Raphael Stevens

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks following a bipartisan meeting with U.S. senators about the proposed framework for the infrastructure bill, at the White House in Washington, June 24, 2021.Kevin Lamarque | ReutersWhite House negotiators and a group of senators struck a deal on a bipartisan infrastructure agreement on Thursday that slashes measures to combat climate change and help the U.S. transition to a clean energy economy.The narrow infrastructure deal leaves President Joe Biden’s proposals on climate change to a separate bill that Democrats could attempt to pass through Congress using reconciliation, a process that doesn’t require Republican support.The second package could also include programs related to child and elder care, education, and health care, in addition to climate change measures, issues that administration officials have called “human infrastructure.”The expected elimination of climate measures in the plan comes as the world grapples with the effects of climate change — including worsening disasters like hurricanes, wildfires and droughts — and scientists urge that immediate action to slash greenhouse emissions is critical to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.”We made serious compromises on both ends. … We’ll see what happens in the reconciliation bill and the budget process,” the president said at the White House on Thursday.The bipartisan plan includes just $15 billion toward electric vehicle infrastructure, electric buses and transit, a small fraction of the president’s initial proposal to spend $174 billion on boosting the electric vehicle market.The prospect of massing major climate legislation through Congress was a longshot from the beginning, but Democrats had been fighting to keep the president’s climate measures in a bipartisan bill. The last major push to pass climate legislation was in 2009, when congressional Democrats failed to approve a carbon pricing system under former President Barack Obama.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said during a press briefing on Thursday morning that the House would not take up the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless a reconciliation bill is also passed through the Senate.”House and Senate Democrats are united in that we — in the House — are not bringing [it] to the floor unless both bills pass in the Senate,” Pelosi said.Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., have vowed to fight against a bipartisan deal without climate change policy unless there would be another future bill that does include it. Markey, in a statement to CNBC earlier this month, said that any proposal that fails to address and invest in climate change mitigation “is in denial.””If we are not seizing this moment to get our emissions and our clean economy on track, we must reject this deal and work in good faith on a real climate infrastructure package,” Markey said.Protesters with the Sunrise Movement protest in front of the White House against what they say is slow action on infrastructure legislation, job creation and addressing climate change, as well as against attempts to work with Senate Republicans in Washington, DC, June 4, 2021.Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty ImagesMany Republicans have long argued that an infrastructure bill should only address traditional transportation issues, while Democrats have sought to include climate provisions among other measures. Ultimately, negotiations for a bipartisan deal have led to a slimmed down version of Biden’s first plan.Biden’s original $2 trillion proposal included sweeping climate provisions, including installing at least half a million electric charging stations across the U.S. by 2030 and providing tax incentives for electric car buyers. Reducing the number of gas-powered vehicles is seen as essential for reducing carbon emissions.The president’s original plan also proposed an Energy Efficiency and Clean Electricity Standard that would require some U.S. electricity to come from zero-carbon sources like wind and solar power, and included investments for research and development on climate change mitigation technologies like carbon capture and storage.CNBC PoliticsRead more of CNBC’s politics coverage:Bipartisan infrastructure deal will likely omit major climate change measuresRudy Giuliani is suspended from practicing law in New York over false statements about Trump election loss2024 GOP hopefuls head to New York to meet with donors as possible White House bids loomSuch measures would aid Biden’s commitment to cut carbon emissions in half over the next decade and put the U.S. on track to become carbon neutral by 2050.A poll released Thursday by climate research groups suggested that more than 62% of U.S. voters support a bill that prioritizes investments in clean energy infrastructure and 56% support Congress passing the legislation with or without Republican support.”Two out of three voters want to see Congress and the president get on with the business of addressing climate change and decarbonizing our economy,” Edward Maibach, director of the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, said in a statement. “Most Americans see these actions as good for our country.Twenty-one senators, 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, currently support the bipartisan infrastructure framework. It would need to get 60 votes in order to pass in the evenly split Senate. More

Supply chain disruptions and inflated prices are not abating yet, National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons told CNBC on Thursday.”We’re seeing rising cost pressures” due to workforce shortages and demand exceeding supply, Timmons said on “Squawk on the Street.” “What that’s doing is it’s causing bottlenecks in a lot of the supply chain for manufacturers who make the finished goods.”Timmons, whose Washington-based group is the largest manufacturers trade association in the U.S., said he’s hopeful that supply bottlenecks won’t be seen in the future as the economy continues to ramp up from the depths of the Covid pandemic.However, he added that “it is a problem right now and manufacturers are trying their best to deal with it.”The nation’s manufacturing skills gap, which is expected to result in 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030, could cost the U.S. economy as much as $1 trillion, according to a new study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute. Manufacturers in the U.S. need to fill 4 million jobs by 2030, the study showed.Though the manufacturing industry has regained 63% of jobs lost during the pandemic, the majority of manufacturers surveyed in the study still expect a long-term challenge in attracting and retaining workers in 2021 and beyond. Finding the right talent is also 36% harder than it was in 2018, according to the survey.”We have had a skills gap, if you will, unfilled jobs for many, many years,” Timmons said. “It actually went down to the lowest level during the pandemic that we had seen — of 300,000 open jobs in manufacturing. But today, there’s an astounding 851,000 jobs that are open in manufacturing.”In an effort to shrink those numbers by about 600,000 by 2025, Timmons said the NAM is looking to attract a new generation to pursue a career in “modern” manufacturing. “We know that there is a very large focus by manufacturers to invest their next dollar here in the United States, to hire the next worker here in the United States,” Timmons said. Manufacturing is “going strong” because of past policies supporting positive job creation rates and future policies supporting significant infrastructure investment, he said. More

In a city where luck has a lot to do with the outcome, the executives overseeing the Las Vegas Strip’s newest property feel like they hit the jackpot.”We were waiting, optimistic that things would get better when we opened,” said Scott Sibella, president of Resorts World Las Vegas. “But here we are at 100% [capacity] and everything’s going well in Las Vegas, and we’re excited to be part of that.”Following years of construction and the still-present threat of a global pandemic, the massive $4.3 billion Resorts World Casino opens for business this week at a crucial time for Las Vegas, which is rebounding from an economically crippling shutdown.”With all of this pent-up demand and restrictions newly set aside, it just seems like they got lucky,” said Steve Hill, head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.Resorts World is the first new resort on the Las Vegas Strip in over a decade.Source: Resorts World Las VegasThe first newly built casino along the Strip in a decade features all the bells and whistles visitors have come to expect from a luxury property, including a 117,000-square-foot casino floor, on-site sportsbook and 1,800-square-foot infinity pool. The company has announced an A-list lineup of entertainment featuring Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.However, Malaysia-based Genting Berhad, the parent company of Resorts World, hopes its technology will set it apart from competitors.The company is touting its newest property as the city’s “most technologically advanced casino.” It has announced a slew of partnerships, which will allow guests the option of mobile payments for everything at the resort — even at the betting tables. It also invested heavily in security and will be the first to use radio-frequency identification, or RFID, embedded chips to help account for gaming activity.”We’ve integrated and created what we believe to be industry-leading cashless wagering technology where guests can play in a slot machine using cashless wagering from their phone within their app, and they can go and do the same in a table,” said Rick Hutchins, Resorts World senior vice president of casino operations. Gamblers will be able to load money onto their digital wallets using on-site kiosks to deposit cash or digitally by linking to a bank account, credit card or PayPal.  Another eventual source of funding is cryptocurrency. Sibella said the company is working with crypto exchange Gemini, owned by the Winklevoss twins, to explore how guests may someday gamble and pay for property amenities and dining with digital currencies.Resorts World includes a 117-thousand square foot casino.Source: Resorts World Las Vegas”I think you’ll be able to use crypto to check out and pay your folio or go to a restaurant, that’s what we’re looking at, but there’s still a lot to look at and get approved,” said Sibella.The timing of the resort’s opening certainly seems auspicious. Covid restrictions largely ended June 1. Future reservations soared. Wait times to land a table at popular restaurants have lengthened to the point of frustration for Las Vegas visitors.Genting Chairman and CEO Kok Thay Lim told CNBC, “Timing is everything due to luck more than anything else.”There remains some question about how well Resorts World can perform without high-end international travelers, especially those from Asia. Travel restrictions and border closures due to the coronavirus are still restricting global travel.Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors were a small but important part of overall tourism revenue because they typically spend more on shopping, dining, amenities and gambling.Genting’s chairman said he looks forward to a resumption of Chinese tourism. “They will play a very important part in terms of global travel” Lim said. The company’s cruise and resort business in Malaysia, Singapore and around the world has suffered with the absence of Chinese visitors.More than 2.9 million passengers traveled through Las Vegas McCarran International Airport in April, the last month where figures are available, representing a drop of 32% from 2019. However, industry insiders anticipate the numbers will rise significantly in May and June.”Las Vegas doesn’t operate well without a crowd, and we’re going to be completely back to full stadiums, full arenas, full theaters, and all of the entertainment that everybody expects when they come to Las Vegas,” said Hill.And rather than undermining neighboring casinos with new competition, analysts anticipate Resorts World will boost business for everyone.”A brand-new Las Vegas opening like Resorts World can drive increased visitation,” said Barry Jonas, managing director of Truist Securities. “As many customers looking to trial the new property also like to visit multiple properties during their stay.”Lim surveyed his newest property with a huge grin and pronounced, “It’s great to look around Las Vegas and definitely say ‘Las Vegas is back in business!'” More

In this articleCMCSAMichelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel star in Universal’s “F9.”UniveralIn a time when franchises reign supreme at the box office, Fast and Furious may have hit a speed bump.The ninth installment in the series about strong family ties and high-octane car racing, Universal’s “F9” has raised the bar on ridiculous action sequences and “soap opera drama,” critics say.The Fast and Furious saga has had its critical highs and lows since the first film was released two decades ago. The films center on Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family and his chosen family. At first, the action films largely concerned illegal street racing and heists, but have grown to include high-stakes global missions that have turned the beloved scrappy racers into spies.The physics-defying stunts that have become staples of the franchise are grounded by the rag-tag team of characters, which features a diverse collection of actors including Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “​Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel and Sung Kang.In the latest feature, Dom is living a quiet life off the grid with Letty (Rodriguez) and his son, when his crew is brought back together to stop a skilled assassin and driver, named Jakob (John Cena). This adversary turns out to be Dom’s estranged brother.As of publication Thursday, “F9” held a 62% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 114 reviews. As more reviews come in, that score could change. If it dips below 60%, the film will be considered “Rotten” on the site.”The title doesn’t lie,” wrote Darren Franich in his review of the film for Entertainment Weekly. “‘F9′ isn’t bad, and it’s not good. It’s just fnine.”The film, which debuts Friday domestically, was released internationally last month. It has already tallied more than $300 million in ticket sales, including more than $200 million in China.Here’s what critics had to say about “F9.”George Simpson, Express”If you’re turning up for a world-class script and character development, perhaps stay at home with Netflix,” George Simpson wrote in his review of “F9” for Express. “But if you’re up for some ridiculously entertaining action set pieces and you’re willing to suspend belief, then grab the popcorn and get ready for another wild ride.””F9″ dials up the action, pushing Toretto’s crew to the limits of physics with death-defying stunts. From speeding through a field of land mines to snagging a falling cable on a car to glide across a canyon like Tarzan, the latest Fast and Furious film is all about spectacle, critics say.”What would be a 2 star film is saved by 4 star action, hence our 3 stars overall,” Simpson wrote. “Fast and Furious 9’s high-octane set pieces really are terrific fun and even led to spontaneous bursts of applause in our cinema audience.”Read the full review from Express.John Cena and Charlize Theron star in Universal’s “F9.”UniversalDarren Franich, Entertainment WeeklyWhile “F9” uses the “family” thread of the previous films to ground the story in some reality, the out-of-this-world storytelling leaves much to be desired for some critics.”Something special drained out of this series when the heroes transformed from crusading car-heisters into world-saving explodo-spies,” Franich wrote in his review. “Much of the’ F9′ story happens because Mr. Nobody tells various somebodies to do various somethings. I don’t want my heroes to do things because a generic espionage manager tells them what to do. I want them to do things because they feel a passionate need to do those things…”As the series has pushed the limits of its stunts, it’s also pushed the limits of its narrative.”Inventing a new sibling out of thin air is how soap operas fill time in season 27,” Franich wrote.Cena’s physicality is enough to go one-on-one with Diesel, but the charm the actor has shown in other projects like “Blockers” and “Trainwreck” is notably absent, critic said.The character’s motivation, a contrived notion that he’s trying to step out of his big brother’s shadow, is “just goofy enough to be interesting,” Franich said. But his villainy is weighed down by the return of Cipher (Charlize Theron) and the addition of money man Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen).Read the full review from Entertainment Weekly.Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle”F9″ could benefit greatly from its exclusive theatrical release. A number of critics, including San Francisco Chronicle’s Mick LaSalle lauded the film for being “too enormous to be streamed.””It’s huge, it’s stupid and it’s wonderful,” he wrote in his review. “It’s a total blast and an invitation to put your mind into suspended animation for two giddy, ridiculous hours. If you’re looking for a movie to escape into, you cannot do better than ‘F9.'”Yes, the action doesn’t obey the laws of physics. But, that’s just fine, says LaSalle.”The imagination of the filmmakers is further unbound by their willingness to be outrageous,” he wrote. “Early in the movie, Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto drives off a cliff. So what? Anybody can drive off a cliff. But Diesel drives off a cliff and steers the car in midair. You can’t find entertainment like this elsewhere.”Read the full review from the San Francisco Chronicle.Still from Universal’s “F9.”UniversalOwen Gleiberman, VarietyA sequence in which two members of Toretto’s team get slung into space in a make-shift car rocket may be a bit too absurd for some moviegoers.”We’re thinking: Is this when the Fast and Furious series jumps the shark?” Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review of “F9″ for Variety.”Not so fast. At that moment, there’s no doubt that the movie walks right up to the shark, takes a good hard look at it, maybe even climbs aboard it, but doesn’t totally, fatally jump it,” he said. “For one thing, there’s way too much going on apart from that borderline ludicrous space-camp interlude. But I’m not sure if that’s the kind of close call ‘F9’ wanted to be remembered for.”The Fast and Furious saga has certainly come a long way from its humble street racing roots. But has it gone too far?”Sometimes, when you least expect it, a successful franchise will essentially morph into a different series,” Gleiberman wrote. “Over time, the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films became Bond films. The ‘Fast and Furious’ films have become ‘Mission: Impossible’ films.””But ‘F9′ isn’t constructed around an exciting mission,” he added. “It’s built around Vin Diesel and John Cena playing out the angst from the Toretto brothers’ past. The family plot ‘works’ (even as you’re aware of how thinly written Cena’s character is), but it’s not enough of an anchor; it’s more like an excuse. This series didn’t need more ‘heart.’ It needed everyone onscreen to get up to speed.”Read the full review from Variety.Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “F9” and owns Rotten Tomatoes. More

In this articleAMZNFFord CTO Ken Washington (left) is leaving the automaker for Amazon in July.FordDETROIT – Ford Motor is losing its chief technology officer to Amazon, marking an ongoing talent battle between the automotive and technology industries.Ford confirmed Thursday that CTO Ken Washington, who joined Ford from Lockheed Martin in 2014, will be leaving the Detroit automaker. effective July 16. He will join Amazon as vice president of software engineering in Sunnyvale, California, according to an internal employee memo provided by Ford.Washington’s departure is a major blow for the automaker, which is accelerating billions of dollars in new investments for connected, electric and autonomous vehicles under a new turnaround plan by CEO Jim Farley.Jim Buczkowski — who has been responsible for research and design of electrical and electronic systems — will be taking on interim responsibility for Ford’s research and advanced engineering team while a permanent successor for Washington is identified, according to the automaker.Amazon did not immediately respond for comment on the hire, which was first reported by the Detroit Free Press.The automotive and technology industries are increasingly battling for talent with the emergence of connected vehicles and companies from both sides researching and developing autonomous vehicles. Automotive start-up companies such as Lucid and Rivian also are vying for top talent from both sectors.Tech companies have been winning in recent years. Ford lost two marketing executives to Google and Facebook in 2020. General Motors last year also lost CFO Dhivya Suryadevara to digital payments company Stripe. Before that, Alicia Boler Davis — who led GM’s global manufacturing — left for Amazon. More

A customer arrives at a Darden Restaurants Inc. Olive Garden location in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, June 14, 2018.Callaghan O’Hare | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesDarden Restaurants isn’t seeing many deals on real estate right now despite the high number of permanent restaurant closures from the pandemic.”There’s tremendous speculation in the real estate market driving prices,” CEO Gene Lee told analysts on Thursday during the company’s quarterly earnings call.Lee did not elaborate on what the speculation means for Darden. However, restaurant chains that survived the downturn were expecting to snap up closed locations at a discount or receive more accommodations from landlords, like permission to build a drive-thru lane.Industry tracker Black Box Intelligence estimates that 12% of full-service restaurants in the U.S. that were open before the pandemic have closed.Private equity firms and other investors have swooped in, betting on commercial real estate. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that commercial real estate prices have been climbing since July, wiping out almost half of the pandemic declines.During its fiscal fourth quarter, Darden opened 14 new restaurants, bringing its total restaurant count to 1,834 across its portfolio, which includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille. In fiscal 2022, it expects to add about 35 to 40 new locations.Shares of Darden rose 3% in afternoon trading after the company topped Wall Street’s estimates for the company’s fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. The company said diners are returning to its restaurants, bringing same-store sales nearly back to pre-pandemic levels. More