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Media outlets pull back from Facebook, Instagram as Meta plans to block news

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

Media companies began pulling advertising from some social media platforms and telling readers and viewers how to access news directly as Google and Metamoved toward blocking Canadian news from their services.News and telecommunications company Quebecor Inc. announced Wednesday it would immediately withdraw advertising from Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms, a move that comes after the tech giant’s decision to remove Canadian news from its sites.“Any move by Meta to circumvent Canadian law, block news for its users or discriminate against Canadian media content on its platforms, through its algorithms or otherwise, cannot be tolerated,” Quebecor said in a press release.Meta has chosen to block Canadian news from its social media services in response to the federal Online News Act, which will require Google and Meta to pay news publishers for content that appears on their sites if it helps them generate money. The act known as Bill C-18 is due to come in...

Finnish populist party picks economy minister to replace Cabinet member who quit over far-right ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — A populist party that is part of Finland’s recently installed right-wing coalition government on Wednesday selected a new economy minister to replace a Cabinet member who resigned last week over alleged ties to far-right circles and Nazi remarks.The Finns Party said in a statement that Wille Rydman, 37, was chosen “unanimously” for the post. Rydman has been a lawmaker at Eduskunta, the Finnish legislature, since 2015 and a member of the Helsinki City Council since 2012.He has been involved in national politics since 2007 in the ranks of the National Coalition Party, Finland’s main conservative party, which is the senior partner in the current government led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who is NCP chair.In early January, however, Rydman joined the nationalist Finns Party after he was ousted from the NCP last year because of allegations of harassment and improper relationships with young women and teenage girls. The case led to a police investigation, and he was lat...

Former New York Mayor de Blasio and wife announce separation, but not divorce

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, are separating but not divorcing after 29 years of a marriage that helped lift de Blasio into the mayor’s job.McCray, 68, confirmed the separation in a text to The Associated Press after The New York Times published a story in which she and De Blasio, 62, said they will continue to share the same Brooklyn townhouse while dating other people.They arrived together at the realization that the spark had gone out of their relationship, they told the newspaper in a joint interview.“You can’t fake it,” McCray said.“You can feel when things are off,” de Blasio said, “and you don’t want to live that way.”McCray said the pair spoke to the Times in an effort to head off gossip.“As very public people embarking on a new chapter, we thought it better to say all this openly before anyone tries to find negativity, or before any misunderstandings occur,” she told the AP.McCray said she and de Blasio “have...

Canadian government suspends advertising on Facebook, Instagram

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says the federal government will stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram.The decision comes after Meta began blocking Canadian news content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms in response to Canada’s recently passed Online News Act, which would make tech giants pay media outlets in exchange for using their content.Rodriguez says the decision from Meta, which is already blocking content for some users as part of a test that began before the bill passed, is “unreasonable” and “irresponsible,” and as a result, Canada will stop advertising on their platforms.RELATED: Google set to remove news links in Canada over online news lawGoogle has also promised to start blocking Canadian news when the bill comes into force in six months, but Rodriguez says the government is in talks with the company and believes their concerns will be managed by the regulations that will come to implement the bill.Google did not say exactly w...

Attorney who challenged Trump’s 2020 loss gives up law license as states weigh disciplining him

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Attorney Lin Wood, who filed legal challenges seeking to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, is relinquishing his law license, electing to retire from practicing rather than face possible disbarment. Multiple states have weighed disciplining him for pushing Trump’s false claims that he defeated Joe Biden.On Tuesday, Wood asked officials in his home state of Georgia to “retire” his law license in light of “disciplinary proceedings pending against me.” In the request, made in a letter and posted on his Telegram account, Wood acknowledges that he is “prohibited from practicing law in this State and in any other state or jurisdiction and that I may not reapply for admission.”Wood, a licensed attorney in Georgia since 1977, did not immediately respond to an email Wednesday seeking comment on the letter. A listing on the website for the State Bar of Georgia accessed on Wednesday showed him as retired and with no disciplinary infractions on his rec...

Auto sales continue to rise in June, up 12.6 per cent from last year: DesRosiers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. — DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says June brought another strong month for auto sales. The consultancy firm says total light vehicle sales for the month were up 12.6 per cent from a year ago.Sales were 161,901 units in June, up 1.38 per cent from May, marking eight consecutive months of year-over-year gains. DesRosiers managing partner Andrew King says in a statement that the seasonally adjusted annual rate for June was 1.64 million in June, up from 1.54 million in May and the highest level since February. The firm says that sales this year reached around 813,000 units, up from 756,000 in the first half of 2022, but less than 1.04 million during the same period in 2018. General Motors led sales during the first half of 2023 with 127,561 units, up 15.7 per cent from a year earlier. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2023.The Canadian Press

2 dead, others injured as gunfire erupts at Fourth of July gathering in Englewood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

CHICAGO — Five people were shot, one fatally, early Wednesday in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. A second person was also killed.According to Chicago police, a group was gathering in the 5600 South Ada Street Tuesday for what neighbors said was a Fourth of July block party.Police said shots were fired around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday and five people were struck. According to police, a 35-year-old man was shot in the chest and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. A 21-year-old man was beaten and sustained injuries to his head. Police said he was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.Additionally, police said, a 23-year-old man was struck in the abdomen and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. A 27-year-old man was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital in stable condition.A 21-year-old woman was struck in the leg and taken to the hospital where she stabilized. A 29-year-old man was stuck in the foot and leg and taken to the hospital where he wa...

‘Smallville' actress sentenced in NXIVM sex cult case secures early release from prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

(The Hill) -- Actress Allison Mack was released early from prison in California this week after serving time related to the NXIVM sex cult, The Associated Press reported.Mack, most famous for her role as Superman’s friend in the CW drama "Smallville," was sentenced to three years in prison in 2021 for her role in NXIVM, where she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for cult leader Keith Raniere.She received a reduced sentence after she assisted prosecutors against Raniere, who received a 120-year sentence on sex trafficking charges. She could have faced up to a 14-17 year prison sentence for her role in cult activity. Oath Keepers leader warns Trump against trial: ‘You’re going to be found guilty’ Raniere used his influence over women in the cult, marketed as a self-help program, to have sex with them, get them branded with his initials and brainwash them. Mack, a member of the cult’s inner circle, was considered a “master” of the slaves, ordering them to “perform la...

Here are the 10 most expensive places to buy a home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

(The Hill) -- Rising prices in the first quarter of the year pushed up the income needed to afford a home to its highest level since 2007. Major homeownership expenses last quarter required about 33 percent of a family’s monthly income, a report from nationwide property data provider ATTOM showed. Typically, lenders call for a buyer's monthly debt-to-income ratio not to exceed 28 percent. Now after three quarters of declines, the price for a median single-family home rose to $350,000 — up 10 percent from the first quarter.  Nine cities where buying a home is still cheaper than renting ATTOM’s report shows prospective buyers needed to earn at least $75,000 annually to afford a median-priced home in about half of the nation’s housing markets. The highest yearly wages needed to afford a median-priced home were highest in markets along the East and West coasts. Wage requirements were highest in Manhattan County, New York, where prospective ...

Firework thrown from truck explodes near family, children on Florida home's porch, video shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:04 GMT

YBOR CITY, Fla. (WFLA) – A person in a truck threw a firework at a family and some friends sitting on their porch in Florida where it exploded next to two small children, surveillance footage from the home shows.The group had gathered at the home in Ybor City to celebrate July Fourth on Tuesday night when a pick-up truck slowly drove down the street, homeowner Peter Murray told Nexstar's WFLA. These are the most dangerous fireworks in the U.S. In footage shared with WFLA, a person seemingly riding in the bed of the truck tosses the lit firework at the group.The firework then explodes right in front of the family, which included 3- and 4-year-old children. Murray said one person was burned on the foot and another was burned on the leg. The children were frightened but not injured. A representative for the Tampa Police Department did not immediately return a request for further information on Wednesday morning.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.