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Amazon to pay $31 million in privacy violation penalties for Alexa voice assistant and Ring camera

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon agreed Wednesday to pay a $25 million civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations it violated a child privacy law and deceived parents by keeping for years kids’ voice and location data recorded by its popular Alexa voice assistant.Separately, the company agreed to pay $5.8 million in customer refunds for alleged privacy violations involving its doorbell camera Ring.The Alexa-related action orders Amazon to overhaul its data deletion practices and impose stricter, more transparent privacy measures. It also obliges the tech giant to delete certain data collected by its internet-connected digital assistant, which people use for everything from checking the weather to playing games and queueing up music.“Amazon’s history of misleading parents, keeping children’s recordings indefinitely, and flouting parents’ deletion requests violated COPPA (the Child Online Privacy Protection Act) and sacrificed privacy for profits,” Samuel Levine, the F...

Miami man wins $1 million from scratch-off ticket

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

A South Florida man hit the jackpot when he won $1 million from a scratch-off ticket.Willie Turner, of Miami, claimed a $1 million prize from the BILLION DOLLAR GOLD RUSH SUPREME Scratch-Off game at the Lottery’s Miami District Office, the Florida Lottery announced Wednesday in a news release. He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $880,000.00.Turner purchased his ticket from Monar Market, located at 1108 Northwest 62nd Street in Miami. The store will receive $2,000 for selling the winning ticket.The $30 scratch-off game launched in February 2021 and features four top prizes of $15 million, and 24 prizes of $1 million. The overall odds of winning are 1-in-2.59.According to the Florida Lottery, Scratch-Off games accounted for approximately 77 percent of ticket sales in 2021-2022. Since inception, Scratch-Off games have generated more than $17.06 billion for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF).

Pro-Ukraine Russian soldiers bring taste of war to Putin’s doorstep again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

Two groups who claim to be Russians fighting on Kyiv’s side in the war in Ukraine said Thursday they were battling Moscow’s troops in Russia’s Belgorod region, and had destroyed military equipment.It is the second time the two pro-Ukraine paramilitary groups — the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion of Free Russia — have claimed to have made an incursion onto Russian territory in the past two weeks.“Our advance units are already fighting on the outskirts of Shebekino,” the Russian Volunteer Corps said on Telegram, referring to a Russian town less than 10 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.The Legion of Free Russia claimed to have destroyed a Russian armored vehicle and a military mortar system.Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, said several apartment buildings had been shelled, wounding one person.According to spokesperson for the Russian defense ministry Igor Konashenkov, quoted by state news agency TASS, Russian troops kille...

Labour receives formal complaint over suspended MP Geraint Davies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

LONDON — A woman has submitted a formal complaint to the Labour Party over the conduct of MP Geraint Davies, who POLITICO revealed is facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment.Five women said Davies, a former House of Commons committee chair whom Labour suspended Thursday morning, subjected them to unwanted sexual attention, both physical and verbal, after coming into contact with them through his work as an MP.The complaint to Labour was submitted by a sixth woman — not one of the original five who shared allegations of inappropriate touching and sexual comments by the MP. A seventh woman said she was seeking advice on whether to submit a complaint.Labour bosses meanwhile told staff Thursday that they had launched a review of the party’s complaints system. David Evans, general secretary of Labour, wrote to party employees outlining the move.He said the decision had been triggered by both POLITICO’s recent reporting on a Labour aide accused of sexual harassment an...

Jaylon Johnson tells ESPN radio he expects to attend Chicago Bears OTAs next week — and why he missed the 1st 2 weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson plans to attend organized team activities at Halas Hall next week, he told ESPN radio Thursday.Johnson missed the first two weeks of OTAs, which are voluntary, but he has been participating in meetings via video conference call. Coach Matt Eberflus said after practice Wednesday he hoped to have Johnson in the fold at least by mandatory minicamp June 13-15 and potentially next week.Johnson said on ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill and Max show he didn’t attend the first two weeks because he was spending time with his daughter in their hometown of Fresno, Calif.“I don’t get too much time during the season to get with her,” he said. “For me, the offseason is a lot of time for her, to make that up for family. I’m a big family guy for sure, being a young dad, just trying to be present in my daughter’s life. So I take a lot of pride in that.”Johnson said he was also tending to business, including preparing...

DeSantis barnstorms New Hampshire and Trump returns to Iowa as rivalry intensifies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, STEVE PEOPLES and THOMAS BEAUMONT (Associated Press)LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis kicked off his first visit to New Hampshire as a declared presidential candidate Thursday by turning his focus to President Joe Biden, criticizing him for championing a move to demote the early-voting state from its prominent role picking presidential candidates.The appearance by DeSantis before New Hampshire voters comes as former President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail in Iowa, marking the first time both Republicans were pitching themselves before voters as official candidates.The Florida governor, appearing in Laconia, repeated an oblique jab he’s made lately at Trump, a celebrity and former reality show star, saying that “leadership is not about entertainment.”But he focused more on Biden and said the president was wrong to back a Democratic National Committee move to have New Hampshire hold its Democratic primary the sam...

Twitter may be worth one-third what Musk paid for it last fall as Fidelity fund marks down value

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

By The Associated PressTwitter may now be worth one-third of what Elon Musk paid for the social media platform just seven months ago.The Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund has reduced the market value of its equity stake in Twitter for a third time, now putting it at $6.55 million. That’s down from the nearly $20 million the Fidelity fund valued its stake at in October. Financial services provider Fidelity Investments is privately held, not public, but is required by the SEC to regularly disclose its holdings. Because Twitter is a private company now called X Holdings Corp., information about its finances can’t be verified.Musk took control of Twitter in October, after a protracted legal battle and months of uncertainty. The CEO of Tesla, who also owns SpaceX, bought Twitter for $44 billion. The billionaire financed the purchase with funds including loans from a group of banks. Musk has said the $44 billion price tag for Twitter was too high but that the company had great po...

Two adults sentenced in 2022 road rage incidents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- On Wednesday afternoon, Gillio Repetto and Serenity Nieblas were both charged in two separate road rage incidents that took place in 2022.Both adults pleaded not guilty to accepting a plea agreement with the district attorney's office."For a stipulated eight years," said Honary Michael Popkins, San Diego County Judge. "We will submit on the agreement your honor," said the attorney for Gillio Repetto, Gloria Collins. Dozens of ghost guns seized in San Diego County over 3-month period A judge sentenced Gillio Repetto to eight years in prison. Repetto received two years for an assault with a firearm, two years for a gun charge, and three years for great bodily injury. He has time served credit of more than 400 days.In May 2022, prosecutors argued Repetto and a 34-year-old man were racing in their cars. They stopped at the intersection of Olympic Parkway and Town Center Drive in Chula Vista.Cell phone video showed Repetto and the man getting into a fistfight. Pr...

Treliving says meeting with Matthews his top priority as Maple Leafs GM

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

Brad Treliving has a long to-do list as the new general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.The No. 1 priority is sitting down with the team’s best player.Named the 18th GM in franchise history following the stunning dismissal of Kyle Dubas last month, Treliving says he plans to soon visit with star centre Auston Matthews, who can sign a contract extension as of July 1.Treviling adds he plans to sit down with head coach Sheldon Keefe to chart a path forward, but didn’t commit to him being behind the bench next season.Treliving left the Calgary Flames in April after nine seasons.An extremely busy stretch ahead includes preparing for the NHL draft and free agency, which could see as many as 12 roster players hit the open market.

Jordan’s crown prince weds scion of Saudi family in ceremony packed with stars and symbolism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:33 GMT

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan’s crown prince married the scion of a prominent Saudi family on Thursday in a palace ceremony attended by royals and other VIPs from around the world, as massive crowds gathered across the kingdom to celebrate the region’s newest power couple.The marriage of Crown Prince Hussein, 28, and Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif, 29, drew a star-studded guest list including Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate, as well as U.S. First Lady Jill Biden.The celebrations hold deep significance for the region, emphasizing continuity in an Arab state prized for its longstanding stability and refreshing the monarchy’s image after a palace feud. It even could help resource-poor Jordan forge a strategic bond with its oil-rich neighbor, Saudi Arabia.The bride, wearing an elegant white dress by Lebanese designer Elie Saab, arrived at Zahran Palace in a 1968 Rolls-Royce Phantom V custom-made for the crown prince’s late great grandmother. The crown prince arr...