Starbucks Shake-Up, Mpox Emergency, and Smoking Rates

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Starbucks Boss Ousted

Starbucks announced yesterday CEO Laxman Narasimhan will step down from his position after 17 months in office as the coffee giant tackles declining sales and increasing dissatisfaction among investors. Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol is set to become the new chairman and CEO, effective Sept. 9.

The replacement comes amid several challenges faced by Starbucks, including disappointing sales in key markets such as the US—down 3% in third quarter same-store sales this year—and China, where competition from lower-cost options declined same-store sales by 14%. The company also faced pressure from activist investors demanding changes. The news comes after former CEO Howard Schultz recently wrote an open letter criticizing the company's current leadership.

Under Niccol’s leadership, Chipotle has experienced accelerated growth, with a 14.3% increase in revenue in 2023. Following the new CEO announcement, Starbucks' shares closed up 24%, its best day since its 1992 initial public offering. Chipotle shares closed down 7%. 

Mpox Emergency in Africa

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared a continental public health emergency yesterday over a surge in cases of a fast-spreading mpox variant in recent weeks. Over 15,000 cases and roughly 460 deaths have been recorded across 18 countries in Africa, a 160% increase over the previous year.

Known as monkeypox until 2022 (see history), the mpox virus is transmitted via close contact and has a lengthy incubation period of between three and 17 days. Early symptoms resemble a typical cold but culminate in pus-filled skin lesions around the body. Two viral strains, Clade I and II, have been endemic in Africa for decades, though variants of Clade II have evolved to be far more virulent in recent years, with a fatality rate of 3% to 4%. Only 200,000 mpox vaccines are available amid a demand for over 10 million doses.

US cases have declined after spiking to over 30,000 in 2022, though wastewater data show numbers ticking up across the country. 

Kansas Newspaper Raid Charge

A former Kansas police chief has been charged with felony obstruction of justice after last year's raid on a local weekly newspaper that drew national attention and criticism from press freedom advocates. 

The Aug. 11, 2023, raid involved searches of the Marion County Record's office and the home of its publisher, Eric Meyer, after the paper reportedly ran stories critical of a local restaurant owner. Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody initially justified the raid on suspicions of identity theft and computer crimes by the newspaper staff, which prosecutors concluded were unfounded. Meyer said the paper was actively investigating the police chief for alleged previous sexual misconduct. Cody is being accused of persuading a potential witness to withhold information during a probe into his overall conduct.

The publisher's 98-year-old mother and co-owner of the newspaper, Joan, was also present during the home raid and appeared visibly upset in police body camera footage. She died a day later of a heart attack, which her son attributes to distress.

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Remember When Humans Did That?

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