L3 CEO out, SEC proposals out, Bezos philanthropy out, Zuck isn’t cool
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THINGS WE MISSED
NERDY ESG STUFF
L3Harris ousts CEO after investigation into conduct CARES
L3Harris Technologies, the company that overhauled a Qatari plane now used as Air Force One, has replaced Christopher Kubasik as chairman and chief executive after an investigation determined he violated the defense contractor’s code of conduct.
Kubasik’s alleged conduct didn’t involve and has no impact on the Melbourne, Fla., company’s financial reporting, controls, customer relationships or operational performance, L3Harris said Monday.
The company didn’t give details on when it received a report of the potential violation. With the aid of independent counsel, the board determined that Kubasik’s removal would be in the company’s best interest, L3Harris said. He will be allowed to retain and exercise some previously vested stock options but won’t receive severance payments, benefits or accelerated stock-based awards.
“The Board determined that the Executive engaged in conduct that was not consistent with the values of the Company as outlined in its Code of Conduct.”
Kubasik will still hold onto some of his options that can net him stock worth about $23 million, as well as more than 200,000 shares of stock in L3Harris that he already owns, valued at nearly $57 million. L3Harris has paid Kubasik compensation valued at $66.3 million during the past three years, including $25.6 million in fiscal 2025.
The separation disclosure says the L3Harris board decided to reach a deal with Kubasik to get him to leave rather than trying to fire him for cause. Kubasik did not admit to any violation of the company code of conduct, and the deal expressively forbids any of the parties or their representatives from making public statements “inconsistent” with Monday’s disclosure.
Harvard reveals $2.2 billion SpaceX holding worth more than half its U.S. equity portfolio CARES
Busting CEO Pay Curve in 2025, Musk Made Annual Salary of Average Tesla Worker Every 4.2 Seconds
S&P 500 CEO pay jumps to record as Musk-inspired compensation plans spread: average S&P 500 CEO pay reached $340.1 million
US SEC to keep hands off shareholder proposals, worrying activists CARES
Staying Alive: ISS Continues Its Influence on 2026 Voting Outcomes
ISS recommended against fewer say-on-pay proposals than last year: 8.3% versus 9.2% in 2025.
ISS supported fewer E&S proposals than in prior years, but investor votes more strongly tracked its recommendations. ISS backed 13% of social proposals in 2026, compared with 15% in 2025 and 46% in both 2023 and 2024.
ISS supported 66% of governance shareholder proposals, up from 55% in 2025
ISS opposed 3% of uncontested director nominees, up slightly from 2.5%.
SEC data center ruling is removing a key guardrail from Nvidia's $500B AI financing push CARES
A staff opinion from the SEC exempts some data center debt from Dodd-Frank risk retention rules, making AI infrastructure financing more attractive to sponsors
Treasury Scales Back Scrutiny of U.S. Shell Companies
The Trump administration will not enforce reporting requirements of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, which was intended to crack down on money laundering.
25 groups urging Supreme Court to kill climate case have ties to oil companies, report says
A survey released Monday by the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog found that 25 of the 38 individuals and organizations that have filed friend of the court briefs on behalf of the industry have financial ties or other connections to the fossil fuel companies that are facing billions of dollars in potential damages for contributing to climate change. The report argues that many of briefs make “nearly identical legal arguments.”
Activist Cevian calls for higher pay for UK board members
One of Europe’s largest activist investors, Cevian Capital, has called for higher pay for non-executive directors in UK boardrooms as part of efforts to revive growth at British companies and reverse the decline of the London market.
The activist, which has stakes in companies including Smith & Nephew and Pearson, said that pay for non-executive directors (NEDs) should increase to attract and retain the best people including from international rivals.
AI STUFF
Anthropic is embedding invisible watermarks in Claude text and images CARES
OpenAI’s “Head of Ethics” Suddenly Leaves Company Under Mysterious Circumstances: Chloé Bakalar, less than a year after joining from Meta.
OpenAI talent exodus raises ‘huge red flag’ ahead of IPO
CRO Denise Dresser
COO Brad Lightcap
CEO of AGI Deployment Fidsji SImo
Chief Marketing Officer Kate Rouch
Head of safety systems Johannes Heidecke
At least 12 executives in 2026
Greg Brockman told CNBC the wave of senior exits is "not that atypical" and that scrutiny stems from OpenAI's high public profile
BILLIONAIRE STUFF
Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are buying the Lakers for $12.5 billion CARES
41-year-old Josh Kushner’s World Cup privatization scheme fell apart. Then he became the Lakers co-owner days later
Liverpool owners sell minority stake to Jeff Bezos: hold option to purchase controlling stake in Liverpool per terms of deal CARES
It Seems Like Bill Gates’ Daughter May Be in Serious Legal Trouble
Phoebe Gates (daughter of Bill Gates) and her shopping app startup, Phia, recently landed in hot water over allegations of a digital commission trick known as cookie stuffing.
Cookie stuffing is essentially digital credit-stealing. An app secretly plants its tracking cookie into your browser without actually helping you find a deal or directing you to the website
Phia initially claimed the issue was an accidental software bug. However, leaked internal Slack messages showed Gates and her co-founder discussing auto-dropping cookies as far back as December to artificially boost revenue
Cookie stuffing isn't just breaking tech platform terms; US law treats it as federal wire fraud
Phoebe Gates Took Secret Stanford Course on Controlling Society, Used It to Recruit for Her Startup That’s Now Facing Accusations
META STUFF
Meta faces ‘astronomical’ consequences as legal fight reaches critical moment in California CARES
The trial involves a coalition of 29 state attorneys general in a unified case against Meta that was brought in 2023, and will be argued by lawyers representing California, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky. The stakes are enormous as leading government officials across the country push for Meta to be held accountable for allegedly violating federal and state laws, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, and various consumer protection statutes.
Four state attorneys general are seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties and changes to how Meta operates its platforms
MEANWHILE: OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Teens
Meta Caught Paying Nazis to Post on Facebook
Meta was paying out-and-out neo-Nazis to post on Facebook, an investigation from Australia’s ABC News found.
These pages and individual creators posted content that appeared to be in clear violation of Facebook’s own hate speech policies. Nonetheless, they were able to earn money on their posts through the platform’s “Content Monetization” program — which is invitation-only.
Zuckerberg's Yacht Allegedly 'Refused' Coast Guard Calls To Help Stranded Boat Despite Being 'Closer'
Zuckerberg: AI's biggest risk is one entity with too much control
Zuckerberg Says Meta Will Give Billions a 24/7 Personal Superintelligence, Lays Out AI Vision in Lengthy Essay
Zuckerberg brings back the floating battle barge to spar with UFC fighter Merab Dvalishvili
SEGUE ALERT: Zuckerberg’s Manifesto About the Glorious Freedoms AI Will Bring Was Completely Contradicted by His Own CTO During a Company Meeting
Meta CTO Dismisses Vacation Requests: 'It's Very Dumb' to Ask for More Time Off
During a July Q&A with staff, CTO Andrew Bosworth shut down an employee who asked if AI productivity gains could be used to revive “Meta Days,” a cancelled holiday program that once allowed staff to take more days off a year.
Bosworth was apparently appalled at the idea, saying that “I hope that what we do with our extra time is do even more and cooler stuff for the users who use our products every day … We got billions of people using our products every day. I get an extra hour. You know what I do with it? I put it into that.”
The executive then dug his heels even further, personally insulting the staffer for asking about work-life balance: “Go to your parents and ask them: hey, like every time I get a chance to talk to my boss, ask me if I can have more days off. Ask your parents what they think of that as a career strategy.”
BLOWHARD INDEX
CEO of $49 billion AI company says it’s ‘mind-boggling’ people think you can work 38 hours a week, have work-life balance, and be successful SHUT UP
Bill Ackman agrees with Jeff Bezos: Being a great CEO can do more for the world than philanthropy SHUT UP
Corcoran Group CEO says Gen Z’s housing market struggles mirror what boomers faced 30 years ago: ‘Stop buying Starbucks coffee,’ she advises SHUT UP SHUT UP
OpenAI’s CFO insists AI won’t replace judgment SAY MORE
OpenAI Warns AI Models Can Automate Cyberattacks and Exploit Security Vulnerabilities SHUT UP
Sam Altman thinks working at Goldman Sachs ‘sounds unbelievably terrible now’ and admits he was ‘peer pressured’ into accepting an internship there SAY MORE
Sam Altman says 4 years could be too long for college: ‘The way the world has evolved, college just shouldn’t be as long as it is’ SAY MORE
Kalshi’s 30-year-old CEO says most business advice is ‘trash’—he doesn’t read management books or listen to podcasts: ‘I’m gonna make it up as I go’ SAY MORE
Paramount demands $1.9 billion from states, citing Warner deal delays SHUT UP
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says AI writes 60% of its code—and sustaining ‘founder mode’ is the key to winning in the age of AI SHUT UP
Far-Right UK Politician Says People Should ‘Enjoy’ Climate Change SAY MORE
In 1992, Richard Tice started working for the housebuilding and commercial property company founded by his grandfather, The Sunley Group. Tice was its joint chief executive officer (CEO) for 14 years before leaving the company in 2006.
Mark Cuban tells Ro Khanna 'you don't understand business,' threatens investment shift over billionaire tax SHUT UP
PEOPLE/THINGS NOT TO HATE?
MacKenzie Scott has given away $26 billion and rarely speaks publicly. Now she’s releasing a novel—but you won’t find it on Amazon DON’T HATE
Amazon’s New AI Data Center Is So Enormous That It Appears It Will Become the Largest Single Source of Pollution in the United States
Bernie Sanders asked the leading AI CEOs to pause development. DON’T HATE
US firms that kept DEI policies despite ‘go woke, go broke’ threats thrived DON’T HATE
France bans unsolicited telemarketing calls DON’T HATE
Cards Against Humanity Unveils 'Sad Little Bitch' Elon Musk Monument Near Texas Starbase DON’T HATE
Gen Z is bringing pen and paper back to the workplace
