WEIRD NEWS
Uber Just Doesn't Get It!
You know, when you're at an Uber meeting addressing sexual harassment and other misconduct it's probably in your best interest to NOT make sexist jokes! It seems David Bonderman hasn't figured that out. Just as Uber was announcing a host of changes, one more came Tuesday when the billionaire businessman resigned from Uber's board of directors. Earlier that same day, Bonderman had interrupted fellow board member Arianna Huffington at a companywide meeting to make a sexist joke. Huffington had commented that "there's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second." Bonderman, 74, then announced, "Actually, what it shows is that it's much more likely there'll be more talking." While a few laughed awkwardly, Huffington responded, "Oh, come on, David!" Bonderman, a partner at private equity firm TPG, later apologized, noting the comment was "careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable" and had a "destructive effect." A few hours later, he announced his resignation saying, "I need to hold myself to the same standards that we're asking Uber to adopt." Huffington agreed the comment was "totally inappropriate and against the new culture we are building at Uber," but accepted Bonderman's apology. (Los Angeles Times)
How To Trick Your Kids to Eat More Veggies!
Want to get your kids and even yourself to eat more veggies? It could be as easy as coming up with a cool name for the dish. According to psychology researchers at Stanford, people are more likely to chow down on vegetables if they have an "indulgent" name, like "sizzlin' beans" as opposed to plain old "beans." Diners are "motivated by taste," but labels affect "how tasty and filling we think food will be," says study author Bradley Turnwald. Researchers spent 45 days serving up veggies in a university cafeteria. Some dishes got a basic label like "carrots." Others got a label like "twisted citrus-glazed carrots" - but they were the exact same dishes. Those with the fancier and more engaging names were by far the best sellers, with 25% more people choosing them than veggies with a basic label. (BBC)
The Colonel's Going to Outer Space
KFC says it plans to make a space pioneer out of a chicken sandwich next week when it sends it to the edge of the atmosphere with the help of a high-altitude balloon. The promotional stunt for the Zinger sandwich comes two months after the fast food chain unveiled Rob Lowe playing Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders in a space suit as part of an ad campaign. KFC is partnering with balloon maker World View on the project. The chain says the launch window opens June 21 for what it says is the longest controlled stratospheric balloon flight with a commercial payload in history. The sandwich will return to earth and bring back telemetry data. However, an unofficial NASA Watch group has cried foul, pointing out that the balloon is only going up 80,000 feet, about a quarter of the way to the Karman Line where space is generally considered to begin. That means the sandwich "is not going anywhere near 'space,'" NASA Watch tweeted. But when Ars Technica space editor Eric Berger added that it's "not going past about 23km," KFC tweeted back: "And it'll be the most delicious 23km of them all." (Newser)
Megyn Kelly on Alex Jones
Megyn Kelly is under fire for her decision to sit down with Infowars host Alex Jones, who has peddled conspiracy theories, including the idea that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was faked by the government. Kelly has now defended and explained the decision to air the interview on NBC News Sunday. She says via a posted Twitter statement, "I find Alex Jones's suggestion that Sandy Hook was 'a hoax' as personally revolting as every other rational person does. It left me, and many other Americans, asking the very question that prompted this interview: how does Jones, who traffics in these outrageous conspiracy theories, have the respect of the president of the United States and a growing audience of millions?" She continues, "President Trump, by praising and citing him, appearing on his show, and giving him White House press credentials, has helped elevate Jones, to the alarm of many. Our goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light -- as journalists are supposed to do -- on this influential figure, and yes -- to discuss the considerable falsehoods he has promoted with near impunity." The statement came in response to the announcement that nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise has dumped her as the host of its gala in DC Wednesday night thanks to the Jones interview. Previews for Sunday's interview show Jones appearing to change the subject when asked about his Sandy Hook comments, saying that what people should really be concerned about are "animal-human hybrids." (Newser)
When Your Bank CEO Falls for Email Scam
Falling for a phishing scam is pretty dumb...but it's epic when you're the CEO of a major bank! Meet Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Citigroup's CEO Michael Corbat! The unsuspecting chief executives, along with Citigroup consumer-banking chief Stephen Bird, responded to emails sent by a prankster posing as bank executives over the weekend, according to both Goldman and Citigroup, though none revealed any sensitive information. In fact, it seems the goal of the scheme was to embarrass the bankers rather than steal information, reports the Wall Street Journal, noting one email sent to Blankfein referred to a comment he'd made about President Trump, not bank dealings. The bankers were just the latest high-profile victims of the prankster, known on Twitter as @ SINON_REBORN. Last month, the same individual got Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney to joke about his predecessor's drinking habits. The prankster sent the emails from an iPhone so the absence of legal jargon wouldn't raise suspicions. Well played sir. Well played. (Wall Street Journal)
Your Foul, Inappropriate Finding Nemo Shirt!
In case you missed the scorching temps outside, summer is officially her. So when Hannah Pewee and her sister went to the Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, she dressed for the 90-degree weather - meaning shorts and a Nemo tank top reading "Just Keep Swimming" with a picture from Pixar's Finding Nemo on the front. But partway through their shopping trip, Pewee says mall security told her she had to leave for wearing an "inappropriate" outfit. Allegedly, somebody complained. Her Facebook post about the incident has been shared more than 7,000 times and she says: "I was out having a fun time with my sister and next thing I know, I'm out on the street. S...-shaming how girls are dressed is deplorable and outdated, and it needs to stop." She later followed up with another post, writing she had spoken with management at the Woodland Mall, who apologized and told her "they're going to revise their clothing policy on their website so it is clearer what is and isn't acceptable." Here's hoping Disney paraphernalia makes the cut. Give the girl a break. She has to go through life with the last name of Pewee! (MSN)
What the What?
Here's some neck-deep irony. In Kansas City, 71-year-old Lawrence John Ripple told a judge he robbed a bank because of depression and that he wanted to get away from his wife. Last September, Ripple went to the Bank of Labor - a block from police headquarters - and handed the teller a note saying he had a gun and demanded money. After he was given money, he sat down and waited for police. A federal judge gave him just want he didn't want - six months of home confinement (with his wife) and 50 hours of community service. Court records indicate Ripple wrote the robbery note in front of his wife and told her he would rather be in jail than at home. (FOX 4KC)
You know, when you're at an Uber meeting addressing sexual harassment and other misconduct it's probably in your best interest to NOT make sexist jokes! It seems David Bonderman hasn't figured that out. Just as Uber was announcing a host of changes, one more came Tuesday when the billionaire businessman resigned from Uber's board of directors. Earlier that same day, Bonderman had interrupted fellow board member Arianna Huffington at a companywide meeting to make a sexist joke. Huffington had commented that "there's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second." Bonderman, 74, then announced, "Actually, what it shows is that it's much more likely there'll be more talking." While a few laughed awkwardly, Huffington responded, "Oh, come on, David!" Bonderman, a partner at private equity firm TPG, later apologized, noting the comment was "careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable" and had a "destructive effect." A few hours later, he announced his resignation saying, "I need to hold myself to the same standards that we're asking Uber to adopt." Huffington agreed the comment was "totally inappropriate and against the new culture we are building at Uber," but accepted Bonderman's apology. (Los Angeles Times)
How To Trick Your Kids to Eat More Veggies!
Want to get your kids and even yourself to eat more veggies? It could be as easy as coming up with a cool name for the dish. According to psychology researchers at Stanford, people are more likely to chow down on vegetables if they have an "indulgent" name, like "sizzlin' beans" as opposed to plain old "beans." Diners are "motivated by taste," but labels affect "how tasty and filling we think food will be," says study author Bradley Turnwald. Researchers spent 45 days serving up veggies in a university cafeteria. Some dishes got a basic label like "carrots." Others got a label like "twisted citrus-glazed carrots" - but they were the exact same dishes. Those with the fancier and more engaging names were by far the best sellers, with 25% more people choosing them than veggies with a basic label. (BBC)
The Colonel's Going to Outer Space
KFC says it plans to make a space pioneer out of a chicken sandwich next week when it sends it to the edge of the atmosphere with the help of a high-altitude balloon. The promotional stunt for the Zinger sandwich comes two months after the fast food chain unveiled Rob Lowe playing Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders in a space suit as part of an ad campaign. KFC is partnering with balloon maker World View on the project. The chain says the launch window opens June 21 for what it says is the longest controlled stratospheric balloon flight with a commercial payload in history. The sandwich will return to earth and bring back telemetry data. However, an unofficial NASA Watch group has cried foul, pointing out that the balloon is only going up 80,000 feet, about a quarter of the way to the Karman Line where space is generally considered to begin. That means the sandwich "is not going anywhere near 'space,'" NASA Watch tweeted. But when Ars Technica space editor Eric Berger added that it's "not going past about 23km," KFC tweeted back: "And it'll be the most delicious 23km of them all." (Newser)
Megyn Kelly on Alex Jones
Megyn Kelly is under fire for her decision to sit down with Infowars host Alex Jones, who has peddled conspiracy theories, including the idea that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was faked by the government. Kelly has now defended and explained the decision to air the interview on NBC News Sunday. She says via a posted Twitter statement, "I find Alex Jones's suggestion that Sandy Hook was 'a hoax' as personally revolting as every other rational person does. It left me, and many other Americans, asking the very question that prompted this interview: how does Jones, who traffics in these outrageous conspiracy theories, have the respect of the president of the United States and a growing audience of millions?" She continues, "President Trump, by praising and citing him, appearing on his show, and giving him White House press credentials, has helped elevate Jones, to the alarm of many. Our goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light -- as journalists are supposed to do -- on this influential figure, and yes -- to discuss the considerable falsehoods he has promoted with near impunity." The statement came in response to the announcement that nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise has dumped her as the host of its gala in DC Wednesday night thanks to the Jones interview. Previews for Sunday's interview show Jones appearing to change the subject when asked about his Sandy Hook comments, saying that what people should really be concerned about are "animal-human hybrids." (Newser)
When Your Bank CEO Falls for Email Scam
Falling for a phishing scam is pretty dumb...but it's epic when you're the CEO of a major bank! Meet Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Citigroup's CEO Michael Corbat! The unsuspecting chief executives, along with Citigroup consumer-banking chief Stephen Bird, responded to emails sent by a prankster posing as bank executives over the weekend, according to both Goldman and Citigroup, though none revealed any sensitive information. In fact, it seems the goal of the scheme was to embarrass the bankers rather than steal information, reports the Wall Street Journal, noting one email sent to Blankfein referred to a comment he'd made about President Trump, not bank dealings. The bankers were just the latest high-profile victims of the prankster, known on Twitter as @ SINON_REBORN. Last month, the same individual got Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney to joke about his predecessor's drinking habits. The prankster sent the emails from an iPhone so the absence of legal jargon wouldn't raise suspicions. Well played sir. Well played. (Wall Street Journal)
Your Foul, Inappropriate Finding Nemo Shirt!
In case you missed the scorching temps outside, summer is officially her. So when Hannah Pewee and her sister went to the Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, she dressed for the 90-degree weather - meaning shorts and a Nemo tank top reading "Just Keep Swimming" with a picture from Pixar's Finding Nemo on the front. But partway through their shopping trip, Pewee says mall security told her she had to leave for wearing an "inappropriate" outfit. Allegedly, somebody complained. Her Facebook post about the incident has been shared more than 7,000 times and she says: "I was out having a fun time with my sister and next thing I know, I'm out on the street. S...-shaming how girls are dressed is deplorable and outdated, and it needs to stop." She later followed up with another post, writing she had spoken with management at the Woodland Mall, who apologized and told her "they're going to revise their clothing policy on their website so it is clearer what is and isn't acceptable." Here's hoping Disney paraphernalia makes the cut. Give the girl a break. She has to go through life with the last name of Pewee! (MSN)
What the What?
Here's some neck-deep irony. In Kansas City, 71-year-old Lawrence John Ripple told a judge he robbed a bank because of depression and that he wanted to get away from his wife. Last September, Ripple went to the Bank of Labor - a block from police headquarters - and handed the teller a note saying he had a gun and demanded money. After he was given money, he sat down and waited for police. A federal judge gave him just want he didn't want - six months of home confinement (with his wife) and 50 hours of community service. Court records indicate Ripple wrote the robbery note in front of his wife and told her he would rather be in jail than at home. (FOX 4KC)
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