Matt Rhule is the first National Football League coach to be fired this season.

On Monday, the Carolina Panthers announced they'd fired Rhule, who was in his third season at the helm.

The team named assistant coach Steve Wilks as interim head coach.

The firing comes after the Panthers fell to 1-4 after losing 37-15 at home to the San Francisco 49ers, the Associated Press reported.

The news outlet reported that Rhule left Baylor to become the Panthers' head coach in 2020 after signing a seven-year, $62 million deal.

According to USA Today, Rhule is the first Panthers coach in franchise history to serve fewer than three seasons.

Panthers owner brought Rhule in to replace longtime head coach Ron Rivera, who Tepper fired during the 2019 season, the Associated Press reported.

The team went through four quarterbacks during Rhule's tenure, beginning with Teddy Bridgewater in 2020. Then the team saw Sam Darnold and Cam Newton behind center before they traded for former Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield during the offseason, the news outlets reported.

According to the news outlets, Mayfield, the former No. 1 overall draft pick in 2018, hasn't played well, only completing 54.9% of his passes this season for 962 yards.

A charter school principal in Tallahassee, Florida, did not follow procedure before a lesson on Michelangelo's statue of David was given to sixth graders, school board Chair Barney Bishop III told CNN.

Due to this and other issues, she was asked earlier this week to either resign or be terminated from her position, Bishop said. She chose to resign.

Hope Carrasquilla, the former principal at Tallahassee Classical School, told CNN that things had been escalating over the past year.

"My board chair has not been happy with me," she told CNN, adding that she did not always follow every policy and procedure.

Agreeing with Carrasquilla's assessment, Bishop told CNN that over time it had become evident the school needed to go in a different direction and with different leadership, and he had expressed that to her on many occasions.

"She was not let go because of Michelangelo's David lesson," he said.

"Our school is two and a half years old. Every year we show that picture in the Renaissance Art class taught to our sixth graders," he added. The problem that arose in this instance was that the procedure for notifying parents of the upcoming lesson was not followed, according to Bishop.

"We aren't trying to ban the picture," he said, referring to the statue of David. "We think it's beautiful, but we are going to make sure the concept of parental rights is supreme in Florida and at our charter school," he added.

Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, which states in part, "The parent of each public school student has the right to receive effective communication from the school principal as to the manner in which instructional materials are used to implement the school's curricular objectives."

As a public charter school, Bishop told CNN, "We agree 100% with what Gov. DeSantis is doing with education in Florida. Parents decide what their children get to learn," he said.

"It does not mean that parents are telling us what we are going to teach their children. We are going to make sure that parents specifically know what we are going to show their kids, what we are going to talk to their kids about and any keywords that might be a triggering event. This gives parents the opportunity to say, 'Wait a minute. My child isn't old enough to hear that,'" he added.

Bishop and Carrasquilla agree this was the step that was missed regarding the lesson on the 500-year-old sculpture.

Bishop said about 97% of the sixth-grade parents were fine with the lesson, but the school did receive complaints from others.

"If there is a parent that has a problem and we haven't followed our process -- we have to make sure that mistake doesn't happen. That's why we adopted the process of a two-week notice and one-week notice," he said.

Carrasquilla's resignation was effective immediately and the school promoted one of the deans as the new principal.

Tallahassee Classical School enrolls about 500 students, and according to its website, it is a classical, tuition-free public charter school under Leon County Schools and governed by a non-profit board of trustees.

An executive at cosmetics company Estée Lauder was forced out after sharing a racist meme on Instagram.

John Demsey served as the Executive Group President of the company.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Dempsey posted a meme that featured Sesame Street characters with the n-word, replacing some letters with asterisks.

The post has been deleted since the company found out about it.

Estée Lauder said Demsey’s post does not reflect the values of the company.

Before getting fired, the company placed Demsey on unpaid leave.

Demsey has apologized for his remarks on Instagram.

He said, “I am terribly sorry and deeply ashamed that I hurt so many people when I made the horrible mistake of carelessly reposting a racist meme without reading it beforehand.”

Demsey went on to say, “the meme is the furthest thing from what I stand for and I should have never reposted it.”

According to a regulatory filing, Demsey was paid more than $9 million in 2021.

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg, who laid off 900 employees over a Zoom meeting that lasted less than three minutes, is taking time off from the company, Vice reported."If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off," Garg said on the Dec. 1 webinar. "Your employment here is terminated, effective immediately," he told them.Garg's leave is also effective immediately, according to a Friday email from the company's board of directors, and day-to-day operations will be taken over by the company's CFO, Kevin Ryan. Better.com added that it is hiring a third-party firm to do a "leadership and cultural assessment," whose recommendations "will be taken into account to build a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better."CNN Business has viewed the email and has asked Better.com for comment. "The recommendations of this assessment will be taken into account to build a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better," the email said.The online mortgage company's mass layoff affected about 9% of its staff. Just days later, three of the company's top communications executives resigned, according to multiple media reports.In a later post on the professional network Blind, Garg accused the fired employees of "stealing" from their colleagues and customers by being unproductive and only working two hours a day, according to Fortune, which confirmed those sentiments in a later interview with the CEO.In a Dec. 7 letter addressed to the Better.com team, Garg apologized for the way he handled the layoffs, and for making "a difficult situation worse." He added, "I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better," the letter reads. "I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you."

A former Ohio police chief is accused of making racist references to a Black officer — and it was caught on video. The officer has filed a discrimination charge, which is the first step toward a lawsuit.

In July, a video went viral of former Sheffield Lake Police Chief Anthony Campo placing a paper with "Ku Klux Klan" written on it on officer Keith Pool's jacket.

Then another video shows Campo putting on a makeshift KKK hat.

At the time, the mayor told local media that the incident was horrible, shocking and unacceptable.

The same day Campo was put on administrative leave, he resigned from the department.

Now, the officer targeted by the racist actions is speaking out, remembering that the chief also called over other officers to see what he did.

"Even when I, we watched it now, I am in disbelief that this has happened," Pool said. "My, my exact words were, 'Are you serious?' And, I just looked at him, and like what else can you say to the chief of police who done something so heinous and so awful.

Officer Pool is now filing a discrimination charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court.

"And, this was not the Chief's first time doing something racist and offensive to me or other employees," Pool said. "It was just the first time he got caught on video."

The petition asks for Campo's record of racial harassment complaints, alleging the chief repeatedly engaged in racial misconduct.

"Our investigation has revealed that Chief Campo referred to Officer Pool as the N-word and said he did not want an N-word working in his department," Ashlie Case Sletvold, Pool's attorney, said.

Officer Pool requested those documents himself, but the city did not provide Campo's misconduct record.

"The city's failure to turn over the public records documenting his misconduct makes me feel like they want to protect the ex-chief Campo," Pool said.

Officer Pool does still work for the department under new Chief Andrew Kory, calling it a healthier environment.

"Working there since the incident and the removal of Chief Campo has been more upbeat," Pool said.

The law firm representing Pool plans to file with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission in order to get the right to sue.

The petition it sent to the state supreme court effectively asks the justices to get involved with the case.

HOUSTON, Texas — Houston's police chief says four police officers have been terminated after an internal investigation determined they did not use reasonable force when they fired their weapons 21 times at a man who had been experiencing a mental health crisis.

The man, 27-year-old Nicolas Chavez, was already injured and on the ground when he was shot and killed by the officers on the night of April 21.

During a news conference Thursday, video footage was presented from body cameras showing Chavez, who had already been shot and was bleeding, kneeling on the ground and grabbing a stun gun when the four officers shot him.

WARNING: The video below contains graphic clips and may be difficult to watch.

"Let me be clear, it's objectively not reasonable to utilize deadly force when a man's already been shot multiple times, has been tased, has been on the ground, has shown that he really cannot get up," said Police Chief Art Acevedo on Thursday. "I cannot defend that."

At the briefing, Mayor Sylvester Turner said the dismissal of the four officers isn’t an indictment of the police department and its nearly 5,300 others officers.

“But when you are wrong, there are consequences,” he continued. “And for the good of every police officer who serves, for the good of everyone that followed the rules, that protect this city, it is important for us to call a ball a ball, and a strike, a strike."

Turner acknowledged the effect Chavez’s death has had on the city and expressed sympathy for his family.

"What happened the night of April 12 has dramatically affected many people and this city,” said the mayor. “Nicolas Chavez’ life was taken, and his family must live with their personal loss and anguish for the rest of their lives."

Leaders with the Houston Police Officers’ Union denounced the firings, saying the officers tried to de-escalate the situation but were forced to shoot Chavez.

“This unjust and deplorable decision by Chief Acevedo has sent a shock wave through HPD. Even if you deescalate, retreat, follow policy, training and the law...you will still lose your job as a Houston Police Officer,” tweeted Joe Gamaldi, the president of the Houston union.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Thursday that prosecuters will be conducting an independent review of all the evidence in Chavez’s death and once it’s complete, the findings will be presented to a grand jury. They’ll determine whether charges will be brought against the officers involved.

As more employers are starting to require their employers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, some people online are suggesting people refuse the vaccine so their employer will fire them, allowing them to collect unemployment. However, it's not that simple.

"If a company has a policy requiring vaccines, and an employee won't comply, that would generally be considered a firing for cause, which would render that individual ineligible for Ohio unemployment benefits," Northern Kentucky law professor Ken Katkin said.

The Ohio unemployment handbook says firing for cause can be "violating established company rules" or "disregarding the employers' interest." Kentucky and Indiana have similar provisions in place.

If someone said they have a medical disability that prevents them from getting the vaccine, that would be a valid claim under certain circumstances.

"If and only if somebody has an actual disability that's recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act," Katkin said.

Claiming a religious exemption is also possible, but in order to get that exemption a person would likely need to provide evidence that they adhere to those religious teachings.

Katkin said employees need to use the procedures employers provide to seek exemptions and not to expect to just be fired. Without going through those processes, Katkin said, people shouldn't expect to receive unemployment compensation.

Above video: Energy secretary hopes Texas will consider connecting grid to other statesFollowing widespread power outages during a series of winter storms that left many Texas residents in the dark for days, the head of the organization overseeing the state's power grid has been fired.Bill Magness, president and CEO of Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), was terminated from his contract by the organization's board of directors after an emergency meeting Wednesday night.In a statement sent to CNN, ERCOT says the board "directed the Corporate Secretary to exercise the 60 days' termination notice" to Magness pursuant to the employee agreement. He will continue to serve as president and CEO during this transition period, the statement said.Five board members had earlier resigned after the storms.ERCOT expects to start an immediate search for a new president and CEO, the statement said. The next ERCOT board meeting is currently scheduled for April 13.

MASON, Ohio — Cintas Corp. has announced several cost-cutting measures due to “lower work volume” required by its customers in the COVID-19 crisis. The cuts include staff reductions, but Cintas won’t say how many.

The Mason-based company provides uniforms, restroom supplies, welcome mats and carpet/tile cleaning services to factories, office buildings and other corporate facilities that have cleared out in the last month as more employees work from home. Cintas declined to answer questions beyond a prepared statement, so it’s unclear what impact the coronavirus is having on company revenue.

“Cintas has made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce in Cincinnati,” the statement said. “This decision was not made lightly and is in addition to other steps taken including a reduction in executive compensation and eliminating all non-essential spending.”

Braulio Benitez joined Cintas in Chicago four years ago and relocated to Mason to be a product development manager in 2017, designing floor mats with company logos. He’s disappointed by the downsizing but appreciates the severance offered by the company.

“They’re handling it the best they can,” he said. “Luckily the experience that I have is somewhat unique, so I could stay within the industry. I’ve made some good connections with suppliers, so I’m taking some time right now to think about my next move.”

Benitez said employees were told of the cuts last Friday. He doesn’t know how many employees were let go.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has not received any information about the layoffs from Cintas, spokesman Bret Crow said. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires companies laying off more than 50 employees in a single location to issue a public notice at least 60 days before the layoffs take place. The U.S. Labor Department can make exceptions to the rule when “layoffs occur due to unforeseeable business circumstances, faltering companies and natural disasters,” according to the department’s web site.

Cintas said it will “provide severance and other resources for individuals who were let go in this process. Furloughed employee-partners will continue to be eligible to receive Cintas health and wellness benefits and we look forward to bringing them back as non-essential businesses re-open and our business volumes return to normal levels. Cintas continues to be an essential business as we are an important supplier to many of those who are the front lines of this crisis, and we’ll continue to do all that we can to take care of both our customers and our employee-partners.”