Several ticketing companies, including the parent company of Ticketmaster, have pledged to provide upfront, “all-in” pricing for customers.
Representatives for Live Nation and fellow ticketing companies SeatGeek and xBk were at the White House on Thursday as President Biden announced the pledges. San Francisco-based Airbnb, which rolled out its own total-price tool late last year after the administration announced it would crack down on hidden fees, was also represented at the White House. “One of the major categories of junk fees are ones that companies charge right at the end of the purchasing process,” Biden said, “after you’ve already spent the time comparing your options.” “The solution is what is called ‘all-in pricing’ and that’s where companies fully disclose their fees, up front when you start shopping so you’re not surprised at the end, when you check out,” he added.
Live Nation announced it will roll out all-in pricing in September, while advocating for federal all-in pricing legislation and other ticketing reforms. Biden highlighted his opposition to so-called junk fees in his State of the Union address earlier this year.
The development also comes after controversy surrounding Ticketmaster’s outages in November and a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about Live Nation and industry competition in January. The Hill’s Alex Gangitano has more on the pledges here. |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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The Hill’s Al Weaver reports on concerns among Senate Republicans about the House GOP’s approach to 2024 appropriations bills.
Nusrat Jahan Choudhury became the first Muslim woman and the first Bangladeshi-American on the federal bench Thursday when the Senate confirmed her 50-49. She’ll serve as a judge for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.
President Biden will host a screening of the Eva Longoria-directed film “Flamin’ Hot” at 7:45 ET tonight. The movie is about Frito-Lay janitor Richard Montañez, who claims he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
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© AP Photo/Seth Wenig/Phelan M. Ebenhack |
Senate panel, DOJ launch probes into PGA-LIV merger
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Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and the Department of Justice are both launching investigations into the planned PGA Tour–LIV Golf merger.
Wyden, in a letter to PGA leadership requesting information on the merger, said the “PGA Tour’s involvement with PIF [Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund] raises significant questions about whether organizations that tie themselves to an authoritarian regime that has continually undermined the rule of law should continue to enjoy tax-exempt status in the United States.”
A separate Senate panel requested information on the merger earlier this week. (Read more on the latest request here)
The Justice Department is also investigating the planned merger, The Wall Street Journal reported. |
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Unlikely allies team up for, against journalism antitrust bill
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The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act on Thursday, with four Republicans joining all but one Democrat in the 13-7 vote. The bill “aims to let news outlets collectively negotiate with dominant tech platforms to be compensated for distributing their content,” The Hill’s Rebecca Klar wrote, with a focus on helping local news outlets.
- Opponents’ concerns include that the bill could lead to more disinformation online.
- The bill advanced last session as well, but didn’t come up for a full Senate vote.
Click here for more information on the bill and the unlikely alliances involved |
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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez enters 2024 GOP race
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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez formally announced his long-shot bid for the GOP presidential nomination on Thursday, touting his leadership of the city in a video.
“America’s so-called leaders confuse being loud with actually leading,” he said, after filing paperwork to run on Wednesday.
Suarez is the third Floridian to jump into the race, with the other two being heavy favorites for the nomination: former President Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The super PAC SOS America has launched a six-figure digital ad buy in early primary states in an effort to help boost Suarez’s name ID.
The Hill’s Julia Manchester noted that Suarez is “the first Hispanic candidate to jump into the GOP field this cycle, representing a critical constituency for the party.”
Read more here. |
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Vanguard: Average 401(k) down 20 percent from 2021 to 2022
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The average account balance in Vanguard‘s retirement contribution plans dropped by 20 percent — nearly $30,000 — from 2021 to 2022, according to a new report from the company. |
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Cancer diagnoses rising among young people
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In a story published today, The Hill’s Annika Neklason delves into the rising rates of cancer diagnoses among young people in the U.S., researchers’ uncertainty about the causes and several factors they think might contribute.
From the report:
“In the U.S., the rate of early-onset cases rose by almost 18 percent between 2000 and 2019, even as cancer declined slightly in older adults, according to data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Among Americans between 15 and 39 years old, an age group cancer researchers refer to as adolescents and young adults (AYAs), the surge was more pronounced still, topping 20 percent.” Read the full story here.
Catch up on previous installments from The Hill’s cancer series this week: |
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Trump indictment is complicated terrain for Biden |
“President Biden is facing an unprecedented task with no easy solution,” write The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels.
While “dealing with the federal indictment of former President Trump,” Biden also is “fighting off unsubstantiated claims by the right that [the president] is involved in his political opponent’s prosecution.”
Read their full report here |
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“Why Mitch McConnell won’t speak out on Trump’s indictment” — Dennis Aftergut, a former federal prosecutor and civil litigator, currently of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy. (Read here) “Congress must act before Biden strikes a new Iran deal behind its back” — Eric Mandel, director of the Middle East Political Information Network and Senior Security Editor for the Jerusalem Report. (Read here) |
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509 days until the presidential election. |
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President Biden will be in Connecticut, delivering remarks at the National Safer Communities Summit in West Hartford and participating in a campaign reception in Greenwich. |
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