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      Hunter Biden asks Los Angeles judge to toss out $1.4m tax evasion case

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 01:03

    Lawyers for president’s son to challenge criminal charges he evaded taxes and argue prosecutors bowed to Republican pressure

    Attorneys representing Hunter Biden asked a US judge in Los Angeles to dismiss the criminal case accusing him of evading $1.4m in taxes, arguing that prosecutors bowed to political pressure from Republican lawmakers investigating his father, Joe Biden.

    Hunter’s lawyers appeared before the US district judge Mark Scarsi in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday to press several legal challenges to the charges, including an argument that he was selectively targeted by prosecutors in response to Republican criticism. The 54-year-old was not present in the courtroom.

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      Ex-Trump lawyer should be disbarred for his role in 2020 election, says judge

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 00:15

    Judge recommends John Eastman, facing 11 disciplinary charges, lose his California law license over efforts to keep Trump in power

    A judge has recommended that conservative attorney John Eastman lose his California law license over his efforts to keep Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election.

    Eastman, a former law school dean, faces 11 disciplinary charges in the state bar court stemming from his development of a legal strategy to have then vice president Mike Pence interfere with the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

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      Can Meghan become the next Gwyneth Paltrow? Only if her products are equally bizarre

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 11:00

    The Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle website will sell fancy goods at fancy prices. But is she really ready to compete with Goop’s vagina candles?

    You know what the world really needs? More luxury marmalade options. Luckily, the Duchess of Sussex has it covered. As you may have heard, Meghan is launching a new lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard (ARO). Details are still hush-hush, but the trademark applications cover everything from pet-related accessories and homeware to marmalade and jam. She is going to sell fancy things to aspirationally fancy people.

    It was always likely that Meghan would move in this direction. She did, after all, run a lifestyle website called the Tig (described as “a hub for the discerning palate”), which closed in 2017. Launching an aspirational brand is also the sort of thing every celebrity does these days. Reigning over the celebrity entrepreneur space, of course, is Gwyneth Paltrow. Her brand, Goop, is worth $250m (£198m) despite (or possibly thanks to) the fact that it’s a constant source of ridicule. Meghan is never going to be the next British queen, but maybe she thinks she has a shot at being the next Paltrow.

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      ‘Two brothers driven by nature’: family pays tribute to victims of cougar attack

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 10:00

    Taylen Brooks, 21, was mauled to death and his brother Wyatt suffered serious injuries in big cat attack in California woods

    Relatives of a 21-year-old man who was mauled to death by a mountain lion that also wounded his younger brother over the weekend in California are grateful that they didn’t lose both siblings – but they are also heartbroken that the rare attack tore apart a pair who shared a remarkably tight bond, according to a family statement.

    Before respectively dying and being badly injured in what was California’s first fatal cougar-on-person attack in two decades, Taylen Robert Claude Brooks and 18-year-old Wyatt Jay Charles Brooks were “close as any two brothers could be” and fought their animal assailant fiercely as they desperately attempted to save each other, their family and authorities said in an emotional statement released jointly.

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      X sues Calif. to avoid revealing how it makes “controversial” content decisions

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 8 September, 2023 - 21:45

    X sues Calif. to avoid revealing how it makes “controversial” content decisions

    Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg )

    Today, Elon Musk's X Corp. sued to block California's content moderation law, AB 587. In its complaint, filed a US district court in California, X Corp. is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction stopping California Attorney General Robert Bonta from enforcing the law.

    AB 587 passed in September 2022, requiring social media platforms to submit a "terms of service report" semi-annually to California's attorney general, providing "a detailed description of content moderation practices used" and "information about whether, and if so how, the social media company defines and moderates" hate speech or racism, extremism or radicalization, disinformation or misinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference. Under the law, social media platforms must also provide information and statistics on any content moderation actions taken in those categories.

    In X's complaint, the company accused California of trying to dictate X's terms of service and compel "controversial disclosures about how X Corp. moderates content on its platform."

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      COVID-19 vaccines will be added to immunization list required for CA students

      Beth Mole · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 1 October, 2021 - 22:00

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks with 7th grade students at James Denman Middle School on October 01, 2021 in San Francisco, California.

    Enlarge / California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks with 7th grade students at James Denman Middle School on October 01, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (credit: Getty | Justin Sullivan )

    California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday announced that the state will add COVID-19 vaccines to the list of immunizations students are required to get to attend in-person public and private schools.

    California is the first state to announce such plans. COVID-19 vaccines will join the ranks of vaccine for measles, mumps, polio, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, and chicken pox, which are already required for school attendance.

    The mandate isn't immediate. The requirement will not kick in until the vaccine is fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration for school aged children. As such, the requirement will be phased in by grade groups—grades 7 through 12 and K-6—and begin at the start of the school term following full FDA approval.

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      California DMV gives Cruise and Waymo OK to charge for rides

      Jonathan M. Gitlin · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 1 October, 2021 - 19:26

    A Cruise robotaxi test vehicle in San Francisco.

    Enlarge / A Cruise robotaxi test vehicle in San Francisco. (credit: Cruise)

    The autonomous vehicle developers Cruise and Waymo both got a little closer to running true driverless robotaxi services in and around San Francisco. In May, both Waymo and Cruise applied to the California Department of Motor Vehicles for deployment permits (as opposed to the testing permits that have allowed non-commercial operations). On Thursday, the DMV issued autonomous deployment permits to both companies, which is a necessary step if the robotaxis are to charge passengers for their rides.

    San Franciscans might have to be night owls to catch a Cruise; the DMV's authorization gives Cruise permission to operate on surface streets within a geofenced area of San Francisco between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am. Cruise's autonomous vehicles are allowed to operate in light rain and light fog, but they aren't allowed to exceed 30 mph (48 km/h).

    Waymo is allowed to operate over a wider area; the DMV's authorization is "within parts of San Francisco and San Mateo counties." These robotaxis are also trusted to cope with light rain and light fog and are approved for speeds of up to 65 mph (105 km/h).

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      Biden DOJ halts Trump admin lawsuit against Calif. net neutrality rules

      Jon Brodkin · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 8 February, 2021 - 22:32 · 1 minute

    An Ethernet cable and fiber optic wires.

    Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Rafe Swan)

    The Biden administration has abandoned a Trump-era lawsuit that sought to block California's net neutrality law. In a court filing today, the US Department of Justice said it "hereby gives notice of its voluntary dismissal of this case." Shortly after, the court announced that the case is "dismissed in its entirety" and "all pending motions in this action are denied as moot."

    The case began when Trump's DOJ sued California in September 2018 in US District Court for the Eastern District of California, trying to block a state net neutrality law similar to the US net neutrality law repealed by the Ajit Pai-led FCC . Though Pai's FCC lost an attempt to impose a blanket, nationwide preemption of any state net neutrality law, the US government's lawsuit against the California law was moving forward in the final months of the Trump administration.

    The Biden DOJ's voluntary dismissal of the case puts an end to that. "I am pleased that the Department of Justice has withdrawn this lawsuit," FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said today. "When the FCC, over my objection, rolled back its net neutrality policies, states like California sought to fill the void with their own laws. By taking this step, Washington is listening to the American people, who overwhelmingly support an open Internet, and is charting a course to once again make net neutrality the law of the land."

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      Frontier agrees to fiber-network expansion in plan to exit bankruptcy

      Jon Brodkin · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 6 January, 2021 - 20:40

    A Frontier Communications service van parked in front of a building.

    Enlarge / A Frontier Communications van. (credit: Getty Images | jetcityimage )

    Frontier Communications has agreed to expand its fiber-to-the-premises network and improve its poor service quality as part of a bankruptcy settlement in California. Frontier committed to deploy fiber to 350,000 homes and businesses within six years on a schedule that would require the first 100,000 by the end of 2022, 250,000 by the end of 2024, and the full 350,000 by year-end 2026.

    The settlement , filed in late December, is pending approval by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Frontier agreed to the terms with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a union that represents Frontier employees; The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a consumer-advocacy group; and Cal Advocates, the public advocate office at CPUC.

    To ensure that Frontier doesn't build only in wealthy areas, the 350,000-location deployment must include 150,000 customer locations where Frontier estimates it would receive less than a 20 percent "internal rate of return." For those 150,000 locations, Frontier will have to consult with the CWA, TURN, Cal Advocates, and tribal government leaders "to discuss the potential areas for deployment, including tribal lands and tribal communities," the settlement said.

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