Get the Need2Know newsletter in your inbox every morning! Sign up here!
Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, February 8, 2022:
PELOTON CEO OUT
Peloton just announced CEO John Foley is out and former Spotify CFO Barry McCarthy is taking over to get those bikes back on track. Peloton has been on a rollercoaster ride throughout the pandemic, first with its products becoming must-have items for those who could afford them during lockdowns. But that trend turned around as people started getting back to their regularly-scheduled lives. In addition to new leadership, Peloton will cut 2,800 jobs and $800 million in annual costs in order to get its finances back in order. WSJ
OLYMPICS UPDATE
It was a tough day on the slopes for U.S. Olympic athletes. Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin crashed in the final seconds of a giant slalom race in a rare instance of a DNF or Did Not Finish, while her teammate Nina O'Brien badly injured her leg in the home stretch. Snowboarder Red Gerard failed to defend his slopestyle gold. In better news, U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen set a new record with his high score in the short program and Canadian snowboarder Max Parrot nabbed a gold medal on Monday, marking a triumphant return to the sport three years after discovering a lump on his neck that turned out to be Hodgkin lymphoma. AP
ENDING MASK MANDATES
The governors of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon are all planning to lift statewide mask mandates in school within the next two months. California also announced it will drop its statewide indoor mask mandate for people who are vaccinated. Why now? They cited the easing of the latest omicron surge and a desire to bring normalcy back to schools. The White House continues to recommend universal mask-wearing at schools, but press secretary Jen Psaki said she didn't fault states for rolling back their mandates. The move comes amid calls to shift strategies as the virus transitions from its pandemic to endemic phase. AXIOS
'UNITED FRONT' ON UKRAINE?
President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a joint press conference following a meeting on Monday to present a "united" front against a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, it's unclear if the two leaders are on the same page, as Germany tries to balance its energy needs (Russia provides over a third of Europe's natural gas) and its commitment to NATO. While Scholz avoided making any promises about the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Biden said the project would not move forward if Russia invaded. The president also said that “it would be wise” for Americans, other than essential diplomats, to leave Ukraine. NY TIMES
DISCOUNT AIRLINES TEAM UP
Ultra-low costs carriers Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines are proposing a merger to better compete with major airlines such as Delta and United. While the deal is likely to get some scrutiny from the Biden administration over antitrust issues, the companies are making the case that together they can actually bring down the cost of fares and increase competition with the biggest carriers. It's a bold promise, especially as both airlines have struggled during the pandemic, but a "discount-airline juggernaut," as the Wall Street Journal called it, could be a gamechanger for the industry. CHEDDAR
IRS ABANDONS FACIAL RECOGNITION
The Internal Revenue Service is abandoning a proposal to have taxpayers essentially submit a selfie in order to gain access to their information. Many considered the idea an overreach for the agency, which is currently struggling to work through a backlog of returns as this year's tax season is set to bring even more paperwork. The IRS sought out the identification software due to a lack of resources, but it looks like they'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way.CNN
ASTRA FAILS TO LAUNCH
Private space company Astra ended up postponing its first launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral on Monday after a minor technical issue led the company to abort the mission. This is standard practice for space missions, but the news nonetheless spurred a 14% drop in Astra's share price. The California-based company is notably pursuing a volume-based approach to space launches, aiming to send up one small rocket per day by 2025. CNBC
JPMORGAN'S LAWSUIT BLITZ
Senate Democrats are piqued with JPMorgan Chase. Six members of the Senate Banking Committee, including the chairman, sent a letter to CEO Jamie Dimon asking about the bank's flurry of lawsuits against credit card customers during the pandemic. The letter outlines their concerns with the controversial practice of "robo-signing," in which bank employees automatically sign affidavits for lawsuits without manually reviewing them. While JPMorgan denies the allegations, the company does have a history with the practice, and the senators want answers. PROPUBLICA
HBO MAX SUED OVER MATRIX RELEASE
A rift over direct-to-streaming movie releases is pitting WarnerMedia against long-time collaborator Village Roadshow Films, which recently co-produced The Matrix Resurrections. The studio alleges in a lawsuit filed on Monday that WarnerMedia "rushed" the release of the fim to generate streaming subscriptions for HBO Max and ultimately undercut its box office success. This isn't the first time a major studio has taken flack for allegedly prioritizing subscription revenue over ticket sales. Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over a similar complaint. WarnerMedia, for its part, shrugged off the suit, calling it "frivolous." THE VERGE
LEFTOVERS: PETER THIEL STEPS DOWN
Midterms are almost here and one controversial tech investor is rolling up his sleeves. Peter Thiel, the conservative co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, is stepping down from the board of Facebook parent company Meta as he prepares to increase his support for Donald Trump-backed candidates such as Blake Masters and J.D. Vance. Thiel's relationship with CEO Mark Zuckerberg goes back to Facebook's founding but became increasingly problematic for the embattled social media giant as Thiel leaned into his political commitments. BLOOMBERG
Need2Know Podcast Note: The Need2Know podcast is taking a break for now. We're looking forward to bringing you more context and analysis on the big stories of the day in a few weeks. In the meantime, check out our archive on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!
