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☆ TikTok's potential U.S. ban presents host of questions for app stores, internet companies and the government
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The TikTok logo is displayed outside TikTok social media app company offices in Culver City, California, on March 16, 2023. related investing news What a potential TikTok ban could mean for Club holding Meta Platforms It's not an issue yet, as there are still some ways a TikTok ban could be avoided or accessed legally in the U.S. Should the U.S. ban TikTok, the mechanics on what happens from there get murky. And the app stores controlled by Apple and Google are the primary places for consumers to download the TikTok app. Under Chinese law, companies can be required to hand over internal information to the government for supposed national security purposes.

☆ U.S. Threatens to Ban TikTok if Chinese Founder Doesn’t Sell Ownership Stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John D. Mckinnon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TikTok, which has an office in Culver City, Calif., says its $1.5 billion security plan would essentially wall off its U.S. operations, with all data being stored in the U.S.WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is demanding that TikTok’s Chinese owners sell their stakes in the video-sharing app or face a possible U.S. ban of the app, according to people familiar with the matter. The move represents a major shift in policy on the part of the administration, which has been under fire from some Republicans who say it hasn’t taken a tough enough stance to address the perceived security threat from TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd.

☆ Senate confirms Eric Garcetti as U.S. ambassador to India
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sahil Kapur | Frank Thorp V | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate voted 52-42 on Wednesday to confirm former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti to be the next U.S. ambassador to India. The long-delayed Garcetti nomination grew unusually contentious and sparked some last-minute drama. Several Democrats voted against advancing his nomination, but enough Republicans backed Garcetti to give the U.S. its first permanent ambassador to India under President Joe Biden, more than two years into his term. "The United States-India relationship is extremely important, and it's a very good thing we now have an ambassador," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. But a group of Republicans voted yes and helped secure the necessary support, including Sens.

☆ Some School Districts Are Eliminating Honors Classes. Many Parents Aren’t Happy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Sara Randazzo | Photographs Lauren Justice For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Since the start of this school year, freshmen and sophomores in Culver City have only been able to select one level of English class, known as College Prep, rather than the previous system in which anyone could opt into the honors class. Elena Frigola is an 11th-grade student in Culver City, Calif.

☆ 4 senior Twitter managers were previously on a 'do not fire' list, but they were fired anyway, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk fired four Twitter managers who were previously on a "do not fire" list, per Platformer. The managers, including Esther Crawford, worked at Twitter for just over two years, per LinkedIn. Twitter fired the four senior staffers over the weekend, the report said. The layoffs impacted a range of roles, including product managers, data scientists, and engineers, per Platformer. After the news broke about her job cut, Crawford tweeted that had no regrets about going "all-in on Twitter 2.0."

☆ The boss of Elon Musk's Boring Company called Twitter managers to ask about employee performance just days before 200 people were laid off, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Boring Company's boss called Twitter managers last week to ask about staff performance, Platformer reports. Twitter then cut at least 200 employees on Saturday night, including four high-ranking managers. Davis is a longstanding ally of Twitter owner Elon Musk, and has helped cut costs since his takeover. Steve Davis, a long-term associate of Musk, has been working with Twitter for the past few months to help cut costs at Musk's request. These managers later learned on Saturday that at least 200 employees were being laid off, including product managers, data scientists, and engineers.

Police officers involved in the deaths have become an intense focus of investigation, protest, and media coverage. Despite being at the heart of some of the most defining incidents in modern policing, most of the officers involved continue to live their lives under the radar. Insider's review of 72 cops involved in two dozen of the most notorious police killings of the past 30 years shows the many different paths officers have taken. There's no nationwide view into what happens to officers involved in egregious incidents of violence. In rare cases, cops involved in these killings have tried to publicly rehabilitate their image rather than seek out anonymity.

☆ To Increase Equity, School Districts Eliminate Honors Classes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sara Randazzo | Photographs Lauren Justice For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CULVER CITY, Calif.—A group of parents stepped to the lectern Tuesday night at a school board meeting in this middle-class, Los Angeles-area city to push back against a racial-equity initiative. The high school, they argued, should reinstate honors English classes that were eliminated because they didn’t enroll enough Black and Latino students. The district earlier this school year replaced the honors classes at Culver City High School with uniform courses that officials say will ensure students of all races receive an equal, rigorous education.

☆ Party City is planning to close 22 stores after filing for bankruptcy — here's the full list
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Party City is closing 22 stores after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. Cartersville: Cartersville Crossing, 451 E Main St.IowaWaterloo: Crossroads Commons Shopping Center, 1415 Flammang Dr.IllinoisBradley: Bradley Commons, 2060 N State Rte. MichiganHolland: Felch Street Shopping Center, 3050 Beeline Rd., Ste. 20Felch Street Shopping Center, 3050 Beeline Rd., Ste. TexasCorpus Christi: Five Points Shopping Center, 4101 Hwy.

☆ Sony's movie chief talks China censorship, upcoming game adaptation 'Gran Turismo,' and how his studio is preparing for a potential Hollywood writers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It was a long-term deal so I don't think we have to confront that yet, but it's gone terrifically for us, actually. If you don't want to compete, don't come in. Can you talk about the synergy with the Whitney Houston movie — she was a Sony Music artist — or "Gran Turismo," a Playstation game? Do you wish HBO Max's "The Last of Us," which is also based on a Sony Playstation game, had been a movie? A lot of big movies come out of it.

☆ Democrats win control of Pennsylvania House, end GOP rule in competitive swing state
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Reading, PA - May 10: Pennsylvania State Rep and Democratic Leader Joanna E. McClinton speaks in front of Reading City Hall. Democrats won control of the Pennsylvania House in special elections Tuesday, wresting partial power from Republicans for the first time in a dozen years in the competitive swing state. Three of those Democratic seats quickly became vacant, casting uncertainty over who actually controlled the chamber. Democrats had been expected to win Tuesday's special elections, because they had easily won the same seats last fall. That's because Republican Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver won a special election Jan. 31 to fill a vacant state Senate seat.

☆ TikTok’s Transparency Campaign Echoes Effort by Huawei to Ease Security Concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Georgia Wells | Stu Woo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CULVER CITY, Calif.—TikTok is trying to win Washington’s trust with a playbook recalling the unsuccessful strategy that another Chinese-owned company, Huawei Technologies Co., took in the U.S. and swaths of Europe. As part of its push to demonstrate openness to U.S. authorities, TikTok this week gave journalists a tour of what it calls its Transparency and Accountability Center. In an office park in this city next to Los Angeles, screens explained how TikTok moderates and recommends the short-form videos on its app.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond just missed another debt payment. See the full list of stores it will close, including Harmon and Buybuy Baby locations.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

In addition to 87 more Bed Bath & Beyond stores, the company now says it will close all of its remaining Harmon health and beauty stores, and five Buybuy Baby stores. San Leandro: 15555 East 14th St., Suite 24015555 East 14th St., Suite 240 Burbank: 201 East Magnolia Blvd. Marina: 117 General Stilwell Drive117 General Stilwell Drive Vallejo: 105 Plaza Drive, Suite 107105 Plaza Drive, Suite 107 * Palm Desert: 72459 Highway 11172459 Highway 111 * Visalia: 3125 South Mooney Blvd. Arterial * Coralville: 2515 Corridor Way Suite 5Kansas:Lawrence: 3106 S. Iowa St., Suite 2153106 S. Iowa St., Suite 215 Manhattan: 425 3rd Place425 3rd Place * Olathe: 15335 W. 119th St.Kentucky:Elizabethtown: 1998 N. Dixie Ave.1998 N. Dixie Ave. New Hartford: 4805 Commercial Drive4805 Commercial Drive Kingston: 1187 Ulster Ave.1187 Ulster Ave. Plattsburgh: 73 Centre Drive, Suite 10073 Centre Drive, Suite 100 Farmingdale: 251 Airport Plaza Blvd.

LOS ANGELES, Jan 25 (Reuters) - "Naatu Naatu", the standout song in the Indian period film "RRR," has won a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award, garnered hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and spawned a TikTok challenge. Keeravani, songwriter of ''Naatu Naatu'' from the movie ''RRR'', which is nominated for best original song at the Oscars, poses for a portrait at the Reuters office in Culver City, California, U.S. January 13, 2023. "Naatu Naatu" and Keeravani are competing with some big household names in the best song category, including Lady Gaga's "Hold My Hand" from "Top Gun: Maverick" and Rihanna's "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever". In the action-Bollywood epic directed by S.S. Rajamouli, "Naatu Naatu" begins when the two leads, played by Ram Charan and N.T. Rahman won the Oscar for the Hindi song “Jai-Ho,” but that was for the U.S.-British production of “Slumdog Millionaire,” which was set in India.

To identify the most important VCs in LA, Insider surveyed more than 75 local investors. Nearly 4,000 venture-backed startups hoping to be the next household-name company called LA home in 2022, according to Telstra Ventures. VCs closed 1,311 deals in LA worth $23 billion in 2022, trailing only the Bay Area and New York, according to PitchBook. To identify the most important VCs in LA, Insider surveyed more than 75 local investors and sought input from its editorial team. Here are 2023's most important VCs in LA, organized alphabetically by the investor's first name.

In January 2023, Culver's ditched Pepsi and began promoting Coca-Cola products on its website. Coca-Cola beverages dominate restaurant chains. Up until recently, Culver's also served Pepsi beverages. But the Wisconsin-based fast-food chain, known for its butterburgers and frozen custard desserts, has ditched Pepsi for Coca-Cola products. The Culver's website now advertises that it sells about nine Coca-Cola beverages, including Diet Coke and Coke.

☆ Culver's is switching from Pepsi to Coke. Fans are not happy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Tesla breaks into America's bestselling cars list for 2022, but trucks still dominate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Tesla Model Y on display inside a Tesla store at the Westfield Culver City shopping mall in Culver City, California, U.S., on Thursday, April 14, 2022. Tesla does not report regional or individual vehicle sales, so the data is estimated. Overall, Tesla reported delivering about 1.25 million Model Y and Model 3 vehicles globally in 2022. "The brand, despite all the news and stuff, still dominates the EV market and it dominates the luxury market. A lot of that strength comes from the Model Y."

☆ At CES 2023, Sony's 'Gran Turismo' flags new entertainment strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

It also represents a significant bridging of the divides between Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony PlayStation and Sony Music, according to a dozen current and former senior executives interviewed by Reuters. “I defined our identity as a creative entertainment company with a solid foundation on technology,” Sony chief executive Kenichiro Yoshida said. Sony’s “creative entertainment” company approach extends beyond content. A Sony-Honda electric vehicle, scheduled to reach consumers by 2026, is being framed as a rolling showcase of Sony’s entertainment, gaming and camera sensor prowess. This August will bring another test of Sony’s strategy when “Gran Turismo” hits theaters after languishing for 12 years.

☆ 3 friends share how they started a charcuterie side hustle that made $40,000 in its first month
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Amanda Breen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

That's what Ryan Culver, Caroline Elston, and Lowell Bieber, the Indiana-based friends behind charcuterie subscription service Platterful, discovered when they teamed up to launch their venture last year — and made $40,000 in their first month. Culver and Bieber previously partnered on a health-and-wellness subscription box, which they successfully scaled and sold in September 2020. Entrepreneur sat down with the trio to learn how they built their meat-and-cheese side hustle — and continue to fuel its growth. Even though Culver and Bieber had subscription experience, the cofounders did have to contend with a new complication: cold shipping. [With cofounders] you have other people to lean on — if you're having a tough day, maybe someone else is having a good day.

But, across the country, affordable housing is becoming increasingly rare to find. That is until they discovered a Civil Rights era approach that helps promote home ownership, particularly among minority groups, who are disproportionately impacted by the affordable housing crisis. This year they joined the Beverly-Vermont CLT, one of at least five in Los Angeles and more than 200 nationwide. While CLTs are a solution, Ventura admits there are — and should be — other affordable housing options to adequately address the crisis. However, efforts to transform them into affordable housing in some neighborhoods have proven controversial among existing homeowners.

☆ A tale of 2 tech giants: Struggling Meta is pulling back on offices in LA and NYC to cut costs, while TikTok is expanding
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok is seeking 150,000 square feet in Los Angeles to more than double its footprint in the city. One of the leasing executives who spoke with Insider said TikTok had considered spaces from "Santa Monica to downtown" Los Angeles. Meta, meanwhile, has 260,000 square feet in Los Angeles at the Brickyard, a recently built office complex in Playa Vista. The diverging appetite for office space between TikTok and Meta underscores a change in fortune for both firms. A spokeswoman for Meta said the company would not comment on its LA offices or its plans for them.

☆ U.S. shoppers to spend less this holiday season, but Amazon still stands to gain, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Amid mounting economic uncertainty this holiday season, nearly three-quarters of U.S. shoppers plan to spend less than or the same as last year, according to a new Goldman Sachs consumer survey. And Club holding Amazon (AMZN), a leading retailer for holiday sales and promotions, should be a top destination for American bargain-hunters. Goldman Sachs polled 1,000 U.S. consumers to gauge spending trends for holiday shopping this year. Nonetheless, Amazon maintains "the largest share of implied holiday purchasing with 33% of consumers planning to spend the most at Amazon," followed by Walmart. Bottom line We agree with Goldman's analysis that Amazon is one of the best-positioned players in the discount retail space to benefit from this year's holiday shopping.

☆ I got my big break as a Lionsgate screenwriter after I moved 2,000 miles from Hollywood. Here's how I made connections and worked my way up from security guard to my dream career.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ken Miyamoto | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Ken Miyamoto was a security guard at Sony, and worked his way up to story analyst for the studio. In 1996, I took one University of Wisconsin screenwriting class, and that was the extent of my screenwriting education. I moved to California from Wisconsin with my wife in late 1999 to pursue a career in screenwriting. The apartment was way overpriced and much smaller than others we looked at, but we signed the lease that day. Lastly, don't write for free.

☆ Alleged drunk driver arrested after crashing tractor trailer into bus carrying Chicago high school hockey team
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

An alleged drunk driver of a tractor trailer was arrested by police Saturday in northern Indiana after he allegedly ran a red light and crashed into a school bus carrying an out-of-state high school hockey team, knocking it onto its side and leaving more than a dozen people on board with injuries. Sixteen of the 26 people on board — which included 23 students, two coaches and a bus driver — sustained injuries, authorities said. "Our community stands in support of our JV hockey team that was involved in an accident after a travel contest last night," the post read. “We send our thoughts and prayers to the Saint Ignatius College Prep’s hockey team, their coaches and their families after the team was involved in a serious bus accident last night. The Illinois bus driver consented to a blood draw, police said.

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