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If Disney is over the metaverse ...

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

Walt Disney Co. is beginning several rounds of layoffs this week intended to reduce Team Mickey's head count by 7,000 jobs and cut costs by more than $5 billion.But no less striking than layoffs at the Happiest Place on Earth is news from the Wall Street Journal that, as part of the cuts, Disney will eliminate its entire division focused on developing content for the metaverse."All of the team’s roughly 50 members have lost their jobs," the Journal reported, citing "people familiar with the situation."The metaverse, in case you're late to the party, is a reimagining of the internet with virtual and augmented reality. Which is to say, you have to wear bulky headsets to experience it.And that's something most people so far would rather not do.Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek was bullish on the metaverse. He wanted Disney's metaverse division to find cool new ways to tell stories using the technology.New/returning CEO Bob Iger, on the other hand, has clearly decided otherwise.As the Journa...

Remains of Korean War vet identified 70 years later as Southern California man

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

A Santa Barbara County man killed during the Korean War more than 70 years ago has finally been properly identified.Corporal Carmen Carrillo of Lompoc had been reported as a missing soldier since 1951. He was 20 years old when he was reported missing in action.Carrillo was a member of the United States Army and lost his life during a skirmish in South Korea."Corporal Carrillo entered the U.S. Army from California and served in Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division," according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).On February 2, 2023, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Carmen Carrillo, missing from the Korean War. (DPAA)The DPAA is U.S. Military agency that is tasked with identifying and recovering military personnel who were taken as prisoners of war or reported missing in action. The agency says Carrillo was holding a defensive position on a hill between two rivers as part of a Unite...

Fontana man gets 10 years in federal prison for scamming romantic partners, businesses

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

A San Bernardino County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding eight women, some of whom he developed romantic relationships with, as well as nine businesses.Over the span of six years, Ze’Shawn Stanley Campbell, 35, of Fontana, conned victims into believing that he was a successful business investor, millionaire and former Navy SEAL. He claimed that he would use the victims’ money and property to support his businesses, fund investments on the victims’ behalf, or pay his purported medical bills, according to the United States Department of Justice. “To enhance his purported creditworthiness in [the victims’] eyes, he told them lies, such as falsely saying that he had millions of dollars and operated successful businesses, including McDonald’s franchises, a security company and a chain of gyms in Texas,” the DOJ said in a statement. “Campbell also boosted his stature with the victims by falsely telling them he was a successful investor in real estate and Bitcoin...

The five most expensive homes reported sold in Palo Alto in the week of March 20

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

A house in Palo Alto that sold for $5.1 million tops the list of the most expensive real estate sales in Palo Alto in the past week.In total, 5 real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $3.3 million. The average price per square foot ended up at $2,006.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of March 20 even if the property may have been sold earlier.5. $2 million, single-family home in the 200 block of Charleston RoadA sale has been finalized for the single-family residence in the 200 block of Charleston Road in Palo Alto. The price was $2,000,000 and the new owners took over the house in March. The house was built in 1951 and the living area totals 1,080 square feet. The price per square foot ended up at $1,852. The house features 3 bedrooms and 1 bathrooms.West Charleston Road4. $2.8 million, single-family house in the 100 block of Colorado AvenueThe property in the 100 bl...

Kehinde Wiley’s new exhibit of ‘Silence’ in SF has a LOT to say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

Kehinde Wiley’s paintings and sculptures at San Francisco’s de Young Museum are “a direct response to the murder of George Floyd,” he explains.The works were also created against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID pandemic, which isolated Wiley at his studio in Dakar, Senegal.But for all the timeliness, the exhibit titled “An Archaeology of Silence” was also inspired by a painting created 500 years ago by German artist Hans Holbein the Younger, “The Dead Christ in the Tomb.” Holbein painted a life-size cadaver laid out horizontally, and as an art historian points out, “he spared none of death’s horror.”“As we see George Floyd slain in the streets of America,” Wiley continues, “I start thinking about not just this explosive moment that triggers the whole world into thinking about Black bodies in a different way, but I start thinking about imaging of bodies slain, historically. I start digging into pictures of the fallen Christ.”And so, near the beginning of...

Source: No more Trump grand jury action this week

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

By Michael R. Sisak | Associated PressNEW YORK — The Manhattan grand jury that has been hearing testimony about hush money paid on Donald Trump’s behalf will not take up that inquiry again this week, meaning any potential vote on an indictment won’t happen until next week at the earliest, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.The panel did meet on Monday, and a longtime Trump friend and potential key witness in the investigation was seen leaving the building where the grand jury has been meeting.The grand jury has been meeting regularly on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, but did not hold last Wednesday’s session and met last Thursday for other unrelated matters.Trump himself has ratcheted up anticipation that an indictment could be near by posting on his social media platform that he expected to be arrested imminently. His representatives later said that they had not received any such indication on timing from Manhattan prosecutors.The Manhattan distric...

Woman accused of deadly San Jose hit-and-run identified

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- San Jose police identified a hit-and-run driver Tuesday as a 27-year-old Santa Clara woman.Silvia Solorio was driving a Honda sedan on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose when her Honda struck a mother, the victim's teenaged daughter, and their dog, according to the San Jose Police Department. Police said the mother and daughter were walking their dog across Blossom Hill Road in a marked crosswalk near Leigh Avenue when they were struck at 6:50 p.m. Sunday. The driver immediately fled, while the mother and dog died at the scene, police said. The mother was identified by the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office as 45-year-old Cao Limin of Los Gatos. Limin's daughter suffered minor injuries and was transported to a hospital. A memorial for a pedestrian killed in San Jose is seen on March 27, 2023. (KRON4 image) Detectives later found Solorio's vehicle abandoned outside city limits. Solorio's vehicle was identified using Automatic License Plate Reader technology. Po...

International Space Station gets a blue sky pass over San Francisco Bay Area

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

(KTXL) -- At 4 p.m. on Monday the International Space Station made a pass over notable Northern California locations as clear blue skies graced the Golden State.The ISS made a west to east pass over Northern California, starting over the Pacific Ocean in a direct line with the Bay Area city of Hayward. ISS AboveAs it passes over the Bay Area, the San Francisco Peninsula and the South Bay can be clearly seen as it then crosses over Tracy and Stockton in its move over the Sacramento and San Joaquin valley's. 3 earthquakes hit Pacifica 3 minutes apart Passing over the southern Sacramento Valley and the northern San Joaquin Valley, Camanche Reservoir can be spotted east of Lodi and Galt. One of the most impressive views is of the snow glistening Sierra Nevada that straddles the California and Nevada border. The welcomed sunshine also illuminates the pure blue waters of Lake Tahoe. ISS AboveISS AboveISS AboveThree interesting features seen in the Sierra are the three large river valle...

Missing at-risk Santa Rosa man found dead in rural area

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

(KRON) -- A missing Santa Rosa man described as at risk due to dementia has been found dead in an unincorporated area of Bennett Valley. Lawrence "Larry" Atchison walked away from his home in the area of Leafwood Circle at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Feb. 27 of this year. Woman arrested for driving wrong way on Bay Bridge at 100 mph with 2 kids in car Due to his dementia, the Santa Rosa Police Department at the time advised that he would be unable to find his way home. A search was conducted over several weeks with the assistance of the Sonoma County Search and Rescue, other volunteer organizations, helicopters, search dogs and Atchison's family and friends, along with community volunteers.The search was conducted through neighborhoods, waterways, parks and trails, according to Santa Rosa city authorities.On Tuesday, March 28, a woman walking along a rural trail in the 4500 block of Fawn Hollow Lane found a body on the ground and believed the person was dead, officials said. The w...

Elon Musk’s Twitter Widens Its Censorship of Modi’s Critics

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:39:00 GMT

Two months after teaming up with the Indian government to censor a BBC documentary on human rights abuses by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Twitter is yet again collaborating with India to impose an extraordinarily broad crackdown on speech.Last week, the Indian government imposed an internet blackout across the northern state of Punjab, home to 30 million people, as it conducted a manhunt for a local Sikh nationalist leader, Amritpal Singh. The shutdown paralyzed internet and SMS communications in Punjab (some Indian users told The Intercept that the shutdown was targeted at mobile devices).While Punjab police detained hundreds of suspected followers of Singh, Twitter accounts from over 100 prominent politicians, activists, and journalists in India and abroad have been blocked in India at the request of the government. On Monday, the account of the BBC News Punjabi was also blocked — the second time in a few months that the Indian government has used Twitter to throttle BBC services...