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Spanish newspaper association files multimillion-euro suit against Meta over advertising practices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish association representing more than 80 newspapers has filed a lawsuit against Facebook parent Meta accusing it of unfair competition in online advertising by allegedly ignoring European Union rules on data protection.In a statement, the Information Media Association said it is demanding 550 million euros ($600 million) from the social media giant. The association represents dozens of newspapers including Spain’s principal dailies El País, El Mundo, ABC and La Vanguardia.The association accuses Meta of “systematic and massive non-compliance” with EU data protection regulations between May 2018, when they took force, and July 2023.It said Meta has repeatedly ignored the requirement that citizens give their consent to the use of their data for advertising profiling.The company declined to comment, saying it hadn’t seen the legal papers.Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms have long used behavioral advertising to make money. The practice involves tracking...

Are we witnessing the end of retirement?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, the concept of retirement used to be a few years at the end of your life between when you stopped working and when you died. But the average lifespan kept increasing, while the retirement age stayed at 65. Now Canadians believe they’ll need $1.7 million to retire in comfort, and most of the 1,000 people retiring each day in this country don’t have it. When you combine that with the economic turmoil, high interest rates and increasing cost of living, the savings they do have aren’t stretching as far as expected, either. So many “retirees” are going back to work.Cathrin Bradbury is a formerly “retired” journalist who wrote about retirement for The Walrus. She says part of the problem is a lack of conversation about what comes next as we near the end of our careers.“We made it illegal to say people had to retire [and] the conversation sort of stopped there, nobody said, ‘well, what’s that going to look like?’...

UN warns that 2 boats adrift on Andaman Sea with 400 Rohingya aboard desperately need rescue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency on Monday sounded the alarm for about 400 Rohingya Muslims believed to be aboard two boats reported to be out of supplies and adrift on the Andaman Sea.The agency, also called UNHCR, worries that all aboard could die without efforts to rescue them, said Babar Baloch, its Bangkok-based regional spokesperson.“There are about 400 children, women and men looking death in the eye if there are no moves to save these desperate souls,” he told The Associated Press. He said the boats that apparently embarked from Bangladesh are reported to have been at sea for about two weeks.The captain of one boat, contacted by the AP on Saturday, said he had 180 to 190 people on board, they were out of food and water and the engine was damaged.“They are worried they are all going to die,”″ said the captain, who gave his name as Maan Nokim.On Sunday, Nokim said the boat was 320 kilometers (200 miles) from Thailand’s west coast. A Thai navy spokesperson, contacte...

Guinea-Bissau’s president dissolves the nation’s parliament after last week’s failed coup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has dissolved the West African nation’s parliament, according to a presidential decree issued on Monday that cited last week’s shootout which the government said was a failed coup.“The date for holding the next legislative elections will be set in due time in accordance with the provisions of … the Constitution,” the decree stated. “This Presidential Decree comes into force immediately.”The order referred to the “seriousness,” of the shootout which started in the capital, Bissau, between members of the Presidential Palace Battalion and the National Guard as the former tried to rearrest two ministers released from custody while being investigated for alleged corruption.Guinea-Bissau’s semi-presidential system limits the president’s powers by allowing the majority party in the parliament to appoint the Cabinet. As a result, the National Guard — which is under the Ministry of Interior — is largely controlled by t...

Missing kangaroo found safe after escaping in Oshawa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

An escaped female kangaroo has been found safe after it was last seen in Oshawa on Friday.Durham Regional Police say the kangaroo was spotted by officers around 3 a.m. Monday and then was successfully apprehended by handlers around 6 a.m.“Officers were able to communicate with the kangaroo’s handler,” reads an update from police. “The kangaroo will be checked out by zoo staff, but appears uninjured.”Members from @DRPSCEDiv spotted the missing Kangaroo at approx. 3am this morning. Officers were able to communicate with the Kangaroo's handlers and successfully apprehended him at approx. 6am this morning. The Kangaroo will be checked out by zoo staff but appears uninjured. pic.twitter.com/XnnS3L7XDC— Durham Regional Police (@DRPS) December 4, 2023Oshawa zoo officials confirmed with CityNews that the animal was capture by the police canine unit and is safe at the zoo awaiting transport to Quebec.The animal had been previously spotted in Durham R...

Emergency hearing to be held on Brighton Park migrant base camp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

CHICAGO — A hearing is scheduled Monday to determine if the construction of a migrant base camp in Brighton Park will be put on pause.Construction work continues on a large winterized tent camp that will soon shelter migrants in Brighton Park, despite a report showing that the site was contaminated. Environmental advocates say it is the latest example of unfair treatment that people on the city's Southwest Side are experiencing. There is a pending lawsuit and an emergency hearing is scheduled to take place on Monday where a judge will decide if work at the site near 38th and California will be halted or continue.  Man beaten, stabbed in early-morning attack on Near North Side "The fact that they have chosen to do this, you know, on a truck lot by the highway in the industrial corridor, on what we know find out to be toxic land kind of underscores a lack of attention to, you know, the safety of people involved," Anthony Moser, the founder of Neighbors For Environmental, s...

1 dead after shooting at hotel in Oakbrook Terrace; person in custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. — Police are investigating a deadly shooting at the Hilton Hotel in Oakbrook Terrace Saturday night.Police from multiple west suburbs were called to the hotel near 10 Drury Lane at around 8:30 p.m. on a report of shots fired. Brighton Park migrant camp nearing completion, despite opposition When officers arrived on the scene, they found a person who had been shot multiple times, police said. Officers say the victim later succumbed to their injuries.Police say a person of interest was taken into custody and authorities have not yet identified anyone involved.Hotel guests were outside for hours before they were cleared to return to their rooms.Currently, it is unclear what led to the shooting and an investigation is underway.

Actor Michael B. Jordan crashes his Ferrari in Hollywood: reports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

(KTLA) - Michael B. Jordan crashed his Ferrari in Hollywood late Saturday night, according to multiple reports.Los Angeles Police Department officials confirmed to Nexstar's KTLA that officers responded to the intersection of Sunset and Beachwood Drive just before 11:35 p.m. on reports of a traffic collision. Officers found that a vehicle had struck another one that was parked, police said. According to TMZ, the Ferrari belongs to and was being driven by actor Michael B. Jordan, known for his roles in the "Creed" films and "Black Panther" and was People Magazine’s 2020 Sexiest Man Alive. ‘Supernatural’ actor Mark Sheppard survives ‘six massive heart attacks’ Stringer service OnSceneTV also reported that Jordan was behind the wheel, but those reports could not be confirmed by the LAPD. Footage captured by OnSceneTV shows that the right side of the light blue Ferrari 812 Superfast sustained major damage as a result of the collision, with the vehicle’s front right ...

Schools crack down on cell phones, sparking debate on safety and tech use

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

(The Hill) -- Schools are finding creative ways to stop students from using their cell phones during the day, fueling debates about the effectiveness and wisdom of such bans. Some schools have partnered with companies to implement the use of pouches that students are required to put their phones into at the beginning of the day and that don’t unlock until the final bell rings, while others are threatening punishments including suspension if a student is caught with their phone, even at lunchtime.Educators appear ecstatic about getting students off their phones during class, but there are lingering concerns from both parents and children about being phoneless in emergency situations and whether this is the best way to address the problem.Renesha Parks, chief wellness officer at Richmond Public Schools in Virginia, told The Hill of a pilot policy they are implementing in six schools at the beginning of 2024 to stop cell phone usage, partnering with Yondr, which creates magnetic pouche...

Round Rock ISD trustees called to return donations from embattled PAC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:54 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) – Two Round Rock Independent School District board members are facing calls to return thousands of campaign dollars they received from a political group, following news of the former president of the group meeting with a widely known white supremacist, antisemitic podcaster.The group under fire for the meeting – Defend Texas Liberty PAC – donated $13,000 to RRISD Trustee Mary Bone and $18,000 to trustee Danielle Weston in December 2021, according to Texas Ethics Commission records. Those were the largest donations they received. Neither were up for reelection at the time.The contributions attracted little attention until early October, when the Texas Tribune revealed Defend Texas Liberty’s former president Jonathan Stickland met for hours at his office with Nick Fuentes, a prominent activist who has denied the holocaust and praised Adolf Hitler. The October confab sparked powerful conservative leaders to renounce the meeting and redirect donations from the g...