TGIF, y'all. Today we have stories about Blue Origin's NASA lawsuit and an $85,000 iPhone.
Let's get to it.
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1. Young women say sex with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy turned violent and humiliating. In a new investigation from Insider, women – one as young as 19 – described sex with the 44-year-old media mogul as "traumatic," and some said he both filmed and choked them without advance permission.
Key details from the report:
- For years, Portnoy managed to escape scrutiny. Throughout his controversial behavior, Barstool attracted advertisers like Dunkin' Donuts and Coors.
- Insider spoke with more than two dozen people with direct experience with Portnoy and Barstool. Three women - who had no professional connection to Portnoy - said they had sex with him and that the encounters have taken a toll on their mental health.
- One woman who spoke with Insider asked not to have the specific details of her experience publicly revealed. "I know how he is when someone goes after him," she said. "I thought he would say something in public, or share videos of me."
- Read Insider's investigation here.
In other news:
2. NerdWallet soared as much as 91% in its IPO trading debut yesterday. The surge brought the personal-finance company's valuation to $2 billion. Get the full rundown here. CEO Tim Chen still owns nearly half of the company after its IPO. Here are the other big winners now that it's public.
3. Facebook's AI still misses obvious instances of misinformation. Internal documents show its AI is bad enough at spotting vaccine misinformation that it was fooled by "Baaaaaa" - a sheep-related phrase often used by conspiracy theorists. More on Facebook's spotty AI capabilities.
4. Blue Origin lost its NASA lawsuit over the SpaceX contract. Jeff Bezos' space company filed the lawsuit in August, after NASA awarded a contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX. And in true Musk form, he responded to the ruling by tweeting a "Judge Dredd" meme.
5. Once a startup unicorn, Casper is now scrambling to raise $150 million as it bleeds cash. A recent S-3 filing reveals the mattress company is trying to raise capital through various securities offerings as it confronts mounting losses, a plunging stock, and potential solvency issues. What we know so far.
6. Amazon rolled out a bunch of perks for working parents. Parents and caregivers are now eligible for benefits like customized scheduling, caregiver support, and up to 20 weeks of parental leave. Here's what you need to know.
7. Peloton shares fell 24%. The company reported slowing sales growth and wider-than-expected losses in its fiscal first quarter, citing slowing demand for fitness equipment and ongoing supply chain issues. More on that here.
8. VW's CEO warned workers that Tesla's German factory could threaten jobs. In a staff meeting, the exec told employees the Tesla factory could make cars more quickly, and that he's worried it poses a major threat.
9. An iPhone modded to have a USB-C charging port is being auctioned for over $85,000 - but the buyer can't use it. An engineering student created the phone (which actually works) and is auctioning it on eBay. But he says whoever buys it is prohibited from using it. Here's why.
10. The latest people moves in tech:
- Former Google AI researcher and employee activist Meredith Whittaker has joined the FTC. She will serve as a senior adviser on AI.
- ByteDance's cofounder, Zhang Yiming, stepped down as chairman. He's the most recent exec to pull back as China cracks down on the tech industry.
- Uber's former CTO returned to Amazon after a controversial departure from the ride-hailing company in September.
- Amazon reshuffled its Prime leadership, moving the team under Russell Grandinetti, its SVP of international business. It gives clues to Amazon's next growth areas.
- Two Sequoia partners, Roelof Botha and Neil Shen, have been identified as the venture-capital firm's next leaders.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email [email protected] or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Michael Cogley in London.