In his office in upstate New York, Wendell Weeks is about to do an ad hoc product demonstration. He brandishes something he calls a Norwegian hammer, a device used to test how resistant materials are to hard knocks. Mr Weeks first experiments on a thin sheet of metal; the hammer leaves a visible dent. Then he places the hammer over a small sample of glass; its percussive impact leaves no trace. More
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s revamped government panel of vaccine advisors will start a review of long-approved shots in the U.S.
Kennedy removed and replaced members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is unclear how Kennedy’s new members, including vaccine critics such as Dr. Robert Malone, will affect the panel’s shot recommendations.
A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tami Chappell | Reuters
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s revamped government panel of vaccine advisors will start a review of long-approved shots in the U.S., the leader of the group said Wednesday in the first meeting with new members.
The panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, will also review the childhood vaccination schedule. Earlier this month, Kennedy in a stunning step removed and replaced all members of the group, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ACIP members are independent medical and public health experts who review vaccine data and make recommendations that determine who is eligible for shots and whether insurers should cover them, among other efforts. But Kennedy appointed some vaccine critics, including Dr. Robert Malone, who could shape immunization policy and affect availability in the U.S.
ACIP will create new work groups, which are staff that review published and unpublished data and develop recommendation options to present to the committee, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, the new chair of the panel, said during the meeting. One new work group will review the childhood vaccine schedule, while another will examine shots that have not been subject to reviews in more than seven years, he said.
The latter group may examine the universally recommended hepatitis B vaccine and ask whether it is “wise” to administer the shot to every newborn before they leave the hospital, Kulldorff added. He also said the group could review the combination measles, mumps and rubella shot, along with the chickenpox jab. Vaccine skeptics have questioned the safety of both shots.
“This was supposed to be a regular practice of the ACIP, but it has not been done in a thorough and systematic way. We will change that,” Kulldorff said.
Dr. Sean O’Leary, an infectious disease expert with the American Academy of Pediatrics, told reporters later Wednesday that reviewing the vaccine schedule has been “an anti-vaccine trope for many, many years.” O’Leary said many vaccines are “essentially always reviewed in real-time through a number of different mechanisms,” including several safety surveillance and disease surveillance tools.
The American Academy of Pediatrics did not participate in the ACIP meeting on Wednesday because “we view it as illegitimate,” O’Leary said. He added that the organization will continue to provide vaccine schedules for children independently of the CDC.
“What we’re seeing today, and if this were to continue, the medical providers, public health professionals, the entire country is no longer going to trust ACIP. That’s clear,” O’Leary said, saying the goal is to reinstate the 17 members that Kennedy fired and return to “a normal process.”
During a full-day meeting Wednesday in Atlanta, the panel evaluated data on Covid-19 vaccines and RSV shots. A vote on recommendations for the latter was postponed until the group’s meeting on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the group will review data on shots for the flu and other diseases.
The CDC director has to sign off on those recommendations for them to become official policy.
“Vaccines are not all good or bad,” Kulldorff said in opening remarks.
“If you think that all vaccines are safe and effective and want them all, or if you think that all vaccines are dangerous and don’t want any of them, then you don’t have much use for us. You already know what you want,” said Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who questioned lockdowns and other public health measures early in the Covid-19 pandemic.
“But if you wish to know which vaccines are suitable for you and your children and at what ages, then we will provide you with evidence-based recommendations,” he added.
Ahead of the meeting, one of Kennedy’s new appointees stepped down from the panel.
In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said Dr. Michael Ross withdrew from ACIP during a mandatory review of each member’s financial holdings, without providing further details. It is unclear what his financial holdings are.
Ross is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology and has served on another CDC advisory panel focused on breast and cervical cancer.
A CDC web page on conflict of interest disclosures for ACIP members does not appear to list any for Kennedy’s members, apart from Dr. Cody Meissner.
What new panel members have said about vaccines
Kennedy’s eight new members include some well-known vaccine critics, such as Dr. Robert Malone.
Malone bills himself as having played a key role in the creation of mRNA vaccines, but has gained a large following for making baseless and disproven claims about Covid-19 shots.
Another new member, Retsef Levi, has pushed to stop giving mRNA vaccines, falsely claiming in a post on X that they cause “serious harm including death, especially among young people.”
Another member, Vicky Pebsworth, is a nurse on the board of The National Vaccine Information Center. That organization has been widely criticized as a leading source of misinformation and fearmongering about immunization.
During the meeting on Wednesday, Pebsworth revealed that she owns stock and health-care sector funds that include vaccine manufacturers. But she said her holdings are under the amount the government considers to be a conflict of interest, allowing her to participate in the ACIP meeting.
Kennedy fired previous ACIP members for having what he called “persistent conflicts of interest.” But all HHS agencies and their advisory panels have had rigorous policies for conflicts of interest, and there have been no related issues for years. More
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said the company is open to making even more changes to woo customers who might be flying on competitors.
Airport lounges, long-haul international flights and more premium class are all on the table, Jordan told CNBC.
The Dallas-based airline is in the midst of its biggest changes in 50 years of flying, as it’s ditched open seating and is starting to charge some customers to check luggage.
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX8 departs from San Diego International Airport to Chicago on March 4, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images
ARLINGTON, Texas — Southwest Airlines is considering airport lounges, more premium seating and even long-haul international flights to win over high-spending customers, CEO Bob Jordan said Wednesday.
“Whatever customers need in 2025, 2030, we won’t take any of that off the table. We’ll do it the Southwest way but we’re not going to say ‘We would never do that,'” Jordan said in an interview with CNBC at an airport industry conference. “We know we send customers to other airlines because there’s some things you might want that you can’t get on us. That includes things like lounges, like true premium, like flying long-haul international.”
Southwest is in the middle of a transformation. That has included undoing some of its policies like open seating, a uniform cabin and allowing all customers to check two bags for free, things that had set it apart from rivals in much of its 54 years of flying.
But it has faced pressure from competitors, and an activist investor last year pushed the carrier to increase revenue. And airfare in the U.S. has dropped.
Southwest and other carriers pulled their 2025 forecasts earlier this year, citing economic uncertainty. Jordan said Wednesday that the airline is continuing to see cheaper fares.
“The summer is generally never on sale, and the summer is heavily on sale right now,” he said.
Despite making major changes to its business model, Jordan said the carrier hasn’t seen customers defect to other airlines since it introduced no-frills basic economy tickets and bag fees late last month, policies rivals already had.
But making changes at the high end is important, too, he said.
Competitors like Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines have added more luxury tourism destinations and roomier, more expensive seats, and they’ve also invested heavily in airport lounges. For example, earlier Wednesday, American unveiled plans to nearly double its lounge space at its Miami International Airport hub.
Jordan said it’s “way too soon to put any specifics” on potential changes, but he called out Southwest stronghold Nashville International Airport — where the airline has a more than 50% market share, according to airport data — as a place where customers are hungry for luxury.
“Nashville loves us, and we know we have Nashville customers that want lounges. They want first class. They want to get to Europe and they’re going to Europe,” he said.
But getting those things means those customers have to book on another airline, which could make them more likely to add that rival’s co-branded credit card to their wallets, too, he said.
Read more CNBC airline news
“I want to send fewer and fewer customers to another airline,” he said.
Jordan said it’s also too early to say whether Southwest will make the shift to buying longer-haul aircraft, which it would need to go to Europe; it’s relied on the Boeing 737 for more than half a century. Southwest has been forging international partnerships — Icelandair and China Airlines, so far— but a Southwest plane landing in Europe at some point is on the table, he said.
“No commitment, but you can certainly see a day when we are as Southwest Airlines serving long-haul destinations like Europe,” he said. “Obviously you would need a different aircraft to serve that mission and we’re open to looking at what it would take to serve that mission.”
In the nearer term, Southwest is still awaiting deliveries of Boeing 737 Max 7s, the smallest plane in the Max family, which still hasn’t won Federal Aviation Administration certification. Jordan said the manufacturer has made progress with more consistent deliveries recently, but Southwest doesn’t expect to fly the Max 7 in 2026. More
Vibe coding, or the ability to spin up a piece of software using generative artificial intelligence (AI) rather than old-school programming skills, is all the rage in Silicon Valley. But it has a step-sibling. Call it vibe valuing. This is the ability of venture capitalists to conjure up vast valuations for AI startups with scant regard for old-school spreadsheet measures. More
Sales of new single-family homes dropped 13.7% in May compared with April, according to the U.S. Census.
Homebuilders who reported quarterly earnings recently noted high rates cutting into affordability.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hovered around 7% for much of May, according to Mortgage News Daily.
Houses undergo construction in a neighborhood on April 17, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Sales of new single-family homes dropped 13.7% in May compared with April to 623,000 units on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the U.S. Census.
That sales total was 6.3% lower than May 2024 and well below both the six-month average of 671,000 and the one-year average of 676,000. It also lags the pre-pandemic average in 2019 of 685,000 units sold.
Wall Street analysts were expecting May new home sales of 695,000, according to estimates from Dow Jones.
This count is based on signed contracts, so people out shopping in May, when mortgage rates remained stubbornly high.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage started May at 6.83%, rose steadily to just over 7% and then settled back at 6.95% by the end of the month, according to Mortgage News Daily.
“The large fall in new home sales in May cancels out all of the positivity of the past couple of months and serves as a valuable reminder that buyer activity can only rise so far with mortgage rates hugging 7%,” wrote Bradley Saunders, an economist at Capital Economics.
Homebuilders who reported quarterly earnings recently noted high rates cutting into affordability.
“The macro economy remains challenging, as mortgage interest rates have remained higher while consumer confidence has been challenged by a wide range of uncertainties, both domestic and global,” said Stuart Miller, co-CEO of Lennar, on a call with analysts following the company’s fiscal second-quarter earnings release. “Across the housing landscape, actionable demand has been diminished by both affordability and consumer confidence, and therefore has continued to soften.”
Lennar reported lowering prices, but KB Home, which posted its quarterly earnings this week, raised prices.
Nationally, the median price of a new home sold in May was $426,600, according to the Census report, 3% above the year-earlier price.
Slower sales resulted in a significant bump higher in supply. There were 507,000 new homes for sales at the end of May. This represents a 9.8-month supply at the current sales rate, which is 15% higher than May 2024.
The last time supply was that high was briefly in the summer of 2022, after the Federal Reserve first started raising interest rates post-pandemic. Before that, supply hadn’t been this high since 2009, amid the subprime mortgage crisis and the Great Recession.
Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO More
The Tennis Channel is extending its deal with the Women’s Tennis Association.
Tennis Channel CEO Jeff Blackburn told CNBC there was a “pretty big step up in our payments” to the WTA for the U.S. media rights, which now run through 2032.
The deal comes as American female tennis players have shot to the top of global rankings and women’s sports in general has seen a rise in popularity and investment funding.
Coco Gauff of the United States lifts the winners trophy after her victory against Aryna Sabalenka in the Final of the Women’s singles competition on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the 2025 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 7, 2025, in Paris, France.
Sipa via AP Images
The Tennis Channel is extending its deal with the Women’s Tennis Association that will see the cable TV network and streaming service continue to broadcast more than 2,000 matches each season.
While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, Tennis Channel CEO Jeff Blackburn told CNBC in an interview there was a “pretty big step up in our payments” to the WTA for the U.S. media rights, which includes international tournaments and the WTA Finals event. The new agreement lasts through 2032.
“Our goal and mission is to just cover pro tennis and the game of tennis like no one else, every day, every hour, all year round. There’s no offseason,” Blackburn said. “WTA plays a huge role in that and it was a big priority for me to make sure that we renewed our relationship and extend it as long term as we were able.”
The exclusive rights renewal comes as the Tennis Channel is in the midst of a transition on several fronts.
Last year, longtime Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon was ousted from the company. Blackburn stepped into the role in early May, following a 24-year career at Amazon, where he helped to build out Prime Video and expand the streaming service into sports, among other businesses.
Meanwhile, Sinclair, the owner of broadcast stations as well as the Tennis Channel, had recently considered offloading the network, CNBC previously reported. The parent company, however, is no longer exploring a sale of the Tennis Channel, particularly since Blackburn has taken the helm, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic details.
In the backdrop, the Tennis Channel, like its network peers, is contending with the continued loss of customers from the pay-TV bundle. While live sports garner the biggest audiences — and leagues have reaped huge rights payouts as a result — media companies are focused on growing the profitability of their streaming businesses.
In 2014 the 24/7 tennis network took its first step into streaming with Tennis Channel Plus, and later in 2022 introduced Tennis Channel 2, a free, ad-supported streaming channel. While Blackburn said Tennis Channel 2 has been successful and attracted a younger audience, he is focused on beefing up the Tennis Channel’s recently launched direct-to-consumer streaming app.
The app, which launched in November 2024, costs $9.99 a month or $109.99 annually and offers the same programming as the pay-TV network. Media companies are increasingly offering the same live sports featured on pay-TV networks on their counterpart streaming alternatives — most notably with the launch of Disney’s flagship ESPN app later this year.
“What’s important about the partnership is that they’re committing to doing more with us,” said Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the WTA. “They’re committed to that increased exposure across all of their platforms. They’re committed to ensuring this kind of equal exposure for women and men, where they have the rights. And they’re making a significant commitment. There is a substantial increase in the rights fees, which is a big milestone for us as part of our plan and commitment to growing.”
The Tennis Channel’s agreement with the WTA covers a large swath of the WTA’s tournaments outside of North America through the season-closing WTA Finals.
The audience for WTA events on the Tennis Channel has been growing, particularly among the younger demographic. Viewership among 18- to 34-year-olds on the Tennis Channel has grown annually for each of the past two years, according to a news release.
‘Equal footing’
Analyst Martina Navratilova with guest Maria Sharapova on Tennis Channel’s Wimbledon desk
Photo: Fred Mullane/camerawork, usa.
The deal comes as American female tennis players have shot to the top of global rankings and women’s sports in general have seen a rise in popularity and investment funding.
Already in 2025, two American women have won two of the top majors: Madison Keys took the Australian Open in January, and Coco Gauff was crowned the winner of the French Open in June. Gauff and Keys will be among the participants at Wimbledon, which kicks off on Monday.
“Tennis is really the only major sport where the men’s and women’s game is on equal footing, and that’s really important,” said Blackburn. “I think for tennis it makes it unique. The growth of women’s sports overall? Maybe basketball and soccer will get there, but I think tennis is way ahead in terms of providing that for the fan.”
The Tennis Channel 2 free streaming option has earmarked every Tuesday as “Women’s Day” — showing only women’s match coverage — and Blackburn highlighted the network’s roster of heavy-hitting female talent, including former players and Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport, among others.
The deal extension also builds on WTA Ventures’ recent efforts to grow its commercial revenue and build the profiles of its athletes.
In 2023 the WTA formed a strategic partnership with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, which invested $150 million for a 20% stake in the newly created WTA Ventures. The entity was formed to focus on growing commercial revenue through sponsorships and media rights deals, with the goal of tripling its revenue by 2029.
In 2024 WTA Ventures said it expected to increase revenue by 24% in its first full year.
The media rights extension marks the first renegotiation with the Tennis Channel under the WTA Ventures framework. The WTA’s long-standing media rights deal with streaming service DAZN expires at the end of next year, and talks have begun for new deals that would begin in 2027, said Storti.
WTA Ventures said its global audience surpassed 1 billion viewers on broadcast and streaming last season, and Storti said the U.S. is among one of the WTA’s biggest growth markets, along with China and Poland.
“We are a completely mass-market product that attracts hundreds of millions of fans across the world, and I would say we deliver a product that stands kind of shoulder to shoulder with the men counterpart,” Storti said.
The WTA has also recently emphasized improvements for players.
This year it’s has announced a paid maternity leave funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, as well as a new policy allowing players to protect their rankings during fertility treatments
Still, tennis is not without its issues of disparity. While the U.S. Open awarded equal prize money to men and women beginning in 1973, it was decades ahead of Wimbledon and other majors. And while equal prize money is given at the majors level, there’s still a considerable pay gap at lower-level tournaments.
The sport also drew criticism around the 2025 French Open when the majority of prime-time slots went to men’s matches.
Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO More
ESPN has renewed a media rights agreement with the Premier Lacrosse League.
The five-year deal will begin with the 2026 season and include all PLL regular-season games as well as All-Star, playoff and championship games and Women’s Lacrosse League games.
Disney-owned ESPN said it will take a minority stake in the league.
Utah Archers Midfielder Tre Leclaire (44) carries the ball during the Premier Lacrosse League Cash App Championship between the Maryland Whipsnakes and the Utah Archers at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 15, 2024.
Terence Lewis | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images
ESPN is renewing its media deal with the Premier Lacrosse League and taking an equity stake in the organization.
The five-year deal will begin with the 2026 season and include all PLL regular-season games as well as All-Star, playoff and championship games and Women’s Lacrosse League games. The deal comes as pro lacrosse has seen gains across broadcast, partnerships and attendance. It will also be added to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Alongside the deal, Disney-owned ESPN said it will take a minority stake in the league. A person familiar with the terms, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic details, said the investment gives ESPN a 3% stake.
“ESPN are not only experts in their understanding sports fans, but they are also great predictors of audience and growth,” PLL co-founder and president Paul Rabil told CNBC. “It’s validating that they came in to invest in what we’re building, and then as a partner, in addition to the expansion of coverage that they’ll be giving.”
Rabil said the media deal with ESPN has been critical to the sport’s growth. He said the network has been investing in lacrosse for roughly three decades.
The partnership also seems to be paying off for ESPN. During the 2024 season, viewership on ABC for the PLL’s championship game was up 9% year over year. The league also had its most-viewed All-Star game in its history, which aired on ESPN.
The PLL is also seeing growth in nearly all metrics. Since 2019, paid tickets are up 34%, attendance is up 13%, ticket revenue is up 149% and sponsor dollars are up more than 100%, Rabil said.
The league, now in its seventh season, has financial backing from the likes of Joe Tsai, the Chernin Group, Arctos, the Kraft Group and CAA.
Last year, PLL announced it was starting a Women’s Lacrosse League, which is currently in its inaugural season.
— CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to this report.
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032. More
FedEx reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue Tuesday.
The company announced it had achieved its $4 billion cost-cutting goal and will aim to trim another $1 billion in its upcoming fiscal year.
The company offered current-quarter profit guidance that came in slightly below what Wall Street was expecting.
A FedEx truck on Cyber Monday in San Francisco, California, US, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
FedEx reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue Tuesday as the company announced it had achieved its $4 billion cost-cutting goal and will aim to trim another $1 billion in its upcoming fiscal year.
The company achieved its “structural cost reduction target, in the face of ongoing headwinds,” CEO Raj Subramaniam said in a media release.
“Looking ahead, I’m confident that our transformation initiatives, which are focused on integrating our networks and further reducing our cost-to-serve, will create meaningful long-term value,” he said.
FedEx stock dropped about 5% in after-hours trading as the company offered current-quarter profit guidance that came in slightly below what Wall Street was expecting.
As of Tuesday’s close, shares of FedEx had dropped more than 18% year-to-date.
Here’s how the company did in its fiscal fourth quarter of 2025 compared with what analysts were anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $6.07 adjusted vs. $5.84 expected
Revenue: $22.22 billion vs. $21.79 billion expected
FedEx reported its U.S. daily package volume was up 6% year over year. U.S. ground home delivery volume, specifically, was up 10% year over year.
The company reported net income for the quarter ended May 31 of $1.65 billion, or $6.88 per share, compared with $1.47 billion, or $5.94 per share, a year earlier. Adjusting for one-time items, including accounting costs associated with retirement plans and other charges, FedEx reported earnings per share of $6.07.
Revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter rose to $22.22 billion, up slightly from $22.1 billion a year earlier.
For the full fiscal year, revenue was $87.9 billion, up from $87.7 billion in fiscal 2024.
FedEx and rival UPS are typically seen as bellwethers for the global economy since they touch a wide variety of businesses.
FedEx reported its capital spending for fiscal 2025 was $4.1 billion, down 22% from $5.2 billion in fiscal 2024. Capital spending as a percentage of revenue hit its lowest level in FedEx history, according to the release.
The reduction in spending comes as FedEx chases a long-term cost-cutting initiative. Its DRIVE program, introduced in fiscal 2023, is aimed at improving long-term profitability. FedEx said on Tuesday it achieved its target of $4 billion total in DRIVE savings by the end of fiscal 2025, relative to a fiscal 2023 baseline.
Its full-year fiscal 2026 guidance includes cost-cutting reductions of $1 billion. The company declined to give full-year fiscal 2026 earnings and profit forecasts.
For its fiscal first quarter of 2026, FedEx gave mixed guidance. The company forecasts revenue will be flat to up 2% year over year, topping StreetAccount estimates that called for revenue to decline by 0.1%. However, FedEx expects adjusted earnings per share of $3.40 to $4.00, slightly under the StreetAccount estimate of $4.06.
CFO John Dietrich said on a Tuesday call with investors that the company’s fiscal first-quarter revenue guidance includes a $170 million headwind from international exports due to global trade policy impacts.
Brie Carere, executive vice president and chief customer officer, said on the call the “vast majority of that is impact from China to the U.S. and within that, the vast majority is the impact of de minimis,” referencing a tax provision dealing with lower-value shipments.
FedEx in December announced long-anticipated plans to spin out its Freight division, leaving two publicly traded companies. At that time, FedEx said it expected the tax-free spin-off would be executed within 18 months.
The quarterly results come just days after FedEx’s founder and executive chairman, Fred Smith, died at the age of 80. Smith stepped down as CEO in 2022 and was succeeded by Subramaniam. More
