GOOD

Trump Taps WWE Mogul To Lead Small Business Administration

The first family of wrestling may be joining the White House

 Tosten Burks
12.07.16

Linda McMahon (Image via Flickr user Michael Vadon)

President-elect Trump will nominate Linda McMahon, the co-founder and former CEO of multinational corporation World Wrestling Entertainment, to head the Small Business Administration, according to Reuters. McMahon, whose net worth is estimated around $850 million, would be responsible for awarding federal contracts to small businesses, providing counseling services to small business owners, and managing loan repayment policy.

McMahon, 68, has been trying to get into politics for years. She spent almost $100 million of her own money during two unsuccessful campaigns for United States Senate in 2010 and 2012—at the time, the most anyone had ever spent of their own money to run for a seat in Congress. Now she has the opportunity to advocate for entrepreneurs who need capital, rather than bleed it herself.

Trump has a long relationship with WWE, starting in 1988 when the newly opened Trump Plaza in Atlantic City hosted WrestleMania IV. The President-elect became a frequent attendee of WrestleMania events, which culminated with an absurd 2007 storyline known as the Battle of the Billionaires, featuring Trump feuding with WWE co-founder Vince McMahon (Linda’s husband). The feud ended with Trump forcefully shaving Vince’s head. WWE inducted Trump into its Hall of Fame in 2013.

You can watch that fateful haircut below. Vince’s reaction is not dissimilar to our current feelings about the world.

Sports

In 2020, the Baltimore Museum of Art will only obtain art made by women

Pixabay

Two years after its opening in 1914, the Baltimore Museum of Art acquired a painting by Sarah Miriam Peale — its first work by a female artist. More than a century later, one might assume that the museum would have a fairly equal mix of male and female artists, right? But as of today, only 4% of the 95,000 pieces in the museum's permanent collection were created by women.

The museum is determined to narrow that gap, and they're taking a drastic step to do so.

Keep Reading Show less
art representation feminism women
Culture

'High Castle' producers destroyed every swastika used on the show and the video is oh-so satisfying

via Chela Horsdal / Twitter

Amazon's "The Man in the High Castle" debuted the first episode of its final season last week.

The show is loosely based on an alternative history novel by Philip K. Dick that postulates what would happen if Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan controlled the United States after being victorious in World War II.

Keep Reading Show less
chela horsdal nazis trump nazi punching nazi shredding nazi memerobilia CNN entertianment weekly Fox News the man in the high castle
Politics

The World Health Organization declares war on the out of control price of insulin

via Alan Levine / Flickr

The World Health Organization is hoping to drive down the cost of insulin by encouraging more generic drug makers to enter the market.

The organization hopes that by increasing competition for insulin, drug manufacturers will be forced to lower their prices.

Currently, only three companies dominate the world insulin market, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi. Over the past three decades they've worked to drastically increase the price of the drug, leading to an insulin availability crisis in some places.

In the United States, the price of insulin has increased from $35 a vial to $275 over the past two decades.

Keep Reading Show less
insulin costs big pahrma bernie sanders pahma greed canada insulin MSNBC Fox News CNN world health organization insulin
Health

Italian council chamber floods—just after council rejected climate change measures

Andrea Zanoni/Facebook

Oh, irony. You are having quite a day.

The Italian region of Veneto, which includes the city of Venice, is currently experiencing historic flooding. Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has stated that the flooding is a direct result of climate change, with the tide measuring the highest level in 50 years. The city (which is actually a collection of 100 islands in a lagoon—hence its famous canal streets), is no stranger to regular flooding, but is currently on the brink of declaring a state of emergency as waters refuse to recede.

Keep Reading Show less
climate change flooding environment earth disaster
The Planet

All the whales have finally been released from the 'whale jail' in Russia

Since the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, whale populations have been steadily recovering. However, whales in the wild still face other dangers. In the summer of 2018, four Russian companies that supply aquariums with marine animals captured almost 100 beluga whales and killer whales (aka orcas). After a public outcry, those whales are swimming free as the last of the captive whales have been released, the first time this many captured whales have been released back into the wild.

In late 2018 and early 2019, a drone captured footage of 11 orcas and 87 beluga whales crammed into holding pens in the Srednyaya Bay. The so-called "whale jail" made headlines, and authorities began to investigate their potentially illegal capture.

Keep Reading Show less
The Planet