Aug 23, 2017

Herbst: Newspapers' antitrust exemption request is a long shot

Carolyn Kaster / AP

Newseum CEO Jeffrey Herbst said Tuesday that he doesn't have high hopes for the antitrust exemption newspapers want to negotiate a better deal with Facebook and Google."First of all, I don't think it's going to happen in the current environment," Herbst told me said at the Technology Policy Institute's annual conference. "And it was bad luck for the News Media Alliance that the Democrats then just came out a few weeks later with their platform — it featured, if anything, a skepticism of concentration in all its forms."Reminder: The Democrats' "Better Deal" package contains recommendations for strengthening antitrust laws, not weakening them as an exemption would do, albeit in an minor way.Why it matters: Questions are swirling about the power that the big tech platforms have over content publishers as legacy media outlets continue to struggle. It also feeds into the larger debate over whether the biggest tech firms are too powerful overall, especially when it comes to online advertising.

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Ursula Perano

What we know: Deadly Storm Dennis whips at England, Wales and Ireland

Photo: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images.

At least two deaths are being attributed to Storm Dennis on Monday as it continues to strike at parts of England, Wales and Ireland, per AccuWeather.

The big picture: Dennis is the second-strongest nontropical storm ever recorded in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its hurricane-force winds and heavy rains have caused widespread flooding across the United Kingdom. The army has been deployed in the U.K. to help with flood relief.

Go deeper12 mins ago - Science

Axios

Coronavirus cases rise as 14 American evacuees infected

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's NHC; Note: China refers to mainland China and the Diamond Princess is the cruise ship offshore Yokohama, Japan. Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

14 Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for the novel coronavirus before being flown in a "specialist containment" on a plane repatriating U.S. citizens back home, the U.S. government said early Monday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 1,775 people and infected more than 70,000 others. Most cases and all but five of the deaths have occurred in mainland China.

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Jim VandeHei, Margaret Talev

The cost of going after Bloomberg

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Here's the growing dilemma for 2020 Democrats vying for a one-on-one showdown with frontrunner Bernie Sanders: Do they have the guts — and the money — to first stop Mike Bloomberg?

Why it matters: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren all must weigh the costs of punching Bloomberg where he looks most vulnerable: stop-and-frisk, charges of sexism, billionaire entitlement. The more zealous the attacks, the greater the risk he turns his campaign ATM against them.

Go deeper7 hours ago - Politics & Policy