☕️ New dynasty rising

A tech family takes over a slice of Hollywood... July 09, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Timeline Nutrition]( Good morning. Today, media and tech moguls will be dropped off by their PJs at the “summer camp for billionaires” in Idaho, where bug juice is on tap and the scary stories are generated by ChatGPT. Formally known as Allen & Co.’s Sun Valley Conference, the annual A-list meetup offers an opportunity for Patagonia-clad executives to talk shop and hatch megadeals. This year’s attendees include Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Bob Iger, and other people who might think a banana costs $10. On the agenda: the US presidential election, teaming up on streaming bundles, sports media rights, and a whole lot of Slip N Slide. —Sam Klebanov, Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 18,403.74 +0.28% S&P 5,572.85 +0.10% Dow 39,344.79 -0.08% 10-Year 4.269% +0.0 bps Bitcoin $56,631.10 -0.23% Corning $43.05 +11.99% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: A busy week for investors got off to an auspicious start yesterday with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notching new [record highs](. Traders are hoping they can keep that energy going throughout the week while Jerome Powell appears before Congress, new inflation data drops, and the Q2 earnings season begins. - Stock spotlight: Corning, which makes glass for phone screens, was the latest company to get an AI-related boost after upping its sales forecast thanks to demand for its connectivity products.  ENTERTAINMENT [Paramount deal crowns a new Hollywood emperor]( [David Ellison]( M. McCormack/Stringer/Getty Images In the M&A version of a dynastic pact, control of the iconic Hollywood conglomerate Paramount Global will pass from one corporate heir to another. Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, who inherited the reins from her father, agreed to merge it with Skydance Media, led by David Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison. In the first phase of a [multistep merger]( Skydance will pay Redstone $2.4 billion to gain control of the company. The deal comes after a negotiations saga that included Redstone calling off a similar agreement several weeks ago and Paramount’s CEO resigning in April. Ailing giant rescue Ellison, a 41-year-old college dropout-turned-actor-turned-[movie producer]( will become Paramount’s new CEO. He’ll be tasked with restoring the beleaguered heavyweight to its former glory. - Paramount owns CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, and the movie studio behind classics like The Godfather and Titanic. Ellison’s Skydance previously teamed up with Paramount to release hits like Top Gun: Maverick and Star Trek Into Darkness. - Despite its storied past, Paramount has struggled to adapt to a post-linear-TV world. It’s bleeding cash and hasn’t yet been able to offset losses with its streaming service, Paramount+. Skydance and its financial backers (which include Ellison’s father and RedBird Capital Partners) will provide Paramount with $1.5 billion in cash to help pay off debt and spend $4.5 billion to buy back shares from investors. The new leadership plans to use its tech know-how to speed up Paramount’s pivot to digital and get viewers to spend more time on Paramount+. It intends to harness generative AI for efficiency gains and to slash costs by $2 billion, while Paramount’s existing bosses said they’ll press ahead with previously planned layoffs. Looking ahead…the deal is set to close in Q3 of next year, barring any regulatory snags or rival bidders, who have 45 days to submit offers.—SK PRESENTED BY TIMELINE NUTRITION [Get ready for real results]( [Timeline Nutrition]( Have you ever tried a skincare product that promises the world but doesn’t deliver any noticeable or lasting effects? Well, we’ve got good news: You won’t get that with [Timeline’s Serum]( powered by Mitopure®. It’s clinically proven to combat the biological and environmental aging factors that impact the skin’s appearance and overall health. The serum targets skin aging at its source—skin cells—to provide them with the energy needed for optimal function and youthful appearance. In fact, studies show the serum’s results are [more effective than retinol]( (aka the OG skin-aging combatant). Give the serum a try and experience visible results in as little as 15 days. While you’re at it, [take 30% off with code MBSERUM](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [A tree knocked down by Hurricane Beryl in Texas]Brandon Bell/Getty Images Beryl knocked out power as it raged through Texas. Hurricane Beryl [slammed into Texas]( as a Category 1 storm yesterday, killing at least two people there, leaving more than 2 million homes and businesses without power (most of them in the Houston area), and causing the cancellation of over 1,400 flights. It also disrupted oil production, causing crude prices to fall. The storm, which grew into a Category 5 hurricane unprecedentedly early in the Atlantic season (it later weakened), may be a sign of what’s to come as warming ocean water churns up faster storms. Biden tells Dems he’s not bowing out. As questions continued to swirl about Joe Biden’s 2024 candidacy in the wake of his poor showing in a debate against Donald Trump, the president said [in a letter]( to congressional Democrats that he’s “firmly committed” to staying in the presidential race despite some major donors and lawmakers calling for him to step aside. The two-page missive insisted, “The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end.” Biden also called into MSNBC’s Morning Joe and reiterated his plan to keep running. Polls show his party’s voters are split on whether he should stay or go, and House Democrats are expected to address the issue privately at a meeting today. Boeing said to be in talks with Defense Department over guilty plea’s impact. After agreeing to plead guilty to a criminal charge tied to Max 737 crashes, Boeing has [begun talks]( with the DOD to preserve its ability to secure hefty government contracts, Reuters reports. It’s a big deal for Boeing: Contracts with the US government accounted for 37% of the company’s revenue last year. Under its [plea deal]( with the Department of Justice, which allows it to avoid a trial, Boeing will admit to fraud in connection with crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia and pay a $243.6 million fine. But a judge could reject the deal, and the families of some crash victims are already objecting. LAW [Alec {NAME}’s trial starts today]( [Alec {NAME}]( {NAME} and his wife, Hilaria {NAME}, speak about the shooting. MEGA/Getty Images Almost three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot while filming the Western film Rust, a jury will be [selected]( today to decide whether the actor who held the gun is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Here’s what Alec {NAME}’s trial in New Mexico will [likely focus on]( - The actor says he aimed the revolver at Hutchins per her direction but that it went off without him pulling the trigger. Prosecutors say FBI testing found the .45-caliber weapon couldn’t have fired without a trigger pull. - The prosecution plans to show on-set footage of {NAME} pointing the revolver at things and keeping his finger on the trigger when it wasn’t supposed to be. - {NAME} and witnesses say they were told the gun was “cold.” {NAME}’s team argues he had no reason to believe that firing the gun carried risk, so he couldn’t have committed involuntary manslaughter. The prosecution already hit a snag. The state can’t argue that {NAME}’s role as Rust co-producer made him more culpable in safety violations, the judge [ruled]( pretrial yesterday. Prosecutors also won’t be allowed to show footage of {NAME} allegedly trying to hurry up the armorer who loaded the gun: Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who’s already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter (she’s appealing). If convicted…{NAME} faces up to 18 months in prison. Prosecutors withdrew a plea deal offer in October after hearing that {NAME} had pressured potential witnesses to cooperate with a filmmaker making a sympathetic [documentary]( about the incident.—ML TOGETHER WITH INFINITY FUEL [Infinity Fuel]( Infinity welcomes William Shatner.* [Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc.]( is welcoming William Shatner aboard as their advisor and mission ambassador. They’re pioneering hydrogen fuel cells that work under water and in space, developed with $50m+ in previous contracts from NASA, the US Navy, and more. [Become one of Infinity’s earliest shareholders while you can](. TRAVEL [Anti-tourism protests seek to dampen Barcelona travel]( [Anti-tourism protesters in Barcelona]( Images/Getty Images Locals in Barcelona broke out their squirt guns over the weekend—but not because they wanted to cool down. Thousands of protesters [sprayed]( water at tourists in a popular city district on Saturday as part of a demonstration against mass tourism. The protesters, led by the Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth, said it and sprayed it, chanting “tourists, go home” as they wet people eating outside at restaurants. Why? Barcelona has struggled with the impact of [tourism]( on the local economy, especially the rising cost of living. Rent has increased 68% over the past ten years. Meanwhile, home sales prices have climbed by 38%. In response, the city’s mayor announced a plan to end short-term apartment rental licenses for some 10,000 apartments by 2028 to free up housing on offer at Airbnb and other tourist-focused platforms. Elsewhere in Spain…anti-tourism protests have sprung up in Palma de Mallorca and [Málaga]( both popular beach destinations. Each saw 10,000+ protesters at demonstrations earlier this year. Other places are taking a different approach: Copenhagen’s new initiative, CopenPay, offers [free]( activity passes and/or meals to tourists who partake in pro-sustainability activities, like using the train or cleaning up trash—everyone’s favorite vacation pastime.—CC STAT [Prime number](#) [Elevator buttons and stairs as an American flag]Anna Kim Panting your way up the stairs this summer? It’s because the US, where the passenger elevator was invented, only has roughly 1 million of the people-carriers in operation. That puts it on par with Spain—a country which has one-seventh of America’s population and less than half as many apartments, according to a recent [guest essay]( in the New York Times. And Switzerland has twice as many as NYC, despite having just about the same number of inhabitants and 3x as many single-family homes. Stephen Smith, who heads a nonprofit that advocates for updating America’s building codes, said in the essay that cost is a major factor in the US not keeping pace with European elevator installation. A four-stop elevator costs ~$158,000 in New York City but just ~$36,000 in Switzerland. Why? Like meal portion sizes, elevators are bigger in the US, in part due to regulations, and the high cost of labor also contributes to the price tag, per Smith. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Most medical students]( at Johns Hopkins University won’t have to pay tuition anymore thanks to a $1 billion gift from Michael Bloomberg. - [France’s prime minister]( was asked to stay on for now as political deadlock continues after the far-right’s surprising loss in Sunday’s election because no party won a big enough majority to govern without forming a coalition. - [A Russian missile]( hit a Ukrainian children’s hospital, killing at least 37 people. - [Three Columbia University deans]( were put on indefinite leave for sending text messages that the school said “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes.” - [Actor Jay Johnston]( best known for his roles in Bob’s Burgers and Mr. Show, pleaded guilty to a felony for obstructing police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] Nosh: Learn what science says about [when to snack]( and what to nibble on. Watch: How designers decide what [electric cars should sound like](. Add to your nightstand pile: The New York Times Book Review is revealing its [100 best books]( of the 21st century. Celebrities aren’t always just like us: Here are some [wild NDAs]( they’ve made people sign. Last chance for free Excel workshop: This is your last chance to sign up for tomorrow’s live workshop on pivot tables and data analysis, so [reserve your spot now](. Beach in style: Beach days are less fun when you’re lugging your gear around. Check out [The Shore Thing]( a light and award-winning [beach chair]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Today’s crossword will have you counting down the days until next Fourth of July. [Play it here](. Salad trivia The Caesar salad celebrated its 100th birthday last week, but we’re not gonna let it hog the leafy spotlight. In today’s trivia, we’ll give you the ingredients of a popular salad, and you have to name the salad. - Chopped lettuce, bacon, grilled chicken, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, avocados, Roquefort cheese, and red wine vinaigrette - Tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta, and onions - Grapes, apples, celery, walnuts, and mayonnaise, sometimes served over a bed of lettuce. - Sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, sweet basil, salt, and olive oil. - Parsley, tomatoes, mint, onion, bulgur wheat, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper - Roasted chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, apples, goat cheese, roasted almonds, wild rice, shredded kale, balsamic vinaigrette SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER - Cobb salad - Greek salad - Waldorf salad - Caprese - Tabbouleh - Sweetgreen’s Harvest Bowl Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: missive, meaning “a letter.” Thanks to April Gadola of Stockton, CA, for writing in with the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✳︎ A Note From Infinity Fuel This is a paid advertisement for Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc.’s Reg CF offering. Please read the offering circular at [(. *Section 17(b) disclosure. Mr. Shatner is compensated as an Infinity advisor at $10k/month. He also has received options to purchase up to 100k shares vesting over nine months at an $8/share strike price. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( Sam Klebanov, [Molly Liebergall]( and [Cassandra Cassidy]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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