Exiting Paramount CEO Bob Bakish, Paramount Global major shareholder Shari Redstone, Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise, and Nickelodeon boss Brian Robbins.
Jason Mendez via Getty Images
Paramount held a nearly 9-minute-long earnings call on Monday.
No questions were taken and the call ended with the Mission: Impossible theme being played on loop.
The company announced the departure of its president and CEO Bob Bakish before the call.
Paramount executives didn't take any questions during the company's earnings call on Monday, and ended up blasting the Mission: Impossible theme music on loop to their investors instead.
Bakish has been replaced by what Paramount calls an "Office of the CEO" committee. This panel is formed by three executives — CBS chief George Cheeks, Showtime/MTV Entertainment president and CEO Chris McCarthy, and Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Nickelodeon head Brian Robbins.
However, investors who were hoping to learn more about the leadership changes during Paramount's earnings call were left hanging. The earnings call ran for only 8 minutes and 50 seconds, and the executives in attendance weren't open to taking questions.
"We will not be taking questions following our prepared remarks," Jaime Morris, Paramount's executive vice president for investor relations, said on Monday. "The main purpose of today's call is to provide you with the information regarding our first quarter of 2024's performance."
The call then ended with Paramount playing the theme song to the studio's hit franchise Mission: Impossible over and over again, according to accounts from the Financial Times' Anna Nicolaou, Puck's Matthew Belloni, and IGN's Alex Stedman.
The bizarre earnings call on Monday comes at a troubling time for Paramount. The studio, which produced hit films like "Top Gun: Maverick" and the "Transformers" franchise, has been grappling with increased competition from rivals like the streaming giant Netflix.
Paramount's majority shareholder and board chair Shari Redstone has been circling on a merger deal with David Ellison's Skydance Media, the Financial Times reported last month.
David Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has been eyeing the studio for some time. There's also been some speculation amongst industry insiders that the sale could allow Paramount to use Oracle's technology to boost its entertainment offerings.
Representatives for Paramount didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.
US phone companies were fined nearly $200 million on Monday.
Top to bottom: Michael Kappeler for Picture Alliance, Kena Betancur for VIEWpress, Michael Kappeler for Picture Alliance via Getty Images
The FCC fined four US network providers nearly $200 million for illegally sharing customer data.
The FCC said the companies sold data to "aggregators," who resold it to third parties.
All of the network providers plan to appeal the decision, arguing that the order lacks legal merit.
The Federal Communications Commission fined four US wireless carriers close to $200 million for illegally sharing access to customers' location data.
AT&T was fined over $57 million, and Verizon was fined almost $47 million. T-Mobile and Sprint, which merged since the investigation began, have been fined $92 million collectively, the FCC said on Monday.
"Our communications providers have access to some of the most sensitive information about us," FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in the statement. "We are talking about some of the most sensitive data in their possession: customers' real-time location information, revealing where they go and who they are."
The fines were initially proposed in February 2020. The FCC said on Monday that these phone companies sold customers' location data to "aggregators," who resold access to the data to companies that provide location-based services.
Companies that use location-based services include prison phone services, ride-hailing apps, and phone games. Such data can also be used by companies to send targeted ads based on location.
The FCC said dozens of location-based services accessed phone companies' customer data without ensuring consumer consent, even after the phone companies were aware of the links.
In response to the FCC fines, all three phone providers said they expect to appeal the decision.
"We take our responsibility to keep customer data secure very seriously and have always supported the FCC's commitment to protecting consumers," T-Mobile said in a statement to Business Insider. "But this decision is wrong, and the fine is excessive. We intend to challenge it."
"The FCC order lacks both legal and factual merit," AT&T said in a statement to BI. "It unfairly holds us responsible for another company's violation of our contractual requirements to obtain consent, ignores the immediate steps we took to address that company's failures."
Verizon did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.The company told CNN that one bad actor who gained access to customer data was shut down, and that Verizon would appeal the FCC's decision.
Senator Ron Wyden, who led the 2018 congressional probe, called the fines proposed in 2020 "comically inadequate." Now — with the fines reduced for T-Mobile and Verizon since 2020 — he said in a Thursday statement that he applauded the FCC for "holding these companies accountable."
"Some personal news: I've joined the Messenger team at Meta as Director of Product," Esther Crawford wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.
Crawford was Twitter's director of product management for over two years before she was laid off in February 2023.
"Although I considered a lot of great options, Meta was my top choice because I am obsessed with how humans connect through technology — and no other company has a bigger scale of impact in that space than Meta, which connects nearly 4B people (half of humanity)," Crawford said in her post.
Besides lauding "the exceptional quality of the people" working at Meta, Crawford said she was attracted by Zuckerberg's "vision and intensity."
"Seeing how he's made the company more efficient and less bureaucratic in the past year makes me even more bullish to be joining now because I want to move fast and ship awesome products," Crawford said of Zuckerberg.
Crawford was identified as one of Elon Musk's top lieutenants after he took over the company in October 2022. Besides being put in charge of the subscription service Twitter Blue, Crawford made headlines when she publicly embraced Musk's hardcore work culture.
But despite surviving Twitter's first three rounds of layoffs, Crawford was eventually let go in February 2023. She eventually revealed her thoughts on Musk and his leadership in July of that year.
"In person Elon is oddly charming and he's genuinely funny," Crawford wrote on X in July 2023, adding that Musk likes "telling the same stories and jokes over and over."
She said Musk could be difficult to deal with because "his personality and demeanor can turn on a dime going from excited to angry."
"Since it was hard to read what mood he might be in and what his reaction would be to any given thing, people quickly became afraid of being called into meetings or having to share negative news with him," Crawford said.
"At times, it felt like the inner circle was too zealous and fanatical in their unwavering support of everything he said," she added.
Crawford's latest career move could be an indicator of big moves Zuckerberg may be making in his bid to vanquish Musk's X. In July, Zuckerberg launched Threads, a text-based app that's Meta's answer to Twitter.
"It'll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully we will," Zuckerberg said in July, regarding Threads' odds of dethroning X.
That said, Crawford told BI she won't stop using X just because she joined Meta.
"I do plan to keep using both X and Threads," she said in an email to BI on Monday. "I'm a big believer in using all social products that one can as a product builder."
Representatives for Meta and X didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.
Cheng Saephan, 46, won the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot in April.
Oregon Lottery
The winner of the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot in Oregon is a Laos-born immigrant battling cancer.
He's opting to take the lump-sum option, and will receive $422 million after taxes.
Cheng Saephan, 46, plans to split the money with his wife and a close friend.
The winner of Oregon's $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is a 46-year-old Laos-born immigrant who opted to take his winnings in a lump-sum payment — meaning he'll get $422 million.
Cheng Saephan told reporters at a press conference on Monday that he's been battling cancer for eight years, and was living on disability income.
The winning ticket was one of 20 bought at a Portland convenience store by Saephan, who said he won through luck and his religious faith.
"I prayed to God to help me," he said. "My kids are young and I'm not that healthy."
Saephan told reporters that after praying, he wrote out all the numbers from 1 to 69 on a sheet of paper that he put under his pillow.
"I slept with it for two weeks, and then I win it," he said.
Saephan, who's been an Oregon resident for 30 years and lives in Portland, said he was at home when he discovered he'd won the April 6 drawing.
He initially thought he'd come up empty when checking his bundle of tickets, but realized he hit the jackpot when looking through the last few.
"Mom, we're rich," he recalled saying to his mother, who drinking coffee at the dining table.
He intends to split the money between himself, his 37-year-old wife, and a friend who gave him $100 to buy the batch of tickets that led to the jackpot.
Saephan said he called this friend, Laiza Chao, soon after to share the news. Chao is to receive 25% of the winnings.
"I said: 'Laiza, where are you?' and she said: 'I'm going to work,'" said Saephan. "I replied: 'You don't have to go anymore.'"
Saephan, who worked in the aerospace industry as a CNC operator before his cancer diagnosis, said he plans to buy his "dream home" as his first purchase. He said he'd spend the money in a "just normal" fashion as he fights terminal illness.
"My life has been changed. Now I can bless my family and hire a good doctor for myself," Saephan said.
He added that he wants to continue playing the lottery.
"I might get lucky again, I'll keep playing," he said.
The total amount to be received by Saephan, his wife, and Chao is $422,309,193.97 after taxes, per the Oregon Lottery.
The state lottery added that the store that sold the winning ticket is getting $100,000.
Saephan's Powerball win is the state's largest in history. Previously, the biggest Oregon jackpot was announced in 2005 and worth $340 million.
The Oregon Lottery said ticket sales have since 1985 earned some $15.5 billion that goes toward parks, schools, veteran services, and other state expenses.
The biggest-ever lottery jackpot in the US was $2.05 billion, won by Edwin Castro in California in November 2022.
Oregon and California are states where lottery winners cannot remain anonymous by law. In fact, only 17 US states allow jackpot recipients to hide their identities, including Texas, Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, and Maryland.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has no qualms about being a demanding leader.
Huang told "60 Minutes" that accomplishing "extraordinary" things requires hard work.
The CEO is known for juggling 50 direct reports while running the $2 trillion company.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has a reputation for being a formidable boss — and that's the way he likes it.
In a recent interview with 60 Minutes, Huang was unsurprised when correspondent Bill Whitaker shared some of the words Nvidia employees used to describe the company's chief:
"Demanding, perfectionist, not easy to work with," Whitaker said, citing people who work with Huang at the software company.
Huang said those traits fit him "perfectly."
"It should be like that," he told the outlet. "If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn't be easy."
Huang's approach to excellence seems to be working. Nvidia is one of just four companies in the world valued at more than $2 trillion after its stock market value doubled in only 8 months last year.
The company's AI chips are considered the best in the business and increasing demand for the futuristic tech has allowed Nvidia to essentially control the market.
Huang has previously spoken about his leadership style at the helm of the uber-successful company, telling Stanford Graduate School of Business earlier this month that CEOs should, "by definition," have the most direct reports of anyone at a company.
He has said he handles 50 direct reports at Nvidia in order to stay up to date with what's happening at various levels of the company.
"The more direct reports the CEO has, the less layers are in the company," Huang said at the 2023 NYT DealBook Summit.
While speaking at Stanford earlier this year, the 61-year-old CEO credited his work ethic to being a dishwasher at Denny's. Huang and his cofounders came up with the idea for Nvidia over a meal at the chain breakfast restaurant.
Huang said starting Nvidia was "a million times harder" than he anticipated during a 2023 appearance on the tech podcast "Acquired."
"No one in their right mind would do it," he added.
In the Sunday "60 Minutes" interview, Huang also addressed concerns that AI could make many jobs obsolete in the future, saying humans should continue to be "in the loop."
"Because we have good judgment because there are circumstances the machine is just not going to understand," he said.
A Russian turtle tank near the Ukrainian town of Krasnohorivka earlier this month.
Ukrainian military member Stanislav Bunyatov/Screengrab via Telegram
Russia and Ukraine have turned to improvised armor solutions to give their tanks extra protection.
But Moscow, in recent weeks, appears to have taken this a step further with an innovation.
Its new "turtle tanks" may look silly, but there are indications they may be effective.
Facing a myriad of deadly threats on the battlefield, exploding drones being a particularly serious threat, Russia and Ukraine have both taken extra steps to safeguard their tanks and vehicles by outfitting them with extra layers of protective armor.
This improvised armor, sometimes little more than a chain-link cage welded around the outside of a vehicle, is essentially an effort to provide a last-ditch defense against inbound munitions like artillery, anti-tank missiles, or small drones packed with explosives, especially the latter.
While both militaries have used such tactics, Russia, in recent weeks, has unveiled a strange-looking — albeit apparently effective — innovation that has been referred to by some Ukraine war observers as the "turtle tank."
Videos of the Russian turtle tank design, shared by open-source intelligence accounts and experts often pulling from the accounts of Ukrainian service members, have become increasingly common on social media since first appearing earlier this month.
The tank is aptly named, as it's covered by what appears to be metal armor on all sides except the front, where the gun not-so-inconspicuously sticks out — kind of resembling the head of a turtle.
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, identified the turtle tank participating in a mid-April assault carried out by Russia's 5th Motor Rifle Brigade on the eastern Ukrainian town of Krasnohorivka, a hotspot in fighting as Moscow pushes west of the Donetsk city. In one video, it appears to drive through a cluster munitions strike and keep going.
Video of an armored assault by Russia's 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade on Krasnohorivka, and another appearance of a tank with a massive counter-FPV shelter and EW jammer, which continues to driving after a DPICM strike. It looks like the lead tank in the first video has a… pic.twitter.com/fQk3FN6ymx
Lee suggested the unusual tank, at least some of which are suspected to have a mine-clearing role, might not be as crazy as it seems.
"I know people are laughing at this, but I don't think it is a crazy adaptation. The Russians are adapting to the particular conditions of the battlefield in which Ukraine has a lot of FPVs, but not enough ATGMs, anti-tank mines, and artillery," Lee said in a follow-up post, referring to the weapons first-person-view drones and anti-tank guided missiles.
"So sacrificing observation and the ability to rotate the turret on one tank per platoon that can jam many FPVs frequencies at once makes sense," Lee added.
Some OSINT pages highlighted the turtle tank's role in the assault on Krasnohorivka. Some of the vehicles appear to have fared better than others.
Close-up of the Blyatmobile that was used recently to attack Krasnohorivka. Although it looks silly, it works. pic.twitter.com/GDL1jXFkx2
/1. Abandoned Russian ‘turtle’ tank on the Krasrohorivka front. Recently, the Russians have been using more tanks with modifications like this one. https://t.co/UAtPkv0rocpic.twitter.com/s3D3wrFEtc
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) April 25, 2024
The turtle tank has also been spotted farther north along the front line in Russian assaults against Chasiv Yar, a Ukrainian town just west of Bakhmut that has become a critical battleground due to its elevated position overlooking the surrounding areas.
These tanks, however, appear to be at least somewhat effective. One Ukrainian Telegram channel, which published footage of a turtle tank in action over the weekend, noted that Ukraine had to expend "a lot" of FPV drones just to take out one vehicle.
Videos of Russian “turtle” tanks during assaults on Chasiv Yar and Krasnohorivka. The Ukrainian source for the first video said these improvised tanks are effective because they had to expend many FPVs on one tank. 9/https://t.co/ThpfXfegMlhttps://t.co/f6mUg9U0wPpic.twitter.com/gNE3fexlW5
"Everyone laughs at their construction of barns, but, in fact, they work like hell," the Ukrainian channel, which appears to belong to a Ukrainian service member, wrote, per a translation.
The Russian turtle tanks are a clear step beyond the widely documented "cope cages" both sides have relied on to try and shield their heavy armor throughout the war. These new defensive structures come as the Ukrainians increasingly turns to FPV drones packed with explosives to go after Moscow's vehicles.
Fisker warned staff of potential layoffs in the next two months, according to 3 employees and an email viewed by BI.
The company is exploring options, including prospective buyers and restructuring.
Fisker had previously announced a 15% staff cut.
Fisker sent staff a notice on Monday telling them they could be laid off from the company in two months, according to 3 employees and an email viewed by Business Insider.
"Fisker is diligently pursuing all options to address our operating cash requirements, including maintaining discussions with prospective buyers and investors and exploring various restructuring alternatives," the company said in an email to staff. "There is a possibility, however, that these efforts will not be successful."
The letter, which was sent by the company's new restructuring officer, says if the efforts fail, impacted staff will be terminated effective June 28 "and the facility will be closed." The letter was sent in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires companies that have more than 100 workers to provide 60 days of notice before a large-scale layoff.
Earlier today, Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker said the company was making "further reductions" to its workforce. The CEO had said earlier this year that the company would make a 15% cut.
Last week, Business Insider reported that the company had told workers it was in talks with four automakers regarding a potential buyout.
Do you work for Fisker or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email at gkay@insider.com
Passengers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Getty Images
Many lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been pushing for long-haul flights at National Airport for years.
But the senators from Virginia and Maryland are firmly against the provision, pointing to safety concerns.
The provision was included in a FAA reauthorization bill being negotiated in Congress.
For many members of Congress, the allure of adding long-haul flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is impossible to resist. The Arlington, Va., airport is easily accessible by car and public transit, and its proximity to Capitol Hill makes it a favorite of lawmakers.
But on Monday, congressional negotiators put forward a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that would add 10 long-haul slots to the already-strained airport, which led the US senators from both Virginia and Maryland to quickly blast the move.
"We are deeply frustrated that Committee leadership with jurisdiction over the FAA Reauthorization Act — none of whom represent the Capital region — have decided to ignore the flashing red warning light of the recent near collision of two aircraft at DCA and jam even more flights onto the busiest runway in America," they said, referring to a near miss at the airport earlier this month.
"It should go without saying that the safety of the traveling public should be a higher priority than the convenience of a few lawmakers who want direct flights home from their preferred airport," the senators continued. "We will continue to fight against this ridiculous and dangerous provision."
While Delta Air Lines has thrown its support behind the long-haul provision, United Airlines has opposed the push.
The quartet of senators from Virginia and Maryland have voiced their opposition to the proposed provision since last year.
However, for many lawmakers, a trip from Capitol Hill to National Airport reigns supreme. Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, while fully equipped to handle long-haul flights, are miles outside of Washington, DC. And missing a flight due to a delayed vote can mean waiting until the next day to travel back home.
Still, Kaine, Warner, Cardin, and Van Hollen remain opposed to the potential provision in the FAA reauthorization.
"The senators representing the region and the people who most use this airport stand uniform against a provision negotiated without us that will guarantee more unacceptable delay and compromise passenger safety," they added.
Target CEO Brian Cornell's is in charge of 415,000 workers across 1,956 retail stores across the US.
Mark Lenihan / AP Images
Target CEO Brian Cornell received total compensation of $19.2 million last year.
The median compensation for associates was $26,696, according to Target's annual proxy statement.
Cornell's pay is behind Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and ahead of former Costco CEO Craig Jelinek.
Brian Cornell has come a long way since his days of scrubbing Tropicana trucks and coaching high school football to pay his bills.
The Target CEO received total compensation last year of more than $19.2 million, up $1.6 million from the year before, according to the company's annual proxy statement filed Monday with the SEC.
The pay package consisted of $1.4 million in base salary, $14.7 million in stock awards, and about $3.1 million in other compensation.
Cornell also made $303,197 worth of use of Target's company-owned airplane "for security reasons," the filings say.
The 65-year-old New York native is now in charge of 415,000 workers across 1,956 retail stores across the US, and annual revenues of $107.4 billion.
Of those 415,000 workers, the median employee was paid $26,696 last year, up 2.7 percent from the previous year. Cornell's compensation is 719 times that amount.
Under a new calculation that companies are required to disclose as of last year, Cornell saw his net worth grow by nearly $10.7 million last year after adjustments to recognize the gains and losses of his stock awards.
Do you work for Target? Contact Dominick Reuter via email or text/call/Signal at 646-768-4750. Responses will be kept confidential, and Business Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a non-work device when reaching out.
They crane to glimpse the back of his head. A few aim little binoculars at the courtroom's overhead screens to better gauge his expressions — and his alertness.
But the 12 jurors and six alternates hardly look at Trump at all as they file back and forth past the defense table. At most, the eyes of one or two jurors may dart in Trump's direction as they enter and leave for breaks or for the day.
Trump, likewise, does not appear to pay his jurors much attention at all as they pass within six feet of him.
He'll stand, like everyone else, at a court officer's cry of "All rise! Jury entering." But he'll either whisper with his lawyers or scowl indistinctly into space as they pass by.
It seems remarkable. Trump is the most famous person on the planet, and the jurors hardly look at him, even from the jury box. Meanwhile, the jurors hold his potential criminal record in their hands, but Trump doesn't watch them much, either.
Business Insider described this strange-seeming, mutual coyness to veteran Manhattan trial attorneys. They didn't find it terribly strange at all.
In fact, they said, this may be a sign that, at least where the jury is concerned, the wheels of justice are turning as they should.
"My guess is that they're not looking at him because everyone on the jury has heard of Donald Trump, and they understand that this is a case that is being given worldwide attention," said Diana Florence, a former Manhattan financial crimes prosecutor.
The jurors don't want to be seen as gawking at him, Florence and other attorneys said.
"They've all taken an oath to judge the case solely on the evidence," said Florence, who is now in private practice.
"So I think the fact that he is such a bold-faced name and they're not staring at him is probably a good sign for our jury system," she added.
"You especially don't want to look like a fan boy or fan girl" with a room full of reporters watching, agreed Jeremy Saland, another former Manhattan prosecutor.
"As a juror, if you nod your head at Trump, you're in the papers," Saland said.
And if you nod at the prosecutors?
"You have Jesse Watters saying liberals have infiltrated the jury," he added.
Jurors did look at Gotti Jr. and El Chapo
Jeffrey Lichtman has repped many mobsters and drug lords in his career. He wondered if jurors might be too intimidated to look at Trump.
"I had John Gotti Jr., and El Chapo, and it doesn't get any more intimidating than that," Lichtman said of two of his more famous clients.
"Jurors looked at both of them," he said. Gotti's federal racketeering charges were dropped after a third mistrial in 2006, and El Chapo was convicted of drug trafficking and conspiracy in 2019.
"But I think they looked at them as if they were animals in a zoo," Lichtman conceded.
Still, it's not uncommon for jurors not to look at the defendant, said Lichtman and other trial-practice veterans.
More potentially significant, they said, was that Trump was failing to look at his jury, at least not with anything approaching respect and appreciation.
"It's imperative that he stop with the 'Blue Steel' stare," Lichtman said.
"You want them to like you, and you don't want to intimidate them," he said.
"You think you're being inconvenienced by being there? So are the jurors. This is an inconvenience for them, too."
Donald Trump in court for opening statements in his Manhattan hush-money trial.
Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images
It's not enough for defense lawyer Todd Blanche to say in opening statements that Trump is "a person, just like you and me." They have to try to show the jurors this, not just tell them, Lichtman said.
"It's very important that the jury see the defendant and the lawyers laughing and smiling together throughout the trial," Lichtman said.
"I was very clear on Gotti and El Chapo that I would go up to them during the summation and put my arm around them," he said.
"You touch them, you humanize them," he said.
"I don't think anyone wants to look at a guy's face who's scowling."
No 'resting scowl face'
Trump's defense team is doing him a disservice by not convincing him to look a little friendlier, other lawyers told Business Insider.
"They should be telling him that a 'resting scowl face' doesn't help him at all," said Saland, the former prosecutor, now in private practice.
The lawyers should also be "reeling him in outside the courtroom," Saland said.
Prosecutors have alleged Trump has violated his gag order at least 14 times in the past month by making statements targeting his jury and witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.
A hearing on Manhattan prosecutors' most recent contempt-of-court allegations is set for Thursday morning.
For each violation, Trump faces fines of up to $1,000 and, less likely, jail of up to 30 days.
A lawyer for Trump declined to comment for this story.
"They're letting him do his thing," Saland said of the defense team, noting that Trump has turned the trial into a stop on his campaign trail, where he rages against his political enemies.
"After all, it's a heck of a lot cheaper to run afoul of the gag order at $1,000 a pop," Saland said, "than to run a 30-second spot on national news."