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☆ Conan O’Brien Doesn’t Matter*
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After hosting talk shows for nearly three decades, Conan O’Brien has come to believe that longevity is overrated. “We don’t matter.”Since leaving late-night television in 2021, Conan O’Brien, 61, has become more reflective about life (and death), given to philosophical flights of fancy that he compulsively alternates with comic tangents. O’Brien famously champions the intersection between smart and stupid, but in conversation, what stands out is how quickly he moves between light and heavy. “Being contented comes in little moments, here and there.”The only thing trickier than being a late-night talk show host is being a former one. Since he started writing for “Saturday Night Live” in the 1980s, Conan O’Brien has built one of the most consequential careers in comedy.

Persons: Conan O’Brien, O’Brien, “, ”, Jon Stewart, Johnny Carson, Craig Kilborn, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Bill Hader, Eric André, Nikki Glaser Locations: New York, Los Angeles

☆ Your Guide to the Heat
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I still remember how hot the summer of 1993 felt. As one Globe headline put it — describing the entire city — “Pavement buckles, people lose cool and fans just blow hot air.”Since then, I have often thought of 1993 as the hottest summer of my life. It just felt that way because the intensity and frequency of heat was unusual at the time. Today, many of us have become accustomed to heat waves like the one now blanketing the eastern half of the country and much of the Southwest. Last month was the 12th straight to be the hottest month of its kind on record.

Persons: Manuela Andreoni Organizations: Boston Globe

☆ Hollywood is facing a dire threat: sports
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

AdvertisementSports media rights have never been more expensive, but media companies keep paying up. The number of TV shows across the industry has been declining since the 2022 end of the Peak TV era. Media companies have been aggressively pursuing other secondary sports to maintain their value to distributors and advertisers, as Warner Bros. All this has dire implications for entertainment budgets, which media companies have already been trimming after overspending to build streaming businesses. AdvertisementRelationships with the top people in sports will likely be a bigger factor in leadership at media companies moving forward.

Persons: —, Doug Shapiro, Shapiro, Seth Meyers, Spencer Wang, David Levy, — it's, Levy, it's, Jonathan Miller, WBD, Michael Kassan, Mark Lazarus, Media Group's, John Kosner, Ed Desser, Sports doesn't, David Zaslav, Alex Iosilevich Organizations: Service, NBA, Business, Turner Broadcasting, Apple, Google, Street Journal, NBC, ESPN, Amazon, Warner Bros, NFL, Comcast, Netflix, Nielsen, Turner Networks, Horizon, Entertainment, Marvel, Star, Integrated Media Co, Hollywood, Media, Warner Bros . Discovery, Sports, Cannes Lions, Turner, TNT, TBS, Premier League, WWE

☆ The cost of sports content is soaring — and it could mean big cuts in Hollywood budgets
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewSports has increasingly become the star of the show for big TV companies, and its ascent is sending a shiver down Hollywood's spine. AdvertisementSports media rights have never been more expensive, but media companies keep paying up. The number of TV shows across the industry has been declining since the 2022 end of the Peak TV era. Media companies have been aggressively pursuing other secondary sports to maintain their value to distributors and advertisers, as Warner Bros. AdvertisementRelationships with the top people in sports will likely be a bigger factor in leadership at media companies moving forward.

☆ President Biden’s Distrust Challenge
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The voters likely to decide the Biden-Trump rematch don’t participate in most elections. They are irregular voters who tend to skip primaries and midterm elections but do often turn out for the country’s highest-profile campaign — a presidential election. Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, explained this phenomenon in a recent article. President Biden leads Donald Trump among Americans who are highly engaged with politics, Nate noted. Yet less engaged voters are so dissatisfied with the country’s condition that they prefer Trump by a wide enough margin to give Trump a small overall lead.

Persons: —, Nate Cohn, Biden, Donald Trump, Nate Organizations: Biden, Trump

☆ When I quit my job, the CFO came to my house and kissed me. We've now been married for over 25 years.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Pauline Milner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. When I worked as an insurance agent for a brokerage, David was the CFO. A knock at the door changed everythingI liked my job, but I knew a good deal when I saw it. As he reached the door, David turned around, and his car keys slipped out of his hand.

Persons: —, David, we've, We've Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Biden Tries to Close a Loophole
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden’s latest executive actions on immigration are an attempt to shrink a loophole that has allowed many people to enter the country without legal permission. That loophole is the asylum system. Not as intendedThe modern idea of asylum stems from World War II. Today, many migrants claim asylum even though they are not at risk of being persecuted. They instead want to move to the U.S. — understandably enough — because it is a richer, politically freer and less violent place than much of the world.

Persons: Biden’s, — Locations: South Sudanese

☆ Mexico Elects Claudia Sheinbaum
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( David Leonhardt | Ian Prasad Philbrick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When foreigners hear news from Mexico, it can often sound chaotic, involving cartels, crime or migration surges. But last night’s election results make clear that most Mexicans are pleased with their country’s direction. Claudia Sheinbaum — the former mayor of Mexico City and the chosen successor of the current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador — won the presidency easily. Sheinbaum, a leftist-leaning engineer, received about 58 percent of the vote, to around 29 percent for Xóchitl Gálvez, a centrist entrepreneur, and about 11 percent for Jorge Álvarez Máynez, a progressive candidate. In today’s newsletter, we’ll explain why most Mexican citizens have been so satisfied with López Obrador (who’s often known by his initials, AMLO) and what challenges Sheinbaum will likely face, starting with violent crime, which is indeed a major problem.

Persons: Claudia Sheinbaum —, Andrés Manuel López Obrador —, Gálvez, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, López Obrador, Sheinbaum Locations: Mexico, Mexico City

☆ David Levy, Ex-Laborer Who Became a Top Israeli Leader, Dies at 86
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Clyde Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

David Levy, a Moroccan-born Israeli who rose from ditch digger to Israel’s political heights, often embodying the resentments of Jews of North African and Middle Eastern origin who felt ill-treated by Europe-rooted elites, died on Sunday at a hospital in Jerusalem. The cause was not disclosed, but he had recently been treated for heart and kidney ailments. His death was announced by the Israeli government. Mr. Levy was Israel’s foreign minister three times in the 1990s and its deputy prime minister even more often across two decades. And on vital foreign policy matters, like negotiations with the Palestinians and Arab states or the management of relations with the United States, he was shunted aside by prime ministers who reserved those responsibilities for themselves.

Persons: David Levy, Levy Locations: Moroccan, North, Europe, Jerusalem, United States

☆ The Conviction of Donald J. Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The criminal justice system finally caught up to Donald Trump. First, he was a New York businessman whose company violated discrimination laws, failed to repay debts and flirted with bankruptcy. Yesterday, however, a criminal jury judged Trump for the first time. The prosecutors argued that Trump had falsified business records to hide a sexual affair from voters and corrupt the 2016 election. Trump has become the first former president of the United States to be a convicted felon.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump Locations: New York, Georgia, Manhattan, United States

☆ New basketball league Unrivaled lands star-studded investor lineup, aims to pay highest average salary in women's pro league sports
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A new women's basketball league has attracted a star-studded roster of investors from the media and sports world at a time when ratings and general interest in the WNBA and other professional women's leagues is rising. Unrivaled, the pro women's basketball league founded last year by New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart and Minnesota Lynx's Napheesa Collier of the WNBA, said Thursday that it had closed on a seed funding round ahead of its January launch. Athletes will be given equity in the new league, and Unrivaled said it will also feature contract opportunities that will offer the highest average salary in women's pro sports league history. Many female athletes play in other countries when the WNBA season ends to boost their earnings potential. Unrivaled's season will run from January to March and feature 30 of the top women's basketball players across six teams for a 3-on-3, compressed full court style of play on a soundstage in Miami.

Persons: Napheesa Collier, New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart, John Skipper, Turner, David Levy, Ann Sarnoff, Star Carmelo Anthony, Alex Morgan, David, Skipper, Alex Bazzell, Stewart, Collier Organizations: Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Target, New York, ESPN, Warner Bros, NBA, U.S, soccer, Meadowlark Media, WNBA Locations: Minneapolis , Minnesota, New, Minnesota, U.S, Miami

☆ Patriotism, Diversity and the Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Student debt. One is the contrast between the country’s most heated political debates and the top concerns of most voters. Student debt and housing costs make for a useful comparison. Student debt, a subject that the Biden administration has emphasized, may seem like the ultimate pocketbook issue. In reality, it’s more niche: Only 18 percent of U.S. adults have any federal student debt.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Democratic Locations: Gaza, U.S

☆ Democrats Who Are Winning
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Recent polls contain a surprising combination of results: Democrats appear to be leading in six tough Senate races even as President Biden trails Donald Trump in the same states. What are these Democratic Senate candidates doing right? In today’s newsletter, I’ll highlight the single biggest theme that emerged: The six Democrats are basing their campaigns around a populism that harshly criticizes both big business and China. (In a follow-up newsletter, I’ll look at several other campaign themes.) Still, most of the Democrats in these races aren’t merely ahead in the polls; they also have a track record of winning tough races by appealing to voters who are skeptical of the Democratic Party.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, It’s Organizations: Democratic, Democratic Party Locations: China

☆ Addressing Immigration
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden and his aides describe this year’s election as crucial — existential, even — because of Donald Trump’s hostility to democracy. Yet given the election’s importance, the Biden administration has been notably slow to address one of his biggest political vulnerabilities: immigration. Polls show that immigration is a top concern of voters, often trailing only the economy. Most voters are unhappy with Biden’s handling of the issue and say they trust Trump more on it. Despite this situation, the White House has been reluctant to act aggressively for most of the past few years.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump’s, Trump Organizations: Democratic, White, Politico

☆ The Rise of a New Centrism
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Washington, you often hear, is a place so polarized that our leaders barely get anything done. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a progressive leader, has worked on legislation with several conservative Senate Republicans, including Josh Hawley and J.D. My editors recently asked me to make sense of this conundrum: A polarized country in which bipartisanship has somehow become normal. To do so, I spoke with Congress members from both parties, as well as Biden administration officials and outside experts. I emerged from the project believing that the U.S. was indeed a polarized country in many ways — but less polarized than people sometimes think.

Persons: Biden —, Donald Trump’s, —, Elizabeth Warren, Josh Hawley, J.D, Vance, Lina Khan —, Biden, ” Biden, bipartisanship Organizations: Democrats, Republican, Republicans, Federal Trade Commission Locations: U.S

☆ A New Centrism Is Rising in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Republican Party has moved to the right by many measures, and the Democratic Party has moved to the left. One consequence of this polarization, politicians and pundits often say, is gridlock in Washington. These years have been arguably the most productive period of Washington bipartisanship in decades. After the bill’s passage, far-right House Republicans tried to oust Speaker Mike Johnson because he did not block it — and House Democrats voted to save Johnson’s job. Last week, the House advanced another bipartisan bill, on disaster relief, using a rare procedural technique to get around party-line votes.

Persons: Washington bipartisanship, Biden, Mike Johnson Organizations: Republican Party, Democratic Party, Republicans, Postal Service, Trump, House Democrats Locations: Washington, Ukraine

☆ How Israeli Extremists Won
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last October, an Israeli settler in the West Bank set a Palestinian home on fire. And last fall, a settler shot a Palestinian in the stomach in front of an Israeli soldier. Yet the authorities have not charged any of these settlers — or others who have attacked West Bank residents — with crimes. In it, they document how violent factions within the settler movement have repeatedly received protection from the Israeli government despite attacks against Palestinians — and even against Israeli officials who tried to challenge the settlers. An Israeli government report in 1982 documented the problem, to no effect.

Persons: —, Ronen Bergman, Mark Mazzetti, ” Ronen, Mark, “ Organizations: West Bank, Times Magazine Locations: “, of Israel

☆ A New Rent-Versus-Buy Calculator
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is the biggest financial decision for many younger adults: Should I rent a home or buy one? To help people understand the trade-offs, The Times has just relaunched its popular rent-versus-buy calculator. The calculator, which The Times’s Upshot section built, has been updated in several important ways, including to take into account the 2017 tax law that affected the mortgage-interest deduction. Ultimately, the calculator can’t tell you whether you should rent or buy. That decision depends on the future paths of home prices and rents, which are unknowable.

Organizations: Times

☆ The Debate Over Rafah
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the heart of the dispute between President Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu over invading Rafah is a larger disagreement about what Israel can reasonably hope to accomplish against Hamas. Israel’s military has already made progress, having dismantled at least 18 of Hamas’s 24 battalions since the Oct. 7 attacks. But Hamas’s top leaders and thousands of fighters have survived, many evidently fleeing to tunnels under Rafah. “Ending the war without clearing out Rafah is like sending a firefighter to extinguish 80 percent of the fire,” Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet and Netanyahu’s chief political opponent, has told U.S. officials. The Wall Street Journal editorial board, which tends to support Netanyahu, has called Rafah “the crucial city for the terrorist group’s future.”

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, I’ll, Netanyahu, ” Benny Gantz, ” Organizations: U.S Locations: Rafah, Israel

☆ Netflix Gives Comedy the Live Treatment. The Results Are Chaotic.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Friday night, in the premiere of his appealingly chaotic livestreaming variety show “Everybody’s in L.A.,” which runs every night this week, John Mulaney delivered a monologue about his adopted city next to a map that broke it down into a crooked jigsaw puzzle of neighborhoods. It’s the biggest comedy showcase of the year (with more than 500 offerings, a 40 percent increase from the festival’s already mammoth debut event in 2022) but also something of a corporate flex. Who else could get Hannah Gadsby and Shane Gillis in the same festival or draw the talk-show titans Jon Stewart and David Letterman to host events? The most newsworthy shift this year was the aggressive move into livestreaming events, following the blockbuster success of Chris Rock’s 2023 special, “Selective Outrage,” about being slapped at the Oscars. (One of that ceremony’s hosts, Wanda Sykes, returned to the place it happened, the Dolby Theater, for a festival show and began by saying this time no one would get assaulted).

Persons: John Mulaney, Hannah Gadsby, Shane Gillis, Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Chris Rock, Billy Crystal, “, Harry Met Sally, ”, Tracee Ellis Ross, Meg Ryan’s, Chris Rock’s, Wanda Sykes Organizations: Netflix, Dolby Locations: L.A, Los Angeles

☆ Met Gala 2024: Everything we know about the theme, hosts and guests
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth and Zendaya will co-chair this year's Met Gala for the exhibition "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." The first celebrities to appear will be Gala co-chairs Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth, the last of whom is making his Met Gala debut. What was the first Met Gala theme? Gwyneth Paltrow famously called the Met Gala “un-fun” in 2013 and said she’d “never” go again, but returned in 2017 (and 2019). Met Gala guests have often broken the no-social-media rule to give a more candid glimpse of who is hanging with who and what goes on behind closed doors.

Persons: CNN —, —, Jared Leto’s, Rihanna, J.G, Ballard, Andrew Bolton, Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth, Zendaya, James Devaney, Victor Aubry, Christina House, Neil Mockford, Bad Bunny, Anna Wintour, Wintour, Arturo Holmes, Karl Lagerfeld, Rei Kawakubo, Charles James, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Gianni Versace, Angela Weiss, Lagerfeld, Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, Jenna Ortega, Chanel, Fendi, Eleanor Lambert, Diana Vreeland, LaunchMetrics, Calvin Klein, “, ” Cher, Ron Galella, ”, Lady Gaga, Kardashian, Jenners, Donald Trump, James Corden’s, Demi Lovato, Zayn Malik, Tina Fey, Fey, David Letterman ”, backtrack, Gwyneth Paltrow, she’d “, Olivia Wilde, Margaret Zhang, Kevin Mazur, Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson, Jason Derulo, Jay, Solange, it’s, ” Wilde Organizations: CNN, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute, Los Angeles Times, American Vogue, New York Times, Getty, Super, Hollywood, Vogue, “ Vogue China Locations: New York, British, American, China

☆ Why investing solo lets Refactor Capital's Zal Bilimoria be a 'lifeline' for founders
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now 42, Bilimoria is the sole partner of Refactor Capital, the early-stage venture-capital firm he launched in 2016. Through Refactor Capital, Bilimoria has backed unicorn companies including the green-chemical manufacturer Solugen and the space startup Astranis. AdvertisementTwo years later, Lee stepped down as a general partner — making Bilimoria the firm's sole investor. Life as a solo partnerAs a solo partner, "all the successes and all the challenges are on my shoulders," Bilimoria said. Refactor Capital invests in about eight companies every year and is deploying capital out of its third fund.

Persons: —, Bilimoria, Andreessen Horowitz —, weren't, Andreessen Horowitz, David Lee, Lee Organizations: Service, University of Pennsylvania, Business, Microsoft, Netflix, Google, Twitter, Fund, SV Angel Locations: Northwest Indiana

☆ Wall Street Cruel Summer: Stock Market Crash, Inflation Ends Vacation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Inflation canceled that, and now it's almost certain that Wall Street's summer is canceled, too. That means Wall Street's fantasies of decamping to the Hamptons for the summer have shattered. You can see why this tug-of-war will keep Wall Street on its toes and off Georgica Beach. There is a certain set on Wall Street that does not get to "rosé all day" on Hamptons summer water when currencies trade that way. The simplicity that Wall Street hoped for is one of the few options that's no longer on the table.

Persons: —, Justin Simon, decamping, Jerome Powell, opportunistically, Jamie Dimon, Torsten Slok, Slok, Powell, we'd, David Lefkowitz, dory, McDonald's, Silas Myers, Wall, Zuck, Simon, they're, it's Organizations: Federal Reserve, Jasper Capital, Nasdaq, Hamptons, JPMorgan, Fed, Pepsi, Mar Vista Investments, Wall, Nvidia, Tesla, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, EU Locations: Georgica, Japan

☆ 'The Fall Guy' director explains how he pulled off that famous cameo
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Jason Guerrasio | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "The Fall Guy." But by the end of the movie, director David Leitch blesses us with one more big-name star: Jason Momoa. "The Fall Guy" is set around the production of a big-budget sci-fi epic titled "Metalstorm," which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character, Tom Ryder, and is directed by Emily Blunt's character, Jody Moreno. AdvertisementRyan Gosling and Emily Blunt in "The Fall Guy." "The Fall Guy" is in theaters now.

Persons: Guy, David Leitch, —, Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, Aaron Taylor, Johnson, Jason Momoa, Tom Ryder, Emily Blunt's, Jody Moreno, Ryan Gosling's, Colt Seavers, Ryder, Moreno, Leitch's, Jason, Conan, Leitch, " Leitch, Momoa, Brad Pitt, Hobbs, Shaw, Kevin Hart, Channing Tatum, Ryan Reynolds Organizations: Service, Universal Sporting Locations: Australia, New Zealand

☆ A top mind at UBS Global Wealth Management explains why investors' meltdown over elevated interest rates is misguided — and shares a 5-part investing blueprint as stocks continue to rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Less than a month ago, analysts were calling for subdued earnings growth of just 3%. Although higher rates can be a headache, Lefkowitz said earnings growth matters most. Instead of obsessing over when interest rates will fall, Lefkowitz said investors should consider the reasoning behind the Fed's decisions. "If rates are rising and that's leading to more confidence in the earnings growth outlook, then that shouldn't be a headwind to markets," Lefkowitz said. Follow this 5-part investing game planHealthy earnings growth and a resilient economy have strategists at UBS GWM bullish about US stocks.

Persons: Jonathan Golub, weren't, that's, David Lefkowitz, Lefkowitz, —, shouldn't Organizations: UBS Global Wealth Management, UBS, Business, UBS GWM, Bank of America, Federal, Healthcare

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