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Jennifer Lopez inks first-look, multiyear Netflix deal

J.Lo has signed on the dotted line.

Jennifer Lopez, actress, singer and CEO of the television production company Nuyorican Productions, has inked a multiyear, first-look deal with Netflix, Variety first reported. As part of the deal, Lopez will produce both scripted and unscripted movie and TV content for the streaming behemoth. 

Benny Medina, who co-founded Nuyorican with Lopez, and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, the company’s president, will co-produce alongside Lopez. 

“I am excited to announce my new partnership with Netflix,” Lopez told the publication. “Elaine, Benny and I believe there is no better home for us than a forward-leaning content creation company that seeks to defy conventional wisdom and directly market to the millions across the globe who no longer view art and entertainment with the kind of boundaries and limitations of the past.”

“Throughout every aspect of her career, Jennifer Lopez has been a force in entertainment. In partnering with her and Nuyorican, we know she will continue to bring impactful stories, joy and inspiration to audiences around the world,” Netflix’s head of global films, Scott Stuber, told Variety in a statement. 

Jennifer Lopez is the CEO of the film and television production company Nuyorican Productions.Getty Images for Global Citizen

“[Lopez is] a singular talent whose creativity and vision have captivated audiences and inspired the next generation around the world,” stated Netflix’s head of global TV, Bela Bajaria. “For years, she and the team at Nuyorican have brought a distinctive voice to entertainment, and I’m looking forward to working with her and the team to create new series for our members to love.”

It was previously announced that Lopez would be starring in two upcoming films for Netflix, an adaptation of the eponymous novel “The Cipher” and a feature called “The Mother,” set to be directed by Niki Caro of “Mulan.” 

“The Cipher” tells the story of an FBI special agent and a serial killer with a penchant for coded online riddles, while “The Mother” is about a female assassin and her daughter.

Her Netflix deal isn’t the only exciting thing in J.Lo’s life right now. She was just spotted cuddling up with Ben Affleck, 48, during a dinner date. Affleck and Lopez, who were engaged in the 2000s, started seeing each other again in April this year, Page Six exclusively reported.

Mark Cuban-backed banking app Dave going public via $4 billion SPAC

In this articleVPCCJason Wilk, DaveBanking app Dave announced Monday that the company will make its market debut through a SPAC merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings III.The agreement values Dave at $4 billion and is expected to close in the second half of this year. Upon completion of the deal, it intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol DAVE.The company, ranked No. 26 on last year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list, was most recently valued at $1 billion in August 2019, according to PitchBook data.Victory Park Capital, a global investment firm headquartered in Chicago, has a long track record of debt and equity financing transactions in fintech, and has been a longstanding investor in Dave, most recently providing a $100 million credit facility to the company in January 2021. VPCC completed its initial public offering in March 2021.Dave — shorthand for the hero in the David vs. Goliath tale — is designed to eliminate many of the features customers can’t stand about legacy banks. The company started with overdraft fees. For a $1-per-month membership fee, users can access checking accounts with no fees and up to $100 in overdraft protection without fees or interest. Members who sign up for direct deposit also get automated budgeting and the ability to build up their credit scores through the reporting of rent and utility payments to credit bureaus.The company says it has helped its customers avoid nearly $1 billion in overdraft fees through its ExtraCash feature, and helped gig workers earn more than $200 million from their side hustles through its sharing-economy job board, Side Hustle.Co-founder and CEO Jason Wilk, who founded three other start-ups and counts Mark Cuban as an early investor, believes consumers should get credit for doing the right thing consistently.”At Dave, we’re committed to improving the financial health of our members,” Wilk said in a statement announcing the deal. “We believe the legacy financial system has failed to deliver and today, more than 150 million people need our help to build financial stability.”The deal includes a $210 million private placement led by Tiger Global Management. So-called PIPE financing is a mechanism for companies to raise capital from a select group of investors that make the final market debut possible. Wellington Management and Corbin Capital Partners are also participating.SPACs have come to market at a breakneck pace over the past year as an alternative to IPOs. However, the market has cooled lately amid regulatory concerns and an overall pullback in SPAC stocks. The CNBC SPAC 50 Index, which tracks the 50 largest U.S.-based premerger blank-check deals by market cap, has slumped roughly 4% year to date, while the Nasdaq has gained roughly 7%.So far this year, 330 SPACs have raised nearly $105 billion, according to SPAC Research, but experts caution investors that the recent frenzy, and subsequent slump in SPAC shares, could lead to riskier deals in the coming months. SIGN UP for our weekly, original newsletter that goes beyond the list, offering a closer look at CNBC Disruptor 50 companies, and the founders who continue to innovate across every sector of the economy.

U.S. recovers some of the money paid in the Colonial Pipeline ransom, officials say

A sign warns consumers on the avaliability of gasoline at a RaceTrac gas station on May 11, 2021, in Smyrna, Georgia.Elijah Nouvelage | AFP | Getty ImagesWASHINGTON – U.S. law enforcement officials said Monday they were able to retrieve some of the money paid to a criminal cybergroup on the heels of a crippling ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, according to NBC News.Officials from the Department of Justice are slated to discuss the operation at a 3:15 ET press briefing.Last month a criminal cybergroup known as DarkSide launched a sweeping ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline. The cyberattack forced the company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of American fuel pipeline, leading to a disruption of nearly half of the East Coast fuel supply and causing gasoline shortages in the Southeast.Ransomware attacks involve malware that encrypts files on a device or network that results in the system becoming inoperable. Criminals behind these types of cyberattacks typically demand a ransom in exchange for the release of data.Colonial Pipeline paid the ransom to hackers, one source familiar with the situation confirmed to CNBC.After the attack by DarkSide, Biden told reporters that the U.S. did not currently have intelligence linking the group’s ransomware attack to the Russian government. Although, the assault is believed to have originated from a criminal organization in Russia. “So far there is no evidence from our intelligence people that Russia is involved although there is evidence that the actor’s ransomware is in Russia, they have some responsibility to deal with this,” Biden said on May 10. He added that he would discuss the situation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.The two leaders are slated to meet in Geneva on June 16.The Kremlin has denied claims that it has launched cyberattacks against the United States.”The President’s message will be that responsible states do not harbor ransomware criminals, and responsible countries must take decisive action against these ransomware networks,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in advance of the summit.But the Biden administration is also putting pressure on the private sector to shore up its defenses against ransomware.”All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location,” wrote Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, in a June 2 memo.”To understand your risk, business executives should immediately convene their leadership teams to discuss the ransomware threat and review corporate security posture and business continuity plans to ensure you have the ability to continue or quickly restore operations,” she added.The White House is also facing questions about how it plans to modernize cybersecurity protocols and banking laws to respond to cryptocurrency, and its growing role in financial crimes from ransomware to corruption.This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Elon Musk announces in tweet that premium Tesla model has been canceled

Tesla is pulling the plug on the most expensive version of its flagship sedan, the Model S Plaid Plus, CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter.

The company had previously announced plans to sell the premium car — which was advertised as being able to go more than 520 miles on a fully charged battery — for almost $150,000, $30,000 more than the standard “Plaid” version.

Tesla still plans a “Plaid” version of the Model S, which is advertised as being able to go 390 miles per charge.

Both versions of the car were expected to have three motors, more than the two in earlier versions of the car, and both were expected to be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds.

“Plaid+ is canceled. No need, as Plaid is just so good,” Musk tweeted Sunday. “0 to 60mph in under 2 secs. Quickest production car ever made of any kind. Has to be felt to be believed.”

The unusual “Plaid” name is reportedly a reference to the 1987 Star Wars parody “Spaceballs.”

0 to 60mph in under 2 secs. Quickest production car ever made of any kind. Has to be felt to be believed.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2021

When spacecrafts enter hyperspace in “Star Wars,” the stars transform into streaks of light — whereas in “Spaceballs,” the spacecrafts go so fast that the stars turn plaid.

The announcement comes just days before a planed June 10 “delivery” ceremony for the Model S Plaid. That ceremony was originally supposed to take place on June 3, but was delayed a week.

While the delay of the event and the sudden cancellation of the higher-end model were not attributed to supply issues, the moves come as the entire automaker industry, and other parts of the economy, suffer from a global microchip shortage.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the Plaid Plus is unnecessary because the “Plaid is just so good.”HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

At the end of May, Musk said that recent price increases were “due to major supply chain price pressure industry-wide. Raw materials especially.”

“Our biggest challenge is supply chain, especially microcontroller chips. Never seen anything like it,” he added in another tweet last week.

“Fear of running out is causing every company to overorder – like the toilet paper shortage, but at epic scale. That said, it’s obv not a long-term issue.”

Shares of Tesla were down more than 1 percent in midday trading Monday.

NBCUniversal will air more than 7,000 hours of Olympics coverage on TV and streaming video

In this articleCMCSASimone Biles competes on the uneven bars prior to the Senior Women’s competition of the U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena on June 06, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas.Jamie Squire | Getty ImagesNBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, announced Monday it will show more than 7,000 hours of content from the Tokyo Olympics across its networks and streaming platforms.Historically, the Summer Olympics has been a massive draw for viewers. In 2016, the two-week event attracted an average of 27.5 million viewers across all NBC platforms, and delivered 3.3 billion minutes of streaming video. The 2012 Games in London attracted roughly 31 million viewers, and the 2008 Beijing Olympics averaged 27 million viewers.This year’s spectacle, which was postponed from 2020 because of the Covid pandemic, runs from July 23 to Aug. 8, with NBC’s broadcast network anchoring prime-time events. The games will include 41 sporting events, including new competitions such as baseball, softball, skateboarding, surfing and karate.NBC will show popular competitions, including the USA men’s basketball team’s chase for a 16th gold medal, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, swimming and gymnastics featuring USA champion Simone Biles. More than 5,000 hours will stream on NBColympics.comIn addition, cable sports network NBCSN will broadcast more than 440 hours and USA Network more than 380 hours on USA Network. The Olympic Channel will show Team USA competitions, including wrestling and tennis. The Golf Channel will show golf events, and Telemundo Deportes will air competitions in Spanish language.CNBC will show more than 100 hours of competitions during its prime-time programming hours, including diving, beach volleyball, rowing, water polo and rugby. The network has aired Olympic games since 2000. People have their photographs taken next to the Olympic Rings on June 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto has stated that she is 100 percent certain that the Olympics will go ahead despite widespread public opposition as Japan grapples with a fourth wave of coronavirus.Yuichi Yamazaki | Getty ImagesIn a statement, Molly Solomon, NBC Olympics production president, said coverage around the Tokyo Olympics would be “unprecedented” and will showcase “once-in-a-generation athletes and storylines that will capture the incredible uniqueness of these Games and our times.”In 2014, NBC and the International Olympic Committee agreed to a $7.75 billion media rights deal to extend their partnership. The current agreement runs through the 2032 Olympics and allows NBC to leverage the 2024 event in France and the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.There has been opposition about holding the event this year as Covid continues to impact countries. The IOC has inserted intense pandemic protocols for the games, including testing athletes at least every four days. Spectators from outside of Japan will not be allowed to attend competitions.Disclosure: Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

The Container Store Group, Inc. Nominates Two New Class II Directors

On May 26, 2021, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of The Container Store Group, Inc. (NYSE: TCS) (the “Company”) nominated Anthony Laday, Chief Financial Officer of Fogo de Chão, and Nicole Otto, former VP of Nike Direct North America, for election as Class II Directors at the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual […]

Moderna files with EU for approval to use vaccine in adolescents

Moderna has filed a request with the European Medicines Agency for its COVID-19 vaccine to be granted authorization for use in adolescents.

In a statement Monday, Moderna said it had filed data for a conditional marketing approval in the 27-nation EU bloc to expand its coronavirus vaccine to children, beyond the green light it received in January for use in adults 18 and over.

If Moderna wins authorization, it would be the second COVID-19 vaccine for children to be cleared in the EU. Last month, the European drug regulator approved the shot made by Pfizer and BioNTech for children aged 12 to 15.

“We are encouraged that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was highly effective at preventing COVID … in adolescents,” the company said in a statement. Moderna has also filed for authorization to use its vaccine under emergency use regulations in the US and Canada.

The CDC is pushing for teenagers to get vaccinated.AFP via Getty Images

Last week, In the US, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged teens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — amid an increase in the rate of adolescents being hospitalized with the virus.

ATLIS Motor Vehicles Expands Its Board Of Directors

MESA, Ariz., June 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — ATLIS Motor Vehicles (ATLIS), a start-up mobility company that is developing a 500-mile electric work truck, electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and charging ecosystem, announced today the addition of Britt E. Ide to the company’s board of directors. Ide is the first independent director to join the board currently comprised of ATLIS founder and CEO, Mark Hanchett, and ATLIS president, Annie Pratt.Ide has nearly 30 years of experience as an engineer, lawyer, and business leader and has worked on all sides of energy issues. She is currently the CEO of Ide Energy & Strategy, a consulting firm she launched in 2011 that is focused on energy and sustainability. The firm helps businesses, leaders, and boards develop, analyze, and communicate strategic Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) efforts; connects people and ideas across energy organizations, perspectives, and geographies; and strategizes collaboratively to create climate solutions. Over the years, Ide has worked with associations such as the American Gas Association, Electric Power Research Institute, Edison Electric Institute, Northwest Public Power Association; corporations such as Boise Cascade and Albertsons; and supported utilities such as PacifiCorp, Idaho Power, LA Department of Water & Power, and Columbia Gas.  She also has experience working with non-governmental organizations, renewable developers, natural resource and mining companies, regulators and national energy laboratories.”As we develop an electric truck, batteries, and charging ecosystem, it is critical to have a variety of expertise on our Board,” said Annie Pratt. “Britt’s knowledge and perspective on utilities, the renewable energy industry and experience collaborating with the public, private and NGO sectors will help ATLIS continue to formulate and execute a business strategy that will help revolutionize the mobility industry.”

Ide received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University and earned a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Montana State University. She also received a certificate in mediation and negotiation from Harvard University and a juris doctor degree from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law.  She is a women in clean energy ambassador for the U.S. Department of Energy and in 2019, Ide was named one of the most influential corporate directors by WomenInc. Ide is currently a board member of NorthWestern Energy (Nasdaq: NWE), an electric and gas utility, and is on the advisory board of 3Degrees, a BCorp that helps companies meet their climate goals. She is also a board director for nonprofits such as the Energy Policy Institute and Hotrock Energy Research Organization.  About ATLIS Motor VehiclesATLIS is a mobility technology company developing products that will power work. The ATLIS innovators are building an electric vehicle technology platform for heavy and light duty work trucks used in the agriculture, service, utility, and construction industries. To meet the towing and payload capabilities of legacy diesel-powered vehicles, ATLIS is developing proprietary battery technology and a modular system architecture capable of scaling to meet the specific needs of the all-electric vehicle. All ATLIS technology is being designed, developed, and produced in Mesa, Arizona. More information is available on the ATLIS website at www.atlismotorvehicles.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/atlis-motor-vehicles-expands-its-board-of-directors-301306979.html

SOURCE ATLIS Motor Vehicles

Facebook won't take a cut from creators until 2023, Zuckerberg says in shot at Apple

In this articleFBThe founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the 56th Munich Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, on February 15, 2020.Christof Stache | AFP | Getty ImagesFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday announced that the social media company will wait until at least 2023 before taking a cut of revenue from creators who use the site to distribute their work or promote events.Specifically, the company will not take a cut of any revenue generated by paid online events, fan subscriptions, badges, and Facebook’s upcoming independent news product, Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook.Zuckerberg also used his post to make a jab at Apple, which kicks off its WWDC annual developers conference on Monday.”When we do introduce a revenue share, it will be less than the 30% that Apple and others take,” Zuckerberg wrote, referring to the cut Apple takes on all products sold through apps that users have downloaded through its App Store. “We’re also launching a new payout interface so creators can see how different companies’ fees and taxes are impacting their earnings.”Zuckerberg’s retort is the latest incident in a long-running feud between Facebook and Apple, which reached a new peak earlier this spring when Apple introduced a privacy update that could hurt Facebook’s advertising business by making it harder to tailor personalized ads and track their performance. More generally, Facebook and other app makers have criticized Apple’s tight control over the App Store, while Apple has criticized companies whose business models rely on tracking user activity to sell relevant ads.