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Disney extends Bob Iger's contract through 2026

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

Walt Disney Co. announced Wednesday that CEO Bob Iger’s contract has been extended until 2026, keeping Iger at the helm of the entertainment giant for the foreseeable future.“In voting unanimously to extend Iger’s contract by two years, the independent members of the Board of Directors noted that Iger’s extension provides continuity of leadership during the company’s ongoing transformation and allows more time to execute a transition plan for CEO succession, which remains a priority for the Board,” the company said in a statement. Iger back on top in a Disney plot twist that few saw coming Iger commented on the contract extension in a statement of his own.“I believe Disney’s long-term future is incredibly bright, but there is more to accomplish before this transformative work is complete, and because I want to ensure Disney is strongly positioned when my successor takes the helm, I have agreed to the Board’s request to remain CEO for an additional two years,” Iger said.The extensi...

Juan Arias Killed in Hit-and-Run Crash on Fries Avenue [Wilmington, CA]

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

Auto-Pedestrian Collision near West G Street Leaves Man DeadWILMINGTON, CA (July 12, 2023) – Monday evening, Juan Arias lost his life after a pedestrian hit-and-run crash on Fries Avenue.The accident took place on July 3rd, at around 9:10 p.m., near 710 North Fries Avenue.According to reports, Arias was in the street igniting fireworks when he was struck by an SUV. The SUV dragged him about 85 feet before he became dislodged. While he was on the road, he was struck by a second vehicle that was exiting a shopping center.Following the collision, the driver of the SUV did not stop to render aid to the victim; instead, they fled the scene. However, the driver of the second involved vehicle stayed at the scene and waited for authorities to arrive.First responders at the site of the collision declared 36-year-old Juan Arias dead at the scene.Police are still looking for the driver of the SUV, she is described as a Hispanic female.Moreover, police only described the SUV driver as a f...

Wanted: Authorities on the lookout for adorable surfboard-hijacking sea otter menacing Santa Cruz surfers

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

Surfers, y’otter watch out.A sea otter with a mean streak has been aggressively hijacking surfboards in the Santa Cruz area, authorities warn, and they’re scrambling to capture it before things get ugly.That’s right, a sea otter — the impossibly cute, playful, beagle-sized fur-balls once hunted to near extinction for their luxuriously thick pelts that frolic in the water to the delight of millions of aquarium visitors a year.It turns out these wild animals can be, well, wild. They also have sharp teeth and a bite force said to equal that of a 600-pound black bear, all to gnaw through the tough shells of the crabs and sea urchins they eat.“While there have been no confirmed reports of injury, due to the highly unusual behavior of this otter, kayakers, surfers, and others recreating in the area should not approach the otter or encourage the otter’s interactions,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a straight-faced statement Wednesday.K...

Just six months into Alameda District Attorney’s tenure, group launches effort to recall Pamela Price

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

OAKLAND — Just six months after Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was sworn into office, becoming the first Black woman and justice reformist to hold that role, an effort has been launched to oust her.On Tuesday, a recall committee called “Save Alameda for Everyone (Safe): Recall Pamela Price” filed paperwork with the county’s elections office, signaling its intent to fundraise and collect signatures to recall Price. A principal officer for the committee declined to comment for this story but said the group plans to issue a statement in coming days.Neither Price nor a spokesperson for the Alameda County DA’s Office immediately responded to requests for comment. But Price had to have known the recall effort would come, eventually, given the 2022 successful recall of former San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin, 18 months after he won election on a justice reform platform similar to Price.Price won her election handily in November 2022, beating longti...

Bay Area teenager to be honored at ESPYs for delivering sports equipment to schools

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

Serra track and field athlete Rishan Patel will receive the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award at the annual ESPY’s award show on Wednesday night.But it won’t be because of a blazing time in the 100-meter sprint or hurdles.Patel, a 16-year-old from Atherton, created a nonprofit organization named Alley-Oop Kids that installs lockers with sporting equipment at “under-resourced schools to use for PE and school sports.”From as close as Aspire College Prep in Richmond and Summit Prep in Redwood City, to schools in India, Patel’s organization has helped over 100 schools. “I don’t even know how to put it into words,” Patel told the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday morning. “I think I was shocked and ecstatic, really. That feeling was just crazy, and it’s still lingering today while I wait to go to the show.” Patel said the individual glory is not why he is so thrilled to receive the honor. Patel is one of 13 honorees, whose accomplishments include donating thousands of socks to homel...

Opinion: Hands off AI — let innovators develop tech’s last frontier

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Workshop for Bay Area high school students, a two-week intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.Artificial intelligence, or AI, has taken an increasing role in society, with chatbots in particular emerging as one of the more popular and feared forms. In this crucial juncture, it is vital to let innovation proceed without premature, excessive regulation.The ChatGPT model, developed by the OpenAI company, already has more than 100 million users. It is commonly used for research, writing and solving math problems. Other software like Microsoft’s Bing Chat, and Google’s Bard have also become popular.AI chatbots have demonstrated numerous advantages as research tools and idea generators, from recipes to jokes to writing essays on Newtonian physics.Through development they can become an essential tool in increasing efficiency for a v...

Postal worker violently assaulted, robbed at SF post office

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A United States postal worker was violently assaulted and robbed at a post office in San Francisco, the United States Post Office confirmed. The suspect in attack, who was captured on surveillance video, attacked a postal employee at the Pine Street Post Office in SF and stole postal keys, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. More Bay Area tech layoffs on the way Video of the incident showed the suspect running down the street wearing a hood and a COVID-style face mask while carrying what appeared to be a set of keys (watch in the player above).The Postal Inspection Service is asking for the public's assistance in identifying the suspect. Reward money of up to $50,000 is available for information leading to an arrest.Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to call the U.S. Postal Inspectors at 877-876-2455.KRON On is streaming live news now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden...

Twitter slammed with $500 million lawsuit over severance pay: reports

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

(KRON) -- Twitter is facing a half a billion dollar class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of former employees. The suit claims the tech giant refused to pay them at least $500 million in promised severance funds, a Reuters report said. Musk announces new AI venture, and it's based in the Bay Area The suit was filed Wednesday in San Francisco federal court by Courtney McMillian, who was responsible for Twitter's employee benefit programs. McMilian says she was laid off in January along with thousands of other Twitter employees worldwide. McMilian's suit alleges that Twitter created a severance plan in 2019 which promised most laid off workers two months of base pay as well as one additional week of pay for each full year of service. However, Twitter provided only one month of severance pay to most workers, and some didn't receive anything at all, the suit claims. The suit comes nine months after reports surfaced that Twitter would lay off half of the tech company's work force. A su...

Missing a small part on a landing gear, FedEx pilots were forced to make an emergency landing

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal safety officials said Wednesday they were unable to determine why a pin in a landing gear of a FedEx plane came loose during a 2020 flight, disabling the gear and forcing pilots to make an emergency landing.The National Transportation Safety Board said they believe the pin, which helps secure one end of a rod to another part on the landing gear brake assembly, was in place when the plane took off from Newark, New Jersey. They said when it came loose during the flight to Los Angeles, it allowed the rod to become jammed in the landing gear.The NTSB said the mechanic who last worked on the brake assembly a month before the incident did not recall anything unusual about the job. Sparks flew when the cargo plane made a pre-dawn landing at Los Angeles International Airport. The three-year-old Boeing 767 came to rest on the engine housing under its left wing because the landing gear on that side never extended. The two pilots used a rope to escape the cockpit afte...

Suspect in Vegas Strip resort standoff to remain jailed as fugitive in Colorado kidnapping case

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bail was set Wednesday at $750,000 for a man jailed on kidnapping and other charges after a Las Vegas Strip standoff that saw furniture flying from a 21st-floor window at Caesars Palace.But even if he posts bail, Matthew John Ermond Mannix, 35, of Golden, Colorado, would remain jailed — at least until a Thursday morning hearing on a fugitive warrant in a kidnapping in Mannix’s home state, prosecutor John Jones said.Jones had asked Justice of the Peace Rebecca Saxe to set bail at $2 million. He cited “extreme violence” during the Tuesday standoff that lasted more than five hours, “excessive damage” to property, and danger posed to hotel guests who fled as items ranging from a coffee maker to a desk fell into the hotel swimming pool area.Jones told the judge that Mannix has criminal convictions for kidnapping in 2022 and property damage in 2012 in Colorado, and multiple people have court orders of protection against him.Marissa Pensabene, a deputy public defender temp...