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☆ Chile enacts laws, allots $1.5 bln to fight crime amid police killings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, April 6 (Reuters) - Chile on Thursday signed new laws and allocated $1.5 billion to fight crime amid skyrocketing perceptions of insecurity and a day after the third police officer in less than a month was killed on duty. Boric announced $1.5 billion in added security spending and signed off on four new laws that the government says will help fight organized crime, drug trafficking and crime. Chile's police force has faced human rights abuse accusations following a heavy-handed crackdown of the violent 2019 protests against inequality. Polls show voters largely disapprove of the government's handling of crime and Boric has since hardened his stance. Palma is the third police officer to be killed on duty in less than a month, sparking public backlash.

☆ Security footage reportedly shows Cash App creator Bob Lee looking for help in downtown San Francisco after he was stabbed
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Grace Kay | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, called Lee's fatal attack a "horrible tragedy." The video shows Lee apparently seeking help after his stabbing attack in the Rincon Hill neighborhood in downtown San Francisco, according to a report from ABC's San Francisco affiliate, KGO-TV. But The San Francisco Standard said the car pulled away and Lee then appeared to drop down to the ground. The San Francisco Police Department did not respond to Insider's request for comment on Thursday morning ahead of publication. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said that "San Francisco is prioritizing public safety," amid calls by tech industry leaders including Elon Musk to address safety concerns in the city.

☆ Cash App founder Bob Lee reportedly killed in San Francisco stabbing, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A man who was fatally stabbed early Tuesday near downtown San Francisco was tech executive Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App and former chief technology officer of Square, sources told NBC Bay Area. The San Francisco Police Department said officers responded to a report of a stabbing at around 2:35 a.m. Tuesday. Police did not name the man, but sources identified Lee, who was serving as the chief product officer of MobileCoin, as the victim to NBC Bay Area. Helped to birth Android and CashApp into our world," Joshua Goldbard, the CEO of MobileCoin told ABC affiliate KGO of San Francisco. Responding to Shields' tweet, Twitter chief Elon Musk said he was "very sorry" to learn of Lee's death.

☆ Self-driving startup Venti raises $28.8 mln to speed up growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Self-driving startup Venti Technologies said on Tuesday it has raised $28.8 million in Series A funding to speed up the growth of its autonomous vehicle (AV) business for customers the logistics and supply chain industry. Investors in the funding round included LG Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of LG Corp (003550.KS) unit LG Group, and UOB Venture Management, the venture capital arm of Singapore's United Overseas Bank. Venti has been developing its self-driving for vehicles for the last three years at one of the world's largest container ports in Singapore and is already generating revenue. This year the company will deploy dozens of entirely self-driving vehicles, CEO Heidi Wyle told Reuters. Developing fully self-driving vehicles that can go everywhere has proven harder and more expensive than expected, but investors are continuing to fund startups that target simpler self-driving vehicle solutions far removed from pedestrians and other vehicles operated by humans.

[1/2] An employee holds the door open at the Silicon Valley Bank branch office in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., March 13, 2023. Supervision of large banks like SVB, which was the 16th biggest U.S. bank at the time of its failure, is a shared responsibility of bank examiners employed by the regional Fed bank and Fed Board staff in Washington. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said this week he wants to identify "what went wrong here". Bank examiners at San Francisco Fed had flagged escalating problems at the Santa Clara-based bank suggesting issues with its ability to meet short-term cash needs like depositor withdrawals. As San Francisco Fed chair, Mehran headed the search committee that hired Daly for the top job at the bank in 2018.

☆ Police arrested senior citizens who blockaded banks in a 'Rocking Chair Rebellion' to end fossil fuel use
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

They say Wells Fargo, Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America should stop lending to fossil-fuel companies. Grey-haired San Francisco protestors donned hats and rain jackets, set up a tent, passed around colorful banners and signs, and sang songs about protecting future generations. Organizers reported that 10 activists who occupied a Chase Bank were arrested on March 22, 2023. There were no arrests in San Francisco, where three young people and three older people chained themselves to the Wells Fargo doors. Morgan McFall-Johnsen"We're hoping to damage the reputation enough that people say: 'Oh no, Wells Fargo is not a good guy.

☆ Apollo, Blackstone eye SVB assets - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Customers wait outside as an employee enters the Silicon Valley Bank branch office in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Kori Suzuki/File PhotoMarch 14 (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) and Blackstone Inc (BX.N) have expressed interest in a book of loans held by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a subsidiary of the defunct SVB Financial Services Group (SIVB.O), Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. Last week, Californian regulators shut down tech lender SVB after a failed share sale that saw $42 billion of deposit outflows in a day and escalated worries of a contagion across financial markets. Apollo, Blackstone, and SVB did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh VenkateshwaranOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Private equity giants including Apollo, Blackstone eye SVB loan book- reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Customers wait outside as an employee enters the Silicon Valley Bank branch office in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Kori Suzuki/File PhotoMarch 14 (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N), Blackstone Inc (BX.N) and KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) have expressed interest in a book of loans held by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Buyout giants Ares Management (ARES.N) and Carlyle Group (CG.O) are also looking to buy the loan book, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The surge in interest in the book follows the tech lender's failure last week to raise equity to plug a $1.8 billion hole after selling its $21 billion portfolio of securities at a loss. On Monday, SVB said it was planning to explore strategic alternatives for its businesses, including holding company SVB Capital and SVB Securities.

☆ Salesforce has been reportedly paying Matthew McConaughey $10 million a year to act as a 'creative adviser' despite laying off 8,000 employees last month
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Salesforce reportedly struck a deal with the actor Matthew McConaughey, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company reportedly agreed to pay McConaughey $10 million a year to serve as creative advisor and TV pitchman. McConaughey starred in an ad Salesforce ran during the 2022 Super Bowl donning an astronaut suit. But the cloud-based software company may still be paying millions to harness the star power of actor Matthew McConaughey. Salesforce reportedly agreed to pay McConaughey $10 million a year to serve as its "creative advisor and TV pitchman," The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday, citing people familiar with the arrangement.

☆ A 27-year-old real-estate investor who rehabbed 7 Austin properties last year is now targeting San Antonio, where homes can cost less than $100,000. Here are 3 reasons it's the next big investor hot s
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

San Antonio. You can buy homes for relatively cheap"A lot of people have overlooked San Antonio," Crenshaw said. January data from Redfin pegs the median home price in San Antonio at $255,000, which is less than half of Austin's $530,000. San Antonio — the fastest-growing large city in the nation between 2020 and 2021, gaining nearly 14,000 people, per census data — remains attractive to newcomers. Relocators get affordability in San Antonio, Crenshaw said, without sacrificing exciting nightlife and other big-city attractions such as museums and professional sports teams like the NBA's Spurs.

☆ Microsoft and Google promised to invest in these communities. Now they’re backtracking
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Hyosub Shin/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/ZUMA Press WireFacebook-parent Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce and Snap have each shuttered offices or announced plans to cut back on real estate, according to recent corporate announcements, filings and local news reports. But residents also had cautious optimism about the benefits Microsoft promised to the community, according to Hope. Hope’s community isn’t alone in confronting the whiplash of Silicon Valley’s real estate pullback. An office sits vacant on October 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California. The US Census Bureau reports an estimated 35% of employees in San Francisco and San Jose continue to work from home.

☆ San Francisco Mayor Lays Out Strategy to Jump-Start Downtown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jim Carlton | Peter Grant | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is aiming to beef up the law-enforcement presence downtown through more foot patrols. SAN FRANCISCO—Mayor London Breed rolled out her plan Thursday to revitalize the moribund downtown office market, the latest city to announce steps to recover from an exodus of workers during the pandemic. Ms. Breed’s “Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future” includes a mix of tax incentives and a renewed focus on cleaning up the streets.

☆ A woman who thought she could work remotely bought a house 1,000 miles from home. Now she's been called back to the office.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jamie Sexton, 44, bought a house in Oregon when she didn't think she could afford San Diego prices. Sexton was told she could work remotely but is now being asked to return to her California office. She was paying $4,000 a month to rent a two-bedroom home in La Jolla, a coastal suburb 20 minutes north of downtown San Diego. She didn't think she could afford to buy in San Diego, where homes cost $900,000. Did you buy a home with remote work in mind, and have since been called back to the office?

☆ Human skeleton found in building on UC Berkeley campus
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: 1 min

BERKELEY, Calif. — A human skeleton was discovered Tuesday in an unused building on a University of California, Berkeley, campus, officials said. It’s unclear how many years the remains were in the shuttered building on the Clark Kerr Campus, which is a residential hall complex and event space that’s about a mile (1.61 kilometers) from the main campus, the university’s police department said in a statement. There are no outstanding cases of missing persons from the Berkeley campus community, the statement said. The building “has not been occupied for many years.”The Alameda County coroner will determine the cause of death. The university is about 10 miles (16.09 kilometers) from downtown San Francisco.

Northern California braced for more downpours as southern and central regions of the state got a break Wednesday from torrential rains and prepared for another strong system just days away. At least 17 people have died since late last week in these California storms that show few signs of slowing up. Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty ImagesThe heaviest rains Wednesday were expected to fall on northern and coastal regions of the state. A major system is forecast to hit almost all of coastal California, from the Oregon border to Los Angeles late Friday afternoon or evening. Santa Cruz County has been told to brace for between 3 to 6 inches of rain Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to Hart.

☆ California is deluged by record rain with more storms coming
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kate Fishman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The parade of storms is forecast to continue, bringing even more heavy rain next week, the weather service said. Large stretches of central California received over half their normal annual rainfall since Dec. 26. [1/12] View of flooding from the rainstorm-swollen Sacramento and American Rivers, near downtown Sacramento, California, U.S. January 11, 2023. The storms have killed at least 17 people since the start of the year, California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ California gets brief lull after damaging ‘bomb cyclone’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

CAPITOLA, Calif. — California weather calmed Friday but the lull was expected to be brief as more Pacific storms lined up to blast into the state, where successive powerful weather systems have knocked out power to thousands, battered the coastline, flooded streets, toppled trees and caused at least six deaths. Remnant showers from the latest storm, a “bomb cyclone,” fell around the state and dangerous surf pounded the coast despite declining wave heights, while some areas enjoyed sunshine. A Southern California pier was damaged by high surf and winds overnight and will remain closed until it is repaired, officials said. Downtown San Francisco had its wettest 10-day period since 1871 between Dec. 26 and Jan. 4 when 10.33 inches (26.24 centimeters) of rain fell. A powerful New Year’s weekend storm caused extensive flooding in Northern California’s Sacramento County and four deaths.

Millions of people in the South and the Southeast are at risk of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash floods Tuesday and Wednesday, while a messy winter storm is expected to hit the Midwest and a separate storm slams California later this week. Threats of severe thunderstorms, flash floodsAs many as 20 million people from southeast Louisiana to south-central Alabama are at risk for severe thunderstorms Tuesday that could bring damaging wind gusts, large hail and some strong tornadoes, classified as having winds of more than 111 mph. The thunderstorms are expected to continue through the day and last into the overnight hours. In addition to the severe thunderstorms, flash flooding will also be a threat. St. Louis could see a high in the early 70s Tuesday before expected highs plunge to the high-30s and the mid-40s the rest of the week.

☆ Storm That Inundated California Moves East
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Deborah Acosta | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The powerful storm that caused record-setting flooding, power outages and evacuations in California is now moving east. The rain and wind were caused by a so-called atmospheric river, a long, narrow storm system that pulled moisture from the Pacific Ocean inland. The system drenched downtown San Francisco with 5.46 inches of rain, the city’s second-highest rainfall since the 19th century, and Oakland experienced its wettest day ever with 4.75 inches. The torrential downpour came after much of California had been plagued by drought last year.

☆ 'Atmospheric river' floods Northern California and may have contributed to at least 3 deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dennis-Romero-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Dennis Romero | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Sunday afternoon, mandatory evacuations were activated for residents of the Point Pleasant community south of the city of Sacramento, Sacramento County officials said. "Flooding in the area is imminent," the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services said in a statement. NBC affiliate KCRA of Sacramento reported that dozens of motorists have been rescued from vehicles stranded in high waters in Sacramento County. Nearby Oakland, however, set its one-day record by scoring 4.75 inches of rain, the National Weather Service said. "Precipitation chances will ramp up again Monday and Tuesday as a series of Pacific Storm systems continues to impact the region," the National Weather Service said.

☆ California Storm Floods Roads, Cuts Power on New Year’s Eve
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Pacific storm system drenched parts of California with record-setting rain, leaving roads flooded and tens of thousands of households without power on New Year’s Eve. Downtown San Francisco recorded 5.46 inches of rain Saturday, the second-highest total in more than 170 years, the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office said Sunday morning. Nearby Oakland had its wettest day on record, the office added.

☆ Storm dumps heavy rain and snow across California
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A powerful storm brought drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of California on Saturday, snarling traffic and closing highways as the state prepared to usher in a new year. Weather service meteorologist Courtney Carpenter said the storm could drop over an inch of rain in the Sacramento area before moving south. The rain was welcomed in drought-parched California, but much more precipitation is needed to make a significant difference. Humboldt County, where a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck on Dec. 20, also saw roadways begin to flood, according to the National Weather Service’s Eureka office. Another round of heavy showers was forecast for Tuesday or Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Oxnard said.

[1/2] Twitter corporate headquarters building is seen in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S. November 21, 2022. Twitter and the EU did not immediately respond to requests for comment. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government has previously said it was monitoring developments at the social media company with growing concern. German regulators are already pushing government institutions to stop posting announcements exclusively to privately-held platforms, touting alternatives like the fledgling decentralised social media network Mastodon. "However, Twitter is not yet classified as a dominant digital platform, also because the company's sales are still too low," he said.

☆ From $32 billion to criminal investigations: How Sam Bankman-Fried's empire vanished overnight
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

Alameda's success spurred the launch of crypto exchange FTX in the spring of 2019. A Twitter fight with the CEO of rival exchange Binance pulled the mask off the scheme. Alameda, FTX and a host of subsidiaries Bankman-Fried founded have filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. On Nov. 2, CoinDesk reported a leaked balance sheet showing that a significant amount of Alameda's assets were held in FTX's illiquid FTT token. On Nov. 6, according to Bankman-Fried, the exchange had roughly $5 billion of withdrawals, "the largest by a huge margin."

☆ Ammar Campa-Najjar faces off against John McCann in Chula Vista, California's mayoral election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ammar Campa-Najjar is running against John McCann in Chula Vista, California's mayoral race. The San Diego State University graduate ran two unsuccessful congressional campaigns, one against Rep. Darrell Issa in California's 50th Congressional District. He is endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, Chula Vista Firefighters, and several high-profile elected officials, including Gov. McCann is currently serving his fourth term as deputy mayor on the Chula Vista City Council. He is endorsed by the Chula Vista Police Officers Association, the Republican Party of San Diego County, and the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

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