Charlie Kirk corporate censorship, cutting back earnings reporting, Exxon buys its votes

What this episode covers

LET’S GET POLITICAL! Companies from Delta to Office Depot are disciplining and/or firing employees for their public comments on Charlie Kirk's death Trump wants to end a half-century-old mandate on how companies report earnings Companies should instead only be required to post earnings every six months, pending the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval. This change would break a quarterly reporting mandate that’s been in place since 1970. “This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies.” Appeals court allows Trump administration to end the ‘climate bank’ where $20B was set aside to fund climate change projects Donald Trump tilts balance of power from investors to CEOs A BUNCH OF ESG CRAP! Exxon Reportedly Rolls Out Auto-Voting System To Boost Retail Investor Participation, Curb Activist Influence Opt-in proxy system would automate retail investor votes to support board positions Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Proposal: Redefining CEO Compensation in the 21st Century First Elon Musk, now Larry Ellison: The world's richest men are buying huge media companies--because they can Lachlan Murdoch Secures Control of Fox and News Corp, Ending Succession Fight Google tops $3 trillion for the first time, joining select market-cap club with only 3 other members Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia Only 7 countries have GDPs greater than $3T Toxic Fumes Are Leaking Into Airplanes, Sickening Crews and Passengers Doctors compare brain effects to concussions in NFL players. A Wall Street Journal investigation shows the problem is getting worse and not much is being done about it. The Journal’s reporting shows that aircraft manufacturers and their airline customers have played down health risks, successfully lobbied against safety measures, and made cost-saving changes that increased the risks to crew and passengers. The gender pay gap is getting wider, reversing progress US shareholders fail to pass any green proposals for first time in 6 years CLIMATE CHANGE/AI SPEED ROUND Carbon emissions from oil giants directly linked to dozens of deadly heatwaves for first time Brace for impact: Climate change is set to intensify flight turbulence, warn scientists Why climate change is making dengue fever a global threat Climate change will make 1-in-100-year crop failures more common Climate Change Drives Surge in Deadly Supercell Storms Across Europe Climate change is pushing venomous snakes into new regions Climate Change Drives Surge in Deadly Flesh-Eating Bacteria on US Coasts One out of every 4 homes is at ‘severe or extreme’ climate risk, study says OpenAI foresees millions of AI agents 'somewhere in the cloud' in just a few years--with human supervision Experts Concerned AI Is Going to Start a Nuclear War Psychologist Says AI Is Causing Never-Before-Seen Types of Mental Disorder Sam Altman says people are starting to talk like AI, making some human interactions ‘feel very fake’ Sen. Cruz introduces bill to reduce regulatory burden facing AI companies