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Glass Lewis criticises Goldman’s ‘egregious’ executive bonuses

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Glass Lewis criticises Goldman’s ‘egregious’ executive bonuses

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Goldman Sachs’ bonuses to chief executive David Solomon and president John Waldron worth $80mn apiece “raise significant concerns” and should be rejected by the bank’s shareholders, advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended.

In a report published late on Friday, the proxy adviser said the duo’s awards, which the bank announced in January, were “further exacerbated by their structure, with the grants deviating from the company’s historical use of performance-based equity awards”.

The bonuses will be paid entirely in stock and are not tied to performance conditions, the firm said.

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While “media headlines” depicted a “high level of poaching” experienced at the bank, shareholders had received mostly “boilerplate language” about the need for the pay, Glass Lewis said.

“The absence of any disclosure surrounding these elements of such a substantial award is egregious and, on that basis alone, would warrant a vote against this proposal this year,” it said in the report.

Goldman granted the five-year retention bonuses to ensure that their top two executives remained at the bank. The award for Waldron cemented the popular view among Wall Street observers that he is Solomon’s most likely eventual successor. 

The bonuses are separate to the annual compensation for Solomon and Waldron, which last year totalled $39mn and $38mn respectively. They also dwarfed recent awards paid to the chief executives of rivals JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.

Inside Goldman, there have been concerns for weeks that investors would reject the so-called say on pay vote at the investment bank’s annual general meeting on April 23 in Dallas, according to people familiar with the matter. 

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Goldman, whose top investors include Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street, said in a statement: “Competition for our talent is fierce. The board took action to retain our current leadership team, to sustain our firm’s momentum and maintain a strong succession plan. A 100 per cent stock based grant is fully aligned with long-term shareholder value creation.”

The advisory vote, adopted as part of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation reforms, is nonbinding. But if shareholders voted no, it would represent a public rebuke for the bank. 

At US banks, it is rare for investors to vote against compensation plans; in recent years, only JPMorgan Chase has faced such a rebellion. Shareholders were frustrated by a special award projected to be worth about $50mn for chief executive Jamie Dimon in 2022. JPMorgan subsequently said it would not give Dimon special awards in the future. 

At Goldman Sachs, shareholder support for its executive pay awards dipped to 86 per cent in 2024, from 94 per cent the year before.

Glass Lewis also warned shareholders about the new carried interest pay plan for executives. The complexity of the plan makes it harder for shareholders to assess pay arrangements before bonuses are paid out, the firm said.

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.

The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.

The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.

The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.

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Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.

The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.

“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”

The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.

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Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.

“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”

Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded
Allegations pile up, but Child Protective Services declines to investigate and the school district continues to promote Ronnie Stoner. We include an update at the end of the episode. “The Girls” is a 4-part series from the Louisville Public Media’s investigative podcast, Dig.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.

The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.

In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.

Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.

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A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.

Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.

According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.

A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.

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When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.

He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.

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