International

International


Nearly a decade after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, New Mexico alone is taking Facebook to trial

Attorneys representing the state of New Mexico told jurors that targeted political ads, attempting to lower Democratic turnout during the 2016 election, used Facebook data sold to a political consulting firm, during opening statements in a trial over the platform’s data protections. Facebook’s attorney said the social media company investigated suspicious third-party apps following the […]

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Midterm mail ballots start to go to voters as litigation over Trump’s order creates uncertainty

Statewide mail voting for this year’s midterm elections kicked off Friday amid a churning legal battle over President Donald Trump’s attempts to limit the practice and mounting concern over Postal Service changes that some state officials blame for a rise in rejected ballots. The developments have created a sense of uncertainty about a popular voting […]

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Trump again appeals to Supreme Court on mail-voting restrictions with midterm elections looming

BOSTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to reject an order by a federal judge that halts it from implementing a new rule regulating mail ballots, hours after being unable to tell that judge whether the computer system that would govern the entire project was operational yet. The administration filed […]

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ICE whistleblower warned of ‘unprecedented lowering of standards’ during hiring spree

A supervisor overseeing background checks warned last year that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was hiring many new officers who had not undergone basic vetting, violating federal rules and putting the agency at risk of misconduct, a newly released whistleblower complaint shows. The official was a unit chief in ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, where background […]

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2 more beluga whales die at Chicago aquarium, including 1 recently rescued from Canada

CHICAGO (AP) — Two more beluga whales have died at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, including one that was rehomed at the facility just weeks earlier as part of an international effort to rescue Canada’s last captive whales, the aquarium announced Wednesday. Rain, a 20-year-old female, was the second to die out of a group of four […]

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Postal Service work to comply with Trump’s executive order is rushed, sloppy, whistleblower contends

The U.S. Postal Service is poised to launch a hastily built, error-riddled computer system that could jeopardize the process of mail voting relied upon by one-third of all voters, according to a whistleblower statement released Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The effort is part of the implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting […]

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Scams in the US are at a record high. Yet most victims get no help and some end up losing even more

When Simon’s wife of 43 years passed away, it felt a bit like he’d died too. In his overwhelming grief, Simon sought companionship online, like so many other lonely widows and widowers. Almost immediately he met Emily. But over the next few months, Emily, who Simon realized too late was a fake, stole $800,000 from […]

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Immigrant rights group seeks to block use of federal databases it says could purge legal voters

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An immigrant rights group sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from using federal databases that it alleged are being used to target naturalized citizens who are eligible to vote. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of the Coalition for […]

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US judges reveal panic buttons, private security in chilling new reports about threats

Federal judges have varied their commutes, hired private security and fortified their homes, including with panic buttons, amid a barrage of threats and harassment in recent months that has left many of them anxious about their safety, according to two new studies. In an astonishing admission, one judge acknowledged considering an alternative ruling to avoid […]

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Justice Department sues Kansas school system over policies on transgender students

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the school system in Kansas City, Kansas, over its policies on transgender students. The lawsuit comes more than a year after the Education Department first said it was investigating four districts in Kansas following a complaint from the Defense of Freedom […]

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Postal Service work to comply with Trump’s executive order is rushed, sloppy, whistleblower contends

The U.S. Postal Service is poised to launch a hastily built, error-riddled computer system that could jeopardize the process of mail voting relied upon by one-third of all voters, according to a whistleblower statement released Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The effort is part of the implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting […]

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Social media companies are trying harder to know which users are kids

Of the child safety measures agreed to in Meta’s landmark legal settlement, no category contains more detailed requirements than its commitments on age assurance — and for good reason. No matter how well the protections work, they are of little use if Meta can’t tell which users are kids. Determining which accounts belong to children […]

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