1. TOYOTA TO DEPLOY ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET AND ROBOTS AT TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS: Toyota, the world mobility partner of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, will deploy a fleet of 3,700 vehicles for the event. Many of the vehicles haven’t been released to the public and 90 percent are electric. The automaker will also deploy other electronic transport devices and robots that will help attendees at venues. Fast Company: “The vast majority, or roughly 2,700 of them, will be existing commercial products, like the hydrogen cell-powered Toyota Mirai. They’ll shuttle people between the Olympic venues. More interesting are the vehicles that Toyota is designing or adapting just for the 2020 Games. That includes a new vehicle the company created for the event called an ‘APM,’ or Accessible People Mover. Toyota will build 200 of these open-walled, battery-powered buses for people with limited mobility within areas like the Olympic Stadium.”
2. ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR BOOKS $30,000 HOLIDAY PARTY AT TRUMP HOTEL: Attorney General William Barr has booked President Trump’s Washington hotel for a 200-person holiday party in December, expected to bring in $30,000 for the business. The event, which will be held in the hotel’s ballroom on December 8, has raised ethics concerns and questions about Barr’s independence from the president. Washington Post: “Barr is paying for the event himself and chose the venue only after other hotels, including the Willard and the Mayflower, were booked, according to a Justice Department official. The official said the purpose of Barr’s party wasn’t to curry favor with the president. Barr holds the bash annually, and it combines holiday festivities and a ceilidh, a party featuring Irish or Scottish music.”
3. V.M.A. RATINGS ACHIEVE SAME 2018 LOW WITH UPTICK IN SOCIAL VIEWERS: The MTV Video Music Awards on Monday drew 2.7 million viewers, the same all time low it hit in 2018, according to Nielsen. Viewing in the 25-54 demo was up six percent. The 36th annual ceremony also saw an uptick in social and digital viewing. Deadline: “The Jersey outing registered a 129 percent increase in social engagement heading into the show, according to Conviva Social Insights and data from Facebook and YouTube. During the three-hour show, social and online video views rose 85 percent to 269 million, the most of any Viacom awards show.”