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The Writers Guild of America strike is nearing an end after reaching a tentative agreement with TV and film studios, but it’s still unclear when many popular shows will return.
Late-night talk shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers will likely come back “a few days after the strike is officially over,” according to Deadline, though they may look different at first because the Screen Actors Guild is still striking.
Viewers could be waiting until around March for new episodes of their favorite dramas and comedies, Deadline reported, because scripted shows are more dependent on when the Screen Actors Guild strike ends.
Meanwhile, members of SAG-AFTRA voted on Monday in favor of authorizing a walkout against video game publishers, setting the stage for a second strike for the actor’s union.
BREAKING NEWS
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned North Korea and Russia’s military cooperation, stating that the relationship threatens global peace and security, amid increasing speculation of an arms deal between the two countries. If North Korea and Russia were to proceed with a deal, Russia would be in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban weapons trade with North Korea.
House Republicans have released the slate of witnesses in their first impeachment inquiry hearing for President Joe Biden. Forensic accountant Bruce Dubinsky, former assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s tax division Eileen O’Connor, and law professor and conservative commentator Jonathan Turley will offer testimony on the thus far unfounded accusations that Biden and his son used his power to make themselves richer.
BUSINESS + FINANCE
Drugstore chain Rite Aid plans to shut down about a quarter of its more than 2,100 stores in bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the company faces billions of dollars’ worth of debt and a swath of opioid-related lawsuits. Rite Aid’s stores have been unprofitable recently, and last year, the company said it would close 145 stores as part of cost-cutting measures in an effort to compete with the likes of Walgreens and CVS.
WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Billionaire T. Denny Sanford, whose wealth comes from the South Dakota-based First Premier Bank, has been booted from the Giving Pledge after a court unsealed documents that prompted South Dakota authorities to investigate the billionaire philanthropist for child pornography back in 2019. Giving Pledge is a movement from Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett that brings together mostly billionaires who promise to give away most of their wealth either before or after their deaths.
TECH + INNOVATION
Spotify will translate podcasts into other languages and match the original speaker’s voice and style using artificial intelligence, the company announced Monday. The new “Voice Translation” feature was created in partnership with OpenAI, and translated podcasts will be available in Spotify’s “Voice Translations Hub.”
MONEY + POLITICS
California media icon and GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder has spent his life chasing the limelight, leaving behind steady paychecks to pursue riskier opportunities. The formula’s paid off: Forbes estimates his net worth is $4 million. And while he probably realizes he is not likely to end up as the next president, he is surely savvy enough to know that he has plenty to gain by trying.
Speaking publicly for the first time since he was indicted on bribery charges last week, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez denied wrongdoing and said he would not resign despite growing calls for him to do so. On Friday, prosecutors accused the three-term Democratic senator of maintaining a “corrupt relationship” with three New Jersey businessmen who allegedly bribed him and his wife with gold, money, a luxury car and home mortgage payments in exchange for a “series of official acts and breaches of official duty.”
SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
The NFL may increase the debt limit for the league’s team owners. Currently, owners can have as much as $600 million of debt on their team, and a buyer of a team can use as much as $1.1 billion of debt. According to NFL executives who spoke with Forbes, those figures are likely to be increased to $1 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively. One of the reasons for the debate among owners is that interest rates have risen dramatically in recent months, and the cheapest way for an owner to borrow money is from the league.
President Joe Biden cheered the tentative contract announced Sunday between Hollywood writers and studios expected to end a months-long strike, calling the agreement “a testament to the power of collective bargaining.” Biden has made his pro-union stance a key platform for his reelection campaign as he’s netted early endorsements from some of the country’s largest unions.
SCIENCE + HEALTHCARE
Researchers with Mount Sinai Hospital and Yale University developed an algorithm to predict which patients had long Covid, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Nature. The study shows that long Covid patients have clear immune and hormonal differences from patients who don’t have the condition.
DAILY COVER STORY
How Top Creator Khaby Lame Became TikTok’s Most Popular Influencer
TOPLINE In 2019, Khabane “Khaby” Lame was assembling car filters in a factory outside Turin, Italy. Now, the Italian influencer is the world’s most-followed person on TikTok.
Since gaining notice during pandemic lockdowns, Lame’s two-minute-long TikToks spoofing famous memes and mocking elaborate internet stunts have attracted 2.4 billion likes and 162 million followers—more than triple the population of his home country.
He has amassed this enormous fan base without uttering a single word, communicating instead with animated shrugs and expressive eyes. Forbes estimates that since June 2022, Lame has grossed $16.5 million thanks to deals with companies including Hugo Boss, Binance and Middle East bank QNB.
Lame ranks 11th on our second annual Top Creators list and is a prime example of the power, and profits, up for grabs in the red-hot influencer economy.
Between June 2022 and this June, our 50 leading creators leveraged their combined 2.6 billion social media followers to haul in an estimated $700 million in earnings. That’s a 23% jump from 2022’s $570 million.
Influencers know their power and are using their clout to spring from social media into other industries. Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, 25, who holds the top spot on our list for the second year running, has used his 180 million-subscriber YouTube channel to launch a snack bar company called Feastables and a fast food chain, MrBeast Burger. (Disclosure: Donaldson is slated to become a member of Forbes’ board when a planned sale of the company is completed.) Addison Rae and Bella Thorne have gone from lip syncing on TikTok to scoring major record deals.
As for Lame, he’s hoping his turn as a star character in blockbuster video game Fortnite is a stepping stone to Hollywood. “I love writing stories and films,” he says. “I want to be an actor—and direct too.”
WHY IT MATTERS Brands will spend an estimated $21 billion on creator marketing this year, up from just $1.6 billion seven years ago, according to social media research firm Influencer Marketing Hub.
“Influencers are the most powerful and prolific media and commerce vehicle ever invented,” says Erin Lanuti, chief innovation officer at ad titan Omnicom PR Group. “They’re more trusted by their audiences than ads. They can sell out products in minutes. They can cause a flash mob that shuts down a major city. They can build a billion-dollar brand without any other marketing. And they can destroy a billion-dollar brand with a post.”
MORE Kick vs. Twitch: Inside Streaming’s Billion-Dollar Death Match
FACTS AND COMMENTS
As the narrowly-split U.S. Congress bumbles its way toward the September 30 deadline for a government shutdown, the travel industry is warning of a substantial cost to the tourism economy. A significant chunk of the loss during the last shutdown was shouldered by towns and cities that rely on national parks and monuments as major tourism draws:
$1 billion: The amount the U.S. travel economy could lose for every week that the government is shut down, according to the U.S. Travel Association
$11 billion: The cost of the last federal government shutdown, which stretched from late 2018 to early 2019
Around $20 million: The amount small businesses located in the gateways to parks lost per day by the end of the 34-day long shutdown
STRATEGY AND SUCCESS
Job seekers need both a résumé and cover letter on hand, but there are key differences: A cover letter is structured like, well, a letter, and a résumé is an outline of your career trajectory. Since a cover letter is written in prose, your personality can shine through more. And don’t just use your cover letter to summarize what’s already in your résumé, but highlight the skills and experience that match your dream job, and explain away any red flags like employment gaps.
QUIZ
Eight-time Grammy winner Usher is slated to headline the halftime show at the 2024 Super Bowl in February, the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced over the weekend. Which headliner had the most-viewed halftime show of all time?
A. Black Eyed Peas
B. Lady Gaga
C. Rihanna
D. Justin Timberlake
Check your answer.
ACROSS THE NEWSROOM
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