Mar 30, 2017 - Technology

Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey to leave Facebook

Marco Verch / Flickr cc

Palmer Luckey, the 24-year-old co-founder of Oculus — the virtual reality company Facebook acquired for $2 billion in 2014 — is leaving the social media giant at the end of this week, as UploadVR first reported and Facebook confirmed to Axios.

"Palmer will be dearly missed," a Facebook spokesperson told Axios in a statement. "We're thankful for everything he did for Oculus and VR, and we wish him all the best."

Bad PR: Luckey made headlines last year when the Daily Beast reported that he was linked to the right-wing, anti-Clinton group Nimble America. Luckey only admitted to donating to the group.

Luckey remained out of the public eye until January, when he testified in a trial over whether Oculus—and Facebook—had stolen trade secrets from ZeniMax, a company that previously employed Oculus CTO John Carmack. ZeniMax won the lawsuit, and Facebook and Oculus were ordered to pay $500 million for using its technology.

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 19,648,084 — Total deaths: 727,024 — Total recoveries — 11,941,723 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 4,998,105 — Total deaths: 162,425 — Total recoveries: 1,643,118 — Total tests: 61,080,587 — Map.
  3. Politics: Trump signs 4 executive actions on coronavirus aid — Democrats, and some Republicans, criticize the move
  4. Public health: Fauci says chances are "not great" that COVID-19 vaccine will be 98% effective — 1 in 3 Americans would decline COVID-19 vaccine.
  5. Science: Indoor air is the next coronavirus frontline.
  6. Schools: How back-to-school is playing out in the South as coronavirus rages on — Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Howard to hold fall classes online.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Rebecca Falconer
Updated 2 hours ago - World

Brazil coronavirus death toll tops 100,000 and case numbers surpass 3 million

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro posted a photo of himself to Facebook congratulating his soccer team, Palmeiras, for winning the state title Saturday, moments after the health ministry confirmed the national COVID-19 death toll had surpassed 100,000.

Why it matters: Brazil is only the second country to confirm more than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus. On Sunday morning, it became the second country to surpass 3 million cases, per Johns Hopkins. Only the U.S. has reported more. Bolsonaro has yet to address the milestones. He has previously tested positive for COVID-19 three times, but he's downplayed the impact of the virus, which has crippled Brazil's economy.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with the latest coronavirus case numbers and more context.

Axios
Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Republicans and Democrats react to Trump's coronavirus aid action

President Trump speaks to workers at a manufacturing facility in Clyde, Ohio, on Thursday. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Some Republicans joined Democrats in criticizing President Trump Saturday night for taking executive action on coronavirus aid, with Democratic leaders demanding the GOP return to negotiations after stimulus package talks broke down a day earlier.

Why it matters: Trump could face legal challenges on his ability to act without congressional approval, where the constitutional power lies on federal spending. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) was the most vocal Republican critic, saying in a statement: "The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop."

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow