The Daily Valet. - 10/23/19, Wednesday
✔️ The Pressure Is On
Wednesday, October 23rd Edition
Yes, I’m drinking. But it’s for a good cause, I swear!
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s Big Story
This Adds Serious Fuel to the Fire
Diplomat says White House had two channels on Ukraine policy: official and unofficial
William Taylor Jr., the top US diplomat in Ukraine, told investigators on Tuesday that President Trump intentionally held up military aid to Ukraine until the country agreed to investigate the Bidens and the 2016 election. His testimony (PDF) is being called "damning" against Trump, who has denied that he used the aid for political leverage.
When Taylor objected to Trump’s efforts to tie the aid to the investigations, he said Ambassador Gordon Sondland told him there was "no quid pro quo." But then Sondland described just that—telling Taylor to think of Trump as a businessman: “When a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something, he said, the businessman asks that person to pay up before signing the check.”
Other red flags from his testimony? That the White House had two channels on Ukraine policy: the official channel of formal diplomatic processes and an "unofficial" channel that was steered by Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer. Taylor also said that demands were made for secrecy and high ranking career officials, including himself, were left in the dark about key events.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Trump referred to the impeachment inquiry as a "lynching," arguing that in the future, Republicans could impeach a Democratic president "without due process or fairness." But as support for impeachment grows to an all-time high, there seems to be less default support for the president and his actions from Congress. And Taylor's account doesn't contradict the events described by previous witnesses, but rather corroborates the established timeline and fills in the gaps with details others had not provided.
Nike and Under Armour Lose CEOs
Two big name departures in one day
Yesterday was a tough day for CEOs in sneakers. After two decades at the helm, Under Armour's Kevin Plank announced he's ceding control of his company. His soon-to-be successor, Patrik Frisk, discussed the future of the brand following the announcement with Fortune, saying that Under Armour will focus on being a performance-wear company over attempting to catch up in the athleisure space.
Then, just a few hours later, Nike announced that its CEO Mark Parker, whose has held the top spot since 2006, will leave the company. John Donahoe, a former eBay chief executive and a current member of Nike’s board, will take over as CEO in January.
The CEO change comes at a time when Nike’s sneaker and apparel business have been booming, but the brand has faced a series of public relations crises, including concerns about the company’s workplace culture. Nike also recently shut down its Oregon Project, a training group for the world’s very best runners, after the coach leading the project was banned from the sport after violating anti-doping regulations.
These two departures couldn't be more different, really. While Nike’s change comes as it looks to continue its solid momentum, Under Armour’s could be chalked up to the need to turn things around. And its stock proved that, as investors cheered and the price of Under Armour shares rose immediately after the announcement.
↦ FYI: Parker was a track athlete at Penn State before joining Nike after college in 1978 as a designer in the company’s R&D lab.
Tesla’s New Roadster Will Be “Insane”
Zero to sixty faster than you can read this
Tesla’s chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, said the upcoming production version of the electric automaker's anticipated Roadster will be better than the prototype. Von Holzhausen made the comments on the “Ride the Lightning” podcast, saying there has been an “evolution” of what was previously expected for the vehicle, improving on already impressive specifications for the streamlined supercar.
According to Teslarati, the initial specs on the Roadster were "already bordering on insane" with its 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, its top speed of over 250 mph, and its range of 620 miles per charge due to its 200 kWh battery.
Such specs already place Tesla's next-gen sports car head and shoulders above the competition, so it's hard to wrap your head around the idea that the production version of this all-electric car will be even more extreme.
↦ See it In Action: The video on this tweet is just nuts.
Drink Up and Save an Animal or Two
Spirit brands are trying to help protect endangered species
It's tough out there for wild animals these days. There's the effects of climate change and pollution. There's habitat destruction. Hell, even these cute little guys have had to deal with chlamydia. But seriously, the uncomfortable reality is that many animal species across the world are on the brink of collapse.
Thankfully, savvy companies are getting involved. And while it’s not uncommon for a liquor brand to sponsor the occasional fundraiser, there are some brands going above and beyond to help in animal conservation. Liquor.com highlights four do-gooder booze brands working hard to protect threatened and endangered species.
For instance, Amarula, a liqueur from South Africa made from the fruit of the marula tree (a favorite snack of African elephants), has long been an advocate for elephant conservation. The company donates $1 from each bottle sold during the months of October, November and December every year to their wildlife trust, bringing in nearly $250,000 over the last two years alone.
↦ Check Out the list of spirit brands making a difference and put your money where your mouth is.
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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Beware of Zombie Fees
MoviePass, long dead, is still charging customers
Remember when MoviePass, the theater subscription service, changed its $15-for-two-movies-a-month plan to an "unlimited" option that offered a movie a day for just $10 per month? Yeah, we all knew that wouldn't last. And it didn't. The service that kicked off a few similarly ill-fated competitors was officially put out of its misery in September, but if you were once subscribed, you might want to check your credit card statement.
One former user told the The New York Post that she received two charges following the cancellation of her account: the $9.95 monthly subscription fee and a random $5.64 deduction. And many others have taken to Twitter to voice their complaints over similar phantom charges on their credit cards. It's made even worse because there's no customer service on the now-defunct website. What a bizarre end to what was a wild (albeit fun-for-a-while) ride.
↦ Better alternatives: These days, your best bet to make movie-watching easier and more affordable? A subscription with your local theater chain.
What They’re Saying
Whether you're looking for something to take to a yoga class, or something to make your at-home body weight workout a little more comfortable, you want the best possible mat. We sifted through the best-reviewed options on Amazon to bring you three worthy contenders.
Reehut Extra Thick High Density Exercise Mat
/ 2,805 reviews
“I needed a lightweight mat to take to yoga, but hated how uncomfortable traditional mats were. This one is thick yet light and it's easy on my hands, knees and back, helping me to power through my workouts.”
↦ Get It $29.99 / $22.99 at Amazon
ProsourceFit Tri-Fold Exercise Mat
/ 651 reviews
“I needed a thick mat for when I do planks and ab exercises, but most are needlessly expensive. Since I'm tall, I appreciate that this is both long and the foam is very thick and squishy, yet strong.”
↦ Get It $34.99 at Amazon
Jade Harmony Exercise Mat
/ 2,348 reviews
“Real talk ... I sweat a lot when I workout. Especially during yoga. And this mat provides killer grip, but what I really appreciate is that you can toss it in the washing machine to keep it fresh.”
↦ Get It $84.95 at Amazon
Special Promotion
A great sweater is all about the details. Otherwise, it's easy for it to blend into the background. This one, from Entireworld, seems to have ticked all the boxes. Knit from superfine wool, it's warm enough with a layer underneath but still light enough to be layered upon. The camel color is classic but the reverse seams on the raglan sleeves give it a shot of modern style.
↦ Get It “Just a perfect wool crew” sweater by Entireworld
Morning Motto
The question is … are you hungry?
↦ Follow: @karamo
That’s all for today...
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