Technologies

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin accused of ‘toxic’ workplace, safety concerns in open essay

A group of current and former employees speak out about the space tourism company.

Blue Origin, the space tourism company founded by ex-Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is facing accusations of fostering a discriminatory, «toxic» workplace and putting speed and cost reduction over safety. On Thursday, a group of 21 current and former Blue Origin employees published an open essay detailing allegations of sexism, harassment and safety concerns at the company.

Blue Origin, which has more than 3,000 employees, is «rife with sexism» and some senior leaders are «known to be consistently inappropriate with women,» the group alleges in the essay, saying that at least one senior leader appeared to be protected by having a close relationship with Bezos.

The essay also says professional dissent at Blue Origin was «actively stifled,» which was dehumanizing for employees and also led to safety concerns.

The essay comes as three US space exploration companies vie for government contracts and for milestones with their rockets. Blue Origin has sued NASA for denying the company a contract to build a new moon landing vehicle. The contract went to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, in April. Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson rode in one of his company’s rockets to the edge of space in July, just days before Bezos joined the first manned flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle on a similar flight.

In an interview with CBS Mornings, former Blue Origin head of employee communications Alexandra Abrams, who was part of the group that wrote the open essay, said there was increasing pressure and «impatience» to stay ahead of rival space companies led by Musk and Branson. Abrams said she believes competition took precedence over safety.

Abrams said she wouldn’t trust a trust a Blue Origin vehicle, noting that, «You cannot create a culture of safety and a culture of fear at the same time. They are incompatible.»

A Blue Origin spokesperson said the company has no tolerance for discrimination or harassment of any kind. «We provide numerous avenues for employees, including a 24/7 anonymous hotline, and will promptly investigate any new claims of misconduct,» the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The spokesperson also said the company stands behind its safety record and believes that «New Shepard is the safest space vehicle ever designed or built.»

Blue Origin’s next crewed launch is scheduled for Oct. 12. Onboard will be former NASA engineer Chris Boshuizen and entrepreneur Glen de Vries. Two other amateur astronauts will also be on board but haven’t yet been announced.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, July 13

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 13.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword is a little meta. Two clues refer to Wordle, another super-popular game from The New York Times. We have answers for that puzzle, too. In fact, iff you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Gibbon or gorilla
Answer: APE

4A clue: Bird whose name is an excellent starting guess in Wordle, according to WordleBot
Answer: CRANE

6A clue: Cry from a judge
Answer: ORDER

7A clue: Family nickname that would make a terrible starting guess in Wordle
Answer: MAMMA

8A clue: «Hooray!»
Answer: YAY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Widespread display
Answer: ARRAY

2D clue: Lakshmi who was a longtime host of «Top Chef»
Answer: PADMA

3D clue: «Don’t let perfect be the ___ of good» (aphorism)
Answer: ENEMY

4D clue: URL ending
Answer: COM

5D clue: Historical period
Answer: ERA

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 13, #293

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 13, No. 293

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has some fun categories. There’s only one requiring last names, and one requiring teams, so if you can sort those easily, you should be in good shape. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Bad news for a golfer.

Green group hint: Aries animal.

Blue group hint: Think California capital city.

Purple group hint: No charge.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Mess up a golf shot.

Green group: Rams

Blue group: Sacramento Kings greats.

Purple group: Free ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is mess up a golf shot. The four answers are duff, flub, mishit and shank.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is rams. The four answers are Colorado State, Los Angeles, Rhode Island and VCU.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Sacramento Kings greats. The four answers are Divac, Richmond, Stojaković and Webber.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is free ____. The four answers are agent, kick, safety and throw.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 13, #1485

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 13, No. 1,485.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a fun word, but not easy to guess. That first letter doesn’t come up in any of the starter or secondary words I tend to choose. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.