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TikTok updates content rulebook as pressure from West builds

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

LONDON (AP) — TikTok on Tuesday rolled out updated rules and standards for content and users as it faces increasing pressure from Western authorities over concerns that material on the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app could be used to push false information.The company released a reorganized set of community guidelines that include eight principles to guide content moderation decisions. “These principles are based on our commitment to uphold human rights and aligned with international legal frameworks,” said Julie de Bailliencourt, TikTok’s global head of product policy. She said TikTok strives to be fair, protect human dignity and balance freedom of expression with preventing harm. The Chinese-owned app has come under fire in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific, where a growing number of governments have banned TikTok from devices used for official business over worries it poses risks to cybersecurity and data privacy or could be used to push pro-Beijin...

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band coming to San Diego

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

SAN DIEGO — San Diego will be "Dancing in the Dark" later this year when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band come to town.The iconic singer and his legendary band will play at Pechanga Arena on Dec. 2 as part of their 2023 world tour. The San Diego stop was one of two new dates added to the group's international tour Tuesday, with the other new show being in Foxborough, MA on Aug. 26.Tickets for the San Diego show go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. PT via AXS and can be purchased here. Ticket prices will range from $59.50 to $399.50 before taxes and fees, according to the presale website. Red Hot Chili Peppers to perform at Snapdragon Stadium as part of 2023 world tour According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, this will be the first time that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have performed in San Diego since Sept. 2, 1981, when they held a show at the then-called San Diego Sports Arena, which is now known as Pechanga Arena.The international tour kicked off on Feb. 1 with...

Roads closed around San Diego County as crews prepare for more flooding

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Several roads are closed around San Diego County as crews anticipate heavy flooding.The closures come as another atmospheric river has made its way to the San Diego region, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds to the area Tuesday morning.The following Mission Valley roads surrounding the San Diego River were closed as of 9 p.m. Monday, according to the City of San Diego Twitter:Southbound Qualcomm Way at Rio San Diego DriveNorthbound Mission Center Road between Hazard Center Drive and Camino De La ReinaSouthbound Ward Road at Camino Del Rio NCamino Del Este between Station Village Drive and Camino De La ReinaWestbound Camino De La Reina at Camino De La SiestaEastbound Camino De La Reina, west of Avenida Del RioSan Diego Mission Road between Fairmount Avenue and Caminito YucatanCountywide, a list of updated road closures can be found on the Department of Public Works Twitter page. The following roads were closed by the County of San Diego DPW as of 9:15 a.m. Tuesday:...

Gwyneth Paltrow’s trial over Utah ski collision begins

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court in Utah on Tuesday morning in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.Terry Sanderson, 76, said Paltrow was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, après-ski champagne yurts and posh clientele.“Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control,” Sanderson’s attorneys claim in the lawsuit, “knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries. Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.”In a case that has lasted years, Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000 — claiming that the a...

UN chief’s call for ambition on climate gets muted response

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Senior government officials at a climate meeting in Copenhagen gave a muted response Tuesday to calls from the head of the United Nations for countries to show greater ambition when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged rich countries Monday to bring forward their target for achieving net zero emissions as close as possible to 2040, and for emerging economies to aim for a date as close as possible to 2050. This would be a significant shifting of the goal posts: the United States and the European Union are currently aiming for net zero by 2050, while China is targeting 2060 and India has set a deadline of 2070.Guterres’ call came in a video message responding to a new report by the U.N.’s top climate science panel which found that the world is still far off track if it wants to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times, as agreed in the 2015 Paris accord. ...

Yellen says bank situation stabilizing, different from 2008

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen projected calm on Tuesday after recent regional bank collapses but told a gathering of bankers that additional rescue arrangements “could be warranted” if any new failures at smaller institutions jeopardize financial stability.Yellen, who made her remarks at the American Bankers Association, said that overall “the situation is stabilizing.”“And the U.S. banking system remains sound,” Yellen said, drawing clear differences between recent events and the 2008 financial meltdown, which triggered trillions of dollars of financial losses globally.“This is different from 2008,” she said. “2008 was a solvency crisis, rather what we’re seeing now is contagious bank runs.”Yellen’s remarks come after a series of troubling bank developments this month.Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid anxiety over the bank’s health. It was the sec...

Tennessee law prevents local bans on natural gas stoves

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Lee has signed legislation that says local governments can’t ban gas stoves, even though no current city in Tennessee is currently pursuing such actions. The legislation was introduced amid fears from earlier this year that the Biden administration was considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves due to growing health concerns over the appliances. While the White House has said President Joe Biden would not support a ban, a Consumer Product Safety Commission official sparked suspicion when he said “any option is on the table” when it came to regulating gas stoves.Under the legislation Lee approved last week, local governments cannot regulate the “type of source of energy” delivered to customers for utility service connection or appliances. The legislation went into effect immediately after receiving strong support inside the GOP-dominated Tennessee Statehouse. “There’s been some conversation at the federal level at looking at disconti...

Producer claims Fox coerced testimony in Dominion libel case

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A Fox News producer has filed a lawsuit claiming the network pressured her to give misleading testimony in a separate lawsuit that alleges Fox slandered a voting machine company by amplifying baseless allegations of fraud following the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuit by Abby Grossberg, who said she is on a forced administrative leave, alleges that the network also discriminated against her based on her gender and Jewish faith. It came as a hearing began Tuesday in Delaware Superior Court in the larger legal battle between Fox and Dominion Voting Systems, which seeks $1.6 billion from the network in its defamation claim.The Dominion lawsuit provides the legal backdrop for Grossberg’s claim and already has embarrassed the network by revealing its personalities’ private disdain for former President Donald Trump and illustrating how political pressures can inform its coverage. The case also holds the potential for redefining libel law in the U...

Pakistani intelligence officer, driver killed, officials say

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Suspected militants ambushed a vehicle carrying a senior military intelligence officer in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing him and his driver, security officials and police said. Brig. Mustafa Burki, who had been deeply involved in operations against the Pakistani Taliban in recent years, was “martyred” along with his driver as he traveled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, three security officials said. The province bordering Afghanistan is a former stronghold of militants. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.There was no claim of responsibility for the attack on Burki.It was the second major assault on intelligence officers since January, when Pakistani Taliban killed another senior officer and his colleague in Punjab province. Burki and the officers killed in January were known for gathering information about militants and supervising raids on insurgents.Separately, the military said in a st...

Nuclear contamination testing planned at St. Louis-area park

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:50:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to test for radioactive contamination at a suburban St. Louis park that sits along a notoriously toxic creek, a Corps official said Tuesday.The Corps of Engineers is seeking permission from St. Louis County to test soil and water at Fort Belle Fontaine Park, a popular spot for hikers with high bluffs and panoramic views. The park sits about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi River.Coldwater Creek runs through the park. The notoriously contaminated creek has been a headache for decades, since radioactive waste got into the waterway in the 1950s. Residents who lived along the creek as children in the 1960s and later have blamed illnesses, including rare cancers, on playing in the creek.“We were never, as kids, supposed to go down there, but of course we did,” said Kim Visintine, a member of the Coldwater Creek Group, which advocates for testing and cleanup.A division of the Corps of En...