Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

Apple Withholding Benefits

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Apple’s first unionized workers say the company is withholding new benefits

Organizers at Apple’s first unionized store in the US say the company is withholding details about the benefits it’s giving other workers and spreading ‘misinformation’

Organizers at Apple’s Towson Town Center store in Maryland claim that the company isn’t telling the whole truth when it comes to withholding benefits from workers at the location. As the company’s first retail location to unionize in the US pushes to negotiate a contract, workers say it’s making it difficult for them to bargain for their benefits.

In a letter addressed to Tim Cook, the negotiating committee says they’re disappointed to learn the company won’t be offering workers at the location some new health and education benefits that are rolling out to other retail employees. The union also says that Apple has been spreading “misinformation” by saying workers would have to bargain for those benefits to be included in their contract.  READ MORE...

Tokyo

 

Alien Spacecrafts in our Solar System

This might be a little out there.

Alien-hunting Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb is back again, armed with new, not-yet-peer-reviewed research. This time, Loeb ups the ante by claiming it's possible that there's — get this — four quintillion alien spacecraft lurking in our solar system. That'd be, uh, a lot of flying saucers.

The study, spotted by the Daily Beast, is a follow up on the first discovery of an interstellar object to visit our solar system, dubbed 'Oumuamua, back in 2017. By all accounts, 'Oumuamua was a very weird object, the nature of which scientists are still hotly debating. Speculated to be cigar-shaped, it sparked tons of debate on whether it was an extraterrestrial visitor.

Loeb isn't outright saying 'Oumuamua was aliens per se, but he is saying we should be open to that possibility. In light of that outlook, he's basically asking what "respectable" scientists would never deign to: how many possible 'Oumuamuas could there be in our solar system that go unnoticed?  READ MORE...

Under Waterfall

 

Duck Walking

 

Democrat Assaulted In HOME

Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was "violently assaulted" by someone who broke into his San Francisco home early Friday, according to her spokesperson.

The suspect is in custody, her spokesperson, Drew Hammill, said in a statement.

Paul Pelosi, 82, is in the hospital and "is expected to make a full recovery," Hammill said.

Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C., with her protective detail at the time, according to the Capitol Police.

The motive is under investigation, Hammill said.

The Capitol Police, FBI and San Francisco Police Department are all involved in the investigation. The San Francisco District Attorney's Office said the case will be handled locally. Charges are forthcoming but have not yet been filed, the district attorney's office said.

"The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time," Hammill added.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Water Sleeping

Advertisers to Boycott Twitter

Advertisers plan to boycott Twitter if Elon Musk allows Donald Trump back on the platform after he took control on Thursday night, The Wall Street Journal reported.

After paying $44 billion to close the deal he tried to walk away from, Musk swiftly fired four top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal and finance chief Ned Segal.

Advertisers are now weighing in as concerns over former President Donald Trump being reinstated grow.

Kieley Taylor, the global head of partnerships at advertising agency GroupM, told The Journal that letting Trump tweet again would be a red line for some major brands.  READ MORE...

Cats Playing

Let The Good TImes Roll

Elon Musk shrugged off naysayers on Friday morning, excitedly tweeting 'let the good times roll' after officially taking over at Twitter and firing three senior executives.

Within hours of taking the keys, Musk fired CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and top counsel Vijaya Gadde - the woman responsible for banning President Trump after the January 6 riots.

Photos show Musk chatting casually with Gadde and other employees at the HQ's coffee bar, hours before the gauntlet came down.

Gadde, widely considered the 'head of censorship' at Twitter, had been vocal in her criticism of Musk; she cried during a meeting in April after he first announced plans to buy the company.

Musk had publicly slammed her for squashing links to stories about Hunter Biden's incriminating laptop before the 2020 election.

She walked away with a sizeable payout - a total of $72million in stocks that she owned, salary and benefits and stocks that had not yet vested when she was in her position but which are now paid out as part of the deal.  READ MORE...

It's Mine

 

A Long Haul

 

Biden, Harris to Help Fetterman

Democrats are betting that President Biden and Vice President Harris can put Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman over the top despite a faltering debate performance that has operatives more worried than ever they could lose the pivotal race.

Biden and Harris will head to Philadelphia to campaign together on Friday, a rare occurrence for the duo who typically don’t travel alongside one another.

With less than two weeks till Election Day, Biden and Harris are set to participate in a reception for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

“It’s always helpful to have the two leaders of the party out there in the final push,” one Democratic strategist said of the joint appearance. “Is it risky? Maybe. But it sends a powerful message in a really important race.”  READ MORE...

Road Trip

Twitter Accounts Deleted

Billionaire Elon Musk bizarrely arrived at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters carrying a kitchen sink ahead of closing his $44bn deal to purchase the micro-blogging site.

“Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” the Tesla CEO tweeted.

Mr Musk changed his Twitter profile to refer to himself as “Chief Twit” and his location as Twitter headquarters.

A court has given him until Friday to close his April agreement to acquire the company after he earlier tried to back out of the deal.

Mr Musk, the world's richest person, agreed to buy the company for $54.20 a share in April, but by July had indicated that he had changed his mind, citing bot and spam issues.

He renewed his attempt to acquire the company earlier this month.

Mr Musk reportedly told Twitter employees during his visit that he does not plan to cut 75 per cent of the staff after acquiring the company.  READ MORE...

Dog Jump

US Economy Rebounds

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The US economy rebounded in the third quarter after contracting for the first six months of this year, as a narrowing trade deficit concealed weakening consumer demand. 

Gross domestic product increased by 2.6 per cent on an annualised basis between July and September, surpassing economists’ expectations and marking a sharp reversal from the 0.6 per cent drop in the second quarter of 2022 and the 1.6 per cent decline registered in the first three months of the year. 

The expansion in the third quarter was propelled by a narrowing of the trade deficit, as ebbing consumer demand damped imports while exports rose. That comes despite a widening of the deficit for goods in September as the strong US dollar weighed on exports. 

Consumer spending advanced just 1.4 per cent, far slower than the previous period, in a sign that the economy is beginning to slow.  READ MORE...

Through the Woods

 

Dreaming

 

Germany To Legalize Cannabis

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany on Wednesday set out plans to legalise cannabis, in a move promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government that would make it one of the first countries in Europe to make weed legal.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented a cornerstone paper on planned legislation to regulate the controlled distribution and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes among adults.

Acquiring and possessing up to 20 to 30 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption would also be made legal.

The coalition government struck an agreement last year to introduce legislation during its four-year term to allow the controlled distribution of cannabis in licensed shops.  READ MORE...

Bird Bath

Mortgage Demand Drops

• Sharply higher mortgage rates caused mortgage demand to drop to the lowest level since 1997.
• Mortgage rates fell slightly to start this week, but are still well over 7% after starting the year at around 3%.
• Home prices are still higher than they were last year, but the increases are slowing down

A house’s real estate for sale sign is seen in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, November 19, 2020.  Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

Mortgage demand fell last week to nearly half what it was a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as rates hit their highest level in 21 years.

Overall, demand for mortgages is at the lowest level since 1997.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home dropped 2% from the prior week and were 42% lower than the same week in 2021. The annual comparison continues to jump each week, as fewer buyers either want or can afford to get into this very pricey housing market.

Applications to refinance a home loan fell just 0.1% for the week, but only because they were so low to begin with – down 86% from a year ago. There are currently fewer than 150,000 qualified borrowers who could benefit from a refinance at today’s rates, according to Black Knight.  READ MORE...

Quicksand

Fetterman Raises Money After Debate

Democratic Pennsylvania Senate nominee John Fetterman raised more than $1 million following Tuesday night’s debate with Republican Mehmet Oz, according to Fetterman’s campaign.

The campaign said it raised the amount during the three hours between the debate’s conclusion at 9 p.m. and midnight.

The two candidates sparred over a number of top issues, like the economy and abortion, in the state’s first and only Senate debate.

The closely watched event, which was held two weeks before the election, also drew attention to Fetterman’s ongoing recovery from a stroke earlier this year, a matter that the Oz campaign has mocked at times. Fetterman’s challenges communicating were on full display during the debate, with the Democrat calling it the “elephant in the room.”  READ MORE...

Dogs in the Window

 

Climbing Kitten

 

Changing Brain Structure to Fight Depression

Decades of reinforcing neural connections can make the adult brain stubbornly resistant to rapid changes. Should our brain's structure trap us in cycles of dark moods and thoughts, disorders like chronic depression can be extremely hard to shake.

According to new research, some patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) can have their brains 'rewired' within weeks, given the right treatment.

Anti-depressants, behavioral therapy, and electroconvulsive therapy don't work for everybody with MDD, but scientists in Germany claim these treatments have the power to change brain structures. How long those changes last remains to be determined.

People who experience MDD often have trouble regulating negative emotions and their physiological responses to stress. Under such heavy conditions, enjoying even the most pleasant activities in life can feel burdensome.

In the past, brain imaging studies have found serious depression is associated with changes in the volume of gray matter (made up of neuron bodies) and white matter (made up of nerve fibers). It's also associated with increases in amygdala activity, which influences emotional experiences; shrinkage in the hippocampus, which plays a major role in long-term learning and memory; and shrinkage in the basal ganglia, which helps process emotions.  READ MORE...

Waterslide

Young Professionals Leaving California and New York

Young professionals who make more than $100,000 have started to flee California and New York, and the prices that go with them.

Instead, they’re going home, according to a study done by SmartAsset. In fact, analysis by the Census Bureau and Harvard University earlier this year found that 80% of young adults now live less than 100 miles from where they grew up.

Looking at adults under 35 who earn $100,000-plus per year, SmartAsset examined the inflow and outflow of wealthy young professionals from state to state between 2019 and 2020: 

Where did they leave? 

And where did they go?

It’s time to cue up the map app and take a closer look.

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Texas
In 2019-2020, Texas ranked the most popular destination. Roughly 15,000 came into the state and only about 11,200 left for a net inflow of about 3,800, according to SmartAsset.  READ MORE...