FRIDAY WRAP: CEO Trump got indicated, CEO Schultz is(n't) a billionaire, princesses sink DeSantis at Disney, royal Vince McMahon pays himself for himself, and Levi's AI diversity hire

LIVE from your ESG compost bin, it’s a Business Pants Friday Show here at March 31st Studios, featuring all your favorites: Ari the data queen, Jessie the money whisperer, BS-man Matt Moscardi. On today’s weekly wrap up: People getting indicted, Coffee-makers, Disney princess lovers, and some jeans

Story of the Week (DR):

1. Trump indicted (indicated) MM DR

2. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, worth $3.7 billion, was annoyed when lawmakers called him a billionaire AB

3. Disney quietly took power from DeSantis’ new board before state takeover JS

4. Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’

1. More than 1,000 tech leaders, researchers and others signed an open letter urging a moratorium on the development of the most powerful artificial intelligence systems.

5. Funny proxy war

1. Carl Icahn Wants Boomerang

1. Wants to Bring Illumina’s Old CEO (Jay Flatley) Back, Disney-Style to replace current Illumina CEO (and current Disney board member) Francis deSouza

2. Icahn is quoted as saying in a meeting between Illumina CEO Francis deSouza and Chairman John Thompson that he “would not even support Jesus Christ” as an independent candidate over his board nominees who “answer to” him

Goodliest of the Week (AB):

1. Royal Clauses JS MM DR

1. Disney blocks Ron DeSantis' Florida power play with a royal family clause

2. The control over Disney’s self governance saved by a clause in the last signed agreement back in February, which states that the agreement should hold until 21 YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF THE LAST SURVIVOR OF KING CHARLES III.

2. Texan hypocrisy

1. US renewable power surged ahead of coal for the first time last year

2. A report released by the federal government states that last year US renewable electricity generation surpassed coal FOR THE FIRST TIME. The surge was driven in large part by an increase in wind and solar capacity, led in wind by TEXAS, who produced ¼ of all US wind generation and California, who produced a quarter of all solar. 

3. Merriam-Webster's social media people

1. Merriam-Webster dictionary pokes fun at Elon Musk's Twitter Blue subscription service

2. MW mocked Twitter blue with its “MW Red” - it joked that only subscribers would get “real definitions” via this service. 2 hours later they said the subscription had been discontinued "It has been brought to our attention that we've been giving everyone the real definitions since 1828"

Assholiest of the Week (MM):

1. Vivek is on a ROLL AB

1. Gender dysphoria is a “disorder”

2. Gender mutilation surgey?

3. Blackrock won the Disney contract battle with DeSantis?

4. Shut the FBI down?

5. Fire ALL associate deans and close the DoEd?

6. Frack and burn coal and fire all regulators??

2.  Vince McMahon Reimburses WWE for Costs Tied to Sexual-Misconduct Probe MM

1. WWE’s board ultimately found that the payments, though made by Mr. McMahon personally, should have been booked as WWE expenses because they benefited the company.

2. This headline should read: “Jury picked by sexual harasser pays itself for sexual harassment by sexual harasser”

3. 67% of the influence in one dude, then 

3. Lyft Co-Founders to Resign; David Risher Is Named CEO - The New York Times JS

1. NO THEY DIDN’T

2. Executive Chair and Vice Executive Chair with 34% of the voting power!  That’s not resigning!  That’s “I no longer have to answer your stupid HR questions or approve picking out carpet colors, but I still you fuckers what to do”

4. Nestle DR

1. Nestlé Invests in Texas Solar Project to Power U.S. Manufacturing

1. Nestle (AA ESG rating), a French Swiss company, invested with Enel (AAA ESG rating), an Italian renewable energy focused utility, to build a solar farm in… FUCKING TEXAS??

2. The district (Yoakum county, district 27) is lead by House Rep Michael Cloud, a hard right GOPer with a stellar ZERO PERCENT from the league of conservation (as in EVERY VOTE goes against environment, climate change, renewable energy)

3. Nestle, Enel - GET THE FUCK OUT OF TEXAS.  They shouldn’t benefit from myopic assholery.

Exhausting-est of the Week (JS):

1. Levi’s AB MM

1. The company came under scrutiny this week after it announced a partnership with Lalaland.ai to use AI-generated models with more diverse skin tones and body types

2. Some responses

1. Twitter user: "Your diversity doesn't count if you're not diversifying who's on the payroll’

2. Shereen Daniels, CEO and founder of UK-based racial equity consultancy firm HR Rewired: "It looks like they're trying to shortcut their way into the commercial benefits of demonstrating a more representative model, without doing the work." 

2. Idaho: Idaho Abortion Bill Could Be First Ban On Interstate Travel For Procedure DR

1. The Idaho state legislature is moving forward with a bill that criminalizes transporting minors to get an abortion without their parents’ consent, potentially soon becoming the first state to restrict interstate travel for abortion

2. The bill creates a new crime: “abortion trafficking"

3. The bill makes “abortion trafficking” a felony punishable by two to five years in prison

3. I know you covered him in depth yesterday, but a quick mention for Howard Schultz

1. Forget defending himself against being called a union buster or Starbucks labor practices…he had to defend his billionaire status

2. “This moniker, ‘billionaire’ ― let’s just get at that, OK?” he said. “I grew up in federally subsidized housing. My parents never owned a home. I came from nothing ... Yes, I have billions of dollars. I earned it, no one gave it to me.” “It’s your moniker, constantly,” Schultz went on, addressing Sanders. “It’s unfair.”

Who Won the Week?

1. DR: Alvin Bragg

2. AB: Disney

3. MM: Laurence Hames

4. JS: Finland, for being names the Happiest Country for the sixth year in a row

Predictions

1. DR: Vivek doesn’t mention he took Soros-family money in the first presidential debate

2. MM: Disney adds more fluoride to their drinking water than turns Peri gay