Vox Sentences: Google’s $90 million payout to Andy Rubin

Vox Sentences: Google’s $90 million payout to Andy Rubin

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Google paid the “father of Android” $90 million after staying silent about a misconduct allegation; a Soros-founded university is forced out of Hungary.


Disturbing allegations against Andy Rubin and Google

 Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images
  • A New York Times report found that Google reportedly paid $90 million to Android creator Andy Rubin after he was asked to resign following a sexual misconduct allegation. [NYT / Daisuke Wakabayashi and Katie Benner]
  • Rubin, who exited the company in October 2014 and received a “hero’s farewell” from then-CEO Larry Page, could’ve been fired and received little to nothing from Google, the report says. [NYT / Daisuke Wakabayashi and Katie Benner]
  • The allegation first arose when the Information broke the news that Rubin had been having an extramarital affair with another Google employee last year. The woman said he coerced her into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013. Though Google found her claims to be credible, the nature of the accusation and the financial terms were not disclosed. [The Information / Reed Albergotti]
  • In an email to Google staff, current CEO Sundar Pichai and a company vice president wrote that 48 people have been terminated for sexual harassment, including 13 who were in senior management or higher positions. [Bloomberg / Alistair Barr]
  • In a civil suit filed this month by Rubin’s ex-wife, she claimed her husband had “multiple relationships” with other women during their marriage, and Rubin paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to them. [The Verge / Chris Welch]
  • Rubin’s spokesperson said any relationship Rubin had while working for Google was consensual and “did not involve any person who reported directly to him.” [NYT / Daisuke Wakabayashi and Katie Benner]
  • Essential, the company Rubin currently leads, recently laid off 30 percent of its workforce and reportedly canceled a follow-up to its first Android-based smartphone. [Digital Trends / Christian de Looper]

The unknown fate of a Soros-founded university

  • A renowned university founded in Budapest 27 years ago will be forced out of Hungary unless it reaches a deal to stay open by December 1. [BBC / Nick Thorpe]
  • Central European University, founded by Hungarian-American billionaire philanthropist George Soros, has long been targeted by the right-wing government of Viktor Orbán, whose party won a two-thirds majority in the parliament with a “Stop Soros” campaign. [Guardian / Shaun Walker]
  • Last year, Orbán’s parliament directly threatened CEU by passing a law that demanded that foreign universities offer classes in their home countries in order to be able to continue enrolling Hungarian students. In response, CEU launched an academic program at Bard College in New York. [Washington Post / Griff Witte]
  • The presidency, though, has refused to sign the paperwork allowing CEU to operate in Hungary. If a deal is not reached, the university will move its degree programs to Vienna. [Politico EU / Lili Bayer]

Miscellaneous

  • A petition on Change.org that’s reached nearly 2,000 signatures as of Thursday evening is asking President Trump to shift Halloween’s celebration to the last Saturday of October every year. [Change.org]
  • Remember Starbucks’s widely panned unicorn frappuccino? The brand is back at it with a Witch’s Brew frap, blended to celebrate the 2018 Halloween. [Bustle / Lucia Peters]
  • Disney World isn’t just the happiest place on earth; it’s also some people’s final resting place. According to a Wall Street Journal report, guests often visit the Orlando theme park to scatter their loved ones’ ashes. Disney staffers’ code name for the event: “HEPA cleanup.” [WSJ / Erich Schwartzel]
  • Spotify’s editorial team is now taking submissions from artists, with the streaming service allowing musicians to pitch them their unreleased songs to consider for its playlists. [Rolling Stone / Amy X. Wang]

Verbatim

“For literacy homework, the mistakes are shocking.” [A parent posted an error-ridden crossword puzzle on Facebook to complain about her daughter’s elementary school teacher. The school’s headmaster then accused her of defamation for breaching data protection guidelines. / Telegraph]


Watch this: Why this far-right candidate could win Brazil’s election

Jair Bolsonaro, a Congress member who has praised Brazil’s past military dictatorship, is poised to become the country’s next president. [YouTube / Danush Parvaneh]


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