Friday, April 30, 2021

CEO of $2 Billion Startup Ousted for Taking LSD at Work

Marketing startup Iterable Inc. dismissed its chief executive officer over violations of company policy, Iterable said in a note to employees earlier this week. The fired CEO said the board’s chief reason for ousting him was that he took LSD, an illegal drug in the U.S., before a meeting in 2019. He admitted that he was experimenting by taking a limited amount of the drug, or microdosing, in an effort to boost his focus. In an email to staff, the company’s co-founder said the CEO’s dismissal was over unspecified violations of “Iterable’s Employee Handbook, policies and values”. Iterable was founded in 2013 and has grown quickly, attracting customers such as DoorDash Inc. and Zillow Group Inc. Although the use of drugs like LSD remain controversial, they have gained acceptance in parts of Silicon Valley and in some medical circles. (Yahoo Finance)

Florida Man Arrested For Trafficking MDMA On A ‘Bike At Night With No Lights’

A 34-year-old man Florida man is behind bars on multiple drug charges, after being stopped by police on his bicycle while riding with no lights. Police officers patrolling the area around in Winter Haven, Florida encountered a bicyclist riding with no lights. Making contact with the rider, the man was found to have a warrant out of Polk County for Aggravated Battery with Deadly Weapon. He was immediately placed under arrest without incident for the warrant. Police conducted a search and found a black fanny pack around his upper body. Inside, police found a host of drugs to include MDMA (Ecstasy/Molly) in pill and powder form, heroin, and 19 individual baggies of cannabis. Investigators say that due to the quantities, he was charged with trafficking MDMA and possession of cannabis with the intent to sell. (Tampa Free Press)

FDA Commits to Banning Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars

The Food and Drug Administration announced it will move to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars from the market, hoping the decision will help reduce addiction and youth smoking as well as close health disparity gaps between black and white Americans. “Banning menthol, the last allowable flavor, in cigarettes and banning all flavors in cigars will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products,” said the Acting FDA Commissioner in a statement on the decision. The FDA’s decision was forced by a 2020 lawsuit from Action on Smoking & Health, African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and the American Medical Association. In the suit, the groups claimed the FDA was failing to regulate menthol cigarettes despite urging from Congress in 2009 when the agency banned other cigarette flavors, including candy, coffee and fruit. (Rolling Stone)

Drought-hit California moves to halt Nestlé from taking millions of gallons of water

California water officials have moved to stop Nestlé from siphoning millions of gallons of water out of California’s San Bernardino forest, which it bottles and sells as Arrowhead brand water, as drought conditions worsen across the state. The draft cease-and-desist order, which still requires approval from the California Water Resources Control Board, is the latest development in a protracted battle between the bottled water company and local environmentalists, who for years have accused Nestlé of draining water supplies at the expense of local communities and ecosystems. Nestlé has maintained that its rights to California spring water date back to 1865, but a 2017 investigation found that Nestlé was taking far more than its share. Last year the company drew out about 58m gallons, far surpassing the 2.3m gallons a year it could validly claim. The draft order comes two months after Nestlé, which is based in Switzerland, sold its US- and Canada-based water brands to equity firms One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos for $4.3bn. (The Guardian)

Beachgoer finds $1.5 million worth of cocaine washed ashore

Strange things have been found washed ashore on South Florida beaches this year, including a sea mine and a military drone. Recently, one Palm Beach beachgoer found packages with a $1.5 million price tag. An official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the beachgoer found 65 pounds of cocaine washed up along the shoreline and called authorities. This isn’t the first incident of it’s kind recently. In March, a snorkeler found nearly 70 pounds of cocaine floating off the Florida Keys. In December, another 75 pounds of cocaine were found also floating off the Florida Keys. (WPTV)

School District Tells Principals To Create Fake Curriculum To Send Parents After Complaints Of Indoctrination

A official in Rockwood School District, Missouri, instructed teachers to create two sets of curriculum: a false one to share with parents, and then the real set of curriculum, focused on topics like activism and privilege, according to a memo after getting complaints from parents about the indoctrination of children. The woman, who is the grade 6-12 Literacy Speech Coordinator, wrote to all middle and high school principals that parents had repeatedly complained that “we are pushing an agenda,” “we are pushing Critical Race Theory (I had to look this one up!),” “we are making white kids feel bad about their privilege,” we are “stereotyping,” “we are teaching kids to be social activists,” and “we are teaching kids to be democratic thinkers and activists.” The problem was that, for the first time, parents could see what teachers were telling their children thanks to virtual learning, where assignments were visible for at-home learners in a tool called Canvas. She referred to a “cell” of parents and claimed they did not know the difference between a small-d democratic country and the Democratic Party. The assistant superintendent of learning and support services, expressed “regret” to parents after they found out about the secret email and said that the school district views parents as “allies” in the education of “our children.” The District spokesman said the school leaders would commit to “training our educators on how to curate books so that teachers are giving students a wide variety of choices in their learning materials” and “asking our educators to provide parents with book choices before a unit of study starts and information about read alouds that will be done in the classroom as part of regular communications with parents (i.e. weekly newsletters).” (Daily Wire)

**WARNING: MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES!!**

Florida Model Arrested for Offering People ‘Free Lap Dances’ and Asking Cops to ‘Bang’ Her

A drunk 28-year-old aspiring model who has appeared in several magazine covers was arrested in Florida after she allegedly offered lap dances to strangers on the street and asked officers if they wanted to “bang” on the sidewalk. Police were informed, who reached the scene to find she was offering lap dances to citizens. She was immediately arrested for disorderly intoxication as she wasn’t in her senses when officers arrived. She even threatened paramedics when they were called in to help the officers before the arrest. She was eventually released on her own recognizance. (International Business Times)

McDonald’s robber demands chicken nuggets, has to accept breakfast food because it was still too early

A man has been jailed for robbing a McDonald’s in England and making off with not only some cash but also food. He claimed to have a gun and demanded money from the register and forced a manager to give him access to the store’s safe. On his way out, he reportedly demanded some of the fast-food franchise’s famous chicken nuggets. Unfortunately for him, it was still too early in the day and the restaurant was only serving items from its breakfast menu. Apparently, he was unwilling to wait for some nuggets to be cooked, so the thief made off with a double sausage McMuffin instead. He stole more than $600 from the restaurant and was later identified by CCTV cameras. He turned himself in to authorities later that day. It was discovered that instead of an actual gun, he had been threatening his victims with an unloaded .177air pistol. A judge recently sentenced him to six years in prison. Batten reportedly claimed that he had robbed the restaurant in order to get money to pay back a debt. His lawyer said that he was ashamed and embarrassed by his actions. (Fox News)

Man mowing lawn dies after getting attacked by hundreds of bees

A 70-year-old man from Breckenridge, Texas died after an aggressive swarm of bees reportedly stung him, but firefighters were able to save his wife from the swarm. He was mowing his lawn when hundreds of bees swarmed around him and attacked. He died after going into cardiac arrest as a result of being severely stung. “He got attacked outside, ran in the house to let his wife know, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on.’ The bees followed him in,” said Fire Chief. Firefighters fought through a swarm of bees to help Hicks’ wife get out of the house. She was taken to the hospital for treatment of bee stings and returned home the next morning. The Fire Chief said it’s likely the noise from the lawnmower aggravated the bees. (Breckenridge Fire Department Facebook)

Hong Kong passes law that can stop people leaving

Hong Kong has passed a new immigration law that includes powers to stop people entering or leaving the city, raising fears of Chinese mainland-style “exit bans” in the international business hub. The legislation sailed through a legislature now devoid of opposition, as Beijing has quashed dissent and sought to make the semi-autonomous city more like the authoritarian mainland after huge and often violent democracy protests. Activists, lawyers and some business figures have sounded the alarm over provisions in the bill, including one allowing the city’s immigration chief to bar people from boarding planes to and from the city. No court order is required and there is no recourse to appeal. The city’s bar association said the bill’s wording gave “apparently unfettered power” to the immigration director. (The Guardian)

woman’s humorous memes about delay in fixing downed cable line are social media hit

A Loudoun County, Virginia woman is a social media sensation after posting humorous memes about a downed cable line in her backyard that wasn’t fixed for weeks. “I’m tired of being mad at things. This last year or so has taught me that you have got to accept things and meet things where they are. And, I had to meet the cable where it was which was laying across my yard. We had to coexist and the only way to coexist together was to have a little bit of fun,” she said. A storm that happened on March 28th knocked down her Comcast cable. She says, “It was the entire length of the backyard so it’s got to be over 100 feet.” She and friends created and posted on social media silly meme after silly meme. They posted plenty of high wire acrobatics and who could forget US Senator Bernie Sanders. Only a few hours after her local tv news station reached out to Comcast asking what was taking so long, the company dispatched crews to fix the fallen cable. Comcast issued a statement saying, “We apologize for the inconvenience. We repaired the line and have been in touch with the customer directly to make it right”. (WJLA)

DC Police personnel files obtained by hackers in recent ransomware attack

The personnel files of some Washington Metropolitan Police Department officers were obtained by hackers in a ransomware attack earlier this month, the department’s acting police chief said. The police department is “working to identify all impacted personnel,” acknowledging that the incident is “extremely stressful and concerning to our members.” The attackers had posted a ransom note claiming they had stolen more than 250 GB of data and threatening to publish the material if they were not paid. The ransomware group Babuk claimed credit for the attack, posting screenshots of the note that were flagged by cybersecurity researchers. In its claims, the Babuk group suggested it had obtained information on Metropolitan Police informants and threatened to weaponize that information if the department did not respond within three days. The group also vowed additional attacks targeting the FBI. The group behind the ransomware abruptly announced on it was closing up shop following its attack on the DC police. In a post on its website, the Babuk operators claimed that the Metropolitan Police hack was “our last goal.” (CNN)

Free beer and rides: Incentives are added to vaccine drive

Free beer, pot and doughnuts. Savings bonds. A chance to win an all-terrain vehicle. Places around the U.S. are offering incentives to try to energize the nation’s slowing vaccination drive and get Americans to roll up their sleeves. These relatively small corporate promotion efforts have been accompanied by more serious and far-reaching attempts by officials in cities such as Chicago, which is sending specially equipped buses into neighborhoods to deliver vaccines. Detroit is offering $50 to people who give others a ride to vaccination sites, and will send workers to knock on every door in the city to help residents sign up for shots. Public health officials say the efforts are crucial to reach people who haven’t been immunized yet, whether because they are hesitant or because they have had trouble making an appointment or getting to a vaccination site. (Fox News)

Friday Saves Us From The Week With:

• Adopt A Shelter Pet Day
• Animal Advocacy Day
• Arbor Day (Last Friday)
• Beltane
• Bugs Bunny Day
• Bubble Tea Day
• Dandelion Day
• Díá De Los Niños / Díá De Los Libros Day
• Hairball Awareness Day (Always Last Friday)
• Hairstylist Appreciation Day
• Honesty Day
• International Jazz Day
• Lag B’Omer
• Military Brats Day
• Oatmeal Cookie Day
• Prepareathon Day
• Raisin Day
• Sarcoidosis Day
• Spank Out Day
• Teach Children to Save Day (Last Friday)
• Undiagnosed Children’s Awareness Day (Always Last Friday)
• Walpurgis Night

Historical Events

1006 – Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus.

1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.

1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII.

1904 – The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.

1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.

1980 – Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

1988 – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II officially opens World Expo ’88 in Brisbane, Australia.

2004 – U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

2009 – Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

2009 – Seven people are killed and 17 injured at a Queen’s Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.