Good morning! Public media groups condemn federal funding cut, Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks on judicial attacks from Trump administration, and a new exec joins the Starbucks turnaround.
- Jolt of energy. Since taking over as Starbucks' CEO in September, former Chipotle boss Brian Niccol has been executing a turnaround plan for the once-beloved coffee chain. He cut menu items by 30% and instructed baristas to start writing messages on cups, changes intended to simplify store operations and bring back customers' feelings of connection.
Now, Niccol has a new right-hand woman in this mission. Cathy Smith is Starbucks' new CFO, and my colleague Phil Wahba had one of the first interviews with her before she made her earnings call debut last week. (Revenues rose 2.3% to $8.7 billion. Niccol told Wall Street that the chain is "building back a better business.")
