Bill Cosby was convicted today of three counts of aggravated indecent assault over a 2004 sexual assault, per The New York Times. The verdict comes less than a year after a jury deadlocked on the same charges.
What he's facing: Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, though Cosby could serve his sentences concurrently. Cosby was released on bail, pending sentencing, though he unleashed an expletive-laden rant against the district attorney after his verdict, per the AP. His attorney said that Cosby plans to appeal the sentence.
Retail shipping rates across the country are rising due a U.S. shortage of 51,000 truck drivers, projected to rise to 100,000 by 2021, USA Today reports.
The details: New regulations on the freight industry restricting the hours drivers can work without a break are reducing interest in the job. Plus, baby boomers are retiring from the truck driving business and millennials have been unwilling to replace them.
Upworthy’s parent company Good Media Group (GMG) is bringing in a new CEO and editor-in-chief to hone the company’s strategic vision of promoting social good, a year after the brand merged with its consulting arm, GOOD Corp.
Why it matters: The combined company sees a business opportunity in the fact that consumers, particularly its core audience of millennials, are more highly engaged in news about social causes — and increasingly looking to brands to take a stand on social issues. The new leaders have been brought on board specifically to execute that vision.
Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce gargantuan, says it isn't in a race with Amazon for U.S. customers, but that it is eager to take U.S. merchandise to its 550 million customers in China.
Why it matters: American politicians and technologists are unusually sensitive to what's often perceived as China horning in on American customers, markets and tech. But they may be missing a different game — using an elaborately built system, Alibaba is linking U.S. merchants directly to millions of Chinese customers, bypassing Amazon and other American platforms as an essential way-station to the Chinese market.
At a time technologists are stressing that, to stay employed, workers need to keep learning their whole lives, the graduate business school at the University of Michigan is offering alumni lifetime rights to return for refresher classes for free.
Quick take: The idea of the "open loop university," as it's called, was conceived two years ago at Stanford University. Rather than a traditional degree consisting of four consecutive years after high school, students can accumulate six years of Stanford classes as it suits them and their career throughout their lives.
The backdrop: Since the President Trump was elected in 2016, the U.S. has dropped from 41st to 45th in Reporters Without Borders' rankings. However, it ranked as low as 47th in 2011 during the Obama administration — despite ranking as high as 20th in 2009.
Comcast today announced a $31 billion takeover bid for European television giant Sky, which subsequently pulled its support for an already agreed-upon deal with21st Century Fox. Comcast's bid was 16% higher than Fox's, on a share vs. share basis.
The big picture: For Comcast, interest in Sky is a no-brainer. The U.S. telecom giant needs streaming assets to compete on a global stage against tech behemoths like Netflix.
Viacom has increased revenue from its addressable (data-based) advertising and branded content (native advertising and social) portion of its ad business by 29% year-over-year, the company announced as part of their quarterly earnings report Wednesday.
Why it matters: The network's efforts to increase this type of revenue via investments in ad technology are seen by many analysts as a core component of its offerings in a merger with CBS, which both companies are currently evaluating.
