Cage fight at the White House

ALISTER: Nestlé fired a worker for having a quick vape in the loos, but they’ve now lost the case in a tribunal! The judge called the sacking “disproportionate.” Whilst he got his job back, they ended up cutting his payout in half. Fair, but not a free pass.

MERIDYTH: The guy vaped in a disabled loo, causing the factory to shut down, and then lied about it. Umm… how is that not fireable? The tribunal still found “reasonable grounds” that his vaping led to the shutdown. Keeping your job after that would be bonkers.

ALISTER: But it was about the process in which Nestlé fired him. They had no clear rule that vaping was gross misconduct and they basically binned a decade of clean service over one puff. Procedure matters, you can’t fire someone for having a bad day.

MERIDYTH: Everyone has a bad day every now and again. But it never excuses bad behaviour or misconduct. Even the tribunal found he’d clearly contributed to his own mess.

ALISTER: Employees have rights and aren’t disposable. And EAT’s just reminded everyone that you can’t magic everything into “gross misconduct.”

MERIDYTH: This guy just lucked out on a technicality. It’s not a moral victory.

Marine biologists testing ocean waters have recently discovered that Bahamas sharks are showing unusually high levels of caffeine, painkillers, and cocaine? While we try to picture a great white ordering a flat white, you can give us a much-needed boost by sharing The AM Squabble!

⛓️‍💥 Broken job market. Graduates are firing off 500 applications only to face total silence while youth unemployment hits a decade high. Many Gen Z are swapping screens for scaffolds to find AI resistant careers in construction, where one in four are under thirty. So what’s the gov’t doing about it?

🇮🇪 Potential Irish lifeline. Keir Starmer has secured a £937m investment from Ireland on an energy connector project, which promises to create 850 jobs across the UK. That’s a start, but more needs to be done.

🎯 Crossbows under fire. Britain is ending its unregulated archery era by prohibiting crossbow sales and introducing mandatory licensing for current owners. After high profile crimes and a Windsor Castle break in, the government is finally treating these weapons with some respect.

🇪🇺 The "B-word" returns. Sadiq Khan is stirring the pot by calling for a Labour pledge to rejoin the EU at the next general election. He reckons getting back into the single market is "inevitable" to stop the economic and social rot he sees in London every day.

🌊 Flood-proofing the nation. A record cash injection is set to bolster our coastal and inland defences against the rising threat of climate change. By protecting critical infrastructure and thousands of livelihoods, this plan ensures the UK stays on the front foot instead of just mopping up after the next storm.

✈️ Heathrow’s quietest corner. Terminal 4 has transformed into a virtual ghost town as conflict in the Middle East grounds major carriers. With several airlines suspending flights, the usually bustling hub is seeing vastly reduced footfall and eerie, empty check-in desks.

GOOD NEWS… for the Finns after their country was named the world’s happiest country for the 9th year running. BAD NEWS… for Americans whose youth are seeing their happiness plummet, likely due to social media making them miserable. Looks like the secret to joy is universal healthcare and absolutely zero TikTok.

🇺🇸 MAGA’s perfect score: New polling shows 100% of self-identified MAGA voters approve of POTUS, even with the Iran conflict and his national disapproval hitting 57%. It’s nuts how news from across the pond can still shock us these days. 🙈

👶 Mind over maternity. Russia health ministry now recommends psychological therapy for women who choose a child free life. Moscow is trying to pathologise a simple personal choice to boost record low birth rates.

🌴 Havana high stakes. The prospect of taking Cuba is back on the table with Trump claiming it would be a ‘great honor’ to bring the island under US influence. It is a nostalgic throwback to Cold War tensions, wrapped in modern-day bravado.

🇬🇷 The Aegean log-off: Greece is the latest European country proposing a social media ban for children under 15 to combat "addictive scrolling." Joining France and Spain, PM Mitsotakis is challenging tech giants to stop profiting off teens.

🥬 Pickled plastic purge. Our guts are more LEGO than liver these days but the humble kimchi might be the hero we need. Scientists found its probiotics bind to nasty nanoplastics and help flush them out.

🧠 Scrolling into a fog. Losing hours to the "For You" page correlates with memory lapses and a spike in social nerves among heavy users. While it is a "chicken or egg" situation regarding whether anxious people seek out the app or the app creates the anxiety, the impact on daily focus is clear.

💁 Quality over quantity. Being alone isn't a red flag anymore. Behavioural scientists found people who choose solitude often find self-interaction more rewarding than forced socializing. It turns out liking yourself is a superpower, not a symptom.

🖼️ Banksy revealed! A Reuters investigation has finally unmasked the world’s most famous graffiti artist. By tracing an old arrest for defacing a New York billboard and cross-referencing Ukrainian border records, they’ve confirmed Banksy is actually a man named Robin Gunningham, who hides in plain sight under the alias "David Jones."

🩺 Dr. Google resigns. The tech giant has finally pulled the plug on its AI experiment that gave unverified health tips equal billing with medical professionals. While AI is great for writing poems or faking your CV, it’s significantly less charming when it’s suggesting herbal tea for a heart attack.

🎸 Rocket Man wins. Sir Elton and Dua Lipa successfully pushed the government into dropping plans allowing AI giants to scrape artistic work for free. Liz Kendall admitted a rethink was needed after a massive industry outcry.

By Meridyth

Saturday Night Live UK debuted over the weekend. As an American expat, I understand the reluctance to want to like it. I think Nicola Coughlan (of Bridgerton), who had a cameo, summed it up best… “British people tend to root for the failure of others.” 🤣

I was sceptical that the same shtick could be pulled off in Britain. From Tina Fey’s opening monologue and the spoof skincare commercial to George Fouracres playing into Keir Starmer’s failings and Jack Shep’s impressive Princess Diana impression… I was surprisingly amused.

Did I like the whole show? No, which is also how I usually feel about the U.S. version. But it’s always about the clips that go viral anyway and there will be a few. Will I watch all 8 episodes that were commissioned? I’ll commit to a 2nd… for now.

By Meridyth

So, I’m not Gen Z. And if you are, please tell me… How is this okay? (Thank you to Squabble Fans, Lea and Teeny, for sharing!)

I respect the CEO for rolling with it. But in what world is this acceptable workplace behaviour? What’s next? Clipping your toe nails in the office? 🤢

Make sure you go to bed early this Saturday, as the clocks spring forward on Sunday. Join Meridyth next week for another Squabble! Alister will be off again, does he even do anything around here?

Alister & Meridyth