Culture Wars/Current Controversies

Tyre Nichols’ funeral is being held in Memphis today

February 1, 2023
Hello, Insiders. At the height of the pandemic, many companies went remote. And as things slowly started opening up, they had to choose: stay permanently remote, order staffers back to the office, or have a hybrid work environment. Insider, for the record, went with hybrid.

Something we’re starting to see is companies doing, well, take-backsies. A prominent example is Salesforce. CEO Marc Benioff initially spoke out against return-to-office mandates — but then claimed young, remote workers were less productive and ordered some staffers back to the office. (And staffers weren’t happy about his comments.)

I really want to hear from readers about their situations. Are you remote, in office, or hybrid — and are you happy about it? Has your employer shown any regrets over its decision? Let me know: insidertoday@insider.com.

— Nicholas Carlson

In today’s edition: An editor’s attempt at eating like Nancy Pelosi for a week, what China’s population decline means for the global economy, and Microsoft’s ChatGPT warning. But first, the news.
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The latest
  • A woman is accused of using social media to find and kill her doppelgänger to try to fake her own death. Read the full story.
  • Tyre Nichols’ funeral is being held in Memphis today. Nichols died after a traffic stop in which police officers beat him. What we know so far.
  • Microsoft warns employees not to share “sensitive data” with ChatGPT, the popular tool from OpenAI (despite being a major backer). More here.
The big story
CNN | Sophie Kleemen

 

“I followed Nancy Pelosi’s diet of breakfast ice cream and hot dogs for a week.”

When Nancy Pelosi announced she was stepping down from Democratic leadership, Insider’s Sophie Kleeman homed in on one small, yet important, detail: what Pelosi planned to eat for lunch that day. It was a hot dog, which the 82-year-old says she eats daily.

This morsel of information sent Kleeman down the rabbit hole of what Pelosi eats, which resembles what Kleeman described as the diet of a “a wealthy toddler with zero parental supervision.” We’re talking chocolate ice cream for breakfast. Hot dogs. Doughnuts. Every type of pasta. Jerky.

So Kleeman decided to do what any good investigative journalist would do: immerse herself in the experience of her 82-year-old subject and follow Pelosi’s diet for a week. The end result is an epic journey you have to read to believe.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE
 

Top reads

Alyssa Powell/Insider

 

  • China’s shrinking population is a grim omen. The country’s population is shrinking — which is likely to have catastrophic ripple effects on the global economy. The decline is a warning for the US and Europe. Read the full story.
  • Miss Russia says she was “shunned” at the Miss Universe pageant. Anna Linnikova said competitors avoided her and accused the competition of bias in favor of the Ukrainian and US contestants. Find out more.
  • Snapchat plans to make money from one of its most addictive features. The company could soon charge to restore broken “Snapstreaks” — that’s when users send messages to each other for a consecutive number of days. Inside Snap’s monetization efforts.
  • How a wildly outgunned US Navy pilot outfoxed one of the Soviet Union’s best jets. Royce Williams, who was recently awarded the Navy Cross, shot down four Soviet aircraft in a legendary dogfight over 70 years ago. More on the fabled battle.
  • Warren Buffett is the only top-10 billionaire to become poorer this year. His drop in wealth comes after Berkshire Hathaway missed out on the stock market’s rally. The company’s stock trailed the S&P 500’s 5% gain and the Nasdaq’s 10% jump in January. Read more.
  • Forget ChatGPT. While the language bot continues to dominate headlines, an AI-driven investment fund powered by IBM’s Watson supercomputer is quietly beating the market by nearly 100%. Find out more.
  • “I ain’t flying private. Put me on Spirit.” Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco Johnson said he would fly coach and buy fake jewelry to save money while he played in the NFL. More here.
  • Dallas Zoo’s missing monkeys were found in an abandoned house. After a series of mysterious events at the zoo, two missing emperor tamarin monkeys were discovered inside a closet at a home in Lancaster, Texas, Police say. More on the story.
Take a look
AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi
The Taliban requires all mannequins’ heads be covered or cut off. Residents of Kabul are greeted with a rather unusual and sinister sight in their local shop windows: veiled and headless mannequins. See the eerie photos of Afghanistan’s new reality.
Watch this
A professional ice climber rates nine ice-climbing scenes in movies and TV. From “Game of Thrones” to “Jumanji: The Next Level,” the professional ice climber Will Gadd gives his take on the accuracy and realism in the scenes. Watch now.
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This edition was curated by Nicholas Carlson and edited by Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan, Dave Smith, Nathan Rennolds, Kevin Kaplan, and Shona Ghosh. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com.

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