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Massachusetts to receive more than $1 million from Google app store settlement

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

Google is in trouble, again, and Massachusetts will be receiving more than $1 million for the tech giant’s wrongdoings.Attorneys general from all 50 states as well as those from Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have reached a whopping $700 million settlement with Google over allegations that the company stifled competition against its Android app store.The settlement with the states includes $630 million to compensate U.S. consumers funneled into a payment processing system that the AGs allege drove up the prices for digital transactions within apps downloaded from the Play Store. That store caters to the Android software that powers most of the world’s smartphones.The remaining $70 million in penalties will be going to the states, with more than $1.4 million earmarked for Massachusetts, according to Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office.“For years, Google has harmed consumers and app developers alike by restricting consumer’s choices for app stores, do...

Revolution hire MLS veteran Caleb Porter new head coach

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

The longer the New England Revolution delayed hiring a new head coach, the greater the speculation that their person of interest was overseas.Newly-minted sporting director Curt Onalfo ended up choosing a man with an extended and successful MLS portfolio.The club announced on Tuesday morning, the same day of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, that Caleb Porter has been hired as the Revolution’s ninth head coach. Porter was the 2013 MLS Coach of the Year who compiled a record of 113-93-89 in nine MLS regular seasons and a 9-3-4 mark in the playoffs.“Caleb is a gifted and respected coach with more than two decades of coaching experience who has delivered MLS Cup championships to both of his previous clubs,” said Onalfo.“Caleb has consistently demonstrated leadership and tactical acumen needed to build a winning team in our league. We know he is the right person to lead our team, which we believe is already well positioned to compete for trophies.”Porter, 48, is a two-time MLS Cup winner with th...

Tesla’s recall of 2 million vehicles to fix its Autopilot system uses technology that may not work

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

By TOM KRISHER (AP Auto Writer)DETROIT (AP) — Tesla’s recall of more than 2 million of its electric vehicles — an effort to have drivers who use its Autopilot system pay closer attention to the road — relies on technology that research shows may not work as intended.Tesla, the leading manufacturer of EVs, reluctantly agreed to the recall last week after a two-year investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that Tesla’s system to monitor drivers was defective and required a fix.The system sends alerts to drivers if it fails to detect torque from hands on the steering wheel, a system that experts describe as ineffective.Government documents filed by Tesla say the online software change will increase warnings and alerts to drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. It also may limit the areas where the most commonly used versions of Autopilot can be used, though that isn’t entirely clear in Tesla’s do...

A Palestinian baby girl, born 17 days ago during Gaza war, is killed with brother in Israeli strike

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza (AP) — She was born amid war, in a hospital with no electricity in a southern Gaza city that has been bombarded daily. Her family named her al-Amira Aisha — “Princess Aisha.” She didn’t complete her third week before she died, killed in an Israeli airstrike that crushed her family home Tuesday. Her extended family was asleep when the strike leveled their apartment building in Rafah before dawn, said Suzan Zoarab, the infant’s grandmother and survivor of the blast. Hospital officials said 27 people were killed, among them Amira and her 2-year old brother, Ahmed.“Just 2 weeks old. Her name hadn’t even been registered,” Suzan said, her voice quivering as she spoke from the side of her son’s hospital bed, who was also injured in the blast.The family tragedy comes as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza nears 20,000, according to the Health Ministry. The vast majority have been killed in Israeli airstrikes which have relentlessly pounded the besieged Gaza encl...

Gildan shareholder Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd. renews call for CEO’s reinstatement

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

MONTREAL — Gildan Activewear Inc.’s largest shareholder is renewing its recent call to reinstate the company’s former chief executive.Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd.’s head of research and Canadian equities portfolio manager says the shareholder stands “firmly” against the recent decision by Gildan’s board to terminate Glenn Chamandy.Charles Nadim says his firm believes Chamandy remains best positioned to lead the Montreal apparel company into a major expansion while mentoring internal candidates as part of a thorough succession plan.Nadim is asking Gildan’s board to acknowledge the recent opposition to Chamandy being removed from his CEO post and replaced by outsider Vince Tyra.Shareholders Browning West LP and Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. have made similar requests of Gildan since Chamandy revealed earlier this month that he had been terminated without cause.Gildan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An autoreply from Chama...

Detroit officer accused of punching 71-year-old man is charged with manslaughter following his death

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit police officer has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a 71-year-old man who fell to the ground after he was punched in the face, authorities said Tuesday.Daryl Vance of Detroit died in September after three weeks in a hospital.Vance was punched during a “verbal confrontation” with a 29-year-old officer outside a bowling alley on Sept. 1, the prosecutor’s office said. He fell to the ground and hit his head. The on-duty officer was responding to a call that Vance was being disorderly.“Police officers frequently deal with citizens who are disorderly and verbally unpleasant. But the evidence in this case shows that the officer allegedly was the aggressor, and his actions went criminally beyond what was necessary in this situation,” prosecutor Kym Worthy said.The officer is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday.The Associated Press

Athabasca Oil, Cenovus to create joint venture in Kaybob Duvernay

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

CALGARY — Athabasca Oil Corp. and Cenovus Energy Inc. say they will create a new joint venture stand-alone company called Duvernay Energy Corp.The two companies say Athabasca will own a 70 per cent equity interest in Duvernay Energy with Cenovus owning the remaining 30 per cent. The companies will jointly fund the creation of Duvernay, with Athabasca contributing $22 million in seed capital and Cenovus contributing $18 million.The creation of the joint venture will consolidate the two companies’ assets in the prolific Kaybob Duvernay resource play in northwest Alberta.The companies say current production from the Duvernay Energy assets is 2,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and they plan to grow that to 25,000 boe/d by the end of the decade.Athabasca will manage Duvernay Energy through a management and operating services agreement. Duvernay’s board of directors will include three members nominated by Athabasca and one member nominated by Cenovus.This report by The C...

B.C. secures largest civil forfeiture of its kind at $10 million

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government says its civil forfeiture office has secured $10 million from a company that provided payment processing services for people found guilty or who are alleged to have been running scams against vulnerable seniors. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says the settlement agreement with PacNet Services Ltd. is the largest forfeiture in the history of the program that started in 2006. Under the settlement deal, there is “no admission or finding of unlawful activity on the part of PacNet” or its principals, while the company agrees to forfeit $10 million.Farnworth says in a statement that the forfeiture is “a clear message” that the province will “continue to take decisive action against suspected proceeds of unlawful activity.”The government statement says PacNet was a money-service business that was headquartered in B.C. but processed payments for clients around the world, including individuals who allegedly oper...

ACLU of Montana challenges law defining the word ‘sex’ in state code as only male or female

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The ACLU of Montana has filed a lawsuit challenging a law that defines the word “sex” throughout state code as either male or female, based on a person’s biology at birth. The plaintiffs argue the law denies legal recognition and protections to people who are gender non-conforming. The plaintiffs — a transgender man, a two spirit Native American, a nonbinary person, an intersex individual and a nurse practitioner — also moved for a summary judgement in Monday’s filing in state court in Missoula, asking for the law to be declared unconstitutional.Republican lawmakers who supported the bill “seem to think they can simply legislate away the diversity of Montana’s residents,” Akilah Deernose, the executive director of the ACLU of Montana, said in a statement. The sponsor of the legislation said it was needed to clarify from a legal standpoint that the words “sex” and “gender” aren’t interchangeable. That was in response to a ruling by a state...

Advocates urge Toronto to adjust criteria to open up warming centres

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 21:26:20 GMT

Advocates for those unhoused in Toronto are concerned after warming centres remained closed on Monday night as the temperature threshold of -5 C, despite the wind chill being below that.The current strategy, implemented on Nov. 15, is when temperatures reach -5 C, the city’s 170 spaces will be activated in four warming centres. The wind chill is not a factor which can lead to confusion.Diane Chan McNally, with the All Saints Community Centre, said the problem is the decision is made too early, and the city is not flexible.“When the city triggers the opening, they look at what the weather is going to be like at 7 a.m. in the morning. And then make a decision there. There’s no flexibility during the rest of the day or with changing weather conditions like we saw last night,” said McNally. She added that there is a real worry that people can be left stranded.“We know that people are going to be stranded outdoors in weather where they absolutely can die. Or...