Dec 20, 2017

​Why an entertainment expert is a real estate VC's newest hire

Kia Kokalitcheva

Natalie Bruss. Photo: Fifth Wall Ventures

Natalie Bruss, former VP of digital strategy for Hollywood PR powerhouse ID, has joined real estate-focused VC firm Fifth Wall Ventures as a partner.

The twist: Bruss may at first appear to be an odd hire for Fifth Wall, but partner Brad Greiwe says she has the exact expertise that large real estate incumbents need as their industry evolves to focus more on experiences and services. Office space is no longer long-term leases for empty buildings—it's WeWork's hip month-to-month co-working model and The Wing's exclusive space for women (neither of which are Fifth Wall investments).

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Axios

Bernie Sanders wins Nevada caucus

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders waves to supporters at a campaign rally on Friday in Las Vegas. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders is projected to handily win the Nevada Democratic primary caucus, becoming the clear frontrunner among 2020 Democratic presidential primary election candidates.

Why it matters: Nevada is the first state with a diverse population to hold a nominating contest, highlighting candidates' abilities to connect with voters of color — particularly Latino voters.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Axios

South Korea and Italy see spikes in coronavirus cases

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The novel coronavirus has spread to more nations, and the U.S. reports a doubling of its confirmed cases to 34 — while noting these are mostly due to repatriated citizens, emphasizing there's no "community spread" yet in the United States.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 2,362 people and infected more than 77,000 others, mostly in mainland China. New countries to announce infections recently include Israel and Lebanon, while Iran reported its sixth death from the virus. South Korea's confirmed cases jumped from 204 Friday to 433 on Saturday and Italy's case count rose from 3 to 62 by Saturday.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 6 hours ago - Health
Rashaan Ayesh

America's rundown roads add to farmers' struggles

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

American farmers are struggling to safely use the roads that cut through their fields; decades of neglect and lack of funding have made the routes dangerous.

The big picture: President Trump has long promised to invest billions in rural infrastructure, and his latest proposal would allocate $1 trillion for such projects. Rural America, where many of Trump's supporters live, would see a large chunk of that money.

Go deeperArrow11 hours ago - Economy & Business