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States sue Meta claiming its social platforms are addictive and harm children’s mental health

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY (AP Technology Writer)Dozens of US states, including California and New York, are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.A lawsuit filed by 33 states in federal court in California, claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law. In addition, nine attorneys general are filing lawsuits in their respective states, bringing the total number of states taking action to 41 and Washington, D.C.“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms,” the complaint says. “It has concealed the ways i...

‘World’s safest asset’ proves anything but amid wild Treasuries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

By Liz Capo McCormick and Michael Mackenzie, Bloomberg NewsA surprisingly strong U.S. economy and mixed signals from the Federal Reserve have fueled some of the wildest swings in Treasuries in recent memory. Add geopolitical angst and a surge in debt supply and you have a recipe for sustained volatility for months to come, market watchers say.Dubbed the “world’s safest asset,” Treasuries have not lived up to that title lately as dramatic moves in yields become an almost daily occurrence. Just last week, the rate on the 10-year swung in a range of almost 40 basis points, buffeted by crosscurrents including resilient retail sales and jobless figures, a bevy of comments from Fed officials and rising demand for haven assets amid concerns of an escalating conflict in the Middle East.“It’s going to be a rough ride, so buckle up,” Mike Schumacher, head of macro strategy at Wells Fargo Securities, said on Bloomberg TV. Interest-rate volatility should “remain quite high, at least through the...

Massachusetts attorney general joins in multi-state, federal lawsuit against Instagram parent Meta

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

Massachusetts’ attorney general has announced that she is suing Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta for “unfair and deceptive practices that harm young people.”“Meta preys on our young people and has chosen to profit by knowingly targeting and exploiting their vulnerabilities. In doing so, Meta has significantly contributed to the ongoing mental health crisis among our children and teenagers,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.Stuart Cahill/Boston HeraldAG Andrea Campbell (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald, File)“Because Meta has shown that it will not act responsibly unless it is required to do so by courts of law, my colleagues and I are taking action today — and will continue to push for meaningful changes to Meta’s platforms that protect our young people,” she added.Campbell said the lawsuit will be filed in Suffolk Superior Court today, joining “a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general” also filing similar lawsuits against Meta.The AG’s ...

Boston PR firm won’t hire Harvard grads who signed pro-Palestinian open letter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

Harvard students need not apply at Regan Communications Group.George Regan, chairman and founder, is refusing to hire Harvard University students whose organizations signed on to a letter blaming Israel solely for the deadly attacks by Hamas.Regan will also pose a hiring ban on anyone who protests against Israel. Regan Communications Group employs over 100 people in 12 offices across the United States including its headquarters in Boston, as well as offices in New York City, Palm Beach, FL, Providence, Rhode Island, New London, CT, Charleston, SC, and Cape Cod.“As a human being, I was appalled and outraged by the October 7th sneak attack and massacre of innocent men, women and children (many of them babies) in the nation of Israel at the hands of the terrorist group Hamas,” Regan said in a statement.“I have had the great privilege to travel to Israel on many occasions with Robert and the late Myra Kraft and Abe Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamatio...

Bob Melvin is leaving the Padres to manage the Giants, AP sources say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants have hired manager Bob Melvin away from the division rival San Diego Padres, three people with direct knowledge of the agreement said Tuesday.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither team had made a formal announcement of Melvin's hiring — which was likely to be official by late Tuesday night. The Athletic first reported Melvin was the Giants' choice.The 61-year-old Melvin will be returning to the Bay Area where he grew up, cheered for and later played for the Giants and then managed the Oakland Athletics from 2011-21. An introductory news conference is planned for Wednesday.Melvin had one year left on his contract with San Diego but leaves amid reports of friction with general manager A.J. Preller. Melvin managed the Padres for two seasons, reaching the 2022 NL Championship Series but then missing the playoffs this season with a $258 million payroll, the third-highest in the majors. It's unclear...

Anchor of Chinese container vessel caused damage to Balticconnector gas pipeline, Finnish police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish investigators said Tuesday they believed an anchor of a Chinese container ship was dislodged and caused the damage to the undersea Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia on the Baltic Sea earlier this month.The National Bureau of Investigation, a branch of the Finnish police, said that it has evidence and data pointing to the Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel Newnew Polar Bear as the culprit in damaging the pipeline running across the Gulf of Finland. Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi, NBI’s head of the investigation, said in a news conference on Tuesday that a 1.5 to 4-meter-wide dragging trail on the seabed is seen to lead to the point of damage in the gas pipeline.That trail is believed to have been caused by a heavy 6-ton anchor which the Finnish Navy retrieved late Monday.“There are traces in the (anchor) which indicate that it has been in contact with the gas pipeline,” Lohi said, citing data from expert analysis.Whether the pipeline da...

Montana man investigated in disappearance of 14-year-old is arrested on child sex abuse charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A 36-year-old man living in Montana with a teenager who mysteriously disappeared from Arizona four years ago has been charged with two felony counts of child sexual abuse based on images found on his phone, authorities said Tuesday.Edmund Davis was arrested Monday in Chinook, Montana, and is being held in the Hill County Detention Center on a $1 million bond ordered by state District Court Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz. It was unknown if Davis is considered a suspect in the disappearance of Alicia Navarro. Authorities in Arizona said that investigation remains ongoing. Navarro left a note behind and disappeared days before her 15th birthday, sparking a massive search that included the FBI. She was almost 19 when she walked into the Havre, Montana, police station in July and said she wanted to be removed from the missing persons list. Over the years, Navarro’s mother, Jessica Nuñez, said that her daughter, who was diagnosed with autism, may have been lured away by som...

Former reality TV star who was on ‘Basketball Wives LA’ sentenced to prison for fraud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A former cast member of the reality TV show “Basketball Wives LA” was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for 15 fraud-related felonies, including schemes connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.Brittish Williams, 33, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in May to five federal counts of misuse of a Social Security number, four counts of bank fraud, three counts of making false statements to the IRS and three counts of wire fraud. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke said the actions took place over roughly a decade, and the crimes continued even after Williams was indicted.U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey also ordered Williams to pay restitution of $565,000.“You knew what you were doing. You knew it was wrong and you did it anyway,” Autrey said.Federal authorities said Williams illegally obtained loans meant for businesses hurt by the pandemic. They said she also used false Social Security numbers to defraud banks and credit card companies, submitted fake medical ...

Woman killed by husband had filed police complaint, Quebec coroner’s inquest hears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

MONTREAL — A Montreal woman killed along with her two young sons by her estranged husband in 2019 told police more than a year earlier that she had received death threats and believed her husband was mentally ill.In August 2018, Dahia Khellaf had filed a domestic violence complaint with Montreal police, detailing incidents in which Nabil Yssaad twisted her arm and tried to bite her upon leaving a bank meeting and another when he threatened her with scissors.She told police she wanted to separate from her husband, wondered if he was suffering from schizophrenia and feared for her own safety — but not that of her children.A Montreal police investigator, Det.-Sgt. Caroline Raza, outlined the allegations during the second day of a coroner’s inquest into the killings of 42-year-old Khellaf and her sons, four-year-old Adam and two-year-old Aksil.Police homicide investigators concluded the three were strangled by Yssaad before he took his own life by leaping from a hospital window.Th...

Montreal fire department carries out hundreds of inspections after deadly March blaze

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:11 GMT

Montreal’s fire department says that since a fire in Old Montreal killed seven people in March, it has carried out 460 targeted inspections as part of a push to secure potentially hazardous buildings. The operation initially focused on heritage buildings in the city core but was later expanded to include other high-risk buildings and buildings subject to citizen complaints, which tripled following the March 16 blaze.The fire department says it identified 2,042 elements that did not conform to the fire safety rules and issued 13 notices to property owners demanding immediate changes.The 460 targeted inspections through the end of September were in addition to 5,292 regular building inspections that the fire department carried out between January and September.Fire department assistant director Chantal Bibeau said today the operation is part of an updated fire prevention strategy that takes into account such challenges as an aging population and building stock.The Montreal polic...