Steve Bannon's Date with Robert Mueller, Facebook's News Feed Makeover
The Hive co-host Kristen Scholer discusses the five biggest news stories in politics and tech. From Steve Bannon cooperating with Robert Mueller, to Facebook's new algorithm, we have it all covered on The Hive.
Steve Bannon has been summoned by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to answer questions relating to the Russia investigation...and he's planning to fully cooperate. What does this mean for President Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner? Gabe Sherman talks about Bannon's relationship with Donald Trump Jr. compared to his broken relationship with Kushner. T.A. Frank says Bannon will try to protect Donald Trump Jr. because he'll always be loyal to the cause of Trump, even if he's not loyal to the man himself.
And Mark Zuckerberg is making some big changes at Facebook. Bess Levin talks about the impact of switching the algorithm to show more content from friends and family, rather than publishers. She notes that Zuckerberg becoming a father for the second time may have softened him and caused his change of heart.
Plus, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink sent a stern warning to clients: do good deeds! The billionaire investor is strongly encouraging his clients to invest in charity. Bess Levin questions his tactics, saying she's not sure how much it will help.
Looking ahead to 2020, who could President Trump potentially run against? Vice President Mike Pence is said to be running a "shadow campaign" in the White House. Gabe Sherman says the Trump base is skeptical of Mike Pence, because they see him as a vehicle for the big business style of conservatism. However, Bess Levin says Jamie Dimon has come out with his description of a dream candidate...and that candidate sounds an awful lot like himself.
A bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) aims to tackle the spread of misinformation on social media platforms, as well as the addictive nature of the sites and negative mental health impacts they have on users. The 'Nudge Act' would require studies to find and compile potential interventions that platforms could use to encourage people to think before they share a post, or log off after spending too much time on an app. The FTC would create rules based on these findings, and hold the platforms accountable. But will it work? Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, joins Closing Bell to discuss the bill, whether real results and regulations could come from it, and more.
A.I.-based entertainment company, Deedub, recently raised
$20 million in a Series A round, led by Insight Partners. Deepdub uses A.I. technology to automate the dubbing process for foreign-language movies or TV shows, while using actors' original voices. The company says it can take just two to three minutes of data from an actor's voice and transform the voice into a different language. The funding comes as foreign-language films and shows like Netflix's 'Squid Game' have recently become more popular with audiences in the U.S. and around the world. Oz Krakowski, Chief Revenue Officer at Deepdub, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Energy Vault, the company developing sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions, is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange following the completion of its business combination with Novus Capital Corporation II. Energy Vault develops sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions designed to advance the transition to a carbon free, resilient power grid. Robert Piconi, co-founder and CEO of Energy Vault, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to disucss.
A new mobile app has launched just in time for Valentine's Day. Our.Love bills itself as an A.I.-powered, gamified, relationship wellness app for couples. The app is set in what the company calls the Coupleverse, a virtual world where each couple can build a virtual relationship home as they also build their real-world relationship. Founder and CEO Tal Zlotnitsky joined Cheddar to discuss how the app works. "The concept behind Our.Love is to give people the opportunity to understand where they stand in their relationship through very simple metrics that we provide within the app that will help them in real-time, see where they stand, see where their partner is, and be able to get closer together," he said.
