Day Around the Bay: COVID-19 Cases Surge In California, Up More Than 2%

Visa laid off around 2,600 employees, roughly 7% of its workforce, with many cuts affecting its technology and product teams, though the number of Bay Area employees impacted is unclear. COVID-19 cases are surging in California, with 3.4% of tests positive compared to just over 1% a month earlier. AI companies including Anthropic are destroying antique books for training models, a practice a judge recently found protected under fair use.

Local: - Visa laid off around 2,600 people, which makes up roughly 7% of its workforce, with many of the cuts affecting its technology and product teams, but it’s not clear how many Bay Area employees will be cut. Chronicle https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/visa-layoffs-ai-san-francisco-jobs-22363783.php - Animate, an anime pop-up shop, is set to open in late August inside New People Theatre in SF’s Japantown. KRON4 https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-francisco-welcoming-new-anime-pop-up-store/ - Charlie xcx will be appearing at Amoeba Music in SF on August 7 for a special Q & A for fans who preorder her album, Music, Fashion, Film , ahead of her performance on pening day of Outside Lands. Chronicle https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/charli-xcx-announces-amoeba-san-030033550.html National: - There’s currently a COVID-19 surge happening in California, with 3.4% of tests showing positive results compared to a little over 1% a month earlier. ABC 7 https://abc7.com/post/california-sees-summer-uptick-covid-19-cases-heres-what-know/19587920/ - AI companies, including Anthropic, are destroying a massive quantity of antique books for training their models, which a judge recently found to be protected under fair use. Futurism https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-companies-destroying-rare-books - At least 13 people were killed in a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu, Japan late Tuesday afternoon, which caused the second floor of a mall to collapse. Associated Press https://apnews.com/article/japan-earthquake-kumamoto-kagoshima-mall-factory-6b0fe69d44fa5c82ac4765a8ad82ebf6 Video: - A pack of coyotes have taken over an abandoned construction site in West Hollywood, which neighbors have dubbed “coyote condo” — a trend that may just come to San Francisco, as housing construction has also stalled here https://sfist.com/2026/07/15/sf-supes-reduce-affordable-housing-requirement-as-costs-continue-to-stall-new-housing/ . Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist