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TikTok fined $15.9M by UK watchdog over misuse of kids’ data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

Britain’s privacy watchdog hit TikTok with a multimillion-dollar penalty on Tuesday for a slew of data protection breaches, including misusing children’s data. The Information Commissioner’s Office said it issued a fine of 12.7 million pounds ($15.9 million) to the short-video sharing app, which is wildly popular with young people. It’s the latest example of tighter scrutiny that TikTok and its parent, Chinese technology company ByteDance, are facing in the West, where governments are increasingly concerned about risks that the app poses to data privacy and cybersecurity.The British watchdog said TikTok allowed as many as 1.4 million children in the U.K. under 13 to use the app in 2020, despite the platform’s own rules prohibiting children that young from setting up accounts. TikTok didn’t adequately identify and remove children under 13 from the platform, the watchdog said. And even though it knew younger children were using its platform, TikTok ...

Officials reach deal to restart northern Iraq oil exports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraq’s central government and officials from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region reached a final deal Tuesday to resume oil exports from northern Iraq via a pipeline to Turkey.Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, announced the deal at a press conference in Baghdad.“Halting the export of the region’s oil harms Iraq’s revenues,” Sudani said, adding that the governments would work toward passing a federal law detailing the sharing of funds from oil and gas exports. Barzani said in a statement that while the deal is temporary, it is a “crucial step towards ending the long-standing dispute” between Irbil and Baghdad and “creates a positive and safe atmosphere to finally approve the national oil and gas law.”Kurdish officials said the deal would allow exports to begin again as early as Tuesday. Iraq stopped sending nearly half a million barrels of oil through the pipeline last month ...

Virgin Orbit seeks bankruptcy protection after mission fail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a failed mission this year and increasing difficulty in raising funding for future missions. The company laid off most of its staff on Friday and told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in a filing Monday that it was looking to sell its assets.Virgin Orbit said that it has secured $31.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Branson’s Virgin Investments Ltd. Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said that once the financing is approved by the bankruptcy court, the funds are expected to provide Virgin Orbit with the necessary liquidity to continue operating as it attempts to sell the company.“While we have taken great efforts to address our financial position and secure additional financing, we ultimately must do what is best for the business,” Hart said.The Long Beach, California, company said in its bankruptcy filing that it has between 200 and 999 estimated creditors. It...

‘We are at a breaking point’: Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank seeing highest demand ever

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

One of the country’s largest food banks says Toronto is in the midst of a food insecurity crisis.The Daily Bread Food Bank saw more visits last month than it ever has before, saying visits have quadrupled since the COVID-19 pandemic.“We are at a breaking point and need action now,” says CEO Neil Hetherington in a statement. “This is not something that can be outsourced to charities.”“It is the government’s duty to ensure that every person in this city, in this country, can realize their right to food.”The food bank saw nearly 270,000 visits in March, which it says is the highest number in its 40-year history. It compares to 65,000 client visits per month pre-pandemic.The organization says it is also seeing 12,000 new people access emergency food services per month, which is six times higher than pre-COVID.It attributes the rise in clients to stagnating income that hasn’t kept pace with inflation and the rising cost of housing. The char...

Webby Award nominations for Harry Styles, Lizzo, Post Malone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Harry Styles, Post Malone, Lizzo, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, the cast of “Ted Lasso” and the web series that gave us a kid loving corn are among the nominees for this year’s Webby Awards, recognizing the best internet content and creators.The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced the nominees on Tuesday, the result of nearly 14,000 entries from 70 countries.Styles nabbed a nomination for his commercial for AirPods, Trevor Noah for his segments filmed between the scenes at “The Daily Show” and BTS fans for their YouTube uploads called #MyBTStory. Lizzo got one for her hosting her show “Lizzo’s Watch Out For the Big Grrrls,” in which she hunts for dancers. Doja Cat’s reluctant social video for Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza — “I like my pizza with refried beans/Peep my ad/ Search YouTube/This ain’t even Mexican food” — was nominated for best advertising partnership, and faces-off in that category with the collaboration between “Ted L...

Millennial Money: Bank bonuses, interest may boost tax bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

With tax season in full swing, you may be consolidating the various charitable donation receipts, deductions and W-2 forms that you’ll submit to the Internal Revenue Service. But if you received any bank sign-up bonuses or earned interest on your bank balance, you may owe additional taxes you might not have planned for.Interest rates on bank accounts, such as high-yield savings accounts, were high in 2022 due to ongoing rate increases made by the Federal Reserve. Bank sign-up bonuses and promotions have also been high, often $100 or more. The IRS sees bonuses and interest as additional income, which means the government has to take its cut.WHAT’S THE TAX RATE FOR BANK INTEREST AND BONUSES?Interest from savings accounts is taxed at the same rate as your income, which is in the range of 10%-37% in the United States in 2023. If you’ve earned interest, your bank may send you a 1099-INT tax form. These forms are issued by businesses that offer interest, such as banks, and they let you kn...

3 firefighters injured, 1 critically, while battling house fire on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

CHICAGO — Three Chicago firefighters were injured, one critically, while battling a house fire on the city's South Side.The fire started inside a two-and-a-half story home at 120th and Wallace in West Pullman around 330 a.m. Tuesday. Officials believe the fire started in the attic of the home, then eventually spread to its two neighboring buildings. The home was vacant at the time of the fire.One of the injured firefighters is in critical condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center. The two others are in stable condition, according to the department. Joliet man dies after shooting in parking lot of children’s indoor playground It is unclear at this time how the firefighters were injured in the fire.This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Johnson versus Vallas: Where the 2 mayoral candidates stand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

CHICAGO — Monday was the last day for Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas to sway votes in their favor."I know our people work hard in this city," Johnson said. "I want our city to work harder for the people who do the work.""It’s about leadership. It’s about somebody with the experience," Vallas said. "It’s about somebody who is a career public servant and has demonstrated the willingness to make sacrifices for the public good."Recent public surveys give the edge to Vallas, who earlier in his campaign seized on voters' concerns about crime in the city of Chicago. WGN Poll: Vallas leading Johnson in Chicago Mayoral runoff election "We will make all of our communities safer," Vallas said. "We will take the issue of quality schools."Brandon Johnson, a Cook County Commissioner and union organizer, is counting on a get-out-the-vote army made up of the Chicago Teachers Union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employee...

Eaglet dies after EagleCam shows heavy winds blow nest from tree

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Viewers of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources EagleCam were heartbroken over the weekend as they watched strong winds from a severe weather system whip a nest holding a newly hatched eaglet out of a tree.The nature livestream captured the moment the nest fell Sunday morning. A mother eagle crouched in the snow-filled nest as it swayed precariously in the wind. A branch snapped, and the nest collapsed as the mother flew backward. The young eagle was later found dead on the ground, the department said in a statement.“I was actually crying,” said Denise Chung, who said she and her kids watched the nest fall in real time. She told The Associated Press it hit her particularly hard because she knew the eagle lost its baby. “I don’t know if it would have hit me so hard if I weren’t a mom.”The nest weighed over 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) and was over 20 years old, the statement said. The department said heavy snow that fell over the weekend — coupled wit...

New fire safety requirements for animal care facilities in Round Rock

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) -- Round Rock city council approved changes to the fire safety requirements for dog daycare facilities following a tragic fire in Georgetown in 2021 that left 75 animals dead. Any existing animal care facilities in Round Rock that do not have the proper safety requirements in place will have two years to install the changes. What is required now?The Round Rock fire department proposed changes to the city ordinances to ensure the safety of animals. The Ponderosa Pet Resort, an animal daycare business in Georgetown, caught on fire in September of 2021 and 75 animals died. It was discovered the business did not have a fire suppression system or any overnight staffing. Georgetown changed its ordinances after the fire. Georgetown fire code amendments discussed following deadly pet resort fire Once the amendment is officially adopted at the next Round Rock City Council meeting on April 13, any new animal care company will be required to install a monitored alar...