Local:
- As the Republic Services trash collectors’ strike drags into its second week, some Bay Area communities left without trash pickup are demanding customer refunds, or considering legal action against Republic Services. Several cities are considering it a breach of contract by Republic Services for not meeting their trash collection obligations, or demanding refunds for customers not getting served. Meanwhile, several cities are offering residents alternative locations to leave their trash, like in Half Moon Bay, where KGO says people can leave their garbage in a “Dumpster behind City Hall.” [KGO]
- A state parole officer was shot and killed Thursday afternoon at the parole office on Edgewater Drive in Oakland, and a suspect is already in custody. The suspect reportedly boarded a bus after the shooting, flashed his gun at the driver and ordered him to drive, but was detained by police shortly thereafter. [NBC Bay Area]
- The new lottery-based Stern Grove ticketing system has apparently been a boon for scalpers, who are managing to score the free tickets more efficiently than we can and then resell them for up to $50 a pop. Mission Local notes this has been happening for a few years, and one seller this summer bragged about cracking the lottery system, claiming they “won the raffle 3x LOL.” [Mission Local]
National:
- There has been rumors among media types that a big Wall Street Journal exposé on Donald Trump’s Jeffrey Epstein connections was coming, and it appears this is it: The Journal dug up a "bawdy" note that Trump gave Epstein for his 50th birthday, depicting a naked woman. In the Journal’s words, the note “contains several notes of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair. The letter concludes ‘Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.’” [Wall Street Journal]
- In less significant (for now) Trump news, he’s been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which has manifested in “mild swelling in his lower legs,” but is not considered a life-threatening condition. [CNN]
- CBS is canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert effective May 2026, and industry analysts question whether this decision is related to Colbert calling the network’s 60 Minutes settlement with Trump as a “big fat bribe” on-air. [Variety]
Video:
- The internet scandal of the day is this video from a Wednesday night Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where a kiss-cam apparently outed a suspected affair between data operations platform Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his HR chief. And you have to admit, Coldplay singer Chris Martin had a pretty funny quip when it happened, telling the crowd “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy."
@instaagraace trouble in paradise?? 👀 #coldplay #boston #coldplayconcert #kisscam #fyp ♬ original sound - grace
Image: Joe Kukura, SFist
