--:-- Shamitha Basu: Good morning. It's Tuesday, August 27th. I'm Shamitha Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the big change coming for the NFL, how a mega merger could impact grocery store prices, and a debate over the rules for the first Trump-Harris debate.
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--:-- Shamitha Basu: But first, last week at the DNC, we heard a lot of talk about big issues facing everyday Americans. And yet there's one topic that barely came up. I actually counted up the mentions. Vice President Kamala Harris in her acceptance speech on Thursday night mentioned climate change once in a single line. It was a notable omission in her speech.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Washington Post environmental writer Maxine Josselow explains, Vice President Kamala Harris and many Democrats have been relatively quiet on climate change, and that's by design. The issue ranks 19th for registered voters, polling well behind abortion, border security, the economy, and gun control.
--:-- Maxine Josselow: Climate may matter to some voters, but not necessarily the ones Democrats need in swing states. Meanwhile, Republicans have been on the offensive. They've been attacking Democrats for cracking down on fossil fuel use and calling for more drilling and a rollback of regulations and renewable energy policies.
--:-- Maxine Josselow: The split-screen approach that I was writing about really does suggest to me and to others I talked to for the story that Democrats sort of see talking about climate change and the environment as a lose-lose proposition.
--:-- Maxine Josselow: Because if they call for curbing fossil fuel production to fight climate change, which the science shows we need to do, then they risk alienating voters in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state where natural gas powers the economy.
--:-- Maxine Josselow: But if they tout record U.S. oil production, they risk angering young voters, which is another crucial constituency for Democrats.
--:-- Maxine Josselow: And Josselow explains even some climate activists are tiptoeing around the topic. Last week, a coalition of environmental groups launched a $55 million advertising campaign to support Harris. The first three ads don't mention climate change explicitly.
--:-- Maxine Josselow: They almost back into the issue by mentioning inflation and rising energy costs and these sort of kitchen table pocketbook issues that we know are top of mind for many Americans right now as they see the price of groceries and other goods continue to rise.
--:-- Maxine Josselow: And I thought that was really interesting that even environmental groups, which are devoted exclusively to this issue, are not making it a central part of their advertising right now.
--:-- Maxine Josselow: One notable exception is President Biden. In his convention speech last week, he spoke at length about the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Private equity investors are involved in virtually every industry in America from retail to nursing homes to higher education. And now they're coming for football.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Today, the NFL will vote on whether to allow private equity firms to buy minority stakes in teams. The NFL is a commercial juggernaut, unlike anything else in American culture, American entertainment.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: And one of the results of that has been that the franchise values of NFL teams, at least in theory, at least on paper, have gone up quite a bit.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: Football journalist Alex Kirshner told us about how that's opening the door for private equity companies. And one of the things that we've seen over the past few years is that when an NFL team comes up on the market, there just aren't that many rich people in America who can reach into their checking account and pull out $6 billion, which was the amount that the Washington commanders were sold for in 2023.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: And what the NFL is really interested in is finding ways to access cash flow to keep the deal train moving and to keep NFL franchise values steadily climbing upward in a market where there just aren't that many individuals who can afford these teams.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: Private equity is already involved in every other major American sports league. The NFL is the last big holdout. And that's because for decades, it's been an extremely exclusive club, only allowing people with a certain kind of wealth to become owners.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: Today's vote, which is expected to pass, could change that. I think the people who own NFL teams are deeply invested in this idea of themselves as these respectful, respectable stewards of these American community institutions.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: And it's just seen, I think, as a little bit gauche, as a little bit low rent to let institutional money, this faceless, ugly corporation or sovereign wealth fund or what have you, into that club.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: But I do think that that's been a sticking point for NFL owners is that not just anybody can be in our club, but we would like their money.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: While the changes will be huge for the back offices at the NFL and their teams, Kirshner says fans are not likely to notice a big difference.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: Meanwhile, a similar trend is already playing out in college football. The Big 12 conference has reportedly talked with private equity investors about a potential billion-dollar deal.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: I do think they see a hole on the balance sheet or a hole in the profit and loss statements over the next couple of years as colleges have to actually start sharing revenue directly with players for the first time ever.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: And I think they see that as kind of an existential threat that could be addressed with institutional dollars.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: There are also possible deals for private equity investments into the athletic programs of individual schools. And once Wall Street has its foot in the door of a market, the deals and dollar amounts tend to keep growing and growing.
--:-- Alex Kirshner: For a long time, the NFL was large enough to be able to play a different game. But now, even the biggest American professional league can't resist the pull of private equity's money.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: What happens when two huge supermarket chains merge? This isn't a riddle. It's a real question that the Federal Trade Commission is now in a court battle over to determine whether a merger should be blocked because of how it could impact grocery prices and workers' pay.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: The FTC is suing to block a $24.6 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons. They're two of the five biggest American grocery sellers. The deal was first announced at the end of 2022.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: Kroger and Albertsons say they need to get bigger to stand up to tough competition, from players like Walmart, Amazon, and Costco, to name a few.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: And they say merging would help consumers. Their argument as well is that, you know, once we join together, we can better negotiate with suppliers and we can lower prices for our customers.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: And they've been very vocal about this, saying that they are pledging to reduce prices by $1 billion. Now, if they could do that, that would be significant.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: Grocery prices have jumped more than 20 percent over the past four years. And Kroger says it reduced its profit margin far more than its competitors in the interest of bringing down prices.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: But Pizer says research doesn't show evidence that prices drop when one chain acquires another. And the FTC expects the opposite of lower prices.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: They're saying, well, if two mega grocery stores are combining, then they won't have to compete with anyone so they can raise the price.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: Now that's the consumer side of the equation. The FTC also argues this would be bad for grocery store workers.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: The federal regulators are basically saying that this will undermine union contracts. So they usually bounce off of each other, these two large companies, workers at these companies, to get a better deal.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: They're also saying that, you know, without the opportunity to threaten to go to another store, you know, their competitor on the other side of town, then they also can lower working conditions for their workers.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: The FTC heard about this in listening sessions with workers. There was one in Denver where workers were saying, you know, we went through this same thing when Albertsons bought Safeway.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: And all of them were like traumatized by that experience. People lost their jobs. Communities were left in food deserts because stores shut down. And for them, they don't want to relive that.
--:-- Jacqueline Peiser: Kroger and Albertsons say they won't close stores. They will honor existing contracts with unions and they're investing a billion dollars in improving wages.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: This court's proceedings are expected to last for about two weeks, with the future of thousands of stores at stake.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Before we let you go, here are some other stories being featured in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Israel's military says it has rescued a hostage held by Hamas in Gaza. Special forces troops found a 52-year-old man in a southern Gaza tunnel. The military says he's now in Israel in good health.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: There are still more than 100 hostages believed to be held in Gaza.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: In the U.S., Special Counsel Jack Smith is pushing to revive the classified documents case against former President Trump.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: In a new court filing, Smith argues that the judge, Eileen Cannon, made major errors and ignored decades of legal precedent when she threw out the case last month.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Her argument was that the special counsel's appointment was unconstitutional. If upheld, that would have implications far beyond the case accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents, which he denied.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Special counsels have long been a way for the Justice Department to deal with potential conflicts of interest when prosecuting politically connected people.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Even if Smith's appeal is successful, the document's case wouldn't go to trial soon.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: And moving to the election, where the campaigns are having a debate about the next debate.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Harris and Trump are set to face off September 10th, hosted by ABC News.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: There's a dispute over the rules, with a focus on how the mics will work. The Harris campaign wants both candidates to have their mics on the whole time.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: The Trump team wants to stick to the rules from the last debate between Biden and Trump, where one candidate's mic was muted while the other spoke.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Trump has at times called for more debates and sometimes threatened to skip the ABC debate altogether, but his campaign recently said he will be there.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: And for this last story, you're going to need to put on your 90s goggles.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: After days of heavy speculation, just this morning, the news came that Oasis is reuniting.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: A band dusting off their gear for a money-making comeback tour is nothing unusual. But for Oasis, this is more than just a string of shows.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: It's a reunion of the famously feuding brothers, Liam and Noel Gallagher.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Their legendary backstage fight in 2009 ended the band's chart-topping run.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: There have been rumors of reunions over the years, but it never happened until now.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: In a statement, the band said, quote, The guns have fallen silent.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Whether the Gallaghers have actually reconciled, or just agreed to hold their fire long enough to cash in on the nostalgia, remains to be seen.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: Tickets go on sale Saturday for gigs next summer in the UK and Ireland.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: The Wall Street Journal spoke with people who knew the late Friends actor Matthew Perry. He died last year in a hot tub with ketamine in his system.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: The journal tries to piece together a portrait of Perry's years-long journey to overcome addiction and live a happy life.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: If you're listening in the podcast's app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated, to find that story.
--:-- Shamitha Basu: I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
