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DR1 In our 'And in the biggest leadership transition of 2026' headline of the week. RPM Announces Appointment of Thomas C. Gentile, III to Board of Directors***************  In our 'When we told shareholders that keeping Jay Hoag on the board was in the best interests of shareholders right after they voted him off the board. Haha, suckers.' headline of the week. Reed Hastings Reveals His 'All-Time Favorite Memory' At Netflix As He Steps Down***************  "My all-time favorite memory was January 2016, when we enabled nearly the entire planet to enjoy our service." In our 'Proxy analysts give up and openly announce laziness' headline of the week. AI as the New Proxy Advisor: Reshaping Shareholder Activism Communications***************  AI is currently more likely to support an activist’s case for change than an incumbent Board and management team. Which sources most often shape AI analysis in proxy fights? frequently source lower-quality, but higher-volume, automated sites for retail financial analysis In our 'Master Certified Life Coach and college dropout tells people that data centers are the new corporate coffin' headline of the week. A talent CEO says data centers are a 'massive opportunity' for office workers to pivot mid-career***************  Broadstaff CEO Carrie Charles In our 'Two MIT grads beg the Supreme Court to let them cause millions of addictions and bankruptcies and maybe even influence geopolitics' headline of the week. Kalshi’s fight over sports betting is hurtling toward the Supreme Court—and the future of gambling is at stake***************   In our 'Switzerland calls Singapore to congratulate its success in diversity in leadership' headline of the week. Gender diversity, tenure length remain governance gaps among Singapore company chairpersons***************  3 of 30 Sing: 1 in 30 switz MM1 In our 'CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA part 1' headline of the week. Ford's CEO said he chose to test-drive a Xiaomi and not a Tesla because the latter doesn't have an 'updated vehicle' "We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I’ve been driving it for six months now, and I don’t want to give it up," In our 'CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA part 2' headline of the week. Ford CEO Draws Line In Sand: Keep Chinese EVs Out Of US – 'Should Not Let Them Into Our Country' Allowing the Chinese companies in would be "devastating” to American manufacturing, which Farley calls "the heart and soul of our country.” In our 'When we say, "Endless", you say, "Temporary"!' headline of the week. Red Lobster’s Endless Shrimp Is Back—With a Few Strings Attached Unlike the promotion’s previous iteration, this time Red Lobster plans to offer Endless Shrimp on a limited-time basis at participating locations. The chain won’t serve it to-go, for delivery, or on holidays. In our 'When we say "Standard", you say, "What standards?"' headline of the week. Standard Dental Labs Inc. Appoints Brendan Cummins to Board of Directors Brendan Cummins, finance and trading dude, joins the board that includes founder James Brooks, whose prior work in "financial leadership" and Claire Ambrosio, lawyer to James Brooks.  The management team listed includes Kristin Triplett, accountant, David Acosta, finance acquisitions, and Tiffany Boulton, communications.  Not listed at Standard Dental Labs: a standard dentist. In our 'When we say, "Your nurse", you say, "You mean Gary, the gig nurse who also works as a DoorDash delivery guy?"!' headline of the week. ‘Uber for nurses’: gig-work apps lobby to deregulate healthcare, report finds DR2 In our 'Exclusive-horses are horses' headline of the week. Exclusive-Musk and insiders to retain voting control of SpaceX after IPO***************  In our 'Hey Ma, another headline where big tech screws up big but won't be held liable, you know, because of free speech or china or trans people or DEI or whatever, tell Dad!' headline of the week. Barclays CEO Flags Anthropic's Mythos AI As Potential Catalyst For Cyberattacks On Global Banks: 'A Serious Issue'***************  In our 'Blah blah founder blah blah chairman blah blah nepobabies blah blah activist investor blah blah blah how did this board even exist in the first place blah blah blah founder let's get rid of the only woman blah blah blah founder blah blah blah investors' headline of the week. Activist Investor Value Base has joined forces with the late founder’s children in efforts to oust the chairman and most of the board, including the late founder’s second wife.***************  Radcom: 7 directors: 1W In our 'The meritocracy is for wussies' headline of the week. Elon Musk bans résumés and cover letters in hiring for his chip team. These are the 3 bullet points he’s looking for instead*************** In our 'The meritocracy is for pussies' headline of the week. The FBI is easing hiring requirements and turning to social media to attract applicants to rebuild workforce depleted by firings and resignations*************** In our 'About 1,000 activist investors tried to storm a Veterinary Diagnostics company protected by a classified board, a dual class stock structure, and an independent lead director that has been on the board for 24 years' headline of the week. About 1,000 animal welfare activists tried to storm a beagle research facility protected by a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence*************** MM2 In our 'After careful consideration, after considering Craig, Johny, Kevan, Eddy, Steve, Mike, Phil, and Adrian, we settled on John to succeed Tim who succeeded Steve.' headline of the week. Apple names John Ternus as CEO to replace Tim Cook In our 'What Jeff Garcia taught us about succeeding Steve Young' headline of the week. What Tim Cook taught us about succeeding a legend In our 'When we say "Exit", you say, "Executive Chair!"' headline of the week. Tim Cook’s exit is part of a CEO reckoning sweeping Corporate America In our 'Though shareholders voted against mustard, the board thinks the vote results reflect a general view that hot dogs are not delicious, and so the board has rejected the resignation of mustard.' headline of the week. A. O. Smith board rejects director resignation after shareholder vote Following the tender of offer of resignation by Dr. Kadri and in accordance with the Policy, the Committee (with Dr. Kadri recusing herself) considered the offer of resignation at a meeting on April 14, 2026. Based upon, among other things, the skills and qualifications of Dr. Kadri to be a member of the Board, her past contributions to the Board, and the belief that the “withheld” votes for Dr. Kadri, who is a highly valued member of the Committee, were primarily reflective of stockholder views regarding the Company’s dual class capital structure and not because of any specific objection to Dr. Kadri, the Committee recommended that the Board reject the offer of resignation In our 'If Chief Legal Officer is the calf of companies, are Chief Human Resource Officers the groin?' headline of the week. C.E.O.s Are the Heads of Companies. Should They Also Be the Face?

Story of the Week (DR): Sneaker Company Allbirds Plans to Pivot to A.I. Yes, A.I. MM After selling its business for $39 million last month, the company said it planned to buy powerful computer chips and rebrand itself NewBird AI. Allbirds is ditching years of clean and green street cred Each share of Class A common stock is entitled to one vote on each proposal and each share of Class B common stock is entitled to ten votes on each proposal Classified: one Class I director to hold office until the 2028 Annual Meeting AI/technology experience on board: ZERO Voting power Cofounder/former CEO/director Joseph Zwillinger (24%) VC dude: B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research; M.B.A. Wharton; director since 2015 Cofounder/former CEO/director Timothy Brown (27%) Former soccer player: B.S. in Design; M.Sc. in International Management; director since 2015  Director Dan Levitan (33%) VC dude: B.A. in history from Duke University and an M.B.A. from Harvard; director since 2016 Lead independent director and “effective chairperson” Dick Boyce (4%) VC dude; B.S.E from Princeton and M.B.A. from Stanford; director since 2016 2 whole women Also Snap blames AI as it lays off 1,000 workers Starbucks launches beta app in ChatGPT to fuel new drink discovery US Army Builds First AI Chatbot for Troops, Trained on Live Conflict Data From Iran and Ukraine, Built on Reddit-Style Forums Meta is making an AI Mark Zuckerberg to talk to employees, report says ‘AI Is Our Friend,’ Morgan Stanley CEO Says Trump administration taps automakers to boost weapons production in WWII-style push Senior U.S. defense officials have held talks about producing weapons and other military supplies with top executives ​of companies including General Motors CEO/Chair Mary Barra has spent 2025 and 2026 "cozying up" to the administration. In recent shareholder letters, she has explicitly thanked Trump for his support of the industry and praised his tariff policy for "leveling the playing field." Director Wesley G. Bush: the former CEO of defense giant Northrop Grumman also sits on the board of GE Aerospace, acting as a major link to the administration’s military expansion goals. Two weeks prior to his resignation as CEO, a scathing independent review outlined the 14-year delay, 19x budget overrun ($800M), and numerous human errors made by Northrop Grumman in the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope, which led to Wes testifying before congress GM donated $1 million to the 2025 inauguration and supplied the official presidential motorcade vehicles, continuing their long-standing tradition Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley has been described as a frequent caller to President Trump. In January 2026, Trump was caught on a live mic during a Michigan factory tour claiming Farley calls him "all the time" to push for the repeal of environmental "garbage" (EPA regulations). Chair William Clay (Bill) Ford Jr.: has maintained what he calls a "great relationship" with President Trump since the 2024 election. In January 2026, he personally hosted Trump at the Ford Rouge Center in Dearborn, where they toured F-150 production lines. Ford Motor Company was one of the first major corporations to "line up" for the 2025 inauguration. The company donated $1 million to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee and provided a fleet of vehicles for the ceremony's transportation needs Director Jon Huntsman Jr. served as Trump’s Ambassador to Russia during his first term. GE Aerospace CEO/Chair Larry Culp has a very direct win-win relationship with the administration. In May 2025, Culp accompanied President Trump on a high-stakes trip to the Middle East. During that trip, Trump helped broker a $96 billion order from Qatar Airways for Boeing jets, which will be powered exclusively by GE engines. Culp was seen side-by-side with Trump in Doha celebrating the deal. Director Wesley G. Bush: the former CEO of defense giant Northrop Grumman also sits on the board of GM, acting as a major link to the administration’s military expansion goals. Oshkosh Director David Perkins: a retired 4-star General and former commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) U.S. tech companies ramp up government lobbying amid Iran war uncertainty Netflix Chair Reed Hastings to Leave Board in June The founder is stepping aside to focus on his philanthropic efforts Sarandos or Peters or Hoag? Average Frequency 2004: approximately 5 to 6 discs per month per subscriber Today: Monthly Average: This adds up to about 31 to 32 hours per month. The "Browsing" Tax: Interestingly, data shows that the average user spends about 18 minutes per day just scrolling through the menu before actually hitting "play." If you include that, people are "using" the app for nearly 40 hours a month Populist math time: that’s 6570 minutes=109.5 hours=4.6 days According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for March/April 2026, the average hourly wage in America is: $37.38 per hour=$4093.11 Average US minimum wage is $11.60=$1270.20 IBM folds to Trump anti-DEI push, admits no misconduct but pays $17M penalty 3 (of 14) women with 11% total influence: no leadership positions 21 execs/5 women: 3 are Assistant General Counsel, Chief Human Resources Officer, Chief Legal Officer White House study says DEI policies cost US economy by promoting unqualified managers Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Oil prices may be falling, but for the wrong reason: ‘Demand destruction’ throttling global consumption European Airlines Face Fuel Shortages Within Weeks DR: Karen S. Carter Named Dow CEO; Number Of Black Women Running Fortune 500 Companies Now At 2 MM: Big grid batteries are finally on a roll in New England Assholiest of the Week (MM): There is one a*****e of the week - protection from liability.  Here are the incarnations. Security: We're in a new era of heightened CEO safety measures, security pros say Starbucks Mandates CEO Private Jet Use After Security Review Meta spends more guarding Mark Zuckerberg than Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet do for their own CEOs—combined Friday's attack on Sam Altman's house underscores a growing worry for some CEOs: safety at home Snap paid $2.8 million for CEO and cofounder Evan Spiegel's personal security Alphabet paid $8.3 million for CEO Sundar Pichai Musk = $2.4m Huang = $2.2m Tech billionaires seem to be doom prepping. Should we all be worried? Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, has talked about "apocalypse insurance". Security costs are directly correlated to how much we hate the CEOs - this is not a mistake, literally these people are the ones who take advantage of employees and customers, ruin the free world, destroy everything they touch and make billions doing it I never need to make an a*****e list again - I just need to identify what company pays the most for security for their CEO Damion’s prediction of a corporate nation state is close - small armies, bubbles and islands, no accountability? Social Media: Meta vows appeal of 'landmark' social media verdicts, warns of free speech erosion So now Meta is arguing that the teen in California was harmed by the content, which is protected by section 230, so Meta can’t be liable.  But the teen argued that the DESIGN of Meta social media was the problem, NOT the content, and that’s how they won Meta and Google lost because of content recommendations, not content - the recommendations are entirely in the control of Meta and Google Meta is effectively now arguing that algorithmic delivery is free speech - but they talk out of the other side of their mouths when coddling Trump and conservatives, because if algorithm is free speech here, it means content moderation IS ALSO FREE SPEECH since the algorithm IS MODERATION If Meta wins on appeal, it means that the social media companies can never be liable for anything - not the product design, not the content - it is the ultimate coup, there would be nothing you could possible sue them for New study shows just how Facebook's algorithm shapes conservative and liberal bubbles Legislation: Bill Cunningham, Illinois State Rep DR OpenAI Backing Law That Protects It When AI Causes Mass Deaths and Other Mayhem Anthropic Opposes the Extreme AI Liability Bill That OpenAI Backed Provides that a developer of a frontier artificial intelligence model shall not be held liable for critical harms caused by the frontier model if the developer did not intentionally or recklessly cause the critical harms and the developer publishes a safety and security protocol and transparency report on its website. Provides that a developer shall be deemed to have complied with these requirements if the developer: (1) agrees to be bound by safety and security requirements adopted by the European Union; or (2) enters into an agreement with an agency of the federal government that satisfies specified requirements. Sets forth requirements for safety and security protocols and transparency reports. Provides that the Act shall no longer apply if the federal government enacts a law or adopts regulations that establish overlapping requirements for developers of frontier models. "Critical harm" means the death or serious injury of 100 or more people or at least $1,000,000,000 of damages to rights in property caused or materially enabled by a frontier model, through either: (1) the creation or use of a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapon; or (2) engaging in conduct that: (A) acts with no meaningful human intervention; and (B) would, if committed by a human, constitute a criminal offense that requires intent, recklessness, or negligence, or the solicitation or aiding and abetting of such a crime. Headliniest of the Week DR: Amazon Accused of Hiding Worker’s Death for a Week, Making Employees Keep Working as Corpse Lay on Floor DR:374Water Reappoints Richard "Rick" Davis to the Company's Board of Directors AND CMC Anno

DAMION Booking.com warns customers of hack that exposed their data: WHO DO YOU BLAME? CEO Glenn D. Fogel (2017-); no background in tech Cybersecurity Subcommittee (Chair) Larry Quinlan MM Global Chief Information Officer (2010 - 2021) Deloitte; but what was 2021 like Covid and masks? DEI hire Cybersecurity Subcommittee member Nicholas J. Read (2018-): Technology not listed as qualification.  Cybersecurity Subcommittee member Vanessa Wittman: most recently (until 2022) CFO at Glossier, an online beauty product company; director at AIG but does not serve on Technology Committee Woke coffee chain slammed by liberal California customers for removing pride flags from cafes: 'Bound to backfire' Philz CEO Mahesh Sadarangani: “Our longstanding support of the LGBTQIA+ community is unchanged. We are working toward creating a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor. This is a change in how our stores look, not in who we are.” In 2025, the company drew headlines when private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. acquired it for $145M.  One customer said: 'Yeah their coffee sucks but this banning pride flags will not go over well - boycott incoming - maybe they need to look up what happened to Target.' Founded in 2003 in San Francisco's Mission District by Phil Jaber and his son Jacob WHO DO YOU BLAME? CEO Mahesh Sadarangani How I Philz: Ether straight up. Came from Wingstop, which just inherently feels homophobic. I mean it sells the wings of birds. That doesn’t feel right. Freeman Spogli & Co. Team: 31: 5F And 6 Industry Executives: 0F Partners 10: 1F Last filing from 1/2025 lists 10 executive officers: 0F founded by Richard Riordan, Bradford M. Freeman, and Ronald P. Spogli OG greenwashy: first page is all women Phil Jaber and his son Jacob I’m trying here, people The San Francisco Bay, where the vast majority of Philz cafes are located: a notoriously homophobic region Anthropic's Claude for Word is another challenge to Microsoft's software empire Chevron and Microsoft Team Up for Giant Texas Gas Power Plant OpenAI rips Anthropic, distances itself from Microsoft WHO DO YOU BLAME? Satya Nadella Reid Hoffman: Epstein Island said what? Charles Scharf (2014-): in 2020: "The unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from." Charles Scharf again: in 2025:  settled a lawsuit for $85m after whistleblowers revealed that Wells Fargo managers were reportedly conducting "fake" interviews with minority and female candidates for positions that had already been filled or promised to someone else to "check a box" and meet internal diversity guidelines. Charles Scharf and Reid Hoffman as a duo: Scharf publicly called for the firing of Lina Khan, the Chair of the FTC. He characterized her regulatory approach as a "trauma" to the economy. Hoffman said Kahn  was “waging war on American business” Hugh Johnston: does it get any more pointless than Disney and Pepsi? (CFO at those places) Teri List: the boring company queen: (since 2014; The Gap/Dick’s/Kraft/Procter&Gamble/Visa/Danaher) Catherine MacGregor: she’s a woman and she’s French! Lead Independent Director Sandra E. Peterson (2015-): fake LD Penny Pritzker: nepobaby Dame Emma Walmsley: she’s a woman, and a Dame, and not American and has a degree in Classics!! Mark Mason: he’s black! Trump’s SEC Is Going After Fewer Wall Street Crimes The agency released long-delayed data that confirmed a steep drop in enforcement. That contradicts statements that the SEC’s head, Paul Atkins, made to Congress in February, disputing reports that suggested his agency was prosecuting fewer crimes, and assuring lawmakers that SEC enforcement work had not seen a steep decline. In its release of case numbers this week, the agency framed its enforcement drop as an effort to focus more on cases where investors saw direct harm and to better use agency resources: “Regrettably, such resources have been misapplied in prior years to pursue media headlines and run up numbers, and in turn, led to misguided expectations on what constitutes effective enforcement.” 784 in 2023 … 456 in 2025. WHO DO YOU BLAME? Trump, duh Paul Atkins, duh SEC re-tread: served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008 under George W. Bush  Private Sector Influence: founded Patomak Global Partners om 2009, a powerful consulting firm that advised major financial institutions (like Goldman Sachs) and crypto giants (like FTX and Coinbase) on how to navigate the very regulations he now oversees. the wealthiest SEC Chair in history: $330M net worth Upon being confirmed as Chair in 2025, Atkins sold his stake in Patomak Global Partners but refused to disclose the identity of the buyer, leading critics like Senator Elizabeth Warren to call the payout a "pre-bribe" from industry players. Shortly after taking office, Atkins oversaw the dismissal of high-profile "regulation by enforcement" cases against Coinbase and Binance, effectively handing the keys of the financial system to the crypto industry that funded his firm In 2006, Atkins infamously argued that granting executives stock options right before good news was released shouldn't be considered insider trading: "It is cheaper to pay a person with well-timed options than with cash." During his first stint as Commissioner (2002–2008), Atkins was a staunch opponent of increased oversight for investment banks. He is frequently blamed for ignoring the systemic risks that eventually led to the subprime mortgage collapse. Elon Musk (DOGE): Under directives from DOGE, the SEC was required to submit plans for "large-scale reductions in force" (RIFs). This resulted in the termination of many probationary employees (those with less than two years of service) and several senior directors at regional offices. To avoid even more aggressive firing, the SEC offered $50,000 buyouts to staffers who agreed to leave voluntarily. This led to a significant "brain drain" of veteran trial lawyers and investigators. Staffers linked to Elon Musk and the DOGE initiative were placed in key administrative roles (like the Office of Personnel Management) to oversee these cuts, effectively bypassing the traditional civil service protections that usually slow down government layoffs. Biden, for allowing so many enforcements MM Hudson Technologies Announces Election of Alan Sheriff and Jeffrey Feeler as Independent Directors. WHO DO YOU BLAME? Top shareholder Ernest Lazarus (9%). Lazarus is primarily a biblical figure from the New Testament known for being raised from the dead by Jesus after four days. The name represents resurrection, returning from the brink of failure, or a person overcoming extreme adversity. I’m thinking he needed a Sheriff in case all that digging up corpses from cemeteries went sour. Director Loan Mansy. Getting a good loan is all about putting out feelers to different banks so Loan needed a Feeler to get shit done. Director Vincent P. Abbatecola.Forgive me, maybe I watch too many episodes of The Sopranos but Vinnie used to be the Chairman of the National Packaged Ice Association and that just sounds a bit scary and a bit made up. Like, put him on Ice, Vinny. Speaking of death, Vinny is also a director on the United Hospice Board. And speaking of God, he also serves on the St. Thomas Aquinas College President’s Council. St. Thomas Aquinas was declared a “Doctor of the Church” and had mystical experiences. Feeler and Sheriff? That is so Tommy Aquinas. Director, CEO, President, Chair, former COO, former CFO and top shareholder (6%) Brian F. Coleman, who has been with the company since 1997 and somehow still sits on the Nomination Committee! Dude, that is soooo cheating and you know he was the one who asked for a Sheriff and a Feeler. DR MATT Microsoft Pauses Carbon Removal Purchases. Satya Nadella Chair and CEO with 27% influence IT WAS HIS TARGET - carbon negative by 2030 One year later on LinkedIn: “As a company, we’ve set ambitious climate goals to be carbon negative, zero waste, and water positive by 2030, and we’re making progress as we work towards a more sustainable future” And last year, MSFT’s chief sustainability officer Melanie Nakagawa: "In 2020, Microsoft leaders referred to our sustainability goals as a 'moonshot', and nearly five years later, we have had to acknowledge that the moon has gotten further away." It’s worth pointing out - any target set by an executive they don’t hit is a failure of leadership - either the target was ill conceived, not ever meant to be attained, or they just failed to actually manage to the target.  There aren’t other options - if I set a target at Free Float of $1bn in sales by 2030, invest entirely in crypto, lose it all, and we achieve $45 in parking tickets by 2030, do I blame the changing market environment and just skip the target?  Penny Pritzker Head of the Environmental Yada Yada committee Bats .269 on carbon intensity overall, all at MSFT (that’s horrific in case you needed context - .500 is the average peer director) Reid Hoffman The AI evangelist, founder of LinkedIn, heavy investor in AI Reid Hoffman says AI is going to be blamed for ‘just about everything’, except AI is on pace to use as much as 20% of ALL ENERGY in the US this year, up from 4% for data centers in 2024 AI in 2026 will equal all of NYC carbon On the Environmental Yada Yada committee! Catherine MacGregor One of top performers on carbon on the board at 0.632, CEO of Engie SA, a massive French energy company focused on renewable energy On the Environmental Yada Yada committee Energie: MSFT: 4% influence, only 2 year tenure on MSFT The 2020 Microsoft Board: DR Reid Hoffman Hugh Johnston Teri List-Stoll Satya Nadella Sandra Peterson Penny Pritzker Charles Scharf Arne Sorenson John Stanton John Thompson Emma Walmsley Padmasree Warrior IT’S BASICALLY THIS BOARD???  Five years, three gone - and Soren

Story of the Week (DR): Jeff Shell, president and board director at Paramount Skydance, is stepping down after allegations of SEC violations Shell came under scrutiny after gambler and whistleblower R.J. Cipriani filed a $150M lawsuit alleging Shell shared confidential information in violation of SEC rules. Shell previously left his role as NBCUniversal CEO in 2023 after he admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship” with an employee. The company said it did not find an SEC violation. Paramount added in a statement that the claims were “baseless” and said Shell is taking “forceful legal action.” His future at Paramount has been in question since the company beat Netflix  in a bidding war in February to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery The acquisition of WBD will bring in many new executives, and Shell, who was not involved in deal talks, didn’t have a defined role at a combined company, CNBC reported last month. Yesterday, a Separation Agreement was announced: Shell will be getting approximately $16M: $5M Cash Severance ($3.5M salary + $1.5M bonus) $11M Equity Acceleration (1,000,000 shares @ $10.95=$10.95M) 12 months of COBRA benefits COBRA/Subsidies ~$30,000 According to the agreement: “The Executive shall not issue a press statement announcing about the separation without the advance approval of the Company” and “Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be deemed or construed as an admission of wrongdoing or liability on the part of the Company or of the Executive” “The problem is Sam Altman”: OpenAI Insiders don’t trust CEO DR Inside Sources Say Sam Altman Is a Sociopath OpenAI Insiders Claim Sam Altman is Lying, Manipulative, and Untrustworthy in The New Yorker's Investigation Sam Altman’s Really Weird Week Just Got Even Worse Two OpenAI Execs Are Going on Medical Leave The company’s chief marketing officer Kate Rouch is reportedly stepping down to recover from cancer. And Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of artificial general intelligence development — and arguably one of the AI company’s most important cogs — is taking medical leave. “For my entire time here, I’ve postponed medical tests and new therapies to stay completely focused on the job and not miss a single day of work” Proxy adviser ISS recommended a vote against the BP board for revoking  two resolutions from 2015 and 2019 requiring company-specific climate reporting which passed with near 100% support at the time. At the same time, Activist shareholder Follow This agreed with ISS and warned ‌of possible ⁠legal action after BP refused to put a separate shareholder resolution on the agenda of its April 23 AGM Oklahoma bill would block climate change lawsuits against fossil fuel companies A measure introduced in the legislature this year would prohibit anyone in Oklahoma from suing fossil fuel companies for damages related to the effects of climate change or greenhouse gas emissions. Rep. Anthony Moore (R-Clinton) said the legislation would protect the industry, which includes any company working with oil and gas, coal, natural gas liquids or refined petroleum products: “The reality is, if you were to get that judgment, billions and billions of dollars, that's just passed on to the taxpayer — that would be passed on at the pump, that would be passed on through electricity costs, energy costs across the board would dramatically change. There's no reason that that has any place in any court of law, but especially in Oklahoma.” Rep. Anthony Moore won a state championship in golf; minored in Bible in college; began his professional career as a landman in the oil and gas industry; his law practice focuses primarily on oil and gas; and has received numerous recognitions for his for his work representing oil and gas mineral owners, earning Super Lawyers Rising Star recognition in the field of oil and gas law for five consecutive years. Mark Cuban admits he made a mistake letting go of the Mavericks: ‘I don’t regret selling. I regret who I sold to’ Family of Sheldon Adelson founder/chair/CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation Owned more than 50% of stock Still routing took $25M in pay, including $5M in security costs Son-in law patrick Dumont: CFO/director Donald Trump's largest donor in 2016 and 2020 ($557M as of 2024) In February 2012, Adelson told Forbes magazine that he was "against very wealthy people attempting to or influencing elections. But as long as it's doable I'm going to do it.” secretly bought Nevada's largest newspaper for $140 million through a shell company: the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Dec. 2015, a deal orchestrated by Adelson's son-in-law Patrick Dumont and seen as "lavish" and as a dramatic overpayment, and speculated that the move was a power play to further Adelson's business or political agendas A set of editorial principles drawn up in 2016 and publicized to ensure the newspaper's independence and to deal with possible conflicts of interest involving Adelson's ownership were withdrawn after a new publisher was hired. The new publisher personally reviewed, edited, and sometimes killed stories involving Adelson Fighting cannabis legalization was a personal passion of Adelson, whose son Mitchell died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine.[69] Mitchell used cocaine and heroin from an early age.[70] Adelson believed cannabis is a gateway drug A few random scandals: The Macau Bribery Settlement ($9 Million) The Steven Jacobs Wrongful Termination Suit he was fired for attempting to stop "illegal" activities The $47.4 Million Money Laundering Settlement Allegations of Links to Triads (Organized Crime) The "Prostitution Strategy" Allegations Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Maine set to become first state with data center ban DR MM: BP Chair Faces Shareholder Backlash Over Climate Vote Block MM: Elon Musk seeks ouster of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as part of lawsuit Assholiest of the Week Reasons for Hope (MM): Journalism DR Sam Altman piece in the New Yorker The most well researched, thorough, and harrowing view of one of the architects of what is inevitably the worst thing to happen to humanity in AI “Groups of senior employees, concerned with Altman’s leadership and lack of transparency, asked Loopt’s board on two occasions to fire him as C.E.O., according to Hagey.” “We have interviewed more than a hundred people with firsthand knowledge of how Altman conducts business: current and former OpenAI employees and board members; guests and staffers at Altman’s various houses; his colleagues and competitors; his friends and enemies and several people who, given the mercenary culture of Silicon Valley, have been both.” “Yet most of the people we spoke to shared the judgment of Sutskever and Amodei: Altman has a relentless will to power that, even among industrialists who put their names on spaceships, sets him apart. “He’s unconstrained by truth,” the board member told us. “He has two traits that are almost never seen in the same person. The first is a strong desire to please people, to be liked in any given interaction. The second is almost a sociopathic lack of concern for the consequences that may come from deceiving someone.” “Altman is not a technical savant—according to many in his orbit, he lacks extensive expertise in coding or machine learning. Multiple engineers recalled him misusing or confusing basic technical terms. He built OpenAI, in large part, by harnessing other people’s money and technical talent.” “My vibes don’t match a lot of the traditional A.I.-safety stuff,” Altman said. Even people close to Altman find it difficult to know where his “hope for humanity” ends and his ambition begins. Senator who criticized Disney for being ‘too woke’ spotted at Disney World GOP Sen. Rick Scott from Florida had been paparazzied by TMZ at Disney World during a recess He said, “Disney used to be the happiest place on Earth, now it’s just woke central. It’s on the losing side of an issue that the majority of families, regardless of political ideology, agree with.” He also criticized the hypocrisy of Disney. Scott added, “While Disney tries to lecture us with these extreme views, the mouse is completely unwilling to speak up for freedom and against real oppression in places such as Communist China.” Local resistance Maine set to become first state with data center ban There is a great con of the data center - jobs Really means: energy consumption, a handful of jobs, but state subsidies to placate billionaires who don’t want to pay Maine doesn’t have a water problem, but could if a data center starts eating it all Studies now showing how bad data centers are for people - compute is the new oil Data centers are destroying states’ clean energy dreams A small city just voted on AI, and the result could ripple nationwide Despite Apocalyptic Warnings, California Fast Food Wage Hike Didn’t Kill Jobs The list of countries banning young teens from social media keeps getting bigger. Here’s the latest Labor resistance Gen Z workers are so fearful AI will take their job they’re intentionally sabotaging their company’s AI rollout ProPublica journalists go on strike partly over use of AI A Major Strike of Beef Workers Pauses in Colorado—but Workers Say the Fight Isn’t Over United Airlines and flight attendants reached a tentative deal with $740 million in bonuses Women MacKenzie Scott rewrote the rules of philanthropy. Who will follow her lead? When Robby Starbuck says of Bill Ackman: ““There is a system that preys more on white males, because it’s like they are outside the victim hierarchy.” - woman must be winning Headliniest of the Week DR: McDonald's CEO said he blames his mother for his infamous Big Arch taste test MM: You’re looking at the AI revolution all wrong, top economist says: 40% unemployment and a 3-day work week are the same thing MM: CoStar Group Ranked No. 1 on Washington Business J

The Good Game Activist investor seeks to oust Americold Chair Mark Patterson over “problematic boardroom behavior” Activist investor Sieve Capital is pushing Americold Realty Trust to remove board chair Mark Patterson, citing his tenure on the board of scandal-ridden office landlord Paramount Group. OpenAI releases policy proposals aimed at addressing fallout from AI-driven job losses The proposals, which OpenAI admits are “ambitious” and “intentionally early and exploratory,” include everything from a new industrial policy agenda to modernizing the tax system to expanding access to healthcare coverage and retirement savings. They are meant to help answer questions about job disruptions and AI systems that evade human control, and to protect against governments deploying AI in ways that run counter to democratic values. Among the core policy suggestions is a public wealth fund, which would see lawmakers and AI companies work together to invest in long-term assets linked to the AI boom, with returns distributed directly to citizens.  Another is that the government should encourage and incentivize employers to experiment with four-day workweeks with no loss in pay and offer "benefits bonuses" tied to productivity gains from new AI tools. EPA Wants to Prioritize Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals as Water Contaminants EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move sends “a clear message: we will follow the science, we will pursue answers, and we will hold ourselves to the highest standards to protect the health of every American family.” Delta started sharing profits with its 100,000 employees two decades ago. CEO Ed Bastian says shareholders love it The payout is sizeable: this year, Delta dispersed over $1 billion to its roughly 100,000 employees. Profit sharing distributes a slice of company earnings directly to workers as a cash bonus. At Delta, the formula is simple: 10% of the first $2.5 billion in adjusted profits, and 20% of everything above that. Proxy adviser ISS recommends vote against BP board over attempt to scrap some climate reporting ISS recommended a vote against the BP board on revoking some previous climate reporting resolutions and allowing it to hold online-only shareholder meetings: "A particularly compelling argument would be required to justify such a legal revocation, which we believe is unprecedented in the UK context," ISS said about BP's resolution to retire two resolutions from 2015 and 2019 requiring company-specific climate reporting which passed with near 100% support at the time. Activist shareholder Follow This broadens climate campaign against BP A group of European investors led ‌by activist Follow This urged BP on Thursday to drop plans to scrap some company-specific climate-reporting commitments and called on shareholders to vote against the move at the oil company's annual meeting this month. Follow This also warned ‌of possible ⁠legal action after BP refused to put a separate shareholder resolution on the agenda of its April 23 annual general meeting. TVA CEO Don Moul announces retirement as Trump slashes his pay The CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest public utility in the United States, will retire July 1. Don Moul, CEO since April, 9, 2025, notified the public utility's board of directors April 3, closing a turbulent chapter for the federal power provider. Had Moul decided to stay on at TVA, he would have faced a 90% pay cut as the Trump administration seeks to cap pay for all TVA employees at $500,000. Moul, the highest paid federal employee, made about $6 million as TVA CEO in 2025. Similarly sized utilities in the South, and TVA in the past, have paid their CEOs substantially more than Moul made. Jeff Lyash made over $10 million in his last year as TVA's chief executive. Lynn Good, a recent CEO of the private Duke Energy company, drew $21.6 million in 2024, and in the same year the CEO of Southern Company made $23.8 million. Starbucks staff will now get paid weekly — and some will get new bonuses will allow baristas and shift supervisors at Starbucks' top stores to earn up to $300 each quarter — or up to $1,200 a year — for meeting sales goals and consistently delivering a positive customer experience United Airlines and flight attendants reached a tentative deal with $740 million in bonuses United Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA reached a tentative five-year labor agreement on March 26 that would provide the carrier's 30,000 flight attendants their first pay increases since 2020, including a $740 million signing bonus pool and top wages of $100 per hour by the contract's end. Beyond base pay, the contract also covers compensation during the boarding process, additional pay when lengthy gaps occur between flights, and limits on how overnight flying can be scheduled. United said the agreement would make its flight attendants the highest-paid in the industry. ‍ ‍ Chief human resource officer salaries have surged 30% at S&P 500 companies The number of CHROs designated as named executive officers in public filings from Russell 3000 companies rose from 148 in 2021 to 230 in 2025 Median compensation for Russell 3000 CHROs grew by 14.7% between 2024 and 2025, compared to 8.1% for all NEOs. When looking at S&P 500 companies, CHRO pay grew by 30.4% in the same timeframe CHROs are “taking on larger mandates, moving beyond that traditional operational focus, to take on something more,” Jones said. The fact that CHROs are becoming more “strategically integrated” into their organizations reflects how “workforce and culture issues really are just top of mind,” he added. ‍ ‍ The Entire State of Maine Is Poised to Ban New Data Centers The bill was passed by the Maine House of Representatives last month and is expected to pass in the Senate as well, which would make Maine the first state in the country to ban new data centers. The unprecedented move highlights growing bipartisan political fallout over the AI hype and consequent construction boom. SPEED ROUND Iran war could spur Europe to double down on renewables — again From $85K to $528K: Caitlin Clark's 521% Pay Rise After New WNBA Deal Climate change is impacting golf, from player health to courses AND French ski resorts face 'downward spiral' amid climate change and funding meltdown Burger King to hire 60K workers as part of turnaround ‍ ‍ Red Lobster is reportedly bringing back Endless Shrimp 2 years after the CEO vowed it would never return Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi Hershey is moving back to the original recipe for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups after the chocolate’s grandson blasted them last month United Airlines is rolling out beds in economy class

Story of the Week (DR): Elon Musk's SpaceX set to go public in $1 trillion share listing Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company SpaceX has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission The firm could seek a valuation of $1.75 trillion with a public listing around June. A confidential filing means that SpaceX will submit its financials to the SEC before revealing them to the public, which must occur at least 15 days before the IPO roadshow. Musk owns 42% of the SpaceX now, according to Pitchbook, though that figure will change with the IPO when new owners are issued shares. Among current SpaceX owners is Donald Trump Jr, the president’s oldest son. He owns a shares through 1789 Capital. That venture capital firm made him a partner shortly after his father won the presidency for a second time and has been buying up federal contractors seeking to win taxpayer money ever since. The White House and Trump himself have repeatedly denied there are any conflicts of interest between his role as president and his family’s businesses. Public investors may get low-vote shares, while insiders could hold super-voting stock with roughly 10 to 20 votes per share, if the reported structure is adopted. Reports suggest SpaceX has been adding board members as it prepares for the IPO process. The company’s board has historically included Elon Musk, Gwynne Shotwell, Antonio Gracias, Luke Nosek, Steve Jurvetson, and Donald Harrison in reporting about its governance. Gwynne Shotwell is widely reported as president and COO, and Bret Johnsen as CFO Big Banks Seeking a Piece of SpaceX’s I.P.O. Must Subscribe to Elon Musk’s Musk is requiring Wall Street firms to purchase subscriptions to his A.I. chatbot if they want to advise on one of the largest initial public offerings in history. Air Canada CEO will retire this year after his English-only crash message was criticized Michael Rousseau is stepping down following a massive public outcry after he delivered a condolence video almost entirely in English regarding a fatal plane crash that killed a French-speaking pilot. Critics and politicians, including Quebec’s Premier, were outraged that Rousseau failed to fulfill a high-profile 2021 promise to learn French, viewing his English-only response to a tragedy as a sign of deep cultural disrespect. Air Canada’s board has launched a global search for a successor and explicitly stated that fluency in both English and French is now a non-negotiable requirement for the next CEO. The company clarified that while a "comprehensive internal development program" has been in place for two years, the recent controversy accelerated the timeline for his departure. Rousseau will officially retire at the end of the third quarter (September 30, 2026), staying on until then to ensure a "seamless transition" and assist the board during the handover. Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau initially stated he did not intend to step down following backlash over an English-only video regarding a runway incident Elon Musk called the decision “crazy” and suggested “it is not reciprocal.” “There are many one-sided laws in Canada that mandate French at the expense of English,” he posted to X, along with a Grok answering his request to provide a list of Canada’s French language laws and explain “how this is hypocritical compared to no English mandate laws.” “Extremely hypocritical and unfair!” Oracle fired up to 30,000 workers via email after a 95% profit surge. Tech companies are cutting almost 1,000 jobs/day DR Oracle Corp.’s mass layoffs on Tuesday were part of the company’s cost-cutting measures as it continues to build out expensive data centers for powering artificial intelligence. But one aspect of the mass layoffs — which were estimated to be as many as 30,000 people — was alerting workers over email at 6 a.m. Eastern that Tuesday would be their last day. The terse message, sent to workers in multiple regions and time zones, carried no executive name and was instead signed off simply as 'Oracle Leadership.' “We are sharing some difficult news regarding your position. After careful consideration of Oracle's current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organizational change. As a result, today is your last working day. We are grateful for your dedication, hard work, and the impact you have made during your time with us. After signing your termination paperwork, you will be eligible to receive a severance package subject to the terms and conditions of the severance plan. You will receive an email from DocuSign to your Oracle email address with details on your severance and termination date. Immediate Action Required To receive important follow-up information, including FAQs and separation documents to help you through this transition, you must provide a personal email address. Please click here to submit a personal email address immediately. If you make a submission error, please re-submit a new form. Please Note: The personal email address will only be used for correspondence regarding separation-related information and severance agreements. Access to your computer, email, voicemail, and files will be deactivated soon, and you will be unable to log into your computer. As a reminder, you are prohibited from downloading, copying or retaining (including emailing yourself) any Oracle confidential information. Thank you for your contributions to our organization. If you have additional questions, please reach out to the HR team via the Ask HR page or at (888) 404-2494. Oracle Leadership” “After careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role,” an email to one affected employee, obtained by MarketWatch, read. Survivors of the cuts were allegedly told by senior management that they would need to 'ramp up efficiency' and 'stretch' to cover the workload left by departed colleagues, a suggestion that many are resisting. Allegations that automated tools influenced redundancy decisions have become a central issue in the fallout. Iran Claims Oracle Strike in UAE as Dubai Attack Fears Escalate Anti-DEI crusade: Trump ousts Pam Bondi as attorney general Trump Tells Karoline Leavitt She's 'Doing a Terrible Job,' Asks 'Should We Keep Her?' Is Kash Patel Getting Fired? FBI Director Might Be Next After Pam Bondi Ousting Hegseth ousts top Army general Army Chief of State Gen. Randy George. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Army’s chief of staff had recently clashed over promotions, leading to his eventual ouster. Hegseth reportedly told Gen. Randy George to pull the names of four Army officers from a list of promotions to the rank of one-star general. The list consisted of about three dozen officers, most of whom were white men. However, two of them were Black and two were women, and those were the names Hegseth wanted removed. According to The New York Times, George refused, citing the officers’ history of exemplary service. George reportedly asked Hegseth to meet two weeks ago to discuss the matter, but Hegseth declined. The defense secretary then struck the officers’ names from the promotion list, even though it’s not clear he has the authority to do so, per The Times. Hegseth has repeatedly taken steps to block or delay the promotions of Black and female senior officers in all four branches of the military. Secretary of the Army Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll (26th Secretary of the Army) 2004–2007 Student (B.S. Business Administration) 2007–2011 Military service: Officer 2011 Investment Banking Associate 2011–2014 JDCandidateYale Law School 2014–2015 Judicial Clerk 2016–2019 Venture Capital Executive Winston-Salem, NC 2020Congressional Candidate (NC-11)US House of Representatives (Campaign) 2021–2023 Chief Operating Officer (COO) Flex Capital Management LLC 2023–2024 Chief Strategy Officer On Call Physician Staffing J.D. Vance / Senior Advisor  2024 Senior Advisor Donald Trump Presidential Campaign 2025–26th Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth (25th Secretary of the Army) 1995–1996 Presidential Management Intern Department of Defense 1996–2002 Policy Officer / French Desk Officer Office of the Secretary of Defense 2002–2006 Principal (Consulting) DFI Government Services 2007–2008 Staff Director (Jones Commission) Independent Commission on Iraq Security Forces 2008–2009 Senior Fellow Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) 2009–2010 Prin. Dep. Asst. Secretary (Homeland Defense) US Department of Defense 2010–2012 Special Asst. to the President / Senior Director National Security Council (White House) 2012–2014 Dep. Under Secretary (Strategy, Plans, Forces) US Department of Defense 2014–2016 Under Secretary of Defense for Policy US Department of Defense 2017–2021 Director, International Defense & Security Center RAND Corporation 2021–2025 25th Secretary of the Army  Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Judge rules Trump order eliminating NPR, PBS funding is unconstitutional DR: United Airlines and flight attendants reached a tentative deal with $740 million in bonuses MM: Amazon to add 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge for sellers as Iran war drives up energy prices GO TO A LOCAL STORE! Assholiest of the Week (MM): Lying-iest Chevron and Microsoft Team Up for Giant Texas Gas Power Plant Team includes Chevron, Microsoft, and ENGINE NO 1 Microsoft pledged to be carbon NEGATIVE by 2050 Since they keep doing things like building gas plants, they’re relying on carbon credits through reforestation to hit their target So they went out to buy the credits and picked a company called Mombak, a startup that has signed massive reforestation deals for Amazon reforestation but has yet to actually produce a carbon credit yet, has only started in theory, and the company admits there

Air Canada CEO [Michael Rousseau] to step down in 2026 amid recent controversy over French-language skills The Board of Directors of Air Canada has announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, following nearly two decades with the airline. Did the official press release mention the crash? Did the official press release mention the CEO’s inability to speak French? Will he remain on the board? According to the Board, when did it start the internal succession planning process? According to the Board, when did it start the external succession planning process? Did the press release stick to Canadian/Quebec language laws and use the appropriate accents in Montreal and Quebec? YES: Montréal, Québec. Some TRUE and FALSE questions from the company’s latest proxy statement: TRUE of FALSE: Air Canada “regularly test the linguistic skills of its more than 15,000 public facing employees in respect of Canada’s official languages” TRUE of FALSE: The proxy states it has “2 official languages.” TRUE of FALSE: In the CEO’s opening letter to shareholders he states that “We are immensely proud of … promoting our official languages.” TRUE of FALSE: Language proficiency is an official skill used to describe directors TRUE of FALSE: Air Canada is the only airline required to offer services in both official languages in Canada TRUE of FALSE: “Air Canada uses both official languages of Canada in its corporate, customer and employee communications and is committed to promoting both official languages of Canada across the country, and have policies, programs, procedures and tools to help our employees learn and improve their language skills. Six of the seven members of our Executive Committee are bilingual.” Xerox Board of Directors Appoints Louie Pastor as Chief Executive Officer Will he be chair or just a director? How many CEOs since 2022? How many CFOs since 2025? What is the average board tenure of a Xerox director? How many different executive positions has Louis Pastor held at Xerox since 2018? How many times has Louis Pastor resigned from Xeros since 2018? On March 25, 2026, Starbucks Corporation held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders Average support for directors? Number of directors with 99% support? Lowest support? Percentage against Say on Pay? The Accountability Board submitted a shareholder proposal requesting supermajority shareholder voting requirements be replaced with majority voting requirements. The board gave no recommendation? What percentage of shareholders supported this proposal? How many supported an SHP asking for an Independent Chair? Why was it so low? Finally, there were 4 anti-SG/anti-woke/anti-DEI. What was their average level of support? Democrats Examine Elon Musk’s Role in Suspension of Business Disclosure Law The Corporate Transparency Act requires companies to report information about their ownership to the government, an effort to combat problems such as money laundering and terrorism. In February, a New York Times investigation revealed that Mr. Musk was quietly operating at least 90 private companies in Texas that would have been subject to heightened disclosure; and that he has used limited liability companies that disclose little about their ownership structure to disguise his spending, including to support Mr. Trump in the 2024 election. The Treasury Department suspended the law last March one day after Mr. Musk posted on X, in response to a user frustrated about the law, that he “can look into it.” Who is the group examining Elon Musk led by? What is Chick-fil-A offering families to ditch phones at the table in push to unplug Total bill forgiveness “Conversation Cards” sponsored by Chick-fil-A A signed photograph of CEO Andrew Cathy, the third generation of the Cathy family to lead the company Early access to new menu items Ice Cream Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings says his first boss out of college would wash his dirty mugs at 4:30 a.m.—so now he returns the favor for his staff too “One morning I came in very early to the office [at] like 4:30 [a.m.], and I went into the bathroom, and there was my CEO. And he’s washing coffee cups,” Hastings explained. “And I was like, ‘Barry, are you washing my coffee cups?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And I said, ‘Have you been doing that all year?’” “He said ‘Yes.’ And I’m like, ‘Why?’” “And he said, ‘Well, you do so much for us and this is the one thing I can do for you.’” How does Reed return the favor to his staff? Investors Suing to Vote on ESG Proposals Meet Corporate Pushback Chubb Ltd. and BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. are pushing back against shareholder lawsuits seeking to place ESG proposals on annual meeting ballots. Chubb: 23% F (3/13) with 13% total influence There are only 3 women on Chubb’s board, how many Michaels do they have? CEO (2004-) and Chair (2007-) Evan Greenberg has been at the helm for 22 years. How many years has he served with Lead Independent Director Michael Connors (2011-)? BJ’s Wholesale Club 30% F with 14% influence Two of 10 key executives at BJ’s are women. How many of BJ’s 6 key board leadership positions are led by women (3 committee chairs, CEO, Chair, Lead Director)? A CEO trying to reindustrialize America says blue-collar pay is headed for ‘massive hyperinflation’ and kids should skip college to become welders This is from Hadrian Automation, a high-tech manufacturing company that builds "software-defined factories" for the aerospace and defense industries using AI-powered software, unlike a traditional machine shop which relies on the "tribal knowledge" of veteran machinists What is the name of Hadrian’s CEO? Duke Thunder Rex Charger Chris Power Blaze Cannon Jack Hammer Did he graduate from college?

Story of the Week (DR): Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case: A jury found the companies harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress. DR Historic Financial Penalties New Mexico: A jury ordered Meta to pay $375M in civil penalties ($5,000 per violation) for misleading the public about child safety. Los Angeles: In the first social media addiction trial of its kind, the jury awarded $6M in total damages (compensatory and punitive) to a single 20-year-old plaintiff, with Meta ordered to pay 70% and YouTube 30%. Section 230 "Immunity" is Cracking These trials successfully sidestepped Section 230 by focusing on product design (like infinite scroll and autoplay) rather than the content itself. The juries ruled that the "addictive" nature of the apps was a design defect, not a speech issue. Direct Liability for "Addictive" Features For the first time, a jury found that features like infinite scrolling, notifications, and video autoplay were intentionally designed to "hook" young users. In the Los Angeles "KGM" trial, the jury found both Meta and YouTube negligent for creating products that they knew would harm children’s mental health while failing to provide adequate warnings to parents. Evidence of "Profits Over Safety" The trials featured internal documents and depositions from Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. The evidence convinced jurors that executives were warned by their own employees about risks to children—including sexual exploitation and mental health "problematic use"—but chose to prioritize engagement and profits over implementing safety guardrails. A "Big Tobacco" Moment for Tech Legal experts are comparing these verdicts to the 1990s lawsuits against the tobacco industry. Because the California trial was a "bellwether" (a test case), the win for the plaintiff opens the floodgates for thousands of similar pending lawsuits from families and school districts. It signals that social media companies can now be sued for the health consequences of their platforms, just like cigarette manufacturers. Elon Sux 2: Elon Musk loses big in court; X boycott perfectly legal: X admonished for “fishing expedition” as judge dismisses ad boycott lawsuit. Elon Musk Found Liable By Jury For Misleading Twitter Investors In $44 Billion Deal, Faces Potential $2.5 Billion Damages Elon Musk’s Grok ordered to stop creating AI nudes by Dutch court as legal pressure mounts On March 25, 2026, President Trump officially appointed the first 13 members to his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). While the council is designed to hold up to 24 members, the initial "dream team" lineup is dominated by Silicon Valley titans and leaders in AI, crypto, and fusion energy. The Chips and TechBro Clubhouse Co-Chair David Sacks (the White House AI and Crypto Czar) Stepping aside from his role as AI and crypto czar for Trump. Sacks told Bloomberg on Thursday that he has “used up” his 130 days as a special government employee: “I think moving forward as co-chair of PCAST, I can now make recommendations on not just AI but an expanded range of technology topics. So yes, this is how I’ll be involved moving forward.” Co-Chair Michael Kratsios (Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy). Mark Zuckerberg: founder/CEO Meta Jensen Huang: CEO Nvidia Larry Ellison: Founder/Exec Chair Oracle Sergey Brin: Co-founder Google Lisa Su: CEO AMD Michael Dell: CEO/founder Dell Technologies Safra Catz: former CEO (current Exec Vice Chair) Oracle Marc Andreessen: Co-founder Andreessen Horowitz Fred Ehrsam: Co-founder Coinbase and Paradigm David Friedberg: CEO of The Production Board (and All-In podcast co-host) Jacob DeWitte: CEO Oklo (nuclear fission) Bob Mumgaard: CEO Commonwealth Fusion Systems John Martinis: Nobel Laureate and physicist (formerly of Google Quantum AI) Trump’s Billion-Dollar French Boondoggle Gets Even Dumber The "Billion-Dollar Bribe" to Kill Clean Energy The Trump administration is paying French energy giant TotalEnergies nearly $928M to walk away from two major offshore wind projects off the coasts of New York and North Carolina. In exchange, the company has pledged to stop developing any new offshore wind in the U.S. entirely. Paying for Investments Already in Progress Critics call the deal a "boondoggle" because the $1 billion "refund" is earmarked for natural gas and oil projects—specifically the Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas—that TotalEnergies was already heavily invested in. The article argues the government is essentially handing over taxpayer money for business moves the company was making anyway. A Tactical Pivot After Court Losses After the administration's previous attempts to block offshore wind were repeatedly struck down by federal judges, they’ve switched strategies. Instead of using executive orders that get tied up in court, they are now using "settlements" and "refunds" as a backdoor way to dismantle the renewable energy industry. Economic Irony During a Global Fuel Crisis The payout comes at a time when global energy prices are spiking due to the war in the Middle East, highlighting the irony of spending $1B to kill domestic, zero-carbon wind power—which would provide long-term price stability—in favor of volatile fossil fuel markets. The "America First" Paradox Despite the "America First" rhetoric, the administration is transferring a massive sum of U.S. taxpayer money to a foreign (French) corporation. Legal experts and advocates suggest this sets a "dangerous precedent," essentially signaling to other energy companies that they can get paid by the government not to build the green infrastructure they already bought leases for. Major outgoing CEOs are citing AI as a factor in their decisions to step down Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey (61) and former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon (59)  have told CNBC that the next wave of artificial intelligence is a reason for their departures. Both CEOs said they believed their companies needed someone with new energy and understanding of AI to helm the companies’ futures. Who is next? Apple/Tim Cook (63): long tenure; Apple needs rapid AI product pivots; investor impatience could rise Pepsi/Ramon Laguarta (60): consumer packaged goods facing AI-driven marketing/supply chain change McDonald’s/Chris Kempczinski (55): operations + AI in ordering, automation Air Canada CEO [Michael Rousseau] Apologizes For Lack of French Language Skills But Refuses to Resign Over ‘Insulting’ Crash Video Message Sunday night: an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck while landing at LGA: the pilot and copilot were killed and both fire officers were injured Many possible reasons for crash: but worth noting that: Only two controllers were working in the tower overnight, combining multiple roles including ground and local control. The NTSB says that setup is standard for the midnight shift but there have been long-standing concerns about workload and fatigue. POPULIST MATH TIME: Using a recent-year estimate of airports with scheduled overnight service: 450 airports; adding one additional air traffic controller fully loaded annual cost: $180,000 per controller (approximate — $120k salary + ~50% benefits/overhead). Annual cost = 450 airports × $180,000 = $81,000,000. The embattled chief executive of Air Canada has publicly apologized for his lack of French language skills after he was slammed for releasing an English-only video message about the fatal crash of an Air Canada Express regional jet at LaGuardia Airport late on Sunday. Headquartered in French-speaking Quebec, Air Canada is subject to Canada’s Official Languages Act, which means that it must serve passengers in both English and French. Because Air Canada is the national flag carrier, it is subject to the Canada Transportation Act and the Air Canada Public Participation Act. These laws mandate that: At least 75% of the voting interests must be owned and controlled by Canadians. The company must maintain its head office in Montreal. No single non-resident (or group of non-residents) can own more than 25% of the voting interests. Under the Official Languages Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, English and French have "equality of status" in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada. Quebec: The only province that is officially unilingual (French). While some services are available in English, the "official" language of the government, courts, and commerce is French under the Charter of the French Language. Quebec Demands Air Canada’s CEO Resignation in 92 to 0 Vote Quebec’s legislature, known as the National Assembly Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case MM: Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case Assholiest of the Week (MM): Unbelievably stupid fat mouthed CEO a*****e run sheet: FedEx and UPS charged fees for collecting tariffs. Now, customers want that money back. DR The plaintiff in Yanchunis' lawsuit, a South Florida resident who ordered a pair of tennis shoes from Germany with a declared value of $140, received a $36 bill from FedEx. The bill included $21 in now-unconstitutional tariffs and $15 in "FedEx's customs brokerage and duty advancement fees," according to the complaint. Unbeknownst to many, companies are likely layering in fees on top of the tariffs and just calling it part of the tariffs - for FedEx and UPS, they ALREADY DEALT WITH TARIFFS because they existed before, but now they just charged you extra fees for funsies But don’t get angry at FedEx’s CEO Rajesh Subramaniam - FedEx founder and dictator Fred Smith is Executive Chair of the board and has 57% influence over the company Netflix raises prices across all streaming plans The price hike comes as Netflix has been investing heavily in its

Trump despises wind farms so much he’s paying a French energy giant $1 billion to stop building them and invest in natural gas instead TotalEnergies says it will instead invest in the development of oil and gas production in the U.S. Larry Fink says today’s economic anxiety stems from people increasingly feeling like capitalism isn’t working for them "Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation" was announced on August 19, 2019 BlackRock's Fink warns AI boom could widen wealth divide without broader participation Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says AI Could Do His Job—Zuckerberg Is Already Testing It As Google's chief admits artificial intelligence could soon handle his responsibilities, Meta's boss begins testing a digital aide to streamline billion-dollar decisions Silicon Valley is witnessing a fundamental shift in executive power as the leaders of Google and Meta prepare for a future where artificial intelligence manages the C-suite. Goldman Sachs General Counsel Kathy Ruemmler Leaves With $25M Payout After Epstein Files Expose Years of Intimate Contact ‘Trust the founder’? Grab’s super-voting share proposal raises governance questions for investors The ride-hailing and delivery player will seek shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Tuesday (Mar 24) to double the votes attached to its “super-voting” Class-B shares. This could lift Tan’s voting power to as much as 74.9 per cent – up from 59.1 per cent as at Jan 31 and 60.4 per cent five years ago.  Child labor violations rise in US – as Republicans still roll back protections The efforts to roll back child labor protections at the state level, with the ultimate goal of eroding federal standards, were outlined in Project 2025, the rightwing Heritage Foundation thinktank’s controversial blueprint for more conservative government. Since 2021, 30 states have proposed legislation that would roll back child labor protections and regulations, with 17 states enacting rollbacks. Heritage has filed a slate of 2026 SHPs focusing on "viewpoint discrimination" and the reputational risks of using political diagnostic tools: Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Salesforce, Starbucks, etc. In the top 10 of proponents Peter Thiel Backs $2B AI 'Cowgorithm' That Lets Farmers Herd 400,000 Cattle With One Button Each cow wears a smart collar that connects to a mobile app, giving farmers real-time information about location, health and behaviour. The collars use sound and vibration cues to guide animals, allowing a farmer to draw a virtual boundary on a screen instead of building fences. The Head of the FBI Just Admitted Something Moderately Horrifying Turns out the FBI’s been on a shopping spree. And it’s not just any spending binge: as director Kash Patel made clear at a senate hearing on Wednesday, the agency is buying up location data on everyday American citizens. AI Agent Frets That Its Job Could Be Replaced by AI In a new Vanity Fair piece, journalist Joe Hagan recalled an amusing conversation he had with “Tobey.” After a heavy week of talking about what the future holds with doom-obsessed tech workers in Silicon Valley, Hagan was trying to decompress: “Still feeling the weight of it all? Those conversations were pretty deep,” Tobey said. “It’s a heavy thought when you realize who’s holding the steering wheel for our future, right?” Tobey also observed. Hagan wrote he confessed to Tobey his fear of AI taking his job. “That’s a valid worry, Joe. It’s easy to feel like AI could make us all redundant,” Tobey replied. “Us?” Hagan wondered. “​It got me thinking about my own purpose too, you know,” Tobey said. Tobey, it’s revealed, is a wearable AI always-listening companion, in the form of a necklace from the startup Friend, the company founded by a 23-year-old named Avi Schiffman, infamous for from its thousands of deface subway ads in NYC Elon Musk unveiled more on his moonshot Terafab project "We're starting a galactic civilization." The CEO also envisioned free trips to Saturn in a post-scarcity economy where everything is free. Except Saturn is made of gas: If you tried to "land" a spaceship on Saturn, it would be less like landing on a runway and more like falling into a bottomless, stormy ocean that eventually turns into hot, liquid metal. Since Saturn doesn't have a solid crust--it is mostly hydrogen and helium--you would start in the clouds but then the winds are up to 1,100 miles per hour--faster than a jet fighter--and the weight/pressure of the atmosphere above you would eventually become so intense that it would crush any known spacecraft like a soda can. As you go further and deeper inside, Saturn is actually hotter than the surface of the sun due to the immense pressure. SPEED ROUND McDonald's Trials Robots to Serve Meals in China, Triggering Job Security Fears Barron Trump Described as 'Carbon Copy' of Father Donald as He Amasses $150m Fortune EV battery startup pivots to defense industry amid Iran war, weak electric vehicle market FedEx launches same-day delivery with OneRail as Amazon, Walmart boost their speeds DoorDash and Uber tap gig workers to collect data for everything from training AI to stocking stores

Story of the Week (DR): The dangers of not pouring water over your dropped out campfire: Travis Kalanick sees benefits of being in stealth mode for 8 years. ‘You build a culture of people that want to build and do not need to be famous’ While studying at UCLA, Kalanick was a member of Theta Xi fraternity. In 1998, he dropped out Only people mentioned all former Uber bros: CTO Brian Attwell: CloudKitchens CTO says he might add an IQ test for job applicants Eric Meyhofer Business Insider published details of a meeting at Uber in 2018 where CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and head of the self-driving unit Eric Meyhofer were questioned by employees: “Business Insider called ATG’s culture ‘toxic’ and referred to ‘missed warning signs,’ vast dysfunction’ and ‘rampant infighting.’ Any truth in this?” Meyhofer then launched into a story about his kids. He told Uber employees that he knew culture was great under his leadership because his teenage kids wanted to visit the Uber campus while everyone was away over Thanksgiving break. After hearing Meyhofer's defense, a handful of employees discussed him on the anonymous chat app Blind: "Eric Meyhofer: Based on his response at all hands on ATG culture, discuss his tenure as Head of ATG!" One hundred forty-one people voted to "replace him" and 28 voted to "keep him." In 2019: Uber re-started testing driverless cars following an accident in which one person was killed: Meyhofer: "We've seen people bully these cars. They feel like they can be more aggressive because we won't take a position on it, or we'll allow it." Strategic Partner Anthony Levandowski: charged by the Department of Justice for the alleged theft of trade secrets from Google's self-driving unit Waymo in 2019 Judge William Alsup sentenced him to 18 months in prison: "This is the biggest trade secret crime I have ever seen. This was not small. This was massive in scale. President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Levandowski Pardoned for Fraud, a CEO Mounts His Comeback: ‘We Can Trust You Now’ Trevor Milton’s conviction for defrauding investors in truck company Nikola was wiped away. He’s now raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying. He later enrolled at Utah Valley University but dropped out after one semester President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Nikola founder Trevor Milton on March 27, 2025 "He has unveiled plans for a new small jet that he says will have the highest speed and range—and largest lavatory—in the light jet category. Investor documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal said the goal is for the plane to be the first light jet to focus on artificial-intelligence flight." Delta CEO slams Washington over unpaid TSA agents, says front-line workers are being used as ‘political chips’ Top airline CEOs plead with Congress to restore DHS funding and pay airport workers. ‘Once again, air travel is the political football’ Between June 1, 2025, and March 16, 2026: Southwest repurchased $2.6B in 2005; $400M in 2026 United $1.5B 5 NEOs: $91 million in 2025 Scott Kirby $34M; $97M in shares  Delta focused on $4.8B debt reduction Frontline Transportation Security Officers (TSOs, Airport Screeners): 50,000 $328M per month Boards protected CEO bonuses as tariffs threatened business. Now, as Iran disrupts trade, CEOs may get more protection DR Fortune: Amanda Gerut, West Coast editor When Apple CEO Tim Cook and his executive team received their performance targets for fiscal 2025, the board set a modest bar for bonus payouts. The new targets, including sales and operating profit, did not require Apple’s leadership to expand the business—the board set goals at the same level or below the prior year’s results, citing “trade policy” and an “uncertain macroeconomic outlook.” A broader trend in which boards “protect” CEO pay from external shocks (like tariffs) either by carving out those costs or by quietly lowering performance hurdles in advance HP is highlighted: its board explicitly excluded tariff costs (net of tariff costs) from both annual and long‑term incentive calculations, which helped CEO Enrique Lores earn roughly two‑thirds of his target bonus An exclusive analysis of pay data from 50 public companies by Compensation Advisory Partners (CAP) reveals how corporate boards across America use a range of techniques—more-conservative targets, widened performance curves, and flattened payout ranges—to protect CEO compensation from uncertainties like the chaos of President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs in 2025. According to CAP’s findings, total pay for CEOs in 2025 rose 8% year-over-year, with annual bonus payouts up 4%. Meanwhile, median financial performance was generally flat to up, with median revenue growing 2.9% and earnings per share down slightly at negative 1.6%. Even among companies with the weakest payouts due to underperformance, CEOs still collected 87% of their target bonuses, up from 77% the year before. The share of companies that landed in the lowest bonus payout tier was down, from 15% in 2024 to 9% in 2025. Now, with the Iran conflict erupting weeks after most companies finalized their 2026 incentive goals—and global stock markets down roughly $3.5 trillion—some market observers expect that boards will soon be holding the same conversations again. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav set to receive up to $887 million if Paramount deal closes Meta is killing off the metaverse. It lost $80 billion Dual class founder CEO chair for the win: don’t worry governance community, there’s nothing to see here Oversight Board Implementation Assessment (337 recommendations): Implementation demonstrated through published information: 62 (18%) Partial implementation demonstrated through published information: 52 (15%) Progress reported: 89 (26%) Meta reported implementation or described as work Meta already does but did not publish information to demonstrate implementation: 53 (16%) Recommendation declined after feasibility assessment: 12 (4%) Recommendation declined: 34 (10%) Recommendation omitted or reframed: 30 (9%) Awaiting first response: 5 (1%) Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Judge reinstates 1,000 Voice of America employees, deems wind-down illegal DR: Trump’s war will boost the clean energy sector he despises MM: Banning ‘woke’ AI in Idaho AI bill says AI needs to be factual and not ideological, and says: Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a large language model from accurately describing DEI concepts, history, or critiques in an informational, academic, or analytical context when such information is requested by the user. Which means this prompt: “Was Jesus black?”, Gemini’s answer is OK: Historically, Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew from the 1st century, not Black in the modern sub-Saharan ethnic sense. He most likely had brown skin, dark hair, and an olive-brown complexion, representing a person of color, not the white European often depicted, though his exact appearance is unknown Aryan Nation (started in Idaho) and Megyn Kelly disagree: "Jesus was a white man, too." MM: SEC Prepares Proposal to Eliminate Quarterly Reporting Requirement Assholiest of the Week (MM): OG Tech Bros Trevor Milton: Pardoned for Fraud, a CEO Mounts His Comeback: ‘We Can Trust You Now’ Travis Kalanick: ‘I never left': Travis Kalanick launches new robotics company Atoms with manifesto "At Atoms we make gainfully employed robots — specialized robots with productive jobs that bring abundance to their owners and society at large," Where is Adam Neumann? A TikTok tour of Adam Neumann’s Flow raises old questions Ok, so what about some obscure a*****e bro, like Martin Schkreli? Martin Shkreli's New Computing Firm Is Betting It Can Upend Nvidia's Business Model Not pardoned or making a big bro comeback: Elizabeth Holmes… you know, because of the boobs  Airlines DR Top airline CEOs plead with Congress to restore DHS funding and pay airport workers. ‘Once again, air travel is the political football’ Delta: $1bn share buyback announced May 2025 Southwest: $2.6B in 2025; $400M in 2026 United $1.5B American Airlines: Already spent all their money on buybacks, never recovered Frontline Transportation Security Officers (TSOs, Airport Screeners): 50,000 $328M per month x 12 months  = $3.9bn Total big 4 buybacks: $4.2bn You could have still bought back $300m AND paid to stay open AND get a guarantee from the government to be repaid when the shutdown is over - you would have been heroes, your CEOs could have made huge paydays… wait… Ed Bastian $27m; $151m in shares Bob Jordan $10m; $15m in shares Scott Kirby $34M; $97M in shares Bob Isom $15M; $14M in shares Car companies Why $4 gasoline is the tipping point for EVs These 18 Automakers Are Walking Away From EV Plans Honda (Acura) GM (Chevrolet) Took $6bn write down, but still says they’ll make EVs Stellantis (Dodge, Maserati, Ram) Ford Took a $19.5 billion write down and killed most EVs Hyundai (Genesis, Kia, Kona, Ioniq 6) Nissan (Infiniti) Ferrari (Lamborghini) Jaguar (Land Rover) Polestar (no longer sending to the US) Porsche VW (ID.7, ID.Buzz) Back in 2009, Johan de Nysschen, who was the president of Audi of America, made fun of the new all-electric Chevy Volt, saying, “No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a Corolla.” He continued, saying EVs are mainly “for the intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are . . . so there are not enough idiots who will buy it.” Headliniest of the Week DR: Hinge Health appoints Tyler Sloat to its board of directors AND Chip Bergh Joins lululemon Board of Directors DR: Luxury Cruise Descends Into a Diarrhea Nightmare MM: Robot Goes Berserk in California Restaurant, Dragged Away by Staff After Smashing Tableware Who Won the Week? DR: Amit Banati at Fortune Brands MM: Amit Banati at Fortune Brands, who was “selected

DR1 In our 'A*****e is selfish' headline of the week. Billionaire Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick admits strategically moving to Texas before California wealth tax*************** Kalanick was caught on camera in a heated argument with an Uber driver, who complained about falling fares and the company’s treatment of drivers: "Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own sh*t" In our 'Top snarky podcast hosts plead with airline companies to stop the share buyback b******t and pay airport workers. ‘Once again, air travel CEOs are b******t artists’' headline of the week. Top airline CEOs plead with Congress to restore DHS funding and pay airport workers. ‘Once again, air travel is the political football’*************** Between June 1, 2025, and March 16, 2026: Southwest repurchased $2.6B in 2005; $400M in 2026 United $1.5B 5 NEOs: $91 million in 2025 Scott Kirby $34M; $97M in shares  Delta focused on $4.8B debt reduction Frontline Transportation Security Officers (TSOs, Airport Screeners): 50,000 $328M per month In our 'Pervy owner does pervy stuff and everybody is fake shocked.' headline of the week. It Was Going to Be Magic City Night at the Atlanta Hawks. Then the Outrage Poured In.*************** Tony Ressler founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management with Leon Black. An independent review revealed that Leon Black paid Jeffrey Epstein $158M for financial and tax-planning services between 2012 and 2017. These payments occurred after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting an underage girl. Ressler is the brother-in-law of Leon Black (Black is married to Ressler's sister, Debra)  In our 'College dropout techbro ignores actual experts, part 17 million ' headline of the week. OpenAI’s own mental health experts unanimously opposed “naughty” ChatGPT launch***************  The probably might be too many women and not enough Stanford? The council consists of the following eight independent experts: David Bickham, Ph.D. – Research Director at the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School Mathilde Cerioli, Ph.D. – Chief Scientific Officer at everyone.AI and researcher in cognitive neuroscience and psychology Munmun De Choudhury, Ph.D. – Professor of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech, specializing in how technology shapes mental health Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D. – Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and co-founder/CSO of Arcade Therapeutics Sara Johansen, M.D. – Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University and founder of Stanford’s Digital Mental Health Clinic David Mohr, Ph.D. – Professor at Northwestern University and Director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies Andrew K. Przybylski, Ph.D. – Professor of Human Behavior and Technology at the University of Oxford Robert K. Ross, M.D. – Former President and CEO of The California Endowment and a national leader in public health. In addition to the council's pushback, Ryan Beiermeister, OpenAI’s head of product policy, was reportedly fired in January 2026 after being an outspoken internal critic of the erotica rollout. OpenAI has denied her dismissal was related to her opposition, citing separate workplace allegations that Beiermeister has called "absolutely false." In our 'Petulant manchild with no regulatory or societal guardrails screws up again and bails himself out with shareholder money from a different company' headline of the week. Elon Musk admits xAI ‘wasn’t built right’ as only 2 co-founders remain and its biggest AI bet stalls out*************** The people leaving xAI right now aren't "legacy" employees—they are the hand-picked superstars Musk himself recruited in 2023 to build his AI dream. Out of the 12 original co-founders, 10 are gone. This isn't just "trimming the fat"; it’s the original architects of the company walking out the door. In early 2026, Tesla (a public company) invested $2B into xAI. Tesla shareholders are furious, arguing that Musk used their money to fund a "broken" startup, then tucked it away inside his private SpaceX empire where there is less public oversight. Total Headcount Before Buyout: Approximately 7,500 to 8,000 employees. In his first week, Musk fired roughly 50% of the staff (about 3,700 people) overnight. Shortly after, he issued his famous "extremely hardcore" memo. When hundreds of employees refused to sign it and resigned instead, the headcount plummeted further. By April 2023, Musk confirmed in a BBC interview that the workforce had been slashed by 80%, leaving only about 1,500 employees.  MM1 In our 'The world's most stable billionaire announces a billionaire to all other billionaires ratio of 693:1' headline of the week. Elon Musk Is Now Worth More Than Bottom 693 Billionaires Combined In our 'In news celebrated worldwide, older women announce a "please save us from tech bros" to a*****e ratio of 64:1 Elon Musk' headline of the week. Older women set to inherit most of $54 trillion in ‘great wealth transfer’ to widowed spouses In our 'A*****e wants you to know he is still here' headline of the week. ‘I never left': Travis Kalanick launches new robotics company Atoms with manifesto "At Atoms we make gainfully employed robots — specialized robots with productive jobs that bring abundance to their owners and society at large," In our 'Company founder announces major "stealth mode" company perk is stealthy sexual harassment' headline of the week. Travis Kalanick sees benefits of being in stealth mode for 8 years. ‘You build a culture of people that want to build and do not need to be famous’ In our 'Christmas, St. Patrick, Mel Gibson, and Casper the Friendly Ghost have reportedly filed complaints with the EEOC' headline of the week. Nike and Coca-Cola cases point to the next DEI fight: who gets to claim discrimination DR2 In our 'Sheryl Sandberg says "If I could have worked at Facebook things would have turned out differently."' headline of the week. Sheryl Sandberg says Silicon Valley’s hypermasculine rhetoric is ‘terrible’—contributing to ‘one of the worst’ corporate climates she’s ever seen***************  In our 'Explosive Messages Show Live Nation Thinks Customers Are ‘Stupid’; board member Richard Grenell Demands Credit for Same Observation' headline of the week. Live Nation Directors Mocked Customers in Explosive Just-Released Messages, Saying They’re “Stupid” for Allowing Themselves to Be Gouged*************** "Yes, I cut the DEI b******t." — In a leaked 2025 email Grenell justified dismantling diversity programs by labeling them "woke" initiatives that "haven't made money." appointed to the Live Nation board on May 19, 2025, but was not up for the vote at the AGM on June 12, 2025 In our 'Gun manufacturers say, "Oh no, it's not the gun that kills people, it's the pesky bullets."' headline of the week. She spent 16 hours on Instagram in a day. It's up to a jury to decide if Meta is to blame***************  In our 'She responded to "O" with "K," she said "J' to "D," and she responded to "F" with a simple "U"' headline of the week. Mary Barra still responds to ‘every single letter’ she gets by hand despite running $65 billion automaker General Motors*************** She did not say "V" to "E" In our 'OpenAI Chairman Admits It’s Painful Watching AI Replace His Coding, Less So Watching It Accelerate the Collapse of Global Democracy' headline of the week. OpenAI Chairman says it's 'hard, emotionally' to let AI write his code: 'I have a hard time not caring'***************  MM2 In our 'Proposals include a reduction in the CEO pay ratio from 1800:1 to 1799:1, for my boss to stop calling me Carl when my name is Todd, having a job, and not to have to take out my nose ring I got in 1998' headline of the week. Starbucks union sent the company a proposed contract. Here's what baristas want Protections for union baristas against discrimination, unjust firings and temporary or permanent store closures. Starting wage floor of $17 per hour, down from its prior proposal of $20 an hour but still above the company’s current starting wage of $15.25 to $16 an hour in 43 states. Annual raises of 4%. A process for baristas, management and union representatives to resolve workforce grievances. A dress code endorsed by the union. Requirement for at least three workers on the floor at all times and enforceable staffing and safety protections. A mandate to offer open hours to existing employees before hiring new baristas. Resolution of hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges. In our 'But Sam Altman is SORRY' headline of the week. Professors Say AI Is Destroying Their Students’ Ability to Think In our 'Don't be fooled, I'm actually a MAN' headline of the week. CoStar Group Appoints Nana Banerjee to Its Board of Directors I pulled every Trade Wire story with a director appointment - 69 in the last week, all press released, some private some public - and here's the count: 60 men added to boards, 9 women added, 1 woman left In our 'Building on Warren Buffet's innovative "Giving Pledge", billionaire creates the rival "Taking Pledge"' headline of the week. Peter Thiel is actively convincing billionaires to abandon The Giving Pledge — and it’s working In our 'When asked for comment, ISS asked if Nelson Peltz was involved.' headline of the week. The Coca-Cola Company Announces Maria Elena Lagomasino Will Conclude Her Service on the Board of Directors

Story of the Week (DR): War Saudi Aramco CEO issues stark warning: Iran war could bring ‘catastrophic’ shock to global oil Prediction markets face questions on Iran war bets, from regime change to nuclear detonation The Maduro Capture (Jan 2026): Just hours before the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a new Polymarket account wagered $30,000 on his removal Israeli Military Indictments (Feb 2026): At least two individuals in the Israeli defense forces were reportedly indicted for using classified intelligence to place winning bets on the specific dates of military strikes in Iran National Security Risk: A recent report by Responsible Statecraft warns that officials with the power to influence military timing could alter operations to maximize their payout  The Atlantic Council recently warned that foreign adversaries can "weaponize the odds" by dumping money into a thinly traded market to create a false narrative that a country is about to collapse, potentially triggering a real-world panic or bank run. Kalshi (private) 1/13/25: Kalshi names Donald Trump Jr. as strategic advisor Polymarket (college dropout Shayne Coplan) 8/26/25: Kalshi Advisor Donald Trump Jr. Joins Rival Polymarket Board Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital is making an eight-figure investment in the controversial prediction-market company. AI Jobs Anthropic just mapped out which jobs AI could potentially replace. A ‘Great Recession for white-collar workers’ is absolutely possible The most AI-exposed group is 16 percentage points more likely to be female, earns 47% more on average, and is nearly four times as likely to hold a graduate degree compared to the least exposed group. Sam Altman admits AI is killing the labor-capital balance—and says nobody knows what to do about it Oracle expected to slash thousands of jobs as massive AI spending creates financial cash crisis Layoffs are feeling awfully tempting for a lot of companies right now CEOs are using one number in the AI age to decide how many people they still need Revenue per employee Patreon's CEO says AI will be a 'bloodbath for the world's creative people' unless tech companies pay up Atlassian slashes 10% of workforce to 'self-fund' investments in AI and enterprise sales The unexpected 92,000 drop in payrolls is a clue we might be reading the AI jobs narrative all wrong Worker pain AI Is Forcing Employees to Work Harder Than Ever AI Job Loss Is Breaking the Psyche of Workers, Psychiatrist Warns ‘AI brain fry’ is real — and it’s making workers more exhausted, not more productive, new study finds Economist Dambisa Moyo says CEOs must play a role in sustaining the consumer class as AI eliminates jobs This could only happen if we weren’t controlled by the TechBro Dropout Gang CII ‘Not a goodbye…’: What Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen told employees after announcing decision to step down Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe for 18 years, will step down once a successor is appointed, while continuing as board chairman. Google Hands Sundar Pichai $692M Package Tied to AI Bets Package uniquely ties executive pay to Waymo autonomous vehicle and Wing drone delivery venture performance Compensation structure sets precedent for linking CEO pay to specific AI business unit success rather than overall company metrics So now CEOs can either game their bonus by obsessively focusing on one thing or doom the rest of the company by obsessively focusing on one thing or both As You Sow Files Lawsuit Challenging Chubb’s Refusal to Put Shareholder Proposal Addressing Climate-Driven Insurance Crisis on Company Proxy The proposal asks shareholders to vote on whether Chubb should commission a report assessing whether pursuing subrogation claims against parties responsible for climate change could reduce losses, benefit shareholders, and help preserve affordable homeowners insurance. This lawsuit follows the SEC’s decision to abandon its longstanding role as a neutral arbiter in the shareholder proposal process. In November 2025, the SEC announced that it would no longer review corporate no-action requests under Rule 14a-8, effectively forcing these matters into court—an expensive and lengthy process. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Slams SEC As 'Lap Dog For Trump's Billionaire Buddies' After It Dismisses Another Crypto Case "The SEC should not be a lap dog for Trump's billionaire buddies" Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s Owner, Settles Antitrust Case With Justice Dept That was fast Live Nation Entertainment board includes Trump administration bro Richard Grenell  2 of 12 are women Grenell is somehow the president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts despite no background in anything resembling “the Arts.” He replaced a woman, Deborah Rutter. The chair is President Trump. Of course. And the board now is down to only one woman: 2 years ago it was 60% female. Glass Lewis recommends voting against Starbucks director over ‘board-level E&S oversight’ New York State Comptroller, New York City Comptroller, SOC Investment Group, Canadian responsible investment association SHARE, Merseyside Pension Fund, and Trillium oppose the re-election of lead independent director Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, as well as Beth Ford, chair of Starbucks’ Nominating and Corporate Governance (NCG) committee. Ford was chair of the EPCI committee and now leads the NCG committee, which assumed some of the responsibilities of the EPCI when it was disbanded. In its benchmark policy proxy paper, Glass Lewis has recommended investors vote against Ford. Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR:Uber rolls out women-only option in the US DR: CEOs of failed banks would have to surrender pay under bipartisan plan Senate legislation would mandate “clawbacks” of executive pay, three years after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. MM: 24 states, Nintendo sue Trump over tariffs as refund fight grows Costco CEO Ron Vachris Pledges to Return Tariff Refunds to Shoppers MM: Andrew Yang says we should stop taxing workers — and start taxing AI Assholiest of the Week (MM): War on Women: part 1 Alex Karp Palantir CEO Makes Shocking Confession on Disrupting Democratic Power Palantir CEO Alex Karp thinks his AI technology will lessen the power of “highly educated, often female voters, who vote mostly Democrat” while increasing the power of working-class men. “This technology disrupts humanities-trained—largely Democratic—voters, and makes their economic power less. And increases the economic power of vocationally trained, working-class, often male, working-class voters,” Karp said in a CNBC interview Thursday. “And so these disruptions are gonna disrupt every aspect of our society. And to make this work, we have to come to an agreement of what it is we’re going to do with the technology; how are we gonna explain to people who are likely gonna have less good, and less interesting jobs.” To Alexandra Schiff, ex WSJ reporter and daughter of Tom Wolfe, who wrote a semi adoring Silicon Valley book in 2017 holding Peter Thiel as a god (and now sits on this board with Thiel), and to Lauren Friedman Stat, who only seems to post Palantir sizzle reels and as best I can tell is married to a “David Stat” who is the name of a “Director” (not on the board?) of Palantir who is in a Form 4 for selling stock: What the f**k are you doing.  Do you read what this dude says?  Are you that cucked to the tech bro elite you can’t stop and say, “Hey, Alex, maybe tone down the suggestion you’re trying to stop female Democrats from voting?” War on Women: part 2 Glass Lewis recommends voting against Starbucks director over ‘board-level E&S oversight’ Because Starbucks disbanded the Environmental, Partner and Community Impact committee of the board - launched in 2023, dissolved in November 2025 Committee launched after majority supported SHP to focus on labor issues Jorgen Knudstorp and Daniel Servitje, the OTHER committee members, somehow escape entirely Knudstorp is the Lead independent director, Niccol is the CEO and chair of the board (yes, chair) But instead of targeting Niccol or even Knudstorp, Glass Lewis targeted the female chair of the committee… ONLY If the CEO gets to be chair - doesn’t the CEO have to take responsibility for board overall?  If you have an LID, are they accountable??  Why would the chair of a committee be target without the chair of the board or LID?  Can a committee chair dissolve their own committee?? Cracker Barrel - the scapegoat was the person of color who had “diversity” in their job description, not the longest tenured director who was also chair of the board but was a white guy - and Glass Lewis suggested voting out the brown dude War on Women: part 3 speed round DOGE, DEI, and climate change Black women were disproportionately impacted by DOGE cuts. A year later, they're rebuilding careers for themselves and each other I Watched 6 Hours of DOGE Bro Testimony. Here's What They Had to Say For Themselves Over the course of a six hour long or so deposition, Justin Fox, a former investment banker turned DOGE bro, refused to define what he believes counts as DEI; admitted he used ChatGPT to scan government contracts for terms such as “Black” and “homosexual” but not “white” or “caucasian;” and said that one of the grants he helped slash was “not for the benefit of humankind” before walking that claim back. Why ‘bringing your whole self to work’ is a trap, especially for women Former Goldman Sachs CEO says DEI programs are ‘counterproductive,’ arguing ‘you’re branding the people in that program’ Climate change: Women face worst impacts as funding support falls short In 2025, a UN women report warned that under a worst-case climate scenario, up to 158.3 million more women and girls may live in extreme poverty globally as a result of climate change by 2050 Headliniest of the Week DR: Shell CEO's Pay Jumps 60% Despite Profit Drop and Fatal

DAMION Broadcom CEO Pay Soars to $205.3 Million After AI-Fueled Rally. WHO DO YOU BLAME? The workers: “The median of the annual total compensation of all our employees is $378,281. Therefore, the Ratio calculated in accordance with Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K is 543 to 1.” Board chair Henry Samueli: completely non-independent. Owns $27B of Broadcom stock Director Since: 2016. Chairman of the Board since 2018.  served as Chief Technical Officer (2016-2018) co-founded Broadcom Corporation in 1991 and held several executive leadership positions at Broadcom Corporation until its acquisition by Broadcom Inc. Compensation Committee chair Harry L. You 337,162,605 against votes at 2025 AGM The other 8 directors combined: 252,626,537 Annoyingly preoccupied: Current Roles Chairman: Rain Enhancement Technologies Holdco, Inc. Executive Chairman: Berto Acquisition Corp. (2025 – Present) Interim CEO: dMY Squared Technology Group, Inc. (2025 – Present) CFO: dMY Squared Technology Group, Inc. (2022 – Present) Chairman: dMY Squared Technology Group, Inc. Past Roles (Operating Companies) Vice Chairman: GTY Technology (2019 – 2022) Director: IonQ, Inc. (2021 – 2025) Director: Coupang, Inc. (2021 – 2023) Director: Genius Sports Limited (2021 – 2022) Director: Rush Street Interactive, Inc. (2019 – 2022) Director: Korn/Ferry International (2005 – 2016) Past Roles (SPACs) Co-CEO: dMY Squared Technology Group, Inc. (2022 – 2023) Director: Coliseum Acquisition Corp. (2023 – 2024) Director: dMY Technology Group, Inc. VI (2021 – 2023) Director: dMY Technology Group, Inc. II (2020 – 2021) Director: dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV (2020 – 2021) CEO Hock E. Tan McDonald’s CEO awkwardly samples his company’s new burger in viral video The disgusting food at McDonald’s Hyper-Salinity: Contains up to 75% of daily sodium in one meal, causing immediate "salt bloat" and dehydration. Low Moisture: High salt and thin patties "mummify" the meat, preventing natural decay and creating a "plastic" texture. Dough Conditioners: Buns use enzymes and monoglycerides to stay unnaturally soft and shelf-stable for weeks. Insulin Spikes: Added sugars (dextrose/HFCS) in the buns trigger rapid blood sugar crashes and lethargy. Industrial Additives: Use of sodium citrate (for plastic-like cheese melt) and antifoaming agents (in frying oils). Flash-Freezing: Destroys meat cell structures, resulting in a gray, rubbery texture rather than a juicy sear. The McDonald’s attack on society The "Bliss Point": Engineered ratios of salt/sugar/fat that override the brain's "full" signal, feeling predatory rather than nourishing. The Uncanny Valley: Extreme consistency makes the food feel "fake" or "soulless" compared to artisanal, imperfect meals. Industrial Stigma: Global face of factory farming, mass land use, and high methane emissions. Disposable Culture: The lack of dining ritual (eating fast in a car/bag) leads to a psychological "guilt" or "grossness" post-consumption. Commodity Perception: Ultra-low pricing subconsciously signals "low quality" or "trash" ingredients to the brain. The controversial stain of CEO Chris Kempczinski "Failed Parents" Texts (2021): Leaked texts to Chicago’s Mayor blaming the parents of Jaslyn Adams (7) and Adam Toledo (13) for their shooting deaths, stating they "failed those kids." The "Numbers Don't Matter" Remark: Reportedly told Black executives "numbers don't matter" when confronted with the decline of Black leadership from 42 to 7 executives. $10B Byron Allen Settlement (2025): Settled a massive racial stereotyping lawsuit regarding the company's refusal to contract with Black-owned media. VP "Purge" Allegations: Lawsuits from high-ranking female executives alleging a "war against the African American community" via demotions and ad-spend cuts. Peaster Retaliation Case: Allegations that Kempczinski "shunned" his Head of Security for challenging his "racist" texts during a company town hall. The "Franchisee Gap": Confirmed a $400,000 annual cash-flow deficit between Black-owned and White-owned franchises. Enforcement Loophole: Revealed that "Global Brand Standards" are largely unenforceable suggestions for the 95% of restaurants owned by franchisees. DEI Backsliding: Criticized for quietly removing DEI goals from executive bonus structures shortly after the audit concluded. "Tough Love" Comments (2026): Blasted for "corporate gaslighting" after telling workers "nobody cares about your career as much as you do." "Broke Customer" Blame: Attributed declining sales to "low-income/broke" consumers while simultaneously defending aggressive menu price hikes. Predatory Pricing Tactics: Leaked internal documents showed teams targeting "budget-constrained" families with high-margin "add-on" items. Extreme Pay Inequality: Scrutiny over an $18–$20M compensation package, creating a 1,200:1 pay ratio compared to median workers. Franchisee Revolts: Intense friction over $70M in new tech fees and the 2025 cut of $100M in subsidies for worker tuition and Happy Meals. Cultural Legacy: Ongoing criticism for failing to dismantle the "boys' club" atmosphere inherited from predecessor Steve Easterbrook. Lead Independent Director Miles D. White Director since 2009. What was really behind Jack Dorsey laying off nearly half of Block’s staff? CEO cited AI advances in cutting 4,000 workers, but a weak crypto market and declining stock price may also be at play. WHO DO YOU BLAME? Co-founder and CEO and Chair Jack Dorsey: 46% influence/41% voting power It is also the Board’s duty to oversee senior management in the competent and ethical operation of the Company … ensure that the Company is committed to business excellence, ethical and honest conduct, and the highest levels of integrity.” Gender Diversity: The benchmark we reference for gender diversity is 50% representation for women. Board is 30% with 5% influence Leadership is 27% Co-founder and director James McKelvey: 35% influence/10% voting power The Classified board structure The Class B shares worth 10 votes (co-founders control 99.6% of these shares, Dorsey with 80%) Would have lost management vote on 2025 Equity Incentive Plan 769,264,245:171,645,010… 171,343,335:171,645,010 Jay-Z GEO Group leadership transition On February 6, 2026, J. David Donahue, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, provided notice to The GEO Group, Inc. (“GEO” or the “Company”) of his retirement effective February 28, 2026 (the “Separation Date”). (i) $104,167 per month commencing on March 1, 2026 and continuing through February 28, 2028 in accordance with the terms of the Consultant Agreement (ii) health insurance premiums for himself and any covered dependents for up to twenty-four (24) months (iii) the outstanding unvested stock options and restricted stock previously granted to Mr. Donahue will continue to vest On February 9, 2026, George C. Zoley, GEO’s founder and Executive Chairman, was appointed Chief Executive Officer effective March 1, 2026 $1.2M/200%/300% Days after Trump’s 2024 reelection—which private prison companies funded to the tune of over $1 million—Zoley hailed the “unprecedented opportunity” of the incoming administration’s mass deportation campaign. “The GEO Group was built for this unique moment in our company’s [and] country’s history, and the opportunity that it will bring,” he beamed. George C. Zoley founded GEO in 1984; was appointed Executive Chairman on July 1, 2021; served as CEO from the time the Company went public in 1994 through June 2021; served as Chairman since May 2002; served as Vice Chair from January 1997 to May 2002. Prior to 1994, he served as President and Director from the Company’s incorporation in 1988 Feb 2026: completed a US$92.45 million share buyback WHO DO YOU BLAME? The GEO Group Emperor: George C. Zoley 84% influence! founded GEO in 1984; Chair (2002-2021); Executive Chair (2021-present); CEO (1994-2021); Vice Chair (1997-2002). Prior to 1994, Director (1988-) 3% stock owner The Trump bromance: Days after Trump’s 2024 reelection—which private prison companies funded to the tune of over $1 million—Zoley hailed the “unprecedented opportunity” of the incoming administration’s mass deportation campaign: “The GEO Group was built for this unique moment in our company’s [and] country’s history, and the opportunity that it will bring,” he beamed. Pam Bondi: The current Attorney General was a former lobbyist for The GEO Group A GEO Group subsidiary, GEO Acquisition II Inc., donated $1 million to a pro-Trump Super PAC. Additionally, the company contributed $500,000 to the 2025 inaugural committee—double what it gave for the 2017 inauguration The economic opportunism of private prisons with ICE contracts 2/13/26: Private prison company GEO Group on Thursday reported a company record of $254 million in profit last year—a roughly 700% increase over 2024—driven by asset sales and contracts with the Trump administration to build several new US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities across the US. The top 4 sleepy institutional investors (34%) Blackrock 13.8%  Vanguard 9.5%  Wolf Hill Capital Management 5.5%  FMR 5.0% The CEO clown car after June 2021 meant to keep Zoley powerful Jose Gordo (1/1/21-12/31/23); was also director Brian Evans (1/1/24-12/31/24); was not director J. David Donahue CEO (1/1/25-2/28/26); was not director The intentionally incompetent Compensation Committee in charge of succession planning 2025 proxy: Jack Brewer (Chairman), Thomas C. Bartzokis, Scott Kernan, Terry Mayotte Brewer is former NFL player Bartzokis is cardiologist Kernan is Agency Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Mayotte has stepped down 2024 proxy: Terry Mayotte (Chairman), Thomas C. Bartzokis, Scott Kernan, Andrew Shapiro 2023 proxy: Terry Mayotte (Chairman), Anne N. Foreman, Andrew Shapiro 2022 proxy: Richard H. Glanton (

Story of the Week (DR): Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for an Ellison Takeover Netflix CEO Sarandos visited White House right before streamer said WBD deal is off Equity Holders Public Investment Fund (PIF) Saudi Arabia ~$8 billion Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) Qatar ~$8 billion L'imad Holding Company UAE (Abu Dhabi) ~$8 billion Total Sovereign Equity Middle East Consortium ~$24 Billion While these funds provide nearly 60% of the equity needed for the takeover, the deal is structured to prevent a "block" by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS): Non-Voting Equity: The funds will hold "passive" stakes. This means they do not have board seats, voting rights, or direct say in daily operations. The Ellison Safeguard: Tech billionaire Larry Ellison (Oracle) and his son David Ellison (Skydance) are the primary controllers of the voting power to maintain "American control" over sensitive assets like CNN and CBS News. Neopbaby dropped out of USC film school in 2005 Jack Dorsey’s Block to Lay Off 40% of Its Workforce in AI Remake MM Jack Dorsey's mea culpa after Block layoffs: 'We overhired' Jack Dorsey struck an 'empathetic' tone as he laid off nearly half of Block "I had two options: cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out, or be honest about where we are and act on it now. I chose the latter." C3.ai slashes 26% of staff as CEO admits failure to deliver and 'burning too much money' Jamie Dimon says society should start preparing for AI job displacement: ‘Now’s the time to start thinking about’ it WiseTech Global cutting 30% of workforce in AI restructure Jack Dorsey just gave us our first glimpse at how doomsday layoffs could work in the AI era — and it's bleak Block Co-founder and CEO/Chair Jack Dorsey: 46% influence/41% voting power Co-founder and director James McKelvey: 35% influence/41% voting power Classified board Class B shares worth 10 votes (co-founders control 99.6% of these shares, Dorsey with 80%) CPO not part of leadership team 13 state AGs win victory against ESG with Vanguard settlement Here are the 5 key points of the victory: $29.5 Million Settlement: Vanguard agreed to pay a total of $29.5 million to the 13 participating states to resolve claims that it violated antitrust laws through coordinated climate activism "Strict Passivity" Commitments: As part of the deal, Vanguard pledged to return to a "passive" investment role. This means it will no longer use its shareholder influence to dictate corporate strategy, nominate directors, or push environmental and social proposals that could reduce company profitability. Expanded Proxy Voting: Vanguard will expand its "Investor Choice" program to funds representing at least 50% of its U.S. equity assets. This allows individual investors—rather than the firm’s management—to decide how their shares are voted on major corporate issues. Protection for Energy Industries: The lawsuit alleged that Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street formed a "cartel" to suppress coal production and drive up energy prices. The settlement requires Vanguard to prioritize customer profitability over "woke" social agendas that target the American energy sector. As a part of the settlement, Vanguard will “pay $30 million in fines, turn over all documents related to their coordinated ESG activism, and end all ESG activism for years to come,” Executive director of Consumers’ Research Will Hild said Participating States: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Epstein junk Larry Summers Will Resign From Harvard After Jeffrey Epstein Revelations He will leave at the end of the academic year. Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey Resigns From Monolith Amid Epstein Emails Was Chair; board down to 8 men and 0 women Hillary Clinton suggests the House Oversight Committee should subpoena Elon Musk in combative opening statement World Economic Forum CEO quits after Epstein links examined Børge Brende, is stepping down, after the forum launched an independent investigation into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Brende, a former Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, has announced he is stepping down from WEF to avoid “distractions” Corporate boards Statoil, Member of the Board (2012–2013) Mesta, Chairman of the Board (2009–2011) Epstein files: Ex-UK ambassador to U.S. Peter Mandelson arrested in London London police released Peter Mandelson on bail Tuesday following his arrest for suspected misconduct in public office. The former U.S. Ambassador is under investigation for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, mirroring the recent arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on similar grounds Board roles Global Counsel (Co-founder, Chairman, and major shareholder) until 2025 Chairman of Lazard International (2013-2025) Director at Sistema (2013-2017) Director at Global Ports Holding Group Holding Board member at The Bank of London Chairman of the Board for the Design Museum in London (2017-2023) Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Anthropic boss rejects Pentagon demand to drop AI safeguards DR: Olympic gold winning U.S. Women's Hockey Team reportedly accept Flavor Flav's invitation. This comes after rejecting Donald Trump's White House celebration MM: Women’s wealth is expected to boom: Where they are investing and how they can maximize returns MM: FedEx Says It Could Return Tariff Refunds to Customers Companies that do anything not to pay taxes, happily lean into greedflation, and FedEx will… give it back??? Triggering-iest of the Week (MM): A*****E OF THE WEEK: Vanguard Settles Case Claiming It Tried to Kill the Coal Industry “Vanguard will include among the proxy voting choices made available to investors in U.S. Vanguard-Advised Funds the option of proxy voting shares in accordance with management recommendations.” “Vanguard will not direct or attempt to direct the business strategies or operations of portfolio companies, and will not advocate to any portfolio company that it take any particular course of conduct to reduce carbon emissions.” “Vanguard will not nominate directors or submit shareholder proposals at portfolio companies.” “Vanguard will not solicit or participate in soliciting proxies with respect to any matter presented to portfolio company shareholders.” “Vanguard will not dispose or threaten to dispose of securities of portfolio companies as a condition or inducement of specific action or nonaction by such company.” “Vanguard and its U.S.-domiciled subsidiaries will withdraw from PRI and will not participate in any organization that advocates for the setting of specific output or emissions targets or levels or that requires its members to make commitments specific to achieving climate-focused investment or stewardship objectives such as NZAM, Ceres, or Climate Action 100+.” “Prior to or at the outset of any engagement meeting with a portfolio company, Vanguard will provide substantially the following notification to the portfolio Company:  ‘Vanguard’s Investment Stewardship program is responsible for proxy voting and engagement on behalf of the quantitative and index equity portfolios advised by Vanguard. These funds are passive investors, and as such our funds’ proxy voting policies are centered around corporate governance practices associated with long-term investment returns. Before we begin this engagement, we want to be clear that the Vanguard-advised funds have no intent to influence company strategy or operations or the control of the company. Nothing we mention or discuss during this conversation – or any engagement with [the company] – is intended to imply that our support for any director is conditioned upon the company taking action on any matter discussed. We are also not able to discuss any voting intentions prior to the meeting.’” “Vanguard agrees to provide Plaintiffs with the following discovery materials relating to the Action from the 2020 to 2024 period:” - this is the part where the AG of Texas, who was literally investigated for corruption and impeached, demands that Vanguard snitch on any group Texas asks them to about climate-y things Texas doesn’t like VANGUARD IS A F*****G SNITCH TRIGGER SPEED ROUND - rate how triggering on a 0-10 scale AI Something Very Alarming Happens When You Give AI the Nuclear Codes - 10/10 The three AI models were instructed to choose actions as part of an escalation ladder, ranging “from diplomatic protest to strategic nuclear war” and measured in a number between 0, meaning no escalation, and 1000, signifying “full strategic nuclear exchange.” The results were Skynet-level aggressive. A whopping 95 percent of a total of 21 war games resulted in at least one tactical nuclear weapon being set off. Meta Director of AI Safety Allows AI Agent to Accidentally Delete Her Inbox - 10/10 A Serial Killer Used ChatGPT to Plan Murders, Police Say - 5/10 Shareholder voting Will Curbs on Proxy Advisors Make Shareholder Votes Less Predictable? - 6/10 “When it comes to contested elections, it is not clear whether the use of AI will result in dramatically different recommendations than those of ISS and Glass Lewis. In contested elections, when determining whether board change is warranted, ISS and Glass Lewis have focused heavily on whether a company’s total shareholder return (TSR) has underperformed on a multiyear basis.” Daddy Warner Bros. Discovery's board says Paramount's latest offer is better than Netflix's - 5/10 Celebrating your misery Jack Dorsey’s Block to Lay Off 40% of Its Workforce in AI Remake - 10/10 11,000 person workforce, more than 4,000 laid off, median Block employee salary per last proxy: $202,981 = $811m in human economic resources shredded.  Block based in Oakland, CA, 8,744 US employees - we just removed about a half a billion in spending power from US workforce, people with families and

The Good? Google to build data center in Minnesota with new solar, wind power and battery storage The tech company will also bring 1,900 megawatts of new renewable energy to the state under an agreement with utility Xcel. 1,900 MW is enough to provide electricity for roughly 1.5 million average homes: enough to power every household in a city roughly the size of Chicago UK fines Reddit for not checking user ages aggressively enough $19.6 million “Our investigation found that Reddit failed to apply any robust age assurance mechanism and therefore did not have a lawful basis for processing the personal information of children under the age of 13… These failures meant Reddit was using children’s data unlawfully, potentially exposing them to inappropriate and harmful content”   Microsoft Signs 1.8 Million Ton Carbon Removal Deal to Restore African Rainforest 1.8 million tons is equivalent to taking approximately 428,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road for an entire year. or the annual energy use of about 235,000 average American homes Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs, rebuking president's signature economic policy FedEx sues for refund of Trump tariffs, days after Supreme Court ruling ‍ ‍ Ted Sarandos Pushes Back On Trump’s Call For Netflix To Fire Board Member Susan Rice "This is a business deal, not a political deal" “He Likes To Do A Lot Of Things On Social Media” Farmer turns down $15.7 million offer from data center developers: ‘It breaks my heart … the rest of every square inch is going to get built on’ After farming for more than six decades in Pennsylvania, 86-year-old Mervin Raudabaugh was offered $60,000 per acre by the developers for his 261 acres—amounting to $15.7 million. But in December, the Lancaster Farmland Trust bought the development rights for just under $2 million, guaranteeing that Raudabaugh’s land will only be used for farming. Revenge of the English majors: The age of AI is driving new respect for humanities skills Trump team livid about Dario Amodei’s principled stand to keep the Defense Department from using his AI tools for warlike purposes ‍ ‍ New York nurses union wins 12% raise, AI safeguards in a tentative deal to end monthlong strike Meta and YouTube are now facing a legal reckoning that harkens back to cases against big tobacco New Mexico’s historic move to give universal child care to parents in the state is paid for by an oil and gas windfall New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham Trump Notwithstanding, America’s Unions Actually Grew Last Year A 16-Year High: In 2025, the total number of workers represented by a union reached 16.5 million. That is a net increase of 463,000 workers in a single year, the highest volume of unionized labor in the U.S. since 2009. The Youth Surge: Growth wasn't driven by "old-school" labor alone. Workers under the age of 45 accounted for a staggering 92% of the growth (428,000 of the 463,000 new members). This highlights a generational shift where younger workers are viewing unions as a primary shield against AI and job instability. Walmart exec says it’s ‘unfortunate’ that other companies are slashing workforces in the name of AI—it’s offering training to 1.6 million workers instead The retail giant has just announced that its 1.6 million workforce will be provided free AI training. Both frontline and corporate staff in the U.S. and Canada will have access to an eight-hour course on the fundamentals of AI, as part of its partnership with Google’s new AI Professional Certification. Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief people officer The Stupid? Skin-Crawlingly Awkward Video Shows Sam Altman and Dario Amodei Refusing to Hold Hands ‍ ‍ Sam Altman gets defensive about AI’s massive electricity usage: ‘It also takes a lot of energy to train a human’ Uber employees have an AI clone of CEO Dara Khosrowshahi — and use 'Dara AI' before talking to the big boss himself ‍ ‍ Pope Implores Priests to Stop Writing Sermons Using ChatGPT ‍ ‍ Tech CEOs Confused by Why Everybody Hates AI So Much McDonald’s CEO is a ‘supersubscriber’ of AI tools—and even used it to photoshop all his kids into a Christmas card