Smoking scholarships: A growing number of e-cigarette and vaporizer sellers have started offering college scholarships ranging from $250 to $5,000 as a way to get their brands listed on university websites and to get students to write essays about the potential benefits of vaping. The scholarships mostly involve essay contests that ask students to write about the dangers of tobacco, medical marijuana or whether vaping could be a safer alternative to smoking. Some anti-tobacco groups were unaware of the scholarships until asked about them by The Associated Press, but they sharply criticized efforts to get teens writing in favor of vaping. Read the full story.
Pope plans: Exxon’s Chief Executive Darren Woods is expected to tout the company’s work to become “part of the solution” on climate change on Saturday when he and other oil and gas executives meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company aired advertisements about its research into fuels made from algae during the NBA playoffs and pledged last month to cut methane emissions 15% by 2020. Exxon is also calling for global action to address climate change and has begun publicly promoting a U.S. carbon tax, but while BP other oil companies are investing in renewable energy, Exxon remains almost entirely focused on oil and gas. Read the full story
Verizon picks Vestberg: Verizon Communications named Chief Technology Officer Hans Vestberg as its new Chief Executive on Friday, saying he will replace retiring CEO Lowell McAdam on Aug. 1. As Reuters reports, Vestberg joined Verizon a year ago after being fired in an investor-driven shakeup at Ericsson in 2016. He was chief executive of the Swedish firm, one of the world’s largest equipment suppliers to the telecommunications industry, for six years. Vestberg has since led a teams building out Verizon’s fiber and 5G network. Read the full story.
