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More than a decade later, those that heeded this advice went on to become game-changing tech behemoths, including CNBC Disruptor 50 companies Block , Pinterest , Slack, Twilio , and Cloudera. Seed rounds had a record deal value in 2022, and valuations continued to grow even as late-stage venture companies nearer to the public market suffered. Venture funds raised a record amount of money in 2022, with $162.8 billion closed across 769 funds, according to PitchBook and the NVCA. We've seen companies struggle as public companies and then skyrocket, so a lower value-IPO is not the end of the road." "But when you can generate new share in a difficult market, when the market does turn, they are in a perfect position to capture more market share and customers."

"It’s a direct hit to the Mexican population of Boyle Heights and Lincoln Heights," Villalobos added. L.A. City Councilman Arthur Snyder during opening day ceremonies at Parque de Mexico in Los Angeles in 1978. A bust of Venustiano Carranza is among the missing sculptures at Parque de Mexico in Los Angeles. But only a few pieces remain today at the park, which is an extension of Lincoln Park in Lincoln Heights, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods and predominantly Latino. "Everyone goes and spends time ... at Lincoln Park, but Parque Mexico is kind of left alone especially as it’s gone into worse shape.

☆ Flexport to lay off 20% of its global workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ryan Petersen, chief executive officer of Flexport, participates in a panel discussion during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Supply chain software startup Flexport is laying off 20% of its global workforce, or roughly 640 employees, according to a memo from co-CEOs Ryan Petersen and Dave Clark. Flexport joins a long list of tech companies cutting jobs after going on a hiring binge during the Covid pandemic. Coinbase announced a 20% workforce reduction on Tuesday. Elon Musk slashed about half of Twitter's workforce after taking the helm as CEO last year, and Meta cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13%.

☆ IPO market remains frozen, but could rebound later this year, tech analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In total, IPO deal proceeds plummeted 94% in 2022 — from $155.8 billion to $8.6 billion — according to Ernst & Young's IPO report published in mid-December. As of the report's publication date, the fourth quarter was on pace to be the weakest of the year. The collapse of the IPO market has caused the pipeline of anticipated public listings to swell. MKM's Rohit Kulkarni is among the few optimists who think the IPO market could rebound later this year, spurred in part by the volume of private companies waiting in the wings to go public when capital becomes more accessible. According to Carta, 22% of companies, both private and public, reduced their valuations in Q3, nearly tripling year-over-year.

2022 is the second year of a long journey to pay off my student loans and credit card debt. I also made a payment plan with credit card companies to stop my debt from accruing compound interest. I racked up over $20,000 of credit card debt, then rage-quit my job without a backup plan. Before the refinance, from January 2022 to July 2022, the minimum payment on my private student loans was $670. Here are the three crucial steps I took to pay down nearly $11,000 worth of debt in one year.

☆ Factbox: Golden Globe awards: Full list of nominees
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/5] Butler poses backstage after receiving the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 34th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, U.S., January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniJan 10 (Reuters) - Hollywood gathers on Tuesday for the 2023 Golden Globes, the first major awards show of the season. After diversity and ethics scandals at the Globes organizer - the Hollywood Foreign Press Association - NBC declined to air the ceremony in 2022, but will broadcast the show this year for its 80th anniversary. The following is the full list of nominees:MOVIESBEST PICTURE-DRAMA“Avatar: The Way of Water”“Elvis”“The Fabelmans”“Tar”“Top Gun: Maverick”BEST PICTURE-MUSICAL OR COMEDY"Babylon"“The Banshees of Inisherin”“Everything Everywhere All at Once”“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”“Triangle of Sadness”BEST ANIMATED FILM“Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio”“Inu-Oh”“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”“Turning Red”BEST PICTURE-NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE“All Quiet on the Western Front" (Germany)“Argentina, 1985" (Argentina)“Close" (Belgium)“Decision to Leave" (South Korea)“RRR" (India)BEST ACTRESS, DRAMACate Blanchett, "Tar"Olivia Colman, “Empire of Light”Viola Davis, "The Woman King”Ana de Armas, "Blonde”Michelle Williams, "The Fabelmans”BEST ACTOR, DRAMAAustin Butler, “Elvis”Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”Hugh Jackman, “The Son”Bill Nighy, “Living”Jeremy Pope, “The Inspection”BEST ACTRESS, MUSICAL OR COMEDYLesley Manville, "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris"Margot Robbie, “Babylon”Anya Taylor-Joy, “The Menu”Emma Thompson, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”BEST ACTOR, MUSICAL OR COMEDYDiego Calva, “Babylon”Daniel Craig, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”Adam Driver, “White Noise”Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”Ralph Fiennes, “The Menu”BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSAngela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin”Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”Carey Mulligan, “She Said”BEST SUPPORTING ACTORBrendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin”Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”Brad Pitt, “Babylon”Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”Eddie Redmayne, “The Good Nurse”BEST DIRECTORJames Cameron, “Avatar: The Way of Water”Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”Baz Luhrmann, “Elvis”Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans”BEST SCREENPLAY“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Martin McDonagh“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert“The Fabelmans,” Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner“Tar,” Todd Field“Women Talking,” Sarah PolleyBEST ORIGINAL SCORE“Babylon,” Justin Hurwitz“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Carter Burwell“The Fabelmans,” John Williams“Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio,” Alexandre Desplat“Women Talking,” Hildur GuðnadóttirBEST ORIGINAL SONG“Lift Me Up” by Tems, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna and Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)“Ciao Papa” by Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro (“Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio”)“Naatu Naatu” by Kala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani, Rahul Sipligunj (“RRR")“Hold My Hand” by Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Benjamin Rice (“Top Gun: Maverick”)“Carolina” by Taylor Swift (“Where the Crawdads Sing”)TELEVISIONBEST DRAMA SERIES“Better Call Saul” (AMC)“The Crown” (Netflix)“House of the Dragon” (HBO Max)“Ozark” (Netflix)“Severance” (Apple TV+)BEST MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)“The Bear” (FX)“Hacks” (HBO Max)“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)“Wednesday” (Netflix)BEST LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TV MOVIE“Black Bird” (Apple TV+)“Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)“The Dropout” (Hulu)“Pam and Tommy” (Hulu)“The White Lotus” (HBO Max)BEST ACTRESS, DRAMAEmma D'Arcy, “House of the Dragon”Laura Linney, "Ozark”Imelda Staunton, “The Crown”Hilary Swank, “Alaska Daily”Zendaya, “Euphoria”BEST ACTOR, DRAMAJeff Bridges, “The Old Man”Kevin Costner, “Yellowstone”Diego Luna, “Andor”Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”Adam Scott, “Severance”BEST ACTRESS, MUSICAL OR COMEDYQuinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday”Jean Smart, “Hacks”BEST ACTOR, MUSICAL OR COMEDYDonald Glover, “Atlanta”Bill Hader, “Barry”Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, MUSICAL, COMEDY OR DRAMAElizabeth Debicki, “The Crown”Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”Julia Garner, “Ozark”Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, MUSICAL, COMEDY or DRAMAJohn Lithgow, “The Old Man”Jonathan Pryce, “The Crown”John Turturro, “Severance”Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary”Henry Winkler, “Barry”BEST ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES or TV MOVIEJessica Chastain, “George and Tammy”Julia Garner

The councilman has defied demands for his resignation and attended last week’s meeting, amid vociferous protests, “to get back to work,” he told CNN’s Kate Bolduan before the meeting. Calls for de León’s resignation have continued since October, when audio of a year-old conversation between de Léon and fellow council members was posted anonymously on Reddit and obtained by the Los Angeles Times. Much of the conversation focused on maps proposed by the city’s redistricting commission and the council members’ frustration with them, but it also featured racist remarks about a fellow council member’s Black son and about Oaxacans. “I shouldn’t have said what I said,” de León told CNN on Tuesday, clarifying his remarks comparing White colleague Mike Bonin’s Black child to a designer handbag. De León pointed to his body of work, including his work on environmental issues and advocacy on behalf of undocumented immigrants.

The city's homelessness crisis, both an incubator for street crime and a corollary to skyrocketing housing costs, touches almost every facet of life in L.A., even when it's just a backdrop. Bass vowed Sunday to attack it head-on by declaring a citywide state of emergency, an idea that had been circulating through City Hall since at least 2015. Bass is promising a new day and inspiring L.A.'s guardians to forget about the bickering, at least for a moment. "Where there’s will, there’s women," she said. "And where there’s women, there’s forever a way."

☆ Golden Globe Awards 2023: See the full list of nominees
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The nominees for the 80th Golden Globe Awards were announced on Monday. Mayan Lopez and Selenis Leyva, two of the stars from “Lopez vs. Lopez,” announced the range of film and television nominees as selected by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Favored Oscars contender “The Banshees of Inisherin” led the film categories, with nominations including best musical or comedy film. It stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The ceremony, which was not broadcast last January over controversy surrounding the HFPA, will return to NBC on Jan. 10.

☆ Los Angeles Police Investigate Altercation Involving Council Member
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Kate King | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Los Angeles police are investigating an altercation between activists and a City Council member became physical Friday evening. Kevin de León , the council member, has been facing calls to resign since October, when an audio recording was released in which he and two other council members, all Democrats, discuss how to redraw districts in a way that would be politically advantageous to Latinos while sidelining other groups, including Black Angelenos.

☆ Kevin de Leon: Video shows LA city councimember involved in a physical altercation months after involvement in racist conversation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Shawna Mizelle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —Los Angeles city council member Kevin de León is facing renewed scrutiny after a video surfaced online Friday night of him engaged in a physical altercation with a community activist during a holiday event. De León said in a statement Saturday that he was acting in self-defense after being headbutted by Reedy. “Video footage clearly shows him and his supporters initiating this assault while Mr. Reedy stands with his hands up. Calls for de León’s resignation have continued since October when audio of a year-old conversation between de Léon and fellow council members was posted anonymously on Reddit and obtained by the Los Angeles Times. Much of the conversation focused on maps proposed by the city’s redistricting commission and the council members’ frustration with them, but it also featured racist remarks about a fellow council member’s Black son and about Oaxacans.

☆ Crypto startup MoonPay hires Time president to lead its enterprise business
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In this article LTH Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTKeith Grossman, Time president TIMEPieces Artist Jeremy CowartTime president Keith Grossman is leaving the legacy publisher to take on a new role as the president of enterprise at crypto startup MoonPay, effective December 31. Before his three-plus years at Time, Grossman had held leadership posts at major publishers including Bloomberg and Condé Nast-owned Wired. "I think it's important to separate a bad actor from an industry," Grossman said of the FTX fallout. Crypto's confidence crisisIn the 12 months since bitcoin topped out at over $68,000, the crypto industry, once valued at roughly $3 trillion, has fallen to around $900 billion. Enterprise adoption has been fueling this belief, with companies including Nike , McDonald's , Adidas and Starbucks launching their own NFT collections.

☆ Fanatics, Nike take sports merchandise model global in deal with Yomiuri Giants, Japan's most popular baseball team
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A woman browses a merchandise shop in Tokyo Dome ahead of the Japan Central League baseball match between Yomiuri Giants and Hiroshima Carp on October 14, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. Sports commerce platform Fanatics is expanding a recently signed long-term partnership with Nike to include manufacturing and distribution of merchandise for the Yomiuri Giants, Japan's most successful and popular baseball team. Nike will become the official uniform supplier of the Yomiuri Giants. Fanatics is also creating autograph and collectible products for fans of the Yomiuri Giants. The Yomiuri Giants are the first sports team outside the U.S. to adopt this Nike-Fanatics model for on-field and sports merchandise.

The other is Herschel Walker.”A runoff election to decide control of the Senate is not new for Georgia or its Black voters. Now, Jones said, Black voters are facing the burden of having to pull Georgia — and the country — across the line. That part is confusing.”Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker. All of them have so much admiration for Stacey Abrams.”Abrams received 90% of the Black vote, but only 51% of the women’s overall vote, according to NBC News Exit Polls. I can’t be worried about the Senate,” Jones said.

☆ Chime cuts 12% of its workforce, adding to recent wave of tech layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chime is one of the latest private tech firms to announce layoffs amid a worsening economic outlook and a recent wave of cuts from both public and private companies. Chime offers fee-free banking, early paydays for those with direct-deposit and a feature that lets users go negative in their accounts without overdraft fees. The company became profitable on an EBITDA basis during the pandemic, co-founder and CEO Chris Britt told CNBC in September of 2020. Private, venture-backed tech companies aren't immune to these conditions either. Like Chime, online payments giant Stripe and NFT platform Dapper Labs also announced sizeable headcount reductions on Thursday.

☆ LA City Council censures Latino members amid racism scandal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council formally rebuked two members and its former president Wednesday for their involvement in a racism scandal that has led to days of protests, police and state investigations and shaken public faith in City Hall. Earlier, the council meeting was called into recess to allow police to clear chanting protesters. Council President Paul Krekorian warned the protesters they would not deter the council’s business. “We will continue to do the work of the people of Los Angeles,” he said. Krekorian, the president, and other council members have said Cedillo and de León must resign.

☆ Fanatics hires its first chief people officer as Michael Rubin's sports business giant expands
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ashford will report directly to both CEO Michael Rubin and CFO Glenn Schiffman. Each of the three Fanatics' businesses — commerce, collectibles, betting & gaming — have heads of HR that report to those respective business CEOs. Prior to joining Fanatics, Ashford was a strategic advisor to private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. He's currently the chairman of the board of pharmaceutical company Perrigo , and sits on the board of Syndio — a private, venture-backed HR tech company. Last week, Fanatics announced it hired Andrea Ellis to be the chief financial officer of its betting and gaming division, which is expected to launch in January.

☆ Los Angeles police investigating whether council members were recorded illegally
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police are investigating whether audio of members of the City Council making racist comments was recorded illegally, the police chief said Tuesday. The recording from 2021 was leaked online and published by the Los Angeles Times this month. The 2021 meeting was attended by Martinez, council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, and Ron Herrera, the president of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Protesters shouted over council members at their meeting Tuesday, demanding that de León and Cedillo resign, NBC Los Angeles reported. Martinez resigned as a City Council member Oct. 12, two days after she stepped down as council president.

☆ Latino leaders call for resignations over racist remarks while outlining 'principled path' to representation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Edwin-Head-Shot-Copy.Jpg | Edwin Flores | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A group of Latino academics and civic leaders are insisting on the resignations of Latino members of the Los Angeles City Council after a recording of racist remarks was leaked, while outlining the need to ensure that the city's Hispanics are represented politically in a way that still strengthens race relations. "It is time to chart a principled path for the role an emerging Latino majority plays in our community." “The City of Los Angeles is overdue for institutional reform, especially reform that depoliticizes the redistricting process,” they said. The City Council is up for election on Nov. 8. In the letter, the group requested the opportunity to meet with City Council leaders.

☆ Latino LA councilman said he won't resign following uproar over racist remarks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

LOS ANGELES — Embattled Los Angeles Councilman Kevin de Leon said Wednesday he will not resign amid an uproar over a leaked tape that revealed him participating in a meeting in which Latino officials made crude, racist remarks and plotted to expand their political power. The scandal already has led to the resignation of former City Council President Nury Martinez and calls from President Joe Biden for those involved to step down. The councilman also told KCBS-TV in Los Angeles that he would refuse to resign. “We don’t want him here because he’s racist,” said Loera, a salesman reviewing items at a local household goods shop with a view of downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles City Council members are among the highest paid in the country with annual salaries of nearly $229,000, and de Leon’s announcement also keeps his city paychecks coming.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence of widespread ballot 'harvesting' ahead of the U.S midterm election
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Stuffing ballot boxes, ballot harvesting, gerrymandering, and the lonist goes on and on,” reads a tweet. A Reuters Fact Check explainer exploring examples of how and why voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the U.S. ahead of the midterms can be seen (here). According to Minnite, experts agree there is no evidence of systematic voter fraud happening during absentee voting. They found 491 cases of absentee ballot fraud from 2000 to 2012, a time when 146 million Americans were registered to vote (news21.com/archive/), (here), (here). A Reuters fact check article previously found that the film does not provide verifiable evidence of voter fraud (here).

☆ LA City Council member embroiled in racist audio scandal says he won't resign: 'There is a lot of work ahead.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

LA City Council member Kevin de León said he will not resign amid scandal over leaked audio. "No, I will not resign, because there is a lot of work ahead," de León said, invoking Los Angeles' homelessness problem. De León's decision comes just days after LA City Council member Nury Martinez resigned amid mounting pressure over the same audio. "People should not ask me for forgiveness, because I can't forgive them because it's not my prerogative," he said during a council meeting. Then-acting City Council President Mitch O'Farrell stripped de León and Cedillo of their committee duties earlier this week.

☆ Leaked L.A. City Council Audio Exposes the Racial Underbelly of Local Politics
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Will Swaim | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The ground shakes periodically in Southern California, but Los Angeles has rarely experienced a political earthquake as sudden and severe as the one that rocked City Hall this week. The leaked October 2021 recording, published first on Reddit and then by the Los Angeles Times, captures a shockingly candid conversation among City Council President Nury Martinez and Councilmen Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León . Ron Herrera , Los Angeles County’s top union leader, was also present. The four met to discuss how they might carve up the city’s voting districts to maintain Latino political power. Few of the hyperdiverse city’s racial and ethnic groups went uninsulted.

☆ Los Angeles’ Nury Martinez’s shocking anti-Black remarks hurt at the deepest level
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Amir Whitaker | Amir Whitaker Is Senior Policy Counsel With The Aclu Of Southern California. Before Joining The Aclu | Whitaker Represented Students | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Many of us in Los Angeles are still in shock from the recently leaked audio recording of politicians spewing racist and hateful language. It laid bare the true colors of four of the most influential Latinx leaders in the country, whose collective power affects nearly 4 million Angelenos. But this is Los Angeles, one of the most diverse cities in the world. Hearing a public servant in one of the most powerful seats in our city government fantasize about committing violence against a Black child was extremely troubling. I get anxious just thinking about having to explain to my Black child what they need to know to survive in America.

Some may want to see the explosive, racist diatribes of a handful of prominent Los Angeles City Council members as an unfortunate incident that will eventually fade away. But the reality is that such prejudice from Latino to Latino and Latino to other racial groups is not so uncommon. That was on stark display in the conversation among former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, council members Kevin De León and Gil Cedillo and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, who resigned Monday. "If you’re going to talk about Latino districts, what kind of districts are you trying to create?” she asks her colleagues in frustration. Zapotecs, or Indigenous people of Oaxacan descent, number about 200,000 in Los Angeles County, one of the largest Oaxacan communities outside Mexico.

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