[Gardavasque]

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Live from GRIP News Studios in Eternity, I’m Dee Pendable-Mosely with this NewsBrief for August 29th.

Interfaith Prayer Service to Heal Fractured Olympic Spirit
Olympic athletes are gathered with their families, and coaches, with multitudes of sports fans at this hour at Eckie Cola Stadium in Eternity for an Interfaith Prayer Service of peace, goodwill, and safety for the forthcoming Olympic Games in Shuell. The service is expected to draw an estimated crowd of 19,000. By tradition, the special liturgy has been a Catholic Mass hosted at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Eternity and presided over by the Archbishop, but this year organizers opted for a more inclusive event, aimed at bringing fans of all faiths together in support of the Gardavascan Olympic Team. Adam Gripon, Chair of the scandal-rocked Gardavascan Olympic Organizing Committee told reporters the decision was made in the spirit of healing a fractured Olympic spirit.

Cue: Adam Gripon: “Yeah. You know, the Olympics are about building a better, more peaceful world based on mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity, and fair play. We have seen corruption and greed get in the way of that here in Gardavasque. But today, we’ve brought together religious leaders from across the nation calling for unity in a time of political and cultural divisions. Today we want all our athletes to know we care about them, we honor them, and we are proud of them. We hope they will go to Shuell and make us proud by giving their best, playing fair, but most importantly by showing exemplary friendship towards their competitors. And hey, if our Olympians come back with a bunch of medals around their necks, well, we wouldn’t complain about that.”

Adam Gripon, Chair of the Gardavascan Olympic Organizing Committee speaking at Eckie Cola Stadium in Eternity.

Journalist Missing in the Emerald Forest
A freelance investigative reporter has gone missing in a remote part of Emerald Forest National Park less than 48 hours of a controversial live TV interview in which she made claims to be in possession of evidence documenting foreign oligarchs co-signing for personal loans taken out by President Biff Snollygoster as part of a secret arrangement to bail out his failing CasinoPlex and Club Moola hotel properties. The Journalist, Chloe Darns, was a guest on GNN’s Bombshell program August 27th when she disclosed a single source with close knowledge of the subject revealed to her the documentation in question. We have a clip from Tuesday’s program, courtesy of GNN.

Cue: Chloe Darns Courtesy of GNN “I took a photo of the contract with my PearPhone, so I have a copy of it. Basically, it’s a personal loan in the amount of $300 Million and change. It has both Snollygoster’s signature and the signatures of two bad actors from outside the region. So I haven’t yet been able to independently verify the authenticity of the document, however my source informed me these loan documents are evidence in the money-laundering suit against the Sing Se Market Guild in Shen. The truth is inevitably going to come out.”

The next day, Ms. Darns reportedly traveled to a remote cabin in Emerald Forest National Park with her parents telling them she felt in danger for her life. Early this morning, her parents woke to find Ms. Darns and her PearPhone disappeared without a trace, according to park rangers. No word yet on whether foul play is suspected, however the area is known for high risk of Banshee Eagle attacks. The Federal Investigative Bureau is looking into the matter. A spokesperson for Sing Se Market Guild denied any knowledge or involvement in illegal activity and declined further comment. GRIP News will bring you more on this story as it develops.

Bill to Regulate Gig Worker Jobs Advances in Parliament
Parliamentary Bill 5, a bill that would require companies that rely on so-called “gig-economy” workers to provide comparable benefits to regular employees, has cleared a procedural hurdle in Gardavascan Parliament and will advance to conference committee where it will be reconciled with a similar companion bill in the Senate. Critics of the bill, such as Terafiq Agha, CEO of the popular ridesharing company Fubar, complain providing extra dignity for workers would cut into corporate profit margins and restrict worker flexibility that Fubar is known for. Proponents of the bill, such as MP Morena Fletcher of Misericordia Province’s 80th District, claim the bill merely closes a loophole that currently allows wealthy corporations avoid responsibility for providing collective bargaining rights, employee benefits, and fair wages for gig workers who often work long hours and multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

Economic Indicators in Flux Suggests Recession May Loom
Despite strong domestic labor and consumer confidence ratings, other leading international economic indicators suggest an economic slowdown, fuelled by an intense trade war among the nations of Trive, Xiomera, and Zamastan. The Maximusian stock market hit a quarterly low two weeks ago, weakening the Gardavascan Yesca and prompting the Gardavascan Federal Reserve to hint it might lower interest rates at their September meeting. Speculation about interest rates prompted another Twitcher outrage from President Snollygoster yesterday, suggesting the Federal Reserve Chair was personally trying to “make me lose the [2020] election.” A sparsely worded memo from the Federal Reserve stated, “Our work and our decisions are based on our analysis of the economy and the best decisions for the country without regard to political considerations or political influence.”

You’re listening to Gardavasque Radio and Information for the People; GRIP News. Live from Eternity, I’m Dee Pendable-Mosely.
This has been your NewsBrief for August 29th.

And now a Public Service Announcement from the National Labor Relations Board.

Cue: PSA Wage Theft. Wage theft covers a variety of infractions that occur when workers do not receive their legally or contractually promised wages. Common forms of wage theft are: non-payment of overtime, not giving workers their last paycheck after a worker leaves a job, not paying for all the hours worked, not paying minimum wage, not paying a worker at all. Most commonly wage theft is a violation of the Federal Labor Standards Act, which requires employers to pay time and a half for all hours worked above 40 hours per week. The Gardavascan Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is responsible for administering and enforcing some of the Democracy’s most important worker protection laws. WHD is committed to ensuring that workers in this country are paid properly and for all the hours they work, regardless of immigration status. For more information, or to file a complaint of suspected wage theft, log on to www. nlrb. whd. gov. gdv. Happy Labor Day Weekend! Brought to you by the National Labor Relations Board.

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