Start saving those pennies and tack a picture of Emirates on your vision board, because you are going to want to buy a first-class ticket.

The airline just unveiled its new first-class suites and they are, well, sweet. To make first-class guests even more comfortable in their private suites built into the airline’s fleet of Boeing 777s, Emirates looked to NASA. The suites are equipped with chairs that not only recline into flat beds but, thanks to inspiration from NASA tech, can be placed in a “zero-gravity“ position to give “a feeling of relaxation and weightlessness,” per a press release.

It’s all in soft leather, of course, which might make an astronaut or two jealous. The suites are also perfect for introverts and other privacy enthusiasts thanks to video call function that lets you order up drinks and canapés and have them served through a service window with limited human interaction.

The coolest trick, though, may be Emirates’ ability to make the middle seat seem desirable. Travelers stuck in a suite in the middle of the plane will still have a room with a view, thanks to new virtual windows, which will project the view from outside the aircraft using real-time camera technology. Those with real windows do have one perk: binoculars for scoping out their surroundings (which will make for a gripping reboot of Hitchcock’s Rear Window).

These new features are on top of Emirates’ already over-the-top amenities like a stocked personal minibar, 2,500 channels of on-demand entertainment, bespoke Byredo skincare products, and Hydra Active moisturizing pajamas, which just might be made of elf tears and magic. Does Santa ever bring plane tickets?ML

Go ahead and polish that Apple, because the tech giant has been using its powers for good. Over the last year alone, the company says it’s helped raise a record $30 million for the Global Fund, as part of its partnership with (RED). That translates to 144 million days of the medication that helps prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their unborn babies, per a press release.

Now, to mark World AIDS Day, the company is making it super easy to help save lives. The easiest way is to just go to the Apple store and buy stuff with Apple Pay, because Apple plans to donate $1 to the fund for every transaction made with Apple Pay at the company’s retail stores, on its website or via in-app purchases.

If you’ve already thrown down for the iPhone X and AirPods and a new Apple Watch, you should make a donation (because you clearly have money to burn). Or simply enable in-app purchases for Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Jelly Saga, and Candy Crush Soda Saga—all proceeds from sales will be used to benefit the fund. Alternatively, you can donate to (RED) old-school style by clicking here.

Things are really getting interesting in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian investigation—not that they were ever boring.

We just learned that Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, Michael T. Flynn, has been charged with making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigations about his communications with Russians. It’s the latest move for Mueller, who has already indicted the president’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy.

Flynn will appear in a D.C. court for a plea hearing later this morning, Bloomberg reports, and he’s expected to plead guilty.

You might recall, Flynn was fired by Trump in February after revelations about his false statements came to light. The retired general infamously led chants of “lock her up” at the Republican National Convention last year, calling on then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to resign.

You can read the full charges against Flynn here.

CZ

Shervin Pishevar, cofounder of Sherpa Capital and prominent investor in Uber, Airbnb, Warby Parker, and Tumblr, has been accused by six women of sexually assaulting or harassing them, Bloomberg reports. In one case, at a Christmas party in 2014, he reportedly put his hand on the leg of Austin Geidt, Uber’s head of global expansion, and “moved it up her dress.” Bloomberg also found that the investor and major Democratic party donor repeatedly tried to pressure a woman, whom he had hired to work for him, to have sex. And during a party at the Web Summit in Dublin in 2013, a laughing Pishevar reportedly showed explicit images on his phone to a female entrepreneur who told Bloomberg: “It became really scary.”

“In each case, the women accused Pishevar of exploiting a professional connection, and using the prospect of a job, mentorship or investment to make an unwanted sexual advance,” according to the article.

As Fast Company first reported last month, Pishevar was arrested by London police on suspicion of raping a woman in late May at the Ned hotel but he was released and never charged due to “insufficient evidence.” In a statement, Pishevar admitted that he was detained briefly by the police but denied the assault claim. And the City of London police said that a police report describing the arrest was false. In early November, Pishevar filed a defamation lawsuit against a Republican-led opposition research firm Definers Public Affairs, claiming that it conducted a “malicious smear campaign” that included “false, defamatory, and highly damaging claims,” including that he “paid money to settle a claim for sexual assault in London.”

In a statement sent to Fast Company, a crisis expert working for Pishevar said: “Shervin Pishevar is the victim of an organized smear campaign, which so far has involved the fabrication of a London ‘police report.’ Now, anonymous and untrue stories have suddenly surfaced concerning Mr. Pishevar. The assertions regarding the only person named have now been directly refuted by an eyewitness to the claimed events, and there are communications sent from the named person herself to Mr. Pishevar which directly undermine any credibility being given to the claims made. Just as the London ‘police report’ turned out to be fabricated, we are confident that these anecdotes will be shown to be untrue as well. Mr. Pishevar is confident that he will be vindicated.” The crisis expert, Mark Fabiani, also sent Fast Company several friendly emails, purportedly from Geidt to Pishevar. Geidt declined comment to Bloomberg for their story.MB

The chipmaker announced last night that it has filed another three lawsuits against the iPhone giant. The patent infringement lawsuits claim Apple is infringing on 16 of Qualcomm’s patents in the latest iPhones, reports Reuters. Qualcomm is seeking the import ban on iPhones that use Intel chips. Qualcomm’s three lawsuits followed a lawsuit filed by Apple on Wednesday against Qualcomm alleging Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips infringe on Apple patents. Before that lawsuit, in November Qualcomm sued Apple for an alleged breach of a software agreement, and before that, in January, Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion for the company allegedly withholding patent rebates. No doubt, stay tuned for more lawsuits between the companies to come.MG

The internet shopping giant plans to use drones one day to deliver packages. But with so many drones in the air, what happens if one fails, falls out of the sky, and hits someone? Amazon now thinks it has the answer: fall out of the sky in the right way–by breaking apart. The company has received a patent for the “direct fragmentation for unmanned airborne vehicles.” The patent describes a drone that can sense something is wrong with itself during flight and then can begin taking itself apart mid-flight. The idea is if the drone discovers it’s going to crash anyway (say, a propellor has failed) it will begin jettisoning parts so smaller parts of itself fall from the air along a linear path instead of one big heavy drone at once. The smaller parts would be much less likely to do damage to people or property below than their sum, after all.MG

Back in March Elon Musk said he could get a giant battery system set up to help power South Australia in 100 days from the signing of a contract for it or it would be free. Today the state of South Australia announced that that battery–the world’s largest–is now online, reports CNBC. Musk made good on his word with plenty of time to spare: The battery project was completed in just 63 days. That’s no small feat considering the battery is the size of a football field and is capable of powering 30,000 homes.

Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2017

Happy #FridayWindPic
We just couldn't not post this one today! pic.twitter.com/hfGR6B4CiU

— Australian Wind Alliance (@AusWindAll) December 1, 2017

MG

Meal-kit company Blue Apron has a new CEO: Brad Dickerson. Founder and former chief Matt Salzberg will become executive chairman of the company’s board. Dickerson has previously served as COO and CFO of Under Armour.

The change in leadership comes as the company continues to struggle on multiple fronts. After a disappointing IPO earlier this year, Blue Apron’s stock has dropped from $10 per share to under $3 per share. (In after-hours trading today, the company’s stock was up 2.5%.) Blue Apron’s public offering was marred by Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods. At that point, Amazon already offered meal kits on its site. But in July, the Everything Store filed for a U.S. trademark on a service that pre-preps meals for customers, further stoking fears for shareholders.

In addition to its inevitable competition against Amazon, Blue Apron also battles high costs. When it filed its intent to go public in March, the company reported astronomical spending on acquiring customers—$94 per person. It’s prospectus alone caused Fast Company to ask whether this company would even be around in five years. Not long after its debut as a public company, Blue Apron was hit with a lawsuit, accusing it of misleading prospective shareholders. And in the last quarter, the company revealed more problems: An expansion into a new warehouse was costing more than expected.RR

Google just might have the best corporate culture around. If never-ending snacks and gourmet food, the ability to bring your dog to work, free rides, and free massages didn’t already tip you off, once again the tech giant tops the list of the 50 best companies to work for in 2017, according to Comparably.

To reach this conclusion, the jobs site asked employees to anonymously rate their companies between January and November of this year—and those anonymous voters said Google was tops.

Comparably also listed the best companies for diversity and the best companies for women, but the lists were presented alphabetically, so it’s hard to get any specifics about how the companies fared. For instance, Google had a rough year, diversity wise, but still made the list for best companies. As journalists dig into Google’s corporate culture and learn about things like questionable executive dating habits, Google may drop in the rankings for best places to work for women.

Here’s the top 10:

1. Google, Mountain View, CA
2. HubSpot, Cambridge, MA
3. Facebook, Menlo Park, CA
4. Salesforce, San Francisco, CA
5. Cornerstone OnDemand, Santa Monica, CA
6. Indeed, Austin, TX
7. LinkedIn, Mountain View, CA
8. Intuit, Mountain View, CA
9. Netflix, Los Gatos, CA
10. Zillow, Seattle, WA

Also check out the full list here. It includes some surprising findings—like the fact that GoDaddy apparently has better corporate culture than Airbnb, Pinterest, Nike, and even Starbucks.ML

Someone allegedly put a camera in the employee bathroom of a Forever 21 store in Providence, Rhode Island. The videos from that camera were then allegedly distributed on the internet to people who are into that sort of thing. Now, the company is facing a $2 million lawsuit from a former employee who stumbled across images of herself using the corporate can, WWD reports.

After finding her image on “multiple pornographic web site platforms,” the employee, identified in the suit as Jane Doe, has charged the company with negligence and invasion of privacy. The suit alleges that Forever 21 had lax security that allowed the hidden camera to be installed in the employee bathroom, when she worked for the company back in 2011.

While WWD notes that it’s “unclear” if Forever 21 ever discovered the camera or if the perpetrator removed it before any other employee found it, the plaintiff holds the company accountable for “negligently, recklessly and wantonly allowing a person(s), whose identity is unknown to plaintiff, to enter the employee locker room and the employee restroom, located in the store.” She’s suing for “extreme emotional damages.”

We reached out to Forever 21 for comment but have not heard back.ML

In the wake of almost daily sexual-harrassment allegations against powerful men in media, entertainment, business, and politics, a new poll from NBC News|SurveyMonkey found that 81% of Americans believe sexual harassment is happening in the workplace–but only 9% believe it is a problem at their own employer. Overall, 87% of the 3,772 adults surveyed said they would feel comfortable reporting harassment to their employer now.

Although the list of high-profile executives and celebrities who’ve been accused of sexual harassment grows longer by the week, the survey found that less than half (46%) of men say they have thought more about their behavior toward women after reading the news reports.

This self-awareness (or lack thereof) was divided along political party lines. Sixty-eight percent of Republican men said they had not reflected on their own behavior or attitudes toward women, while nearly the same amount of Democratic men, (66%) said they had. Female Democrats were more likely to speak up in the wake of news reports than female Republicans (60% vs. 33%), and across genders, 45% of Republicans would continue to support a member of the GOP accused of harassment vs. 18% of Democrats.

The NBC News|SurveyMonkey poll was conducted online from November 27 through November 29, 2017, and its questions “were prompted by a string of revelations that began in early October,” in response to the Harvey Weinstein allegations.

The timing of the poll is curious given that NBC News is facing its own scandal this week, but the organization declined to comment on the record about whether the survey was timed to Today show anchor Matt Lauer’s firing.

Related:  It’s worse than we thought: 1 in 5 people has a “hostile or threatening” work environment 

LD

Marriott Hotels is really thinking about what you’re creating in the bathroom. The hotel chain has just unveiled what it says is a one-of-a-kind shower that will help guests capture their creativity in a permanent way.

After learning that over half of business travelers felt that they had their best ideas while showering, the company did a little bathroom brainstorming. Since Slack probably doesn’t work in the shower, the company came up with a piece of technology that lets guests scribble down a stroke of genius on the shower wall and send it to themselves. The shower uses touch-sensitive technology built directly into the shower door that transfers the idea onto a tablet, where guests can share it via email or social media, because everyone on Twitter definitely needs to see it.

That means that whatever you dream up in the shower, when your prefrontal cortex relaxes and your unconscious mind is freed up to create, you have the perfect outlet to write it down so it doesn’t disappear by the time you rinse the complimentary shampoo off your head.

Currently, the unique experience is only available to guests staying at the newly redesigned Marriott Hotels Irvine, California, but if guests like the idea, Marriott may roll it out elsewhere.

You can learn more in the video below.

ML

It’s almost the holidays and I know what you’re thinking: “How can I destroy both my body and dignity?” Well look no further than Applebee’s, which has a new December promotion that will absolutely lead to no fewer than 10,000 people puking somewhere they shouldn’t. All month long, the chain restaurant will sell $1 Long Island iced teas. Or, as Applebee’s is calling these monstrosities, “The Dollar L.I.T.™.”

Why, you may ask, is Applebee’s doing this? For the last few years, sales have been down for the canonical bar and grill–part of a general downward trend for casual dining chains like T.G.I. Friday’s and the like. This year, Applebee’s has been trying out new promotions to bring in more people. For example, it decided to install wood-fired grills as a way to drum up more interest. And surely these Long Island iced teas–along with its $1 margarita deal last month–are another way Applebee’s hopes to entice new customers.

To be completely honest with you, I’m both scared and intrigued by this deal. I could tell you that I would never in a million years try these “L.I.T.™s,” but that would be a lie. It’s a horrible decision that will be difficult to pass up.

And if you’re going home for the holidays, I suppose one way to avoid the dread and ennui is by drinking yourself under the table at Applebee’s.

I guess this is what life in 2017 has become. Good luck.CGW

Yesterday’s rumor panned out: At Amazon’s AWS Re:Invent conference, CTO Werner Vogels just announced Alexa for Business, a flavor of the company’s AI-infused voice service tailored to workplace productivity rather than household tasks. It’s available starting today.

Among the example capabilities that Vogels provided: logging into online conferences (“Alexa, join my meeting”), scheduling appointments, opening and closing blinds in conference rooms, and dealing with corporate drudgery such as filing expense reports.

The service will allow a business to control which features are available and who gets to use them, as well as create custom skills. And Amazon is launching with an array of partners: Cisco, Salesforce, RingCentral, Concur, Splunk, Teem, and others.

The move could put Alexa in even more direct competition with Microsoft’s Cortana, which has also emphasized business tools as a core competency. In August, Amazon and Microsoft said they planned to let users call on Cortana from Alexa—and vice versa—by the end of 2017.HM

Intuit’s TurboTax is hiring more than 1,000 certified public accountants and enrolled agents to assist struggling tax filers on demand. The new service costs $150 per tax filing and allows customers to schedule a call with an accountant on standby, sparing themselves a trip to a storefront tax preparer. Ideally, this tax expert would be available within 15 minutes depending on demand. Customers may also be prompted to schedule calls hours later or the next day.

Once connected with an expert, a little video window will appear on the screen. Customers will be able to see their tax advisor, but the tax advisor will not be able to see customers. Tax advisors will also be able to share the screen of the clients they’re attending. Intuit says its CPAs and EAs will only be able to access browser tabs logged into TurboTax; other browser tabs will be blacked out. “Doing video chat at this scale and with this simplicity took us time to figure out,” says Dan Werkinoff, executive VP of Intuit’s Tax Group.

TurboTax is just the latest company to get in on the gig economy. Though accountants on the TurboTax platform will work flexibly, they are W-2 hourly employees at Intuit and will be offered health benefits and access to a 401(k) plan—making Intuit’s offering an outlier among gig platforms. Intuit declined to say how much its accountants earn.

“It’s a little late for something like this to happen at this point,” acknowledges Werkinoff, adding: “It’s 2017.”

This story has been updated with additional context from Intuit.RR

John McCain has officially announced his support of the Republican tax bill. “I believe this legislation, though far from perfect, would enhance American competitiveness, boost the economy, and provide long overdue tax relief for middle class families,” the Arizona Republican senator said, according to Axios.

Far from perfect is an understatement. As Fast Company’s Ben Schiller wrote earlier this month, this plan would benefit the super rich, while further increasing income inequality in the United States. It would also significantly hinder treatments for patients with rare diseases.

Of course, this shouldn’t be terribly surprising. Despite his maverick reputation, McCain has a decades-long track record of voting in lockstep with the Republican party to both dismantle healthcare and environmental protections for thousands of people as well as bolstering war efforts.CGW

Amazon is absolutely a point of pride for Seattle. The company started there, and has grown to insane heights while there, too. In fact, Amazon’s campus has quadrupled in size over the course of a decade. The Seattle Times wrote a piece detailing this massive expansion, and also tweeted this fun gif:

Watch Amazon’s Seattle campus quadruple in size in a decade. Story by @ByRosenberg: https://t.co/wWYTkiUq9m pic.twitter.com/z8Jo3EPZim

— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) November 30, 2017

You can read the entire Seattle Times article here.CGW

Nest’s days as a non-Google entity could be ending, as Alphabet considers folding the smart home device maker into Google’s hardware team, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move could help Google compete with Amazon, which recently added a security camera–now Nest’s bread-and-butter–to its growing line of Alexa-powered devices. Google acquired Nest in 2014, then spun it out as a separate company under the Alphabet umbrella one year later.

Google and Nest have already been working more closely in recent months, particularly on the development of the Google Home connected speaker and its voice integration with Nest products. Merging the two teams makes sense, though it would mean that Alphabet’s remaining non-Google businesses are almost entirely moonshots.JN

Randi Zuckerberg just called out Alaska Airlines in a very public letter that will probably be trending soon on Facebook, the little website that her brother runs.

Zuckerberg, the CEO of Zuckerberg Media and founder of Dot Complicated—who previously worked as Facebook’s marketing director—wrote a lengthy email to the airline’s leadership after leaving a flight feeling “disgusted” and “degraded.” She claims the staff allowed a fellow first-class passenger to engage in a lengthy alcohol-fueled, generally gross rant in which he asked her if she “fantasized” about her female colleague, rated women’s bodies onboard the flight, talked about touching himself, and complained that “millennial women just aren’t willing to give some booty to get a job anymore.”

When Zuckerberg complained, the flight crew continued to let the passenger get liquored up on tiny bottles of alcohol, and allegedly told her that he was a frequent traveler and “just doesn’t have a filter” and not to “take it personally.” That extremely helpful advice didn’t sit will with Zuckerberg, who wrote that she was “furious with Alaska Airlines for knowingly and willingly providing this man with a platform to harass women.”

Zuckerberg said the flight attendants offered to move her to a middle seat in the back of the plane, but she refused because why should she have to move, when she was the one being harassed?

Alaska Airlines tweeted that it has launched an investigation and has “revoked this passenger’s travel privileges pending the outcome of that investigation.”

We’ve reached out to Alaska Airlines for further comment.

Feeling disgusted & degraded after an @AlaskaAir flight where the passenger next to me made repeated lewd sexual remarks. The flight attendants told me he was a frequent flier, brushed off his behavior & kept giving him drinks. I guess his $ means more than our safety? My letter: pic.twitter.com/xOkDpb0dYU

— Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) November 30, 2017

What you have shared with us is very disturbing. We have launched an investigation and have revoked this passenger's travel privileges pending the outcome of that investigation. We wish to discuss this further with you. Please DM us so we can connect tonight.

— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) November 30, 2017

ML

Lauer was fired from NBC yesterday after a detailed complaint by a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace. Lauer’s statement in full (via CNBC):

There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC.

Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly.

Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching and I’m committed to beginning that effort. It is now my full time job. The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my own troubling flaws. It’s been humbling. I am blessed to be surrounded by the people I love. I thank them for their patience and grace.

MG