Axios

James Damore, the former Google engineer fired over a memo he wrote criticizing the company's diversity efforts, has hired civil rights lawyer Harmeet Dhillon, she confirmed to Bloomberg. Google said he was fired for violating the company's employee code of conduct. Damore claims it was for expressing political views that differ from Google's.

• Why it matters: Damore's memo set off wide backlash because of his assertions that women were biologically less inclined to pursue computer science professions and that Google doesn't tolerate conservative or minority viewpoints. Dhillon's firm is seeking other Google employees who believe they've been unfairly treated by the company, she posted on Twitter.
• Dhillon was rumored to be considered by President Trump to lead the Department of Justice's Civil Rights division.
• Damore has already filed a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board and has said he's exploring further legal actions.

The Federal Trade Commission is done vetting Amazon's proposed acquisition of Whole Foods, it said Wednesday, allowing the $13.7 billion deal to clear a key a regulatory obstacle. The companies hope it will close this year; Whole Foods shareholders approved it earlier in the day.

"Based on our investigation we have decided not to pursue this matter further," said Bruce Hoffman, the acting director of the agency's Bureau of Competition, in a statement. "Of course, the FTC always has the ability to investigate anticompetitive conduct should such action be warranted."

Details: The agency evaluated whether the merger of the organic grocer and online retail powerhouse "substantially lessened competition" or "constituted an unfair method of competition."

Bigger picture: Critics of Amazon say it has gotten too big and should be subject to antitrust scrutiny. But it was always doubtful that this deal would be the field where that battle is fought.

With the Galaxy Note 8, being unveiled in New York today, Samsung is looking to move past all of last year's problems and re-establish its signature phablet. The device closely resembles the Galaxy S8 with its curved edges and infinity display, with the addition of a digital pen and dual rear cameras.

The bottom line: Despite the fiasco with the Note 7 and subsequent recalls, Samsung has bounced back with the well regarded Galaxy S8. Barring any new issues, Samsung seems to have emerged relatively unscathed. The big question is how the Note 8 will stack up against the next iPhone.

President Trump snuck in a dig at GOP Senator Jeff Flake, calling him "weak" on crime and border security, while thanking Phoenix for the "amazing" crowd that came out to watch his speech last night.

This isn't the first time Trump has gone after Flake on Twitter. Last week, Trump tweeted that he was "toxic" and signaled his support for Flake's opponent in the 2018 Senate race, Dr. Kelli Ward.

The Trump-Flake ongoing feud initially began when Flake openly opposed Trump during his presidential campaign. He also sharply criticized Trump and condemned the Republican Party for enabling Trump's rise to the presidency in his book, "The Conscience of a Conservative." Trump's recent flurry of tweets attacking Flake is the president's way of retaliating.

Walmart and Google are escalating a fierce battle to own virtual assistant shopping, jointly challenging Amazon's towering dominance over the already-lucrative new space in retail, per the WSJ's Jack Nicas and Laura Stevens.

Google is offering up its Home virtual assistant (photo above) and Walmart its vast inventory. As of next month, they will team up on Google Express, the internet giant's e-commerce marketplace. In doing so, they are going against Amazon's Echo.

• The mountain is steep: As of July, Amazon raked up 45 cents of every dollar spent on-line, up from 43 at the start of the year. Walmart earns just 2 cents. Google's House personal assistant is 26% of the market; Echo is the rest.
• But the prize is too large to ignore: Amazon has already decimated whole swaths of brick-and-mortar retail, and now has an early grip on the new voice-activated virtual assistant market. Walmart does not want to end up like Macy's and Barnes & Noble, and Google is not satisfied to be an also-ran in e-commerce.
• So big players are aligning: Walmart is also doing test runs using Uber and Lyft in an attempt to speed the delivery of fresh produce bought through Google Home.

To mark the ninth anniversary of the original Uber idea (then called "UberCabs"), co-founder Garrett Camp posted online the company's first pitch deck. Back then, Uber's business was all about providing private car rides to its members in a more efficient (thanks to smartphones and tech) and affordable way.

• The deck claimed customers shouldn't have to wait for more than five minutes to get picked up, and predicted early on that passengers would want to share rides.
• The original service was focused on premium rides, but the original deck mentioned eventually turning to less expensive cars like the Toyota Prius. Uber's first UberX cars, in 2012, were in fact Priuses.
• Today, countless companies describe themselves as "the Uber of X." Back in 2008, Uber compared its concept to another existing company: NetJets, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary that sells part ownership or shares of private business jets.

Jeff Jones, the former Target CMO who spent just six months at Uber as its president of ride-sharing, will be H&R Block's next CEO, starting in October, the company said today.

• Despite the enthusiasm around Jones' hiring last year, his departure was less positive. He left amid a flurry of controversies bubbling at Uber, including allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination within the company, and shortly after it announced plans to hire a COO.
• Jones on his departure: "It is now clear, however, that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business."

Jones is not the only Uber executive to leave the company in the last six months. Others include its head of finance, head of its AI labs, its head of product and growth, its PR chief, and several employees from its self-driving car teams — including Marakby's boss, former head of Google Maps Brian McClendon.

Blue Apron, the meal kits company that went public in June, has been hit with multiple shareholder lawsuits. They allege that the company misled investors about its business prior to going public, although only two suits have been formally filed, Axios is told. Now, these investors are angry and want their money back.

Tough crowd: Despite being a media darling while a private company, Blue Apron has had a tough time on the markets since going public — its stock price is now nearly half of what it was at the IPO. The company is also facing competition from Amazon, which recently debuted its own meal kits business, which investors claim Blue Apron knew and hid.

Amazon declined to comment on the lawsuits.

Over the last few months, Uber has been on a campaign to repair its relationship with drivers via changes to its policies and service. This time, it's trying to make their driving more flexible thanks to new options in their mobile app, such as setting a trip arrival time if they need to be done by a certain time to pick up their kids from school, and notifications before long trips, for example.

• In the last six months, it's become clear to the company that it needs to take a friendlier approach in many aspects of its business, including its relationship with drivers.
• Driver turnover is a big problem for ride-hailing companies, and Uber has to compete for them with rival Lyft, which has cultivated a driver-friendly image.
• Uber published a paper on time and income flexibility for drivers to support its new policies.