2: Rep. Matt Gaetz, a hardline Republican, launched a bid late Monday to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The two men have been at odds for months, and Gaetz vowed to move against the Speaker after he passed a stopgap spending bill over the weekend, with help from Democrats, to avoid a government shutdown. The House has two days to vote on the measure.
0: For the first time in half a century, there will soon be zero panda bears in the United States. In 1972, as part of Beijing’s “Panda Diplomacy,” Mao Zedong gifted two of the famously frolicsome bears to the US as part of President Richard Nixon’s historic opening to China. (A coup of zoological diplomacy: The US sent two “musk oxen” in return.) Ever since, US zoos have periodically renewed contracts with Beijing to keep pandas, which are native to China. Now all remaining agreements will lapse by the end of next year.
11: The UK will raise the national minimum wage to £11 per hour (up from £10.42), beginning next April. The move is meant to combat a cost of living crisis brought on by the combination of Brexit, the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. The government says about 2 million people will enjoy the higher pay. The minimum wage was last bumped up in April 2023.
1,000: More than 1,000 people in Bangladesh have died of dengue fever this year in the southeast Asian nation’s worst outbreak on record. Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral illness found in many tropical and subtropical regions. The WHO warned earlier this year that global reported cases could hit record highs, driven in part by global warming — which prolongs breeding seasons for mosquitos — as well as recurrent weather patterns like El Niño.
In this episode of ask ian, Ian Bremmer explains why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky enters his latest White House meeting with President Trump in a stronger position than he did just a few months ago.
Competitive pay. 401(k) contributions upon employment and 6% company match once eligible. Up to 16 weeks of combined paid maternity and parental leave. These benefits and more inspire generations – Daidrian’s 18-year Walmart journey motivated her son Jonothan to launch his own career as a Walmart associate. Learn more.
US consumers have spent nearly $74 billion more on gasoline and diesel since the war in Iran began in February
Last week, Microsoft joined more than 100 companies to publish an open letter on the importance of open-weight AI models in expanding access to AI and giving organizations greater control over the technology they use. The paper draws parallels to the open-source software movement, positioning open-weight models as an important foundation for a broad and competitive AI ecosystem while emphasizing the need for responsible safeguards. Read the letter here.