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More than 3,000 striking Boeing defense workers will vote Thursday on a revised contract proposal that comes closer to their demands.Boeing’s latest offer — which has been endorsed by IAM District 837 union leaders behind the strike — includes an upfront “ratification bonus” of $6,000. If accepted, striking workers in the midwestern states of Missouri and Illinois would return to work after walking off the job on August 4.The offer replaces the prior proposal of a $3,000 signing bonus plus $3,000 in restricted stock. The earlier contract, which was narrowly rejected by workers on October 26, also included a $1,000 “retention bonus” in year four that has been dropped in the latest version.Boeing has said previously it was recruiting replacement workers for striking staff, and while the company is proceeding with that plan, it confirmed that workers would still have a job if they ratified the latest contract.”We will guarantee that all IAM 837 members will be returned to work if this offer is ratified. No one would be displaced,” said a statement released by Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security. “This is not something we will be able to guarantee moving forward.”- Union leaders back offer -Union leaders with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had pressed for a higher bonus more in line with the one achieved by IAM members in the Pacific Northwest last November, following a strike that lasted more than seven weeks.In that dispute, Seattle-area IAM members won a signing bonus of $12,000 following a strike that lasted more than seven weeks. The Seattle strike shuttered two major Boeing commercial airline manufacturing plants.IAM representatives recognized that they were unlikely to garner a $12,000 bonus for midwestern workers in light of the higher cost of living in the Seattle region compared with St. Louis, leading union representatives to push for $10,000 at one point in the negotiations.But IAM District 837 leaders have backed the latest proposal from Boeing, saying in a message to members it “recommends acceptance of the offer” in light of the shift on the bonus proposal to a $6,000 up-front payment.”If ratified, return-to-work would begin with the third shift on Sunday, Nov. 16,” the IAM message said.The Boeing machinists work on F-15 and F-18 combat aircraft, the T-7 Red Hawk Advanced Pilot Training System and MQ-25 unmanned aircraft in factories in Missouri and Illinois.

Jeffrey Epstein suggested Donald Trump knew about the disgraced financier’s abuse and “spent hours” with one of the victims at his house, according to emails released by Democrats Wednesday that raised awkward new questions for the US president.Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the sex-trafficking activities of his former friend — who died by suicide in 2019 while in prison awaiting trial — and accused Democrats of trying to “deflect” from their own failings.But the scandal has proved tough for Trump to shake, and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the three new emails “raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes.”The pressure on Trump grew later Wednesday, when Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would hold a vote next week on a bid to force the Justice Department to release the remaining Epstein files.In an April 2011 message to longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein asserts Trump spent significant time with a woman whom the White House later identified as Epstein’s main accuser, Virgina Giuffre.”I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump,” wrote Epstein. He added that the victim “spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned.”Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking after Epstein’s death, replied: “I have been thinking about that…”- ‘Of course he knew’ -In another email to the author Michael Wolff, dated January 31, 2019, Epstein allegedly wrote: “of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”Republicans later released a trove of thousands of emails, obtained after Democrats subpoenaed Epstein’s estate earlier this year, including one in which Epstein called Trump “dirty.”The Epstein furor is still roiling Trump’s administration more than four months after his Justice Department sought to close the case.Keen to capitalize on the simmering controversy, Democrats in the House have been trying to force a vote that would compel publication of the full Epstein case files.Trump urged Republicans not to fall into a “trap,” and top officials hosted hard-right Republican Lauren Boebert in the White House Situation Room to push her to keep her name off the petition.”The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done,” Trump said on Truth Social.But Boebert refused to back down, and the petition passed when Democratic congresswoman Adelita Grijalva was sworn-in after weeks of delay and immediately signed the petition.Johnson said the House vote on the files would take place next week, earlier than expected, as Republicans try to put the issue behind them.- MAGA base furious -The White House went into fightback mode, accusing Democrats of selectively leaking the messages to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.”Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Virginia Giuffre, who herself died by suicide in April, had declared that Trump “‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions.”The Epstein scandal has dogged Trump for months, after his Justice Department in a July memo reaffirmed he died by suicide, and that a “client list” Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed to have been reviewing did not in fact exist.It sparked a furious backlash from Trump’s “MAGA” support base, who felt betrayed after being told for years that a “deep state” cover-up was protecting figures in the Democratic Party whom they accused of being Epstein’s clients.Trump’s MAGA lieutenants — including two allies who now run the FBI — made careers of fanning the conspiracy theories, including that Epstein’s suicide was actually a murder ordered by his powerful clients.Trump’s ties to Epstein are extensive. The pair were pictured partying together during a 15-year friendship before they reportedly fell out in 2004 over a property deal, and when Trump subsequently denounced his former ally.

The United States pressed its final circulating penny on Wednesday, in a move made to save money as the one-cent coin denomination became less relevant over time.The last coin was struck in Philadelphia by US Treasurer Brandon Beach, officially ending the circulating penny’s 232-year production run.”While general production concludes today, the penny’s legacy lives on,” said acting Mint director Kristie McNally in a statement.For penny-pinchers — slang for frugal types — the coin will still remain legal tender, and there are around 300 billion pennies in circulation.The end of production comes after President Donald Trump called on the Treasury in February to stop producing pennies, presenting it as an effort to slash government spending.”For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at the time.The penny was first authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. Early on pennies were made of pure copper, but today’s coins are smaller and made of copper-plated zinc, giving the so-called red cent its rosy hue.In the past decade, the cost of making each coin rose from 1.42 cents to 3.69 cents, the Mint said Wednesday.Debates about the production cost of pennies are not new in the United States, and several efforts to end its production failed in Congress previously.

Spectacular displays of auroras at abnormally low latitudes were expected again Wednesday night into Thursday, a result of intense solar activity which also carries risks to communication networks.After kicking off earlier this week, the rare event could continue until Thursday, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).The phenomenon, which could be seen Wednesday night in the skies of New Zealand and Australia, is caused by massive ejections of solar particles from the Sun — known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — that trigger geomagnetic storms when they reach our planet.NOAA said a level 4 storm out of 5 occurred Tuesday, and that another CME’s arrival could mean a repeat again on Thursday.Skies as far south as Mexico lit up Tuesday night with faint pink and green glows, delighting many people who would normally have to travel much closer to the Earth’s poles to see such phenomena.Last year, a level 5 geomagnetic storm occurred for the first time in 20 years, resulting in similarly spectacular views of the Northern and Southern Lights.Strong solar storms however bring more than just stunning light displays — they can also disrupt communication systems and cause satellite malfunctions and power grid overloads.Due to risks from this week’s solar event, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space company, Blue Origin, was forced on Wednesday to once again postpone the launch of its New Glenn rocket.To see the aurorae, enthusiasts are advised to seek darker skies away from city lights and to bring a camera or smartphone, which could reveal the lights in long-exposure photos if they are not visible to the naked eye.

A US jury in the first civil trial over a fatal Boeing 737 MAX crash determined Wednesday that the aircraft manufacturing giant owes $28.45 million to the family of a newly-wed Indian victim.The case involves the survivors of Shikha Garg of New Delhi, who died in the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, one of two fatal MAX crashes that together claimed 346 lives.After about two hours of deliberation, a jury in federal court in Chicago returned with an award that included $10 million for grief, $10 million for Garg’s pain and suffering, and other compensation.”We happily accept the verdict. We came here for a jury trial and it’s absolutely acceptable,” Garg’s widower, Soumya Bhattacharya, told AFP.Boeing expressed regret about the deadly accidents.”We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302,” a Boeing spokesperson said.”While we have resolved the vast majority of these claims through settlements, families are also entitled to pursue their claims through damages trials in court, and we respect their right to do so.”Attorneys representing Bhattacharya had argued the estate should receive between $80 and $230 million, while Boeing’s counsel had proposed $11.95 million.The lawsuits stem from the March 10, 2019 flight that crashed six minutes after departing Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board.Garg’s was the first case to go to trial after Boeing reached dozens of other civil settlements in cases brought by family members from the Ethiopian Airlines crash and from the Lion Air 737 MAX crash in 2018.Boeing had accepted responsibility for the Ethiopian Airlines crash and acknowledged the need to pay damages to Garg’s survivors. But the trial weighed the sum, with Boeing’s attorney contesting testimony from a plaintiff witness on the extent that Garg suffered prior to dying. – Courtroom apology -During this closing argument, Boeing attorney Dan Webb stressed the company’s remorse, turning to Bhattacharya to express Boeing’s apology in court.Webb also told the jury that they must decide on one issue: fair and reasonable amount of damages. He added that the jury must not base their decision on sympathy, echoing trial instructions from Judge Jorge Alonso.”This trial for example does not involve damages punishing Boeing, this trial only has to do with compensation,” Webb said. “There is nothing in this case to punish Boeing and yet when I sat here and heard Mr. Specter asking for $80 to $230 million, that’s not fair and reasonable compensation. He is asking to punish Boeing.”Garg had been a consultant for the United Nations Development Program, and had been traveling to Nairobi for a UN Environment Assembly.She married three months earlier and had planned to travel with her husband, who canceled his flight at the last minute because of a meeting.In a closing statement, plaintiffs attorney Shanin Specter emphasized the loss of Garg’s potential when she died. He touched on Bhattacharya’s comments on the witness stand, when he described his late wife as a “brilliant” young professional studying renewable energy.”Part of Soumya’s grief is knowing that he doesn’t get to see her do that,” Specter said. “He doesn’t get to share that with her.”

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release on bond of hundreds of undocumented migrants arrested in Chicago in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.District Judge Jeffrey Cummings ordered the release of detainees who are not considered security risks while they await the outcome of their immigration proceedings.The judge’s order applies to migrants who were subject to warrantless arrests that took place without probable cause, according to the Chicago Tribune.The newspaper said the judge would allow detainees to be released on $1,500 bond with some form of monitoring, including electronic ankle bracelets.The detainees were among thousands of migrants arrested during immigration raids in the Chicago area dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.” Many of those taken into custody have already been deported or agreed to leave the country voluntarily.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) condemned the judge’s ruling in a post on X.”At every turn activist judges, sanctuary politicians, and violent rioters have actively tried to prevent our law enforcement officers from arresting and removing the worst of the worst,” DHS said.”Now an ACTIVIST JUDGE is putting the lives of Americans directly at risk by ordering 615 illegal aliens be released into the community.”The judge’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union which alleged the wave of migrant arrests were unlawful.The decision is the latest setback to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Chicago, America’s third-largest city.Trump has ordered hundreds of National Guard troops to the Democratic-run city to combat crime and aid immigration efforts but the deployment has been blocked by federal courts.The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court last month to lift the lower court rulings blocking the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago.The Republican president has sent National Guard troops to three Democratic-led cities this year — Los Angeles, Washington and Memphis — but his efforts to deploy soldiers in Portland and Chicago have been tied up in the courts.

California Governor Gavin Newsom says his Democratic Party is “back on its feet” after a string of election wins — and the way to make Americans care about global warming is to show how it affects their wallets.The 58-year-old leader of the Golden State spoke to AFP at the UN’s annual climate summit, held this year in Belem, a northern Brazilian city on the edge of the Amazon rainforest.Newsom has emerged as one of President Donald Trump’s fiercest foes during the Republican’s second term, matching Trump’s bombastic style on social media and raising his own national profile — though some critics see such tactics as a race to the bottom.Democrats were wiped out in last year’s national elections, which saw Trump return to power, but the party rallied in state and local contests earlier this month. Notably, charismatic progressive Zohran Mamdani won New York’s mayoral race, while Democrats also captured two key governorships.Asked whether the party now had momentum, Newsom replied: “The answer is unequivocal, yes,” citing state-level victories in the southern state of Georgia and the election of the first Democratic district attorney in a suburban Pennsylvania county as signs the shift runs deep.”This party’s back on its feet. We’re on our toes. We’re not on our heels,” he said in an interview with a small group of journalists. “It’s a very encouraging moment,” he added — though he expressed frustration that some Senate Democrats had joined Republicans to end a federal budget impasse without securing the concessions on containing health care costs they had sought.- Kitchen table politics – The tall, impeccably coiffed governor of the world’s fourth largest economy is widely seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender, though he has yet to make any announcement.He has been on a charm offensive at COP30, drawing a sharp contrast between the Trump administration’s absence from the talks — and its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement — and California’s own push to greenify its $4.1 trillion economy.Trump appears to have taken notice. In what was unlikely a coincidence, The New York Times reported Tuesday that the federal government plans to restart after roughly four decades offshore drilling along the California coast — a move Newsom vowed would happen “over our dead body.” Analysts have questioned whether energy companies would even be interested. Beyond pulling the US out of the landmark Paris deal to limit global warming, Trump’s Republicans have launched an all-out war on solar and wind energy at home, undoing clean energy tax credits that were the signature climate achievement of former president Joe Biden.Asked whether President Biden’s strategy of framing climate action as a job-creation issue was the best way to connect with voters, Newsom took a different tack.”Well, it’s a cost-of-living issue, it’s a kitchen-table issue,” he said, citing the insurance risks now plaguing states from Florida to New Jersey, as well as his own California, which suffered one of the worst wildfires in its history earlier this year.- An American COP? -Such disasters have plunged the homeowners’ insurance market into crisis, leaving residents facing steep rate hikes, canceled coverage, and long delays in receiving payments.Moreover, he added, “green energy is cheap energy” — echoing a talking point borne out by global data, even if the picture in California, which has high energy rates, is more complex.”If we start talking in those terms, I think we’ll be more effective,” he said.Asked whether a future Democratic administration would seek to host a COP summit — the earliest chance being 2031, when the Western bloc is in line — Newsom chuckled and said: “The Trump administration has not done a damn thing to earn it.””I’d be very eager, as governor, to encourage that,” he added, noting his own track record.As mayor of San Francisco, he hosted a UN environment day and the city now has a Climate Week. “But I’m not naive — right now, our status would be maybe one-half of one percent in terms of support.”

Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher Wednesday with the Dow climbing to a fresh record on hopes a US government shutdown would soon end, while oil prices fell sharply on oversupply worries.The Dow rose 0.7 percent to finish at 48,254.82, its first close above 48,000 as some market watchers pointed to a rotation to industrial names amid worries that artificial intelligence stocks are overvalued.The Nasdaq finished down for the second straight day.Traders broadly welcomed an expected congressional vote to reopen the government, after the longest shutdown in US history effectively stemmed the flow of official economic data and closed down vital services.The House of Representatives appeared likely to vote Wednesday on a spending bill to solve the budget standoff after eight Democrats broke ranks in the Senate to pass a short-term funding bill.Around 670,000 furloughed civil servants and a similar number who were kept at their posts with no compensation — including more than 60,000 air traffic controllers and airport security staff — will get back pay.Meanwhile, in Europe, Paris hit a new record and Frankfurt also rose after a mixed day on Asian markets.”The end of the shutdown is positive for financial markets as we should get a clear read on economic data in the next week or so,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.However, she said the prospect of a resumption of government services was fueling demand for “risk assets.”Oil prices tumbled after the monthly oil market report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries projected a jump in supply in the third quarter. In its November report, the group sees oversupply in this period after forecasting a deficit in its October report. Among individual companies, Advanced Micro Devices surged 9.0 percent after projecting greater than 35 percent revenue in annual compound growth rate amid the surge in AI investment.- Key figures at around 2110 GMT -New York – Dow:  UP 0.7 percent at 48,254.82 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 6,850.92 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 23,406.46 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,911.42 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 8,241.24 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 24,381.46 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 51,063.31 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 26,922.73 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,000.14 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1587 from $1.1582 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3129 from $1.3150Dollar/yen: UP at 154.80 yen from 154.16 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.25 pence from 88.07 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.2 percent at $58.49 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.8 percent at $62.71 per barrel

China believes the United States eventually will return to climate talks, the head of Beijing’s delegation told AFP Wednesday at the COP30 climate summit, adding the world must show that the green transition “cannot be reversed.”Cooperation between China and the United States, the world’s biggest economies and top polluters, has been key in the past to breaking deadlocks during negotiations at the annual UN climate talks.But President Donald Trump, who has pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, and his government have shunned this year’s conference in Belem, a city in the Brazilian Amazon.”Addressing climate change needs every country. We hope that some day, and we also believe that some day in the future, the US will come back,” Li Gao, who is also a deputy environment minister, told AFP.While Trump promotes fossil fuels and rolls back the green tech policies of his predecessor Joe Biden, China is installing more renewable energy sources and putting more electric vehicles on its roads than any other country.Li said China’s priority at COP30 is to support the Brazilian presidency “together with others to send out a very strong political signal that the green low-carbon transition cannot be reversed” and that “international cooperation cannot be reduced.””It is very important that parties here show political solidarity and commit to work together to address climate change and make sure this COP is an implementation COP,” he added.Li urged countries to “avoid the negative impact of, for example, geopolitical unilateralism or protectionism.”A major issue being discussed at the Conference of the Parties in Belem is how to provide money to help developing countries transition to green energy and adapt to climate change.The COP29 gathering in Baku last year ended with developed nations agreeing to provide $300 billion annually in climate finance to poorer countries by 2035, a figure criticized as way below what is needed to meet the challenge.They also set a much less specific target of helping raise $1.3 trillion annually from public and private sources.A report released by the heads of COP29 and Brazil’s COP30 presidency says the world has all the tools to reach the target.”We welcome the report for the $1.3 trillion, but we think it is crucial that developed countries fulfil the commitment for $300 billion, because it’s their responsibility,” Li said. 

Congress looked set Wednesday to end the longest government shutdown in US history — 43 days that paralyzed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of workers unpaid while Donald Trump’s Republicans and Democrats played a high-stakes blame game.The House of Representatives was expected to rubber-stamp a contentious Senate-passed funding package that will reopen federal agencies, as many Democrats fume over what they see as a capitulation by party leaders.”We believe the long national nightmare will be over tonight. It was completely and utterly foolish and pointless in the end, as we said all along,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters, pointing the finger for the standoff at the minority party.The package would fund military construction, veterans’ affairs, the Department of Agriculture and Congress itself through next fall, and the rest of government through the end of January.Around 670,000 furloughed civil servants will report back to work, and a similar number who were kept at their posts with no compensation — including more than 60,000 air traffic controllers and airport security staff — will get back pay.The deal also restores federal workers fired by Trump during the shutdown, while air travel that has been disrupted across the country will gradually return to normal.During a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, Trump broke off to take a victory lap over the shutdown ending.”We’re opening up our country — it should have never been closed,” said Trump, bucking presidential tradition by using a ceremonial event to score political points.Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president hoped to sign the bill ending the shutdown “later tonight.”Johnson and his Republicans — who have a two-vote margin and almost no room for error — are bracing for one or two rebels to balk at the terms.The deal appears likely to pass roughly along party lines, with Democratic leadership — furious over what they see as their Senate colleagues folding — urging members to vote no.- ‘Not backing away’ -Although polling showed the public mostly on Democrats’ side throughout the standoff, Republicans are widely seen as having done better from its conclusion.For more than five weeks, Democrats held firm on refusing to reopen the government unless Trump agreed to extend pandemic-era tax credits that made health insurance affordable for millions of Americans.Election victories in multiple states last week gave Democrats further encouragement and a reinvigorated sense of purpose.But a group of eight moderate Senate Democrats broke ranks to cut a deal with Republicans that offers a vote in the upper chamber on health care subsidies — but no floor time in the House and no guarantee of action.Democrats are now deep in a painful reckoning over how their tough stance crumbled without any notable win.Democratic leadership is arguing that — while their health care demands went largely unheard — they were able to shine the spotlight on an issue that they hope will power them to victory in the 2026 midterm elections.”Over the last several weeks, we have elevated successfully the issue of the Republican health care crisis, and we’re not backing away from it,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told MSNBC.But his Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer is facing a backlash from the fractious progressive base for failing to keep his members unified, with a handful of House Democrats calling for his head.Outside Washington, some of the party’s hottest tips for the 2028 presidential nomination added their own voices to the chorus of opprobrium.California Governor Gavin Newsom called the agreement “pathetic,” while his Illinois counterpart JB Pritzker said it amounted to an “empty promise.” Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg called it a “bad deal.”The full financial toll of the shutdown has yet to be determined, although the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it has caused $14 billion in lost growth.