Friday Politics Roundup | UAW preps to strike; climate crisis deepens; WVU guts faculty and programs; Musk plays king; Christian nationalist gather in York; Pennridge tests extremism; new podcast

<p>The <a href='https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/what-know-uaw-strike-auto-companies-ford-general-motors-rcna103725'>UAW is getting closer to striking</a> as the latest contract offer from GM and Stellantis was rejected as not good enough to ward off a strike. UAW president Shawn Fain has made it clear that unless a deal is reached by September 14, 150,000 workers will head to the strike lines. </p> <p><a href='https://www.axios.com/2023/09/06/hurricane-lee-2023-category-4-forecast'>Hurricane Lee</a> rapidly intensifies to a powerful Category 5 storm in the Atlantic. While current models predict the storm will not directly hit major populated areas, the storms rapid intensification is linked to the record warm temperatures of the Atlantic, providing a window into our climate futures. </p> <p><a href='https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/07/asia/hong-kong-black-rainstorm-flooding-intl-hnk/index.html'>Hong Kong was inundated with flash floods</a> as more rain fell on the region since records started being kept in 1884. Over 19 inches of rain fell on Hong Kong in 24 hours, with over six inches falling between 11PM and midnight last night. </p> <p>West Virginia University becomes the latest “canary in the coal mine” in higher education. The university has announced deep cuts, which will eliminate 169 faculty members (7% of the faculty) and 32 of the university’s 338 majors. The president of WCU, Gordon Gee, <a href='https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/us/west-virginia-university-budget-cuts-deficit.html'>told the New York Times</a>, “We simply have lost the support of the American public,” when explaining the lack of funding for public universities.  </p> <p><a href='https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/world/europe/elon-musk-starlink-ukraine.html'>Elon Musk admits that he unilaterally denied the Ukrainian military access</a> to the Starlink satellite internet service to prevent a Ukrainian drone attack against some of the Russian naval fleet near the coast of Crimea. Privatized, billionaire-run government anyone?<