Meta has fired about two dozen staff in Los Angeles for using their $25 meal credits to buy household items including acne pads, wine glasses, and laundry detergent. The terminations took place last week, just days before the $1.5 trillion social media company separately began restructuring certain teams across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs, its augmented and virtual reality arm, on Tuesday. The revamp has included cutting some staff and relocating others, several people familiar with the decisions said, in a sign that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's recent efficiency drive is still under way. Like most Big Tech companies, Meta offers free food to employees based out of its sprawling Silicon Valley headquarters as a perk. Staff based in smaller offices without a canteen are offered Uber Eats or Grubhub credits, for example, for food to be delivered to the office.
The Small Business Administration's disaster loan program has run out of funding due to high demand from constant extreme weather disasters, the administration announced Tuesday. In a statement, President Joe Biden called the SBA's exhausted disaster loan program "a critical lifeline to small businesses, homeowners, and renters affected by disasters." The SBA's disaster fund running out of money could force Congress to address the dire situation with disaster relief funding once lawmakers return to Capitol Hill in November. "Speaker Johnson has promised that this and other disaster programs will be replenished when Congress returns, so Americans should continue to apply for these loans," Biden said in a statement, adding the SBA "will continue to process applications and will disburse loans as soon as Congress provides the needed funding." read more
Phillips 66 announced Wednesday that it will close its Los Angeles oil refinery next year, citing "long-term uncertainty" two days after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law clearing the way for new regulations on the state's refiners. The closure would knock out about 8 percent of refining capacity in a state that barely produces enough of its special-blend gasoline to meet demand from its 31 million gas-powered vehicles. "With the long-term sustainability of our Los Angeles refinery uncertain and affected by market dynamics, we are working with leading land development firms to evaluate the future use of our unique and strategically located properties near the Port of Los Angeles," Mark Lashier, the company's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. Newsom on Monday signed legislation aimed at preventing gasoline price spikes by giving the state authority to require refiners to store more gas and share resupply and maintenance plans with the state.
Congressional Republicans voiced outrage Wednesday over the FBI quietly updating its violent crime statistics. The FBI previously said violent crime decreased by "an estimated 1.7%" from 2021 to 2022. Data summaries show 1,253,716 violent crimes were reported in 2021, while 1,232,428 were reported in 2022. However, the agency's updated data summary now reports1,197,930 violent crimes in 2021 and1,256,671 in 2022. The figures represent a 4.9% increase, as opposed to the 1.7% drop the FBI previously publicized. House and Senate Republicans expressed on social media the need for accurate data following news of the shift, which was first identified by RealClearInvestigations. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., wrote on X that the FBI "engaged in a calculated effort" with the Biden administration and their "media allies" to deceive the public.
The Legal group Center for American Rights on Wednesday launched a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) demanding the release of Vice President Kamala Harris's full unedited interview on CBS News's "60 Minutes." Harris sat down with CBS News's Bill Whitaker for the interview earlier this month. Former President Donald Trump's campaign last week accused the news program of editing Harris's responses to make her appear more well-spoken. One such edit appeared to make one of the vice president's answers sound more succinct, according to the campaign.
#13 Did not! Just ask anyone here.