Raphael Stevens

Novak Djokovic during the Men’s Singles Final match on day fourteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 in London, England on July 10, 2022 in London, England. Novak Djokovic’s hopes of playing in the US Open suffered another blow after the tournament said it would respect the United States government’s rules on the Covid-19 vaccine.
Julian Finney | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

Novak Djokovic’s hopes of playing in the US Open suffered another blow after the tournament said it would respect the United States government’s rules on the Covid-19 vaccine.
The 35-year-old – a three-time champion at Flushing Meadows – was named on the entry list for the final Grand Slam of the year on Wednesday, but that is routine, rather than an indication that he will be allowed to play.

He was listed in the field for the final Grand Slam of the year alongside British pair Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu, who is hoping to defend the title she won as a qualifier last year.
Six-time winner Serena Williams will also be in the field hoping to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles at the age of 40.
Djokovic, who would be aiming to join Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time men’s list on 22 with victory in New York looks unlikely to play though, despite having earlier spoken of his hopes for a reprieve.

The U.S. requires non-citizens to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus to enter, meaning Djokovic, who has made it repeatedly clear that he will not take the vaccine, will not be allowed entry.
A statement from the US Open, which does not have its own vaccination rules, read: “Per the Grand Slam Rule Book, all eligible players are automatically entered into the men’s and women’s singles main draw fields based on ranking 42 days prior to the first Monday of the event.”The US Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, but it will respect the U.S. government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens.”

Djokovic’s stance already cost him the chance to compete in the Australian Open earlier this year and it looks likely to do so again.

While Djokovic is highly unlikely to be in New York, another former champion will be after Williams was named on the entry list.
Williams, a six-time winner, signaled her intent to contest her home Grand Slam after signing up to play the bulk of the US hard-court swing, including events in Toronto and Cincinnati.
Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund is also set to enter his first singles event at a grand slam in two years.
The 27-year-old’s career has been derailed by a knee injury but he made his comeback at Wimbledon, playing in the mixed doubles.
And he has used his protected ranking of 48 to ensure, health pending, he will be included in the main draw.
Petition for Djokovic to play
Almost 12,000 people have now signed an online petition calling for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to work with the country’s government to allow Djokovic to compete in the US Open despite his refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine.
“There is absolutely no reason at this stage of the pandemic to not allow Djokovic to play at the US Open 2022,” said the change.org petition, which was launched on June 21.
“(The) US Government and USTA must work together to allow him to play… MAKE IT HAPPEN, USTA!”
The Serb, who retained his Wimbledon crown with a win over Australia’s Nick Kyrgios earlier this month, in February said he was prepared to miss Grand Slam tournaments rather than take the Covid-19 vaccine.
The main draw at the US Open begins on August 29.
Williams, Raducanu named in star-studded field for Cincinnati Open
Ahead of the US Open, Williams is set to take part in the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati next month with her protected ranking, organizers of the US Open tune-up tournament said on Tuesday.
She will be joined by Raducanu, who will be using the event to prepare for her defense of her Grand Slam crown at Flushing Meadows, where she won her maiden major title last year.
Williams, who returned to the Tour after a year out last month, fell in the first round at Wimbledon but has shown she is not yet ready to hang up her racket even though she is two months shy of her 41st birthday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion is also set to play at the National Bank Open in Toronto from August 6-14 after she elected to use her protected ranking to enter the main draw.
Williams, the oldest player in the men’s and women’s fields this year, has won the tournament in Cincinnati twice in her career in 2014 and 2015 while she was runner-up in 2013.

The August 13-21 tournament will be headlined by Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek.
Former women’s champions in the field include Victoria Azarenka, Madison Keys, Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova.
Other Grand slam champions in the women’s draw include Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu, Jelena Ostapenko, Barbora Krejcikova, Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova and newly-crowned Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Djokovic and Nadal, who have won 43 majors between them, will headline the men’s field which also includes former champions Alexander Zverev – who missed Wimbledon with injury – Grigor Dimitrov and Marin Cilic.

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President Joe Biden announced new executive steps to combat climate change on Wednesday, a move that comes as Democrats urge the administration to issue a climate-emergency declaration amid stalled negotiations over major environmental legislation in Washington.
The initiatives include providing $2.3 billion in funding for a program that helps communities prepare for disasters by expanding flood control and retrofitting buildings, as well as leveraging funding to help low-income families cover heating and cooling costs.
The president also is directing the Department of the Interior to propose new offshore wind areas in the Gulf of Mexico, a plan that could power more than 3 million homes and advance the transition to clean energy.

President Joe Biden announced new executive steps to combat climate change on Wednesday, but fell short of issuing a climate-emergency declaration as some Democrats have called for amid stalled negotiations over major environmental legislation in Washington.
“Since Congress is not acting as it should … this is an emergency and I will look at it that way,” Biden said. “As president, I’ll use my executive powers to combat the climate crisis in the absence of executive action.”

The initiatives include providing $2.3 billion in funding for a program that helps communities prepare for disasters by expanding flood control and retrofitting buildings, as well as leveraging funding to help low-income families cover heating and cooling costs.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on climate change and renewable energy at the site of the former Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Massachusetts, U.S. July 20, 2022. 
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

The president also is directing the Department of the Interior to propose new offshore wind areas in the Gulf of Mexico, a plan that could power more than 3 million homes and help the administration reach its goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. Biden is ordering the Interior secretary to advance wind energy development in the waters off the mid- and southern Atlantic Coast and Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The president announced the initiatives during a speech at a former coal-fired plant in Somerset, Massachusetts. The plant will host a cable-manufacturing facility to support the offshore wind industry.
The orders come as the White House struggles to salvage Biden’s aggressive climate agenda after talks with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin stalled last week. Manchin, a centrist who holds the swing vote in the 50-50 Senate, told Democratic officials that he won’t support major climate provisions in the reconciliation bill, diminishing hopes of Congress passing any major climate legislation this summer.
The administration also faced an additional setback for its climate agenda after a major Supreme Court ruling last month limited the federal government’s authority to impose regulations to cut carbon emissions from power plants.

More from CNBC Climate:

Without Manchin’s support on the bill, the president must rely primarily on executive orders to address climate change, which can be overturned by future administrations. Some executive actions could limit emissions from fossil fuel production on federal lands and waters and bolster electric vehicle usage.
Democrats and environmental groups had been calling on the president to issue an emergency declaration that would unlock federal resources to address climate change. Such a declaration could provide the administration with a legal authority to stop some oil and gas drilling or other fossil fuel plans and shift funds to clean energy projects.
Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. were joined by seven Democratic legislators in an effort to urge Biden on Wednesday to immediately decare a climate emergency to unlock the powers of the National Emergency Act (NEA) and pursue regulatory and administrative actions to curb emissions.
“Declaring the climate crisis a national emergency under the NEA would unlock powers to rebuild a better economy with significant, concrete actions,” the senators wrote in the letter. “Under the NEA, you could redirect spending to build out renewable energy systems on military bases, implement large-scale clean transportation solutions and finance distributed energy projects to boost climate resiliency.”
Biden has vowed to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 52% by the end of the decade and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. But without major climate legislation, the country is on track to miss the president’s target, according to an analysis by the independent research firm Rhodium Group.
“A historic climate-emergency declaration is exactly what we need from Biden to match the scale and urgency of this crisis,” said Jean Su, Energy Justice program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “By unlocking crucial climate powers, Biden can put Manchin’s gaslighting behind us and get busy getting us off fossil fuels and building the renewable-energy powerhouse we desperately need.”  

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Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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Canopy Growth Corp: “Canopy will be great once we [nationally legalize] cannabis. I don’t know if it’s going to happen in my lifetime, that’s the problem.”

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Starwood Property Trust Inc: “Remember when the stock fell to the teens, and [CEO Barry Sternlicht] came on and said, ‘don’t worry about it, we’re going to deliver’? … I am a believer that that man is a man of his word.”

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Mattel and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have inked a multiyear licensing deal for a line of toys inspired by the space venture.
The toy company expects to begin releasing the SpaceX product line in 2023.
The partnership comes after Mattel sent two Barbie dolls into space as part of a collaboration with the International Space Station National Lab.

The company’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft rolls out to the launchpad in Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

Mattel inked a multiyear deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to create a line of toys inspired by the space venture, the companies announced Wednesday.
“As space exploration advances more quickly than ever before, we are thrilled to work with SpaceX and help spark limitless play patterns for the space explorer in every kid,” said Nick Karamanos, Mattel’s senior vice president of entertainment partnerships, in a news release.

Financial terms of deal were not disclosed.
The El Segundo, California-based toy company expects to begin releasing the SpaceX product line in 2023. The partnership was announced ahead of the anniversary of when humans first landed on the moon’s surface in 1969.
SpaceX has long sold merchandise through its own website, but those items have typically been limited to shirts, jackets and other accessories such as hats and bags.
With Mattel’s help, SpaceX can delve into ventures such as plush, dolls or building sets with a veteran toy manufacturer. The collectors market has become a lucrative space for Mattel and other companies including Hasbro and Funko, so exclusive licensing deals for specific pop culture brands with notable fan bases has become increasingly important.
This isn’t the first time Mattel and Musk have linked up to create toys. In early 2020, Mattel created two remote-controlled vehicles based on Tesla’s Cybertruck.

This new partnership comes just months after Mattel sent two Barbie dolls into space as part of a collaboration with the International Space Station National Lab to encourage girls to consider aerospace, engineering and STEM careers.
The toy company, which has undergone a revitalization under CEO Ynon Kreiz over the last four years, has made a number of strategic license agreements to bolster its business. In January, Mattel announced that it recouped the lucrative Disney princess license from rival Hasbro and will start selling toys based on beloved princess characters from the “House of Mouse,” such as Anna, Elsa and Merida, in 2023.
Mattel declined to comment further, as it is set to report second-quarter earnings after the bell Thursday.
A representative for SpaceX also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday advised investors to buy stock of companies that are adjusting their hiring efforts to fit the economic environment.
“It is still ridiculous that anyone is freaking out over these stories, still. These stories about a hiring slowdown, as unfortunate as they are,” the “Mad Money” host said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday advised investors to buy stock of companies that are adjusting their hiring efforts to fit the economic environment.
“If you want to invest with profligate companies, be my guest. I want to invest in well-run companies … with very smart CEOs. That means buying the stocks of those companies that think twice about continuing to hire in this environment,” he said.

The “Mad Money” host’s comments come after Google said in an email to employees that it will pause hiring for two weeks, according to The Information. Parent-company Alphabet said last week in a memo to employees that it plans to slow down the pace of hiring through next year, citing economic headwinds.
Shares of Alphabet closed slightly up on Wednesday.
“It is still ridiculous that anyone is freaking out over these stories, still. These stories about a hiring slowdown, as unfortunate as they are. … When you hear ‘Fed-mandated slowdown,’ that means less hiring and more layoffs,” he said.
The Federal Reserve has increased interest rates this year to tamp down skyrocketing inflation, sparking fears about a looming recession. The Fed’s next meeting will take place later this month, and investors expect a 75- or 100-basis point rate hike after June’s red-hot inflation numbers.
Cramer told investors that instead of nervously eying large companies and their hiring moves, they should focus on taking a long-term strategy for their portfolios.

“Take long-term positions in what you like or simply buy a very good index fund in terms of the low cost, and hold it. That’s been the best form of investing and it’s one that historically handily beats inflation,” he said.
Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Alphabet.

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