Brief: Time-change Bill, Bat Mitzvah turns 100, Amazon buys MGM

Short talking points:

On Tuesday, with no real debate, the Senate unanimously agreed to legislation that would make day light saving time the permanent setting for US clocks, ending the ritual of changing clocks in the fall and late winter. The proposal was put forward by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla). The bill now goes to the House for a vote. It’s funny because day light saving time just came into effect on Sunday, and on Tuesday the Senate passed the bill to make it permanent. Interesting timing 🙂
The bat mitzvah turns 100 tomorrow in the US.
- Since about the 14th century, boys have had bar mitzvah services, but bat mitzvah for girls wasn’t celebrated until the early 20th century. The first American bat mitzvah didn’t happen until March 18, 1922.
- The terms bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah refer to the coming-of-age ritual in Judaism; “bar” is used for a boy, while “bat” is used for a girl.
- They are celebrated when a child reaches the age of 12 or 13. This ceremony marks the time when a boy or girl becomes a Jewish adult. After the ceremony, they become responsible for their own actions and can choose for themselves how they want to practice Judaism.

Long talking point:

Amazon purchases MGM for $8.45 billion.
- MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) is the entertainment giant behind James Bond, Rocky, the Addams Family, The Haidmaid’s Tale, and a host of other icon shows and movies. This should bolster Amazon’s existing Prime Video library.
- MGM films is different from MGM resorts and gambling (which includes the new BetMGM website and mobile apps for sports betting), although they started under the same company. MGM originally started off as just an entertainment company, but diversified its products in 1970, creating MGM Resorts International, a Las Vegas based hotel and casino with resorts in a handful of cities in the US and internationally, which it subsequently divested in the 1980s. So MGM separated into two different companies, MGM entertainment and MGM casino and resorts, but they both kept the same name.