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Zuckerberg Gets a Personal Political Piggy Bank With Meta Super Pac

gizmodo.com Lucas Ropek 2025-09-19 20:35:48

Mark Zuckerberg, man of the (digital) people, demigod of the Metaverse, founder of the almighty Meta, is looking to get just a little bit more politically involved over the next few election cycles, a new report shows. The Verge has revealed that, in an exceedingly unusual move, Zuck has created his own personal super PAC, dubbed the Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California, or META. In the near term, the org plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on political advertising while a

Topics: ai california company meta super

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Verizon to offer $20 broadband in California to obtain merger approval

arstechnica.com Unknown 2025-09-21 09:19:27

Verizon agreed to offer $20-per-month broadband service to people with low incomes in California in exchange for a merger approval. In a bid to complete its $9.6 billion purchase of Frontier Communications, Verizon committed to offering $20 fiber-to-the-home service with symmetrical speeds of 300Mbps. Verizon also committed to offering a $20 fixed wireless service with download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps. Verizon would be required to offer the plans for at least 10 years, ac

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Robert Redford has died

news.ycombinator.com Brooks Barnes 2025-09-21 12:10:31

From time to time, people with similar political priorities encouraged him to run for office. He brushed such chatter aside, having become disillusioned with government in the late 1970s, when he was elected commissioner of the Provo Canyon sewer district. (He had sought the office in an effort to protect the Provo Canyon area near his home from development and pollution. But he quickly encountered bureaucracy, which reinforced his belief that independent activism and storytelling through film w

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California's age verification bill for app stores and operating systems takes another step forward

engadget.com Unknown 2025-09-24 22:43:39

A California bill that would require operating system and app store providers to verify users' ages before they can download apps has cleared the Assembly 58-0, and will now move on to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Politico reports. The Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043), introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, does not require photo identification for verification, but puts the onus on the platforms to provide tools for parents to indicate the user's age during a device's setup, and use this informatio

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California Lawmakers Once Again Challenge Newsom’s Tech Ties with AI Bill

gizmodo.com Aj Dellinger 2025-09-24 21:15:29

Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a wildly popular (among the public) and wildly controversial (among tech companies) bill that would have established robust safety guidelines for the development and operation of artificial intelligence models. Now he’ll have a second shot—this time with at least part of the tech industry giving him the green light. On Saturday, California lawmakers passed Senate Bill 53, a landmark piece of legislation that would require AI companies to submit

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California lawmakers pass SB 79, housing bill that brings dense housing

news.ycombinator.com Staff Writer 2025-09-24 22:32:33

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . California lawmakers just paved the way for a whole lot more housing in the Golden State. In the waning hours of the 2025 legislative session, the state Senate voted 21 to 8 to approve Senate Bill 79 , a landmark housing bill that overrides local zoning laws to expand high-density housing near transit hubs. The controversial bill received a final concurrence vote from the Senate on Friday, a day after passin

Topics: buildings california housing state transit

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California’s High-Speed Rail Fiasco Keeps Getting Worse

gizmodo.com Benton Graham 2025-10-01 09:35:07

Seventeen years ago, Californians bet on a grand vision of the future. They narrowly approved a $10 billion bond issue to build a high-speed rail line that would zip between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours. This technological marvel would slash emissions, revitalize the state’s Central Valley, and, with some financial help from the feds and private sector, provide the fast, efficient, and convenient travel Asia and Europe have long enjoyed. State officials promised to deliver

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Tesla is seeking permits to offer ride-hail services at Silicon Valley airports

techcrunch.com Sean O'Kane 2025-10-03 05:26:38

Tesla has asked the San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland airports about acquiring permits to operate a ride-hailing service at each location, according to Politico. Tesla appears to have contacted each airport right around the time it started up a nascent charter service in California in late July. In the case of the San Francisco and Oakland airports, representatives told the outlet that they had been contacted, but had yet to meet with Tesla. The San Jose airport spokesperson confirmed no app

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Meet the Silicon Valley Donors Backing California’s Redistricting Push

gizmodo.com Riley Gutiérrez Mcdermid 2025-10-16 21:44:40

In the latest sign that Silicon Valley titans are increasingly throwing their weight behind political issues, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has contributed $2 million to support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50 campaign. The move is the latest underscoring how Silicon Valley’s deep-pocketed executives are increasingly wielding influence in California politics and beyond. The November ballot measure would scrap California’s independent redistricting commission, returning map-drawing author

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Uber and Lyft drivers in California win a path to unionization

techcrunch.com Rebecca Bellan 2025-10-18 13:53:54

California lawmakers struck a deal with Uber and Lyft that will allow app-based drivers to form unions. The agreement is a win for gig workers who have long been classified as independent contractors, and thus, ineligible for certain protections that employees receive, like the right to collective bargaining. Gov. Gavin Newsom, alongside Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, announced Friday support for two pieces of legislation that form a pathway for app-ba

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Meta is launching a California super PAC

engadget.com Unknown 2025-10-25 04:30:07

Meta is throwing its resources behind a new super PAC in California. According to Politico, the group will support state-level political candidates who espouse tech-friendly policies, particularly those with a loose approach to regulating artificial intelligence. The budget behind the social media company's new super PAC, dubbed Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (Meta) California, is reported to be in the tens of millions of dollars, but no exact figure has been disclosed. California ha

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Meta to spend tens of millions on pro-AI super PAC

techcrunch.com Rebecca Bellan 2025-10-25 12:59:39

In Brief Meta plans to launch a super PAC to support California candidates favoring a light-touch approach to AI regulation, Politico reports. The news comes as other Silicon Valley behemoths, like Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, pledge $100 million for a new pro-AI super PAC. Meta will pour tens of millions into its new group, dubbed Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California, according to Politico. Brian Rice, Meta’s VP of public policy and head of the new PAC, has

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The Average Person Is Far More Scared of AI Than Excited by It, Studies Find

futurism.com Unknown 2025-10-28 14:00:23

AI is dominating the economy and at the top of policy agendas. Ads for it are everywhere. Your favorite artist is probably experimenting with it. And as hundreds of billions of dollars get poured into the tech, it can feel like the whole world is holding its breath for when it somehow becomes superintelligent and magically ushers us into a utopic age. The optimism is breathless and inescapable. But if you're feeling anxious about AI, you're not alone. An overwhelming 71 percent of Americans ar

Topics: ai californians percent said tech

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Plague Case Confirmed Near Lake Tahoe After Likely Flea Bite

gizmodo.com Natalia Mesa 2025-11-03 09:55:17

A California resident has tested positive for the plague after camping near Lake Tahoe, local health officials confirmed. It’s the latest in a string of positive cases in the western U.S. this year. The infected person was likely bitten by a plague-infected flea in the South Lake Tahoe area, according to local health officials. This is the first local case in the area since 2020. The person is currently recovering and is undergoing medical treatment at home. “Plague is naturally present in man

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California unemployment rises to 5.5%, worst in the U.S. as tech falters

news.ycombinator.com Roland Li 2025-11-10 12:10:26

A custodial worker vacuums inside an office building in San Francisco. California’s unemployment numbers continue to rise, partially because of a tough tech sector. Jessica Christian/S.F. Chronicle California’s unemployment rate rose to 5.5% in July, the highest among U.S. states, as tech and other office jobs showed more weakness and hiring remained sluggish, according to state data released Friday. The state added a net 15,000 jobs, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage points from

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19% of California houses are owned by investors

news.ycombinator.com Jonathan Lansner 2025-11-30 08:15:30

Relatively speaking, California is not a hot spot for housing investors. That’s a conclusion from my trusty spreadsheet’s review of data on investor activity across the nation from BatchData, a small data tracker that digs deeper into property records than many traditional real estate analysts. BatchData reviewed California ownership records to identify the state’s owner-occupied residences compared to houses controlled by investors. This study included properties for short-term or long-term r

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Should Lyft and Uber Charge More if Your Battery Is Low? California May Soon Ban That

gizmodo.com Maya C. Miller For The Markup 2025-12-01 12:55:39

It’s late at night, and you badly need a ride. Your cellphone’s battery is dangerously low. Should a ridehailing company such as Uber or Lyft be able to charge you more because its artificial intelligence programming thinks you’re desperate since it knows your phone is about to die? Not if Hayward Democratic Sen. Aisha Wahab has her way. Her Senate Bill 259 would prevent retailers from using artificial intelligence to jack up prices using the information stored on customers’ phones. That coul

Topics: assembly california labor tech wahab

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A new database on police use of force and misconduct in California

news.ycombinator.com Andrea Lampros 2025-12-02 21:38:25

For Immediate Release August 4, 2025 Contact: [email protected] A new database on police use of force and misconduct in California makes public 1.5 million pages of once-secret police records Public records about use of force and misconduct by California law enforcement officers — some 1.5 million pages obtained from nearly 500 law enforcement agencies — will now be searchable by the public for the first time thanks to a new database built by UC Berkeley and Stanford University and pub

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Tesla to Pay $243M After Jury Finds It Partly Liable for Fatal Autopilot Crash

cnet.com See Full Bio 2025-12-07 06:03:00

Table of Contents Tesla to Pay $243M After Jury Finds It Partly Liable for Fatal Autopilot Crash A federal jury in Florida has found Tesla to be partly liable for a fatal car crash that occurred in 2019 involving its self-driving feature Autopilot. Elon Musk's electric vehicle company must now pay $243 million in damages as a result of the judgment, multiple reports Friday said. Prosecutors filed charges back in 2022 alleging that the driver didn't brake in time when approaching a T-intersecti

Topics: autopilot california driver driving tesla

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New DNA Map of the Pistachio Could Create Better Varieties

news.ycombinator.com Amy Quinton 2025-12-09 03:21:40

California produces 99% of the nation’s pistachios, generating nearly $3 billion in economic value in the state. But pistachios have been slightly understudied in part because of the lack of a high-quality map of their DNA. University of California, Davis, researchers have now generated the most comprehensive genome sequence of the pistachio, allowing plant breeders to create better — perhaps more nutritious — varieties. They’ve also detailed how pistachio nuts develop, which will help farmers m

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Tesla Rolling Out Robotaxis With Human Drivers in the Driver's Seat, Defeating the Purpose of a Robotaxi

futurism.com Unknown 2025-12-22 12:22:56

Tesla is planning to follow up on its extremely limited and technical-issues-plagued robotaxi service in Austin, Texas — with an even more limited rollout in San Francisco. According to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider, Elon Musk's EV maker is looking to accelerate its timeline by rolling out a robotaxi service across a large swathe of the Bay Area, as soon as this week. But there's a Gigafactory-sized caveat: a human safety operator will be sitting in the robotaxi's driver seat,

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Tesla is reportedly bringing a limited version of its robotaxi service to San Francisco

techcrunch.com Sean O'Kane 2025-12-22 22:55:05

Tesla is launching an even-more-limited version of its early robotaxi service in San Francisco this weekend, according to Business Insider, after an initial rollout began last month in Austin, Texas. The company plans to offer rides with a driver in the driver’s seat, which is necessary because Tesla does not have the proper permits for driverless testing or deployment, according to California DMV records. It is not clear whether the company has obtained a permit from California’s Public Utili

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Tech Billionaires Wanted to Build a New California City. They’re Settling for an Industrial Park, Instead

gizmodo.com Lucas Ropek 2025-12-30 03:00:11

In 2023, the California Forever group, a company backed by a gaggle of Bay Area billionaires, announced that it wanted to use some 60,000 acres of Solano County farmland north of San Francisco to develop a brand new city. The effort was pretty much an unmitigated disaster from start to finish, and the group eventually rescinded its plans. Now, however, the same group says that it has a new project that may be significantly easier to accomplish. In a blog post made to its website last week, the

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Trump Moves to Kill California’s Dreams of High-Speed Rail

gizmodo.com Bruce Gil 2026-01-08 03:20:52

President Donald Trump’s feud with California Governor Gavin Newsom is hitting the Golden State’s long-awaited high-speed train project with yet another setback. The U.S. The Transportation Department announced Wednesday that it is rescinding $4 billion in funding for a bullet train project that aims to connect Los Angeles with San Francisco. “Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy — a former cast member

Topics: california high newsom project speed

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Elon Musk wants to bring Tesla’s robotaxis to SF — good luck

theverge.com Andrew J. Hawkins 2026-01-21 03:06:45

is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is eyeing San Francisco for his next robotaxi city — to which I say, good luck to you, sir. Musk acknowledged that the company is still waiting on “regulatory approval,” which hints at the uphill company Tesla will face in pushing this process forward. (Get it? Uphill? San Francisco?) But the permit do

Topics: california company need permits tesla

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As California faces court battles, states scramble to save their climate goals

arstechnica.com Unknown 2026-01-28 09:08:03

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy, and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. When President Donald Trump signed legislation to revoke California’s authority to enforce stricter tailpipe emissions standards and to ban sales of gas-powered cars by 2035, the effects rippled far beyond the Golden State. Seventeen states relied on California’s Clean Air Act waivers to adopt stronger vehicle

Topics: california cars new rules states

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Stalking the Statistically Improbable Restaurant with Data

news.ycombinator.com Unknown 2026-02-03 22:15:56

Last summer, I wrote about the statistically improbable restaurant, the restaurant you wouldn’t expect to find in a small American city: the excellent Nepali food in Erie, PA and Akron, OH; a gem of a Gambian restaurant in Springfield, IL. Statistically improbable restaurants often tell you something about the communities they are based in: Erie and Akron have large Lhotshampa refugee populations, Nepali-speaking people who lived in Bhutan for years before being expelled from their county; Sprin

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Bumble jumps 25% as dating company plans to axe 30% of workforce

cnbc.com Samantha Subin 2026-02-19 17:00:45

DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder & CEO, Bumble speaks onstage during Vox Media's 2023 Code Conference at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel on September 27, 2023 in Dana Point, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media) Bumble shares rallied 25% on Wednesday after the dating app company revealed in a securities filing that it intends to slash 30% of its workforce, or about 240 roles. The layoffs will result in $13 million to $18 million in cha

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Bumble jumps 23% as dating company plans to axe 30% of workforce

cnbc.com Samantha Subin 2026-02-19 22:49:30

DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder & CEO, Bumble speaks onstage during Vox Media's 2023 Code Conference at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel on September 27, 2023 in Dana Point, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media) Bumble shares rallied 25% on Wednesday after the dating app company revealed in a securities filing that it intends to slash 30% of its workforce, or about 240 roles. The layoffs will result in $13 million to $18 million in cha

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California's Corporate Cover-Up Act Is a Privacy Nightmare

news.ycombinator.com Rindala Alajaji 2026-02-19 21:45:12

California lawmakers are pushing one of the most dangerous privacy rollbacks we’ve seen in years. S.B. 690, what we’re calling the Corporate Cover-Up Act, is a brazen attempt to let corporations spy on us in secret, gutting long-standing protections without a shred of accountability. The Corporate Cover-Up Act is a massive carve-out that would gut California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) and give Big Tech and data brokers a green light to spy on us without consent for just about any reason.

Topics: act california corporate data privacy

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Latest Tech News

Zuckerberg Gets a Personal Political Piggy Bank With Meta Super Pac

Verizon to offer $20 broadband in California to obtain merger approval

Robert Redford has died

California's age verification bill for app stores and operating systems takes another step forward

California Lawmakers Once Again Challenge Newsom’s Tech Ties with AI Bill

California lawmakers pass SB 79, housing bill that brings dense housing

California’s High-Speed Rail Fiasco Keeps Getting Worse

Tesla is seeking permits to offer ride-hail services at Silicon Valley airports

Meet the Silicon Valley Donors Backing California’s Redistricting Push

Uber and Lyft drivers in California win a path to unionization

Meta is launching a California super PAC

Meta to spend tens of millions on pro-AI super PAC

The Average Person Is Far More Scared of AI Than Excited by It, Studies Find

Plague Case Confirmed Near Lake Tahoe After Likely Flea Bite

California unemployment rises to 5.5%, worst in the U.S. as tech falters

19% of California houses are owned by investors

Should Lyft and Uber Charge More if Your Battery Is Low? California May Soon Ban That

A new database on police use of force and misconduct in California

Tesla to Pay $243M After Jury Finds It Partly Liable for Fatal Autopilot Crash

New DNA Map of the Pistachio Could Create Better Varieties

Tesla Rolling Out Robotaxis With Human Drivers in the Driver's Seat, Defeating the Purpose of a Robotaxi

Tesla is reportedly bringing a limited version of its robotaxi service to San Francisco

Tech Billionaires Wanted to Build a New California City. They’re Settling for an Industrial Park, Instead

Trump Moves to Kill California’s Dreams of High-Speed Rail

Elon Musk wants to bring Tesla’s robotaxis to SF — good luck

As California faces court battles, states scramble to save their climate goals

Stalking the Statistically Improbable Restaurant with Data

Bumble jumps 25% as dating company plans to axe 30% of workforce

Bumble jumps 23% as dating company plans to axe 30% of workforce

California's Corporate Cover-Up Act Is a Privacy Nightmare

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