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TikTok CEO in the hot seat: 5 takeaways from his first appearance before Congress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

(CNN) — In his first appearance before Congress on Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Chew was grilled by lawmakers who expressed deep skepticism about his company’s attempts to protect US user data and ease concerns about its ties to China.The hearing, which lasted for more than five hours, kicked off with calls from a lawmaker to ban the app in the United States and remained combative throughout. It offered a vivid display of the bipartisan push to crack down on the popular short-form video app and the company’s uphill battle to improve relations with Washington.Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, opened Thursday’s hearing by telling Shou: “Your platform should be banned.”“I expect today you’ll say anything to avoid this outcome,” she continued. “We aren’t buying it. In fact, when you celebrate the 150 million American users on TikTok, it emphasizes the urgency for Con...

Wall Street swings as big questions about banks, rates hang

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are wobbling on Wall Street Thursday after a big show of strength in the morning vanished and worries continued to rise about the banking industry.The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher in late trading after veering all the way from a 1.8% gain earlier in the day to a 0.4% loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 64 points, or 0.2%, at 32,094, as of 3 p.m. Eastern time, after giving up an early gain of 480 points. The Nasdaq composite was leading the market with a 1% gain. Two big questions have been causing big swings for Wall Street this month, and investors still don’t have a final answer for either. On one, investors are worried about whether another bank will suffer a debilitating exodus of customers following the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history. On the other, all the turmoil is clouding the outlook for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates after raising them to market-ratt...

MIAA official: Power rating system working as planned

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Not everyone is sold on the MIAA power rating system, but the numbers are telling a different story.At Thursday’s MIAA Tournament Management Committee, the founding father of the current system spent 10 minutes explaining the process which went into creating a formula used to seed tournament teams. MIAA assistant director for communications, media and tournaments Jim Clark said that simplicity, transparency and accuracy were important factors from the get-go.From there, Clark displayed statistics from the most recent tournament seasons which showed that the system is working. In the fall season of 2022, higher seeds won games at least 78 percent of the time (football) and went as high as 88.17 (girls volleyball). Many of the top seeds were getting through into the latter stages of the tournament, which provided some top-notch competition.In the recently concluded winter season, just like the fall, higher seeds achieved a success ratio of at least 78 percent (boys hockey) and r...

Tech review: Macbook Pro gets the best possible kind of speed bump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Jim Rossman | Tribune News ServiceLaptop computers used to be a tradeoff — you’d trade processing power for the convenience of mobility.As technology advances, laptop speeds have finally caught up to (and sometimes surpassed) desktop computers and for almost all users, there is no advantage to choosing a desktop over a laptop.Case in point: Apple’s new MacBook Pro with the M2 processor.When Apple started making its own processors, it became apparent they were very fast.I’ve been testing the 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro with the M2 Pro processor and it is far and away the fastest Mac — laptop or desktop — that I’ve ever encountered.DesignApple introduced the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros back in late 2021. They were powered by the M1 chip.Compared to Apple’s last few laptop designs, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros had a bit of a different look.They are a bit thicker, and they don’t taper around the edges as much as earlier models. Their screens extend out almost to the edges of ...

Celtics notebook: Danilo Gallinari still hopeful to return from torn ACL in playoffs, but has ‘a long way’ to go

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Nearly seven months since tearing his ACL, Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari remained hopeful on Thursday that he could return for the playoffs but acknowledged that he still has a lot of work to do before that can happen.The 34-year-old Gallinari – who signed a two-year contract with the Celtics last summer – tore the ACL in his left knee on Aug. 27 while playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup qualifier. A typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL can range from six to 12 months, and while a return this season seems unlikely, Gallinari doesn’t want to rule it out. The possibility has pushed him throughout his rehab.“Playoffs is still in my head, so that’s something that I’m looking for,” Gallinari said. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not, but on a motivation standpoint, it’s always something that motivates me more. But I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not.”Gallinari has been seen throughout the last couple of months doing light on-court workouts and has not begun ramp...

Terry Savage: Tips for tax filers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Terry Savage | Tribune Content AgencyIt’s that time of year again — income tax time. If you’ve already filed your return, pat yourself on the back. But if you’re one of the millions who procrastinate, here are some helpful reminders along with some tax changes that you might not have noticed yet.This year’s tax filing deadline is Tuesday, April 18th.You can get an extension by filing IRS Form 4868 — but you must pay all the taxes you would owe or face stiff penalties.File your return electronically. Not only will you get your refund faster, you will have proof of filing.Electronic filing isn’t more expensive. In fact, if your adjusted gross income is under $73,000 you can use IRS.gov/Freefile — a partnership with well-known tax preparers. Or search IRS.gov for the VITA program, an in-person source of help for elderly and low-income people.Set up direct deposit if you expect a refund. Double-check the bank routing number, and make sure the account you specify is current and open.If y...

Suspect in triple murder arrested following transfer from Mexico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A suspect in a triple murder from 2000 has been taken into custody following a transfer from Mexico, authorities said.According to the San Diego Police Department, 44-year-old Sergio Lopez Contreras was arrested on Wednesday after being brought across the border by efforts coordinated by U.S. Marshals and Mexican authorities. $5.7M in narcotics seized at San Diego port of entries over 3-day span: CBP Lopez Contreras is the prime suspect in an apartment complex shooting that took place at a residence on Bancroft Street in Normal Heights on the night of Sept. 4, 2000, SDPD said. Responding officers located three victims at the home. Michael Plummer, 20, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Adah Pearson, 18, and Julio Rangel, a 21-month-old child, were both transported to local hospitals where they both died from their injuries, according to SDPD.The San Diego Police Homicide Unit responded to investigate the triple shooting and detectives identified Lopez Contreras as ...

LIVE: USS Theodore Roosevelt returns to San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) has returned to San Diego following an 18-month stay in Washington.The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is returning to Naval Air Station North Island after completing a docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, according to U.S. Navy officials.While homeported in Bremerton, WA, Theodore Roosevelt underwent maintenance to modernize the ship's combat efficiency and ensure sustained operational readiness, a news release said. San Diego health professionals quell fears as deadly infection spreads at ‘alarming rate’ nationwide According to Navy officials, upgrades to the ship included:Expanding the ship’s air dominance capabilities to support the F-35C Lightning II, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and CMV-22B Osprey, as well as future platforms such as the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aircraft system.Installation of the Mark 38 Mod III Machine Gun System and...

Water contamination in Oregon could prompt EPA to step in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

BOARDMAN, Ore. (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is urging Oregon to clean up water contamination from nitrates in the eastern part of the state, warning it could step in under the Safe Drinking Water Act in the absence of sufficient local action.It’s been three decades since state agencies first noted high levels of nitrate contamination in the groundwater in Morrow and Umatilla counties, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported, and residents have long complained that the pollution is negatively impacting their health.Environmental groups say that large-scale livestock and agriculture operations are largely to blame for the contamination. The two counties have a combined population of more than 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller met with dozens of residents, representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the local nonprofit Oregon Rural Action in Boardman, Oregon, on Monday to...

Trudeau, Biden could agree to end ‘loophole’ in Safe Third Country Agreement: source

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could designate all 8,900 kilometres of their shared border as an official crossing under the Safe Third Country Agreement.A Canadian government official with knowledge of the talks says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden will discuss the issue when they meet in Ottawa on Friday. The Canadian Press is granting anonymity to the official to discuss matters not yet made public. Such a deal would not physically close off the Roxham Road unofficial crossing in Quebec, where thousands of migrants have entered Canada so they can make an asylum claim.But it would mean that migrants who continue to cross there, or at any other unofficial crossing, would be treated as if they crossed at an official border checkpoint and returned to the United States to make an asylum claim there.Those travelling into the U.S. from Canada at unofficial crossings would likewise be returned to Canada by American authorities. Und...