While the United States continues to grapple with the #MeToo movement, India is experiencing a reckoning which was a long time coming.
The big picture: In India, only 6.6% of sexual harassment cases in 2016 resulted in a conviction, according to the Times of India. Accusing a sexual harasser or abuser is hard enough no matter where the victim is — but in India, where men hold even more prominent cultural power, the challenge is greater, Sonia Faleiro writes in Foreign Policy.
The Trump administration remains determined to double down on its China trade strategy by escalating tariffs from 10% to as much as 25% on consumer goods, electronics and automobiles by the end of the year. The strategy aims to further reduce America's $500 billion in annual imports from China.
The big picture: While this may cost China as many as 2 to 3 million jobs, it's not clear that it will reduce China’s overall exports. In fact, Trump’s trade war is exacerbating the trade deficit. Perhaps most troublingly for long-term U.S. economic growth, it's steering Asian countries — and their billions of consumers — toward non–U.S. trading partners.
Stocks rebounded on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 400 points, the Nasdaq Composite rising 2.95% and the S&P 500 up almost 2%.
Why it matters: The market has not recovered all of Wednesday's losses, but the Dow and S&P are back on track for a positive year.
Speaking at an Axios event Thursday, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich disavowed the right-wing conspiracies that have suggested the explosives sent to prominent Democrats are part of an elaborate "false flag" operation by the left.
The big picture: Asked by Axios' Mike Allen why the right seems to fall for these conspiracy, Gingrich responded, "Because it's October." Gingrich also said that while he doesn't think the president's attacks on the press are helpful, they have earned the label of "enemy of the people," pointing specifically to CNN International as an "anti-American" media outlet.
The Dallas Morning News, Texas' largest newspaper, joined the Houston Chronicle in endorsing Democrat Beto O'Rourke over Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz in an editorial published Thursday.
Why it matters: FiveThirtyEight currently has Cruz leading O'Rourke by about 6.5 points in a Senate race that has garnered national attention. The Dallas Morning News endorsed Paul Sadler, Cruz's Democratic opponent in 2012, but supported Mitt Romney for president that year, per The Hill.
Megyn Kelly's departure from the 9 a.m. hour of "Today" on NBC News is "imminent," CNN's Brian Stelter reports.
The big picture: Kelly did not host her show on Thursday morning and "is unlikely to return later," Stelter writes. Talks of dropping the show were already circulating before Kelly got herself in hot water earlier this week for saying she didn't see "what is racist" about white people dressing in blackface. She is in the middle of her second year in a 3-year contract with NBC News, reportedly valued at $23 million a year. According to Stelter, she has hired attorney Bryan Freedman which "may signal a length battle over her contract."
Editor's note: NBC is an investor in Axios and Andy Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, is a member of the Axios board.
Speaking at an Axios event in Washington Thursday, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said that Trump's attacks on the media as "the enemy of the people" don't help improve the American political divide, but that he thinks "they've earned it."
The big picture: Gingrich claimed the toxicity of the current political climate is "everyone's fault," pointing to social media and the "tribalization" of cable news — specifically CNN — as some of the main factors. When asked why there was such a quick move on the right to call yesterday's mail bombs a conspiracy, Gingrich answered, "Because it's October."
Cheddar, the streaming video network dubbed the "CNBC for millennials" is acquiring Rate My Professors (ratemyprofessors.com), the popular website used by college students to rate their teachers and professors.
Why it matters: The franchise, used by more than 6 million students a month, will add a user-generated component to Cheddar's business, which to-date has focused on mass distribution of professionally-created news content.
Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said that, based on information from Turkish investigators, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a planned operation in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: This is yet another narrative swerve from the Saudis about what exactly happened to Khashoggi as officials first claimed that he left the consulate before stating that he had been inadvertently killed in a fistfight.
Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit that advocates for gun control, is pouring over $11 million into digital ads targeted at vulnerable Democrats running for House seats this year, according to the group's spokesperson.
Why it matters: It's the largest digital investment ever made by a Democratic non-profit to win the House. And it puts it ahead of other major Democratic non-profits, like the House Majority PAC, in money spent on digital ads targeted at House races, according to sources familiar with their ad spending this cycle.
Telecom giants AT&T and Verizon are both pursuing a strategy that marries content and distribution. But they are taking two different approaches and, so far, seeing radically different results.
Verizon admitted Tuesday that its media arm, Oath — which consists of AOL, HuffPost, Yahoo and other digital brands — is struggling to drive revenue. Meanwhile, AT&T said Wednesday that WarnerMedia, its media division that was formerly called Time Warner, is flourishing.
Why it matters: Oath is driven by digital ad income, whereas WarnerMedia is driven by revenue from streaming subscriptions, its studio business and its digitally-sold television ads business. The digital ad business continues to be a tough marketplace for media companies competing with tech giants like Google and Facebook, whereas those tech giants have yet to dominate subscription streaming, movies, and digitally-sold TV ads.
Edelman has named former Obama administration digital chief Tom Cochran as general manager for digital and integrated marketing in its Washington, D.C., office.
Why it matters: Cochran has experience rolling out large-scale digital advocacy campaigns for the White House and elsewhere. Many of Edelman's clients in Washington are advocacy advertisers or large corporate social responsibility campaigns on behalf of mega corporations.
The pay gap between young men and women is steadily closing, but there’s still a chasm between what older men and women earn — a mismatch brought on by the financial strain of raising children.
Why it matters: We're making progress in narrowing the wage gap for new workers, but those advances will disappear at motherhood if the systemic disadvantages facing young, working mothers are not addressed. Some businesses are trying to tackle the problem through corporate child care benefits, though advocates say employer benefits can only do so much.
Clorox paid to license information from Kinsa, a tech start-up that sells internet-connected thermometers, so more ads could be targeted toward ZIP codes that had increases in fevers and other symptoms, The New York Times reports.
Why it matters: Smart home devices that connect to the internet may provide more efficiency and connectivity to households. But, the debate continues as increased convenience comes with growing concerns about privacy. To prevent the spread of flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends disinfecting surfaces — products that Clorox sells.
