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Ticker: TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe’s strict data privacy rules; English soccer club Everton to be bought by American investment firm 777 Partners

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children’s privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe’s strict data privacy rules.Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are largely in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok 345 million euros and reprimanding the platform for the violations dating to the second half of 2020.The investigation found that the sign-up process for teen users resulted in settings that made their accounts public by default, allowing anyone to view and comment on their videos. Those default settings also posed a risk to children under 13 who gained access to the platform even though they’re not allowed.English soccer club Everton to be bought by American investment firm 777 PartnersAmerican investors just can’t seem to get enough of the Premier League.Eve...

Lee calling!

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

That wasn’t a runaway train you heard last night. It was Hurricane Lee on its way to Maine. The state says they are prepared for the worst, but be on the lookout for downed wires and huge waves along the shore.Surfers try to catch waves at Nahant Beach as winds pick up as a result of Hurricane Lee’a approach to the area and tropical storm warnings take effect. (Amanda Sabga/Boston Herald)A woman braces in the wind while watching water sport enthusiasts take to the waves at Nahant Beach as wind speeds pick up as a result of Hurricane Lee’a approach to the area and tropical storm warnings take effect. (Amanda Sabga/Boston Herald)Activity at the Scituate Boat Ramp prior to Hurricane Lee. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)A couple pulls a boat from the water along Wollaston Beach ahead of the storm. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)This Friday afternoon satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Lee, right, ne...

Woman dead in apparent fall at US-Mexico border: SDPD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A woman was found dead Friday in an apparent fall from the U.S.-Mexico border wall, authorities said.The incident occurred around 2:36 p.m. at Drucker Lane and Siempre Viva Road in Otay Mesa, the San Diego Police Department told FOX 5. PHOTOS: San Diego sky lit up by rocket blazing over county First responders are investigating at the scene.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Hawaii officials say DNA tests drop Maui fire death count to 97

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Authorities in Hawaii have adjusted the number of deaths from the deadly Maui wildfires down to at least 97 people. Previously officials said they believed at least 115 people had died in the fires, but further testing showed they had multiple DNA samples from some of those who died. The number of those who were missing also fell from 41 to 31, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said. John Byrd, laboratory director with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, said during a press conference Friday afternoon that the current number of dead should be considered a minimum, because it’s possible that toll could rise. Determining the death toll from the Aug. 8 wildfires in Lahaina has been especially complicated because of the damage caused by the fire and the chaos as people tried to escape, officials said. In some cases, animal remains were inadvertently collected along with human remains. So far, 74 of the deceased have been positively identified, Pelletier said. Th...

CP NewsAlert: Saskatchewan child advocate says pronoun policy violates rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s child advocate has released a report saying the province’s pronoun and gender policy in schools violates rights and is discriminatory.More coming.The Canadian Press

North Carolina officials reverse course to allow Christmas parade after girl’s death last year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials will allow a Christmas parade in the capital city after a truck towing a float struck and killed a girl during last year’s event.The city of Raleigh reversed course late Friday after initially denying the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association’s request for a permit for the Raleigh Christmas Parade, The News & Observer reported.The Nov. 18 parade in downtown Raleigh will operate without motorized vehicles or floats, according to a statement from the association’s executive director, Jennifer Martin.City officials approached the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association on Friday with a compromise for a non-motorized parade after issuing the initial denial on Thursday, Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told The News & Observer.Hailey Brooks, 11, was killed during last year’s parade when she was hit by a pickup truck towing a float after the driver lost control. Landen Glass, then 20, was initially charged with misdemeanor death by motor veh...

Kansas will no longer change trans people’s birth certificates to reflect their gender identities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will no longer change transgender people’s birth certificates to reflect their gender identities, the state health department said Friday, citing a new law that prevents the state from legally recognizing those identities.The decision from the state Department of Health and Environment makes Kansas one of a handful of states that won’t change transgender people’s birth certificates. It already was among the few states that don’t change the gender marker on transgender people’s driver’s licenses.Those decisions reverse policies that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration set when she took office in 2019. They came in response to court filings by conservative Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach to enforce the new state law. Enacted by the GOP-controlled Legislature over Kelly’s veto, it took effect July 1 and defines male and female based only on the sex assigned to a person at birth.Jaelynn Abe...

Man gets 15 years to life for killing commuter he shoved into moving train in unprovoked attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A man who killed a commuter by shoving him into the side of a moving train in an unprovoked attack at a San Diego station was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, prosecutors announced Friday.Ryan Rukstelis, 27, was sentenced Thursday for the attack on New Year’s Day last year.Prosecutors said Rukstelis attacked 68-year-old Martin Andara at the Old Town Transit Station. Andara, who was heading to work at a supermarket. Both men had been on the same trolley for about a half-hour beforehand but didn’t interact before they got off at the station. “Rukstelis is seen on surveillance video walking ahead of Andara, then slowing and stopping to wait until he is even with the victim. Rukstelis suddenly attacked Andara for no reason, punching him and pushing him directly into a freight train that was moving past them,” the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Andara struck his head and died almost instantly, the office said.Ru...

Brazil restores stricter climate goals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil is reinstating stronger greenhouse gas commitments it made in 2015 as part of the Paris Agreement that were weakened under former President Jair Bolsonaro.The announcement was made Thursday by the country’s Committee on Climate Change, a joint body made up of 18 government ministries. “Brazil is a major actor in helping the planet in this challenging moment,” Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said during the committee meeting in Brasilia.The change will be officially transmitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international body that works to advance global action on climate change. It tracks each country’s Nationally Determined Contribution or commitment to reducing national emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement.During the tenure of far-right President Bolsonaro, Brazil backtracked on its Nationally Determined Contribution calculation twice. The most recent weakening occurred in 2021 and was es...

Former top US diplomat sentenced in Qatar lobbying scheme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former top U.S. ambassador was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $93,350 fine Friday for improperly helping a wealthy Persian Gulf country influence U.S. policy and for not disclosing gifts he received from a disgraced political fundraiser.Richard G. Olson, the State Department’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the end of the Obama administration, pleaded guilty last year to illegally providing aid and advice to Qatar while working for Imaad Zuberi, a once prolific political donor who is serving a 12-year prison sentence for tax evasion, campaign finance violations and failing to register as a foreign agent.Olson is one of the most high-profile former government officials to face prosecution amid the Justice Department’s push in recent years to crack down on unreported or illegal influence campaigns funded by foreign governments seeking to alter U.S. policy.U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey said at the sentenc...