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Police suggested charging a child for her explicit photos. Experts say the practice is common

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — When an Ohio father learned that his 11-year-old daughter had been manipulated into sending explicit photos to an adult, he turned to the police for help.But instead of treating the girl as a crime victim, an officer seemingly threatened to charge her under a law most people view as designed to protect child victims.The shocking interaction was recorded last week on body camera audio and by the father’s doorbell camera in Columbus, Ohio. The footage drew criticism from the public and from experts who said law enforcement officials have long misused laws meant to protect children by threatening to charge them with being part of the same crime.Experts said the incident also showed that training for officers on how to respond to child exploitation cases is spotty and not standardized between police departments.“It was a complete fail on a legal level and on a human level,” said Scott Berkowitz, founder and president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Net...

Coastal GasLink fined $340,000 for erosion, sediment control challenges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

CALGARY — Coastal GasLink has been fined $340,000 by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office for issues related to erosion and sediment control.Coastal GasLink, which is owned by Calgary-based TC Energy Corp., said the fines stem from four inspections of its ongoing pipeline construction project that occurred in April and May of 2022.Those inspections took place before Coastal GasLink signed a compliance agreement requiring the company to ensure erosion and sediment control measures are incorporated into its construction plans.“In 2023, we continue to make significant strides forward in how we manage (erosion and sediment control), including through this year’s challenging spring melt season,” the company said in a statement Thursday. “We continue to work closely with our regulators to improve and adapt our environmental protection measures as we look ahead to the final cleanup of our project route.” Coastal GasLink is a 670-km pipeline spanning northern Bri...

DuckDuckGo founder says Google’s phone and manufacturing partnerships thwart competition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Appearing in the biggest antitrust trial in a quarter century, DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg testified Thursday that it was hard for his small search engine company to compete with Google because the powerhouse has deals with phone companies and equipment manufacturers to make its product the default search option on so many devices.“We hit an obstacle with Google’s contracts,” Weinberg said in U.S. District Court in Washington.The U.S. Department of Justice argues that Google has smothered competition by paying companies such as Apple and Verizon to lock in its search engine as the default choice — the first one users see — on many laptops and smartphones. Google counters that it dominates the internet search market because its product is better than the competition. Even when it holds the default spot on smartphones and other devices, Google argues, users can switch to rival search engines with a couple of clicks.But Weinberg testified that gett...

Sophie Turner sues to force estranged husband Joe Jonas to turn over children’s passports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Sophie Turner sued her estranged pop star husband Joe Jonas on Thursday to force him to turn over the passports of the couple’s two young daughters so she can take them to England.Turner, who was served with divorce papers this month after four years of marriage to Jonas, said in her petition that the couple had planned to raise their daughters in her native England. It also said that the girls, ages 3 and 1, “are both fully involved and integrated in all aspects of daily and cultural life in England.”Best known for playing Sansa Stark on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” Turner filed her petition in federal court in New York under the child abduction clauses of the Hague Convention, an international treaty aimed at compelling the return of a child taken from their country of “habitual residence.”Turner, 27, says that she and Jonas, 34, made a mutual decision to raise their daughters in England and to relocate there in April of this year.During part of Augus...

Warmer than normal weather settles in

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

Chicago enters an ABOVE NORMAL TEMP REGIME for the time of year—a pattern likely to hold over the coming 2 weeks. Plus precip will be BELOW NORMAL—with the heavy rainfalls held well to the city's west over an area near and west of the Mississippi and in the Plains.  There, some heavy rain totals are expected—but NOT HERE.A persistent easterly low level wind flow will keep winds coming in off the lake over the coming week.  But the overall air mass is WARMER THAN NORMAL by latest September standards. So while there will be some cooling each day as winds come ashore off the 68-deg southern Lake Michigan waters, inland readings will first with 80-deg again Friday and Saturday and in the mid 70s Sunday—ABOVE THE NORMAL HIGHS IN THE LOW 70S THIS TIME OF YEAR.And modeling indicates EACH OF THE COMING  14 DAYS ARE LIKELY TO END UP "ABOVE NORMAL".This week is to finish 3-deg above normal and next week is likely to average 4-deg ABOVE NORMAL.The clock is ticking toward the AUTUMNAL EQUINOX—w...

More to be done to prevent teens from using tobacco — and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

Medical Watch Digest for Sept 21Teens & TobaccoThe Office of the Inspector General says federal regulators need to do more to keep kids and teens from using tobacco and vaping products.The report points to the food and drug administration saying it needs to get tough on retailers selling tobacco products to young people and improve oversight of online retailers.The Inspector General report also said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives should work with the FDA to help stop online tobacco sales to kids.More Free Covid TestsYou'll soon be able to order free, at-home Covid tests again this fall.The Biden Administration is using $600 million to replenish its supply and make the tests readily available. Government bringing back free at-home COVID tests starting next week On Monday Covidtests.gov will let households order up to four tests at no cost.They'll be shipped through the U.S Postal Service.The website will remain live through the holidays, and could stay ...

Suburban choir shares joy of music by giving ukuleles to kids in hospitals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. —A Buffalo Grove choir has found a special way to share the healing power of music with kids at local hospitals. For two years, the BG Singers have been rehearsing for a special concert. For them, it's not just about hitting the right notes in practice but making sure their voices carry and impact those far beyond the concert hall. When the group heard about a charity looking to get ukuleles in the hands of hospitalized kids, it changed their tune. They began to search for artists to paint ukuleles that could be auctioned off. “For every ukulele they buy, two will be given to the hospitals,” Kathy Novak said. “So it's been a great effort.” From classroom to construction site: Geometry students building homes for community Today those bright colorful ukuleles cover the walls of the Buffalo Grove Park District's community center, area restaurants, businesses and entryways. It has added up to lots of dough."Our ukuleles are going to go to some of th...

Missing Florida 10-year-old caught driving mom's stolen car on interstate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

NORTH PORT, Fla. (WFLA) — A pair of missing Florida siblings were caught driving their mother's stolen car over 200 miles away from home on Thursday.According to a Facebook post from the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, deputies pulled over the sedan on Interstate 75 in the city of Alachua — which is near Gainesville — at 3:50 a.m. Federal government to relaunch website for free COVID tests Deputies conducted the "high risk traffic stop" because the car was reported stolen. "Much to their surprise, deputies observed a 10-year-old male driver exit the vehicle, along with his 11-year-old sister," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook.The siblings were reported missing to the North Port Police Department, deputies learned. Their mother declined to press charges and drove three hours north to Alachua County to pick up the children, according to the sheriff's office.

Former employees accuse TikTok of racial discrimination, bias, retaliation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

(The Hill) — Two Black former workers of video-sharing platform TikTok have filed a federal class action complaint alleging they faced racial discrimination and ultimately were fired from the company when they took the matter to human resources.Nnete Matima and Joël Carter claim in their Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that they were treated worse than their white peers while at TikTok, which has more than 150 million users in the United States and is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company. Ramaswamy sparks furor with comments on race "When I told TikTok that my managers were discriminating against me, I was retaliated against in so many ways, my managers called me a ‘Black Snake,’ and TikTok terminated me. It was an absolute nightmare," said Matima, who was a business development representative, in a statement shared with The Hill by their attorney, Peter Romer-Friedman.Carter, who worked as a policy manager, shared a similar story.“TikTok says that its ‘mis...

Former Round Rock pastor sentenced on child pornography charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Georgetown man and former Round Rock pastor was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release on an "enhanced charge of possession of child pornography."According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 57-year-old David Lloyd Walther was sentenced in an Austin federal court Wednesday. In addition to that sentence, Walther must pay restitution of $61,000.The DOJ said during a search of Walther’s home and vehicle in November 2022, two computer hard drives were found. The hard drives contained more than 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos of child sexual abuse material. RELATED: Former Round Rock pastor pleads guilty to child pornography charges At the time of Walther’s arrest, he was the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock.“Many families in the Round Rock area placed their trust in this man when he served as a leader in faith for their community,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.  “I hop...