West
San Francisco Zoo to welcome pair of pandas from China, mayor says
Panda loan agreement ending with most U.S. zoos
FOX News correspondent Gillian Turner reports on how the U.S.’s panda loan agreement is ending in December for most zoos with Pandas only remaining at Atlanta Zoo after the deadline on ‘Special Report.’
- San Francisco is set to receive a pair of pandas from China, continuing the tradition of “panda diplomacy.”
- Mayor London Breed announced the panda loan during her visit to Beijing alongside officials from the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
- This will be San Francisco’s first long-term hosting of pandas, following a yearlong advocacy campaign.
San Francisco is the latest U.S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing’s famed “panda diplomacy.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the panda loan in Beijing on Friday, alongside officials from China Wildlife Conservation Association, or CWCA. It will be San Francisco’s first time hosting the beloved animals long-term — the result of a yearlong advocacy campaign, Breed said.
San Diego previously announced it was receiving two pandas back in February.
OUTSIDE OF CHINA, PANDAS ARE ONLY FOUND IN THESE 5 ZOOS AROUND THE WORLD
China is home to the only natural habitat for pandas and owns most of the black-and-white bears in the world. Beijing loans the animals to other countries as a tool for diplomacy and wildlife conservation.
San Francisco is the latest U.S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing’s famed “panda diplomacy.” (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
“San Francisco is absolutely thrilled to be welcoming giant pandas to the San Francisco Zoo,” Breed said after signing a letter of intent for international cooperation on giant panda conservation.
Breed said the city had been working with its Chinese and Asian communities to advocate for the pandas for almost a year leading up to an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in San Francisco last November, during which the U.S. and Chinese presidents met.
CWCA Secretary General Wu Minglu said the association will work with San Francisco officials to prepare for the pandas’ arrival and to ensure the technical standards for their conservation.
“We look forward to a pair of giant pandas being in San Francisco in 2025,” he said.
When San Diego broke the news in February that it would receive a pair of pandas, it was the first time in more than two decades that China had agreed to send pandas to the United States.
Only four giant pandas are currently in the U.S., all at the zoo in Atlanta. China in recent years has not renewed loan agreements at zoos in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, sparking fears it was ending its historic panda diplomacy with Western nations due to geopolitical tensions.
The black-and-white bears have been a symbol of U.S.-China friendship ever since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 1972, ahead of the normalization of bilateral relations. China later loaned pandas to zoos to help breed cubs and boost the population.
Friday’s announcement comes ahead of a planned visit to China next week by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Washington and Beijing have boosted their diplomatic exchanges in recent months, in an effort to ease escalating tensions. But frictions remain on trade, national security and the countries’ diverging stances on conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war.
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San Francisco, CA
Oakland, California, airport can use ‘San Francisco’ in name after settlement
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco has settled a two-year legal fight with its neighbor across the bay that will allow the city of Oakland to include “San Francisco” in its airport’s name if it doesn’t highlight the two words in any way.
The settlement announced Tuesday allows Oakland’s airport to be called “Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport,” but it bars the city from spotlighting “San Francisco” or “San Francisco Bay” in fonts, highlights, different colors or any other way. It also requires Oakland to use the word “bay” right after “San Francisco” and bans it from using the word “International” in the airport’s name, even though it provides international flights.
The spat began in 2024 after Oakland, a diverse port city often seen as the underdog in the Bay Area compared to its richer neighbor to the west, changed its airport’s name to “San Francisco-Oakland Bay Airport,” prompting San Francisco officials to sue over what they said was a trademark violation.
The two airports are across from each other on the San Francisco Bay and about 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) driving distance.
Oakland officials said the name modification was necessary to help travelers unfamiliar with the region place the city in the Bay Area. They said visitors often fly into San Francisco’s airport even if their destination is closer to the Oakland airport. The airport’s three-letter code OAK did not change.
“We’re proud Oakland fought for, and preserved the right to retain our airport’s full name that puts Oakland first and recognizes OAK’s location on the San Francisco Bay,” Mary Richardson, attorney for the Port of Oakland, which manages the airport, said in a statement.
San Francisco argued having “San Francisco” in Oakland’s airport name would confuse travelers, especially those flying in from abroad and those unfamiliar with the Bay Area. But on Tuesday, San Francisco officials had a friendlier tone.
“We are grateful to have reached a resolution in this matter,” San Francisco International Airport Director Mike Nakornkhet said. “This agreement provides clarity for travelers to make informed decisions about travel through our respective airports.”
Neither side admitted liability, and there was no monetary settlement.
San Francisco International Airport, known as SFO, is owned by the city, though technically located south of it.
Denver, CO
Re/Max to be sold, headquarters to leave Denver
Re/Max Holdings, the residential real estate firm that has been based in Denver since its 1973 founding, has agreed to be sold.
The Real Brokerage, a publicly traded firm based in Miami, Florida, has agreed to pay $13.80 per share for Re/Max, whose headquarters is at 5075 S. Syracuse St. in the Denver Tech Center.
“The acquisition brings together two complementary business models, uniting Real’s AI-powered, high-growth brokerage platform, proprietary software and vibrant agent community with REMAX’s iconic real estate brand and expansive global franchise network with a presence in more than 120 countries and territories and more than 145,000 agents,” the companies said.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
The combined company will have 180,000 agents, the companies said. It will be headquartered in Miami, although a joint news release says “significant operations” will remain in Denver.
Shareholders of Re/Max, a real estate brokerage franchisor, will have the option of being paid in cash or receiving 5.15 shares of the combined public company, which will be known as Real ReMax group.
With 20.1 million outstanding shares of Re/Max stock, the $13.80 figure values the company at about $278 million.
In the joint news release, the firms said the deal values Re/Max at $880 million, a figure that includes debt. When the deal closes, the companies said, Real shareholders are expected to own about 59% of the combined company, with Re/Max shareholders owning the remainder.
Tamir Poleg, who leads Real, will serve as CEO of the combined company.
Shares of Re/Max stock closed Friday at $7.99, up 8% year to date but down about 90% from a peak of $67.20 in October 2017.
On Monday, Re/Max shares spiked 24% but only reached $9.94 — well below the $13.80 figure. That suggests some doubt among investors that the deal will come to fruition.
Real Brokerage investors didn’t cheer the announcement. Its shares fell 24% Monday.
Re/Max was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger. The company has been led since 2023 by CEO Erik Carlson. At the end of 2025, it had 519 employees, about half of them in the Denver area.
The company had revenue of $291.6 million last year, down from $307 million in 2024, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Re/Max has been headquartered on South Syracuse Street in Denver since 2008. The building is owned by Denver-based Kore Investments, which paid $115.2 million in 2018 for the 12-story, 242,000-square-foot structure. At the time, Re/Max leased the entire building, although it subleased multiple floors.
In 2021, Re/Max executives told BusinessDen that the company, which then had about 600 employees, was decreasing the number of floors the company used from nine to five.
Re/Max didn’t respond to a request for comment. The company’s Denver lease is up in about 18 months, a source told BusinessDen. Before Monday’s announcement, the company hired a broker to scout other local office options, with an eye on 75,000 square feet, the source said.
If the deal closes, Re/Max would be the second public company headquarters that Denver has lost so far this year. The first was Palantir, which abruptly moved its headquarters to Florida in February.
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Seattle, WA
Seattle’s drug diversion plan falters as open-air use persists in neighborhood hotspots
SEATTLE — In neighborhoods like Little Saigon, near 12th and Jackson, the drug crisis is hard to miss.
Crowds gather on sidewalks, some openly using drugs while others sell stolen goods. The area has become one of Seattle’s most visible hotspots for crime, disorder, and overdose response.
RELATED | Seattle rolls out diversion program for misdemeanor drug cases
Seattle’s drug ordinance was meant to address scenes like this. It requires police to focus on diversion, not jail, for people caught using or possessing drugs.
On Tuesday, the Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee received a presentation on the effectiveness of the drug law and the diversion programs officers can make referrals to instead of jail.
Under department policy, officers are encouraged to refer people to treatment or services whenever possible. Arrest is supposed to be a last resort. And programs like LEAD, or Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, are available 24/7 to divert people before they ever reach jail.
Research presented during the public safety presentation shows diversion can work. Independent studies found LEAD reduced repeat offenses by nearly 60%, cut felony charges, and significantly increased housing and employment outcomes.
However, the reality on the ground looks significantly different.
SEE ALSO | Belltown residents report rampant drug activity despite new SODA law
Open drug use remains a common sight in some of Seattle’s hardest-hit neighborhoods, even as the city’s drug law was designed to prioritize treatment over jail.
From 2024 to 2025, pre-arrest diversion dropped by 41%, and LEAD diversions overall fell by 30%. At the same time, arrests increased by 47%.
Funding cuts to LEAD in recent years had an impact on reducing its capacity, though that funding has since been stabilized.
During the meeting, Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said diversion is still a key part of the solution, but not the only one. Barnes said officers need clearer standards for when to act, especially as the public grows frustrated seeing illegal drug use happening openly, sometimes right in front of police.
Current policy includes a broad checklist of factors before making an arrest, from a person’s behavior to their location near schools, parks, or transit. That complexity can lead to inaction.
SEE ALSO | Evaluating Seattle’s efforts against open-air drug use presents progress and challenges
Barnes also pointed to operational realities, including staffing challenges and limited diversion capacity, as factors affecting how the law is being enforced.
Meanwhile, illegal street sales continue to fuel the crisis, creating environments where drug use, theft, and violence intersect.
During public testimony at the start of the meeting, some community members said what’s needed is a more balanced approach, one that enforces clear public behavior standards while expanding access to treatment and outreach.
Without that, the system risks leaving neighborhoods unsafe while also not providing the help needed by people living with addiction.
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