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Tech group sues Arkansas over law requiring parental OK for minors creating social media accounts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A tech industry trade group sued Arkansas on Thursday challenging a new state law that requires parental permission for minors to create social media accounts.NetChoice, a group whose members include Facebook parent Meta, TikTok and Twitter, filed a federal lawsuit over the measure signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in April. The law requires social media companies to contract with third-party vendors to perform age verification checks on new users. The requirement is set to go into effect on Sept. 1.The lawsuit argues that the new requirement violates the constitutional rights of users and singles out types of speech that would be restricted.“S.B. 396 imposes onerous obligations on ‘social media companies’ that severely burden both minors’ and adults’ First Amendment rights to speak, listen, and associate without government interference on the widely used online services that it covers,” the lawsuit said.Arkansas’ law is simi...

6 riders from American contingent could help decide Tour de France

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

The goal for Neilson Powless at the Tour de France starting Saturday is simple: win a stage.He’s certainly capable. So are the other five Americans in the field, and collectively they represent perhaps the strongest contingent of U.S. riders in cycling’s most famous race since the drug-fueled days of Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer.There is Sepp Kuss, the climbing extraordinaire from the Jumbo-Visma squad, who ended a 10-year drought for Americans with a stage win last year and who will try to usher Jonas Vingegaard to back-to-back yellow jerseys; Matteo Jorgenson, who featured in several breakaways a year ago and nearly won a stage himself; new U.S. road race champ Quinn Simmons; Kevin Vermaerke, whose own debut last year was waylaid by a broken collarbone; and Lawson Craddock, back for the first time since 2018.Then there is Powless, the 26-year-old from Florida and the first rider of Native American ancestry to race in the Tour, and who already has won two lower l...

Drone deployed to fight mosquitoes in Southern California

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — A drone flies over a peaceful Southern California marsh and unleashes a rain of larvae-killing bacterial spore pellets. Its target: a surging population of mosquitoes that can spread diseases to humans.The drone is the latest technology deployed by the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District to attack mosquito development in marshes, large ponds and parks.Mosquitoes grow into larvae from eggs laid in water, making proliferation of the biting bugs a major concern after California’s extraordinarily rainy winter.“There’s quite a bit more mosquitoes due to the rain,” said John Savage, who recently operated the drone at San Joaquin Marsh Reserve near the University of California, Irvine. “You can see out here almost every single marsh pond is full of water.”The district sprawling over more than 800 square miles (2,070 square kilometers) south of Los Angeles is reporting that traps are capturing three times the 15-year average number of mosquit...

Grains mostly lower, Livestock higher

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

Wheat for Jul. was off 2.75 cents at $6.53 a bushel; Jul. corn fell 9 cents at $5.81 a bushel, Jul. oats lost 9.25 cents at 3.6775 a bushel; while Jul. soybeans advanced 32 cents at $14.83 a bushel.Beef and pork were higher on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Jun. live cattle was up .13 cent at $1.7975 a pound; Aug. feeder cattle gained 2.12 cents at $2.4237 a pound; while Jul. lean hogs rose 1.18 cents at $.9545 a pound.Source

Live updates: Tracking severe weather in Denver area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Severe weather is moving through the Denver metro area on Thursday, with hail and lightning possible and a risk for tornadoes.A Pinpoint Weather Alert Day is in effect for the metro area, including from Interstate 25 through the Eastern Plains and into Kansas and Nebraska. A tornado watch is in effect until 9 p.m. for portions of the front range. It includes Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Washington, and Weld counties.Get real-time updates from FOX31 and the Pinpoint Weather team in the live blog below, and on FOX31 on TV.Live blog with updates below.Weather Quick LinksRadar: Interactive mapLatest forecastWatches & WarningsLatest Weather AlertsThe live blog below will not include all warnings, watches, advisories, and other alerts issued by the National Weather Service. For all alerts in your area, check the following:Pinpoint Weather AppCustom alerts on your phoneAlerts on KDVR.comFull list and m...

‘He could have been a hero’: Parkland parents react to Scot Peterson’s acquittal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

Several parents who lost their children in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School expressed their disappointment with the acquittal of the former school resource officer who, they argue, could have done more during the massacre.Tony Montalto, who lost his daughter Gina in the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre, shared his reaction to Scot Peterson’s not guilty verdict on all counts that was handed down on Thursday afternoon at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.“His inaction contributed to the pain of our entire community, and we don’t understand how this jury looked at the evidence that was presented and found him not guilty,” he said. “Someday [jurors will] be able to talk about it if they choose to. I’ll be interested to hear what they have to say, but again, this case was about the law. It was not whether or not his actions were cowardly.”Tom Hoyer, who lost his son Luke in the mass shooting, also weighed in with his...

Rapper Travis Scott will not face criminal charges in Astroworld crowd surge, his lawyer says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas grand jury has declined to indict rapper Travis Scott in a criminal investigation into a massive crowd surge that killed 10 people at the 2021 Astroworld music festival in Houston, his attorney said Thursday.Lawyer Kent Schaffer confirmed that the grand jury had met and decided not to indict his client on any criminal charges stemming from the concert. Schaffer said he was not sure what charges the grand jury had considered.“He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt,” Schaffer said, adding that the decision is “a great relief.”Houston police and federal officials have been investigating whether Scott, concert promoter Live Nation and others had sufficient safety measures in place.Schaffer said he feels sympathy for those who were killed at the festival and their families.“But Travis is not responsible,” Schaffer said. “Bringing criminal charges against him will not ease their pain.”

Christine King Farris, sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, dies at 95

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

(CNN) — Christine King Farris, the eldest sister of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., died Thursday, according to a Twitter post by her niece, Rev. Bernice King.“I love you and will miss you, Aunt Christine,” Rev. King wrote.She was 95, the King Center said in a news release announcing Farris’ death.Martin Luther King III, Rev. King’s brother, also remembered his aunt, writing on Twitter, “Aunt Christine embodied what it meant to be a public servant,” and that his aunt, just like his dad, spent her life fighting for equality and against racism.“She defied the odds that held back too many marginalized communities – going on to become a civil rights leader and acclaimed author,” he wrote.“We will truly miss my Aunt but know that she leaves behind a tremendous legacy that will outlive us all and we commit to carrying that legacy on for future generations,” MLK III added.Farris’s “life overflowed with acts of service, love, and education that inspi...

EU leaders meet in the shadow of failed Wagner mutiny in Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Google Play EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge Created with Sketch. Stitcher .st0{fill:#EB8A23;} .st1{fill:#FAC617;} .st2{fill:#612368;} .st3{fill:#3792C4;} .st4{fill:#C33727;} Acast Our slightly-later edition of this week’s EU Confidential comes to you from on-the-ground at the European Council — where the EU’s 27 leaders are discussing topics ranging from security gua...

Man convicted of fatally stabbing ex-girlfriend at Worcester restaurant sentenced to life in prison

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:12 GMT

Carlos Asencio was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday for stabbing his ex-girlfriend in a restaurant four years ago. Asencio, 32, of Derry, New Hampshire, told a judge he didn’t see a reason to sit through his sentencing.“There is only one outcome of what I’ve been sentenced to,” Asencio said. “Therefore, do I have to be in this room when that occurs?”Prosecutors said Asencio tracked Dabrowski’s car to O’Connor’s on July 3, 2019 and when she went to the restroom he stabbed her more than 20 times in her neck and body before being subdued by restaurant patrons and staff.“You invaded her personal space, and you invaded her privacy, and I’m not sure what gave you the right to do that,” Victoria Dabrowski, the victim’s sister, said in court.  “You’re a coward.”The victim’s loved ones told him how his actions have impacted their lives, but the judge allowed Asencio to leave the courtroom and listen virtually from a holding cell.“Amanda wanted to get married. Amanda w...