May 2, 2018 - Economy & Business

Entertainment execs tout "buckets" of money

MGM Television President Mark Burnett. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

"Entertainment industry heavyweights made an upbeat case for their business at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, despite fast-growing competition from online video networks such as Netflix and Amazon.com," the L.A. Times' Ryan Faughnder reports.

What they're saying: MGM Television President Mark Burnett, whose company produces "Survivor," "The Voice" and "The Handmaid's Tale," told the conference: "Basically, if you're not a hit maker in what we do, you're in big trouble ... Once you have something that emotionally connects … money is falling from the sky, globally ... That money is falling into our buckets, if we have the most connective content in the world."

The big trend: "Streaming platforms are providing more outlets for hit shows ... 'The Handmaid's Tale' ... found a large audience on Hulu."

  • "Rival Netflix ... is spending billions of dollars a year on original movies and shows and has aggressively pursued global distribution rights for content."

Go deeper

Rashaan Ayesh
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi, Schumer demand postmaster general reverse USPS cuts ahead of election

Schumer and Pelosi. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Thursday calling for the recent Trump appointee to reverse operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service that "threaten the timely delivery of mail" ahead of the 2020 election.

Why it matters: U.S. mail and election infrastructure are facing a test like no other this November, with a record-breaking number of mail-in ballots expected as Americans attempt to vote in the midst of a pandemic.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Alison Snyder
2 hours ago - Science

CRISPR co-discoverer on the gene editor's pandemic push

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Brian Ach/Getty Images for Wired and BSIP/UIG via Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the development of CRISPR-based tests for detecting disease — and highlighting how gene-editing tools might one day fight pandemics, one of its discoverers, Jennifer Doudna, tells Axios.

Why it matters: Testing shortages and backlogs underscore a need for improved mass testing for COVID-19. Diagnostic tests based on CRISPR — which Doudna and colleagues identified in 2012, ushering in the "CRISPR revolution" in genome editing — are being developed for dengue, Zika and other diseases, but a global pandemic is a proving ground for these tools that hold promise for speed and lower costs.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 18,912,947 — Total deaths: 710,318— Total recoveries — 11,403,473 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 4,867,916 — Total deaths: 159,841 — Total recoveries: 1,577,851 — Total tests: 58,920,975 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi rips GOP over stimulus negotiations: "Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn" — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive.
  4. Public health: Majority of Americans say states reopened too quickly — Fauci says task force will examine aerosolized spread.
  5. Business: The health care sector imploded in Q2 — More farmers are declaring bankruptcy — July's jobs report could be an inflection point for the recovery.
  6. Sports: Where college football's biggest conferences stand on playing.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow