ftu fty by robertcal46

SUMMARY

‘THE CROWN,’ ‘MANDALORIAN’ TOP EMMY NOMINATIONS WITH 24 EACH FIRM HACKED TO SPREAD RANSOMWARE HAD PREVIOUS SECURITY FLAWS SPORTS: THE DIVERSIFICATION & EXPANSION OF APPLE TV+ BILLIONAIRE RICHARD BRANSON REACHES SPACE IN HIS OWN SHIP

08 26 50 78

ELECTRIFY AMERICA TO DOUBLE EV CHARGING STATIONS BY 2025 20 MUSK ON TRIAL: DEFENDS SOLARCITY, CALLS LAWYER ‘BAD HUMAN’ 38 FAA: NEW TOOL LIMITS DISRUPTIONS CAUSED BY SPACE OPERATIONS 72 BEZOS’ BLUE ORIGIN GETS OK TO SEND HIM, 3 OTHERS TO SPACE 88 G-20 FINANCE MINISTERS BACK PLAN TO STOP USE OF TAX HAVENS 94 ONE TRICK TO TRAVELING CHEAPLY: FLEXIBILITY 100 SKIP COLLEGE? NOT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE MORE MONEY 108 ‘FOREVER PURGE’ GETS POLITICAL ON SOUTHERN BORDER 134 WARNER BROS STUDIO TOUR EXPANDS WITH DC UNIVERSE, POTTER 144 UN CALLS FOR GLOBAL DATABASE OF HUMAN GENE EDITING RESEARCH 162 EUROPE TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARD INTRODUCING DIGITAL EURO 168 GOOGLE FINED $592 MILLION IN DISPUTE WITH FRENCH PUBLISHERS 172 WHATSAPP FACES EU CONSUMER COMPLAINT OVER PRIVACY UPDATE 178 CUBA’S INTERNET CUTOFF: A GO-TO TACTIC TO SUPPRESS DISSENT 182 AS FEARS ABOUT CLIMATE GROW, SIEMENS CEO SEES OPPORTUNITIES 192

MOVIES & TV SHOWS 118 MUSIC 126 TOP 10 ALBUMS 152 TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEOS 154 TOP 10 TV SHOWS 156 TOP 10 BOOKS 158 TOP 10 SONGS 160

‘THE CROWN,’ ‘MANDALORIAN’ TOP EMMY NOMINATIONS WITH 24 EACH

“The Crown” tied with “The Mandalorian” for the most Emmy nominations Tuesday with 24 apiece, but the Marvel universe also got bragging rights with runner-up “WandaVision.” The nominations reinforced the rapid rise of streaming, with most of the top-nominated scripted shows on services that emerged in the past two years. In the top three categories — drama, comedy and limited series — broadcast networks scored only two nominations, for the NBC drama “This Is Us” and the ABC xcomedy “black-ish.”

During an oppressive pandemic in which housebound Americans relied more than ever on television for distraction, TV academy voters recognized a varied mix of storytelling and a diverse group of actors and creators. One example: Mj Rodriguez of “Pose” is the first trans woman to be nominated in a lead acting category. The show also earned a best drama series nod. Netflix’s “The Crown” received its fourth nomination for best series, and is likely the streaming service’s best chance to win its firstever top series trophy. The British royal drama moved closer to contemporary events with its version of the courtship and rocky marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin. O’Connor and Corrin received lead drama acting nods, as did the series’ Olivia Colman for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, with a supporting bid to Gillian Anderson for her role as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Oprah Winfrey’s headline-making interview with the late Diana’s son Harry and his wife Meghan earned a nomination for best hosted nonfiction series or special. The showings by “The Mandalorian,” an extension of the “Star Wars” franchise, and the inventive “WandaVision” featuring the Marvel characters Wanda and Vision, put the series in the ranks of past sci-fi and fantasy Emmy favorites “Game of Thrones” and “Lost.” “The Boys,” Amazon’s comedy-tinged take on superheroes, earned a best drama nod.

“I would never have thought in a million years that playing a witch in a Marvel show would lead to this. It’s like a dream,” said “WandaVision” co-star Kathryn Hahn. The show’s total of 23 nominations was especially sweet. “I’m so moved that the whole of it has been recognized,” Hahn said. “It was incredibly difficult. It was a hard, hard shoot. But ... the experience of making this meant so much to me and it was so unexpectedly deep.” The nominations haul by Disney+, which launched in late 2019, was impressive, but the triumph of streaming was predictable, said Eric Deggans, TV critic for National Public Radio. “Disney+ came out of nowhere and got the third-most nominations of any platform at 71. ... We’re a point now where this is this is increasingly becoming a streamers’ game and the Emmy nominations reflect it,” Deggans said. HBO and streaming service HBO Max edged into lead with 130 total nominations, with Netflix close on its heels with 129. The frontrunner on the comedy side is the goodhearted “Ted Lasso,” about a middling American football coach imported to England to handle a soccer team. The Apple TV+ series received 20 nominations, including for top comedy, star Jason Sudeikis and six cast members. “Hacks,” starring Jean Smart as a stand-up comedian who resists getting aged out of Las Vegas and life, was next with 15 nods, including a lead actor award for Smart and a supporting bid for Hannah Einbinder. Smart, who some have said is enjoying a career “Jeannaisance,” earned a second nomination for 12

her supporting role in “Mare of Easttown.” The limited series received 16 nods, including for star Kate Winslet. Among the others who doubled down on nominations: “Saturday Night Live” stars Kenan Thompson and Aidy Bryant, who received supporting acting bids for the variety show as well as lead comedy series acting nods for, respectively, “”Kenan” and “Shrill.” Other top nominees include previous best drama series winner “The Handmaid’s Tale,” with 21 nods, tied with “Saturday Night Live”; “The Queen’s Gambit,” 18; the costume-drama romp “Bridgerton” and “Hamilton,” with 12 each. “Lovecraft Country,” a horror-infused drama set in 1950s segregated America, earned an impressive 18 nominations — but was canceled by HBO after one season. “The Flight Attendant” earned nine nominations, including a best comedy actress nod for Kaley Cuoco and a supporting actress bid for Rosie Perez — who becomes the second Latina nominated in the category, after Sofia Vergara for “Modern Family.” There were surprises, as usual. Nicole Kidman failed to receive a nomination for limited series “The Undoing,” while co-star Hugh Grant was recognized. But the critically acclaimed miniseries “I May Destroy You” and its star and creator, Michaela Coel, grabbed nine Emmy nods after being snubbed by the Golden Globes. One blast from the past getting new respect: “Cobra Kai,” set 30 years after the events of the “Karate Kid” film, earned a best comedy nod and four nominations in all. 14

The other nominees for best drama series are

(“Blindspotting”) and TV Academy head

“The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Lovecraft Country.”

Frank Scherma announced the nominees. There were awkward moments when the

Other comedy series nominees are “Emily in Paris”; “The Flight Attendant”; “The Kominsky Method” and “PEN15.” The nominees for best miniseries are: “The Queen’s Gambit”; “I May Destroy You”; “Mare of Easttown”; “The Underground Railroad”; “WandaVision.” Father-and-daughter actors Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) and Jasmine Cephas Jones

pair mispronounced some nominees’ names, including referring to Anya Taylor-Joy as “Anna.” The Sept. 19 ceremony, which last year was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will air live on CBS from a theater and include a limited in-person audience of nominees and guests. Cedric the Entertainer is the host.

Simply Better Living

SUPERSTEAM+ BUILT-IN WALL OVEN ™

SSC2489DS

The Sharp® SuperSteam+ Built-In Wall Oven is the start of a cooking revolution. With Wi-Fi enabled IoT features, the innovations within this steam oven are a perfect match for modern cooking needs. While regular steam only reaches 212°F, the SuperSteam+ oven can create superheated steam up to 485°F. Steam this hot can roast meats and caramelize sugars so your food can be brown and crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. With the Sharp SuperSteam+ Oven, you can grill without smoke, roast without drying, and get the roasty-toasty, tasty results you desire.

SEE FOR YOURSELF

Get started right away with built-in recipes and download the Sharp SuperSteam+ Oven app* to enable the smart features and access custom recipes powered by SideChef.

The new Sharp SuperSteam+ Built-In Wall Oven features Steam Bake for superior breads, and Water Bath for cheesecakes, custards and puddings.

www.sharpusa.com | simplybetterliving.sharpusa.com *Mobile Application and Home Assistant Skill available upon commercial release. © 2020 Sharp Electronics Corporation. All rights reserved. Sharp, Supersteam™ Oven and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated entities. Product specifications and design are subject to change without notice. Internal capacity calculated by measuring maximum width, depth and height. Actual capacity for holding food is less.

ELECTRIFY AMERICA TO DOUBLE EV CHARGING STATIONS BY 2025

Electrify America, an electric vehicle charging network funded with money paid by Volkswagen as punishment for its emissions cheating scandal, says it plans to more than double its number of charging stations throughout the United States and Canada. The expansion will include 1,800 fast-charging stations and 10,000 individual chargers to be installed by 2025 and is part of Electrify America’s previous commitment to invest $2 billion over 10 years on EV infrastructure, education and access in the U.S. 21

Automakers have ramped up production of electric vehicles that can go farther and charge faster, but are concerned that consumers interested in EVs may wait to buy until there’s better, faster charging infrastructure. The latest generation of EVs, many with ranges around 300 miles (480 kilometers) per charge, can accept electricity at a much faster rate than previous models could, but most charging stations can’t keep up with the vehicles’ advanced technology. There are about 42,000 public charging stations in the U.S., but only about 5,000 are considered direct-current fast chargers, according to the Department of Energy. The rest require roughly eight hours to fully charge longer-range batteries. The higher cost of fast-charging stations is an issue President Joe Biden’s administration will have to take into account as it develops incentives to encourage companies and governments to build more charging stations. The administration’s goal is to have 500,000 charging stations nationwide by 2030. Electrify America’s expansion plan increases its presence in established U.S. regions as well as adding new states such as Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming and Vermont. The additions bring its network to 49 states and the District of Columbia, Electrify America said. It also plans to add a new electric vehicle charging highway to the “upper Midwest” but did not say specifically where it would be. Since its first charging station opened in May 2018, the Reston, Virginia-based company said it has installed an average of four stations per week. 22

FIRM HACKED TO SPREAD RANSOMWARE HAD PREVIOUS SECURITY FLAWS

For 21 years, the software company Kaseya labored in relative obscurity — at least until cybercriminals exploited it in early July for a massive ransomware attack that snarled businesses around the world and escalated U.S.Russia diplomatic tensions. But it turns out that the recent hack wasn’t the first major cybersecurity problem to hit the Miamibased company and its core product, which IT teams use to remotely monitor and administer workplace computer systems and other devices. “It feels a little like déjà vu,” said Allie Mellen, a security analyst at Forrester Research. In 2018, for instance, hackers managed to infiltrate Kaseya’s tool in 2018 to run a “cryptojacking” operation, which channels the power of afflicted computers to mine cryptocurrency — often without its victims noticing. It was a less harmful breach than the recent ransomware attack, which was impossible to miss since it crippled affected 27

systems until their owners paid up. But it similarly relied on Kaseya’s Virtual System Administrator product, or VSA, as a vehicle to get access to the companies that rely on it. A 2019 ransomware attack also rode into computers through another company’s add-on software component to the Kaseya VSA, causing more limited damage than the recent attack. Some experts have tied that earlier assault to some of the same hackers who later formed REvil, the Russian-language syndicate blamed for the latest attack. And in 2014, Kaseya’s own founders sued the company in a dispute over responsibility for a VSA security flaw that allowed hackers to launch a separate cryptocurrency scheme. The court case does not appear to have been previously reported outside of a brief 2015 mention in a technical blog post. At the time, the founders denied responsibility for the vulnerability, calling the company’s charges against them a “bogus assertion.” Nearly all of Kaseya’s security problems have as their root cause well-understood coding vulnerabilities that should have been addressed earlier, said cybersecurity expert Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO of Luta Security. “Kaseya needs to shape up, as does the entire software industry,” she said. “This is a failure to incorporate the lessons the bugs were teaching you. Kaseya, like a lot of companies, is failing to learn those lessons.” Many of the attacks relied at least in part on what’s known as a SQL injection, a technique hackers use to inject malicious code into web 28

queries. It’s an old technique that Mellen said has been considered a “solved problem” in the cybersecurity world for a decade. “It points to a chronic product security issue in Kaseya’s software that remains unaddressed seven years later,” she said. “When organizations choose to brush over security challenges, the incidents continue, and, as in this case, get worse.” Kaseya has noted that it’s long been a target because many of its direct customers are “managed-services providers” that host IT infrastructure for hundreds, if not thousands, of other businesses. “In the business we’re in, and the number of endpoints we manage around the world, as you might expect, we take security extremely seriously,” Ronan Kirby, president of the company’s European operations, said at a Belgian cybersecurity conference. “You attack a company, you get into the company. You attack a service provider, you get into all their customers. You get into Kaseya, that’s a very different proposition. So obviously we’re an attractive target.” Kaseya declined to answer questions from the press about the previous hacks or the legal dispute involving its founders. Mark Sutherland and Paul Wong co-founded Kaseya in California in 2000. They had previously worked together on a project protecting the email accounts of U.S. intelligence workers at the National Security Agency, according to an account on the company’s website. But more than a year after selling Kaseya in June 2013, court records show that Sutherland, Wong and two other former top executives sued 30

the company to recoup $5.5 million in stock buybacks they said they were unfairly denied. At the heart of the dispute was an attack by hackers who used Kaseya’s VSA as a conduit to deploy “Litecoin” mining malware, which secretly hijacks a victim computer’s power to make money for the hacker by processing new cryptocurrency payments. Kaseya publicly disclosed the attacks in a March 2014 notice to customers. Privately, it was blaming the company’s previous leadership for not warning about “serious vulnerabilities” in Kaseya’s software. It sought to deprive them of the final $5.5 million of the acquisition price to compensate for the loss of business and damaged reputation. The founders, in turn, blamed the new leadership for scaling back on coding expertise and eliminating a “hotfix” system for rapidly fixing bugs, according to the lawsuit from Sutherland, Wong, former CEO Gerald Blackie and former Chief Operating Officer Timothy McMullen. They also argued that the SQL injection technique used by the hackers was highly common and “inherent in any computer code” that uses the SQL programming language. “Ensuring that each and every piece of database access code is immune to SQL injection is essentially impossible,” said their lawsuit. Mellen and Moussouris both rejected that assertion. “That is a bold statement and provably false,” Moussouris said. “It highlights the fact they lacked the security knowledge and sophistication to protect their users.” None of the plaintiffs or their lawyers responded to requests for comment. They agreed to dismiss 33

the case in December 2013, just a month after they filed it. It’s not clear how it was settled. Kaseya is privately held. LinkedIn profiles for Sutherland and Wong list them as retired, with Sutherland also growing wine grapes. Blackie went on to become CEO of another Miami-based provider of remote-control software, Pilixo, where he was joined by McMullen. Pilixo didn’t return a request for comment. New vulnerabilities affecting Kaseya’s VSA — including the one exploited by the REvil ransomware gang — were discovered this year by a Dutch cybersecurity research group that says it confidentially warned Kaseya in early April. “In the wrong hands, these vulnerabilities could lead to the compromise of large numbers of computers managed by Kaseya VSA,” the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure said in a blog post last week explaining the timeline of its actions. Some of those Kaseya fixed by May, including another SQL injection flaw, but the Dutch group said others were still unpatched when ransomware started hitting hundreds of businesses in early July. Kaseya has said up to 1,500 businesses have been compromised as a result of the attack. Kaseya rolled out patches to the vulnerabilities used in the REvil attack. Moussouris said there’s a pattern of ransomware syndicates going after easily detectable software flaws. “It’s collective technical debt around the world and the ransomware gangs are technical debt collectors,” she said. “They’re coming after organizations like Kaseya” and others that haven’t invested in better security.

MUSK ON TRIAL: DEFENDS SOLARCITY, CALLS LAWYER ‘BAD HUMAN’

Tesla founder Elon Musk took to a witness stand to defend his company’s 2016 acquisition of a troubled company called SolarCity against a lawsuit that claims he’s to blame for a deal that was rife with conflicts of interest and never delivered the profits he’d promised. And to the surprise of no one, the famously colorful billionaire did so in the most personally combative terms. “I think you are a bad human being,” Musk told Randall Baron, a lawyer for shareholders who was pressing Musk to acknowledge his mistakes in helping engineer the acquisition of SolarCity, a manufacturer of solar panels. “I have great respect for the court,” Musk later added, “but not for you, sir.” 39

The long-running shareholder lawsuit asserts that Musk, who was SolarCity’s largest stakeholder and its chairman, and other Tesla directors breached their fiduciary duties in bowing to Musk’s wishes and agreeing to buy the company. In what the plaintiffs call a clear conflict of interest, SolarCity had been founded by Musk and two of his cousins, Lyndon and Peter Rive. In the Delaware Court of Chancery on Monday, Baron sought to establish that Musk has sought to run Tesla without interference and therefore bears responsibility for any failures. The lawyer showed a video clip in which Musk said he liked running his own companies because he doesn’t want anyone to make him do what he doesn’t want to do. As an example of what he characterized as Musk’s imperious management style, Baron mentioned that the CEO once declared himself “Technoking of Tesla” and gave his chief financial officer the title “master of coin’’ — a reference to HBO’s “Game of Thrones” — in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The hostility between the billionaire CEO and the plaintiffs’ lawyer dates to at least 2019 and a deposition in which Musk insulted Baron and questioned his professionalism. Baron played clips from that deposition to try to portray Musk’s stance toward what he might regard as criticism. Pushing back, Musk insisted that “I don’t want to be the boss of anything.” “I prefer to spend my time on design and engineering,” he said.

Musk, who is well-known for rejecting skepticism of himself or his company, insisted that he welcomes criticism: “If I’m mistaken,” he said on the witness stand, “I view critical feedback as a gift.” Musk said his off-beat titles and other quips simply reflect his sense of humor. “I think I’m funny,” he offered. What’s more, he said, the resulting media attention often plays to Tesla’s benefit. “If we’re entertaining, people will write stories about us,” and the company can save on advertising.” Regarding Tesla’s all-stock acquisition of SolarCity, Musk asserted that he had nothing to gain financially from it because he owned shares of both companies. Musk also argued that SolarCity’s failure to meet aggressive sales forecasts and its loss of market share were only temporary setbacks. He said they reflected his decision to divert Tesla resources toward salvaging production of the Tesla Model 3 electric car — and then running “headlong into a pandemic.” The effort to salvage Tesla 3 was “all-hands-ondeck” operation — so desperate that even the company’s lawyers were enlisted in the effort, Musk said, drawing laughter in the court. Musk’s defense noted that SolarCity had been in Tesla’s plans as early as his 2006 master plan for the electric carmaker. In saying so, he asserted that the joining of the companies 10 years later wasn’t an emergency bailout as the plaintiffs have alleged. 43

But Baron pointed out that the 2006 document mentioned only a potential marketing arrangement, not a full-fledged merger or acquisition, between Tesla and SolarCity. Baron repeatedly pressed Musk about evidence that SolarCity had been in trouble — short of cash, unable to obtain financing, in danger of violating the terms of an existing loan agreement — before the Tesla buyout. Musk conceded nothing. He argued that SolarCity could have raised money, if it wanted to, by issuing shares of stock. And he noted that fast-growing young companies, including Amazon and Tesla itself, often bleed cash in their early years before achieving success later. Why, Baron asked, did another Musk company, Space X, waive its own investment guidelines to buy risky SolarCity bonds? Musk replied that those bonds offered a better payout than did bank accounts that paid little more than zero.

Image: Sergio Flores/

“I had faith,” Musk said, “in the future of SolarCity.” Baron tried to pin down whether Musk had recused himself from Tesla-SolarCity negotiations to avoid a conflict of interest. “I had no material role,” Musk said. “What’s is a ‘material role?’ ” Baron fired back. ”That sounds like a wiggle word to me.” “You’re the expert in wiggle words,” Musk countered. The trial marks the culmination of seven shareholder lawsuits, consolidated into one, that alleged that Tesla directors breached their fiduciary duties in bowing to Musk’s wishes and agreeing to buy SolarCity. Last August, a judge approved a $60 million settlement that resolved claims made against all the directors on Tesla’s board except Musk without any admission of fault. That left Musk, who refused to settle, as the sole remaining defendant. The trial had been scheduled for March of last year but was postponed because of the viral pandemic. Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, has called the acquisition a “clear black eye” for Musk and Tesla, in large part because SolarCity has failed to turn a profit. “It basically was putting good money after bad,” Ives said. “For all the successes and all of the unimaginable heights Musk has achieved, this is one of the lowlights.” Even if the trial ends with Musk having to pay personally for the whole SolarCity deal, $2.5 billion won’t much hurt the world’s third-wealthiest person. Forbes magazine has estimated that Musk is worth roughly $163 billion. 46

Image: Shutterstock

SPORTS

THE DIVERSIFICATION & EXPANSION OF APPLE TV+

With Apple reportedly expressing an interest in streaming rights for the National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” package, there’s never been a better time to sign up for Apple’s streaming service. With a raft of award-winning TV shows and movies, and perhaps soon live sporting events available to stream from your iPhone, Apple TV+ is coming into its own.

A TURBULENT START FOR APPLE TV+ Whether you’re an Apple die-hard with shares in the company or you’re a casual fan of the firm and its hardware, there’s no denying that the Cupertino company’s foray into services has been challenging at best. Although Tim Cook and Co have found great success in some services like Apple Music (which recently launched its new lossless streaming feature, much to the concern of Spotify) and iCloud (which will launch a raft of new features in September like Private Relay and Email Open Track disabling), other services have struggled to attract much attention or praise. Apple News+, for instance, has been met with widespread criticism from journalists and publishers on the platform, with The New York Times being one of the most high-profile companies to admit defeat and leave the platform citing low revenue. Apple Arcade, despite offering users a series of games from some of the world’s biggest developers and studios, has also struggled to generate much of interest amongst consumers, with Apple reportedly canceling deals it had with studios. The success of Apple Fitness+ remains to be seen, but it has received positive feedback and reviews from fitness enthusiasts 53

and technology fans, calling it a “must-have” for users, but it’s perhaps the biggest service of all - Apple TV+ - that is still struggling to find its feet. According to data from Justwatch, Apple TV+ has a market share of three percent in the US, which places it in seventh place on the list of the most popular streaming video services. It’s natural that the company would struggle to compete with giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime in the short time it’s been around, or Disney+ for that matter, which has an impressive back catalog of content that even the biggest streaming services couldn’t compete with. But it’s the fact that almost two years on from its launch, Apple TV+ is yet to make a serious dent or launch a roster of shows that capture the general public’s attention. Sure, it’s had some success stories like The Morning Show, See, and Ted Lasso, but considering that Netflix and Amazon pump out dozens of new television shows, movies, and secure distribution deals with some of the biggest entertainment studios in the world, Apple has a long way to go to make its service a compelling subscription. What’s more, the company is set to start charging for Apple TV+ after offering the service for free for the past 18 months, and it’s then when we’ll see exactly how successful Apple wants its streaming service to become. The easiest way for Apple to drive subscribers would be to start buying content from other parties to fill out its back catalog. The company still only offers a handful of (albeit high-quality) shows, compared with Netflix and Amazon’s thousands of titles, and though it has shown 56

some interest in acquiring studios like MGM, it’s failed to do so, with Amazon coming out front and center and taking over the rights to the iconic studio.

BRINGING SPORT INTO THE FOLD One area where Apple hopes to capture the attention of consumers and turn Apple TV+ into a hub worth subscribing to is with sport. Amazon has shown that streamers can handle live sporting events like tennis and the Premier League, and now Apple wants a bite of the same pie. The company is reportedly bidding for streaming rights for the National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” package, and is in with discussions with NFL executives, though it’s thought that NFL is also speaking to other television networks and technology firms, so there’s no guarantee that Apple will come out victorious. Right now, Sunday Ticket streams on DirecTV, but if Apple was to acquire the rights, users would be able to watch non-prime time games from all 32 NFL teams on Apple TV+. It’s believed that DirecTV pays around $1.5 billion for rights to Sunday Ticket games, but with a bidding war afoot, Apple might need to open its purse a little wider than that. It’s worth noting that Apple acquired MGM for $8.4 billion, but that offered the company more than 4,000 films and 17,000 hours of TV - if Apple paid $2 billion for Sunday Ticket games, it’d be a seriously expensive commitment and the firm would need to work hard to encourage consumers to make the leap over to the platform. It’s believed that Disney is also interested in acquiring the rights for its ESPN streaming 59

service, and Apple has yet to be seen as a serious contender for the rights as it’s failed to invest big money in entertainment programming thus far. However, it’s worth noting that the company has a relationship with the National Football League, hiring James DeLorenzo to run a sports division for the company back in 2020. DeLorenzo was previously responsible for negotiating Amazon’s deal with the NFL to stream live games, so it could be that Apple finally wants to spend some money and give Apple TV+ the content and attention it needs. And talks over Sunday Ticket aren’t the first sporting excursions Apple has made: the firm had previously expressed an interest in live streaming college sports, but nothing came of those talks and there’s still very little sports-related content on Apple TV+, which right now focuses more on dramas, documentaries, and comedies. Introducing sports content makes a great deal of sense for the United States market, and as reported by Jacob Feldman of Sportico, “Apple has the theoretical means to do just about anything it wants regarding sports content. Nearly $200 billion in available cash alone would be, on paper, more than enough to purchase every NFL team—twice. And yet, years since Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company’s Apple TV+ streaming service, he has not yet landed exclusive rights to any sports activity.” He revealed that the company has been expressing interest in sports content since 2018 when Apple was reportedly bidding for The Match, a “head-to-head match play contest between golfers Tiger Woods and Image: Sam Greenwood

Phil Mickelson,” but the firm added that it was “not yet ready to wade into live rights.” With a dedicated Sports tab in the Apple TV app and dozens of deep integrations, like sports results inside of Siri, Apple offers the perfect sports fan’s platform. Others have pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the production of new shows like The Morning Show, See, Foundation, and Ted Lasso, and thus adding sports into the mix would encourage users to give Apple TV+ another chance, especially if it was pushed with a major marketing campaign. Add in multiple streaming tiers that offer more access to games and behind-the-scenes sporting content and analysis, and Apple could easily make Apple TV+ the home of live sporting entertainment around the world - whilst still building its portfolio of quality, poignant television shows and movies for the whole family.

THE FUTURE IS IN SPORT If Apple is serious about sport, the company would need to secure global rights that solve the problems of international digitalfirst distribution. For example, if Apple only acquired rights to games in the United States, the rest of its subscribers on the other three corners of the globe would suffer, and perhaps even retreat from the service entirely. But soccer isn’t the only sport that Apple could engage with. Last year, it bought virtual reality streaming specialist and NBA partner NextVR for a reported US$100 million, and so even without any formal relationship with sports organizations, Apple could still make a serious 65

influence over health and wellbeing through Apple TV+, bringing together the power of Apple Watch and its new fitness service Apple Fitness+. Apple’s mantra has always been to “think different,” and so instead of blowing billions of rights to short-term wins, Apple could instead be refining a sporting strategy that changes the way we work out and consume sports entertainment.

In recent years, as Apple expands and diversifies into new areas, it’s becoming harder than ever to work out what moves the firm will make. For an investor, that can be challenging, but for Apple fans, it’s never been more exciting. Although not every venture will prove to be as fruitful as the iPad or Apple Watch, the future of sport and Apple is certainly very bright, and whatever form or relationship it takes, we can’t wait to see what comes next!

FAA: NEW TOOL LIMITS DISRUPTIONS CAUSED BY SPACE OPERATIONS

Federal regulators said they now can better track rocket launches and space vehicles returning to Earth, which could cut the amount of time that airplanes must be routed around space operations. The Federal Aviation Administration said a new tool automates the near-instantaneous delivery of data about a space vehicle’s flight path to the nation’s air traffic control system. The tool, called the Space Data Integrator, will replace a system in which much of the work of giving telemetry data about space vehicles to air traffic control managers is done manually.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX was the first company to share flight telemetry data with the FAA, and others including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have since joined the program, according to the FAA. The FAA said the new technology was first used on June 30 for the launch of SpaceX’s Transporter 2, which lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying dozens of satellites into orbit. It will be used again with the pending return of a SpaceX cargo ship from the International Space Station, the agency said. “With this capability, we will be able to safely reopen the airspace more quickly and reduce the number of aircraft and other airspace users affected by a launch or reentry,” FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson said. During space operations, the FAA shuts down a huge section of airspace for hours in case the rocket or the space vehicle breaks apart. Airlines must reroute flights, which causes them to burn more fuel and fall behind schedule. A single launch can affect hundreds of flights. The growth of the commercial space industry, and with it the number of launches and reentries, has raised concern among airlines that disruptions will become more frequent. According to the FAA, there were 45 space launches and reentries last year, a record, and that could rise to more than 70 this year. The FAA said other changes it has already made have reduced airspace closures from an average of more than four hours to a little more than two hours for a launch. The agency said the Space Data Integrator will reduce that further, but didn’t give a precise time.

BILLIONAIRE RICHARD BRANSON REACHES SPACE IN HIS OWN SHIP

Swashbuckling billionaire Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship last Sunday, bringing astro-tourism a step closer to reality and beating out his exceedingly richer rival Jeff Bezos. The nearly 71-year-old Branson and five crewmates from his Virgin Galactic spacetourism company reached an altitude of 53.5 miles (86 kilometers) over the New Mexico desert — enough to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and witness the curvature of the Earth — and then glided back home to a runway landing. “The whole thing, it was just magical,” a jubilant Branson said on his return aboard the gleaming white space plane, named Unity. The brief, up-and-down flight — the space plane’s portion took only about 15 minutes, or about as long as Alan Shepard’s first U.S. spaceflight in 1961 — was a splashy and unabashedly commercial plug for Virgin Galactic, which plans to start taking paying customers on joyrides next year. Branson became the first person to blast off in his own spaceship, beating Bezos, the richest person on the planet, by nine days. He also became the second septuagenarian to go into space. Astronaut John Glenn flew on the shuttle at age 77 in 1998. Bezos sent his congratulations, adding: “Can’t wait to join the club!” — though he also took to Twitter a couple of days earlier to enumerate the ways in which be believes his company’s tourist rides will be better. With about 500 people watching, including Branson’s family, Unity was carried aloft 79

underneath a twin-fuselage aircraft. Then, at an altitude of about 8 1/2 miles (13 kilometers), Unity detached from the mother ship and fired its engine, reaching more than Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound, as it pierced the edge of space. Spectators cheered, jumped into the air and embraced as the rocket plane touched down on Earth. Branson pumped his fists as he stepped out onto the runway and ran toward his family, bear-hugging his wife and children and scooping up his grandchildren in his arms. Mike Moses, a top executive at Virgin Galactic, said that apart from some problems with the transmission of video images from inside the cabin, the flight was perfect, and the ship looked pristine. “That was an amazing accomplishment,” former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, a one-time commander of the International Space Station, said from the sidelines. “I’m just so delighted at what this open door is going to lead to now. It’s a great moment.” Virgin Galactic conducted three previous test flights into space with crews of just two or three. The flamboyant, London-born founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways wasn’t supposed to fly until later this summer. But he assigned himself to an earlier flight after Bezos announced plans to ride his own rocket into space from Texas on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Branson denied he was trying to outdo Bezos. Branson’s other chief rival in the spacetourism race among the world’s richest men,

SpaceX’s Elon Musk, came to New Mexico to watch and congratulated Branson for a “beautiful flight.” Bezos’ Blue Origin company intends to send tourists past the so-called Karman line 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth, which is recognized by international aviation and aerospace federations as the threshold of space. But NASA, the Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration and some astrophysicists consider the boundary between the atmosphere and space to begin 50 miles (80 kilometers) up. The risks to Branson and his crew were underscored in 2007, when a rocket motor test in California’s Mojave Desert left three workers dead, and in 2014, when a Virgin Galactic rocket plane broke apart during a test flight, killing one pilot and seriously injuring the other. Ever the showman, Branson insisted on a global livestream of the Sunday morning flight and invited celebrities and former space station astronauts to the company’s Spaceport America base in New Mexico. R&B singer Khalid performed his new single “New Normal” — a nod to the dawning of space tourism — while CBS “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert served as master of ceremonies. Before climbing aboard, Branson, who has kitesurfed the English Channel and attempted to circle the world in a hot-air balloon, signed the astronaut log book and wisecracked: “The name’s Branson. Sir Richard Branson. Astronaut Double-oh-one. License to thrill.” But asked afterward whether he is planning any more adventures, Branson said he will “definitely 82

give it a rest for the time being” because “I’m not sure it would be fair to put my family through another one.” He said he thinks he holds the record for being pulled out of the sea five times by helicopter. Virgin Galactic already has more than 600 reservations from would-be space tourists, with tickets initially costing $250,000 apiece. And upon his return to Earth, Branson announced a sweepstakes drawing for two seats on a Virgin Galactic jaunt. Blue Origin is waiting for Bezos’ flight before announcing its ticket prices. Kerianne Flynn, who signed up in 2011 to fly with Virgin Galactic, had butterflies ahead of the launch Sunday. “I think there’s going to be nothing like going up there and looking back down on the Earth, which is what I think I’m most excited about,” she said. She added: “Hopefully the next generations will be able to explore what’s up there.” Blue Origin and Musk’s SpaceX both fly Apollostyle, using capsules atop rockets, instead of an air-launched, reusable space plane. SpaceX, which is already launching astronauts to the space station for NASA and building moon and Mars ships, plans to take tourists on more than just brief, up-and-down trips. Customers will instead go into orbit around the Earth for days, with seats costing well into the millions. The company’s first private flight is set for September. Musk himself has not committed to going into space anytime soon.

BEZOS’ BLUE ORIGIN GETS OK TO SEND HIM, 3 OTHERS TO SPACE

Jeff Bezos’ rocket company has gotten government approval to launch people into space, himself included. The Amazon founder will climb atop his New Shepard rocket next Tuesday in West Texas, joined by his brother, an 82-year-old female aviation pioneer and a $28 million auction winner. It will be the first launch with passengers for Blue Origin, which like Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic plans to start flying paying customers in the months ahead. The Federal Aviation Administration issued its OK. The license is good through August. 89

On Sunday, Virgin Galactic’s billionaire founder Richard Branson rode his own rocket plane to space, accompanied by five company employees. A specially designed aircraft carried the winged ship aloft over New Mexico. The space plane dropped away, fired its rocket motor and soared to 53.5 miles (86 kilometers), before gliding to a runway touchdown. Blue Origin’s flight — featuring an automated capsule launched atop a reusable booster — should reach a maximum altitude of roughly 66 miles (106 kilometers) before parachuting into the desert. Joining Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic in the chase for space tourists is Elon Musk’s SpaceX. But SpaceX plans to send its customers into orbit, not on brief up-and-down hops. Musk has yet to commit to a launch himself. Bezos, 57, stepped down last week as Amazon’s CEO. He founded Blue Origin in 2000. 90

G-20 FINANCE MINISTERS BACK PLAN TO STOP USE OF TAX HAVENS

Top finance officials representing most of the world’s economy have backed a sweeping revision of international taxation that includes a 15% global minimum corporate levy to deter big companies from resorting to low-rate tax havens. Finance ministers from the Group of 20 countries endorsed the plan at a meeting last weekend in Venice. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the proposal would end a “self-defeating international tax competition” in which countries have for years lowered their rates to attract companies. She said that had been “a race that nobody has won. What it has done instead is to deprive us of the resources we need to invest in our people, our workforces, our infrastructure.” 95

The next steps include more work on key details at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and then a final decision at the Group of 20 meeting of presidents and prime ministers on Oct. 30-31 in Rome. Implementation, expected as early as 2023, would depend on action at the national level. Countries would enact the minimum tax requirement into their own laws. Other parts could require a formal treaty. The draft proposal was approved July 1 in talks among more than 130 countries convened by the OECD. Italy hosted the finance minister’s meeting in Venice because it holds the rotating chair of the G-20, which makes up more than 80% of the world economy. The event also attracted around 1,000 protesters under the banner “We Are The Tide,” an umbrella group of environmental and social justice activists, including opponents of large cruise ships and the hordes of tourists they bring to the lagoon city. A small group scuffled with police after breaking away from an approved demonstration area. The U.S. already has a minimum tax on overseas earnings, but President Joe Biden has proposed roughly doubling the rate to 21%, which would more than comply with the proposed global minimum. Raising the rate is part of a broader proposal to fund Biden’s jobs and infrastructure plan by raising the domestic corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%. Yellen said she was “very optimistic” that Biden’s infrastructure and tax legislation “will include what we need for the United States to come into compliance” with the minimum tax proposal.

Image: Demetrius Freeman

Republicans in the Congress have expressed opposition to the measure. Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, has blasted the OECD deal, saying, “This is an economic surrender to China, Europe and the world that Congress will reject.” The international tax proposal aims to deter the world’s biggest firms from using accounting and legal schemes to shift their profits to countries where little or no tax is due — and where the company may do little or no actual business. Under the minimum, companies that escape taxes abroad would pay them at home. That would eliminate incentives for using tax havens or for setting them up. From 2000-2018, U.S. companies booked half of all foreign profits in seven low-tax jurisdictions: Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore and Switzerland. A second part of the tax plan is to permit countries to tax a portion of the profits of companies that earn profits without a physical presence, such as through online retailing or digital advertising. That part arose after France, followed by other countries, imposed a digital service tax on U.S. tech giants such as Amazon and Google. The U.S. government regards those national taxes as unfair trade practices and is holding out the threat of retaliation against those countries’ imports into the U.S. through higher import taxes. Under the tax deal, those countries would have to drop or refrain from national taxes in favor of a single global approach, in theory ending the trade disputes with the U.S. U.S. tech companies would then face only the one tax regime, instead of a multitude of different national digital taxes. 98

ONE TRICK TO TRAVELING CHEAPLY: FLEXIBILITY

So you want to travel on a budget. Who doesn’t? Yet it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the cheap travel tips, hacks and strategies out there that promise unbelievable deals on airfare and hotels. In reality, there’s only one important tactic for traveling cheaply: being flexible with your travel dates, destination and plans. It might sound simple — or even simplistic — but you would be surprised how few travelers are willing to take this piece of advice to heart. To be fair, this flexibility-first mindset requires a paradigm shift for many in terms of how they start planning vacations. It requires moving from this type of planning: “I want to go to Amsterdam from Sept. 5th through 13th.”

100

101

102

To this: “I want to go somewhere fun in September.” For some, this degree of flexibility is simply impossible. Yet for those who can loosen their preconceptions about how to plan travel, it can lead to big savings — and maybe even more fun — whether you’re paying with cash or using points. WHY RIGIDITY IS SO EXPENSIVE The cost of travel depends on the interplay between many factors, including: — Demand. — Supply. — Randomness. — Number of options. When you make specific plans from the getgo, you essentially constrain the last variable — you give yourself fewer options. This means that the cost of your trip will depend entirely on the first three variables, which are completely outside of your control. This economic interplay will sometimes fall in your favor, and you’ll score a good deal on the exact destination and dates you wanted. But more often than not, you’ll end up paying more than average simply by starting with a severely limited set of options. HOW TO PLAN TRAVELS WITH FLEXIBILITY You can still set some boundaries around your search. Example parameters might include: — I want to travel in the fall. — I want to sit on the beach. — I don’t want to spend more than $X. 103

From here, you can begin weighing different destinations and dates to see which could maximize your preferences. For example, you might start with flights to Hawaii, but notice that airfare is through the roof. So you switch to the Caribbean, narrow your interest to a few destinations with cheap flights, then start researching hotel prices. Finally, you can find the dates and destinations that offer the best combination of price and features, then book your travel. Think about how many times you (or someone you know) have gone about it the other way — by starting with dates and a destination, then accepting whatever costs come up. THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB As this flexible travel approach gains in popularity, travel booking sites and services have begun offering helpful tools specifically designed for the task. AIRFARE DEAL ALERTS Airfare deal newsletters, like Scott’s Cheap Flights and Dollar Flight Club, are how many travelers start thinking in terms of flexibility. These newsletters send a blast to subscribers whenever they discover a low-cost airfare deal. But there’s usually a catch: These airfare deals are available only on certain dates, or to very specific destinations. You can’t sit around waiting for a great deal from Atlanta to Sydney, because that may not come around in time. But you can wait for an exciting fare from Atlanta to … somewhere, and jump on it when it becomes available.

104

105

GOOGLE FLIGHTS EXPLORE Many travel search engines, like Kayak or Orbitz, have highly flexible search tools. Google Flights offers a feature called “Explore” that allows you to search in a totally wide-open way. You enter your departure city, the length of trip you’re looking for and your price range, and Google returns a handful of deals to a bunch of destinations at random times within your date range. POINTS AND MILES Travel bloggers love to rave about how they scored a first-class ticket using miles, but they don’t often describe their true secret: extreme flexibility. Redeeming points and miles for reward travel all but requires a high degree of flexibility to get the most value from them. For one thing, the availability of these awards can be spotty. Before you can even determine if an award booking is a good deal or not, you need to actually find an available award booking option. For another, airlines often double the price or more during high-demand dates. In short: If you’re looking to use miles on a specific flight on a specific day, you might either pay too much — or not be able to score a ticket at all. To make things easier, many airlines offer award calendars that let you see which dates and prices are available by month, which can be especially helpful when rooting out hard-tofind premium cabin tickets.

106

107

108

SKIP COLLEGE? NOT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE MORE MONEY

Skeptical of the four-year college degree? It’s still your best bet to make money. Backlash against college as a common stop on the road to adulthood has mounted over the past decade. Critics say four-year degree programs saddle most students with five-digit debt without a clear path from classroom to career. Nearly half (46%) of all families surveyed in November and December 2020 by Gallup for the Carnegie Corporation of New York said they would prefer their children attend alternatives to four-year institutions — even when there were no financial barriers. 109

But when you compare the value of a four-year degree with other credentials — a high school diploma, certificate programs and associate degrees — it still puts workers at an advantage in the labor market and leads to higher lifetime earnings, on average.

BACHELOR’S DEGREES ARE TYPICALLY A GOOD INVESTMENT If a college degree is an investment, it’s a good one, according to the New York Federal Reserve. The annual return on a typical four-year degree is around 14%, it calculates, well above the threshold of “good” returns for stocks (around 7%) and bonds (3%). In dollar terms, graduates with a bachelor’s degree will earn on average about $78,000 annually, compared with a high school diploma earner who receives around $45,000 annually, according to 2019 data from the New York Federal Reserve. However, “on average” doesn’t mean that the return on your education, or college earnings premium, will always be a gain. Where you attend school, how much debt you take on, what you study and where you live after school all help determine your return. Many of those factors are influenced by your race, ethnicity and gender.

YOUR ABILITY TO REPAY DEBT AFFECTS YOUR DEGREE’S VALUE Student loan debt is difficult to avoid and even more challenging to repay. College costs rose 117% from 1985-86 to 2018-19, according to federal data. Wages, meanwhile, didn’t keep 110

111

pace, growing only 19% during the same period, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. However, loans are still the primary vehicle for families without wealth to obtain college degrees. In order to make your degree worth it, you have to earn enough to justify it. That means carrying debt that won’t put you underwater — a manageable student loan payment is around 10% of your discretionary after-tax income. To get the best return and be able to repay debt, graduation is crucial — many borrowers who default will have debt but no degree. “That’s the worst-case scenario — you’re incurring some of those costs but with very, very little benefit,” says Jonathan Rothwell, principal economist at Gallup.

DEMAND FOR YOUR MAJOR MATTERS What you study in school will affect the type of job you can get, your earnings and your ability to repay debt. Average earnings at mid-career are highest among those who hold a bachelor’s degree in fields like science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM ($76,000), business ($67,000) and health ($65,000), according to a 2015 data report from Georgetown University’s Center for Education and the Workforce. The same report found the lowest median mid-career earnings among those whose bachelor’s degrees were in field s like arts, humanities and liberal arts ($51,000), as well as teaching and serving roles such as social work ($46,000).

112

113

To estimate earnings, graduation rates, typical student debt loads and other factors at individual schools, use the Education Department’s College Scorecard tool. You can search and compare earnings as well as debt by fields of study.

WHERE YOU LIVE AFTER GRADUATION ALSO MATTERS Where you live after attaining your degree also affects its value, according to the results of a May 2020 study for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute , a conservative nonprofit think tank. “In general, college degrees are a good investment, but the return in terms of cosmopolitan areas is phenomenal,” says John Winters, associate professor of economics at Iowa State University, who conducted the study. In cities, bachelor’s degree holders earn $95,229 on average, an 86.2% premium compared to a worker with a high school diploma and a 55.7% premium compared to an associate degree holder. Winters says that’s primarily because cities have a higher concentration of jobs in fields that often demand workers have four-year degrees, such as tech, finance and marketing. Workers in these fields earn higher wages, which leads to a greater return on investment for degrees. However, Winters’ findings also mean it’s less critical to have a four-year degree if you want to live in a smaller metro or rural area. Bachelor’s degree holders in nonurban areas have mean earnings of $67,893, which puts their wages at a 46.4% premium compared to high 114

115

116

school diploma holders and a 29.6% premium compared to associate degree holders.

DEGREE ATTAINMENT DOESN’T GUARANTEE EQUITY In some ways a college degree can exacerbate income and racial inequalities, such as student debt and ability to repay that debt, says Marshall Anthony Jr., a senior policy analyst at Center for American Progress, a public policy research organization. “A college degree doesn’t usually work the same for everybody,” Anthony says Black borrowers tend to take on greater amounts of debt — about $25,000 more, on average, than white borrowers, according to federal data. In 2016, among those with a bachelor’s or higher degree, Asian full-time, year-round workers ages 25-34 had higher median annual earnings ($69,100) than their white peers ($54,700), and median earnings for both racial/ethnic groups were higher than those of their Black ($49,400) and Hispanic ($49,300) peers, according to the most recent available data by the National Center for Education Statistics. Higher debt and lower wages also means Black borrowers will accrue more interest over time: Four years after graduating from college, Black graduates have $52,726 in student loan debt compared to White graduates at $28,006, according to a 2016 Brookings Institution study.

117

Movies

&TV Shows

Rotten Tomatoes

118

The God Committee After a donor heart unexpectedly arrives at a New York hospital, an organ transplant committee – including heart surgeon Boxer (Kelsey Grammar) and his younger lover Jordan (Julia Stiles) – is tasked with deciding which of three patients should be given the lifesaving heart.

FIVE FACTS: 1. The film’s events alternate from 2014 to the present day.

by Austin Stark Genre: Thriller Released: 2021 Price: $12.99

2. The main cast also includes Colman Domingo as Father Dunbar, Janeane Garofalo as Dr Valerie Gilroy, and Dan Hedaya as Granger. 3. The God Committee is only the second fulllength feature film both written and directed by Austin Stark, after the 2015 political drama The Runner. 4. Filming for The God Committee took place in New York City. 5. Shooting lasted from March 5 to April 3, 2019.

The God Committee | Official Trailer (HD) | Vertical Entertainment

119

120

Julia Stiles & Kelsey Grammer Interview: The God Committee

121

The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 After surviving a terrifying night in Beverley Hills and becoming an author, Carl Black (Mike Epps) returns with his family to his childhood home. However, he soon gets an eccentric next-door neighbor, Dr. Mamuwalde (Katt Williams), and suspects him to be a vampire.

FIVE FACTS: 1. This is a sequel to the 2016 film Meet the Blacks, which itself parodies the 2013 film The Purge.

by Deon Taylor Genre: Comedy Released: 2021 Price: $12.99

2. Deon Taylor has directed both Meet the Blacks films. 3. The last time Epps and Williams starred together was in 2002’s Friday After Next. 4. Meet the Blacks 2 started shooting in Atlanta in October 2017. 5. Critic Avery Wohleb wrote in a review for The Austin Chronicle that “the film is just a skeleton of the horror-comedy it strives to be, with no scares and no laughs to make it worthwhile.”

Rotten Tomatoes

122

The House Next Door: Conheça os Blacks 2 Trailer # 1 (2021) | Movieclips Indie

123

Comedian Katt Williams Talks About Joining The Cast In The House Next Door: Meet The Blacks 2

124

125

Music

126

A Space Jam: A New Legacy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Various Artists Genre: Soundtrack Number of Songs: 16 Price: $11.99

A quarter-century after the original Space Jam movie arrived with its now-iconic soundtrack, that album’s spiritual successor now attempts to score a similar slam dunk – with Saweetie, Brockhampton, Lil Baby and SZA all contributing to this very hip-hopinfused release.

FIVE FACTS: 1. The original Space Jam’s soundtrack “came at a time when soundtracks for movies were just exploding,” A New Legacy director Malcolm D. Lee reflected to Rolling Stone. 2. He particularly made note of that album’s “hip-hop and R&B”, adding that it gave his team “a high bar to reach.” 3. That album was also a big seller, going six-times platinum. 4. Lil Baby and Kirk Franklin were responsible for the New Legacy soundtrack’s first single “We Win”, which reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart.

We Win (Space Jam: A New Legacy)

5. Not too long afterwards, SZA and SAINt JHN shared their own collaboration “Just for Me” from the new soundtrack.

127

128

Just For Me (Space Jam: A New Legacy)

129

USEE4YOURSELF IDK The independent artist IDK has become renowned for his eclecticism – and it remains in strong evidence on his second studio album, which has already produced a number of well-received singles, including collaborations with fellow rappers Young Thug and Offset.

FIVE FACTS: 1. IDK’s birth name is Jason Aaron Mills. 2. His stage name is an acronym for ‘Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge’, and was chosen to evoke curiosity. 3. “I think the first time you see my name, if you see it again, you remember you saw it the first time,” Mills has revealed about why he chose his stage name. 4. Although born in London, Mills was raised in Maryland. 5. NME’s Kyann-Sian Williams has said the new album’s singles “showcase IDK’s braggadocio as he goes toe-to-toe with two of rap’s best tongue-twisting spitters”.

130

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap Number of Songs: 17 Price: $9.99

IDK, Offset - SHOOT MY SHOT (videoclipe oficial)

131

IDK - Peloton (Visualizer)

132

133

134

‘FOREVER PURGE’ GETS POLITICAL ON SOUTHERN BORDER

The dystopian action-horror “Purge” franchise has previously made stops in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Now it’s time to pull on cowboy boots and get ready for a little twangy Purge. “The Forever Purge” is set along the U.S.-Mexican border and it’s perhaps the most overtly political of the series, portraying a ragtag group of Americans trying to flee the anarchy and white supremacy of Texas for the safety of Mexico as the annual U.S. bloodlust event turns into an everyday abomination. The film jettisons its horror roots for an aggressive — some may call it ham-fisted — social critique of modern America. But watching video of real insurrectionists on Jan. 6 try to violently take over the U.S. Capitol makes portions of “The Forever Purge” seem like a documentary. 135

“We are the real patriots of America,” announce a group of the mask-wearing white supremacists during the latest fictional bloodletting, hoping to exterminate anyone Black or brown. “America will be America once again.” There’s no escaping the feeling that “The Forever Purge” is a poison pen letter to Trumpism. For those just joining creator James DeMonaco’s “Purge” series, here’s how it works: In a nearfuture, the government, led by a nefarious party called the New Founding Fathers of America, allows an annual 12-hour period of lawlessness without recriminations. Over the course of a single night, rape, murder, robbery and everything else is permitted across the nation as a way to release anger but also a way to cull from an overpopulated nation and lower crime. The last chronological film in the series — 2016’s “The Purge: Election Year” — seemed to end with an outlawing of the purge, but that clearly didn’t last. The New Founding Fathers are back in charge as “The Forever Purge” opens and their annual horror shows have been reinstalled. There’s also a wall established along the southern border. “It’s starting, y’all,” one main character in a Texas town announces as the purge countdown begins. She is protected by wealth in her ranching compound but her immigrant employees must huddle for safety in a makeshift shelter. This time, the annual purge time passes without anyone we care about ending up dead, but then the event doesn’t end. The film cracks open at this point, adding class resentment to the mix. 136

137

138

Groups of poor disenfranchised whites across the country begin targeting their white bosses and vowing that the purge won’t stop. “Ever After!” is their war cry. That makes strange allies of the Tucker ranching family and a pair of newly arrived immigrants from Mexico: Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and her husband Juan (Tenoch Huerta). Up until then, the Tucker’s son, Dylan, (Josh Lucas) was flirting with outright white supremacy, not wanting Spanish to be heard in his house and not believing that cowboys could be anything but white Americans. Now, he and his family are being kept alive by the very people he disdained. Martial law is declared but the Army can’t stop the lawlessness. A potential escape may come from America’s neighbors: Canada and Mexico, who have opened their borders for six hours to any refugees from the madness. The film under Everardo Gout’s direction then becomes a quest as the Tuckers — including Dylan Tucker’s pregnant wife — together with Adela and Juan fight their way to El Paso, hunted by masked men demanding purification of the white race. DeMonaco is not at all subtle with his script and maybe that’s for the best. In one scene, a crazed white supremacist with a swastika face tattoo listens to various gunfire cracking outside, identifying each weapon by its blast — AK-47, Glock, AR-15. He calls it a very American sound: “Homegrown music from the American heartland.”

139