Axios

The Attorneys General of Tennessee and North Carolina are looking into Ticketmaster following complaints from Taylor Swift fans angry over their chaotic experience trying to buy tickets during the presale.

Driving the news: Ticketmaster said Thursday it has canceled the general public ticket sale for Swift's upcoming Eras Tour after a chaotic and glitch-filled presale event.

A mixed bag of reports from mega retailers this week reveals where consumers are immune to inflation.

Why it matters: Record levels of price increases this year have hurt many families, but in some cases, a return to pre-pandemic attitudes and activities has overruled cautious spending.

The Daily Wire, a conservative media and entertainment company, says it now has more than 1 million paid subscribers to its streaming service DailyWire+.

Why it matters: The company has been positioning DailyWire+ as a conservative alternative to mainstream entertainment companies, particularly Disney.

Ticketmaster announced Thursday it has canceled the general public ticket sale for Taylor Swift's upcoming Eras Tour after a chaotic and glitch-filled presale event.

The latest: Ticketmaster said the on-sale was cut "due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand."

The debacle at bankrupt crypto exchange FTX threw a pall over The Blockchain Association's first policy summit in D.C., Wednesday, and that conflagration is complicating hopes that the industry could finally achieve clear updates to laws and rules in the U.S.

Why it matters: "Crypto's reputation in Washington has been damaged," the association's executive director, Kristin Smith, said during remarks at the event, while urging members to stay the course.

Lab-grown poultry from a California startup is safe for human consumption, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Why it matters: It's a major milestone for cell-cultivated meats and could be a sign that these foods will be available in U.S. stores and restaurants.

We got our first glimpse of John Ray III as the new CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX this morning.

• One thing is clear: The adults have stepped in to clean up the mess.

Elisa Schreiber spent her career as a startup operator and never could've predicted she would end up in venture capital.

Why it matters: Now, she runs marketing and communications for Greylock Partners and supports firm-backed entrepreneurs and portfolio companies like Discord, Rubrik, Airbnb, Coinbase and Roblox.

Highly skilled workers are being laid off in droves, but there’s still a major demand for marketing and communications talent — just maybe not as full-time employees.

Why it matters: Many startups, VCs and agencies are scouring for communication consultants, and the opportunities are ripe for those looking for flexible, lucrative work.

Venture capital (VC) firms increasingly see communications as a way to help their investments stand out from the competition.

Why it matters: Telling a good story — instead of buying one through ads — can be a cost-effective move in a rough economy.

The U.S. unit of Binance is reported to be a new possible bidder for the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital, a process restarted after the unwinding of FTX.

Why it matters: Opportunistic buyers are emerging amid a land grab for market share kicked off by the FTX-induced chaos.

Close to 55 million Americans will travel during Thanksgiving weekend, just shy of pre-pandemic levels, according to AAA.

Why it matters: For the second year in a row, Thanksgiving travel resembles the pre-pandemic world, showing Americans are eager once again to hit the road for their holiday hijinks.

Elizabeth Holmes on Friday will learn her punishment for defrauding investors in her failed blood-testing company, Theranos.

Why it matters: This will be the culmination of a legal case that began more than four years ago, putting Silicon Valley's "fake it 'til you make it" culture on trial.

Sam Bankman-Fried yesterday created headlines and lawyer ulcers by instigating a direct message interview with Vox reporter Kelsey Piper, in which he insulted regulators and his own accounting acumen.

What to know: It's impossible to take Bankman-Fried at his word right now, because so many of them are nonsensical. They read like the desperate pleadings of a man trapped beneath his house of concrete cards.

It may be Red Cup Day for Starbucks, but workers at over 100 stores are holding their own "Red Cup Rebellion" by striking on Thursday.

The big picture: It's the latest dispute between Starbucks and the union, Starbucks Workers United, which has accused the coffee company of illegal firings and interfering with workers' rights.

'Tis the season for holiday drinks and “red cups” as coffee shops and restaurant chains capitalize on America's thirst for seasonal flavors like peppermint and eggnog.

The intrigue: Seattle-based Starbucks said it's ringing in the holidays Thursday with its Red Cup Day giveaway, which comes two weeks after the holiday menu launched.

It happened. The section of the U.S. Treasury yield curve that most accurately predicts economic downturns has "inverted," or gone negative.

• And not for an intra-day blip — it's stayed that way for a couple of days now.

Why it matters: This part of the yield curve — the difference between yields on 10-year Treasuries and 3-month bills — has accurately predicted every U.S. recession since 1955.

In a survey six years ago, 56% of health care workers said they would support a union at work. Then came COVID.

The latest: Now, 71% of these workers said they'd support such efforts, according to a survey of more than 1,800 nonunionized professional workers conducted in August and released this week from the AFL-CIO, the U.S. labor federation.

The collapse of FTX and Alameda Research continues to reverberate through the crypto world — and more dominoes are falling.

The latest: On Wednesday, the crisis touched a high-profile crypto lender run by the billionaire twins Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, forcing them to halt withdrawals from their Gemini Earn crypto lending program.

Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, joined Kara Swisher for a spicy edition of her "On" podcast for New York Magazine, ahead of CNN layoffs planned for early December.

What he's saying: "Look, these are my cuts," Licht said. "I own this. This is my strategy and if I thought that there was a cut that ... I thought would be ... not in the interest of this company, I would push back hard. And I've not had to do that."

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said Wednesday he's investigating Ticketmaster for possible antitrust violations after ticket demand for Taylor Swift's concert tour led to site outages and other technical problems, per Bloomberg.

Why it matters: Some consumers groups say Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, dominate the ticketing and live events industry and have called on the government to break up what they consider a near-monopoly.

Elon Musk has recently identified someone as his potential successor to lead Tesla as CEO, according to James Murdoch, one of the company's directors.

Why it matters: Tesla investors have grown increasingly worried about Musk's divided focus since he initiated steps to buy Twitter earlier this year.