Hasta La Gadget!

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday there was no indication that Russia wanted a positive relationship with the United States, saying it had chosen to be a strategic competitor.

“At this time … I do not see any indication that Mr. Putin would want a positive relationship with us. That is not to say we can’t get there as we look for common ground,” Mattis told a House Armed Services Committee hearing, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“But at this point, he has chosen to be competitive, a strategic competitor with us and we will have to deal with that as we see it,” he said.

Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that the United States had an adversarial relationship with Russia.

Russia and the United States have a number of diverging interests, including in Syria.

Russia said on Saturday it had told the United States it was unacceptable for Washington to strike pro-government forces in Syria after the U.S. military carried out air strikes on pro-Syrian government militia.

U.S. senators said on Monday they were close to an agreement on legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia, including a possible provision that would prevent the White House from easing sanctions without congressional approval.

Democrats and Republicans on the Foreign Relations and Banking Committees have been negotiating for about a week on an amendment to an Iran sanctions bill that also would impose sanctions to punish Russia over issues including its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and support for the government of Syria in that country’s six-year-long civil war.

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Travis Kalanick will take a leave of absence from his post as CEO of Uber following his mother’s recent death, he said on Tuesday.

In an email provided to HuffPost, Kalanick wrote that he was taking the time off to grieve for his mother and did not indicate when he’d return. 

“For Uber 2.0 to succeed there is nothing more important than dedicating my time to building out the leadership team,” he wrote. “But if we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve.”

Read Kalanick’s full email below.

A report about the company’s practices, also made public on Tuesday, suggests that Uber “review and reallocate the responsibilities” Kalanick had.  

Uber hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct an investigation following allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment in the workplace. The report called on the company’s board of directors to “evaluate the extent to which some of the responsibilities that Mr. Kalanick has historically possessed should be shared or given outright to other members of senior management.”

Kalanick said in his email that his leadership team would be running the company while he is gone. He has limited his public comments since his mother was killed and his father injured in a boating accident in May.

Uber’s board of directors had discussed a leadership shakeup at a Sunday meeting ― including a leave of absence for Kalanick ― amid a period of intense turbulence for the ride-hailing company and a time of personal tragedy for the embattled executive.

Kalanick founded Uber in 2009 as a scrappy startup that eventually grew into a taxi-killing behemoth valued at nearly $70 billion. But the 40-year-old has also faced torrents of criticism over Uber’s toxic workplace environment and his personal behavior.

In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a tell-all blog post about the company’s sexist culture that went viral. Fowler described being solicited for sex by a male manager, discriminated against by management and stonewalled by human resources for reporting the conduct of male employees there.

In response to the allegations, Kalanick tapped former Holder to lead an investigation into Uber’s practices with help from board member and former HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington. Uber also hired a separate law firm, Perkins Coie, to specifically investigate sexual harassment and other workplace complaints by Fowler and other individuals.

After Fowler’s allegations became public, two of Uber’s earliest investors, Mitch and Freada Kapor, spoke out and urged the company to switch gears.

“Uber’s outsize success in terms of growth of market share, revenues and valuation are impressive, but can never excuse a culture plagued by disrespect, exclusionary cliques, lack of diversity, and tolerance for bullying and harassment of every form,” the two wrote in February.

“Uber has had countless opportunities to do the right thing ,” they added. “We feel we have hit a dead end.”

In another sign of faltering confidence within the company, Uber President Jeff Jones abruptly quit after just six months on the job in March, saying his “beliefs and approach to leadership” were apparently incompatible with Uber’s. 

In June, Perkins Coie’s investigation prompted Uber to fire 20 employees. The law firm looked at 215 claims about discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying and unprofessional behavior. One hundred claims resulted in no action; 31 required employees to receive additional training; seven prompted written warnings; and 57 remained under review. 

“Culture changes have been well underway at the company for months now,” an Uber spokeswoman told HuffPost after the firings. “Moving forward, we’re more committed than ever to turning the page. We want to change.”

Meanwhile, Holder’s broader review was submitted to Uber’s board of directors, who reportedly voted unanimously to accept all of his recommendations on Sunday.

Emil Michael, Uber’s senior vice president for business and a deputy to Kalanick, left the company Monday, after Holder recommended his departure, The New York Times reported.

The company also hired three high-level female leaders to address its management issues, serve as an independent voice on the board and help repair the company’s public image. 

The criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up.
Travis Kalanick, Uber founder

But one of the biggest threats to the company’s brand has been Kalanick himself.

In June, Recode published an email Kalanick wrote to employees in 2013 ahead of a company-wide celebration. The email contained profanities, laid out rules for having sex with fellow employees and warned of a “$200 puke charge.”

Earlier this year, Kalanick was widely criticized after he was caught on tape berating an Uber driver. The video shows Kalanick discussing the company’s fare structure with Uber “black car” driver Fawzi Kamel at the end of a ride. Kamel, who purchased a nicer car to drive for the upscale “black” service, tells Kalanick he “lost $97,000 because of you. I’m bankrupt because of you.”

In response, Kalanick fires back, “You know what? Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else.”

“Good luck,” Kalanick adds, sarcastically, before slamming the door.

Kalanick acknowledged that he needed help in an apology he wrote to employees after the video surfaced.

“It’s clear this video is a reflection of me ― and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up,” he wrote. “This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it.” 

Uber has also struggled with issues beyond its corporate culture. 

In January, Uber faced backlash for appearing to break a New York City taxi picket line formed in solidarity with protests over President Donald Trump’s travel ban. The hashtag #DeleteUber went viral and more than 200,000 people deleted the Uber app from their phones. The protest was only quelled once Kalanick announced he’d resign from Trump’s economic advisory council.

The company is also fighting a lawsuit to continue its self-driving car program. Meanwhile, Uber competitor Lyft has continued to pick up steam. 

Read Kalanick’s full email announcing his leave here: 

Team,

For the last eight years my life has always been about Uber. Recent events have brought home for me that people are more important than work, and that I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve my mother, whom I buried on Friday, to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team.

The ultimate responsibility, for where we’ve gotten and how we’ve gotten here rests on my shoulders. There is of course much to be proud of but there is much to improve. For Uber 2.0 to succeed there is nothing more important than dedicating my time to building out the leadership team. But if we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve.

During this interim period, the leadership team, my directs, will be running the company. I will be available as needed for the most strategic decisions, but I will be empowering them to be bold and decisive in order to move the company forward swiftly.

It’s hard to put a timeline on this – it may be shorter or longer than we might expect. Tragically losing a loved one has been difficult for me and I need to properly say my goodbyes. The incredible outpouring of heartfelt notes and condolences from all of you have kept me strong but almost universally they have ended with ‘How can I help?’. My answer is simple. Do your life’s work in service to our mission. That gives me time with family. Put people first, that is my mom’s legacy. And make Uber 2.0 real so that the world can see the inspired work all of you do, and the inspiring people that make Uber great.

See you soon,
Travis

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Kerry Washington may not have the same sway over Washington D.C. as Olivia Pope, but the “Scandal” star is politically engaged in her own right. 

Washington chatted with the cast of “The View” on Tuesday about her commitment to political activism and voter turnout in the 2016 election.

Not only did Washington speak at The Women’s March in January, she unapologetically claimed her commitment to advocacy while wearing a safety pin as an emblem of unity during the SAG Awards. 

After admitting to having a “big mouth” about politics, Washington told the ladies of “The View” that though she feels obligated to be active in our democracy, her activism isn’t inspired by her celebrity status. 

“I’m not a politically active actor. I’m a politically active American,” she said. “I participate in my democracy because that’s what democracy is. ‘We the People’ means we all have to show up and participate.” 

When asked by “The View” co-host Joy Behar about her thoughts on criticism of entertainers who voice their political opinions, Washington gave a response to quiet that noise. 

“I’m never going to give up my voice as an American because of what I do for a living… just because I’m an artist doesn’t mean I should have less of a voice,” she said. 

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Tejas Chocolate Craftory started — as you can probably guess — as just a chocolate company. But owner Scott Moore quickly realized he wanted to get into the savory food game, too, (he tells us he also had a lot of time to kill waiting for the chocolate to process) so he hired his brother, brought in his smoker, and started churning out killer brisket — using his simple, longtime recipe of salt, pepper, and a 14-hour smoke. The BBQ newcomer quickly became a Houston destination, after being named #6 in Texas Monthly’s Best Barbecue list that comes out every four years. Visitors savor creative sandwich selections like Brisket & Blues, brisket on a brioche bun, loaded with red onions, bleu cheese, and butter.

Of course, the chocolate alone is also a reason to visit the Craftory (Insider scoop: Moore made up the word Craftory and told us he’s always making up new words in Scrabble, so you might not want to play him). Moore uses a special method that was born in Texas for making his sweets — he slow roasts the cacao beans in a hand-made brick oven, stone grinds them until they are smooth, and ages them for weeks. it’s the secret to the chocolate’s silkiness and complexity. But if you want to try some of their truffles, you might have to go early! The afternoon we were there they had already sold out, but were kind enough to save a couple for us to show (and taste!) on our livestream.  

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Megyn Kelly has received serious backlash after word broke that she’d be airing an interview with Infowars’ Alex Jones on an an upcoming episode of “Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly.”

Backlash that has only escalated since a selfie of Kelly and Jones smiling together in car hit the internet:

Kelly’s been criticized for interviewing Jones, with some people questioning her journalistic integrity. By granting televised time to a known conspiracy theorist who has called the horrific 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a hoax, she’s giving attention to an individual who arguably doesn’t deserve it. Kelly has defended herself, saying it’s her duty to “shine a light” on Jones and his behavior.

So, this BFF-esque photograph of the two? Well, it isn’t particularly helping her defense.

Here’s what people have said about the photo:

The segment on Kelly’s show is slated to air on Father’s Day and has lost at least one major sponsor.

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