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☆ Fanatics' first big sports-betting acquisition could reignite M&A in the sector, as rumors fly and buyers 'smell blood in the water'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Fanatics' first big sports-betting acquisition could be the spark that reignites M&A in the sector. Industry insiders speculate on what deals could come next. It's go time for M&A in sports betting as newcomer Fanatics makes its first big acquisition in the sector and rumors fly about who will be snapped up next. On Sunday, Australia's PointsBet announced it had agreed to sell its US operations to Fanatics' betting and gaming division for about $150 million in cash. "I think Fanatics smells blood in the water," said one industry consultant who had been following Fanatics closely.

In 2017, with Mr. Connors’ help, Mr. Maichle started his own company, Precision Compliance Consulting. ‘Boss Man’Mr. Connors, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Maichle were all active in college conservative politics in Wisconsin about 15 years ago, when Mr. Connors was the leader of campus Republicans at Marquette University. Of that, about $102,000 went to Campaign Now, the firm started by Mr. Connors, and another $112,000 to companies where Mr. Connors, Mr. Maichle or Mr. Lewis was either the owner or a partner, tax records show. Most of the money — more than $4.4 million — went to fund-raising companies via tens of thousands of small payments. Most of the money — more than $4.4 million — went to fund-raising companies via tens of thousands of small payments.

☆ COP28 president says fossil fuels still have a role to play, prompting concerns about climate summit’s goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In March, European countries agreed to promote a global phase-out of fossil fuels in a text setting out their priorities for COP28. “The shift towards a climate neutral economy will require the global phase-out of unabated fossil fuels,” the text said. Al Jaber emphasized the role of technologies like carbon capture in reducing planet-heating pollution. “All indicators… are telling us that we are way off track,” said Al Jaber. We have to get out of fossil fuels, we have to dramatically reduce emissions.”“it is no longer about visions.

☆ The College Board’s Secret Apology
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Hundreds participate in the National Action Network demonstration in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis's rejection of a high school African American history course, Tallahassee, Feb. 15. Photo: Alicia Devine/Associated PressGov. “I have patiently and quietly watched the ubiquitous interviews and media assertions that AP would not make changes at the behest of any group beyond professors, teachers, and students,” wrote Nishani Frazier , a University of Kansas professor who sits on the AP course’s development committee. “If this is so, which student, professor, or teacher suggested adding black conservatives to the course over Combahee River Collective?”

☆ Climate Change’s Fingerprints Turn Up in Parched East Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Now we must ensure that the fund is made fit for purpose,” said Harjeet Singh, head of political strategy for Climate Action Network International. There, the drought may have caused 43,000 excess deaths last year, according to estimates issued last month. Scientists know that global warming is increasing the average likelihood and severity of certain kinds of wild weather in many regions. It’s like smoking and cancer: The two are undeniably linked, but not all smokers develop cancer, and not all cancer patients were smokers. To determine the effects of global warming on individual weather episodes, climate researchers use computer simulations to compare the global climate as it really is — with billions of tons of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by humans over decades — and a hypothetical climate without any of those emissions.

☆ Premarket stocks: The world's biggest banks are still pouring money into fossil fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Banks have pledged to go green, but last year they poured billions of dollars into expanding the capacity of fossil fuel production despite the accelerating climate crisis. While Canadian banks are providing a rising share of the money, US lenders still dominate the market and accounted for 28% of all fossil fuel financing in 2022, said the report. High prices have swelled profits for energy companies, leaving them flush with cash. The record profits come after the world’s 60 largest private banks provided $5.5 trillion in finance for fossil fuels over the past seven years, according to the report. The Banking on Climate Chaos report, which has been published for 14 years, examines the fossil fuel funding of the 60 largest banks in the world.

☆ Scientists identify mind-body nexus in human brain
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The researchers called this system the somato-cognitive action network, or SCAN, and documented its connections to brain regions known to help set goals and plan actions. "Basically, we now have shown that the human motor system is not unitary. A second system, the SCAN, is more important for integrated, whole body movements, and is more connected to high-level planning regions of your brain," Gordon said. I'm not a philosopher, but one succinct statement I like is saying, 'The mind is what the brain does.' "Some neuroscientists think of the brain as an organ intended primarily to perceive and interpret the world around us.

☆ House Republicans are rallying to Trump's defense, but they're unlikely to be able to stop a possible indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

House Republicans are demanding documents and testimony from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. It's the latest major step the GOP-led House has taken to defend Trump as he faces a possible criminal indictment. And without the backing of the Justice Department, it's unclear what consequences, if any, Congress can impose on Bragg's office. Yet while the lawmakers may have made valid criticisms, former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb said, the letter is "bad form." Monday's letter also comes after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged to subject Bragg's office to congressional investigations in anticipation of a possible Trump indictment.

☆ Manhattan D.A. says attempts to intimidate office won’t be tolerated after Trump’s call for protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Dennis Romero | Jesse Rodriguez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"Please know that your safety is our top priority," Bragg said in a memo to office staff obtained by NBC News from a senior official at the Manhattan DA's office. He added, "We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York." PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!" NBC News reported Friday that law enforcement agencies are prepping for a possible Trump indictment as early as next week. Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 to a federal charge related to making the payment to Daniels.

☆ BNP Paribas is the first commercial bank to be sued over its fossil-fuel financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Climate activists say BNP Paribas is violating a French law meant to reduce environmental risks. BNP Paribas defended its plan to exit the fossil-fuel sector and have a net-zero portfolio by 2050. BNP Paribas has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its portfolio by 2050. Ripoll said BNP Paribas should adopt a policy requiring fossil-fuel companies to stop developing new projects. If they fail to do so in a certain time frame, BNP Paribas should divest from these companies, she said.

Millennials have lived through two recessions and might be facing a third as their parents retire. Talking money with your parents isn't going to be fun, but it's a good idea to know their status. A major part of that preparation is figuring out where the money will come from to care for their parents. Decide who can provide the financial caretakingSo should millennials be saving for their parents' care? But Williams, the financial planner, doesn't advise millennials to focus their saving efforts on their parents' care.

☆ Photos of Tyre Nichols' funeral at Mississippi Boulevard Church in Memphis show a community jolted into activism
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Haven Orecchio-Egresitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Tyre Nichols' funeral was held Wednesday at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. A man arranges flowers around Tyre Nichols' casket at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean via AP, PoolThe funeral of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Memphian who was brutally beaten by five police officers on January 7, was held Wednesday at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. Nichols, who has a 4-year-old son, has been remembered by his family and friends as a lover of sunsets, photography, and skateboarding. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, on Tuesday, accepting her invitation to the funeral.

☆ On King’s holiday, daughter calls for bold action over words
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Bernice King, who leads The King Center in Atlanta, said leaders — especially politicians — too often cheapen her father’s legacy into a “comfortable and convenient King” offering easy platitudes. The service, organized by the center and held at Ebenezer annually, headlined observances of the 38th federal King holiday. ... A prophetic word calls for an inconvenience because it challenges us to change our hearts, our minds and our behavior,” Bernice King said. At Ebenezer, Warnock, who has led the congregation for 17 years, hailed his predecessor’s role in securing ballot access for Black Americans. But, like Bernice King, the senator warned against a reductive understanding of King.

☆ At MLK event, Biden courts Black vote and bashes Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In his remarks, Biden said he has delivered for Black Americans in many areas in his two years in office and said he wants to get more support in Congress for stalled voting rights legislation. Black voters were a key part of the base of support that lifted Biden to victory in 2020 after pledging to do more to defend voting rights and address other racial justice issues. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson 1 2Since taking control of the House, Republicans have gone on the attack against Biden. Renewing his appeal for raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations, Biden said Republicans' bid to cut taxes for the wealthy showed that "these guys are fiscally demented. Some House Republicans have floated ideas to slash funding for the Internal Revenue Service and replace the federal income tax with a national sales tax.

☆ Biden calls for police officers to be retrained: 'Why should you always shoot with deadly force?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Biden said police should be retrained on why they shouldn't always shoot with deadly force. He said officers don't need to use deadly force even when they need to use their weapons. Biden pushed for police reform after the death of George Floyd. Biden addressed a civil rights group in Washington, DC, on Monday, where he criticized Republicans for not passing a Democratic policing reform bill. "We have to retrain cops as to why shouldn't you always shoot with deadly force.

☆ Biden Honors Martin Luther King Jr. Declaring a ‘Time for Choosing’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Sabrina Siddiqui | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Al Sharpton and President Biden at the National Action Network’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in Washington on Monday. WASHINGTON—President Biden declared the nation at “a time for choosing” in a Monday speech marking the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr . holiday and paying tribute to the civil rights icon’s legacy. “This is a time for choosing,” Mr. Biden said at an annual breakfast in Washington hosted by the National Action Network and the Rev. Al Sharpton on what would have been Dr. King’s 94th birthday. “Will we choose democracy over autocracy, community over chaos, love over hate?

President Joe Biden lambasted House Republicans’ tax agenda on Monday, targeting the new majority’s push to revoke new Internal Revenue Service funding, abolish the federal tax agency and replace the income tax with a federal tax on consumption. Speaking at the National Action Network’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in Washington, D.C., Biden referred to Republicans as "fiscally demented" and pledged to veto their tax legislation, which is all but certain to fail in the Democratic-controlled Senate. President Joe Biden speaks at the National Action Network's Martin Luther King, Jr., Day breakfast, in Washington, DC., on Monday. They didn’t say if elected their plan was to make inflation worse.”The other tax bill in Biden’s crosshairs was introduced last week by Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and would abolish the IRS, eliminate income taxes and institute a federal consumption tax.

☆ Biden flubbed the name of Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter-in-law while singing 'Happy Birthday' to her onstage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden sang "Happy Birthday" to Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter-in-law on Monday. Arndrea Waters King was attending the National Action Network's Annual MLK breakfast alongside her husband, Martin Luther King III, on Monday. "It's an honor to spend King holiday with the National Action Network and with the King family," Biden said. When it's somebody's birthday, you sing 'Happy Birthday.' Arndrea Waters King speaks before the start of a Peace Walk to urge Democrats to pass a law protecting voting rights, during Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2022.

☆ Biden: Americans should ‘pay attention’ to MLK’s legacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

But with the election behind him and a full six-year term ahead, Warnock fully embraced Biden at the service. “That, my friends, is God’s work,” said Warnock, adding that Biden “had a little something to do with it.”As Biden begins to turn his attention toward an expected 2024 reelection effort, Georgia is going to get plenty of his attention. “But at this inflection point, we know a lot of work that has to continue on economic justice civil rights, voting rights, protecting our democracy. … Are we a people who will choose democracy over autocracy? "I’ve spoken before parliaments, kings, queens, leaders of the world ... but this is intimidating,” Biden said in opening his sermon.

☆ In tribute to rights leader King, Biden invokes 'battle for the soul of this nation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Marking Monday's national holiday celebrating King, Biden delivered a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church at the invitation of its pastor, Democratic U.S. King worked for voting rights, Biden said, but "we do well to remember that his mission was even deeper. King was pastor of Ebenezer church from 1960 until his death. "The battle for the soul of this nation is perennial," Biden said in his tribute to King. Many presidents, including Biden, have visited Ebenezer to honor King, usually during events around the time of his birthday.

☆ President Biden to give sermon at Martin Luther King's church in Atlanta
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WILMINGTON, Del., Jan 15 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will become the first sitting American president to speak at a Sunday service at Martin Luther King Jr.'s church in Atlanta as he seeks to bolster support among African Americans ahead of an expected run for re-election in 2024. Marking the national holiday celebrating the slain civil rights leader, Biden will deliver a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church at the invitation of its pastor, Democratic U.S. King was pastor of Ebenezer church from 1960 until his death. Many presidents, including Biden, have visited Ebenezer to honor King, usually during events around the time of his birthday. The Atlanta visit comes as Biden girds for what is expected to be an announcement of his re-election bid in the weeks ahead.

☆ 3 key takeaways on how Bob Iger's surprise return to Disney could shape its sports strategy, from 'deep cost-cutting at ESPN' to 'quick wins' in sports betting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Analysts expect Iger to make major changes to ESPN's broadcasting strategy for live sports. Bob Iger has been reinstated as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, replacing Bob Chapek after less than three years at the helm. Iger's return has boosted Disney's stock price by 6% in the past day with experts predicting major strategic changes within the company. The cost of these rights deals have also continued to shoot up amid the transition from linear TV to direct-to-consumer services. It actually strengthens the brand of ESPN when you have a betting component, and it has no impact on the Disney brand."

☆ DraftKings says no evidence systems were breached following report of a hack
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Jessica Golden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

DraftKings said Monday there is no evidence the online betting platform's systems were breached following a report that some users were hacked. An unknown number of users discovered unusual activity associated with their DraftKings account that led to withdrawals from their bank accounts, according to a report by The Action Network and social media posts. The company said it has identified less than $300,000 of customer funds that were affected by the unusual activity and that it intends to "make whole any customer that was impacted." The incident comes at a time when users are increasingly skeptical of online financial transactions following the recent collapse of crypto platform FTX. Shares of the company fell as much as 11% Monday following the report before recovering slightly.

☆ Historic compensation fund approved at U.N. climate talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The decision establishes a fund for what negotiators call loss and damage. Early Sunday morning, delegates approved the compensation fund but had not dealt with the contentious issues of an overall temperature goal, emissions cutting and the desire to target all fossil fuels for phase down. This year’s talks “were very focused on the fund and less on the mitigation (cutting emissions) part,” Eide added. However, that fight was overshadowed by the historic compensation fund. But like all climate financials, it is one thing to create a fund, it’s another to get money flowing in and out, she said.

☆ Analysis: Climate damage fund trumps 1.5C push as COP27 summit nears end
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Megan Rowling | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The focus on loss and damage certainly reflects that," said David Waskow, director of the international climate initiative at the U.S.-based World Resources Institute. Since COP26, only about 30 countries have strengthened their national plans to cut fossil fuel emissions. FOSSIL FUEL OMISSION? Progress toward reducing fossil fuel use - and the resulting climate-warming emissions - was less clear in the proposed deal. "Unabated" fuels are those whose emissions are not captured in some way to prevent them entering the atmosphere and adding to climate change.

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