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Virgin Galactic’s Sir Richard Branson (L) and Blue Origin’s founder Jeff Bezos.

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Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are set to launch themselves just weeks apart, but the exact boundary and experience of their spaceflights has become a point of contention.

Branson’s Virgin Galactic flies above 80 kilometers (or about 262,00 feet), which is the altitude the U.S. recognizes as the boundary of space, while Bezos’ Blue Origin flies above 100 kilometers (or about 328,000 feet), which is commonly known as the Kármán Line.

After Branson said he planned to launch just nine days before Bezos’ previously announced spaceflight, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith decried Virgin Galactic’s approach as “a very different experience” because “they’re not flying above the Kármán line.”

Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier responded simply: “We are going above the astronaut line,” adding that it is “the only commercial company that’s flown private astronauts” to date.

On Sunday, Branson plans to launch on Virgin Galactic’s fourth spaceflight test to date. He founded the company 17 years ago, with it now attempting to finish development testing this year so it can begin flying space tourism passengers in early 2022. Bezos’ Blue Origin has goals beyond tourism, but the billionaire is also aiming to fly to the edge of space on the company’s first crewed launch on July 20.

Central to the two billionaires’ dispute is that the line where space begins is not a universally-agreed upon altitude, a fact which astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell emphasized in an interview with CNBC.

“It’s not like the U.S. is one way and everyone else is the other way … there’s no sort of real international agreement,” McDowell said.

There are a variety of reasons McDowell argues that 80 kilometers is the clearest boundary of space, such as the scientific measure of the Earth’s atmosphere, the gravitational physics, and the historical precedent — including that Hungarian-American engineer Theodore von Kármán’s original line was closer to 80 than 100.

McDowell is an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who published a paper in 2018 with more detail on the debate over the proposed boundary of space. Minor planet (4589) McDowell is named after him.

The spacecraft

VSS Unity is released from carrier aircraft VMS Eve during the launch of its third spaceflight on May 22, 2021.

Virgin Galactic

Key to understanding the dispute is the differences between the companies’ spacecraft. First and foremost, neither Blue Origin nor Virgin Galactic fly to orbit — both spacecraft are defined as suborbital, capable of carrying passengers to the edge of space to float in microgravity for a few minutes at most. An orbital flight, such as with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, costs tens of millions of dollars and typically spends multiple days or weeks in space.

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket launches vertically from the ground, with a capsule for six passengers that disconnects from the rocket booster near the top of the flight. Afterward, the capsule returns to Earth under the control of a set of parachutes, with the booster returning separately to land so it can be launched again.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo system is released mid-air by a carrier aircraft, before firing its rocket engine and arching up in a climb. After performing a slow backflip in microgravity, the spacecraft returns to Earth in a glide for a runway landing.

A New Shepard rocket launches on a test flight.

Blue Origin

The difference in the altitude each spacecraft reaches is about 15 kilometers, or 50,000 feet. That difference, McDowell noted, is about “20% higher” and “maybe noticeable” to passengers “but not dramatic.”

“I think experientially, it’s going to be rather similar,” McDowell said. “The important thing is: [The difference] is somewhat arbitrary.”

100 km versus 80 km

In the debate between the altitudes of 100 kilometers or 80 kilometers, McDowell emphasized that “it’s actually not really right to say the rest of the world recognizes 100 kilometers.” He said that aviation records keeper Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is “the one official place” that sticks to 100 kilometers, saying again that “it’s not an international law.”

Nevertheless, Blue Origin doubled down on its Kármán line view in a tweet on Friday.

“For 96% of the world’s population, space begins 100 km up,” the company said.

The U.S. recognizes 80 kilometers for a couple of reasons, including space weapons regulations and the historical precedent of early military astronauts. In the 1960s, the Air Force awarded pilots of its rocket-powered X-15 aircraft with astronaut wings after they flew above 80 kilometers.

On the weapons side, McDowell highlighted that “the U.S. has resisted there being any international agreement” on the boundary of space “because they don’t want space to be too clearly defined.”

“Because then it becomes obvious that their missiles go through space and might potentially be subject to space law,” McDowell said. “The general idea is that the U.S. [military] has more freedom of action if it’s not defined.”

On the scientific basis, McDowell gave a physics-based arguments for 80 kilometers, based on the density of the upper atmosphere. Through modeling, his research showed that the edge of the atmosphere “doesn’t wave around that much” and is fairly consistent in its effect on spacecraft.

“If you look at elliptical orbit satellites, you find that they can survive when the closest point of their orbit to the Earth is in the mid-80 kilometers. But whenever it dips to the mid-70s, they just burn up and can’t orbit any more,” McDowell said.

Finally, McDowell says that Theodore von Kármán himself “didn’t originally pick” 100 kilometers as the edge of space. His approach was also “a physics-based idea” and “was somewhere around” the mid-80 kilometer range. But over time, McDowell said people who worked on Kármán’s research decided not to “specify it that accurately” and instead decided “just round it” to 100.

“The Kármán line has become synonymous with 100 kilometers, but that wasn’t originally the definition of the Kármán line,” McDowell said.

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Biogen shares fell Friday after the chief of the Food and Drug Administration called for an investigation into the company’s recent approval of the company’s Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm.

Acting FDA commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock asked the Office of the Inspector General to investigate interactions between the US agency and Biogen officials prior to the drug’s approval on June 7th.

“I believe it is critical that the disputed events be reviewed by an independent body such as the Office of the Inspector General to determine if any interactions between Biogen and the FDA investigator staff were inconsistent with FDA policies and procedures.” wrote in a letter sent on Friday.

Biogen shares fell more than 3% after the announcement.

Biogen’s stock rose last month after the FDA approved the biotech company’s drug, the first drug approved by U.S. regulators to slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s, and the first new drug against the disease for nearly two decades.

This decision was a departure from the recommendations of the agency’s independent panel of external experts, which unexpectedly refused to approve the drug last fall, citing inconclusive data. At least three members of the committee resigned in protest after the agency’s approval.

Federal agencies have faced heavy pressure from friends and family of Alzheimer’s patients to ask for the drug scientifically known as aducanumab to be expedited. STAT News and other media outlets reported that FDA officials used a government abbreviation to get approval to bring the drug to market earlier.

Biogen’s drug targets a “sticky” compound in the brain known as beta-amyloid that scientists expect to play a role in the devastating disease.

It is rare for an FDA chief to request an investigation into the agency’s own decisions. It is the most recent setback for the company and the drug, which has been controversial since its promising development in 2016.

In March 2019, Biogen withdrew from development of the drug after analysis by an independent group found it was unlikely to work. A few months later, the company shocked investors when it announced that it would still have government approval for the drug.

When Biogen filed for approval for the drug in late 2019, its scientists said a new analysis of a larger dataset showed that aducanumab “reduces clinical decline in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s”.

Alzheimer’s experts and Wall Street analysts were immediately skeptical, wondering whether the clinical trial data was enough to prove the drug works and whether approval could make it difficult for other companies to enroll patients in their own drug trials.

Some doctors have said they won’t prescribe aducanumab because of the mixed data package that supports the company’s application.

Employees work at the counter of a McDonald’s restaurant in the company’s new corporate headquarters on June 4, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.

Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images

For Tom Locke, his turning point in employee wages came back in March during a conversation with a tired store manager, Heidi, in Coventry Township outside Akron, Ohio.

Earlier this week, the McDonald’s location, which she ran for his family-owned TomTreyCo, had record sales of $ 18,000 in a single day, but speaking to her at a booth, Locke realized that despite her decades of dedication to The staff shortage at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic really took its toll on his company.

She described working a 12-hour shift, sleeping in her car for three hours instead of driving home for half an hour, followed by another full day on her feet. “I could see the stress on Heidi’s face,” Locke recently recalled. So he decided to make a change to the 45 McDonald’s locations that are part of his franchise business in cities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and northeast Ohio – he raised workers’ wages.

The youngest employees would make at least $ 13 an hour, and far more than what other local competitors offer for managers who would move up to $ 20 an hour.

“We were in a pretty strong financial position,” said Locke of the April decision, following consultation with his executive team and a thorough review of the models to study the cost and margin implications. “I felt if at any point we could do this to raise the salaries of all of our employees, it would be now.” he said.

Fast food payment under pressure

Fast food wage levels have been scrutinized over the past decade with the help of work-friendly policymakers and well-organized stakeholders like Fight for 15, who advocate a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour.

McDonald’s is perhaps more at the center of this criticism and controversy than any other brand, although its franchise model means that the vast majority of restaurant locations are actually operated by independent franchisees like Locke’s TomTreyCo, rather than the franchisor – McDonald’s itself. But thanks to the deeply intertwined relationship between the franchisor and franchisee, a decision to increase wages on either side of the franchise equation can have complex implications.

In May, just months after other heated disputes with franchisees over study programs and the payment of technology fees, McDonald’s announced that workers at McDonald’s 650 company-owned locations will receive an average pay increase of 10% by the end of June – entry-level employees will ever Earn $ 11-17 an hour by location, and Shift Supervisors will make $ 15-20 an hour. The company says the average wage for employees in in-house restaurants will be $ 15 an hour through 2024.

While the wage increases will only take effect in the locations that McDonald’s owns and operates, the company encouraged franchisees who run the roughly 13,000 other restaurants to do the same for their roughly 800,000 employees, causing anger and dismay among some franchise owners. The fast food giant sells 95% of its US restaurants.

What McDonald’s boss says about wages

McDonald’s is one of the restaurant chains that emerged from the pandemic in a strong financial position, much like Chipotle, which recently increased wages, and in its case, menu prices by 4%. And it has tried to financially support independent restaurant operators.

In a recent interview at the CNBC Evolve Global Summit, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said the company’s decision to invest around $ 1 billion in liquidity – and several in addition – into its system earlier this year after the worst pandemic ended Years of balance sheet years of growth in the US – was part of an effort to turn the franchisee mindset away from worrying, “Will I be able to pay my mortgage or loan due this month? … it’s that mindset going from a defensive to a really much more aggressive stance. “

While not wanting to comment on an increased federal minimum wage, McDonald’s CEO said, “There’s no doubt that $ 7.25 is not what you should or have to pay to be competitive in the market today. … wages are rising because the economy is strong. “

Labor experts say McDonald’s move will put pressure on its franchisees.

“This will put a lot of public pressure on franchisees to do the same,” said Laura Padin, a senior labor advocate for the National Employment Law Project. “When this campaign started in 2011 or 2012,” Padin said of “Fight for 15,” a minimum wage of $ 15 was “intended as that kind of ‘pie in heaven’ target.”

The latest announcement from McDonald’s is proof of its effectiveness, Padin said. “The fact that companies are taking this initiative themselves only shows how much the movement has changed the narrative of what an acceptable minimum wage should be,” she said.

Franchise industry is pushing back

The franchise industry has made its position clear – minimum and maximum wages should be set by individual restaurant operators. “Franchisees are best placed to make wage decisions in their local communities,” said Matt Hauer, senior vice president of government relations for the International Franchise Association. He highlighted the cost differences between high-priced city zip codes and more rural locations.

The current focus on wage levels was due to a “union-driven campaign” to achieve certain organizational or political results by persuading the public that the franchise business model is in fact an enterprise model. In the public eye, he says, this is “to make a company like McDonald’s or Dunkin Donuts or Hilton Hotels one company, not a collection of many small companies doing business under a common brand.”

On July 7, 2021, in San Rafael, Calif., A sign reading “Now Hiring” is posted in the driveway of a McDonald’s restaurant.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

McDonald’s corporate view puts franchisees in the crosshairs of a battle that is being fought with massive competitors in a broader, low-wage landscape.

“I think what happens is you see that having a great economy is very helpful in increasing employee wages. And I think a lot of the changes that come from the wage perspective are because companies like McDonald’s have to compete for the best. ” Talent, “Kempczinski said.” If you have Walmart and Amazon, Target … all going to $ 15, that’s certainly a talent pool to compete with. “

How McDonald’s employees feel

Among workers advocating higher wages, a distinction between McDonald’s companies and franchisees can seem semantic.

“We don’t care if we work in a franchise or corporate business or not,” says Cristian Cardona, a 21-year-old who started working at a McDonald’s-operated restaurant in Orlando three years ago. “We all wear McDonald’s uniforms and we all earn a living wage.”

Cardona was first employed at $ 9.25 an hour, just a dollar more than the Florida minimum wage at the time. Then after a year he became a manager and rose to $ 11 before McDonald’s recently raised it to $ 13. “If McDonald’s companies can control how franchisees make and market their Big Macs, I know they can figure out how to pay every single worker a living wage of at least $ 15.” he said.

For Locke, the Ohio franchisee, adopting higher wages was ultimately more of a corporate than a moral choice. “I will be honest with you,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “If it wasn’t for a huge labor shortage, we might not have taken the action.”

We were just a virtual hamster on the hamster wheel: we weren’t going anywhere. The hardest part is hiring, retaining, and training great people.

Tom Locke, McDonald’s franchisee

At the beginning of the year, Locke had reduced his menu choices to improve his margins, but he was still grappling with staffing shortages. Around 250 employees would leave every month and just as many would have to be trained. In the catering industry, sales of over 100% are common.

“We were just a virtual hamster on the hamster wheel, we weren’t going anywhere,” he says. “The hardest part is hiring, retaining and training great people.”

But since his raise, which went ahead regardless of McDonald’s announcement, the following month, retention rates have skyrocketed.

To compensate for the higher costs, he has raised prices slightly, but believes that customers “expected” it, as his team has publicly communicated the higher wages for its workers. “It’s a long-term look at business as opposed to a very short-term look at business,” Locke said. “I think it’s a much better business model.”

This is an approach that shows more consistency than friction between McDonald’s companies and independent owners, and reflects the view of the McDonald’s CEO.

“We’re going to be transparent … We’re going to make absolutely long-term decisions, so let’s not intervene here and now for the short term,” Kempczinski told CNBC.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (27) reacts in the sixth inning of the MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 28, 2021 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

Kiyoshi Mio | Sportswire icon | Getty Images

Major League Baseball extended the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer’s administrative vacation Thursday for at least another seven days as police continue investigating allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in California.

The move comes as Bauer’s merchandise was removed from sale on the official website of the Major League Baseball brand owned by e-commerce company Fanatics and from the Dodgers’ online store.

The 30-year-old pitcher, who denies wrongdoing, was put on seven-day administrative leave last Friday due to the investigation after the Dodgers insisted he would stay on their pitching rotation despite the woman’s shocking claims.

“With the consent of the Players Association, MLB has extended Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave of absence by a further 7 days with effect from tomorrow,” said a statement from MLB.

“The MLB’s investigation continues,” it said.

Bauer, who is one of the highest-paid players in baseball, gets paid while on vacation, but is not allowed to play. He has not been charged with any criminal offense.

The Dodgers did not want to comment on the announcement. On Wednesday, the team canceled Bauer’s wobbly night planned for August 19.

Bauer’s agents Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba said in a statement: “We continue to refuteWe [the woman’s] Allegations in the strongest possible terms, and Mr. Bauer vehemently denies their report on their two meetings. “

“Again, the administrative leave is not a disciplinary measure, nor does it in any way reflect a result of the league’s investigation,” the agents said.

USA Today reported last week that a Pasadena police lieutenant overseeing the criminal investigation said shortly before Bauer’s first administrative leave the investigation was “bigger than we thought”.

“We looked into some things and thought we were nearing the end,” said Lt. Carolyn Gordon told USA Today. “We’re not finished yet.”

Bauer won the 2020 National League Cy Young Award after pitching for the Cincinnati Reds.

He joined World Series Champion Dodgers that year and signed a three-year deal that could ultimately gross him $ 102 million.

Bauer’s departure was announced the same day President Joe Biden hosted the Dodgers in honor of their streak win at the White House.

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His prosecutor recently said in a motion for an injunction against Bauer that he choked her to unconsciousness in two sexual encounters this spring. She also alleged that he repeatedly slapped her face and genitals during an encounter, injuring her so badly that she was hospitalized.

She also claims he committed sexual behavior that she did not consent to during one of the encounters.

Bauer’s agent Fetterolf said in a statement to CNBC last week: “Mr. Bauer had a brief and fully consensual sexual relationship that was conducted by [the woman] from April 2021. We have news that shows [the woman] repeatedly asked for ‘rough’ sexual encounters, with the request to be ‘suffocated’ and slapped in the face. “

Former Dodgers pitcher Dave Stewart told the team this week that he won’t be attending a celebration to mark the 40th anniversary of their 1981 World Series win because they didn’t bench Bauer until MLB took action.

“The organization is not what it was when we got through,” Stewart told USA Today. “The Dodgers organization I grew up in with the O’Malley family would never take it. The Dodgers should have intervened in this situation, and they didn’t. You have to have character standards. “

“I told them, ‘I can’t appear for this,'” he said.

Correction: This story has been updated to correctly spell Jon Fetterolf’s name.