KKR Completes Purchase Of Simon & Schuster (mediapost.com)

Time has debuted “Time CO2 Futures,” a program of news reporting in response to global warming, wildfires and extreme weather events. It was launched in partnership with Time’s climate action platform, Time CO2. "Time CO2 Futures" will feature reporting on how a variety of business sectors approach sustainability, including: fashion, apparel, and beauty; mobility and manufacturing; healthcare and diagnostics; food and farming.

Sam’s Club announced significant progress in its rollout of technology that resolves a key member concern – waiting in line for receipt verification to exit the club. The retailer’s first-of-its-kind application of artificial intelligence and computer vision technology has been successfully deployed in more than 120 clubs since first unveiling it at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. Sam’s Club’s rapid deployment of its exit technology represents the largest-scale implementation of member-facing AI-powered technology in the retail industry. The retailer’s announcement of reaching the milestone of deploying at 20% of its clubs in the first quarter comes as other retailers have struggled to deploy similar technology at scale, with some abandoning efforts, just starting initial pilots or having no plans to enhance customer experiences through checkout and store exit technologies.

Affordable access programs are an innovative collaboration between private sector publishers, provisioning providers, and higher education institutions. The Association of American Publishers commissioned the independent analysis from Tyton Partners to provide insight into the programs, which have now been available for almost 10 years. Tyton Partners is responsible for all findings and undertook all aspects of the research, including interviews and statistical analyses, according to the firm’s rigorous, independent standards. Distributors Barnes & Noble College, Follett, RedShelf, and VitalSource contributed anonymized course materials pricing data directly to Tyton Partners. The report, which presents data from 1,088 colleges and universities in the United States, is the first in-depth analysis of affordable access programs in practice since their inception nearly a decade ago. The findings confirm that course materials are more affordable than they were a decade ago, making them a remarkable exception to the rising cost of higher education overall. “We are proud of the extraordinary commitment of private sector publishers to deliver high-quality course materials at reduced costs, a reflection of their expertise and innovations in the education-technology space,” commented Maria A. Pallante, President and CEO, Association of American Publishers. “The result is that students can access materials without delay on virtually every subject area assigned by their professors and are all the more prepared to meet a changing, global workforce that will need their knowledge and skills.”