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Roblox of San Mateo fails to protect child gamers from predators, sexual content, lawsuit claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

After Quisha Smith allowed her young daughter to open an account on the hugely popular gaming platform of San Mateo’s Roblox, she was surprised to see that when the girl went into a bathroom in a role-playing game, someone asked her to take off her pants, Smith alleges in a lawsuit against the company.Roblox claims more than 66 million daily users globally, with the fastest-growing age group 17 to 24, and estimated in 2020 that three-quarters of U.S. kids aged 9 to 12 had accounts. While its promotional materials tout a safe and “welcoming environment for all ages,” Smith’s lawsuit alleged the platform exposes children to “rampant sexual content, including the presence of child predators posing as innocuous avatars in an effort to groom child-users.”Such content, the lawsuit claimed, “is available — and, in some cases, recommended — to children of all ages on the platform, including the youngest of audiences who are barely old enough to be i...

Santa Clara County prepares to implement conservatorship changes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

(BCN) -- Santa Clara County is expediting the implementation of new conservatorship rules for people suffering from severe mental illness and substance use disorders--the process will be complicated and costly.The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved establishing a timeline toward implementing changes to Senate Bill 43, a state law that expands the definition of "gravely disabled" under the existing Lanterman Petris Short (LPS) conservatorship. The bill provides no state funding, which will force Santa Clara County to shift dollars in its general fund. The county is looking at a potential $158 million deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Hunter Biden is indicted on 9 tax charges, adding to gun charges in a special counsel investigation "Significant assets will be needed to implement SB 43 and the state has not yet made additional resources available," Deputy County Executive Ky Le said at the meeting.The law, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in October, becomes effec...

SF public defender invokes 'racial justice act' in case involving police shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

(BCN) -- Jose Corvera, an unhoused man with mental health challenges and limited English proficiency was riding a bike in the Mission District in San Francisco in August of last year. As he rode, he held another bike in tow alongside him. He was also in possession of a replica handgun, which the San Francisco Public Defender's Office said he used to protect himself on the streets.On that same day, police said they received a report of a stolen bicycle. Officers said they wanted to stop Corvera to question him. What ensued resulted in a street being blocked off, multiple San Francisco police units arriving -- his attorney estimated nearly 80 officers-- the appearance of two military-grade armored vehicles, and Corvera being shot at approximately 15 times from four different officers, including one shot that nearly missed his head, his attorney said. Pleasant Hill neighborhood shelter-in-place lifted after shooting Corvera was never charged with being in possession of a stolen bik...

Stock market today: Stocks drift, yields jump as Wall Street weighs whether the economy is too hot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting Friday as Wall Street weighs how to read a report showing the U.S. job market isn’t slowing as much as expected.The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in early trading and potentially on track for its first losing week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 26 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower.Yields rose in the bond market following the report, which said U.S. employers added more jobs than economists expected last month. Workers’ wages also rose more than expected, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly improved.The strong data keep at bay worries about a possible recession, at least for a while longer, and stocks of some companies whose profits are closely tied to the strength of the economy were rising. Energy stocks had the biggest gains in the S&P 500 as oil prices rose amid hopes for more demand for fuel.Carrier Global jumped 5.1% for one of the market’s biggest gains afte...

Adele revela la “verdadera razón” por la que sólo ha lanzado cuatro álbumes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

(CNN) — Adele dice que hay una razón por la que solo ha lanzado cuatro álbumes, y no es lo que piensas.Al aceptar el Premio al Liderazgo Sherry Lansing el jueves en el evento Women in Entertainment de Hollywood Reporter, Adele admitió en el escenario que se siente “un poco fuera de mi alcance” al recibir el premio considerando que solo ha lanzado cuatro álbumes en sus 17 años de carrera.“Se siente como si acabara de llegar”, dijo.Tras el éxito de su álbum debut de 2008, “19”, lanzó “21” en 2011, “25” en 2015 y “30” en 2021.Durante su discurso del jueves, Adele dijo que a veces se pregunta “si la gente piensa que soy calculada cuando desaparezco durante años” entre álbumes, o que es “evasiva” y cree que “menos es más”.Bueno, según Adele, no es nada de lo anterior.La “verdadera razón” por la que solo ha lanzado cuatro álbumes hasta la fecha se basa en una decisión que tomó después de “quedar embarazada” en el apogeo de su muy popular álbum “21” de 2011, que, según ella, muchos h...

Saudi sports minister says 2034 World Cup could be hosted in summer or winter despite desert heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Saudi Arabia is looking into the possibility of hosting the 2034 men’s World Cup during the traditional months of June-July despite daily temperatures above 100 degrees F (38 C), according to the desert kingdom’s sports minister.In a rare interview since FIFA fast-tracked the 2034 tournament toward Saudi Arabia in October, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal told British broadcaster BBC that either a summer or winter tournament was possible.“Definitely we are studying both options to see what is the best option to host the World Cup,” the sports minister said in an interview in Jeddah published Friday.The assumption since the Saudi bid became the only 2034 candidate several weeks ago has been that the 48-team tournament will be played in November and December just as the 2022 tournament was in Qatar.In June, the average high temperatures are more than 104 F (40 C) in Riyadh and 100 F (38 C) in Jeddah by the Red Sea. In November, the averages are about 90 F...

US employers add a solid 199,000 jobs and unemployment falls, signaling a still-sturdy labor market

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers added a solid 199,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell, fresh signs that the economy could achieve an elusive “soft landing,” in which inflation would return to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target without causing a steep recession.Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the unemployment rate dropped from 3.9% to 3.7%, not far above a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. The unemployment rate has now remained below 4% for 22 straight months, the longest such streak since the late 1960s.November’s job gain was a reminder that many employers continue to hire, though last month’s increase was inflated by the return of about 40,000 formerly striking auto workers and actors, who were not at work in October but returned in November.The jobs report and other recent data portray an economy and a labor market that, while still sturdy, are downshifting back to pre-pandemic norms. Businesses are still hiring but are less desper...

Bradley Cooper atiende una “foodtruck” de comida en Nueva York

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

(CNN) — Bradley Cooper puede añadir “sandwichero” a su currículum.La estrella de la película “Maestro” les dio a algunos neoyorquinos un auténtico regalo con algunos philly cheesesteaks y, por supuesto, con él mismo, mientras trabajaba en una “foodtruck” o gastroneta de comida en West Village este miércoles.Cooper preparó y sirvió sándwiches junto a Danny DiGiampietro y Seth Braunstein de Angelo’s Pizzeria del sur de Filadelfia, su ciudad natal. El camión se llama Danny & Coop’s Cheesesteaks.En Instagram, DiGiampietro llamó a Cooper “un talento natural” en el negocio de la venta de comida.Laura Dern y Gigi Hadid se unieron a la fila mientras Cooper trabajaba.Cooper, quien protagonizó a un maestro chef en “Burnt” de 2015, también sirvió a personas no famosas en su hora de almuerzo.Los cheesesteaks cuestan diez dólares y las ganancias se destinan a organizaciones benéficas de alimentación.“El 100% de las ganancias de hoy ...

Former Jacksonville Jaguars employee accused of stealing more than $22 million has ‘serious gambling addiction,’ says lawyer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

(CNN) — The former employee of the Jacksonville Jaguars who has been accused of stealing more than $22 million from the NFL team to fund a lavish lifestyle suffers from a “serious gambling addiction,” according to his lawyer.According to court documents filed in US District Court this week, Amit Patel is accused of wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction, stealing millions via the team’s virtual credit card (VCC) system over a four-year period.In a statement sent to CNN on Thursday, Patel’s attorney Alex King said that his client is “deeply remorseful and apologizes for his conduct” and that “approximately 99% of the funds misappropriated from the Jaguars’ VCC were gambling losses.”Patel primarily used the money to bet on football gambling websites, according to King, who added that “the losses were most significant in the final months leading up to the NFL’s investigation.”King said that shortly after his firing from the Jaguars in early 2023, Patel checked into a rehabilitatio...

Merkel moves further away from politics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:37 GMT

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stepped back from the policy group linked to her center-right Christian Democrats. “I have simply outgrown this role,” Merkel said, according to people close to her, German news outlet Der Spiegel reported Friday. In late summer, Norbert Lammert, chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), wanted to convince Merkel to run for the organization’s board. Merkel not only declined the offer, but she also left the CDU-affiliated think tank altogether. After being in office as chancellor for 16 years, Merkel retired from politics in 2021. Instead, she said she would try to focus on sleeping and reading. Merkel remains a member of the Christian Democrats.