California police seek 80 suspects in flash-mob department store robbery

Police in California on Sunday were seeking about 80 suspects who they said swarmed into a Bay Area Nordstrom department store in a coordinated robbery, ransacking as much as they could carry and fleeing in cars they had parked outside.

Three people were arrested at the scene of the "organized theft" reported shortly before 9 p.m. local time on Saturday in suburban Walnut Creek, about 15 miles (25 km) east of Oakland, police said.

"The remaining participants in this criminal mob fled from the area in cars at high speeds," Walnut Creek police said in a statement on Sunday.

The robbery followed another brazen mob-heist of high-end stores on Friday night in San Francisco's Union Square, about 25 miles (40 km) to the west.

Video posted by a KNTV television reporter showed several people running out of the store with merchandise and climbing into about 25 parked cars that ringed the building and jammed traffic on the streets.

"It was crazy for a second," said Brett Barrette, a manager of a restaurant across the street, who told KPIX-TV that the thieves wore ski masks and were armed with crow bars and weapons. "All the guests inside were getting concerned."

Police said the suspects assaulted two Nordstrom employees and pepper-sprayed another. They said they are reviewing surveillance footage in an effort to identify them.

Arrested at the scene were Dana Dawson, 30, and Joshua Underwood, 32, of San Francisco, and Rodney Robinson, 18, of Oakland, police said. Charges brought in the arrests included robbery, burglary, conspiracy, possession of stolen property and illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, police said. (Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)

-reuters

Google building self-check website for coronavirus

United States President Donald Trump announced Friday that internet giant Alphabet is creating a website where people will be able to check whether they have symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

Verily Life Sciences, once a project in a Google X lab devoted to “moonshot” projects and now its own health business unit, is testing a “tool to help triage individuals for COVID-19 testing,” Google confirmed on Twitter.

Statement from Verily: "We are developing a tool to help triage individuals for Covid-19 testing. Verily is in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time.

Google Communications (@Google_Comms) March 13, 2020

“Verily is in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time,” the tweet said, referring to San Francisco and surrounding communities.

Trump thanked Google while declaring a state of national emergency due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic.


Google is helping to develop a website “to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location,” Trump said.

Google has a large team of engineers devoted to the project, and has made significant progress, according to Trump.

“Our overriding goal is to stop the spread of the virus and help all Americans impacted by this,” Trump said.

“Again, we don’t want everybody taking this test. It is totally unnecessary. And this will pass.”


A launch date for the website should be known by late Sunday, according to Vice President Mike Pence.

“You can go to the website, type in your symptoms and be given direction whether or not a test is indicated,” Pence said.

The website will then direct users to locations where they can obtain drive-through testing, he said.

San Francisco has begun setting up temporary, drive-through coronavirus testing locations.

Agence France-Presse

Fil-Ams win at SF Bay Area Critics Circle Awards

SAN FRANCISCO — Rinabeth Apostol and Tiffany Villarin both won Best Actress in a Play—in a tie, for playing twins—at the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle’s 42nd Annual Excellence in Theatre Awards.

Robert Brill won Best Set Design for his work on Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s production of the musical “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations.”

The awards—for productions staged in 2017—were announced and presented to the recipients at the Victoria Theatre.

Brill won for his work in the Best Set Design-in a House with more than 300 Seats category. Written by Dominique Morisseau, “Ain’t Too Proud” was staged August to November last year, directed by Des McAnuff.

Twins

Apostol and Villarin won for their roles as twins L and M, respectively, in Marin Theatre Company’s staging of “peerless,” in the Best Actress in a Play-in a House with 100 to 300 Seats category.

Staged in March of 2017, Jiehae Park’s dark comedy was directed by Margot Bordelon.

WATCH: Trailer of Marin Theatre Company’s “Peerless”

Loosely based on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” the sisters delve into diabolical means when one of them loses a slot to a prestigious university.


Recent credits

Apostol’s credits include Jessica Hagedorn’s “Dogeaters” staged by Magic Theatre in San Francisco in 2016 as well as stints with San Jose Repertory and East West Players, among others.

Villarin’s credits include Goodman Theatre and Silk Road Rising in Chicago and Ensemble Studio Theatre and Diverse City Theater in New York, among others.

Both actors recently concluded acting stints at Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 42nd Humana Festival of New American Plays in Kentucky.

Apostol was part of the cast of Susan Soon He Stanton’s “we, the invisibles” and Villarin was part of the cast of Mara Nelson-Greenberg’s “Do You Feel Anger?”

Villarin will be in Ma-yi Theater’s production of “Teenage Dick” in New York from June to July. (She was previously in Ma-yi’s “House Rules,” a comedy about Filipino American familes.)

“Teenage Dick” is Mike Lew’s reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” set in a high school. It will be staged at Public Theater. Sound design will be by Fil-Am Fabian Obispo.

Upcoming

Brill has also designed the sets for “Frozen: Live at the Hyperion” at Disney California Adventure Park (where costumes were designed by Tony Award winner Fil-Am Clint Ramos) and the Broadway production “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.”

A recipient of the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration, Brill is a founding member of Sledgehammer Theatre and a professor of scenic design at University of California-San Diego.

“Ain’t Too Proud” will be staged in Washington, DC at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from June to July and in Los Angeles at Ahmanson Theater from August to September.

source: usa.inquirer.net

Waze tests carpool app, squeezes into Uber’s lane

SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Google-owned navigation application Waze on Monday began testing a carpool feature that rolls near the home turf of Uber and Lyft.

Waze Carpool stressed that it intended only to help commuters get to or from their jobs, chipping in to cover trip costs, and was not getting involved with the types of on-demand rides that Uber and Lyft offer.

Still, Waze Carpool would serve as an alternative to ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft — at least for people dealing with daily commutes.

“Waze Carpool makes it easy to help a neighbor or colleague in your area,” the company said at a website page explaining the service being tested in the San Francisco Bay area.

“Detours are minimal so your drive to work is almost the same, you get to ride in the carpool lane, and the rider you pick up helps cover your commute costs — so why not?”

Waze Carpool is in a pilot mode and available to Bay Area employers and their workers by invitation only, according to the website.

If a person’s employer is in the pilot program, the worker can use a carpool feature in free Waze smartphone applications.

“Schedule a ride and Waze Rider will look for the closest driver already planning a drive on your route,” the company explained.

Drivers opting in using Waze Carpool will have the option of accepting or declining requests from riders, who help pay for fuel in pre-arranged transactions handled automatically in applications.

“Waze Carpool connects riders and drivers with nearly identical commutes based on their home and work addresses,” the company said.

“Riders and drivers share the cost of gas for the trip.”

Ride payment is set in advance and money is transferred from riders to drivers automatically.

Waze stressed that the carpool feature is focused on letting people share the costs of commuting, and not as a way for drivers to make extra income.

Waze last year began testing a similar carpool feature in Israel, where it got its start.

Waze navigation goes beyond using satellite positioning data to incorporating real-time traffic information from its community of drivers.

Google bought Waze three years ago in a deal valued at slightly more than a billion dollars.

source: technology.inquirer.net