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MPWBroadsheet

Marissa Mayer, Domestic Violence, Taylor Swift: Broadsheet for Nov. 8

Kristen Bellstrom
By
Kristen Bellstrom
Kristen Bellstrom
Down Arrow Button Icon
Kristen Bellstrom
By
Kristen Bellstrom
Kristen Bellstrom
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 8, 2017, 6:34 AM ET

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Marissa Mayer testifies before Congress, women win on Election Day 2017, and we parse the frightening links between mass shootings and domestic violence.

EVERYONE'S TALKING

•Murder by the numbers. In Monday's Broadsheet, the day after 26 people were killed and 20 were injured in a mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Tex., I mentioned that while in the Air Force, the perpetrator was court-martialed on charges of domestic assault after he beat, choked and threatened his wife with a gun and fractured her son's skull. I also mentioned that he's not the only mass killer to have exhibited violent behavior towards his intimate partner: The gunmen responsible for deaths in Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Bernardino all had histories of abusing women. But the evidence isn't simply anecdotal; here are just a few statistics that illustrate how closely linked domestic violence and mass shootings really are:

1. The majority of mass shooters in the U.S. (54%) killed their intimate partners or family members.

U.S. mass shootings 2009-2016. 54% involved partner or family member. 45% killed by partner.

2. About 4.5 million American women report that they have had an intimate partner threaten them with a gun.

3. American women are 16 times more likely to be killed by a gun than women in other developed nations.

4. Nearly half of American women who are murdered are killed by their intimate partners.

Murder of U.S. Women in 2007.

5. Homicide is the fifth leading cause of death for women between ages 18 and 44.

See the full explanation of all the above stats in Val's story. Fortune

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

•Women win. Election Day 2017 produced some big victories for female candidates. In Seattle, Jenny Durkan is poised to become the city's first female mayor in nearly a century. In Virginia, Democrat Danica Roem beat a socially-conservative incumbent in a House of Delegates race to become the nation's first openly-transgender state legislator. And in Charlotte, Vi Lyles was elected mayor; she'll be the first African American woman to hold the post.

•All about Addyi.Fortune reporters (and fellow newsletter scribes!) weigh in on Valeant's sale of Sprout (maker of "female Viagra" drug Addyi) back to its original shareholders:

  • Term Sheet editor Polina Marinova, who interviewed the company's former CEO Cindy Whitehead last week, says "it’s very likely [Whitehead] will be involved with Sprout in some capacity" despite not being named explicitly as part of the deal.
  • Brainstorm Health contributor Sy Mukherjee explores the question of whether Addyi should have been approved in the first place, noting that the FDA rejected it twice. He, too, surmises that Whitehead will likely be involved in any efforts to market the drug in the future: She "enlisted an army of women’s groups and patient advocates...to successfully rally for the drug’s approval, painting it as a matter of gender equality," Sy writes. "That same aggressive effort may be necessary to get more women who might benefit from Addyi to talk to their doctors about low sexual desire—and get the prescriptions rolling."

•Mayer back in the hot seat. Senators have subpoenaed former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer to compel her to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee, which is investigating a 2013 security breach at the tech giant that affected 3 billion of its users. Mayer had initially declined to appear before the group, which meets today. Recode

•Notre Dame damage control. Less than a week after announcing it would end birth control coverage for its students and staff, the University of Notre Dame has reversed course, now saying it will allow coverage to be available to employees via an independently funded and administered plan. The flip-flop came after the Trump administration rolled back an Obama-era rule that required employers to cover contraception. Fortune

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: SurveyMonkey announced that it's named Sue Decker, CEO and co-founder of Raftr and former Yahoo president, to its board.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

•Swift to sue. Taylor Swift threatened to sue a blogger over an article blaming her for contributing to the rise of the ‘alt-right’ movement by failing to be more openly critical of white supremacists who co-opt her music. Her lawyer called the PopFront article defamatory, demanding that the site retract and apologize for it. Fortune

•The gap down under. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the world’s youngest female leader, says her government aims to achieve pay equity for women in the public service within four years. The nation, which was the first to give women the vote, ranked ninth out of 144 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report for 2017. Bloomberg

•A public mess. Omarosa Manigault—Apprentice star-turned-director of communications for the Office of the Public Liaison—apparently caught numerous White House officials by surprise when she brought her 39-person bridal party to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in April for an extended wedding photo shoot. But that's just one reason why some D.C. insiders say the Office of the Public Liaison is "one of the most unruly and under-utilized operations in the West Wing." Politico

•Bravo, Goldstein. Janesville, Amy Goldstein's book examining the consequences of General Motors’ 2008 decision to close an assembly plant in Janesville, Wisconsin has been named the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year. FT

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Looking for previous Broadsheets? Click here.

ON MY RADAR

BBC bosses quizzed on gender pay gap, sexual harassment and competition from streaming giants The Hollywood Reporter

Women's hockey rivals prepare for the Olympics by playing each other—again and again New York Times

26 teenage girls found dead at sea CNN

Stitch Fix boosts IPO target to $230 million Business Journals

QUOTE

Someone is apparently trying to sell naked photos of me to my fans. Save your money, here it is for free.
Sia, who beat the paparazzi to the punch by tweeting out the photo herself.
About the Author
Kristen Bellstrom
By Kristen Bellstrom
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