News

Friday, February 14, 2020

At the edge of the City College of San Francisco main campus, there's a small, invisible neighborhood.

Its residents look out for each other, keep the sidewalks clean and sometimes throw quiet dinner parties. They share tools and recipes, help each other out with projects and give a friendly welcome to newcomers.

But of the 60,000-plus students who attend City College, it's likely that many walk through this neighborhood every day without knowing it's there. And that's exactly the point.

"It is a bit of a paradox," Kyle Murphy said. "Create community, keep below the radar."

Murphy is, according to his friends, the unofficial mayor of this small and flourishing neighborhood. Dotting the edge of campus along Frida Kahlo Way, somewhere around a dozen nondescript vans and work trucks are hiding the handcrafted tiny homes of City College students, attending school in the face of San Francisco's record-high rent.

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Tuesday, February 4, 2020

(CN) – Beginning in mid-March, the U.S. Census Bureau will begin soliciting online responses from California residents, marking the first time the federal agency will use online tools to make its count.

Later, beginning April 1, the enumeration process in California will commence. The stakes for the state are high, as California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said during an event sponsored by the Public Policy Institute of California.

“If there is an undercount in California, not only does the state not get the funds we deserve and need, but also our voice in Washington diminishes,” he said.

California officials are increasingly concerned about an undercount.

Many Golden State residents are immigrants, sometimes living with multiple families in a single house, may not speak English proficiently, may be experiencing homelessness or may be under the age of 5 and unable to speak for themselves.

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Friday, October 25, 2019

From disaster preparedness tips to free immunizations, this Saturday's Back to School Health Fair in East Palo Alto will offer many local resources to prepare children and families for this school year.

Hosted by Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, the free event will provide flu shots plus vision, hearing, dental and Hepatitis B screenings, according to Berman's office. There will also be booths featuring organizations from across the 24th Assembly District that will provide information on local resources such as free legal services, therapy, service support animals and health care providers.

"This is an opportunity for attendees to take full advantage of the resources and services that are available at the health fair," Berman said.

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Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The state of California will pay $3.85 million to researchers at the University of California, Davis, to develop the nation’s first program to train health care professionals to help their patients reduce firearm-related injury and death, university officials announced Tuesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the funding on Friday when he signed Assembly Bill 521 . Money will go toward educating a variety of California providers, including practicing physicians, mental health care professionals, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, health professions students and other specialists.

Dr. Amy Barnhorst, a UC Davis Health psychiatrist, will oversee the training. She has spent a good deal of her career studying gun violence, suicide and public mental health.

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Thursday, October 10, 2019

Deepfake is on the rise. A study found that in the past year, the number of artificial intelligence-manipulated videos online almost doubled.

The Alarming Increase Of Deepfake Videos

The Amsterdam-based cybersecurity company Deeptrace found 14,698 deepfake videos on the internet during its most recent tally in June and July. For comparison, the tech start-up counted only 7,964 last December. That is an 84 percent increase within only seven months.

While concerns over deepfake center on the potential use of technology to mislead or lie to the public especially during election season, the recently published report by Deeptrace revealed that the majority (96 percent) of deepfake videos currently online consist of pornographic content and all of them feature women.

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Monday, October 7, 2019

California has become the latest state to ban politically motivated deepfakes amidst growing concern about how the technology could be used to interfere with the 2020 election.

On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the AB 730 bill into law, making it illegal to create or distribute deceptively altered videos, audio, or photos of political candidates. Additionally, he signed AB 602, a bill that allows California residents to take legal action against distributors of deepfake pornographic content which distributes their likeness without getting legal consent to do so.

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Friday, October 4, 2019

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is trying to stop people from deceptively editing videos and audio in ways that are aimed at influencing elections.

Legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday bans the distribution of manipulated videos and pictures that maliciously aim to give someone a false impression about a political candidate’s actions or words within 60 days of an election.

It was written in response to a rise in the use of “deep fake” technology that can make it appear as if someone is saying something or acting in a way they are not.

Experts have raised concerns about such technology’s possible use in voter disinformation campaigns, but opponents of the law say the bill threatens to trample on free speech rights and may not have its intended effect.

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