America on strike

More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers began striking Wednesday morning in the largest US healthcare walkout in history. The three-day action could stall services for almost 13 million people in at least half a dozen states and is expected to shut down nonessential services. Kaiser Permanente is one of America’s largest health-care providers, operating 39 hospitals nationwide. The strike further expands a months-long series of labor demonstrations across the US, most recently in Hollywood and most famously among auto workers. The issues at the heart of this latest strike are pay and staffing, with the union arguing there are not enough workers to handle patient care. Since the pandemic, the number of healthcare vacancies has soared as burned out workers quit. —Margaret Sutherlin

The race to be the next Speaker of the US House of Representatives began in earnest Wednesday after far-right Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy. Second-ranking House Republican leader Steve Scalise said he would run for the post, making him a leading contender as the GOP searches for a replacement. He joins far-right Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, who chairs one of three committees behind the controversial impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. The chaos in the perpetually dysfunctional House has raised the specter of a potential government shutdown in November.

Ten-year Treasury yields fell after a report showed the US job market could be slowing down. Those yields had touched 4.88% during Asia trading. If the US labor market slows, it could mean the Federal Reserve won’t raise interest rates again in 2023. Then again, on Tuesday the latest job openings data was looking good, which may mean the central bank will leave rates higher for longer. What will Thursday bring? Here’s your markets wrap.

Sam Bankman-Fried “lied to the world” as he built his cryptocurrency empire at FTX, telling only his friends and girlfriend the truth about what was happening, prosecutors said on the first day of his fraud trial. The former CEO and co-founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bankman-Fried faces allegations he defrauded customers and investors of billions of dollars to fund his lifestyle. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said their client simply “didn’t defraud anyone.” The five most serious charges Bankman-Fried faces come with a maximum of 20 years in prison if he’s convicted. Here are the key people to watch in the case.

US mortgage rates hit a two decade high, topping 7.5% for the first time since November 2000. Applications tumbled to new lows as higher mortgage rates and elevated home prices contribute to one of the most unaffordable housing markets on record.

India’s latest media crackdown has put Washington between a rock and a hard place. Police arrested the editor-in-chief of online newspaper NewsClick Tuesday, citing the outlet’s ties to China, which it denies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been targeting independent media since he took office in 2014. The White House has counted on India and Modi to help counter China, while also balancing human rights demands.

The $25 trillion in global trade is being managed on four billion pieces of physical paper. It is a system that has barely changed since the nineteenth century—and with almost $50 billion in fraudulent transactions estimated each year, it’s become a vulnerability for companies. So what’s preventing the shift to a digital world?

Morocco, Portugal and Spain will jointly host the FIFA World Cup in 2030. The participation of Morocco signals the first time that matches in the most famous international football competition will be held in North Africa.

Tyler Perry qualifies as a member of the Hollywood elite. His personal net worth is estimated at more than $1 billion. His movies and TV shows are blockbusters. But you won’t find his empire in Hollywood. Instead Perry calls Atlanta home, and he’s helped turn the city into a major hub for film and TV production. On busy days as many as 5,000 people work inside his studio complex, located on a former Army base in an historically Black neighborhood. His plans for the area are extensive—and a major economic boon for the city.

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