Business
As WNBA labor deadline nears, players union is ‘frustrated’ by lack of progress
The WNBA Players Association executive director told CNBC she remains “frustrated” by the lack of progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement as the league’s new deadline to reach a deal approaches.
“We’re a little frustrated with where we are right now, but we are holding to our principles,” Terri Jackson, executive director of the WNBPA, told CNBC Sport in an interview. “We’re staying open to the fact that these negotiations will continue, because they must. We’ll be at the table for as long as they take, and we’re hopeful that there’s enough folks on the team side of things that will start to push these things along.”
Jackson told CNBC Sport she continues to negotiate with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, her counterpart in the talks, on a new labor deal for the league. The CBA, or labor contract, between the WNBA and its players expired on Oct. 31, but the deadline to strike a new agreement was extended to Jan. 9 when the sides failed to reach a deal.
WNBA players are looking for significant pay increases to get a bigger cut of the league’s revenue growth. The WNBA signed a media rights deal last year that amounted to a sixfold increase in revenue. The league and its players have been actively negotiating for months over issues related to salaries, benefits, working conditions and revenue sharing.
Jackson declined to mention specifics about where the negotiations have stalled, citing her nondisclosure agreement, but added, “Everything seems to still be a sticking point.”
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces drives to the basket against the Phoenix Mercury during Game 4 of the 2025 WNBA Finals at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Oct. 10, 2025.
Mike Lawrence | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
The WNBA’s latest proposal to the union includes increasing the maximum salary to $1 million per season, with revenue sharing that could push that number to more than $1.2 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. The current supermax contract is just under $250,000 a year.
The new proposal would also increase the average annual salary to more than $500,000, with the league minimum projected to be over $225,000, said the person. Currently, the league minimum is just over $66,000.
As part of the proposed revenue sharing agreement, players would see pay increases built in each year. The terms of the revenue sharing have been a point of contention in the talks. The WNBPA recently proposed that players receive 30% of total league and team revenue, or more than double what the league proposed, The Athletic reported.
Jackson, who is spearheading negotiations on behalf of the players, said that despite the frustrations, the union remains hopeful that it can get a deal done before the imposed deadline.
“It’s hard for us to understand why we are so far apart on the things that we should be closer to that should be so easy, but it seems as though at times, the league and the team come into the negotiating room with a mentality that pay equity is optional, and pay equity is not optional,” Jackson said.
Jackson emphasized that she’s working hard to get a deal done by Jan. 9.
“Will there be another extension? There shouldn’t be another extension,” she said. “There doesn’t need to be another extension. We understand their position and point of view. They understand our position and point of view.”
As the WNBA enjoys record growth in television ratings, attendance and sponsorship, the one thing that could stall that momentum would be a work stoppage if the sides cannot come to terms, Jackson said. Several WNBA stars have already expressed their desire to avoid any missed games. The WNBA season begins in May 2026.
Engelbert said in October that the league wants to avoid a lockout.
“Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Nneka Ogwumike and Napheesa Collier … have all said that and that a work stoppage would be catastrophic,” Jackson said. “Nobody wants to see that happen.”
NEW DELHI: The new nuclear energy bill, which was passed in Rajya Sabha by voice vote after a four-hour discussion while rejecting many amendments moved by opposition to send it to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny, marks a decisive shift in India’s nuclear governance, embedding safety oversight in law across the lifecycle of an atomic plant, unlike the existing framework that relied largely on executive discretion and post-accident accountability.Sustainable Harnessing of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill will allow private participation in India’s tightly controlled civil nuclear sector as the country seeks to meet its clean energy goals by 2047. As opposition raised safety and liability concerns, officials said it establishes a statutory safety regime that ensures continuous compliance rather than reliance on one-time permissions. It seeks to provide for a “pragmatic civil liability regime for nuclear damage and confer statutory status to Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)”.Officials said unlike the previous law – in which nuclear safety oversight was shaped largely by broad executive authority and administrative rules – SHANTI fundamentally recasts the framework by shifting to a “statutory, lifecycle-based regulatory regime”. Govt manages radiation risks and radioactive waste, but does not mandate separate safety authorisations or legally bind safety obligations to each phase of a nuclear plant’s life. AERB’s stage-wise consent process for construction, commissioning and operation existed only as an administrative practice. Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010 further reinforced a post-accident approach by focusing on compensation and insurance rather than prevention.“These laws (Atomic Energy Act and CLND Act) treated safety primarily as a post-damage responsibility, rather than a proactive governance requirement,” said an official. SHANTI separates “permission to operate” from “permission to operate safely”, requiring both a licence and an independent safety authorisation. Any activity involving radiation exposure risk – including construction, operation, transport, storage, decommissioning, or waste management – will now require explicit safety approval.It also consolidates regulation, enforcement, civil liability and dispute resolution within a single statute, reducing legal complexity and compliance uncertainty. “It grants a clear statutory authority to AERB to inspect facilities, investigate incidents, issue binding directions, and suspend or cancel operations that do not meet safety standards. Regulatory action is no longer dependent on executive discretion. Accident prevention is significantly enhanced by legally recognising serious risk situations as nuclear incidents, even without actual damage,” said the official. Core functions such as fuel enrichment, spent-fuel reprocessing, and heavy water production will remain exclusively under Centre’s control.Anujesh Dwivedi, partner at Deloitte India, said continuing with the existing legal framework would make it difficult for nuclear energy to replace thermal power in the long run. “Over decades, India added only about 8GW of nuclear capacity. Scaling this up to 100GW by 2047- and potentially 300GW or more by 2070 – required major reforms, which these regulations seek to address,” he said.Meanwhile, PM Modi said passing of the bill marks a “transformational moment for our technology landscape”.
American Airlines
Grant Baldwin | Getty Images
American Airlines customers flying on basic economy fares will no longer earn frequent flyer miles or points toward elite status, the carrier said this week.
“We routinely evaluate our fare products to remain competitive in the marketplace. Customers who purchase a Basic Economy ticket on December 17, 2025 and beyond will not earn AAdvantage miles or Loyalty Points towards AAdvantage status,” it said. “Basic Economy customers will continue to receive one free personal item and one free carry-on bag, free snacks, soft drinks and in-flight entertainment.”
Elite loyalty members will still be eligible for first-class upgrades on domestic flights if they’re on basic economy tickets, an American spokeswoman told CNBC.
Basic economy tickets are airlines’ cheapest but most restrictive fares, rolled out across the industry over the past decade. Generally, they do not allow customers to change their tickets without fees or pick their seats in advance.
The move comes as airlines across the board have been chasing customers who are willing to spend more to fly. American has fallen behind large rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the post-Covid luxury travel boom.
American’s change, posted earlier by X user JonNYC, follows a similar policy by competitor Delta Air Lines, which said travelers on its Delta Main Basic, or basic economy tickets, wouldn’t receive Delta SkyMiles.
United Airlines does allow its MileagePlus loyalty program members to earn miles on basic economy tickets, but it has a different limitation: Basic economy customers on most flights aren’t allowed to bring a carry-on bag.
American had the same restriction after it launched basic economy fares but backpedaled in 2018.
Southwest Airlines this year launched its first no-frills basic fares that stipulate those customers will board last and get a seat assignment at check-in and earn miles at a lower rate than more expensive fares.
Business
Space funding surge: India’s private space sector raises $150 million so far this fiscal, says INSPACe chief – The Times of India
India’s space industry has attracted $150 million in funding so far in the current financial year, marking the highest-ever fund mobilisation since the government opened up the sector to private participation in 2020, INSPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka said on Thursday, PTI reported.Speaking at the India Economic Forum in New Delhi, Goenka said the funding milestone had been reached earlier this week and total investments were expected to cross $200 million by the end of the financial year. “This year will see the highest funding ever for the space sector,” he said, adding that the expected inflows would be more than double what the sector raised in the previous fiscal.Goenka said investor interest in India’s space ecosystem had picked up sharply, driven by policy reforms and expanding commercial opportunities. He added that INSPACe, which acts as both promoter and regulator for private participation in the space sector, was working to sensitise investors about emerging opportunities across launch services, satellites and downstream applications.The INSPACe chairman said India’s space economy was currently valued at around $8 billion and was projected to grow to $44 billion by 2033.He noted that much of the demand for space start-ups was coming from government departments, which had earlier relied largely on ISRO for technological solutions. Goenka added that the private sector would need to play a larger role in developing space technologies for government use.He also said private companies should increasingly look at space start-ups for technology solutions relevant to their own business needs.
SHANTI shields N-plants from safety oversight: Experts – The Times of India
American Airlines no longer lets basic economy flyers earn miles
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