Facebook makes a $1 billion housing bid; Nike, Under Armour CEOs step down, and more top news

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Facebook is pledging $1 billion to boost affordable housing in California, producing up to 20,000 new housing units for workers over the next decade. The tech giant follows Google and Microsoft in making record donations to address housing shortages on the West Coast, after contributing to the problem for years by employing droves of highly paid workers. California is short of 3.4 million housing units, and housing experts say recent pledges will hardly make a dent in the housing crisis. ? Here’s what people are saying.

A second athletic apparel chief announced his resignation — hours after Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank said he was stepping down. Nike CEO Mark Parker will be succeeded by ServiceNow CEO John Donahoe at the beginning of 2020, while UA Chief Operating Officer Patrik Frisk will replace Plank. Parker has been with Nike for four decades and became the company’s CEO in 2006, while Plank founded Under Armour 23 years ago, “in his grandmother’s basement.” Both Parker and Plank plan to stay on as executive chairmen at their respective companies. ? Here’s what people are saying. 

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank will take an 80% stake in WeWork as part of its $9.5 billion rescue deal. Former CEO Adam Neumann, who leaves with $1.7 billion and almost no role at the office-leasing startup he founded, will be replaced by SoftBank executive and newly appointed executive chairman Marcelo Claure. The agreement, which comes after a botched IPO last month, values the company at about $8 billion, down from $47 billion earlier this year. ? Here’s what people are saying.

JPMorgan Chase hired over 2,000 people with criminal records last year, or 10% of its total hires, and says it plans to continue doing so. Despite the bank's “banning the box” stance — whereby companies no longer ask about criminal history — it was made aware of the employees' history through background checks, it said. Those workers were mostly offered entry-level roles such as account servicing. In the U.S., the unemployment rate for the formerly incarcerated stands at 27%, while wider unemployment is at 3.5%. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Eleven of the 15 parents swept up in the high-profile college admissions scam have been hit with a federal bribery charge. The 15, which includes actress Lori Loughlin, had already faced fraud and money laundering charges, and four parents who pleaded guilty earlier this week to those have escaped the new charge. The parents had secured their children’s admissions to universities such as the University of Southern California by paying a “college consultant” to misrepresent their children as athletes. ? Here’s what people are saying. 

Idea of the Day: We’re at a crossroads in our relationship with technology, says Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global.

“The rise of A.I. is only accelerating the urgency to put humanity at the center. We will have technology that either augments our humanity or undermines it.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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— Jessica Hartogs