A flight attendant is suing Southwest Airlines for retaliation after she reported two pilots for livestreaming bathroom video to their cockpit.
According to a lawsuit first reported by the Arizona Republic, when Renee Steinaker was working a flight between Phoenix and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Capt. Terry Graham asked her to cover for him in the cockpit while he used the restroom.
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At least two authorized people are required to be in the cockpit at all times.
When Graham went to the restroom, Steinaker claims an iPad mounted to the windshield showed a livestream from the lavatory.
The lawsuit claims the co-pilot, Ryan Russell, panicked when she asked about the camera, and claimed they were part of new top-secret security measures implemented by the airline.
Not believing her coworker, Steinaker took a photo of the iPad with her cellphone. Though crewmembers reported the pair of pilots, both reportedly still fly with the airline today, according to the lawsuit. Steinaker claims she was told to not speak of the incident further. The lawsuit claims Steinaker and her husband, also a flight attendant, were stalked, monitored by managers in a "threatening and bizarre manner" and subjected to an increased number of performance audits afterward.
Southwest Airlines emailed a statement to the newspaper, noting that the carrier does not use cameras in washrooms.
“The safety and security of our employees and customers is Southwest’s uncompromising priority," the airline said. "At this time, we have no other comment on the pending litigation.”
The Pentagon’s $10 billion deal to provide cloud computing services to the Department of Defense officially went to Microsoft Friday. The news came as an upset to Amazon, whose competing bid appeared to be the frontrunner for most of the contract’s deliberations. Throughout the yearlong process, President Donald Trump has repeatedly rebuked Amazon’s prospects, which seems in part an extenuation of his outspoken vendetta against the company and its CEO, Jeff Bezos.
According to a Washington Post report, Microsoft is now set to take over the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) project, a potentially decade-long federal cloud computing initiative that has attracted interest from some of the biggest names in tech. In addition to Microsoft and Amazon, Oracle and Google also went after the massive contract. The latter dropped out of the running last year after extensive protests made it very clear Google employees were not happy about the prospect of working for the U.S. military.
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Though both Microsoft and Amazon were finalists for the contract, the choice seemed fairly obvious. Amazon Web Services both holds a larger market share when it comes to cloud computing—48 percent compared to Microsoft’s 15.5 percent according to the market-research firm Gartner—and has secured a higher data management certification from the military than Microsoft, the Post reported.
However, while the project remained unfinalized in July, a flowchart created by Oracle detailing an elaborate “conspiracy” at play to secure Amazon the contract somehow found its way to Trump’s desk, prompting the president to order an investigation into possible foul play. Internal inquiries found no evidence of the subterfuge Oracle described, CNN reported at the time.
But that didn’t stop Trump retweeting coverage from Fox News that nicknamed the contract the “Bezos bailout” along with other apparent displays of partiality. He frequently criticizes the Bezos-owned Washington Post as “fake news” for its less than flattering coverage of the White House as well as Bezos himself and Amazon by extension. Technically, federal acquisition laws should prevent politicians from putting their thumb on the scales in these matters. At least, they did back when Washington wasn’t constantly on fire. Who knows, these days.
All of these rebukes could be ammo for possible litigation should Amazon choose to push back against the Pentagon’s decision. An attorney with the law firm McCarter & English, Franklin Turner, told the Post:
“It’s crystal clear here that the President of the United States did not want this contract to be awarded to one of the competitors. As a result its fairly likely that we will see a number of challenges that the procurement was not conducted on a level playing field.”
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In an announcement for the award, the Defense Department described it as a by-the-book decision, the Post reported. “The acquisition process was conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.” Furthermore, all parties “were treated fairly and evaluated consistently with the solicitation’s stated evaluation criteria.”
Yeah, something tells me Amazon’s not going to see it that way.
The Pentagon announced Friday that it awarded a $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract to build a cloud-computing system for the military to Microsoft, in a noteworthy snub to Amazon.
The Pentagon initially considered Microsoft, Amazon, IBM and Oracle in the contentious bidding process to build the so-called “War Cloud.” Oracle and IBM were cut from consideration early on due to security and infrastructure concerns; Oracle claimed the process was rigged to benefit Amazon.
“This contract will address critical and urgent unmet warfighter requirements for modern cloud infrastructure at all three classification levels delivered out to the tactical edge,” the Pentagon said in a statement, stressing that the process was fair and followed procedural guidelines.
The contract was originally set to be awarded Aug. 23, but the Trump administration pushed back the deadline to ensure fairness.
Trump had raised concerns that there may be a conflict of interest in relation to Amazon.
"I’m getting tremendous complaints about the contract with the Pentagon and with Amazon,” he had said. "They’re saying it wasn’t competitively bid. I have had very few things where there’s been such complaining."
He threatened to intervene and in August, the Pentagon halted the process to review it for transparency.
It was alleged that only Amazon could have won the contract based on how it was structured. Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, already has a high-security cloud contract with the CIA.
While the Pentagon ultimately went with Microsoft for the 10-year contract, Microsoft’s work can be reassessed after two years and the government has the option to pull out of the contract.
The Pentagon currently relies on dated computer systems to communicate information, and it said that additional contracting opportunities are anticipated.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk's "audacious goals" have helped drive the company's success, Chairwoman Robyn Denholm said Friday.
"To achieve what Tesla has achieved over the last five years, over the last 10 years, you have to set audacious goals and big goals ... and then have everybody in the company work like crazy to get there," she said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Tesla, for instance, completed its new factory in Shanghai in 10 months and recently hit 97,000 vehicles a quarter, Denholm cited as examples of the Musk's "audacious goals." She replaced Musk as chair in November.
"I think part of it is setting those very big goals so that the company can rally and get behind them and move forward, and move the whole industry forward," she said.
Denholm's remarks come two days after the company reported a surprise third-quarter profit and told shareholders it is ahead of schedule withthe new factory in Shanghai, which has started trial production of its Model 3.
"There is a huge opportunity for growth in China," she said, adding Tesla is taking lessons it learned from launching production and vehicles in the U.S. to China.
Tesla's shares spiked more than 20% after hours Wednesday. The stock closed Thursday at $299.68, a 17.67% increase. Analysts had expected a quarterly loss. Revenue basically matched forecasts. The company also said it was ahead of schedule on its long-awaited Model Y crossover.
Baron Capital founder Ron Baron, who appeared on "Squawk Box" with Denholm, said although Musk often takes the center of attention, Tesla's entire team is driving the company to hit its goals.
"They have 42,000 employees. This is not reliant upon one man," he said from the sidelines of his annual investment conference in New York City. "But he has empowered people to be able to make decisions and to be able to do what's best for the company."
Baron Funds currently owns more than 1.62 million shares, worth nearly $488 million based on Thursday's close of $299.68 per share. The buy-and-hold billionaire's average cost of acquiring Tesla shares over the years, starting in 2012, stands at $218.75 each.
Thursday's surge squeezed Tesla's short sellers, traders betting the stock would go lower, to the tune of an estimated $1.4 billion in losses, according to S3 Analytics. Tesla is the most heavily shorted stock in the U.S., and the most heavily shorted automaker in the world. Those who short a stock borrow shares in hopes of buying them back in the future at a profit after the stock drops.
Tesla's shares have been on a wild ride since nearing all-time highs in August 2018. It's been more than a year sinceMusk tweeted he had "funding secured" to take the company private at $420 per share — plans abandoned weeks later. However, the now-infamous tweet on Aug. 7, 2018 led to a Securities and Exchange Commission probe on accusations of "false and misleading" statements. Musk and Tesla reached a settlement with the SEC in September 2018, which required, in part, Musk to relinquish his role as chairman of the board.
Ark Investment Management founder and CEO Catherine Wood told CNBC that Thursday's surge in Tesla stock is just the beginning of an eventual rise to $4,000 per share and possibly beyond.
“We have cleared initial milestones toward our manufacturing license and are working toward finalizing the license and meeting other governmental requirements before we begin ramping production and delivery of vehicles from Shanghai.”
On Friday, Tesla updated its Model 3 online configurator for the Chinese market and it now includes the Model 3 Standard Range Plus with Autopilot as the new base option, like in other markets, however, Tesla specifies that this model is made in China:
The automaker also still notes that availability is subject to regulatory approval and delivery is not expected before the first quarter of 2020.
However, Tesla has been taking reservations with a version of the car without Autopilot over the past 6 months – meaning that it likely has a backlog to work through between now and next year.
The Model 3 Standard Range Plus with Autopilot starts at ¥355,800, which is equivalent to about $50,000.
Tesla has been promoting the vehicle today on its Chinese social media accounts (via Weibo):
That’s only about 3% less expensive than what buyers were paying for the Model 3 imported to the US, but they could get access to different incentives.
Now Tesla offers the same lineup of Model 3 in China as it does in other markets with the only difference being that the base version is made at Gigafactory 3 and the more expensive all-wheel-drive versions of the car are still made in the US.
It’s unclear how many cars Tesla plans to deliver from Gigafactory 3 this year, but the automaker aims to ramp up production to 1,000 units per week by the end of the year and quickly ramp up to 3,000 units per week next year.
Electrek’s Take
Yes, it is not a big difference in price with the imported version, but that’s not what matters.
What matters is that it is about the same price as a BMW 3 Series in China before gas savings and EV incentives.
With advantages like easier access to license plates, the made-in-China Model 3 could make a good dent in the premium sedan segment and accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in what is already the biggest market for EVs.
We will keep a close eye over the next few weeks on how well the ‘made-in-China’ Model 3 is received in the country.
(Reuters) - In the bestselling novel “Circe” — optioned by WarnerMedia for its forthcoming HBO Max streaming service — the daughter of the Greek god Helios tames wild beasts and menaces the gods.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (L), Maisie Williams, Emilia Clarke, Sophie Turner and Kit Harrington of HBO's "Game of Thrones" pose backstage with their award for Oustanding Drama Series at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California U.S., September 18, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake
WarnerMedia executives want “Circe” to unleash a different power: attracting young viewers to the company’s belated entry in the streaming-video war.
HBO Max, which will be HBO plus movies, original shows, and TV classics such “Friends,” will be available starting this spring to 10 million AT&T customers who are also HBO subscribers in the United States at no extra charge, according to AT&T Chief Operating Officer John Stankey, who disclosed the figures for the first time in an interview with Reuters.
These are a portion of the customers that currently pay for an AT&T-owned product such as DirecTV or AT&T wireless phone service.
By 2025, AT&T aims to reach about 80 million global subscribers, with about 50 million in the United States, a source briefed on the plans told Reuters. They are ambitious targets that would be consistent with Netflix Inc’s (NFLX.O) early progress, and in the mid-range of Disney+, Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) Netflix rival, set to launch on Nov. 12.
WarnerMedia hopes this service will get a boost in 2021 when it launches an advertising-supported option at a lower cost, insiders said.
After it launches the ad-supported option, the company will add live programming on HBO Max.
A long-term goal for HBO Max is to help AT&T retain wireless subscribers, according to executives, and also allow the company to pair wireless and DirecTV satellite data to learn more about consumers — and in turn, charge higher rates to advertisers.
As one of the final entries in the streaming wars, HBO Max faces a tough competitive landscape. Although the Warner Brothers archive includes thousands of films and TV series like “The Shining” and “Scooby-Doo,” it does not have the same brand awareness as Disney properties like Pixar or Marvel.
Price could also be an obstacle: HBO Max is likely to cost slightly more than the $14.99 the company charges for HBO — significantly more than competing services from Apple Inc (AAPL.O) ($4.99) and Disney ($6.99), and slightly higher than the standard $12.99 Netflix plan.
Selling HBO Max by piggybacking off the entrenched HBO service has its own challenges. Stankey wants to convert HBO’s 35 million U.S. subscriber base, which includes the 10 million customers AT&T controls, to HBO Max. Doing so involves renegotiating deals with current pay TV providers, who may be wary of helping AT&T snatch their video customers.
And while AT&T executives believe that HBO Max could reduce churn on its cell phone business to boost profits, the link may not be that clear.
“AT&T hasn’t seen any more improvement (in churn) with wireless/video bundling than Verizon has seen without it,” said MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett.
PATH TO GROWTH
AT&T, saddled with $162 billion in debt, faces a litany of challenges. Activist investor Elliott Management has expressed skepticism about Stankey, considered the heir apparent to CEO Randall Stephenson.
Elliott is pressuring AT&T to justify its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner — now called WarnerMedia — which it finalized in February, and to consider unwinding its $48.5 billion purchase of DirecTV, which has rapidly bled subscribers.
“The success of HBO Max is built on the ability for the company to rationalize why (the companies that AT&T bought) all belong together,” said Stankey earlier this month.
WarnerMedia will announce HBO Max pricing and details on Oct. 29. In interviews with Reuters, Stankey and Robert Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-to-Consumer, spelled out a plan to aggressively expand HBO’s base.
The key to that growth is to continue providing content in the style of HBO — the company defines that as “quality”; industry watchers invariably say “sexy” or “edgy” — to its current over-40 viewers, while expanding to a younger audience that is used to streaming content and does not want to pay for cable.
“We know there’s 75 million people in the range from two to young adults that are available to us as potential new subscribers that aren’t part of the HBO universe already,” said Greenblatt.
That focus explains the investment in shows like “Circe”; a “Gremlins” animated series; and a reboot of “Gossip Girl” that will appeal to the under-40 crowd.
WarnerMedia is also investing in children’s content and will feature “Sesame Street” on HBO Max.
Even as it expands beyond traditional HBO programming, executives want to position the new service as something different from Netflix, which AT&T’s Stephenson likened to Walmart at a 2018 investor conference. They use a variety of euphemisms to make that distinction: from “thoughtfully curated” to “Not a Walmart” to “Premium.” They bristle at “general interest.”
Another opportunity to expand is by promoting HBO Max to DirecTV customers who do not already subscribe to HBO. “We didn’t buy DirecTV because we love satellite,” said Stankey. “We bought DirecTV because we love the customer base and the customer base could be migrated into more on-demand-oriented products and services.”
FILE PHOTO: HBO logo is on display during an Apple event in San Francisco, California, U.S., March 9, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo
Stankey also hinted at the possibility of bundling HBO Max with AT&T wireless subscriptions. T-Mobile gives away Netflix to some customers, and Verizon is providing a free year of Disney+ to some customers.
On Tuesday Stankey, Greenblatt and others will reveal their plans to investors, on the same stage where Warner Brothers shot actress Judy Garland’s comeback film “A Star is Born.”
Their performance will help determine AT&T’s future.
Reporting by Helen Coster and Kenneth Li in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker
