Harris VP brief listers Shapiro, Kelly, Walz, Buttigieg can elevate huge cash

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during a campaign event at West Allis Central High School, in West Allis, Wisconsin, U.S., July 23, 2024. 

Vincent Alban | Reuters

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will rub elbows this week with a group of Vice President Kamala Harris’ allies at a meet and greet in the ritzy New York beach enclave of the Hamptons hosted by PR executive Mike Kempner, according to an invitation reviewed by CNBC.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. has raised money from those working for tech giants as Harris and those close to her try to recruit more supporters from that community.

Both of these lawmakers have two things in common: they are among those being considered to be Vice President Harris’ running mate and can help raise a boatload of money for her heading into November.

A Harris fundraiser who is familiar with at least half a dozen of the potential running mates who are being vetted said, “Any of these VPs could make it work. They all have different strengths.” 

This person was one of several who were granted anonymity by CNBC to speak freely about private efforts to raise money for Harris.

In addition to Shapiro and Kelly, Harris’s team is also vetting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, among others, according to NBC News.

Harris’ political operation has already raised over $200 million since July 21, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her, according to her campaign.

Still, in order to keep up that momentum, they may need to select a candidate for vice president who can help bolster her campaign coffers to take on former President Donald Trump.

Trump is raising big money

Despite Harris’ momentum, Trump is still raising a lot of money.

Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio is headlining a fundraiser in Silicon Valley on Monday that is being hosted by BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, with tickets going for up to $50,000.

Trump was hosted in New Jersey for a fundraiser on Sunday that raised over $10 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Tickets went from $3,300 to $500,000, according to the invitation. There were over 300 people at the event, one of the people explained.

Next month, Cantor Fitzgerlad CEO Howard Lutnick plans to host a Trump fundraiser at his home in the Hamptons which is expected to raise at least $10 million, according to a person familiar with the gathering.

The money for these events is going toward the Trump 47 Committee, a joint fundraising committee that benefits the campaign, the Republican National Committee and dozens of state parties.

CNBC cannot confirm these estimates, which come from people close to the Trump campaign, until Oct. 15, when the committee will file its mandatory quarterly report with the Federal Election Commission.

The Harris campaign figures cannot be independently verified either, until Aug. 20, when her campaign disclose its financials. Her associated committees must file federal disclosures by Oct. 15.

“Vice President Harris has directed her team to begin the process of vetting potential running mates,” the Harris campaign said in response to a request for comment.

“That process has begun in earnest and we do not expect to have additional updates until the Vice President announces who will be serving as her running mate and as the next Vice President of the United States.”

A Trump campaign spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment from CNBC.

Shapiro hits the Hamptons

Shapiro’s fundraising strengths could be on full display on Sunday when he heads to the Hamptons for a lunch with top party donors at Kempner’s home in Water Mill.

“Starting with Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, many Governors and Senators are ready to be her partner in leading the nation with sensible, moderate, common-sense solutions,” Kempner wrote in an email to potential attendees which was obtained by CNBC.

“None more so than Josh Shapiro. I know you will love meeting him (he’s a fantastic person) and will be inspired by what he has to say,” wrote Kempner.

The event is not technically a campaign fundraiser. In fact, the invitation has a donation link at the bottom of the page for Shapiro’s 2026 statewide reelection campaign.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro react during a visit to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2024. 

Kevin Mohatt | Reuters

Shapiro’s 2022 campaign for governor set new fundraising and spending records for Pennsylvania statewide races.

In that race, Shapiro raised $1 million from billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who has spent millions backing candidates who support gun safety reforms, according to campaign finance records. He also raised an additional $3 million from longtime Democratic donor Jennifer Duda, who lives in California.

Bloomberg has yet to publicly endorse Harris. But some of the vice president’s allies are planning to approach the former New York mayor for his support, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg has a net worth of over $100 billion, according to Forbes. A spokesman for Bloomberg did not return a request for comment. Duda did not return emails seeking comment.

Shapiro is one of the more moderate contenders to be Harris’ running mate. He supported a Republican backed state plan to send $100 million to families for private school tuition and school supplies, according to the Associated Press. The plan was ultimately scrapped.

Shapiro has taken a pro-Israel stance in its 10 month war on Hamas in Gaza, although he has also acknowledged Palestinian suffering. Shapiro is also an advocate for gun reform legislation.

A spokesperson for the governor did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Kelly’s tech ties

When it comes to fundraising, the Arizona senator has an advantage that most of Harris’ potential running mates do not: a record of support from the tech sector.

As Trump makes headways with the traditionally progressive donor class in Silicon Valley — in part by promising laissez faire regulations — Harris’ allies in the tech space have been trying to raise money from Silicon Valley donors, too.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) looks at reporters during a press conference following the weekly Senate caucus luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 9, 2024. 

Amanda Andrade-Rhoades | Reuters

As a senator, Kelly has pushed for tech related investments in Arizona, including around the U.S.-Mexico border. Kelly and fellow Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema celebrated when it was announced that Arizona-based Amkor Technology Inc. would receive $400 million from the CHIPS and Science Act.

Kelly’s 2022 reelection campaign raised almost $90 million, according to OpenSecrets. Employees from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, AT&T, Alphabet and Meta combined to donate over $1.5 million to his campaign coffers.

Kelly, though, could have his detractors in the tech sector, too. He introduced a bill last year that would require internet giants to contribute to Federal Communications Commission’s universal service fund program, according to Broadband Breakfast.

A spokesperson for Kelly did not reply to a request for comment from CNBC.

Walz has strong union support

Though many of Harris’ options to be her running have ties to unions, few have allegiances to them stronger than Walz.

Since he first ran for Congress in 2005, Walz has received regular campaign donations from the National Education Association, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to the campaign finance website Follow The Money.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Dr. Sarah Traxler and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as she visits an abortion clinic in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., March 14, 2024. 

Nicole Neri | Reuters

A career high school teacher and former union member himself, Walz and has been advocating for years for the importance of organized labor.

But Walz could also have a tougher time making inroads with the kinds of donors who are meeting with Shapiro this weekend, or some Silicon Valley and Wall Street Democratic donors who believe organized labor wields too much power in the party’s broader coalition.

A spokesperson for Walz did not reply to a request for comment from CNBC.

Buttigieg has his own fundraising network

Ever since Buttigieg ran in the 2020 Democratic primary for president, he’s maintained his own national fundraising network. After he dropped out of the race, he launched a political action committee called Win the Era.

After he was confirmed as transportation secretary, the PAC remained active, and it had over $1 million cash on hand heading into July, according to Federal Election Commission records. His primary campaign for president raised almost $100 million, according to OpenSecrets. He too received donations from those working in tech.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on impact of global cyber outage

And that network has been a benefit to the Biden campaign, which is now run by Harris, according to a person briefed on the matter.

In 2020, Buttigieg and his allies helped raise at least $12 million for Biden and around $4 million for other Democrats, this person explained. Since May 2023, Buttigieg and his network have helped the campaign raise around $7 million.

Buttigieg’s “donors still work together,” this person explained. “Any fundraiser Pete does on behalf of the Harris team, they show up (even without being asked) and rally.”

A spokesperson for the Transportation Department did not return a request for comment.

Former MLB Pitcher Reyes Moronta Useless at 31 in Visitors Accident

The baseball community is mourning the loss of an MLB star. 

Reyes Moronta, a pitcher from the Dominican Republic who played for the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks, died in a traffic accident in his native country July 28, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was 31. 

In addition to his six-year stint playing actively in the MLB, Reyes had transitioned into the Mexican League earlier this year, where he played for the León Braves and the Mexico Red Devils. The Mexican League confirmed the former pitcher’s death on July 29. 

“We grieve on behalf of his family, friends and former teammates,” the statement, translated from Spanish, read on X, formerly Twitter. “Rest in peace.”

The Quiniqua, Dominican Republic native—who married Ivelka Felin in 2020—was also remembered by the Major League Baseball Players Association. 

“The player community was shocked and saddened to learn of Reyes Moronta’s death in a traffic accident Sunday,” the organization wrote in a statement on X July 29. “We send our heartfelt sympathies to his family and friends in his native Dominican Republic and throughout the game.”

McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King vie for low-income diners

The McDonald’s logo is displayed at a McDonald’s restaurant in Burbank, California, on July 22, 2024.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

Subway started phasing out its $5 footlong sandwiches a decade ago. But these days, other fast-food chains have revived the $5 price point, hoping to win over customers who have cut back their spending.

As many restaurant companies prepare to report their second-quarter results, investors are expecting to hear that diners are visiting their locations less frequently and that sales have turned sluggish, with few exceptions such as Chipotle. In the hopes of lifting their results for next quarter, chains such as McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Burger King and Wendy’s have unveiled or revived meal deals with a $5 price tag.

McDonald’s said it is seeing traffic increase as a result, although Wall Street is not expecting a big sales bump from the promotions.

Fast food typically fares better than the broader industry during economic downturns. But the last several years of price hikes have led many consumers to conclude that fast food just is not a good deal anymore. More than 60% of respondents to a recent LendingTree survey said they have cut back their fast-food spending because it is too expensive.

Runaway menu prices have scared off many fast-food customers, including those in the low-income bracket who make up a sizable chunk of the sector’s customer base. Sensing diners’ fast-food backlash, players such as Brinker International’s Chili’s have used their marketing to highlight their own value relative to the cost of a fast-food meal. Casual-dining chains have taken some market share from the fast-food sector, Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said in June.

“It’s the war for the less affluent customer,” said Robert Byrne, senior director of consumer research for Technomic, a restaurant market research firm.

That change in consumer behavior has also scared away Wall Street. Shares of McDonald’s, Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International and Wendy’s have all slid by double digits this year. Taco Bell owner Yum Brands is down more than 1% in 2024. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 14%.

“The sense among investors is that the second quarter is probably going to be one to forget — you’re going to see a lot of large chains probably miss consensus [estimates],” KeyBanc analyst Eric Gonzalez told CNBC.

McDonald’s is expected to report its second-quarter earnings on Monday, while Wendy’s is slated to announce its results on Wednesday. Restaurant Brands and Yum Brands are expected to report their quarterly earnings the following week.

Can value meals fuel bigger purchases?

A sign advertises meal deals at a McDonald’s restaurant in Burbank, California, on July 22, 2024.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

Generally, fast-food chains tend to focus their discounts and value meals on the first quarter, when consumers are trying to save their dollars after the holiday season and stick to New Year’s resolutions. As temperatures rise, so do restaurant sales, and operators usually do not need to rely on deals to bring in customers.

But this summer is different. Fast-food chains need discounts to fuel traffic — and sales growth.

“The fact is that restaurants are running out of space to take more price on their menus,” Byrne said.

 But the value meals are not only about growing traffic.

“It’s also about converting the consumer who’s coming for the deal to a higher-ticket consumer by introducing other add-ons or other things that they might do,” Byrne said. “The risk is that they don’t.”

Without convincing customers to add a milkshake or another entrée to their order, the discounts ding profits and become unsustainable in the long run. That is a big worry for investors who are already skeptical that chains will not see the traffic bump they are hoping for.

“The value menus rolled out toward the end of the quarter. There’s just a fear that it’s not going to get any better, and it’s going to be a race to the bottom,” Gonzalez said.

Subway’s $5 footlong presents its own cautionary tale. Although the deal was popular with customers, it outstayed its welcome with operators, eroding their profits and compounding other issues with the brand, such as sales cannibalization from its massive footprint. That led to restaurant closures, angry operators and years of searching for a new way to bring back customers.

Franchisee skepticism

Investors are not the only ones skeptical about the promotions — so are franchisees, who often push back against discounts because they hurt their profits.

Franchisees have also gained more power to resist parent companies’ deal strategies in recent years. Many franchisees are larger these days, with more restaurants and sometimes even private equity money.

At McDonald’s, franchisees banded together to form the National Owners Association in 2018, rebelling against the burger giant’s unpopular discounts and plans for store renovations. Since then, the chain’s operators have fought back more against management’s plans.

An initial proposal of McDonald’s $5 value meal did not pass muster, so Coca-Cola chipped in marketing funds to make the deal more attractive to operators. Coke CEO James Quincey said on Tuesday’s earnings call that the beverage giant has seen weaker away-from-home sales in the U.S. as quick-service restaurants struggle. To boost demand, Coke is partnering with food-service customers to market food and drink combo meals, according to Quincey.

McDonald’s on Monday extended its value meal past its initial four-week window. Ninety-three percent of its restaurants voted in favor of the extension, executives wrote in a memo to the U.S. system viewed by CNBC.

The promotion is bringing customers back to its restaurants, according to both executives and foot traffic data. June 25, the launch day of McDonald’s $5 meal, drew 8% more visits than the average Tuesday in 2024 so far, according to a report from Placer.ai. The pattern repeated in the following days as the chain exceeded year-to-date daily visit averages. Placer.ai also found that discounts helped drive traffic to Buffalo Wild Wings, Starbucks and Chili’s.

In his quarterly survey of more than 20 McDonald’s franchisees, analyst Mark Kalinowski of Kalinowski Equity Research asked respondents what percentage of their sales were helped incrementally by the $5 meal deal. The average response was 1.3%.

“These responses may suggest that the $5 Meal Deal should be viewed as an initiative that may help prevent some customers from going elsewhere, as opposed to a big sales builder,” Kalinowski wrote Wednesday in a research note about the survey results.

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The First Kamala Harris Marketing campaign Advert Matches This Second Completely

With just over 100 days to go, Harris for President released its first official video of the campaign titled “We Choose Freedom,” which hits the exact right energy of this moment.

The video features Beyonce’s song “Freedom,” and highlights what’s at stake in the upcoming election, which they define as “Americans’ rights and freedoms.”

Watch here:

The narration lays out the stakes in November, asking what kind of country we want to live in:

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: In this election, we each face a question.

What kind of country do we want to live in?

There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos. Of fear. Of hate.

But us. We choose something different.

We choose freedom.

The freedom not just to get by, but get ahead. The freedom to be safe from gun violence. The freedom to make decisions about your own body.

We choose a future where no child lives in poverty. Where we all can afford health care, where no one is above the law.

We believe in the promise of America and we are ready to fight for it.

Because when we fight, we win. So join us.

By defining freedom as something that applies not to guns but rather to our bodies, autonomy, right to marry, and be FREE from gun violence, the Harris campaign reclaims an rallying call long used to put the rights of gun manufacturers to make unmitigated profit ahead of actual lives. Harris’ position is the actual pro-life position. It’s pro-life for all. It features her smiling, people laughing, happy faces, faces of love and unity. This is what we can choose to walk toward, while shutting the door once and for all on Donald Trump’s toxic and violent influence over our political landscape, dividing families and friends and communities.

At the end is a link to the campaign website. The Vice President is correct, when freedfight peacefully at the ballot box for their rights and their country, they do win.

om loving Americans come together to Winning requires that all coalitions within the big tent of the Democratic Party, Independents who vote Democrat and Never Trumper Republicans put aside their specific wishlists and demands for the greater good.

It requires that everyone stop being like Trump, stop putting self above the community. There’s been a growing penchant among the electorate raised on President Barack Obama’s charisma and character to expect and demand that unique combination of traits — on top of exact policy matches. These mythical unicorns do not exist. There is no perfect candidate or ticket.

But there is Kamala Harris, who is not only prioritizing a positive version of freedom for ALL, but is also ready to take the fight to Donald Trump and his criminal cabal, so that regular Americans won’t have to live in fear and be intimidated at the ballot box anymore. As a candidate, Kamala Harris’ background as a prosecutor and her career-long mission to hold the banks and other predators accountable meets the moment.

The campaign points out correctly in their email sent to PoliticusUSA, “In just a few short days, Vice President Harris has united the Democratic Party, earning strong support from key coalitions, including labor groups, Black voters, Latino voters, AANHPI voters, women, and young voters.”

The enthusiasm and energy for Kamala Harris has made history already, even as the same voters who support her grieve over the way President Joe Biden was pushed aside by powerful special interests. But as the President made clear last night, the fate of this country is too important to focus on one person. President Joe Biden’s selfless act is the opposite of the self-serving agenda of Donald Trump, and Biden’s legacy will be not only of historic legislative achievements and decency, but of a rare and authentic patriotism unmatched in modern history.

Kamala Harris stepped into that terrifying void left when President Biden stepped aside, and quickly amassed support from various coalitions, including getting March for Our Lives first-ever endorsement and Thursday morning, an endorsement from labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta.

The campaign’s first video will be airing across all social media platforms.

Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.

Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.

Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Connect with Sarah on Post,  Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.

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What you want to know as India points an alert

Fruit bats seen hanging on tree branches in daylight. Bats are believed to be one of the carriers of Nipah virus, a zoonotic disease that spreads from animals to humans.

Eyepix Group | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Health authorities in the southern Indian state of Kerala are on high alert following the latest flare-up of the deadly Nipah virus.

It comes after a 14-year-old boy died from an infection over the weekend and as authorities race to track those who came into contact with him.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said Tuesday that the close relatives of the teenager had tested negative for the virus, according to local media reports. She added that precautionary measures such as wearing face masks in public areas could not be lifted yet.

The state’s health minister has previously said that 60 people had been identified as being in the high-risk category of having the disease. All of those identified as high-risk are being tested for the virus.

The Nipah virus, which partly inspired the fictional “MEV-1” virus in the 2011 Hollywood film “Contagion,” is considered one of the most dangerous pathogens circulating in the wild.

First identified 25 years ago in Malaysia, Nipah is estimated to have a case fatality rate as high as 75% and has been cited as having the potential to spark another pandemic. There is currently no vaccine to prevent infection and no treatment to cure it.

The Nipah virus is transmitted to humans from animals such as fruit bats or pigs. The virus is known to cause a lethal brain-swelling fever in humans.

The World Health Organization says human infections can range from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory infection.

Health worker wearing protective gear shifts a woman with symptoms of Nipah virus to an isolation ward at a government hospital in Kozhikode in south Indian state of Kerala on September 16, 2023.

Afp | Getty Images

Dr. Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO Representative to India, said Tuesday that the latest Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala appeared to have a “low risk” of further transmission.

“Active and extensive contact tracing was carried out by the Kerala government. 60 people had a close contact with the 14-year-old who died and thus were categorized as high-risk contacts. They are all being tested for the virus,” Ofrin told CNBC in an emailed statement.

“Considering transmission dynamics of the Nipah virus itself and the current assessment and the caseloads, this outbreak seems to have a low risk of further transmission.”

Nipah virus outbreaks

Ofrin said the reason why Nipah virus outbreaks have been detected in Kerala was “multi-factorial” but emphasized that the southern Indian state has an “excellent” system for identifying, detecting and registering all suspected cases, leading to immediate public health measures.

Prior to the latest flare-up, Kerala’s state government had reported four separate Nipah virus outbreaks in the region since 2018.

Health workers wearing protective gear shift people who have been in contact with a person infected with the Nipah virus to an isolation center at a goverment hospital in Kozikode, in India’s Kerala state on September 14, 2023.

Afp | Getty Images

In an investigation published last year, Reuters reported that extensive tree loss and rapid urbanization in Kerala over recent decades had created ideal conditions for the Nipah virus to emerge.

A separate report identified Kerala as having some of the world’s leading so-called “jump zones,” a term used to describe the areas that are most conducive to bat-borne viruses infecting humans.

India’s National Centre for Disease Control, which leads on outbreak response, was not immediately available to provide an update when contacted by CNBC on Wednesday.

NBA picks Amazon for media rights over Warner Bros. Discovery

Luka Doncic, #77 of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, shoots the ball against the Boston Celtics during Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals at the TD Garden in Boston on June 17, 2024.

Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images

The NBA has rebuffed longtime media partner Warner Bros. Discovery‘s bid to keep airing games after next season.

The league told the media company it doesn’t believe it holds legal matching rights for the new media deal. It instead plans to move ahead with Amazon as its third partner, along with ESPN and NBCUniversal, in its 11-year deal worth about $77 billion.

 “Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon,” the NBA said in a statement Wednesday.

Warner Bros. Discovery acquired matching rights as part of its current media rights deal with the league, which expires at the end of next season. That provision allows the company to match payment for any of the games that air on TNT, which it attempted to do Monday.

The NBA doesn’t believe Warner Bros. Discovery’s rights extend to an all-streaming package, which was carved out for Amazon. Warner Bros. Discovery also owns a streaming service, Max, which it could use to air games, but the company has told the NBA it plans to simulcast TNT games on Max rather than only putting them on Max.

The NBA sent a letter Wednesday to Warner Bros. Discovery, addressed to TNT Sports chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser, explaining why it can’t match Amazon’s package, citing language from the original matching provision, according to people familiar with the matter.

The NBA cited a provision that said the existing media partner can exercise matching rights “only via the specific form of combined audio and video distribution (e.g. if the specific form of combined audio and video distribution is internet distribution, a matching incumbent may not exercise such games rights via television distribution).”

In its statement, the NBA said that “throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements.”

“All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience,” the league added. “We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT.”

Warner Bros. Discovery said Monday it matched one of the NBA’s three media rights packages, which people familiar with the matter identified as the $1.8 billion per-year deal earmarked for Amazon Prime Video. Disney and Comcast‘s NBCUniversal signed deals for the other two packages, part of the league’s $77 billion media rights renewal over 11 years.

“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement on Wednesday. “In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD’s video-first distribution platforms — including TNT, home to our four-decade partnership with the league, and Max, our leading streaming service.”

“We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action,” the statement continued. “We look forward, however, to another great season of the NBA on TNT and Max including our iconic Inside the NBA.”

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Turner Sports has carried live NBA games for nearly 40 years. The cable network TNT is home to “Inside the NBA,” the popular studio show starring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. The future of the show is in doubt if the NBA doesn’t strike a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.

The league also wants its streaming partner to have maximum reach. Amazon Prime Video has more than twice as many global customers — more than 200 million to Max’s roughly 100 million — which may make the service a more appealing platform for the league. The streaming rights are global, even though Warner Bros. Discovery is only bidding on U.S. rights, according to people familiar with the language in the contract.

Warner Bros. Discovery may need to sue the NBA to claim its matching rights. Lawyers for the company and the NBA have been poring over contractual language for the past several months, according to people familiar with the matter.

Details of the new NBA rights deal

Disney is paying $2.62 billion per year for its package of games and NBCUniversal is paying $2.45 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The new rights deal begins with the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2035-36 season.

The NBA application will be a central portal for games, directing consumers to each national game, whether it is on broadcast, cable TV or a streaming service. About 75 regular-season games will be on broadcast TV each season, up from 15 games in the current rights deal. The league will have two broadcast stations as partners — Disney’s ABC and NBCUniversal’s NBC.

“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”

Disney will distribute 80 NBA regular-season games per season, including more than 20 games on ABC and up to 60 games on ESPN. ABC and ESPN will have one of the two conference finals series in 10 of the 11 years of the agreement. ABC will remain the exclusive home of the NBA Finals, which it has broadcast since 2003.

NBCUniversal will return as a league broadcasting partner after losing NBA rights in 2002. NBCUniversal will air 100 NBA games each regular season, including about 50 that will be exclusive to its streaming platform Peacock, according to CEO Mike Cavanagh.

“We are proud to once again partner with the NBA and WNBA, two iconic brands and the home of the best basketball in the world,” Cavanagh in a statement. “We look forward to presenting our best-in-class coverage of both leagues with our innovative programming and distribution plan across NBC and Peacock to entertain fans and help grow the game.”

WNBA games are also a part of all three packages. The partners will distribute more than 125 regular-season games and playoff games nationally each season. Disney will air a minimum of 25 regular-season games, NBCUniversal will carry 50 regular-season and playoff games on its platforms, and Prime Video will get 30 regular-season games, assuming Warner Bros. Discovery can’t match Amazon’s package.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

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12-12 months-Previous Woman Fatally Smothered 8-12 months-Previous Cousin Over iPhone

A 12-year-old girl is reportedly facing charges after fatally smothering her 8-year-old cousin, Demeria Hollingsworth, allegedly over an iPhone.

RELATED: Arizona Father Is Arrested & Charged After His 9-Year-Old Son’s Body Is Reportedly Found Decomposing On Couch

More Details On The 12-Year-Old Girl’s Charges

According to USA Today, the 12-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, has been charged with first-degree murder. Additionally, the girl has been charged with tampering with evidence. Both charges were reportedly filed via a “petition of delinquency.” Furthermore, the outlet notes that the girl will turn 13 this week.

“I consider this to be one of the most disturbing violent acts committed by either an adult or juvenile that my office has prosecuted,” District Attorney General Frederick H. Agee reportedly wrote in a statement.

Additionally, The DA reportedly stated that his office is requesting Juvenile Judge Mark Johnson to “transfer the delinquent child to Circuit Court to be tried as an adult.” USA Today reports that the transfer of the child would allow her to receive a “lengthier sentence” in court.

Here’s What Allegedly Happened

According to the outlet, the fatal incident took place at a home in Humboldt, Tennessee. A GoFundMe campaign launched by the 8-year-old’s mother, Rayana Smith, adds that the incident occurred on July 15.

USA Today reports that video captured the 12-year-old using her bedding to suffocate her cousin. Demeria Hollingsworth was reportedly “sleeping in the top bunk of bunk beds they shared.” To note, both girls were reportedly visiting their grandmother who lives at the residence.

Furthermore, after the 12-year-old finished smothering her cousin, she reportedly “cleaned up the victim and repositioned her body.”

At this time, police reportedly have not identified a motive for the 12-year-old’s actions. However, Smith has alleged that both girls were “arguing over an iPhone after coming from out of town to stay with their grandmother.”

“The pain I’m feeling is unbearable,” the mother stated via GoFundMe. “I have to now live life without her in this crazy world. But I have another child who’s depending on me, and I have to be strong for my baby because she lost her big sister also. I never imagined anything like this would happen and now find myself trying to fund a funeral.”

Meanwhile, Smith’s mother, Tamara Pullum, has taken to Facebook to share her own post, grieving her granddaughter.

A Foster Mom Recently Made Headlines After Allegedly Smothering Her Son

As The Shade Room previously reported, the incident in Tennessee is not the only similar incident to make headlines in recent months. Earlier this month, a foster mom in Indiana was charged with reckless homicide for an incident that occurred in April.

The woman, Jennifer Wilson, reportedly laid on 10-year-old Dakota Levi Stevens for about five minutes because he allegedly was “acting up.” Furthermore, IndyStar noted that Wilson is over 300 pounds.

Ultimately, the woman suffocated the boy, leading to his being placed on life support. The outlet reported that Stevens passed away on April 27.

RELATED: Indiana Foster Mom Charged After Allegedly Laying On & Smothering 10-Year-Old Boy To Death

What Do You Think Roomies?

India funds, South Korea PPI

A general view of the Lotte tower amid the the Seoul city skyline and Han river during sunset.

Ed Jones | Afp | Getty Images

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Tuesday after Wall Street looked past political uncertainty to log gains overnight.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.61%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.09% lower and the broad-based Topix advanced 0.08%.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.46%, while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.48%. South Korea’s producer price index in June rose 2.5% year on year, compared to a 2.3% rise in May. Stocks of popular messaging app Kakao dropped 4.63% after an arrest warrant was reportedly issued for founder Brian Kim by South Korean court over allegations of market manipulation.

Taiwan’s Taiex rose 2.4% higher, breaking its four-day losing streak, with real estate, industrials and tech leading gains, according to data from LSEG.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.09%, while Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 1%.

India’s Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex were little changed in the first hour of trading. India is slated to unveil its first budget under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third five-year term. Analysts at Barclays expect the coalition government to signal policy consistency in the budget, “showcasing continued fiscal consolidation with a marginal shift in the spending mix.”

“While maintaining focus on capex, we think the government will use increased receipts to fund higher revenue spending, balancing economic and political needs,” Barclays wrote in a recent note.

Singapore’s consumer price index for June rose 2.4% year on year, beating Reuters’ expectations of a 2.7% increase. This compares to a 3.1% rise in May. The country’s core inflation, which strips out prices of accommodation and private transport, rose 2.9% year on year, slightly lower than Reuters’ estimates of 3%.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 notched its best day since June 5 as tech shares bounced following the worst weekly loss for the index since April.

The benchmark climbed 1.08% to settle at 5,564.41 and clinch its best day since June 5, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.58% to close at 18,007.57. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 127.91 points, or 0.32%, to finish at 40,415.44.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.

VP Harris positive factors Capitol Hill help as Biden isolates with Covid

US Vice President Kamala Harris holds a campaign event that is her seventh visit to North Carolina this year and 15th trip to the state since taking office in Fayetteville NC, United States on July 18, 2024.

Peter Zay | Anadolu | Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris has gained more public support from Democratic lawmakers as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden, should he decide to drop out of the race against former President Donald Trump.

California Rep. Mark Takano on Saturday became the thirty-sixth Democrat on Capitol Hill to call on Biden to exit the race on the record. He added that he believes Harris should be the one to helm the ticket.

“President Biden’s greatest accomplishment remains saving democracy in 2020. He can and must do so again in 2024 — by passing the torch to Vice President Harris as the Democratic Party Presidential nominee,” Takano said in a statement.

“It has become clear to me that the demands of a modern campaign are now best met by the Vice President, who can seamlessly transition into the role of our party’s standard bearer,” he said.

Earlier in July, Takano was one of several Democratic committee ranking members who voiced his concerns about Biden’s reelection bid in a private meeting with House Democratic leadership.

Chairman Mark Takano, of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (D-CA) speaks alongside members of the Congressional Delegation who recently traveled to the Indo-Pacific Region at a press conference in the U.S. Capitol Building on August 10, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Though some Democrats have been angling for an open convention if Biden exits, Takano has positioned himself within the sect of the party that sees Harris as the rightful heir to the top of the ticket, along with the campaign’s war chest of at least $91 million.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Saturday that Harris “is ready to step up and unite the party,” should the president decide to exit the race. Warren has not officially called for Biden to exit the race.

“Joe Biden is our nominee. He has a very big decision to make, but we are very lucky to have Vice President Kamala Harris. Eighty million people voted for her to step up if she is needed,” Warren said in an interview on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”

“Look, if you’re running against a convicted felon, then a prosecutor like Kamala is really a good person to make that case,” she added.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) faces reporters during a break in a bipartisan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Insight Forum for all U.S. senators at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, September 13, 2023.

Julia Nikhinson | Reuters

Since Biden’s stumbling June 27 debate flub against Trump, looming concerns about his age and ability to win in November have left deep cracks within the Democratic Party. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers, donors and strategists have called on him to drop out, despite his defiant commitment to stay in the race.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that some donors are organizing funds to vet potential vice presidential picks in case the current Democratic ticket changes.

While the Democratic rifts widen, the president is still isolating with Covid in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

The Biden campaign has continued to publicly and defiantly reject the heightening drop-out pressure, pledging that the president will remain in the race and return to the campaign trail when he is Covid-free.

“As soon as we have the green light, we are going to be back out on the stump,” Biden campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler told reporters Saturday morning.

Tyler said that Biden is expected to get back to campaigning “in earnest” next week.

Biden on Saturday had completed his sixth round of the antiviral Covid treatment, Paxlovid, and was recovering “steadily,” according to an update from his doctor, Kevin O’Connor.

In the meantime, Harris is shouldering the campaign’s message. On Saturday, she delivered remarks at a campaign fundraiser in Massachusetts that raised over $2 million. And on Friday, Harris joined a call with Democratic donors where she doubled down on her support for Biden, according to NBC News.

“We know which candidate in this election puts the American people first: our President, Joe Biden,” she said. “We are going to win this election. We are going to win.”

Conservatives have so far basked in the emerging Democratic divisions, especially coming off of the Republican National Convention convention, a gleeful four-day celebration of Trump, their officially minted nominee.

On Saturday, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s newly selected running mate, capitalized on the Democratic pressure, calling on Biden to not just exit the race but wholly resign from his post.

“Everyone calling on Joe Biden to *stop running* without also calling on him to resign the presidency is engaged in an absurd level of cynicism,” Vance wrote in a post on X. “If you can’t run, you can’t serve. He should resign now.”

Some of Biden’s allies are staying out of the pressure campaign, instead backing whatever path forward the president settles on.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for example, have remained “deferential” on Biden’s decision to keep his campaign alive, two people familiar with the Clintons’ thinking told NBC News on Saturday.

The Clintons have actively tried to maintain donors’ support for Biden and have told the White House that they would help however they can, the people said.

Though Biden has acknowledged the concerns about his age, he has remained steadfast about his case for reelection and partly blames the media for focusing too much on his political vulnerabilities, even as some recent voter polls reflect his slipping support.

Protesters with a grassroots group called “Pass the Torch” gathered on the White House sidewalk on Saturday, praising Biden’s track record as president but urging him to drop his bid for a second term.

“We are ready to unite behind a new nominee and do everything in our power to electorally kick Donald Trump’s ass in November,” Aaron Regunberg, one of the leaders of the organization, cried out. “We’re begging you Joe, if you’re listening, be the hero. Be the public servant, be the leader that we know you are. Pass the torch.”

How effectively can AI chatbots mimic docs in a remedy setting?

Dr. Scott Gottlieb is a physician and served as the 23rd Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer and several other startups in health and tech. He is also a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates. Shani Benezra is a senior research associate at the American Enterprise Institute and a former associate producer at CBS News’ Face the Nation.

Many consumers and medical providers are turning to chatbots, powered by large language models, to answer medical questions and inform treatment choices. We decided to see whether there were major differences between the leading platforms when it came to their clinical aptitude.

To secure a medical license in the United States, aspiring doctors must successfully navigate three stages of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, with the third and final installment widely regarded as the most challenging. It requires candidates to answer about 60% of the questions correctly and, historically, the average passing score hovered around 75%.

When we subjected the major large language models to the same Step 3 examination, their performance was markedly superior, achieving scores that significantly outpaced many doctors.

But there were some clear differences between the models.

Typically taken after the first year of residency, the USMLE Step 3 gauges whether medical graduates can apply their understanding of clinical science to the unsupervised practice of medicine. It assesses a new doctor’s ability to manage patient care across a broad range of medical disciplines and includes both multiple-choice questions and computer-based case simulations.

We isolated 50 questions from the 2023 USMLE Step 3 sample test to evaluate the clinical proficiency of five different leading large language models, feeding the same set of questions to each of these platforms — ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Grok and Llama.

Other studies have gauged these models for their medical proficiency, but to our knowledge, this is the first time these five leading platforms have been compared in a head-to-head evaluation. These results could give consumers and providers some insights on where they should be turning.

Here’s how they scored:

  • ChatGPT-4o (OpenAI) — 49/50 questions correct (98%)
  • Claude 3.5 (Anthropic) — 45/50 (90%)
  • Gemini Advanced (Google) — 43/50 (86%)
  • Grok (xAI) — 42/50 (84%)
  • HuggingChat (Llama) — 33/50 (66%)

In our experiment, OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o emerged as the top performer, achieving a score of 98%. It provided detailed medical analyses, employing language reminiscent of a medical professional. It not only delivered answers with extensive reasoning, but also contextualized its decision-making process, explaining why alternative answers were less suitable.

Claude, from Anthropic, came in second with a score of 90%. It provided more human-like responses with simpler language and a bullet-point structure that might be more approachable to patients. Gemini, which scored 86%, gave answers that weren’t as thorough as ChatGPT or Claude, making its reasoning harder to decipher, but its answers were succinct and straightforward.

Grok, the chatbot from Elon Musk’s xAI, scored a respectable 84% but didn’t provide descriptive reasoning during our analysis, making it hard to understand how it arrived at its answers. While HuggingChat — an open-source website built from Meta’s Llama — scored the lowest at 66%, it nonetheless showed good reasoning for the questions it answered correctly, providing concise responses and links to sources.

One question that most of the models got wrong related to a 75-year-old woman with a hypothetical heart condition. The question asked the physicians which was the most appropriate next step as part of her evaluation. Claude was the only model that generated the correct answer.

Another notable question, focused on a 20-year-old male patient presenting with symptoms of a sexually transmitted infection. It asked physicians which of five choices was the appropriate next step as part of his workup. ChatGPT correctly determined that the patient should be scheduled for HIV serology testing in three months, but the model went further, recommending a follow-up examination in one week to ensure that the patient’s symptoms had resolved and that the antibiotics covered his strain of infection. To us, the response highlighted the model’s capacity for broader reasoning, expanding beyond the binary choices presented by the exam.

These models weren’t designed for medical reasoning; they’re products of the consumer technology sector, crafted to perform tasks like language translation and content generation. Despite their non-medical origins, they’ve shown a surprising aptitude for clinical reasoning.

Newer platforms are being purposely built to solve medical problems. Google recently introduced Med-Gemini, a refined version of its previous Gemini models that’s fine-tuned for medical applications and equipped with web-based searching capabilities to enhance clinical reasoning.

As these models evolve, their skill in analyzing complex medical data, diagnosing conditions and recommending treatments will sharpen. They may offer a level of precision and consistency that human providers, constrained by fatigue and error, might sometimes struggle to match, and open the way to a future where treatment portals can be powered by machines, rather than doctors.