By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. What happened at Enron? Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered $60 billion in Enron stock worthless. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four Enron executives , including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling , were eventually convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. Is Enron coming back? On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release that it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video that was full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” Enron’s new website features a company store, where various items featuring the brand’s tilted “E” logo are for sale, including a $118 hoodie. In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but that “We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company’s website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory that claims all birds are actually surveillance drones for the government. What do former Enron employees think of the company’s return? Peters said that since learning about the “relaunch” of Enron, she has spoken with several other former employees and they are also upset by it. She said the apparent stunt was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, who is 74 years old, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said. Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70
Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn each had a goal and two assists to lead six players with multi-point nights and Jake Oettinger made 24 saves to lift the visiting Dallas Stars to a 5-1 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Dallas scored the final five goals of the game to keep Chicago reeling. The Blackhawks have lost four straight and six of nine. Arvid Soderblom stopped 29 shots for Chicago. Dallas improved to 16-1-1 when leading after two periods. The Stars trailed for just 4:58. Chicago grabbed a 1-0 lead at 12:20 of the first period as Connor Bedard scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot from the high slot. Benn scored the equalizer at 17:12, scoring on a rebound of a breakaway that resulted from a poor Chicago line change. Jason Robertson, Evgenii Dadonov and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and assist for Dallas, while Miro Heiskanen earned two assists. Special teams helped turn the tide in the second period. Officials whistled Chicago's Tyler Bertuzzi for a five-minute major and game misconduct for elbowing Colin Blackwell of Dallas at 8:11. The Stars needed only 12 seconds to capitalize as Robertson scored on a wrist shot from the inside of the right circle through a Roope Hintz screen. The goal snapped the Stars' 0-for-21 drought on the man advantage. Soderblom turned aside numerous other Dallas chances during the extended power play to keep Chicago's deficit at one goal. The Stars, who were 1-for-7 on the man advantage during the game, made it 3-1 with an even-strength goal. Dadonov finished a cross-ice feed from Duchene in transition for his second goal in as many games. Johnston scored on a deflection off his skate 10 seconds into the third period. Duchene accounted for the final margin with a goal 2:45 later. Dallas claimed the season series from Chicago 3-1, outscoring the Blackhawks 14-10. Chicago fell to an NHL-worst 12-23-2. The Blackhawks have allowed 21 goals during their four-game losing streak. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.Wake Forest keeps Detroit Mercy at arm's length for winTrade desk's chief strategy officer sells $2.8 million in stock
Mayor urges students to excel in modern fields PESHAWAR: Mayor Haji Zubair Ali on Saturday urged students to concentrate on their studies to excel in modern fields of information technology, environmental sciences and artificial intelligence. He expressed these views while addressing a ceremony held at Municipal Inter College Boys Wazir Bagh and distributed prizes among position holders in midterm examination.The No. 5 team in the CFP rankings entering the weekend lost by 23 points (albeit to the No. 2 team). No. 7 and No. 9 both lost to 5-5 opponents, and No. 7 got blown out. No. 15 and No. 16 lost to 4-6 opponents, and No. 12 nearly lost to a 2-8 foe. No. 14 nearly came back from 21-0 down (and nearly completed the funniest Hail Mary of all time) but didn't. On the 13th official Saturday of the 2024 season, college football lost its damn mind. Granted, the two biggest upstart stories of the season, Indiana and Army, took wicked roundhouse rights from two of the best (and meanest) teams in the country, but nothing else really made much sense Saturday. The chaos made some convoluted title races simpler -- for example, by simply staying quiet and beating UMass (while giving up a few too many rushing yards, to be honest), Georgia clinched a spot in the SEC championship game when everyone else stumbled. But other races are almost indecipherable. Case in point: There's an eight-way Big 12 tie still on the table. It is November's curse that so many messy, chaotic and incredibly important things happen, and instead of basking in them, we must immediately move on and brace for the next round of mess. Week 13's primary job was to set the table for Rivalry Week, which will give us countless games and storylines to track. And because of Thanksgiving, we have less time than normal to prepare. So let's look back on Week 13 ... by looking forward to Week 14. Here are the 43 most important and relevant rivalry games to follow, 24 of which could have some impact on the CFP. All gas, no brakes. (All times are Eastern.) Jump to a section: At-large CFP bids Group of 5 CFP bid Conference races | Bowl eligibility Week 13 surprises Heisman of week | Favorite games Continue reading this article and more from top writers, for only $11.99/mo. Already an ESPN+ subscriber? Log in here.Companies Increasingly Turn to SOCMA to Navigate Industry Challenges in 2025 and Beyond
