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Amazon to pay $30 million in Ring doorbell camera and Alexa settlements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

By Evan Rosen, New York Daily NewsAmazon reached two settlements with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday, totaling more than $30 million for privacy violations from its Ring doorbell cameras and Alexa voice assistant devices.The company agreed to pay $5.8 million for failing to protect video footage recorded from customers’ Ring cameras, and $25 million for Alexa products violating a children’s privacy law, reports CNN.Details of the Ring lawsuit were shared in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The FTC claimed that Ring offered employees unfiltered access to sensitive video data recorded by customers, and failed to stave off hackers from gaining access to their systems.“As a result of this dangerously overbroad access and lax attitude toward privacy and security, employees and third-party contractors were able to view, download, and transfer customers’ sensitive video data for their own purposes,” the FTC said.One instance involved a sin...

Report forecasts 42,000 new life sciences jobs in Massachusetts by 2032

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

Aided by favorable state tax policies, the growing life sciences sector in Massachusetts now features 132,000 jobs and a new report predicts another 42,000 new jobs will come online over the next decade.The report touts a positive outlook for the industry that policymakers have embraced and incentivized, but also features more warning signs that demand for talent continues to outpace supply in Massachusetts.The Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation’s 2023 Massachusetts Life Sciences Employment Outlook report recommends “reinvigorated recruitment and retention approaches,” noting rapid growth in computing and information technology jobs to support the sector.Authors projected that the number of life sciences jobs in Massachusetts will grow by roughly a third in the next decade. They expect more than 6,600 average job openings per year in “key” occupations such as biotechnicians and medical lab technicians, but the report said one challenge is ...

Ticker: Fidelity marks down Twitter investment; US job openings hit 10.1 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

Twitter may now be worth one-third of what Elon Musk paid for the social media platform just seven months ago.Financial services company Fidelity has reduced the market value of its equity stake in Twitter for a third time, now putting it at $6.55 billion. That’s down from the nearly $20 billion Fidelity valued its stake at in October.It is unclear how Fidelity came up with its valuation figures, but as a public company it’s required to provide investors with updates on its holdings. Because Twitter is a private company now called X Holdings Corp., information about its finances can’t be verified.Musk took control of Twitter in October, after a protracted legal battle and months of uncertainty. The CEO of Tesla, who also owns SpaceX, bought Twitter for $44 billion.US job openings hit 10.1 millionU.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in April, illustrating the resilience of the American labor market and complicating Federal Reserve efforts to fight inflation.Employers...

MIAA state boys lacrosse tournament pairings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

 BOYS LACROSSE DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. St. John’s Prep (17-1); 2. Boston College High (16-2); 3. Acton-Boxborough (14-4); 4. Franklin (17-1); 5. Hingham (17-2); 6. Lincoln-Sudbury (11-5); 7. Xaverian Brothers (10-6); 8. North Andover (11-7); 9. Catholic Memorial (10-7); 10. Marshfield (14-4); 11. Andover (11-5); 12. Algonquin (15-3); 13. Needham (15-3); 14. Chelmsford (13-5); 15. Concord-Carlisle (13-5); 16. Winchester (15-3); 17. Wellesley (12-6); 18. Saint John’s (7-11); 19. Westford Academy (10-8); 20. Natick (11-7); 21. Bridgewater-Raynham (12-6); 22. Framingham (10-7); 23. Bishop Feehan (10-8); 24. Lexington (11-7); 25. Central Catholic (7-10); 26. Belmont (11-7); 27. Brookline (9-9); 28. Beverly (12-6); 29. Methuen (9-9); 30. Newton South (6-10); 31. Wachusett Regional (6-12); 32. Barnstable (3-15); 33. Peabody Veterans (9-9); 34. Lynn Classical (8-7)PRELIMINARY ROUND – TBAGAME 1 – Peabody at BarnstableGAME 2 – Lynn Classical at WachusettFIRST ROUND – TBAGAME...

Dozens of ghost guns seized in San Diego County over 3-month period

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A three-month campaign to reduce violent crime in San Diego County has led law enforcement to seize a plethora firearms. That's according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman's office Wednesday, which also states 33 people were prosecuted during the operation. Dubbed the "Privately Made Firearm Crime Reduction Project," officials say the campaign ran from February to May this year to address gun violence and the rapid production of ghost guns in the region. Body found floating near Shelter Island identified Law enforcement officials seized a total of 165 firearms during this effort, with 82 of them being privately-made weapons, according to the U.S. attorney's office.To determine areas where there was an increase in gun violence, officials explained that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives (ATF) and the San Diego Police Department used data analytics. This helped law enforcement determine where to place resources and intelligence-le...

The country's best doughnut shop is in California, according to Yelp's 2023 rankings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Do you “go nuts” for doughnuts? Sure you do. We all do. They’re made from fried dough and sugar. We’d be fools not to be interested.But, mind you, most of us don’t go gaga over just any doughnut. We all have our favorite shops and flavors, and we’re always on the lookout for newer, tastier varieties. And while there’s no shortage of shops providing exactly what we crave, there are also plenty of mediocre doughnut purveyors that, frankly, no one has ever gone nuts for.  To help us find the best of the best, Yelp’s team of analysts have compiled their second annual ranking of America's top 100 doughnut shops based on the ratings and reviews of Yelp’s online community. The 2023 list — released ahead of National Doughnut Day on June 2 — includes shops from 27 states and Washington, D.C., though some are more well-represented than others. California, for instance, is home to 10 of the top-rated doughnut shops on Yelp’s list, and virtually dominates the upper rankings wit...

County adopts 'promising actions' to help renters, home buyers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Last week, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors adopted a wave of "promising actions" designed to help renters and homebuyers.That's according to the county communications office, which explained in a news release that these changes are meant for those affected by the region's housing crisis. Woman hit, killed in City Heights From delivering different types of housing faster to reducing review times for housing permits and offering financial incentives, the county says the board committed $14.5 million to carry out such efforts. Here are the 22 "promising actions" adopted by the Board of Supervisors, according to the communications office.Actions achievable within 12 months:Guaranteed timelines for 100% affordable housing and shelters, VMT efficient and infill areas and workforce housing.Prioritization of contracts to support housing.Process improvements.Environmental health and quality temporary contracting authority.Over-the-counter reviews for previously...

GOP walkout in Oregon Senate now in 5th week; uncertain if boycotters will be sanctioned

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The longest-ever walkout in the Oregon Legislature completed its fourth week on Wednesday as the enforceability of a ballot measure that would disqualify the boycotters from immediate reelection appeared in doubt.By all appearances, Oregon’s 2023 legislative session has crashed on the rocks amid the GOP boycott of the Senate over an abortion and transgender care bill. Senate President Rob Wagner once again tried on Wednesday to convene the chamber, which last met on May 2. “We’ll give this another shot,” the Democrat said. But a roll call again showed that nine Republicans and a member of the Independent Party of Oregon were absent without being excused, preventing a quorum and putting on ice votes on Democratic priority measures, including one on gun control.In what has become a Groundhog Day ritual in the past four weeks, Wagner then banged the gavel to close the aborted session. He said he’d try again the next day. But Sen. Tim Knopp, leader of the minori...

It’s time to prepare for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — It’s time for residents along the southeastern U.S. coastlines to make sure their storm plans are in place as the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season gets underway on Thursday.Forecasters are predicting a “near-normal” season, but Mike Brennan, the new director at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, stressed during a Wednesday news conference that there’s really nothing normal when it comes to hurricanes. “A normal season might sound good in comparison to some of the hurricane seasons in the past few years,” he said. “But there’s nothing good about a near-normal hurricane season in terms of activity.” WILL THE 2023 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON BE BUSY?Uncertainty is the key word, Brennan said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted in late May a 40% chance of 2023 being a near-normal hurricane season, a 30% chance of an above-average season, which has more storms than usual, and a 30% chance of a below-normal season, which has ...

Feds still trying to rescue families of Canadians who helped in Afghanistan: minister

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government is working with some Canadians who helped the military in Afghanistan to develop programs that would bring their families to safety, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Wednesday.Some of those Canadians, however, say the government has not heard them out or helped rescue their families from the Taliban.Two Canadians who served as language and cultural advisers in the country filed a Federal Court application last week alleging the government provided “superior immigration benefits” to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.The court filing alleges the government has been discriminatory in its uneven response to the two crises.The Canadian government recruited some 45 Canadian citizens with Afghan heritage to serve as language and cultural advisers during its military mission in Afghanistan. It recently created a program to bring the Afghan families of those advisers to Canada, but the lawsuit says the criteria are so restrictive that it...