Meta is tobacco, Trump loves French oil, FedEx’s fake tariffs, “blame AI” CEOs, Larry Fink’s anxietywash

Story of the Week (DR):Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case: A jury found the companies harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress. DRHistoric Financial PenaltiesNew Mexico: A jury ordered Meta to pay $375M in civil penalties ($5,000 per violation) for misleading the public about child safety.Los Angeles: In the first social media addiction trial of its kind, the jury awarded $6M in total damages (compensatory and punitive) to a single 20-year-old plaintiff, with Meta ordered to pay 70% and YouTube 30%.Section 230 "Immunity" is CrackingThese trials successfully sidestepped Section 230 by focusing on product design (like infinite scroll and autoplay) rather than the content itself. The juries ruled that the "addictive" nature of the apps was a design defect, not a speech issue.Direct Liability for "Addictive" FeaturesFor the first time, a jury found that features like infinite scrolling, notifications, and video autoplay were intentionally designed to "hook" young users.In the Los Angeles "KGM" trial, the jury found both Meta and YouTube negligent for creating products that they knew would harm children’s mental health while failing to provide adequate warnings to parents.Evidence of "Profits Over Safety"The trials featured internal documents and depositions from Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. The evidence convinced jurors that executives were warned by their own employees about risks to children—including sexual exploitation and mental health "problematic use"—but chose to prioritize engagement and profits over implementing safety guardrails.A "Big Tobacco" Moment for TechLegal experts are comparing these verdicts to the 1990s lawsuits against the tobacco industry. Because the California trial was a "bellwether" (a test case), the win for the plaintiff opens the floodgates for thousands of similar pending lawsuits from families and school districts. It signals that social media companies can now be sued for the health consequences of their platforms, just like cigarette manufacturers.Elon Sux 2:Elon Musk loses big in court; X boycott perfectly legal: X admonished for “fishing expedition” as judge dismisses ad boycott lawsuit.Elon Musk Found Liable By Jury For Misleading Twitter Investors In $44 Billion Deal, Faces Potential $2.5 Billion DamagesElon Musk’s Grok ordered to stop creating AI nudes by Dutch court as legal pressure mountsOn March 25, 2026, President Trump officially appointed the first 13 members to his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). While the council is designed to hold up to 24 members, the initial "dream team" lineup is dominated by Silicon Valley titans and leaders in AI, crypto, and fusion energy. The Chips and TechBro ClubhouseCo-Chair David Sacks (the White House AI and Crypto Czar)Stepping aside from his role as AI and crypto czar for Trump.Sacks told Bloomberg on Thursday that he has “used up” his 130 days as a special government employee: “I think moving forward as co-chair of PCAST, I can now make recommendations on not just AI but an expanded range of technology topics. So yes, this is how I’ll be involved moving forward.”Co-Chair Michael Kratsios (Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy).Mark Zuckerberg: founder/CEO MetaJensen Huang: CEO NvidiaLarry Ellison: Founder/Exec Chair OracleSergey Brin: Co-founder GoogleLisa Su: CEO AMDMichael Dell: CEO/founder Dell TechnologiesSafra Catz: former CEO (current Exec Vice Chair) OracleMarc Andreessen: Co-founder Andreessen HorowitzFred Ehrsam: Co-founder Coinbase and ParadigmDavid Friedberg: CEO of The Production Board (and All-In podcast co-host)Jacob DeWitte: CEO Oklo (nuclear fission)Bob Mumgaard: CEO Commonwealth Fusion SystemsJohn Martinis: Nobel Laureate and physicist (formerly of Google Quantum AI)Trump’s Billion-Dollar French Boondoggle Gets Even DumberThe "Billion-Dollar Bribe" to Kill Clean EnergyThe Trump administration is paying French energy giant TotalEnergies nearly $928M to walk away from two major offshore wind projects off the coasts of New York and North Carolina. In exchange, the company has pledged to stop developing any new offshore wind in the U.S. entirely.Paying for Investments Already in ProgressCritics call the deal a "boondoggle" because the $1 billion "refund" is earmarked for natural gas and oil projects—specifically the Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas—that TotalEnergies was already heavily invested in. The article argues the government is essentially handing over taxpayer money for business moves the company was making anyway.A Tactical Pivot After Court LossesAfter the administration's previous attempts to block offshore wind were repeatedly struck down by federal judges, they’ve switched strategies. Instead of using executive orders that get tied up in court, they are now using "settlements" and "refunds" as a backdoor way to dismantle the renewable energy industry.Economic Irony During a Global Fuel CrisisThe payout comes at a time when global energy prices are spiking due to the war in the Middle East, highlighting the irony of spending $1B to kill domestic, zero-carbon wind power—which would provide long-term price stability—in favor of volatile fossil fuel markets.The "America First" ParadoxDespite the "America First" rhetoric, the administration is transferring a massive sum of U.S. taxpayer money to a foreign (French) corporation. Legal experts and advocates suggest this sets a "dangerous precedent," essentially signaling to other energy companies that they can get paid by the government not to build the green infrastructure they already bought leases for.Major outgoing CEOs are citing AI as a factor in their decisions to step downCoca-Cola CEO James Quincey (61) and former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon (59)  have told CNBC that the next wave of artificial intelligence is a reason for their departures.Both CEOs said they believed their companies needed someone with new energy and understanding of AI to helm the companies’ futures.Who is next?Apple/Tim Cook (63): long tenure; Apple needs rapid AI product pivots; investor impatience could risePepsi/Ramon Laguarta (60): consumer packaged goods facing AI-driven marketing/supply chain changeMcDonald’s/Chris Kempczinski (55): operations + AI in ordering, automationAir Canada CEO [Michael Rousseau] Apologizes For Lack of French Language Skills But Refuses to Resign Over ‘Insulting’ Crash Video MessageSunday night: an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck while landing at LGA: the pilot and copilot were killed and both fire officers were injuredMany possible reasons for crash: but worth noting that: Only two controllers were working in the tower overnight, combining multiple roles including ground and local control. The NTSB says that setup is standard for the midnight shift but there have been long-standing concerns about workload and fatigue.POPULIST MATH TIME: Using a recent-year estimate of airports with scheduled overnight service: 450 airports; adding one additional air traffic controller fully loaded annual cost: $180,000 per controller (approximate — $120k salary + ~50% benefits/overhead). Annual cost = 450 airports × $180,000 = $81,000,000.The embattled chief executive of Air Canada has publicly apologized for his lack of French language skills after he was slammed for releasing an English-only video message about the fatal crash of an Air Canada Express regional jet at LaGuardia Airport late on Sunday.Headquartered in French-speaking Quebec, Air Canada is subject to Canada’s Official Languages Act, which means that it must serve passengers in both English and French.Because Air Canada is the national flag carrier, it is subject to the Canada Transportation Act and the Air Canada Public Participation Act. These laws mandate that:At least 75% of the voting interests must be owned and controlled by Canadians.The company must maintain its head office in Montreal.No single non-resident (or group of non-residents) can own more than 25% of the voting interests.Under the Official Languages Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, English and French have "equality of status" in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada.Quebec: The only province that is officially unilingual (French). While some services are available in English, the "official" language of the government, courts, and commerce is French under the Charter of the French Language.Quebec Demands Air Canada’s CEO Resignation in 92 to 0 VoteQuebec’s legislature, known as the National AssemblyGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction CaseMM: Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction CaseAssholiest of the Week (MM):Unbelievably stupid fat mouthed CEO asshole run sheet:FedEx and UPS charged fees for collecting tariffs. Now, customers want that money back. DRThe plaintiff in Yanchunis' lawsuit, a South Florida resident who ordered a pair of tennis shoes from Germany with a declared value of $140, received a $36 bill from FedEx. The bill included $21 in now-unconstitutional tariffs and $15 in "FedEx's customs brokerage and duty advancement fees," according to the complaint.Unbeknownst to many, companies are likely layering in fees on top of the tariffs and just calling it part of the tariffs - for FedEx and UPS, they ALREADY DEALT WITH TARIFFS because they existed before, but now they just charged you extra fees for funsiesBut don’t get angry at FedEx’s CEO Rajesh Subramaniam - FedEx founder and dictator Fred Smith is Executive Chair of the board and has 57% influence over the companyNetflix raises prices across all streaming plansThe price hike comes as Netflix has been investing heavily in its content, including new ventures into the live events space and into video podcasts.Netflix has 325m subscribers and generated 10.9bn in profit in 2025That’s $33.53 per subscriber in profit - and they now want to charge an extra $12/year per subscriber = $3.9bn in extra revenueThey planned to spend an extra $2bn on content in 2026(does math)... leaving $1.9bn in us giving money to Netflix for nothing new - and the standard and premium plans are going up by $2, not $1!  Fun!  So we’re giving them more!But don’t get angry at Netflix CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters - Reed Hastings, who sold most of his shares but is the founder, still chairs the board and has the majority of influence at the company!  In fact, Hastings close confident and early investor Jay Hoag, who is lead “independent” director after 27 YEARS on the board, was voted out and just stuck around and has the second most influence!Major outgoing CEOs are citing AI as a factor in their decisions to step downOutgoing Coca Cola CEO James Quincey said the company needs, “someone with the energy to pursue a completely new transformation of the enterprise”Quincey is 61 years old, being succeeded by the perfect AI leader: COO Henrique Braun who got a bachelors in architecture and an MBA and is 59 years oldBut wait, don’t get sad! James Quincey is so happy to gaslight you with AI and “transformative” yadayada, he forgot to mention he’s staying on as Executive Chair and will retain the highest influence on the board!Outgoing Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said he wanted to give the CEO role to someone “faster”McMillon, 59, who has a bachelor’s in accounting and an MBA, handed the company over to John Furner, 52, who studied marketing and got an MBABut wait, don’t get sad! Doug McMillon is so happy to gaslight you with AI and “transformative” yadayada, he forgot to mention he’s staying on as Executive Chair and will retain the highest influence on the board!Perplexity CEO says AI layoffs aren’t so bad because people hate their jobs anyways: ‘That sort of glorious future is what we should look forward to’Aravind Srinivas - previously of OpenAI - is doing his best Sam Altman impressionOpenAI Foundation pledges $1 billion to mitigate some of the jobs that it thinks AI will destroyHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Larry Fink says today’s economic anxiety stems from people increasingly feeling like capitalism isn’t working for them, warns AI boom could widen wealth divide without broader participationMM: The SpaceX IPO Will Be Just as Unconventional as Musk HimselfSo the IPO will be a racist, misogynistic, narcissistic asshat?Who Won the Week?DR: the State of New Mexico (led by Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Governor Michelle Grisham) and 20-year-old “Kaley” from Los AngelesMM: Sex.  Japanese geneticists recloned mice over and over for over 50 generations to test the idea that cloning could be “infinite” - like in Star Wars with the clone army.  Turns out by the 58th generation, every mouse died immediately after birth for unknown reasons, and they had totally bizarre and massive genetic abnormalities.  The study concluded that mammals need to have sex for genetic diversity.  MM: TotalEnergiesPredictionsDR: Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau blames both China and Bad Bunny for his inability to speak FrenchMM: SpaceX will definitely IPO, listing 666m shares priced at $8008 per share under the ticker “P-E-N-1-5” and the logo will be an X with REALLY LONG serifs (not to be mistaken for a swastika)