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Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok must face teen addiction claims, federal judge rules

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

(CNN) — Major social media companies must face allegations that their services addicted teen users and caused other mental health harms after a federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss the bellwether lawsuit filed by a wave of consumer plaintiffs.The decision is a blow to tech giants Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok, who claimed the case should be tossed out on First Amendment grounds and the argument that they are immune from liability under a hot-button legal shield known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.In her 52-page ruling, District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers held that while Section 230 and the First Amendment do shield the social media companies from some of the plaintiffs’ claims, including certain product defect allegations, others should be allowed to proceed.For example, Gonzalez Rogers permitted several product liability claims to move ahead that allege the companies failed to implement effective parental contro...

Justin Fields expected to start for the Chicago Bears at QB on Sunday in Detroit after a 4-game absence

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

The Chicago Bears plan to start Justin Fields on Sunday against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field — the quarterback’s first start in more than a month.Bears coach Matt Eberflus announced the plan before practice Wednesday at Halas Hall, saying Fields is “progressing well” from the dislocated right thumb that kept him out of four games.Eberflus said the practice would be “a big evaluation” as Fields does full-speed team reps after he was limited in practices and walk-throughs before this week. Fields suffered the injury Oct. 15 in the third quarter of a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and rookie Tyson Bagent went 2-2 as the starter in his place.Now Fields returns with seven games to play in his third season — and a lot to prove to general manager Ryan Poles, Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy as they plot the team’s future at the position.Fields had good and bad performances in the six games he played before he was injured. He c...

Should you replace your roof with solar shingles?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

David McMillin | (TNS) Bankrate.comBy 2030, more than 100 million households will rely on rooftop solar power, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency. If you’re one of the homeowners interested in shrinking your carbon footprint and your energy costs, you are no longer limited to solar panels to help power your home, though.Now there’s another option: an entire solar roof.Solar roofs are composed of solar shingles that can fit over existing shingles or be installed on their own. So the energy-harvesting ability is baked into the roof itself. The shingles do everything regular shingles do to protect your house from the elements, and are quite durable. Plus, they appear a lot more sleek and seamless than solar panels. “It’s such a different look,” says Cassie Morien, director of strategy at Modernize Home Services, a home improvement and contractor platform. Shingles simply “look sexier on your roof.”But looks don’t come cheap. Should you replace your roof with so...

Navy selects Boston as commissioning site for new USS Massachusetts nuclear attack submarine

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

The Navy will commission its newest submarine, the USS Massachusetts, in Boston, a decision made earlier this month that “answers the call” from the state’s federal delegation.Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro alerted the delegation on Nov. 2 that he’s selected Boston as the site for the commissioning, according to a letter provided by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office.“Considering the namesake of the ship and the unique roles that Massachusetts has in naval history, with seven previous ships bearing the Massachusetts name, this request is especially fitting,” Del Toro wrote. “I am pleased to announce that we will move forward with Boston as the commissioning site.”“Despite the fact that I am a devoted NY Yankee fan,” Del Toro quipped in a hand-written addendum to his letter.The commissioning is slated to take place in spring 2025, but the site it will be held at still needs to be selected, according to the USS Massachusetts Commissioning Committee.Warren and the remain...

NH schedules presidential primary on Jan. 23

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire’s secretary of state scheduled the state’s presidential primaries for Jan. 23, 2024, extending its century-old streak of going first despite national Democrats’ efforts to overhaul the nominating calendar.State law requires New Hampshire’s Republican and Democratic primaries to be held at least seven days before any similar contest and gives the secretary of state sole authority to set the date. Like his predecessor did for decades, Secretary of State David Scanlan waited for the dust to settle in other states before announcing his decision.“New Hampshire has a tradition, and New Hampshire has a law, and both the tradition and the law were going to be followed no matter what,” he said.Scanlan chose as his backdrop the Statehouse’s Hall of Flags, which displays more than 100 blood-stained and bullet-ridden battle flags carried by New Hampshire soldiers in the Civil War and onward. Calling it a memorial to those w...

Get ready for an even busier holiday travel season in 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

By Sally French | NerdWalletIf last year’s winter holiday travel season felt costly or chaotic, this year’s might seem even more so.That’s because half of Americans (50%) plan to spend money on flights or hotel stays this holiday season, according to a new NerdWallet survey conducted online by The Harris Poll. The survey was based on responses from 2,057 adults collected Sept. 5-7, 2023.That 50% figure is higher than last year when 44% of Americans said they’d planned to spend money on travel.When will crowds be the biggest? Probably the Sunday after Thanksgiving. That was the busiest travel day in 2019, 2021 and 2022, according to a NerdWallet analysis of Transportation Security Administration data showing the number of passengers screened at TSA checkpoints over the past four years. Travelers can expect 2023’s winter holiday travel season to follow suit.The busiest travel days this holiday seasonWhile half of Americans will travel for at least one of the winter holidays (and...

Hospital director in Haiti says a gang stormed in and took women and children hostage

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

By EVENS SANON (Associated Press)PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A heavily armed gang burst into a hospital in Haiti on Wednesday and took hostage women, children and newborns, according to the director of the medical center who pleaded for help via social media.Jose Ulysse, founder and director of the Fontaine Hospital Center in the sprawling Cite Soleil slum in the capital of Port-au-Prince, confirmed the incident in a brief message exchange with The Associated Press. “We are in great difficulty,” he said.Ulysse said on social media that “hundreds” of patients at the hospital were taken hostage, but the number could not immediately be confirmed. No further details were available, and it was not clear why the assailants may have taken patients hostage. Ulysse did not respond to further questions for comment.A spokesman for Haiti’s National Police did not immediately return a message for comment.The hospital is considered an oasis and a lifeline in a...

Building housing Toronto strip club Brass Rail Tavern considered for heritage property designation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

The building housing one of Toronto’s oldest strip clubs, the Brass Rail Tavern, is being considered for a heritage property designation, but what does it mean for a Toronto building to have this designation bestowed on it?Currently, there is a proposal to turn the buildings at 699 and 707 Yonge Street into a 64-storey tower. “Underneath all that signage is in fact, the original building, a late 19th century building, that really is tied very closely to the rest of that historic Yonge Street streetscape. And that’s what the evaluation revealed,” said Gary Miedema, a Project Manager with Heritage Planning.The property at 699 Yonge St was listed on the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register back in 2016. While the commercial row at 699 and 707 Yonge Street has been over-clad, the original brick walls still stand underneath. The Bass Rail was first opened in 1948 as a family-friendly food establishment that featured live performances by local and touring musi...

Trump abandons his bid to move his New York hush-money criminal case from state to federal court

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has given up on his monthslong fight to move his New York hush-money criminal case to federal court, agreeing to proceed in a state court that he contends is “very unfair” to him.The former president’s lawyers said in court papers Wednesday that they were dropping an appeal that sought to have a Manhattan federal court take control of the case, which is one of four criminal indictments against him.The case is scheduled to go to trial in state court on March 25, 2024, though the judge has suggested that could change given Trump’s busy legal calendar.Trump’s lawyers first asked to move the case to federal court in May, arguing that some of Trump’s alleged conduct amounted to official duties because it occurred in 2017 while he was president. That included checks he purportedly wrote while sitting in the Oval Office.They appealed in June after U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ruled that Trump had failed to meet a high legal bar to move the cas...

FTC warns food industry trade groups and influencers about disclosures on paid social media posts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:32:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday said it issued warnings to two food and beverage industry groups, as well as a dozen online influencers, for failing to adequately disclose paid social media posts that promoted a sweetener and sugary products.The letters point to Instagram and TikTok posts made by the influencers who were apparently hired by the American Beverage Association, a lobbying group whose members include Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo, and the Canadian Sugar Institute, which represents Canadian sugar manufacturers. The warnings follow updated guidelines the agency published this summer requiring influencers to prominently disclose advertisements and paid social media posts that promote products for companies. The FTC said it reviewed posts by health influencers — including registered dieticians — who endorse “sugar-containing products” and appear to be paid by the Canadian Sugar Institute. Meanwhile, the agency warned the American Beverage Association a...