Axios

Johnson & Johnson on Friday took a third swing at using bankruptcy court to shed the talc liabilities that have troubled the company for years.

Why it matters: Two previous attempts to place a specially created subsidiary into Chapter 11 protection failed after courts ruled the parent company wasn't broke and therefore couldn't use bankruptcy to its advantage.

Former President Trump is now free to sell shares in the parent company of Truth Social, as a stock lockup provision expired after Thursday's market close, although last week he pledged that he wouldn't.

Catch up quick: Trump and some other insiders had been prohibited from selling for six months after Truth Social's parent company went public via a blank-check company.

OpenAI is expected raise around $6.5 billion at a $150 billion pre-money valuation, while also turning down billions of oversubscribed dollars, as first reported by Bloomberg.

Why it matters: This would be the largest venture capital round of all time, topping the $6 billion raised earlier this year by Elon Musk's xAI.

Microsoft and Constellation Energy just unveiled a power purchase deal that would enable a restart of a reactor at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

Why it matters: The plan to bring a plant associated with an infamous 1979 partial meltdown back online in 2028 blends two big energy trends.

Waffle House pays its tipped workers less than minimum wage to put in hours of un-tipped work — cleaning bathrooms, cooking and washing dishes — according to a union complaint filed Thursday at the Labor Department.

Why it matters: Tipped workers are in the national spotlight, with first Donald Trump and then Kamala Harris, promising to get rid of taxes on tips. Many restaurant workers don't earn enough to owe income tax, so higher minimum wages might be a more pressing need.

Across Silicon Valley, entrepreneurs are clashing with the professionals hired to oversee the companies they founded — and they seem to have the upper hand.

Why it matters: In Silicon Valley, entrepreneurs are known as "founders" and are broadly exalted. Hired hands, by contrast, are seen as "professional fakers" who often "drive the company into the ground," as venture capitalist Paul Graham put it in a controversial essay this month.

Thought experiment: Do you feel at least slightly more anxious today than six months ago? Do you feel at least slightly more skeptical that what you're reading is real and true than six months ago?

Why it matters: Join the club. We've been asking people that as we travel the country. Almost everyone nods — regardless of age, region or education. Here's why: This election combines the worst of 2016 with the worst of 2020.

New York Magazine Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi is on leave after an alleged "romantic" relationship with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Oliver Darcy's Status newsletter reported on Thursday.

The big picture: The magazine said in an online statement that Nuzzi "acknowledged" to editors "that she had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign, a violation of the magazine's standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures."

Andy Dunn used to make men's clothing, selling his company Bonobos to Walmart for more than $300 million. Now he wants to help adults make friends.

Why it matters: Social interactions between American adults, including within households, were declining even before the remote work boom.

Nike said Thursday that its president and CEO John Donahoe is retiring and will be replaced by a former senior executive, Elliott Hill.

Why it matters: The sportswear giant warned in June of flagging sales and Axios' Hope King noted then that Nike's innovation and distribution strategies had struggled to win budget-conscious consumers or beat back growing competition.

Apple just received a very clear message that it still has a lot to do if it hopes to comply with Europe's new digital antitrust rules.

Why it matters: The tech giant, which has built its entire business around its own closed-world ecosystem, will now have to decide exactly how far it's willing to change in order to operate in Europe.

It's not so easy to register a blockchain business with the SEC, at least not according to consumer investment company Robinhood.

Why it matters: A consistent narrative from the U.S. regulator is that companies in the cryptocurrency industry are simply refusing to follow securities law by registering their businesses with the agency.

A Federal Trade Commission staff report released Thursday found that nine leaders in the social media and video streaming industry, including Meta and X, conducted "vast surveillance" of consumers to monetize their personal information.

Why it matters: Not only did companies capitalize off of users' data, the report alleged, but they also failed to protect consumers, including minors, and used collection, minimization and retention practices that were "woefully inadequate."

President Biden said on Thursday that the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut signals the nation had entered a "new phase" during a speech that touted his economic record.

Why it matters: Biden, who rarely speaks publicly about Fed policy decisions, pointed to lower rates as proof that the inflation burst that tarnished his economic legacy is all but over.

The U.S. Secret Service has launched a probe into a since-deleted post from Elon Musk over the lack of assassination attempts against President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

The big picture: The agency told Bloomberg it was withholding records related to Musk's post because they could "interfere with enforcement proceedings" when the news outlet filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents.

CEOs are trading carefully crafted, milquetoast public personas for ones that are more real with the hope of forging connections with employees, customers and other key audiences.

Why it matters: The personal brands of CEOs and founders are just as important as the company's brand itself.

Papa Johns chief corporate affairs officer Madeline Chadwick joined the pizza chain in 2018, as founder and CEO John Schnatter was being ousted following a string of scandals and inappropriate behavior.

• Since then, Chadwick and her team have worked to revamp the brand and rebuild the pizza delivery chain's corporate reputation.

Why it matters: The crisis caused by Schnatter put the importance of reputation and the value of clear communication into focus.

Crypto legislation could move forward as soon as the end of this calendar year, lawmakers said at Axios' State of Play for Crypto on Capitol Hill event in Washington, D.C., this morning.

Why it matters: The legislation could provide some of the regulatory certainty the crypto industry has been seeking.

Chinese President Xi Jinping talks a good game about balancing private and state-owned enterprise, but the scoreboard is telling a different story.

The big picture: Venture capital investment in Chinese startups has collapsed, as first detailed last week by the Financial Times.

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign stop in Michigan on Thursday night will have an extra dose of star power, with Oprah set to join Harris for a "Unite for America" event that will be streamed live on social media.

Why it matters: Oprah is one of several big-name celebrities the Harris campaign can call upon as the race to the White House enters it's final stretch.

Hertz Global Holdings has named Lauren Fritts as senior vice president and chief communications officer, the company told Axios first.

Why it matters: Fritts joins the car rental giant amid a C-suite shakeup, shifting EV strategy and slumping stock price.

At 2:01 pm Wednesday, right after the announcement that the Fed had cut rates by half a point, the S&P 500 hit an all-time high of 5,678. For the next two hours, it oscillated dramatically, to close modestly lower on the day.

Why it matters: The Fed's decision, complete with a rare official dissent from a board member, turns out to have provided less clarity than some might have hoped.

Private equity firm KKR and German billionaire Mathias Döpfner have struck a deal to separate Axel Springer's classifieds business from its media properties, the firms announced Thursday morning.

Why it matters: KKR will officially exit the media business it helped fund and expand over the past five years.

YouTube is making a series of product updates, many of which incorporate AI to make content creation easier.

Why it matters: The platform is working to ensure its dominance in user-generated video content while its competitor TikTok is in peril and its parent company faces larger issues in court.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recent movement on crypto legislation in Congress has given the industry hope that lawmakers may finally be delivering on long-time calls for regulatory guidance, and lawmakers say they are also hopeful to move legislation forward before the year's end.

• Axios Pro fintech reporter Lucinda Shen and Axios crypto reporter Brady Dale moderated conversations with Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Better Markets CEO Dennis Kelleher and Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad at the event, which was sponsored by Consensys.

Why it matters: The results of the upcoming election could mean different approaches to crypto policy under a new administration and Congress.

What they're saying: "[During] the lame duck, if [Republicans are] in control, Trump has already said he will be the crypto president," Emmer said.

Gillibrand said she is "very hopeful" for votes on crypto legislation in Congress during the lame duck session.

• "The one bill that's really very well-positioned is the one written through the Ag committee on the CFTC regulatory oversight for digital commodities," Gillibrand said.
• Both Emmer and Gillibrand noted the bipartisan support for crypto legislation on Capitol Hill.

The number of legislators who now understand crypto "has gone up dramatically over the course of the last three years," Shirzad said, noting that an increased understanding has had a "dramatic" impact on policy.

The other side: Kelleher argued the CFTC is "the smallest financial regulatory agency, the most chronically underfunded, understaffed regulatory agency … which is why the industry is pushing to get the CFTC to be their regulator."

Sponsored content:

In a View From the Top sponsored segment, Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin said he believes there are two camps of people in thinking about crypto's potential: people who have seen crypto technology in action and realize its potential benefits, and people who have seen what it can do but have different agendas based on their vested interests.

• "The United States likes to run the world through intermediaries and through financial intermediaries, and our technology is all about removing or reducing intermediaries," Lubin said.
• "There are vested interests who understand the power of the technology and are working hard to kill, slow, or co-opt it," he continued.

Orchestra, the public relations company formerly known as BerlinRosen Holdings, has acquired social impact firm Civitas Public Affairs Group, Axios exclusively reports.

Why it matters: This is Orchestra's seventh acquisition since 2022 and is a continuation of the consolidation spree within the communications industry.

Here's what's new on Hulu, Max, Netflix, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Prime Video.

What we're watching: A documentary about the highs and lows of child stardom, a limited series about one of Batman's greatest adversaries and a new chapter in the "Monster" anthology universe.

When it comes to the economy, Kamala Harris appears to have closed the "trust gap."

Why it matters: In polling throughout this election cycle, President Biden had been losing on the issue, with voters consistently saying they preferred Donald Trump on the economy.

October's around the corner — and that means the playoff season in retail is about to start, with Black Friday being the Super Bowl event.

Why it matters: The final three months of the year are the most important for retailers. They compete feverishly for not only consumer wallets, but also workers.