*Spoiler Alert* The North Remembers
Plot twist: Ed Sheeran #wins Game of Thrones. From the British singer’s guest appearance to the deaths of yet another hundred characters, the highly-anticipated first episode of season 7 of HBO’s most successful show did not disappoint. The cast of the show, as well as the fans, took to Twitter to share in the excitement. The most tweeted moments of the night were: Arya Stark’s brilliant disguise as Walder Frey, Ed Sheeran’s singing cameo, and Daenerys finally returning to Dragonstone. It may be the middle of summer, but #WinterIsHere. (Source: Mashable)
No Place for Racism
An Airbnb host who earlier this year cancelled a guest’s reservation after sending racially-tinged remarks has agreed to pay $5,000 in damages for discrimination and take a college-level Asian-American studies course. On Thursday, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced that it had reached an agreement with Tami Barker, the woman who cancelled a reservation on the day that the guest, Dyne Suh, was scheduled to arrive at Barker’s cabin in Big Bear, California. (Source: NBC News)
Turning Down the Volume on Rumors
Following a tumultuous week at Berlin-based music streaming service SoundCloud, which last week laid off 40 percent of its staff without warning, the company’s chief exec has responded by saying “SoundCloud is here to stay.” CEO Alex Ljung tried to reassure users and musicians alike that the “music you love on SoundCloud isn’t going away, the music you shared or uploaded isn’t going away, because SoundCloud is not going away…Not in 50 days, not in 80 days or anytime in the foreseeable future. Your music is safe.” (Source: The Verge)
