Alabama Anti-Discrimination Bill To Be Named After Apple CEO Tim Cook | ||
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Reuters) - An anti-discrimination bill championed by Alabama's only openly gay lawmaker will bear the name of Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook, a native of the state who came out as gay in October. Democratic state Representative Patricia Todd said on Wednesday the technology giant was initially hesitant about having Cook's name on her bill but later embraced the idea. Cook came out days after accepting an Alabama Academy of Honor award with a speech critical of the socially conservative state's lack of progress on rights for gay people. "Nobody could have scripted this," said Todd, who plans to introduce her bill in the Alabama legislative session beginning in March. "I never in a million years would have expected it." In the days after Cook came out, Todd told reporters she would put his name on a bill she has introduced in past years to bar discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teachers and state employees. The bill has gained little traction. Cook said she was speaking in jest about using Cook's name, but her comments were published and came to the attention of Apple. Todd said she received a call early last month from a company official who expressed concern over Cook's name being attached to such a politically sensitive measure. Todd said she told the official she would not name the bill after Cook. But after that conversation was reported by BuzzFeed earlier this week, Todd received a call from the company's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, who told her Cook would be delighted to have the bill named after him, she said. In a statement provided to Reuters, Apple said: "Tim was honored to hear that State Rep. Todd wanted to name an antidiscrimination bill after him, and we're sorry if there was any miscommunication about it. We have a long history of support for LGBT rights and we hope every state will embrace workplace equality for all." Todd said she hoped Cook could come to the Legislature and speak on the bill's behalf, particularly its value in attracting business and talent to the state. "We have extended the invitation to him, but he is a busy man and of course Apple comes first," she said. "I hope he can fit it into his schedule."
(Reporting by Sherrel Wheeler Stewart in Birmingham, Ala.; Additional reporting by Christina Farr in San Francisco; Writing by Jonathan Kaminsky; Editing by Peter Cooney) Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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This Is The Gorgeous, Futuristic $130 Million Floating Park Barry Diller Is Building In The Hudson River | ||
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IAC chairman (and billionaire) Barry Diller announced earlier this year that he and his wife are funding $130 million of a $170 million floating park in the Hudson River called Pier 55. On stage at Business Insider's Ignition conference, Diller said that he feels lucky to be part of such an ambitious project. The park will be built 186 feet off the Hudson River shoreline, near 14th Street in New York City. It will be supported by 300 mushroom-shaped concrete columns ("Not the kind of mushrooms you probably hope," Diller joked to Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget). "We've been plotting this for almost two years," Diller says. "It will take us another four years to actually build it." See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Here’s Where You’ll Find The Next Generation Of Scientists And Engineers | ||
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Arizona is known for its canyons and abundant sunshine, but it may not be long before the state is mentioned alongside Silicon Valley as a hotbed for high tech. One out of every five jobs in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas is in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, thanks to a combination of public and private efforts to attract growing companies and entrepreneurs. Arizona's highly educated workforce is a major draw. The National Science Foundation ranks Arizona among the top 10 states in the nation for the number of bachelor's degrees as well as science and engineering doctorates conferred. The University of Arizona and Arizona State University (ASU) add thousands of well-qualified entry level employees to the market each year, but the metro Phoenix community college system — the country’s largest — is also key, as about half of local STEM jobs require vocational training as opposed to a four-year college degree. What’s more, awareness of STEM careers among the general population has been growing fast as a result of events like the annual Arizona SciTech Festival, which aims to entice potential scientists and engineers of all ages with six weeks of events held in neighborhoods across the state. ASU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group takes STEM beyond the classroom, recruiting entrepreneurs to take valuable discoveries directly from its academic labs into the commercial sector. In the course of the last decade, its Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE) arm has supported the launch of 67 ASU spinout companies that raised almost $400 million in venture funding. Last year, 10 especially promising new startups were shaped by ASU’s Furnace Technology Transfer Accelerator, a public-private effort dedicated largely to bringing health-related products to market. Soon the school will open a new Pracademic Center of Excellence in Technology Transfer with support from a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Programs like these are one reason a recent Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity ranked Arizona #1 in the nation with a startup rate of 520 businesses per 100,000 adults, with many of those companies in fields like health, biotech, software, and energy technology. Less formal support for innovative STEM companies is growing in the form of new conferences like StartupConnect AZ and Tempe Startup Weekend, which are both creating opportunities for new businesses to connect directly with potential funders and mentors. More sustained elbow-rubbing among visionaries happens at co-working spaces like Gangplank, Co+Hoots, and ASU’s Alexandria Co-Working Network as well as through the efforts of networking organizations like Science Foundation Arizona, a nonprofit that links the muscle of CEOs from Greater Phoenix Leadership, Southern Arizona Leadership, and the Flagstaff 40. State and local government does its part, from offering streamlined processes for securing permits and approvals on new ventures to an Angel Investment Program that gives tax credits to investors who fund small businesses generating job growth. Nascent high-tech companies also benefit directly from Workforce Training and Quality Jobs credits that reward companies creating high-wage jobs, and Research and Development credits that support investments in new technology. As the national economy rebuilds, Arizona is establishing itself as a business-friendly alternative to longtime tech hubs like California and New York. More than 90 tech companies have already set up shop in the state, and no doubt hundreds more are watching and waiting to see where this rapid growth may lead. Learn more about business development in Arizona from the Arizona Commerce Authority. - Written by Jennifer Keeney Sendrow Find out more about Sponsor Posts. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Check Out The Massive Sinkhole Tearing Apart A Street In San Francisco | ||
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A massive 30-by-20 foot sinkhole tore apart a street in the Bay Area of San Francisco on Wednesday, according to a CBS local San Francisco affiliate. The sinkhole, caused by heavy overnight rain, sits at the intersection of Lake Street and Sixth Avenue. Jean Walsh, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, told CBS that sand had eroded around an underground water main pipe at the intersection. As a result, the pipe collapsed, causing rocks and sand to erode. This isn't a first-time experience for Lake Street residents — in May 2013, an enormous 22-foot sinkhole opened up on Lake Street and 2nd Ave. San Francisco residents and news outlets have been tweeting photos of the sinkhole all day:
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Larry Ellison's Son Launches A Clothing Line Inspired By His Dad's Hawaiian Island | ||
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A couple of years ago billionaire software mogul Larry Ellison bought the Hawaiian island of Lanai. The island inspired Larry to create a green energy paradise. It inspired his son David Ellison to launch a new line of men's clothing, called the "LANAI Collection." David is known for his sense of style, and for using his trust fund wealth to become a successful movie producer including "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), "World War Z" (2013) and "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"(2011). (Larry's other offspring, daughter Megan Ellison, has become an uber successful movie mogul, too.) David isn’t the designer of this new clothing line but he is the "founder and visionary," a spokesperson for the line tells Business Insider. "He wanted to create a collection that was inspired by the spirit of the island and is designed for a new vanguard that moves between work, play and adventure without changing their nature, much like David himself."
Neither Larry or Megan are involved with this collection. It is David's alone, we're told. However Arnold Schwarzenegger will be wearing the LANAI collection in the new Terminator film J, produced by David's movie company, Skydance. Here's a few pieces in the collection:
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This is a luxury brand with luxury brand prices, as the taste of a billionaire's son would dictate: the clothes cost from $70 (for a crew neck T-shirt) to $295 (hoodie) to $1,995 (Suede aviator jacket).
Young People Don't Care About Newspapers, Old People Don't Care About Smartphones | ||
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Kicking off Business Insider’s Ignition event on Tuesday, Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget detailed where digital business is headed. And of all the interesting visuals from that presentation, this chart, based on Ofcom data charted by BI Intelligence, stood out. It shows a major shift in the types of media most important to various generations. People between the ages of 16 and 24, for example, would not blink an eye if newspapers and magazines went extinct; smartphones are the "must-have" device of the younger generation. The breakdown among all adults shows a much stronger craving for TV over smartphones and computers, and the older generations (those over 75) don't care much about computers and have absolutely no problem living without smartphones.
SEE ALSO: Here Are The Most Common Apps On People's Home Screens Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Hot VC Firm Led By Palantir’s Cofounder Just Raised $500 Million | ||
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The San Francisco firm, founded in 2011, has been on a hot streak lately. It made big returns with its early investments in Oculus VR (acquired by Facebook for $2 billion) and RelateIQ (acquired by Salesforce.com for $390 million). Its founders include Joe Lonsdale, cofounder of Palantir; Jim Kim, former general partner at Khosla Ventures; and Brian Koo, the grandson of LG Electronics’ founder. The firm told The Wall Street Journal that it will invest in about 25 companies, with each receiving around $20 million, over the next two to three years. The new fund will target “old and inefficient” industries, like textiles, food, and energy, Kim told the Journal. One of the biggest strengths of Formation 8 is in its strong ties to Asian businesses. In particular Koo, with his family ties in some of the biggest Asian firms, makes it easier for Silicon Valley startups to forge relationships in the region. For example, Koo played a major role in connecting Oculus VR to Samsung when the two partnered for a new Oculus product. Formation 8 already has offices in Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, and Beijing. The first investment for the new fund was also made in a South Korean mobile shopping startup called YelloMobile earlier this month. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Formation 8, Google Just Made It Much Easier To Prove You're Not A Robot | ||
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Google just made it easier to prove you're not a robot. If you've every signed up for an online account or bought something online, you've probably encountered a CAPTCHA prompt, where you've been asked to type a portion of distorted text to prove you're not a spambot. Turns out, Google's research recently showed that today's artificial intelligence (read: robots) can solve those CAPTCHA prompts with 99.8% accuracy. So, Google is introducing "No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA," which allows users to just check a box to prove they're not a robot. How? Google developed an "Advanced Risk Analysis" algorithm which considers a user's interaction with the CAPTCHA before, during, and after the time that they click it. Websites can now start using Google's new system on their own sites. Now, instead of trying to decipher hard-to-read text, like this:
You'll just have to check a box:
Watch Google's full video demo: SEE ALSO: Sorry, Microsoft! A Bunch Of Teenagers Just Talked About Doing School Work And None Of Them Use Word Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here's Apple's Next Great Business (AAPL) | ||
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Apple is primarily a smartphone company. They have other wonderful products, but the iPhone is steadily growing as a source of the company's revenue and earnings. But at least one major bank sees huge upside in other Apple products next year. "We believe 'services' is an area within Apple that has strong potential to grow with other yet to be announced initiatives that have close to 100% margins," wrote Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes. In particular, Reitzes says that Apple Pay will be a massively profitable business, which will help margins if Apple can expand it. Reitzes also expects a subscription video service, similar to the Beats service for audio which Apple is reportedly going to push to all iPhones next year. "A more comprehensive media service to integrate TV and subscriptions seem like a no brainer at some point," says Reitzes. Barclays also expects Apple's margins to benefit from the Apple Watch, which will have some high-priced options, and as phone and tablet buyers shift to bigger-screened devices, like the iPhone 6 Plus and the full iPad (rather than the iPad mini). Barclays is particularly bullish on the iPad 6 Plus in China next spring. Barclays raised its price target on Apple to $140 from $120 per share, a whopping vote of confidence in the company's plans for 2015 and beyond. SEE ALSO: The iPhone 6 Plus Will Be Huge In China This Spring Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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40% Of LinkedIn Users Earn More Than $100,000 A Year | ||
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When Reid Hoffman cofounded LinkedIn in December 2002, he was breaking a taboo. The social network asked people to share their résumés with the public. Now, LinkedIn might be the most elite of the social networks. The demographics are a marketer's dream. LinkedIn users tend toward white collar and highly educated. They live all over the world, and many of them are increasingly engaged with the site, thanks to LinkedIn Influencers, LinkedIn Pulse, and other content strategies. But the biggest factor is money — as in, LinkedIn users have lots of it. In a data-rich profile of LinkedIn editorial head Dan Roth, Digiday's John McDermott reveals how much. The social network has a "disproportionately wealthy user base," McDermott writes, citing the analytics company comScore. "More than 40% of LinkedIn visitors earn more than $100,000 per year," he continues, "higher than 31% average for the entire web." By positioning itself as the place for white-collar workers to network, LinkedIn has commanded the eyeballs of lots of wealthy people, with nearly 80 million unique visitors a month. Its content strategy is now helping to turn those users into loyal readers, making the social network that much more attractive to advertisers. And that brings in the bucks: Third quarter ad revenue increased by 45% over last year. SEE ALSO: Life-Changing Career Advice From LinkedIn's Billionaire Founder Reid Hoffman Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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NOW HIRING: Business Insider Is Looking For A Careers Reporter | ||
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If you enjoy covering corporate news (think Google, Apple, Facebook), hiring trends, and successful leaders, as well as topics like resume writing, negotiations, salary, job interviewing, and millennials in the workplace, you might be the ideal candidate. But it's important that you also have the following: *Excellent writing skills *A basic understanding of business *An interest in all types of news *Familiarity with the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, LinkedIn, and other sites that cover the latest trends in business *A curiosity about the psychology of success and what makes CEOs, innovators, and creative minds tick *An ability to package information in a fresh and original way *Creative and inspired ideas *A journalism background *Knowledge of social media *Previous writing experience APPLY HERE with a resume and cover letter if this sounds like your dream job, and specify why you're interested in working on Careers. This job is full-time and based in our New York City headquarters. Business Insider offers competitive compensation packages complete with benefits. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Deloitte Managers Made Huge $400,000+ Salaries, Hacked Documents Show | ||
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Here's more fallout from the huge hack at Sony Pictures: leaked salary information for more than 30,000 employees of Deloitte, the New York-based accounting and professional services firm. So, if you're curious as to what "director level" employees at a big accounting firm get paid, these leaked documents will give you an idea. General answer: a lot. The salary information dates back to 2005, so it's a safe bet salaries have gone up since then. A senior manager/director for the enterprise risk services unit in Los Angeles earned $460,000. Dozens of other senior directors in New York, Chicago, and other areas were making over $400,000. And dozens more were making over $350,000. To recap: Sony Pictures is suffering from an unprecedented hack attack in which hackers shut down Sony's systems and released a whopping 11 terabytes of data grabbed off of various computers. Deloitte's information got tangled up in the hack. It was reportedly sitting on the computer of an HR person employed by Sony Pictures who used to work at Deloitte. This person apparently had some of Deloitte's files saved on that computer, reports news site Fusion. Fusion reporters Kevin Roose and Alexis Madrigal published some of those salaries in a chart:
Other weird things about this hack include talk that it was orchestrated by North Korea in protest of new Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy film by Sony called "The Interview." The movie is about two men trying to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. North Korea had reportedly previously tried to force Sony to stop the release of that film, reports Business Insider's Pamela Engel. SEE ALSO: 9 Crazy Details About The Huge Sony Hack Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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25 Tumblrs That Went Ballistic In 2014 | ||
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Tumblr is an image-centric platform known for its quirky, shareable content. There was a ton of great content created on Tumblr this year, from hilarious Beyonce illustrations to poetic reinterpretations of today's pop songs. The Tumblr team analyzed traffic for millions of posts to compile a list of the most popular blogs for 2014. These are the blogs that went absolutely viral this year, attracting thousands of reblogs and fans all over the Internet. "If Paintings Could Text" imagines what characters in classic paintings would say if they had iPhones. On "Ghost Photographs," Artist Angela Deane paints on pictures to make figures look like ghosts. "TL;DR Wikipedia" condenses Wikipedia entries in a humorous way. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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LYFT COFOUNDER: Uber's Plan To Mess With Our Funding Didn't Work | ||
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In a recent Vanity Fair profile of Uber, CEO Travis Kalanick talked candidly about trying to thwart a fundraising effort of Lyft, one of its competitors. But John Zimmer, Lyft's cofounder and president, told Bloomberg's Betty Liu Wednesday that Uber really didn't hinder Lyft's fundraising efforts. In fact, the company raised more money than it intended. Here's what Zimmer said:
And here's the relevant portion of Kalanick's Vanity Fair interview, with regards to Lyft: We knew that Lyft was going to raise a ton of money, and we are going [to their investors], ‘Just so you know, we’re going to be fund-raising after this, so before you decide whether you want to invest in them, just make sure you know that we are going to be fund-raising immediately after. On Wednesday, Zimmer also discussed Sen. Al Franken's privacy concerns about Lyft — he sent the company a letter yesterday, like he did with Uber a few weeks ago. "I think we share [Senator Franken's] overall concern and respect for user privacy," Zimmer said. "If you look at our company and our company's values and the way we operate internally, we've always respected users' privacy. Over time as we've grown we've added more and more safeguards to those privacy policies internally. In the last few weeks, we've added additional tiers to what certain employees are able to see in regard to users' information. I think it's a good conversation to be having and one that we're open to working with him on." Lyft announced last week that it recently had its biggest week ever in terms of how many rides were taken on the app, though Lyft would not disclose those numbers. You can watch the full video of Wednesday's interview below: SEE ALSO: Lyft Says It Just Had Its Biggest Week Ever Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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LOWE'S EXEC: Here's The Real Reason People Will Start Caring About Smart Home Gadgets | ||
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From thermostats that can automatically adjust the temperature in your home to light bulbs that change color depending on the music you're listening to, the market is getting flooded with home automation tech right now. But convenience and novelty alone won't convince everyday consumers to spend extra money on Internet-enabled household appliances. According to Kevin Meagher, the general manager of Lowe's smart home division, there's one critical reason smart home technology will take off with consumers: safety. Speaking at Business Insider's annual Ignition conference, Meagher cites devices like smart smoke detectors that issue you notifications if the battery is about to die. "Connectivity brings a new dimension [to safety]," he said. Imagine a stove that could automatically turn off when it's not in use. Devices like this could be especially ideal for assisted living situations, since the gadgets would be capable of shutting down automatically to avoid dangerous situations. "When you've got an 80-year-old parent living on their own, what do they need a smart stove for?" Meagher said. "Every day of the week I'd pay [extra] for a smart stove that would switch things off." SEE ALSO: The Best Gadgets You Can Buy This Holiday Season Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here's How Jimmy Iovine Convinced Apple To Buy Beats (AAPL) | ||
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We now know how Beats cofounder Jimmy Iovine convinced Apple to buy the luxury headphones and music streaming company, thanks to a recent interview with GQ. Apple bought Beats in October for $3 billion. Iovine said he started pitching Apple about buying Beats in 2012. "I said, 'I don't want to work for anybody else. I want to do this at Apple. I know I can achieve this at Apple,'" said Iovine. The Beats cofounder told Apple he wasn't interested in shopping the company around for potential buyers when he knew exactly who he wanted to work with. "I wanna come here, to Steve's company," he told Apple, referring to the company's cofounder. But Iovine ultimately sold Apple by convincing the company he could provide something they didn't have — a music streaming service. "I know what you're capable of; I know you get popular culture," he said. "I know you have a hole in music right now; let me plug it." All signs show Apple is working to catch up on music streaming. It plans to rebrand Beats Music and roll it into iTunes next year. SEE ALSO: Here's What It's Like To Work With Tim Cook Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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7 New Statistics About Facebook Users That Reveal Why It's Such A Powerful Marketing Platform | ||
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But digging into the data reveals more specific and compelling reasons why marketers should be active on Facebook, such as the fact that it has the most users in the mid-twenties to mid-thirties age bracket (Facebook also still has the highest number of daily teen users of any social network). In a new report from BI Intelligence, we break down the current demographics of Facebook and show why it's such a powerful platform for companies, brands, and products. Facebook's surprisingly strong statistics in terms of gender breakdown, income levels, and age diversity make it the obvious go-to marketing platform. We also spotlight similar statistics for all the main social networks, but Facebook's numbers remain the most compelling. Access The Full Report By Signing Up For A Free Trial >> Here are a few of the key takeaways from the BI Intelligence report:
The report is full of charts (over 20 charts) and data that can be downloaded and put to use. In full, the report:
For full access to all BI Intelligence reports, briefs, and downloadable charts on the digital media industry, sign up for a free trial. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Who's on Facebook? The short answer is everyone. And that's why every company and brand needs to seriously consider a major presence on the platform, Lawsuit Against Zillow Accuses Company Of 'Sexual Torture' Of Female Employees | ||
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Zillow, a $4.5 billion real-estate database business, is under fire as a new lawsuit has been filed accusing the company of building a company culture that is like an "adult frat house." According to the lawsuit, female employees at Zillow are "constantly solicited for sex by co-workers, ranked on their breast size, and fired if they refuse to play along," Valleywag reports. The suit was first reported by The Recorder. From the lawsuit: Plaintiff Rachel Kremer began her employment enthusiastically with Defendant Zillow, Inc. ("Zillow") on June 25, 2012 as an Inside Sales Consultant. Ms. Kremer quickly learned that Zillow had a pervasive culture of degrading women. Ms. Kremer's male supervisors ranked her according to her breast size, sent pictures of their penis to her, and demanded sexual gratification and obedience by Ms. Kremer to continue her employment. Ms. Kremer's experience was not limited to one supervisor, but instead, was pervasive throughout Zillow's leadership. Privately, Zillow executives bragged that the office culture led to more sexual encounters than Match.com and referred to the internal office directory as "Zinder," named after the dating application Tinder. Sadly, for Ms. Kremer, by not participating in this culture, she felt she would be outcast, and terminated. Eventually, after experiencing the most heinous acts of sexual harassment imaginable, Ms. Kremer was terminated. Zillow attempted to cover up their conduct by having Ms. Kremer sign a confidentiality agreement and release. Ms. Kremer brings this action based on the sexual torture she endured, and for the other women who have been silenced at Zillow, and remain exposed to horrific and unthinkable acts. Also covered in the suit are sexually explicit texts sent to Kremer from Zillow employees (some are coworkers and others are managers, the suit states). Kremer's lawyers say that she reported the instances of harassment, but Zillow took no action.
There were other texts as well, including NSFW imagery of a colleague's penis. Kremer says she was fired for rejecting sexual advances from male managers, according to Valleywag: The company told her she was terminated "due to her failure to meet her sales goals for the two preceding months." However, she was given no advance warning about her performance, and the suit claims her performance was "nearly identical" to another employee hired around the same time. Kremer believes her opposition to her harassment was the real reason she was cut. In the below case, Kremer says she told her supervisor Gabe Schmidt about a coworker who was watching explicit videos at work. She alleges that while Schmidt did advise her to report the coworker in question, he also said the coworker "wouldn't be fired." According to the lawsuit, Schmidt then insinuated that the coworker might masturbate to Kremer's Salesforce photo.
In a statement to Business Insider, Zillow responded to the allegations: Zillow takes any allegations about our work environment very seriously. When this allegation was first made, we immediately investigated these claims and as a result took quick action and terminated a sales employee in our Irvine office. The allegations in the complaint do not reflect Zillow’s culture or workplace and are completely inconsistent with our values. We don’t tolerate harassment of any kind. It’s incredibly important to us to create and maintain a work environment that is safe, comfortable and inclusive for everyone. Our people are our greatest asset as a company, and we take great pride in our strong culture and reputation as a best place to work. You can read the entire suit below:
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Facebook Employee Explains How Sheryl Sandberg Taught Him To See The World In A Different Way | ||
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Josh Miller, current Facebook employee and founder of the conversation platform Branch, has written a passionate defense of the Nevada government in its case against Uber. He urges people to stop blindly defending Uber and consider the government’s point of view. He explains that almost all new industries are under-regulated when they’re just starting out and that it takes the government “to protect the well-being of society.” Miller learned this type of measured consideration from his colleague at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg. During one particularly contentious product review with Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg, an argument ensued over strategy. “It was a quintessential corporate dilemma where the best decision for the product may not be the best decision for the company,” Miller writes. He became increasingly frustrated and couldn’t understand why Sandberg wouldn’t see his side. Finally, she stopped him and explained, “We are all on the same team. We’re on your team, with the same goals. But our job is to cover bases that you may not be thinking about.” “Sheryl is way too poised to ever drop a mic but, man, a mic drop would have been fitting,” says Miller. He now preaches the belief that just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean they’re dumb, bureaucratic, or misguided. He implores people to take the time to understand Nevada’s case against Uber, before immediately branding them as backward or dumb. “We’re dealing with innovations that are changing the way our society works — in that respect, we’re all on the same team,” he says. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Tiger Woods makes injury comeback at World Challenge golf | ||
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Orlando (AFP) - Tiger Woods returns to competition after a four-month injury layoff this week at Isleworth, the same gated community where his historic golf career began to unravel five years ago. Woods, who has played only seven events in 2014 due to a nagging back injury, will make his comeback starting Thursday at the Hero World Challenge, an 18-player invitational event that benefits his charity foundation. Seven of the world's 11 top players will compete, including eighth-ranked Australian Jason Day in his return from a back injury and 11th-rated Jordan Spieth, coming off a victory in last week's Australian Open, but not world number one Rory McIlroy. "We're thrilled about the depth and talent of our field," Woods said. Woods, ranked 24th, moved the event this year from California to the same neighborhood where he drove into a fire hydrant in late November of 2009. That began a series of revelations unveiling a sex scandal that led to Woods' divorce from wife Elin in 2010 and damaged his once-perfect image with major sponsors. Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, has not captured a major title since the 2008 US Open. Back, knee and leg injuries have hindered his pursuit of Nicklaus in recent years and Woods turns 39 later this month. No player has ever won more than three majors beyond his 39th birthday, something Woods must achieve if he is to catch Nicklaus. The Challenge will be the first tournament for Woods since he named Chris Como as his new swing consultant last month following a split with swing coach Sean Foley in August. "I'm excited to be back competing," Woods tweeted two weeks ago when he announced he was working with Como. Woods underwent a microdiscectomy on March 31 to ease pressure on a pinched nerve, a surgery that caused him to miss the Masters and US Open. This year, Woods missed two cuts plus a secondary cut at Torrey Pines and withdrew from two other events. He has finished 72 holes only twice this year -- sharing 25th at Doral in March in his final event before surgery but wincing in pain at shots and when bending to pick his ball out of the hole and taking 69th at the British Open in July. Woods has not played since missing the cut at the PGA Championship at Valhalla in August a week after tweaking his back in a stumble at a World Golf Championships event. To stress the point Woods is healthy, his foundation tweeted a link to a Vine video Monday showing Woods hitting a drive Monday and also tweeted the message "He's back." It's the same two-word message that NBA legend and Woods pal Michael Jordan used to tell the world he was ending his retirement, heralding a comeback with the Chicago Bulls that doubled his career total of NBA titles to six. Woods sponsors learning centers that educate 15,000 students each year and scholarships that have sent more than 100 youth to college. "The foundation provides the resources our kids need to succeed," Woods said. "Thanks to our amazing supporters we are able to make that happen." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Del Potro back to defend Sydney International title | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro has been granted a wildcard into next month's Sydney International, organisers said on Thursday. The 2009 US Open winner will start as the tournament favourite despite a tough injury-blighted year. "Last year I played some of my best tennis in Sydney and it is the perfect way to start the year," said the Argentinian. The tournament’s top seed will be Italian Fabio Fognini (world number 20), while the second seed will go to Belgian David Goffin, ranked 22. Australians Nick Kyrgios and 2013 champion Bernard Tomic are also in the draw. The women’s side of the draw is headed by two-time Wimbledon champion and world number four Petra Kvitova along with world number three and French Open runner-up Simona Halep. The Sydney International takes place from January 11-17. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open | ||
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Good morning! Here are the major stories you need to hear about before markets open in London and Paris. Toyota Is Recalling Another 190,000 Cars In Japan And China. Toyota will recall 190,000 vehicles in Japan and China to replace potentially defective front passenger-side air bags made by Takata Corp, the latest in a long line of recalls for the embattled auto safety parts supplier. Get Ready For The European Central Bank. At 12.45 p.m. GMT, the latest decisions from the ECB will be announced, followed 45 minutes later by an hour-long press conference with Mario Draghi. Analysts are expecting more dovish noises but less firm action from Frankfurt. Asian Markets Are Up. Japan's Nikkei closed 0.94% higher on Thursday, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently climbing, up 1.39% from Wednesday's close. Several Samsung Mobile Executives Are Reportedly Quitting. Three deputies to the head of Samsung Electronics' mobile division are leaving, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday, as the world's largest smartphone maker faces a rapid decline in profit. Europe Will Struggle To Reform, But China Will Manage, According To Jamie Dimon. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon spoke in Washington Wednesday, saying that growth would be "sub-optimal" and reforms would be hard. Dimon added that Chinese authorities "can macro-manage and they can meet their short-term growth objectives, which is good for everybody else," according to Bloomberg. Yet Another Airline Is Getting Hit By Industrial Action. Pilots of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific were due to start work-to-rule action Thursday after long-running pay talks broke down, raising the prospect of delays and cancellations in the run-up to Christmas. The Fed's Contacts Suggest Shale Drilling Isn't Slowing, Despite The Oil Price Drop. The economy isn't yet seeing much response to the falling price of oil, but everyone is on the lookout for it. Drilling activity certainly doesn't seem to be slowing, according to the Fed's Beige Book. Brazil Hiked Interest Rates. The central bank lifted Brazil's benchmark interest rate to 11.75%, as investors expected, in an attempt to control inflation, according to the Financial Times. SoftBank Is Betting On An Uber-Style Taxi Service In Asia. Japanese telecoms firm SoftBank Corp has pumped in $250 million (£159.50 million) to become the top investor in Southeast Asian mobile taxi-booking application GrabTaxi, its biggest investment in a Southeast Asian Internet firm. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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NASA counts down to Orion's first step to Mars | ||
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Cape Canaveral (AFP) - The Orion spacecraft, designed to carry humans farther in deep space than ever before, is poised to blast off Thursday in what NASA hailed as a first step in mankind's journey to Mars. No astronauts will be on board the capsule when it launches aboard the United States' largest rocket, the Delta IV Heavy made by United Launch Alliance, but engineers will be keenly watching to see how it performs during the four-and-a-half hour flight. The launch marks the first of a US spacecraft meant to carry people into deep space since the Apollo missions that brought men to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s. With no American vehicle to send humans to space since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, some at NASA said the Orion launch has re-energized the US space program, long constrained by government belt-tightening and forced to rely on costly rides aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft to reach the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit. "We haven't had this feeling in awhile, since the end of the shuttle program, (of) launching an American spacecraft from America's soil and beginning something new," said Mike Sarafin, lead flight director at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "While the feeling is familiar and the anticipation of flight is familiar, it is a new mission and there some things that I am sure we are going to learn tomorrow from this unmanned flight test that will enable us to fly humans into deep space." Potential future missions for Orion, which is designed to fit four people at a time, include a trip to lasso an asteroid and a journey to Mars by the 2030s. "Thursday is the beginning of that journey, testing key systems -- the riskiest systems I would say for Orion -- before we have any people on board," said Mark Geyer, program manager for Orion. "This is the beginning of exploration," he added.
- Launch from Cape Canaveral -
The launch at 7:05 am (1205 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aims to propel 1.63 million pounds (739,000 kilograms) of spacecraft, rocket and fuel straight to space, where the capsule will make two laps around the Earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. The first orbit will be about as high as the International Space Station, which circles at an altitude of about 270 miles (430 kilometers), but the second will soar 15 times higher, to an apogee of 3,600 miles (5,800 kilometers) above the Earth. The chief contractor of the Orion capsule is Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft was first designed to take humans to the Moon as part of NASA's Constellation program, which was cancelled by President Barack Obama in 2010, in favor or seeking new destinations in deep space. The goal is both nebulous and costly, and NASA has already spent billions of dollars on Orion and the powerful rocket meant to propel it with crew on board, the Space Launch System (SLS). The first Orion test flight with people on board is scheduled for 2021, but with costs projected to reach $19-22 billion, space analyst Marco Caceres of the Teal Group in Virginia said it could be longer. "Assuming Congress or one of the next two presidents do not cancel SLS because of its inevitably ballooning costs, it's more likely that the first SLS/Orion manned mission will occur closer to the middle part of the next decade," Caceres said.
- Safety first -
As NASA looks beyond the Moon, safety for human explorers is another key problem that has yet to be solved. "Radiation is one of the biggest challenges for us," NASA administrator Charles Bolden told an audience of NASA enthusiasts gathered at Kennedy Space Center for a social media event. The primary objective of Thursday's test, according to Geyer, is to see how the heat shield performs as it reaches temperatures of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,200 Celsius) on its high-speed plunge back to Earth at a velocity of 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) per hour. "A part of me hopes that everything is perfect. We land, have high-fives and everybody has a great time," Geyer told reporters. But he added that the test is designed to find things that go wrong before precious lives are on board. "We want to discover things that are beyond our modeling capability and beyond our expertise so we can learn it and fix it before we put people on board." Weather for Thursday's launch was expected to be 70 percent favorable, with some risk of winds and rain, but NASA said the two hour, 39-minute launch window gives the team plenty of flexibility to accomplish the launch during the daylight hours. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Alabama Anti-Discrimination Bill To Be Named After Apple CEO Tim Cook | ||
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Reuters) - An anti-discrimination bill championed by Alabama's only openly gay lawmaker will bear the name of Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook, a native of the state who came out as gay in October. Democratic state Representative Patricia Todd said on Wednesday the technology giant was initially hesitant about having Cook's name on her bill but later embraced the idea. Cook came out days after accepting an Alabama Academy of Honor award with a speech critical of the socially conservative state's lack of progress on rights for gay people. "Nobody could have scripted this," said Todd, who plans to introduce her bill in the Alabama legislative session beginning in March. "I never in a million years would have expected it." In the days after Cook came out, Todd told reporters she would put his name on a bill she has introduced in past years to bar discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teachers and state employees. The bill has gained little traction. Cook said she was speaking in jest about using Cook's name, but her comments were published and came to the attention of Apple. Todd said she received a call early last month from a company official who expressed concern over Cook's name being attached to such a politically sensitive measure. Todd said she told the official she would not name the bill after Cook. But after that conversation was reported by BuzzFeed earlier this week, Todd received a call from the company's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, who told her Cook would be delighted to have the bill named after him, she said. In a statement provided to Reuters, Apple said: "Tim was honored to hear that State Rep. Todd wanted to name an antidiscrimination bill after him, and we're sorry if there was any miscommunication about it. We have a long history of support for LGBT rights and we hope every state will embrace workplace equality for all." Todd said she hoped Cook could come to the Legislature and speak on the bill's behalf, particularly its value in attracting business and talent to the state. "We have extended the invitation to him, but he is a busy man and of course Apple comes first," she said. "I hope he can fit it into his schedule."
(Reporting by Sherrel Wheeler Stewart in Birmingham, Ala.; Additional reporting by Christina Farr in San Francisco; Writing by Jonathan Kaminsky; Editing by Peter Cooney) Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Cathay pilots in 'work-to- rule' over pay dispute | ||
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Hong Kong (AFP) - Pilots of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific were due to start work-to-rule action Thursday after long-running pay talks broke down, raising the prospect of delays and cancellations in the run-up to Christmas. Union leaders announced the move -- which will see pilots work only their contractual hours -- as the latest round of negotiations with airline management over pay and working hours failed. "It is unfortunate that a year of negotiations has brought us to this point," said Chris Beebe, General Secretary of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA). The union represents more than 2,000 Cathay pilots and said that 92 percent of members had approved the action. "The pilot members, who are based in Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United States, will be instructed to perform their assigned duties in strict conformance with their existing conditions of service," HKAOA said in a statement late Wednesday. Beebe said the union "looks forward to resuming talks with management for a fairer, more equitable agreement on pay". A lack of pilots has led to some having to work additional shifts, reports said. "The pilot shortage has always been serious. Some are called to work twice a month on their rostered days off," one pilot told the South China Morning Post Thursday. The industrial action comes despite a four percent salary hike announced in November, backdated to January 2014 and running until the end of April 2015. Cathay said it was "extremely disappointed" at the decision and that talks would now be put "on hold". "We are confident that the flight crew community are aware of the high expectation from the travelling public. "We believe they will continue to fulfill their duties and would not cause any inconvenience to passengers in the upcoming festive holidays," it said in a statement. Germany's Lufthansa, Europe's biggest airline, was also braced for a pilots strike Thursday, with tensions heightened by its plans to expand into low-cost intercontinental services. Pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) Tuesday announced this week's second strike, which will hit long-haul and cargo flights. Its 36-hour strike Monday and Tuesday caused more than 1,000 flights to be scrapped and disrupted services to destinations including London, Dubai, Seoul, Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires.
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Australian retail giant pulls Grand Theft Auto V after protest | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - Australian retail giants Target and Kmart said Thursday they will stop selling blockbuster video game "Grand Theft Auto V" over concerns that it encourages violence against women. Target, a popular department store chain, acted after a petition authored by former sex workers, which has so far been signed by more than 40,000 people, called it a "sickening game". "Games like this are grooming yet another generation of boys to tolerate violence against women," the petition said. "It is fuelling the epidemic of violence experienced by so many girls and women in Australia -- and globally." Target's general manager for corporate affairs Jim Cooper said the decision was made following extensive community and customer concern. "We've been speaking to many customers over recent days about the game, and there is a significant level of concern about the game's content," he said. "We've also had customer feedback in support of us selling the game, and we respect their perspective on the issue. "However, we feel the decision to stop selling GTA5 is in line with the majority view of our customers," he added. Cooper said Target, which has some 300 stores in Australia but is not connected to the US retail giant of the same name, would continue to sell other R-rated games, suitable for over 18s. "While these products often contain imagery that some customers find offensive, in the vast majority of cases, we believe they are appropriate products for us to sell to adult customers," he said. "However, in the case of GTA5, we have listened to the strong feedback from customers that this is not a product they want us to sell." Kmart, which like Target is owned by diversified conglomerate Wesfarmers, said it was also pulling the game from the shelves of its stores. The company has 190 outlets in Australia and New Zealand. "Following a significant review of all content in Grand Theft Auto Games Kmart has taken the decision to remove this product immediately," spokesperson said. Grand Theft Auto has won legions of fans around the world, and as many critics, for game play in which winning depends on acts such as carjacking, gambling and killing. Play in Grand Theft Auto games has included simulated sex with prostitutes and drunken driving. The fifth instalment in the series is set in a fictional city of Los Santos based on real-world Los Angeles and its nearby hills and beaches.
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Lady Gaga Just Revealed That She Was Raped As A Teenager | ||
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New York (AFP) - Lady Gaga has revealed that she was raped as a teenager and said that it took her years of therapy to acknowledge and start to recover from the trauma. "I don't want to be defined by it," the pop star said. "I'll be damned if somebody is going to say that every creatively intelligent thing I ever did is all boiled down to one dickhead that did that to me." Lady Gaga, 28, said that the rape took place when she was 19 and that she has gone through years of therapy. She did not go into detail but said that the aggressor was 20 years older than her. "It happens every day. It's really scary and it's sad and it didn't affect me as much right after as it did about four or five years later," she told radio host Howard Stern. "I didn't tell anybody -- I didn't even tell myself for the longest time," she said. "Then I was like, you know what, all this drinking and all this nonsense, you have to go to the source, otherwise it won't go away." The singer, who later became known for her gaudy outfits and outspoken social commentary, said that she did not report the rape. She said she saw her aggressor once more when she ran into him at a store and that she became "paralyzed by fear." Lady Gaga revealed the rape as she discussed her song "Swine" from her 2013 album "Artpop." She performed the song at this year's South by Southwest festival, where she rode a mechanical bull in a suggestive fashion and had a collaborator vomit on her. "The song is about rape. This song is about demoralisation," Lady Gaga said in her radio interview Tuesday. "I want this chick to throw up on me in front of the world, so that I can tell them, you know what? You could never, ever degrade me as much as I could degrade myself and look how beautiful it is what I do."
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Several police die in clashes with militants in Chechnya | ||
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Moscow (AFP) - Several police died in clashes with militants who attacked a traffic post in the Chechen capital Grozny and then stormed a building housing local media, Russian officials said on Thursday. "There are losses among personnel," the National Anti-Terrorist Committee said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies, without being more specific. The latest skirmishes in volatile Chechnya, where Russia fought two wars over the past 20 years, took place hours before President Vladimir Putin was set to deliver his annual state of the nation address. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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ECB set to talk up stimulus measures but hold fire | ||
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Frankfurt (AFP) - The European Central Bank, at its final meeting of the year on Thursday, will prime the markets for new anti-deflation measures, but will wait until early next year to act, analysts said. Given the alarming drop in eurozone inflation in recent months, the heat has increased on the ECB to undertake massive stimulus measures like central banks in Britain, Japan and the United States have done. According to official data, inflation in the 18 countries that share the euro slowed to 0.3 percent in November from 0.4 percent the previous month, feeding fears of imminent deflation. Falling prices may sound good for the consumer, but they can trigger a vicious spiral where businesses and households delay purchases, throttling demand and causing companies to lay off workers. The ECB is scheduled to publish its own latest updated inflation and growth forecasts and is worried that medium-term inflation expectations could become permanently de-anchored from its target of around 2.0 percent. The ECB has already launched a multi-pronged offensive against deflation, cutting its interest rates to new all-time lows, making unprecedented amounts of cheap loans available to banks via its LTRO and TLTRO programmes, and unveiling asset purchase programmes (ABSs and covered bonds) to pump liquidity into the financial system. But it has also hinted at more radical action in the form of quantitative easing (QE), a policy used by other central banks around to stimulate their sluggish economies. QE is the large-scale purchase of government bonds and such a policy has many critics in Europe, not least the German central bank or Bundesbank, because it is felt that it takes the ECB outside its remit and is effectively a licence to print money to get governments out of debt. - 'Not if, but when' - "The ECB will aim to send out a strong message this Thursday that it will do what it takes to raise inflation and inflation expectations as fast as possible," said Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz. "Even if it does not step up its actions just yet, it will choose language for the statement that makes additional easing a near certainty for the first quarter of 2015," the expert said. "The question is no longer if, but when and what." Last week, the ECB's number two, Vitor Constancio, said the central bank would be in a position to gauge whether the previous stimulus measures are working in the first quarter of 2015. "If not, we will have to consider buying other assets, including sovereign bonds in the secondary market," Constancio said. Just days prior to that, ECB chief Mario Draghi had vowed to "step up the pressure and broaden even more the channels through which we intervene ... without any undue delay." Nevertheless, ECB-watchers are sceptical that QE will be announced as soon as Thursday. "With little action and much emphasis on the feel-good factor and good team spirit, this week's ECB meeting should fit into the contemplative pre-Christmas atmosphere," said ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski. "At the very least, we expect the ECB to indicate that it is planning more aggressive purchases in the nearer term," said Ben May at Oxford Economics. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Federal rights probe launched into New York police choking death | ||
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Washington (AFP) - The US Justice Department will launch a federal civil rights investigation into the choking death in New York of a black man at the hands of a white policeman, Attorney General Eric Holder said. The announcement came hours after a New York grand jury opted not to indict the police officer in the death of Eric Garner, sparking protests in the United States' largest city. "Now that the local investigation has concluded, I am here to announce that the Justice Department will proceed with a federal civil rights investigation into Mr. Garner’s death," Holder said in a statement. The top US federal law enforcement official said he had spoken with Garner's widow, President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio about his decision. "Our prosecutors will conduct an independent, thorough, fair and expeditious investigation. In addition to performing our own investigative work, the department will conduct a complete review of the material gathered during the local investigation," he stressed. "I know that substantial numbers of people in New York and across the country will be disappointed and frustrated by the outcome of the state grand jury proceeding today," Holder said. "I know many will plan to voice their disappointment publicly through protests. This is the right of all Americans. "But as I have said before, throughout our history, the most successful movements have been those that adhered to the principles of nonviolence." As he spoke, Holder -- the first African American to hold the attorney general post, under the first black US president -- demonstrators took to the streets in New York City and Washington to protest the New York grand jury's move. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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AL SHARPTON: 'We Are Dealing With A National Crisis' Of Police Violence | ||
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The Rev. Al Sharpton declared the country is in a "national crisis" after another high-profile grand jury declined to indict a white police officer involved in the death of an African-American man. "How many people have to die before people understand this is not an illusion, this is a reality that America has got to come to terms with," Sharpton said at a Harlem press conference with Garner's family. Earlier in the day a Staten Island grand jury decided to not bring charges against Daniel Pantaleo, an NYPD officer who was filmed placing 43-year-old Eric Garner in an apparent chokehold in July. Chokeholds are against police policy in New York City. Sharpton directly connected the Garner controversy to other fatal incidents between local police departments and unarmed black men. Notably, the city of Ferguson, Missouri, was rocked by violent protests last week after a grand jury decided to not indict Darren Wilson in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Angry demonstrations have also erupted in Manhattan. "We are dealing with a national crisis," Sharpton said, accusing local prosecutors of being tainted by bias in these sorts of cases. "No amount of secret grand juries with local prosecutors that put up evidence that we do not know is going to stop people from raising the questions and demanding the answers." Sharpton, a close ally of both the Garner and Brown families, also embraced the federal investigation into Garner's death. The veteran civil rights activist said he was organizing a rally in Washington in support of Justice Department intervention. "A week from this Saturday, Dec. 13, we are having a national march in Washington, DC where we are calling for the Justice Department to take this case and the case in Ferguson and the case in Cleveland," he said. "It is time for a national march to deal with a national crisis." Garner's family agreed and said they were "so happy" with the federal investigation. They were less happy, however, with the apology offered by Pantaleo, the officer involved in his death. Asked if she accepted his condolences, Garner's widow shouted, "Hell no!" SEE ALSO: A Grand Jury Just Declined To Indict In Another Alleged Police-Brutality Case Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Protests Erupt In NYC After A Grand Jury Didn't Indict Cop Involved In Chokehold Death | ||
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Demonstrators took to the streets of New York City hours after a grand jury announced its decision Wednesday to not indict the white officer involved in the death of an African-American man in Staten Island. Earlier in the evening they blocked the West Side Highway before moving on, marching across the entire midtown area. In Grand Central, police in riot gear spread out in the station to keep the peace.
Forty-three-year-old Eric Garner was filmed being placed in an apparent chokehold — a banned NYPD practice — by officer Daniel Pantaleo last July. In the video, Garner can be seen repeatedly exclaiming, "I can't breathe!" before going limp.
In addition to clogging streets, demonstrators repeatedly clashed with police and attempted to disrupt the Rockefeller Center's annual tree lighting. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told CNN at roughly 10 p.m. that about 30 protesters have been arrested so far. "I can't breathe!" some chanted, accusing the justice system of discriminating against young men of color. "No justice, no peace!" others shouted. A Brooklyn man named Marvin Knight came to the protest carrying a trio of large signs. One declared: "Eric Garner Michael Brown Both Dead Because Of A Lack Of Money." Another said, "Koch Brothers You Didn't Build That God Did." The third declared: "Kill Donald Trump -- Reward Three Hots And A Cot." After a group of protesters turned away from the West Side highway towards Times Square, Business Insider asked a nearby police officer if they were letting the demonstrations go wherever they wished. "Yeah, pretty much," he replied. Here's a video of the protests taken from Times Square: Here are some tweets documenting what is happening around the city:
— Philip Bump (@pbump) December 3, 2014
SEE ALSO: CHARLIE RANGEL: 'Having A Black President' Hasn't Solved Problems With The Police Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Angry about the grand jury's decision — especially in the aftermath of another high-profile non-indictment of a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri — protesters started to fill Times Square, Union Square and other places in Manhattan, as well as the Staten Island street where Garner died. Leaked Data Reveals A Big Gender Pay Gap At The Top Of Deloitte | ||
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In the mid 2000s, the auditing and consulting firm Deloitte had a gender pay problem. This chart comes from Fusion, which analyzed 2005 salary information for over 30,000 employees. The data was leaked as part of the major Sony Pictures hack. According to Kevin Roose, the information appeared to come from the computer of a current HR employee at Sony who used to work at Deloitte and still had the files on her computer. The info includes many of the top-paid people at Deloitte, including more than 1,000 directors. Roose reports that "the top 10 highest earners are all men, as are 22 of the top 25, 43 of the top 50, and 85 of the top 100." He says that this appears to be a compilation of data for an internal study in 2006 about whether there was racial or gender discrimination going on at the company. 58 groups within the company were looked at. 34 seemed to have significant results regarding gender or race. 18 were considered "problematic based on both regressions & t-tests." Deloitte apparently looked into those 18 groups, although representatives from the company have not yet responded to requests for comment. While you can see from the chart that women make less than men at all levels, the gap appears to widen around the $75,000-80,000 range. The top-paid woman makes 25% in salary than the top-paid man (this appears to be just salary, not total comp). And, from a rough estimate looking at the chart, there appear to be about twice as many men making $100,000 as women. Men make up more than half of the total workforce at Deloitte, but not by much. They are about 55%, according to Fusion's Felix Salmon. We'd love to know how this data has changed in the last 9 years. SEE ALSO: This New Steampunk Condo Development Is Proof That New York Is Over Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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This Is The Gorgeous, Futuristic $130 Million Floating Park Barry Diller Is Building In The Hudson River | ||
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IAC chairman (and billionaire) Barry Diller announced earlier this year that he and his wife are funding $130 million of a $170 million floating park in the Hudson River called Pier 55. On stage at Business Insider's Ignition conference, Diller said that he feels lucky to be part of such an ambitious project. The park will be built 186 feet off the Hudson River shoreline, near 14th Street in New York City. It will be supported by 300 mushroom-shaped concrete columns ("Not the kind of mushrooms you probably hope," Diller joked to Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget). "We've been plotting this for almost two years," Diller says. "It will take us another four years to actually build it." See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Here’s Where You’ll Find The Next Generation Of Scientists And Engineers | ||
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Arizona is known for its canyons and abundant sunshine, but it may not be long before the state is mentioned alongside Silicon Valley as a hotbed for high tech. One out of every five jobs in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas is in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, thanks to a combination of public and private efforts to attract growing companies and entrepreneurs. Arizona's highly educated workforce is a major draw. The National Science Foundation ranks Arizona among the top 10 states in the nation for the number of bachelor's degrees as well as science and engineering doctorates conferred. The University of Arizona and Arizona State University (ASU) add thousands of well-qualified entry level employees to the market each year, but the metro Phoenix community college system — the country’s largest — is also key, as about half of local STEM jobs require vocational training as opposed to a four-year college degree. What’s more, awareness of STEM careers among the general population has been growing fast as a result of events like the annual Arizona SciTech Festival, which aims to entice potential scientists and engineers of all ages with six weeks of events held in neighborhoods across the state. ASU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group takes STEM beyond the classroom, recruiting entrepreneurs to take valuable discoveries directly from its academic labs into the commercial sector. In the course of the last decade, its Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE) arm has supported the launch of 67 ASU spinout companies that raised almost $400 million in venture funding. Last year, 10 especially promising new startups were shaped by ASU’s Furnace Technology Transfer Accelerator, a public-private effort dedicated largely to bringing health-related products to market. Soon the school will open a new Pracademic Center of Excellence in Technology Transfer with support from a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Programs like these are one reason a recent Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity ranked Arizona #1 in the nation with a startup rate of 520 businesses per 100,000 adults, with many of those companies in fields like health, biotech, software, and energy technology. Less formal support for innovative STEM companies is growing in the form of new conferences like StartupConnect AZ and Tempe Startup Weekend, which are both creating opportunities for new businesses to connect directly with potential funders and mentors. More sustained elbow-rubbing among visionaries happens at co-working spaces like Gangplank, Co+Hoots, and ASU’s Alexandria Co-Working Network as well as through the efforts of networking organizations like Science Foundation Arizona, a nonprofit that links the muscle of CEOs from Greater Phoenix Leadership, Southern Arizona Leadership, and the Flagstaff 40. State and local government does its part, from offering streamlined processes for securing permits and approvals on new ventures to an Angel Investment Program that gives tax credits to investors who fund small businesses generating job growth. Nascent high-tech companies also benefit directly from Workforce Training and Quality Jobs credits that reward companies creating high-wage jobs, and Research and Development credits that support investments in new technology. As the national economy rebuilds, Arizona is establishing itself as a business-friendly alternative to longtime tech hubs like California and New York. More than 90 tech companies have already set up shop in the state, and no doubt hundreds more are watching and waiting to see where this rapid growth may lead. Learn more about business development in Arizona from the Arizona Commerce Authority. - Written by Jennifer Keeney Sendrow Find out more about Sponsor Posts. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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McLaren Says 'No Thank You' To Honda Supercar Engines | ||
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After a two decade separation, McLaren and Honda will once again team up to conquer the world of Formula One racing in 2015. However, don't expect to find Honda power plants inside McLaren's future supercars. "It won't happen,"McLaren Automotive's director of global sales and market Joylon Nash told Australia's Drive. "I mean that in the nicest way, as we are an independent company — we produce pure McLarens." "There is no need for us to go into partnership with another manufacturer," Nash added. The two companies' collaboration in the late 1980s became the most successful engine/race team in the history of Formula One. Every indication since the announcement of Honda's return is that McLaren is as happy to have the Japanese automaker around as Honda is to be back.
A spinoff of McLaren's World Championship-winning racing operation, McLaren Automotive first rose to prominence in the early 1990s with its all-conquering McLaren F1 hypercar. The 240 mph beast became the world's fastest car and rose to near mythical status. To power the F1, McLaren decided to use BMW's 6.1 liter 627 horsepower V-12 engine. To this day, it remains one of the finest engines ever to hit the roads.
However, McLaren's latest super and hypercars no longer depend on outside suppliers for their propulsion. The MP4-12C, P1 and 650s all derive power from McLaren's own 3.8 liter twin-turbocharged V8. In addition, Honda has been planning the imminent return of its own supercar, the NSX, for the past decade. The NSX is expected to have a V6 hybrid engine. SEE ALSO: The 10 Hottest Maseratis Of All Time Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Check Out The Massive Sinkhole Tearing Apart A Street In San Francisco | ||
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A massive 30-by-20 foot sinkhole tore apart a street in the Bay Area of San Francisco on Wednesday, according to a CBS local San Francisco affiliate. The sinkhole, caused by heavy overnight rain, sits at the intersection of Lake Street and Sixth Avenue. Jean Walsh, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, told CBS that sand had eroded around an underground water main pipe at the intersection. As a result, the pipe collapsed, causing rocks and sand to erode. This isn't a first-time experience for Lake Street residents — in May 2013, an enormous 22-foot sinkhole opened up on Lake Street and 2nd Ave. San Francisco residents and news outlets have been tweeting photos of the sinkhole all day:
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The Trent Richardson Trade Was A Genius Move For The Cleveland Browns | ||
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On Sunday the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts will meet for the first time since making one of the most fascinating NFL trades in years. After a Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in September of 2013, the Browns traded former No. 3-overall pick Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a first-round draft pick. At the time the Browns were accused of tanking. Fans ripped them for giving up on one of the most highly-drafted running backs in years after just 17 professional games. Fifteen months later, it's clear that all those criticisms were misguided. While the Colts may still sit above the Browns on the NFL totem pole, the Richardson trade has been an unqualified success for Cleveland and an unmitigated disaster for Indy. The Browns managed to do two things in the trade: 1) offload a draft bust right before his value plummeted, and 2) acquire an asset that gave them extreme flexibility on draft night. First, let's take a closer look at what the Browns did with the first-round pick they got from Indianapolis. That pick turned out to be No. 26 overall. It wasn't as high as Cleveland hoped, but they were able to parlay the extra pick into even more draft value. Here's what they did on draft night:
Cleveland turned two first-round picks (No. 4, No. 26) into three first-round picks (No. 9, No. 22, and Buffalo's 2015 pick) and managed to get Johnny Manziel. They pulled this off because they were willing to trade down from No. 4 to No. 9. And they were willing to trade down because they had the luxury of an extra first-round pick from Indianapolis. The Browns could afford to make that Buffalo deal because of the Richardson trade. They knew they were going to come out of the first round with two good players no matter what. The thing that really makes the trade look good for Cleveland 12 months later, though, is just how bad Richardson has looked in Indy. There's zero chance an NFL team would trade a high pick for Richardson right now, much less a first rounder. He averaged 2.9 yards per rush last year with the Colts. That ranked 46th out of 48 eligible running backs. Only eight of his 126 carries went for 10 yards or longer. His longest run was 22 yards. By December Richardson was benched. After some offseason buzz that 2014 would be different, this season has also been a struggle for Richardson. He's averaging 3.3 yards per carry with three touchdowns in 11 games. The Colts have been decimated by injuries at running back. Vick Ballard went out for the year in training camp, and Ahmad Bradshaw was placed on season-ending injured reserve in mid-November. You'd think Richardson's workload would increase after those injuries. Instead, his carries have steadily diminished as the season has gone on. He's now essentially splitting the primary running back job with Boom Herron — a career special teams player who had nine total carries coming into the 2014 season. The Colts have always maintained that they won't give up on Richardson, even after he was booed by his own fans in Week 13. They simply have too much invested in him to kick him to the curb. Time will tell if the Browns made smart picks in Manziel and Gilbert. But in terms of pure value, the trade looks startingly lopsided more than a year later. SEE ALSO: NFL Power Rankings, Where Every Team Stands Going Into Week 14 Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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South Korea Is Building A Giant Christmas Tree To Annoy North Korea | ||
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South Korea is hoping to spread some Christmas cheer to North Korea this year with the construction of a 30-foot-tall Christmas tree alongside its border with the north, according to the Associated Press. North Korea bans public religious practice, but a South Korean Christian group has been given the greenlight from the government to illuminate a tree on an overlook less than two miles from the border. The height of the tree, coupled with the elevation from the hill, should enable North Koreans living in border towns to see the display. The new tree is a replacement for a previous 65-foot-tall tower that was first set up in 1971 and had been modified to resemble a Christmas tree. The tower was visible over the border by North Koreans, leading the North to declare the tower a "provocative display of psychological warfare." The previous tree was taken down earlier this year among threats from Kim Jong Un to shell the tower, according to Rick Noack of The Washington Post. Noack: To counter the holiday symbol, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime threatened to fire shells at the tower. Earlier this year, South Korea's military took the structure down, arguing that it was no longer safe. However, South Korea has seemingly back-peddled on its concerns that the tree may inspire a conflict with the north. "We accepted the request ... to guarantee free religious activities," Kim Min-seok, South Korea's defense ministry spokesman, said on Tuesday. South Korea has a long history of engaging North Korea in propoganda wars. South Korean groups routinely fly propaganda balloons over North Korean territory. On occasion, these balloons are also filled with Biblical verses. North Korea has also banned South Korean Choco Pies, a cookie-like treat, over fears that the junk food may undermine the revolutionary ideology of the North Korean masses. The decision to build the Christmas tree comes amid constant hostility between the two nations. South Korea, supported by China, has expressed concern over North Korea's drive to continue its nuclear weapons program. The countries also exchanged gunfire across the border twice in October. SEE ALSO: North Korea is in the process of developing a fleet of nuclear missile-capable submarines Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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