Axios

The brother of Seth Rich, the former DNC staffer who was murdered in 2016, is suing the Washington Times, Texas businessman Ed Butowsky, and internet activist Matt Couch — along with Couch's media company — for promoting conspiracy theories surrounding Rich's death, reports CNN. Aaron Rich is seeking damages for reputational harm and emotional distress after false reports claimed that his background as a defense contractor allowed him to help his brother obtain and transfer leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks.

The backdrop: The filing comes on the heels of a separate lawsuit brought by Rich's parents against Fox News for claims of emotional distress surrounding a retracted 2017 story that exploited their son's murder "through lies, misrepresentations, and half-truths" with similar baseless claims that Rich's murder was connected to the DNC leak.

President Trump's approval rating jumped 7 points this month to 42%, due in part to the growing U.S. economy and tax cuts, according to the latest AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. 47% of respondents said they approved of how Trump was handling the economy and 46% approve of his handling of the new tax overhaul.

Yes, but: Republicans are approaching what is looking like a gloomy midterm season and Trump is still disliked by over half of American voters. 73% of voters said that they thought the new tax laws benefit the wealthy, and voters were split over whether they helped the middle class. However, in past midterm and presidential elections, the economy and jobs have always been the top issues for voters, according to Pew Research.

While Washington wrings its hands over Facebook's data-harvesting scandal and the continued palace intrigue of the Trump administration, most Americans tend to have their attention focused elsewhere:

Why it matters: Trends like #deletefacebook might appear transformational and gain traction amongst Elon Musk's tech circles, but they often fail to break through for most Americans. People are presented with more content than can possibly be consumed, often choosing relaxing, pleasing selections over the news of the moment — and who can blame them?

Groups of internet websites are forming in clusters so that they can share resources and leverage their collective size to negotiate better deals with digital content distributors and offer better advertising solutions.

The latest: Bustle Digital Group announced yesterday that it is acquiring The Zoe Report from Rachel Zoe, Inc., a popular fashion and lifesytle brand for young women. Bustle CEO Bryan Goldberg says they are planning more acquisitions in the future.

John Landgraf, the CEO of 21st Century Fox-owned cable network FX and FX Productions, which produces hits ranging from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to The Americans, tells Axios he's worried that media consolidation with other industries (tech, telecom, etc.) could lead to less quality storytelling.

"If Fox and Disney don’t merge, I think existing TV brands have a pretty uncertain future... There's a possibility that in the aftermath of a merger between Disney and Fox that (the combined company) will be the only free-standing company started by a storyteller — Walt Disney— that's large enough to be at scale to compete. Every other company will be owned by a phone company or cable company or internet platform... There’s a special status that storytellers hold inside these creative companies. We have decades or sometimes upwards of 100 years of experience nurturing stories and I worry about the future of fictional storytelling, to be honest, in an environment where it’s farther down the scale of priorities. I’m not saying it’s a non-priority, it’s just not the number one priority to a company like Google or Facebook and I worry about that."

A look inside transforming ESPN from linear-TV kingpin to a direct-to-consumer digital outlet ... "Can a New President and Streaming Service Help ESPN Win Again?" Variety's cover story by Brian Steinberg: "[T]he perfect storm brewing in Bristol these days is bigger than any that Disney’s most valuable asset has ever faced. The network’s newly installed president, Jimmy Pitaro, will be put to the test immediately in April with the launch of an app, ESPN+, that will charge fans a monthly fee for even more events coverage."

The state of play: "The app is a gambit aimed at securing the future for ESPN at a time when its present couldn’t seem more precarious. Its core business — its cable networks — is expected to shed 14 million subscribers between 2010 and the end of 2018."

A team of scientists is calling upon sports organizations — including NFL and the Little League — to have healthier foods and drinks shown by their sponsors, in an effort to help cut childhood obesity. In a new study published in Pediatrics Monday, the team showed 76% of sports sponsors promoted food and drinks with a low nutrient amount and 52% showcased sugar-sweetened drinks.

Why it matters: Food and nonalcoholic beverage companies spend millions of dollars on professional sports sponsorships and strong associations have been made between food advertising and child obesity by other studies. The CDC says nearly 1 in 5 children in school (ages 6 to 19 years) in the U.S. has obesity and a separate recent study suggests children ages 2–5 have experienced a sharp increase in severe obesity.

Bustle Digital Group will announce today that it is acquiring The Zoe Report from Rachel Zoe, Inc., a popular fashion and lifesytle brand for young women. Terms of the deal, effective April 1, are not disclosed. The deal is a combination of cash and stock. Upon close, Rachel Zoe will become a significant shareholder of Bustle Digital Group.

Why it matters: The Zoe Report is joining Bustle, Romper and Elite Daily as the fourth major brand in the Bustle Digital Group. The acquisition comes as more digital media holding companies looks to acquire and scale to gain better leverage with digital distributors, like Google and Twitter.

China is offering to buy more American semiconductors in an attempt to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S., CNBC reported Monday. China is also reportedly working on regulations to ease rules so foreign firms can buy into its security firms.

Why it matters: This is a sign that Trump's anti-China tariff threats, meant to counter the country's intellectual property practices and reduce the U.S. trade deficit, could be making some progress, even if the latter is a monumental task.