Tag: San Jose

Teen Isabeau Levito wins U.S. women’s figure skating title

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Graceful, gutsy and seemingly unfazed by the bright lights, 15-year-old Isabeau Levito decided to go for it in her free skate while reminding herself once more to just stay calm.

The teen star needed a near-flawless free skate to capture gold at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships after Bradie Tennell’s beautiful performance minutes earlier.

Levito accomplished just that, delivering a dazzling 149.55 score for a 223.33 total to win her first women’s national title Friday night.

“I was just very proud of myself for having collected myself and done the program that I needed to do,” Levito said. “Going into this event my entire goal truly for almost even both programs was to stay composed and really try to suppress my nerves as much as possible, to really not let little, minor, silly mistakes happen.”

The New Jersey skater drew a rousing standing ovation from an audience wowed by her poise under pressure on the big nationals stage. Afterward, she clasped the medal in her gloved right hand and made the rounds of congratulatory hellos, hugs and photos.

“I actually can’t even find the word to describe it right now,” Levito said.

Then, she smiled, scratched her chin and requested, “just give me a minute.”

Two-time U.S. champion Tennell scored a 139.36 in the free skate and finished second with a 213.12 total. She missed the entire 2021-22 season with foot and ankle injuries, so the comeback meant so much to her.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to do this again,” Tennell said, calling this her most special nationals yet and noting she absolutely plans to go for it this next Olympic cycle.

“Skating at nationals again, I was giving myself a pep talk earlier in the mirror ’cause that’s what I do,” she said. “I said to myself, ‘You dreamed of this for an entire year and now you’re here’ and I told myself I wanted to go out there and I wanted to soak up every moment and be present, and I did that.”

Levito elegantly landed her triple lutz-half loop-triple salchow sequence and other most difficult jumps while captivating the crowd as the final skater of the evening. She came into the free skate leading Tennell by just two-hundredths of a point following Thursday’s short program.

Amber Glenn finished third at 207.44. She delivered an impressive 138.48 free skate that moved her into the lead with the top three skaters from the short program remaining.

Starr Andrews, a fan favorite after she made her nationals debut on this San Jose ice five years ago at age 16, finished fourth at 188.24. She missed on her planned triple flip early in her routine and was visibly disappointed after a free skate that scored 119.27.

Her jaw dropped when the final score was announced.

“I’m honestly so happy that I got a medal today. After I finished the program I thought I messed it up because I popped twice and I never pop,” Andrews said. “In practice I rotate and fall. At least you’ll get the points. It’s better to rotate and fall than to pop it. … They said 188, I was like, ‘Uh, I’m second, there’s only two people left so that means I’m going to be fourth.’”

There’s certainly some nostalgia here for Andrews, who dazzled with a free skate set to her cover of Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time” in her senior nationals debut in 2018 at SAP Center. She was in third place entering Friday — just a hundredth of a point ahead of Glenn.

Glenn came into Friday fourth after her 68.96 in the short program. The 2021 U.S. silver medalist was forced to withdraw from last year’s event following a positive COVID-19 test.

Josephine Lee, making her senior nationals debut and sitting 11th after the short program, skated beautifully in the free skate event for a 132.08 and total score of 187.68. She beamed afterward when hearing her score on a night she delivered a triple flip-double axel-double toe loop sequence that certainly impressed the judges.

And reigning junior champion Clare Seo showed poise and promise at 16 as one of the young skaters to watch this quad.

Levito, the reigning junior world champion who took third place in her senior nationals debut last year, entered as the favorite to win her first U.S. title. She earned silver at both Grand Prix assignments and the Grand Prix Final last month.

It was a disappointing night for two-time national champion Gracie Gold. She delivered one of her best short programs of late to come into Friday’s free skate in fifth place only to miss out on attempting a couple of her planned triples. She won U.S. titles in 2014 and ’16.

Earlier Friday, another rising star teen shined. It was 18-year-old Ilia Malinin scoring a personal-best 110.36 in the men’s short program as he chases his first national title, leading second-place veteran Jason Brown by more than 10 points heading into Sunday’s free skate.

Malinin finished second to Olympic champion Nathan Chen — now a mentor offering support of the teen star — in his senior nationals debut last year but was passed over for the Olympic team in favor of the more experienced Brown.

This time, Brown appreciated skating after the youngster and feeling the crowd’s energy.

“I’m very surprised how I was able to pull that off, especially with the whole beginning of the season with all the short programs didn’t go as well,” Malinin said. “I think we took the time and effort to see all the bad things that I’d done, just to take it all in to sort of see what works best. We did a little bit of changing a bit of the program and I think that also helped with getting the performance.”

U.S. Figure Skating announced Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, as the host for the 2024 nationals.

___

AP Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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January 28, 2023
CES 2023 highlights: Wireless TV, delivery robots and Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Tech companies of all sizes are showing off their latest products at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show.

The show is getting back to normal after going completely virtual in 2021 and seeing a significant drop in 2022 attendance because of the pandemic.

On Wednesday, big names like LG and Samsung and smaller startups showcased their latest products for the media in Las Vegas.

Arnold Schwarzenegger shared the stage with BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, who delivered the keynote speech at the event. In his intro, the “Terminator” actor quipped about the positive influence of his movies on BMW engineers to create technology that works “with humans, and not against us.” The former California governor also spoke about technology’s role in fighting global warming.

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks during a press event at the 2023 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.

Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The German automaker introduced a prototype of its I Vision Dee electric sport sedan, a car that features the ability to change color on command.

Stella Clarke, project lead for BMW iX Flow featuring E ink, presents the color-changing technology of the BMW I Vision Dee during a press event at the 2023 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. For the first time, CES has a theme: how technology is addressing the worlds biggest challenges. Photographer: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bloomberg

The show officially opens Thursday. Here are some other highlights:

No messy wires

LG Electronics unveiled a 97-inch OLED TV with what it calls a Zero Connect Box that streams content wirelessly. The box, which still needs to be plugged in, just needs to be within 30 feet (nine meters) of the display.

An LG Signature Oled M smart television displayed during a press event at the 2023 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.

Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Why would anyone want a wireless 4K television?

David M. Park, senior marketing manager at the South Korean tech company, says it means owners can place a TV in the center of the room without all the messy wires, or maybe mount it above a fireplace or perhaps on a hard-to-drill concrete wall.

LG says the 97-inch LG Signature OLED M (model M3) will be available in the second half of 2023. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Robot deliveries

Picture yourself weaving through crowds at the airport on a busy holiday weekend, ignoring the rumble in your stomach as you speed past restaurants to make it to your gate on time.

Brooklyn-based Ottonomy.io is looking to ease that all-too-familiar travel anxiety with its fully autonomous delivery robots.

If you’re traveling through airports in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh or Rome, for example, you might cross paths with one of these robots as they bring food directly to travelers at their gates.

Ottonomy unveiled its newest robot, the Yeti, on Wednesday at CES. It showed off its new self-dispensing feature, which eliminates the need for a human to be present to collect deliveries.

Brooklyn-based Ottonoy.io launches Ottobot Yeti at CES 2023. The fully autonomous delivery robot can navigate unattended deliveries for food and beverage retail and curbside deliveries.

Rick Bowmer / AP

The company also provides outdoor curbside delivery services up to 4 miles (6.4 kilometers).

Ottonomy co-founder and CEO Ritukar Vijay said the price tag on its services varies depending on the number of robots a company wants to deploy and how many restaurants or retailers are included in the delivery footprint.

Audio glasses from Paula Abdul

Singer and choreographer Paula Abdul came to CES to launch Idol Eyes, a line of audio sunglasses.

“I’ve wanted to get into the tech world for the longest time,” Abdul told The Associated Press, “but I wanted to do it in a way that was authentic to who I am.”

Singer Paula Abdul poses with Idol Eyes audio glasses during the Pepcom Digital Experience before the start of the CES tech show, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Las Vegas.

John Locher/AP

Starting at $199, the sunglasses feature a five-hour battery life and play audio from the arms of the frames via Bluetooth connectivity. You can listen to music or answer calls.

The Grammy- and Emmy-award winning artist’s first collection of eyewear is available in seven colors, with polarized and blue light filter lenses.

“I’m just marrying fashion, movement and technology,” Abdul said. “That’s where my heart is.”

VR for your car — that won’t make you sick

Holoride, based in Munich, Germany, wants to make car rides more fun and less dizzy. The company’s VR headset allows passengers to play video games, watch Netflix or scroll through Instagram while they ride.

If the car is moving, you move in the virtual world, helping to prevent car sickness, according to co-founder Daniel Profendiner. Rather than seeing the road, you might be flying and fighting robots or swimming under the sea.

“The car industry is super-focused on the driver but with more autonomous driving on the horizon, the passenger gets more into the focus as well,” he said.

Holoride co-founder Daniel Profendiner demonstrates the company’s VR headset, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 0223, in Las Vegas. The headset allows passengers to play video games, watch Netflix or scroll through Instagram while they ride.

Adriana Morga – staff, AP

Previously, holoride was only available for Audis with an in-system retrofit so the headset could recognize when the car was moving. On Wednesday at CES, the company announced a new product that can be used in any car.

The retrofit pack, which includes the VR headset, holoride retrofit, a safety strap and a one-year subscription to holoride, is $799.

Roku gets its own TVs

Roku is expanding its line-up of video streaming devices to include internet-connected TVs bearing its brand for the first time.

It’s Roku’s latest attempt to cement its position as a video streaming hub during the ongoing shift from TV provided through internet connections instead of cable and satellite systems.

When the sets roll out later this spring, it will mark the first time that Roku has made its own TVs. The San Jose, California, company will continue to team up with a variety of other manufacturers to include its steaming software in internet-connected TVs — an approach that Roku began in 2014.

The decision to make its own TVs while continuing to make its software available to competing manufacturers is similar to what Google has been doing with its Pixel smartphones since 2016. Google has continued to provide its Android operating system to Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers while using its Pixel line-up as a way to demonstrate how the software works best and to elevate awareness of its brand in the mobile market.

Roku’s 11 television models, with display screens ranging from 24 inches to 75 inches, are expected to sell for about $120 to $1,000 once they arrive in stores.

Roku got an early edge in the now-booming industry nearly 15 years ago when it released its first streaming box after working on the device as a secret project within Netflix, which was in the early stages of building what is now the world’s largest video streaming service.

As tech giants such as Amazon and Apple released their own streaming devices, Roku began to expand into internet-connected TVs made by other companies, sound bars and last year even got into original programming with a movie about satirical song maker Weird Al Yankovic.

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January 5, 2023
Luxury Home Sales Plummet 38%, The Biggest Decline On Record
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Luxury homes are often among the first to get cut from budgets during times of economic stress.

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Sales of luxury homes fell 38.1% year over year during the three months ending November 30, 2022, the biggest decline on record, according to a new report from Redfin, a technology-powered real estate brokerage. That outpaced the record 31.4% decline in sales of non-luxury homes. Redfin’s data goes back to 2012.

The luxury market and the overall housing market lost momentum in 2022 due to many of the same factors: inflation, relatively high interest rates, a sagging stock market and recession fears. But the high-end market has slowed at a sharper clip for a handful of reasons, including:
- Luxury homes are often among the first to get cut from budgets during times of economic stress.
- Luxury properties are frequently used as investment properties, and with home values and rents poised to fall in 2023, investment prospects are lackluster.
- High-end home sales saw outsized growth during the pandemic, so they have more room to fall.
- Affluent buyers often have significant funds stored in the stock market, which has been losing value.
Expensive coastal markets led the decline in high-end home sales. In Nassau County, New York (Long Island), luxury-home sales plummeted 65.6% year over year during the three months ending November 30, the largest decline among the most populous metropolitan areas. Next came four California metros: San Diego (-60.4%), San Jose (-58.7%), Riverside (-55.6%) and Anaheim (-55.5%). These markets are prohibitively expensive for most buyers even when the economy is thriving, so it’s not surprising more buyers would back off during a downturn.

There are early signs that overall home buyer demand is starting to creep back as interest rates decline, which may ultimately cause the decline in luxury sales to ease. Mortgage applications and Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for tours and other buying services—have both been on the rise, and Redfin real estate agents say they are seeing more buyers move off of the sidelines.

“There has been a small shift in the market that’s not fully showing up in the data yet. With mortgage rates falling, a lot of house hunters see this as their moment to come back and compete,” said Seattle Redfin agent Shoshana Godwin. “Many of my buyers are taking out jumbo loans—mortgages typically used for purchases of high-end homes. While some data shows jumbo mortgage rates above 6%, some of my buyers are getting rates in the low 5% range.”

Luxury home supply rises most in six years

The number of luxury homes for sale rose 5.2% year over year to roughly 163,000 during the three months ending November 30, the largest increase since 2016. By comparison, the supply of non-luxury homes declined 5.7% to about 552,000.

The large decline in luxury home sales is contributing to the rise in supply, but new listings are also a factor. New listings of luxury homes fell just 2.9% year over year during the three months ending November 30, compared with a 19.8% drop in listings of non-luxury homes.

Home price growth slows across the board

Home price growth has slowed across the housing market due to ebbing demand. Prices of both luxury and non-luxury homes rose 10% year over year during the three months ending November 30, compared with 17% growth one year earlier. The median sale price was $1.1 million for luxury homes and $325,000 for non-luxury homes.

Metro-level highlights: three months ending November 30
- Home sales: Luxury home sales fell in every metro. The biggest declines were in Nassau County (-65.6% YoY), San Diego (-60.4%), San Jose (-58.7%), Riverside (-55.6%) and Anaheim, California (-55.5%). The smallest decreases were in Kansas City, Missouri (-20.2%), Cleveland (-21.5%), Virginia Beach, Virginia (-26.2%) Milwaukee (-26.4%) and Charlotte, North Carolina (-28.3%).
- Supply: Active listings of luxury homes rose in 21 metros, with the biggest increases in Austin, Texas (51% YoY), Denver (50.1%), Nashville (35.7%), Warren, Michigan (29.8%) and Atlanta (25.9%). The largest declines were in San Jose (-32.2%), Anaheim (-22.5%), Los Angeles (-19.4%), St. Louis (-18.5%) and Miami (-16.6%).
- New listings: New listings of luxury homes fell in 39 metros. The biggest declines were in San Jose (-39.2% YoY), Oakland, California (-37.1%), Anaheim (-29.8%), San Diego (-26.2%) and Orlando, Florida (-25.9%) The largest gains were in Denver (44%), Warren, Michigan (32.4%), Austin, Texas (20.2%), Detroit (16.3%) and Atlanta (15%).
- Prices: The median sale price of luxury homes rose in all but one metro—San Jose (-0.3% YoY). The biggest jumps were in Miami (28.1%), Tampa (27.7%), Charlotte, North Carolina (25%), West Palm Beach, Florida (25%) and Orlando (23.7%). The smallest increases were in San Francisco (0.1%), Nassau County (2.1%), Oakland (3.1%) and Portland, Oregon (5.8%).
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Brenda Richardson, Senior Contributor

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January 2, 2023
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes witness stand in FTC case

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SAN JOSE, California (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta, took the witness stand Tuesday in a trial over U.S. antitrust regulators’ effort to stop the tech giant from buying a virtual reality startup called Within Unlimited.

At issue is whether Meta’s acquisition of the small company that makes a VR fitness app called Supernatural will hurt competition in the emerging virtual reality market. If the deal is allowed to go through, the Federal Trade Commission argues, it would violate antitrust laws and dampen innovation, hurting consumers who may face higher prices and fewer options outside platforms controlled by Meta Platforms Inc.

Meta, meanwhile, wants to poke holes in the FTC’s argument that there even exists a distinct market for what the FTC calls “VR dedicated fitness apps.”

During his testimony at the trial in San Jose, California, Zuckerberg seemed to play down the notion that fitness is a distinct, top category in VR. He said, while fitness is one “use case” for virtual reality, other uses — namely games, communication and socializing and work — have been the primary ones that Meta has been focusing on.

“While we focused on a number of use cases,” Zuckerberg said, there was a common order of popularity — with games, social and work as the top three and “sort of a longer tail” of other uses for VR that includes fitness.

Whether or not VR fitness apps are a distinct market is key in the case because the FTC is arguing that Meta’s entry into this space through the Within acquisition would stifle competition. If there’s no defined market, it becomes more difficult to prove that case.

The FTC, however, argues that not only is Meta a potential entrant into this market, but that it had the resources and ability to create its own VR fitness app instead of acquiring the top independent player in the market.

FTC lawyer Abby Dennis pointed out that in Facebook’s early days, the company Zuckerberg founded in his Harvard dorm room rejected acquisition offers from a host of big tech companies — including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

“You would agree with me that Facebook continued to successfully innovate even though it never got acquired?” she asked Zuckerberg, who replied affirmatively.

And “the reason why Facebook has been able to succeed for 20 years is because it continues to innovate even though it never got acquired?” she continued, and Zuckerberg responded, “Yes.”

But the Meta CEO later testified that even though his company was “looking at” developing its own VR fitness app before deciding to acquire Within Unlimited in 2021, the business environment has changed and “there is almost no chance” it would start such a project today.

Meta, like other companies reliant on online advertising for revenue, saw a big business boost during the pandemic lockdown when people were staying home glued to their phones and computers. But that didn’t last. Online ad spending is on the decline, competition, notably from rival TikTok, is growing, and Meta recently laid off 13% of its workforce.

Given the current business and economic environment, Zuckerberg said that if Meta had started a project to build a VR fitness app and “it didn’t have any traction,” it would have likely canceled it.

The case, expected to wrap up Tuesday, is being heard by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who also oversaw the trial of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Both were sentenced to over a decade in prison for their roles in the company’s blood-testing hoax.

Meta had originally planned to close the deal by Dec. 31, but this week it extended that date to Jan. 31, pending the outcome of the case. Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth said in Monday testimony that the company needs to get the deal done soon, and if the case isn’t resolved in a timely fashion, it will probably walk away.

“These things, the longer they are drawn out, the harder it is for both entities to operate,” Bosworth said.

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AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke contributed.

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December 23, 2022
California man avoids prison after 2021 attack on tortoise

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Michelangelo, the 70-year-old African tortoise and San Jose preschool pet, wanders around at ARCHVET Animal Hospital in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, following surgery the day before after being beaten and stabbed by an assailant. On Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, a judge sentenced the assailant to two years of probation and mandatory mental health and substance abuse treatment, according to The San Jose Mercury News. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group via AP)

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December 16, 2022
FTC didn’t stop Facebook-Instagram. How about Meta-Within?

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SAN JOSE, California — Facebook parent Meta is sparring with government regulators in federal court over its pending acquisition of a virtual reality fitness company Within Unlimited

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify as a witness at the trial in San Jose, California.

At issue is whether Meta’s acquisition of the small company that makes a VR fitness app called Supernatural will hurt competition in the emerging virtual reality market. If the deal is allowed to go through, the Federal Trade Commission argues, it would violate antitrust laws and dampen innovation, hurting consumers who may face higher prices and fewer options outside of Meta-controlled platforms.

Meta, the FTC argued in court this week, scrapped its own plans to enter the nascent VR fitness market in the summer of 2021 when it decided to buy Within. Without the competitive threat of the tech giant’s entry into the market, the agency asserts, innovation stalls, hurting end users.

“The threat is what keeps firms going,” testified economist Hal Singer, a witness for the FTC. “If I know there is a chance that someone could come in and steal my lunch,” he said, companies will innovate and constrain pricing.

But Meta says it had no concrete plans to create a competing app beyond the initial discussion stage, where it concluded it had no ability to do so. Mark Rabkin, a vice president at Meta who leads its VR efforts, testified that while Meta could definitely build a VR fitness app, its chances of success would be “very low.”

“Achieving what Supernatural has achieved is remarkable and it would be very difficult for us to replicate that,” Rabkin said during a Zoom hearing Friday.

Meta, in fact, has a history of trying — and often failing — to copy rival platforms or their features, sometimes when it’s not able to purchase a company or product outright. Meta owns Instagram, which has a Stories feature, for instance, that is very similar to the Story feature on Snapchat. Meta also briefly redesigned Instagram this year to make it look more like rival TikTok, but scrapped the change after an outcry from users, including celebrities.

The agency and Meta also disagree on how to define the market that Within’s popular app falls into. The FTC defines it narrowly as “VR dedicated fitness apps,” while Meta’s definition includes a wider swath of competitors, many of which don’t need VR goggles to work — such as Peloton, for instance.

“Meta has talked about how they want to make virtual reality as ubiquitous as your cellphone,” said Lee Hepner, legal counsel, American Economic Liberties Project, an organization that advocates for government action against business consolidation. “It’s the next platform for widespread communication in Meta’s eyes.”

If the FTC can preserve and boost competition at this stage, Hepner said, there are “different paths that this market could take instead of Meta controlling the whole path, the whole forward trajectory of this market in the next several years.”

The FTC’s challenge to Meta’s acquisition reflects agency chair Lina Khan’s aggressive stance on Big Tech and antitrust.

The case, expected to wrap up Tuesday, is being heard by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who also oversaw the trial of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Both were sentenced to over a decade in prison for their roles in the company’s blood-testing hoax.

The FTC also sued this month to block Microsoft’s planned $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying it could suppress competition for Microsoft’s Xbox game console and its growing games subscription business.

In 2020 the agency sued Meta, then called Facebook, over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp that could force a spinoff of Instagram and WhatsApp. Unraveling those deals, which were made 10 and nine years ago, respectively — and previously approved by the FTC — may be more difficult than blocking the Within purchase, which Meta and Within want to close by the end of this year.

Under Zuckerberg’s, Meta moved aggressively into virtual reality in 2014 with its acquisition of headset maker Oculus VR. Since then, Meta’s VR headsets have become the cornerstone of its growth in the virtual reality space, the FTC noted in its suit. Fueled by the popularity of its top-selling Quest headsets, Meta’s Quest Store has become a leading U.S. app platform with more than 500 apps available to download, according to the agency.

Meta bought seven of the most successful virtual-reality development studios, and now has one of the largest virtual-reality content catalogs in the world, the FTC says.

“It may be true that Meta has become more effective at acquisitions than they are at product innovation,” Hepner said. “But just because they’re better at acquiring and innovating doesn’t mean that it’s legal to do that. The entire tech industry … for the past 20 years has gotten so effective at acquisitions, knowing that they won’t be challenged on it.”

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the FTC chair’s last name. It’s Khan, not Kahn.

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December 16, 2022
Mexico issues arrest warrant for US citizen accused of killing her friend while on vacation in San Jose del Cabo | CNN

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CNN
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An arrest warrant has been issued in Mexico for a woman suspected of fatally assaulting a friend from North Carolina while on vacation last month in San Jose del Cabo, a prosecutor says.

Shanquella Robinson, 25, was traveling with college friends from Winston-Salem State University when she died while staying in a vacation rental property, said her father, Bernard Robinson.

Robinson, with six friends, arrived October 28 in Mexico, according to a Thursday statement by Mexican prosecutors working on extradition proceedings with their country’s attorney general and Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Evidence shows the death resulted from “a direct attack, not an accident,” and involved a female friend of the victim, the prosecutors said.

Mexican authorities have said the death occurred in San Jose del Cabo. The FBI said it occurred in nearby Cabo San Lucas, and the agency has not answered CNN’s request for comment.

Mexican officials have not named the suspect but confirmed she is a US citizen who is believed to be in the United States. No one has been charged in the case, and authorities have not released the names of Robinson’s friends.

CNN has reached out to the US State Department, FBI and US Justice Department for comment.

Lawyer explains two ways Shanquella Robinson investigation can go

02:08

– Source:
CNN

The extradition process was underway for the suspect, the attorney general for Mexico’s Baja California Sur, Daniel de la Rosa, told local media Wednesday.

“There is already an arrest warrant issued for the crime of femicide to the detriment of the victim and against an alleged, responsible for these acts, a friend of hers,” de la Rosa said Wednesday.

The death did not result from a “quarrel” but from “a direct aggression that this person made,” de la Rosa said.

“We are already carrying out all the relevant procedures, both the Interpol file and the extradition request,” he said.

The arrest warrant is valid in Mexico, prosecutors said, adding they are in consultation with federal government officials in both countries about the extradition request.

Mexico and the US have a longstanding extradition treaty and a history of cooperation on such matters, CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson said Friday.

“On the one hand, you could see Mexico engage in the prosecution,” Jackson said. “On the other, we certainly have a statute in the United States that would provide for our government to be involved. … In the event that you go overseas and an American citizen is ultimately killed by another American citizen, there’s a statute that could provide for the prosecution to take place in this country.”

Robinson last spoke to her mother, Salamondra, on the phone on the morning of October 28, her father told CNN last week. The next day, Shanquella Robinson was found dead at her vacation rental, US and Mexican authorities said.

The cause of death was “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation,” which is instability or excessive movement in the uppermost neck vertebrae, states a copy of her death certificate obtained by CNN affiliate WBTV. She was found unconscious in the living room of the rental residence on October 29, the document states.

The death certificate classified Robinson’s death as “accidental or violent,” noting the approximate time between injury and death was 15 minutes.

Video posted online appears to show a physical altercation inside a room between Robinson and another person. It’s not clear when the video was taken or if it depicts the moment she suffered the fatal injury.

It is Robinson seen in the video being thrown to the floor and beaten on the head, Bernard Robinson confirmed to CNN.

It’s unclear what led to the altercation or how many people were in the room at the time. It’s also unclear if anyone tried to intervene.

The FBI Charlotte Field Office has opened an investigation into Shanquella Robinson’s death, it has confirmed.

Her family had been waiting for more information from her friends and Mexican authorities, her father said a week ago.

“You took my only jewel from me,” he told CNN by phone. “You put a big hole in my heart. The only thing I can do is fight for her; I cannot let her die in vain.”

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November 25, 2022
Magnitude 5.1 quake strikes in San Francisco Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO — A magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattled the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday, causing delays of some commuter trains. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 11:42 a.m. quake was centered 12 miles (19 kilometers) east of San Jose at a depth of about 4 miles (6 kilometers). The area is hill country about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of downtown San Francisco.

Lucy Jones, a veteran California seismologist, told KNTV-TV that the quake happened on the Calaveras fault, one of eight major faults in the Bay Area.

“The Calaveras fault is one that tends to have smaller earthquakes,” Jones said.

It was the largest earthquake in the Bay Area since a magnitude 6.0 jolt in the Napa wine country in 2014, Jones said in a social media post.

The 138-mile (220-kilometer) long Calaveras fault is a major branch of the San Andreas fault and runs from San Juan Bautista in the south to San Ramon in the north, Jones said.

Numerous moderate earthquakes have occurred along the Calaveras fault, including the 6.2 Morgan Hill earthquake in 1984, Annemarie Baltay, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said in a video statement posted on Twitter.

Rich Constantine, the mayor of Morgan Hill, a city next to San Jose, said he was in the kitchen of his home when Tuesday’s “long and steady” quake struck.

“We had a frame in the house fall, everything was shaking but once it stopped, there was no damage,” he said.

Constantine said Morgan Hill’s City Hall and other city offices were evacuated but that everyone returned to work soon after.

People reported feeling the quake as far south as the scenic Big Sur coast, 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of the epicenter in the region of Joseph Grant Ranch County Park, a huge natural area.

Nearly 100,000 people reported receiving a warning before the shaking started through California’s earthquake early warning system, according to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES.

“Advance notice varied from two seconds for those very near the epicenter to 18 seconds for those in San Francisco,” the agency said.

MyShake, a statewide cellphone app that went live to the general public in late 2019, relies on an earthquake detection and notification system developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners.

A 3.1 aftershock followed about 5 minutes later, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Several commuter train companies, including Cal Train and the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, known as BART, held trains to check for damage. BART returned to normal service by early afternoon.

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October 25, 2022
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near San Jose, US Geological Survey reports | CNN

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CNN
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The US Geological Survey (USGS) is reporting a 5.1 magnitude earthquake in Seven Trees, near San Jose, California.

Preliminary information from the USGS says the quake was 6.9 kilometers (4.2 miles) deep and hit around 11:42 a.m. PT Tuesday.

“Additional shaking from aftershocks can be expected in the region. We are continuing to monitor this region,” the California Geological Survey tweeted.

Earthquakes are measured using seismographs, which monitor the seismic waves that travel through the Earth after an earthquake strikes. Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 in magnitude are often felt, but only cause minor damage, according to Michigan Tech’s UPSeis website.

This is a developing story.

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October 25, 2022
Meta hits back in fight with FTC over VR company acquisition

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators and Facebook parent Meta are battling over Meta’s proposed acquisition of virtual-reality company Within Unlimited and its fitness app Supernatural.

In a landmark legal challenge to a Big Tech merger, the Federal Trade Commission is suing to block the deal, asserting it would hurt competition and violate antitrust laws.

Meta struck back Thursday, asking a federal court in San Jose, California, to dismiss the FTC’s July request for an injunction against the acquisition.

The tech giant said in its court filing that the government failed to establish that the virtual-reality market is concentrated with high barriers to entry. The claims in the agency’s lawsuit “are nothing more than the FTC’s speculation about what Meta might have done,” the company says. It asserts that the FTC failed to meet two key legal standards set in previous cases.

In a statement Thursday, the FTC noted that it revised its complaint last week in a way that narrowed the focus of its allegations. In its new form, the statement said, “We are confident that the District Court complaint will not be dismissed and this case will be heard.”

Meta, in its own statement, said “The FTC’s attempt to fix its ill-conceived complaint still ignores the facts and the law, and relies on pure speculation of a hypothetical future state.”

It added that it believes the complaint should be dismissed because there is “vibrant competition in the fitness space and across (virtual reality), and our acquisition of Within will be good for people, developers and the VR space.”

The FTC’s vote last summer to seek to block the Within acquisition was 3-2, with Chair Lina Khan and the other two Democratic commissioners approving it and the two Republicans opposed.

The FTC’s original suit named CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a defendant as well as Meta, but he was dropped in August.

Under Zuckerberg’s leadership, Meta began a campaign to conquer virtual reality in 2014 with its acquisition of headset maker Oculus VR. Since then, Meta’s VR headsets have become the cornerstone of its growth in the virtual reality space, the FTC noted in its suit. Fueled by the popularity of its top-selling Quest headsets, Meta’s Quest Store has become a leading U.S. app platform with more than 400 apps available to download, according to the agency.

Meta bought seven of the most successful virtual-reality development studios, and now has one of the largest virtual-reality content catalogs in the world, the FTC says. Its acquisition of the Beat Games studio gave Meta control of the popular app Beat Saber.

In its suit against the Within acquisition, the FTC cited a 2015 email from Zuckerberg to key Facebook executives saying that his vision for “the next wave of computing” was control of apps as well as the platform on which those apps are distributed. The email says a key part of this strategy is for the company to be “completely ubiquitous in killer apps,” which are apps that prove the value of the technology.

Zuckerberg announced ambitious plans a year ago to build the “metaverse” — a virtual-reality construct intended to supplant the internet, merge virtual life with real life and create endless new playgrounds for everyone.

On Tuesday, the company based in Menlo Park, California, unveiled a $1,500 virtual reality headset in the hope that people will soon be using it to work and play in the metaverse.

The action marked a new FTC salvo against Meta — the owner of Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp in addition to Facebook — in the agency’s drive against what it views as anticompetitive conduct in the tech industry.

The FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook in late 2020. With that action, the agency is seeking remedies that could include a forced spinoff of Instagram and WhatsApp, or a restructuring of the company.

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October 16, 2022
Cordeiro accounts for 4 TDs, San Jose State routs UNLV 40-7

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Chevan Cordeiro accounted for four touchdowns to lead San Jose State to a 40-7 rout of UNLV on Friday night.

Cordeiro was 18-of-27 passing for 230 yards and added 109 yards on the ground with touchdown runs from 10 and 15 yards. His 22-yard touchdown pass to Dominick Mazotti stretched the San Jose State (4-1, 2-0 Mountain West Conference) lead to 33-0 midway through the third quarter. Mazotti finished with seven catches for a career-high 100 yards. Kairee Robinson had nine receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown catch.

Cordeiro entered with the second-highest in yards passing in the Mountain West. He now has thrown for 1,308 yards and six touchdowns without an interception and has 186 yards rushing and six scoring runs.

Cameron Friel completed 14 of 19 passes for 143 yards and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Senika McKie late in the third quarter for UNLV (4-2, 2-1).

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap—top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2

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October 7, 2022
Bay Area Non-Profit Hope Services, Re-Opens and Welcomes Back Clients With Developmental Disabilities & Mental Health Needs to In-Person Programs

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Press Release
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updated: Jun 18, 2021

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 18, 2021 (Newswire.com)
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Hope Services, the leading provider of programs and services for the developmentally disabled and those with mental health needs in the Silicon Valley and the Central Coast, announced it will begin re-opening in-person programs this month to approximately 3,200 clients and 900 program staff & employees. The re-opening starts June 15 and will happen in three phases through September 2021 to ensure safety and proper protocols are in place.

“These next steps will be difficult, and it will take a lot of work to continue to follow the guidance for keeping our community safe, but Hope Services is committed to the safety of our clients and staff. We appreciate the tremendous support and understanding as we venture forward to reinvent our programs to optimize learning for our clients.”

“Chip” Huggins, President/CEO of Hope Services

Hope Services has made tremendous adjustments since the onset of the pandemic, and re-opening will require continued resilience. Shortly after the shelter in place took effect Hope’s in-person therapy, programming, and services had to cease, Hope Services made the necessary pivot to create and implement From Hope to Home™; a virtual service delivery system developed completely in-house, and approved by the Regional Center. The continuity of services through the program helped clients maintain a needed structure and a daily connection to the Hope community in such a challenging time. The first phase of welcoming clients back begins with a hybrid model, blending in person services and distance learning.

At one point the challenge of going from lockdown to full re-opening seemed almost unsurmountable. However, just as they did 15 months ago when the pandemic began, the Hope community got to work to identify challenges and solutions.

Hope Services recognizes that although there is excitement to be together in-person, there may also be some anxiety around these changes. To help with this transition Hope continues to offer weekly staff sessions with the mental health team.

The behind the scenes efforts of caring, creative, and dedicated staff, eager clients & client families, and community partners provides the opportunity to re-open, and once again welcome back Hope.

Supporting link: http://www.hopeservices.org

About Hope Services: Since 1952, Hope Services has provided programs and services to people with developmental disabilities and mental health needs. Hope serves more than 3,200 people and their families, and provides a broad spectrum of services for infants through children’s services (age 0-5); day services; employment and job training through local companies including The Home Depot, Costco, Target, Whole Foods, and Google; mental health services; senior services; and community living services. Hope Services is accredited by CARF International, the most prestigious accreditation agency in the disability sector. Hope also operates HopeTHRIFT, which supports the organization’s services and helps with job training skills.

Contact: Stacy Houston – Marketing Manager, shouston@hopeservices.org

Source: Hope Services

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June 18, 2021
ConceiveAbilities Continues Surrogacy and Egg Donor Growth With Southern and Northern California Locations

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Press Release
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updated: Jan 23, 2018

CHICAGO, January 23, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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ConceiveAbilities, the global leader in contemporary family creation via surrogacy and egg donation for over two decades, continues its agency expansion with new offices in Irvine and San Jose, California. The new locations offer ConceiveAbilities’ clients multidisciplinary signature surrogacy and egg donor services. The firm will work with intended parents and the best southern and northern area fertility clinics, as well as gestational carriers and egg donors who are committed to helping ConceiveAbilities’ clients realize the dream of growing their families.

“From our surrogates to our match managers and intended parents, everyone who works with ConceiveAbilities is united in a common goal: To overcome any barrier necessary to complete parenthood. We’re thrilled to bring ConceiveAbilities to Irvine and San Jose, California and service our growing client base in California,” said Nazca Fontes, CEO of ConceiveAbilities. “We’ve always wanted to serve more families in California, and now felt like the best time to make it a reality.”

Wherever we work, our mission remains the same: To create a world in which everyone who wants to become a parent, can. We power family creation with knowledge, expertise and compassion.

Nazca Fontes, CEO, ConceiveAbilities

The new Irvine ConceiveAbilities’ location is placed right next to the Irvine Spectrum Center, one of the most popular shopping centers in Southern California. It can be easily reached from Temecula, Chino, Ontario, Corona, Riverside, San Bernardino, Anaheim, Escondido and is within close proximity to the San Diego, Santa Ana, and Laguna freeways. It’s in a convenient area for our surrogate community in the rest of Southern California, including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino.

The new San Jose location is located in the heart of downtown San Jose near San Jose University and the San Jose Museum of Art. It can be easily reached from San Francisco, Palo Alto, East Bay, Oakland and Mountain View and is conveniently located near the Joseph P. Sinclair Freeway or the Guadalupe Freeway. It’s in an easily accessible area for our surrogate community in the rest of Northern California, including the areas surrounding Sacramento, Modesto, Fresno, Santa Rosa and Redding.

“Wherever we work, our mission remains the same,” Nazca Fontes continues, “To create a world in which everyone who wants to become a parent, can. We power family creation with knowledge, expertise and compassion.”

For more information, contact the Irvine office at (949) 955-2501 or visit: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/Irvine. For the San Jose office please call (669) 342-3566 or visit: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/SanJose.

About ConceiveAbilities

For over 20 years, ConceiveAbilities has been the leading global contemporary family creation egg donor and surrogacy agency. Headquartered in Chicago, ConceiveAbilities has locations in Dallas, Denver, Houston, San Jose, Irvine and New York. Serving a highly selective network of egg donors and surrogates with uncompromising ethical and professional standards, ConceiveAbilities is one of the most regarded agencies in the world, having earned the respect of leading fertility experts. For more information, please visit www.ConceiveAbilities.com.

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Source: ConceiveAbilities

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January 23, 2018
Purple Lotus Donates Proceeds to San Jose Flood Relief

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The Purple Lotus Patient Center of San Jose has joined supporting our local community in an effort to support those affected by this past week’s flash flooding.

Press Release
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updated: Feb 24, 2017

SAN JOSE, CA, February 24, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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The City of San Jose was shook to its core this past week with severe flooding throughout the entire community. After one of the wettest Winters in the past decade, everyone was caught off-guard by the torrential down pour and even The Lotus was impacted with blockades and major streets being shut down.

Although The Purple Lotus was able to bounce back in under 24 hours, many citizens are still in distress by having to deal with the leftovers and decay from the flood.

Purple Lotus is partnering with several local community officials to help identify those in direct need of immediate assistance and will be donating a portion of ALL proceeds this week to help those individuals. If you know of community members in need of assistance, please feel free to reach out to us directly and help guide us in bringing this city back on its feet!

Missing Pets?

Many pets have been taken to and looked after at the San Jose Animal Shelter during the evacuations. The shelter is at 2750 Monterey Road in San Jose.

Evacuation Center Locations

Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Rd 95148
Mayfair Community Center – 2039 Krammerer Avenue, San Jose, CA 95116
Shirakawa Community Center – 2072 Lucretia Avenue, San Jose, CA, 29116
Red Cross overnight shelter at James Lick High School (57 N. White Road, San Jose). This shelter is operated with the San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services and cannot accept pets.

Source: Purple Lotus Patient Center

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February 24, 2017