boston, in January 2022. Read is charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while impaired and leaving the scene of an accident.
MASSACHUSETTS WOMAN WHO CALLED IN A FAKE BOMB THREAT AT BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL PLEADS GUILTY
The case has spun off conspiracy theories on social media and Read’s attorney alleged there was a coverup involving local and state police.
On Wednesday, Fall River attorney Kenneth Mello, the special prosecutor appointed to look into Kearney’s actions, read aloud messages Kearney allegedly sent to witnesses and investigators, saying they were aimed at harassing, threatening and intimidating. He also said Kearney received material from a police dispatcher who illegally accessed a motor vehicle database.
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In August, District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey took the unusual step of releasing a video statement in which he condemned “absolutely baseless” harassment and vilification of witnesses in the matter. “Innuendo is not evidence,” he said.
CNN
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The US government is in discussions with partner countries, including Egypt and Israel, about ensuring safe passage for Americans and other civilians out of Gaza, US officials said.
However, according to one US official, Egypt wants to use a humanitarian corridor to send food and medical supplies into Gaza but doesn’t want to open the border in the other direction to accept civilians who are fleeing.
Discussions about establishing a humanitarian corridor are “ongoing,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday prior to departing for Israel.
“We’re talking to Israel about that. We’re talking to Egypt about that. It’s an ongoing conversation. I can’t get into the details,” Blinken said in a brief news conference on the ramp at Joint Base Andrews.
The top US diplomat noted it was “understandably complicated.”
“We want to make sure to the best of our ability – and I know Israel wants to make sure to the best of its ability – that civilians are not harmed. But Israel has to take steps to defend itself. It has to make sure that any ongoing threat is dealt with, and I believe it has to make sure that, going forward, what happened doesn’t happen again,” he said.
A senior Israeli official told CNN that talks are “underway” to allow US citizens and Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip to exit the territory into Egypt ahead of any land invasion of the territory by Israeli forces.
The official with knowledge of the negotiations told CNN’s Matthew Chance Wednesday that under the proposal being discussed, all US citizens would be permitted to pass through the Rafah border crossing if they present their US passports, while the movement of other Palestinian civilians would be limited to 2,000 people a day.
Final approval of the arrangement would need to come from the Egyptians, who control the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, but the Israeli official said it was “in Israel’s interests” for as many Palestinians as possible to leave Gaza.
Pressure is mounting to establish a humanitarian corridor as Americans in Gaza, who spoke with CNN, have expressed fear and frustration about the situation, feeling that they are trapped without any safe route out of the region that is being heavily bombarded by Israeli forces. They have told CNN that they do not feel the US government has been able to help them. There were reports that the only route of Gaza – via Egypt – was closed Tuesday due to strikes, and the threat of an Israeli ground incursion is looming.
“We do think it’s important that American citizens who are in Gaza be allowed to leave and it’s an issue that we are working on,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on “CNN This Morning” Wednesday.
“We’re doing that quietly, like a lot of the diplomatic efforts we undertake. It’s not something that is productive to speak about publicly, but we do it is something we’re trying to achieve,” Miller added.
On Tuesday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the matter was “something also that we have been discussing with our counterparts in Israel and with our counterparts in Egypt.”
“And without getting into the specifics of safe passage for civilians and so forth, I will say it’s something that the US government is seized within supporting how we do that operationally,” he said.
Neither Sullivan nor Miller gave any timeline of when such a safe passage could be operational.
Sullivan has spoken over the past several days with Abbas Kamel, the Egyptian spy chief, and officials expect President Joe Biden to speak at some point with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
“It is our top priority to protect the safety and security of Americans overseas,” Miller said Wednesday. “I will also say, as the president said yesterday, we don’t want to see civilian deaths anywhere. We want to see civilians protected. We want to see civilians not targeted. We expect Israel to follow the laws of war.”
USA – Voice of America
The Republic of Palau is one of three Pacific Island nations negotiating a Compact of Free Association Agreement that would give Washington the right to deny access to other nations — including China — in exchange for U.S. economic assistance.
Palau is in line to receive $90 million if and when Congress approves an extension of its current 20-year compact, which expires next year. The country ran on a total budget of less than $150 million in fiscal year 2021, according to Palau government documents.
VOA spoke to Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. days after the U.S. Congress passed a continuing resolution that avoided a U.S. government shutdown but failed to provide the funding for this strategic island chain.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity:
VOA: When you ran for office in 2020, you promised to be tough on China. What have you done to fulfill that promise?
Whipps: One of our goals is to build a more resilient economy that’s not so dependent on one partner, and especially a partner that’s sometimes unfriendly. So, we’ve worked with the United States to conclude our Compact of Free Association Agreement, which was really critical. Our Congress ratified it in July, and we were hoping that on October 1, the U.S. Congress would do the same, because that’s when it’s supposed to be implemented.
VOA: Palau has continued to recognize Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. What has that cost Palau?
Whipps: From 2016 to 2019, right before COVID, our tourism numbers from China dropped by more than 50%. We were blocked out of any type of marketing in the PRC because we continued to recognize Taiwan. [Tourism] is such a large part of our GDP. When they cut back, [our GDP] dropped by over 30%. In the U.S., that would be more severe than the Great Depression.
VOA: Palau’s government faces a budget shortfall of $37 million. How do you plan to address that?
Whipps: For the past three years, because tourism hasn’t recovered, we have been forced to get loans from the Asian Development Bank, financing government to keep it going, to keep workers going. This year’s budget was totally dependent on our agreement under the compact, because under the compact agreement, we would be receiving $90 million this year. Fifty million of that goes into the trust fund, but the other $40 million goes into paying off debts and economic assistance.
VOA: Would Palau have become solvent on October 1 if you had received that money?
Whipps: Absolutely.
VOA: The continuing resolution didn’t give you any extension. What was your reaction when you realized that?
Whipps: I think the most important image that it projects on Palau and the people of Palau is, when the U.S. commits to something, are they really committed?
VOA: When will Palau no longer be able to pay its bills?
Whipps: January 1.
VOA: The number we’re talking about here, over 20 years, is around $7 billion for all three compact states. Is this a good deal for American taxpayers in your view?
Whipps: For Palau, that’s $890 million. We didn’t believe that our value is truly realized by the United States. However, we understand that we have to have some compromise, and we have to move forward.
VOA: Palau is approximately 2,300 kilometers from Taiwan, right?
Whipps: Correct. We understand our strategic importance, but we also understand the value of democracy and freedom, and the rule of law. And we understand how we need to be a partner in ensuring peace and stability in the region. That peace will bring prosperity to all, and we need to work together and ensure that.
VOA: How much pressure are you under to prove that this U.S. partnership is worth it for Palauans?
Whipps: It’s a constant battle. I’ll just give you an example. There’s a new radar base being built in Palau. There’s been increased military exercises. So, one of the things [some people are saying] is, ‘Oh the president is inviting the military, and now we’re a target for China.’ It’s constant. And that’s why it’s so important that we fulfill our commitments, that we show solidarity.
VOA: What is your message to the U.S. Congress and the Biden administration?
Whipps: Thank you for the last almost 80 years of partnership. Palau is a free nation because of the 28,000 service men who, during World War II, helped Palau become an independent nation and a free nation. And that’s something that Palauan people don’t forget. We value that freedom, and we want to maintain that freedom. And let’s continue to work together, because we are stronger together and let’s not that malign influence infiltrate.
