The Abstraction

Warren’s new act proposes that the most powerful corporations in the country can, by design, become more responsible

Earlier this week, Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced a new piece of legislation – the Accountable Capitalism Act – which requires the largest companies in America to get a federal charter that is conditioned on their recognizing their obligations to society. The idea is as simple as the lesson from Spiderman: with great power comes great responsibility. The biggest corporations are extraordinarily powerful, but they often exercise that power in a way that can deepen economic inequality, stack the deck in our politics in favor of the powerful, and undermine the well-being of workers.

The Accountable Capitalism Act addresses these issues. The bill would require corporations with more than $1bn in revenue to apply for a corporate charter from the federal government. To get this charter, the companies would effectively have to become benefit corporations (or b-corps) – companies that recognize that their duties extend beyond maximizing profits for shareholders. In addition, 40% of the board would be elected by employees, top executives would have to hold stock for five years (or three years if there’s a stock buy-back), and three-fourths of the board and shareholders would have to vote before the company used funds for political purposes. These provisions address interlinked problems: companies are too fixated on stock prices, executives frequently try to maximize short-term profits, and workers’ rights and compensation often get the short end of the stick. (Full disclosure: I used to work for Senator Warren.)

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Christopher Watts, 33, arrested on suspicion of killing his wife and two young daughters, who went missing early last week

The bodies of two young girls were submerged in crude oil for four days before authorities in Colorado discovered them, according to court documents filed by an attorney defending the girls’ father against accusations he killed his wife and children.

Police said the girls’ mother, Shanann Watts, 34, was found dead on property owned by Anadarko Petroleum, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in Colorado, where 33-year-old Christopher Watts worked as an operator. Investigators found the bodies of Bella, four, and Celeste, three, nearby.

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Person close to former White House aide – who says Trump uses the N-word – says ‘treasure trove’ could be released at any time

Omarosa Manigault Newman does not just have tapes of conversations from her time as an adviser to Donald Trump, a person with direct knowledge of the records said on Friday. She also has a stash of video, emails, text messages and other documentation supporting the claims in her tell-all book about her time in the White House.

Related: Lara Trump: who is the ‘good Trump’ who offered Omarosa ‘hush money’?

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Tim Pawlenty’s defeat in Minnesota has party operatives hoping base turnout can be enough to beat back the Democrats

On another night of critical primaries in advance of the midterm elections, another establishment Republican was beaten by an outsider sounding a Trumpian tone.

This week, it was former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty’s turn to grapple with a party that no longer has room for his kind.

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Tim Pawlenty’s defeat in Minnesota has party operatives hoping base turnout can be enough to beat back the Democrats

On another night of critical primaries in advance of the midterm elections, another establishment Republican was beaten by an outsider sounding a Trumpian tone.

This week, it was former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty’s turn to grapple with a party that no longer has room for his kind.

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