Facebook employees in Menlo Park, Calif., are getting ready to move into their own version of an elevated railroad park akin to the popular High Line in Manhattan. Facebook's recent headquarter expansion, a 430,000-square-foot building dubbed MPK 20, includes a 9-acre green rooftop that has a half-mile walking loop and over 400 trees. The rooftop, which is about the size of seven football fields, will also serve as a haven for birds, trees and plants that are native to California and its climate. The MPK 20, designed by the renowned Frank Gehry, can hold up to 2,800 people and it is LEED Gold certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, according to sources familiar with the project. Gehry, a Canadian-American architect, is famous for his ability to combine breathtaking design that takes into account the needs of his clients. Some of his previous work includes the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. "From the start, … [Read more...] about Facebook moves into Gehry-designed 9-acre green rooftop headquarters
Facebook to face class action over children’s online purchases
A federal judge said Facebook must face a nationwide class-action lawsuit seeking to force the social media company to provide refunds when children spend their parents' money on its website without permission. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman in San Jose, California on Tuesday said a class of plaintiffs estimated in the hundreds of thousands may press their claim that Facebook should change how it handles online transactions by minors. The judge also said the plaintiffs could not pursue refunds as a group under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, because any refunds would vary from case to case, but could still seek individual refunds. She set an Oct. 19 trial date. Facebook said it believes the lawsuit lacks merit, and said it will defend itself vigorously. The April 2012 lawsuit said Facebook let children use their parents' credit and debit cards to buy the virtual currency Facebook Credits, and violated California law by refusing refunds under its "all sales are final" … [Read more...] about Facebook to face class action over children’s online purchases
Cat stuck in wall for five years at Cairo train station finally freed thanks to Facebook campaign
Biso is free at last! The poor cat has been trapped behind a wall at a metro train station in Cairo, Egypt for five long years, but a social media campaign has finally helped free the feline, reports the Cairo Post. Biso’s ordeal started in 2010 when he squeezed into a hole in a wall at the Mohamed Naguib station. But Biso got stuck and was to remain trapped in darkness behind the wall for the next five years. Biso only survived the entrapment because an elderly man called Uncle Abdo spotted the male cat and fed him scraps of food every day and also gave him water. Uncle Abdo said Biso had used the hole as a hiding place from other, bigger cats when it was a kitten. But when Biso had grown, it became too big to escape the hole. A previous attempt to rescue Biso had failed when it ran off before it could be rescued from behind the wall. But freedom was at hand this time thanks to a group of women and social media. … [Read more...] about Cat stuck in wall for five years at Cairo train station finally freed thanks to Facebook campaign
15 Bronx gang members indicted after using Facebook to plot attacks and trade guns: prosecutors
Status update — indicted. A group of budding Bronx gangsters, including an alleged ringleader who goes by “Sal Capone,” used Facebook to plot attacks against rivals and trade firearms, prosecutors charged in a whopping 57-count indictment unsealed Wednesday. Fifteen members of the “Lyman Place Bosses” were indicted in Bronx Supreme Court on charges including attempted murder, assault and weapons possession. Those charged include 23-year-old Saliym Gresham, who prosecutors said used the Facebook alias “Sal Capone” to order underlings to stack up on weapons for revenge attacks. “He repeatedly made orders to attack other gang members,” said prosecutor Christina Nowak. Gresham was only charged with fourth-degree conspiracy, a non-violent felony. But he has a place “high up in the hierarchy” of a gang called the Young Bosses, which oversees the Lyman Place gang and has … [Read more...] about 15 Bronx gang members indicted after using Facebook to plot attacks and trade guns: prosecutors
Leolah Brown, Bobbi Kristina Brown’s aunt, blames ‘evil person’ for her niece’s tragic condition in Facebook post
Bobbi Kristina Brown’s aunt is again blaming an "evil" influence for her niece’s tragic circumstances. “I am angry right now because some evil pitiful person took advantage of my niece Bobbi Kriss and caused her to be where she is today!” the sister of singer Bobby Brown vented in her most recent Facebook post. Leolah Brown warned her followers to be on lookout for such people willing to destroy a family for personal gain. “They smile real nice and seem so polite – meanwhile, they continue to plot evil against you,” she wrote. Leolah Brown didn’t identify her target by name, but she previously told FOX 5 Atlanta that she blamed her niece’s boyfriend Nick Gordon for Bobbi Kristina’s hospitalization. She also ranted in a similar Facebook post Monday about “liars” who “lust for Bobbi Kristina’s money and seek to benefit from her tragedy.” The only child of late music icon Whitney … [Read more...] about Leolah Brown, Bobbi Kristina Brown’s aunt, blames ‘evil person’ for her niece’s tragic condition in Facebook post
Jealous Florida man beats and shoots wife’s friend over Facebook messages
A jealous 22-year-old man brawled with another man outside a Florida apartment and shot him in the leg after discovering he was exchanging Facebook messages with his wife, local reports said. Christopher Romoleroux pretended to be his wife, Ludwika Duarte, to find out where her old friend, Clarence Autley, lived and to set up a meeting, according to court documents obtained by the Sun Sentinel. He showed up at the Pompano Beach house last week with Autley outside waiting for what he thought was going to be an anticipated visit with Duarte, whom he had not seen in the last six years. “Why you trying to get with my woman,” is the earful Autley got instead, fending off punches from the possessive husband with tattoos all over his face. The fight left Autley with a bloody lip, a broken bone, a gash on his forehead and finally a gunshot wound to the leg where Romoleroux shot him before taking off in his car. Romoleroux was arrested on Sunday and charged with attempted murder in … [Read more...] about Jealous Florida man beats and shoots wife’s friend over Facebook messages
Shucks Zuck! Mark Zuckerberg says he asks one question before each Facebook hire (VIDEO)
Are you a Zuck or a schmuck? That’s the question Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg asks when he considers hiring someone to work for him at the $222 billion social network. The 30-year-old Zuckerberg, in Barcelona this week for Mobile World Congress 2015, told a crowd at a town hall-style meeting Wednesday that he looks for one key factor when he interviews someone for a job. "I will only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person," Zuckerberg said. "It's a pretty good test." His decision-making has been spot-on so far. Facebook is highly profitable and had nearly 1.4 billion monthly active users at the end of 2014. So are you like Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s highly-popular COO? Or are you a Winklevoss boss? Only Zuck knows for sure whether or not he’d “like” you. Follow on Twitter @jmolinet … [Read more...] about Shucks Zuck! Mark Zuckerberg says he asks one question before each Facebook hire (VIDEO)
Austrian court closes jurisdiction hearing on Facebook suit
VIENNA — An Austrian court asked to hear a class-action suit brought against Facebook alleging invasion of privacy has closed further sessions to the public as it weighs whether it has jurisdiction in the case. The Austria Press Agency says the court on Thursday ordered Facebook to give representatives of the plaintiffs translations of documents before the court within three weeks and for the plaintiffs’ lawyers to respond within an additional three weeks. The suit is being brought by Austrian law student Max Schrems and 25,000 Facebook users. They claim Facebook is illegally tracking their data, including through alleged involvement in the PRISM surveillance program of the U.S. National Security Agency. The plaintiffs are each claiming 500 euros (about $540) in damages. Facebook has said the suit is inadmissible under Austrian law. ON A MOBILE DEVICE? WATCH THE VIDEO HERE. … [Read more...] about Austrian court closes jurisdiction hearing on Facebook suit
Facebook video shows man leaping over subway tracks in Brooklyn
This daredevil didn’t mind the gap. A video posted on Facebook shows a man taking a daring leap of fate over the subway tracks at the Bedford-Nostrand G train station in Bedford-Stuyvesant. “Spiderman that,” a man from off camera is heard saying to the jumper, who appeared to be a teen dressed all in black, as he readied himself for the long jump. “Do it again,” a voice is heard saying after he completes the feat. The video of the dangerous stunt was posted on the New Yorkers page on April 3 had has garnered 1,849 likes and scores of comments. “This guy is wild,” the user who posted the video wrote. Others commenters were less supportive. “Bravo you are a big cool hard man, when some kid try's to copy this and kills him self,” wrote user Paul Hardwick. “Many people can do that just not stupid enough to do so,” user Sing Pi wrote. It was not … [Read more...] about Facebook video shows man leaping over subway tracks in Brooklyn
‘My first bow kill’: Texas veterinarian fired after allegedly killing cat with arrow and bragging about it on Facebook (VIDEO)
A gruesome Facebook photo showing a Texas veterinarian posing with a cat killed by an arrow through its furry skull touched off a furious backlash that got the woman canned and opened a police investigation. The image of Dr. Kristen Lindsey holding the dead orange and white cat is just “disgusting,” Austin County Sheriff Jack Brandes told the Daily News. “My first bow kill,” is how Lindsey captioned her photo, complete with cat emojis, from an account that has since been deleted. “The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it’s (sic) head! Vet of the year award... gladly accepted.” Upon seeing the inhumane social media post Friday morning, Brandes sent two deputies to Lindsey’s home to investigate whether such an act of animal cruelty really happened. Intentionally killing a cat, even a stray as Lindsay suggested, is against the law nationwide. “This is not acceptable in our society. I don’t … [Read more...] about ‘My first bow kill’: Texas veterinarian fired after allegedly killing cat with arrow and bragging about it on Facebook (VIDEO)