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TikTok users file lawsuit against Montana’s law banning the app

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

Associated PressHELENA, Mont. — Five TikTok users filed a lawsuit to overturn a planned ban on the video sharing app in Montana.They argued in a legal complaint filed late Wednesday in federal court in Missoula that the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights.They also say the state doesn’t have authority over matters of national security. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill into law Wednesday and said it would protect Montana residents’ private data and personal information from being harvested by the Chinese government.The ban is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.“We expected a legal challenge and are fully prepared to defend the law,” said Emily Flower, spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Justice.TikTok has argued that the law infringes on people’s First Amendment rights and is unlawful.Some lawmakers, the FBI and officials at other agencies are concerned the video-sharing app, owned by ByteDance, could be used to allo...

Letters: More trails | Wrong track | Biden’s job | Country in crisis | Detentions crucial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Bike trails are goodfor all park usersRe: “Kudos to EBRPD for testing new trail ideas” (Page A6, May 16).I enjoyed reading the opinions, both pro and con, regarding the park’s construction of bike-specific trails in Briones East Bay Regional Park.The anti-biking groups complain of user conflict on the trails, a fear that has been shown to be more theoretical than real. One way to minimize conflict is by creating well-designed legal bike trails. I am confident that the EBRPD will construct such trails in a safe and ecologically sensitive manner, enhancing the park experience for all users.Michael UdkowOaklandState is on wrongtrack on big issuesRe: “Quality-of-life issues causing California flight” (Page A12, May 14).I would like to thank the author, Bill Packwood, for a very accurate description of the reasons for leaving California.This beautiful state is seeing a horrible t...

Election lies thrive unchecked on Elon Musk’s Twitter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

By Ali Swenson | Associated PressNEW YORK — In an interview this week, Twitter owner Elon Musk said users making false claims of stolen elections “will be corrected” on the platform.Prompted by a CNBC reporter for extra assurance that would happen, Musk responded, “Oh yeah, 100%.”Yet many such claims have thrived on Twitter in the week since former President Donald Trump spent much of a CNN town hall digging in on his lie that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him. Twitter posts that amplified those false claims have thousands of shares with no visible enforcement, a review of posts on the platform shows.The contrast between Musk’s promise and the extent the claims are spreading on Twitter underscores a major challenge for social media companies trying to call out election conspiracy theories and falsehoods that Trump and his supporters continue to promote. That will only grow as the nation prepares for a presidential election next year...

Levi’s Stadium appears Super Bowl-bound for 2026

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Levi’s Stadium is expected to make a Super Bowl encore in 2026.Next week’s NFL owners meeting in Minneapolis should yield a vote that awards Super Bowl LX to the 49ers’ home field, according to Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal.An announcement could come as soon as Monday or Tuesday, according to a team source.That Super Bowl would add to Levi’s Stadium’s busy docket for 2026, as it will serve as one of World Cup soccer’s North American venues later that summer.“I feel very confident we’ll get a Super Bowl in the near future,” 49ers CEO Jed York said in March at the NFL’s annual meetings in Arizona. “It’d be great to get Super Bowl 60 after hosting Super Bowl 50.“It’d be great to get that game after bringing the World Cup (bid) to Levi’s Stadium. Those are two of the largest sporting events in the world and having them back-to-back would be fantastic.”Last month, I reported that @49e...

‘They’re holding us hostage’: Two Antioch leaders call for firing of police involved in racist texts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

Nearly two months after an untold number of Antioch police were placed on leave for allegedly sending offensive and racist texts to each other, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe and Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker this week again called for the firing of those involved.“I think if you’re if we’re going to repair relationships, and there’s going to be reconciliation with the community, they need to be fired,” the mayor said Thursday.Torres-Walker meanwhile offered a similar position in a post on Facebook and in a statement emailed on Wednesday.“I firmly believe that the officers involved in the racist texting scandal should have been immediately terminated,” she wrote in part, explaining why she declined an invitation to attend this week’s “Pizza with the Chief” event at a local church.“My position on this is not some political ploy to silence the community but rather an expression of my commitment to not ignore the deeply entrenched racist culture within the Antioch P...

Letters: Lessons for homeless | Overestimating AI | Green schools | Not at fault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Refugee camp offerslessons for homelessRe: “What did $116M yield in homeless fixes?” (Page B1, May 15).Monday’s article on San Jose’s $116 million spending on programs to alleviate its homeless crisis should raise the question of how that amount of money can be spent with almost no impact on the 6,700 or so homeless population. Inept comes to mind.I suggest a small task force goes to study how the refugee camps housing hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan and elsewhere function. For example, the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan houses approximately 78,000 Syrian refugees in a massive tent city. Tents of all sizes from single-occupant to family-sized tents with multiple rooms and kitchens are present. Germany provided a $15 million solar system for electricity. The French military has a surgical team providing surgery for war wounded.I suspect that valuable lesso...

Oakley woman revived with 5 doses of Narcan after fentanyl overdose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

(KRON) -- Oakley police officers and paramedics had to use five doses of Narcan, a life saving opioid overdose-revering treatment, to revive a woman who overdosed on fentanyl inside a vehicle Wednesday.A concerned witness had called 911 reporting that the woman and her male companion were both passed out in a vehicle parked at Big Break Marina. "The person who reported the incident said pills were scattered around in the vehicle," the Oakley Police Department wrote. Police said officers found the 60-year-old woman unresponsive with pills in her lap.Officers were able to revive the 61-year-old man, but the woman had no pulse and was not breathing, according to OPD. "Our officers administered one dose of Narcan to the female with no noticeable signs of improvement. Our officers administered two more doses of Narcan to the female, and she began to breathe, and her pulse returned; she did not regain any degree of consciousness," OPD wrote. Paramedics carried the woman into an ambulance ...

El Vaticano: elude la Guardia Suiza con su vehículo, le disparan y lo detienen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

ROMA — Un conductor con aparentes problemas psiquiátricos pasó el jueves precipitadamente con su vehículo por una puerta del Vaticano, eludiendo a la Guardia Suiza, y llegó hasta el patio de un palacio antes de ser detenido por la policía, informó la Santa Sede.Gendarmes del Vaticano realizaron un disparo hacia los neumáticos delanteros del auto después que pasó por la puerta a gran velocidad, pero el vehículo siguió su camino, señaló la oficina de prensa de la Santa Sede en un comunicado.Una vez que el vehículo llegó al patio de San Dámaso del Palacio Apostólico, el conductor salió del auto y fue detenido de inmediato por gendarmes del Vaticano. Por primera vez desde que comenzó la guerra, el papa se reúne con Zelenskyy en el Vaticano El papa Francisco preside y bendice en la Misa del Domingo de Pascuas desde el Vaticano La Santa Sede señaló que el sospechoso tiene alrededor de 40 años y presentaba “un estado grave de alteración ...

MATCHDAY: Cadiz hosts Valladolid; Freiburg aims to keep CL hopes alive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Friday:SPAINCadiz hosts Valladolid in a match between two teams trying to avoid relegation in the Spanish league. They are both tied on 35 points, only one above the relegation zone. The loser of Friday’s game in Cadiz — or both teams if it ends in a draw — would be in danger of falling into the drop zone if Getafe beats last-place Elche at home on Saturday.GERMANYFreiburg needs a win over Wolfsburg to keep its Champions League hopes alive. Freiburg has spent most of the Bundesliga season in the Champions League places but has dropped to fifth after losses to its key rivals, Union Berlin and Leipzig. Another loss for Freiburg would ensure Champions League qualification for Leipzig and allow Union to clinch its first-ever appearance in Europe’s top competition with a draw Saturday against Hoffenheim. Wolfsburg is sixth and can’t qualify for the Champions League but is keen to stay ahead of chasing Bayer Leverkusen and Eintr...

DeBoer brings Stars to Vegas with trip to Stanley Cup Final on line

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:57 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Dallas coach Pete DeBoer couldn’t hide his joy when the Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0 in January.DeBoer — fired by the Golden Knights after the previous season — chugged a beer in the locker room. “Nailed it,” he said afterward.Now there is much more on the line for DeBoer and the Stars than revenge and a cold one. They visit play Knights in the Western Conference Final, the first game is Friday night in Las Vegas. The Knights are a minus-140 favorite to win the NHL playoffs series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Knights coach Bruce Cassidy, who was fired by Boston after last season, said DeBoer could have some advantages in knowing Vegas’ players strengths and weaknesses. But the Knights have two assistants on staff who coached under DeBoer last season and another, John Stevens, was on the Dallas bench the past three seasons.“I’m just putting my feet up and relaxing because those guys have all the information,” Cassidy said tongue-in-cheek.Ca...