• The process of clearing the Joe Rodota Trail between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol began today, with the eviction of 250 homeless people camped there. The camp-clearing was met with protest, and Friday is the final deadline for everyone to move or be moved. [Press-Democrat]
  • Facebook is settling a class-action lawsuit out of Illinois pertaining to its use of facial-recognition technology for $550 million. The case dates back several years and it serves to show how a strong state privacy law (Illinois's consent law around biometrics dates back to 2008) can protect consumers years down the line. [New York Times]
  • Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris lobbed softball questions to House impeachment managers today via pieces of paper. This was how much of the day went, with House managers generally repeating things they've said before about Trump's conduct for the TV cameras. [Chronicle]
  • The suspect involved in a homicide involving a badly burned body found on Treasure Island earlier this month appeared in court today. [Examiner]
  • A new investigative report found the Trump campaign bought 218,000 distinct Facebook ads in 2019, racking up potentially over 1.3 billion ad impressions. [Guardian]
  • Meanwhile Facebook announced decent Q4 earnings and user growth after market close today, but the company's stock fell 6% in after-hours trading. [Associated Press]
  • Santa Clara's city manager, one of the highest paid in the state, just got an 11% raise. [Mercury-News]
  • SF-based Lyft laid off 90 employees today as part of a broader restructuring. [The Verge]
  • Shake Shack opened its first SF location today in Cow Hollow. [Eater]