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The Guardian

Conservative fight against license renewals for ABC stations heats up

The groups have complained about TV host Jimmy Kimmel, seen here at the Oscars in Los Angeles, California, on 15 March. Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersView image in fullscreenThe groups have complained about TV host Jimmy Kimmel, seen here at the Oscars in Los Angeles, California, on 15 March. Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersABCConservative fight against license renewals for ABC stations heats upProminent organizations accuse network of political, racial and sexual bias and supporting Chinese communist party A group of prominent conservative organizations has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny license renewal requests from the eight local television stations owned and operated by ABC, accusing the network of political, racial and sexual bias and supporting the Chinese communist party. The petitions come after the commission, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, took the nearly unprecedented step of requiring the network, a frequent recipient of attacks from Donald Trump, to apply several years early to maintain its ability to broadcast in markets around the country. While Carr has said the early license renewal process stems from an FCC investigation into ABC’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, petitioners are free to include a variety of grievances against the network and concerns about whether ABC is operating in the public interest. The petitions – part of an open process that allows anyone to argue that ABC is not fit to hold publicly owned television licenses – came from groups like the Center for American Rights, which has played a significant role during Carr’s tenure atop the FCC agency as an initiator of complaints against major broadcast television networks. In a petition to deny filed last Monday, the group said the stations were not being operated “in the public interest” in part because ABC’s programs “show a consistent and overt partisan bias”, citing the group’s past complaints about late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and the network’s moderation of a 2024 presidential debate, among other concerns. “ABC ignores long-standing Commission precedents and principles protecting the integrity of the news,” the group wrote. “ABC engages in explicit racial and gender discrimination. ABC cozies up to the Communist Chinese Party and airbrushes over religious and ethnic cleansing. ABC fails to respect this Commission’s rules.” The organization lobbied the FCC to deny ABC’s renewal requests and to call the matter for a hearing, “because the Petition and accompanying materials raise sufficient questions [about] whether ABC is operating in the public interest or remains worthy of the public trust”. The Media Research Center, a non-profit conservative media watchdog group, filed a petition to deny the network’s license renewal requests “because of ABC’s continued and sustained abuse of the licenses subject to the current review, its notorious efforts to improperly influence national elections, and its willful engagement in misinformation and the promotion of violence”. The group claimed that ABC-owned and -operated television stations, in markets such as New York City and Los Angeles, “have used public spectrum to suppress news coverage of the most critical stories of our day; to engage in electioneering and relentless political bias; to excuse, minimize, and even justify the epidemic of political violence; and to peddle misinformation and defamation”. The Article III Project, a legal group started by the conservative, Trump-aligned activist Mike Davis, focused its petition to deny on ABC parent company Disney’s employment practices and efforts to hire a more diverse workforce. “The Commission should deny renewal of ABC’s television licenses,” wrote William Chamberlain, senior counsel for the organization. “The record demonstrates consistent and serious violations of federal [Equal Employment Opportunity] law. In the alternative, any renewal must include sweeping terms and conditions sufficient to eliminate all discriminatory practices and ensure future compliance.”

Conservative fight against license renewals for ABC stations heats up
Europe
BBC Business

ITV sells media and entertainment arm to Sky for £1.6bn

Image source, Getty ImagesByFaarea MasudBusiness reporterPublished6 July 2026, 07:53 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoITV is selling its media and entertainment divisions to Sky in a £1.6bn deal that the companies say will create a strong rival to global streaming giants. The sale includes ITV's broadcast channels and its ITVX streaming service, with Sky's chief executive Dana Strong calling it "a defining moment for British media". It is one of the biggest takeovers in British media history, with American-owned Comcast - which owns Sky - having started takeover talks in November last year. ITV's studio arm, which makes popular programmes such as Love Island and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, is not included in the deal. The deal means Sky will get access to millions more viewers, and as well as scale and prominence on a free-to-air platform. Viewers are unlikely to notice any difference initially. The takeover will not lead to ITV's shows being moved behind a paywall for now as ITV is required by law to provide a free-to-air service until at least 2034 under its public service broadcasting licence. In a statement, Sky Group said there would be no immediate change to popular shows. "The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK," Sky said . "Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events." Former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who owns shares in ITV, said the deal was "essential" for the survival of the broadcasters. "If we don't see consolidation between domestic broadcasters, we won't have any in 20 years time and it's the same for all the European countries because of the competition from the streamers," he told the BBC's Today programme. "It's a good deal for viewers because it sustains, will sustain, ITV's investment – as its obligations are as a public service broadcaster – in international news, national news, regional news and all the programmes that its viewers love", he said.

ITV sells media and entertainment arm to Sky for £1.6bn
Europe
BBC Business

Robots available for rent: But what can they do?

In hospitals across the US, patients and staff have become accustomed to seeing a one-armed, four-foot high, friendly-looking white robot going about its business. Nurses have been known to greet Moxi, as the robot is called by its maker Diligent Robotics, with a "good morning", a high five or even a hug. Moxi – which shuttles medical supplies around hospitals – might respond by displaying its heart-shaped LED eyes and a beep beep greeting of its own. "We get a lot of feedback that Moxi feels like a part of the team," says Todd Brugger, chief operating officer at the Texas-based robotics company, which has around 100 of the wheeled robots in operation. But bringing Moxi into a hospital doesn't mean buying one of the machines outright. Instead, it is among robots available to rent or on a subscription basis. Robotics companies use the term robotics-as-a-service. As well as the robot itself, service, maintenance and upgrades are bundled into the deal. A human engineer sitting in a remote control room may be on hand to take control of the robot if needed. In Moxi's case, Brugger says: "It lowers the expense and the outlay for the hospital because you're not paying for the full purchase up front. Secondly, and I think more importantly, this tech is evolving very quickly… we're routinely evolving the software and capabilities of the robot." Robot rentals are becoming available for anything from a day to years for a variety of purposes, from Moxi's hospital deliveries to robot bartenders or autonomous weeders for farms. Increasingly this includes early humanoid models, designed to behave and look like humans, and operate in environments designed for people. Given humanoids are still a work-in-progress, they are currently rented out for clearly defined tasks. That often means entertainment. Depending on the model, a machine might dance, sing or serve guests at a wedding or corporate event. Ethan Qi, a Beijing-based associate director at Counterpoint Research, says an act like a humanoid dance routine is relatively simple to pull off. "You hire a real dancer to perform and video it. The video is then used to train the robot. Then the robot will know how to dance. But the engineer will still often go with the robot in case the environment or the platform isn't simple," he says.

Robots available for rent: But what can they do?
Europe
BBC Business

Amazon bars breastfeeding boss from business course

Image source, Getty ImagesByMitchell LabiakBusiness reporterPublished4 hours agoA breastfeeding boss has been barred from a business course run by online retailer Amazon because it would not let her child on to the site. Rachel Bews said she had let Amazon know a week ahead of the in-person event at an Amazon warehouse in Dunfermline, Scotland, that she would need to take her 20-week-old baby with her as she was breastfeeding. However, she said she was told over the phone on the train to the event that children under six were not allowed on site. Amazon said: "We sincerely apologise to Ms Bews that our site access policy was not communicated clearly before she travelled." "That should not have happened, and we understand her frustration. Amazon does not permit children under the age of six on any of our fulfilment centre sites," the retailer added. "This is a long-standing health and safety policy that applies to all visitors and employees... We are reviewing our communications process to prevent this from happening again." Bews told the BBC's The World Tonight that there was a lactation room at the event on Friday, which would have allowed her to express milk for her child. But she said she had not planned for this, so did not have any sterilised bottles or equipment for expressing. She added that not every breastfed baby would feed from a bottle. "All events should really have good consideration to accessibility and inclusivity for all sorts of considerations," she said. "It's a challenging thing becoming a new mum, and being in business is a big part of my identity, so having access to these same opportunities is really important for me and a lot of other working and professional mums out there." She said she had been told she could continue with the online part of the six-week course, but she said she had missed out on "the most important things". "The in-person, face-to-face connections you make over coffee, the people you meet over lunch – there's connections I could have made to maybe help my business," she added.

Amazon bars breastfeeding boss from business course
Europe
BBC Business

'I wear it on my middle finger': The rise of the defiant divorce ring

Shimmering on Deb Marino's finger are diamonds set in an eye-catching gold ring. "Of course it's a middle finger ring, because, why not?" the Florida-based blogger says on her Tiktok feed. Getting rid of her engagement ring would have suggested a regret the 34-year-old doesn't feel - after all, her marriage brought her daughter. Even just not wearing it would have felt like a waste. Plus she does sometimes feel like sticking one finger up after the break-up of her marriage. Deb is part of a rising trend promoted by jewellers around the world of women marking a new chapter in their life with a new statement piece: the divorce ring. Deb had the diamond from her engagement ring set at one end of an open circle and added a new sapphire to represent her daughter to the other end. It cost $3,000 (£2,245). Ring resale values tend to be only around 30% of the original price so for many the trend of giving their old jewellery a new life feels a better investment. And Deb's middle finger statement fits right in with what the fashion pages are calling this year's "hot divorcee summer" - a celebration of liberated glamour and a "don't care energy". Divorce rings can also be a way of marking a kind of financial liberation, says Kate Daly, co-founder of Amicable, a UK company offering mediated divorce services. "Your whole life gets thrown up in the air," she says. "Your finances are under extreme pressure." If at that point a woman decides to buy a new ring it's a sign that she is making her own financial decisions and "not needing to ask permission from anyone," says Daly. "It's very easy to trivialise, but maybe that's the first big spending decision you've made in a very long time, and certainly perhaps the biggest one you've made solo for a long time."

'I wear it on my middle finger': The rise of the defiant divorce ring
Europe
BBC Business

Banks accused of failing most vulnerable customers

Image source, Getty ImagesByKevin PeacheyCost of living correspondentPublished4 hours agoSome of the UK's biggest banks have been failing their most vulnerable customers, according to the financial regulator. Banks have been pushing homeless people or those in financial hardship towards unsuitable online applications and away from basic bank accounts. These accounts are free, do not include an overdraft facility, and provide essential banking for those unable to open a mainstream account. Now, the nine UK banks and building societies which operate basic bank accounts have agreed to demands from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to make access more straightforward. Basic bank accounts have many of the same functions as a regular current account, but are designed for those who might otherwise be excluded from the banking system. More than four million people in the UK have these accounts. But a mystery shopping exercise by the FCA rated a third of experiences with basic bank accounts as poor or very poor. The exercise covered 298 interactions across branches and by telephone, and rated 28% of cases as good or very good, 38% as fair, 20% as poor and 14% as very poor. Problems included failing to offer these accounts to people who needed them, particularly those with no fixed address. Some pushed customers in vulnerable circumstances towards online applications to open an account unsuitable for their needs. Emad Aladhal, director of retail banking at the FCA, said: "Bank accounts are important for financial inclusion, and this is about making sure the very people who could benefit from basic bank accounts are not missing out." Banks have agreed to provide the right account for customers first time, make it straightforward for customers without standard ID or a fixed address to open an account, and offer alternatives to online applications to those who are vulnerable. Peter Tyler, director of personal banking at trade body UK Finance, said: "We recognise that more can be done to ensure consistently good outcomes for everyone."

Banks accused of failing most vulnerable customers
North America
CNBC Finance

Manhattan luxury real estate sales hold firm despite fears of a 'Mamdani effect'

A month after the passage of a tax on second homes in New York City, sales of luxury real estate remain strong and inventory is falling, according to brokers and analysts. When New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature approved the so-called pied-à-terre tax on May 27, real estate agents and developers predicted an immediate impact. Brokers said the New York wealthy would flee to Florida, developers said they would halt new projects and real estate lobbyists predicted declines in employment. Many cited what they called "the Mamdani effect," referring to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and potential wealth flight from taxes. "The tax on second homes will dampen market activity, reduce property values, hurt new development and weaken the city's economy," the Real Estate Board of New York said in a statement soon after the measure passed. Yet sales of luxury apartments show little signs of weakness. There were 126 contracts signed for apartments priced at $4 million or more in June, up from 124 during the same four-week period last year, according to Olshan Realty. The average price of a Manhattan apartment reached its second-highest level ever during the second quarter, up 5% over the past year to roughly $2.2 million, according to Brown Harris Stevens. Sales of condos priced between $10 million and $20 million surged 55%, according to Compass. Sales of condos over $20 million were up 33%, with average asking prices up 14%, the real estate brokerage said. The deals in June included an $80 million duplex penthouse in a new condo building near Manhattan's West Village, a $26 million condo downtown and a $22 million co-op on the Upper East Side. Brokers say that while some buyers were initially spooked by the tax, the flood of liquidity from recent initial public offerings and soaring wealth from asset prices has outweighed their fears. "The amount of money out there is insane," said Lauren Muss of Douglas Elliman, who had a $17.5 million condo listing go to contract in June. "We're seeing big things come to us every day. It's only getting stronger." It's too early to judge the long-term impacts of the tax, of course. And real estate lawyers say there will be years of litigation related to valuations, co-op boards, residency status and other issues related to the new tax. While Hochul and Mamdani have said the tax will raise $500 million a year, the New York City Comptroller estimates it will raise about $340 million to $380 million. Yet top brokers said the pied-à-terre tax fears are quickly subsiding. The surcharge, imposed on non-primary residences valued by the city at more than $1 million, was first proposed in April, approved in May and officially took effect this week. It applies to residences that fit the tax criteria as of Jan. 5, 2026. So any buyers of pricey pied-à-terres this year will be subject to the tax. Some buyers initially paused their deals when the tax was first proposed, according to agents. Scott Hustis, of Paradigm Advisory at Compass, said he listed a $16.5 million penthouse duplex in Madison Square Park Tower on April 8. One buyer expressed immediate interest and was about to make an offer, he said, but when Hochul announced the proposed tax a week later, the buyer pulled back. By late May, however, as the details of the tax started becoming more clear, buyers came back into the market. The penthouse went into contract on June 6. "There is a lot of confidence out there," Hustis said. "Markets are strong. A lot more New York buyers are coming out of the woodwork."

Manhattan luxury real estate sales hold firm despite fears of a 'Mamdani effect'
North America
CNBC Economy

Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation rate falls to lowest in 50 years, outside of Covid era

On the surface, a June drop in the unemployment rate helped provide some upside to what was an otherwise downbeat jobs report — but it was for all the wrong reasons. That's because the decline in the jobless level to 4.2%, the lowest in a year, came largely from an exodus of workers from the labor force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data Thursday. In fact, the measure of the working-age population either employed or looking for a job slid to 61.5%, the lowest since March 2021. Excluding the Covid-era jobs market, it was the lowest labor force participation rate in exactly 50 years. The decline in the labor force marks a "massive exodus" driven by multiple factors, said Mike Reid, head of U.S. economics at RBC. "The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% as both the number of unemployed workers and the size of the labor force pulled back," Reid wrote in a post-report commentary. "This may well be a story of retirements but could also be a story of prior job seekers dropping out of the labor force." Within the bureau's household survey, where the participation numbers are drawn, is a story of a consistently contracting labor force potentially driven by unemployed workers simply giving up. In June alone, the labor force, a measure of those either employed or not employed and looking for work, plummeted by 720,000. Similarly, the rolls of those counted as not in the labor force, a group that includes the unemployed and those not looking for work, jumped by 832,000. And while the establishment survey, which counts jobs filled, showed growth for the month of 57,000, the survey of households, which counts the actual level of those working, tumbled by 507,000. On a year-over-year basis, the labor force is down by just over 1 million, while the level of the employed also has fallen by 1.06 million and the ranks of the unemployed have risen by 40,000. The employment-to-population ratio slipped to 59% in June, the lowest since October 2021. All that has happened while the unemployment rate has risen by just one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%. "What really affects me is not so much the unemployment rate," said Dan North, senior economist for North America at Allianz. "What's an important development is the participation rate, and this is a big leg down in one month, and over the past year it's a pretty big leg down. I think this is a more important number." The drop in participation is sometimes attributed to a shrinking immigrant population and retiring baby boomers and Gen Xers. However, in June the biggest plunge came from what is defined as "prime age" workers, or those between the ages of 25 and 54. That rate fell 0.6 percentage point to 83.3%, its lowest since December 2023.

Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation rate falls to lowest in 50 years, outside of Covid era
North America
CNBC Finance

Premier Lacrosse League plans to bring in team owners by 2028 'or soon thereafter,' co-founder says

The Premier Lacrosse League wants to begin selling its teams to individual owners or groups by 2028 "or soon thereafter," league co-founder Paul Rabil told CNBC. In the next decade, Rabil said, he wants the league to expand from eight teams to as many as 16, with each franchise owned independently, similar to other U.S. professional leagues. The PLL is in its eighth season, and currently the league, itself, owns the teams. Rabil, 40, is perhaps the most famous American lacrosse player in history, playing Major League Lacrosse from 2008 to 2018 before co-founding the PLL with his brother, Mike. The PLL merged with MLL in 2020. The PLL is one of a number of emerging sports leagues, along with League One Volleyball, the Professional Women's Hockey League and the Basketball Africa League, that have begun with a single-entity ownership model. League One Volleyball has recently begun selling off teams to interested owners who pay expansion fees to take control of franchises. The BAL is beginning that process now, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum told CNBC Sport last month. The demand to own sports teams has skyrocketed in recent years as valuations for the biggest sports — the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL — have soared. The spike in team valuations for the so-called Big Four U.S. sports leagues has pushed a class of investors toward more affordable teams in Major League Soccer, the National Women's Soccer League and the WNBA. Emerging sports leagues like the PLL are seeking to prove they can join this mezzanine class of leagues that can garner team valuations in the hundreds of millions or even close to a billion dollars. Earlier this week, the PLL raised $100 million in a Series E funding round to grow the league. Rabil is banking on the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics to give exposure to the league and the sport. Lacrosse hasn't been a medal sport in the Summer Games for about 120 years but is returning in 2028. "The first allotment of tickets sold out in 48 hours for lacrosse, so there's good hype building," Rabil said. However, Rabil said, if a large private equity fund or a strategic company such as TKO Group, which owns World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Bull Riders, would like to acquire the league, "we would absolutely have those discussions." Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Premier Lacrosse League plans to bring in team owners by 2028 'or soon thereafter,' co-founder says