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Facebook, Google face lawsuit in Buffalo shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Nearly a year after a gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, loved ones of three victims have filed a lawsuit taking aim at social media companies they say fueled the racially-motivated attack.Attorneys representing the families filed the lawsuit Friday against six websites, including Google, Meta's Facebook, Snapchat and Reddit."The only thing I want is justice," a victim's loved one said. The attorneys argue the platforms played a key role in the shooter's planning and motivation. Attorney John Elmore said the platforms can "radicalize homegrown terrorists.""We're not going to stop until we win," he said.The lawsuit is similar to a case currently before the Supreme Court that attempts to hold social media companies responsible for real-life harms.Carl Szabo, who represents companies like Google and Meta, said it's wrong to blame societal problems on Big Tech."It has no merit," Szabo said. "As horrible as these events are, we need to go a...

Migrant teen from Honduras dies in immigration custody, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. (WFLA) — A 17-year-old boy from Honduras died in U.S. immigration custody in Florida, according to U.S., Honduran, and local officials. On Thursday, Enrique Reina, the Honduran Secretary of Exterior Relations and International Cooperation, tweeted that 17-year-old Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza died in a facility in Safety Harbor."The Government of the President @XiomaraCastroZ laments and offers its condolences for the death of the 17-year-old Honduran minor Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, which occurred in a shelter located in Safety Harbor, Florida, USA," Reina wrote.An anonymous U.S. source told the Associated Press that Ángel entered the states weeks ago. Title 42 explained: What is it, why is it ending, what’s next? The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office in Florida also confirmed the death of a 17-year-old boy at the Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) shelter, although they did not identify the minor.According to the JFCS' website, t...

Can this wetter weather affect our lakes?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) –With much wetter weather expected this weekend than the region has seen for a while, the Lower Colorado River Authority said it is monitoring rainfall and inflows into the Highland Lakes, ready to move floodwaters downstream through the series of dams on the Highland Lakes if necessary.The Highland Lakes are a chain of manmade lakes built between 1935 and 1951 on the Colorado River northwest of Austin. The lakes were built to protect communities from flooding events, generate hydroelectric power and provide a reliable water source. ​When it rains heavily over the Highland Lakes watershed, the Colorado River and connected streams swell, which sends the runoff into the Highland Lakes, per the LCRA.   ALERT: Severe storms, flash flooding risk begins tonight The two largest lakes are Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, and now are only 44.1% and 60.7% full, respectively, according to Water Data for Texas. When it rains upstream of Lake Buchanan, that freshwater fl...

Climate anxiety is more common than you think. These CU Boulder students want to help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

You might have felt the symptoms before: A pit in your stomach, panic, existential dread, hopelessness, disenfranchisement, frustration and even anger.Greenhouse gases are seeping into the atmosphere, warming the planet. Polar ice caps are melting, rising sea levels and altering the chemistry of the planet’s oceans. Wildfires spark more frequently, burn hotter, spread faster and wider. Waterways like the Colorado River are dwindling. Deforestation threatens even the planet’s most wild forests and jungles. Mining operations scar and poison beautiful, even sacred landscapes, endangering the way of life for those living in the area.For some – especially young people facing decades of uncertainty – it’s too much.And so the paralyzing fear sets in, the anxiety and depression. These problems are indeed existential threats, scientists repeatedly confirm, but what can any one person do to stop them?“Anxiety stems from not being able to control or do anything,” Lizzie Weinreb, a student at t...

Movie review: Despite filmmaking flourish, ‘Hypnotic’ proves too absurd to take seriously

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

There’s something strange about “Hypnotic,” the new action thriller from writer/director Robert Rodriguez, starring Ben Affleck. There’s a sheen of inauthenticity to the trailer for this film, in which Affleck stars as a detective working a bank robbery while wracked with guilt over the kidnapping of his young daughter. Indeed, for the first 30 minutes or so of “Hypnotic,” there’s something that rings false — it feels like Rodriguez sloppily executing a sketchy exercise in the tropes and aesthetics of a detective noir. But then you realize that’s by design.Because things aren’t what they seem in “Hypnotic,” as Detective Danny Rourke (Affleck) discovers when he descends down the rabbit hole of this inexplicable bank robbery, one that ends in him finding a Polaroid of his missing daughter in a safe deposit box. He follows the signs to a local psychic, Diana Cruz (Alice Braga), who unloads a baffling spiel about the “hypnotic constructs” that have been weaponized by a mysterious man at...

Safe, comfy ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ offers more of the golden girls together, this time in Italy | Movie review

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

The makers of “Book Club: The Next Chapter” know what their audience wants.Director Bill Holderman and his co-writer, Erin Simms, got all the proof they needed when their 2018 comedy, “Book Club” — starring four beloved actresses over 65 as friends who read “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which unearths some desires in them — earned more than $100 million at the box office.Thus, it’s understandable that Holderman and Simms stick to the formula with “Book Club: The Next Chapter,” which arrives in theaters this week and takes the mostly fearless foursome of Jane Fonda’s Vivian, Diane Keaton’s Diane, Candice Bergen’s Sharon and Mary Steenburgen’s Carole to Italy.“The Next Chapter” is a second serving of broad, frequently sexually charged humor and low-stakes drama. Most important the aforementioned formula is the deep female friendship that keeps the group together and on the move — it’s tons of hugs and a bit of tough love.And we get it.Sure, we’d have liked some zippier dialogue and a more i...

How to find unclaimed money: 5 free ways to track down your lost or forgotten assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

James Royal | (TNS) BankrateAre you on the hunt for money that may have been misplaced or left entirely forgotten? You or a relative may have money left in an old bank account, a 401(k) from an old employer or even a hidden cache of money in an IRA, annuity or pension. This scenario can happen if a relative dies and the heirs don’t successfully locate all accounts. Often, the unclaimed money ends up being sent to a state office.Surprisingly, 1 in 10 Americans has unclaimed property, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). More than $4 billion is returned to owners each year, the organization says.Here’s how you can find unclaimed money and where to look for it — all for free!What is unclaimed money?Unclaimed money is money that oftentimes has simply been forgotten about, in one way or another, and tends to wind up being held at a state agency until it is rightfully claimed. Accounts may be considered unclaimed or abandoned in as short as a...

Albany man convicted on sexual assault charge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- On Friday, Jevonte Osterhout, 31, of Albany, was convicted of Sexual Assault in the Third Degree and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Osterhout was accused of having sexual relations with a seventeen-year-old in East Greenbush. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to the indictment, Osterhout was employed as an EMT at the Bruen Rescue Squad and as an Albany firefighter at the time of the incident. Sentencing is scheduled for July 7. Osterhout faces a year in prison and will need to register as a sex offender.

U.S. Supreme Court tosses Percoco, Kaloyeros convictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court has overturned two notorious convictions. One involving Joseph Percoco, a former aide to Governor Cuomo and the other involving Alain Kaloyeros, former top official to SUNY Polytechnic. Supreme Court sides with ex-Cuomo aide, others convicted of corruption related to ‘Buffalo Billion’ In 2018, Percoco was charged with accepting over $300,000 worth of bribes in exchange for helping two corporate clients of Albany lobbyists. Kaloyeros was convicted of conspiring to rig $885 million worth of bids for state contracts that were part of Cuomo’s one billion dollar investment, known as the "Buffalo Billion." So why are these convictions being tossed out by the Supreme Court? Professor, Vincent Bonventre at Albany Law school, said for Percoco's case, the Court determined that the trial judge explained his crime in a way that was too broad for the jury. "Perhaps what Joseph Percoco did was illegal, maybe it was more in terms ...

DEC releases first sustainability plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:30 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the release of the agency’s first sustainability plan. The plan includes commitments to decarbonization projects and to reducing the DEC's impact on the environment. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The DEC identifies 25 goals and 70 actions they aim to take, such as aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease waste, conserving water, and protecting species and habitats. Highlights of their overall goals include:Carbon neutral DEC operations by 2050;Eliminate single-use plastics in operations by 2025;Decrease waste generation 10 percent by 2028; End of National COVID-19 Emergency to impact New York The DEC also announced several new building electrification and decarbonization efforts being planned at its facilities across the state, including locations such as the Green Island maintenance...