Nov 10, 2018 - Economy & Business

Chip and Joanna Gaines in talks for media network with Discovery

Photo: Alvin Chan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

After ending their series in April, HGTV "Fixer Upper" stars Chip and Joanna Gaines are in talks with Discovery for a "lifestyle-focused media network," People Magazine reports.

The big picture, from Axios' Sara Fischer: This is the latest move by Discovery to expand their lifestyle TV dominance after purchasing Scripps Network for $14.6 billion in 2017. The additional programming could also help Discovery build its own digital skinny bundle service with home and lifestyle content, something CEO David Zaslov alluded to earlier this year. Bringing in the Gaines’ also highlights how valuable modern lifestyle brands can be. Discovery clearly sees value in launching a network with the Gaines’ powerful brand behind it, as opposed to building it from scratch.

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Fadel Allassan
44 mins ago - Economy & Business

Uber CEO proposes "benefits funds" for gig workers

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo: Scott Heins/Getty Images)

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called for establishing "benefits funds" for gig workers in a New York Times op-ed out Monday.

Why it matters: Gig workers, who remain independent contractors and not employees, have long pushed companies like Uber for benefits comparable to those received by traditional workers. The coronavirus pandemic and its resultant economic strain has broadened those calls.

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Hans Nichols
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Trump tries to set a tax trap for Biden

Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump is trying to lure Joe Biden into a Walter Mondale trap — attempting to force the Democratic nominee to embrace middle-class tax increases as part of his election strategy.

Why it matters: With his Saturday evening executive action to unilaterally rewrite the tax code, Trump again is demonstrating the lengths to which he’ll go to change the conversation — and try to make the election a choice between him and Biden, and not a referendum on him.

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Sara Fischer, Scott Rosenberg
2 hours ago - Technology

Tech's reluctant road to taking on Trump

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

The coronavirus pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests and a looming election have brought long-simmering conflicts between tech platforms and President Trump to a boil, as Facebook, Twitter and other services are starting to take presidential misinformation seriously.

What's happening: Wary of becoming arbiters of political speech, tech's platforms have carved out a range of exceptions and immunities for Trump and other political leaders — but that accommodation is coming undone.

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