College basketball union, housing bribes, and a frog smuggler.

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Big Stories

Dartmouth men’s basketball team gets union approval

A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional official has decided that Dartmouth College basketball players are employees of the school.

• Laura Sacks, the NLRB's regional director, determined that basketball players qualify as workers under the National Labor Relations Act. This makes them eligible to unionize because coaches and school officials “control” the work performed by the players. Dartmouth disagrees with the decision, arguing that its financial aid is need-based and not a form of compensation.

• Meanwhile, college administrators nationwide are actively lobbying Congress to prevent athlete unionization, fearing potential disruptions to the lucrative college sports system. However, Dartmouth claims that the cost of its sports program far exceeds any revenue generated from the program.

• The decision is not isolated; the NLRB is going after the University of Southern California as well as the Pac-12 Conference and NCAA for classifying athletes as non-employees and enforcing social media policies that violate federally protected workplace speech rights.

New York public housing employees took bribes from contractors

Federal prosecutors have accused 70 current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) of accepting bribes in exchange for awarding contracts without competitive bidding.

• Damian Williams, the US attorney in Manhattan, called it the largest single-day bribery takedown in the US Department of Justice's history. The accused individuals face charges of extortion and bribery, with some also facing conspiracy charges.

• The defendants allegedly demanded cash from contractors, pocketing $2 million in bribes for contracts across approximately 100 NYCHA buildings. Over half a million New Yorkers live in or receive subsidies for NYCHA housing.

• Often the bribes were for small repair jobs, and the accused wouldn’t authorize a contract or sign off on a completed job until the contractors paid them off.

ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery team up for sports streaming venture

Three major US sports TV companies - ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery - revealed plans to create a new streaming service combining all their TV sports content.

• The service aims to attract sports fans who are moving away from expensive cable packages. Each company will have a one-third ownership stake and will collaborate on selecting management, branding, and pricing. The service is expected to launch later this year and will be accessible through a separate app.

• The new streaming service will offer a broad range of live sports content from networks owned by the three companies, including ESPN, ABC, TNT, and Fox. Subscription fees will be the primary revenue source, while advertising will continue on each network individually.

• Live sporting events are the only thing that’s keeping cable from imploding. Millions of people have already made the switch to streaming options. It’s only a matter of time before cable becomes obsolete.

Little Stories

• The US and four European allies hope to soon announce commitments from Israel and Hezbollah to ease tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. This is crucial for the Biden administration's goal of preventing a wider regional conflict, particularly after the Israeli assassination of a Hamas leader in Beirut last month. (More)

• A powerful storm in Southern California triggered nearly 400 mudslides in Los Angeles, with rainfall surpassing half the city's usual seasonal amount in just two days. (More)

• Gina Carano has sued The Walt Disney Co. and Lucasfilm, alleging they wrongfully fired her from "The Mandalorian" series in 2021 after she shared right-wing views on social media. She's asking for a court order that would force Lucasfilm to reinstate her or compensate her at least $75,000. (More)

• A federal appeals panel decided on Tuesday that Donald Trump can be tried for allegedly plotting to overturn the 2020 election results, rejecting his argument of immunity from prosecution. Trump’s team said they would appeal the ruling, which could postpone the case further. (More)

• House Republicans attempted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, but their effort failed when three Republicans sided with Democrats in voting against it. The final vote was 214-216. Republicans plan to bring the vote back to the floor. (More)

Extra Credit

A woman tried to smuggle 130 poisonous frogs into Colombia.

Explore 20 of the world’s best beaches.

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