Connecticut Casino Plans At Possible Halt:

The 2017 plan authorization of an East Windsor casino is taking a step back after a federal judge ruled that Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequots have no legal standing “to accept revisions to the state’s existing gambling agreement with the tribe,” according to the Hartford Courant.

The casino, the Courant said, would be a competitor of the nearby Springfield casino, which is only 12 miles away.

MGM Resorts have been “fighting for years” with the state and Washington, D.C. to build the casino that would be the first not located on tribal land. The state attorney general’s office said it is  “disappointed with the ruling, but will continue to move forward.

USMCA Replaces NAFTA:

A heavily revised North American Trade deal could be on its way to Congress after over a year of negotiations with Canada and Mexico. The agreement controls $1.2 million of trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The new deal will now be called “United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).”

The deal could take a significant amount of time to be put into effect, as the Washington Post said that most of its provisions do not start until 2020. The bulk of the deal, it said, is to manufacture more car and truck parts in the U.S.

Beginning in 2020, drivers will now need 75 percent of its components manufactured in one of the three countries, an over 10 percent increase from the current 62 percent qualification. Manufacturers will also be required to earn at least $16 per hour.

Improved labor-environmental rights will also come to light, as Mexican product transportations must now have higher safety regulations while its workers will be able to form unions. Both labor unions and some Democrats are backing this.

Indonesian Natural Disasters Kill Hundreds:

An earthquake and tsunami on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia left over 800 dead and rescue crews scrambling to recover those beneath the rubble. Death tolls are expected to continue to rise after the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and over three-meter-high waves, CNN reported.

According to the Indonesian Disaster Management Agency, hundreds were also injured and 17,000 were left homeless.

An estimated 2.4 million people were impacted by the disasters. As of Monday, no U.S. citizens were believed to have been impacted.

CNN said that a lack of “heavy equipment and personnel” has slowed down the rescue efforts, and that “mass graves” have been dug to bury the bodies of the hundreds killed.