1. The recent cyberattacks against Sony Pictures Entertainment have revealed embarrassing emails sent by executives about Hollywood stars — one calls Angelina Jolie a "spoiled brat" — and President Obama’s movie preferences. One executive joked in poor taste about Obama, "I bet he likes Kevin Hart."
Sony Hack: Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin Joked About Obama's Race in Leaked Emails http://t.co/LBNFDHdPZB
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 11, 2014
2. $275 million: that’s the amount Burger King could save on US income taxes alone from 2015 to 2018, according to analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness, a group that pushes the federal government to close loopholes for corporations. The fast-food chain says the organization’s numbers are flawed.
Burger King to save millions in U.S. taxes in 'inversion': study http://t.co/89VooU3HaL
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 11, 2014
3. Google is shutting down Google News in Spain after lawmakers there said the search engine has to pay local newspapers and media outlets every time it picks up one of their stories. The company is also dealing with the aftermath of a European Union court’s "right to be forgotten" ruling earlier this year.
Google is shutting down Google News Spain. Rightfully so. High time for playing hardball. http://t.co/qdNo7EhsB7
— Wolfgang Blau (@wblau) December 11, 2014
4. Proponents of the CIA interrogation techniques put into place after the 9-11 attacks are continuing to make the rounds with media outlets to defend the practices after the Senate report released on Monday. Former Vice President Dick Cheney went on Fox News’ Special Report on Wednesday and said, "The report’s full of crap, excuse me." The psychologist who was one of the architects of the interrogation methods is also defending them.
5. EBay is considering cutting about 10% of its workforce, or about 3,000 positions, early next year, according to The Wall Street Journal. The job eliminations would primarily take place in its key marketplace division.
6. Three students identified by pseudonyms in the flawed Rolling Stone story on a purported gang-rape incident at the University of Virginia said in a Washington Post article published on Wednesday that they had doubts about the accuser’s story. Rolling Stone first apologized for the investigative report on Friday.
Rolling Stone story is close to complete collapse. Remember: it hasn't been withdrawn yet. At some point leaving it up becomes a problem.
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) December 11, 2014