Local:

  • The Pickett Fire in Napa County, which has surpassed 3,000 acres, reached 7% containment Friday afternoon. The fire was reportedly more manageable on Friday than on Thursday afternoon when it was “very aggressive.” [SFGate]
  • Blockchain gaming startup Ex Populus Inc., which registered the XAI trademark in May, is suing Elon Musk's AI company, xAI. Ex Populus says xAI has been trying to bully the company into giving up its rights to the trademark. [SF Business Times]
  • Local community group Black Men United and the East Bay chapter of national nonprofit Live Free held a meeting Thursday night discussing how they’ll protect young people if the National Guard is deployed in Oakland. They’ve been hosting ongoing outreach events for at-risk youth, including a violence prevention youth summit and vigils honoring homicide victims. [KTVU]

  • Students at a few Berkeley Unified School District schools have tested positive for COVID amid the current surge. [Berkeleyside]
  • That fancy Cupertino Whole Foods that closed in April due to multiple pest infestations, including an "adult female roof rat in the deli" and “German cockroaches near the bakery,” is still closed as the building undergoes an extensive remodel. [Hoodline]

National:

  • A new report by MIT revealed that only five percent of companies have succeeded at effectively integrating generative AI into their businesses. Additionally, the best AI tools on the market were only able to effectively complete 30% of every-day office tasks as of July — many of which performed much worse. [Futurism]
  • On a related note, a bank in Australia reportedly fired — and then rehired — its workers after its chatbot failed to deliver the expected results. [Gizmodo]
  • Social media posts have been spreading misinformation about the number of non-citizens living in the US — inflating the number by “tens of millions” — after the Trump administration announced its reviewing the valid visas of over 55 million people. [Associated Press]

Video of the Day:

  • A look at Bay Area mascots throughout history. Agreed, Sourdough Sam seems kind of creepy.

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist