Sherwood has joined several digital publishers that have cut staff this year.
Illustration by Piotr Swat/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Robinhood's media arm, Sherwood, has laid off staff.
"We made the decision to streamline team structure," a spokesperson said.
Sherwood joins several media companies that have conducted layoffs this year.
Sherwood, the media arm of the financial tech giant Robinhood, has laid off staff.
Sherwood joins several other publishers that have cut staff this year, including NBC News, CNN, TechCrunch, and Vox.
"Over the past 18 months, Sherwood has hired dozens of journalists, launched new products, and acquired the newsletter brand Chartr," a Robinhood spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. "As we built out our 2025 strategy, we made the decision to streamline team structure."
The spokesperson declined to say how many employees were impacted but said it was a small percentage of staff.
"Moving forward, Sherwood is focused on expanding its operations around timely, breaking markets news as we build through 2025," the spokesperson added.
Robinhood unveiled its media arm in 2023 under the Sherwood branding. It was set up as an independent subsidiary led by the journalist and entrepreneur Joshua Topolsky, who serves as its editor-in-chief and president.
Axios reported that when the Sherwood News website launched in April 2024, the outlet had roughly three dozen employees, including two dozen veteran journalists from Bloomberg, The New York Times, Axios, and Gawker.
Sherwood's editorial focus includes markets, tech, and "the culture of money."
The website features a section dedicated to Snacks, the popular newsletter Robinhood acquired in 2019. Robinhood also purchased Chartr, a data-driven newsletter publisher focused on visual storytelling, in 2023.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale in 2021.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Matthew Mitchell
A US Navy destroyer used its deck gun to shoot down a Houthi drone in the Red Sea last year.
A top commander revealed details of the battle for the first time this week.
USS Stockdale and other American forces thwarted the massive Houthi missile and drone attack.
A US Navy destroyer operating in the Red Sea last year used its five-inch deck gun to shoot a Houthi drone out of the sky, a top commander revealed this week.
The American destroyer, USS Stockdale, was sailing from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden in November when the attack unfolded, said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
"As we were heading south, I would say that we were in for a fight, and everybody in the crew knew it," Cooper, who was aboard the Stockdale at the time, told the WEST 2025 conference on Thursday.
After a few quiet hours, the Houthis suddenly launched a ballistic missile from Yemen in the direction of the Stockdale. They launched a second, and a third, and then a fourth missile.
"It was a complex, sophisticated, coordinated attack," Cooper recalled.
The sailors aboard the ship thwarted the initial attack around midnight, but it wasn't over. A few minutes later, the Houthis fired an anti-ship cruise missile, but it was shot down by fighter jets from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
The USS Stockdale sails alongside the Egyptian Navy El Suez-class corvette ENS Abu Qir in October.
US Navy photo
The battle continued into the night. The rebels fired more missiles and drones, which were destroyed by US fighter jets and warships. The Navy responded by launching strikes into Yemen.
At nearly 2 a.m. local time, a low-flying Houthi drone crossed in front of the Stockdale, but it was detected late. A kill order was given.
"To be frank, I thought there was no way they were going to hit it. A couple of seconds later, the five-inch gun is blasting away, and sure enough, they downed that thing," Cooper said. "It just doesn't happen." He said that people erupted in cheers for a solid 15 seconds after the intercept.
"It's a big high-five when you shoot something down with a missile," he said. "But there's a lot of high-fives when you shoot something down with a gun, kind of World War II-style."
The MK-45 is a five-inch artillery gun mounted to the deck of a warship. It is one of many ways a vessel can protect itself, along with surface-to-air missiles, which have been the tool of choice for the US during the Houthi conflict. The Stockdale fended off multiple attacks in the fall while it was deployed to the Middle East.
A five-inch deck gun on a Navy destroyer.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean Rinner/Released
Over the past 15 months, the rebels have launched over 140 attacks on commercial vessels and targeted US Navy warships more than 170 times with anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, Cooper said. US forces have shot down around 480 Houthi drones.
The Houthis have claimed that their attacks on civilian and merchant ships are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. After Israel and Hamas signed cease-fire deal earlier this month, the rebels said they would limit their Red Sea operations.
Beyond their attacks on shipping lanes, the Houthis have also fired 40 medium-range ballistic missiles and around 300 long-range drones at Israel, Cooper said. Most of the projectiles have been shot down by American and Israeli forces.
The new Trump administration could dramatically affect the US military's approach to the Houthis. Shortly after the inauguration, the White House announced that it was re-designating the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization, reversing a decision by former President Joe Biden to remove the rebels from that list.
The administration immediately began changing White House websites after his inauguration.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
State of play: The following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sites or datasets were scrubbed as of Friday afternoon. It's not immediately clear what day they were removed.
the Youth Risk Behavior Survey
AtlasPlus, which housed HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and STD information
A contraception page for health care providers
A page on ending gender-based violence
Evidence supporting recommendations for HPV vaccination harmonization across genders, ages 22 through 26 years
Heart disease death rates by gender, by county, Florida
Information about transgender and gender diverse people.
The American Airlines flight that crashed on Wednesday was given a runway change minutes before colliding midair with a military helicopter.
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
The American Airlines jet that crashed in DC was given a runway change minutes before the tragedy.
Audio tapes show the military helicopter had the passenger plane "in sight" before the collision.
The NTSB will look at pilot and air traffic control actions when investigating the crash.
In the minutes before an American Airlines flight crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, an air traffic controller requested a last-minute runway change.
The regional jet, operated by PSA Airlines, was descending over Virginia and headed for the north-facing "Mount Vernon Visual Runway 1" approach at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Pilots had confirmed their approach to air traffic controllers at the airport tower around 8:42 p.m.
Moments later, a controller reported high crosswinds on Runway 1 and asked the pilots to shift to the intersecting runway.
"Bluestreak 5342 Washington Tower winds are 320 at 17, gusts 25. Can you take Runway 33?" the controller said. Bluestreak is the call sign for PSA flights.
The pilots agreed, and within minutes, the plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter. All 67 people on board both aircraft died.
Business Insider reviewed official briefings, flight data, and air traffic control audio recordings to piece together what happened before tragedy struck.
The plane and helicopter's final moments of flight
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is an extremely busy airspace, but officials said it was a largely normal night of flying. Winds were gusty — something pilots are trained for — and the skies were clear.
The American flight had been approaching from the south, following the Potomac River along a well-known path for pilots and frequent flyers of the DC area.
The narrow corridor helps separate traffic from highly secure airspace around the White House, Pentagon, and other government buildings.
Runway 1 and Runway 33 are both north-facing, though the latter faces more Northwest.
Federal Aviation Administration
Seconds before the American flight agreed to change its path, another PSA jet responded to the same request to shift to Runway 33 as "unable," meaning it was not in a position to make the adjustment.
That flight, from Montgomery, Alabama, landed on Runway 1 as planned and continued to its gate.
The PSA pilots of flight 5342 accepting the change is not unusual. Runway 33 is a shorter strip that faces Northwest and can handle a regional aircraft like the Bombardier CRJ700 the pilots were flying.
The switch-up required the plane to move from its north-facing heading toward the Potomac's east bank before swinging back over the river to land.
At approximately 8:43 p.m., flight 5342 was cleared to land.
At the same time as the crew of flight 5342 was prepping for the new runway, an Army Black Hawk helicopter was making its way south along the river's eastern shore, following a standard, published path known as "Route 4."
Helicopter flight Route 4 runs along the east shore of the Potomac River south of Reagan Washington National. Helicopters are only allowed to fly up to 200 feet in altitude here.
Federal Aviation Administration
Several of these channels cut through the DC area, allowing military aircraft to coexist with commercial traffic in and out of airports.
At about 8:47 p.m., a controller asked the helicopter, call sign PAT25, if they had "the CRJ in sight" and to pass behind it. The CRJ refers to the regional CRJ700 aircraft operated by PSA.
Just seconds later, gasps from controllers can be heard on the audio tapes. ATC began canceling flight landings and diverting planes from National.
DC fire chief John Donnelly said emergency vehicles were on the scene by 8:58 p.m. to begin rescue operations.
Human factors are just one consideration for investigators
At a briefing Thursday, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said teams will examine human factors as they piece together a complete picture of the crash.
"They will study the crew performance and all of the actions and factors that might be involved in human error, including fatigue, medication, medical histories, training, workload, equipment design, and work environment," NTSB member Todd Inman said. They'll also be combing through the wreckage and other evidence for clues as to what went wrong.
A preliminary FAA report obtained by the New York Times and others said staffing at National's ATC tower was "not normal" at the time of the crash. The outlet reported that the controller was handling the duties of two people, including directing helicopters in the area and passenger planes landing and taking off.
Brian Alexander, a military helicopter pilot and a partner at aviation accident firm Kreindler & Kreindler, told BI that the nighttime conditions, many aircraft lights, and busy skies may have contributed to the catastrophe.
"There was another jet on final, a couple of other jets on final, and it's conceivable the helicopter pilot was watching the wrong aircraft," he said, emphasizing that was speculation at this point.
The NTSB said the PSA plane's two black boxes, which are actually orange, have been recovered.
Al Drago/Getty Images
An airline pilot previously told BI that flying in and out of National was like "threading a needle" due to the highly restricted corridors and heavy traffic, including low-flying helicopters.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a former Black Hawk pilot, told reporters that military pilots generally wouldn't talk directly to PSA pilots on the radio, but "everyone's listening on the same frequency."
She said the PSA plane would know that the Black Hawk was in the area but would be relying on ATC as the intermediary.
"Did one of the aircraft stray away latitude, sideways in the airspace from the route that they were supposed to be on? Was the Black Hawk higher than the 200 feet?" Duckworth said. "These are all things that the accident investigators would be looking at."
Shows like "Mythic Quest," "The Bachelor," and "The Recruit" returned.
Movies including "Goodrich" and "You're Cordially Invited" are streaming.
Several new and returning shows aired this week.
Hulu's new series "Paradise" provides a twist on the typical political thriller. Meanwhile, shows including the Netflix drama "The Recruit" and the hit reality dating show "The Bachelor" both premiered new seasons this week.
Theatrical releases, like last year's "Goodrich," and new streaming-only films, like the rom-com "You're Cordially Invited," are out now, too.
Here's a complete rundown of all the best movies, shows, and documentaries to stream this weekend, broken down by what kind of entertainment you're into.
Looking for a new thriller? Check out "Paradise."
Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden star in "Paradise."
Ser Baffo / Disney
"Paradise" stars "This is Us" actor Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden. The story picks up with the suspicious death of a president (Marsden), in which Brown's character is implicated. The show isn't your standard political thriller, though — it introduces a pretty big twist in the first episode.
Rob McElhenney created and stars in "Mythic Quest."
Apple TV+
The workplace comedy about a fictional video game studio, from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" costars Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, returns for its fourth season. (An anthology spinoff, called "Side Quest," is also coming later this year.)
Noah Centineo returns as CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks. In the second season of the spy drama, he finds himself in the middle of a deadly situation in South Korea.
Michael Keaton plays Andy Goodrich, a man whose life is turned upside down when he's left on his own with his 9-year-old twins. The typically hands-off dad ends up seeking help from Grace (Mila Kunis), his adult daughter from his first marriage.
It's the second feature from Hallie Meyers-Shyer — aka the daughter of rom-com legend Nancy Meyers.
Good news for parents: "Ms. Rachel" is on Netflix now.
Ms. Rachel has landed on Netflix.
Netflix
YouTube phenomenon and child educator Ms. Rachel recently signed a deal with Netflix to license a "curated compilation" of her existing content, including some of what exists already on her YouTube channel.
Craving a rom-com fix? Watch "You're Cordially Invited."
Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell star in "You're Cordially Invited."
Glen Wilson/Prime Video
Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell star as two people who clash when weddings they're involved with are double-booked at the same venue. Sparks fly as a result of the chaos.
For a shocking true crime story, check out "Scamanda."
Amanda C. Riley is a blogger who faked having cancer.
Lionsgate
The new four-part ABC Studios docuseries "Scamanda" explores Amanda Riley's fake cancer scam. The blogger, whose story was previously featured on the hit 2023 podcast of the same name, pretended to have terminal cancer for nearly a decade, bilking friends and strangers out of thousands of dollars.
Donald Trump filed a series of lawsuits against tech and media companies before he won his second election. Since then, he's started extracting settlements from some of the biggest companies in the world.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
First Disney, then Meta. Now it looks like Paramount is planning to settle a Trump lawsuit.
In normal times, Trump's suits against media and tech companies that upset him would face a steep challenge.
But since Trump won in November, things have changed. Is this how business will work for the next four years?
Disney paid Donald Trump $15 million. Meta paid $22 million.
Next question: How much will Paramount pay?
The question after that: How many more giant tech and media companies will pay the president of the United States to settle lawsuits?
And the truly big question hanging over all of this: Is this just going to be how business works during Trump 2.0?
Here's the context: Donald Trump has a history of filing lawsuits — or at least threatening to file lawsuits — against people and companies he says have besmirched his image. But until he won his second presidential election in the fall, he had only scattered success when he did that.
There are some differences between the suits. The Disney suit, for instance, was a somewhat straightforward defamation claim, focused on comments ABC's anchor George Stephanopoulos made during a live interview. The Meta case revolved around Trump's argument that the company had violated his First Amendment rights.
The Paramount and Gannett filings accuse those companies of election interference and consumer fraud, respectively. Trump was specifically unhappy with the way Paramount's "60 Minutes" program handled an interview with Kamala Harris, and about a poll Gannett's Des Moines Register published before the election that projected he would lose in Iowa.
What all those suits had in common: lots of skepticism and eye-rolling from legal experts who said Trump would have a very difficult time making his case.
But as it turns out, when the person making that case turns out to be the most powerful man in the world, the equation gets reworked.
In Paramount's case, both its current owner — Shari Redstone — and the man who wants to buy it — Oracle's founder Larry Ellison, on behalf of his son, David — are aligned with Trump to varying degrees. But that deal requires federal approval, and Brendan Carr, Trump's pick to run the Federal Communications Commission, has already said he intends to scrutinize the way Paramount's CBS handled the "60 Minutes" interview. Technically, Trump's suit and the FCC's approval of the deal are considered separate issues. But it's easy enough to draw a dotted line.
It's also easy to see a stark pattern emerging: Powerful companies with enormous legal resources are deciding that they're better off making a payment — in the form of a donation — to Trump than fighting him.
If you're reading this, that suggests you have some interest in the news. For people who care about news — or any of the protections the First Amendment provides — all of this likely sounds chilling. But even if you're a press/media/Big Tech skeptic or foe, you might worry about the lawsuits and settlements, and the precedent they set. What happens when Donald Trump — or a future president — comes after a company or industry you care about?
Senate Republicans areholding their breath over President Trump's tariffs, which kick in Saturday against Canada, Mexico and China.
Why it matters: Many senators spent months telling Axios they saw the move from Trump more as a negotiating tactic. But some were concerned about what would happen if he followed through.
🚨 Now, sweeping 25% tariffs start this weekend on Canadian and Mexican imports — and 10% on Chinese goods, the White House said Friday. All three countries have vowed to retaliate against broad tariffs.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told Axios in August that "across-the-board tariffs is not something I have been for in the past." Thune is open to the selective use of tariffs.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) described Trump's tariffs promises as potentially "problematic."
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a former Senate Commerce Committee chair, also told Axios in August he's listening, but "not convinced that's the best approach."
Between the lines: Senators often cite concerns about tariffs leading to inflated prices for Americans — after a campaign cycle where Republicans repeatedly said former President Biden's policies led to inflation.
Zoom in: More tenured senators, especially free traders, have learned the value of waiting instead of staking out positions Trump can upend at any moment.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is taking a "wait-and-see attitude," he told Reuters. Iowa is a big farm goods exporter.
"Normally I'd be stronger in my comments because I am a free trader. I used to be in the majority when free trading was a majority of the Congress, but now I am in the minority," he said.
😈 The newer senators are on Trump's side, and they're content to let him cook.
"Everybody runs through the streets saying, 'The sky is falling! The sky is falling!' but it doesn't fall," Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.V.) told Reuters.
Zoom out: The list of surprised leaders stretches beyond the Senate.
"I don't believe that will happen," House Speaker Mike Johnson saidearlier this week about across-the-board tariffs.
Kendrick Lamar hits an owl piñata in the "Not Like Us" music video.
Kendrick Lamar/YouTube
We ranked all eight of the diss tracks exchanged by Drake and Kendrick Lamar over the past year.
Lamar's Grammy-nominated kill shot "Not Like Us" took the top spot.
Drake's disappointing surrender, "The Heart Part 6," was ranked the worst.
Ever since Kendrick Lamar declared "I choose violence" in March of last year, he and Drake have hurled a barrage of diss tracks back and forth, escalating a rap feud that had been brewing for years.
That declaration came in March 2024, when Lamar provoked two of his most famous peers, Drake and J. Cole, during his guest verse in "Like That" by Future and Metro Boomin.
"Fuck sneak dissing, first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches," Lamar raps in the hit single. "Motherfuck the big three, n****, it's just big me."
While the rest of "Like That" doesn't scan as a traditional diss track, its implications were clear: Lamar made a point to reject the claim that Cole had previously made ("We the big three like we started a league") in his 2023 collaboration with Drake, "First Person Shooter."
Business Insider's senior music reporter ranked all eight of the pair's 2024 diss tracks (not including "Like That") by weighing factors like lyrical prowess and cultural impact.
There's a famous line from T.S. Eliot's 1925 poem "The Hollow Men" that feels applicable here: "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper."
If "Not Like Us" is a bang, "The Heart Part 6" is definitely a whimper. Drake's final offering in his feud with Lamar is some of the most feeble, mortifying stuff he's ever committed to tape. He attempts to deny accusations of pedophilia by insisting he's "way too famous" to get away with it (because who's ever heard of powerful men in Hollywood ducking years of slimy allegations?) and claims his team fed Lamar false information to use against him ("I thought about giving a fake name and a destination / But you so thirsty you not concerned with investigation").
Of course, no one bought Drake's defensive claim, because that strategy makes no sense. Why would you intentionally spread rumors about yourself? He also thought name-dropping Jeffrey Epstein unprompted was a good idea, somehow? What a mess. He would've been better off just bowing out quietly.
7. "Taylor Made Freestyle"
Taylor Swift and Drake at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for MTV
Release date: April 19, 2024
Billboard Hot 100 peak: N/A
Drake unveiled "Taylor Made Freestyle" shortly after "Push Ups," hoping to land a one-two punch — a strategy that went over well during his 2015 beef with Meek Mill, chasing "Charged Up" with "Back to Back." However, the rollout was muddied by Drake's random, convoluted references.
In "Taylor Made Freestyle," Drake shows respect to Taylor Swift, calling her "the biggest gangster in the music game right now," yet a few days earlier, he poked fun at Lamar for collaborating with her. ("Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty / Then we need a verse for the Swifties," Drake raps in "Push Ups," a nod to Lamar's feature in Swift's "Bad Blood" remix.)
But name-dropping Swift isn't even the biggest faux pas Drake makes here. "Taylor Made Freestyle" includes AI-generated verses from Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, a foolish move for several reasons.
One, Drake had previously criticized the use of AI in music, so now he looks like a hypocrite. Two, Shakur is a paragon of West Coast hip-hop, a community to which Lamar belongs, not Drake. Three, and most egregiously, Drake didn't get permission to use Shakur's likeness, triggering a cease-and-desist from Shakur's estate that described "Taylor Made Freestyle" as a "blatant abuse" of the late rapper's legacy. Yikes.
6. "Meet the Grahams"
Kendrick Lamar performs at Bonnaroo in 2023.
Gary Miller/WireImage
Release date: May 4, 2024
Billboard Hot 100 peak: No. 12
Lamar dropped "Meet the Grahams" just minutes after Drake had unleashed his best diss track yet, effectively quashing any momentum that his rival could've had. It did exactly what it was designed to do, returning the upper hand to Lamar — but at what cost?
Over six-plus minutes, Lamar addresses each member of Drake's family, including his son, who was 6 years old at the time of the song's release.
"Dear Adonis, I'm sorry that that man is your father, let me be honest / It takes a man to be a man, your dad is not responsive," Lamar raps. "I look at him and wish your grandpa would've worn a condom / I'm sorry that you gotta grow up and then stand behind him."
That's a pretty grisly message to address to a child, but Lamar didn't stop there. He belittles both of Drake's parents for raising him poorly, even addressing Drake's father as a "horrible fucking person," adding, "The nerve of you, Dennis." And just in case Lamar hadn't made his feelings about their son clear, he declares, "I think n***** like him should die."
Yet another verse is addressed to an anonymous baby girl, implying that Drake fathered a second child in secret. (Drake has strongly denied this and there's no evidence it's true.)
The final verse is addressed directly to Drake, aka Aubrey Graham, in which Lamar tries to justify everything he just said.
"Dear Aubrey, I know you probably thinking I wanted to crash your party / But truthfully, I don't have a hating bone in my body," Lamar raps. "This supposed to be a good exhibition within the game / But you fucked up the moment you called out my family's name."
Given the song's title and premise, Lamar's final point seems a little sanctimonious, no? "Meet the Grahams" is a deeply sinister, malevolent song that feels almost dirty to listen to. I rebuke it.
5. "Push Ups"
Drake performs in Los Angeles in 2016.
Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Release date: April 13, 2024
Billboard Hot 100 peak: No. 17
"Push Ups" was the first official shot fired by Drake, a direct reaction to Lamar's verse in "Like That."
The lyrics are fairly routine by rap-beef standards: Drake makes fun of Lamar for having small feet ("How the fuck you big steppin' with a size-seven men's on?"), criticizes J. Cole for backing down from the fight, and brags about his higher album sales ("Numbers-wise, I'm out of here, you not fuckin' creepin' up / Money-wise, I'm out of here, you not fuckin' sneakin' up").
Overall, "Push Ups" is a solid diss track with a handful of zingers and a fun beat. It pales in comparison to much that came after, but we didn't know that at the time.
4. "6:16 in LA"
Kendrick Lamar performs during "The Pop Out" in Inglewood, California.
Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon Music, & Free Lunch
Release date: May 3, 2024
Billboard Hot 100 peak: N/A
Lamar took a cue from Drake by releasing "Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA" in quick succession. In fact, he promised he would do just that in the former track: "'Back To Back,' I like that record / I'ma get back to that, for the record."
Like "Euphoria," which shares a title with the HBO teen drama that Drake executive produces, the title of "6:16 in LA" is a subtle insult, poking fun at a naming pattern in Drake's discography ("5 Am in Toronto," "6PM in New York," "8am in Charlotte").
Unlike its predecessor, however, "6:16 in LA" is brief and spooky rather than comprehensive and direct. The song was only made available on Lamar's Instagram, and he spends most of it taunting Drake about the enemies in his own entourage — though he keeps his threats relatively veiled.
"Have you ever thought that OVO was workin' for me? / Fake bully, I hate bullies, you must be a terrible person / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it," Lamar raps.
Fans also believe Lamar's lyric, "It was fun until you start to put money in the streets / Then lost money, 'cause they came back with no receipts," implies that Drake tried to pay for dirt on Lamar.
3. "Family Matters"
Drake in "Family Matters."
Drake/YouTube
Release date: May 3, 2024
Billboard Hot 100 peak: No. 7
Many fans and critics have described this feud as a total KO by Lamar, but to be fair, Drake didn't go down without a fight. "Family Matters," Drake's penultimate swing, actually features some of his most impassioned and nimble rapping in years.
The seven-and-a-half-minute song is split into three parts, allowing Drake to run the gamut — taking shots at Lamar, of course, as well as Rick Ross, A$AP Rocky, and The Weeknd — while shifting gears between bemused and bloodthirsty.
The former mode works well for Drake, who's been impossible to shake from the top of the charts for over a decade. It makes sense that his peers, especially those considered to be more "highbrow," would want to knock him down a few pegs — and why Drake would assume that's all this is about. I'm particularly fond of the line, "Ayy, Kendrick just opened his mouth / Someone go hand him a Grammy right now." That's legitimately funny.
The latter mode is riskier, but Drake makes sure to sell it. He takes aim at Lamar's private parenting style ("Why you never hold your son and tell him, 'Say cheese' / We could have left the kids out of this, don't blame me"), suggests that one of Lamar's children was actually fathered by his business partner, Dave Free, and even floats the grisly claim that Lamar abused his fiancée, Whitney Alford. (To date, there are no allegations or reports of domestic violence against Lamar. For her part, Alford attempted to nullify the claim by making a cameo in the "Not Like Us" music video.)
Ultimately, "Family Matters" is a formidable diss track that could've posed a real threat had Drake been facing a lesser opponent.
However, Lamar dropped "Meet the Grahams" mere minutes later, followed closely by "Not Like Us," all but knocking "Family Matters" off the scoreboard.
It's also worth noting that, in just a few months, several lines in "Family Matters" aged quite poorly — especially after Drake took legal action against Spotify and Universal Music Group, seemingly as a last-ditch attempt to damage Lamar's credibility and block "Not Like Us" from getting more spins. Uh, Drake, what happened to "a cease-and-desist is for hoes"?
2. "Euphoria"
Kendrick Lamar performs at Glastonbury Festival in 2022.
Samir Hussein/WireImage
Release date: April 30, 2024
Billboard Hot 100 peak: No. 3
Lamar laid low for nearly two weeks after Drake dropped "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle," leading some skeptics to count him out prematurely. Some fans said Lamar didn't have the interest or audacity to commit to a full-blown rap beef, that his heart wasn't in it. Oh, how wrong they were.
"Euphoria" appeared on YouTube without warning or promotion. It performed well on the Hot 100, but that felt incidental at this point — purely a testament to how many people had been waiting for Lamar's response. As Lamar says himself in the song, this wasn't about critics, gimmicks, or proving himself as the greatest. He was laser-focused on showing Drake just how audacious he could be.
Indeed, the damning six-minute track doubles as an itemized list of everything Lamar loathes about Drake.
"This ain't been about critics, not about gimmicks, not about who the greatest / It's always been about love and hate, now let me say I'm the biggest hater," he raps. "I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress / I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it's gon' be direct."
Lamar also calls Drake a "scam artist," "master manipulator," and "habitual liar." He insinuates that Drake is a deadbeat dad, mocks the Canadian rapper for imitating Black American culture, and resurfaces old accusations that Drake relies on ghostwriters for his success.
Until "Euphoria," this showdown presented as a territorial struggle, a tale as old as time — two hip-hop heavyweights fighting for the belt. I don't think anyone knew just how much spite was festering in Lamar's heart, and he was all too eager to let it spew.
Drake attempted to brush it all off as petty and childish, sharing a clip from the '90s rom-com "10 Things I Hate About You" on his Instagram story. But Lamar was just getting warmed up.
Lamar completely upended that assumption with "Not Like Us," a musical killshot if one has ever existed.
The song compounds both Lamar's classic talents (he somehow managed to include a full history lesson in between calling his foe a bitch and a colonizer) and Drake's typical forte; it scored five Grammy nominations, including both song and record of the year, and topped the Hot 100 for two weeks. (In fact, Lamar had three No. 1 hits in 2024 alone, more than any other artist, while Drake had none.) By the time December rolled around, "Not Like Us" was being hailed as one of the year's best songs. It made a vicious brawl sound like a celebration.
After such a decisive victory, I'd be surprised if any rapper tried to go toe-to-toe with Lamar ever again. Next time, when a Pulitzer Prize winner describes himself as a "certified boogeyman," believe him.
Amazon has agreed to block sales of skin-lightening creams containing dangerous amounts of mercury.
The agreement settles a decadelong lawsuit brought by the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow.
Amazon must comply with California's Proposition 65, which protects consumers from toxic products.
Amazon on Friday settled a decadelong legal battle by agreeing to block skin-lightening creams containing dangerous amounts of mercury from its website.
The settlement requires that Amazon pay a total of $6 million in civil penalties and legal fees. Amazon must also take specific measures to prevent brands and third-party sellers from offering FDA-banned creams — those containing more than .0065% mercury — on the site.
The settlement, which does not require that Amazon admit wrongdoing, ends a lawsuit originally brought in California by a group of anonymous plaintiffs and As You Sow, a nonprofit that works with corporations to promote environmental and social responsibility.
The lawsuit was later joined by the California attorney general's office, which sued Amazon under the state's Proposition 65 and its Unfair Competition Law. The AG's office will receive $600,000 of the settlement money.
A spokesperson for Amazon said the company has worked in good faith with the AG's office and is pleased to have the matter resolved.
The original 2014 lawsuit alleged that Amazon, at one point, had 27 products for sale containing high amounts of mercury, sometimes at tens of thousands of times the allowable levels. Mercury is a neurotoxin that can cause prenatal defects and life-threatening kidney, brain, and central nervous system damage.
Amazon knows which brands have already been flagged by regulators as violating FDA standards and California health and safety codes, and their internal filters are capable of flagging others, said Rachel S. Doughty, a plaintiff attorney for the original lawsuit.
Many of the dangerous skin products have easily targeted "red flags" in their listings, the plaintiffs had argued. Most were made in Mexico and Pakistan, for example. Products claiming to both whiten skin and treat acne were also red flags, because mercury is the only ingredient known to do both, they had argued.
"I have seen an improvement in their website in the ten years since we filed the first case," Doughty told Business Insider. "And that means you will have a harder time finding well-known skin-whitening and lightening products on their website that have mercury in them."
She said she hopes that the settlement will prompt Amazon to be vigilant in policing its site for other potentially toxic products.
"I hope that internally, they don't want this to happen again, and that they are looking for other things that may have mercury, lead, cadmium, and a whole host of other chemicals," she said.
Amazon said in an emailed statement that the company does not tolerate illegal or evasive behavior from the businesses that sell through its site.
"In this case, all products in question were evasively listed by bad actors and once identified, were removed," the statement said.
"We have proactive measures in place to prevent prohibited products from being listed and we continuously monitor our store. If we discover a product was undetected by our automated checks, we address the issue immediately and refine our controls."
Despite efforts by the United States and allied governments, China's appetite for foreign technology and use of extraordinary means to obtain it has not diminished.
