April 14th – The Day’s Most Fascinating News

Is Price Right?

“The market rate for me as a CEO compared to a regular person is ridiculous, it’s absurd.” So said Dan Price, the founder of a Seattle payments outfit who just raised his company’s minimum wage to $70,000 a year.

+ To free up cash, Price cut his own salary from a million a year down to $70K. So, at least in one office, American’s massive pay disparity problem has been addressed. Will others follow suit? Probably not. And in part, that’s because you think — despite plenty of evidence to the contrary — highly paid executives are well worth the price. The New Yorker’s James Surowiecki explains why CEO pay reform failed.

+ WaPo: Where the poor and rich really spend their money.

2

Dressed to Kill

“These people drop four or five grand and dress up to look like police.” Tulsa reserve deputy Robert Bates has surrendered to police after being charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the killing of unarmed black man. The incident leaves us with the question: “Why was a 73-year-old insurance company executive playing cop?”

+ Sheriff Stanley Glanz defended Bates — his deputy, friend, and financial backer: “He made an error. How many errors are made in an operating room every week?” (People don’t get to operate on patients after making a donation to the hospital.)

3

Burying the Lede

One hundred-fifty years ago today, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. To give you some idea of how different news coverage was back then, it took the AP three paragraphs (or about 8 tweets worth of characters) to mention the fact the president had been shot.

+ “Corbett made himself a eunuch and didn’t check himself into Massachusetts General Hospital until he’d finished his prayers, had a full dinner, and taken a light stroll through the city that evening.” Bill Jensen in The Washingtonian: The Insane Story of the Guy Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln.

+ Smithsonian on the night Lincoln was shot.

4

Fine, Young, and Guilty

Four former Blackwater security guards have received sentences ranging from 30 years to life for the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth on the sentences: “It is clear these fine young men just panicked.The overall, wild, thing that went on here can just not be condoned by a court … A court has to recognize the severity of the crimes committed, including the number of victims.”

5

Doing Nineteen to Life

Long before you shot your first live video in Meerkat or Periscope, a 19 year-old named Jennifer Ringley was giving birth to the age of lifecasting. It all started in 1996 when Jenni stumbled upon a new piece of technology at her college bookstore. A webcam. “We’ve come to expect that when someone does something this extreme, it’s the result of something extreme in their personality. But Jenni is confoundingly normal.” (Foget normal. By today’s standards, Jenni is a recluse.)

6

Behind Da Kind

If you’ve spent any time in food stores over the past few years, it probably didn’t surprise you to learn that Kind is the fastest growing energy bar on the market. Those who consume them are also probably growing pretty fast. The FDA just said that Kind Bars aren’t healthy enough to be using the “healthy’ label.

+ Center for Public Integrity: “Why doesn’t the government know what’s in your food? Because industry can declare on their own that added ingredients are safe.”

7

Short People Don’t Need a Reason

I’m tall. I get a better view at movies and concerts. I’m closer to the basketball hoop. But there are downsides. I’m a lot less comfortable flying coach in an airplane. And I’ve noticed that I don’t see too many really old tall people. Sadly, The Atlantic’s James Hamblin confirms that I’m onto something in his piece, the virtue of being short: “When a tall person blocks your view of a concert, allow them their privileged vantage with a laugh. Death will come for them.”

8

Lean In (And Sleep)

Boeing has filed a patent on something they call an “upright sleep support system.” It looks just slightly less comfortable than resting your head against a tray table.

9

Grandmaster Flush

“Nigalidze would promptly reply to my moves and then literally run to the toilet. I noticed that he would always visit the same toilet partition, which was strange, since two other partitions weren’t occupied.” Gaioz Nigalidze might be a genius when it comes to chess, but man is he bad when it comes to cheating.

10

The Bottom of the News

My cat coughs in my face. He also has watery eyes on occasion. And thanks to this NatGeo article, I finally understand what’s going on. He’s allergic to me.

+ Just looking at sick people can prime your immune system.

+ If you feel sick at the thought of surveillance drones flying all around, here’s a tip. Get a chimp.

+ Fusion: Tylenol may numb your emotional sensitivity. (Twitter can do it even quicker.)

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