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The seventh annual Facebook Connect virtual and augmented reality conference, formerly known as Oculus Connect, is being streamed online today. Facebook is expected to announce a new Oculus Quest VR headset, which has been widely leaked over the past few months. But we could also see a slate of new virtual reality games, extra Spark AR features, updates on Facebook’s Horizon virtual world, and hints at the company’s long-term AR headset plans. And like many events during the pandemic, Connect 7 is being held fully online. Facebook Connect 7 starts with a keynote at 10AM PT / 1PM ET, then continues with panels and developer sessions. It concludes at 7PM PT/ 10PM ET with an “afterparty” concert from Jaden Smith. Unlike the physical events of past years, it’s being condensed into a single day. Connect is being streamed on Facebook Live through the page for Facebook Reality Labs, the company’s AR / VR division. The keynote will go live at 9:55AM PT / 12:55PM ET here, and FRL’s page includes links for the day’s other events, including the highly anticipated 5:30PM PT / 8:30PM ET annual talk by Oculus consulting CTO John Carmack and the 7PM PT / 10PM ET Jaden Smith afterparty. If you’ve got an Oculus Quest VR headset, you can also view the event in Venues, a live VR event space. Venues is currently in beta and doesn’t appear to be available to everyone. But if you’ve got access, you can use the event link here. You can view the full Connect schedule on Facebook’s event page, but there are a few highlights. Connect keynotes typically feature appearances from Facebook executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and chief scientist Michael Abrash, covering the day’s big VR and AR news. In addition to product and game announcements, they outline…

Here’s what we are watching as markets kick into gear Wednesday. —U.S. stocks are poised to extend their rally as investors await the Federal Reserve’s latest views on economic growth and inflation prospects. Oil prices jumped over 2% after data showed that U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly declined. Read our full market wrap here. —What’s coming up. The Federal Reserve releases a policy statement and economic projections at 2 p.m.; Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference at 2:30 p.m., at which he could explain how he and his colleagues are thinking about possible additional steps. Market Movers to Watch — FedEx surged over 8% in offhours trading after the delivery company posted the highest quarterly revenue in its history. United Parcel Service , or UPS, got a leg up as well, advancing about 4.5%. — Facebook ticked down 1.5% in premarket trading on the news that the Federal Trade Commission is gearing up to file a possible antitrust lawsuit against the social-media company by year-end.

(FOX26) — The Visalia Police Department says a guy was able to get his stolen motorcycle back after he saw it up for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

The blame game over the Oregon wildfires is playing out across social media, and Facebook says it’s stepping in to tackle some of the false claims circulating on its platform. Law enforcement agencies have been flooded with calls about online rumors that members of Antifa, an anti-fascist, often far-left-wing movement, were arrested for setting fires across the state. “Reports that extremists are setting wildfires in Oregon are untrue,” the FBI Portland said in a tweet Friday. Since the FBI and other law enforcement agencies confirmed the claims are false, Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said the platform will work to remove the rumors. “This is consistent with our past efforts to remove content that could lead to imminent harm given the possible risk to human life as the fires rage on,” Stone said about the decision. Big Tech has been facing tremendous pressure in recent years to tackle the spread of misinformation on their platforms. The claims that Antifa set the fires started when the anonymous account behind QAnon posted a link to a tweet by Paul Joseph Romero Jr., a former Republican US Senate candidate from Oregon, claiming the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office had six Antifa “arsonists” in custody. It took hours for the rumors to be amplified by QAnon’s followers. Speaking to CNN Saturday, Romero claimed, “My original tweet is not 100% accurate, there is no question about that, but it is mostly accurate.” He said he is not a QAnon follower but has seen some of Q’s posts and said, “I don’t think you can discount more than you can discount anybody.” Romero said he does not plan to remove the tweet. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is urging the public to follow official sources of information and local reputable news outlets. In a Facebook post, the…

ALBANY — What is an artist’s social responsibility? Do artists who make their work public in institutions and galleries across the nation even have a responsibility to deliver inspiration, hope and guidance in their work?A Facebook Live event exploring those questions, Art & Social Responsibility with Juan Logan, will feature the North Carolina artist and be hosted by AMA Executive Director Andrew J. Wulf. The virtual discussion will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday on the museum’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AlbanyMuseumOfArt.“It is a rare treat to spend time with artist Juan Logan,” Wulf said. “At this event, he shall share his thoughts on the artist’s social responsibility and the human condition. As he says, the issues we confront today are relevant to us all. We are delighted to welcome him and our Facebook Live guests virtually to the AMA.”AMA Director of Education and Public Programming Annie Vanoteghem said the Facebook Live event will be easy for people to join.“There are no hoops to jump through,” Vanoteghem said. “You don’t need a password or any special permissions. Just go to the AMA Facebook page at 7 p.m. and join in.”Those who participate will be able to make comments and ask questions of Logan, whose exhibition “JUAN LOGAN: creating & collecting” is currently showing in the Haley Gallery at the AMA, through the Facebook Live commenting feature. Logan said he will begin with observations and comments, followed by the question-and-answer session with Wulf, including questions posed by the public.The event will conclude with a group of AMA members joining with Logan and Wulf in the conversation. Vanoteghem said AMA members who want to participate in the final segment may email her at annie.vanoteghem@albanymuseum.com. “We will have a maximum of 10 members participating in that part,” she said.Logan’s work addresses American culture as a…

Disinformation On Facebook Could Affect The Way You Vote NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Jessica Feezell, of the University of New Mexico, about how much disinformation on Facebook affects voting. September 6, 20207:59 AM ET Disinformation On Facebook Could Affect The Way You Vote Download Embed NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Jessica Feezell, of the University of New Mexico, about how much disinformation on Facebook affects voting.

In the aftermath of the Kenosha shooting, an activist group called Change the Terms is calling on Facebook to institute new policies around potentially dangerous content, including a blanket ban on “event pages that encourage people to bring weapons to events.” In a letter to Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, group called for a broad enhancement of Facebook’s moderation against extremism, including more automated tools for proactive enforcement and better systems for detecting event pages that promote violence. Another recommendation echoes an internal Facebook report (obtained by Buzzfeed News last week) that suggested better monitoring of spikes in user feedback reports. “We cannot stress enough the urgency of our requests,” the letter reads. “You have the power to save lives and significantly influence the health of our democracy.” Reached for comment, Facebook said it was considering the recommendations, but declined to comment further. “We are reviewing Change the Terms’ thoughtful suggestions and look forward to continuing the ongoing conversation with them,” a Facebook representative said. The questions come after the killing of two protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which came after a number of militia-linked event listings on Facebook had encouraged armed attendance. A number of Facebook users reported the pages as likely to incite violence, but moderators refused to remove them prior to the shooting. The morning after the rally, Facebook pulled down the pages, affirming that they did violate Facebook policy. In a public speech, Mark Zuckerberg called the decision “an operational error” resulting from the specialized training given to the moderators who enforce the platform’s Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. Facebook policy on firearm moderation is mixed, and is more lax than many of its competitors. Unlike Google, Facebook does not block gun ads, provided they’re made by a registered dealer and are in accordance with local laws. Facebook…

Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket: Facebook (FB) – Facebook announced it would not accept new political ads in the week before Election Day, and will remove posts that claim people will get Covid-19 if they take part in voting. Facebook will also add informational labels to any posts that seek to delegitimize election results. Tesla (TSLA) – The automaker's largest shareholder, investment management firm Baillie Gifford, has cut its stake in Tesla to less than 5% from 6.32%. Baillie Gifford said it took the action due to portfolio restrictions after the rapid runup in Tesla shares increased its overall percentage of the firm's holdings. Kansas City Southern (KSU) – Private-equity firms Blackstone (BX) and Global Infrastructure Partners have made a takeover offer for the rail operator, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. Kansas City Southern currently has a market value of nearly $18.3 billion, and the paper said the value of the takeover bid could not be learned. Beyond Meat (BYND) – Baird initiated coverage of the plant-based burger maker with an "outperform" rating, saying increased distribution should give Beyond Meat substantial growth over the next several years. Eli Lilly (LLY) – Morgan Stanley upgraded the drug maker's stock to "overweight" from "equal weight," pointing to prospects in the areas of diabetes and Alzheimer's. Verizon (VZ), Amazon.com (AMZN) – Verizon and Amazon are considering a $4 billion investment in India-based telecom company Vodafone Idea, according to a report in India's Mint newspaper. Vodafone Idea is a joint venture between Britain's Vodafone (VOD) and India's Idea Cellular, and such an investment might help it pay $6.8 billion that it owes to the Indian government. Costco (COST) – The warehouse retailer reported a 13.2% rise in August…

A Maryland state official was fired Saturday after sharing social media posts supporting Kyle Rittenhouse, who prosecutors say killed two people and severely wounded a third last week during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin.Arthur "Mac" Love IV had served as deputy director for the Governor's Office of Community Initiatives, which is responsible for outreach to diverse ethnic groups and faith communities. He had been in the role since January 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile.This is one of the FB posts by Governor Hogan's Deputy Director of Community Initiatives.Who oversees - I'm not kidding - the Commission on African American History and Culture.Fire him, @GovLarryHogan, and issue the Exec Order on use of force you should've issued months ago. pic.twitter.com/uNh62cAbtD— Delegate Eric Luedtke (@EricLuedtke) August 29, 2020 Maryland lawmaker Eric Luedtke, a Democratic state delegate, was among those who called for Love's firing. He tweeted Saturday that Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, should "make clear that such a viewpoint has no place in state government" and described the posts as "horrific."Luedtke tweeted a screenshot of one of Love's Facebook posts Saturday, a meme of a grinning white police officer holding two thumbs up with the words, "Don't be a thug if you can't take a slug!""This is one of the FB posts by Governor Hogan's Deputy Director of Community Initiatives. Who oversees — I'm not kidding — the Commission on African American History and Culture. Fire him, @GovLarryHogan, and issue the Exec Order on use of force you should've issued months ago," Luedtke tweeted.Love also reposted pictures that appear to show Rittenhouse cleaning graffiti, the Baltimore Sun reported. The original poster wrote: "I'm grateful that conservatives are rallying behind this kid. He genuinely seems like a good person," according to the newspaper.Steven McAdams, the executive director for the Governor's Office of…

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are donating $300 million to protect American elections. It is one of the couple’s largest-ever single gifts, meant to bolster democracy during a pandemic. But it’s also one that critics say is brimming with irony given Facebook’s past failures in protecting the integrity of elections. The Facebook chief said on Tuesday that he had sent the money to two civic organizations which in turn will direct it to state and local election officials so they can prepare for an unprecedented Election Day. The coronavirus pandemic has caused many states to radically shift — on short notice — how they will administer elections to ensure safety. A majority of Americans say they are anticipating that they will vote early or by mail this year. The majority of the gift, $250 million, will go to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a nonprofit popular with many tech philanthropists, which will then regrant the money to local election officials so they can recruit poll workers, supply them with personal protective equipment, and set up drive-through voting. Another $50 million heads to the Center for Election Innovation & Research to be distributed to Secretaries of State across the country. The money does not come from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, their joint philanthropy, but is a personal donation. “Election officials across the country are working hard to ensure that everyone can vote and every vote can be counted,” Zuckerberg said, “and we want to help make sure they have the resources they need to do this.” And while the money may be sorely needed, the announcement of the gift on Tuesday emerged as an immediate flashpoint in the simmering debate over billionaire philanthropy and whether donations are the best way to enact change. That’s because, to many…