- 1. Labor board says working grad students are university employees
- 2. Tesla gives some vehicles more powerful battery packs
- 3. Another Fox News host files a sexual harassment lawsuit
- 4. EpiPen maker faces backlash over soaring prices
- 5. Turkish stocks drop after anti-ISIS military offensive begins inside Syria
1. Labor board says working grad students are university employees
The National Labor Relations Board ruled Tuesday that private-university graduate students who teach and serve as research assistants qualify as school employees. The 3-to-1 decision gives them the right to join or form unions, overturning a 2004 Brown University ruling in which the board said giving grad students union rights ran counter to the purposes of graduate education, because students in many programs have to teach and participate in research projects to earn their degrees. Universities argued that changing working students' status would shift their relationships with their schools, changing it from educational to economic.
2. Tesla gives some vehicles more powerful battery packs
Tesla Motors on Tuesday said that it was adding a more powerful battery pack to versions of its Model S sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle. The new Model S P100D, with its 100 kilowatt-hour battery, will be the world's quickest production car. It also will have a range of 315 miles on a single charge. The introduction of the new Model S is seen as a bid by Tesla CEO Elon Musk to appeal to sport-car lovers. The new Model S will be able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, compared to 2.8 seconds clocked by the P90D.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. Another Fox News host files a sexual harassment lawsuit
Fox News host Andrea Tantaros this week filed a lawsuit against the network, former CEO Roger Ailes, and other executives, saying the cable news outlet "masquerades as defender of traditional family values" but "operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult." The suit, filed Monday in New York, adds to Fox News' legal and PR problems following another sexual harassment accusation by ex-host Gretchen Carlson, whose lawsuit led to Ailes' resignation in July. Tantaros is still on the Fox News payroll, but says she was yanked off the air after complaining about being sexually harassed by Ailes.
4. EpiPen maker faces backlash over soaring prices
Criticism is mounting against drug maker Mylan over massive price increases for its EpiPens, injectors that are used to quickly treat severe allergic reactions. The average wholesale price of EpiPens has increased by nearly 500 percent since 2009. The steady, steep increase has been thrust into the spotlight this week as parents are stocking up on EpiPens as they send their kids back to school and are being hit with high deductibles, prompting public criticism of the company by members of Congress, doctors, and consumers.
5. Turkish stocks drop after anti-ISIS military offensive begins inside Syria
Turkish stocks plunged by as much as 2.9 percent on Wednesday after the country sent tanks and special forces across the border into Syria in a push to drive Islamic State fighters out of a border town. The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index trimmed its losses, trading down 1.8 percent by mid-afternoon, but still appeared headed for its biggest one-day drop since the country's credit rating was downgraded last month.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Sudoku medium: August 23, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
