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☆ LA officials are investigating NBC Universal for trimming trees that provided shade to striking writers and actors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A row of trimmed trees has become a new flash point in the Hollywood writers' and actors' strike. NBC Universal cut back the trees that had provided shade to picketers outside its Los Angeles site. A Los Angeles official is investigating why NBC Universal trimmed shade-providing trees outside a site being picketed as part of the Hollywood actors' and writers' strike. In an apparent reaction to the furore, LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who has strong progressive leanings, tweeted that he would be investigating. "The trimmed trees are LA City managed street trees," he wrote on Tuesday, posting before-and-after images of the trees.

Persons: he's, Chris Stevens, Kenneth Mejia, Nicholas Slayton Organizations: Hollywood, NBC Universal, Los Angeles, NBC, Writers Guild of America, SAG, LA Times, WGA, LA City, — LA City, Department, Public Works, of Street Services, National Labor Relations Board Locations: Los Angeles, LA, —

☆ A former Afghan interpreter for the US military escaped Taliban rule only to be shot and killed in Washington, DC
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Nasrat Ahmad Yar, 31, was shot and killed in Washington, DC while working as a Lyft driver. Then, on July 3, Ahmad Yar was fatally shot in Washington, DC while driving for Lyft. Ahmad Yar was just one of hundreds of Afghan interpreters scrambling to flee the country after the Taliban takeover. Amid the chaos, Ahmad Yar's wife was also pregnant with their fourth child. Ahmad Yar worked for a towing company and as a rideshare driver.

Persons: Nasrat Ahmad Yar, —, Ahmad Yar, Ahmad Yar selflessly, Matthew Butler —, Butler, Ahmad Yar's, Butler —, CNN —, Jeramie Malone, Malone, Admad, Ahmad Yar —, Nasrat Organizations: Service, Taliban, Lyft, Army Special Forces, LA Times, CNN, US State Department Locations: Washington , DC, Wall, Silicon, Afghanistan, United States, Kabul, Washington ,, That's, Abu Dhabi, Pennsylvania

☆ Shohei Ohtani: MLB two-way superstar entering ‘uncharted waters’ on brink of record-breaking contract
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Sahil Kurup | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“The figures you hear mentioned, whether that be $50 million, $60 million, he will set a new standard. This season, he’s currently in the top three in both categories — Ohtani is doing things previously thought to be inconceivable in the sport. Steph Chambers/Getty Images“[Ohtani] increases interest in Japanese baseball — who’s going to be the next Ohtani?” Fellenzer said. It increases interest in Japanese baseball here. Ohtani receives his 2021 American League MVP trophy alongside his teammate and three-time MVP outfielder Mike Trout.

Persons: Shohei Ohtani, –, he’s, Jeffrey Fellenzer, Ohtani, Tim Heitman, “ Sho, ”, He’s, Dusty Baker, Yu Darvish, Hideo Nomo, Scott Miller, “ Nobody, Babe Ruth, Ruth, Steph Chambers, ” Fellenzer, Tommy John, — Ohtani, “, ” Ohtani, Mike Trout, Phil Nevin, we’ve, ” Nevin Organizations: CNN, ” University of Southern, CNN Sport, ”, Pacific League, Major League Baseball, LA Times, Los Angeles Angels, New York, Texas Rangers, ” Houston Astros, peerless, Los Angeles Dodgers, The Dodgers, Hokkaido, Ham Fighters, Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Angels, MLB, American League, Kyodo, White Sox Locations: ” University of Southern California, America, Hokkaido Nippon, Japan

☆ Justice Clarence Thomas has a long history of accepting expensive gifts, including a long-time friend paying for his 1987 wedding reception: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Justice Clarence Thomas' acceptance of lavish gifts stretches back decades, per a new NYT report. These include his 1987 wedding reception, paid for by a friend before he joined the Supreme Court, it said. In its latest report, the Times detailed lavish gifts, some of which pre-date Thomas' time on the Supreme Court. "And, in return, he opened up the Supreme Court." Thomas is far from the only Supreme Court Justice to have received expensive gifts in the course of their tenure.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Harlan Crow, Crow, Armstrong Williams, Horatio Alger, Williams, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, — Thomas Organizations: Supreme, Service, New York Times, Opportunity Commission, Times, Horatio, Distinguished, Horatio Alger Association, Justice, LA Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, Thomas, Virginia

☆ A reporter tried to use Frontier's $1,999 all-you-can-fly pass. It wasn't easy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The subscription offers unlimited travel throughout Frontier's network, but only if a seat is available. Frontier Airlines' new "all-you-can-fly" GoWild Pass has officially taken off. In June, Wall Street Journal Reporter Dawn Gilbertson used the Colorado-based carrier's new flight subscription, which markets unlimited travel to anywhere in Frontier's network. Moreover, there are several caveats to "unlimited" travel. However, she also realized "unlimited" travel can actually be very limiting.

Persons: isn't, Dawn Gilbertson, Gilbertson, Thomas, St, San Diego, Passholders, Julia Carmel, passholder Jacob Brown Organizations: Frontier Airlines, Wall Street, Delta Air Lines, Walt Disney, Disney, Los Angeles Times, Facebook, LA Times Locations: Colorado, Phoenix, Atlanta, Dominican Republic, Chicago, St, Puerto Rico, Orlando, Maarten, Hartford , Connecticut, Raleigh, San, Newport , Rhode Island, Connecticut

☆ A Headspace therapist says he was laid off a day after one of his patients came out for the first time. Now the patient can't contact him.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Headspace therapist told the LA Times he was laid off one day after a patient came out to him. The patient now has no way of contacting him, the therapist said, because he was booted from Headspace's patient care system immediately after being laid off. "I'm the first person they've ever talked to about it," the therapist told the LA Times. But by handling the layoffs the way it did, Headspace "just really screwed over their entire client base," the therapist told the Times. Thirty-three of those employees were therapists, a company spokesperson told Insider.

Persons: they've, Headspace, They're Organizations: LA Times, Headspace Health, Los Angeles Times, Times

☆ Los Angeles Country Club: One of the world’s most exclusive golf clubs is opening its doors to host the US Open
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Now, the club is opening its doors to a curious public and media as the host of the US Open, the first individual event to visit the famed Los Angeles County Club since 1940, though it hosted the Walker Cup in 2017. It’s mythic in some ways.”But even if its exclusivity prevents stars from playing on the golf course, the club is surrounded by them. Lionel Richie’s mansion is a stone’s throw away while Hefner’s famous Playboy Mansion, and zoo which he reportedly built as revenge after being refused entry to the Los Angeles Country Club, sits next to the 14th hole. Whatever Hefner’s intentions, even today golfers say they can still hear the monkeys, parrots and peacocks from the golf course. The Los Angeles Country Club is hosting this year's US Open.

Persons: CNN —, Bing Crosby, Groucho Marx, Hugh Hefner, “, Gene Sykes, Lionel Richie’s, Hefner’s, Harry, ” Patrick Cantlay Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles Country Club, Daily Telegraph, Los Angeles County Club, Walker, LA Times Locations: Los, Beverley Hills

☆ Meet the newest employee at Elon Musk's SpaceX. He's 14.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SpaceX has hired a young prodigy to join its Starlink division as a software engineer. The latest recruit at SpaceX is a software engineer who passed its "technically challenging" and "fun" interview process. He's planning to make the move from Pleasanton, California with his mother to start work at SpaceX in Redmond, Washington, per the report. "I felt like I was learning at the level that I was meant to learn," he told the LA Times. Starlink is SpaceX's satellite internet service and started operating in January in Nigeria – its first African market.

Persons: Santa Clara University's, he'd, BrainGain, Quazi, Starlink Organizations: SpaceX, Santa Clara University, Morning, Santa Clara, Seattle Times, Los Angeles Times, LA Times, Intel Labs, ABC7, Nigeria – Locations: California, Santa, Pleasanton , California, Redmond , Washington, Nigeria

☆ Arizona governor slams the brakes on Phoenix development because it doesn't have enough water
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Arizona will halt approvals of new developments that don't plan for alternate water sources. The new rule applies to the Phoenix area, whose population just topped 5 million in 2022. The state is also under federal pressure to use less water from the Colorado River. But regulators won't be approving new developments in areas around Phoenix that depend solely on groundwater supplies. Hobbs said a study of the project showed that it will require water sources other than groundwater.

Persons: Katie Hobbs, Hobbs, Phoenix, John Burns Organizations: Service, Los Angeles Times, Democrat, LA Times, Developers, Census, John Burns Real Estate Consulting, Gov Locations: Arizona, Phoenix, Colorado, Arizona , California, Nevada, Chandler, Houston, John Burns Real Estate Consulting . Arizona

☆ The top Hollywood exec made $498 million in the last 5 years—384 times as much as the average writer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

That's a staggering 384 times the average pay of a Hollywood writer. Overall, average pay for Hollywood's top execs climbed to $28 million in 2021, up 53% from 2018 (and roughly 108 times the average writer's pay) according to the analysis, which uses compensation data from the research firm Equilar and includes stock options, base salaries, bonuses and other perks. Meanwhile, average pay for Hollywood writers has remained virtually flat at about $260,000 as 2021, the Times reports. Hollywood executive pay dropped in 2022 due to stock market volatility and investor pressure to make streaming profitable. From 1978 to 2021, CEO pay grew by 1,460%, adjusted for inflation, versus just 18.1% for the typical worker.

Persons: David Zaslav, That's, Ari Emanuel, Reed Hastings, Bob Iger, Walt, Ted Sarandos, Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Brian Roberts, Joseph Ianniello, Patrick Whitesell, Kaitlin Fontana, Kelly Evans Organizations: Hollywood, Los Angeles Times, Warner Bros, Discovery Inc, Times, Writers Guild of America, Endeavor Group Holdings Inc, Netflix, Walt Disney Co, Fox Corp, Comcast Corp, Paramount Global, Endeavor, Paramount, Disney, Company, WGA, Alliance, Television Producers, LA Times, Economic, Comcast, CNBC Locations: U.S, California

☆ Popeyes shut down a store after teenage workers said they were asked to skip school and do late weeknight shifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Teenage workers at a Popeyes in Oakland, California filed complaints with the state labor department. One former employee said she had to skip school after being asked to cover a weekday shift. Popeyes shut down the franchisee-operated store and opened an investigation into the claims Thursday. Following the claims, Popeyes closed the store and opened an investigation into the complaints filed with the California labor department. Other fast food chains have also fallen foul of child labor laws in recent months.

CNN —UFC fighter Tony Ferguson was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after his truck hit other vehicles and rolling over in Hollywood, California, on Sunday morning, the Los Angeles Police Department told CNN. Police said Ferguson initially refused to take a Breathalyzer test when he was taken into custody, the LA Times reported. Ferguson’s court date is set for June 1 in Los Angeles Municipal Court. The 39-year-old UFC welterweight fighter is 26-8-0 and has lost five consecutive fights. He has held the interim UFC lightweight championship title once, and also jointly holds the record for the longest win streak in lightweight division history with 12 wins tied with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

☆ LeBron James vs. Steph Curry: Old rivalries reignite as LA Lakers face Golden State Warriors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Thomas Schlachter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers took down the Memphis Grizzlies 4-2 in the opening round of the playoffs. In another battle of the old vs. the young, the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings in an exhilarating seven-game series. José Luis Villegas/APBattles of old2015 FinalsThe first NBA Finals matchup between LeBron and Steph was in 2015. Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images2017 FinalsThe Golden State Warriors responded to their 2016 Finals loss by recruiting Kevin Durant in the off-season. Following a disappointing end to his second stint with the Cavaliers, LeBron moved across to the West and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

☆ YouTube offered shopping features for viewers to buy merch during the Coachella livestream event, part of its continued testing in the space
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

YouTube sold merch virtually during the official Coachella livestream event. Viewers could purchase the merch exclusively through YouTube Shopping. YouTube Shopping partnered with Coachella to sell exclusive merch during the platform's annual livestream event. The Coachella products were made available for purchase directly on the livestream and through YouTube shorts on Coachella's YouTube channel. Alphabet execs mentioned YouTube's shopping efforts during its Q1 earnings call on Tuesday, highlighting that there were more than 100,000 stores connected to sell products on YouTube Shopping.

☆ Media insiders would often gossip about which anchor was about to leave Fox News. None of them guessed Tucker Carlson.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Dominion lawsuit was an embarrassment to Fox, airing text messages the company would rather have kept private. Tucker Carlson's departure is a huge surprise. Like a plot twist in "Succession," the departure of Tucker Carlson from Fox News is one we didn't see coming. The news of Carlson's departure almost immediately wiped close to $1 billion off of Fox Corporation's market capitalization. Upon confirmation that Carlson had left Fox, veteran media reporter Sarah Ellison simply wrote: "Incredible."

☆ A huge Disneyland prop burst into flames during a live show in California. 6 workers had to be treated for smoke inhalation, report says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

At least six workers were treated for smoke inhalation after the fire, The New York Times reported. These workers did not require further evaluation, a spokesperson for the Anaheim Police Department and Anaheim Fire and Rescue told The New York Times. Shortly after, the park told visitors over the loudspeaker that the show was ending. prop fire," a Disneyland spokesperson told The New York Times. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire, McClintock told The New York Times.

☆ Matthew Perry is removing controversial mentions of Keanu Reeves from future editions of memoir
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The one where Matthew Perry tries to make amends with Keanu Reeves. “River was a beautiful man, inside and out – too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down,” Perry wrote. On Saturday, Perry addressed the Reeves mention once more, this time telling the audience “I said a stupid thing. It was just stupid,” Perry concluded.

☆ Companies like Uber and Amazon use AI to pay people different wages for the same work, a new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some companies use AI to pay workers "different amount for the same amount of work," per new research. As companies adopt AI, she's concerned these practices could become prevalent in other industries. According to Dubal, companies like Amazon and Uber have "massive data sets" on the contract workers using their delivery or rideshare platforms, including when they work, for how long, and what kind of pay they've taken for past jobs. One Uber driver Dubal interviewed, Domingo, recalled being one ride of short of unlocking a $100 bonus one evening, but then said he experienced 45 minutes of "dead time" in a popular area before he was able to get another ride. Dubal described the alleged variable pay system as the "gamblification of work," a sentiment other gig workers shared.

☆ Can tiny homes save California? 4 villages illustrate their potentials and pitfalls.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

While this is the first time the state is providing this many tiny homes directly, the solution is not a new phenomenon. Here is a list of some of the municipalities that have built tiny homes to solve this issue and how they have fared. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesSan Jose was quick to adopt tiny homes as temporary shelters, per the East Bay Times. It's set to send tiny homes to cities already constructed, eliminating much of the cost and process for local governments. It — like many cities in California — has turned to tiny homes as temporary shelters for people living on the streets.

☆ Matte car colors in muted earth tones are suddenly taking over — but the trendy paints come at a cost
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Earthy, muted shades are becoming increasingly popular among car buyers, according to the LA Times. The muted cars are suddenly popping up everywhere, lining freeways and parking lots in unassuming shades of gray, black, brown, tan, and green. "The term 'stealth' comes to mind when we see a car in matte gray or matte black. Derek Joyce, a spokesman for Hyundai Motor North America, told the Los Angeles Times that the muted shades of its Hyundai Santa Cruz model are outselling more traditional hues. The styles are also picking up steam on TikTok, where users are sharing videos of their matte cars, or of transforming old models using the new trendy paints.

☆ Uber Eats mystery is leaving this LA neighborhood with countless, food deliveries. But nobody knows why, and residents are over it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Residents of an LA neighborhood have been receiving unwanted food deliveries for weeks. No one has been able to get to the bottom of a mystery, but Uber Eats has opened an investigation, ABC7 reported. One resident told ABC7 that the deliveries 'haunt my dreams.' "Before you knew it, the whole street was lined with bags of McDonald's and Starbucks, and nobody could explain where it was coming from," Morgan Currier told ABC7. "I've been getting 20-piece nuggets with sweet and sour sauce," Morgan Currier, a vegetarian, told the LA Times.

☆ From using multiple banks to managing VC relationships, these are the 5 lessons every founder should have learned from the Silicon Valley Bank nightmare
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

If something happens to one bank, such as a bank run, your company won't face ruin. Silicon Valley Bank famously required such clauses as CNBC reported, for at least some of its loans. Why Silicon Valley Bank failed: SVB's management surprised the market by unveiling bad news coupled with a planned capital raise that failed, among other factors. How Silicon Valley Bank imploded: There was lots of blame to go around. More of our Silicon Valley Bank coverage can be found here.

☆ The top breakout TikTok stars of each year since 2019 show how the app has evolved over time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

When TikTok first gained popularity, it was known for lip syncing, dancing, and viral challenges. We used data from Famous Birthdays to see the breakout TikTokers each year since 2019. TikTok's first homegrown influencers, like Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae Easterling, grew in popularity with dancing and lip syncing videos filmed from their childhood bedrooms. It identified Addison Rae Easterling, who now has 88 million TikTok followers, as a breakout creator when she first gained momentum on TikTok, contacting her when she had just 300,000 followers, she told the LA Times. Here were the rising stars on TikTok each year since 2019, according to data from Famous Birthdays:

☆ 'Flamin' Hot' producer DeVon Franklin reveals why he tapped Eva Longoria to direct the film and why he's unfazed by questions over whether it's true to the origins of the fiery Cheetos flavor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The movie "Flamin' Hot" celebrates Mexican heritage and the invention of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Impressed with the unlikely entrepreneur, Enrico gave it a try — and thus, Flamin' Hot Cheetos were born, and Montañez's career took off. "Flamin' Hot" stars actor Jesse Garcia as Richard Montañez. Eva Longoria directed the new film "Flamin' Hot." The LA Times article, amongst journalists and amongst this small group of people, may get some traction.

☆ 'River in the sky' forces thousands to evacuate as floods hit California, leaving 2 dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A "river in the sky" has poured down on California, causing flooding. Thousands are under evacuation orders as another storm is set to come on Monday. First responders and the California National Guard had to save over 50 people overnight from the water overnight, AP reports. Approximately 15 million people are under flood watches in California and Nevada as a second "river in the sky" approaches, CNN reports. They added that it "won't take long once the steady heavy rain gets started for flooding impacts to resume."

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