“Sky, the UK-based TV, internet and mobile phone provider owned by Comcast, has agreed to buy ITV’s media and entertainment arm for up to 1.6 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) after months of talks to create a major competitor to the global streaming giants. … The combined Sky-ITV entity will become part of NBCUniversal following the completion of its split from Comcast, ITV said.” (07/06/26)
“Endorsing individual stocks would be unusual behavior for any president, but in Trump’s case it is notable for a different reason: The president has disclosed owning shares in many of the companies he touts. But as troubling as it may seem for the president to own shares in a company, praise it and profit from the rise in price, it is almost certainly legal. Nothing the president has done rises to the level of insider trading or market manipulation, the two crimes most associated with stock trading. … That doesn’t mean retail investors should look to Trump for stock tips. Securities markets today are so efficient that, after the president says something about a stock, flash traders will act on that information in less than a second. By the time any retail investor waddles in, the stock’s price will already reflect Trump’s advice.” (07/06/26)
“FIFA is being criticized over its decision to lift the red card suspension for lead U.S. Men’s National Team scorer Folarin Balogun, allowing him to play against Belgium on Monday. Sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that Balogun’s reinstatement came after President Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday and spoke about the suspension, which would have kept the 25-year-old striker from playing in the round of 16 World Cup match. The Union of European Football Associations, Europe’s soccer governing body, said FIFA ‘crossed a red line,’ and expressed its ‘disbelief’ at a decision it called ‘unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.’ … The Royal Belgian Football Association, whose national team will face the U.S. Monday, said it was ‘astonished’ by the decision, and added it contradicts FIFA’s own rules.” (07/06/26)
“If you really want to get a European politician wound up, try suggesting that, in the 21st century, human civilization has progressed to the point that we need not be at the mercy of the elements; if the temperature outside is uncomfortable, we can adjust the climate in our homes and businesses to our taste. That will get you a stuffy lecture about the virtues of suffering for the good of the planet. Well, unless powerful people are being inconvenienced; then the air conditioning comes on.” (07/06/26)
“In ‘The Rise of Hip Capitalism,’ author Joseph de León traces how Rolling Stone fused countercultural rebellion with entrepreneurial ambition, turning cultural dissent into a media empire.” (07/06/26)
“The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, opened the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday in a politically volatile event that will unfold with the backdrop of her bitter political feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. More than 6,000 police officers, including anti-riot squads, were deployed to secure the Senate, where about 400 anti-Duterte demonstrators converged, chanting ‘convict Sara now.’ Duterte did not appear but was represented by her lawyers at the start of the trial, which will run for 92 days, according to a pretrial plan seen by The Associated Press. If convicted of the charges, which include amassing unexplained wealth and publicly threatening to have Marcos assassinated, Duterte may be permanently disqualified from holding public office. She denies the charges.” (07/06/26)
