Uber founder hit with explosive suit; Trump calls opioid crisis national emergency

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Ousted Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is being sued for fraud by one of the biggest names in venture capital, reports Axios. Benchmark Capital, one of Uber's earliest investors, says Kalanick wants to “pack Uber’s Board with loyal allies” to “clear the path for his eventual return as CEO.” If the suit is successful, Kalanick would be kicked off the board, which would keep him from being able to gain significant footing within the company in the future. Uber also yesterday lost its very first employee — and original CEO — Ryan Graves, the latest departure in an executive exodus over recent months. He'll remain on the board to help find Kalanick’s replacement as CEO. • Share your thoughts: #KalanickSued

President Trump said he is drafting paperwork to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. The announcement comes after a White House commission urged the president to declare it as such, saying a state of emergency would “force Congress to focus on funding” ways to combat this crisis, which now kills over 100 Americans per day. The opioid epidemic is also posing a real challenge for businesses, as companies struggle to obtain and retain workers. • Share your thoughts: #OpioidEmergency

Google CEO Sundar Pichai abruptly cancelled a town hall meeting with employees over a memo penned by former Googler James Damore about the company's diversity efforts. The 10-page “manifesto" created an online uproar that prompted Google to fire the author and call the meeting. Over 520 questions were submitted by Googlers, but as some questions ended up on external websites, employees became concerned about being “‘outed’ publicly for asking a question,” Pichai wrote in an email. The company will find other ways to hold forums on the topic in coming days, he promised. • Share your thoughts: #GoogleMemoBacklash

Income inequality is growing in the US, and it’s most extreme in big cities, according to a new report from the New York Federal Reserve. In places like New York City, San Francisco, Houston, and Chicago, wages for workers in the top 10% of earners are up to seven times wages of the bottom 10%. One reason is that as manufacturing hollows out, the service and idea sectors, which thrive in urban areas, have boomed — especially in high-demand big metropolitan markets. That’s increased costs of housing and living, pushing out low-income workers. • Share your thoughts: #UrbanIncomeInequality

Your health insurance premiums could rise next year. Premiums by health insurers operating under the Affordable Care Act will likely rise next year, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study looked at 21 metropolitan areas and found that insurers are considering adding costs because of uncertainty over health care policies — particularly whether the government will uphold Obamacare’s individual mandate or continue to pay cost-sharing reduction subsidies. • Share your thoughts: #ObamacarePremiums

Idea of the Day: Developing a life outside work can make you more successful at the office. “Burning the candle at both ends is a recipe for more than just burnout; it’s a recipe for dull uninspiring work,” says leadership expert Lisa Earle McLeod. Building up hobbies and external activities keeps you “interesting and interested,” she writes; it helps you think creatively and come up with fresh ideas.

“The truth is you don’t have a personal life and a work life; you have one life, your life. The skills you develop in one area bleed over into others.”

What's your take? Join the conversations on today's stories: #KalanickSued | #OpioidEmergency | #GoogleMemoBacklash | #UrbanIncomeInequality | #ObamacarePremiums

— Katie Carroll / Share this using #DailyRundown