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Google CEO defends paying Apple and others to make Google the default search engine on devices

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Testifying in the biggest U.S. antitrust case in a quarter century, Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended his company’s practice of paying Apple and other tech companies to make Google the default search engine on their devices, saying the intent was to make the user experience “seamless and easy.’’The Department of Justice contends that Google — a company whose very name is synonymous with scouring the internet — pays off tech companies to lock out rival search engines to smother competition and innovation. The payments came to more than $26 billion in 2021, according to court documents the government entered into the record last week.Google counters that it dominates the market because its search engine is better than the competition.Pichai, the star witness in Google’s defense, testified Monday that Google’s payments to phone manufacturers and wireless phone companies were partly meant to nudge them into making costly security upgrades and other improvem...

Prosecutor takes aim at Sam Bankman-Fried’s credibility at trial of FTX founder

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor began cross-examining Sam Bankman-Fried at a New York City trial on Monday, attacking his credibility by highlighting public statements he made before and after the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded filed for bankruptcy late last year when it could no longer process billions of dollars in withdrawals.Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon confronted Bankman-Fried with instances in which he’d promised customers that their assets would be safe and that they could demand those assets to be returned at any time.Repeatedly, Bankman-Fried answered the series of questions with a rapid “Yep.”Bankman-Fried, 31, has been on trial for the past month on charges that he defrauded his customers and investors of billions of dollars. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that carry a potential penalty of decades in prison.The California man gained a level of fame from 2017 to 2022 as he created the Alameda Research hedge fund and FTX, building a cryptocurren...

5 arrested during rally at Toronto factory that protesters claim helps arm Israeli military

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

Five people were arrested as demonstrators calling for ceasefire in Gaza rallied outside a factory in North York on Monday morning.Toronto police say the arrests were made during a demonstration outside the INKAS Armored Vehicle manufacturing plant near Weston Road and Finch Avenue. Organizers of the rally claim the company is helping arm the Israeli military.Police tell CityNews five people were arrested and removed from the premises. They were all released with a provincial offence notice for trespassing.DEMONSTRATION:Weston Rd + Fenmar Dr– At a private business – Demonstrators were asked to leave the property by officers– 5 people were arrested for trespassing, removed from the premises, and released with a Provincial Offence Notice– No reports of injuries^lb— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) October 30, 2023The group ‘World Beyond War’ say the protest was organized to demand the Canadian federal government call for an immediate...

What Trump can say and can’t say under a gag order in his federal 2020 election interference case

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A gag order in Donald Trump’s election interference case in Washington is back in place, restricting the former president’s inflammatory rhetoric as he prepares for trial and campaigns to return to the White House in 2024. Trump’s lawyers are vowing to fight the order in higher courts, setting up a legal battle over what restrictions can be placed on the speech of a defendant who is also running for America’s highest public office. Here’s a look at what’s allowed and what’s not under the gag order and what’s expected next:WHAT DOES THE GAG ORDER PROHIBIT? The order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan bars Trump and anyone else involved in the case from making public statements targeting prosecutors, court staff or “any reasonably foreseeable witness.” The order does not name potential witnesses who are off-limits, but many of them are obvious, as it was publicly reported they testified before the grand jury that in...

Music Review: Taemin is back with another sultry K-pop EP, his fourth mini album ‘Guilty’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

The prince of sultry K-pop is back! The gothic, fall season is here and the prolific Taemin returns with some appropriately atmospheric music on a new EP titled “Guilty.” It is his first release since completing his mandatory military enlistment in the South Korean army in April 2023.Taemin cut his teeth in the spotlight by starting out in boy band SHINee but has emerged as a strong solo artist in the last nine years, with four previously released full-length albums under his belt. “Guilty” marks his fourth mini album — and proves that it only takes Taemin six tracks to realize a robust comeback. Dramatic, mysterious, sometimes unsettling but always dreamy, “Guilty” is an offer one can’t refuse.It would be inaccurate to say he’s back and better than ever, because he was never not excellent. “Guilty” is Taemin just being just Taemin, surpassing himself not by being better but by being different. This EP is a pivot from the cool, synth-wave Taemin who explored themes of Stockhol...

Joran van der Sloot is sent back to Peru after US trial and confession in Holloway killing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A Dutch citizen who recently admitted to killing U.S. student Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005 is being sent back from the United States to Peru where he will serve out a sentence for the killing of a Peruvian woman.Joran van der Sloot is scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon in the Peruvian capital of Lima, Interpol agent Hilda Manosalva told The Associated Press.Van der Sloot was temporarily extradited to the U.S. to face charges linked to Holloway’s disappearance, a case that has drawn international attention over the course of two decades.A few days ago, he admitted that he killed Holloway and disposed of her remains. The disclosure came as he pleaded guilty to charges of trying to extort money from Holloway’s mother in return for information about the location of the body. U.S. authorities do not have jurisdiction to prosecute van der Sloot for the 2005 slaying on a beach in Aruba, where the statute of limitations for murder has expired. But the re...

Montenegro, an EU hopeful, to vote on a new government backed by anti-Western and pro-Russian groups

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — After months of political bickering, the parliament in NATO member and EU candidate Montenegro is set to vote Monday on a proposed new government that will hinge on support from pro-Russian and anti-Western groups.A recently formed centrist “Europe Now” coalition that advocates the small Balkan country joining the European Union won early parliamentary elections in June, but without enough support to form a government on its own.Following months of negotiations, the winning coalition received backing from staunchly anti-Western groups under the condition that one of their leaders, Andrija Mandic, was elected as the speaker of parliament — an influential political position.The coalition agreement also includes the condition that the pro-Serbian groups will join the government within a year with their government ministries.Mandic had called for close ties with Russia rather than the EU, criticized Montenegro’s NATO membership and was against splitting from...

Feds ban WeChat, Kaspersky apps from government-issued devices over security concerns

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government is banning WeChat and Kaspersky applications from its phones over security concerns.WeChat is a social network, messaging and payments app from Chinese company Tencent, while Kaspersky was founded by Russian entrepreneur Eugene Kaspersky and offers cybersecurity and antivirus software.The government says both apps will be removed from its devices today and users will be blocked from downloading WeChat or Kaspersky products in the future.It says it made the move because the chief information officer of Canada determined that the WeChat and Kaspersky apps present “an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”The officer says the apps’ data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of any mobile device they’re on and the government wanted to ensure their networks and data remain secure.The government says it has no evidence that information has been compromised as a result of employees using the apps...

Landlord pleads not guilty in brutal killing on 6yo. Muslim-Palestinian boy

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — The landlord accused of brutally stabbing a six-year-old Palestinian-Muslim boy to death and injuring his mother, pleaded not guilty Monday following his indictment by an Illinois grand jury.Joseph Czuba, in a red jail jumpsuit, remained silent during his appearance inside Will County Courthouse Monday morning. The 71-year-old Air Force veteran pleaded not guilty to eight counts against him.Last week a Will County grand jury indicted Czuba on first-degree murder, attempted murder, battery and hate crime charges.Joseph Czuba, 71, in Will County Courthouse Monday morning Czuba is accused of fatally stabbing a Palestinian Muslim boy and seriously hurting his mother who were his tenants in unincorporated Plainfield Township. ‘He was my best friend’: Mother recuperates after 6-year-old boy killed in attack police call a hate crime Prosecutors said 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume was stabbed 26 times. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, was stabbed at least a dozen times.Investig...

Snow likely in Chicago area on Halloween

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:54 GMT

Snow is on the way for Halloween!Snow is set to arrive in the Chicago area around lunchtime Tuesday.Less than an inch is expected for most of the Chicago area by Thursday. With lake effect snow, portions of Northwest Indiana could see about an inch. Tuesday’s it's arrival is right on the money in terms of Chicago climatology. Historically, the first flakes have flown on or about October 31st over the years.Modeling suggests there may even be enough to stick on colder outdoor surfaces. It wouldn't last long given the environment in which its falling, and any accumulation would likely be limited to colder outdoor surfaces--like grass.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog Monday was the coldest morning of the season so far.It was a bit nippy Monday morning--in fact, the chilliest morning in the Greater Chicago area of the autumn 2023 season to date and the coldest morning lows in the city in 6 months!The low temps bottomed out at 33 in the city at both O'Hare an...