Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will emphasize the company's entrepreneurial focus, job creation, and benefits to third-party sellers during today's antitrust hearing. Bezos joins the CEOs of Apple, Facebook, and Google to testify by videoconference before the House antitrust subcommittee. The hearing, which started at noon ET, will delve into each companies' market power and competitive practices, which could determine if current antitrust laws go far enough to protect rivals and consumers.

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• The main allegation against Amazon is that it uses data from its third-party sellers to identify best-selling products and produce their own similar products.
• Bezos plans to tell Congress members that Amazon still faces competition despite its size, which he acknowledges is large, according to prepared testimony that was made public. "Just like the world needs small companies, it also needs large ones," he plans to say.
• The CEO plans to tout Amazon as a classic American company that employs a million people and focuses obsessively on customers. He will mention that 1.7 million small and medium-sized businesses sell on Amazon's stores worldwide. Amazon has invested more than $270b in the U.S. over the last 10 years, he plans to say.
• Bezos will begin the remarks focused on his mom Jackie, who gave birth as a 17-year-old high schooler in Albuquerque. He will close out the remarks by touting Amazon's American values of "resourcefulness and self-reliance."
• In April, the WSJ reported Amazon uses data from third-party sellers to create its own branded products. This conflicts with what Amazon general counsel told Congress last year, that they “do not use any seller data to compete with them."
• Inc. referred to Bezos' 4,000-word testimony, his first-ever remarks before Congress, as a "perfect case study" in emotional intelligence.

Three California government agencies have opened investigations into Amazon's practices, or lack thereof, to protect workers during the pandemic. Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health will all investigate whether the company took enough measures to safeguard employees from the coronavirus in recent months.

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• The investigations stem from a legal case brought by an Amazon employee who works at a San Francisco grocery warehouse. The worker, Chiyomi Brent, claims the company failed to sanitize equipment, enforce social distancing, and take other action to protect workers from the virus, putting them at risk.
• On Monday, a judge declined Brent's request to close the warehouse temporarily. San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman said Brent didn't demonstrate enough evidence of harm, and the three government agencies can better address her concerns.
• In court filings, Amazon disputed Brent's claims and said it has required masks and disinfected equipment at the facility. No coronavirus cases have been linked to the warehouse.
• New York Attorney General Letitia James is also investigating Amazon's decision to fire Staten Island warehouse workers who protested against the company earlier this year.
• Amazon set aside $800m earlier this year to protect workers against the virus.

MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Jeff Bezos, has donated nearly $1.7b to 116 organizations focused on issues such as racial equity, climate change, and LGBTQ+ issues. In a Medium post yesterday, Scott gave an update on her philanthropic work, which she said will continue for years. Scott has amassed roughly $59.3b through her ownership of 4% of Amazon stock, which she received through the couple's divorce settlement last year.

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• Scott said she developed the philanthropic approach with advisers, many of whom are from marginalized gender, race, and sexual identity groups.
• “Life will never stop finding fresh ways to expose inequities in our systems," she wrote in the post, "or waking us up to the fact that a civilization this imbalanced is not only unjust, but also unstable.”
• Last year, Scott signed the Giving Pledge initiative, led by investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft co-founder Bill and his wife Melinda Gates. It encourages the world's wealthiest people to donate most of their wealth during their lifetimes or upon death.
• Bezos has not signed the pledge but announced a $10b climate change fund this year and a $2b fund focused on early childhood education and homelessness in 2018.
• Scott, whose divorce with Bezos was finalized last July, has changed her last name to the middle name she grew up with. The couple was married for 25 years.
• You can read the full list of organizations here.

Amazon will release nearly 50 TV series and shows on Prime Video in August. Here are the top picks for what to watch, as well as a full list of what will be playing for free – and what's about to stop:

• Dora And The Lost City Of Gold: This action-comedy adaptation of "Dora the Explorer" has a witty script that appeals to adults and children alike. Debuts on Aug. 3.
• The Peanut Butter Falcon: A child with Down Syndrome runs away from his nursing home to pursue his dream of wrestling school. Stars Shia Lebeouf, Zack Gottsagen, and Dakota Johnson. Debuts on Aug. 6...

Amazon is rolling out a redesigned Alexa app for the iPhone, Fire tablets, and Android. The new mobile app will have a custom home screen, which will include things like reminders, playlists, shopping lists, alarms, and books based on how often you use them. Amazon says it offers a more personalized experience.

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• CNBC reports that the current app can be "hard to use" with random prompts and settings in different menus. It has included the date and weather at the top of the screen, which will be replaced.
• The update will move the Alexa mic button to the top of the app - making it more prominent - and skills, setting, and routines to a "more" button at the bottom.
• The redesigned app will be available to all users by late August.
• Amazon recently unveiled a major update to its Alexa developer toolkit.

A version of this story first appeared in Inside AI.

QUICK HITS

• Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is up for 20 awards at this year's 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, which will air Sept. 20 on ABC.
• After Amazon was reportedly in talks to acquire a ~10% stake in Reliance Retail, Reliance Industry Limited is buying Indian retail chains owned by Future Retail (1700 stores) for ~$3.6b.
• Amazon continues to sell supplements that purport to treat COVID-19 without any scientific evidence.
• Walmart+, the premium retail subscription that rivals Amazon Prime, will reportedly launch this month at $98 per year.
• PBS will debut a new Amazon Prime Video channel dedicated exclusively to documentaries.
• Amazon’s India business has partnered with Acko General Insurance to sell car and motor-bike insurance in India.
• Amazon will release the documentary "All In: The Fight for Democracy," featuring politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, theatrically on Sept. 9 before it hits Prime Video on Sept. 18.
• Amazon sued a Denver-based real estate firm over what it called a "significant fraud and kickback scheme."
• Amazon is hiring 500 full-time workers for its new Olive Branch, Mississippi fulfillment center.
• CEOs and CFOs talk the winners and losers of the office of the future.*

*This is a sponsored post