Toronto's city council to cut almost in half, Amazon may open more cashierless stores, and more top news

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Ontario’s request to stay a judge’s decision setting aside a law slashing the size of Toronto city council has been granted by the Court of Appeal. The ruling means there will be 25 wards instead of 47 in October’s upcoming municipal election. “It is not in the public interest to permit the impending election to proceed on the basis of a dubious ruling that invalidates legislation duly passed by the legislature,” the three-judge panel said. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Amazon is mulling the idea of opening 3,000 cashier-less stores around the country by 2021, reports Bloomberg. The Amazon Go grocery stores — of which there are four already in the U.S. — allow customers to walk in, pick up items they want, and leave the store, using an app to record and bill the transaction. Amazon's expansion plans not only threaten competitors like Walmart and other major grocery chains, but also corner convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, says Bloomberg. ? Here’s what people are saying.

WeWork agreed to scale back its practice of barring most of its employees from working at similar workplaces for a year after leaving the company. As part of a settlement with the attorneys general of New York and Illinois, WeWork will release 800 rank-and-file New York employees and 600 nationwide from their non-compete agreements, while a further 1,800 will be offered less restrictive terms. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Rivers continued to rise in North Carolina, even after the remnants of Hurricane Florence moved on, leaving at least 36 people dead in its wake. The storm, downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane after it made landfall last week, has severely flooded the Carolinas and spawned tornadoes in Virginia. More than 15,000 people remain in shelters there and more than 200,000 customers are without power. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma says the Chinese retail giant has scrapped plans to create 1 million jobs in the U.S. due to the ongoing tariff war between the U.S. and China. Ma told Chinese media site Xinhua that he made the promise “on the premise of friendly US-China partnership and rational trade relations” that no longer exists today. The billionaire’s plan, which he announced in January 2017 during a meeting with then president-elect Trump, included having small American business owners sell their goods on the Alibaba site. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Idea of the Day:  Investing in the economic empowerment of women can have a multiplier effect for generations, says Women’s World Banking president Mary Ellen Iskenderian.

“Women spend, save and invest money in profoundly different ways than men. Perhaps the most important difference is that when women have a say in financial resources they invest them in their families.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.  

— Carmel Melouney and Jessica Hartogs