The Trump administration is imposing sanctions on 17 people under the Magnitsky Act for their alleged involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, CNBC reports.
Details: Among those sanctioned are Saudi Consul General Mohammad Alotaibi, who oversaw the Istanbul consulate, and Maher Mutreb, a senior Saudi official who allegedly coordinated the attack. The news comes one day after Saudi Arabia announced that it would seek the death penalty against five people who allegedly played a role in the killing.
Levi Strauss & Co. is prepping an IPO that could raise between $600 million and $800 million at a valuation of around $5 billion (or perhaps $5.01 billion?), according to CNBC.
Why it matters: There aren't too many 100 year-old companies around, let alone 145-year old companies that remain iconic and successful. Plus Levi's isn't only a fashion trailblazer, it has also completed one of the largest-ever IPOs at the time of issuance ($50m in 1971) and a then-massive take-private leveraged buyout ($1.7 billion in 1984).
Walmart is requiring employees to travel to specific, well-regarded hospitals for spinal procedures, in a bid to cut down on its health care costs, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
What's happening: Walmart is paying for surgery at some big-name systems, including the Mayo Clinic and Geisinger, while slashing what it will pay closer to employees’ homes. Adding the extra hurdle has helped cut down on unnecessary procedures, for which physical therapy might be just as effective, per WSJ. Of course, it’s also a big hoop to jump through for employees who are in pain and legitimately need surgery.
The Correspondent, the English version of the Dutch journalism platform, De Correspondent, is launching a campaign to raise $2.5 million to fund in-depth journalism that's driven by feedback from readers.
The bigger picture: If it meets its fundraising goal by December 14th, The Correspondent will launch a website next year that's focused on in-depth coverage of complex topics, not breaking news.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström told reporters Wednesday that the EU has "not received any assurances" that the Trump administration won't implement auto tariffs, but said she is under the assumption that there will not be any new tariffs from either side — a commitment President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to in July.
The big picture: Malmström, who met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington, D.C., today, said she believes auto tariffs would be harmful to both the U.S. and European economies, but added that the EU has a draft list of retaliatory tariffs that it's prepared to process if necessary. As Axios' Jonathan Swan reported, Trump views the threat of auto tariffs as his best leverage over negotiating partners. He has privately told aides that the threat of auto tariffs helped him get a better trade deal with Canada, and that the same could apply to the EU.
Fox News is supporting CNN's lawsuit against the Trump administration over the White House's revocation of Jim Acosta's press pass and plans to file an amicus brief in the case, according to a statement from the network's president Jay Wallace.
"FOX News supports CNN in its legal effort to regain its White House reporter’s press credential. We intend to file an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court. Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponized. While we don’t condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the President and the press at recent media avails, we do support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people."
The unlikely bond between President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron — once dubbed Le Bromance by the New York Times — appears to have taken a turn for the worse following Trump's weekend visit to France.
Driving the news: Trump kicked off the trip by tweeting his frustration with Macron's proposal for a "true European army," calling the idea "very insulting." On Sunday, with Trump sitting nearby, Macron gave a speech slamming nationalism as "a betrayal of patriotism." Trump responded in a Tuesday morning tweet storm, pointing out Macron's low approval rating and claiming "there is no country more [n]ationalist than France."
Why it matters: If CNN comes out victorious, it will reinforce a legal precedent that says government officials, even as powerful as the president, can't remove a member of the press corps' credentials for arbitrary reasons. If it doesn't, the precedent will be set that government officials can restrict access to journalists they dislike.
