Cracker Barrel bends over, Zuck’s gift of headphones, Lisa Cook fights, and Kimbal says “pay the man”

US Senator Sanders favors Trump plan to take stake in Intel and other chipmakers

1. Bernie: "If microchip companies make a profit from the generous grants they receive from the federal government, the taxpayers of America have a right to a reasonable return on that investment."

1. Mark Zuckerberg gifted noise-canceling headphones to his Palo Alto neighbors because of the non-stop construction around his 11 homes

1. Cracker Barrel, under fire from Donald Trump Jr. and Steak n’ Shake, apologizes to fans but won’t drop new logo

1. “If the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices,” the company said Monday in a statement on its website.

2. “You’ve also shown us that we could have done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”

3. On Monday, the Lebanon, Tennessee-based company emphasized that many things about Cracker Barrel won’t change, including the rocking chairs on its front porches and vintage Americana and antiques scattered throughout its restaurants.

4. Cracker Barrel also said it will continue to honor Uncle Herschel — the older man in the former logo, who represents the uncle of Cracker Barrel’s founder — on its menu and on items sold in its stores.

5. But Cracker Barrel said it also wants to make sure that the business stays fresh and attracts a new generation of customers.

1. Maine’s Populist Senate Candidate Thinks We Are in a New Gilded Age

1. According to Graham Platner, America has entered a new gilded age and needs a politics that can meet the moment. “I think the comparisons between the late 19th century and now are apt: vast amounts of wealth and regulatory structures that in no way, shape, or form keep that wealth in check,” pointing to the power people like Elon Musk and other prominent Silicon Valley leaders have over the current administration.

2. He pointed to his state’s famed and tightly regulated lobster industry as an example.

1. “The state of Maine has passed laws over the years that have regulated the lobster industry in a very specific way, and it means there’s one boat, one captain, one license. Fishing can only be conducted while the captain is aboard. This has entirely disincentivized consolidation,” he explained.

2. “The result is a half-a-billion-dollar-a-year industry for the state of Maine that has almost no corporate ownership.”

3. When presented with the alternative theory—that Maine should instead allow consolidation in its prize industry and redistribute wealth back to workers and their communities through other means—he bluntly dismissed its proponents. “Those people are full of shit. The distribution of resources needs to happen at the level where things are being produced.”

1. Lisa Cook Says She Will Not Step Down From the Fed Board

1. “I will not resign,” she said. “I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”

1. Meta Defector Issues Devastating Psychological Takedown of Tech CEOs

1. Nick Clegg, a former Meta executive who left the company at the start of this year: "If you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression."

2. "You’d think, wouldn’t you, that if you were immensely powerful and rich like Elon Musk and all these other tech bros and members of that podcast community that you’d reflect on your good fortune compared with most other people?" Instead, Clegg seethed, they cry persecution.

3. "In Silicon Valley, far from thinking they're lucky, they think they’re hard done by, [that] they’re victims. I couldn’t, and still can't, understand this deeply unattractive combination of machismo and self-pity."

1. Red Lobster Is Betting on Black Diners With Its Brand Comeback

1. CEO Damola Adamolekun, who took over the job last September, a 36-year-old Nigerian American, who is also credited with rescuing P.F. Chang’s.

2. Red Lobster has been a part of America’s casual-dining landscape since the first location opened in Lakeland, Fla., in 1968. Just four years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, many restaurants in the South were still segregated de facto. Red Lobster embraced diversity, opening its doors to Black customers and hiring Black workers.

1. The ‘woke’ words Democrats should cut from their vocabulary

1. A new memo identifies 45 words and phrases for Democrats to avoid, alleging the terms turn voters off. They span six categories: Therapy-Speak (1/11: Triggering); Seminar Room Language (0/8); Organizer Jargon (1/8: Stakeholders); Gender/Orientation Correctness (1/8: Patriarchy); The Shifting Language of Racial Constructs (0/5); Explaining Away Crime (0/4)

1. Korea passes boardroom reform, curbing chaebol power

1. South Korea has passed a significant boardroom reform aimed at curbing the power of the country's large family-owned conglomerates, known as "chaebol."

2. Here are some key changes:

1. Mandatory Cumulative Voting

1. For large listed companies with assets exceeding 2 trillion won (about $1.44 billion), a cumulative voting system is now required. This system allows minority shareholders to pool their votes and elect a representative to the board, giving them a greater voice in corporate governance.

2. Increased Power for Audit Committees

1. The number of audit committee members elected separately from the controlling shareholders will increase from one to at least two. This strengthens the independence of the audit committee, which is responsible for overseeing financial reporting and internal controls.

3. Broader Application of the "3% Rule"

1. The "3% rule," which limits the voting power of the largest shareholders to 3% when electing audit committee members, will now be extended to independent directors. Previously, this cap only applied to internal directors.

4. Extended Fiduciary Duty of Directors

1. A previous amendment in July extended the fiduciary duty of directors to all shareholders, not just the company. This change is intended to prevent controlling families from making decisions that benefit themselves at the expense of minority shareholders.

5. "Outside Directors" Renamed "Independent Directors"

1. A symbolic but important change that emphasizes the need for directors to act independently of management and controlling shareholders.

6. Mandatory Hybrid Shareholder Meetings

1. For publicly traded firms with more than 2 trillion won in assets, hybrid shareholder meetings will be mandatory. This will allow shareholders to participate and vote online, increasing accessibility and participation.

7. Increased Proportion of Independent Directors

1. The required proportion of independent directors on the board has been raised from one-quarter to one-third, further strengthening independent oversight of management.

8. "Yellow Envelope Bill"

1. This measure, passed alongside the boardroom reforms, secures bargaining rights for subcontracted workers, which could have a significant impact on the labor practices of chaebol.

9. Revamping Public Broadcaster Governance

1. The reforms also include measures to revamp the governance of public broadcasters, which could reduce the influence of chaebol on the media.

1. UnitedHealth forms new ‘public responsibility’ board committee

1. The committee will oversee areas where UnitedHealth has struggled or faced public scrutiny: underwriting and forecasting, regulatory relationships, reputational matters, and M&A.

2. Michele Hooper, who’s served on UnitedHealth’s board since 2007, will step down as lead independent director to chair the committee. Hooper, who will remain a director, will be replaced as lead independent director by F. William McNabb, the former CEO of investing firm the Vanguard Group who has served on UnitedHealth’s board since 2018.

1. The U.S. EV fast-charging network is seeing explosive growth—despite Trump’s policies

1. Installation of fast DC chargers that can get an EV to 80% charged in less than an hour are up more than 25% from 2024—despite the loss of Biden administration initiatives designed to support the growth of the network.

1. Companies with climate targets have more than tripled since 2023

1. The number of companies worldwide with both validated near-term and net-zero science-based climate targets has more than tripled since the end of 2023, from 583 to 1,904, according to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

2. A total of 10,949 companies worldwide now either have near-term targets or near-term and net-zero targets, or have committed to set them, according to a report by the Science-Based Targets initiative.

1. Air Canada reaches a deal to end flight attendant strike

1. The tentative deal secures Air Canada flight attendants at least 60 minutes of ground pay, for their time before each flight, at a rate of 50 per cent of a flight attendant's hourly rate, with that rate increasing five per cent each year.

2. The airline is also proposing immediate pay increases of 12 per cent for flight attendants with five years or less of service with Air Canada, and eight per cent for those who have worked at the airline longer than that.

1. Kimbal Musk on Elon's Tesla pay package: 'My brother deserves to be paid'