Republican politicians are propelling a growing boycott of Netflix in response to the streamer debuting a French film called "Cuties," which denounces society's hyper-sexualization of young girls on social media.
Driving the news: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday asked the Justice Department to investigate whether the filmmakers "violated any federal laws against the production and distribution of child pornography," despite the fact that the film does not showcase any nudity of underage children.
ViacomCBS has sold its consumer technology digital media arm CNET Media Group for $500 million to Red Ventures, a digital media conglomerate, Red Ventures announced Monday.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of a media behemoth shedding smaller assets to focus on streaming and offload debt.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held "virtually" this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday, per NBC New York.
The big picture: "It will not be the same parade we're used to," de Blasio said. "[Macy's is] reinventing the event for this moment in history. And you will be able to feel the spirit and the joy of that day." Audiences will be able to watch the event online and on TV. De Blasio said Macy's will release additional details about the event later Monday.
Following the fastest 10% correction in the history of the Nasdaq last week — taking just three sessions, surpassing even March's blisteringly fast slide — investors are split on whether it's a buying opportunity or the start of a new bear market.
On one side: Many hedge funds are buying, with fund managers that make both bullish and bearish stock bets buying internet and software companies at the fastest rate in five months last week, according to data compiled by Goldman Sachs.
Senate Republicans last week tried and failed to pass a slimmed down stimulus bill that would have included new money for small businesses, schools and $300 in additional weekly unemployment benefits.
Driving the news: Negotiations are now at "a dead-end street,” Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts said following the bill's failure, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said plainly, "Congress is not going to pass another COVID relief bill before the election." In fact, we're about two weeks away from a potential government shutdown.
Microsoft on Sunday night announced via a blog post that its takeover offer for TikTok's U.S. operations has been rejected by TikTok's parent company, China's ByteDance.
Next up: Oracle is the only publicly known bidder left for TikTok U.S., which soon faces a White House deadline to either agree to a deal or be banned.
Joe Biden is seeding his advisory boards and transition team with center-left economists and Black and Hispanic leaders as he prepares to confront income inequality and racial disparities exacerbated by the pandemic.
Why it matters: The Democratic nominee is signaling that if he wins in November, his administration may pivot away from the pro-Wall Street sentiment that pervades not just Trump's White House, but also reigned in Bill Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s administrations.
Oracle has leapfrogged Microsoft as the most likely buyer of TikTok's U.S. operations, according to multiple sources familiar with the process. But the situation remains very fluid, including the possibility of no deal at all.
[Update: Several hours after this story was published, Microsoft announced via blog post that its takeover offer has been rejected.]
Key questions: What exactly is for sale, and could President Trump accept a deal in which some of TikTok's core technology remains with Chinese parent company ByteDance?
Universities that brought students back to campus have already seen a rough start to the fall, with more than 50,000 infections across the country. But some have seemingly cracked the code.
The big picture: A number of schools have managed to open up while quelling or even preventing outbreaks, either because they’re effectively testing and tracing or because they’ve got smaller student bodies and more rural locations.
