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Meta knowingly designed its platforms to hook kids, reports say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook parent Meta Platforms deliberately engineered its social platforms to hook kids and knew — but never disclosed — it had received millions of complaints about underage users on Instagram but only disabled a fraction of those accounts, according to a newly unsealed legal complaint described in reports from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.The complaint, originally made public in redacted form, was the opening salvo in a lawsuit filed in late October by the attorneys general of 33 states including Massachusetts.Company documents cited in the complaint described several Meta officials acknowledging the company designed its products to exploit shortcomings in youthful psychology such as impulsive behavior, susceptibility to peer pressure and the underestimation of risks, according to the reports.Others acknowledged Facebook and Instagram also were popular with children under age 13 who, per company policy, were not allowed to use the service.Meta sa...

US closes border crossing to vehicles and limits traffic at another in response to illegal entries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — A Texas border crossing was closed to vehicles Monday, and traffic at an Arizona crossing was limited to shift more resources to illegal entries, U.S. authorities said in the latest sign of how fast-changing migration routes are challenging the government to keep up.Customs and Border Protection said it was closing one of two bridges to vehicles in Eagle Pass, Texas, a town of about 30,000 people that, for a while last year, was the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. The agency is also reducing vehicle entries in Lukeville, Arizona, a remote desert crossing that has become a major migration route in recent months.“The U.S. is continuing to see increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals and encourage migration,” Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. “As we respond with additional resources and apply consequences for unlawful entry...

Fire breaks out along I-8 in Mission Valley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Firefighters on Monday are battling a brush fire along Interstate 8 in the Mission Valley area.The fire broke out at 2:53 p.m. in a confined space on the westbound side of I-8 near Qualcomm Way, according to San Diego-Fire Rescue Department. Chance of rain coming to San Diego County this week Around 3:30 p.m., SkyFOX was over the location where firefighters could be seen working to put out clouds of white smoke.Authorities have shut down the off-ramp near the location.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Montreal billionaire sex case: Accuser loses bid to freeze Robert Miller’s assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec judge has denied a request to freeze the assets of a Montreal billionaire accused of paying underage girls for sex.In a ruling released today, Superior Court Justice Eleni Yiannakis says the applicant failed to prove there is a real risk Robert Miller would disappear or hide his assets if he loses a court case brought against him.Miller is facing a class-action lawsuit, which has not yet been authorized, for allegedly paying minors for sex between 1996 and 2006.Until his resignation in February after the allegations against him surfaced in a media report, he was president and CEO of global electronics distributor Future Electronics; he remains owner, and the company is being sold to a Taiwanese firm for US$3.8 billion. Lawyers for the applicant argued that Miller would try to hide his money, and they wanted the judge to stop the sale of the company and freeze his assets unless he paid $200 million to the court pending the outcome of the case.Yiannakis says the ap...

Minnesota Wild fire coach Dean Evason, assistant Bob Woods after losing 14 of their first 19 games

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild fired coach Dean Evason and assistant Bob Woods on Monday after losing seven games and 14 of their first 19 to start to the NHL season.General manager Bill Guerin announced the moves but did not say who would be replacing Evason.Evason, 59, was nearly a quarter of the way through his fourth full season as Minnesota’s coach. He got his first NHL head job in February 2020 as a midseason replacement when Bruce Boudreau was fired.“Dean did an excellent job during his tenure with the Minnesota Wild, especially as head coach of our team,” Guerin said. “I am very thankful for his hard work and dedication to our organization. I would also like to thank Bob for his hard work during his time as an assistant coach with the Wild. I wish Dean, Bob and their families all the best in the future.”Evason is the second NHL coach fired this season after the Edmonton Oilers dismissed Jay Woodcroft and replaced him with Kris Knoblauch. The Oilers have won four o...

Possible class-action lawsuit filed in Alberta over child special allowance payments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

EDMONTON — The Alberta and federal governments are facing a potential class-action lawsuit over how the province handled payments for children in care. A statement of claim filed Friday alleges Alberta took payments received from Ottawa that were meant to provide benefits for children in care and folded them into general revenue to offset the amount it spent on maintenance of such children. “If a child comes into care, the child shouldn’t be deprived of that benefit,” lawyer Kris Saxberg, who’s handling the case, said Monday.Similar to cases already filed in other provinces, the statement of claim singles out the federal Children’s Special Allowance, a payment meant to ensure children in foster care receive equal treatment to those receiving the Canada Child Benefit.The money, said Saxberg, is intended for extras that would benefit the child but that might not be covered otherwise, such as music lessons, sports coaching or cosmetic dental work. “(...

Niger’s junta revokes key law that slowed migration for Africans desperate to reach Europe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Niger’s junta has signed a decree revoking a 2015 law that was enacted to curb the smuggling of migrants traveling from African countries through a key migration route in Niger en route to Europe, according to a government circular issued on Monday.“The convictions pronounced pursuant to said law and their effects shall be cancelled,” Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, said in a Nov. 25 decree, a copy of which was seen Monday by The Associated Press.All those convicted under the law would be considered for release by the Ministry of Justice, Ibrahim Jean Etienne, the secretary general of the justice ministry said in the circular.The revocation of the law adds a new twist to growing political tensions between Niger and EU countries that sanctioned the West African nation in response to the July coup that deposed its democratically elected president and brought the junta into power.Niger’s Agadez region is a gateway from West Africa to the Sahara an...

Woman shocked with Taser while on ground is suing police officer and chief for not reporting it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A woman who was shocked in the back with a Taser while lying on the ground in Pueblo, Colorado, last year is suing the police officer who stunned her and the city’s police chief, accusing the police department of failing to report excessive force by the officer to state regulators.The federal lawsuit filed Sunday by Cristy Gonzales, who was suspected of stealing a vehicle, says the police department found Cpl. Bennie Villanueva used excessive force against Gonzales and another person several weeks later. However, it says the agency withheld the information from a state board which oversees who is qualified to serve in law enforcement. If it had been reported, Villanueva would have lost his certification to work as a police officer for at least a year, the lawsuit said.Gonzales was suspected of stealing a truck in February 2022, and didn’t stop for Villanueva, according to a police investigation. Eventually the vehicle ran out of gas, according to the lawsui...

New York’s cannabis board votes to settle lawsuits that have stalled legal dispensaries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York cannabis regulators approved a deal on Monday to settle lawsuits that have blocked recreational marijuana dispensaries from opening, as officials move to restart the state’s troubled legal market. The settlement still needs a judge’s approval before it can take effect. The state’s Cannabis Control Board did not immediately release the terms of the settlement.The deal would lift a court order that has blocked the state from processing or issuing retail marijuana licenses since August, following lawsuits over rules that promised many of the first licenses to people with past drug convictions. New York’s retail marijuana market has been in disarray since sales began almost a year ago. Bureaucratic problems and lawsuits have allowed only about two-dozen legal shops to open, while farmers sit on a glut of crops and an ever-growing black market of storefronts fill the void. The New York State Cannabis Control Board said more than 400 provis...

16-year-old boy in critical condition after double shooting in Grand Crossing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:26 GMT

CHICAGO — A 16-year-old boy is in critical condition following a double shooting in Chicago's Grand Crossing neighborhood.SkyCam9 flew above the scene in the 300 block of W. 75th St., where police say a 20-year-old man and the teenage boy were standing when an unknown offender approached and opened fire. 16-year-old boy shot in drive-by on West Side According to police, the 20-year-old was shot in the hip. His injuries are not considered to be life-threatening. The 16-year-old boy was shot in the arm and abdomen.Both victims were taken to the University of Chicago Hospital.No one is in custody. 20 armed robberies reported across Chicago on Sunday: CPD Anyone with information may leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.This is a developing story. Check back with WGN News for updates.