The Castro era ended in Cuba on Monday after six decades, with Raúl Castro handing over the reigns of a party founded in 1965 by his brother Fidel.
Why it matters: Miguel Díaz-Canel, 60, now assumes the challenge of maintaining Communist rule while grappling with growing discontent over Cuba's economic stagnation.
MyPillow counter-sued Dominion Voting Systems for more than $1.6 billion on Monday, alleging that the voting machine company's defamation lawsuit against MyPillow and its pro-Trump CEO aims to suppress free speech and has caused "grave" reputational harm.
Why it matters: Lindell is one of many Trump allies to face a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit for spreading false claims about the election, including that Dominion's voting machines flipped votes from Trump to Biden.
A complaint by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) alleges that Amazon illegally interfered in the union election at its Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, CNBC reports.
The big picture: The RWDSU alleged in its complaint to the National Labor Relations Board that Amazon threatened layoffs, loss of pay or benefits, or a facility closure if workers voted in favor of the effort which flopped earlier this month.
Amazon Monday morning announced investments in several new utility-scale wind and solar projects and said it's now Europe's largest corporate renewable power buyer.
The big picture: Look for a burst of corporate clean energy and climate pledges this week as companies hope to show their bona fides alongside this week's White House global climate summit and Earth Day.
First-quarter earnings so far have been very strong, outpacing even the rosy expectations from Wall Street and that's a trend that's expected to continue for all of 2021. S&P 500 companies are on pace for one of the best quarters of positive earnings surprises on record, according to FactSet.
Why it matters: The results show that not only has the earnings recession ended for U.S. companies, but firms are performing better than expected and the economy may be justifying all the hype.
The social audio craze that exploded during pandemic-driven lockdowns looks like it is here to stay, thanks to big investments from Silicon Valley.
Driving the news: Clubhouse said Sunday it closed a new Series C funding, valuing the buzzy live audio app at $4 billion, sources tell Axios. That's an astonishing number for an app that's still in beta and has no revenue.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the job facing governments was to save lives and save jobs. Very few states did well on both measures, while New York, almost uniquely, did particularly badly on both.
Why it matters: The jury is still out on whether there was a trade-off between the dual imperatives; a new analysis from Hamilton Place Strategies shows no clear correlation between the two.
Some of the country's fastest-growing states are publicly attacking the tech industry's business practices on one hand while courting its investment on the other.
Why it matters: Attracting technology companies is a holy grail for economic development because they bring high-paying jobs and prestige to aspiring tech hubs. But that project is now colliding with some state leaders' efforts to rein in tech companies' growing power.
Blackstone Group has agreed to sell a slate of warehouse and logistics assets in Australia to the Hong Kong-based ESR Cayman Ltd. for $2.9 billion, a source familiar with the deal confirmed.
Why it matters: It's Australia's biggest real estate deal in five years, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news.
