Documentary Critical of Disney, From the Disney Family

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Three years ago, Abigail E. Disney began to publicly excoriate the Walt Disney Company for its “obscene” pay inequality, with Robert A. Iger, who was then chief executive, at one end of the scale and hourly theme park workers at the other. The company founded by her grandfather and great-uncle repeatedly returned fire, at one point calling her assertions a “gross and unfair exaggeration of the facts.”

But Ms. Disney has refused to back down, even though the company recently agreed to a 16 percent raise for certain theme park workers. In fact, she is escalating her campaign — and, for the first time, bringing along two of her three siblings.

“The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” an activist-minded documentary about the pay gap between corporate haves and have-nots, will premiere on Monday as part of the Sundance Film Festival, which is being held digitally because of the pandemic. Ms. Disney and Kathleen Hughes directed the film; Ms. Disney’s sister, Susan Disney Lord, and a brother, Tim, are among the executive producers. The movie positions the entertainment company that bears their name as “ground zero of the widening inequality in America.”

To paint that harsh picture, Ms. Disney and Ms. Hughes profile four Disneyland custodians, who, at the time of filming (prepandemic), earned $15 an hour. They all struggle mightily with soaring housing costs in Southern California. One says he knows Disneyland workers who have had to “make a decision between medication or food.”

Disney Releases 2021 Salaries of Bob Iger and Bob Chapek While Abigail Disney Does Documentary

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has released the 2021 salaries of CEO Bob Chapek and ex Chairman of the Board Bob Iger and they were more than double their salaries of 2020.

Some will argue that the mandatory pay cuts due to the pandemic and the closure of the parks were the cause. They are the cause. However, these people learned nothing and after everything became open again they started doing what they do best–bilking the customer and pocketing the money. Meanwhile Abigail Disney has a documentary coming out at the Sundance Film Festival about how the Disney employees are treated.

First, let’s take a look at the compensation given to both Bob Chapek and Bob Iger.

The SEC filing that Disney posted indicated that Bob Chapek was given a compensation package of over $32.46 million. In 2020 he was given $14.1 million. Compared to Iger’s compensation package $45.9 million in 2021, and $21 million in the previous fiscal year. The Hollywood Reporter points out that “Iger’s end-of-contract stock grant, which was awarded to him Dec. 31 and was in the nine figures.”

When the parks shut down in 2020, and the pandemic loomed, the Walt Disney Company laid off a bunch of people and gave executives pay cuts (which some complained about.) Then the company switched to the “direct-to-consumer” model to focus on Disney Plus.

However, when parks came back on line, Disney guests were met with very limited experience at full price and price hikes along the way. The Annual Passes at Disneyland were changed and certain pass sales were halted. Food prices just went up recently and CFO Christine McCarthy joked about cutting portion sizes so the company could hoist off the inflation onto the guest (with big waistlines.)

Disney+ also had it’s price increased last year in the United States, while other countries still enjoy pennies on the dollar pricing.

During the pandemic, while executives kept their jobs, but got paid less, Cast Members were laid off or furloughed and had to create food pantries to help each other out. In Florida the lines stretched for miles. Now Abigail Disney has done a documentary with director Kathleen Hughes called The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales.

The new documentary focuses on the issues facing Cast Members as wage gaps continue to grow. In no way does anyone think Cast Members should make what a CEO does, but I don’t think Bob Iger deserved a nine-figure retirement package after his overspending and overbuying did hurt the company when the pandemic hit.

Abigail Disney talks about how she was taught by her Grandfather to treat Cast Members stating:

“I would go [to Disneyland] with my grandfather and almost every time, he would pick up a piece of garbage. I asked him why he did that, and he said, “Because nobody’s too good to pick up a piece of garbage, and I want the people who work here to know that I know that.” He would tell me, “These people work so hard, you need to respect them.” So to have been raised that way, and then to find myself years later listening to them say they have to choose between insulin and food, I couldn’t just sit by and let it happen.”

Disney isn’t too keen on Bob Chapek being the new CEO and expects things to get worse.

She talked about the cuts Chapek made before he got put into the head of the company and how it negatively impacted Cast Members:

“…dynamic scheduling, a euphemism for jerking them around so they can’t get a second job and they never make 40 hours a week and they don’t qualify for health care. Taking a department of 250, shaving it to 200 and expecting them all to do the same work in the same amount of time. There are a thousand ways they’ve been cutting costs, and much of it came from Bob Chapek and under his command.”

All of this comes as Disneyland employee unions were fighting for increased wages and they have been fighting for years.

More and more Disney parks fans are turning against the company over it’s constant price hikes, and choices. For $6k LARPing experiences, telling people that they should pay full price for a lightsaber without the carrying case promised, and many more other things.

The Disney difference means something completely different now than it did even five or six years ago. Magic comes with a price, but it seems only the Cast Members and guests are paying that price. People are noticing.

There’s some data you can crunch Bob!

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

Source: THR, THR, A Friend

POLITICO Playbook: Biden confronts major troop decision

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POLITICO Playbook: Biden confronts major troop decision Presented by

With Congress out of town and President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda paused, Washington will be dominated by Ukraine-Russia news this week. | The White House via AP

DRIVING THE DAY

THE BIDEN-PUTIN CHESS MATCH — With Congress out of town and President JOE BIDEN’s legislative agenda paused, Washington will be dominated by Ukraine-Russia news this week.

Some major developments on Ukraine in the past 24 hours:

— Early this morning, NATO announced a buildup in Eastern Europe: “NATO Allies are putting forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to NATO deployments in eastern Europe, reinforcing Allied deterrence and defence as Russia continues its military build-up in and around Ukraine.” More from Reuters

— The State Department on Sunday ordered all family members of U.S. government employees at the embassy in Kyiv to leave the country immediately, and it authorized the departure of some other embassy personnel. State also issued a new travel advisory for Ukraine: “Do Not Travel due to the increased threat of Russian military action.” Americans in Ukraine “should consider departing now.”

— Top Pentagon officials, per the NYT’s Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt, presented Biden with options to send “several thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe.”

The Times calls this a change in thinking by the president, arguing “the administration is now moving away from its do-not-provoke [Russia] strategy.”

The White House views the Times piece as a little overwrought, noting that last week at his press conference Biden said, “We’re going to actually increase troop presence in Poland, in Romania, etc., if in fact he moves.”

A senior White House official told Playbook: “The president has publicly said that he’d deploy troops to Eastern Europe if the Russians invade so I don’t really get how the NYT story advances that?”

Still, the details of Biden’s Ukraine briefing, delivered Saturday via video while he was at Camp David, are striking.

Officials, including Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN and Gen. MARK MILLEY, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “presented Mr. Biden with several options that would shift American military assets much closer to Mr. Putin’s doorstep … The options include sending 1,000 to 5,000 troops to Eastern European countries, with the potential to increase that number tenfold if things deteriorate … Mr. Biden is expected to make a decision as early as this week.”

While the White House is officially downplaying the news, it also strikes us as the kind of leak that may be intended as a public warning to Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN.

NBC’s Courtney Kube adds: “Among the options presented for the U.S. military in advance of an invasion were bomber flights over the region, ship visits into the Black Sea, and moving troops and some equipment from other parts of Europe into Poland, Romania, and other countries neighboring Ukraine.”

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We reached out to EVELYN FARKAS, the Obama administration’s top Pentagon official for Russia and Ukraine. Farkas is part of an increasingly outspoken group of foreign policy experts who want Biden to do much more to deter the threat from Putin.

“We need to seize the initiative from Putin — we need to make those troop deployments discussed in the New York Times article, but we also need to do much more to help Ukraine,” she said. She outlined a series of other actions “that should be done immediately”:

— “Send some real air defense capability.” She said Biden could equip the Ukrainians with an Iron Dome defense system or Patriot missiles and/or “declare an international no-fly zone.”

— “Help them beef up maritime security.” Farkas recommended declaring “our own snap exercise” in the Black Sea/Mediterranean, because “we should not cede the seas to Russia and allow them to squeeze Ukraine’s access to their waters and international maritime areas.”

— “Throw Putin off his game.” She said Biden needs to increase the personal pain on Putin and should “release some information about his financial holdings, his corruption, and that of his cronies.”

— “Rally the international community.” She compared the situation to SADDAM HUSSEIN’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, which united most of the world in outrage, and said Biden should be building a coalition to confront Russia diplomatically the way GEORGE H.W. BUSH did, starting with “making a ruckus at the U.N.”

— “Start sharing intelligence.” The Biden administration is probably not telling the Ukrainians everything it knows in real time about Russian movements, and Farkas says that should change. She added, however, that “this one will have to be conducted with care because the Russians have their own intelligence operatives in Ukraine and can likely get access to whatever we give them.”

Alex Ward, who writes POLITICO’s National Security Daily newsletter, peeled himself away from the Bills-Chiefs game to chat with a senior Baltic official. He sent in a quick recap of their conversation:

The Baltic official asserted that nothing has been decided and that the U.S. still seems to be in the discussion phase. That said, Baltic nations have long pushed the U.S. to send more troops there, and throughout the crisis their governments have lobbied the U.S. to send a permanent armed presence.

Echoing Farkas, the senior Baltic official told Alex that the number of troops Biden might send matters less than the capabilities they bring.

For now, Ukrainian officials are celebrating the equipment that the U.S. previously agreed to send. “The second bird in Kyiv! More than 80 tons of weapons to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities from our friends in the USA!” tweeted Ukrainian Defense Minister OLEKSII REZNIKOV, who included pictures. “And this is not the end.”

Good Monday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.

JOIN US — Biden’s legislative agenda is stalled on Capitol Hill, and the Democratic Party faces a key moment of reckoning before election season. Can Democrats reset and resurrect Build Back Better, the party’s $1.75 trillion social spending package? And what’s next on voting issues? Join Rachael for a POLITICO Live interview with House Majority Leader STENY HOYER on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. They’ll talk Hill latest and also dig into Democrats’ prospects for the midterms. Register here to watch live

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BIDEN’S MONDAY:

— 10:30 a.m.: The president will arrive back at the White House.

— 11:30 a.m.: Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief.

— 5 p.m.: Biden will meet with members of the administration to work on lowering prices for working families.

VP KAMALA HARRIS’ MONDAY (all times Eastern):

— 10:05 a.m.: The VP and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will depart Los Angeles en route to Milwaukee, Wis.

— 2:20 p.m.: Harris will receive a tour of the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership/Building Industry Group Skilled Trades Employment Program building.

— 3 p.m.: Harris will deliver remarks on infrastructure with EPA Administrator MICHAEL REGAN.

— 5:15 p.m.: Harris and Emhoff will depart Milwaukee to return to D.C.

Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 1:30 p.m.

THE HOUSE and THE SENATE are out.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the big anti-vaccine march Sunday in front of the Lincoln Memorial. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

PLAYBOOK READS

CONGRESS

EMMER, RISING — Our Olivia Beavers delivers some good leadership intrigue: a profile on two-time NRCC Chair TOM EMMER, who is “the hottest political hand in the House,” she writes. She’s right. After falling just short of flipping the House last year when Democrats were projecting double-digit gains, the Minnesota Republican is going to be the man to watch if he delivers the House for the GOP this fall, as is expected.

Campaign committees are often launching pads for leadership bids, especially if the chair does well. And as Olivia notes, Emmer is not only projected to do well, he’s also one of the few Republicans who gets along with leadership, as well as conservatives and centrists.

Emmer told Olivia he’s focused on the election and not any leadership post. But others were happy to speculate for him. “[F]ellow Republicans believe he’s eyeing the whip position — which could be the House GOP’s first open leadership role in years if the midterms go as expected — or another role in leadership,” she writes.

More from the story: “The shuffle would go like this (despite Emmer’s disinterest in public drapes-measuring): House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY would become speaker in 2023, and [STEVE SCALISE] would ascend to majority leader, leaving a likely crowded race for majority whip.”

Folks should also keep their eyes on GOP Conference Chair ELISE STEFANIK (N.Y.), McCarthy ally and Financial Services ranker PATRICK MCHENRY (N.C.) and chief deputy whip DREW FERGUSON (Ga.). All three are also whip contenders.

ALL POLITICS

HEY, BIG (PRIMARY) SPENDER! — Senate primary candidates are doling out record-shattering amounts to clinch their party’s nominations. Our Natalie Allison pored through data from AdImpact, an ad tracking service, and has a story this morning highlighting some eye-popping trends:

— Candidates have spent $131 million on television ads so far, which is “more than double what was spent on Senate races at this point in 2020 or 2018.” It’s indicative of GOP primaries in swing states where multiple DONALD TRUMP-inspired primary candidates are running. And for the Dems, it’s a reminder of how close their margin is: Lose one seat, lose the majority.

— In Ohio, a pair of millionaire self-funders hoping to replace Sen. ROB PORTMAN have spent $10 million each: MATT DOLAN, a state senator and part owner of the Cleveland Guardians baseball team, and investment banker MIKE GIBBONS. Only seven candidates in the past decade have shelled out that amount of money this far out from a primary (Ohio’s is on May 3).

— In Pennsylvania, one strategist predicted the open GOP Senate primary will yield $110 million to $130 million in ad spending, “nearly as much as both parties combined spent on ads during the state’s entire 2016 Senate election,” Natalie writes. Celebrity doctor MEHMET OZ has spent $5.4 million in ads in less than two months, while former hedge executive DAVID MCCORMICK has dropped $3.7 million on TV.

THE NEW GOP — Governor’s mansions have been one of the last places in American politics where moderate Republicans in a non-Trumpy mold remained in recent years. But that could change soon, NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports, as some prominent leaders leave office and Trump looks to get more deeply involved in gubernatorial primaries. “Both sides claim Virginia’s recently elected Republican governor, GLENN YOUNGKIN, as one of their own and point to him as a model.”

THE WHITE HOUSE

BLACK DEMOCRATS DISILLUSIONED WITH BIDEN — The AP’s Meg Kinnard and Tom Foreman Jr., reporting from South Carolina, take the temperature of African American voters who rescued Biden from defeat in 2020. “Just 6 in 10 Black Americans said they approved of Biden in a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, down from about 9 in 10 who approved in polls conducted through the first six months of Biden’s presidency.

“‘I’m perplexed. At some points, I’m angry. I’m trying to see if there is anything redeeming,’ said GEORGE HART, 73, a professor and faculty adviser to the student chapter of the NAACP at Benedict College, a historically Black institution in Columbia. ‘I’m just so disillusioned, I don’t know what to say.’ Hart’s was not a universal view in interviews with Black voters in South Carolina last week, but it is a worrisome sign for a president whose approval ratings are near record lows.”

A message from The American Beverage Association: Our plastic bottles are made to be remade. Help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

SAY WHAT? — In a bizarro threat, former Speaker NEWT GINGRICH on Sunday said he thinks the Jan. 6 committee members are “going to face a real risk of going to jail” when Republicans retake Congress. Their crime? Apparently, doing oversight …? “This is what it looks like when the rule of law unravels,” Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) tweeted in response. Rolling Stone has more, noting that Gingrich is advising House GOP leadership.

We’re not sure exactly what Gingrich is referring to. Congress doesn’t have the power to jail people — unless Republicans plan to use the “inherent contempt” power, which hasn’t been used in about 100 years and is reserved for enforcing subpoenas. More likely Gingrich’s remark is aimed at intimidation. Either way, it shows how the committee is getting under the GOP’s skin.

COMMITTEE LATEST — Chair BENNIE THOMPSON (D-Miss.) said Sunday that former A.G. BILL BARR has spoken to the committee. More from CBS

HOW IT HAPPENED — WaPo’s Devlin Barrett and Spencer Hsu look at how the once-obscure Insurrection Act became a fulcrum of post-2020 election far-right fantasies of Trump declaring martial law to remain in office. Promoted by people like Oath Keepers founder STEWART RHODES, in whose legal case it features, the law helped inspire some Trump supporters to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. And the Insurrection Act chatter was aided by Trump’s own public flirtations with the law earlier in 2020 in the wake of racial justice protests, WaPo reports.

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN — Just a few days into the job, new GOP Virginia A.G. JASON MIYARES has fired TIM HEAPHY as counsel to the University of Virginia, per WaPo’s Justin Jouvenal and Lauren Lumpkin. Heaphy has been on leave to be the Jan. 6 committee’s lead investigator. Miyares’ office denied that connection was at all related to the firing, which was one of dozens. Democrats called foul.

THE PANDEMIC

FROM 30,000 FEET — NYT’s Michael Shear, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland have an exhaustive examination of Biden’s handling of the pandemic one year in. They write that the administration has gotten a lot of its coronavirus response right, but it’s faced three big challenges: 1) overreliance on vaccines and failure to prepare for variants; 2) not enough focus on testing; and 3) underestimation of the Republican rebellion against public health measures. In the end, 438,110 more people have died of Covid-19 since he took office.

WTOP: “Thousands march in D.C. against COVID-19 vaccine mandates”

AP: “New conservative target: Race as factor in COVID treatment”

MEDIAWATCH

THE LIBEL BELT — The federal trial in the libel suit SARAH PALIN brought against the NYT will finally kick off today with jury selection in New York City. “Some media advocates say the fact that the case is going to trial at all is a sign that almost a half-century of deference to the press in the courts is giving way to a more challenging legal landscape for journalists, media companies and their attorneys,” Josh Gerstein writes in a big preview of the trial. He adds that the Times perhaps has less to fear in terms of monetary damages than it does from the potential airing of dirty laundry around JAMES BENNET’s departure from the paper.

TRUMP CARDS

Rolling Stone: “Start the Steal: New MAGA Emails Reveal Plot to Hand Arizona to Trump”

PLAYBOOKERS

Howie Kurtz reported that Joe Biden offered to do interviews to defend Ron Klain, who’s taking heat over the president’s cascading problems.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Biden alum Kurt Bagley (national organizing director in 2020) is launching BFD Strategies (yes, that’s the name) with other Biden-Harris alums ahead of the midterms. The group will help “campaigns and other organizations in building both on-the-ground field programs and innovative digital organizing strategies.”

— Miranda Margowsky is joining the Financial Technology Association as VP of comms. She most recently was a VP at Precision Strategies, and is a Hill veteran.

TRANSITIONS — John Weber is now deputy director of speechwriting for Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He most recently was national press secretary and political media strategist at the AFL-CIO, and is a DNC and EMILY’s List alum. … Matt VanHyfte is now comms director for the House Small Business Republicans. He most recently was press secretary for Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), and is a Trump 2020 alum. … Lauren Baldwin is now a policy analyst for America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Values. She previously was a legislative correspondent for Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.).

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Christian Tom, deputy director of the White House Office of Digital Strategy, and Erika Tom, product manager for the U.S. Digital Service, welcomed Nathaniel Crawford Tom on Jan. 16. He came in at 5 lbs, 12 oz and 20 inches. Pics

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: POLITICO’s audio whiz Jenny Ament … Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.) and Jake Ellzey (R-Texas) … Eric Schultz … State Department’s Alex Wong … Elliott Abrams … former OMB Director and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan … Paige Terryberry … Dax Tejera … Courtney Rowe … CNBC’s Jacqui Corba … Annie Groer … The Fulcrum’s David Hawkings … Protocol’s Maria Harrigan … WSJ’s Byron Tau … Saharra Griffin of the Council of Economic Advisers … Natalie Krings … Protect Democracy’s Ian Bassin … Monica Popp of Marshall & Popp … Nathanson + Hauck’s Meg Hauck … former Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) … Roger Rafson of Gen Media Partners … TPG Capital’s Mark Fields … Bernie Merritt … Christina Kanmaz … Edelman’s Melanie Trottman … Shane Hand … WSJ’s Gerry Baker … Abigail Disney

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This week on “Sunday Morning” (January 23)

]

Host: Jane Pauley

WATCH THE FULL JANUARY 23 EPISODE!

COVER STORY: The billion-dollar question: Can you be TOO rich? | Watch Video

The richest one percent of Americans now owns 16 times the wealth of the bottom 50 percent. That disparity has brought to light questions about the need for billionaires – and their need for even more money. Correspondent Mark Whitaker talks with activist Abigail Disney and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy about whether acquiring a billion or more dollars is a valued goal; and with professor Ingrid Robeyns, who proposes the concept of “limitarianism” – determining a moral limit to how much wealth one can accumulate.

For more info:

HEADLINES: What are Putin’s intentions in Ukraine? | Watch Video

Nearly eight years after Russia invaded and took control of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, 100,000 Russian troops have recently built up along the border of Ukraine. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin talks with former U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder and retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges about what President Vladimir Putin hopes to gain with a possible invasion, and what the consequences may be – for the Kremlin, for Europe, for NATO, and for Washington.

For more info:

Members of the South End Rowing Club regularly swim in the waters of San Francisco Bay. CBS News

U.S.: Taking the plunge (Video)

Members of the South End Rowing Club test their bodies and minds by swimming in the murky and very cold waters of San Francisco Bay, braving currents, boats, sea life and hypothermia. Correspondent Luke Burbank, eager to prove his mettle, joined in.

For more info:

Actor James Hong in 2014. Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

MOVIES: James Hong: An actor’s guide to longevity | Watch Video

During his 92 years, James Hong has racked up more film and TV credits than nearly anyone. Even more impressive, the actor did so while confronting demeaning stereotypes in Hollywood. Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz talks with the constantly-working Hong about a career that began with entertaining U.S. troops during the Korean War, and extended to such treasured films as “Chinatown” and “Big Trouble in Little China.”

For more info:

PASSAGE: In memoriam (Video)

“Sunday Morning” remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week, including the rock singer and actor Meat Loaf (“Bat Out of Hell”).

Maria Sharapova’s Los Angeles home was featured in Architectural Digest, which described it as “discreetly ravishing.” Architectural Digest

MAGAZINES: Architectural Digest – A century of style | Watch Video

Bold-faced names like tennis star Maria Sharapova and rocker Lenny Kravitz have pulled back the curtain on their homes for Architectural Digest, the magazine that showcases the work of the very best design in the business. Correspondent Serena Altschul looks back at the first hundred years of Architectural Digest, and visits the Condé Nast archives, to see how the magazine that has celebrated style for a century continues to evoke home.

For more info:

HARTMAN: American youth to the rescue (Video)

In rural Sackets Harbor, N.Y., where COVID-19 affected the local volunteer ambulance service’s ability to respond to calls, local high school students took the required training and picked up the slack. Correspondent Steve Hartman talked to some of the teenagers who are stepping up to aid their community.

Correspondent Mo Rocca with actress Christine Baranski. CBS News

TELEVISION: The answered prayers of Christine Baranski | Watch Video

As a child she performed Broadway tunes to a statue of the Virgin Mary. And during her five-decade career in films, TV, and on stage, two-time Tony Award-winner Christine Baranski has played characters who are sophisticated, smart and savvy. Correspondent Mo Rocca sits down with Baranski, who stars in “The Good Fight” and the new HBO series, “The Gilded Age,” about her rich life on- and off-screen.

WEB EXTRA: “Break a leg”: Christine Baranski on starring in “Mame” post-surgery (YouTube Video)

In this web exclusive, Tony Award-winning actress Christine Baranski talks with correspondent Mo Rocca about how a knee injury didn’t get in the way of her starring in a Kennedy Center production of the musical “Mame.”

To watch a trailer for “The Gilded Age” click on the video player below:

For more info:

A view of the “Futures” exhibition at the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building in Washington, D.C. Ron Blunt Architectural Photography/Smithsonian

MUSEUMS: The Smithsonian looks toward the “Futures” (Video)

“Futures,” a new exhibit at the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building in Washington, D.C., features technology, art, and interactive displays that delve into the many forms that the future may take. Correspondent David Pogue pays a visit.

For more info:

“Futures” at the Arts and Industries Building (through July 6)

Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building

COMMENTARY: Terence Smith on his encounter with Sirhan Sirhan’s father | Watch Video

The foreign correspondent and former “Sunday Morning” journalist, author of the new memoir, “Four Wars, Five Presidents,” talks about discussing the murder of Senator Robert F. Kennedy with the father of Sirhan Sirhan.

For more info:

NATURE: British Virgin Islands (Extended Video)

We leave you this Sunday deep in the warm waters of the British Virgin Islands. Videographer: Nedra Gurry.

WEB EXCLUSIVE:

A scene from the documentary “Fire of Love” by Sara Dosa. Courtesy of Sundance Institute

MOVIES: Sundance Film Festival 2022: Opening highlights | Part 2

For the second year in a row, the Utah-based festival bows as a virtual event, with world premiere documentaries and narrative films streaming online. CBSNews.com’s David Morgan offers some of the first days’ highlights.

The Emmy Award-winning “CBS Sunday Morning” is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Executive producer is Rand Morrison.

DVR Alert! Find out when “Sunday Morning” airs in your city

“Sunday Morning” also streams on CBSN beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Full episodes of “Sunday Morning” are now available to watch on demand on CBSNews.com, CBS.com and Paramount+, including via Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon FireTV/FireTV stick and Xbox.

You can also download the free “Sunday Morning” audio podcast at iTunes and at Play.it. Now you’ll never miss the trumpet!

City reels from death of NYPD officer

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City reels from death of NYPD officer Presented by Healthcare Education Project

Mayor Eric Adams will roll out plans to combat gun violence this week, after the shooting death of an NYPD officer brought to a head long-simmering concerns about rising violent crime in the city.

Two police officers were shot, one fatally, while responding to a domestic dispute call in Harlem Friday night. The second officer remains in critical condition. The slain officer was a 22-year-old rookie remembered for a desire to improve police-community relations. Five cops have now been shot in the first three weeks of the year.

“It is our city against the killers,” Adams said at Harlem Hospital, where the two officers were treated. “This was an attack on the city of New York.”

For the new mayor, the murder increases the urgency of delivering on his central campaign promise of restoring public safety in the city. It follows other high-profile crimes like the murder of a woman shoved in front of a subway train in a random attack.

While promising a more detailed blueprint soon, Adams is also turning to the federal government to call for a crackdown on illegal guns flowing into the city. ”We need help,” he said Sunday on CNN. “We have to stop the flow of guns. We are removing thousands of guns off our streets and it appears as though for every gun we remove from the street, five are coming in. That is unacceptable.” As for steps the city can take on its own, he said he’ll “immediately” move to restore the NYPD’s plainclothes anti-crime unit, the controversial division he promised during the campaign to bring back in a modified form to target guns.

IT’S MONDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know … By email: [email protected] and [email protected], or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold

WHERE’S KATHY? Touring the NanoTech complex in Albany with Sen. Chuck Schumer.

WHERE’S ERIC? Giving remarks on gun violence, meeting with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway, and attending a reception with the 2025 Invictus Games Host Committee.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “And I think that to me it was concerning because why would you ever step away if you were innocent?” — former Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy on Andrew Cuomo’s resignation via Spectrum News

A message from Healthcare Education Project: 7 million New Yorkers rely on Medicaid for healthcare. With the Medicaid population growing and COVID persisting, resources for hospitals who care for our most vulnerable can be a life or death issue. Right now, many hospitals are at capacity, maternity services are strained, and access to care is threatened in vulnerable communities. Enough is enough: Every New Yorker deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare. Please join the movement to support our hospitals and frontline healthcare workers. Learn more.

What City Hall’s reading

City’s supervised injection sites reverse over 100 overdoses, by POLITICO’s Erin Durkin: New York City’s two supervised drug injection sites have reversed more than 100 overdoses since they opened their doors less than two months ago. The nation’s first officially authorized injection sites began operating at the end of November, one in East Harlem and one in Washington Heights. They allow clients to openly use drugs under the supervision of trained staff, hoping to combat an overdose crisis that killed more than 2,000 people in the city in 2020. They have reversed 114 overdoses, according to data from the program first reviewed by POLITICO. “The need is greater than anyone even expected,” said Sam Rivera, executive director of OnPoint NYC, which runs the facilities. The city Health Department initially estimated that injection sites, also known as overdose prevention centers, could save up to 130 lives a year.

PAC with ties to Adams raises over a $1M from real estate, nightlife and GOP figures, by POLITICO’s Joe Anuta and Sally Goldenberg: A political action committee tied to Mayor Eric Adams — and run by a friend of his with business interests before the city — raised over $1 million from pro-Trump real estate players, a New Jersey nightclub owner eyeing expansion into New York, and a tech giant who got a meeting with the mayor a day after giving $50,000 to the group. The PAC, Striving for a Better New York, was created last September by New York City-based Rev. Alfred Cockfield II with the hopes of boosting moderate candidates in upcoming state elections. In its first public disclosure, the organization showed strong support from business owners — as well as Republican boosters — according to a filing published by the state Board of Elections on Tuesday. The donations were collected over the past 3.5 months.

“A Grim January Leaves Some New Yorkers Fearful for the City’s Future,” by The New York Times’ Michael Wilson, Chelsia Rose Marcius and Nate Schweber: “The march of terrible news has felt dizzying, leaving many to question the very soundness of the city beneath their feet — their home, a place that, for many, has felt unfamiliar of late. In dozens of interviews around the city this weekend, New Yorkers young and old, lifers and newcomers, described a new and deep unease at what looks like an erosion of social norms and the sense of security that they remember before the pandemic.”

WHAT ALBANY’S READING

New Jersey leads the nation in online sports betting. Here comes New York, by POLITICO’s Joseph Spector: New York gamblers in recent years have flocked to New Jersey to bet on sports, helping make the state the biggest athletic wagering destination in the nation. Some simply made the trip across the George Washington Bridge to click their phones, place their online bets and head home. Those days could be over. Two weeks ago, the border battle heated up: New York entered the online sports betting market, making it the largest state in the nation to allow for sports betting and ramping up the competition as more and more states fight for their share of an industry long confined to Nevada. New York has surpassed early predictions as sports gambling giants like FanDuel, DraftKings and Caesars lured in new customers through massive incentives and free bets ahead of the start of the NFL playoffs.

“Localities see ’near seismic’ shift in Hochul’s first state budget plan,” by Buffalo News’ Tom Precious: “The jump in overall spending in the Hochul plan includes much money that will benefit localities, including more funding for road and bridge repairs; includes a $1 billion multi-year program aimed specifically at fixing potholes; includes new environmental spending that will result in new infrastructure work locally and expands improvement works projects in more communities; boosts state aid for strained local public health agencies; and adds money to lure more doctors to underserved areas. The reaction by local governments in the days after the Hochul budget was released was unusual, particularly given the ongoing tussles – and, they said, lack of respect – shown by Cuomo toward the units of government that are down the food chain from Albany but still are responsible for so many direct public services.”

— Child and family advocates say Hochul’s child care and after-school funding falls short of what’s needed to invigorate the industry.

Move over, Rockefeller: DiNapoli climbs longevity mark as statewide NY official, by POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney: Monday will be Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s 5,466th day in office. For those not keeping score at home, that stretch of 14 years, 11 months, two weeks, and three days since he became comptroller on Feb. 7, 2007, means he’ll have been in office for as long as Nelson Rockefeller was governor from 1959 through 1973. On Tuesday, DiNapoli will have the fifth-longest tenure of anybody in New York’s history who has held the top executive branch posts of governor, attorney general or comptroller. And he’ll soon move up to fourth on that list, as he’s due to pass former Attorney General Robert Abrams on Feb. 8.

#UpstateAmerica: ‘Cathedrals of the modern age’? Buffalo preservationists are pushing back on Great Northern’s intent to decimate its grain elevator.

PLAYBOOK SPECIAL: Buffalo News’ Albany bureau chief Tom Precious left daily journalism Friday. On his final day, he agreed to share some secrets he’s learned after 25 years of covering state government for the paper. This exchange has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What’s something everyone in Albany should know about how Albany works?

A: One, that it’s hard to appreciate the impact Albany has on the everyday lives of so many residents until you read the bills, take calls from readers, listen to debates, hear the stories of people coming to the Capitol seeking help from government, and see what companies and special interests pay to advance or stop change.

And: that there are some remarkably intelligent people in that building; that treating people with respect — no matter how hard you might hammer them in a story — pays dividends; that actually reading bills is kinda cool; and that spending time looking at the historical records — and yes, microfiche filings of things like ‘bill jackets’ when those things were taken seriously by governors — give insights beyond imagine to understanding Albany today.

Q: What is the first thing that comes to mind when I say “strangest thing you ever saw in the state Capitol”?

A: Just one? … Had a lawmaker, who sources said had left the Capitol during session to go back to Buffalo for a fundraiser, tell me he drove the nearly 800 miles roundtrip before dashing back to Albany because he needed to get some clean dress shirts from home; saw a hired clown chasing down embattled Pedro Espada with him yelling, “Get that clown away from me”; told by an elevator operator that it took longer to repair a Capitol elevator than it did to build the Empire State Building; witnessed young school kids during an otherwise staged event call Eliot Spitzer “a clown” and “Chuck E. Cheese”; and, after a long election night of coverage in Manhattan and fed up dealing with political types for the day, I went to a bar to meet my friend/competitor, Mike Gormley, for a drink. Walked in and he was already seated with Roger Stone, Steve Pigeon, the “Manhattan Madam” and Randy Credico. I think I lasted one beer.

Do you have a favorite story (or a favorite few stories) that you’ve covered? Why?

A: Not a favorite, but perhaps most important: The work I did with a colleague, Jerry Zremski, after the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 outside Buffalo in 2009. Spent months investigating commercial airline pilot training matters, talking with federal crash investigators, pilots, aviation schools, and going up with a pilot in an acrobatic plane to learn about “stick and rudder” skills. Feds changed pilot training rules after our series.

Q: In the New York political world, where movement often seems painfully gradual, can you point to clear changes you’ve seen over the course of multiple years?

A: People are less patient, the attacks are more personal and vehement, and social media has upended things, for the better and worse. Folks talk of the days long ago when lawmakers would do battle during the day and be friends once leaving the building. No more in many cases.

For all the transparency talk and more things posted to agency websites, the Capitol in some basic ways has retreated. Once a reporter had to know, or should have known, every agency commissioner and deputy commissioner because they would talk to reporters. That’s been gone for some time. Pataki, who was no open government award winner, permitted his frontline budget office examiners to talk to reporters on background for a day or two after he unveiled his state budget; we’d get some spin, but mostly the answers to very specific questions about complex subject areas. In the days of Mario Cuomo, legislative leaders would come out of secret budget talks and reveal details of what they talked about and openly complain about whatever took place behind closed doors. Last Tuesday, when Hochul presented her budget, I asked her fiscal office about one single line item. By Friday afternoon, when I left daily journalism, still no answer. [NOTE: Precious did get an answer at 9:32 p.m. Friday evening, though he had officially left the job by then.]

Q: Ideally what will you be doing on March 31 this year, if not for reading a Big Ugly?

A: With much fortune, my beautiful wife and I will be getting ready to go see our first grandchild, who is due in April, as our beautiful daughter, who lives too far away in the LA area, becomes a mother. And, stop off to see my beautiful son, who lives too far away in Denver. If I’m traveling on March 31, maybe I’ll call up the Big Ugly to see what goodies are jammed into it. Or not.

A message from Healthcare Education Project:

TRUMP’S NEW YORK

“Ex-Giuliani Associate Igor Fruman Sentenced After Guilty Plea in Foreign Donations Case,” by New York Law Journal’s Jane Wester: “Igor Fruman, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani who pleaded guilty in September to soliciting political donations from a foreign national, was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan on Friday to one year and one day in prison. Fruman, 55, was accused of working with another ex-Giuliani associate, Lev Parnas, to solicit political donations in exchange for retail medical marijuana licenses in New York, Nevada and other states. He pleaded guilty weeks before he and Parnas were set to stand trial together in Manhattan, where jurors found Parnas guilty of his role in the scheme in October.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

“Delivery Workers Cheer Restroom Access and Tip Transparency Alongside AOC and Chuck Schumer,” by The City’s Claudia Irizarry Aponte: “Starting Monday, New York City’s app-based food delivery workers are entitled to increased clarity on their daily earnings and tips, and the right to use most restaurant bathrooms, as new laws begin their rollout. The rules emerged from a slate of landmark bills approved by the City Council last September, sparked by THE CITY’s reporting and the demands of Los Deliveristas Unidos, a labor group representing thousands of delivery workers. The Deliveristas celebrated the new protections Sunday afternoon with a rally in Times Square, flanked by allies including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-The Bronx/Queens) and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has advocated for federal funds to create rest stops for the workers and other supports.”

“Congressman Jamaal Bowman vows to get arrested ‘again and again’ over voting rights,” by Journal News’ David Propper and Eduardo Cuevas: “Congressman Jamaal Bowman vowed Friday to get arrested ‘again and again’ in support of voting rights after U.S. Capitol Police took him into custody during a protest Thursday. Outside the Capitol, police arrested Bowman along with nearly 30 other people who were demanding the U.S. Senate pass a sweeping voting rights bill that the House already passed. ‘I will do it again and again and again,’ Bowman said in a statement. ‘I will keep doing everything in my power to bring attention to the crisis we are in and ensure our democracy functions in a manner that represents the people.’”

AROUND NEW YORK

— The state’s positive Covid-19 test rate stayed below 10 percent for two consecutive days.

— FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro will retire in February.

— Mayor Eric Adams took some losses when the Bitcoin market crashed after he took his first paycheck in crypto.

— Seven top officials have left the Department of Education since new schools Chancellor David Banks took over and others have been demoted.

— New York has the lowest rate of people leaving their jobs amid the Great Resignation, according to a new study.

— The number of wild turkeys roaming Staten Island has increased since the start of the pandemic. Nobody knows why.

— “For Albany drag queens, it’s duct tape, glue sticks and glory”

— Dogs are now allowed on Governors Island.

— Hate-crime complaints skyrocketed by nearly 100 percent in New York City last year.

— A group of anti-vaxxers were arrested after refusing to leave the American Museum of Natural History.

— The W subway line, the last line suspended due to Covid-driven staff shortages, resumes service today.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: former OMB Director and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan … Dax Tejera of ABC News … WSJ’s Byron Tau … Saharra Griffin of the Council of Economic Advisers … CNBC’s Jacqui Corba … TPG Capital’s Mark Fields … Edelman’s Melanie Trottman … Marion Kaplan … Elliott Abrams … WSJ’s Gerry Baker … Abigail Disney … Rick Leventhal … James Amen … Andrew Green …

… (was Sunday): Norah O’Donnell … John Heilemann … Patrick Reis … CNN’s Aaron Pellish … Edelman’s Daniel Workman … Eric Koch of Downfield … (was Saturday): POLITICO’s Zach Warmbrodt and Jesse Shapiro … CNN’s Sarah Jorgensen … Skadden’s Ken Gross … Francie Harris of the Department of Commerce … Gideon Taylor … Brianna Ehley of Finsbury Glover Hering … Kevin Bohn … Kendra Barkoff Lamy of SKDKnickerbocker

MAKING MOVES: Matt Fernández Konigsberg is now general counsel at Community Security Service after roles in risk and compliance at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and as special counsel in the Andrew Cuomo administration.

A message from Healthcare Education Project: For more than a decade, the State hasn’t increased Medicaid funding for hospitals that care for the most vulnerable New Yorkers. And now, with the Medicaid population growing and hospitals severely strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals are stretched too thin – jeopardizing access to healthcare for New Yorkers, including maternity care. Enough is enough: Tell Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature to take action and increase Medicaid funding for New York’s hospitals who serve as a “safety net” for our most vulnerable patients and provide access to the quality care they need and deserve, including through the COVID pandemic. Our frontline workers who care for New York’s most vulnerable depend on it. Learn more.

Real Estate

“One Week After Eviction Moratorium Ends, Thousands Of At-Risk Tenants Seek Assistance,” by Gothamist’s Chau Lam: “A week after a pandemic-era moratorium on evictions ended, thousands of low-income New Yorkers behind on rent sought help from an emergency rent relief program, illustrating that many more households are at risk of losing their homes. The state agency tasked with administering the financial relief, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), received roughly 2,000 applications in the first four days after the statewide moratorium ended on January 15th, according to its spokesperson, Anthony Farmer.”

“Real Estate Optimistic About New York’s 421a Tax Changes,” by Commercial Observer’s Celia Young: “What’s in a number? Well for 421a — the controversial tax incentive for residential development in New York City — it could be the fate of the city’s housing stock. Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined her tweaks to the program on Wednesday. They would still allow developers to pay as little as no property tax for up to 35 years on residential developments that incorporate some affordable housing. The new program, dubbed ‘Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers,’ would create a new tax code, 485w, slightly increasing affordability levels while decreasing the percentage of affordable units required in a development.”

Anna Gronewold @annagronewold